That official visit of the City Fathers to the camp of the rebels was only too candid a demonstration of the impotence of the ruling groups. “Remember, comrades,” said Trotsky upon returning to the Bolshevik caucus, “that a few weeks ago when we won the majority, we were only a trade-name – without a printing press, without a treasury, without departments – and now the city duma sends a deputation to the arrested Military Revolutionary Committee” for information as to the destiny of the city and the state.
A los ojos de Smolni, la visita de los padres de la ciudad, punto de apoyo y esperanza del palacio de Invierno, no era más que una nueva demostración de la impotencia de los dirigentes.