REACHING THE CLIMAX.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 March 1917, Page 6

REACHING THE CLIMAX.

EVENTS LEADING TO THE RUSSIAN UPHEAVAL. A LONG AND BITTER STRUGGLE. BUREAUCRACY v. DEMOCRACY. In the course of an article on "The Political Upheaval in Russia," in the January issue of "Current History," the well-known writer Isaac Don Levine states: — Russia is at present emerging from one of the most vital crises in her tempestuous history. The long and bitter struggle between Russian bureaucracy and democracy is at a stage where al! judications point to the latter's triumph. Indeed, the victories already attained by the people through their representative—the Duma—and the definite consequences of these victories are absolutely without parallel in the annals of modern Russian political history. The crisis in Russian national life, which reached its climax at the opening of the Imperial Duma and Council on 14th November, was the result of a series of events which occurred in the Slavic Empire in recent months. The chief perpetrator of these events was Boris Stunner, the deposed Prime Minister. A reactionary of the strongest dye, he brought Russia to the brink of revolution through his internal and foreign policies. Sturmer, appointed to the Premiership in February, 1916, began his Ministerial career with a drive against the popular forces making headway in Russia. He inaugurated, first of all, a new crusade against the already muzzled press. The military censorship grew in rigidity steadily and extensively during his administration. The curbing of the public opinion was not, however, the only step taken by the Premier in his campaign to deprive Russian democracy of the power it had already won in the direction of the nation's fortunes. . . His bureaucrats demonstrated their defects so promptly that their dismissal soon became a necessity. As a result of this, some Ministries changed heads three or four times during the course of 1915. These Ministerial changes provoked much feeling in the popular ranks, for tliev could bring nothing but harm to the interests of the nation, as they were impeding the Government's activities. DUMA'S PREROGATIVE THREATENED. Another serious cause of unrest was the Government's encroachment upon the prerogatives of the Duma. There is an article in the constitution of the Russian Parliament, known as Article 87, which permits the Government to enact laws without the help of the Duma. The Government has always nWe much use of this article, but never as much as in the last few months. Stunner took advantage of the long intermission in the session of the Duma to pass some very obnoxious and revolting measures. One of these was more than a mere blow at democracy; it was a dangerous stab at the vitals of the Russian nation.

What is the most vital tiling in Russian national life at this moment? It is the resolute and unanimous intent to prosecute the war to a successful issue. Russian democracy patiently stood the suffering inflicted upon it by the bnrcaii(irata for the sake of unity and victory. For it is in victory that the.people of Russia sec the promise of a new, regenerated eM'ntry. The fight for internal political reformation has been postponed by all the radical elemcnls in the Empire in order to win the war. But the Government proved itself not very eager to labor for thin object. The actions of Stunner showed that the bureaucracy was mdre intcrctrd in losing than in winning the war. The Russian people have not depended on their Government to win the war. After the crtllapse that followed the invasion of Poland and Lithuania by the Teutons. Russian democracy rose to the succour of the army that had jailed bocause of the (iovernmeiu's incompetence. Vast orsanisations have been created. The All-Russian Zomslvo Union, the Union of Municipalities, the War industry Committee, and many other popular bodies ar,e helping the War Ministry in its work of equipping, supplying, and caring for the army.

A BLOW BITTERLY RESENTED. It w at these vital organs that Premicr Sturmer struck a blow which filled Russia with rage and rebellion. In April the Cabinet announced its decision to forbid national conferences and conventions of the various social organisations. The pretext for this decision was that these bodies were engageM in revolutionary activities. Prince Lvoff, the head of the All-Russian Zemstvo Union, thereupon addressed a protest to General Shuvaveff, War Minister, who was known to he in sympathy with the popular orsanisations.

But"the War Minister could not revoke the Cabinet's order. He could only refer the protests for the consideration of Cabinet, which he did. It was the answer of the Cabinet to these prtoests that made Eussia stand aghast, full of indignation. A circular was issued by the Governwent on October 4, which put all meetings, councils, conferences held by social bodies under the supervision of the police.

