Jews -- Russia -- Politics and government; Russia -- Politics and government -- 1894-1917
The refusal of the Russian people to be either bribed or deceived into
hostility to the Jews is clearly enough demonstrated by the feeling
of affection on the part of most intelligent Jews towards the Russian
people. The only exceptions are those Jews which come from the Polish
cities far within the Jewish Pale and do not know the Russian people
except by hearsay. Unfortunately, this is a considerable portion of
the total of the Jews in Russia, and it is from these cities and towns
in the heart of the Pale that most of our immigrants come. But all the
more educated Jews--and a very large part are educated--all those who
know Russia either by a travel or through Russian literature and
newspapers, feel a deep affection for their country, for in spite of
all, Russia belongs to them just as much as it does to other Russians.
One of the editors of the present volume, Fyodor Sologub, says:
"Whenever I met Russian Jews abroad, I always marvelled at the
strangely tenacious love for Russia which they preserve. They speak of
Russia with the same longing and the same tenderness as the Russian
emigrants; they are equally eager to return and equally saddened, if
the return is impossible. Wherefore should they love Russia, who is
so harsh and inhospitable toward them?"
It is useless for Americans to deceive themselves into thinking that
the Russian Jewish question is either unimportant or incomprehensible
from the point of view of our progress and democracy. Do we not have
our negro and Asiatic problems? Do not the English have their Irish
and Indian questions? I do not suggest that the parallel is complete,
but it is clear that the Russian writers in the present volume are
perfectly correct in referring both to our negro question and our
question of yellow labour as closely similar to their Jewish problem.
Both the brilliant and fascinating discussions by Andreyev and
Merezhkovsky will apply almost as well to any other so-called "race
question" as to that of the Russian Jews. Says Merezhkovsky:
"We would like very much to say that there is no such thing as the
Jewish, Polish, Ukrainian, Armenian, Georgian, question; that there is
only one question--the Russian. Yes, we would like to, but we cannot;
the Russian people have yet to earn the right to say that, and therein
lies their tragedy...."
"'Judophilism' and 'Judophobia' are closely related. A blind denial of
a nationality engenders an equally blind affirmation of it. An
absolute 'Nay' naturally brings forth an absolute 'Yea.'"
"That is why we say to the 'Nationalists': 'Cease oppressing the
non-Russian element of our empire, so that we may have the right to be
Russians, and that we may with dignity show our national face, as that
of a human being, not that of a beast. Cease to be 'Judophobes' so
that we may cease to be 'Judophiles.''"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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