Title pages 1

STATESMAN'S HANDBOOK for EUSSIA. Gdited by the Chancery of the Gommittee of Masters. In two volumes. Vol. I. St. Petersburg, 1896.

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1 *.¦? STATESMAN'S HANDBOOK for RUSSIA. Edited by tlje Cljancery of the Committee of Ministers. ¦3 ., Vol. I. 9 f St. Petersburg. > Eugen Thiele, Success. 5, Blagovestchensky Square. 1896. 1

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. I 19296 neH37poH>, C.-IIeTep<Syprs, 28 SeBpaja 1895 r. ' 3

Index 4

INDEX. Page. Preface.................... I II Unity of the Russian Empire...... 1 2 State organization............. 2 16 General principles. The Sovereign State Power: Rights. Prerogatives. Succession. Institutions of the Imperial Family.......... 2 Rights of subjects.............16 49 Acquirement and loss of nationality. Rights of subjects according to classes. The origin of classes. Class divisions since Peter the Great. Class rights at the present time........ 16 Rights and duties of Russian subjects in general: Freedom of'religion. Inviolability of property. Inviolability of the person....... 31 Heterogeneous races: Eastern races. Jews. Finns. The rights of foreigners in Russia. . . 42 State administration. The higher institutions of State . . 49 74 Council of State. Council of Ministers. Committee of Ministers. Committee of Siberian Railway. Committees of various kinds. Ruling Senate. Holy Ruling Synod. Ministries..............74 108 Their history. Present organization. Separate Ministries......^. *- , .,;. ...... 74 Institutions in direct- cognizance of the Monarch: Ministry of the Imperial Court, (Russian Orders). Special Chancery ^of His Majesty the Emperor, (Table of Ranks). Charicery of Petitions presented in the Imperial name..... 88

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Page. Separate branches of State administration. International relations.........103 115 State defence..............115 154 Military service............... 115 Land forces. Cossacks. Their history. Organization of military administration (Ministry of War).................. 120 Naval forces. Administration of the Navy (Ministry of Marine)............. 141 Material resources of the State. 1. Finances ..............154 192 The relation of the Budget to the national revenue. State and local expenditure. .... 154 Direct taxation.............. 159 Indirect taxation............. 169 State credit.............. 178 Table of State Budget for 1896....... 188 191 2. Agriculture and rural economy in general............192 275 Importance of agriculture for Russia. .... 192 I. Distribution of landed property...... 196 1. Peasants' proprietorship. Peasants' Agrarian credit. Migration to free territories. Siberia. Organization of petty rural credit . . 197 2. Private land. Hire of village labourers. Long and short credit for landowners..... 217 II. Distribution of the different kinds of land. Forests. Law of 1888 for the protection of forests. Systems of cultivation and auxiliary pursuits. Rural economy in the Caucasus, Siberia and Toorkistan. Extent of production of cereals 230 III. Agricultural education......... 257 IV. Improvements of rural economy: Irrigation. Dessication.............. 263 V. The grain trade. Export. Internal routes of the grain trade. Freights........ 266

Preface 6 i

PREFACE. Middway between Western Europe and Asia stretches a vast State, occupying more than V2 of Europe and l/a of Asia, or V« part of all the land of the globe (about 19,000,000 square versts). This State, having in the 13 and 14 centuries screened European civilization from the frequent incursions of Huns and other barbarous Asiatics, and having accepted that same civilisation for its own 120 million inhabitants, is now planting European culture among the denizens of Asia itself, and uniting in one compact mass a large number of races and peoples from the shores of the Baltic and Black Seas to those of the Pacific Ocean. With all its variety of inhabitants, (over 140 different races), this State is the inheritance of the Russian people, who have gradually but persistently spread to the West, South, and East, and who comprise more than 70% of the total population. This is no artificial unification of separate and distinctive regions, but the Russian Empire, strong in unity and disinterested devotion to its Emperors. Its importance from the civilizing, national, and political points of view stamps the Russian Empire as a first class power, and attracts the attention of foreigners to everything taking place in the political, social, and economical life of our country. Therefore foreign governments, statesmen, scientific men, and publicists now possess pretty accurate, and even detailed, information on

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II everything which concerns Russia; but among the majority of intelligent people in Europe and America this information has not yet taken any definite shape, owing to the want of a book in foreign languages, which would give a general and more or less popular picture of our organization as a State. The present work is intended, to a certain extent, to supply that general picture. Here the reader will find an exposition of the principles underlying the organization of the State, and the rules which regulate the separate departments of government. This book, however, does not profess to give all the details of government business, nor the fullest statistical data on every question: the facts, historical details and figures which it affords are simply by way of supporting and illustrating the narrative. The first volume contains an account of the principles of Russian State organization; a description of the higher institutions of State and those attached to the person of the Emperor, and likewise the branches of administration: international relations, State Defence, Einances and Agriculture. The second volume contains a sketch of industry and trade; ways of communication; church administration and popular education; different branches of the police of security (public charity, national food supplies, preservation of public health, etc.); justice, and finally, the organization of local administration and local self-government.

