Russia in Recent Literature 



565 



limes of Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace 

 and of Luigi Villari, the latter being an 

 original work. 



Wallace's "Russia" is an enlarged 

 edition of a work which, though it orig- 

 inally appeared thirty years since, is 

 yet recognized as a standard authority 

 upon the land of the Czars. Sir Don- 

 ald's observations of Russia now cover 

 a period of thirty-five years. 



The changes in Wallace's book are 

 very few, indicating slight modifications 

 as to discomforts of travel, scarcity of 

 good roads, absence of domestic com- 

 forts, and, above all, the continued low 

 state of the clergy. 



While stating that the younger priests 

 have aspirations for the future improve- 

 ment of the people, he speaks of the sys- 

 tem as "presenting continual simony, 

 carelessness in religious rites, and disor- 

 ders in administering the sacrament, 

 thus transforming the service of God 

 into a profitable trade." 



Of the original volume the only mate- 

 rial changes have been in the treatment 

 of local self-government, but the value 

 of the volume is largely increased by ad- 

 ditional chapters on industrial progress, 

 nihilism, socialism, and other revolu- 

 tionary movements. 



With regard to the zemstvo, now of 

 forty years standing, he expresses the 

 opinion that it is destined ' ' to play a 

 great political part in the future." 

 This system of local government has 

 suffered from restrictions on the devel- 

 opment of education, through gov- 

 ernors' suspending its action, by in- 

 creasing the representation of the bu- 

 reaucracy at the expense of the peas- 

 antry, from preventive censure as to 

 its publications, and by opposition to 

 its efforts to establish equitable taxa- 

 tion. The zemstvos in late years have 

 improved local conditions materially as 

 to hospitals and asylums, and less so 

 as to primary education, agriculture, 

 roads, and bridges. With its defects, 

 the zemstvo is ' ' infinitely better than 

 the institutions it displaced. ' ' 



The growth of nihilism and its reac- 

 tion are carefully treated. Repressive 

 measures failed to check it, the decline 

 being due to the foundation of a liberal 

 party. Nihilism found its warmest par- 

 tisans among students, whose beautiful 

 theories lacked the power of even sug- 

 gesting concrete forms. The trans- 

 formation of nihilism into socialism is 

 attributed to Tolstoi's educational re- 

 form, which brought the revolutionists 

 into closer contact with western social- 

 ism. The various phases of propaganda, 

 agitation, energetic repression, and of 

 terrorism, with its associated crimes, 

 culminated in the assassination of Alex- 

 ander II, which discredited terrorism. 



The development of manufactures 

 and the creation of a proletariat mate- 

 rially affected the revolutionary move- 

 ment, which assumed the form of social 

 democracy. Political agitationsand trade 

 unions resulted in labor troubles, but 

 the efforts of the government, through 

 legislation and its support of working- 

 men in labor disputes, failed to control 

 the situation. Father Gapon's connec- 

 tion with labor unions and his subse- 

 quent career are discussed, together 

 with his failure as a self-appointed repre- 

 sentative of the oppressed people and the 

 leader of a political revolution. 



Sir Donald admits his inability to 

 state whether the outcome will be reform 

 or revolution. He outlines Plehve's 

 repressive policy, the demands of the 

 constitutionalists, the aims of the social 

 democrats and agrarians. The liberals 

 counsel peaceful methods, while the rev- 

 olutionists resort to popular disorders. 



Considering a strong man necessary, 

 he says of Witte : ' 'As an administrator 

 he has displayed immense ability and 

 energy, but it does not follow that he is 

 a statesman capable of piloting the ship 

 into calm waters. ' ' 



The most interesting, if not most im- 

 portant, chapter is on industrial progress 

 and the proletariat. A protective tariff 

 and government support have wonder- 

 fully developed manufacturing indus- 



