Letter to Nikolai Podvoisky and Nikolai Krylenko, January 28, 1918

From Marxists-en
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Lenin made the following note on the document; “B. Luteraan. Oostenburgermiddenstraat 59III, Amsterdam. Holland.”—Ed

15. I. 1918

Comrade Podvoisky and Comrade Krylenko

I received the enclosed letter today from the Dutch comrade Luteraan, a member of the Left “Tribunist” Party.[1] I made his acquaintance in 1915 in Berne.

Luteraan asks to be given money for his journey and to be enrolled in Russia’s Red Guard.

On grounds of principle I would request you to do what he asks. Perhaps he could be enrolled temporarily among the Letts or Estonians who speak German, until he has learnt Russian.[2]

Lenin

  1. The Tribunists—members of the Social-Democratic Party of Holland whose press organ was the newspaper De Tribune. They constituted the Left wing of the labour movement in Holland and during the imperialist world war (1914–18) their stand was, in the main, internationalist. In 1918 the Tribunists founded the Communist Party of Holland.
  2. The same day, in accordance with Lenin’s directive, orders were issued for money to be given to Luteraan to travel to Russia and join the ranks of the Red Guard.