THE REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA* 



By William Eleroy Curtis 



IN order to understand the signifi- 

 cance of events in the revolution 

 that is now going on in Russia, it is 

 necessary to recall what you learned in 

 your school days, that it has the largest 

 area of any nation and a population of 

 one hundred and forty million souls, in- 

 cluding eighty million peasants. The 

 ilHterate classes constitute at least three- 

 fourths of the population — one hundred 

 and twelve millions who cannot read or 

 write. During the last few years there 

 has been a very rapid improvement in this 

 respect by reason of the establishment of 

 village schools, but a wise man once said 

 that "a little learning is a dangerous 

 thing," and his wisdom has been demon- 

 strated in Russia. 



The introduction of a school system 

 accounts for the remarkable spread of 

 socialistic ideas among the working 

 classes of that Empire. Kipling once said 

 that as long as a Russian muzhik wore his 

 shirt outside his trousers he was a safe 

 citizen; when he tucked it in, he became 

 dangerous to the state. The truth of that 

 quaint remark has been forcibly demon- 

 strated within the last eighteen months. 

 The Russian workmen, in the cities and 

 factory towns and the peasants in the 

 fields, who constitute four-fifths of the 

 vast population, have vague and fantastic 

 ideas of government and of the meaning 

 of the word "liberty." They will follow 

 anybody who promises to improve their 

 condition, and are merciless and vindic- 

 tive toward every one they distrust. For 

 that reason they are more dangerous and 

 destructive than the corresponding class 

 in France. 



THE peasant's need of LAND 



The peasants were formerly serfs, and 

 were emancipated by the grandfather of 

 the present Czar, who is known as Alex- 

 ander the Good. When they were given 



their freedom the government applied the 

 socialistic principle that the soil belongs 

 to the men who till it, and each family 

 was given an average of six and a quarter 

 acres of cultivated land, which was then 

 sufficient to supply their wants. The in- 

 crease of population has cut down this 

 average to three and a half acres, which 

 is not sufficient to support a family. Ac- 

 cording to experts, at least seven acres is 

 necessary to sustain an average family; 

 so that the peasant has only about half 

 the land he needs. The remainder of the 

 Empire is held in vast estates belonging 

 to the government, the crown, the mon- 

 asteries, the grand dukes, the nobility, 

 and the boyars or gentry, and only part of 

 it is under cultivation. The peasants need 

 the idle land and they demand it. They 

 have emphasized their demands with the 

 torch and the bludgeon, and during the 

 last eighteen months have destroyed sev- 

 eral hundred million dollars' worth of 

 property, including some of the finest 

 estates in the Empire, under the leader- 

 ship of demagogues, who have aroused 

 their passions and have made them insane 

 with drink. In his natural state the Rus- 

 sian peasant is honest, stupid, supersti- 

 tious, and stubborn; when he is excited 

 he becomes a savage. He has no ideals ; 

 he has no comprehension of politics ; he 

 does not comprehend the word "constitu- 

 tion," but he knows that he needs more 

 land. There is not enough vodka in all 

 the Empire to quench his thirst, and his 

 vision is limited to his own local interests. 

 The greater part of the peasants' land 

 is held in common and the fields are al- 

 loted by the village elders, who are elected 

 by the heads of families and exercise a 

 tyrannical authority over the communi- 

 ties. No peasant can sell his land or bor- 

 row money upon it; he cannot leave his 

 native place without the consent of the 

 elders. His condition of serfdom has been 



* An address to the National Geographic Society, December 14, 1906. 



