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102 PROBLEMS CONFRONTING RUSSIA
This extreme socialisation of the idea of freedom is far
from being acceptable to the Russian. He yearns to be
himself, irrespective of others, to follow his own pursuits in
his own way, and not to be hampered by the doings of others.
The limitless steppe, the solitude of regions sparsely
populated, and the love of a life in close touch with nature, far
from the ant-hills of human existence, produce in his soul
the idea that freedom must give more possibility for
unrestricted action than can be conceded in a civilised
community. He does not care for public opinion. He wishes
to be the sole judge and master of his own actions in the
widest possible sense. Even under autocratic rule this
feature of Russian character was very noticeable, and could
not be suppressed. Formerly, nothing was known to the
masses in Russia of the wonderfully regulated and
stereotyped social life of England, where everybody lives more or
less in the same way, follows the same train of thought, and
is concerned chiefly about the same things. To the Russian
soul conventionality is irksome to the last degree. Russians
are very fond of the koye kak, kak nyeboudj, avos, nyebos,
neetchyevo, expressions signifying the unexpected,
unregulated, unrestricted, and accidental, in fact comprising the
very conception of freedom as the Russian understands it.
The Russian may be right or wrong, he is always interesting,
because he endeavours to work out his own salvation and to
have his own ideas of life and of the universe. He does not
believe in shibboleths ; he wants to be free. Englishmen
allow their intelligence to be narrowed down intentionally by
an ultra-conservative spirit, which sometimes impairs
originality and individuality. But the worship of
unrestricted freedom by the Russians is liable to become
dangerous, especially in critical times of radical reform and
upheaval, when it manifests itself in an exaggerated diversity
of thought and endeavour, making a co-ordination of forces
for the attainment of practical results viribus unitis
exceedingly difficult. The British idea of methodical freedom
would, therefore, assist the Russians in bringing those
centrifugal forces into the orbit of practical statesmanship.
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