The Dominion. MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 1917. THE OUTLOOK IN RUSSIA

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2977, 15 January 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 1917. THE OUTLOOK IN RUSSIA

Some recent reports dealing with , political changes in Russia are disappointing, i inasmuch as they indicate that the bureaucrats and reactionaries have scored" at least a temporary ; success- When General Irepoff s resignation was announced one English commentator expressed the opinion that it probably represented a Progressive and antioerruan victory of the Duma, the al 'ii ,y j anc ' nat i° n i over the socalled dark forces which have not ' yet been eradicated from the Rus- : Sian body politic. Later informa- : tion, though it does not clear up '. the situation m all Its details, makes this particular theory untenable. ■ But tor the confusion which at first arose as to the identity of tho new Premier it could not possibly have been that his appointment represented a Progressive victory. < J-™ Prince Gautzinb placed at the ';c'ad of the Government is not, as •< was at first, reported, the member of the Council of the Empire who . J ,? s 'i . ra ° nt h outspokenly denounced : the 'anti-national forces operating in Russia, and advocated internal re- ■ forms, but an ultra-conservative. < namesake, who is stated to be op- : posed to all domestic reforms until i after the war. He is credited with i a declaration that the war must con- i tinue to complete victory, but his : reactionary principles afford some '. for misgivings. As was ] noted, in a recent article, tho war i party in Russia owes its real i Strength .not to any. section of the i bureaucracy, but to tho Progressive < majority in the Duma and to the 1 great public bodies, urban and i rural, in which Russian public opin- i ion is perhaps even better repre- ( scnted than in the Duma. A very f great proportion of those who stand I in the Duma and other public as- ' semblies for the resolute prosecution 1 of the war are advocates also of in- ! ternal reforms, the chief of which i is the creation of a Cabinet respon- ' sible to the representatives of the ] people. Though the appointment I of a reactionary Premier is not a i matter for congratulation, indica- ] tions are that if Prince Galitzine i succeeds in holding office— ; which in the light of tho ex- 1 pcrienco of the last few months is < not by any means certain—the nil- 1 ing_ conditions will be those • of i political truce, with an agree- i ment between parties otherwise i sharply opposed to concentrate upon the common effort in the war. At the moment the political out- i look in Russia is not as bright as 3 it seemed to be when it was thought ] that General Trepoff had been sue- I cceded by an active-spirited re- i former, but it does not lack hope- l ful aspects. Up to the present the ; bureaucrats have retained control of < tho actual machinery of govern- 1 ment, but they have found it neces- ] sary to acquiesce unreservedly, so < far as public utterances are con- 1 cerned, in tho popular demand for 1 a resolute prosecution of tho war. i At the same time, the fact that one 3 Premier after another has been com- < pelled to resign indicates that the ; power of the bureaucracy is waning, < and that the demand for reform is < steadily gathering head. The lat- i est explanation of General The- i ton's resignation is that it was duo i to his refusal to consent to M. 1 Protopopoff remaining in office as i Minister of the Interior, because 1 while ho remained co-operation was i impossible between tho Government ( and the _ legislative institutions. ] This implies that General Trepoff e desired to meet the Progressive ma- 1 jority in the Duma by bringing \ down a reform programme, and that 1 M. Protopopoff stood in the way. i If this explanation is in accordance < with the facts, General 1 Trepoff's < resignation, not less than that of i his reactionary predecessors, indi- i cates that the reactionaries are los- I ing ground, and are finding it in- 1 creasingly difficult to resist tho do- t mand for reform. M. Protopopoff is not a bureaucrat, and when he was appointed to his present post ( some months ago (when M. Sturmer e was Premier) his appointment was £ interpreted as a concession to the : pecgle and,to the Progressive bloc i in the Duma, of which be was a t member. It soon became evident, i however, according to an authority 1 who lately reviewed tho Russian ( political situation, that the new ( Minister of the Interior was too i impressiblo and pliable a man to ( represent adequately the aggressive, I popular majority in the Duma. He i studiously avoided committing him- t self to any programme of reform, ] and took an early opportunity of i declaring his unqualified adhesion i tothe programme of the Sturmer I Ministry. Inasmuch as that Min- j istry was unsatisfactory to the Pro- ! gressives and to the' public, M. I Protofopoff's declaration did not I • inspire tbo nation with much hope. I It was entirely satisfactory, how- I ever, to the bureaucrats and reac- 1 tionists. It was General Trepoff's 1 lot to take over the office of Pre- t mier with practically the same col- ] leagues as had acted with M. Stur- j mbe. ft is therefore not unlikely t

that in projecting a reform programme he found himself opposed, not, only by M. Pkotopopoff, but hy post of Ins other colleagues as well. It has not seemed necessary to refer hitherto to the story circulated on the authority of a German newspaper, the Lol-al Amciger, that the Tsar has decided that M, S'tultMEit shall resjumo activities as Adviser on Foreign Affairs. According to pne Lokal Anzeiger, this report originates with Russian papers, but in the absence of direct evidence the statement may bo doubted. Tho recall of M. SninjiEK would, of course, bo a definite triumph for the party of reaction, but the fact that lie was dismissed at tho demand of the Pi'Cgj'cssivo bloc in the Duma, ba-okecl and supported by the War - and Naval Ministers, suggests that he is not likely to bo recalled. Apart from this unsupported report relating to M. Stuhmeb 'all available evidence goes, as has been said, to show that the bureaucrats and reactionists aro losing ground. It has yet to bo scon whether they are capable of maintaining Piunce Galitzink in office. The matter should be put to tho test soon after the reassembling of tho Duma, which is set clown for January 25.