No other construction could have been put on this act of Stunner than a desire to hamper the progress made by the people towards the winning of the war. In any event, this was the way Russia interpreted the Premier's act. Had this been the sole movement in the direction of contradicting the popular will and state of mind, events might have shaped themselves quite differently. But Sturmer had already had to his credit at least three major deeds that served to enhance the suspicion with which his attitude toward the war and its objects \vn» regarded throughout Russia. RESIGNATION OF SAZONOFF. | The first of these three factors was the resignation of SazanofT u? Foreign Minister. His retirement was a deep wound to the Russian people. But it w«p the consequence of his retirement t'ttt reverberated most profoundly iii the Russian heart. For the portfolio of Foreign Minister was taken »r«j by Stunner. This Russia could not b**r calmly. The fact that Stunner was y ftaoendatit of the Baltic Germans was jB Uaalf responsible for many disquieting reports. The fact that soon after Sturmer resumed office rumors of a seI p»r»U peace between Russia and the

Central Powers began to fill the world was portentous enough. The fact that there is known to exist a certain group the the Russian court favoring the conclusion of a separate peace was never lost sight of by those who guard and lead the various forces of popular Russia. APPOINTMENT OF PROTOPOPOFF,

And then something happened that made the possibility look like a probability. This was llie appointment of A. D. Protopopoff as Minister of the Interior. Protopopoff, a wealthy landlord ami manufacturer, associated witll certain Petrograd banks, was never a political leader in the Russian sense of the word. He is a politician in the American interpretation of the word, i.e., a man of ambition, a builder of a career, a, seeker of the spectacular and vainglorious. Thanks to his shrewdness and all'ability he managed to become a member of the Duma and one of its vice-presidents. He bolonged to the Octobrist party, which is the central group of the Progressive Bloc that comprises the majority of the Deputies. He got into the limelight, however, only last summer, when he headed the Russian Parliamentary Delegation to Western Europe. It was on his way home, while in Stockholm, that A. D. Protopopofi' met

in conference an attache of the German Legation there. AVhen this fact leaked out it created a sensation in Russia.. True, Protopopoff apparently proved that the conference took place at the initiative of the German Ambassador in Sweden. But the fact of the conferencewas in itself an indictment. At lea-st the Society of 1914, which aims to destroy all German influence and activity in Russia, and which includes among its members Russia's leading public men, so regarded it.

This society maintains an open black list. The name of any public man found guilty of relations with Germany is recorded there. The Propaganda and Coltiinerce Committees of the society took up the charge of Germanophilism made in the press against Protopopoff, investigated them, and recommended the blacklisting of Protopopoff to the Executive Council. At this juncture, to the profound astonishment of the nation. Protopopoff was appointed Minister of the Interior. It was a perplexing, confusing, mysterious move on the part of Sturmer. No more surprising appointment was ever made by the Czar.

Those who interpreted Protopopoffs entrance into the Cabinet as signifying a change for the better were soon disillusioned. He announced his programme as that of Sturmer. He donned a gendarmerie uniform, which no Minister had worn, not even the arch reactionaries Duniovo and Stolypin, since the days of von Ploehve, who was assassinated in 1904. Protopopoff turned away from the principles of the Progressive Bloc to which he belonged. He became an, object of derision through these actSf. He also became an object of suspicion when the Executive Council of the Society of 1914 decided at its meeting on October 3, soon after Protopopoff's high appointment, to present before the general meeting the recommendation to black-list him. The effect of this decision on the nation

was tremendous. The three most important posts in the Empire—the Premiership and the Ministries of Internal ami Foreign Affairs, were held by two men suspected of pro-Germanism.

THE PROBLEM OF POLAND. In addition to the Sazanoff and Protopopoff factors there arose one mote condition. This was the Government's attitude towards the Polish problem. When Germany and Austria jointly announced early in November the creation of the Polish kingdom, the effect on Russia was enormous. The opposition to the Government gained powerful impetus. On top of all this, an economic condition arose that carried more danger with it to the Government than all the political factors combined. This was tin chaos in the food supply organisation of the country. Russia has been suffering from the high cost of living more than any other country in the world. Prices of some articles reached fabulous proportions. But when leather was selling at premiums the Russian turned to rags and wooden sandals to protect his feet. When kerosene was selling at prohibitive prices, tallow candles again became popular. Sugar was dispensed with by a large part of the population.

