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This is a case where i would personally say the authenticity is somewhat dubious given the history of the period from which it is said to date and also the history of how and when it first came to light.
It might not surprise you to learn that the existence of this letter was first revealed by Khrushchev during his secret speech denouncing Stalin, which we know to have been riddled with falsifications and slander. For instance in the same speech Khrushchev referenced the so-called "Lenin's testament" which harshly criticized Stalin and called into question his suitability for leadership partly due to his "rudeness".
The problem is that this "testament" is almost certainly fake, as Lenin after his stroke was no longer in a condition to write himself by that time. It was Krupskaya who he supposedly dictated it to. Krupskaya however, though she was a great revolutionary and did a lot of good work for the Soviet Union in her official positions, is known to have had a bit of a personal grudge against Stalin at this point in time. (This is not a criticism of either of them, just a fact that sometimes personalities clash.)
While Stalin, for political reasons, never said anything about this, these documents were not signed by Lenin and there are numerous inconsistencies and problems with them (see links below).
So while this letter itself may be real and supposedly a copy of it is in the archives, it is not clear whether it was really Lenin himself who wrote it. At least he didn't and couldn't have signed it. It is also suspicious that the story told by anti-communist historians about how it was supposedly found on accident in Stalin's desk along with letters from Bukharin and Tito definitely does not stand up to scrutiny. There is absolutely no evidence of those other letters existing anywhere in the archives and they are clearly part of a narrative created to make Stalin look bad.
This letter about Krupskaya was officially published in 1989 by the then extremely anti-communist Soviet government under Gorbachev who was practically on a crusade to publish any and all slander against Stalin and anything that would portray the Soviet Union's past in a bad light. Some are genuine but many "admissions" and "uncovered documents" that appeared during that Glasnost & Perestroika period and afterwards under the bourgeois Russian government are very suspicious and probably fake.
Also, consider the circumstances that Lenin was in at that time. He would have found out about Stalin's rudeness toward Krupskaya through Krupskaya of course, who was one of his only contacts to the rest of the party when Lenin was gravely ill. Again i want to stress i have a lot of respect for her, and her revolutionary pedigree is not under any doubt, but she was also just human and of course when you have a personal beef with someone you are more prone to exaggerate their transgressions against you.
Also, here is a footnote from the Marxists archive about this letter giving some additional context:
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1923/mar/05.htm
Here is something you can read about the so-called "Lenin's testament" forgery:
https://mltheory.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/on-the-alleged-forgery-of-lenins-testament/
https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv7n1/LenTest.htm
And here is a debunking of the alleged Bukharin and Tito "found letters" story, in which the Lenin letter about Krupskaya is also mentioned:
https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/research/bukhlastplea.html
Wow that is a lot of information about a relatively small incident in the grand scheme of Marxist lore. Thank you!
I just thought that having some historical context can be good to give people perspective, and a reminder that we have to engage critically with historical documents and sources and not always take them at face value.
I mean, if such dubious documents including the "testament" were created with Krupskaya help and knowledge, it would mean Plenum apparently didn't trust her and was correct.
Although it's understandable and human, it is unfortunate and gets very messy when people put personal feelings ahead of the interest and will of the party...
(Maria Ulyanova was Lenin's sister)
From: On the Relations between Lenin and Stalin
I actually recommend reading this whole piece where Ulyanova is quoted extensively because it's very informative about the relations on a personal level that Lenin had with other Bolsheviks, a topic that is not often talked about since we are usually more concerned with theory and policy.
And if you have some time and are looking for something more extensive to read you should also read Nadezhda Krupskaya's Reminiscences of Lenin. As i said, don't let this interpersonal friction between her and Stalin negatively influence your opinion of her. She was a great revolutionary and did very good work for the Soviet Union.
And by the way, i think that if i was in her situation i would probably have reacted the same way; i mean yes, Stalin was right about what was in the best interest of the party, but if someone called to admonish me, and not in a very polite way, that i was not taking care correctly of my spouse who had just had a stroke, i would be furious at them and would hold a massive grudge!
it seems that the beef between stalin and lenin was invented by revisionists...typical
Yep, basically the butthurt losers who were annoyed that their viewpoint didn't win out in the Bolshevik party in the 1920s and 30s so they had to invent all sorts of cope and gossip.