Unity of the Russian Empire 8

UNITY OF THE EMPIRE. I. UNITY OF THE EMPIKE. Unity has always constituted the basis of the power and stability of the Russian Empire. The kingdom of Poland, an inseparable part of that Empire, consists of territories, which, prior to their annexation, did not form a special state. Even the boundaries of Poland were till then undefined. The Vienna Congress called the inhabitants of the Polish territories, annexed to Russia Russian subjects, and left it to the Russian Emperor to establish the organization of these territories. The Polish territories were annexed to Russia on June 20th, and the Constitution of the kingdom of Poland was granted by the Emperor Alexander I only on December 25th, 1815. After the insurrection of 1830, namely in 1832, this constitution was repealed and, after the revolt of 1863, the complete incorporation of the Polish Governments with the other provinces of the Empire was effected. The unity of the Empire is in no way impaired by the independence of the institutions, granted to the Finns by the Russian Emperors. Before being annexed to Russia, Finland did not exist as an independent State. Its present territory was divided between Sweden and

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UNITY OF THE EMPIRE. Russia. Besides being devoid of autonomy, the Swedish part of Finland did not form a whole, but was broken up into several provinces, or lens. By the treaty of Fre-dericksham Sweden ceded to Russia, not Finland as a whole, but only several provinces; it being expressly stated, that < these provinces henceforth pass into the possession and holding of the Russian Empire and are, for ever annexed to it.> In the summer of 1808 the population of Finland took the oath of allegiance to the Russian Sovereign, and only subsequently, did the Emperor .Alexander I, of his own free will, convoke the Diet, or Seim, at Borgo, and grant the organization of that institution, which had never before existed in Finland. Thus only special institutions were established, and not a separate Sovereign power, such as would have transformed this land into an independent state. II. STATE OKGANIZATION. 1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. The principles of the state organization of Imperial Russia are set forth in the fundamental laws of the Empire. According to article Ist of these laws «the Emperor is a Monarch, autocratic and unlimited*. The sovereign power in its entirety is concentrated in his person. The term «unlimited» points to the absence of any laws, restricting the ruling power of the Emperor. An exception is formed only by the laws of the established religion, and the order of succession to the throne: the, 2

State Organization 10 3

GENERAL PRINCIPLES. Emperor must profess the orthodox faith, and, on ascending the throne, he pledges himself to strictly respect the laws of succession to it. The Russian Emperor is called autocratic to distinguish him from constitutional Monarchs, as he does not share his Sovereign rights with any institutions or class in the State. Consequently, the government of the Russian Empire rests upon a firm foundation of law, proceeding from the autocratic power. This fact gives to the whole order of the State in Russia a lawful character, which thereby differentiates it from arbitrary forms. It implies, that in Russia the law alone determines both the rights of power and the obligations of subjects. Such a rule is in no way opposed to the principle of autocracy, as it always lies in the Sovereign power of the Emperor to abrogate this or that law. Yet it serves as a reliable guarantee to his subjects, that a law, issued in regular form, is indeed an act of Sovereign power, binding on all other powers in the State. To the Sovereign power this principle of law is of no less importance: the wide expansion of the functions of the State make a complete system of subordinate institutions unavoidable; these may not, however, be permitted to use their own discretion; while, at the same time, the personal control of the Sovereign, considering the vastness of the territory, is fraught with extreme difficulty. It is therefore indispensable to regulate the functions of subordinate institutions by certain general rules, determined by the law. Only with this condition will they be organs of Sovereign power, 3 i*

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GENERAL PRINCIPLES. and not independent authorities, acting in their own interests. The necessity of written laws for the government and the administration of justice was admitted in Russia at an early date. What has survived of the legislation of Novgorod and Pskoff does credit to that epoch. In Northeastern Russia the princes used to issue so called regulation charters. The Codes of the Moscow Sovereigns, and the Statutes of the Tsar Alexey Mihylovitch had in view the protection of the people from the arbitrariness and extortion of the judges. Peter the Great regarded the codification of the laws as the principal condition for attaining promptness in the administration of justice and good administration. And Catherine II in her Instructions, or Nakaz, given to the Committee, formed for drawing up a new Code, was of opinion, «that the political freedom of a citizen lies in the peace of mind, proceeding from the belief, entertained by each, of his safety. To enable the citizens to enjoy this freedom it is necessary, that the administration should be such, that one citizen should not fear another, but that all should fear the laws and them only.» The honour of issuing a Code of laws, founded on separate legislative acts, promulgated previously, which forms the basis of the entire government of the Empire, belongs to the Emperor Nicholas I, under whose direction this extensive task was accomplished in 1832 by "Count Speransky.

