Page:Michael Farbman - Russia & the Struggle for Peace (1918).djvu/81



HAVE now to deal with the most important but at the same time the most delicate problem of all. I have to try to explain how it came about that the Russian Army disintegrated.

The Russian soldier has been very much praised during the war. From the time of the reckless dash of the Russian Army into East Prussia in a true spirit of comradeship in order to save Paris, all hearts were open to the Russian soldier in the Entente countries. Thus, the Russian soldier became the hero of French and English men and women. But since the Revolution nobody has been more blamed and insulted in France and Great Britain than the Russian soldier. It is the Russian soldier who "will not fight," and has "sold Russia" and let down her Allies. It is the Russian soldier who has destroyed Russia's railways and plunged Russia into anarchy and chaos.

As a matter of fact, just as there was probably too much praise for the Russian soldier during the first three years of the war, so there has undoubtedly been too much blame in the past year. Instead of praising or blaming him, it is necessary to try to unveil the mystery of the Russian soldier, to try to understand what he was and how he lived, and what were the effects of the war upon him. One thing is certain: people in this country not only do not know anything about the Russian soldier—they have not the least idea of even a rough standard of comparison by which to judge him. Some people of course believe, in their simplicity, that all soldiers and all armies are more or less alike. They therefore imagine that the Russian soldier is similar to the British, French, or American soldier. Others, who happen to know that the