A Herzen Reader

Konstantin D. Kavelin (i8i8-i885) was a law professor and writer, and, briefly, tutor to Grand Duke Nikolay Alexandrovich. In i847 his article on legal practices in pre- Petrine Russia appeared in The Contemporary, stimulating the Slavophile Yury Samarin to write a response. Without mentioning names, Herzen described this polemic in his book. Kavelin, who in ^50-53 served in the administration of the military academies, was subsequently summoned by its director, General Rostovtsev.

Herzen ironically compares Yakov Rostovtsev to the Tetrarch Herod in the gospel according to Matthew (chap. i4).

Sergey Golitsyn (i774-i859) served as trustee of the Moscow educational district from i830 to i835.

Kitay-gorod is one of the oldest areas of Moscow, located not far from the Kremlin.

General Mikhail N. Muravyov (i796-i866) was known as "the hangman" for his harsh suppression of the Polish rebellions of i830 and Й63.

In the letter, Shchepkin advised Herzen to let the world develop according to its natural laws and to confine himself to assisting in humanity's moral development, to spread ideas but not violence. Herzen considered Shchepkin to have been worn down by the age in which he lived.

Herzen: "This anecdote, which we heard at the time from a direct source, we did not print for obvious reasons." One source was Turgenev, who wrote to Herzen soon after the incident (Let 2:390).

The Bell, No. 177, January 15, 1864. This article is related to ongoing commentary in The Bell about the behavior of Russian liberals. It criticizes the fashion for repentance, especially by a gray-haired "Magdalene" (Ivan Turgenev), who submitted to questioning by the Russian government at the Paris Embassy in March 1863. Turgenev reportedly explained at some length his political differences with Herzen, Ogaryov, and Bakunin. The writer was summoned back to St. Petersburg to testify before the State Senate in January 1864; soon after that he was allowed to return to France. Herzen was also criti­cal of Turgenev's behavior in connection with the "Trial of the 32" (discussed in Doc. 70). Turgenev wrote to Herzen on April 2, 1864, about these remarks, saying that he expected as much from Bakunin but not from such an old friend as Herzen.

Scandal, Soot, a Candle Snuffer, etc.

[1864]

After the New Year, we received several letters from Russia and from Rus­sians abroad. The general impression was awful, although the signs of a turning point are not only continuing, but are clearly intensifying. Far- sighted cowards are beginning to abandon the camp of the reds (i.e., of the butchers, as the word "reds" is used in one of their letters). We are asked not to print the details so as not to threaten the purity of the sinners who have repented.

But then repentance of all kinds is the fashion—evidently, the end of times is upon us. Not only are reds repenting, but the blues, the skewbald, and those of no color whatsoever are repenting of everything that was in their thoughts and dreams, things in the distant past and those that have not yet happened, all sorts of different sins, even those that neither have nor ever could have anything to do with them.

Our correspondent tells of a certain gray-haired Magdalene (of the male sex), who wrote to the tsar of losing sleep and appetite, peace of mind, white hair and teeth, tormented that the tsar still does not understand the heart­felt repentance, as a result of which "all ties have been broken with youthful friends."

[. . .] The terror cannot be appeased—otherwise it would not be terror— and one cannot stop halfway. One will not be saved by lyrical exclamations about the might and great expanse of Russia, in the manner of Gogol,¹ or by constantly berating the Poles; it is necessary to offer denunciations, and to dishonor oneself. Rhetorical spasms of love for the people are not needed; rather, one must despise the people in the name of a strong state, and demand executions for the glory and strength of the Petersburg administration.

Note

Source: "Spletni, kopot', nagar i pr.," Kolokol, l. 177, January 15, 1864; 18:35-36, 543-45. 1. Herzen has in mind the final pages of Gogol's Dead Souls.

♦ 62 *

The Bell, No. 177, January 15, 1864. Herzen introduces the image of the three winged goddesses of classical mythology, who pursued sinners with a vengeance.

The Furies [1864]