Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1905-01-20
NIHILIsM IN RUSSIA.

EIHILISM IN RUSSIA.
The Winter Palace stands on what
may be termed the mainland OF the city
of st. Petersburg aad faces the Great
Neva river. Directly opposite the
palace is a point Of land which marks
the junction of the Great Neva with the
Little Neva. On this point is the
bourse, the custom-house and other pub
lie buildings. The points joined to the
mainland near the Winter Palace by
the palace bridge.
On an island on the other side of the
point and commanding the Winter
Palace is the fortress of st. Peter and
St. Paul. II will thus be seen that the
battery Of artillery which answered the
salute Of the fortress being stationed on
the bourse square, was almost opposite
the Winter Palace. The distance sepa-
rating the square and the palace is esti-
mated at about 500 yards. 1t was in
the Winter Palace that Alexander H.
died after having been mangled by the
explosion of bomb in the streets of st.
Petersburg. Just one year before that
he narrowly escaped death at the hands
of the nihilists, who managed to place
bomb in the imperial dining-room at
an hour when the Emperor was expected
to be there with his family. The ex-
plosion wrecked the dinipg-room.
The nihilist movement in Russia has
never downed since its inception in
1862, following the publication of Tour
ginieff's "Fathers and Sons" Mill
ism, socialism and all the concomitant
destructive agencies directed an auto
cratic and domineering government found
Russia the fairest breeding ground in all
the world, and despite the promises of
peace loving sovereigns, the organizations
directed against the Russian government
and its primal fgurehead fourished Sc
cretly in all the principal cities and towns
of the empire.
The Russian people have cried aloud
for political and social reformation for
more than century, and during that
time there have always been some de-
spairing men who take to the bomb as
the only way of securing what they
think will in the end enfranchise all
Russia.
When Nicholas III, ascended the
throne he issued a proclamation which
was not in keeping with his former
protestations of love of peace. Then the
nihilists realized that they were to be
treated with the same iron hand that
marked the rule Of the other czars gone
before.
After waiting a reasonable time for
the Gar to show that Russia under his
rule would tighten the burdens imposed
upon the people the nihilists began to
get active, and the Car, who was in
formed of the temper Of the secret or
ganization, showed signs that he feared
the worst would come. Yet e7en in the
face of all this he took no action for the
reformation of social and political con-
ditions. Occasionally promises would
issue from the imperial palaces, but
they would not be fulfilled.
1t was in March, 1901, that the opposi-
ton of all classes against the Car broke
forth with renewed vigor The nihilists
had disseminated frebrand literature
through the empire and despite the
vigilance of thousands and thousands
of spies and special police officers the
secret missionaries of the society entered
the small towns and infamed the minds
OF all. The Gar knew of this, and
realizing that the temper of the people
must be cooled, argued with his sd-
visers to put out a bait to the people in
the form of a grant of rights.
Eleven hundred political prisoners in
st. Petersburg alone were put through
a secret examination. Students in the
Universities filled with advanced ideas
of socialism went so far as to revolt
against conditions, and secured prom
ise from the ministers that there would
be an imperial ukase reordering the
social affairs of the empire. But the re-
formation never came, and things went
along as best they might.
The year following brought crop OF
nihilists to all the small towns of Rus
sis. Women and young girls, filed with
the ideas of the destroying agents at
their head, went from place to place
propagating their doctrines until all
Russia was aflame. A competent French
observer sent to Russia to study condi-
tions, said at that time that the empire
was like seething caldron, ready to
overflow at any time.
In 1903 the Gar became panic
stricken with fear that the nihilst agi-
tation would get him at last, and he
issued a proclamation which was sup
posed to guarantee religious liberty, free.
dom from forced labor, the loosening OF
communal fetters, the refornf of rural
laws, the aid of banks for villagers and
peasants and the bettering of the family
school and public life. The proclama-
ton was simply to put wet blanket on
the cause Of nihilism, which had grown
TO such alarming dimensions.
Then came the assassination OF Won
Plehye. minister of the interior. In the
selection Of Mirsky, a reformer, it was
thought that the nihilist would be tenn
porarily checked. Mirsky is man who
seemingly has the good Of the people at
heart and -one of his first acts was to
recognize the zemstvos movement, 70
which all Russia is now looking as It's
social and political salvation.
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