A Herzen Reader

53. The Proclamation “Land and Liberty” [1863]

186 A Herzen Reader  53  The Bell, No. 160, April 1, 1863. The Allgemeine Zeitung (No. 107) reported that Herzen had gone further than ever before by allying himself with a group whose goal was to replace Russia’s thousand-year-old empire. However, in his correspondence with Ogaryov , Herzen was already talking about loosening his ties to members of “Land and Liberty,” who did not appear to be ready for the work they had undertaken. He declared the role of The Bell to be propaganda without compromise, “a deep, truthful sermon” (Let 3:486). Herzen intimated that he, too, would not reach the promised land of a liberated Russia.  The Proclamation “Land and Liberty” [1863] At last a word of active sympathy toward the Polish affair was proclaimed in Russia—it was proclaimed by means of underground literature, as one would expect in a country where journalists are held in detention for their opinions for more than half a year, and then are sent away for hard labor1 — and it was proclaimed by “Land and Liberty.” The proclamation, distributed on the 19th of February (March 3) in Moscow and Petersburg (whose text we have not yet received), concerned Poland. The authors extend the hand of young Russia to the Poles, and appeal to soldiers and officers to refrain from criminal acts. This voice was essential, and with it begins the rehabilitation of Russia, and for that reason one is deeply grateful to those who made it possible. The lackeys of the word, literary oprichniki and police messengers, both homegrown and those living abroad,2 call both them and us betrayers of Russia, and say that we stand in the ranks of its worst enemies, etc.3 We will not answer them. They have gone beyond a moral boundary, beyond which there is neither insult nor offense. They enjoy special privileges , like people who have declared themselves bankrupt, like legal prostitutes , and like their passive colleagues, who while not writing openly in favor of the government, do pay close attention to it for their own benefit. It’s no use to talk to them. But perhaps among our friends there are people who are not completely free from the traditional prejudices, who do not clearly separate in their consciousness one’s native land and the state, who mix up a love for their own people—and a willingness to suffer for them and contribute their la- The Proclamation “Land and Liberty” 187 bor and their lives—with a willingness to mindlessly follow every government . To them we wish to say a few words. We are for Poland because we are for Russia. We are on the side of the Poles because we are Russians. We want independence for Poland because we want freedom for Russia. We are with the Poles, because we are chained by a single set of fetters. We are with them because we are firmly convinced that the absurdity of an empire that stretches from Sweden to the Pacific and from the White Sea to China cannot bring any blessings to the peoples who are kept on a leash by Petersburg. The vast monarchies of the Chingizes and Tamerlanes belong to the most elementary and wildest periods of development, to those times when the entire glory of a state consists of force and a great expanse. They are only possible when there is hopeless slavery below and unlimited tyranny above. Whether our imperial formation was necessary or not has nothing to do with us at this moment—it is a fact. But it has lived out its time and has one foot in the grave—that is also a fact. We are trying with all our heart to help it with the other leg. Yes, we are against the empire because we are for the people! Notes Source: “Proklamatsiia ‘Zemlia i voli,’” Kolokol, l. 160, April 1, 1863; 17:90–91, 388. 1. M. L. Mikhailov was arrested in 1861 as a cowriter (with N. V. Shchelgunov) of the proclamation “To the Young Generation,” and was sentenced to six years, a sentence which was publicly announced on the 35th anniversary of the Decembrist uprising, and which he did not live to complete. 2. The Russian word oprichniki, which has come into usage in English, refers to special units set up by Ivan the Terrible after the worst of his crises; in the guise of rooting out treason, they terrorized their fellow Russians from 1565...