" When Lenin got the news, he discarded his disguise, took off his wig and makeup, and opened an office in the Smolny Institute, formerly a girls’ school, as head of the government. At first there were fifteen members, who sat around the same table. One of the first proposals, made by Kamenev and Trotsky, was to abolish capital punishment in the army. According to Stalin’s later account, Lenin vetoed it, saying, “Absolute nonsense. It is impossible to push through a revolution without killing people. Preferably by shooting, it is quickest. "

― Paul Johnson , Stalin: The Kremlin Mountaineer (Icons)