laarisii: PETRPAST AND PRESENT YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT The Church of the Resurrection of Christ. liuii.T on the i » 42 » » 50 I) » 5° !) 1) 54 II 1) 58 )i >i 66 1) 11 74 1) i> 86 .1 ,1 94 1. .. 102 II 1) 102 II I, 150 ,1 1, 150 11 11 196 11 II 204 II II 206 I, I, 206 II II 232 II II 240 II II 240 II II 244 II II 292 II 11 294 II II 300 THE ARRIVAL IN PETROGRAD AND THE NECESSITY FOR PASSPORTS It was a lovely morning in May when our diminutive steamer the Viking first entered the swift stream of the Neva, by which river the confined and pent-up waters of Lake Ladoga find their way to the Gulf of Finland. As our little boat — ^which had once done service as a canal boat in England — entered the river, I was charmed by the beautiful spectacle of Peter's City, now Petrograd. On the right, past the massive Nicholas Bridge, named in honour of St Nicholas, one of Russia's patron saints, stood the beautiful Cathedral of St Isaac, with its five cupolas of gilded copper shining in the morning sky like balls of molten gold against a background of azure. On the left, fronting the granite quays, were a number of splendid build ings, beginning with the palace of the Grand Duke Paul and ending with that classic structure, the Holy Synod, for many years the scene of Pobjedonodzeff's fanatical activity. On the opposite side of the river was the Vasilii Ostoff (Basil Island), with its miles of shipping and its stately front of offices and palatial buildings, many of which were inhabited by the merchant princes of the capital. Past the Nicholas Bridge was that stately block, the Academy of Arts, which owed its origin to Catherine the Great. After a stormy passage in our little canal boat, now bravely doing service as a sea-going vessel, I was delighted to arrive at my destination in safety, and still more so to watch the scene before me — ^the great and wondrous creation of Peter awaking to life and 2 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT activity, and the scene of my future joys, sorrows and labours for a quarter of a century. Suddenly I was awakened from my day-dreams by a gruff, hearty voice asking for my passport. " Passport ! " I ex claimed in astonishment. " What do I want with a passport ? Surely such a thing was never heard of since the days of the great Napoleon and the Con tinental system ! " for even at that early age I was a " demon for history," as my literary friends called me. The captain was thunderstruck at my ignorance and my reply ; I had but the haziest conception of Russia. " Napoleon be hanged," he replied. " I know nothing about the Continental system, but I know this, that unless you can produce a passport at once you will be arrested and the ship will be fined." As he spoke he pointed to a boat with two gendarme officers on board and also several dosmoschiks (searchers) rowing swiftly towards us. There was not a moment to lose, and the captain, evidently a man of resource, immediately rigged me out in a suit of oilskins and entered my name on the manifest as " cabin-boy." I was then told to go and range myself in line with others on the after-deck while the gendarmes keenly inspected each one of us and compared us with the names on the mani fest. When it came to my turn they looked very suspiciously at the pale, girlish face and white hands of the little cabin-boy, whom they evidently sus pected of sailing under false colours. After exchang ing a few words with the captain and signing various documents in the cabin, the gendarmes and customs officers withdrew, leaving a wretched dosmoschik on board to watch the vessel. I could not help but think that he had been left behind to watch the author of this work, and therefore I confided my suspicions to that dear old sea-dog, the captain, who again came to my rescue. He invited the eager, brown-eyed dosmos chik into the cabin to have a drink of Swedish punch. THE ARRIVAL IN PETROGRAD 3 a brew which has a peculiar power of robbing a man of the use of his legs before he is aware of it. After the imsuspecting searcher had taken three glasses of this golden liquid we were joined by the mate, who invited our amiable guest to partake of kiimmel and other liqueurs. Presently both the captain and mate were caUed on deck to their duties, whilst I, the pale, innocent-looking cabin-boy, was left to do the honours as host. I listened while the dosmoschik's broken English grew more and more incoherent, until finally he dozed peacefully in the corner of the cabin, oblivious to the ship, the foreigners, the pale-faced youth and everything around him. In this condition I left the man, probably dreaming of the lonely steppes and villages of Little Russia (for he was evidently a South Russian, judging from his appearance). The captain in the meantime had not been idle. Without losing any time he got out the long boat, and after placing my box under the seat, beneath the folds of a large flag, ordered his men to row up the river and land me. This order was carried out, and in twenty minutes or so I found myself somewhere near the Baltic works, far away from the prying eyes of the customs officers. The mate, who accompanied us, chartered a droshky for me to the Cronstadt pier on the Vasilii Ostroff . Here I took a ticket by the Cron stadt steamer — ^an old English river boat dating from the days of Queen Victoria — ^and in one and a half hours I arrived in Cronstadt and was safe with my friends, who had long expected* me. But I was not to be at rest for long, for a,s soon as my friends knew that I had no passport their anxiety on my accoimt deprived me of all the pleasure I was experiencing in my new surroundings. It would never have done to tell the authorities how I had smuggled myself into "Holy Russia," so, after keeping me indoors nearly a fortnight, they decided to take the risk of getting 4 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT a passport from a friend in England. This was duly signed, and in this irregular way, at sixteen years of age, I entered Russia — the country where I was to have so many interesting experiences and adventures during my twenty-seven years' sojourn. As for the erring dosmoschik, I frequently used to meet him in the large square near the Customs House, but on seeing me he would drop his beady, brown eyes, for, like myself, he was suffering from the pangs of a guilty conscience — or perhaps from the effects of that never-to-be-forgotten spree on the little Viking, when he was so gloriously fuddled on punch, kiimmel, vodka and port wine — ^an experience not easily forgotten in his otherwise dull, uneventful existence. These poor men have to endure a laborious life on a paltry wage, which hardly serves to keep body and soul together. All this happened nearly forty years ago, in those xmregenerate days when the almighty rouble ruled Russia and vodka-drinking had not been abolished by an Imperial ukase. As for the old captain who saved me from the dilemma, he has long since gone to his viking forbears, whilst his little boat lies at the bottom of the Gulf of Finland, beneath sixty fathoms of cold, blue water. About a couple of voyages after my arrival the Viking foundered, with all on board except the captain. A terrible sea suddenly struck her, breaking open her hatches and putting out her fires. Being laden with Swedish iron and copper, she sank like a stone, with all hands on board, including the kind old stewardess who " mothered " me. Before proceeding further with my narrative I must not forget to say that I was unusually lucky in not getting into serious trouble for not having a passport. Not every one is so fortunate, as the following incident will show. Shortly after my arrival an invalid clergy man, who had come out to Cronstadt for the good of his THE ARRIVAL IN PETROGRAD 5 health, narrowly escaped imprisonment, for the gen darmes in Petrograd, hearing that he was on board an English steamer without that most necessary docu ment, the passport, boarded the boat and arrested him. He was not even given time to go down to the cabin and get an overcoat, but was hurried into a boat and taken to the capital, with dire visions of the fortress of St Peter and St Paul as his only companions. Had this unfortimate curate known more about Russia he would have escaped arrest, but his very ignorance and innocence were his undoing, for on being asked by the gendarmes what he was, he replied : " A student." " Skoobent,^^ ejaculated the gendarmes ; " then away with him to the police station." In those days to be a student was synonymous with being a revolutionary. Almost every student was openly or secretly an antagonist to the Government. After the " con spirator " had been landed at the police station the English Vice-Consul was sent for, and it then trans pired that the pale young gentleman in the black coat and white collar was " a student of theology " ! — ^to the great disgust of his captors, who imagined that they had caught a dangerous person hiding on the steamboat prior to making his escape to the shores of perfidious Albion .1 Directly the mistake was cleared up the unhappy curate was liberated, with apologies. I have known many similar incidents — ^all arising from the negligence of Englishmen in not taking the few necessary precautions, either of procuring a passport or of having it properly vised before their departure for Russia. On reaching the Gutaieffsky docks, which are a ^ It was a common practice in those days for fugitive students and other " politicals " to escape in English and German steamers from Russia. The good-natured captains, who sympathised with the revolutionists, would frequently hide them among the cargo, at con siderable risk to themselves, for this was a serious ofience in the eyes of the authorities. 6 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT considerable distance from the capital, a traveller is obliged to make the acquaintance of that curious class of cabbies known in Russia as isovoschiks. Although they are attired in long, oriental-looking gowns reaching to their feet, and are crowned with a hat resembling that of a beef-eater, one must not think that these primitive-looking Jehus are half as simple as they appear to be ; for inside the garb of childlike simplicity and innocence there often lurks a cunning and a ready wit which are really astonishing to anyone who does not understand the Russian moujik, from which class the Russian cabmen are generally re cruited. As a rule, it is wise to offer only half the fare demanded, and even then to bargain until a figure is arrived at which is not too exorbitant. In fact, if the man is given what he originally asked, he will be sorry that he did not ask twice as much from the unsuspect ing foreigner, while at the same time he will be dis appointed at being deprived of the pleasure of bargain ing, which to him is the salt of life. Should you by any chance get the better of him, he will usually show his displeasure by driving through the streets at a snail's pace, leaving you to fume with anger at his obstinacy, with the alternative of offering an extra tip if he will hurry. Usually when my Jehu treated me in this way, I would quietly get out of his droshky and jump into another one, much to the astonishment of the deeply offended driver of the first vehicle, whose face, when he finally turned round, was a study. He had lost both his " fare " and the money ! These men, however, if treated well, are generally very kind- hearted and willing to drive like a whirlwind if you should be in a hurry to catch a train. On these occasions I have sometimes had to catch hold of the reins and pull the horse in, especially if there happened to be another cab going in the same direction, for a mad race would begin, when I was in constant danger THE ARRIVAL IN PETROGRAD 7 of being thrown out on the hard cobbles and breaking my neck. Should remonstrance be in vain, the driver, if he has been promised a good fare, will tum round with a grin and console his passenger with one of numerous proverbs : " Life is a copeck," ^ " You can only die once, so what does it matter," or something in a similar vein. A kindly smile and a gentle manner will go a long way with these hardy, struggling, long-haired fellows. As an example of this I can quote the case of an EngUsh governess who always managed to drive at half the proper fare, because she called her driver golvhhchik (little pigeon) and smiled on him very sweetly. You might smile like the wonderful cat of Alice in Wonderland without much effect on an English or German driver's charges ; but in Russia these little matters go a long way. The simple moujik looks with wonder and astonishment on all foreigners, and in his heart thinks them all beneath him, for are they not heretics without the true faith, which is going to ensure him a happy place hereafter, even if at present he does not have his full share of the plums ? On arriving at a hotel a traveUer must hand his passport to the proprietor or hall porter. It must be " written in," as it is termed in Russia, otherwise a person may find that he will have to pay a heavy fine, or perhaps even be detained. I have known people to be delayed weeks, simply because they did not attend to small matters of this kind. The passport system may have its disadvantages, but it also confers some benefits on the country where it is in force ; it gives a certain hold over the criminal population and anyone who is dangerous to the Government. If people do not pay their trades-people, the police are informed, and the debtor may not leave the country until the debt has been discharged. If a wife leaves ' I copeck=i farthing ; loo copecks=i rouble, about 2s. 8 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT her husband she can easily be brought back, for she is not allowed to have a separate passport such as an unmarried woman possesses. If need be, she can be brought back etapom (on foot) and sent under convoy from one police station to another until she reaches the place from whence she started. Russian husbands have many privileges which are denied to married men in England, where wives probably have more liberties than the married women of any other Euro pean country. Providing a passport is in order, there is no reason why an Englishman, visiting Russia, should be caused any annoyance or inconvenience. As long as he keeps to his own business and avoids politics as one would the plague, a traveller is perfectly safe. If engaged in business or trade, the local police man expects a certain sum for looking after the trades man's property. These men are paid a starvation wage by the Government and look to " tips " to help them to exist. The system is an old Tartar survival and has much to do with the corruption in official circles. The Government evidently believe in paying their officials the smallest possible salaries, believing that those who are sensible will make up the deficiency by taking from the Tsar's subjects podarke and nachais (presents and tea money). So long as this practice does not go too far, it is winked at by the authorities, but if an official is found to be systematically taking advantage of his position, some day he may find himself confronted by a revisor (inspector), and a few days afterwards he will be en route for Siberia at the Crown's expense. With regard to the practice of bribing officials, in the days of Catherine this pernicious system flourished in all its glory. It is related that on one occasion, when an official complained to the Empress that his salary was too small, "the mother of her people," as she dehghted to call herself, and which she was in more senses than one, replied : " The man's a fool : he o THE ARRIVAL IN PETROGRAD 9 has been placed near the trough, but the ass won't feed himself." Peter the Great, however, who had imbibed some Western ideas on this subject, used to whack his ministers without mercy when convicted of corruption, unless by way of a change he took it into his head to hang, draw and quarter them. Nicholas I.,^ who was much misrepresented by contemporary his torians, was extremely particular about his servants taking bribes, and on one occasion, when he discovered that his palace architect had been guilty of corruption and deceit, struck him with his fist and killed him on the spot. But as Russians come more into contact with the people of the West, and as they receive better remuneration for their services, the practice of bribing and taking bribes will gradually die out, especially in those portions of the Empire which are in close contact with the seat of government. ^ John Maxrwell, in his excellent and trustworthy work entitled The Tsar, his Court and People, published by Bentley in 1854, gives the following just estimate of the character of Nicholas I. : — " By nature ardent and generous ; possessing most noble and most generous qualities ; gifted with very considerable mental ability and great personal beauty and bodily strength ; his errors are to be regarded as those of position, rather than those of inclination. The cruel death of his father, the weakness and misfortunes of his brothers, and the bloody events attend ing his awn succession to the throne, seem to have determined him to pursue a course of policy more in keeping with a soldier's idea of order and security, than one distinguished for prudence, wisdom and moderation." II CRONSTADT, THE KEY OF PETROGRAD, AND SOME MEMORIES I RESIDED in Cronstadt, the mighty citadel of Russia, the fastness and fortress of the Tsar, for about seven years, making the acquaintance of many of its most important citizens, from the Govemor down to the most humble midshipmen. I also knew a number of the merchants, captains of various nationalities, and even became intimate with the peasants, for my occupation then brought me into contact with almost every class of the population — rich exporters and poor moujiks labouring on the docks and timber yards. On the whole, my stay was a pleasant one, though at times I was unhappy in this "Little Siberia," as Russian naval officers facetiously called it. The English captains were even more severe in their criti cisms, saying that Cronstadt was " the last place God made," and even then hinting that He forgot to finish it. In this island of forts, barracks, shipyards and cabbage gardens I made some of my best friends, who stuck to me through life, and whose memory I shall ever cherish. But most of these near and dear ones are no more. Among them was my kind-hearted, book-loving, honest principal, S. K., by whom my taste for letters was greatly encouraged. I can hardly say that this passion for books was conducive to my business success ; but inherited qualities, handed down from a learned ancestor who " cared for learning more than the plough," would not be gainsaid, and by a long, slow, and sometimes painful process I became a IO CRONSTADT, THE K^iY OF PETROGRAD 11 scribe — much to the astonishment and vexation of many friends, who would have preferred to see me a wealthy merchant or butcher instead of the rolling stone I appeared to be. My erratic career was a sur prise and sorrow to those who could not see whither that same stone was rolling, until it eventually found a suitable niche — even though much chipped and broken. Cronstadt to me was interesting, not only because it is one of the world's great fortresses, but also be cause within its walls I had an excellent opportunity of studying Russia in miniature. Here I came to know the, massive old Govemor, Admiral K., a man of iron, with a head like a Bismarck, a powerful frame, and moustaches that gave him the appearance of a venerable walrus, possibly due to the fact that he had been a seafaring man and a dweller in the icy regions of Eastern Siberia. There was also the Commandant, grey, hardy Admiral B., the faithful servant of the Tsar, to whom was entrusted this key of the island fortress, which prevents all foes from breaking into the capital and laying waste Peter's city. He was of Swedish or Finnish origin, and a great favourite of Alexander III. and the Empress, who when in Cron stadt would dine with him and show him many marks of confidence. He was well worthy of these honours, for all the forts, batteries, powder magazines and dungeons, with their valuable military secrets, were under his charge. The chief forts which guarded the entrance of the narrow channel were those of Menshi- koff, Alexander, Peter and Paul, Milutine and various batteries dotting the horizon between here and the capital, which would be brought into action against any vessel which might manage to pass the defences of this Northern Gibraltar. The most terrible fort, to my imaginative mind, was that named Alexander, fitted up as a huge laboratory, where poor, broken- 12 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT down horses, cats, rabbits, dogs and other animals were inoculated with many of the germs and bacilU that plague and decimate humanity. More formidable than the forts, however, are the hidden mines that strew the narrow waterways — ^to be fired from the shore in case of need by the pressing of a button ; the submarines and the torpedo-boats that would dart from every comer, should a squadron ever be so rash as to attempt a passage. Lord Napier did this in the Crimean War, but when several of his ships had been almost blown up by mines manufactured by that great engineer and chemist, Ludwig Nobel, he thought it wiser to beat a retreat, and in the circum stances discretion was certainly the better part of valour. Had the English admiral known that there was another passage, which had been carelessly left open, owing to the venality of rascally contractors whom Nicholas I. paid to block that very channel, but who pocketed the money and scamped their work, he would have tried again, and Petrograd might have been laid in ruins, while the war, which dragged on for three years, would have reached a sudden and dramatic conclusion. When in Cronstadt I sometimes met old soldiers who remembered Napier's attack on the forts and on Sveaborg, and who told how shots were seen to fly over the Island of Kotlin, on which the town of Cronstadt is built. It thus seems that Peter's para dise, as he fondly called the beautiful city he had erected on a swamp, narrowly escaped sharing the fate of Sveaborg, which, during the terrific bombardment by the EngUsh and French fleets, was almost a sea of fire. Now, thanks to the Commandant and to my old Irish friend, Fitzgerald,^ who mounted some of the heavy cannon on the defences at a cost of over a million pounds, Cronstadt may fairly be considered impregnable. "¦ The late Maurice Fitzgerald, a man of unusual talent, afterwards Professor of Geology