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

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND CIVIL WAR31It is beyond all doubt that the spontaneity of the movementis proof that it is deeply rooted in the masses, thatits roots are firm and that it is inevitable. The proletarianrevolution is firmly rooted, the bourgeois counter-revolutionis without roots—this is what the facts prove if examinedfrom the point of view of the spontaneous nature of themovement.Let us now look at the aims of the movement. The movementof April 20-21 came very close to adopting the Bolshevikslogans, whereas that of July 3-4 was directly connectedwith them, was under their influence and guidance. TheBolshevik Party spoke quite openly, definitely, clearly,precisely, for all to hear, in its papers and in verbal propagandaof the chief aims of the proletarian civil war—the dictatorship of the proletariat and the poor peasantry,peace and an immediate offer of peace, confiscation of thelanded estates.We all know the aims of the Kornilov revolt, and no oneamong the democrats disputes that those aims were a dictatorshipof the landowners and the bourgeoisie, dispersalof the Soviets, and preparations for the restoration of themonarchy. The Cadet Party, this main Kornilovite party(by the way, it ought to be called from now on the Kornilovparty), possesses a larger press and greater forcesfor propaganda than the Bolsheviks, but it has never daredand still does not dare to tell the people openly eitherabout the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie or about thedispersal of the Soviets, or about the Kornilovite aims ingeneral!As far-as the aims of the movement are concerned, thefacts tell us that the proletarian civil war can come outwith an open exposition of its final aims before the peopleand win the sympathies of the working people, whereasthe bourgeois civil war can attempt to lead part of themasses only by concealing its aims; this is the tremendousdifference in them as far as the class-consciousness of themasses is concerned.The only objective data on this question seem to be thoseon party affiliation and elections. There do not appear tobe any other facts which allow a clear judgement of theclass-consciousness of the masses. It is clear that the pro-