Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 26 - From Marx to Mao

LETTER TO COMRADES199And what has the Kornilov revolt proved? It has provedthat the Soviets are a real force.And, now, after this has been proved by experience,by facts, we are expected to repudiate Bolshevism, denyourselves, and say that we are not strong enough (althoughthe Soviets of Petrograd and Moscow and a majority of theprovincial Soviets are on the side of the Bolsheviks)! Arethese not shameful vacillations? As a matter of fact, our“pessimists” are abandoning the slogan of “All Power tothe Soviets”, though they are afraid to admit it.How can it be proved that the bourgeoisie are not strongenough to hinder the calling of the Constituent Assembly?If the Soviets have not the strength to overthrow the bourgeoisie,this means the latter are strong enough to preventthe convocation of the Constituent Assembly, for there isnobody else to stop them. To trust the promises of Kerenskyand Co., to trust the resolutions of the servile Pre-parliament—isthis worthy of a member of a proletarian partyand a revolutionary?Not only has the bourgeoisie strength enough to hinderthe convocation of the Constituent Assembly if the presentgovernment is not overthrown, but it can also achieve thisresult indirectly by surrendering Petrograd to the Germans,laying open the front, increasing lockouts, and sabotagingdeliveries of foodstuffs. It has been proved by facts that thebourgeoisie have already been partly doing this, which meansthat they are capable of doing it to the full extent, if the workersand soldiers do not overthrow them.“The Soviets must be a revolver pointed at the head of the governmentwith the demand to convene the Constituent Assembly andstop all Kornilovite plots.”This is how far one of the two sad pessimists has gone.He had to go that far, for to reject the uprising is thesame as rejecting the slogan “All Power to the Soviets”.Of course, a slogan is “not sacred”; we all agree to that.But then why has no one raised the question of changing thisslogan (in the same way as I raised the question after theJuly days*)? Why be afraid to say it openly, when the* See present edition, Vol. 25, pp. 185-92.—Ed.