A Riddle

First published in Pravda No. 79, June 24 (11), 1917. Published according to the Pravda text. · page 76 · Translated by

What is the difference between an ordinary bourgeois government and a government which is extraordinary, revolutionary, and which does not regard itself as bourgeois?

Answer:

An ordinary bourgeois government can ban demonstrations only on constitutional grounds and after declaring martial law.

An extraordinary and near-socialist government can ban demonstrations without any grounds and on the strength of “facts” known to it alone.

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