leaving st. petersburg.—novgorod the great: its history and traditions.—rurik and his successors.—barbarities of john the terrible.—early history of russia.—an imperial bear-hunt.—origin of the house of romanoff.—"a life for the czar."—railways in russia from novgorod to moscow.
a day was appointed for leaving st. petersburg. notice was given at the office of the hotel, and the passports of the three travellers received the necessary indorsements at the police bureau. trunks were packed and bills settled, and at the proper time a carriage conveyed the party to the commodious station of the imperial railway from the new capital of russia to the old. but they did not take their tickets direct for moscow.
as before stated, the railway between the two great cities of the czar's dominions is very nearly a straight line, and was laid out by the emperor nicholas with a ruler placed on the map and a pencil drawn along its edge. there is consequently no city of importance along the route, with the exception of tver, where the line crosses the volga. novgorod, the oldest city of russia, is about forty miles from the railway as originally laid out. until within a few years it was reached by steamers in summer from volkhova station, seventy-five miles from st. petersburg. in winter travellers were carried in sledges from chudova station (near volkhova), and to novices in this kind of travel the ride was interesting.
latterly a branch line has been completed to novgorod, and one may leave st. petersburg at 9 a.m. and reach novgorod at 6 p.m. the pace of the trains is not dangerously fast, and accidents are of rare occurrence. between moscow and st. petersburg (four hundred and three miles) the running time for express trains is twenty hours, and for way trains twenty-three to twenty-five hours. nine hours from st. petersburg to novgorod (one hundred and twenty miles) should not startle the most timorous tourist.
doctor bronson had told the youths some days before their departure that they would visit novgorod on their way to moscow. he suggested[pg 212] that he desired them to be informed about its history, and soon after the train started he referred to the subject.
workmen of novgorod—glazier, painter, and carpenters.
"it is rather an odd circumstance," said frank, "that the oldest city in russia is called novgorod, or 'new city.' novo means 'new,' and gorod is russian for 'city.' it received its name when it was really the newest town in russia, and has kept it ever since."
"it is also called novgorod veliki," said fred, "which means novgorod the great. in the fifteenth century it had a population of four hundred thousand, and was really entitled to be called the great. at present it has less than twenty thousand inhabitants, and its industries are of little importance compared to what they used to be.
"it has a trade in flax, corn, and hemp," the youth continued, "and its manufactures are principally in tobacco, leather, sail-cloth, vinegar, and candles. in former times an important fair was held here, and merchants came to novgorod from all parts of europe and many countries of asia. afterwards the fair was removed to nijni novgorod, on the volga, and[pg 213] the ancient city became of little consequence except for its historical interest."
"the slavs founded a town there in the fourth century," said frank. "about the year 862 the russian monarchy had its beginning at novgorod; in 1862 there was a millennial celebration there, and a magnificent monument was erected to commemorate it."
"this is a good place for you to tell us about the early history of russia," said the doctor.
an old norse chief.
"i have been studying it," frank replied, "and find that previous to the ninth century the country was occupied by the slavs, who founded the towns of novgorod and kief. each of these places was the capital of an independent slavic principality. very little is known of the history of the slavs in those times. the varangians, a northern people, made war upon them. the slavs resisted, but finally invited rurik, the prince of[pg 214] the varangians, to come and rule over them. the northmen, or varangians, were called 'russ' by the slavs, and from them the new monarchy was called russia. rurik came with his two brothers, sineus and truvor, and at novgorod laid the foundation of this empire that now covers one-eighth of the land surface of the globe.
"the story is admirably told in verse by bayard taylor. i have copied the lines from his poetical volume, and will read them to you."
in a full, clear voice the youth then read as follows, having previously explained that mr. taylor was present at the millennial celebration already mentioned:
a thousand years.
novgorod, russia, sept. 20, 1862.
"'a thousand years! through storm and fire,
with varying fate, the work has grown,
till alexander crowns the spire,
where rurik laid the corner-stone.
"'the chieftain's sword, that could not rust,
but bright in constant battle grew,
raised to the world a throne august—
a nation grander than he knew.
