Autograph letter signed by Russian Revolutionary Vera Zasulich c1884

ZASULICH, Vera (1849-1919). Autograph Letter Signed to the Editor of To-Day concerning a proposed Contribution to the British Socialist Press. Circa 1884.
 
Autograph letter signed, written in French on three sides of a single sheet folded to form four pages. Signed V. Zassoulitch at the conclusion of the second page, with a lengthy postscript continuing onto the third. Old folds and light handling marks, otherwise very good.
 
A scarce letter from the Russian revolutionary Vera Zasulich to the editor of To-Day, welcoming the appearance of an openly socialist periodical in Britain and accepting an invitation to contribute an article.
 
Zasulich writes that "a frankly socialist review in England is such a good omen that it cannot fail to excite the joy of socialists in every country", and promises to do everything possible to respond to the editors' proposal. She explains that writing in French presents considerable difficulty and that her contribution may therefore take longer than she would wish. Having learned that an article concerning Russian prisons has already been prepared, she proposes choosing another subject and promises to inform the editor once she has made her decision.
 
In a postscript, Zasulich asks for copies of To-Day to be sent to the address of the revolutionary printing office at 6 Chemin du Couchant, Geneva. She additionally requests a copy of the pamphlet A Summary of the Principles of Socialism.
 
To-Day began its new series in 1884 and developed into the Monthly Magazine of Scientific Socialism, one of the principal early vehicles for Marxist discussion in Britain. The letter appears to date from the opening period of the journal.
 
Vera Zasulich (1849-1919) achieved international fame in 1878 following her attempt to shoot General Fyodor Trepov, Governor of St Petersburg, in protest at the mistreatment of a political prisoner. Her acquittal by a sympathetic jury became a celebrated challenge to the authority of the Tsarist state. After entering exile, she abandoned revolutionary terrorism and, with Georgi Plekhanov, Pavel Axelrod and others, founded the Emancipation of Labour group at Geneva in 1883, the first organised Russian Marxist group. Letters from Zasulich are scarce.