The fruits of Russian policy since Peter the Great were annihilated, and the work of two centuries of progress was canceled.
Who and what was to blame for these calamities?
Why was it that the Russian army could successfully compete with Turks and Asiatics, and not with Europeans?
The reason began to be obvious, even to stubborn Russian Conservatives.

A nation, in order to compete in war in this age, must have a grasp upon the arts of peace.

An army drawn from a civilized nation is a more effective instrument than one drawn from a barbarous one.

The time had passed when there might be a few highly educated and subtle intelligences thinking for millions of people in brutish ignorance.

The time had arrived when it must be recognized that Russia was not made for a few great and powerful people, for whom the rest, an undistinguishable mass, must toil and suffer.