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RIGHTS OF THE SOVEREIGN POWER. 2. ON THE SOVEREIGN STATE POWER, a) Rights of the Sovereign power. The rights of state power in their entire extent belong to the Sovereign Emperor. But the Emperor does not directly exercise all his rights. Catherine II explained in her Instructions, or NaJcaz, that «the fundamental laws of the State necessarily assume middle channels, i. e. institutions, through which the Sovereign power is exercised)). Hence the division of the government into supreme and subordinate. In the supreme government the power of the Sovereign operates in a direct manner. In subordinate government a degree of power is entrusted by him to persons and institutions, acting in his name, by his orders, and within the limits, laid down for them by law. The general principle, defining the sphere of direct application of the Sovereign power, is clearly de-ducible from what has been stated above as to the law and its significance in the organization of the State. The direct application of the Sovereign power is indispensable either when a single matter cannot be determined by existing laws, or when the general necessity of altering a law presents itself, whereas all, that is sufficiently defined by the law, is subject to the jurisdiction of subordinate powers. Consequently the Imperial power acts directly in the first place in legislation: no state institution can independently establish a new law, and no law can be carried out without the confirmation of the Sovereign power. But even in the administration it sometimes becomes 5

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RIGHTS OF THE SOVEREIGN POWER. necessary to take measures, which, owing to their importance, can be put into force only by the Sovereign power. Such are, firstly: the most important external relations, as the declaration of war, conclusion of peace, of conventions and treaties with foreign countries; secondly general internal measuies in extraordinary cases, as for instance in matters, concerning the public peace and safety, public alimentation, the building of railways etc. As representative of Sovereign power in the State, the Monarch is the source of all distinctions and privileges: preferment to the dignity of nobility, the granting of hereditary titles and other callings, ranks, orders and forms of distinction, all depend on him. As head of the State, the Emperor disposes independently of all the personal and material forces of the Empire. He commands the army and navy, appoints to all offices in the civil service, the army and the navy, and confirms the appointment of officials to certain posts in the provincial, municipal and class administrations. The Sovereign power alone can impose general taxes and contributions, can order the employment of state funds, by confirming the estimates of state revenue and expenditure, etc. As head of the government, the Emperor has supreme supervision over the course of the whole government of the State; therefore the ministers and governors present annual reports to His Majesty, showing the course of affairs in the departments, entrusted to them. Finally, as a Christian Sovereign, the Emperor acts with supremacy in Church affairs, in as far as they refer to civil relations, independently of dogma and internal 6

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RIGHTS OF THE SOVEREIGN POWER. hierarchal administration. He is supreme defender and protector of the dogmas of the established Orthodox Greek-Catholic Church. He therefore protects the orthodoxy and purity, of the Church, and assumes the right of appointing bishops from among candidates nominated by the Synod and of controlling the functions of ecclesiastical institutions. The same rights, exclusive of the protection of the purity of creed, belong to His Majesty in respect to other Christian and unchristian religions, existing in the Empire. Though the duty of Justice consists exclusively in the exact application, under His Majesty's authority (by Ukas), of the acting laws to separate cases, nevertheless the Monarch confirms the verdicts of the Courts of Law, as far as regards the deprivation of the rights of nobility, officials, church functionaries and all persons, possessing orders or badges of distinction; as no subordinate power can enforce deprivation of what has been granted by the Sovereign power. As the source of mercy, being above Justice, the Sovereign has the right of pardon and mitigation of punishments beyond the limits assigned to Justice itself. Finally, in certain cases even proceedings may not be instituted without Supreme resolution, namely, in violations of duty by high dignitaries, as these persons are appointed by direct selection of the Sovereign. b) On the prerogatives of the Sovereign power. As distinguished from the rights of the Sovereign power in the regions of legislation, administration and 7

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ON THE PREROGATIVES OF THE SOVEREIGN POWER. justice, stand the prerogatives, enjoyed by the Monarch, which raise him above all persons and institutions in the State. To these belong: 1, Exemption of the Monarch from the action of the general laws, as these laws proceed from himself, and personal impunity in breaking them, as the power does not exist, which could call the Sovereign to account. 2, Inviolability, consisting in the appointing of especially strict punishments for attempting the life, health and honour of the Monarch 3, The Imperial Court. The Monarch has his Court, i. e. persons for the purpose of executing his honorary service. These persons enjoy all the privileges pertaining to the state service. The Imperial Court is maintained by the State. 4, As prerogatives of honour the Monarch's title and coat of arms. The title of the Russian Monarch is Emperor and Imperial Majesty. Originally the Russian Sovereigns bore the title of grand dukes. With the uniting of Russia under the dominion of Moscow, the title of Tsar began to be used, and was definitely adopted by Ivan IV, in 1547. This remained the title of the Russian Sovereigns till 1721. In 1721, by the peace of Nishtadt, the Great Northern war, carried on so successfully by Peter the Great, was concluded. In celebration of this event, the Senat and Synod resolved to beg Peter I to accept the titles of Emperor, Great, and Father of his Country. A supreme Ukas was issued to that effect, on November 11, 8

