Rare letter in German

Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov), politician, founder of the Soviet Union (1870-1924). Autograph letter signed ("N. Lenin").

€ 280,000.00

Rare, important letter in German, signed with the pseudonym "N. Lenin", addressed to Anton Nemec in Prague, the leader of the Czech Social Democrats, about organising the 6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). Held in Prague in 1912, the conference would see the de-facto formation of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union when the Mensheviks were driven out of the RSDLP:

"Dear Comrade, you will be doing me a great service if you can help me with advice and action in the following matter. A number of organisations of our Party intend to call a conference (abroad - of course). The number of members of the conference will be about 20-25. Is there a possibility of organising this conference in Prague (to last about a week)? The most important thing for us is the possibility of organising it in extreme secrecy. No person, no organisation, should know about it. (It is a Social-Democratic conference, hence legal according to European laws, but the majority of the delegates do not have passports and cannot use their own names.) I earnestly beg you, dear comrade, if it is at all possible, to help us and tell me as quickly as possible the address of a comrade in Prague who (in the event of an affirmative reply) could make all the practical arrangements. It would be best if this comrade understood Russian - if this is impossible we can also reach agreement with him in German. I hope, dear comrade, that you will pardon me for troubling you with this request. I send you my thanks in anticipation [...]".

Traces of original horizontal and vertical folds. Includes the original envelope, addressed by Lenin's wife Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (1869-1939) and postmarked Paris, 29 April.