NIKON'S ATTEMPT--RASKOLNIKS
In the building of an empire there are two processes--the building up,
and the tearing down. The plow is no less essential than the trowel.
The period after Boris had been for Russia the period of the wholesome
plow. The harvest was far off. But the name Romanoff was going to
stand for another Russia, not like the old Russia of Kief, nor yet the
new Russia of Moscow; but another and a Europeanized Russia, in which,
after long struggles, the Slavonic and half-Asiatic giant was going to
tear down the walls of separation, escape from his barbarism, and
compel Europe to share with him her civilization.
The man who was to make the first breach in the walls was the grandson
of Mikhail Romanoff--Peter, known as "The Great." But the mills of the
gods grind slowly--especially when they have a great work in hand; and
there were to be three colorless reigns before the coming of the
Liberator in 1689--seventy-six years before they would learn that to
have a savage despot seated on a barbaric throne, with crown and robes
incrusted with jewels, and terrorizing a brutish, ignorant, and
barbaric people--was not to be Great.
The reigns of Mikhail and of his son Alexis and his grandson Feodor
were to be reigns of preparation and reform. Of course there were
turbulent uprisings and foreign wars, and perils on the frontiers near
the Baltic and the Black seas. But Russia was gaining in ascendency
while Poland, from whom she had narrowly escaped, was fast declining.
The European rulers began to see advantages for themselves from Russian
alliances. Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden and champion of
Protestantism, made an eloquent appeal to the Tsar to join him against
Catholic Poland--"Was not the Romish Church their common enemy?--and
were they not neighbors?--and when your neighbor's house is afire, is
it not the part of wisdom and prudence to help to put it out?" Poland
suffered a serious blow when a large body of Cossacks, who were her
vassals, and her chief arm of defense in the Southeast, in 1681
transferred themselves bodily to Russia.
The Cossacks were a Slavonic people, with no doubt a plentiful infusion
of Asiatic blood, and their name in the Tatar language meant
Freebooters. They had long dwelt about the Don and the Dnieper, in
what is known as Little Russia, a free and rugged community which was
recruited by Russians after the Tatar invasion and Polish conquest, by
oppressed peasants after the creation of serfdom, and by adventurers
and fugitives from justice at all times. It was a military
organization, and its Constitution was a pure democracy. Freedom and
independence were their first necessity. Their Hetman, or chief, held
office for one year only, and anyone might attain to that position.
Their horsemanship was unrivaled--they were fearless and enduring, and
stood ready to sell their services to the Khan of Tatary, the King of
Poland, or to the Tsar of Russia. In fact, they were the Northmen of
the South and East, and are now--the Rough-Riders of Russia.
They had long ago divided into two bands, the "Cossacks of the
Dnieper," loosely bound to Poland, and the "Cossacks of the Don,"
owning the sovereignty of Russia. The services of these fearless
adventurers were invaluable as a protection from Turks and Tatars; and,
as we have seen in the matter of Siberia, they sometimes brought back
prizes which offset their misdoings. The King of Poland unwisely
attempted to proselyte his Cossacks of the Dnieper, sent Jesuit
missionaries among them, and then concluded to break their spirit by
severities and make of them obedient loyal Catholic subjects. He might
as well have tried to chain the winds. They offered to the Tsar their
allegiance in return for his protection, and in 1681 all of the
Cossacks, of the Dnieper as well as the Don, were gathered under
Russian sovereignty. It was this event which, in the long struggle
with Poland, turned the scales at last in favor of Russia.
One of the most important occurrences in this reign was the attempt of
the Patriarch Nikon to establish an authority in the East similar to
that of the Pope in the West--and in many ways to Latinize the Church.
This attempt to place the Tsar under spiritual authority was put down
by a popular revolt--followed by stricter orthodox methods in a sect
known as the _Raskolniks_.
Mikhail died in 1645, and was succeeded by his son Alexis. The new
Tsar sent an envoy to Charles the First of England to announce his
succession. He arrived with his letter to the King at an inopportune
time. He was on trial for his life. The Russian could not comprehend
such a condition, and haughtily refused to treat with anyone but the
King. He was received with much ceremony by the House of Lords, and
then to their consternation arose and said: "I have come from my
sovereign charged with an important message to your King--Charles the
First. It is long since I came, and I have not been permitted to see
him nor to deliver the letter from my master." The embarrassed English
_boyars_ replied that they would give their reasons for this by letter.
When the Tsar was informed by Charles II. of the execution of his
father, sternly inflicted by his people, he could not comprehend such a
condition. He at once forbade English merchants to live in any of his
cities except Archangel, and sent money and presents to the exiled son.
An interest attaches to the marriage of Alexis with Natalia, his second
wife. He was dining with one of his _boyars_ and was attracted by a
young girl, who was serving him. She was motherless, and had been
adopted by her uncle the _boyar_. The Tsar said to his friend soon
after: "I have found a husband for your Natalia." The husband was
Alexis himself, and Natalia became the mother of Peter the Great. She
was the first Princess who ever drew aside the curtains of her litter
and permitted the people to look upon her face. Thrown much into the
society of Europeans in her uncle's home, she was imbued with European
ideas. It was no doubt she who first instilled the leaven of reform
into the mind of her infant son Peter.
One of the most important features of this reign was the development of
the fanatical sect known as _Raskolniks_. They are the dissenters or
non-conformists of Russia. Their existence dates from the time of the
Patriarch _Nikon_--and what they considered his sacrilegious
innovations. But as early as 1476 there were the first stirrings of
this movement when some daring and advanced innovators began to sing "O
Lord, have mercy," instead of "Lord, have Mercy," and to say "Alleluia"
twice instead of three times, to the peril of their souls! But it was
in the reign of Alexis that signs of falling away from the faith spoken
of in the Apocalypse were unmistakable. Foreign heretics who shaved
their chins and smoked the accursed weed were tolerated in Holy Moscow.
"The number of the Beast" indicated the year 1666. It was evident that
the end of the world was at hand! Such was the beginning of the
_Raskolniks_, who now number 10,000,000 souls--a conservative Slavonic
element which has been a difficult one to deal with.
Upon the death of Alexis, in 1676, his eldest son Feodor succeeded him.
It is only necessary to mention one significant act in his short
reign--the destruction of the Books of Pedigrees. The question of
precedence among the great families was the source of endless disputes,
and no man would accept a position inferior to any held by his
ancestors, nor would serve under a man with an ancestry inferior to his
own. Feodor asked that the Books of Pedigrees be sent to him for
examination, and then had them every one thrown into the fire and
burned. This must have been his last act, for his death and this
holocaust of ancestral claims both occurred in the year 1682.