FACED BY STARVATION. But a time came when the country suddenly found itself without bread. A famine was threatening the na-.'ori in the fall, and this in spite of the fact that Russia bad hundreds of millions of surplus bushels of grain. Where was that vast surplus? It was not for sale. The peasants, the landlords, and espeeiallv speculators, held it back.

What was the reason for this? It was a clumsy attempt made by the Government to solve the bread problem by fixing prices. The prices fixed by the Government were too low. The owners of the bread would not sell it. Meanwhile, starvation was staring into the eves of the nation.

To add to the confusion, the Government empowered local officials with requisitional powers for the army. As a result the chaos was increased. In one province, for instance, the Governor hold back 50,000,000 bushels of grain. The army demanded of him only five of those millions, yet the rest was meantime out of the reach of the market. When the state of mind throughout the country Teachcd a menacing degree, when the cry for a solution of the bread problem was raised from all corners of the Empire, the Government lost its head completely. The Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for the Interior were fighting for control of the food situation.

It was at this point that the Governments incompetence reached a revolting, point, for the Cabinet eouid not make up its mind what to do with the food supply question. Vacillation from one plan to another consumed days and weeks. The exasperation of the nation knew no bounds.

Dark rumors of revolt began to fill the country. Only the fact that the Duma was to meet on Novembir 14, and that the leaders everywhere counselled patience till the Duma's meeting, controlled the passions of the excited nation.

STORMY SCENES IN THE DU.\M. Such was the state of affairs in Russia at the opening of the Duma. The political and economic conditions furnished the- basis of the most concerted attack ever made in Russia against the Government. All factions ami groups j lined in it. Socialist and extreme react »[.«'•)' united in denouncing the Government. By far the most remarkable phase <f the crisis was the unprecedented union. The Black Hundreds, who were instrumental in the origination of the pogroms and massacres a short time ago; the reactionary alndlord's and capitalists of the Conservative parties, the moderate Octobrists, the liberal Constitutional Democrats, the radical Labor Party, and the

Socialists, all presented one solid wall of opposition. The President of the Duma, M. Rodzianko, a moderate progressive, made the first speech at the opening session. The speaker exposed the most important of all the Government's faults, making the strivingfor a separate speech his subject. His allusions to it were accompanied by thunderous outbursts of applause. The Premier and the Cabinet left the Duma after Rodaianko's utterance. The Allied Ambassadors were accorded a tremendous ovation at the speaker's reference to their countries. The attack on the Government was expressed in the following words by the President of the Duma:— "The foremost duty of the Duma is to make a calm and thorough valuation of the situation, and to remove, immediately that which ought not to be and which interferes with the nation's only marked aim. The iwar must be won at all costs and risks; this, pur national conscience and national honor demand. This not only our national safety but the welfare of the future generations demands. With the help of God we shall attain it. . . , But what are the paths leading to that goal? We all know them—Order within the country, faith in our powers, firmness of spirit, and the truth firmly stated here, within these walls.

The Government must learn from us what the country needs. In the course of a struggle and an exertion of national faculties the spirit of the country must not be dampened by unnecessary restrictions. The Government must not follow a path different from the people. With the confidence of the nation it must head the social forces in the march toward victory over the enemy along the path that harmonises with the aspirations of the people. There is no other path to be followed. Any deviation from it means delaying success and postponing victory. .... In close union with our allies 'we wage the bloody conflict. . . It is necessary to remember here that there is no discord among us Our friendship is still developing and growing firmer. There is no trick to which our enemy will not resort with the treacherous object of wrecking our alliance. In vain,, however, are his efforts. In vain bis hostile intrigues. Russia gave her word to fight in common with the Allies till complete and final victory is won. Russia will not betray her friends, and with contempt refuses any consideration of a separate peace. Russia will not be traitor to those who are fighting side by side with her sons for a great and just cause."

