Chapter XX: Appendix: III

Maxime Gorky, the Russian novelist, wrote the following letter to the Kishineff Relief Committee:

“Russia has been disgraced more and more frequently of recent years by dark deeds, but the most disgraceful of all is the horrible Jewish massacre at Kishineff, which has awakened our horror, shame, and indignation. People who regard themselves as Christians, who claim to believe in God’s mercy and sympathy, these people, on the day consecrated to the resurrection of their God from the dead, occupy the time in murdering children and aged people, ravishing women, and martyring the men of the race that gave them Christ.

“Who bears the blame of this base crime, which will remain on us like a bloody blot for ages? We shall be unable to wash this blot from the sad history of our dark country. It would be unjust and too simple to condemn the mob. The latter was merely the hand which was guided by a corrupt conscience, driving it to murder and robbery. For it is well known that the mob at Kishineff was led by men of cultured society. But cultivated society in Russia is really much worse than the people, who are goaded by their sad life and blinded and enthralled by the artificial darkness created around them.

“The cultivated classes are a crowd of cowardly slaves, without feeling of personal dignity, ready to accept every lie to save their ease and comfort; a weak and lawless element almost without conscience and without shame, in spite of its elegant exterior. Cultivated society is not less guilty of the disgraceful and horrible deeds committed at Kishineff than the actual murderers and ravishers. Its members’ guilt consists in the fact that not merely did they not protect the victims, but that they rejoiced over the murders; it consists chiefly in committing themselves for long years to be corrupted by man-haters and persons who have long enjoyed the disgusting glory of being the lackeys of power and the glorifiers of lies, like the editor of _Bessarabetz_ of Kishineff and other publicists. These are the real authors of the disgraceful and awful crime of Kishineff. To all the shameful names hitherto given to these repulsive men must be added another, and the well-deserved one, of ‘instigators of pillage and murder.’ These hypocrites, with the name of God on their lips, who preach in Russian society hatred of the Jews, Armenians, and Finns, to-day heap base and cowardly calumnies upon the corpses of those killed through their influence, and they shamelessly continue their hateful work of poisoning the mind and feeling of the weak-willed Russian society.

“Shame upon their wicked heads! May the fire of conscience consume their decayed hearts, covetous only of lackey-like honours and slavishly obsequious to power!

“It is now the duty of Russian society that is not yet wholly ruined by these bandits, to prove that it is not identified with these instigators of pillage and murder. Russian society must clear its conscience of part of the shame and disgrace by helping the orphaned and desolated Jews and assisting these members of the race which has given to the world many really great men and which still continues to produce teachers of truth and beauty in spite of its oppressed condition in the world.

“Come, therefore, all who do not want themselves to be regarded as the lackeys of the lackeys, and who still retain their self-respect; come and help the Jews!”