"Disorderly, unorganised and petty terrorist acts may, if carried to extremes, only scatter and squander our forces. That is a fact, which, of course, should not be forgotten. On the other hand, under no circumstances should it be forgotten that a slogan calling for an uprising has already been issued, that the uprising has already begun. To launch attacks under favourable circumstances is not only every revolutionary’s right, but his plain duty. The killing of spies, policemen, gendarmes, the blowing up of police stations, the liberation of prisoners, the seizure of government funds for the needs of the uprising—such operations are already being carried out wherever insurrection is rife, in Poland and in the Caucasus, and every detachment of the revolutionary army must be ready to start such operations at a moment’s notice. Each group should remember that if it allows a favourable opportunity for such an operation to slip by today, it will be guilty of unpardonable inactivity, of passivity—and such an offence is the greatest crime a revolutionary can commit at a time of insurrection, the greatest disgrace that can befall anyone who is striving for liberty in deed, and not in word alone."
React to this quote
More by Vladimir Lenin
See allResonant Thoughts
"Sean Penn never tries to show Harvey Milk as a hero, and never needs to. He shows him as an ordinary man, kind, funny, flawed, shrewd, idealistic, yearning for a better world. He shows what such an or…"
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"The greatest felony in the news business today is to be behind, or to miss a big story. So speed and quanti…"
— Carl Bernstein"As a type for study, or a standard for education, Lodge was the more interesting of the two. Roosevelts are…"
— Henry Adams"I thought the novel would be traditionally structured, set in the present, with flashbacks to the 18th cent…"
— Yaa Gyasi"Gil can't be a minister and, at the same time, work for a record company. It's the same as if the president…"
— Lobão"As I have said a thousand times, no manipulation can put stocks down and keep them down."
— Edwin Lefèvre"For me, Donald Trump is an emotional paradox, I'm not gonna lie. Logically, I can process him, emotionally,…"
— Trevor Noah