ATTACKS BY POPULAR LEADERS. ■But the voice of the people was yet to be heard from the tribune of the j)utna. Eudzianko's diplomatic utterance lacked the bluntness and directness of the attacks that followed. The declaration of the Progressive Bloc, which consists of a majority of members, briefly touched upon all the misfortunes that had befallen Russia in the course of the Sturmer administration, and concluded with the statement: "In the interests of victory (lie- present Government must give place to one united by a single mind and, ready to act with the support of the Duma, and to carry out the Duma's programme." In all the utterances made in the Duma, one note was ever present—the necessity of the resignation of Stunner. Another demand was the creation of a Cabinet having the confidence of the Duma, i.e., the setting up of a responsible Ministry. With these two demands the Duma began a demonstration against the Government that was to last as long as it was in, power. The fight between bureaucracy and democracy had. thus narrowed clown to a most spectacular eontest between the Prime Minister and the Duma. While the Duma protested, the Government suppressed for publication most of what was said in the Duma. The third day of the Duma's, attacK on the Government found Russia in suspense. Stunner threatened to dissolve the Parliament. A united nation, strained to the utmost, watched with alarm for the next move. It came from an unexpected quarter, in an unexpected maimer, dramatically sealing the fate of Stunner as Premier.

GENERAL SHUYAYEFF'S &PEF.CH. On November 2" there suddenly appeared in the Duma the Ministers of War and Marine, General Shuvaycff and Admiral Grigorovitch. They announced that they had n statement tu make. The War' Minister said in part:

"As the President of the Duma has said, we must win at all costs and risks. This is the demand of our country's welfare, to which everything else is subordinate. As an old soldier, I evpross my fullest conviction that we shall win. There is no power on earth that could vanquish tiie Russian Empire.''

The Minister of Marine briefly stated to the Duma that he came there to support the War Minister in his declaration that "the nation's defence demanded our united and co-operative effort." The Duma never witnessed such a scene as that which followed the Minister's speeches.

The salient fact about the event was pointed out by Paul Milinkov, leader of the Constitutional Democrats, to a newspaper correspondent. He said: "The War and Marine Ministers have declared themselves on the side of the Duma and the people. We, on our part, have said that 'the- Duma is with the army and the people." THE DUMA'S GREAT VICTORY. The chief result of this historic moment in the life of Russia was that the army, hitherto the support of the bureaucracy, openly declared through its representatives its union with and support of the democracy. The Government was paralysed. It was helpless without the army. The only thing to do was to give in. Stunner resigned. "The. Duma has won the first victory," said M. Adjomov, a leading Deputy. ',lt is as yet a far ci-y to the satisfaction of all our demands; but it is the first time in the history of Russia's Parliament that Government heads have openly given to it their mora! support." The Duma, therefore, caused the fall of the Prime Minister. This was the first case of its kind. Rut the Duma was not. satisfied. It wanted a "responsible Ministry," one having the confidence of the people. It was therefore rather disappointed when Alexander Foodorovitch TrepofT, Minister of Communications, was promoted by the Czar to the post held by Stunner. Trcpoff is a man of much broader vision than his predecessor. The first thing he did was to unmuzzle the press. In his declaration in the Duma he definitely and firmly declared the Governments resolution to continue the war to the end. ' DARDANELLES TO BE RUSSIAN. Undoubtedly to allay the passions of the, nation, Trepoff announced that by an agreement concluded in 1015, and subsequently adhered to by Italy, the Allies definitely established Russia's right to Constantinople and the Dardanelles. He, also announced' Russia's decision to

grant full autonomy to Greater Poland. He said in part :,

"The Government's immediate programme must be directed to winning a complete and conclusive victory, cost what it may. The war must continue till German militarism is destroyed beyond all possibility of recrudescence in the early future. The war must be crowned by victory not only over .the enemy without but the enemy within. The war has opened the eyes of the people, and they realise now that Russian industry, education, science and art have been under the voke of Germanism. . .

Remember that,"however cruel the enemy blows may be, the final victory is ours. It is surely approaching us. Let us march united to meet it." The food crisis, the acute internal and foreign political questions, all that which was chiefly responsible- for the political upheaval that shook Russia to its foundations, was settled for the time being by Tropoff. But the crisis is not passed yet. A great political principle, arouna which Russia rallied in the critical days, is not yet settled. The issue as to whether Russia is to have a Ministry responsible to the Duma, i.e., whether Russia will become a truly constitutional country with a parliamentary form of government, is still at stake.

IMPERIAL COUNCIL CONVERTED.

