Tightrope walking inexperienced funambulists will often walk barefoot so that the wire can be grasped between the big and second toe. This is more often done when using a rope, as the softer and silkier fibres are less taxing on the bare foot than the harder and more abrasive braided wire. The word "funambulism" or the phrase ""walking a tightrope"" is also used in a metaphorical setting not referring to any actual acrobatic acts. For instance, politicians are said to "walk a tightrope" when trying to balance two opposing views with little room for compromise. The term can also be used in
A Word to the People but were heckled and had difficulty in making themselves heard. Ten years after the publication, on 14 August 2001, "Sovetskaya Rossiya" published an appeal entitled "Stop reforms of death!" («Остановить „реформы смерти“!»), in which the letter "A Word to the People" was called "prophesying". A Word to the People "A Word to the People" (Russian: «Слово к народу») was an open letter signed by twelve Soviet public figures. The declaration was published in "Sovetskaya Rossiya" (a newspaper that expressed anti-perestroika views) on 23 July 1991. The signers included writers Yuri Bondarev, Valentin Rasputin and Alexander Prokhanov, singer Lyudmila Zykina, war