Rights of subjects. On Nationality. 16 9

ON THE SUCCESSION TO THE SOVEREIGN POWER. 1721, which gave rise to a protest on the part of many European states, as it placed the Russian Sovereign on the same level with the Emperor of Germany, the sole Monarch of that rank then existing. First to acknowledge the new title were Prussia, the Netherlands and Sweden, last Poland, in 1764! The Coat of Arms has for its principle element the two-headed eagle, adopted by the Grand Duke Ivan III, after his marriage (in 1472) with Sophia Paleolog, niece of the last Byzantine Emperor. On the eagle's breast is depicted the coat of arms of Moscow: St. George on horseback, slaying the dragon with a golden spear. e) On the Sueeession to the Sovereign Power. In its substance th& Sovereign power is perpetual l. e. its functions do not terminate with the death of the Monarch, as by the law his rights are immediately transferred to his Successor. The order of succession to the state power in hereditary monarchies, as in Russia, is determined by the laws of succession to the throne. In contemporary European states there exist three systems of succession to the throne, distinguished by the degree of female participation in them: firstly, the system of complete exclusion of females and female issue, called the Salic system. This system was adopted by the Salic Franks in cases of succession to landed property, but it has survived principally in state law, and is in practice at present in Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Denmark and Prussia. 9

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ON THE SUCCESSION TO THE SOVEREIGN POWER. In England females are admitted to the succession to the throne in the following order: male heirs in the same degree of relation exclude females; so if, for instance, the daughter of the king is older than the son, still the son succeeds to the throne. But if the king leaves a daughter and a nephew, then the daughter succeeds to the throne, as being in a closer degree of relation ship. Besides England, this system is in practice in Spain and Portugal. It is called the cognate, or Castile system. Lastly comes the third system, occupying, as it were, the middle between the two foregoing: females and female lines are not absolutely excluded, but the male heirs enjoy superiority in all the lines and all the degrees of relationship. Only in the case of the entire extinction of the male descent in all the male lines, does the throne pass to the female line. This system, called the German Dutch, was established originally in Austria by Leopold I, in 1703. At present it is in practice, except Austria, in Holland, Greece, Bavaria, Wurtemberg and likewise in Russia by the act on the succession to the throne, April 5, 1797- Several systems had hitherto been used in Russia. Previous to the growth of Moscow, i. e. during the Kief period of Russian history (from the end of the X-th till the middle of the XlV-th century), there existed in fact no system. By a general rule the inheritance belonged to the whole family of the Grand Duke: each brother had the right to a part of the domains and a throne in a certain town. The throne of Kief was considered the 10

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OF THE SUCCESSION TO THE SOVEREIGN POWER. principal one, and it passed with the dignity of Grand Duke to the eldest brother. But the seniority becaming obscure, through the numerous growth of the ducal family, the birthright led to armed strife, when not unfrequently the elder would submit to the younger. In the Moscow period single succession was gradually attained. But in 1598, the dynasty of Rurik. came to an end, and the throne was ascended by Boris Godoonoff. The electing system prevailed during the whole of the Turbulent Period until 1613, when the Romanoff dynasty was elected to the throne, as being the most proximate to the Rurik family, the mother of Theodor Ioannovitch, the last Tsar of that dynasty, having been a Romanoff. In this dynasty the throne passed at first from father to son by the right of primogeniture, till Peter the Great, urged by the opposition which all his reforms met with from his eldest son, the Cesarevitch Alexey Petrovitch, determined to adopt the system of bequeathment. He died however intestate, but his nearest successors adhered to this plan, giving not unfrequently rise to riot and discord. Consequently in 1742, Elizaveta Petrovna, issued a manifesto, declaring the heir to the throne to be her nephew, the duke Peter of Holstein, teas nearest by blood» to the Empress; and subsequently the Empress Catherine II, on ascending the throne, ordered the oath of allegiance to be taken to her and to her son, the grand duke Pavel Petrovitch, lawful heir to the throne of all the Russias. Thus the principle of succession to the throne by II

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ON THE SUCCESSION TO THE SOVEREIGN POWER. law was again proclaimed, the legal order only of succession to the throne was unestablished. This was accomplished by the Emperor Paul I by an act on the succession to the throne, which established the following system: The right of succession to the throne belongs to the members of the now reigning Imperial House. Both the sexes are admitted to the succession, though the preference is given to the male sex. The Emperor is immediately succeeded by his eldest son, after whom comes the entire male issue of that son, namely: the grandson, great grandson etc., till its complete termination; then the throne is ascended by the second son of the Emperor, followed by his male issue; upon that the third son etc. At the extinction of the last male line of the Emperor Paul I, the throne passes into the female lines, according to their degrees of proximity to the Emperor, who reigned last. In each of the female lines, preference of male over female heirs is shown according to the general rule. The person, possessing the right to the throne, may ascend it only if he or she professes the orthodox faith. In the event of belonging to another creed, orthodoxy must first be embraced. It is permissable to abnegate the rights to the throne, provided only no complications in the succession to the throne arise. Whereupon, when the abnegation is proclaimed and made law, it may not be withdrawn. The heir ascends the throne immediately after the death of his predecessor, but he begins to reign, only 12