There is in Russia, besides the Duma, also an upper chamber, called the Imperial Council. Half of its members are appointed by the Czar from former Ministers and high tchinovniks. The other half is chosen by the wealthy landlords and capitalists and by the educational institutions of the country. The Imperial Council was always supporting the Government in the past, disregarding the figures who were at the helm of it. Russia never looked for aid, relief or initiative to come from that body. The best measure of the tremendous political upheaval that Russia is under.;uiiig can, therefore, be had from the fact that the Imperial Council, by an overwhelming majority, allied itself'with the Duma. When the Council convened, on November 14, the Government was attacked there with unprecedented violence. The Polish Deputy Shebeko, in a brilliant speech that was met with stormy approval, attacked the Government for its vacillation and inaction in reference to the Polish problem. At one of the first sessions an interesting incident occurred. A Government Bill providing for the reorganisation of a certain technical institute was taken up. An amendment to the Bill read that in accordance with the custom of sixty-five years Jews are not to be admitted to the institute. The Government representative defended this clause. When the Council voted on it, it was rejected by G5 against G3.

The Imperial Council is the very foundation of the Government. The significance of its allying itself with the Duma is incalculable. Its support of such u radical demand as a "responsible Ministry" proves how profoundly Russia has been affected by the bloo'dless revolution.

THE IMPERIAL FAMILY.

HISTORY OF THE ROMANOFFS. Nicholas 11, Emperor of All the Russias, was born on the (Ith May, 18G8, the eldest son of the late Emperor Alexander 111, and of Princess Dagmnr, daughter of the late King Christian IX of Denmark. He ascended the throne on October 20, 1894, and on November 14 in that year was married to Princess Alexandra Alix, daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse (horn May 25th, 1872). He has one son, the Grand Duke Alexis, who is the heir to the throne, and four daughters, all older than the son. Their names are Olga, Tatiana, Marie, and Anastasia.

The reigning family of Russia descend, in the female line, from Michael Romanoff, elected Czar in 101:1, after the extinction of the House of Rurik; and in the male line from the Duke Karl Friedrich, of Holstein-Gottorp, born in 1700. scion of a younger branch of the princely family of Oldenburg. The union of his daughter Anne with Duke Karl Fricdrich, of Holstein-Gottorp, formed part of the great reform projects of Peter I, intended to bring Russia into closer contact with the western states of Europe. Peter I was succeeded by his second wife, Catherine, the. daughter of a Livonian peasant, and she by Peter 11, grandson of Peter 1, with whom the mate line of the Romanoffs terminated in the year 1730. The reign of the next three sovereigns of Russia, Anne, Ivan VI, and Elizabeth, of the female line of Romanoffs, formed a transition period, whicft came to an end with the accession of Peter 111, of the house-of Holstein-Gottorp. All the subsequent Emperors, without exception, connected themselves by marriage with German families. The wife and successor of Peter 111, Catherine 11. daughter of Prince Anlmlt Zerbst, general in the Prussian army, left the crown

to lier only son, Paul, wlio became the father of two emperors, Alexander 1 and Nicholas, and the grandfather of a third, Alexander 11. All these sovereigns married German princesses, creating an intimate family alliances, among other?, with the reigning houses of Wurtemberg, Baden, and Prussia. The Emperor is in possession of the revenue from the Crown domains, consisting of more than a million square miles of cultivated land and forests, besides gold and other mines in Siberia, and producing a vast revenue, the aclu.U amount of which is. however, unknown, as no reference to the subje ts is made in the budgets or finance accounts, the Crown domains being considered the private property of the Imperial family.

The Grand Duke Michael Alexaiidroviteh is the Czar's only brother, and was born in 1878.

