Page:The National Geographic Magazine Vol 16 1905.djvu/627

Rh ignorance of matters which are common knowledge to the rest of Europe. Side by side with the most revolutionary doctrines that would shock the most advanced of English or French radicals, there are students, like one whom I met last autumn, who simply refuse to believe that such a thing as religious freedom exists in any country in the world. These incongruities are but the result of the system of repression of ideas which, while it succeeds admirably in destroying all independent thought among the stupid masses, drives others to the wildest extremes of revolutionary ideas in politics, literature, and philosophy.";

Nijni, the site of the renowned fair, is in its decadence, although still most picturesque. Its description is worthy of perusal. It is tersely described "as a piece of mediaeval Europe and unchanging Asia, with an infusion of modernity, it is unequaled even in this land of glaring contrasts."

Provincial Russia, from Moscow southward to the Crimea, is briefly treated. The great cities are lamentable spectacles, through their absence of local patriotism, local information (many large towns have no local newspaper), and owing to the corruption and brutality of local officials. The situation is perhaps best conveyed by the statement that censorship forbids the papers of a large provincial town to publish "descriptions of love scenes, criticisms on reactionary journals, the mention of trade unions, criticisms of the acts of police officials, the mention of the name of Gorky, accounts of the religion of the Japanese, praises of Tolstoi, the word 'bureaucracy,' the names of certain diseases, the enumeration of elementary schools, facts concerning the bad organization of the local hospital and the barracks, criticisms of the articles by Krushevan (the instigator of the Kishinieff massacres)."

In the Black Sea country, one of the most fertile regions of the world, with its grain, wine, iron, coal and oil, Odessa is perhaps the most remarkable port, with a population of nearly half a million. The Jewish question is treated in the description of Odessa, where the streets, promenades, and buildings are superior, owing to the large Hebrew element, about one-third of the population, which controls chiefly the business. Of the Jews, Villari says :

"The great majority are extremely poor, and engaged in various handicrafts and small trades. One of their chief grievances lies in the obstacles placed in the way of the education of their children" (limited to one-tenth the whole number of pupils).

This rule means selection and competition, which bring forward the ablest Jewish students, who "are not infrequently elected by their fellow-students as presidents of the literary and scientific societies. . .. They generally come out with the highest honors, and those who do not go into business become lawyers or doctors, the only liberal professions open to them, and rapidly acquire the best practice. The result . .. accentuates the bitterness against them on the part of the Christians."

Their unpopularity is due to many causes, principally economic. Speculation in grain, most widespread, brings them in bad standing with the peasants, who hate the Jews, but trade with them, as they often mistrust more the Christian merchants.

He adds: "In spite of their many undesirable qualities, the Russian Jews are absolutely indispensable to the welfare of the country. Without them there would be no trade, in many districts money would not circulate, and eco- nomic activity would be paralyzed."

The industrial development of Russia, stimulated by the government, has been astonishing in the past twenty years, especially in textiles and metallurgy. These industries are divided by Villari