Lenin's 1918 Letter to the United States
In August 1918, Vladimir Lenin penned a provocative letter addressed to the workers of the United States. This document was not a random correspondence but a strategic response to a message from members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)—an international labor union—who were participating in a worker's demonstration in Seattle. The original message from the IWW had reached Russia via the crew of the steamship Shilka.
Written on August 20, 1918, the letter was first published in the newspaper Pravda on August 22. Its journey from Russia to the American public was fraught with espionage, diplomatic tension, and clandestine delivery methods.
The Perilous Journey to America
The task of delivering the letter to the United States was assigned to Mikhail Borodin. To ensure the message reached its destination, multiple copies were printed on thin paper and carried by various couriers.
One such courier was the American poet Carl Sandburg. An acquaintance of Borodin, Sandburg received the letter in Oslo, along with propaganda materials and a check for 10,000 US dollars, with orders to deliver them to Chicago. However, Sandburg had alerted US embassy staff in Oslo before leaving. Consequently, American authorities confiscated the check and the propaganda materials upon his arrival in New York City.
Despite this setback, the letter survived through other channels. One copy was passed to Santeri Nuorteva, an employee of the Russian Information Bureau in the United States. Another copy was successfully smuggled into the country by engineer P.I. Travin (also known as Sletlov), who had the document sewn into a special belt.
Publication and Distribution
The letter eventually reached the American socialist press. In December 1918, English translations were published in The Revolutionary Age, a biweekly newspaper based in Boston, and The Class Struggle, a magazine produced by the New York-based Socialist Party.
The distribution efforts were later reviewed in the autumn of 1919, when Lenin met with Travin to receive a report on how the letter had been disseminated across America. The document's lasting influence in socialist circles led to its reprinting as a separate pamphlet in New York in 1934.
Lenin's Revolutionary Characterization of the United States
The most enduring part of the letter is Lenin's analysis of American society. He began by acknowledging the American Revolutionary War as a genuinely liberating conflict, contrasting it with the "predatory wars" driven by kings, landlords, and capitalists over plundered profits.
Lenin praised the United States for its immense technological progress, noting that it had become a leader among free and educated nations in the development of productive forces and the use of machinery. However, he argued that this bourgeois civilization—a society based on the ownership of capital by the middle class—had created a devastating social divide.
He characterized the US as a land of extreme contradictions, where a small group of "insolent billionaires" lived in luxury while millions of workers remained on the brink of poverty.
Key Facts
- Date Written: August 20, 1918.
- Initial Publication: Pravda (August 22, 1918).
- Primary Couriers: Carl Sandburg, Santeri Nuorteva, and P.I. Travin.
- Confiscated Assets: A 10,000 US dollar check and propaganda materials.
- US Publications: The Revolutionary Age and The Class Struggle.
- Core Thesis: The US possesses world-leading technology but suffers from a profound abyss between billionaires and the impoverished working class.
| Date | Event | Key Figure/Entity |
|---|---|---|
| August 20, 1918 | Letter written by Lenin | Vladimir Lenin |
| August 22, 1918 | First publication in Russia | Pravda |
| Late 1918 | Smuggled into the US | P.I. Travin / Santeri Nuorteva |
| December 1918 | English publication in US | The Revolutionary Age / The Class Struggle |
| Autumn 1919 | Report on distribution delivered | P.I. Travin |
| 1934 | Reprinted as a pamphlet | New York Publisher |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Lenin write the letter?
Lenin wrote the letter as a response to a message from members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) who were demonstrating in Seattle.
How did the letter enter the United States?
While some materials were confiscated from Carl Sandburg, the letter entered the US via Santeri Nuorteva of the Russian Information Bureau and P.I. Travin, who smuggled a copy sewn into a belt.
What did Lenin think of the American Revolution?
He viewed it as a truly liberating and revolutionary war of the American people against English colonial oppression, distinguishing it from imperialist wars fought for profit.
What was Lenin's primary criticism of the US in 1918?
He criticized the extreme economic inequality, specifically the gap between a few wealthy billionaires and millions of workers living in poverty, despite the country's technological advancements.
Where was the letter published in the US?
It was published in the Boston-based The Revolutionary Age and the New York-based The Class Struggle.