THE CZAR IN POLITICS AND WAP. i The Czar of Russia occupies a position | unique among the monarehs of Europe. ! He is not the "limited monarchy" that , the King of England is; nor is he the ! sabre-rattling military dcmi-god and , blusterer that the Kaiser is. The llussian peasant calls him his "Little Father," with a sublime faith only possible from a failure to comprehend the facts, and a firm belief ;ir the paternal attitude of the Czar. Actually, Nicholas It has been little more than a shadowy figure to the vast majority of his subjects, and even the reading public has heard more about family details and stories of his youth than of his actual Kingship. He was.never a man of outstanding character, and though he had, like all heirs-apparent to the Russian throne, a certain amount of military training, his personal ta-tes did not lie in that direction, and he never indulged in any of the boisterousness to which his position in St. Petersburg might have encouraged him. After his coronation, says the Encyclopaedia Britannicn, "he followed in the footsteps of his father, seeking to preserve pence in foreign relations and continuing in home alfan.., though in n much milder form, the policy of centralisation and Russificatiou I which had characterised the previous I reign. His pacific tendencies were shown by his systematic opposition to .all bellicose excitement, by his maintaining M. de Giers in the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs, by his offering the post, on the death of that statesman, to M. de Staal; by' his restraining France from dangerous adventures, and by initiating the Peace Conference at The 'Hague. To those ought, perhaps, to be added the | transformation of the Franco-Russian I entente cordial into a formal alliance, since the alliance in question might be regarded as favorable to the preservation ; of the status quo in Europe. In the in- | ternal administration during the first i years of his reign, he introduced, by his personal influence and without any great change in the laws, a more humane spirit towards those of his subjects who did not belong by language and tradition to the dominant nationality, and who were not members of the Eastern Orthodox Church; but he disappointed the men of liberal views by giving it to be clearly understood soon after his accession that he had no indention of circumscribing or weakening the constitutional power by constitutional guarantees of Parliamentary institutions. In spite, however, of liia desire for peace, he let his country drift .into disastrous war with Japan; and notwithstanding his sincere attachment to the principles of bureaucratic autocracy, it was he who granted the constitutional reforms which altered the whole political outlook in Russia. | In his relation to the great war, the i Czar has stood out in considerable rei lief. He was, in a sense, almost as much ! the mouthpiece of Russia as Wilhelm II | was of Germany at the outbreak of hostilities, and the nation turned solidly to him as its guiding spirit. One of his most famous acts during the war was the issue of the edict which prohibited, not during the war, but for ever, the sale of vodka within the Empire. This was an extraordinary thing, for the State, having a monopoly of the manufacture of the spirit, thereby sacrificed an enormous amount of revenue. But the results have justified the edict in every way, so that the benefit achieved has been considered to outweigh, ultimately, even the disaster of the war itself. But still more important was the Czar's entry into the actual field of military operations. Following upon the tremendous retreat of the Russians in 1915, when events on land had struck heavily at the nation's optimism, the Czar personally took ovci the Commandership-in-C'hief of the nrmv and navy. By that act he symbolised to liia people, in a way which they understood much more fully than could the Western people, the essential unity of the Russian people. And no political turmoil in the Empire has ever hinted at any change in tho heart of the nation, whose determination to fight to a finish has been repeatedly voiced by its lato monarch.

When the puma was instituted, a law was promulgated establishing as an un-

alterable rule that no law sliall come into effect without the approval of the Duma, aud that to the elected of the people shall he guaranteed the possibility of a real participation in the control of the legality of the acta of suoh authorities as are appointed by the Emperor. The Duma consists of members elected for live years, and representing the Governments of provinces and the greatest cities—Petrograd, Moscow, Warsaw, Kiev, Lodz, Odessa and Riga. The election of the Deputies is indirect, and is made by the electoral bodies of Die chief towns of governments or provinces, and of the greatest cities, composed of delegates chosen by the distric! or town elective assemblies. Members of the Duma are paid ten roubles (£1) per day during session, and once a year travelling expenses to and from Petrograd. Under a Manifesto and Ukases published on March G, 1900, the Council of Empire consists of an equal number of elected members and members nominated by the Emperor, convoked and prorogued annually by Imperial Ukase. The elective members of the Council are eligible for nine years, a third of the number being elected every three years. This body represents the local governments of districts, the Church, scientific academies and universities, the chambers of commerce, nobles, and landed proprietors. All members of the Council must have attained their fortieth year, and have an academical degree. The President and VicePresident- are appointed by the Czar. The elective members of the Council receive an honorarium of 25 roubles ( £2 13s) per day during the session. The Council of Empire and the Duma have equal legislative powers, and the same right of initiative in legislation, and of addressing questions to Ministers. Every measure before being submitted for Imperial sanction must be passed by both the Duma and Council of Empire, and all such as are rejected by one of the. legislative institution's must not be laid before the Czar at all.