"'nor he, alone; but those who have,
through faith or deed, an equal part:
the subtle brain of yaroslav,
vladimir's arm and nikon's heart;
"'the later hands, that built so well
the work sublime which these began,
and up from base to pinnacle
wrought out the empire's mighty plan.
"'all these, to-day, are crowned anew,
and rule in splendor where they trod,
while russia's children throng to view
her holy cradle, novgorod.
"'from volga's banks; from dwina's side;
from pine-clad ural, dark and long;
or where the foaming terek's tide
leaps down from kasbek, bright with song;
"'from altai's chain of mountain-cones;
mongolian deserts, far and free;
and lands that bind, through changing zones,
[pg 215]the eastern and the western sea!
"'to every race she gives a home,
and creeds and laws enjoy her shade,
till, far beyond the dreams of rome,
her c?sar's mandate is obeyed.
"'she blends the virtues they impart,
and holds, within her life combined,
the patient faith of asia's heart—
the force of europe's restless mind.
"'she bids the nomad's wanderings cease;
she binds the wild marauder fast;
her ploughshares turn to homes of peace
the battle-fields of ages past.
"'and, nobler yet, she dares to know
her future's task, nor knows in vain,
but strikes at once the generous blow
that makes her millions men again!
"'so, firmer based, her power expands,
nor yet has seen its crowning hour—
still teaching to the struggling lands
that peace the offspring is of power.
"'build, then, the storied bronze, to tell
the steps whereby this height she trod—
the thousand years that chronicle
the toil of man, the help of god!
"'and may the thousand years to come—
the future ages, wise and free—
still see her flag and hear her drum
across the world, from sea to sea!—
"'still find, a symbol stern and grand,
her ancient eagle's wings unshorn;
one head to watch the western land,
and one to guard the land of morn.'
"bear in mind," said frank, after pausing at the end of the lines, "that the millennial celebration took place not long after the edict of emancipation was issued by alexander ii. this is what mr. taylor refers to in the third line of his poem.
"to go on with the story, let me say that rurik and his descendants ruled the country for more than two centuries. they made war upon their neighbors, and were generally victorious, and in their time the boundaries of russia were very much enlarged. rurik and his sons were[pg 216] pagans. in the tenth century christianity was introduced, and olga, the widow of igor, son of rurik, was baptized at constantinople. her son remained a pagan. he was slain in battle, and left the monarchy to his three sons, who soon began to quarrel. one was killed in battle, and another was put to death by the third brother, vladimir, who assumed entire control, and was surnamed 'the great' on account of the benefits he conferred upon russia."
fred asked if vladimir was a christian.
"he was not," said frank, "at least not in the beginning, but he subsequently became a convert to the principles of the greek church, married the sister of the emperor of constantinople, and was baptized on the day of his wedding, in the year 988. he ordered the introduction of christianity into russia, and established a great many churches and schools.
view on the steppe.
"vladimir left the throne to his twelve sons, who quarrelled about it till several of them were murdered or slain in battle. the successful son was yaroslav, who followed the example of his father by extending the boundaries of the country and introducing reforms. he caused many greek books to be translated into slavic, and ordered the compilation of the 'russkaya pravda,' which was the first law code of the country. nikon, whom mr. taylor mentions in the same line with vladimir, was a russian scholar and theologian of a later time, to whom the religion of russia is much indebted.
"after yaroslav's death there were many internal and external wars, during which russia lost a great deal of territory, and the history of the country for a long period is a history of calamities. the tartars under genghis khan invaded russia, plundering towns and cities, murdering[pg 217] the inhabitants, and ravaging the whole country from the frontiers of asia to the banks of the vistula. famine and pestilence accompanied war; in the year 1230 thirty thousand people died of the plague at smolensk and forty-two thousand at novgorod. alexander nevski defeated the swedes and livonians on the banks of the neva. he was a prince of novgorod, and one of the most enlightened of his time.
ivan the terrible.
