The memoirs of Count Witte; Translated from the orginal Russian manuscript and edited by Abraham Yarmolinsky - Softcover
Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1921 edition. Excerpt: ...of what happened later would have been avoided. The peasantry would not have been as deeply stirred up by the revolution as it actually was. The agrarian disturbances would have been greatly reduced in scope and violence, and many innocent lives saved. Naturally, Goremykin's conference failed to interest anyone, and resulted in nothing. As for our conference, it left behind a vast contribution to Russian economic literature in the form of memoranda written by competent members of local committees and well-digested systematic material relating to the various sides of Russia's economic life. The general impression an investigator derives from all this material is that in the years 1903-1904, one definite idea fermented the minds of the people, namely that to avoid the miseries of a revolution, it was necessary to carry out a number of liberal reforms in keeping with the spirit of the times. It was this feature of the activity of the conference that accounts for its dissolution. When the revolution broke out, the Government, in its agrarian policy, was forced to go much beyond what was projected by the Agricultural Conference. But it was too late. The peasant problem could no longer be solved by way of liberal reforms. It assumed an acute, a revolutionary form. All revolutions occur because governments fail to satisfy in time the crying needs of the people and remain deaf to them. No Government can neglect these needs with impunity. For many years our Government kept blazoning forth with great pomp that it had the people's needs at heart, that it was constantly striving to render the peasantry happy, etc., etc. All that was mere lip service. Since the death of Alexander II, the Government's treatment of the peasants has been determined by the...
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