Chapter II

As a pendant to the quoted jeremiad, I shall cite another distinguished Russian publicist, whose keen observation equals his absolute truthfulness:

A filthy torrent flows over wide Russia--a torrent of savageness,
bloodthirstiness, cruelty, sexual wantonness, intoxicated
cynicism. The torrent overflows and deluges and infects all spots
of life and ruins the soul of the nation.... The man, the person
is of no value or consideration. There is no self-respect nor
respect for others. The provoked instincts know of no hold-back.
The sexual passion intermingles with the passion to torture and
to tyrannize. The atmosphere is veiled in a bloody fog. The venom
has penetrated all over, through all ranks of the population.
Bloody and shameful deeds have become an every-day occurrence not
only among the higher society--army officers, bureaucrats,
noblemen, cultured and uncultured capitalists; you meet with the
same crimes likewise among the poor urban populace, among the
lower strata, the so-called "masses"; similar dramas occur also
in the village.... The same all over. Everywhere the nonchalance
disposition. Everywhere the morbid passion in the first place. "I
want--and I must. And to the devil with the whole world and with
myself."

Exaggeration? Hardly.

The Russian dailies give amazing material for the student of sociology. The impartial chronicling of daily events tells us a dreadful story of a people that have lost every sense of moral sensitiveness and value of life. Facts of wildest debauchery and corruption, murder and suicide, defloration and parricide, to the accompaniment of governmental executions, hanging and shooting, fill up column after column of the periodical press. A Russian journalist remarks:

And this is our every-day life. This occurs every day, every
hour. It is not any more a sensation or a crying extraordinary
occasion that awakens general attention and astonishment. It
is--daily happenings. It is the general tone of our life.
Oftentimes one does not notice such items of news--so trivial
have they become. "Ah, another bloody drama! How tedious, by
God!" And the "citizen" lays aside the paper with a dull yawn.

Such is life in that strange country, and consequently such is its literature, life's mirror, its product and interpretation.