"moscow was founded about 1147, and grew rapidly, although it was repeatedly sacked by the mongol invaders, who slew on one occasion twenty-four thousand of its inhabitants. the capital was established there, and under various rulers the war with the mongols was continued to a successful end. ivan iii., surnamed 'the great,' drove them out, and successfully repelled their attempts to return. his son and successor, ivan iv., was surnamed 'the terrible,' and certainly he deserved the appellation. we have mentioned him already in our account of what we saw in st. petersburg.
"he was an energetic warrior, encouraged commerce, made treaties with other nations, introduced the art of printing, and invited many foreigners to reside in russia and give instruction to the people. on the other hand,[pg 218] he was one of the most cruel rulers that ever governed a people, and seems to have rivalled the brutalities of the mongols. here are some of his cruelties that are recorded in history:
"he hated novgorod on account of the independent spirit of its people, and for this reason he put more than sixty thousand of its inhabitants to death, many of them with torture. novgorod had maintained an independent government, quite distinct from that of the grand-duchy of moscow. ivan iii. and his son, vassili, made war upon novgorod and the other independent principality of pskov, and ivan iv. ('the terrible') brought them to complete submission. the slaughter of the people of novgorod was the closing act of the conquest.
"we will change ivan to its english equivalent, john, and henceforth speak of this monster as john the terrible. he was only four years old when he became czar. during his infancy the government was conducted by his mother, under the direction of the house of boyards (noblemen). when he was thirteen years of age a political party which was opposed to the boyards suggested that he could rule without any assistance, and he at once took the control of affairs. very soon he terrified those who had placed him on the throne, and they would have been gladly rid of him if they could.
"an english ambassador came to moscow bringing the answer to a letter in which john had proposed marriage to queen elizabeth. the queen rejected his offer, but in such a diplomatic manner as not to offend the sanguinary czar. her ambassador incurred the monarch's ill-will by neglecting to uncover before him, and it was accordingly ordered that the envoy's hat should be nailed to his head. foreigners were better treated than were the subjects of john, and the ambassador was not harmed, though he was afterwards imprisoned.
"for his amusement john the terrible used to order a number of people to be sewed up in bear-skins, and then torn to death by bear-hounds. for tearing prisoners to pieces he ordered the tops of several trees to be bent down so that they came together; the limbs of the unfortunate victim were fastened to these tops, each limb to a different tree. when they were thus tied up, the release of the trees performed the work intended by the cruel czar."
"isn't john's name connected with the church of st. basil at moscow?" fred asked.
"yes," answered frank; "it was built in his reign, and is considered one of the finest in the city. when it was finished john sent for the architect and asked if he could build another like it.
[pg 219]
"'certainly i could,' the architect replied, with delight.
"thereupon the monarch ordered the architect's eyes to be put out, to make sure that the church of st. basil should have no rival.
"whether he was a kind husband or not we have no information, but he certainly was very much a husband. he had one mohammedan and two russian wives; and at the very time he sought the hand of elizabeth, queen of england, he proposed to marry the daughter of king sigismund of poland. what he intended doing if both offers were accepted we are not told, but it is not likely that bigamy would have had any terrors for a man of such ungovernable temper as he seems to have been.
alexis michailovitch, father of peter the great.
"at his death his son and successor, feodor, fell under the influence of boris godounoff, his brother-in-law, who assumed full power after a time, and renewed the relations with england which had been suspended for a while. godounoff obtained the throne by poisoning or exiling several of his relatives who stood in his way or opposed his projects. feodor is believed to have died of poison; he was the czar from 1584 to 1598, but for the last ten years of this period he had practically no voice in state affairs. with his death the house of rurik became extinct."
"does the house of romanoff, the present rulers of russia, begin where that of rurik ended?" the doctor asked.
"not exactly," was the reply, "as there was an interval of nineteen years, and a very important period in the history of the empire. several pretenders to the throne had appeared, among them demetrius, who is known in history as the 'impostor.' he married a polish lady, and it was partly through her intrigues that moscow fell into the hands of the poles."
"and how were they driven out?"