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THE INSTITUTION OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. on coming of age. The heir is held to be of age at 16 years, earlier than the subject (21), as is likewise the case in other European states. In the event of a minor Emperor ascending the throne, a guardianship and an administration are established. The new Emperor publicly proclaims his accession to the throne by means of a special manifesto. In the manifesto the lawful heir, if he already exists, is announced. On the appearance of the manifesto, all male subjects, from the age of 12 upwards, are summoned to take the oath of allegiance, each according to the rites of his creed. The oath is taken to the Emperor and to his lawful heir, even though he is not mentioned in the manifesto. The ceremonies of coronation and annointment of the new Emperor are then performed in the Moscow Cathedral of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin, in the presence of the highest state institutions and classes, summoned for this purpose by Sovereign power. d) The Institution of the Imperial Family. By their right to the throne, a special privileged position is created for the members of the Imperial House. At the head of the Imperial Family stands the Sovereign himself. He is its perpetual supreme guardian and protector. The members of the Imperial House on coming of age take the oath of loyalty to their Sove- 13

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THE INSTITUTION OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. ¦reign and Country, and swear to maintain the rights ot succession and the family order. Therefore each member of the Imperial Family owes the Emperor, as to the head of the House, and as to an Autocrat absolute respect, submission, obedience and subjection. All persons of both sexes, proceeding from the Imperial blood in the male line, and in lawful marriage, are considered as members of the Imperial House. The rights of the male persons are communicated to their wives, who thereby likewise become members of the Imperial House, but without the right of succeeding to the throne. Thus the principal condition of belonging to the Imperial House is lawful marriage. In order to be lawful these marriages require the observance of certain special conditions, different from those set down for ordinary subjects. "Namely, it is indispensable, firstly, to have the sanction of the reigning Emperor; secondly, that the persons about to be married should be equally high born .and thirdly, a person of the male sex, with the possible right of succeeding to the throne, may marry a person of another faith, only on condition that she embrace the -orthodox faith. The prerogatives enjoyed by the members ot the Imperial House are diverse. The highest position belongs to the Empress, who by sanction of the Emperor is crowned, either together ¦with him, or separately, if the marriage take place after the coronation of the Emperor. But the dowager Empress ¦takes precedence over the wife o£ the reigning Emperor. 14

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THE INSTITUTION OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. The next position in the line of the members of the Imperial House belongs to the Heir Apparent of the throne, and to his wife. He bears the title of Heir-Apparent Cesarevitch, Grand Duke, and Imperial Highness. The wife of the Heir-Apparent is called Cesarevna and Grand Duchess, her title being Imperial Highness. Then follow, firstly the Emperor's sons, daughters and grandchildren (children of his sons); they enjoy the title of Grand Duke, Grand Duchess, and Imperial Highness. Secondly, the great grandchildren of the Emperors in the male line, and all the senior male descendants of the great grandsons, i. e. the eldest sons of the great grandsons, the eldest sons of their eldest sons etc; they have the title of Princes and Princesses of Imperial blood, and Highness. And at length, thirdly, all the remaining members of the Imperial House, consequently the younger sons and daughters of the great grandsons etc., all entitled to the calling of Princes of the Imperial blood, but with the title of Serenissime. The other prerogatives of the members of the Imperial Family vary according to the difference in station and titles. They possess the right to the Imperial Coat of Arms, orders, a court staff, and other distinctions. For the maintenance of the Imperial Family special landed estates and a. fund are appointed under the name of Appanages, The appanage property was founded by the Emperor Paul I, in 1797, and a special institution was established for its superintendence originally the Ministry of Appanages, at present Head office of the Ap- 15

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THE ACQUIREMENT AND LOSS OF NATIONALITY. panages, forming a part of the Ministry of the Imperial House. As a subsidy to the appanage estates certain sums are furnished by the State Treasury for the maintenance of the Empress, the Heir-Apparent and his wife, all the other sons and daughters of the Emperor and the Heir-Apparent, till they come of age, and also for supplying the marriage portions of the Grand-Duchesses and Princesses of Imperial blood. Besides the enumerated prerogatives, all the members of the Imperial Family without exception enjoy an enforced protection of the law: offences against their life, liberty, health and honour are punished with the same strictness, as those attempted against the person of the Sovereign Emperor. 3. ON NATIONALITY, a) The acquirement and loss of nationality. Prior to investigating the rights and duties of Russian subjects, it is necessary to determine who is considered a Russian subject. There exist three modes of acquiring nationality: istly by birth: all persons born of Russian subjects in Russia or abroad are considered Russian subjects; 2ndly by marriage: a foreign subject (female) marrying a Russian, becomes a Russian subject, and 3rd1* by naturalization, i. e. by changing from foreign to Russian nationality. 16

