RUSSIA AND HER CZAR.
The map of Russia makes the other nations of Europe look
insignificant by comparison. Moscow is called "The Heart of Russia,"
and yet the trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok is
about 6,000 miles long, nearly one-fourth the circumference of
the globe. From St. Petersburg to Sebastopol is more than 2,000
miles, and yet Russia's territory extends much further north
than St. Petersburg and much further south than Sebastopol. In
a book recently issued by authority of the Russian government,
some comparisons are made that give an idea of the immensity of
Russia's domain. For instance, Siberia is about one and one-half
times as large as Europe, 25 times as large as Germany, and covers
one-thirteenth of the continental surface of the globe. Besides
having great timber belts and vast prairies, Siberia has a hill and
lake region ten times as large as Switzerland, and it is claimed
that some of the lakes are as beautiful as those of "The Mountain
Republic." Lately the government has been encouraging immigration
into the country opened up by the trans-Siberian railway and the
success of the movement is shown by the fact that the number of
passengers carried on the western section of the road increased
from 160,000 in 1896 to 379,000 in 1898, and on the middle section
from 177,000 in 1897 to 476,000 in 1898, with a similar increase
in freight traffic. The government gives a certain area of land to
each settler and, when necessary, advances sufficient money to build
homes and barns for the storage of crops and for the purchase of
agricultural implements. The territorial greatness of Russia is the
first thing that impresses the tourist, and the second is that it
is as yet so sparsely settled that it can without fear of crowding
accommodate a vast increase in population.
Russia embraces all varieties of climate and resources.
My journey was confined to the northwest portion. I entered the
country below Warsaw, went east to Moscow, then north to St.
Petersburg and thence southwest to Berlin. This, with the exception
of my visit to Tula, gave me my only opportunity to see the
people of Russia. They impressed me as being a hardy race and the
necessities of climate are such as to compel industry and activity.
I never saw elsewhere such universal preparation for cold weather.
As yet Russia is almost entirely agricultural, but manufacturing
enterprises are continually increasing. The peasants live in
villages and for the most part hold their lands in common--that is,
the lands belong to the commune or village as a whole and not to
the individual. When Alexander freed the serfs the land was sold
to them jointly on long-time payments. These payments have in only
a few instances been completed, wherefore not many of the peasants
own land individually. There is just now much discussion in Russia
about the method of holding land. Some contend that communal
holding tends to discourage thrift and enterprise, and there is some
agitation in favor of individual ownership.
[Illustration: THE CZAR OF RUSSIA]
Moscow, the largest city of Russia, has a trifle larger population
than St. Petersburg, the capital, which has more than a million.
Moscow, which is the commercial center of the empire, gives the
casual visitor a much better idea of the characteristic life and
architecture of Russia than does St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg,
however, is laid out upon a broader, more generous plan, has wider
streets, more impressive public buildings and private residences,
and there is more evidence of wealth in the capital than in the
commercial center. Both cities possess admirable museums and art
galleries. The chief gallery of Moscow devotes nearly all its wall
space to pictures by Russian artists, and they are sufficient in
number to prove Russia's claim to an honorable place in the world of
art.
The Hermitage at St. Petersburg, which is an annex of the emperor's
palace, contains an extraordinary number of masterpieces of modern
and ancient art. The museum of the academy of sciences possesses a
remarkable collection of fine specimens, of prehistoric animals,
among them mammoths, the largest and best preserved of which was
found only a few years ago at the foot of a Siberian glacier.
The visitor to Russia comes away with conflicting emotions. He is
impressed by the wonderful possibilities of the country, but is
oppressed by the limitations and restrictions which the government
places upon individual action and activity. As soon as the traveler
reaches the border of Russia his passport is demanded. It is again
demanded the moment he arrives at his hotel, and it is demanded and
inspected at every place he stops. When he is about to leave the
country he must send his passport to the police office and have it
indorsed with official permission to depart. Not only is a passport
demanded at every place from the foreigner, but native Russians,
high and low, must also bear passports and be prepared to submit
them for inspection upon demand. Not even officers of the army are
exempt from this rigid rule.
The censorship over the press and over private mail is very strict.
I brought away with me a copy of Stead's Review of Reviews which
had been posted to a subscriber in Russia and which had passed
through the hands of the censor. Its pages bore abundant evidence
of the care with which he scrutinized foreign publications, for
objectionable cartoons, articles and even paragraphs had been made
illegible by an obliterating stamp.
The government of Russia, as the world knows, is an autocracy. All
power is vested in the emperor, and all authority emanates from him.
Being an autocracy, Russia has, of course, no legislative body,
such as is now a part of the government of nearly every civilized
country on the globe. It has not trial by jury and it knows not the
writ of habeas corpus. The custom of exiling or banishing, without
trial, persons objectionable to the government is still practiced.
A large number of Finns, many of them persons of prominence, have
been deported from Finland since the decree of 1899, which limited
the self government which the Finns had enjoyed since Russia annexed
their country.
