V. I.

Lenin

Those who rant and rage and fulminate, who gnash their teeth and
pour a ceaseless torrent of abusive and riot-raising words upon
our Party, do not accuse us of anything directly. They merely
“insinuate”.

Insinuate what?

There is only one thing they can insinuate: the Bolsheviks
wanted to effect a coup d’état, they are
Catilines, [1] and consequently they are monsters deserving to be torn
to pieces.

Our enemies cannot bring themselves to make this foolish
statement openly, and so they are compelled to “insinuate” and
rage in “rhetorics”. For this accusation is exceedingly
stupid. A coup d’état through a peaceful demonstration,
decided upon on Thursday, planned for Saturday and announced on
Saturday morning! Now, gentlemen, whom are you trying to fool
with your ridiculous insinuations?

“ A demand for the overthrow of the Provisional Government," says
the resolution of the Congress of Soviets. So the removal of
some of the Ministers from the Provisional Government (one of
the inscriptions on the planned streamers was to have read:
“Down with the bourgeois members of the government!") is a coup
d’état, eh?

Why, then, has no one tried, or even threatened, to institute
proceedings against those who have repeatedly appeared in the
Petrograd streets carrying the banner: "All power to the
Soviet"?

Those who rage have been frightened by their own shadow.

A government which knows that it is supported in its entirety by the will of the majority of
the people should not fear demonstrations announced in advance.

It would not ban such demonstrations.

Only those who realise they have no majority to back them, and
who lack popular approval, can behave so savagely and make
such insinuations in malicious articles.

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Notes:
[1]
Catiline (Lucius Sergius Catilina )—Roman politician and soldier.
In 63 B.C. he engineered a conspiracy to effect a coup d’état,
abolish the republic and establish a military dictatorship.