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THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 49
whose ordinary life was formerly confined to work in the fields
and to family ties, to be thrown together with the other
fighting men, discussing with them the reasons for the
conflagration and the future prospects and conditions of life in
general. What an incentive all that must have been for
promoting his intellectual development and broadening his
horizon ! The outcry of the peasant for education, for a
more satisfactory state of well-being, and a more pronounced
recognition of his political importance in the structure of
the State, pressed for consideration.
Up to the time of the war, the Government was accustomed
to provide for the needs of the country, relying exclusively
on its own resources. But the requirements of war, and
especially the need of a supply of munitions on an
unprecedented scale, made it necessary for the Government
to apply to the nation at large for assistance in carrying
on the war. That call was answered with the same
enthusiasm as has been shown in the great emergency by the
British. The close co-operation between the Government
and the people, which has borne such good fruit, was bound
to make the masses conscious of their own importance.
The political education of the peasant was also greatly
assisted by his sobriety. The drink evil has been the surest
means of keeping the masses in bondage, as the higher
aspirations and political self-consciousness are impaired by
the use of liquor. It is not an exaggeration to say that
the abolition of the sale of vodka made the Russian peasant
inclined to engage in political thought and self-determination,
and thus constituted one of the conditions which made the
Revolution possible. Even the most advanced of radicals
will agree that Nicholas II deserves the gratitude of the
nation for having suppressed the sale of vodka, and for
having thus contributed involuntarily to the success of
the Revolution.
Broadly speaking, the Russian Revolution bore a
retrospective character, and in that respect the influence of
Slavophilism has also been one of its causes. The old
Slavophil formula : " For the nation force of opinion, for
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