A note on transliteration. The Library of Congress system is used in all bibliographical notation and throughout the text, except that in the text the designation for soft sign (’) has been dropped from the ends of words. Russian names which are widely known in English have been left in their popular spelling.
The Vanished Presence: Russia before 1914
On March 13, 1881, after numerous attempts, the terrorist group “Will of the People” finally succeeded in assassinating Alexander II, the “Tsar Liberator.” The hoped for collapse of the Russian government did not occur. And initially it was not fully clear what the outcome would be other than the belief among the realists that terrorism would not vanish from the Russian political landscape.
During the reign of Alexander III (1881–1894), there was a legitimate reason to believe that the nation would stabilize. Industry went into high gear, railroad construction soared, and the nation’s economy drew constant focus. These positive measures were countermanded by numerous policies aimed to lessen the impact of the Great Reforms, to further Russianize the nation, tighten the hold on minorities, and emphasize the role of the gentry. However, as Nicholas Riasanovsky correctly points out, this was precisely the class that was in decline. Political terror, as a result of severe government decrees issued in 1881, also declined.
Nicholas II (1894–1917), the last Russian tsar, has been much written about. The formalistic perceptions of him as a gracious and kind person in private, but a reactionary and limited ruler are safe to accept. Frequently vacillating, and not wishing to occupy the throne, Nicholas witnessed the demise of the Romanov dynasty and the Russian State. He was not a ruler capable of steering the nation through the turbulent years that lay ahead, particularly in that the belief in the efficacy of his autocracy continued to dominate his thought.
The Russian nation itself had frequently other agendas. Political parties and movements rose, demanding participation in government. A liberal coalition actually formed a “Union of Liberation.” Protests and strikes increased
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almost yearly. And the Revolution of 1905 evolving out of these movements is not a misnomer. Shaken by these events, particularly that of Bloody Sunday (January 22, 1905), the loss to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, and the unparalleled nationwide strikes of October 1905, the Tsar buckled and issued the famous October Manifesto. This gave the Russian people civil rights and a Duma, which in effect made Russia a constitutional monarchy. But the credibility of the Tsar and his government was very weak. Nicholas’s desire to keep the Duma subordinate certainly did not help.
From this point on until the outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914, the level of politicization in Russia was intense. Various parties and interest groups struggled for influence. The press was ablaze with every conceivable form of opinion. Social issues were intensely debated, and, after the assassination of Russia’s most capable minister, Stolypin, in 1911, the situation intensified as the government began its slide again into disarray.
Revolutionary extremism throughout the whole reign did not abate. As Anna Geifman has pointed out, over 17,000 people were either killed or wounded in assassination attempts.1 This extraordinary phenomenon, particularly when combined with other forces of politically motivated violence, had a devastating effect on the stability of the nation, already wracked by inordinate levels of dissent, problems, and an incapable government.
Curiously, in this period of great ferment, Russia was witness to a stunning cultural explosion, the fabled Silver Age. There are identifiable and innovative movements in literature, both poetry and prose, such as Symbolism and Acmeism. Music continues to excel in such major figures such as Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky, as well as the recrudescence of church choral music. Russian ballet was a sensation in Europe with Nijinsky in productions by Diaghilev. And Russian art, whether that of painting or theater set design, was truly avant-garde. Vrubel, Kandinsky, Malevich, Chagall, and Gon-charova, to name just a few, barely need introduction. As to the perception of “naming,” were we to merely list the names of writers and poets of the Silver age, the task would be dauntingly lengthy. Akhmatova, Pasternak, Mandel-stam, Bely, Sologub, Gumilev, Tsvetaeva, Blok, Mayakovsky.
Juxtaposing the cultural explosion to the feverish political turmoil is tantalizing. Was it clear in the social circumstances that a serious fissure in the body politic existed? Was the cultural flowering one that was hurtling through a limited time frame? Were there instances where the idyllic estate life still existed? Educated Russians were keenly aware of the great debates in society. The fledgling civil freedoms were savored deeply. Where Russia should move as a nation was a time concern, though perhaps one that was less keenly felt thousands of miles from the major cities. Despite all of this acuteness and