[pg 220]
"a butcher or cattle-dealer of nijni novgorod, named minin, gathered a small army under the belief that he was ordered by heaven to free his country from the invaders. he persuaded prince pojarsky to lead these soldiers to moscow, and together they started. their force increased as they advanced, and finally they expelled the poles and redeemed the capital. the names of minin and pojarsky are very prominent in russian history. monuments at moscow and nijni novgorod commemorate the action of these patriotic men, and tell the story of their work in behalf of their country.
michael feodorovitch, first czar of the romanoff family.
"the incident on which glinka's opera, 'a life for the czar,' is based belongs to this period, when the poles overran russia. the czar who was saved was michael feodorovitch, the first of the romanoffs, and he was elected to the throne by an assembly of nobles. the autocrat of all the russias is descended from a man who was chosen to office by the form of government which is now much more in vogue in america than in the land of the czar. michael, the first of the romanoffs, was the son of feodor romanoff, archbishop of rostov, and afterwards patriarch of moscow.
"there was nothing remarkable about the reign of feodor, nor of that of his son alexis. the latter was distinguished for being the father of peter the great, and for nothing else that i can find in history. now we step from ancient to modern times. peter the great belongs to our day, and the russia that we are visiting is the one that he developed. under him the country became an empire, where it was before nothing more than a kingdom. during his reign—"
they were interrupted by the stoppage of the train at a station, and the announcement that they must wait there an hour or more to[pg 221] receive some of the imperial foresters, who were arranging for a bear-hunt.
russian history was dropped at once for a more practical and modern subject, the emperor of russia, and his pursuit of the bear.
the doctor explained to the youths that the czar is supposed to be fond of the chase, and whenever a bear is seen anywhere near the line of the moscow and st. petersburg railway he is made the object of an imperial hunt. the animal is driven into a forest and allowed to remain there undisturbed. in fact he is kept in the forest by a cordon of peasants hastily assembled from all the surrounding country. as soon as the party can be organized, the hunt takes place in grand style.
the imperial train is prepared, and an extra train sent out in advance, with the necessary beaters, soldiers, and others, and also a plentiful supply of provisions. the imperial train contains the emperor's private carriage and several other fine vehicles. there are carriages for the emperor's horses, unless they have gone in the advance train, and there are guns and ammunition sufficient to slaughter half the bears in the empire.
when the ground is reached the locality of the bear is pointed out, and the emperor rides fearlessly to the spot. he is accompanied by his staff and guests, if he happens to have any royal or imperial visitors at[pg 222] the time; but unless the guests are invited to do the shooting, the honor of killing the beast is reserved for the emperor. exceptions are made in case the bear should endanger the life of his majesty, which sometimes happens. bears have little sense of imperial dignity, and a czar is of no more consequence to an untamed bruin than is the most ordinary peasant.
"a gentleman who was stopping on an estate in the interior of russia," said doctor bronson, "happened to be a witness of an imperial bear-hunt several years ago, and told me about it. he said not less than five hundred cossacks and peasants were employed in watching the bear, to keep him from straying, and the brute had become so accustomed to their presence that he stood quite still when approached by the emperor, so that the latter delivered his shot at a distance of not more than a dozen yards. the animal was killed instantly, the ball penetrating his forehead and crashing through his brain.
"after the hunt the party rode to the house of the owner of the estate where the bear had been found, and enjoyed a hearty supper, and after the supper they returned to the capital. the body of the slain animal was dressed for transportation to st. petersburg, where it was to be served up at the imperial table.
[pg 223]
too near to be pleasant.
"i have heard of bears that did not run at the sight of man, but sometimes came altogether too near to be agreeable. one day a man who lay asleep on the ground was awakened by a bear licking his face. he sat up and was much terrified at the situation; the bear finally walked off, and left the man unharmed.
wolf attacking its hunters.
"when the emperor treats his royal or imperial guests to a wolf or bear hunt, the masters of ceremonies take good care that there shall be game in the forest. on one occasion, when the crown-prince of germany was a guest at the winter palace, the emperor ordered a wolf-hunt for his amusement. the chase was successful, and two of the animals were driven so that they were shot by the guest.
