CHAPTER IX

III. M. DE PLEHVE’S VERSION

The official explanation from the Russian Government was made by M. de Plehve, Russian Minister of the Interior, to Mr. Arnold White. The following is the full text of the document, which was sent to Mr. White in the English language, and published in _The Times_, June 13, 1903:

“Russia’s agricultural and labour population is ill at ease, living common life with Jewish inhabitants of wide-developed commercial instinct. Hence constant antagonism, material racial religious character coming to verge of frenzy at least possible occasion. Strained relations between Russians and Jews of Bessarabia were made the worst by fact of finding outlying village murdered Christian boy, murder attributed by population to ritual Jewish habits. Official denials ritual murder not given credit by peasants, attributing other murders of Christians in towns Kiev and Kishineff likewise to Jews. On Easter Day, on market place of Kishineff, workers holiday-making saw a Jew proprietor of carousing machine strike a Christian women, who fell to the ground, letting go her infant baby. This incident was nearest cause of outburst. Workers began breaking windows, pulling down Jewish stores as sign of protest. Police, which always gives much to be desired in provincial towns, failed to make efficacious intervention, the many thousand mass of onlookers and holiday-makers approving riot, hindering policemen’s actions. After demonstrators came plunderers’ outbreak, lasting from five in the afternoon to ten evening, and leaving nine Jewish bodies on place. Night brought disturbance to end what goes far to prove momentous character of outbreak letting loose popular passions with strength natural forces. On Monday morning Jews wishing intimidate and inflict punishment on Christian workers, began on market place, assembling in groups armed sticks and weapons; Jews being more numerous had best of it in two first encounters, and a Christian was seen to fall, receiving bullet wound. This called forth popular passion in all its abject force and abomination. Russian peasants driven to frenzy, excited by race religious hatred, under influence of alcohol, being worse than South Americans lynching negroes. Unfortunately Governor of Bessarabia did not make appearance in person. Easter Sunday and Monday gave over command to military men what he had no right of doing, as he, in consequence, had put the police aside, and on the other hand, left the military forces without actual guidance. Troops can take towns by assault, but cannot carry out police duties without special instructions. In the end, the town being divided in districts, with a special military command in each, the disturbances ceased on Monday evening. By this time the Minister of the Interior had ordered by wire to proclaim martial law, and--an unprecedented fact--had sent the Director of Police Department to investigate as to the responsibilities of local officials. In consequence the Governor, the chief of the town police, and some other officials were dismissed outright. Many hundreds of rioters are in prison with hard work in the Siberian mines awaiting them after trial. The Minister of the Interior has issued a circular to the Governors all over Russia authorising them to make immediate use of firearms in case of anti-Jewish disturbances.

“The Russian Government is the first to disapprove of such horrid acts of violence, but it cannot, in compliance with the requests of the Radical and revolutionary Press, give the Jews new rights of citizenship, as this is sure to drive the Russian population to new excesses against the Jews, who are hated by peasants with such extraordinary force.”

A further statement was made by M. de Plehve to Mr. White[6] in reply to a communication calling his Excellency’s attention to the statement “from our Russian correspondents” in _The Times_ of June 6th, that General Von Raaben, the Governor of Kishineff, telegraphed three times to the Minister of the Interior during the riots for permission to use force before he received any reply:

ST. PETERSBURG, June 7 (20).

The former Governor of Bessarabia, the General Von Raaben, had not, when in office, sent to the central Government authorities any request whatever, asking for authorisation to use force against the Kishineff miscreants. All communications with the Governor of Bessarabia relating to the disturbances in Kishineff were limited to the following proceedings:

1. Having received in the night on the 7th of April a telegram announcing the outbreak of disturbances, the Minister of the Interior, who was at the time staying in Moscow, had made, on the 7th of April, a personal report of this news to his Majesty, and had received the Emperor’s instructions directing him to send to the Governor von Raaben an implicit order to put an immediate end to the disturbances by any means at his disposal, however they may be resolute and harsh. The Minister, accordingly, sent to the Governor of Bessarabia an urgent telegram giving this order.

2. The same day the Minister of the Interior, of his own accord, sent to the Governor of Bessarabia another telegram declaring the town Kishineff and its district in the state of enforced security (something of a state of siege), and this was made in order to give the Governor the means of inflicting, by way of administrative power, punishment on persons who assemble in crowds on the streets.

3. On receiving the report of the Director of the Police Department who was sent by the Minister to Kishineff in order to investigate in person as to the cause of the disturbances, and the means taken to quell them, and render their recurrence impossible, the Minister of the Interior had written to the General Von Raaben a letter, requesting him to dismiss the chief of the town police in Kishineff for failing to make an effective use of the power he was invested with as an official responsible for the security of the town inhabitants. And, lastly,

4. The Minister of the Interior had, by telegram, informed the General Von Raaben that his Majesty had, for the same reasons, ordered him to be dismissed.

No other communications had passed, on the question of the Kishineff riots, between the Minister of the Interior and the Governor of Bessarabia.