While in St. Petersburg I was, by the courtesy of the American
ambassador, Mr. McCormick, given an opportunity of meeting and
chatting with the czar of all the Russias, Emperor Nicholas II. I
found him at his winter residence, the palace of Tsarskoe Selo,
which is about an hour's ride from St. Petersburg.
Of all the emperor's palaces, Tsarskoe Selo is his favorite. It
stands in a magnificent park which, at this time of year, is covered
with snow. The emperor is a young man, having been born in 1868.
He is not more than five feet seven or eight inches in height,
and apparently weighs about 160 pounds. His figure is slender and
erect, his face boyish and his eyes a light blue. His hair, which is
blonde, is cut rather short and combed upward over the forehead. The
czar wears a mustache and short beard. The general expression of his
face is gentle, rather than severe, and he speaks English perfectly.
He informed me that about 65 per cent of the adult men of Russia
can read and write and that the number is increasing at the rate of
about 3 per cent a year. This increase, the czar said, was shown by
the recruits to the army, and as these come from all provinces of
the empire and all classes of society, he believes it to be a fair
test of the people as a whole. The czar declares himself deeply
interested in the spread of education among the people and seemed
to realize that opportunities for education should be extended to
men and women equally. I referred to a decree issued by him about
a year ago promising a measure of self-government to the local
communities. The czar said: "Yes, that was issued last February, and
the plan is now being worked out." He manifested great gratification
at the outcome of the proposals submitted by him, which resulted
in the establishment of The Hague court of arbitration, and it is
a movement of which he may justly feel proud, for while it is not
probable that The Hague tribunal will at once end all wars, it is
certain to contribute largely to the growth of a sentiment that
will substitute the reign of reason for the rule of brute force. The
czar spoke warmly of the friendly relations that have existed for
years between Russia and the United States. He said that the people
of his country had rejoiced in the growth and greatness of the
United States. Then, speaking with considerable feeling, the czar
said: "The attitude of Russia in the Kischineff affair has been very
much misrepresented by some of the newspapers and I wish you would
tell your people so when you return to the United States."
The Russian officials deny that the government was in any way
responsible for the massacre and I was informed that the government
had caused the prosecution and secured the imprisonment of many of
those implicated. The emperor showed in his conversation that he
respected public opinion in the United States and was anxious that
his administration should not rest under condemnation. It seems to
be the general opinion of those with whom I had a chance to speak
in Russia that the emperor himself is much more progressive and
liberal than his official environment. If he were free to act upon
his own judgment, it is believed that he would go further and faster
than the officeholding class surrounding him in broadening the
foundations of government, and from his words and manner during my
conversation with him I am inclined to share this opinion.
What Russia most needs today are free speech and a free press--free
speech that those who have the welfare of the country at heart may
give expression to their views and contribute their wisdom to that
public opinion which, in all free countries, controls to a greater
or less extent those who hold office. To deny freedom of speech is
to question the ability of truth to combat error; it is to doubt
the power of right to vindicate itself. A free press would not only
enable those in office to see their actions as others see them,
but would exercise a wholesome restraint. Publicity will often
deter an official from wrong-doing when other restraints would be
insufficient, and those who are anxious to do well ought to welcome
anything that would throw light upon their path. With free speech
and a free press it would not be long before the participation
of the Russian people in government would be enlarged, and, with
that enlarged share in the control of their own affairs, would
come not only contentment, but the education which responsibility
and self-government bring. It is impossible to prepare people for
self-government by depriving them of the exercise of political
rights. As children learn to walk by being allowed to fall and rise
and fall and rise again, so people profit by experience and learn
from the consequences of their mistakes.
[Illustration: RUSSIAN BEGGAR.]
That the Russian people are devoted to their church is evident
everywhere. Every village and town has its churches, and the cities
have cathedrals, chapels and shrines seemingly innumerable. St.
Isaac's cathedral in St. Petersburg is an immense basilica and is
ornamented in nave and transept with precious and semi-precious
stones. The superb portico is supported by a maze of granite
monoliths seven feet in diameter. There is now in process of
construction at Moscow a still more elaborate cathedral. Russia is
not a good missionary field for two reasons: First, because the
people seem wedded to their church, and, second, because no one is
permitted to sever his connection with the church.
The child of an orthodox Russian becomes a member of the church
of his parents and if he desires to enter another church he must
leave the country. If one of the orthodox church marries a member
of another church the children must of necessity be reared in the
Russian faith. It will be seen, therefore, that the church is very
closely connected with the government itself, and quite as arbitrary.
[Illustration: KREMLIN OF MOSCOW]
De Tocqueville some fifty years ago predicted a large place for
Russia among the nations of Europe and my visit to the great empire
of the northeast convinced me that Russia, with universal education,
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and
constitutional self-government, would exert an influence upon the
destinies of the old world to which it would be difficult to set a
limit.