12 
LAND & WATER 
April 12, 1917 
enormous possioiiitles underlies this t6rse sentence. To 
believe, to hope, liowcvcr, is insufficient in Russia unless, 
the behever can speak of his beliefs, his hojx-s and 
aspirations. To progress in Russia one must not stop 
at silent ideals — they nnist be borne on wings of speech 
to the uttermost corner of the vast coimtry. M. 
Miliukoff the idealist had a two-edged sword at his 
command. 
His pen convoys all that he feels— all his reasoning. 
All the power of "the personality behind it is revealed to 
the reader, and in Russia one almost imagines that 
powerful voice is speaking loudly and clearly whilst 
the eye runs over the words and phrases. Writing to 
an American paper on March 6th, replying to Mr. Wilson's 
note to the .Allies, M. Milyukoll said : 
We heartily endorse President Wilson's pacifist schemes 
for the world's future organisation. But the only way 
is a decisive victory, as peace without victory will en- 
courage (icrmanv's strivings for the world's supreniacy, 
and will enable her to prepare militarily the territories of 
her present Allies for new aggression thus inflicting upon 
humanity a further chaos of armaments. Nobody 
wishes to crush Germany. Nor do we wish to interfere 
with German commerce, except certain aggressive tend- 
encies aiming at monopolising the world's production or 
industry. We think that our soldiers who fight and die 
in the "trenches strive for the promotion of sound prin- 
ciples of international law, based on the goodwill of 
nations, against its numberless violations by arrogant 
worshippers of mere force. We know that a growing 
majority of Americans is sympathetic with the cause of 
the Allies, and we followed with keen admiration the 
heartfelt appeals for your active participation to stop 
the slaughter by a speedy decisive victory. We did not 
make propaganda in your country, and are proud in 
thinking that whatever success the cause of the Allies 
has gained has been due to intrinsic value. Von Beth- 
mann-HoUweg's charge that you defend international 
law one-sidedlv against Germany is equal to an avowal tha 
there is no law on their side. "^ Under such conditions we 
confidently and warmly greet your coming decision to 
espouse the common cause of humanity and thus to enforce 
peace not only after the war, but during the war, by adding 
your fresh eft'ort to the immense sacrilkes borne liy the 
Allied nations. 
In speaking, whether inside or outside the Duma, 
Miliukoff does not deliver mere speeches ; so powerful 
are his orations that, notwitlistanding the reactionary 
forces against him, he has been victorious on many 
occasions. His eloquence since the outbreak of war 
has thrilled the Duma times without number. Never 
was he more successful than on the memorable November 
day when he denounced the pro-German Premier Sturmer. 
It is a classical oration and may be given in full. It 
must be borne in mind it was spoken in the Duma 
in the presence of Sturmer and his Party : 
" Gentlemen, — We have all heard of Funeral Orations, 
but have you noticed that, whatever- their aim, 
these orations always leave the dead dead ? What 
would you think, I wonder, of a man who sought, in • 
such an oration, to bring about the resurrection of 
the dead ? Mad ? I agree, yet there are times when 
such an attempt is permissible. Gentlemen, I stand 
on this tribune with that mad desire upon me. Like 
a fire this desire has burnt into my soul. I want to 
deliver an oration which will resurrect the dead, 
because the mighty Russian Empire cannot afford to 
leave dead its most precious possession. The dead, 
over which I, together with most of the Russian 
people, weep tears of blood, must be dead no 
longer. You and I must use all our powers, magic, 
witchcraft, what you will, but the dead must be 
made to live. This highest heritage of a nation, its 
honour, must not be buried. Honour is dead in 
Russia and before the whole world becomes aware of 
our dead, w^e must i>ring it to life again. 
" Do you not know that unless you act now, unless 
you use your utmost efforts, the name of Russia will 
stink in the nostrils of humanity ? Even the most 
savage tribe in the world will turn away on the 
• approach of a Russian, because Russia is about to 
■ betray the trust of her Allies. They are Allies of 
whoin she should be prond — Allies to whom she ought to 
listen with respect and obedience. They arc among the 
oldest civilisations, the oldest democracies in the world, 
and they are to lae betrayed ! Judas the traitor is 
among \is ! Judas has closed his bargain ! I under- 
stand your turmoil ; 1 read the terror in your eyes. 