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THE RIGHTS OF SUBJECTS ACCORDING TO CLASSES. The adoption of Russian nationality is accompanied by an oath of allegiance. Russian nationality is lost by marriage, when a Rus sian subject (female) marries a foreigner, and by the adoption of foreign nationality, which can only be effected in each case with the sanction of the Emperor. Voluntary adoption of foreign nationality is interdicted under penalty of severe punishment. b) The rights of Subjects according to classes. With the conception of nationality is associated the idea of certain rights and duties. But by virtue of the historical conditions and development of Russia, as in other states, the rights and duties of subjects are not identical. Russian subjects are therefore divided into groups. Thus, in the first place, the so called inorodsy, or heterogeneous races, on account of their origin, are separated from the general mass into a special category, and include several eastern races, the Jews, and the inhabitants of Finland, who enjoy special rights. All the remainder are termed natural subjects, who in respect of their rights, are divided into classes. The law recognises four such classes: i) nobles, 2) clergy, 3) inhabitants of towns, and 4) rural population. But before considering the rights of these classes, it will not be superfluous to point out briefly the origin in Russia of class distinctions. 17 »

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THE ORIGIN OF CLASSES. 1. The origin of classes. Ancient Russia, prior to the formation of the State of Moscow, scarcely knew any classes, seeing that there did not even exist subjects in the proper sense of the word, i. e. persons, having permanent connection with certain territory. Even the Princes themselves were not settled, but moved from place to place. Their servants and attendants were bound to them by personal agreement or contract and could at any time quit their service. Under these conditions it was impossible to form corporations or classes of persons in service. The remaining portion of the population did not in general owe any subjection, and all enjoyed the right of passing from one principality to another. Although slaves and so called servitors existed in ancient Russia as well as freemen, slavery and bondage were not state institutions. Every free citizen was liable, on account of debt, to become dependent on his creditors. The present idea of subjection and of class distinctions dates from the accession to power of the Tsars of Moscow, who, for the unification of the Russian territories, stood in need of the permanent services of the Boyars, and of regular payment of taxes and dues. In consequence of this, the Moscow Princes, commencing with Ivan III (1462 1505), began to prohibit persons in service from removing to another principality, under penalty of criminal punishment. At the same time the maintenance of serving people underwent a change. At first the Prince himself clothed and fed his military 18

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THE ORIGIN OF CLASSES. company, or droojina. In the Moscow era they were allotted a certain extent of land. Each serving man received a property, for which he had to render service; and consequently he had no right of quitting the land. The remainder of the population had to provide the State with material means, by paying taxes and dues on land, trade and industries. The land, on which taxes were charged, was called taxable land. In the towns were taxable houses. A Government, standing in need of the regular payment of taxes, was bound to see that each taxable ward, and each domicile, had its tax payer. This was why residents in towns and the rural population gradually lost the right of removing from place to place. At first terms or periods were fixed for removal. In the year 1497 all these terms were transferred to Iurief day* (26th November), and subsequently, in the year 1598, the Iurief day term was abolished. In this manner was established from the XVII century a strict delimitation of the three classes, according to the character of their duties. The highest duty was that of service and, consequently, the serving class occupied the first place. It rendered service on a special kind of property; on estates and patrimonial land, and soon acquired the exclusive right of owning such property, «in order that the land shpuld not go out of the service*. The proprietor of each estate was bound to furnish a certain number of men from among the local peasants, who in consequence of this became his serfs. Lastly, * St. George's day. 19 s*

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THE ORIGIN OF CLASSES. in fulfilling this service the land proprietor, by virtue thereof, was exempted from all other taxes and dues. The inhabitants of towns paid taxes: a) on town domiciles and b) on trading enterprises. This inaugurated the regulation, that town domiciles and trading enterprises in towns could only be owned by persons, who paid town -dues, i. e. by townsmen. The third class consisted of peasants, who were bound to the soil. There were also in Moscovite Russia bondsmen servitors, who possessed no personal or proprietary rights. Altogether apart from the other classes stood the clergy. On the adoption of Christianity the church appeared in Russia with special privileges, which it enjoyed in the West and in Byzantium. Its mission was to convert a heathen community into a Christian one, and therefore it had to gain influence over all classes, not excepting the Princes, and to take up a privileged position. In this manner there was formed a class of churchmen, who were placed under the jurisdiction of an exclusively ecclesiastical court. This class of churchmen included istlT, clergy in the strict sense of the word and 2ndly, laymen, who were placed under the protection of the church, as, for instance, physicians, the blind, lame, widows &c. It must not be thought however, that 4he clergy formed in the very beginning an exclusively hereditary class. Priests and psalmsters were selected by the parishioners or appointed by the landowners and confirmed in their post by the bishop. But hereditary succession in this calling became established of itself. 20

