The proletariat should not ignore peaceful methods of struggle — they serve its ordinary, day-to-day interests, they are necessary in periods of preparation for revolution — but it must never forget that in certain conditions the class struggle assumes the form of armed conflict and civil war; there are times when the interests of the proletariat call for ruthless extermination of its enemies in open armed clashes. This was first demonstrated by the French proletariat in the Commune and brilliantly confirmed by the Russian proletariat in the December uprising.

Another quote →

More quotes by Vladimir Lenin

All Vladimir Lenin quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Vladimir Lenin (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.