National Geographic Magazine/Volume 16/Number 12/Russia in Recent Literature
RUSSIA IN RECENT LITERATURE
By General A. W. Greely Chief Signal Officer U. S. A.
AT no time in the history of the world have the present conditions and future fortunes of Russia excited more interest and been of greater importance than today. It is therefore thought that the members of the National Geographic Society will deem timely the presentation of the various phases and aspects of Russian life as depicted in two very interesting vol-
Russia. By Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace. 111., maps, pp. xx + 672. 9^ x 6 1 / inches. New and much enlarged edition. Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1905. $5.00 net.
Russia under the Great Shadow. By Luigi Villari. 111., 330 pp. James Pott & Co. $3.50 net.
umes of Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace and of Luigi Villari, the latter being an original work.
Wallace's "Russia" is an enlarged edition of a work which, though it originally appeared thirty years since, is yet recognized as a standard authority upon the land of the Czars. Sir Donald's observations of Russia now cover a period of thirty-five years.
The changes in Wallace's book are very few, indicating slight modifications as to discomforts of travel, scarcity of good roads, absence of domestic com- forts, and, above all, the continued low state of the clergy.
While stating that the younger priests have aspirations for the future improvement of the people, he speaks of the system as "presenting continual simony, carelessness in religious rites, and disorders in administering the sacrament, thus transforming the service of God into a profitable trade."
Of the original volume the only material changes have been in the treatment of local self-government, but the value of the volume is largely increased by additional chapters on industrial progress, nihilism, socialism, and other revolutionary movements.
With regard to the zemstvo, now of forty years standing, he expresses the opinion that it is destined ' ' to play a great political part in the future." This system of local government has suffered from restrictions on the devel- opment of education, through gov- ernors' suspending its action, by in- creasing the representation of the bu- reaucracy at the expense of the peas- antry, from preventive censure as to its publications, and by opposition to its efforts to establish equitable taxa- tion. The zemstvos in late years have improved local conditions materially as to hospitals and asylums, and less so as to primary education, agriculture, roads, and bridges. With its defects, the zemstvo is "infinitely better than the institutions it displaced."
The growth of nihilism and its reaction are carefully treated. Repressive measures failed to check it, the decline being due to the foundation of a liberal party. Nihilism found its warmest par- tisans among students, whose beautiful theories lacked the power of even sug- gesting concrete forms. The trans- formation of nihilism into socialism is attributed to Tolstoi's educational re- form, which brought the revolutionists into closer contact with western social- ism. The various phases of propaganda, agitation, energetic repression, and of terrorism, with its associated crimes, culminated in the assassination of Alex- ander II, which discredited terrorism.
The development of manufactures and the creation of a proletariat mate- rially affected the revolutionary move- ment, which assumed the form of social democracy. Political agitationsand trade unions resulted in labor troubles, but the efforts of the government, through legislation and its support of working- men in labor disputes, failed to control the situation. Father Gapon's connec- tion with labor unions and his subse- quent career are discussed, together with his failure as a self-appointed repre- sentative of the oppressed people and the leader of a political revolution.
Sir Donald admits his inability to state whether the outcome will be reform or revolution. He outlines Plehve's repressive policy, the demands of the constitutionalists, the aims of the social democrats and agrarians. The liberals counsel peaceful methods, while the rev- olutionists resort to popular disorders.
Considering a strong man necessary, he says of Witte : ' 'As an administrator he has displayed immense ability and energy, but it does not follow that he is a statesman capable of piloting the ship into calm waters."
The most interesting, if not most important, chapter is on industrial progress and the proletariat. A protective tariff and government support have wonderfully developed manufacturing industries, which, in order of importance, are textile fabrics, articles of nutrition, and ores or metals. In total production Russia ranked fifth among the nations. This tremendous growth has been through M. Witte, who declares agri- cultural countries economically and in- tellectually inferior to nations manu- facturing commodities. Competition and' overproduction led to failures and a commercial crisis, from which Russia was slowly recovering at the commence- ment of its war with Japan.
With manufacturing industries the urban populations increased, notably of L,odz and Moscow, the latter reaching a million. Big factories with cheaper methods of manufacture are killing rapidly home industries. Whole groups of 1 ' industrial villages have fallen under the power of middlemen, who advance money to the working households and fix the price of the products." There are brief allusions to the in- dustrial workers, especially in connec- tion with their unfortunate material conditions. While the workmen com- plain of long hours, low wages, arbitrary fines, and brutal severity, yet there are other important evils emphasized — those associated with the barrack sys- tem, the company store, and unsanitary surroundings.
As a contrast and supplement to the English view of Russia represented in MacKenzie's volume, is that of ' ' Russia under the Great Shadow, " by an Italian, Luigi Villari. His services as corre- spondent of the Iyondon Times afforded unusual opportunities for acquiring an excellent knowledge of European Rus- sia. This exceedingly well-illustrated volume, with interesting and often bril- liant descriptions, covers the salient points of modern Russia and supple- ments them by broad generalizations of evident value. Of Russia he says : ' 'An immense country, rich in natural resources, inhabited by a people who, if primitive and ignorant, have many very fine qualities, strong, capable of the hardest toil, inured to the struggle with nature, brave, intelligent, and religious, has been kept out of the march of pro- gress in a condition of semi- Asiatic bar- barism for the sake of impossible schemes of universal dominion."
Of especial interest for the light reader are the chapters on St Petersburg, Mos- cow, Nijni Novgorod, and the Crimea. To the student or more serious reader may be commended provincial Russia, the industrial development, the work- ing classes, Poland, and the economic situation.
