Page:The Russian Review Volume 1.djvu/201

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For the past few months Russia has been in the grip of a political reaction, with the reactionary factions holding the political stage of the country. This state of affairs is an occasion for anxious inquiries on the part of Russia's friends as to whether this can possibly be a condition of greater or less permanency, i. e., whether the reactionary parties are sufficiently powerful to hold the political power in their hands.

The political reaction, which set in after the prorogation of the Douma last September, has resulted in whole series of administrative measures and restrictions, which are hampering the tremendously useful work of such organizations as the War Industrial Committees, that attempt to turn every economic resources of the country into an agency for producing the needs of war. The Zemstvo and Municipal Unions have felt the hand the new political regime, which culminated in the appointment of State Councillor Boris V. Stunner as the President of the Council of Ministers. The new Premier's name is associated with one of the saddest pages in the history of self-government in Russia. His political career began with his active participation in the government's campaign against the liberal Zemstvo of Tver, which destroyed the spirit of that splendid institution several decades ago.

We shall attempt to analyze briefly the social and political status of these reactionary groups, their views and their program, and the chances of their survival, after the War.

For almost ten years prior to the outbreak of the European War, there existed in Russia a rather curious political situation. The policy of the government was supported by a combination of the reactionary and the conservative groups, which were entirely different in many respects, but occupied almost identical political positions. The significant part of the present situation is that the War has brought about a complete rupture between these two parties, has swept the reactionary party to the pinnacle of power, but has, at the same time, robbed it of its strength by forcing it to stand alone.

The conservative party had two well defined groups, whose