Translated from: ru/1909/1909-11-12_pismo_v_redaktsiyu_proletariya_12_noyabrya.txt

To the Editorial Board of Proletary

1) Your recent letter with addresses has been received. The previous one (three weeks ago), also with addresses, was received through To-ze [Toroshelidze -- Ed.]. Due to the circumstances of provocation here and for certain other reasons, we could not reply. But now everything has settled down.

Your annotation to our resolution on the disagreements in the enlarged editorial board of Proletary (No. 49 of Proletary), as well as the "conversation with the St. Petersburg Bolsheviks," have further convinced us of the incorrectness of the editorial board's organizational policy. If Comrade Maks himself "broke away" by his insubordination, then so much the worse for him and the "School" -- all the more inappropriate was it for the editorial board to speak of "expulsion," etc. One of two things: 1) either joint work is harmful in principle and inadmissible, and in that case, without waiting for a break, one should have expelled them (the minority) from the editorial board outright; 2) or joint work is admissible, and in that case the "whole question" reduces to the question of the behavior of Comrade Maks and the "School." But the editorial board, depending on circumstances, proceeds from both points of view, which is, of course, inadmissible. In our opinion, if one takes a calm view of the pretensions to leadership of certain "Leftists" like Aleksinsky and pays no attention to them at all; if one proceeds not from their pretensions but from the existence of a not inconsiderable circle of ultimatist-addled practical workers and "advanced" workers, then it can be seen that joint work is admissible and necessary. Your organizational policy merely promotes the rapid grouping of workers who have not yet sorted things out around the Aleksinskys; it drives the Aleksinskys into a separate center and certain workers toward that center. We understand the position of the editorial board abroad, the atmosphere abroad, etc. But you must understand that we are not abroad; you write for us, and what is expedient abroad is not always expedient for Russia.

2) We think that a conference of the Beks [Bolsheviks], of course running parallel to the general party conference, would be able to put a rein on the Maksimovs. The later the conference, the less light there is -- the better for them, the worse for the faction: delay would give them the opportunity and time to organize, to cut off the path of Russian (addled) comrades to joint work, which (note this!) inevitably blows all the ultimatist dust out of their heads.

Therefore, a speedy conference of the Beks would be the way out.

From the archive of V.D. Mochalov.