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Special pages :
Letter to Paolo Ravazzoli, February 15, 1933
| Author(s) | Leon Trotsky |
|---|---|
| Written | 15 February 1933 |
Reply to an Invitation
Dear Comrade Santini:
Forgive me for not having replied for such a long time. Your proposal that I write an open letter to the Italian workers is attractive. But the difficulty that hinders and paralyzes me almost every time I go to write something concrete on Italy is my ignorance of the country. Not only do I not follow the Italian press â even occasionally â but I have never had a prolonged contact with Italian workers in general, or with Italian communists. I would need some more important event to come along soon, to give me a point of departure. That is the difficulty.
That does not mean that my reply to your proposal is no. I will try. I will not make a firm promise, because in many cases my promises to my Italian friends have gone unfulfilled. And in general I am not remiss in keeping promises. The explanation for this is as I have told you above: it is very difficult to throw oneself into the unknown.
Right now I am completely submerged in matters of the Russian economy. The situation is very tragic. Stalinâs reportis in screaming contradiction with reality. I believe the months to come will be decisive.
I would be very happy to hear the evaluations and impressions of the Italian comrades who attended or participated in the preconference.
My warmest communist greetings,
L. Trotsky