at King's College, Belfast. CRONSTADT, THE KEY OF PETROGRAD 13 Before I left the place for good, the Commandant, knowing that I could be trusted not to take advantage of his hospitality, showed me the interior of Fort Milutine, with its iron-clad turrets and immense revolv ing guns. On my expressing surprise that he should show me, an Englishman, this favour, he jokingly replied : " We have no Dreyfuses here." The sly old sea-dog, however, did not tell me that they had a certain Captain Smith locked up in a dungeon in one of the forts for selling plans of the batteries to a foreign Government^ — ^the name of which I need not mention — and that others who had attempted to pry into Russian secrets had met a similar fate or a worse one. Nor did he allude to the marvellous defences he had built, after years of labour, on an artificial island, almost invisible at a distance. These low-lying, half- submerged forts, fitted with enormous Krupp guns, were far more effective than the grim, picturesque granite forts around Cronstadt, which could be bom barded from the open sea almost a score of miles away, if necessary, by a hostile fleet. The three Russian naval officers with whom I resided for several years in Cronstadt were, like the majority in the Russian service, well-educated and travelled men. One was of Hungarian origin, another Swedish, the third German. The first was a fine Japanese scholar, the second a polished gentleman of high connections, and the last a hard-working, stolid Teuton. Although of different nationalities, all were thoroughly devoted to the Russian service. The majority of the naval men I came across spoke English, French and German fluently ; most of them came of good families, and had passed through the cadet school at Petrograd or Cronstadt. As a rule the navy officers are more broad-minded and better men of the world than the officers of the Une, many of whom are exceed ingly rough customers, knowing no tongue or country 14 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT but their own. As Cronstadt was usually frozen up for half the year, little experience of navigation or of ocean voyages was to be obtained ; it was quite an event for one of my friends to be sent for a cruise, and any who had the good fortune to make a voyage round the world were ever after spoken of with great admira tion ; one would think, indeed, that these favoured individuals were so many Drakes or Frobishers, judg ing from the respect and awe they enjoyed among their comrades. Under such conditions, it is not to be wondered at that the Russian fleet came to grief at Port Arthur and Tshushima. A sailor can hardly be come proficient in his calling when, for months together, he has nothing to do but repair ships which, like their crews, are rusting for want of use. But if the brave fellows — ^many of whom I knew — fought unskilfuUy owing to lack of practice, none can accuse them of cowardice. Their ships were sunk without being able to return the fire of the Japanese, at a range of six miles. Among those who took part in this conflict was one of my young pupils, who was afterwards saved, the only survivor of his vessel's crew ; they all stuck to their posts as long as there seemed the least prospect of victory, or of effective retaliation. These mishaps, and the general impressions left by a study of the naval events at Sebastopol, Port Arthur, and also of the happenings of the present war, when a portion of the Russian navy was again bottled up in Cronstadt, Libau and other ports, lead me to conclude that the pure Russians are not a seafaring people ; like the old Romans, they are at their best on terra firma. It is difficult for a nation to be great both on land and sea, and the desire of the Germans to excel in the two totally different spheres has much to do with their failures. Even if Russia occupies Constantinople, the north of Sweden and Norway — on which she casts longing CRONSTADT, THE KEY OF PETROGRAD 15 eyes — I doubt whether she will ever become a first- class maritime power, as long as the Finns and Lithu anians are not reconciled to her rule. Both these races make excellent sailors, but the ordinary Russian looks upon the ocean as an accursed element for any sensible human being to adventure upon ; with him more (sea) rhymes with gore (woe). Although the Duma, after the Japanese War, voted one hundred millions sterling towards rebuilding the navy, that money has to a large extent been wasted ; it might have been put to far better use in purchasing more artiUery and army equipment, and in the con struction of a better system of strategic railways. Russia really requires a fleet in the Baltic for coast defence, and a few battle cruisers for her high sea fleet. At that time the Ministry of Marine was severely criticised in the Duma. It was considered that the nation ought to have possessed sufficiently strong naval power to avoid the previous disasters, had the money devoted to the navy been properly applied, but it may not be too late for the lesson to be learned. I had many opportunities of observing the Russian methods of navigation. When the General Admiral came in his yacht to inspect the fleet and fortress, it often happened that the officers on the bridge managed to run the yacht ashore at the entrance of the harbour opposite Fort Menshikoff, which seemed to look im passively and grimly down as the excited sailors ran about the ship like so many worried ants in their endeavours to float her off. As a rule they had to wait until the wind veered round from the sea, deepening the water at this particular spot. Great was the joy on these occasions, and the good-natured Admiral — the late Grand Duke Alexis — would show his grati tude to the captain by bestowing on him a cross. There seemed to exist a tacit understanding that it was 16 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT quite natural in those days that an officer should run his ship aground, but that it was a heroic feat to get her afloat again ! The Imperial yacht was not the only vessel continually misbehaving in this way ; a large flagship named after the Grand Duke often stuck fast, and the exertion of refloating her must have been the crew's most exciting duty. On a visit from one of these high officials, or from the Tsar, all work in the inner and outer harbour had to cease — ^to the disgust of English captains, who could not understand that such an event should make it necessary to bring all shipping activities to a standstill. But they did not know the Russian proverb, " Go slowly and you will get farther," which is tantamount to saying, " Time is not money." One of the saddest things I remember in connection with Cronstadt was the execution of a talented, hand some young naval officer outside the city gates, for taking part in a conspiracy against the Tsar Alex ander II. Although this monarch liberated the peasants from serfdom, and carried out many reforms, he fell by the hand of an assassin, Risakoff — ^who was, after all, but a tool of some members of the nobiUty who had been injured by the Tsar's advanced ideas. Well do I remember the day the Tsar was carried wounded to his palace to die, for two of my friends were present when the bombs were thrown, and were almost deafened by the explosion, while a third, an officer in the Royal Bodyguard (Tsarskoe ochran) was stmck on the head by a splinter from one of the shells and hurt for life. In the twenty-six years of my residence in Russia I saw three Emperors on the throne ; of these Alexander IL, the Tsar Emancipator, appealed most to my mind and heart. Never shall I forget the mournful expression of his eyes, or his look of weariness and pain. There were many attempts on his life ; perhaps the most terrible was when the NihiUsts tried' CRONSTADT, THE KEY OF PETROGRAD 17 to blow up the Imperial Palace at the moment its occupants were expected to seat themselves for dinner. The concussion was so violent that I heard it dis tinctly in Cronstadt, eighteen miles from the capital. I was sitting at the table of a friend, when a muffled, rolling report shook the glasses. The mine, whifch had been laid beneath the palace, had detonated, and about forty officers and men of the Imperial Guard were killed. The Emperor, the Grand Dukes and other members of the family would have shared the same death had not their dinner, for some unknown reason, been delayed ; on those few minutes hung the fate of the Romanoffs, for practically the whole of the family were assembled on that evening, except the Grand Duke Constantine. By chance he, who was always suspected of being a " Red " — ^that is, secretly in favour of revolution or a more liberal regime — was staying with the old Govemor of Cronstadt, whom I have already mentioned. Curiously enough, on this night the Grand Duke's coachman died suddenly ; ill-natured people say that he was aware of the plot and committed suicide, fearing detection. Nothing was proved against the Grand Duke, but for long after wards he remained under suspicion of sympathy with the revolutionists. Eventually, being in disgrace on account of his " advanced " opinions, he retired to his beautiful palace at Pavlovsk, near Petrograd, where he died. There are many strange and mysterious enigmas in Russian history, and his attitude through out this political struggle is one of the most interesting. In an important naval centre such as Cronstadt the question of spies is naturally often to the front, and for some reason or other the authorities seem to fear women more than men in this connection. The beautiful heroine of one of Mr Max Pemberton's tales was a woman spy, who, in order to seal the hero's mouth regarding the secrets she stole, was married to 18 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT the impressionable young officer ; he, of course, helped her to escape and thus saved himself and his fiancee from lifelong captivity. But this character was purely imaginary, whereas I knew a lady, now living in London, who narrowly missed becoming involved in very serious trouble, owing to a perfectly harmless yet suspicious curiosity. She had been invited by certain officers to come on board their cruiser and look round, and, accepting the courtesy with pleasure, was shown the guns and their mechanism. When in one of the huge turrets she innocently inquired if it " moved on a pivot." " Pivot ! " exclaimed her escort, instantly alert, " what do you know about pivots ? " Thinking that she was undoubtedly a spy in the guise of a simple English tourist, he immediately blew a whistle, and my injudicious friend heard the tramp of armed men hastening down the steps of the turret. Without demanding any explanation, the officer caUed out : " This woman is a spy ; arrest her at once." She was being taken off to a cell, when she luckily saw the captain, who, she knew, understood English. In great indignation she informed him that his " fool of an officer " had mistaken her for a spy and ordered her arrest ; moreover, she said that she was a British subject and that the man would pay dearly for the insult unless she was set free at once. The captain, an intelligent and travelled seaman, inquired into the matter, and, seeing that a mistake had occurred, ordered her to be set at liberty. Whether the officer had received instructions to arrest all inquisitive persons, or whether his imagination had been heated by read ing about the attractive lady spy of Cronstadt, I cannot say, but this little incident shows how ex tremely dangerous it is to betray even a slight know ledge of technical matters in Russia, given certain surroundings. My first lessons in the Russian language were given ? ¦» »«>"•¦ » The steamer )'EK.)f.iA'. llESIl',^•E^) nv Aomiuae :\Iakaroee, breaking its way TiiRour.ii the ice outsihe Cronstadt CRONSTADT, THE KEY OF PETROGRAD 19 me by a handsome young artillery officer who hailed from the Baltic Provinces. Although of German blood, he was very hostile to the Germans, and looked forward to the day when Russia and Prussia (as he called Germany) should cross swords and pay off old scores. His feelings, however, imderwent a great change after the Russianising of the University of Dorpat and the closing of many ancient schools in the Baltic Provinces — some of which dated from Han- seatic times and the Middle Ages. These and other attempts to Russianise the " Baiter," as the inhabit ants of the Provinces are called, so embittered him that he informed me that should the Prussians march into that district he and thousands of his countrymen would welcome them with open arms. The Admiral of the Fleet at Port Arthur, who com manded the ill-fated Petropavlovsk, \*^hich went down with its brave captain and the gifted artist, Verest- chagin, was another resident of Cronstadt. I nevter met Admiral Makarieff, but shortly after his death I encoimtered his handsome wife and daughter. It was he who designed the remarkable ice-breaker Ermak, which keeps Cronstadt, Libau, Reval and other Baltic harbours open for a month longer each winter than was possible before its construction. Those who journey to Russia by sea in the spring will often see this powerful vessel pounding her way through ice floes and cutting a navigable channel for the traffic. Built by Armstrongs' of Newcastle, the Ermak is capable of ploughing through ice eighteen inches thick at a speed of eight knots. It is a fascinating sight to watch the horses, sledges and men close to her, perfectly safe on the firm surface, while she breaks a passage for ships ; the ice, in fact, will bear a railway train and its locomotive without giving, and by this expedient of a temporary line the winter loading of ships is frequently facilitated. 20 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT " Little Siberia " was not without its compensations for English exiles, chilly though its surroundings may seem to those familiar only with more temperate realms. When harbours and roads and the Gulf of Finland were frozen for hundreds of miles like a sheet of solid glass, we young men would sally forth with skates and cover immense distances in the utmost exhilaration. So transparent is the ice that the fish, and rocks at the bottom, fathoms deep, can be clearly seen. At other times we would charter an ice-yacht and skim along the smooth surface with arrowy speed to some destination where a good supper and a cheery samovar was ready to greet us. If the Gulf chance to be covered with snow, sledging parties would be arranged to Oranienbaum, the fine summer resort opposite Cronstadt and the seat of the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg ; or we might sledge half the distance to Petrograd, shooting podoroshnikee (snow-birds) on the journey. At the half-way house the inner man could be refreshed with koroschke, a kind of smelt, almost straight from the fishing holes of the frozen Gulf. Duck and snipe were plentiful in the marshes, and in the season I have spent many a peaceful night with my boatman, the faithful Ivan lonoff, after these birds, waiting until dawn flushed the sky. Then the wild duck began to emerge from their reedy nooks, where they lay during the hours of darkness, and with the sharp report of the guns our long vigil was re warded with a brace or more of plump victims. I have seen the snow-white ice, in early Spring, blackened with thousands of these birds. If it would seem that the long waiting must be tedious, spent in our fragile dug-out canoe {tchelnock) made from a single log, there are the exquisite sunsets and sunrises to set off the account. Tea from a simmering samovar at sunrise on the marshes is an experience to be treasured in the memory. On one occasion I nearly lost my life in a CRONSTADT, THE KEY OF PETROGRAD 21 quicksand when tracking a bittern which I had winged, but not killed. In my hurry to secure it I became half submerged, and had it not been for the good Ivan, who risked his life to save me, these reminiscences would certainly not have been written. The bittern, which I found at last, nearly pecked my eye out in its fury, so the adventure on the whole was not one of my most distinguished. There were other dangers of a totally different character. Sometimes while we were busy in the marshes the spent bullets from the rifle-butts would come whizzing past our heads, and it occurred to me that many of the Russian soldiers must have been shockingly bad shots ! In the evenings other pleasures were accessible — . those of the dance and masquerade, where the Polish mazurka and the polka were given with the animation and abandon which one can only find in Russia — ^the home of the dance and the ballet. Ill A ZEALOT OF CRONSTADT At that time the city of Cronstadt was the home of a very remarkable man, whose fame spread over all the land — Father Sergius, popularly known as Otetz Johann, or Father John, as I shall call him. He was born in the village of Sursk, Archangel, in 1829, and completed his education at the Petersburg Ecclesi astical Seminary. In 1855 he was appointed as one of the priests in the Cathedral of St Andrew, Cronstadt, and it is now more than fifty years since the young man turned to the people and expounded the great commandment : " Love your neighbour." For about half-a-century he consistently endeavoured to carry out the precept by dedicating his whole life to the doing of good to the thousands round him, no matter how degraded their condition. At the beginning of his ministry, when his means were of the scantiest, this good man gave to the poor almost all his stipend, contenting himself with bare necessaries, but after wards, when his fame had reached throughout the Empire, money was sent to him from all parts to spend as he thought fit. Year by year these contributions increased in number and value, until " The Saint of Cronstadt " was able to undertake works of charity beyond his wildest expectations. I have known him to receive in one day thousands of roubles, and to give them all away by the evening. Such inordinate charity naturally induced many sturdy vagabonds, called Pasadsky, to settle in the town and exploit the priest's generosity to a shameful extent. But this was not for long, and when Father John established 22 A ZEALOT OF CRONSTADT 23 his workhouses, or homes for " lovers of labour " — ^as he termed the lazy incompetents — ^they did not trouble him so much. The unbounded veneration of the people for this good man arose from the fact that he was not only a priest, but a teacher, a preacher, a benefactor and a clever organiser and stimulator of labour among the lowest dregs of humanity, many of whom he lifted to their feet when all hope of redemption had been abandoned. Many would consider his charity beyond reason. With an income amounting to many thou sands of pounds a year, Father John seldom had a spare rouble in his pocket for the needs of to-morrow. I have been told that he had been known to give away entire bucketfuls of roubles, the contents uncounted, to the consternation of the donors and the horror of his wife, who could not soar to such heights of altruism. In every village he was spoken of, and rich and poor, nobles and peasants travelled hundreds of miles to see him. His portrait was in scores and hundreds of dwellings, by those of the Emperor and Empress. Hardly a minute passed when he was not pestered on all sides, and he continually received letters and telegrams from those who believed in him. In these all kinds of requests were made — he was asked to administer the Sacrament, to heal the sick, to visit the hospitals and to perform many duties of similar character. On his arrival at the pier in Petrograd by the Cronstadt steamer I used to see Father John surrounded by swarms of droshky-drivers, each one anxious that the holy man should honour him by riding in his conveyance. In Cronstadt he could scarcely go into the street without being followed by crowds, and whenever he attended service he was the centre of a throng, some of whom begged alms, while others strove to kiss his hands or seized the hem of his long clerical robe. On these occasions he would make 24 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT the sign of the cross, and take from his purse a few of the coins with which his admirers so plentifully supplied him. Many of the requests of the people no human being could fulfil— it was a troublesome role, that of a saint ! Father John had a great passion for observing strictly the customs of the primitive Christian Church ; he carried on divine service in the manner of the early Christians, and all the congregation joined in the singing— not a general practice in the Russian churches, where it is usually confined to the choir. Most of the common people believed that he could perform miracles. This, however, he did not profess to do ; he said his healings were by the power of prayer. It may seem incredible to some, but there is no doubt that many sick persons were cured by this remarkable man ; whether it was the power of faith — ^the mind working on the body for its benefit — ^is not easy to say. The fact remains, and in consequence his reputation grew by leaps and boxmds. Whatever opinions may be held as to his gifts, he was no ordinary man, for had he been of average calibre he could never have acquired such vast influence — ^not only over the people, but even over their rulers. The Tsar Alex ander III. had a great opinion of this worthy priest, and it is believed that he expired in Father John's arms. The present Tsar also used frequently to send for Father John and ask his advice on various questions relating to the people, as he was gifted with strong common-sense, and understood the simple moujik as well as any man. Had the Tsar been more amenable to this guidance, we should probably never have seen a large portion of Russia ablaze with the fires of revolution, for what Father John said was law to millions of the Orthodox in all parts of the land. The belief in "The Saint of Cronstadt" extended even to other and foreign members of the community. o c x'< A ZEALOT OF CRONSTADT 25 I have known many instances of English and Germans, when seriously iU, sending for him because ordinary sources of help had failed. Father John contributed towards the erection of many beneficent institutions, but it can hardly be said that his influence had in it anything of a progressive tendency. With all his Orthodox Christianity he could not overcome his inbom national antipathy for the Jews, and when the horrible riots occurred at Kisheneff he did not condemn these fanatical and barbarous outrages as a follower of Christ should have done. Naturally this attitude did not affect his popularity with the lower classes, as, being sprung from the peasantry, he thus showed that he was not above their narrow prejudices. He and his foUowers at last became a nuisance to the authorities. Many flocked from the south of Russia, a thousand miles or more away, to Cronstadt, in order to pay him divine honours, believing him to be an incarnation of Christ, who, according to the peasantry, comes upon earth at stated intervals in the person of some good man. Of course this was too much for the Government officials, and often the credulous moujiks were locked up by the unbelieving police of Cronstadt. On the latter inquir ing how the prisoners could be so wicked as to worship a sinful man like themselves, they used to reply : " The sin is not ours, but of the other people of Cronstadt." " How could you live so many years with such a good man in your midst and not worship him ? " Nothing could be said in answer to these naive remonstrances ; nothing could be done but send the superstitious ones home to their own villages. But this did not help, and the Father had to travel thousands of miles to put an end to this new phase. Among the places he visited on this mission was a village in the government of Kostroma, where a peasant named Artamonoff conse crated a chapel to " the most glorious fellow-champion. 