V. I.   Lenin

196

To:   HIS MOTHER

Published: First published in 1929 in the journal Proletarskaya Revolyutsiya No. 11. Sent from Paris. Printed from the original.
Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1977, Moscow, Volume 37, page 439.
Translated: The Late George H. Hanna
Transcription\Markup: D. Moros
Public Domain: Lenin Internet Archive.   You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work, as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source. • README

Her Excellency Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova,
Davydov’s House, Apt. 4,
Bozheninsky Street,
Devichye Polye,
Moscow,
Russia

November 4, 1909

Mother dearest,

A few days ago I received Manyasha’s letter with the new address. How are things in the new apartment? Is it warm there? Our apartment with central heating has turned out to be too warm—although it may be because of the warm weather we are having here. Manyasha did right to go to a competent doctor—she must now follow his advice exactly.

I have received Rossiya.^[1] Many thanks. I have also had word from the historian—he must be a very narrow person. It is a pity that he intends writing nonsense! It seems as if we shall have to give him up for lost.^[2]

I am leaving for Brussels tomorrow^[3] and shall stay there a few days. I have written an answer to Anyuta in Saratov on the assumption that she is already there.

I embrace you fondly, my dear, and send very best regards to Manyasha and Mitya. So does everybody.

Yours,
V. U.

Notes

[1] This may refer to the issue of the newspaper Rossiya containing reports of the discussion of a land distribution Bill in the Duma in October 1909.

Rossiya (Russia)—a reactionary daily, published in St. Petersburg from November 1905 to April 1914. In 1906 it became the newspaper of the Ministry of the Interior.

[2] Lenin refers to I. I. Skvortsov-Stepanov, about whose position at this period he afterwards wrote in a letter to Maxim Gorky (see Collected Works, Vol. 35, pp. 74–75). Two letters from Lenin to Skvortsov-Stepanov written in 1909 have been preserved (see Collected Works, Vol. 16, pp. 117–22, and Vol. 34, pp. 407–10).

[3] Lenin went to Brussels to attend the Eleventh Session of the International Socialist Bureau (ISB). On November 7, 1909 he spoke at a meeting of the session on the split in the Social-Democratic Workers’ Party of Holland and voted in favour of admitting to the International the Dutch Marxists (Tribune supporters) who represented the Left wing of the working-class movement in Holland. On November 8 Lenin attended a meeting of the Inter-parliamentary Committee of the ISB after which he returned to Paris.