Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 3 - From Marx to Mao

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1 Lenin’s book The Development of Capitalism in Russia was
the result of tremendous research lasting more than three years.
Lenin began intensive work on his book when in prison, soon after
his arrest in connection with the case of the St. Petersburg “League
of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class,”
and finished it in the village of Shushenskoye where he lived
in exile. He had, however, been gathering material for his book
long before he began writing it.
In his first letter from prison, dated January 2, 1896, Lenin
wrote: “I have a plan that has occupied my mind considerably
ever since I was arrested, increasingly so as time passes. I have
long been engaged on an economic problem (that of the marketing
of the products of manufacturing industry within the
country), have selected some literature, drawn up a plan for its
analysis and have even done some writing with a view to
having my work published in book form, should its dimensions
exceed those of a magazine article. I should be very unwilling
to give up the job, and am now, apparently, faced with the
alternative of either writing it here or of abandoning it
altogether.” (See present edition Vol. 37.)
In the same letter, in addition to giving instructions about
books to be obtained according to a list he had drawn up,
Lenin unfolded his plan of work:
“The list of books,” he wrote, “is divided into the two parts
into which my book is divided. A—The general theoretical
part. This requires fewer books, so that, in any case, I hope
to write it, although it needs more preparatory work. B—The
application of the theoretical principles to Russian facts. This
part requires very many books. The chief difficulty will be:
1) Zemstvo publications. Part of them, by the way, I already have,
but another part (small monographs) may be ordered, and a
part may be obtained through statisticians I know; 2) Government
publications—the papers of commissions, reports and minutes of
congresses, etc. These are important, but they are more difficult
to obtain. Some of them, even the majority, I think, are in the
library of the Free Economic Society.” (See present edition, Vol. 37.)