"during their return to st. petersburg, so the story goes, the prince commented on the wonderful race of wolves in russia. 'one of those i killed to-day,' said he, 'had the hair rubbed from his neck as if by a chain, and the other wore a collar.'"
"are there many bears in russia?" one of the youths inquired.
"the bear is found all over russia," the doctor answered. "the most common varieties are the black and brown bears, which are in asiatic as well as european russia; in northern asia is the arctic bear, which belongs to the sea rather than to the land. he is the largest of the family, but not the most formidable. the champion bear of the world for fighting qualities is the grisly, found only in north america.
"in some parts of russia," the doctor continued, "bears are so numerous as to do a great deal of damage. they destroy cattle and sheep, and not unfrequently attack individuals. they cause much havoc among fruit-trees and in grain-fields, and in localities where inhabitants are few they have things pretty much their own way. they are hunted with dogs and guns; traps are set for them, and poison is scattered where they can find and eat it. but in spite of the efforts of man against them they do not diminish in numbers from year to year, and the emperor is able to have a bear-hunt about as often as he wants one.
"i have heard that in some parts of siberia bears are caught and tamed, and then driven to market as one drives oxen or sheep. in a book of travels written by a frenchman there is a picture of a dozen or more bears being driven to market, and the story is told in all soberness. french travellers are famous for a tendency to make their narratives interesting, even if veracity should suffer. there are exceptions, of course, as in everything else, but you may set it down as a good general rule, not to accept without question any extraordinary statement you find in a french book of travel."
[pg 224]
in due time the journey was resumed, and the train reached novgorod, where our travellers alighted. novgorod stands on both sides of the volkhov river, and is one hundred and three miles from st. petersburg by the old post-road. it is not remarkable for its architecture, and is chiefly interesting for its historical associations and souvenirs.
old picture in the church.
"we visited several of the churches and monasteries which make up the attractions of novgorod," said frank, in his journal. "the principal church is the cathedral of st. sophia, which was called in ancient times 'the heart and soul of the great novgorod.' the first cathedral was built here in 989; the present one dates from about 1045, when it was erected by order of the grandson of st. vladimir. it has been altered and repaired repeatedly, but the alterations have not materially changed it from its ancient form. it is one of the oldest churches in russia, and is held in great reverence by the people.
"the church has suffered by repeated plunderings. it was robbed by john the terrible, and afterwards by the swedes; the latter, in 1611, killed two of the priests and destroyed the charter which had been granted to the cathedral more than fifty years before. in spite of these[pg 225] depredations, the church contains many relics and images, some of them of great antiquity. there are shrines in memory of yaroslav, vladimir, and other of the ancient rulers of russia; the shrine and tomb of st. anne, daughter of king olaf of sweden, and wife of prince yaroslav i.; and the shrines or tombs of many other saints, princes, archbishops, patriarchs, and other dignitaries whose names have been connected with the history of the church and the city. so many tombs are here that there is little room for more.
a bishop of the greek church.
"you would hardly expect one of the curious relics of a church to be the result of piracy, yet such appears to be the case in this sacred building.[pg 226] the doors leading into the chapel of the nativity are said to have been stolen from a church in sweden by pirates. several men from novgorod belonged to the freebooting band, and brought these doors home to enrich the cathedral of their native place. the doors are of oak, covered with metal plates half an inch thick; the plates bear several devices and scrolls which we could not understand, but our guide said they were the armorial bearings of swedish noblemen. there is another door, which is also said to have been stolen from a church, but its exact origin is unknown.
"in the sacristy they showed us an ancient copy of the four gospels on vellum, and a printed copy which is said to have come from the first printing-press ever set up in russia. there were several flags and standards which once belonged to the princes of novgorod, one of them a present from peter the great in 1693. there was once an extensive library connected with the cathedral, but it was taken to st. petersburg in 1859. they showed us a collection of letters from peter the great to catherine i. and his son alexis, but of course we could not read them.
