Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-08
MUST YIELD OR EXPIRE
Crisis of Bureaucracy in Rus
STA.
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
ALL CLASSES THIRsTING FOB A
NEW LIFE.
Review Of the Political Situation by
One of the Most Eminent Liberals
in the Empire.


ST PETERSBURG, April 15.-An inter-
esting article upon the present political
situation in Russia has been written for
the Associated Press by one Of the most
prominent and active liberals in the en-
pire. He is a large landed proprietor a
marshal of nobility, with a mansion in
ST. Petersburg, but distinctly man of the
provinces. He had large share in drafting
the famous Zemstvo memorial, and his
words will have added interest when 1t is
stated that after bloody Sunday" when
the liberals were talking of a provisional
government, his name was on every lip.
Should there be a constitutional regime in
Russia his name and fame will loom large.
The following are important extracts
from his article:
Fight for Popular Freedom.
1.-The fight for popular freedom from the
yoke of absolutism has deep root in Rus
sian history. 1t has been waged for nearly
100 years now burning bright in a moment
of high effort by the best and noblest
forces of the nation, again dying out in the
da rkness of reaction.
In the beginning of the nineteenth CEN
fury in the ranks of the advanced intelli-
gent classes the representatives of the
privileged classes. the nobility. predomi-
mated. But with the fall of serfdon the
army of freedom began to include the edu-
Gated representatives of all classes-tlle So
called piebean cultured class The grant
ing to the public of local self-goYernment
created a general demand for intelligent
public workers in all walks of life, and the
plebean cultured class is thus gradually
taking the place of the nobility in the ranks
of the battlers for freedom. The revolu-
tonary party, the peoples will spread,
endeavoring by means of political conspir-
acy to free the people. The seventies, the
epoch of the reactionary movement of the
government, were marked by heroic fight
of the first revalutionaries. The movement
terminated with the catastrophe of March
|, 1881 assassination of Alexander ID. But
then the peasantry was obscure and deaf
to the preachings of socialism The indus
trial proletariat was only just born and
was still weak. And the revolution was
throttied by the government at it's very
the public, frightened by the phantom
of revolution, suffered a reaction, and for
twenty-five years all was gloomy.
Period of Revolutionary Terror.
with the assassination of Sipiag gin, April
10, 1902 (the assassination of Bogolyepoff
IN 1901 being the act of an individual and
not manifestation of party, opens the
sangu1nary period of revolutionary terror
At short intervals of time the most promi-
nent and hated leaders of reaction fell by
bullets or bombs.
The war increased the interest among
the people in questions of government and
awoke among all classes desire for citi-
Zenship. The continuous military reverses
prepared the way for a thorough criticism
or the existing order. The discomfort
spread and went deeper. And then the
explosion of the bomb on July 49, 1904,
which destroyed a strong, energetic leader
OF the reaction, Plehve, broke the thick
ening clouds of public discomfort. The iron
determination of the government heSitated.
The word confidence pronounced by the
new minister. a shark which 1aa
magnificent, widespread fire of open po-
litical agitation.
Governmental Protestations.
THE government realized that 1t needed
public support and desired to make truce
with the people, and had therefore turned
to them with an appeal for confidence. The
public understood perfectly how insincere
and false the governments move.
Therefore it at once voted it's lack of con-
fiderfce. The district provincial councils,
municipalities and other public organiza-
tons sent greetings to the minister.
coupled with expressions in the direction
of demands for liberal reforms.
The government having inSncerely
aroused and liberated the matured public
hopes, lost its head at sight of them. 1t
attempted to return to the path of reaction.
But all its measures proved powerless
against the broad and deep swing of the
political agitation.
The People Shot Down.
"In the beginning of January this year
in st. Petersburg broke out and grew
general strike of the mill and factory work
men. 1t began on economic grounds, but
soon became inextricably involved with the
popular demands for political freedom and
a constitution. Again losing its head. the
government answered the peaceful, though
imposing, demonstration of the workmen
by rifle volleys. In the blood of thou
ar1HS of hai h.
ers the Russian proletariat received it's first
revolutionary baptism. The workmen's
movement spread in great waves over the
whole country
1.-The last great act of the internal po-
litical life of the Russian public was the as
sassination of the Grand Duke Sergius, who
had already long inspired the emperor in a
reactionary spirit, and who had exercised
a strong influence upon him. In liberal cir
cles his death was almost approved The
bombs of the revolutionaries, together with
the workmen's movement, had created such
conditions as made 1t Impossible Tor the
government to return to the former policy
of reaction or for the public to compromise
with the existing regime.
1.-The aim of the present movement is the
abolition of the autocratic- bureaucratic gov
ernmental regime, and it's replacement by
free constitutional system. The significance
of the open agitation for freedom is enor-
nous. 1t means the people will no longer
hesitate before open struggle for free
DOM All classes of the population have be-
come possessed by the thirst for new. free
life the working class, the intelligent classes
of all professions and ages; the zemstvo. the
commercial and industrial classes, and even
to a large extent the nobility. Only the
peasantry, perhaps, still sleeps, an unawak-
ened giant chained with poverty and ignO-
rance But this giant, too. will soon be
aroused.
Must Yield or Perish.
1.-THE bureaucracy is already unable to
mend matters by its own strength. 1t must
inevitably turn to the popular will and to
public activity. If the bureaucracy should
not have sufficient perspicacity to do this.
then n catastrophe to the played-out admin
istrative system is inevitable. The public
forces brought to the boiling point are
psychologically no longer able to remain in
the iron boiler. They will burst 1t. And
this threatens the country with violent and
terrible disorders unprecedented in history.
The Russian revolution will be proportion
ally more terrible than all other European
revolutions, as the despotism of the Russian
bureaucracy has been darker and the igno-
rance of the populate deeper than anywhere
else in Europe.
For this reason the intelligent, better
forces of the country ought at the present
time to direct all their strength toward the