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Special pages :
Letter to the Central Committee of the RSDLP, October 8, 1905
Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1974, Moscow, Volume 34, pages 350-351.
October 8, 1905
Dear friends,
I hasten to inform you of an important change that has taken place in regard to representation on the International Bureau. The South-Russian Conference of Mensheviks[1] adopted a resolution on this question in which (1) there is a gross lie about me personally. I am replying in No. 20 of Proletary[2] , which will come out the day after tomorrow; (2) they ask Plekhanov to represent their section of the Party.
This is exactly what we need! Plekhanov, of course, will accede to their request. His quasi-neutrality, which is so disastrous to us, will be shown up, and that is just what we wanted to prove. Let there be two representatives on the International Bureau: one from the Majority and one from the Minority. That will be the best thing. Moreover, if Plekhanov represents the Minority that will be better still. It is an excellent precedent for future unity. I earnestly request you: abandon now all thought of Plekhanov and appoint your own delegate from the Majority. Only then will our interests be fully taken care of. It would be good to appoint Orlovsky. He knows languages, he is a good speaker, and an impressive personality. Most contacts are by writing, almost all of them, and we, of course, would begin consultations. As a matter of fact, there would be nothing to consult about: I assure you from experience that this representation is a mere formality. At one time Plekhanov often entrusted this representation to Koltsov and no harm ever came of it, although Koltsov was no good at all as a âparliamentarianâ and an impossible, clumsy lout in general.
All the best.
N. Lenin
- â The South-Russian Inaugural Conference of the Mensheviks was held in Kiev in August 1905. It was attended by twelve delegates from Menshevik groups and committees. The Conference adopted resolutions on the following questions: amalgamation of both sections of the Party; the Duma; the composition of Iskra editorial board; representation of the RSDLP in the International Socialist Bureau; the Articles of Association, and others.
Lenin sharply criticised the decisions of the Conference in his articles âA New Menshevik Conferenceâ and âThe Latest in Iskra Tactics, or Mock Elections as a New Incentive to an Uprisingâ^^(see Vol. 9 of this edition)^^. - â See âRepresentation of the RSDLP in the International Socialist Bureauâ (present edition, Vol. 9).âEd.