"there is a kremlin, or fortress, in the centre of the city, but it is not of great consequence. near it is a tower which bears the name of yaroslav; in this tower hung the vechie bell, which summoned the vechie, or assemblage of citizens, when any public circumstance required their attention. we tried to picture the gathering of the people on such occasions. in the day of its greatness novgorod had four hundred thousand inhabitants, and its assemblages must have been well worth seeing. the vechie bell was carried off to moscow by ivan iii., and many thousands of the inhabitants were compelled to move to other places. for a long time it hung in a tower of the kremlin of moscow, but its present whereabouts is unknown.
"i fear that a further account of our sight-seeing in novgorod, so far as the churches and monasteries are concerned, might be wearisome, as it would be in some degree a repetition of the description of the cathedral; so we will drop these venerable buildings and come down to modern times and things. the most interesting of modern things in this old city is the millennial monument, which has been mentioned before.
millennial monument at novgorod.
(from appleton's american cyclop?dia.)
"the monument is one of the finest in the empire, and some of the russians say it surpasses anything else of the kind in their country. we could not measure it, but judged it to be not less than fifty feet from the ground to the top of the cross which surmounts the dome, forming the upper part of the monument. there are a great many figures, statues, and high-reliefs, which represent periods of russian history. the great[pg 227] events from the days of rurik to alexander ii. are shown on the monument, and there can be no doubt that the work is highly instructive to those who study it carefully.
"the monument was designed by a member of the russian academy of sciences, and was chosen from a great number of sketches that were submitted for competition. the casting of the bronze was done by an english firm at st. petersburg, and the expense was borne by the government and a few wealthy citizens of novgorod. as is usual in such cases, the government contributed by far the greater part of the money."
after a day in novgorod our friends continued their journey to moscow. they returned to the main line of railway by the branch, and waited nearly two hours at the junction for the through train to the ancient capital.
at valdai the youths bought some specimens of the famous valdai bells; but it is safe to say that they were not equal to what could have been found at st. petersburg or moscow. fred recalled their purchases of specimens of local manufactures in other parts of the world, and said the same rule would apply everywhere. the tourist who buys toledo blades at the railway-station in toledo, eau-de-cologne at the famous city of the rhine, bog-oak jewellery at dublin, and paté de foie gras at strasburg, may generally count on being victimized.
at tver the railway crosses the volga. frank proposed that as tver is the head of navigation on that great river they should leave the train and float with the current to astrachan, two thousand one hundred and fifty miles away. doctor bronson said a steamer would be preferable to floating; besides, they would have quite enough of the volga if they[pg 228] started from nijni novgorod and avoided the navigation of the upper part of the stream.
russian boats.
"and while we are on the subject of navigation," the doctor added, "please bear in mind that by means of a system of canals connecting the lakes and rivers between this point and st. petersburg, there is unbroken water transit between the volga and the neva. merchandise can be carried in boats from st. petersburg to the caspian sea without breaking bulk, and there are canals connecting the volga with the don and the dneiper rivers in the same way. russia has an excellent system of internal communication by water, and it was doubtless due to this that the railways in the empire are a matter of very recent date.
"the first railway line in the empire was from st. petersburg to tsarskoe-selo, and was built in 1838. the st. petersburg and moscow railway was begun in 1848, and down to the end of the reign of nicholas less than three thousand miles of railway were completed in the whole empire. now there are nearly twenty thousand miles in operation, and the figures are increasing every year. nearly fourteen thousand miles belong to private companies, and the remainder is the property of the government. some of the companies have a government guarantee for the interest on their capital, while others are managed just like private railways in other countries."
[pg 229]
at the last station before reaching moscow passports were surrendered to the inspectors, and tickets were collected. the youths put their hand-bags and shawl-straps in readiness, and were ready to leave the carriage when the train rolled into the huge building which is the terminal station of the line. our friends were in the ancient capital of russia, and the home of many czars.
[pg 230]
portrait of catherine ii. in the kremlin collection.