Even the President's hand is quaking ! He rings his 
bell nervously ; but mark, even the bell revolts ; 
instead of its shrill sound, yOu hear a muffled funeral 
note. No, it shall not silence me ; its sound re- 
echoes in my soul and urges me to further effoit. I 
have here, gentlemen, the e\idence of Judas. E\idence 
in cold hgures — the number, of shekels, the pieces of 
silver for betrayal. A new sound cgmes out of the 
bell —the jingle of silver, the bloqd money ! Why are 
we silent ; yes, silence, our silence is golden to 
Sturmer and his colleagues. But for us, for genera- 
tions to come, that silence is a crime ; a terrible, 
bloody crime. All we shall have, to leave our descend- 
ants, when honour is buried, is disgrace, a stain that no 
time will efface. Wake up, you sons of Russia, y'pu 
who stand for the Russian people, and avert this 
greatest of all catastrophes. Rise up, dead honour, 
arise from your coftin and let us see thee live. Come, 
face thy murderer in his high place. Accuse him 
before this assembly, let thy voice thunder. Yes I am 
aflame ; but I am cold compared with the crime with 
which I charge Sturmer. I stand on this tribune 
only because you are honest and true men, and you 
wili not tolerate these things when once you know 
them. You will bring honour to life again,. and bring 
gratitude instead of contempt into the hearts of our 
children. 
" Rachel, we are told, is crying for her children, but 
if you open your ears you will hear a heart-breaking 
sob, a sob which will till you with horror. Do you 
know who it is that is crying ? Russia, the gallant, 
the brave, the Mother of us all, good and bad, is 
crying. Her heart is breaking. Are we to help her, 
we her sons ? 
" Your answer cheers me. This is the miracle for 
which I have been working. The dead has come 
to life again. Your shouts of encouragement are its 
first signs of life. With honour alive in our midst 
once more we can speak calmly. Analyse the activi- 
ties of the Sturmer ministry since its beginning. 
What were all its measures adopted for ? What 
were they meant to produce ? The dissatisfaction 
of the masses. What docs such dissatisfaction pro- 
duce ? Revolution, bloody revolution. 
"Berlin does not pay money for nothing. Sturmer 
had to earn it, and he did. He pa^ved the way for 
revolution as the means to a separate Peace. Must 
not the great Russian people be told of this ? Is it 
not better to remove the cause of their suffering ? 
Gentlemen, this traitor, this German, must go. . No 
matter what excuse be made forTiim, for the sake of 
our honour, and the trust of our Allies, Sturmer 
must go. . . ." 
From a political point of view, .almost as strong 
was the speec^i made by M. Miliukoff in the Duma 
on the eve of the Revolution. But there is hardly one 
speech delivered by him throughout his career for which 
equal importance could not be claimed. It was thegeneral 
conviction when the Revolution began that it had been 
provoked by the Government, working through the 
medium of the police, and that the Government had 
decided upon this daring expedient as the means of com- 
pleting its previous ehorts to tie up the industrial activity 
of the country and bring the war operations to a com- 
plete standstill. But the force which was set in motion 
and which first appeared easy to' control, drawing to it 
all the discordant elements of the country which were 
awaiting an opijortunity to revolt, soon became so tre- 
mendous that it was impossible to hold it. 
And behind this force, one ihay almost say the leading 
spirit of this 'fbrce, was the great mind of Miliukoff, the 
idealist and dreamer of Constitutional rights and free- 
dom. When in the calm years after the war the his- 
torian, and following him, the romancist apply their 
genius and talents to a description of Russia during the 
great war of Liberation against e:iternal and internal 
foes, I do not doubt that in every case the personality 
of Miliukoff will appear in the commanding position it 
merits as Russia's great Orator and Reformer. 
