I thank you, V. T., for your letter, and wish you everything that is good.
I read your letter, and thought to myself: what a pity it is that you are a Monarchist; it ill becomes you, a man with a strong will.
I cannot think otherwise, because I look upon monarchism as an error, and upon monarchism in Russia as a baneful error.
Why? First of all, because people recognise the supreme power of a single man, no different from one of themselves, and give him the sovereign right to dispose of their lives, their liberty or property, at his pleasure - it means that they efface themselves, their will and their reason, and bury their talents, so to say. Secondly, by giving one man unrestricted freedom to dispose of lives of millions of men you create a kind of God on Earth who is infallible, and give this God, created by yourselves the power to pervert and to revoke the laws of God in Heaven, in Whose exist epee you have such a firm belief.
Here in Russia, for instance, God's commandments: "Thou shalt not kill" and "Thou shalt not steal," are struck out life.
Why has the monarchical principle had such disastrous results in Russia especially?
You acknowledge yourself that the Russian "has not a strong will," and I agree with you that a strong will can only be acquired when there exists freedom of activity for man, coupled with definite aims for the future; we are deprived of the first condition, and in the majority of cases we do not recognise the necessity of the second condition.
When, some time ago, I tramped over nearly the whole of Russia in order to understand the spirit of my native people, tried to grasp its semi-pagan conceptions of God, its creative spirit as it is expressed in popular legends, songs, tales and proverbs, I witnessed the same thing everywhere: weakness of will, changeableness and instability of thought, the absence of definite aims and of real cares about the future, the regrettable inclination to ethereal day-dreaming and obscure philosophising in the Eastern manner.
All these national traits are characteristic of persons of all strata of society, look carefully and you will see that Oblomoff[1] is not only a type of a Russian landowner, he is the general type of a Russian; amongst the merchants, muzhiks, or officials you will find as many lazy Oblomoffs as you like.
It is well known that "an apple never falls far from the tree," and you in vain accuse the educated classes of Russia of Nihilism, Anarchism, and other sins; the Russian muzhik had invented Anarchism before Bakunin's time, and embraced Nihilism long before Pisareff; just look at the sect of "runners" or "pilgrims"; think over their teachings. Also observe how the muzhiks build up religious sects, and compare their method of constructing with that of the Russian political parties; you will see at once that the spirit is the same in both cases. People set to work with enthusiasm, even fanaticism, but soon cool down, split up into small sects and groups; they have ridiculous disputes with each other, not over the substance of the matter but about mere words. If we examine the shortcomings of the Russian educated classes, we see that they are born of the flesh and blood of the Russian people, but if we look at their merits, then the educated classes, judged by their heroism and the amount of work they have done, constitute a phenomenon quite without parallel in the history of Europe; it is to them that you are indebted for not being looked upon as Asiatics.
Let us take, for instance, your organisations of "truly Russian men." The authorities give you complete freedom of action, but you are unable to form a Party with a clear and definite programme; you have split up into several factions, you accuse each other of having stolen public moneys. In Moscow your business is going from bad to worse; about 30 branches have been closed, and about 40 more are to be shut down "for want of means."
Your organisations are weak everywhere; they collapse, and will continue to collapse, because what else can you, Monarchists, do except to arrange "pogroms"? What do you trouble about the disorder that is crushing the Fatherland: ignorance, drunkenness, famine, and brutality all round, which are fostered by you in league with the Government? You are miserable people, badly educated, ignorant. You don't know the history or the needs of the Russian people; you don't know anything except that you want peace at any price! Generally speaking you are people with no wills; that is why the writer Leskoff, who was no revolutionary but simply a nationalist, called you "the Slav sweepings" and "the native rubbish."