lievieif of Revicics, 1J7J06. 



Topics of the Month. 



43 



THE RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT: BY ONE OF ITS MEMBERS. 



LXXXIX 



The first Russian Parliamt-nt, which is meeting 

 now in St. Petersburg, is a very notable assemblage. 

 It consists of two blouses — tiie Duma, which cor- 

 responds to our House of Commons, and the Council 

 of the Empire, which may be regarded as the Rus- 

 sian counterpart of the House of Lords. It is, how- 

 ever, a much more responsible body than our House, 

 inasmuch as it is composed largely of representatives 

 of the Zemstvos, of the Church, of land-owners, 

 and of science, art, and industry, together with many 

 high officials and distinguished administrators. 



A friend of mine who has been elected a member 

 of the Council of the Empire kindly consented to 

 communicate his impression of the first. Russian 

 Parliament to the readers of " The Review of Re- 

 views.' 



" What do you think of the elections as a whole?" 



" I think that they are the most remarkable, not to 

 sav astounding, illustrations of the ripeness of our 

 people for Constitutional Government. Never was 

 there an election, conducted under such adverse 

 circumstances, in which the voice of the nation 

 nevertheless made itself so clearly heard." 



'■' What adv'erse circumstances do you refer to ?'' 



" To the fact, in the first place, that in at least 

 half the country the electorate voted under martial 

 law — a state of things in which all liberties and 

 legal rights were abrogated, where anyone could be 

 arrested, imprisoned or punished by the will of the 

 officials without any semblance of trial. And in the 

 second place, remember that it was the first time in 

 which the Russian people had ever been summoned 

 to the election of Parliamentary representatives. 

 Everything was improvised, all was strange and 

 unfamiliar. Nevertheless, the Duma is a body 

 which represents with extraordinary vitality the 

 opinion of the people." 



" Was there much attempt to intimidate the elec- 

 tors ?" I asked. 



" In some places, yes, with a result that the elec- 

 tions went much more Radical than they would 

 have done if the Government had held its hand. 

 Vou know the complicated method of voting, by 

 which members were chosen not by the direct vote of 

 the people, but by an Electoral College, which was 

 itself the product of two or three elections. Not- 

 withstanding this, the people overcame all ob- 

 stacles, baffled all the subtle contrivances which 

 helped to confuse them, and voted straight for the 

 Liberal candidates." 



" There was great interest in the elections ?" 



" Immense ; in the country districts the election 

 was regarded as a momentous national crisis ; the 

 peasants went to the poll as to a religious service, 

 and displayed most extraordinary political good 

 sense and tenacity of purpose. I, who have lived 

 among them for thirty years, and who have always 

 regarded them with great respect, was amazed and 



ciinfounded by the evidence which these elections 

 afforded of the sanity, the sagacity, clear judgment, 

 public spirit, and sense of justice w'hich these un- 

 educated peasants displayed. The way in which 

 they conducted this election has done more to 

 restore my confidence in the essential soundness 

 and stability of Russian national character than 

 anything that has happened m our time. The 

 Duma will be indeed a notable assemblage." 



" How are parties divided?" 



'' Broadly speaking, the immense majority consists 

 of constitutional democrats and of peasants, but 

 although uninfluenced by any party leader, they are 

 nevertheless entirely opposed to the present Adminis- 

 tration. Of the Conservatives of the extreme Right 

 only a handful remain, while the supporters of the 

 Administration are in form an insignificant mmority." 



" What do you think the result will be?" , , 



'• It depends upon two things ; first, whether the 

 members of the Duma realise that it is more im- 

 portant for them to establish public confidence in 

 the Dura,a than it is merely to embarrass or to 

 upset the Administration. The resentment against 

 the Administration is no doubt very strong, but it 

 is more important to prove that the Duma is a 

 practical, statesmanlike body than it is to avenge the 

 misdeeds of Government. The second point is 

 whether the Emp>eror and his advisers realise that 

 they are now no longer only dealing with a handful 

 of self-elected revolutionaries, but are face to face 

 with the representatives deliberately chosen, under 

 conditions prescribed by the Emperor himself, as 

 the best for ascertaining the will of the nation. It 

 is impossible for anyone to deny the representative 

 character of the Duma, or the earnest popular 

 feeling which lies behind it. The elections were 

 held in the worst part of the year, when the thaw 

 was setting in. The roads were almost impassable, 

 but the electors came to the polls, in many in- 

 stances, from distances of loo miles at their own 

 expense in order to vote." 



" Was there any disorder?" 



" Practicallv none. The discussions were keen, 

 but so far as I have been able to ascertain, not- 

 withstanding much provocation, there was no breach 

 of the peace. In short, the elections have revived 

 and renewed the confidence of Russians in Russia to 

 an extent which I could not have believed possible." 



" What danger is there ahead ?" 



'■ The chief danger lies in the possibility that the 

 impatient spirit of some members may impel the 

 Duma to demand immediate Radical changes wh'ch 

 may afford a pretext for the Reactionaries to adopt 

 measures which might precipitate a collision ; but 

 after the elections, and the proof which they have 

 afforded of the earnestness and self-control of our 

 people, I confess I am much more hopeful than I 

 was when I parted from you six months ago." 



