St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-02-09
RUSSIAN REvOLUTIONISTS.
Youths Companion.

An able and observant American
traveller, Mr.. George KEENAN,, has re-
Gently returned from long trip
through Russia and Siberia, and is Civ
ing in the Century the results of his
views of the Cars Empire.
Especially interesting and forcihle is
his account of the causes and traits of
the revolutionary movement which ex-
lists in that vast country. In many
ways new light is thrown upon that
movement, which constantly threatens
the Cars life, and is perpetual peril
to his rule.
Mr.. KEENAN, shows that the term
sNihilism," and the objects and meth
DDS of the ''Nihilists," are not fully I'M
derstOOd In this country. The Russian
revolutionary party, or rather parties,
are not confined to a set of desperate
conspiratOrs, who are resolved to abol-
ish all the landmarks of government
and society and whose methods in at
tempting this are assassination and ar
son.
On the contrary, the revolutionary
movement includes members of every
class of Russian society, and men and
women of every degree of wealth and
intelligence. The larger part of them,
indeed, are not Nihilists, in the sense
of being violent conspirators, at all !;
nor are all of them, by any means,
similar, either in aim or method, to
what are called in other countries $50
cialists," Communists" aud "Anar-
chists."
There are revOlutiOnists among the
mobiles and clergy in the army and ma
Wy and civil service among the pro-
fessors and students Of the universities
and the gymnasia; and. even in the con-
vents of the holy sisterhoods. That is,
there are those-and they are numer-
GUS in all these spheres who ardent
ly wish for change of government,
who fear and detest the autocratic des-
potism of the Car, and who desire to
take such steps as will bring about a
more liberal regime. They differ
among themselves, moreover. as to the
form of government which they would
like to see replace that of the Gar.
Some of them would prefer consti-
tutional monarchy, like those of En-
the minor states of Europe. Others
others would be willing to retain the
SAbi lilS lulC, ITO
would make that rule less arbitrary,
and give the people some share in
guiding the affairs of the empire.
Mr.. KEENAN, tells us that one of the
chief causes of the revolutionary
movement is, the cruel and inhuman
treatment of the political prisoners in
Petropavlovsk, Schlusselburg, Mos
oovr Kiau an6 OHoSSo acnaoiollu man
and women confined on political
cruelty of brutal governors and gen
ly suspected of some political offence
are kept in prison, and even in solitary
confinement, for years, while the po-
which to convict them.
Sometimes, declares Mr. KEENAN,,
prisoners become insane in their sOlita-
ry cells before it is even known wheth-
er they have been guilty of breaking
any law or not. 1t is only the prison
ers who have money, and are thus able
to bride their jailors, who can have
any of the ordinary comforts of life
during their close confinement.
The constant outrages visited upon
political prisoners, of both sexes, of all
social ranks, and often entirely inno-
cent of the charges against them, nat
urally anger their friends and relatives,
who grow to hate government under
which such cruelties are possible, and
soon learn to conspire to overthrow it.
Some, thus stirred to revolt, engage
in secret and desperate plots to kill Of
ficials, or to set fire to public buildings.
Others, just as earnest, but more self
restrained, abide in sullen hostility to
the despotism, meditating revenge,
and waiting patiently for the time
when they may combine for an effectu
al effort to get rid of the tyrannical
and cruel rule of the Romanoff dynasty.