The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-01-29
By ERIC VERNEY

acquaintance with the local intel
ligentsia." However, the teachers
whom he approached preferred to
drink and to play cards with the
priests, merchants and other members
of the local aristocracy.
After a while, Lenin was joined by
Krupskaya, who was also exiled to
Siberia and was accompanied by her
mother. AS it was difficult to employ
a girl in the winter months, they did
their own cooking. The food was very
simple. Bread, milk and sometimes
mutton. It could not be otherwise,
for political exiles only got grant
of s roubles per month to cover all
expenses. However, there was
kitchen garden by the house, so they
grew their own cucumbers, carrots
and beetroots.
Work in Exile.
Lenin accomplished tremendous
amount of work during these years of
exile. In the mornings, together with
Krupskaya, he would translate Sydney
Webb's book on trade uniOnism. After
dinner, they would write out "Thc
Development of Capitalism in Rus
STA" which he had commenced in pris-
on. At this time wide correspond
enee was maintained not only with the
Social Democrats in Russia, but also
with the exiles in Siberia. This was
difficult as the police were vigilant ="
and correspondence had to go by way
of indirect addresses. Lenin always
looked forward eagerly to the post
which came twice week.
His sister, Anna, used to write all
the st. Petersburg news. The cor
respondenee covered Russian news,
plans for the future, new books and
philosophical tendencies. Lenin did
considerable translation work from
English, German and French into
Russian, assisted by Krupskaya. They
translated, at this time, Kautsky's
"Anti- Bernstein" in two weeks.
Another of Lenin's occupations in
exile was chess playing. Lepeshinsky
recounts how he used to play chess
with Lenin for hours at stretch,
when the latter used to come to visit
him at his place of exile in MINUS
insk. Lepeshinsky could never win
game. Once he organized an "alli-
ance" of three comrades against
Lenin. Lenin began to lose piece aft
er piece. But stubbornly, persistently
he fought them, concentrating the
whole strength of his mind on the
board. So great was his effort that
the perspiration was dripping from
his brow. At that moment nothing
would have moved him from the board,
not even the cry of Sire" Lepeshin-
sky compares this game of chess to
Lenin's own life work.
In the evenings, after work WAS fin
ished, the chief recreations were walk
ing, fishing and shooting. He was
specially fond of hunting wild duck
and hare. Krupskaya tells how Lenin
was absolutely bubbling over with
high spirits on those Siberian eve
nings.
Love for Nature, Music, Poetry.
Lenin was passionately fond of ma
ture. He loved to walk miles along
the river on autumn nights, and hear
the thin ice cracking beneath his feet.
In the summer he would sit by the
running river, which reminded him of
his native Volga. He was very fond
of music, but what music there was.
was very primitive in these parts.
The harmonious of the village youth
pleased him none the less. When he
returned from the evening walk his
reading generally comprised the phi
losophicai books of Hegel, Kant or the
French materialists. When he became
tired he would tuA to the poems of
Pushlzin, Lermontov or Nekrasov. 1t
has been said that Lenin only liked
SERIOUS" books and never read nov
els. This is a legend. He read Tur-
geniev, Tolstoy, and was very fond Of
the classics. 1t is interesting here to
note that he kept photograph album