Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-04-01
THH RUSSIAN PEAsAS7EY.
esrgius stepniak Speaks Upon That Subject
Bsfors the Geographical Society.

boIorv too 9eo8rop8tcoA Soctetys
fHrY AAs Not 50 MrcR oPPsyssep Al rHg Ypr.
GATED CLASSES IN RrssiA-THE VILLAGE COM.
NUNS AND HOW TERI REGULATE AFFAIRS
PEOoAEss N EDUCATION AND THoUGHr.
rather short man. inclined TO stoetness
eth wealth Of bushy black hair brushed
straight away from . wide, heavy forehead,
which bent percsptibly at the line Of the eyes,
. beard Of vast proportions and black material.
such man. attired in a neat suit of broad
cloth. the vest low ard the coat cut after the
style of the Prince Albert. stood before q large
audience last night in the lecture hall Of the
Columbia University and talked FOR over an
hour on the subject of the Russian Peasantry,
subject which his unhesitating manner and
his difficult English accent showed TO be per-
fsctly familiar &c him.
This was Sergius Stepniak, the Russian writer
upon subjects not altogether tasteful to the
imperial Government that has exiled him from
its realm. the author of Underground Russia
and other works that have shown the world
WHY the nihilists Of Russia exist and what they
aim 10 do. His talk last night was given under
the auspices of the National Geographic Society
Of this city.
Mr.. Stepniak spoke without any notes what
ever, IN a somewhat rambling manner. but
with a certain definite structu in his dis
course rlNt Always Kept MS neac toward tnt
climax that he desired to produce. His words
were thoroughly English. well chosen and. but
for his broken accent, the mnguage of per-
fectly well educated American His grammar
and rhetoric were never Mt fault and his refer
ences 20 side topics relating 10 affairs outside
Of Russia showed vast amount OF reading and
yrsearch.
TEE REsL PEAsAyTRY Not THE MOST OPPRESSED.
He started in 20 show how the real peasantry
Of Russia II not today the most oppressed class
IN that great country; how, as far as their own
morals are concerned, they suffer less than any
other class The reason for this is that they
i've more to themselves and further apart
from the higher classes than is ordinarily sup
Posed They are divided into bodies called
village communes, in which they are practically
independent in certain matters relating to their
own government within their circle. They are
permitted to speak freely in the village assem-
bliCs upon all matters concerning themselves.
and thus they have learned tine habit of free
speech that Is proving very valuable to them.
1his has likewise given TO them freshness of
mind that Is surprising They think and do
what they consider 10 be right, while the
educated classes are not able TO do even this.
but are forced 20 live unbearable lives under
the oppression Of an unjust system OF govern
nent- There is. however. feeling of utter
sympathy between the upper and lower
classes In the Jos of this century hundreds
Of young men and women of education left
their comfortable homes TO travel among the
peasants. TO talk to them and teach them the
right TO their political state Since the
peasants look with suspicion upon the political
talking of the rich people IL necessary for
these missionaries 20 disguise themselves and
travel about as laborers so as to gain the con-
fdenee OF their hearers and to study their
habits and conditions. The lecturer was one of
these, working as grain laborer. 1t was found
that the peasantry Is !nb1ded with the deepest
sort Of superstition and foolish ideas sprirgirg
from nowhere. For instance, because the
Prince of Edinburgh once married a Russian
princess the idea went forth that thousands of
young peasant girls we're 70 he taken from the
country to some wild region and married TO
foreigners that the might be converted to their
religious faiths The result was that upon the
preachings Of one of the peasants hundreds of
the peasant girls became married to the first
man that showed himself, and thus n vast deal
al unhappiness came upon them. Some of the
odd ruPerstitions indicate low standard of
knowleslge. but not an extreme degree of stu
pidify- indeed the Russian peasant is nearer
like the ancient Greek in this regard than he is
hike the sarage of Africa. he is often pop
siariy supposed to be- He has a large capacity
for Judging things and for drawing conclusions
from them
THE VILLAGE coarnuNE..
The village communes are in reality small
states where each inhabitant has to take his
share Of the government The assembly, tine
governing body. has the greatest power over
the com nunity. For instance. in one case a
clergyman wife died and in order to keep his
morals straight he was ordered by his village
ASSEMBLY, to marry the widow of a soldier who
bad died come time before. The assembly
Regulates matters relating TO marriage Couples
desiring 10 marry appear before the assembly
and say: II his Is my wife and This is my
husband. and the members Of the body reply:
May heaven give you blessings" This creates
segai marriage.
The assembly passes upon ali small crimes
and nxes their punishmeRts, while tine III lional
government adjudicaies other crimes Tor
which the penalty Of death or banishineIlt Is
inflicted II Is sometimes the case that the
village resents the acts of the governInt ut IN
such matters. and il has been known 10 pass
sentence Of death upon criminal WITHIN its
Jurisdiction and to Kill the offender not in the
manner VI lynehing. but In a perfectly judieia.
manner. In all Of their lnter-relatiOns the
peasants are sympathetic and impartial
lradlIion attributes to one of Russia noble
men the sentiment that with wisdom the
Russian peasants would revolutouizs the
world.
70 IDEA OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.
The peasant has no idea OF private property
Everything is held in common. Every six years
the land belonging 10 q village is divided among
the families. according 20 the number OF mem
bers Of each. To be held as the property of that
family for the SIX years 10 come The result is
very bad upon the agricultural progress Of the
country NO one Is going to exert any great
amount Of labor upon u piece OF land of which
he IL not certain OF the ownership, and the re-
suit 10 that ali that Is done Is but Temporary
tending TO get the most out of the land with
the least permanent improvement upon it.
Agriculture u therefore IN the lowest stage of
development The village sometimes migrat
IN which case, If il goes into a less densely pop
ulated region. the partition of land IS aban-
doned- liz also frequently happened, in places
where the kitchen garden is very profitable
that the partition system is set aside FROM that
class Of land.
The question as to whether or not the peas
snt could pass from this system of division of
land 10 state Of private ownership has been
done, bat the result shows that the most
elective state IL one III which there is G COM
binaton OF the two systems.
HABIT OF FoRNISG ASSOCIATIONS
There Is strong tendency among the Rus
sians TO form themselves into associations of
all sorts. This habit is to be observed in all of
ITS strength in the prisons. where the habit of
sek-governner+ asserts itself to the degree Of
the organization among the felons Of bodies for
their safe guidance while in the prisons. They
ere allowed by the governors of the prisons to
hold meetings. at which they elect officers 10
handle their affairs. through whom the orders
Of the prison officers are comm. unicaied TO
Them, and who act as the medium OF communi-
cation between the prisoners and their keepers.
established IN many prisons a sort CT parole
81. \. a.