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CLASS DIVISIONS SINCE PETER THE GREAT. A certain training was required for the clerical office which could only be imparted to their children by clergymen themselves. Such was the position of class distinctions in Russia prior to the accession of Peter. 2. Class divisions since Peter the Great Peter the Great, even more than the Tsars of Moscow, required the strict fulfillment by the several classes of their obligations and duties. The nobles who failed to appear to do service to the Tsar, were threatened by him with branding; for the remainder there was established a new order of exacting taxes and dues.- Before the accession of Peter taxes and ¦dues were imposed on land, domiciles, and shops. It -was necessary to attach the payer to a certain property or trade. But very many were not thus registered. Free, or «leisure» people, without any definite occupation, paid no dues, and servitors, as the personal property of their owners, were also exempt from taxation. Meantime the taxes were raised, and it became quite unprofitable to own property. The result was a general exodus and a loss to the State. It was on this account that Peter I, instead of taxing the soil, taxed the individual and introduced a poll tax, which was obligatory on everyone, wheresoever he might be. Thanks to this, menials {servitors) and peasants became intermixed, and «leisure» people disappeared. A revision of the whole population in 1719 formed the taxable class. Exemption from taxation began to distinguish the 21

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CLASS DIVISIONS SINCE PETER THE GREAT. the noble from men of the lower orders, who were amenable to taxation. But to become a noble in the reign of Peter was a far easier matter than previously. In 1722 was promulgated the famous table of ranks, or a list of grades, which each servant of the State had to pass through. This table did away with the filling of appointments by right of birth, as was formerly the case. Further, it gave to everyone access to the rank of noble. A person, attaining the first grade of officer in the military service, and the 8th class in the civil service, became an hereditary noble. The lower civil grades conferred only personal nobility. At the same time, during the reign of Peter, the nobility obtained the final character of a class body under the general designation of gentry. A titled class was also formed, on whom nobility was conferred by the Emperor. The rights of nobles to the exclusive ownership of serf-peasants and real estate were also confirmed. The privileges, conferred and confirmed by Peter 1 were maintained by his successors. But the duties and obligations of the nobility became gradually less onerous. Obligatory service, which Peter watched over with such vigilance, was found to interfere with economic pursuits. Privileges were increased, until at last, in the year 1762, the nobles were entirely exempted from obligatory service. Catherine II confirmed the immunity of the nobles. In her famous Ndkas she designates the nobles «by a special term as an appellation of honour, distinguishing the 22

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CLASS DIVISIONS SINCE PETER THE GREAT. common people from those adorned thereby.* Consequently, the nobility were invested with a special class distinction, on account of their honourable origin. This idea is very clearly expressed in the Charter, given by the Empress to the nobility in 1785. The next class in order after the nobility came the clergy. The Russian clergy are divided into monks, or so called black clergy, from among whom are selected all the higher dignitaries of the church: bishops, archbishops and metropolitans, and parochial, (married) or white clergy. In course of time the rights of the clergy were considerably extended: thus, during the reign of Peter they were exempted from the poll tax and military conscription, and subsequently from corporal punishment. At length, in the reign of Paul I, the clergy commenced to receive decorations an important privilege, inasmuch as an order conveyed with it hereditary nobility, and conse quently the right of owning estates and serfs. Inhabitants of towns, as the centres of industry and trade, were regarded as sources of state revenue; and to elevate Russian trade was one of the chief aims of the Reformer. It was he, who first distinguished merchants from the genefal mass of the town population, by dividing them into two guilds. Catherine II, like Peter I, had in view to raise the class level of the town population, but with other objects, i. e. the creation of a middle class, «a middle kind of people, distinguished from the masses not by service, but by rectitude and industry*. This idea of the Empress served as the basis for the first Municipal Statute of 1785. 23

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CLASS DIVISION SINCE PETER THE GREAT. With regard to the peasantry, the revision of 1719 united them with the former bondsmen and «unoccupied» people in one taxable, and at the same time, serf class. Simultaneously with such an extension of the rights of serfdom, the rights of the peasants were limited. They were interdicted from owning real estate, undertaking contracts and monopolies, and giving bills of exchange. The authority of the landproprietors over the serfs increased. The cause of this augmentation of authority consisted in the fact, that the landowner was responsible to the government for the due payment of the poll tax; and in demanding payment from the proprietor, the government had no ground for interfering in his affairs. In 1742 the right of the peasant to leave the landowner for military service was rescinded; in 1747 the landowners were permitted to sell their peasants as recruits; in 1760 they were allowed to deport their peasants for settlement in Siberia, and in 1765 to hard labour; while, in 1767 the peasants were deprived of their last means of protecting themselves against their owners the right of petitioning. The penalty prescribed by law for lodging petitions was the knout, and deportatation with hard labour without term. As the result of such a policy very serious agitations arose amongst the peasantry. Even Catherine II commenced to issue Ukazes, directed towards restraining the licence, which the landowners permitted themselves. Very significant was the Manifesto, promulgated by the Emperor Paul I, under date of the 5th April 1797, which prohibited the compulsory labour of peasants on 24

