This conversation reminds me of what Bukharin said to Kamenev about Stalin in 1928: “If we follow him he’ll drag the country into the abyss and we’ll perish, and the revolution will perish along with him. If we denounce him he’ll accuse us of treason and we’ll perish.” Bukharin and Kamenev chose to follow while denouncing, to denounce while following, to acclaim—obligatorily—while grumbling, and suffered ten years of psychological torture before perishing, as they predicted.
