Page:Russian Realities and Problems - ed. James Duff (1917).djvu/57

 constitution—the Upper House is included—are "protected" by fundamental laws, and the initiative in every important change belongs to the Monarch.

What then does this Upper House represent? I am afraid it is a chamber unique in the world. Half the members are nominated by the Tsar, chiefly from former officials. I do not wish to be disrespectful. Many glories of the past are contained in our Upper Chamber. But as our historical life began late and develops quickly, one is startled to see under the peaceful roof of the Marinsky Palace men and names which remind one of political standards long since doomed to oblivion, and of political experiments proved inadequate by painful failures. Too much of the past surviving in the present makes one feel uneasy. Of course, it would be unjust not to mention that there are many excellent legislators amongst the Councillors, men of profound knowledge and very large experience, perfectly acquainted with the technicalities of legislation. But there is one circumstance which prevents them from being able to express their mind freely and independently and makes them bow to the average standard of the assembly. Every nominated member of the Upper House can be removed from the House by the simple process of omitting his name from the list published at the beginning of every year.

The elected half of the members of the Council of Empire represents by a large majority the class of large landed proprietors, the most influential part of the Russian nobility. The nobility is represented directly by eighteen members as well as indirectly through the representatives of the Zemstvos, who number fifty.