He characterizes St Petersburg as representing 1 1 the foreign element of Russian civilization. ' ' Its picturesque Alexander's market, or Thieves' bazar, is happily described.
Moscow, he says, sums up the essence of many distinct civilizations. It still remains a living force, while presenting every aspect of Russian life, every phase of Russian history. As a holy city sec- ond only to Kiev, it has innumerable miracle-working images, which are re- garded with the deepest veneration. The Iberian Virgin, where the Czar in- variably pays his devotions, is noted for its great popularity, which is utilized as a valued source of income to the church. Per contra is the Moscow University a plague spot of liberalism, vexatious to the government and not favorable to advanced instruction, owing to censor- ship and frequent closing by the gov- ernment. On this point Villari says Russia is especially cursed with an intellectual proletariat, with indigent students, insufficiently clothed and de- pending on benevolent societies and scholarships. He adds :
"These students and graduates overflow the offices and liberal professions and become the most active agents of revolutionary propaganda. One finds, indeed, glaring contrasts among the Russian educated classes between ad- vanced and daring ideas and complete ignorance of matters which are common knowledge to the rest of Europe. Side by side with the most revolutionary doctrines that would shock the most advanced of English or French radicals, there are students, like one whom I met last autumn, who simply refuse to believe that such a thing as religious freedom exists in any country in the world. These incongruities are but the result of the system of repression of ideas which, while it succeeds admirably in destroying all independent thought among the stupid masses, drives others to the wildest extremes of revolutionary ideas in politics, literature, and philosophy.";
Nijni, the site of the renowned fair, is in its decadence, although still most picturesque. Its description is worthy of perusal. It is tersely described "as a piece of mediaeval Europe and unchanging Asia, with an infusion of modernity, it is unequaled even in this land of glaring contrasts."
Provincial Russia, from Moscow southward to the Crimea, is briefly treated. The great cities are lamentable spectacles, through their absence of local patriotism, local information (many large towns have no local newspaper), and owing to the corruption and brutality of local officials. The situation is perhaps best conveyed by the statement that censorship forbids the papers of a large provincial town to publish "descriptions of love scenes, criticisms on reactionary journals, the mention of trade unions, criticisms of the acts of police officials, the mention of the name of Gorky, accounts of the religion of the Japanese, praises of Tolstoi, the word 'bureaucracy,' the names of certain diseases, the enumeration of elementary schools, facts concerning the bad organization of the local hospital and the barracks, criticisms of the articles by Krushevan (the instigator of the Kishinieff massacres)."
In the Black Sea country, one of the most fertile regions of the world, with its grain, wine, iron, coal and oil, Odessa is perhaps the most remarkable port, with a population of nearly half a million. The Jewish question is treated in the description of Odessa, where the streets, promenades, and buildings are superior, owing to the large Hebrew element, about one-third of the population, which controls chiefly the business. Of the Jews, Villari says :
"The great majority are extremely poor, and engaged in various handicrafts and small trades. One of their chief grievances lies in the obstacles placed in the way of the education of their children" (limited to one-tenth the whole number of pupils).
This rule means selection and competition, which bring forward the ablest Jewish students, who "are not infrequently elected by their fellow-students as presidents of the literary and scientific societies. . . . They generally come out with the highest honors, and those who do not go into business become lawyers or doctors, the only liberal professions open to them, and rapidly acquire the best practice. The result . . . accentuates the bitterness against them on the part of the Christians."
Their unpopularity is due to many causes, principally economic. Speculation in grain, most widespread, brings them in bad standing with the peasants, who hate the Jews, but trade with them, as they often mistrust more the Christian merchants.
He adds: "In spite of their many undesirable qualities, the Russian Jews are absolutely indispensable to the welfare of the country. Without them there would be no trade, in many districts money would not circulate, and eco- nomic activity would be paralyzed."
The industrial development of Russia, stimulated by the government, has been astonishing in the past twenty years, especially in textiles and metallurgy. These industries are divided by Villari into zones: Moscow covers particularly textiles, sugar, and beer; in the Baltic iron, textiles, and ship building flourish; Poland produces textiles and tanned goods; in southern Russia the coal and iron industries are predominant; the Ural zone is given over to minerals, without coal; Baku is well known the world over for its oil productions.
These industries had a tremendous development, but overproduction and wild speculation induced equally startling collapses and bankruptcies. Foreign employers "all have a high opinion of the skill and working powers of the mujik (peasant), although in other respects — sobriety, morality, education, and honesty — they regard him as far inferior to the artisan of western Europe."
Of the workmen Villari says:
"They are underpaid, ill-fed, worse housed, and are not cheap. The peasant has great industrial possibilities, is docile, quick to learn, but is without initiative, careless, and needs constant supervision."
The artisan, however, "has a new feeling of human personality and dignity," is inspired with new ideas, and driven to new movements.
Confirming Wallace's opinion, Villari states that the Eastern Church is an inert body, almost devoid of vitality. It contributes little to the moral and intellectual progress of the people, but merely keeps them enslaved and ignorant. The average priest, his one thought money exaction, is grasping, avaricious, and callous to the moral condition of his flock. While the average Russian is devoted to his faith and most carefully observes its practices, yet "the liberal movement will render the absolute domination of the church a thing of the past."
The elevation of the people is declared essential, as "until the conditions of the mujik are radically altered and improved, Russia can never hope to be really peaceful or prosperous."
Altogether, the volumes of Wallace and Villari are not only of current interest and value, but will continue so until the methods of Russian administration are materially improved and the rights of man are more generally recognized and respected.