Lenins Last Struggle – MOSHE LEWIN (1)

He applied himself zealously to the task. A significant incident that took place between Krupskaya and Stalin throws some light on the way in which he intended to carry out his mission. On December 22, learning from his informers that the previous day Krupskaya had written a letter, in fact a brief note, under Lenin’s dictation, Stalin telephoned her and, as Krupskaya herself says, piled “unworthy abuse and threats” upon her. 8 He even threatened to have her prosecuted by the Party Central Control Commission for disobeying the doctors’ orders.

Such indelicacy was unprecedented in the relations between the Party leaders and Lenin’s family. There was obviously no reason to doubt Krupskaya’s devotion to the patient and her ability to nurse him. Stalin’s action was not even justified in principle: Krupskaya had obtained the permission of the doctor then treating her husband—and Stalin could easily have verified this. He had abandoned all considerations of prudence and tact because he was acting in a violent fit of anger: the letter written by Krupskaya at Lenin’s dictation was the one addressed to Trotsky congratulating him for having triumphed “without a blow being struck” in the Central Committee’s discussion on the foreign trade monopoly.

Stalin was perfectly well aware that relations between Lenin and Trotsky had recently become increasingly close. He had not been much concerned about this during 1922, for the two leaders, while never in conflict on points of principle, had perpetually engaged in skirmishes on current questions. This did not prevent Lenin from suggesting to Trotsky that he should become his deputy, but Trotsky had refused, and on this occasion Stalin had succeeded, not without a certain malicious satisfaction, in getting the Politburo to censure Trotsky for failure of duty.

9 It was only later that the entente cordiale on the monopoly question came into being. Moreover, on November 25 Lenin, as we have recently learned, informed the Politburo that he approved of Trotsky’s proposals on the use of tactics in connection with the International; above all, in the second part of this message, he expressed a very flattering opinion of Trotsky’s theses concerning the NEP—he even insisted that they should be published as a pamphlet and widely distributed. It was undoubtedly a great compliment, for they concerned one of the most complicated problems of Soviet policy and one that had caused Lenin a good deal of worry.

Ronald Grigor Suny, Series Editor The series publishes classic and out-of-print works in Russian history and politics, presenting them with new prefaces in which prominent experts assess the books’ continued importance to the field and make their value clear to a new generation of students and scholars. The works to be included will span the entire period of modern Russian and Soviet history and demonstrate the variety of approaches and interpretations that have long made the study of Russia’s past an integral part of our understanding of ourselves.

Karamzin’s Memoir on Ancient and Modern Russia Richard Pipes Lenin’s Last Struggle Moshe Lewin OceanofPDF.com LENIN’S LAST STRUGGLE MOSHE LEWIN TRANSLATED BY A. M. SHERIDAN SMITH With a New Introduction THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS Ann Arbor OceanofPDF.com Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2005 Translation of Le dernier combat de Lénine. First published in 1968 by Random House under the Pantheon Books imprint, and reprinted by Monthly Review Press, 1978.

All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America Printed on acid-free paper 2008 2007 2006 2005 4 3 2 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lewin, Moshe, 1921– [Dernier combat de Lénine. English] Lenin’s last struggle / Moshé Lewin ; translated by A.M. Sheridan Smith, with a new introduction. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-472-03052-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Soviet Union—Politics and government—1917–1936. 2. Lenin, Vladimir Il’ich, 1870–1924. I. Title. DK266.5.L4513 2005 947.084’1’092—dc22 2004065834 ISBN13 978-0-472-03052-1 (paper) ISBN13 978-0-472-02667-8 (electronic) OceanofPDF.com The worst thing that can befall the leader of an extreme party is to be compelled to take over a government in an epoch when the movement is not yet ripe for the domination of the class which he represents, and for the realization of the measures which that domination implies.

. . . Thus he necessarily finds himself in an insolvable dilemma. What he can do contradicts all his previous actions, principles and immediate interests of his party, and what he ought to do cannot be done. . . .

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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