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Title: To the Chairman of the Slavonic Meeting, March 21st 1881, in Celebration of the Anniversary of the Paris Commune (1881)
Description: Greeting of Marx and Engels to a meeting of Slav socialists in London, ten years after the Commune and three weeks after the assassination of Alexander II: the Commune lives stronger than ever and heralds a Russian Commune.
Author: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
Date: 1881-03-21
URL: https://marxismo.school/archivo/marx-engels/originales/1881%20To%20the%20Chairman%20of%20the%20Slavonic%20Meeting%2C%20March%2021st%201881%2C%20in%20Celebration%20of%20the%20Anniversary%20of%20the%20Paris%20Commune
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*Manuscript of Friedrich Engels (March 1881), preserved at the IISG (Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels Papers, inv. K 1515), transcribed from the digital facsimile by the Escuela de marxismo, 2026; attribution to Marx and Engels according to the MEW (vol. 19). Draft in Engels's hand of the letter sent in the name of both; the letter actually sent is not preserved. Diplomatic transcription: spelling, abbreviations, capitals and punctuation as in the manuscript; deletions as ~~text~~ only where they can be read with certainty, otherwise ~~[ilegible]~~; interlinear and marginal additions inserted where marked, with a note; [?] after an uncertain reading; [ilegible] for an illegible word. [Traducción al español](https://marxismo.school/archivo/marx-engels/1881%20Al%20presidente%20del%20mitin%20eslavo%20convocado%20el%2021%20de%20marzo%20de%201881%20en%20el%20aniversario%20de%20la%20Comuna%20de%20Par%C3%ADs)*

To the Chairman of the Slavonic[^1] Meeting, March 21st 1881, in celebration of the Anniversary of the Paris Commune;

Citizen

~~We regret our inability~~ ~~This~~ With great regret, ~~that we have to declare that our [ilegible] being prevented from attending~~ we have to inform you that we are not able to attend your meeting.

When, ~~[ilegible] ten years ago~~, the Commune of Paris succumbed to the atrocious massacre organized by the defenders of "Order", the ~~falling~~[?] victors[^2] little thought that ten years would not elapse before an event would happen~~ed~~[^3] in distant Petersburg, which, ~~must ultimately lead, after a series of in~~ maybe after long & violent struggles, must ultimately & certainly lead to the establishment of a Russian Commune.

~~That~~ the King of Prussia who, had[^4] ~~by his besieging Paris,~~ prepared the Commune by besieging Paris & thus compelling the Ruling bourgeoisie to arm the people — that that same King of Prussia ~~could only~~, ten years after,[^4a] besieged by the ~~[ilegible]~~ in his own capital by socialists, would only be able[^5] ~~would be compelled, so as~~ to maintain his throne, by declaring ~~in~~ that the state of siege in ~~that [ilegible]~~[^6] capital Berlin. ~~They still less little thought~~[^7]

On the other hand,[^8] ~~But quite as little thought~~ the ~~European~~ Continental governments who ~~by~~ After the fall of the Commune ~~persecuted the~~ ~~compelled~~ by their persecutions compelled the I. W. M. A. to give up its formal, external organisation — these governments who believed they cd crush the great International Labour movement by decrees & special laws — little did they think that ten years later that same Internal. Movt., ~~would be~~ more powerful than ever, ~~that~~ would embrace[^9] the working classes not only of Europe but of America also; ~~that~~ the common struggle for[^10] ~~bound together by~~ the common interests ~~of a common struggle~~ against a common enemy, would bind them together into a new & greater spontaneous International, outgrowing more & more all[^11] ~~[ilegible] would of themselves, & spontaneously form & without any for~~ external forms of association, ~~form a greater[?] International far more dangerous to existing society than ever even the old one with all its Council's[?] Organisation ever had been~~.[^11a]

Thus the Commune which the powers of the old world believed to be[?] exterminated[^12] ~~thought to have died[?], for ever~~, lives stronger than ever, & thus we ~~may~~ join you in the cry: Vive la Commune![^13]

[^1]: «Slavonic» written above the line.

[^2]: Above the deleted word another word written and also deleted, illegible. In the left margin, written vertically opposite «When,», two words, the first crossed out and the second circled: «~~the~~[?] heroes[?]»; they are not linked to the text by any sign.

[^3]: «would» written above «happened», whose ending is cancelled.

[^4]: «had» written above the line.

[^4a]: «after,» is crossed out like the following words, but has a row of dots beneath it: deletion cancelled (stet).

[^5]: «besieged by the ~~[ilegible]~~ in his own capital by socialists, would only be able» written in small letters above the deleted words.

[^6]: «that» written above «the»; «in» above the deletion at the end of the line. The sentence is left without a main verb in the draft.

[^7]: «still less» written above «little thought» and deleted with it. Page 1 ends here.

[^8]: «On the other hand,» added at the top of page 2, above the deleted opening.

[^9]: «would embrace» and «not only» written above the line.

[^10]: «the common struggle for» written above the deletion.

[^11]: Written vertically in the left margin of page 2. After «enemy,» there is a cross-shaped mark (‡), followed by a short deleted word, perhaps «the»; the marginal addition has no corresponding mark, so its place here follows that mark and the sense («outgrowing more & more all … external forms of association»). «spontaneous» is written above «& greater».

[^11a]: These four lines («form a greater … ever had been»), already crossed out line by line, are further cancelled as a block by a vertical stroke drawn down through all of them.

[^12]: «believed to be exterminated» written above the deletion; «be» is uncertain (it looks like «by», over a correction of «to»).

[^13]: Below the text, written diagonally in pencil in German script, a docket: «M. & E. / an Slav[?] / Meeting zur[?] / Kommune 81».