26 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT Johann EUas Sergius in the Trinity " ! ! On hearing of this, Father John hastened to convince the people of their error, going from village to village, tearing down the icons, images of himself, which the peasants were worshipping. Arriving at one place, he went straight to the church belonging to the sectarians, who were adoring his own icon, and explained to them what a great sin they committed by regarding him as a saint. " I am just as sinful a man as all others," he said. " Therefore pray to God to forgive you." He then read texts from the Scriptures, besought them to give up their heresy and to repent. For a long time the sectarians listened to the oration in silence, then, after a pause, one exclaimed : " Forgive us. Little Father — forgive us, accursed ones ! " while others fell on their knees, weeping, not daring to look up into his face. The Russian correspondent who describes the incident says : " Father John regarded these ignorant men long and sorrowfully, who through ignorance had fallen into error. On leaving them he exclaimed : ' Pray ardently before the throne of the Almighty, that He forgive your great sin before Him ! ' " Many a time have I met the priest pacing the broad streets of Cronstadt, surrounded by a throng of wretched beggars and ne'er-do-wells, all hoping that he would bring some happiness into their darkened lives or at least temporarily relieve their wants by a shower of copper coins. FinaUy, I became so inter ested in this mediaeval survival that I ventured to caU on the priest at his residence near the cathedral. I found his ante-room full of religious humbugs and parasites, busy extracting large fees from all who wished to see him. They demanded two or three roubles for each interview with the Father, whom I could see if I would wait a quarter of an hour. I was so disgusted at the mercenary spirit of these hangers- on that I immediately quitted the house, and never A ZEALOT OF CRONSTADT 27 entered it again. These unscrupulous wretches eventually exploited Father John's adherents to such an extent that the Government was compelled to inter fere and abolish some of the sects that were founded in his honour. The Johannites, as they termed them selves, went into all sorts of absurdities, seriously announcing that he was God's own Father, descended from heaven in human shape ; one woman posed as the Mother of God, and another person claimed to be the Archangel Gabriel. According to their teachings, only Johannites could be saved — other mortals were possessed by evil spirits. Their principles were simple arid very practical — ^viz. in order to be saved people should sell all their worldly possessions, but should not give the proceeds to the poor, but to the monasteries or religious houses of the sect. Evidently the inten tion of the leaders of this new movement was to gather in as much earthly dross as possible ; they traded on the good name of Father John, and on the various "Mothers of God " and " Archangels " who now began to spring up like mushrooms in this hotbed of super stition. Before the police suppressed this harmful activity there were thirteen Johannite monasteries in Petrograd alone. It was in the country, however, among the millions of simple, illiterate peasants, who still live under mediaeval conditions, that the Johannites reaped their richest harvests. The most devoted and fanatical teachers and preachers were chosen and sent to the governments of the interior, where they employed every art to capture the masses. Their methods were as follows : — ^After they had con vinced their victims of the divine origin of the so-called " Saint," and inspired in them a mysterious terror of damnation and the wiles of the Evil One which threatened all who were not of their faith, the preachers began to occupy themselves in more practical ways. The faithful were induced to sell all their land and 28 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT goods and to set out for Petrograd, together with their families, and take up their abode in one of the religious houses. Once immured thus, they came under the domination of various impostors, " arch angels " and so on, who robbed them of their last copeck. The only resource of the impoverished victims, after this process of fleecing, was to remain in the monastery, absolutely in the power of the prior and prioress. Many shameful injustices and exactions were thus inflicted on the deluded people, but Father John, whose name was simply used as an attraction and an excuse, cannot be held responsible. According to his lights, he was an honest, consistent Christian, whose simplicity was traded upon by wretches who were incapable of understanding his goodness or his faith. Father John died as he had lived, striving to the last for the people's welfare. As with all that is human, he was not perfect, and he was steeped in the super stition of the class from which he rose ; but it is not for us, who have advantages that were denied to him, to criticise a man who usually did more good in a month than most of us do in our lifetime. IV SOME CRONSTADT CHARACTERS Some few years ago a talented English novelist delighted his public by writing a story lounded on an imaginary Cronstadt, which existed only in his fertile brain. Being no novelist, I can give no such soul- harrowing picture of this gateway of the Russian Empire. Whatever people may say of the town — and some have said most unpleasant things — it will always be associated in my mind with the saddest, and also with some of the happiest, hours of my life. Here I made the close friendship of one of the most lovable principals— a fiery, happy, honourable man, of Welsh descent, whose influence over me was for my good. Here, in contrast, a severe chill nearly terminated my career, and sent me wandering all over Russia and Europe in search of health, or of relief from the malady that remained. The English chaplain, whose memory will always be cherished by all who knew him, was one of my best friends. In the comfortable, solidly built vicarage of the Russian Company he used to keep open house, dispensing hospitality " Uke a fine old English gentle man, all of the olden time," and in the whole EngUsh colony it would have been hard to find a warmer- hearted or more talented man. There seemed to be nothing our chaplain could not do. Father O'Flynn was not to be compared to him, although both were genial Irishmen — ^genuine sons of Erin. Father M'Swiney could take tea with the ladies, dance and troll out a good song ; he was a splendid artist, and the beautiful altar-piece of the Cmcifixion in the 29 30 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT English chapel at Cronstadt is one of many worthy products of his busy bmsh. As a Unguist he was extraordinary ; he spoke Russian, German, French and his own native Irish tongue with equal facility, and was an excellent Latin and Greek scholar. As a former officer in the King's navy, and a fine sailor, he dearly loved a fight, and sometimes would " let off steam " by removing his black coat and thrashing any of the hulking giant carters whom he caught ill- treating their poor horses — for he had the courage of a lion. When complaints of the strange proceedings of the English pastor were made to the Govemor, they were dismissed with a chuckle, and the exclamation : " Never mind him — he is an Englishman, and cannot help being a bit mad ! " Occasionally our chaplain would have arguments with the Govemor, and once told him that if any news of preparations against his Majesty's navy came to his ears, he should consider it his duty to report them. The Govemor was not at all disturbed by this outburst ; he knew that whatever the excitable Irishman might say, he would never abuse hospitality or act meanly in any way. His two sons, who were descendants of one of Nelson's admirals, were chips of the old block ; both died high in the service of their coxmtry, one as a colonel, the other as a major. On his retirement, pensioned, he was succeeded by a saintly scholar, an intimate friend and co-worker of the great Canon Farrar, and collaborator in the Life of St Paul. But as most readers are probably more interested in sinners than in saints, I will not describe this worthy man. Our last chaplain was the Rev. Father R., who as a young " blood " had run through a fortune of £20,000 at his university town ; he then became a Cowley monk, and afterwards entered another branch of the Church. In appearance he was a typical Friar Tuck, tall, boisterous, with a head as SOME CRONSTADT CHARACTERS 31 bare as a billiard-ball and a voice like a bull ; neither saint nor scholar, he was yet thoroughly up in the classics, and had a heart of gold. He could preach like a Savonarola, when stirred by pity or indignation, but his great delight seemed to be in hearty drinking and the telling of yams — some of which were perhaps of a racy tendency ; his laughter shook the rafters of the vicarage. This, of course, shocked many of the " unco' guid " folk, who did not understand him. At times, when his congregation consisted of a solitary captain, he would slap his audience on the shoulder and whisper : " Don't stay here listening to me — come into the vicarage and have a glass of whisky ! " The captain missed — or did not miss — an indifferent sermon, but would be treated to an excellent supper and some good liquor, and would 'go home blessing the chaplain of Cronstadt, who comprehended so well the weaknesses and wants of a sailor-man ! All this may not have been strictly clerical, but it pleased the old salts who came from every part of the British Empire, and was possibly more effective than the methods of his predecessor, who, endeavouring to win our sailors from their temptations of " wine, women and song," substituted for these attractions chess, draughts, books and tea ! The proclivities of the old sea-dogs could not be changed by such mild relaxations, and our Friar Tuck, who would have given his last coin to help anyone in distress, was perhaps the more acceptable exponent of religion in this peculiar sphere. These remarks concerning the last man who held this position in Cronstadt may not be out of place, as the chaplaincy has been done away with, and the church and vicarage, which I knew so intimately, have been sold to the followers of Father John, the Saint of Cronstadt.^ ^ The Rev. Father R. is now no more, and died, missed by hundreds who remember his kind heart and generous nature. He has left a family far from well provided for. 32 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT Our population of 50,000 included the garrison of 40,000, and among these artillerymen, infantry, marines and sailors there were many characters who would have adomed the pages of Gogol's notable satire on Russian official life. Reviser. The sudden reform ing zeal of the police-master, who shortly after his appointment became a strong supporter of the temper ance movement, was therefore hardly appreciated by these devotees of Mars, Venus and Bacchus. Most of all was he unpopular with the publicans and sinners, who in Russia keep the trakters (tea-shops), beer and wine shops and hotels. In order to impress upon them the excellence and beauty of temperance, he would make unexpected raids, declaring that it was a sin that there should be so many public-houses, and that it was sacrilege that wine-shops should exist so near the cathedral and holy buildings ; they must be closed. The proprietors were privately informed, however, that if they would give two or three thousand roubles to the new temperance movement they would be forgiven, and their establishments would be re opened ! In this manner the wily police-master soon amassed a large fortune. But his career came to an abrupt end. As Cronstadt is in constant communica tion with Petrograd, close at hand, news of his activity reached the authorities. An inspector was sent from the Department of State Control, and in due course our energetic police-master disappeared into the wilds of Siberia. His successor was no better. This upholder of law and order not only fleeced merchants and publicans, but actually robbed the police and fire brigade men of their beds, and sold their clothes to enrich his own pockets. Under his rule I saw men, when arrested, call to the crowd : " Take my money, comrades — I have fallen into the hands of the police 1 " Whereupon the victim would throw his cash among the people in the hope that some SOME CRONSTADT CHARACTERS 33 honest soul would retain a portion of it, being also aware that once it was secured by the guardians of the law he was not likely to see it again. This all happened, however, when vodka reigned supreme, and the State monopoly on the spirit had not been abolished. Our bank director was another person of original views on morals. After robbing the bank and feather ing his own nest, he also was transported to Siberia, where he managed to pass a very comfortable exist ence on his " savings " and " investments," although he was never allowed to return to Russia. As the crimes of both these officials were non-political, they had comparative freedom in their new homes, being permitted to live much as they pleased. In Russia the punishment for civil offences is light, but political offenders are treated with the utmost severity. It is thus far safer to rob a bank, or even to kill a man, than to plot against the Government or to belong to the revolutionary party. Truly " Holy Russia " is a strange, incomprehensible land ! THE FOUNDING OF PETROGRAD The capital of Russia was founded by that barbaric genius, Peter the Great, in honour of his patron saint. In a comparatively short span of time — a little over two hundred years — in spite of a mortality that has often reached thirty-five per thousand, it has become one of the largest and most important cities of Europe, capital of an Empire stretching from the Gulf of Finland to the Pacific Ocean. Long before Peter took it in hand, it was the site of a thriving colony of the merchants of Novgorod the Great, and a place of considerable commerce. Even before the conquest the Roos and Gothland vikings from Var jag (Sweden) used to come down the Neva and enter Lake Ladoga, from thence finding their way to Novgorod — ^the old name of which was Holmgard. In course of time the connection of the Varangians on the eastern shores of the Baltic with their kindred in the west was broken off, and Novgorod became a powerful independent state, with territories extending from Lake Ilman to the White Sea and eastward to the Ural Mountains. The southem shore of the Finnish Gulf was also a part of the great possessions of this free repubhc, and the very spot on which Petrograd now stands was a portion of ancient Russia, inhabited by heathen Finns and a few Swedish and later on Hanseatic merchants. Even in the tenth century the shippers of Novgorod, who were mostly Norsemen, carried on, with the aid of the Gothlanders, and subse quently with the help of the Hanseatic traders, a lively intercourse with the rest of Europe. In fact it was 34 IJuiKDiiXr, Ships I'Or Russia's Coaimercim. Makixk i.\ the r)AYs of J'k'J'kr the Great {/•'/'o/'^ an oh'yiLT'ii/ii hv Roini- THE FOUNDING OF PETROGRAD 35 by the Volga-Ilman-Ladogo-Neva route that the wares of Central Asia were brought to England, long before the Conquest. Peter, although a descendant of those Muscovite rulers who had destroyed the prosperity of that great republic, was such an admirer of Alexander Nevsky, the heroic Grand Duke of Novgorod, that he transferred his bones with ceremony to Petrograd, and erected a splendid monastery on the spot where they finally rested. The remains of the quondam enemy of Muscovy now rest beneath a shrine of silver about two tons in weight, at the monastery at the end of the Nevsky Prospekt, named after him. Petrograd did not pass into the hands of the Russians without many a sanguinary struggle on the banks of the swift Neva. In one of these crusades against the heretics, by order of the Pope, the Swedes, under their famous General Berger Jarl, were surprised by Alexander Nevsky and defeated with great loss. This battle, which took place on the banks of the River Ishora, a tributary of the Neva, occurred in 1240. In 1300 the Swedes again managed to establish them selves and to build a fort on the spot where the Nevsky Monastery now stands. The name of this fortress was Landskrona, but before long it was destroyed by the Novgorodians, who would not on any account give up this most important strategic point. In the seventeenth century, after the destruction of Nov gorod the Great by Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar and Grand Duke of Moscow, the Swedes once more for a short period gained possession of the banks of the river, and built another defence at Ochta, a pretty spot higher up the stream opposite the Smolna Monastery, which I have frequently visited. The name of this new fort was Ny-skantze. It soon be came the centre of a flourishing town, and towards the end of the century owned more than a hundred ships. In order to defend the source pf the river the Swedes 36 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT built still another powerful fortress at Schliisselberg, called Noteborg and by the Novgorodians Oreshka (walnut)— a suitable name, for it was a very hard nut to crack for any who essayed to capture it. Schliissel berg was given its present title by Peter the Great, who delighted in calling the different places he built by German and Dutch names, to the scandal of his Muscovite subjects, who even in those days detested everything German or foreign. After a struggle with Sweden, which lasted for twenty years, Peter captured Noteborg, Ny-skantze and other strongholds, but not imtil Sweden was quite exhausted and only her old men and boys were left to continue the unequal war against Russia and her AUies — ^Poland, Prussia, Saxony, Denmark and Norway. In 1703 Peter firmly established himself on the Neva, and from that time Sweden's energies waned, until she could hardly maintain her position as a second-class power. On 29th June 1703 Peter laid the foundation of the new capital of his Empire, to the disgust of the Musco vites, who regarded Petrograd as the gateway of the infernal regions, if not Hades itself. As for Peter, he was charmed with his fresh project, and often referred to the place as his paradise, though if heaven be such a place as this was when he founded it, many sinners would perhaps prefer to be condemned to the lower spheres. He termed it the " window looking into Europe," and worked at his capital with that ferocious energy and zeal peculiar to his nature. Nothing was allowed to stand in his way now that his mind was finally centred ; not the forces of nature, or the lives of thousands of " ordinary mortals," could prevent him from making his great city. The Moscow party might rave, the priests might excommunicate him and fulminate curses against him as Antichrist, but he replied by putting them into dimgeons or THE FOUNDING OF PETROGRAD 37 cutting off their heads. When his only son, Alexis, the tool of the party of reaction, stood in his way, he also was sacrificed for the future good of the State, just as Brutus sacrificed his two sons for the sake of Rome. The stones of the city were laid with great ceremony. According to a legend, which has perhaps been borrowed from Roman history for the occasion, Peter cut out of the island two pieces of earth, and placed on them a cross, saying : " Here shall be a town " — which, with a man of his character, was tantamoimt to saying that the town was already there. At that very moment, relates the legend, an eagle appeared in the heavens. Peter then dug a trench, in which was deposited a stone box with some saintly relics. This was covered with a slab bearing an inscription relating to the founding of the city. The eagle, in the mean time, interested in the proceedings, circled round, and at last settled on two small birch-trees ; it was then shot, and Peter took it with him to his camp at Schliisselberg. The Russian Messenger, the first Russian paper, writing about this event, says that " his Imperial Highness on reaching Petersburg ordered a new and more convenient fortress to be built. In it were six bastions, on which worked 20,000 men. This fortress was that known as the Peter and Paul, so situated that it commands both sides of the city." Thus Peter sat, as he expressed it, " with a firm foot in the sea." His city soon rose from the forests and marshes that surrounded it, to the astonishment of the neighbouring states and of his own orthodox, conservative subjects, who regarded the Tsar as a madman and as Antichrist, whose coming had been foretold in the Bible. During the construction of the town the Tsar lived close to the Peter and Paul Fort, in a little house, which I believe is still intact. Wherever he went, Peter erected these small houses, for though a giant 38 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT in stature, he preferred to live in a small, stuffy cottage rather than in a palace. An enterprising man soon opened a Hosteria, as he caUed it, near by, and there Peter used to refresh himself with brandy and cayenne pepper, one of his favourite beverages. He had also another kabak (" pub ") opposite the Admiralty, where I have spent many an hour reading the Russian papers and endeavouring to learn from them what was happening in this country. Nothing seemed to check Peter's enthusiasm or to damp his energy, not even a terrible inundation which in August, 1703, converted his camp into a marsh and undermined the walls of his newly constructed fortress. His disappointment was more than compensated for by the arrival of the first Dutch vessel in " Sankt- Peterboorgh," as he termed his town, in honour of the Dutch, whom he so greatly admired. To impress his people with the importance of the event, he himself steered the ship up the Neva, and afterwards gave the captain several himdred ducats, treating him to cayenne brandy, schnapps and all the dainties he could think of, in his little dwelling. The work did not proceed, however, with sufficient speed to suit the Tsar's ambition. He ordered merchants, tradesmen, landowners and masons to come forward, imder heavy penalties if they disobeyed. They came — cursing Peter and his outlandish heretical ideas, which they were convinced boded no good to Holy Russia. Peter promulgated a decree in 1714 that all building in stone should be forbidden through out Russia, the punishment of disobedience being min and exile to Siberia. He also wrote to Prince Romanodoffsky to send him 2000 thieves and robbers, and to collect all who were deported to Vologda and Siberia ; thus he obtained a horde of workers. The historian who quotes the letter adds that this is not a joke, for many of the buUdings of the city were erected THE FOUNDING OF PETROGRAD 39 by criminals. By such heroic methods the capital began to grow. In 1704 there were 15 houses ; in 1709, 150 ; in 1714, 485. It is estimated that on the death of its founder the city contained about 100,000 inhatitants. The idea of placing his beautiful capital on this marshy, unhealthy spot of quagmires and floods was only finally decided upon after the battle of Pultiva, when Charles XIL, wounded and with half his army lost through frost and cold, was defeated. After the death of Peter there was a regular stampede of ail those who did not wish to reside in the " earthly paradise." But when Catherine II. succeeded to the throne Petrograd again began to flourish, for she was a ireat admirer of Peter, and erected a splendid statue in his honour, which is still to be seen facing the >eva, near the Isaac Square. The older portion of the city is the Petersburg Jtorona, or Petersburg Side, behind the fortress, low- lying and damp. Formerly this part was inhabited oy the poorer classes, but it has now become quite a rashionable quarter, with many handsome streets and fine houses built in that solid style only to be found to perfection in northern lands. The southem portion of the Neva bank, now populous, has been enlarged only within recent years. Catherine II. probably did more for the beautifying of the " Northern Palmyra," as she poetically called it, than any other monarch since the days of Peter. Many of the noblest palaces owe their origin to her liberality and love of archi tecture. It was she who began to confine the unruly waters of the Neva, ever striving to burst their bounds, with those miles of massive granite quays, lacking which the river would lose half its beauty and dignity. At the present time this vast city of magnificent distances occupies an area of over 300 square kilo metres. The whole place is arranged in a manner reminis- 40 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT cent of New York, especially the Vasilii Ostroff (Basil Island), which Peter originally intended to lay out like Amsterdam, with canals and lines of trees along their banks. This plan was subsequently abandoned ; the canals were filled up and converted into boulev^ards and streets. Petrograd of to-day is not only a residential town and the seat of Government ; it is also an imnense industrial centre. In its immediate neighbourhood are many mills, shipyards, breweries and glass works, giving employment to some himdreds of thousancB of men. These in their tum give a good deal of worc to the police and to the secret police, who are constantly on the watch to put down any revolutionary or socialistic tendencies in this huge population, whote members, since the influx of so many English, German and French workmen, have become " tainted with tfe advanced ideas of the Rotten West," as the officiab picturesquely express it. VI THE YOUTH AND GROWTH OF PETROGRAD, WITH SOME HISTORICAL NOTES Petrograd, to use the words of Oostrajloff, "arose under the cannon-shots of the Swedes," who were con stantly attacking the fortifications while the town gradually grew amid the marshes. One of the hottest of the engageinents took place at the entrance of the river. The Swedish ships, taken by surprise, were boarded and captured by Peter, with the aid of a number of boats and galleys under his own command, and he was very proud of this achievement. The place where the war galleys were kept is near a low- lying street behind the English church, called the Galemaja, and one of these strange craft — ^which I beUeve are simply a copy of the old Venetian war gaUeys — is exhibited every year on the Neva, when this victory is celebrated with great ceremony. According to Russian historians, it was never Peter's original intention to build so near the mouth of the river. All his energies were at first centred on the construction of a fortress commanding the outlet, and a port, the remains of which are still to be seen, known now as the " Gavan " (The Haven). Peter IIL, the grandson of the founder, was one of those backsliders who fled from the city at the death of Peter the Great ; he returned to the Kremlin, the home of his Romanoff forefathers, whose mediaeval house still exists inside the walls. The Empress Elizabeth, Peter's grand daughter, who secretly married Count Razumoffsky, was no more faithful, and little by little Petrograd became emptier and emptier. But although Elizabeth 41 42 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT preferred to live outside the city, she took great pride in its improvement and enlargement, and it was during her reign that the architect Rastrelli not on^y began the Winter Palace — ^probably the finest Imperial residence in Europe — but completed many important public buildings, much to the benefit of the new capital. When at length Catherine II. brought back her Court in all its splendour, and summoned to her side many of the brilliant men of the Continent, the old- fashioned Muscovites and some of the pleasure-loving nobles, vegetating on their estates in the lonely provinces, began to realise Petrograd's attractions. It was no longer necessary to compel the nobiUty to reside in the place where a second Zenobia reigned. Many of their own free will flocked thither, and soon it became one of the gayest and most popular cities in Russia. At this time the population numbered about 300,000. Catherine carried out Peter's ideas on a scale of grandeur that even his colossal mind might have shrunk from, for, with all his ambition, Peter was practical, while with Catherine extravagance and vanity were the ruling passions. Under her, Petro grad assumed symmetry and beauty. She planted trees along the banks of canals, and fell in love with her own work, and, intent upon her delightful task, induced many eminent men to settle there by costly presents of money, jewellery and watches. Petro grad, during her reign, was divided into PoUce Quarters, in the manner of Paris. She built a marble palace for her favourite, Gregory Orloff, who obUged her by strangling her husband and thus removing the most formidable obstacle to her ambition — ^which was to become the mler of the Russian Empire, from the Baltic to the Pacific. It was no longer necessary to issue edicts threatening heavy penalties to those who refused to live in the city. It grew rapidly, and. i I YOUTH AND GROWTH OF PETROGRAD 43 though far from healthy, was a centre for such as cared for gaiety, intrigue, dissipation and extrava gance — ^all of which Catherine sedulously encouraged, both by precept and example. Her son, Paul, who had been brought up under Prussian ideals, spent most of his time in erecting barracks, drilling halls, hospitals, churches and other buildings ; to him is due the once beautiful Michael Palace, now called the Castle of the Engineers. The costly work of encasing in granite the river's banks, the River Fontanka and the Catherine Canal was also carried out regardless of labour and expense. Alexander L, the son of Paul, who, with the help of the Allies, broke the power of Napoleon, directed his energies to the outskirts of the town. He improved the sanitary arrangements, a reform which was sadly needed. In 1814, on the centenary of the founding, he formed a committee to consider the question of new hydraulic works. He also in the same year invited Daniel Wheeler, a well-known Quaker, to come from England, and entrusted him with the arduous task of preparing about 5000 acres of land for agricultural purposes. Thanks to this practical old Quaker, Petro grad is now well provided with market gardens and cabbage-fields — seen at their full extent on entering the town by rail. Victoria strawberries are grown in abundance at Pargolo, Shoovalofva and other environs, and in the summer months are very cheap ; apples, pears, raspberries and otker fruit to which we are accustomed, however, do not seem to thrive in the northern climate and uncongenial soil. Nicholas I. also did much for the city. During his government the principal streets were paved — more or less badly — and the divisions of the place were fixed. Official records give the population as 150,000 in 1759, 308,000 in 1812, and 580,000 in 1864 ; at the present time it is about 2,000,000. 44 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT Petrograd retains even now its reputation for un- healthiness, but by the enterprise of certain members of the municipal coimcil this reproach is gradually being removed. It used to be so unhealthy that it was said that if the country people refrained from coming to the town for a period of fifty or sixty years the place would be deserted completely ; also that it was only due to the " unmarried mothers " that there was any increase at all. Perhaps it is for this reason that Petrograd is so plentifully supplied with foundling hospitals, without which probably the population would never have attained its present proportions, for in Russia, as in France, the " unmarried mother " is often a benefactor to her coimtry, even though she may be considered a nuisance by " respectable " society. For administrative purposes the city is divided into twelve parts and thirty -eight subdivisions {oocha- stocks), each small portion being under the control of a police officer called a Nadzeratel. The chief quarters are : the Vasileffskaja — ^the favourite re sidences of the English, German, Dutch and foreign merchant classes are here ; the Wiborg side, on the right of the Neva ; the Great Nevke, inhabited principally by Finns ; the Kazan quarter, lying between the Moika, Catherine and Krukoff canals, devoted mainly to business and shopping ; the Kolomna quarter, between the Neva, Fontanka and Moika canals ; the Letenaja ; the Moscow quarter ; the Narvsky quarter ; the Petersburg side ; the Roshdestvenskaja and the Spasskaja quarters. There are also four others, favourite residential resorts owing to their salubrity and numerous gardens and parks — the Ljesnaja, the Peterhoff, the Polustroff and the Schliisselberg quarter, stretching along the river banks. The Polustroff quarter, once famous for iron springs, is part of the old Swedish town of Nyshants. It is YOUTH AND GROWTH OF PETROGRAD 45 situated on high ground and is a healthy district. Here I spent many pleasant days wandering round the grand parks or drinking the waters of the neighbouring iron springs. Notes on ihe House of Romanoff In this work such frequent reference is made to the Romanoff dynasty that the following table of those who have reigned since the founding of Petrograd will be useful and convenient. The emperors and em presses of this house, since the city's inception, are : Peter the Great (son of the Tsar AleX' sjevitch) ruled from . Catherine L, his widow . Peter IL, Alexsjevitch . Anna I., Johanovna Johan VL, Antonovitch (who in Schliisselberg) Elizabeth I., Petrofna Peter IIL, Theodorovitch Catherine IL, of Anhalt Zerbst Paul I., Petrovitch Alexander I., Pavlovitch . Nicholas I., Pavlovitch . Alexander II. , Nicholai vitch Alexander IIL, Alexandrovitch Nicholas IL, Alexandrovitch . 1721-1725 . 1725-1727 . 1727-1730 . 1730-1740 perished . 1740-1741 . 1741-1761 . 1761-1762 . 1762-1796 . 1796-1801 . 1801-1825 . 1825-1855 . 1855-1881 . 1881-1894 20th Oct. 1894 Peter the Great, the founder of Petersburg — now called Petrograd — ^reigned from 1682 to 1725. Many of the palaces, gardens, canals and chief buildings were planned and finished in his time. Among these may be mentioned the fortress, built in 1703, the Summer Palace, 1711, the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, 1715, and the college or university, 1722. 46 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT Peter was succeeded by his wife and former mistress, Catherine I., who is said to have died through her fondness for confectionery, some which she took being probably poisoned. The next mler was Peter IL, who died in 1730, after an uneventful reign. He was followed by the pleasure- loving Empress Anna, Duchess of Courland, whose Court became noted for licentiousness and dissipation. The Admiralty and the third Winter Palace were erected in her period. Under her the secret chancel lery, a court resembling our notorious Star Chamber, was installed, governed by the cruel Biron, her hand some favourite. It is said that both the Empress and he took a great personal interest in watching the effect of the various tortures inflicted in this hated institu tion. This Empress, whose policy was influenced by the unscrupulous Duke of Courland, died in 1740 ; the Empress Elizabeth then reigned until the year 1762. She was secretly married to Count Razumoff sky, and is said to have had several children by this courtier. In her reign the present Winter Palace was built by Rastrelli, the Summer and the Anitchkoff palaces, and the Cathedral of the Smolna Monastery. The unfortunate Peter III. followed, husband of Catherine IL, the ambitious German Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt Zerbst, who, after the death of her husband, mled Russia for about thirty years. In her reign many extensive works were carried out : the granite embankments of the Neva, by Rinaldi ; the Academy of Arts, built by Felton ; the Courts of Justice on the Letennaja, by Delamot ; the Armenian church, by Basheneff ; the State Bank on the Fontanka, by Staroff ; the Taurida Palace, and the Mechail Palace; also the railings of the Summer Gardens. These raUings used to be thought so beautiful in design that an eccentric Enghshman once travelled all the way to Petrograd merely to see YOUTH AND GROWTH OF PETROGRAD 47 them, returning immediately his wish was gratified ! The Kazan cathedral, on the model of St Peter's at Rome, built by Gvorenge, also dates from this period, during which Russia extended her domains in all directions. The capital of Mingrelia in the Caucasus, Kutais, was taken in 1771 ; the whole of White Russia was tom from Poland in 1772 ; the Crimea and the Kuban province were annexed in 1783 ; New Russia in 1774 ; the whole northern shore of the Black Sea in 1791 ; Volynia, Podolia and the province of Minsk in 1793 ; Lithuania in 1784, and Courland in 1795. In fact Catherine, although a German by birth, did more to extend the area of Russia than any monarch except Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great, both of whom added large stretches of territory to the Empire. The half-mad Paul I., assassinated at the Mechail Palace (now the School of Engineers), succeeded Catherine, and reigned from 1796 to 1801. Paul, who admired everything Prussian, built the old Mechail Palace, also many barracks and riding schools of huge proportions and massive architecture. The magnanimous, gentle Alexander I. then reigned from 1801 to 1825. In this period the Smolna Insti tute, the Admiralty and the Imperial stables were all completed. Nicholas, the " Iron Emperor," ascended the throne, and during his reign the Alexander Theatre, built in the purest classical style, came into being. Like Paul, he had a mania for everything .military. He also originated many of the barracks now to be seen in Petrograd, Sebastopol and other centres, and some of the fortresses. He was much aggrieved at his inability to capture Constantinople and make himself head of the Balkan Christians. He died suddenly, in 1855. Alexander IL, who reigned until 1881, was assassi nated by Risakoff on the banks of the Catherine Canal. His period saw many beautiful buildings added to the 48 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT city. Since, in recent years, the French and English have lent Russia so many millions of capital, the hotels and public buildings have been erected in far better material. When I first arrived in Russia even the palaces were of brick, stone, or stucco, but now one sees many fine palaces entirely of stone, faced with granite or marble. As the wealth flows in from abroad, Petrograd becomes more and more magnifi cent, and will eventually be, at its present rate of growth and adornment, one of the grandest cities of the Continent. VII THE RIVER NEVA AND THE GREAT FLOODS The Neva, which carries a greater volume of water than any other river of its size in Europe, is Petrograd's peculiar charm; without this stream the city would lose half its beauty. Probably through no other capital do so many waterways flow — ^the Big Neva, the Little and Middle Neva, and numerous broad canals which were once small rivers meet the eye continually. The Fontanka, the Catherine and the Oboocheff are the most noticeable, and in the summer these are busy with shipping of every description, from the long barge as big as a schooner to the modest lighter. In spring, when the ice begins to move, many of the barges are tom away and ground to pieces, until they are little better than matchwood. The Neva is then unsafe for foot traffic, and many a careless moujik loses his life at this period, and disappears, carried by the ice-cold stream beneath far into the Finnish Gulf, where the battered and bruised body of the victim of the river god at last finds a rest. In order to render the ice less dangerous the municipal authorities have, in recent years, constructed electric tramways from shore to shore, illuminathig the route brilliantly, and the effect at night is exceedingly beautiful. The total length of the river, which rises at Schliissel berg, is only sixty-three versts.^ In some parts, how ever, especially opposite the Smolna Monastery, it is as much as 2100 feet across, and so deep that the largest steamers can load and unload in safety. The ' I verst = |- of a mile. D 49 50 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT stream is very rapid and treacherous, with a number of eddies and cross-currents, particularly near the Nicholai Palace bridge. If a man slips in he is gener ally drowned, unless he is an exceptionally good swimmer, for he is sucked under with such force that he seldom rises more than once. I have seen several drowned in the Neva, and in every case the unfortun ate one vanished just as a boat seemed on the point of rescuing him. On one occasion a would-be suicide threw himself from the Nicholai Bridge and was saved with extreme difficulty — ^to the great indignation of the peasants round me, who expressed the decided opinion that " the police had no right to rescue him ; he was tired of life, and wanted to die in the arms of Matooshka (mother) Neva. It was his own affair, and no one need interfere in his private arrangements." The Russian peasantry have a quaint way of looking at these matters, and their peculiar philosophy much impressed Tolstoi, Dostoieffsky and other famous thinkers. Besides the canals already mentioned, there are thirteen small ones, more than twenty lesser streams, and various branches. Naturally many islands are formed, and these are connected by about 150 bridges, some of which are of considerable size ; of them twenty-two are stone, thirteen are of iron and five are suspension. In fact Petrograd is a city of islands, rivers, canals and bridges; so much so that one of Gogol's comical characters is made to affirm that the bridges were built in such a devilish manner one would imagine they were hung without any attachments ! But this discovery was probably made on some moon lit night when retuming from a carouse, so cannot be taken very seriously. When I was last in the place, one of these stmctures suddenly collapsed and pre cipitated many persons into the river. It was very shaky, and the wonder is that it stood so long or was i P/toiox rnp/t i'j U: Ji. S/ M. Noto-vitch -was a great advocate of the Triple Entente. 268 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT Press, was a paper of some standing, although it was patronised solely by the German population of the capital and the Baltic Provinces. As a mle it sup ported the feudal interests and privileges of the German barons, and was devotedly hated by all good Russians — first, because it was German ; secondly, because it opposed as far as it dared the Russianising policy of the Govemment among the Germans, Livonians, Esthonians and other inhabitants of the Baltic Provinces. The Herold, another German paper, had a large circulation, but carried little weight poUtic- ally. It was eagerly read by the German merchants, shopkeepers and handicraftsmen of the city. There were several other dailies, of smalL impor tance but very popular among the kooptzee (peasant merchants) and lavotchniks (sraall business raen). The cMef attraction of these precious prints was their partiality for blackguarding everything and every body who did not happen to please the enterprising journalists who ran them. Both the Listock and The Gazette made it a cardinal part of their creed — ^if they could be said to have one — ^to abuse some person or nation every morning. The stronger the abuse, the better the article, according to the opinion of the edified readers. When neither Salisbury, Gladstone, Bismarck, Balfour nor Caprivi had misconducted Mmself, then sorae unfortunate country carae in for the wrath of these knights of the pen. One day England might be the sinner, another day Germany, a tMrd perhaps Austria, and when these failed, Italy, Switzerland or any other nation would do. England, however, was always the favourite villain of the piece. Had it not been for " perfidious Albion," the Russian Press of those days would indeed have had a very duU time of it. There was hardly a crime, intrigue or con spiracy in the world of politics which England had not a hand in. She was charged with deliberately killing THE RUSSIAN PRESS 269 off the aborigines of Africa with guns and mm ; poison ing the CMnese with opium ; with stirring up the Armenians against Russia ; with intentionally bring ing the plague to Europe ! But when King Edward went to Russia and inaugurated the Triple Entente, the tune was soon changed. With the exception of two or three Govemment organs, almost all the journalists indulged in tMs spleen against England, according to their lights, and their raisplaced industry certainly succeeded in instilling a fervent antipathy, if not hatred, towards our country for years. TMs was rauch to be regretted, for England was formerly popular in Russia, and of course now again is liked. Every year a nuraber of new papers spring into precarious existence, only to acMeve a tragic termina tion by the hands of the Damoclean censors, whose all-powerful raandates are the terror of editors. The papers are not long-lived unless they float with the official tide. Their suppression is a pity, for some of thera were brought out with great taste, and their printing and illustrations were excellent. The Mirovoi Otogloski, said to have been a resurrection of the once faraous Golos, deserves special raention. It might have succeeded had it not been so dear. The Moscow Press raerits little attention. With the exception of the Moskovsky Vjedemesti and the Russky Vjedemesti it is of sraall iraportance. The first, since the death of its celebrated controller, Katkoff, who made and unraada ministers at Ms pleasure and pretty well led official and public opinion, is no more what it used to be ; he gave it narae and fame beyond the limits of his own land. The second was the favourite of the liberal professors and men of letters in Moscow. It often received pressing atten tions from the censor, who intimated that its views did not meet with the approval of the powers, and, as 270 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT might be anticipated, tMs progressive and enlightened paper lived on the brink of disaster. It is probably extinct by now. Moscow produced several other curious sheets, wMch waxed fat by levying blackmail on the rich merchants. It was wonderful what a golden harvest tMs system brought in for the pro prietors of these publications. Their names I will not give, but they are well known to everyone who has lived in Moscow. It was but necessary to insinuate that such and such a man had dealt in a certain kind of goods, or was on the verge of bankruptcy, or was addicted to dishonest practices, for the guilty party, without being naraed, to rush to the editorial office and make Ms peace-offering, sometimes to the tune of hundreds of roubles. Great is the power of the Press when wielded in a just cause ! I suspect that most of these unprincipled papers, however, have now succumbed to the strain of the present conffict, when readers have sometMng more urgent to do than the perusal of scandal and ill-natured chatter about personalities whose fame is but local. It is remarkable to see the change that came over the views of Souvorin, the former bitter Anglophobe editor of the Novoe Vremya, before Ms death. He actually laboured for a friendly alliance with England, and in an interview with an Englishman spoke of the literature of the two countries, and the possibility of union, as follows : — " The Russians, from the eighteenth century, have always been fond of English novels, and still love them. It must be reraerabered that the English were our teachers, and Shakespeare, Byron, Thackeray and Dickens are regarded as alraost of our own country. The Russians and the English both possess huraour, and humour is the evidence of a strong soul, capable of enduring the greatest trials with the fortitude of a martyr. If we have not loved the English in our THE RUSSIAN PRESS 271 political life, it is because they have caused us quite enough trouble. There are other similar traits in both nations, and sometimes the Russian is the superior of the Englishman. We, like England, have our aris tocracy of intelligence in Grebojedeff, Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenieff, Tolstoi, Dostoieffsky, Glinka, Bmloff and others, without reckoning our conteraporaries." He also added that diploraacy generally does not recog nise the most important influence on the fate of peoples — ^their literature and art, believing that these are quite unnecessary. In reality they are the very soul of a nation, its strivings, its real thoughts. His words as to the love of the Russians for English literature are absolutely correct. It is wonderful what a nuraber of English classics have been and still are being translated — how widely and willingly our famous writers are read. Even Bunyan and Milton find their public; but owing to their religious and archaic style their readers, as a mle, are the peasant classes, who delight in works where God, the devil, angels and archangels take a prominent part. To the Russian peasant these unseen beings and all the saints of the calendar form real and living personalities, wMch colour Ms daily existence. If the inhabitants of the towns live in the twentieth century, the vast majority of the peasants are mentally still in the Middle Ages, taking more interest in miracles, icons, pilgrimages, omens and witchcraft than in theatres, picture palaces, newspapers and cheap literature. xxx FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS AND THE CENSORS The best-informed body of men in Petrograd, next to the diplomatic corps, was without question the little band of newspaper correspondents wMch the Govemment tolerated in their midst. The journalistic activity of its members was continually being cur tailed by the severity of the censors, who, -with a mighty pair of scissors, clipped and mutilated raany a message sent abroad, in order that the " Rotten West " should not learn too much of what was going on in " Holy Russia." TMs small group of EngUsh and foreign writers was, as a mle, far better inforraed as to events in Russia than were the arabassadors or diplomats themselves, who usually sat in aU their glory at the embassies waiting for news, wMle we unfortunate people " got busy " searcMng for items all over the city — in the many Gk>vemment depart ments, in the salons of the wealthy and influential, at official receptions and in various other less reputable places wMch need not be mentioned here. Then, sooner or later, the embassies heard from us of the changes that were in progress all round thera. There were many types of correspondents. Strictly honourable men usually only represented one paper, and were satisfied with the pay thus eamed. The English members of our community, with few excep tions, came under tMs category. They had, however, a hard stmggle to compete with another class, who were not above working at one tirae for half-a-dozen papers of different interests and nationalities, or even receiving payment from banks abroad for sending off 272 CORRESPONDENTS AND THE CENSORS 273 telegrams calculated to influence stocks and shares favourably. These men, who threw all scruples to the winds, were most difficult to deal with, owing to the Mgh salary they received from their many em ployers. They came more to the front as the papers became engrossed in the effort to please a sensation- loving public, until finally the position of the old- fasMoned, straightforward correspondent was almost intolerable. Editors found it necessary to supply the demand, and, as tMs increased, our labours became more onerous. Honest writers were constantly placed on the homs of a dilemraa. If they sent sensational news off to please their papers, they carae into conffict with the police and the censors. If they refused to do tMs, they were eventually dismissed for not contribut ing bright and chatty news, wMch the public at home appreciated more than useful information and solid facts. It was perhaps pleasant for those who read, two thousand railes away, free from the attentions of these busy officials, to hear every day that a minister or a govemor had been blown up by NiMlists, or that an attempt had been made to assassinate sorae Mgh personage. In fact one English lady who subscribed to a " weekly horror " confessed to me that she could not enjoy her breakfast without a raurder or two, wMch she read greedily on Sunday raornings before going to church. But there was no such mild enjoy ment for the unhappy correspondent supplying these tit-bits, for he lived in fear of iraprisonraent or expul sion. TMs anxiety so told on one man I knew that he went out of Ms raind, wMle others, after undergoing the ordeal for a few months, either returned home or tried commerce for a change of occupation. The raore adventurous spirits, who loved the excite ment, or wished to be of service to their country or to humanity, stuck to their harassing work for years. Some were finally expelled, others went back to their 274 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT native land, to be forgotten by those who had em ployed them, for whose sake they had neglected hundreds of chances of enricMng themselves. A friend of mine suffered in tMs way, very sadly. After repre senting for tMrty years one of the largest and wealtM est papers in England, he returned to London shattered in health, to look for an appointraent. Yet, in spite of Ms brilliant career, and the benefits EngUsh trade, diplomacy and commerce had gained by Ms unceasing championsMp of Ms country's interests, and Ms con stant defence of Englishmen in trouble in Russia, notMng worthy of Ms talent was offered Mm — ^not even a living wage. He was by no means the only one. In fact I know of few more ungrateful or anxious callings than that of the foreign correspondent in Russia, if bribes or opportunities of personal advantages are honourably declined — Ms large circle of friends gives Mm endless chances of making money by speculation, or other easy means. Not all our members belonged to the self-sacrificing type of raan who embraces the profession for the good he can do rather than for material gain. One of the successful men in the capital wMle I was there was an Italian Jew, who reported for English, French, Belgian and Italian papers ! Having no scruples, and belonging to no especial nationality, he worked for any country that would employ Mm, and a greater cynic I never met. He looked upon the various nations with their rivalries and jealousies as so many opportunities for Ms own profit. Soraetiraes I used to raeet tMs worthy rusMng off, and would ask Mm what Ms hurry was. " I ara going horae to colour the news," he would reply. " ' Colour the news ? ' What do you mean ? " " WeU," he would say, half apolo getic, knowing that I represented one paper only, " you see I send to about six different papers, and must colour the news according to the varied taste of my CORRESPONDENTS AND THE CENSORS 275 readers." Although England and France were then on the verge of war, my enterprising colleague managed to tint Ms information suitably to Ms English and French employers. Owing to Ms connection with so many foreign banks and papers he was the best in formed of our little crowd, for the simple reason that he could afford to pay more for news than we, who only had one string to our bow, could manage. He has long ago gone to Ms account, and is perhaps laugMng in another world at the folly of those who employed Mm. He used to give brilliant receptions, to which even Mghly placed officials came. At one of these I met MUe , a voluptuous creature, sister-in-law of a powerful Minister. To her charms I might easily have succumbed had I not loved freedom rather than wealth and comfort. All the principal London dailies were represented in Petrograd; The Times for many years by Mr Dobson, a conscientious, lovable and energetic raan, in whose hands not only the interests of Ms paper, but those of Ms country, were safe. The Standard had for a long time a handsome Englishman named Baddeley who, through connections among the Russian aris tocracy, was often able to gather very valuable items of exclusive information. The Daily News was repre sented by Andrew Lydken, an able journalist from Denmark, afterwards on the staff of the Politiken of Copenhagen. He lost Ms life by the explosion of a cannon wMle reporting some experiments with a new type of artillery. Another conscientious raember of the fratemity was Mr Romanes, who eventually went under owing to the strain and anxiety of the life. One of our most amusing friends was Braily Hod- getts, of The Daily Graphic, who actually "took a rise " out of our dreaded Prefect, General Gresser, the autocrat of Petrograd. The correspondence of tMs EngUshraan did not quite please the General, and the 276 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT offender was suraraoned into Ms august presence. Although mercilessly severe. General Gresser was frequently extremely polite. " Mr Hodgetts," he began, "it is very reraarkable the change that comes over your communications. When you are at home in England you write the truth in your paper, but when you come here you write nonsense. How do you account for tMs paradox ? " " Your Excellency," replied Mr Hodgetts, not at all abashed, " I can only explain the phenoraenon by the suggestion that there raust be sometMng in the political atmosphere of Petersburg wMch converts a truthful man into a prevaricator." TMs answer was quite enough for the Prefect ; from that time he asked Mr Hodgetts no raore questions. Had he gone into the raatter he would have perceived that the strict censorsMp exercised on all news lea-ving Russia made it absolutely impossible for any man to tell the whole truth as he knew it to be. Once, when I was attending the fencing school at the Mechail Palace (now the Engineers' School), an officer made a somewhat similar remark to me, saying in a bantering tone : " What nonsense you correspondents write about Russia ! " " If we wrote sense only," I replied, untroubled, " we should not remain at our posts twenty -four hours ! " It did not pay, generally speaking, for a corres pondent to show too much zeal in Ms profession. I remember one who arrived full of energy, but who witMn six raonths had to leave the country. There were others, and during my time I knew about half- a-dozen who had to quit, often at twenty-four hours' notice, through having said too much and offended the authorities. Taking one consideration with another, as Gilbert might have put it, a correspondent's hfe is not a happy one. We had to choose between two evils — if we sent too much news home we annoyed the CORRESPONDENTS AND THE CENSORS 277 censors and the officials, and if we sent too little our editors grew fractious. I once sent news that the Russian troops had -violated the Afghan frontier in pursuit of some natives of that land. TMs stirred up the wrath of the entire Russian Press, but it could not be helped, for after Koraaroff's exploits against the Afghans it was needful to be on guard that they should not be repeated. The affair came before Parliament, and the militia were called out, every preparation being made for war. But the Russian Govemment apologised for the incident and the storra blew over. One of our cMef difficulties lay in getting our missives across the frontier. If we posted it at the usual post office, the enclosure would go to the chambre noire, to be opened and read. If it was sent by wire, half of it would be excised by the courteous but -vigilant telegrapMc censor, whose scissors seemed a veritable sword of Damocles ever suspended above our heads. Sometimes I travelled several miles down the line to post a letter, for the gendarmes at the main station watched everybody, and, I was informed, were in the habit of going to the post office and deraanding any parcel that had been posted by one of our group. We were without doubt a troublesorae thom in the side of the Russian authorities ; they resented these men of the pen who chronicled their peccadilloes and pubUshed them abroad so annoyingly. Yet I must admit that great courtesy was given to me during my ten years in the city, both by police and censors, the majority of whom were educated raen who mutilated our telegrams and blacked out our papers, not from any feeling of personal spite, but simply because it was their duty as ordered by the cMef officials of the Department. After acting as correspondent for the London Press for about ten years, my career carae to a sudden end. When the halfpenny papers began to compete with 278 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT the raore steady, old-fasMoned journals, my easy-going, non-sensational organ had not only to do away -vvith its foreign representatives, but to reduce its price to the popular coin. To make up for the loss to my income I agreed, in an evil hour, to write for one of the half penny sheets wMch, with " scare " headlines and Araerican raethods, have taken the field almost to themselves. For a time all went well. I supplied all the exciting news I could gather ; but tMs proved inadequate — they wanted news about " what never happened," as the Russians say. When I refused to manufacture sensations for their benefit, they printed news either made " by our correspondent in Vienna " or Berlin, or as a last resource concocted in Fleet Street and published as coming from Petrograd. As I was the accredited Petrograd correspondent, I was held responsible by the officials for all these inventions. For a tirae notMng was said, but one morning I was sumraoned before the CMef Censor of the Telegraph Departraent for having communicated something very awful conceming the death of a Russian Mimster of Foreign Affairs — in fact, according to the authorities, I had said that he was poisoned by the secretary of the CMnese arabassador ! Other incriminating charges were made against me, and, to my astonishment, I was requested to leave the country within twenty-four hours. Fortunately I had kept copies of all ray tele grams sent across the frontier, where I had an agent, and, thanks to this precaution and ray past good record, I was eventually allowed to remain — on con dition that I gave up my paper. TMs I was, of course, compelled to do, and I then turned to the less- exciting but safer occupation of teacMng in the Gk)vem- raent gyranasiuras and schools. In tMs profession I reraained until ray return to England, after tMrty years' absence, twenty-seven of which were spent in the " Holy Land of Roos." CORRESPONDENTS AND THE CENSORS 279 On dismissing me, Gospoden Gretch (Mr Gretch), the courteous CMef Censor, grandson of the celebrated Russian Mstorian, said : " I fear your new paper is not a serious journal ! " To tMs I blusMngly assented, and vowed to have notMng more to do with sensational sheets, for tMs was not the only pickle my enterprising editors got me into abroad during the coraparatively short time I worked for them. XXXI THE BRITISH COLONY — ITS HISTORY AND DE-VELOPMENT The British residents in Petrograd coalesced into what may reasonably be terraed a colony about the time of Peter the Great. It is well known that he employed many Englishmen and Scotsmen in Ms army and na-vy, and to assist in various railitary undertakings, reforms and public works. In the old church at Spalding a tablet on one of the walls bears the f oUo-wing inscription : — " To the Memory of lohn Perry, Esq' m 1693 Commander of His Maiesty King WiU'°° SMp the Cignet ; second Son of Sam^ Perry of Rodborough m GloucestersMre Gent & of Sarah Ms Wife ; Daughter of Sir Tho' Nott ; K' . He was several Years Comptroller of the Maritime works to Czar Peter in Russia & on his Return home was Employed by y^ Parliaraent to stop Dagenham Breach wMch he Effected and thereby Preserved the Navigation of the River of Thames and Rescued raany Private Familys frora Ruin." This worthy is only one of the many Englishmen who, by industry and energy, helped the Tsar to build up Ms new Empire and to lay the foundations of the city wMch bears Ms narae. Long before Ms tirae, how ever, the English opened out coraraerce with Russia by raeans of the merchants of Gothland, then known as the Osterlings. These Baltic traders had their headquarters at the ancient city of Wisby, where subsequently all the money and treasures of the Goth- 280 THE BRITISH COLONY 281 landers were kept in the cellars of the Cathedral of St Maria. Evidences of the trade with Russia, especially with the regions round the Neva and the upper reaches of the Volga, are constantly met with in the shape of Anglo-Saxon coins minted in England before the Conquest, and fragraents of Anglo-Saxon pottery discovered so far off as east of the govemment of Orenburg. The Neva was the outlet for goods brought from the East, up the Volga, and thence via Lake Ladoga to the Baltic. Most of the trade was at first in the hands of the Gothland and Swedish vikings from Roos-lagen, the large district lying between Vaxholm (near Stockholm) and Upsala, the old capital of Sweden. Later, it was taken up by the Novgor odians, who for a long time owned both banks of the Neva. But it was left to Alfred the Great to inaugur ate the first trading relations with the people of Bjarmiland, on the shores of the WMte Sea, by send ing out Ms sMps under the comraand of Norwegian navigators, who supplied Mm with material for the earliest description of these northern lands that we have in the English tongue. He was really the first Englishman of note to recognise the possibilities of commerce with Northern Russia. There is little doubt that international relations of tMs kind were estab lished long before the Conquest, and when, in 1553, King Edward VI. sent Sir Hugh WiUoughby, Captain Richard Chancellor and other adventurers to traffic in the WMte Sea ports, he was only reopening an inter course wMch, owing to Tartar invasions and political upheavals, had been broken off and for a wMle for gotten. According to Johnstone's work on tMs subject, the young King Edward VL, who was dying of consump tion, watched the heroic mariners pass out to the great unknown from the palace window at Greenwich. The majority never returned, for they were overtaken by 282 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT an early winter — the entire crews of two of the three vessels, with their comraander, Sir Hugh, died of cold and starvation. But the tMrd, under Chancellor, reached a safe bay, where it anchored. TMs " bay " was the WMte Sea, and after sending a boat ashore the voyagers learnt that " one Ivan Vasile-vitch ruled far and wide in these provinces." Now tMs was none other than the dread Tsar Ivan the Terrible. With all Ms cruelty and barbarity, he fully understood the iraportance of cultivating friendly relations with that great raaritirae nation, England, wMch was taking the place of the old Hanseatic League and depri-ving it of the ruinous raonopoly and power wMch Ivan Mraself had done so much to irapair. Chancellor in Ms report raentions the Emperor's " majestic appearance, Ms rich robes covered with large and hea-vy stones," and describes the pomp and ceremony with wMch a noble man (Nikita Romanoff, an ancestor of the present Tsar) set out on an embassy to Lithuania. On Ms return he averred that he had found another Indies. TMs was scarcely an exaggeration, for wealth and territory were Ivan's to an extent exceeding that of the Indies, even though the climate in many parts of Ms dorainions was bleak, inhospitable and forbidding. The result of the friendly intercourse between the Tsar and Queen Elizabeth, who had succeeded her invalid brother, was a treaty, by wMch the EngUsh raerchants were allowed to establish factories at Archangel, Vologda, Narva, Moscow and later on at Kazan. Afterwards came another at Holranegore, near Archangel, and a branch at Petrograd. TMs, like the factory at Archangel and Moscow, had a church supported by the ancient Russian Company, the first charter of which was granted by Ivan during the reign of Queen Mary, as can be seen by the seal of the Company at its offices in London. TMs Company, which was very exclusive, continued to receive various THE BRITISH COLONY 283 charters from the successors of Ivan until it eventu ally became extremely rich and influential. In 1585 Queen Elizabeth wrote to the Emperor Theodora begging for still further privileges. The latter replied to the ambassador that the English residents con stantly broke the laws of the country ; that their manner of living corrupted Ms subjects ; that they already enjoyed far greater favours than other foreigners in Russia, and that he could not exclude all other traders simply for their benefit. The " corrupt practices " mentioned probably referred to the fact that the English did not keep the fasts of the Greek Church, and ate meat during the season of Lent, when all good Russians abstain rigidly. As to the privileges, from the very first the English have been treated as a favoured nation. In the international agreements they are always termed " guests " and regarded as such. For offences that would send a native to Siberia they would only be imprisoned, or requested to leave the country. The whole time of my residence in the capital in the difficult position of foreign correspondent (tolerated, not liked) I received the finest courtesy from the censors, police and officials; — ^not because I happened to be on the Press, but because I was a British subject. If I, whose presence the authorities tacitly resented, was treated so well, it is easy to see how pleasant is the lot of other Englishmen not connected with papers or politics. Boris Godounoff, the Tartar usurper, who was sus pected of having murdered at Ooglitch the Tsarevitch, the younger son of Ivan the Terrible, also strove to encourage trade with these islands, and rendered valuable assistance to the Russian Company. Even the weak-minded Theodor granted the EngUsh special facilities in consideration of their being the first to try the route to Archangel. The English cause, however, suffered from the imprisonment and death of its cMef 284 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT friend in the Imperial Council, Nikita Romanoff, who was too powerful a rival to be permitted to remain. His sons also were all executed or imprisoned, prob ably at the instigation of Godounoff, who desired to seize the throne. He was full of craft, and in some ways wise enough to act up to more generous methods. He sent four young Russians to England to study, to learn, in fact, all they could about the wonderful island kingdom in wMch the people of Musco-vy were so interested. Three of them died of sraall-pox at Oxford, but the survivor, Nicephoms Alfery, was ordained into the Church in 1618 and appointed to the living of Woolsey in HuntingdonsMre. A direct descendant of this man, who claimed the throne of Muscovy, was for years governess to my own cousins at Normanby Grange in LincolnsMre, and the Mstory of tMs offshoot of the Musco-vdte Tsars, who were related to Ivan the Terrible by marriage, is still in my possession. Although Nicephoms Alfery was twice invited to return to Ms native land, and was offered the rank of an Iraperial prince, he thought Ms head sat raore tightly on Ms shoulders in tMs country than it would at the Court of Muscovy, and preferred to remain here as a quiet parson. He seems to have filled tMs office with credit, and died peacefully. On the election of Mechail Romanoff to the throne by the will of the clergy, the boyars and the people, coraraerce with England via the WMte Sea ports was fostered in every possible way. The old charters were renewed and confirmed, and from that time Russia became one of our principal markets. During the Romanoff dynasty the two nations increased their intimacy, and more than once the Russian Company in London rendered the Russian Government signal service, not only by loans, but also by supplying cannon, arms and ammumtion. When Peter the THE BRITISH COLONY 285 Great began to be possessed by the idea of Ms new city, he abolished the rights of the Company in Arch angel in order to attract trade to the fresh centre. The British factory was then removed to Petrograd, where its offices are still managed by a board of directors sitting in London. The factory then built the beautiful church on the English Quay, also another church at Cronstadt, wMch I have already mentioned. The one in the capital is also the church of the Era bassy, and the merchant classes support it with great liberality. An excellent Congregational church is built near the post office. For many years its pulpit was occupied by the Rev. Alexander Francis, a man of eloquence and energy. WMle the great famine of 1891-1892 raged, he was one of the leading members of the English and Araerican colony in Petrograd, whose efforts were the means of saving many thousands of lives in the interior. Close to tMs spot a young English governess was murdered by the Horse Guards one winter night, her body being Mdden in the loft of their barracks. As soon as the crirae was discovered, all the suspected men were shot. The Tsar (Alex ander III.) was so enraged that he returned Ms umform of the guUty regiraent and refused ever to wear it again. Another English church, at Alexandroffka, on the Schiisselberg road, was built cMefly for the convenience of the mill population up the river. Here the Thorn tons, Hubbards, the Becks and the Nevsky Stearine Company have several large mills tand factories, their managers and foremen being generally Englishmen. The Russians have of late years becorae so skilled in the manufacture of cloth and cotton goods, and in the knowledge of macMnery, that fewer Englishmen are required in these duties than was the case sorae years back. In the interior I have visited raUls tuming out first-class stuff for the Central Asian markets that do 286 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT not employ a single foreigner — everytMng is Russian, even the cotton, with the exception of a small quantity imported from America. There remain still, however, some English managers who eam princely salaries — men frora YorksMre or LancasMre, sometimes mill-owners, who have made large fortunes. The wealtMest are the Hubbards, whose big mills are at ScMiissel berg. The head of tMs firra, who has been raade a peer, has for long had rauch to do with the control of the Russian Company in London. The Cazalets have been in Russia ever since Peter the Great's reign. In the timber industry, the largest export houses are Oscar Steveni (formerly of Hull and Grimsby), Charles Stewart and Edward Reynolds. The English and Germans used to monopolise tMs trade, but every year Russian naraes corae raore and more prominently into it. Petrograd has also large breweries and oil- works, belonging to the Millers, another old EngUsh house of repute. On the Bolshoi Ochta one of the principal factories is that of Matthew Edwardes, a native of LincolnsMre, who carae to Russia as a tutor, and now owns an estate at Sieverska, with extensive glass works. He is typical of raany of our countrymen who went abroad with little beyond education and character, to succeed and become wealthy. SMpping, comraerce and engineering naturally claim their pro portion of English. Among thera raay be mentioned the Johnstones, Maxwells, Wylies, Wishaws, Ander sons, Hills, Howards, Merryweathers, the Tamphns of Brighton, and there are raany others. Life in the English group, both in Petrograd and Moscow, is, as a rule, very enjoyable. Most of the members are fairly well off. They show more hospitality and sociability in their daily intercourse than do their compatriots at home. Freed from the deadening effects of the strenuous existence, the stmggle for life, which too often spoils Londoners for xxisu r>iiiiia±i COLONY 287 any enthusiasms when work is done, they uphold, as do other Englishmen in our colonies, some of the best traditions of the race. There are, however, many English governesses and tutors, who generally find their places very pleasant and satisfactory ; the Russians treat them as one of the family. Especially among the older nobility the aged governess or nurse who has spent her best years in bringing up and educating the younger generation is pensioned off comfortably. The old nurse, in fact, occupies rauch the same position as the nurse in Romeo and Juliet ; even when her charges have grown up she has her place at the table, and is considered the adviser and friend. Ivan the Terrible would listen to Ms nurse, fearing her reproaches and curses, when Ms heart was hard as adamant towards all other human appeals, TMs democratic and Christian trait of character is not confmed to one class, but appears beautifully in all. I witnessed a most toucMng example of it in the funeral of the English nurse of the late Tsar, who had watched over Ms youth and that of Ms brothers — ^the Grand Dukes Alexis, Sergius, Vladimir and Paul. All these, the Tsar at their head, tramped several railes through the streets, following the coffin, wMch they helped to bear to its resting-place in the ceraetery outside the city, and a beautiful marble monument, erected by her illustrious charges, marks the spot. So many of our countrymen have flocked to Petro grad in recent years that the profession of tutor is not half so attractive as it used to be. . In other towns, however — Kharkoff, Kursk, Nizhni-Novgorod, Kazan — a good field still reraains. The present war will tend to encourage comraercial relations between Russia and ourselves, but unless the English merchants bestir themselves, studying more than they have done the language and the require ments of the people, trade will again drift into the 288 PETROGRAD PAST AND TKESE^r hands of the Germans. At one time the English and Dutch held practically all the foreign trade, but the pushful Teuton ousted them with Ms capacity for organisation. The English folk in the capital, prior to the outbreak of war, numbered about four thousand, most of them living on the Vasilii Ostroff or in the mill districts, sorae in stately houses in the suburbs. They have, of course, their own club on the Grand Moskaya, their own booksellers (Watkin & Sons), and they support several schools, a fine library, the church and a gym nasium. They have also cricket and football clubs, tennis grounds, rowing clubs, etc., and the natives are becoming extremely interested in their sports, so rauch so that in wrestling and games of strength they are beginning to excel. We may expect in time from tMs young and natural nation some of the best sports raen in the world, particularly from the Cossacks, North Russians and Siberjaks, raany of whom are men of huge stature and immense physical capacity. Winter sports appeal strongly to the EngUsh. They hold skating competitions and amuse theraselves by ice-yachting, ski-ing, tobogganing or hunting bears and wolves in the forests of Novgorod and Finland ; also by shooting foxes on skis. Foxes and hares being so plentiful as to become almost a plague in sorae parts, this is not considered unsportsmanlike. Once these delights have been tasted, with the sense of enjoyment which is such a feature of Russian life, not many Englishmen care to return for good to their native land. Many I have known who went back, but Russia called thera and they left the old horae once raore. The real Russian does not love what we caU sport, and cannot understand why people should go to so much exertion for no tangible gain. A Russian lady who stood by me watching a football raatch on the island suddenly said she would not look at it any THE BRITISH COLONY 289 longer, for it was a " coarse and brutal and stupid spectacle to see young raen kicking one another and hurting themselves for the sake of a leather ball." When I tried to explain that it was " sport," and good for their health, she turned on me indignantly and said : "I call it brutality and barbarism ! " I was thunderstruck; but then I reraerabered that many of the people are, in their ideas, still half Oriental, regarding all violent exercise, except when absolutely necessary, as sometMng to be avoided. The English who have resided in the country for many years are regarded almost as Russians by the authorities, though they retain their najtionality with jealous care. When the French ambassador was instructed by Napoleon to inform the Tsar that the English should be dismissed, as those who remained in France had all been imprisoned, Alexander replied : " Their ancestors have been here for centuries, and I certainly shall not ill use my old friends so much as to treat them as enemies. If they choose to remain in Russia, no one shall molest thera ! " XXXII krasnoe selo and the MILITARY MANOEUVRES Everyone who is interested in military matters should ¦visit the camp of the Guards at Krasnoe Selo (UteraUy, " beautiful village "), where the Tsar has one of his numerous palaces. The journey is only about half-an- hour from the capital by rail. Every suramer the Guards, numbering about 200,000 men, pitch their tents on the green Mils overlooking Krasnoe and carry out a great many military exer cises, at wMch the Tsar, the Grand Dukes and the leading officers of the staff are always present. It was at tMs centre for practical soldiering that the crack regiraents of the army became so proficient that they were able in the early days of the present war to in ffict some severe defeats on certain of the finest troops of the German army, led by several of the most skilful generals in the world. The Tsar is usually mounted on a wMte charger, wMch, I believe, Alexander III. acquired from England ; very carefully he re-views the various battalions as they file past. They salute their Emperor, with loud cries : " We wish your Imperial Highness health ! " and in the distance the hoarse shouts sound like the subdued roar of a stormy sea beating on the shore. The finest regiments in the Russian army take part — ^the Ismail, the Pavlovsk, the Semenoff and the Preobrashensk ; regiraents which, under Peter the Great, Souvoroff, Barclay de Toll and other leaders covered the Russian arras with glory and victory. The Preobrashensk Regiraent was first formed by Peter from among Ms dissolute companions, who were sent 290 KKASNOE SELO 291 to Mm by Ms unscrupulous sister with the object of demoralising Mm and making Mm unfit to ascend the throne. But she reckoned without her host in tMs case, for Peter had a will of his own, and soon made it felt, with the result that those who were supposed to be able to mould Ms character were themselves transformed into useful raen. After the military exercises in the camp are com pleted, the autumn manoeuvres begin in real earnest. They are carried through with such thoroughness and realism that the soldiers have to undergo privations and hardsMps as severe as would occur to them in actual warfare. It happens often that many of the weaker ones succumb to the heat and fatigue ; others are drowned in the broad rivers and streams they have to cross. On more than one occasion, following these operations as foreign correspondent, I narrowly escaped being ridden down and possibly trampled to death by the Cossacks, who charge like a human avalanche, against wMch notMng can stand. Once when I was there the field of operations extended from Finland to Narva, a distance of several hundred miles. The Grand Duke Nicholas the Elder was present — father of the present Grand Duke of that name. He, like Ms hardy son, was a man of great stature, but then Ms face was ashen-grey, for the hand of Death was e-vidently upon him. These extensive manoeuvres were of the utmost importance, for they were planned on the assumption that an enemy frora the south was marcMng through the Baltic Pro-vdnces, with the object of capturing Petrograd. Another force belonging to the sarae hostile army had simultaneously landed in Finland, and was also advancing on the capital by way of the northem coast of the Gulf. It was no secret that the supposed invader was Gerraany. After witnessing these manoeu-vres, and those in Western Finland, I 292 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT came to the conclusion that the Russian Govemment had good reason to fear an attack from tMs quarter by Germany, and was preparing beforehand to raeet it. When war really broke out, the Germans immediately proved this true by seizing the Aland Islands, at tempting to carry out tMs very scheme, and n^arch- ing on the capital through the Baltic Pro-vinces. They were checked, however, in the western area of war by the British army before Paris, and, ha-ving to look after themselves pretty sharply in that direction, their well- laid plans went wrong. Studying the whole situation in the light of later events, I firmly believe that they thought to conquer Paris by a sudden onslaught, and then, after le-vying a heavy indemnity on France, to throw all their weight against Russia by way of the Baltic Provinces. In Finland the supposed hostile army occupied the road right up to Petrograd, but after landing near Cronstadt, amid some very severe fighting, they were driven off by the defending forces. The final battle took place just outside the city, near Krasnoe, and never shall I forget the dust, the din, the cannonade and sraoke of that last engagement. In tMs mimic but strenuous warfare the eneray was defeated by the Imperial Guards. The Russian Govemment were so convinced that tMs plan would be carried into effect that directly war came, thousands of labouring men were drafted mto the city to dig trenches and build earthworks round it, night and day, for extravagant wages. The forests and trees near the city, which might afford cover, were cut down, and an enormous force, estimated by some at a million raen, was sent to occupy Finland. But as the Gerraans were compelled to retreat from the neigh bourhood of I aris, and the chances of serious invasion via Finland became more remote, Russia removed a great many of her best soldiers and sent them to Russian Standard Bearers of the Chiards. Grand Dukes, Ci.ricers and Soldiers in the background KRASNOE SELO 293 reinforce the Austrian and lower Gerraan frontiers. There is little doubt that for a tirae Petrograd was in danger, and there was a lively possibility that Russia would lose Finland and the coraraand of the Baltic. According to the German Press, Gerraany has not completely abandoned all hope of this eastern opera tion, although she has already lost over 3,500,000 men in killed, wounded and prisoners. A Berlin paper printed an article by Professor Chiemann on 7th June 1915, under the heading : " Where is Russia vulnerable ? " The Professor says that the final blow must be delivered against Petrograd, where every tMng is centred that really represents the Russian Govemment. " It is not sufficient to drive the Russians out of Galicia ; one raust take action with the aira of threatening the capital and conquering Finland." Professor Chiemann knows Russia as well as anybody, and great value is attached to Ms opinions, since he has been the Kaiser's instructor, and is still Ms good friend. If Germany succeeded, the Provinces would become a part of her Empire, and Petrograd would once more be " Petersburg " — a Gerraan city not only in narae, but in reality. Lifland and Courland would again, with their memories of the prosperous and powerful Hanseatic League, become an autonomous state, with their own laws and religion as before. XXXIII ALEXANDER III., HIS " MUSEUM," AND THE LATE GRAND DUKE CONSTANTINE Across the Moika, at the end of the Champ de Mars, are the precincts of the old Mechail Palace, now con verted into an engineering school. The new Mechail Palace, now known as the Museura of Alexander IIL, is not for away, and near it is the French Theatre, where Sarah Bernhardt, Guitry and other great artists of France have triuraphed. The study of the French language and literature is encouraged in every possible way. Although English is popular in the Mgh est circles, French is the favourite araong the officials. A Russian hardly considers Mmself as properly educated unless he can converse fluently in that tongue. Gerraan is naturally unpopular, and I heard recently that since the war began a Gerraan was fined R.3000 for daring to speak Ms mother tongue in Petro grad. Even before the war the Germans were so dis liked that I have myself been asked not to speak the language in Russian society ; but that was in Moscow, where the Panslavists and old Russian ideals and ideas are still very strong. It was the Tsar Alexander III. who first set the example of speaking Russian instead of French at Court, and who opposed everytMng that tended to weaken a national spirit among Ms subjects. Before he ascended the throne it was quite usual to meet Russian nobles who spoke English and French well, but could hardly hold a passably correct conversation in their own language. In order to encourage Russian art, he acquired the beautiful Mechail Palace, and con- 294 The Tsar Alexander IH -called itie "Peace lover ALEXANDER III. 295 verted it into tMs Museum, where only the works of genuine native artists were exMbited. Many of those wMch formerly adomed the walls of the Hermitage and the Academy of Painters were hung here. About four hundred statues and pictures were brought from the Winter Palace and the palaces of GatcMna and Tsarskoe Selo. The best tMngs in the collection are : The Last Days of Pompeii, by Bmloff; The Last Supper, Peter I. and the Tsarevitch Alexis, The Marriage Kiss, by Makoffsky; The Cossacks, by Rjepin; Ermak, by Soorekoff; and Phryna, by Semeradsky. There are also sorae splendid sculptures by Anatolsky. The Museum cost Alexander III. a fortune to found, and, as it is certainly one of the finest in the city, it should be seen by all who wish to form a good idea of what constitutes true Russian art. Its originator, though rough and brusque, was probably the most genuinely Russian monarch who ever occupied the Romanoff throne. He loved the people, and felt that the State could be built on a firm foundation only by awakening and developing the national spirit — ^not by following in the steps of former rulers, who made England, France, Prussia and even little Holland their models. For the first tirae was heard the watchword, " Russia for the Russians," and in Ms brief reign the people becarae proud of their nationality and its own peculiar manifestations. That he was a reactionary in some tMngs cannot be denied ; but when we remeraber the fate of Ms father after he had eraancipated raillions of serfs and was on the point of giving the people a constitutional forra of govem ment, we can almost forgive Mm — though it seems hard that one hundred and eighty millions should be dragged back for the violent deed of a handful of mis guided enthusiasts, the ready tools of those who hated Ms liberal ideas and reforras. It transpired, after the assassination of Alexander IL, that a section of the 296 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT nobility, ruined by the emancipation of the wretched serfs, who by toil had supported them in idleness and luxury, were the instigators of the crime for wMch Risakoff paid the penalty with his life. SopMa Peroffsky, a clever noblewoman, had some personal aniraus against the Tsar. If I am not mistaken, she was the great-granddaughter of Count Peroffsky, the favourite Chancellor of Nicholas I., and a descendant of Catherine II. (who, by the way, left so many descendants that she has not without reason been called "the mother of her people "). SopMa Peroffsky employed her gifts very unwisely when she arranged a plot to kill the ruler who had done more for the people than any other since Vladimir sat on the Grand Ducal throne at Kieff and converted thera to Chris tianity. My friend, Professor Turner, of Petrograd University, saw the terrible explosion, and a few years afterwards I met another -victim of it — Colonel K., known as "the Tsar's watch-dog," from the fact that Ms duty was to accompany the Tsar wherever he went. He was severely wounded in the head by a splinter from the bomb, and for a long time hovered between life and death, until Ms strong constitution carae to the rescue. Unfit for active railitary service, he was then given a post in the Crirainal Investigation Depart ment, but, as his frame was so shattered, he began to study painting and sculpture. Though over forty, he developed a most remarkable talent, and executed several excellent statues of the Tsar. On the spot of the tragedy a raagnificent church, naraed the "Holy Resurrection of Christ," has been erected. It seems, however, sadly out of place among the classical buildings of the more modern part of the city. The Marble Palace, on the Palace Quay, was in habited by the Grand Duke Constantine, recently deceased. It faces the Neva and the Champ de Mars, occupying the very site where once stood Peter the ALEXANDER III. 297 Great's old CoacMng Yard, Unlike so many of the palaces, it is of stone and marble, instead of brick and stucco. It was built by the Italian architect Rinaldi, to the order of Catherine IL in 1769. In 1789 it was presented to Orloff, and the fa§ade then bore the inscription : " The Building of Gratitude " — ^by which Catherine acknowledged the many favours received at the hands of her herculean lover. He never lived in it ; he did not even see it completed, for he died in torment, at Moscow, from the result of Ms excesses. The palace was then purchased by Catherine frora Ms heirs and given to the PoUsh king, Stanislaus Poniateffsky. The Emperor Paul I. presented it to Ms son, the Grand Duke Constantine, but he seldora occupied the luxurious building. In 1832 the Marble Palace passed into the hands of the next Grand Duke Constantine, son of Nicholas I. Until quite recently it was occupied by Ms son, whose death is announced as this book is on the point of going to press. The late Grand Duke was well known as a poet and raan of letters. He translated the plays of Shakespeare, and hipiself acted in sorae of the leading parts. His version is considered by scholars to be excellent, showing a reraarkably fine knowledge of English. He formerly held a high position as coramander of the principal regiments of the Guards. At the raan ceu vres I have often seen Mm, busy and dusty, in corapany with the late Grand Duke Michael. At the time of Ms sudden death, on 15th June, he was only fifty-six. He was the son of the Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaivitch " the Red," and nephew of the martyred Alexander II. During the Crimean War Ms father commanded the Baltic Fleet, and in 1863, when Poland was in revolution, was the Imperial Viceroy at Warsaw. Constantine Nicholaivitch made Mmself exceedingly unpopular in Govemment and bureaucratic circles by his liberal and progressive ideas. 298 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT He had, however, much influence over the humane, pMlanthropic Alexander II,, and it was greatly owing to tMs that the Tsar was induced to liberate the serfs. When Alexander III. ascended the throne, and resolved to carry out a policy of reaction in all departments, the Grand Duke was compelled to retire from his various duties and to quit the capital. He spent Ms last days in the Palace of Pavlovsk, During the reign of Alexander II, I often saw tMs liberal- minded meraber of the house of Romanoff in Cron stadt, where, owing to Ms intense interest in the na-vy, he was constantly a guest of the Govemor, Admiral Kazekevitch. The late Grand Duke, Constantine the Younger, followed Ms father into comparative exile, devoting himself to literature, science, art and Ms railitary duties. Under the nom de guerre " K, Romanov " he published a number of lyrics, cMefly relating to military life, also translations. His drama. The King of the Jews, was forbidden by the Holy Synod, as raight be anticipated, on account of its heterodox tendencies. He was elected President of the Academy of Science in 1892. His sudden death is a great blow to Russia. Had he lived, it is quite witMn the bounds of possibihty that he would eventually have taken the lead in the Liberal movement, and under Ms wise guidance the people would have had a chance of developing the great intellectual and spiritual gifts with wMch Nature has so bountifully provided them. In my opinion he was one of the most talented and sympathetic of the house of the Romanoffs, which for weal or woe has controlled the destinies of the Russian nation for almost three hundred years. XXXIV THE ENVIRONS OF THE CITY This work would not be complete without some refer ence to the resorts near Petrograd, where the raore fortunate members of the population find arauseraent, sport and relaxation. Every great city has its beauty- spots, and Petrograd without its exceptionally at tractive surroundings would be at certain periods of the year almost insupportable. GatcMna, a favourite sumraer residence of the Tsar, has a palace built by Rinaldi in 1770, in the old Gerraan style. It contains seven hundred rooms, decorated with especial simplicity. BeMnd it lies an immense park, containing a nuraber of so-called " surprises " — a Roraan bath, a fine pavilion, a menagerie, an obelisk, a subterranean gallery and a noted " echo." Another easily accessible resort is Oranienbaum, a small but very picturesque town opposite the fortress of Cronstadt. I have often been glad to refresh and rest at its comfortable station after crossing the frozen Gulf — perhaps risking, as one does, being chilled to death or blown dovm and stunned by the wMrlwinds and gales that prevail during the winter. Many foUowers and adrairers of Father John of Cronstadt lost their lives in tMs way on the wild waste of snow and ice, when coming to the town to worsMp or to see their hero. In summer the scene is very different, and I recall happy days spent in the villas of merchant friends who make tMs spot their home in the hot weather. Oranienbaum was founded by Prince Men sMkoff in 1711. He beautified it at an enorraous 299 300 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT expense. Here stands the palace of the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg, its park overlooking the Gulf and the fortress. A most lovely walk may be taken through these grounds. It was in tMs park that a gigantic she-bear tore and mangled a forester of the Duchess fatally. As a mle bears are good- natured animals, seldom attacking strangers unless irritated or faraished, but when with cubs, as was tMs one, they will show fight if approached. The tragedy caused quite a sensation, I remember, in Cronstadt. Very occasionally wolves are seen in the outskirts of Petrograd, but never in the town itself. In the reigns of Peter and Catherine II. the streets at night were unsafe, both because of wild animals and men scarcely less wild. Pavlovsk calls the raore fasMonable section of society at holiday -tirae. It also has a fine park, and splendid bands play there in the hot season. The palace, for a long tirae the residence of the Grand Duke Constantine the Elder, contains a library of 30,000 volumes, also a very valuable collection of paintings by Correggio, Guido Reni and other Italian raasters. Here I made the acquaintance of Colonel Kirjaieff, brother of the famous Olga Novikoff, who in Glad stone's days raade such a stir by championing Russia's cause in England. The Colonel was then acting as adjutant to one of the Grand Duchesses. He was a most gifted soldier, a skilled swordsman and curiously enough equally distinguished as a dialectician and theologian ; a rare combination for a raiUtary raan in our days, but less uncommon among soldiers of the past. Richelieu, Ignatius Loyola, Servetius and others raight be mentioned as men who were at the same tirae soldiers and keen theologians. At Peterhoff the Tsar usually spends a portion of the suraraer. The palace is said alraost to rival Versailles in its fountains and grounds. It was THE ENVIRONS OF THE CITY 301 founded by Peter I., who, tme to Ms German pro- cU-vities, called it " Peterhoff "—a name now cformpted to " Petergoff " in Russian. The Russian language, Uke the Cockney, has no use for the troublesorae letter " h." On special occasions the grassy alleys, the fountains and cascades are illurainated by thou sands of coloured lights. Here Peter used to pass happy days with Ms rainiature wife, whose tiny slipper is still to be seen in the old Dutch house wMch he made Ms home — small mansion indeed for so raighty a raan ! But we measure men by their characters, not by their dwellings. Close to the house stands a smaller palace, where the Erapress Elizabeth used to amuse herself with " feasts of love and dinners of her ovm cooking" — a strange combination. Near it, again, is the little palace of " Alexandria," built by the bluff Alexander IIL, who, like Peter, preferred small houses devoid of porap and display. Only once have I visited tMs place, for here the Tsar, surrounded by triple cordons of sentries, dwelt in cherished seclusion. The larger palace, with its gorgeous halls and vestibules, I have often -visited, especially when my friend, Charles Heath, was there with the Tsar. A day at Peterhoff among its flowers and raore artificial beauties is not easily forgotten ; but on its attractions and Mstoric associations, interesting though they are, I raust not enlarge. A whole volume might be written on the palaces of Petrograd and its suburbs, so full are they of memories, so suggestive of former glories. Tsarskoe Selo (the Tsar's Village) is perhaps the favourite sumraer residence of the royal family. TMs to-mi — ^for it can no longer be rightly terraed a village — ^grew frora a sraall farra given by Peter to his charraer, Catherine. The park and grounds could not, one iraagines, be surpassed anywhere in Europe. Millions must have been la-vished on the place by Catherine and her successors, without reckoning the enormous cost of 302 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT the " accessories " — ^the Turkish baths, the " ruins," the marble gallery built by Cameron and the huge column raised to commemorate the battle gained by Orloff and the Allies at Tchesma. The magnificent saloon, the apartments gilded and decorated with glass and amber, the floors inlaid with ebony and mother- of-pearl form a dazzling sight for the English -visitor, accustomed to more restrained evidences of wealth. The last time I carae here I was shown, in a small alcove, the plain iron bedstead in wMch Alexander I. used to sleep during Ms campaigns, also even in times of peace. A craving for the simple life, indulged whenever possible, seeras to be a peculiar trait of the Roraanoffs. Since the olden days Tsarskoe Selo is like an enchanted palace robbed of its fairy princess; for such Catherine must have appeared to raillions of her sub j ects . It still retains many attractions , however, one of the most striking being a work of art known as " The Fountain of the Broken Pitcher," representing a weeping girl standing on a rock, with a broken vessel at her feet, from which flows a stream of water. There are a few other curiosities in the grounds — pyraraids, colurans, statues and even a Swiss dairy farra, with some splendid cattle. The baths are of the best, and are crowded in the sumraer. The weU- to-do classes are frequent visitors, for the bracing and healthy cliraate suits those who cannot stand the darap, raarshy soil of the city. Sorae of thera, in fact, live at Tsarskoe all the year round. Tsarskoe, like Peterhoff, GatcMna and Seversky, is on the Russian side of the Gulf ; StrjeMa is on the Finnish shore. It is also a resort of the aristocracy. I have always preferred the Finnish side, on account of its pine forests, pretty little lakes and sandy shores ; also because it is comparatively cheap. Schouvalofva, Pargolova, Ozerki, Tcherny Rjetcka, are other beauty-spots of this coast. Ozerki, noted THE ENVIRONS OF THE CITY 303 for its lakes, is where Father Gapon was cruelly done to death by the extreme revolutionists because of his opposition to the members of the party who advocated the reckless use of bombs to spread their propaganda. His murder — he was of Italian origin — is one of the darkest stains on the annals of the revolution, and he will always be considered as a martyr by those who are in favour of liberty and progress without re course to violence and terrorism. Tcherny Rjetchka is another charming spot, pine-clad and sweet, where are found many villas belonging to the richer members of the English colony ; boating, tennis, fishing and driving are in full swing here in the sumraer. BatMng is a great amusement, and as the Russians are an exceedingly natural people, batMng costumes are fre quently invisible, non-existent in fact, for both sexes. Farther down the Gulf, where the inhabitants are pure Finns, the folk, after half boiling theraselves in the batMng-houses attached to almost every cottage, will sally out into the snow and roll over and over in delight, apparently with no evil results. What Mrs Grundy would do among these priraitive people I have no idea. Judging frora her antics in England, her home, she would perish of shock. When last in Finland, on the way to Wiborg, I came to a cross-road and was puzzled which direction to take. Pulling up my sledge, I saw three Finnish girls, absolutely in the costume of Eve, sitting on a gate — ^and tMs in mid winter — cooling off in the open before rusMng back to their beloved banja, or scalding hot bath. In reply to my question, without a blush they showed me the road to Wiborg by pointing with one hand over their shoulders, Mding their breasts with the other. My companion, an Englishman, was astounded at their " iramodesty " (of course it was notMng of the sort), or pretended to be ; wMle even I, who knew the ways of the land, was not a little surprised at the unexpected apparition. 304 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT Wiborg is a popular place with the Petrogradians, many of whom have villas in the neighbourhood. The more wealthy, however, pass much time at Imatra. Before the River Wuoksonista, flowing from Lake Saima to the Gulf, reaches the sea, it forms a number of dangerous rapids. These are famous for salmon-trout, and I have known a good angler to catch as much as three poods' weight (120 lb.) in one evening. Overlooking the falls, an enterprising Finn has erected a fine hotel, where many of the English and Russian merchants often stay. The late Tsar, with Charles Heath, passed rauch of Ms summer holidays fisMng at tMs spot, and the FisMng Club has many noted raerabers of society. Hunting elk, wolves, bears, foxes and other animals takes some of the spare time of the leisured young men of the capital ; but on the whole better sport is found in the forests south of the city, though the woods of the Grand Duchy are not to be despised. It will be seen that although Petrograd has a poor climate, with seven long months' of winter, tMs fair city on the banks of the Neva has many compensating attractions for those who by choice or through business reasons raake it their habitation. I for one do not in the least regret the years I spent in the place, and one always reraerabers that it owes its wonderful existence and history to the genius, foresight and indomitable will of one man. In saying fareweU to Petrograd, let rae in these last words thank all who raade ray sojourn there so pleasant and express the hope that those who are induced to visit Russia's capital may have as happy and eventful a time. THE GRAND DUKE MICHAEL, THE TSAR'S BROTHER, AT THE FRONT CHARACTER SKETCH BY A RUSSIAN CORRESPONDENT In view of the possibility that the Grand Duke Michael may succeed to the throne of the Romanoffs, owing to the delicate health of the present young Tsarevitch, the following character sketch is of rauch interest, the more so as it is written by one who knows hira intimately. Describing the Grand Duke's appearance and activity at the front, this correspondent writes : What a hearty, harmonious, even rhythmic precision is observable in Ms movements. He is a truly muscular figure — a sportsman of the real English type. There is also sometMng English in the cut of his light linen jacket, ornamented with the epaulets of a general, and bearing the Cross of St George. His soft, search ing eyes gleam from a pale, ivory-white face, but this clean-shaven, striking countenance has the look of perfect health. The Grand Duke has a noble soul, as may easily be seen in everytMng he does, in each phrase, glance or gesture. He is a man of the most pronounced sincerity, wMch is emphasised by his simplicity. Thus he is especially alive to anytMng in the n&ture of a pose, to hypocrisy and deception. Bearing this in mind, it may be easily understood that after several joumeys to Germany his Imperial Highness received frora the inhabitants of that country an irapression of persistent egotism. " The Eraperor Alexander IIL, my father," he observed, " with deep wisdora guessed and understood the hypocritical u 305 306 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT tendencies of German policy, and once and for all set it down at its true value. He gauged its worth, and from that time consistently arranged Ms future relations with the young Erapire according to the strongly defined irapression it had made upon Mm." The Grand Duke decided, therefore, to bring to naught as far as might be the proud, aggressive plans of Gerraany. " She imagined," he said, " that in two or tMee short months she would crush us and our Allies, and then dictate Draconic terras of peace to the conquered. But despite all her technique, her skill and prepared ness, she has raade a cruel raistake. Of all her grand scheraes only fragraents reraain. Gerraany, until recently so powerful, has suffered a wound that is well-nigh fatal. The loss of her colonies, the ruin of her commercial hegemony, her terrible sacrifices in men — all these are injuries wMch cannot soon be healed, and the successes of the combined Austro- Gerraan armies will have little influence upon the ever-threatening catastrophe that awaits her." The words of the Grand Duke seem to be inspired. His quiet, manly strength is supported by Ms faith in the certain final victory of Russia and her Allies. His Iraperial Highness is beloved by all the com manding officers for Ms courage. He has covered himself and his division with glory, in this respect bearing a strong reserablance to the brave King of the Belgians. He is nearly always in the raost ad vanced positions, often being found in the firing line not only of the heavy cannon, but of the machine guns and rifles. He keeps perfectly calm, and heartens the soldiers in the trenches with gentle and winning words. The Caucasian mountaineers, who set great value on personal courage, absolutely idealise their leader, with unrestrained, purely Mohamraedan fatal ism. Among themselves, he is affectionately called THE GRAND DUKE MICHAEL 307 "Our Mechail." Enthusiastic letters are written about Mm to their relatives in the far distant villages, every letter reminding its recipient of the good fortune of fighting under the comraand of the Tsar's own brother ! All his leisure raoraents, when not engaged in studying maps in his rooms, consulting with Ms cMefs of the staff, or in the multifarious other duties pertaining to his rank, the Grand Duke spends in the military positions ; he knows all his officers even to the young ensigns, by narae. He has the soul of a saint ; in fact he is called a saint by the officers of Ms di-vision, and each one is ready to follow him to the death. As regards our positions (continues this correspond ent), imagine to yourself the steep banks of a large river. One shore is shrouded in twilight, its outlines softened and dim, and silent figures in their Caucasian uniforras pass to and fro. Lower down, on the slope, is a labyrinth of wire entangleraents, invisible in the gloom, but nevertheless to be felt. On the other Mgher, steeper shore, it is the same with the Austrians. Suddenly a group of men appears. Picture the scene : it is the Grand Duke in company with the command ant of the brigade and Ms adjutants. His Imperial Highness politely questions the officers, listening at tentively as each in tum gives his impression of the day's fighting and of the positions wMch he occupied with his section. GraduaUy they form a merry, animated bivouac. Being hungry, the Grand Duke sits down on a felt coat and eagerly eats the shashlike (pieces of meat roasted on skewers over a fire) wMch has been prepared by one of our horsemen. His own ensign, Volkoff, hero of many breakneck encounters and reconnaissances, is there, and over the fragrant samovar of tea Volkoff is asked to relate the details of Ms last exploit, in wMch he eamed the St George's Cross. "Your Imperial Highness," says Volkoff, 308 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT " will you have a glass of tea ? " It is accepted. The ensign beams with joy, and says : " Now I will send this samovar and this glass to my home, as two family treasures." So unaffectedly is tMs said that none could be offended. In the principal street of the little Galician town behind the wire entanglements stands a small house resembling a foreign villa. TMs is the headquarters of the Grand Duke. Before it a sentry of the Iraperial Convoy paces to and fro with regular steps. The office and the sleeping quarters are all in one roora. It is light and spacious, and in one comer stands a narrow camp bedstead, with a small table bearing an icon of an old design. The Grand Duke works at a large writing-desk. EverytMng is of the siraplest, severe, giving alraost the impression of a cell ; but it is the cell of a warrior monk. The next apartment is the dining-room, with open windows protected by muslin screens from the flies. Through the screen ever and anon appears the figure of the sentry on guard. Breakfast consists of but two courses ; as a rule the Grand Duke drinks only water, but sometimes when toasting a friend's health he takes a Uttle mead. He is a merry host, lively and interesting. At table, besides the ordinary suite, there is generally some specially invited guest. Conversation does not flag ; his Highness is a delightful raconteur, and capably takes his part whatever subject is discussed. In gi-ving Ms "views on the war, in Ms estimate of the latest literary productions, in his recollections of raany en counters and descriptions of episodes of various battles — in everything he touches upon you may remark the presence of a sharp, observant, witty mind, illumined by artistry and humour. He is fond of a joke, and made rauch fun of the attempt of the Prince of Wied to occupy the throne of Albania. This penetrating humour is seen also in the caricatures that decorate THE GRAND DUKE MICHAEL 309 the walls and doors of Ms dining-room ;/ the genre and poUtical sketches, the firnmess of the lines, tell of sometMng more than the talent of the mere amateur. En passant, we may mention that the Grand Duke is a clever photographer. Among the hundreds of splendid photographs he possesses, his choice of themes shows the standpoint of the artist. With modest and simple affection he loves every thing Russian, and the country itself — ^the retiring villages, the wide plains radiant in the evening sun, when the distant horizon grows dim, and the quail, Mdden in the meadows, utters Ms loud, shrill challenge. On Ms religious side, the Grand Duke reminds one of a mediaeval monk of Moscow — ^wMch city, it must be said, always holds a warm place in Ms heart. One may especially learn to know a raan during Ms hours of devotion. When campaigning, he never misses a service, and the worsMp of God thus naturally harmonises with Ms entire personality. The temple may be a grass plot set in a field of waving rye. The priest, in Ms sacerdotal golden vestments, serves zealously amid the singing of the soldiers' choir, and the congregation consists of a crowd of our grey- coated heroes. In front is the tall figure of the Grand Duke, absorbed in prayer. In concluding these notes of tMs bright personality, we must not omit to record Ms abilities as a sportsman. With justice, the Grand Duke is considered one of the best cavalrymen in the Russian army. A splendid rider in the field, he knows Ms horSe to perfection and has an irreproachable seat. Active, and accomplished in gymnastic exercises, he possesses surprising physical strength, especially in the fingers. He can tear a pack of cards into four parts, first in half, then again across. TMs strength is inherited from Ms late father, the Emperor Alexander IIL, who could roll up a silver plate in Ms hands, and break a copper coin in two. 310 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT It should not be forgotten that many of the excellent qualities and principles of the Grand Duke are due to the fine training of his late English tutor, Mr Charles Heath, M,A,, of Oxford, who also acted as tutor to the Tsar, The bluff and hearty Mr Heath was also a good sportsman, honest and reliable, with an intense love of art, and these tastes have without doubt had much to do with moulding the character of the Grand Duke Michael. As there is a possibility of this member of the royal house succeeding to the throne, should the Tsare-vitch not recover from his present state of ill health, the people of Russia are fortunate in having such a prince as tMs possible future Tsar ; the more so as a ruler with such fine qualities cannot fail to be a source of great happiness to the nation he may some day be called upon to govern. A NOTE ON THE GROWTH OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE SINCE THE DAYS OF PETER THE GREAT In my work on The Russian Army from Within, published tMs year, I have shown how important a factor in war and politics is the fecundity of the woraen, and in the East especially of the Slav woraen. When Peter the Great visited England, about two hundred years ago, the population of the Erapire of Muscovy was only 14,000,000 ; now, owing to wars of conquest and the above factor (too often lost sight of by Mstorians), it stands at 185,000,000. Should Russia during the present campaign lose 2,000,000 men killed, wMch is an improbably Mghf^*- estimate, her population next year will be still about / 186,000,000, since every year she has an increase of, rougMy, 3,000,000 souls. Every fifty years the popula tion of the Erapire doubles, in spite of the enorraous death-rate, wMch in many governments is from 50 to 60 per 1000, and at the present rate of increase the numbers by the year 1965 should be 370,000,000, even if Russia does not annex the Slavonic states of Austria and carry out the Panslavist programme — wMch means that all Slavs should come under her mle or influence, although the Muscovites are not pure Slavs, but to a great extent are of Tartar origin. During the reign of Peter, the first census was taken by Ms orders. The following table shows the growth of the nation since Ms day, despite constant wars, revolutions, epidemics, famines and other calamities, 311 312 PETROGRAD PAST AND PRESENT none of which seem to affect seriously the marvellous vigour, endurance and fertility of the people : — 1722, First Census, by order of Peter the Great 14,000,000 1742 1762 17821796 18021812 181518321835 18511858 1860 187018801890 19001910 Probable result of Census in the year 1920 . Probable result of Census in the year 1930 , 16,000,00019,000,000 28,000,000 36,000,00037,000,00041,000,000 45,000,000 58,000,00060,000,000 68,000,00074,000,00076,000,000 85,000,000 100,000,000 119,000,000 135,000,000 155,000,000 195,000,000 200,000,000 If we assurae that Russia will neither lose nor gain in possessions, but will continue to increase her numbers in the same ratio, by 1985 her population will stand at about 400,000,000. Should she succeed in obtaining GaUcia and Bukhovina, and the other Slav territories of Austria, according to the desires of the Pansla-vists, it will be more like 500,000,000, especiaUy as the Slov- jaks and many other Slav races, owing to their Mgh birth-rate and superior knowledge of hygiene, increase even more rapidly than their Russian kinsmen. When GROWTH OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE 313 we remember that the Gerraans only increase at the rate of 900,000 per annura, the English at the rate of 350,000, and that the population of France is practic ally stationary, the future of Europe, it seems, raust depend on the Russian Erapire and the Balkan States, unless the various Gerraanic races — ^the English, Scandina-vians, Dutch, Gerraans, Austro-Gerraans — fofget their differences and unite before they are over whelmed by the rising wave of Slavonic fertility. SOME AUTHORITIES REFERRED TO FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK Russia, by Mackenzie Wallace. The Writings of Catherine II. Russian Opera, by Rosa Newmarch. Russian Flashlights, by Joseph Prelooker. Capitals of the Northland, by Ian C. Hannah. The Works of Nicholas Gogol. Around the Kremlin, by Lowth. Istorecheske Otcherkee Bazskaze, by Shoobensky. Stary Peterbourg, by M. E. Pylaieff. Paul the First of Russia, by K. Walizeffsky. The Comedy of Catherine II., by Francis Gribble. Rossija (Devrien's Edition), Petrograd, and other works mentioned in the text. INDEX Academy of Arts, 46 Actresses and ballerinas, their great importance, 178 Addresny Stol, 81 Agents-provocateurs, 125 Alexander Nevsky, his noble character, 227 Alexander Rinok (market), 104 Alexander III., his love of a simple life, 206-216, 217 Alexander Park and Gardens, 96 Alexander's Colunm, 77 Alexander Nevsky Monastery, 226, 228, 229 " Alexandria " miniature palace, 301 Alexis' (Tsarevitch), death, 91 Alexis Mechailovitch, Tsar, and the ^ge, 195 Alfery, Nicephoms, strange history of, 284 AUred the Great, trade with Russia, 283 Allan, Maud, appears in Petrograd, 194 Anecdotes of Alexander HI., 160 Anglechanka (Britannia), 172 Anglo-Russian understanding, 134 Anglo-Saxon trade, before the Con quest, 65 ; coins, 65 Anitchkoff Palace, the Tsar's favourite residence, 206, 207, 208 Anna, Empress, 46 ; her infatuation for Biron, 46 Antonovitcli, Johan, his murder, 96 Arabic trade, 65 Archangel opened out to EngUsh trade, 284, 285 Architecture and architects, 75 Arrestantes and their fate, 98 Authorities quoted, 314 Ballerinas, their importance, 188, 190 Ballet, anecdotes of the, 190 ; famous dancers, Pavlova, etc,, 193 ; of 'l^Petrograd, 187 BaUs and banquets, 160 Baltic Provinces, invasion of, 292 ; discontent, 129 ; Russification, 19 Banja (baths), 114 Baring, Maurice, on Witte, 261 Barjatinsky, Count, 96 Bartering in Russia, necessity of, 165 Benckendorff, Count, and Tsar's house hold, 160 Benois, Alexander, 88 Bezborodko, Count, his love of litera ture, 177 Bismarck, 162 Bismarck's conflict with Sir Robert Morier, 254 ; opinion of the Russian moujik, 154 Bjelaieff and Sir Joseph Beecham, 179 Borodin's Prince Igor, 179 British Colony in Petrograd, 282, 283 Burtzeff, 123 Canals, 49 Cards and card-playing, 133 Catherine, I., 46, 72 Catherine II., 42 Catherine, "the mother of her people," 8 Catherine's monument, 80 ; plays, 178 ; vanity, 242 ; admiration for Shake speare, 178 ; confessions, 202 ; mis rule, 203 ; good qualities, 204 ; tragic end, 205 Cavos, Caesar, 88 Censors, highly educated men, 279 ; courtesy of, 279 ; and foreign corre spondents, 272 Champ de Mars and the military re views, 247 Chief censors, my experience of, 279 Climate and temperature, 63 Clubs, principal, 83 Codex Sinaticus, 106 Coffee-houses, 170 Comeity of Catherine II,, by Francis Gribble, 201 Commandants' duties, 93 Constantine, Grand Duke, 17, 77 Constantine the Younger, 297 Constantinople, 79 Constitution and " Konstetootzija," 77 Correspondents and their dif&oulties, 279 Cossack charges, 291 Cossacks quell riots, 234 Cracow Jewesses, 103 Credulity of the peasantry, 139 Crimean War, how caused, 12, 79 315 316 INDEX Cronstadt, lo, ii, 33 ; memories, 11 ; batteries, 13 ; of&cers, 13 ; and Admiral Makarieff, 19 ; characters, 29 ; English chaplains, 30, 31 ; poUce, 32 Cronstadt, Max Pemberton's, 17 D Dancing and its attractions, 21 Danileffsky, 58 Decembrists, The, by Tolstoi, 78 Department of State Control, necessity for, 238 Dickens, love of, 128 Diebitch, von. General, his mysterious death, 77 Doctors, Russian, 83 Dolgorouki, Princess, and Alexander II., 94 Domenico's Restaurant, 93 Dosmoschiks (searchers), 2 Droshki drivers, how to manage, 7 Duelling, 169 Duncan, Miss (danseuse), 194 Duncan, Dr, 121 Dvormik, or house porter, 122 Easter and Christmas festivals, 241 EUzabeth, Empress, 41, 96 ; her in fatuation for Count Razoomoffsky, 212 "Emancipated" women, how punished, 235 Empire, Russian, its growth since the founding of Petrograd, 311 " England the Source of all Evil," 144 English colony in Petrograd, 288 EngUsh Embassy, 87, 253 EngUsh writers, Russian admiration for, 273 English churches in Petrograd, 287 Englishmen in Russia, kindness of Alexander I. to, 289 Environs of Petrograd, their charm, 299 Ermak, ice-breaker, 19 Evelyn's Diary, 73 Excursions, 88 Execution of Catherine's lover, 69 ; at Cronstadt, 16 Executions under Peter 1., 69 Factories, British, in Russia, 284 Fanaticism and ignorance of the people and its danger, 157 Fecundity of Russian women, im portance of, 311 Fete, a, under Potemkin, 220 Finnish characteristics, 154 ; man oeuvres, 292-293 Finns and Finnish quarter, in Finns and superstition, 66 ; and their natural habits, 303 Fires, 86 ; and peculation, 238 Floods, 51, 52, 53, 58, 59 Fontanka Canal, 49, 88 Food in Petrograd, 165 Foreign correspondents, their difi&culty in Russia, 279 Foreign influence on working classes, 137 Foreign OfSce reforms much needed, 256 Fortress, 59 Frederick of Prussia, 70 Frederick, Emperor, his respect for Sir Robert Morier, 254 French comedies, 183 Gabrielle, the dancer (anecdote), 176 GaUtzin, Princess, 72 Gardens, pleasure, 184 Gatchina Palace, by Rinaldi, 299 George, King of England, 102 Germanic races compared with Slavonic, 313 Gipsies, love of, 183 Godounoff, Tsar, sends young Russians to England, 285 Gogol, the Dickens of Russia, 80 Gosteny Dvor (bazaar), 102 Gothland trade, 66, 283 Gregorian music and its grandeur, 240 Gresser, General, the Prefect and the English Press, 278 Growth of Russia since 1722, 312 Guards at Krasnoe Selo, Russia's crack regiment, 290 Guida, daughter of Harold, 94 Gutaieffsky docks, 6 H Hanseatic League, 104 Haroun-al-Raschid, 65 Harrison, J. H., 80 Heath, Charles, M.A. (Tsar's tutor), 207. 304, 313 Hermitage built by Catherine, 197 Hospitality, Russian, 114 Hospitals, how supported, 81; peasants' fear of, 82 ; taxes, 83 Hdtel Angleterre and its memories, 164 Hotels and restaurants, 163, 164 Hunting elk, wolves, etc., near Petro grad, 304 INDEX 317 I " Iconostase " of pure silver, 233 Ikons and their mystic powers, 233, 240 Illegitimacy, frequency of, 44 ; among the Normans, 213 Imperial cabinet or of&ce, 214 Imperial family, private life of, 159 Imperial Court, splendour of, 150 Insalubrity of Petrograd, 39 Inshenemy Zamok (Paul's old palace), 242 Insurance in Russia, 81 Irving, Laurence, his first appearance in Petrograd, 191 Isaac of Dalmatia, Cathedral of St, 298 Islands, 54 Isovoschiks (cabbies), 6 Isovoschiks' cunning, 6 Ivan the Terrible's library, 108 J Japanese, what the Russians think of them, 141 Jews and the moujiks, 137 Johannites, the, 27 John of Cronstadt, Father, 23 ; his generosity, 25 Joking, danger of, 76 K Kara sea route and its importance, 253 Kazan Cathedral and its memories of 1812, 233 ^ Kaze, naval architect, 85 Khesinskaja and her palace, 188 Kirjaieff, Colonel, and Olga Novikoff, 300 Kitchen, Tsar's, how managed, 161 Kjasht, Lydia, 193 KotUn Island, 12 Koutosoff and 1812, 233 Krasnoe Selo, the R.ussian Aldershot, 290 KrestoflEsky, 118 Kropotkine, Prince, gi LANciRi, sculptor, 88 Law, disregard of, 82 Libraries, 107 Library, Imperial, 106 Lombards (pawnshops), 168 Lyceum, iii M Makarieff, Admiral, 19, 148 Manoeuvres, Imperiai, tlieir significa tion, 291, 294 Marble Palace, 297 Mariensky Theatre, 191 Marine Canal, 86 Marriage laws, 8 Mary of Magdala, no Mary Stuart's Prayer Book, 107 Maxwell (author), 68 Mechail Palace (new), 295 Meek, Baroness von, 181 Merovitch at Schliisselberg, 97 Metchersky, Prince, and the Gj-asAiZamM, 266 Metchersky's hostility to the Jews, 268 Michael, Grand Duke, the Tsar's brother, character sketch, 305 Michael the Elder, Grand Duke, his wealth, 160, 214 Michelson, Colonel, defeats Pugacheff, 202 Midsummer Day and dances, 66 Milutine Fort, 13 Miracles and mysteries, 231 Monasteries and churches, strange origin of, 230 Mon Bijou, palace, 73 Monks, merry, 231 Morier, Sir Robert, our great am bassador, 80, 251 ; last interview with, 253 Moscow Press methods, 272 Moujiks and workmen, 136 Moujiks' deep religious feeling, 148 Moujiks' credulity and suspicions, etc., 152 M'Swiney, the Rev., chaplain of Cron stadt, 29 " Museum " of Alexander III., 295 N Napier, Lord, 12 Napoleon, Louis, 79 Narishkine, Madame, 99 " NarcJdny Dom,' ' " People's Theatre," 181 Nartoff, 68 National Art Collection, 295 Neva, 49, 50, 51 ; trip up river, 84 Nevsky Prospekt, 101 Newspapers in Russia, 266, 267 Nicholai Railway, 112 Nicholas I., his character by Maxwell, 9 ; his hatred of authors, 249 ; his great ambition, 250 Nicholas the Elder, Grand Duke, 214 Nicholas' Palace, 216 318 INDEX Nihilists' plots, i6, 17 Novaya Vremya, principal [|Russian paper, 266 Novgorod the Great, 105 ; Chronicles, 227 Novosti, and its Anglophile editor, 267 Ny-skantze, 36 O Ochta, 88 ; powder mills, 88 Of&cial corruption, 124 Officialdom in Russia, 127 Oodel, Imperial Appanage, and its origin, 214 Opening of navigation, 93 Oranienbaum Palace and its memories, 20, 299 Organs, Russian love of, 193 Orlofi, Count, 58 ; his treachery, 59 ; steeds, 102 ; brothers, Catherine's extravagance, 200 Orloff, Alexis, the handsome Guards man, 200 ; Paul's revenge on, 246 Ozerki and its lakes (Father Gapon's end), 303 " Palmyra," 39 ParUament, Peter's impressions of, 74 Passport difficulties, 5, 8 Paul I., 43, 225 Paul's love of the theatre, 176 ; hatred of Potemkin, 222 ; madness and end, 246 Pavlovsk Palace and its memories, 298 Peroffsky, Count, and the police, 296 Pestal, Colonel, 77 Peter the Great's appearance, 72 ; statue, 241 Peter's strange faith, 68 ; numerous offspring, 71 Peter visits Prussia, 70 Peter and Paul Fortress, 91 Peter III., 97 ; his admiration for everything German, 67 ; his weird funeral, 247 Peterhoff, the Russian Versailles, 300 Petit Pas and the ballet, 192 Petroffsky, Count (anecdote), 130 Petrograd, the founding of, 34, 37, 41 ; in July, 116 ; environs, 117 Petropavlovsk, loss of, 19 Pickwick Papers, 269 PoUce, of Petrograd, 118 ; Secret, 125 Political crimes, 123 PoUticals and their punishment, 98, 235 Poniatowski, King of Poland, Cather ine's love for, 200 Potemkin's extravagance, 219 ; death, 222 Prazniks or holidays, 105 Prefects, 120 Press in Russia, the, 266 Provisions, charges of, 166 Pskoff and its destruction, 105 Pugacheff's rebellion, 202 Pultava, anniversary of, 39, 95 Pushkin, the Shakespeare of Russia, 51 ; the poet and the Sin Otechestva, 267 Q Quarters of Petrograd, 44 Quay, English, 86 ; Admiralty, 87 Queen EUzabeth and Ivan the Terrible, 284 Queen Victoria and Skobeleff, 143 R Rastrelli, 42 Razoomoffsky, 60 ; his humble origin, 212 ; secret marriage to Empress Elizabeth, 213 Red Square, Moscow, 67 Reforms, German, 67 Regiments, crack Russian, 290 Revolutionary movement, its rapid spread, 236 ; origin of, 237 Riots, student, 234, 235 ; provincial, 235 Romanoff, house of, 45 ; origin of, 94 Ropcha Palace tragedy, 96 Russia's huge population, 251 ; great future, 251 ; vulnerable spot, 293 Russian naval oflScers, 13 ; navi gators, 15 ; drivers, 10 1 ; and German peasantry compared, 154 ; champagne and its dangers, 166 ; love of music, 177; surprising voices, 241 ; writers and authors, their sad fate, 249 Russians not good sailors, 15 Sacrifices, human, 66 Sadovaja Street, 104 Saghalien, 98 Salmon-trout fishing in Finland, 304 Sasulitch, Vera, 12 1 Schliisselberg, 36, 92 ; Fortress, 96 School of the BaUet, when founded, 193 Schouvaloff, 213 Schouvaloff, Countess, 213 Secret Police, 92, 296 Sensational Press, 275 Sentries', Russian, unreasoning obedi ence, 208 Sentry, a, narrow escape from, 210 INDEX 319 Sergius, Grand Duke, 120 Shakespeare translated by Grand Duke Constantine, 298 Sheremeteff, 96 Siberian exiles, 99 Slavs, extremely musical, 195 Smolna Monastery, 89 Sociability, 115 Solovieff, 58 Sophia of Hanover, 70 Souvoroff, Marshal, 230 Spies, real and imaginary, 18 Sport, Russian ideas of, 289 ; near Petrograd, 307 State Control Department, 99 State Monopoly on Spirits, its origin, 261 Statues and monuments, 76, 77 Stoljrpin's assassination, 123 Streltzee, execution of, 67 Strjelna Palace, 302 Students, suspicions of, 5 Suicide, in, 112 Summer Gardens, 46 ; Palace, 75 Sveaborg, 12 Svjet, and Komoroft, 268 Swedes, Peter's fights with the, 41 Swedish punch and its dangers, 2 Taigas and tigers, Siberian, 99 Tarakanoffva Princess, 58, 212 ; daughter of the Empress Elizabeth, 60 Taurida Palace, converted into the Duma, 219, 223 ; and its memories, 2ig, 220, 221 Tchaikoffsky, 181 Tcherny Rjetcka's attractions, 303 ; English visitors at, 303 Tea-drinking, 129, 173 Temperance reform, the necessity of, 262 Theatres, concerts, etc., 176 Tolstoi the Younger, his interview with the Tsar, 156 Trade with Russia in Saxon times, 282, 283 Tragic end of Russian rulers, 244 Trakteers (tea-houses), 171 Tree worship, 66 Trepoff, 120 Tsar and his household, 155 Tsar's private character, 155 ; difficult position, 159 ; only Ally (anecdote). Tsarina, the, her high ideals and pure life, 159 Tsarskoe Selo and its charms, 301 " Tsarsky Ochran," 92 ^ Tshushima defeat, cause of, 14 Tundras, 99 U Unconventionality, Russian, 90 Varangian arms, Hermitage Collec tion, 197 Varangians, 34, 35 Varjag, the old Russian name of Sweden, 34 Vasilii Ostroff, i , 40 Vermin, 173 Vladimir Monamach, 94 Voltaire's " friendship " with Catherine II., 201 W Wars with Sweden, 68 Water, unhealthy drinking, 61, 62 White, Sir Andrew,celebrated American Minister, 255 Wiborg and the attractions of Imatra, 304 Wiggins, the famous navigator, 253 Wilhelmina, memoirs of Princess, 70 Wines, Russian, 166 Winter Gardens, 198 Winter Palace, 17, 87 ; of Peter the Great, 223 ; of Ilastrelli, its magni ficence, 224 Witte, Count Sergius de, 259, 261 " Wittochke," 261 Woman in history, 195 Wylie, Baron, Physician of Nicholas I., 80 Yellow Press in Russia, 270 Zakooska (side-table delicacies), 167 Zealot of Cronstadt, a, 23 YALE UNIVERSITY L