Page:Russian Realities and Problems - ed. James Duff (1917).djvu/137



It would not be right to say that the Nationalities of Russia are entirely unknown in England. During the last few years especially a great deal has been said and written about a number of the nationalities under Russian rule. The Finnish, Polish, Armenian, Jewish and Georgian questions have all been discussed in England. But there is one disadvantage in the mode of discussion that has hitherto prevailed in this country. These questions have been viewed not as a whole, but in segments. They have been seen as moments, as phases in some great dim struggle of which the full meaning is hardly realised. Most of the questions have been dealt with from a purely political point of view. The sufferings of Finns, Armenians, and other nationalities of Russia have been loudly proclaimed. We have heard of their grievances, we have heard the voice of their complaint, but we have rarely heard, the voice of their joy or the accents of their daily life.

Now I do not think we can fully understand the meaning of any one of these questions, if it is wrested entirely from its context. Appeals have been made to our human instincts. The generous sympathies of English men and English women have been enlisted on