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

CAN THE BOLSHEVIKS RETAIN STATE POWER?93tariat and the ‘poor peasants’ True, the Soviets also imply the Sovietsof Peasants’ Deputies; the Bolshevik slogan therefore implies a powerresting on the overwhelmingly greater part of the entire democracyof Russia. In that case, however, the slogan ‘All Power to the Soviets’loses all independent significance, for it makes the Soviets almostidentical in composition to the Pre-parliament set up by the Conference....”(Novaya Zhizn’s assertion is a brazen lie, equivalentto declaring that spurious and fraudulent democracyis “almost identical” to democracy: the Pre-parliamentis a sham which passes off the will of the minority of thepeople, particularly of Kuskova, Berkenheim, Chaikovskyand Co., as the will of the majority. This is the firstpoint. The second point is that at the Conference eventhe Peasants’ Soviets that had been packed by the Avksentyevsand Chaikovskys gave such a high percentage opposedto the coalition that taken together with the Soviets ofWorkers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, they would have broughtabout the absolute collapse of the coalition. And the thirdpoint is that “Power to the Soviets” means that the powerof the Peasants’ Soviets would embrace mainly the ruraldistricts, and in the rural districts the predominance ofthe poor peasants is assured.)“If it is one and the same thing, then the Bolshevik slogan shouldbe immediately withdrawn. If, however, ‘Power to the Soviets’ isonly a disguise for the dictatorship of the proletariat, then such apower would mean precisely the failure and collapse of the revolution.“Does it need proof that the proletariat, isolated not only fromthe other classes in the country, but also from the real live forces ofthe democracy, will not be able either technically to lay hold of thestate apparatus and set it in motion in an exceptionally complicatedsituation, or politically to resist all the pressure by hostile forcesthat will sweep away not only the proletarian dictatorship, but theentire revolution into the bargain?“The only power that will answer the requirements of the presentsituation is a really honest coalition within the democracy.”* **We apologise to the reader for quoting these lengthyextracts, but they are absolutely necessary. It is necessaryto present a precise picture of the positions taken by thedifferent parties hostile to the Bolsheviks. It is necessaryto prove in a definite manner the extremely important