To the Editorial Board of "Zvezda"

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V. I. Lenin

TO THE EDITORIAL BOARD OF ZVEZDA

P.S. TO "THE ELECTION PLATFORM OF THE R.S.D.L.P."

Written on March 13 (26), 1912

Sent from Paris to
St Petersburg

Published for the first
time in the Fourth Edition
of the Collected Works,
from the manuscript

From V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, 4th English Edition,
Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1968

First printing 1963
Second printing 1968

Vol. 17, p. 513.

Translated from the Russian by Dora Cox
Edited by George Hanna

page 513

TO THE EDITORIAL BOARD OF ZVEZDA
P.S. TO "THE ELECTION PLATFORM OF THE R.S.D.L.P."^[192]

This platform[*] is being sent only for the information of all, particularly the compilers of platforms. It is time to cease writing platforms when there already exists one confirmed and published by the Central Committee. (Leaflets have already been issued about this in Russia, but as we only possess one of them, we cannot send it, but are sending you a handwritten copy.) It would be particularly stupid to draw up a legal platform. Each and every article about the platform and "its principles" must be printed with the signature of the author and with the subheading : An Essay in Comment.

Incidentally, I would very strongly advise the editors, known to you, not to approve any platform. For the platform to be confirmed by anyone except the C.C. is a liquidationist trick. Besides, in essence, no good will be done by the editors approving a platform. Let the editors agree with the existing platform or remain silent.

* See p. 506 of this volume. --Ed. [Transcriber's Note: See Lenin's "The Election Platform of the R.S.D.L.P.". -- DJR]

page 616

NOTES

^[192] This document is a postscript to the authorised copy of the leaflet "The Election Platform of the R.S.D.L.P." As the manuscript had no heading it has been provided by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the Central Committee of the C.P.S.U. [p. 513]