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

59THE TASKS OF THE REVOLUTIONRussia is a country of the petty bourgeoisie, by far thegreater part of the population belonging to this class. Itsvacillations between the bourgeoisie and the proletariatare inevitable, and only when it joins the proletariat isthe victory of the revolution, of the cause of peace, freedom,and land for the working people assured easily, peacefully,quickly, and smoothly.The course of our revolution shows us these vacillationsin practice. Let us then not harbour any illusions aboutthe Socialist-Revolutionary and Menshevik parties; letus stick firmly to the path of our proletarian class. Thepoverty of the poor peasants, the horrors of the war, thehorrors of hunger—all these are showing the masses moreand more clearly the correctness of the proletarian path,the need to support the proletarian revolution.The “peaceful” hopes of the petty bourgeoisie that theremight be a “coalition” with the bourgeoisie and agreementswith them, that it will be possible to wait “calmly” forthe “speedy” convocation of the Constituent Assembly,etc., have been mercilessly, cruelly, implacably destroyedby the course of the revolution. The Kornilov revolt wasthe last cruel lesson, a lesson on a grand scale, supplementingthousands upon thousands of small lessons in which workersand peasants were deceived by local capitalists and landowners,in which soldiers were deceived by the officers,etc., etc.Discontent, indignation and wrath are growing in thearmy, among the peasantry and among the workers. The“coalition” of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks