studies of st. petersburg.—mujiks.—"the imperial nosegay."—a short history of russian serfdom.—its origin, growth, and abuses.—emancipation of the serfs.—present condition of the peasant class.—seeing the emperor.—how the czar appears in public.—public and secret police.—their extraordinary powers.—anecdotes of police severity.—russian courts of law.
for the remainder of their stay in the capital doctor bronson and the youths were more leisurely in their movements than during the first few days. they dismissed the guide, as they felt that they could go around without his aid, though they occasionally re-engaged him for special trips when they thought their inexperience would be a bar to their progress.
in thus acting they followed out a plan adopted long before. on arriving in a strange city where time was limited, they engaged a guide, in order that they might "do" the stock sights of the place as quickly as possible. if they were to remain for some time they employed him during the first two or three days, and afterwards shifted for themselves. this is an excellent system, and is recommended to all readers of this volume who may have occasion to travel in foreign lands.
having familiarized themselves with st. petersburg, our friends usually spent the forenoon of each day at the hotel, and the afternoon and part of the evening in going about the streets, making calls, and otherwise improving their opportunities. the forenoon was by no means an idle time. doctor bronson was busy with his letters and other matters, while the youths were engaged in writing up their journals, preparing the histories which have been mentioned elsewhere, and making various notes and observations concerning what they saw or learned. in this way they accumulated much valuable material, and we are specially fortunate in being permitted to copy at will from what they wrote.
"we have found a great deal to interest us," said frank in his journal, when he sat down to make a general commentary on what they had seen, "and i hardly know where to begin. of course we have been much[pg 173] impressed with the great number and variety of the uniforms of the officers and soldiers of the army; and though we have tried hard to recognize the different arms of the service at sight, we have not always succeeded. we wonder how the emperor himself can know them all, but of course he must.
an imperial nosegay.
"we have looked for 'the imperial nosegay' which one traveller describes, but have failed thus far to find it. the story goes that one of the emperors had a regiment composed of men whose noses were turned up at an angle of forty-five degrees; whenever a man was found anywhere in the empire with that particular kind of nose he was at once drafted into the regiment. a good many of the peasants have the nose inclined[pg 174] very much in the air, but facial ornaments of the kind described for the famous regiment are not strictly the fashion.
"fred thinks a regiment composed in this way ought to be good soldiers, as they would be able to smell the smoke of battle a long way off, and before other regiments would be aware of it. certainly they ought to breathe easily, and this ability was considered of great importance by the first napoleon. 'other things being equal,' he used to say, 'always choose an officer with a large nose. his respiration is more free than that of the small-nosed man; and with good breathing powers, his mind is clearer and his physical endurance greater.' perhaps he realized on his retreat from moscow that many of his pursuers were of the kind he describes.
mujiks playing cards.
"we have been much interested in the mujiks, or peasants—the lowest class of the population, and also the largest. their condition has improved greatly in the last twenty or thirty years, if what we read and[pg 175] hear is correct. we had read of the system of serfdom in russia before we came here, but did not exactly understand it. since our arrival in st. petersburg we have tried to find out about the serfs, and here is what we have learned:
"to begin at the end, rather than at the beginning, there are no longer any serfs in russia, and consequently we are talking about something that belongs to the past. serfdom, or slavery, formerly existed throughout all europe—in england, france, germany, spain, and other countries. it has been gradually extinguished, russia being the last christian country to maintain it. slavery still exists in certain forms in turkey; but as the turks are moslems, and not christians, i don't see why we should expect anything better in that country.
"serfdom began later in russia than in any other european country, and perhaps that fact excuses the russians for being the last to give it up. down to the eleventh century the peasant could move about pretty much as he liked. the land was the property of all, and he could cultivate any part of it as long as he did not trespass upon any one else. in many of the villages the land is still held on this communistic principle, and is allotted every year, or every two or three years, by the elders. in some communities the land must be surrendered to the commune every nine years, while in others the peasant has a life tenancy, or what is called in law a fee-simple.
"i hear some one ask how it came about that serfdom was established.
"according to our authorities, it came from the state of the country, which was just a little better than a collection of independent principalities. the princes were cruel and despotic, and the people turbulent; murders of princes were very common; the princes could only protect themselves by organizing large body-guards, which gave each prince a small army of men around him. in course of time the officers of these body-guards became noblemen, and received grants of land. at first the peasants could move about on these estates with perfect freedom, but during the sixteenth century they were attached to the soil. in other words, they were to remain where they were when the decree was issued, and whenever the land was sold they were sold with it.
"it is said that the object of this decree was not so much in the interest of the land-owners as in that of the government, which was unable to collect its taxes from men who were constantly moving about. where the land belonged to the government and not to individuals, the peasants living upon it became serfs of the crown, or crown peasants. thus the[pg 176] russian serf might belong to a prince, nobleman, or other person, or he might belong to the government. private estates were often mortgaged to the government; if the mortgage was unpaid and the property forfeited, the serfs became crown peasants instead of private ones.
peasant's house in southern russia.
"there was a curious condition about serfdom in russia, that while the man and his family belonged to the master, the land which he cultivated was his own, or at any rate could not be taken from him. the serf owed a certain amount of labor to his master (ordinarily three days out of every seven), and could not leave the place without permission. a serf might hire his time from his master, in the same way that slaves used to hire their time in america; but he was required to return to the estate whenever the master told him to do so. many of the mechanics, isvoshchiks, and others in the large cities before the emancipation were serfs, who came to find employment, and regularly sent a part of their wages to their masters.
"sometimes the masters were very severe upon the serfs, and treated them outrageously. a master could send a serf into exile in siberia without giving any reason. the record said he was banished 'by the will of his master,' and that was all. a woman, a serf on an estate, who had a[pg 177] fine voice, came to moscow, and found a place in the chorus at the opera-house. she gradually rose to a high position, and was earning a large salary, half of which she sent to her master. out of caprice he ordered her back to the estate, where she resumed the drudgery of a peasant life. he refused all offers of compensation, and said his serf should do what he wished.
"another serf had established a successful business in moscow, where he was employing two or three hundred workmen. the master allowed him to remain there for years, taking for his compensation a large part of the serf's earnings, and finally, in a fit of anger, ordered the man home again. the man offered to pay a hundred times as much as he could earn on the estate, but the master would not listen to it, and the business was broken up and ruined.
"things went on in this way for two or three centuries. various changes were made in the laws, and the condition of the serfs, especially of those belonging to the crown, was improved from time to time. at last, in 1861, came the decree of emancipation from the hands of alexander ii., and the system of serfdom came to an end.
"it was not, as many people suppose, a system of sudden and universal freedom. the emancipation was gradual, as it covered a period of several years, and required a great deal of negotiation. the land-owners were compensated by the government for their loss; the serfs received grants of land, varying from five to twenty-five acres, with a house and a small orchard, and the result was that every agricultural serf became a small land-owner. private or government serfs were treated alike in this respect, and the condition of the peasant class was greatly improved.
"since they have been free to go where they like, the serfs have crowded to the cities in search of employment, and the owners of factories and shops say they can now obtain laborers much easier than before. manufacturing interests have been materially advanced along with agriculture, and though many persons feared the results of the emancipation, it is now difficult to find one who would like to have the old state of things restored.
"russian emancipation of the serfs and american abolition of slavery came within a short time of each other. both the nations have been greatly benefited by the result, and to-day an advocate of serfdom is as rare in russia as an advocate of slavery in the united states."
frank read to his cousin the little essay we have just quoted; then he read it to the doctor, and asked whether it would be well to insert it in his journal.
"by all means do so," the doctor replied. "there are not many people[pg 178] in america who understand exactly what serfdom was, and your essay will do much to enlighten them."
accordingly frank carefully copied what he had written. impressed with doctor bronson's suggestion, we have reproduced it here, in the confidence that our youthful readers will find it interesting and instructive.
peasants' huts.
"you can add to your account of serfdom," said doctor bronson, "that when it was established by boris godounoff, in 1601, it was regarded by both peasant and noble as a great popular reform, and welcomed with delight. his decree went into force on saint george's day, in the year named, and its principal provision was that every peasant in the empire should in future till and own forever the land which he then tilled and held. it was an act of great liberality on the part of the czar, for by it he gave up millions of acres belonging to the crown and made them the property of the peasants.
"the serf of the crown was to till the land, build his house, pay his taxes, and serve as a soldier whenever wanted; the private serf existed under very nearly the same conditions, with the difference that his life[pg 179] might be more oppressed under a cruel master, and more free under a kind one, than that of the serf of the crown. this was what happened in many instances; and as the masters were more likely to be cruel than kind, and their tendency was to make as much as possible out of their possessions, the crown serf was generally better off than the private one.
esthonian peasants.
"in the beginning the system was really the reform which was intended, but very soon it was subject to many abuses. year by year things[pg 180] grew worse: owners violated the law by selling serfs away from their estates; the masters exacted from their serfs every copeck they could earn, flogged them if they lagged in their labor, and often caused them to be severely punished or exiled on the merest caprice. peter the great introduced some changes with the best intentions, but they only made matters worse. he stopped the sale of serfs from the estates, which was an excellent step; at the same time he ordered that all taxes should be collected in a lump from the master, who should have the power in turn to collect from the serfs. the evil of this enactment was very soon apparent; peter's successors struggled with the problem, but none made much headway until alexander ii. came with his act of emancipation, which you have just mentioned.
"there were several conditions attached to the freedom of the serf under alexander's decree," the doctor continued, "which are not generally understood. to prevent the peasant resuming again the nomadic life which serfdom was intended to suppress, it was ordered that no peasant could leave his village without surrendering forever all right to the lands, and he was also required to be clear of all claims for rent, taxes, conscription, private debts, and the like. he was to provide for the support of any members of his family dependent upon him whom he left behind, and also present a certificate of membership in another commune, or exhibit the title-deeds to a plot of land of not less than a given area.
"these requirements were found an excellent restriction, as under them only the thrifty and enterprising serfs were able to clear off all demands upon them and pay the amount required for entering another community. men of this class found their way to the cities and larger towns, where many of them have risen in wealth and influence, while the quiet, plodding peasants who remained on the estates and tilled their lands have generally prospered. a gentleman who has studied this question wrote recently as follows:
"'opposite and extreme opinions prevail as to the results of emancipation; yet, on massing and balancing his observations on the whole, a stranger must perceive that under emancipation the peasant is better dressed, better lodged, and better fed; that his wife is healthier, his children cleaner, and his homestead tidier; that he and his belongings are improved by the gift which changed him from a chattel to a man. he builds his cabin of better wood, and in the eastern provinces, if not in all, you find improvements in the walls and roof. he paints the logs, and fills up the cracks with plaster, where he formerly left them bare and stuffed with moss. he sends his boys to school, and goes himself more frequently[pg 181] to church.... the burgher class and the merchant class have been equally benefited by the change. a good many peasants have become burghers, and a good many burghers merchants. all the domestic and useful trades have been quickened into life. more shoes are worn, more carts are wanted, more cabins are built. hats, coats, and cloaks are in higher demand; the bakeries and breweries find more to do; the teacher gets more pupils, and the banker has more customers on his books.'"[3]
alexander ii., the liberator of the serfs.
with a few more words upon serfdom and its relation to other forms of slavery, the subject was dropped, and our friends went out for a walk. as they passed along the nevski they were suddenly involved in a crowd, and half forced into the door of a shop which they had visited the day before. they were recognized by the proprietor, who invited them to enter and make themselves comfortable. "the emperor is coming in a few minutes," he explained, "and the police are clearing the way for him."
[pg 182]
one of the youths asked if it was always necessary to clear the streets in this way when the emperor rode out.
alexander iii., emperor of russia.
"not by any means," the shopkeeper replied, "as he often rides out in a drosky, with only a single attendant following him. he goes at full speed along the street, and his progress is so rapid that not one person in twenty can recognize him before he gets out of sight. if he goes less rapidly he is followed by several officers; and when he rides in a carriage with two or more horses, he is accompanied by his body-guard of circassians, or by a company or section of cossacks.
"nicholas and alexander ii. used to drive about quite frequently in a drosky, which was much like the ordinary ones on the streets, except that it was neater and more costly, and drawn by the finest horse the empire could produce. since the assassination of alexander ii., and the plots of the nihilists against the imperial life, we rarely see the emperor driving in this way, as it would afford too much opportunity for assassins. alexander iii. generally rides in a carriage, accompanied by some of his officers and surrounded by his body-guard. ah! here they come."
as he spoke a squadron of cavalry came in sight, and soon passed the[pg 183] shop. behind the cavalry was a carriage, drawn by two spirited horses. the emperor occupied the rear seat, while two officers faced him on the front seat, and another officer, or possibly an orderly, was on the box with the driver. the crowd applauded as their ruler rode slowly by them, and to hear the plaudits one could readily believe that the emperor is thoroughly beloved by his subjects. he acknowledged the cheering by occasionally raising his hand in a military salute. frank thought he saluted in rather a mechanical way, from force of long habit. the youths said they would have recognized him by his portraits, though they were hardly prepared for the care-worn look which was depicted on his features.
"after all," whispered frank to fred, "one can't be surprised at it, and i don't know who would want to change places with him. he must live in constant thought of assassination, and every step he takes must be carefully watched by those about him. so many plots have been made against his life, and so many persons of importance have been implicated in them, that he cannot know how soon a new one will be formed, and can never tell who about him is faithful. 'uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.'"
behind the carriage was a company of body-guards in circassian chain-armor, and with weapons that belonged apparently to a past age. fred eagerly asked who and what these men were.
"they are cherkass, or circassians," replied the shopkeeper, "and were formerly at war with russia. you have read of schamyl, the circassian general, who gave russia a great deal of trouble for a long time, have you not?"
battle between russians and circassians.
"certainly," fred answered, "i was reading about him only this morning. he was born about 1797, and from 1828 till 1859 he carried on a defensive war against the russians, but was finally overpowered by greatly superior numbers. he used to avoid regular battles, and caused a great deal of damage to the russians by ambuscades, surprises, and similar warfare."
schamyl's village in the caucasus.
"that was exactly the case," said their informant, "and the russians always acknowledged that he was an accomplished leader both in a military and political sense. when he surrendered, in 1859, the emperor invited him to st. petersburg, and gave him a residence at kalooga, with a handsome pension. he was made a regular guest at court, was treated with great distinction, and soon became as ardent in the support of russia as he had formerly been in opposing her. he was placed in command of the emperor's body-guard, which he organized from the warriors that had formerly served under him. schamyl died in 1871, but the organization[pg 184] of the guard was continued. it is whispered that the circassians have been replaced by russians who wear the old uniform; but certainly, to all outward appearances, the guard remains the same. at any rate it is picturesque, and that is an important consideration."
the crowd that lined the sidewalk was kept well in hand by the police. the shopkeeper said that any man who tried to break through the line would be arrested at once; and no doubt the knowledge of this rule served materially to preserve order. russian policemen are not to be trifled with.
the route that the emperor is to take when riding out is never known in these latter days, through fear of plots against his life. the precaution is a very proper one, but it requires a large police force to guard all the[pg 185] avenues and streets by which he may pass. orders are sent for the police to prepare three or four routes, one only being traversed, and the direction is not given to the leader of the escort until the emperor is seated in the carriage. sometimes none of the routes which have been guarded are taken, and the emperor enjoys a ride with nothing but his escort for his protection. it is said the czar is averse to all this precaution, but is guided by the wishes of the imperial council and the members of his household.
our friends thanked the shopkeeper for his politeness and information, and, as the crowd had melted away, continued their walk. frank observed that the police did not move away, and this fact led him to surmise that the emperor intended returning by the same route.
"of course that is quite possible," said the doctor, in response to frank's suggestion, "but it is not worth our while to remain on the chance of his doing so. it is more than likely he will return to the palace by another road; and even if he comes through the nevski we could see no more than we have seen already. besides, we might arouse suspicion in the minds of the police by remaining long on this spot, and suspicion, however groundless, is not desirable. when the emperor goes[pg 186] out the police have orders to arrest every one whose conduct is in the least degree questionable, and so we had better continue our walk."
they suited their actions to the doctor's word, and did not tarry on the nevski. very soon they met another cortege, which they ascertained to be the escort of the chief of police.
the empress marie féodorovna, wife of alexander iii.
they had a curiosity to see his face, but were disappointed, as he was closely surrounded by his officers and men. doctor bronson remarked that the chief of police was the most powerful man in russia, next to the emperor.
"how is that?" fred asked. "i thought the most powerful man next to the emperor was the commander-in-chief of the armies."
"there is this difference," the doctor answered, "that the chief of[pg 187]
[pg 188] police is the only man in russia who has the right to go into the emperor's presence at any hour of the day or night. not even the field-marshal-in-chief of the army or the grand admiral of the navy can do that.
"the ministers of war, navy, and foreign affairs have a right to an audience with the emperor every day, while the ministers of education, railways and telegraphs, finance, and other home matters, can only see him once or twice a week. but at any hour of the day the minister of police can send his name, and immediately follows the messenger into the emperor's office; at any hour of the night he may have the emperor waked and told that the minister of police has an important communication to make."
"do you suppose that is often done?" one of the youths inquired.
"probably not very often," replied doctor bronson, "but how frequently the outside public cannot possibly know. in ordinary times it is not likely the minister would ever exercise his right, as it is not wise to wake an emperor from a sound sleep, especially when you have bad news for him. but when assassins are making plots all around the capital and palace, the emperor's safety may easily require that he should have a personal warning. in such case the minister of police would not hesitate to perform his duty."
russian peasants at their recreation.
their walk took them to the summer gardens, where they sat down on one of the benches and watched the groups of children and nurse-maids, together with other groups of old and young that comprised the visitors to the place. as they sat there the conversation recurred to their recent topic, the police.
"the public police is organized very much like the same service in other countries. there are some points of difference, but they are not great enough to be mentioned at length. one objection to the russian public police is that in the cities and large towns the policemen are nearly all soldiers who have served their time in the army, and receive police appointments as rewards. their long service in the army imbues them with the greatest deference to the uniform of an officer, no matter what its wearer may be. the result is the policemen salute every officer that passes, and thus their attention is drawn from their duties; furthermore, an officer can misbehave himself as much as he pleases, and run very little risk of being arrested like an ordinary offender."
"what can you tell us about the secret police?" one of the youths asked.
"who is the spy?"
"i can't tell you much about it," was the reply; "and if i could it[pg 189] would not be a secret police. it used to be a saying that where three men were together one was sure to be a spy, and one or both the others might be. the spies were in all classes of society, and paid by the police. they did not know each other, and it quite often happened that two of them would report against each other, doubtless to the amusement of the officials who compared their documents. if common gossip is true, the evil was greater in the time of nicholas than under any other emperor, but many people say it is about as bad at one time as another.
"the clerk in the hotel, the waiter in the restaurant, the shopkeeper who was so polite to us, the tailor, hatter, boot-maker, milliner, or any other tradesman, any or all of them—women as well as men—may be in the employ of the government, and report your movements and conversation. nobody knows who is a spy, and nobody knows who is not. consequently it is an excellent rule in russia never to say anything in the hearing of any one else than ourselves that can be called in question. mind, i don't know of my own knowledge that there is such a thing as a secret police, nor that such a person as a police spy exists in russia. having never said or done anything to which the[pg 190] emperor or his most zealous officer could object, i have no fear of being interfered with.
"here are some of the stories which were current in the time of nicholas:
"a retired officer of the english army lived for several years in st. petersburg. his manners were genial, and he made many friends both among the foreigners living here and those who visited russia. he died suddenly one day, and one of his countrymen who was present at the time took charge of his effects. his papers revealed the fact that he was a spy of the government, and was specially employed to watch foreigners.
"soon after the revolution of 1848 a party of french gentlemen in st. petersburg met at the house of one of their friends. they had songs and speeches, and a pleasant evening generally; and as all were intimate, and of the same nationality, they were not at all cautious about their conversation. the only servants present were russians, and none of them was known to understand french. next morning the host was summoned to the police bureau, where he was politely received. the official read off the list of persons present, and a very accurate report of the songs, toasts, and speeches of the evening. then he asked the host if the account was correct. the latter tremblingly answered that it was, and was then told he had been very imprudent—an assertion he could not well deny. he was dismissed with a caution not to repeat the imprudence, and you may be sure he did not. he never gave another party, and never could he guess whether the spy was one of his guests and compatriots, or one of the servants who understood french while pretending to be ignorant of it.
"a great reform has taken place, and matters which were formerly in the control of the police are now managed by courts of law. trial by jury has been established, and though there are many hinderances on account of the scarcity of lawyers and judges and the ignorance of jurors, the system is working well. the law-schools are filled with students, and in a few years the machinery of the courts will not be unlike that of other lands.
officers sitting in judgment.
"but the police power is still too great for the safety of the people, and probably no persons are more aware of it than are the emperor and his advisers. the police can imprison or exile a man for 'administrative purposes' without any trial whatever, and without even letting him know the nature of his offence. the police may, in certain cases, revise a sentence which has been decreed by a court, and punish a man who has been acquitted after trial, but they do not often exercise the right.
[pg 191]
"the author of 'free russia' says that while he was staying at archangel an actor and actress were brought there one day and set down in the public square, with orders to take care of themselves, but on no account to leave town without the governor's permission. they had been sent from the capital on a mere order of the police, without trial, without even having been heard in defence, and with no knowledge of the offence alleged against them. they had no means of support, but managed to eke out an existence by converting a barn into a theatre, and giving performances that hardly rose to the dignity of the name of plays.
"an agent of the police had driven up to their doors and told them to get ready to start for archangel in three hours. that was all; in three hours they were on their way to exile.
"the same writer said there was also at archangel a lady of middle age who had been banished from st. petersburg on the mere suspicion that she had been concerned in advising some of the students at the university to send an appeal to the emperor for certain reforms which they desired. there was no other charge against her, and those who made her acquaintance at archangel were impressed with her entire innocence, as she did not possess in any way the qualities necessary for intrigue. like the actor and actress just mentioned, she had had no trial, and no opportunity to be heard in defence.
"a young novelist named gierst published some stories which evidently gave offence. he was called upon at midnight, and told to get ready to depart immediately. away he went, not knowing whither, until the horses stopped at the town of totma, six hundred miles from st. petersburg. there he was told to stay until fresh orders came from the ministry of police. none of his friends knew where he had gone; his lodgings were empty, and all the information that could be obtained was from a servant who[pg 192] had seen him start. his letters were seized, the newspapers were forbidden to say anything about him, and it was only by a ruse that he was able to let his friends know where he was.
"any number of these incidents are narrated," the doctor continued, "and they all show the dangerous power that is in the hands of the police. it is said that it would have been curtailed years ago but for the rise and spread of nihilism, which has rendered it necessary to continue the privilege of the police to revise sentences, or imprison and exile without trial, 'for administrative purposes.' let us hope that the better day will come very soon."
"i join heartily in that hope," said frank. fred echoed the words of his cousin, and they rose and continued their promenade.
[pg 193]
russian grand-duke and grand-duchess.
