Letter to Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova and Dmitry Ilyich Ulyanov, November 28, 1898

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November 28, 1898

I have received letters from you and Mitya dated November 9, Mother dearest.

With regard to telegrams to me here—you must bear in mind that our postman goes to Minusinsk on Monday and Thursday in the morning. This means that you must send telegrams on Sunday or Wednesday morning, so that I receive them on Tuesday or Friday morning (these are our mail days, local Shushenskoye “holidays”).[1]

One letter came from Manyasha and we answered it,[2] but we have not yet had any more from her.

I am very, very glad you like Podolsk. It is a pity, of course, that Mark cannot live with you.

I have another request to make of Anyuta—to add to the list of subscriptions Trudy imperatorskogo Volnogo ekonomicheskogo obshchestva, price 3 rubles a year (6 issues), including delivery—if that publication is still appearing.

If you take out the subscriptions through Wolfe’s they already have my address because I receive their Izvestiya.

Yours,

V. U.

Regards to all.

Y.V. sends regards to all.

I have finished one half of my book and am now sure that it will be shorter instead of longer than I assumed.

Mitya,

Your information about my shooting is inaccurate. Who told you about it? Maybe Anyuta made some chronological errors and produced some ancient myths about hares as up-to-date news. In the autumn I made quite a good kill among the hares here—there are masses of them on the islands in the Yenisei and we soon got fed up with them. Prominsky shot several dozen because he wanted the skins for a coat.

It is more interesting to shoot black grouse and partridge, but more difficult. In July I got a few grey-hen, but now people go after them on horseback with rifles; in winter you can’t get near enough on foot (except on rare occasions). For partridge (autumn) you need a good dog and my Jenny is either too young or simply no good. In winter they mostly catch partridges in traps and snares.[3]

We now have a new attraction, a skating rink that takes me away from shooting quite a lot.

Next summer I hope to go shooting much more—there will be less work, the dog will be used to its job and it will be my last (I hope) summer in Siberia.

All the best,

V. U.

  1. ↑ The telegraphic address is Minusinsk, Shushenskoye, Ulyanov. —Lenin
  2. ↑ See Letter No. 59.—Ed.
  3. ↑ Last year I got a few partridge (very few, though), but this year not a single one.—Lenin