Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 16 - From Marx to Mao

318V. I. LENINfeat in December. Revolutionary strike action, which hadweakened after December, again raised its head mightily;the peasants fell into line behind the workers (in the springof 1906 peasant unrest spread over 46 per cent of the uyezdsof European Russia); soldiers’ “mutinies” increased. Thebourgeois liberals were faced with a dilemma: to assist thenew revolutionary offensive of the masses, and then victoryover tsarism would have been possible—or to turn away fromthe revolution and thereby facilitate the victory of tsarism.A new upsurge of mass struggle, new vacillations of thebourgeoisie, tsarism irresolute and playing a waitinggame—such was the essence of the First Duma period, suchwas the class basis of this phase in Russian history.The Cadets as the dominating party in the First Dumaand Muromtsev, as one of the leaders of this party, betrayedan utter incomprehension of the political situation andcommitted a new betrayal of democracy. They turned asidefrom the revolution, condemned mass struggle, put everypossible obstacle in its path and tried to take advantageof the irresolution of the tsarist government, holding upthe bogey of revolution and demanding a deal (=a CadetCabinet) in the name of the revolution. It is clear that suchtactics were a betrayal as regards democracy, and as regardstsarism they were impotent, pseudo-“constitutional” braggadocio.It is clear that tsarism was only playing for time toconcentrate its forces, “playing” at negotiations with theCadets while preparing to dissolve the Duma and stage acoup d’état. The proletariat and a section of the peasantrylaunched a new struggle in the spring of 1906—their faultor their misfortune was that they did not fight resolutelyenough or in sufficient numbers. In the spring of 1906 theliberals were absorbed in playing at constitution-makingand negotiating with Trepov, decrying those, and obstructingthe cause of those, who alone could have smashed theTrepovs.The bourgeois pharisees are fond of the proverb: “de mortuisaut bene aut nihil” (say nothing but good of the dead).The proletariat needs the truth about political leaders,whether living or dead, for those who really deserve to becalled political leaders do not become dead as regards politicsupon their physical demise. To repeat a conventional lie