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CLASS DIVISIONS SINCE PETER THE GREAT. Sundays, and divided the remainder of the week equally between the proprietor and the peasant i. e. the latter was bound to work for his master only three days in the week. On the accession of Alexander I a strong reaction set in against the right of serfdom in general. It was expressed in the famous law of 1803 respecting freeholders; which law allowed the landowners to free their peasants with the allotment of a plot of land. The success, however, of this Ukaz was not great: down to the year 1855 the number of free-holders amounted only to 116,000 men, freed by 384 proprietors. Besides the Ukaz of 1803, Alexander I emancipated the peasants of the Baltic Provinces, but without any allotment of land. In the reign of Nicholas I some measures were also taken for the limitation and control of the landowners' authority. On the proposal of Count Kisselieff, who established rural communities in Moldavia and Wallachia, the government subjected the State peasants to a special department and special laws. With this object, in the year 1837, the Ministry of Imperial Domains was created. Nor were the peasants of landed proprietors left without attention. In 1841 and 1843 an Ukaz was promulgated, prohibiting the sale of serfs apart from their families and without land; and in 1848 peasant serfs were allowed to purchase real estate with the sanction of the landowners. The Crimean war of 1853^56 retarded for a time the further progress of government measures with regard to the rural condition. But this was only 25

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CLASS DIVISIONS SINCE PETER THE GREAT. a temporary interruption. As early as 1856 the Emperor Alexander II expressed to the Marshal of the Nobles of Moscow his unswerving determination to abolish serfdom. In 1857 a special Committee on peasant affairs began to sit, under the personal presidency of the Emperor. Earlier, during the coronation (in 1856), the Minister of the Interior entered into negotiation with the Marshals of nobility respecting the impending reform. The most satisfactory of the propositions submitted were those of the Marshals of nobility of the Provinces of Kovno, Vilno and Grodno. In consequence of this by a Mandate, dated the 20th November 1857, the nobles of the enumerated provinces were permitted to elaborate projects for the improvement of the condition of the peasants. In each province preparatory Committees were formed, and the labour of all the Committees had to be submitted to the Commission in the town of Vilno. At the same time the Committees were furnished with general instructions to the effect, that the landowners were to retain proprietary rights over the whole land, and the peasants over their holdings, which they could subsequently buy out. The arable land was to be utilized by the peasants in consideration of a certain tax or of labour for the benefit of the landowner. Before a month had passed, copies of the Mandate of 1857 were sent to all the Governors, in view of any of the nobles in their respective provinces expressing a desire, similar to that of the nobility of Vilno. An application in this sense was soon received from the nobility of the province of St. Petersburg. Subsequently came the answer 26

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CLASS DIVISIONS SINCE PETER THE GREAT. to the summons of the Emperor from the nobility of Nijni-Novgorod and Moscow, and later, in 1858, from all the other bodies of nobles. The projects, drawn up by the Provincial Committees, had to be submitted to the revision of the Chief Committee on peasant affairs. On the 18th October,. 1858, the first meeting of this Committed was held under the personal presidency of the Emperof, and by the end of November the main basis of the reform was elaborated as follows: the peasants were to receive personal freedom; to be divided into rural communities with the management of their own affairs, and to acquire land, which at the outset they could utilize by payment of a tax to the landowner; with the aid of the State they were also given the means to buy out their holdings. As the projects, submitted by the Provincial Committees, were of different kinds, an Editing Commission was established, February 17th 1859, for their elaboration. Notwithstanding the wide scope and difficulty of the task, the work was finished by the autumn of i860; and October 10th the Commission was closed. On the same day began the sessions of the Chief Committee, under the presidency of the Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaevitch, which met almost daily up to January 1861. The scheme, drawn up by the Committee, was examined by the Council of State, under the presidency of the Emperor himself; and on the 19th of February 1861 was signed the famous and memorable Manifesto whereby serfdom, which had existed for 268 years, was abolished for ever. 27

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CLASS DIVISIONS SINCE PETER THE GREAT. At first 16,7 per cent of the whole number of liberated peasants undertook the redemption, or purchase, of their holdings from the landowners. Subsequently, in consequence of the high rates charged on the loans made \>y the peasants for that purpose, in comparison with the actual value of the land and the income which it afforded them, the operation of redemption proceeded much slower, and not as before, on the basis of a mutual agreement between peasants and landowners, but principally under pressure from the latter. These disproportionate rates of interest, in comparison with the small remunerativeness of the land, led to the accumulation of arrears of payment, and the ruin of the peasantry and their homes. On the other hand, down to the year 1880, more than 15 per cent of the peasantry had not yet undertaken to buy out their land, and therefore still remained temporarily bound to their proprietors. An end was finally put to this state of things by the late Emperor Alaxander III, who issued a decree,* dated 28th December, 1881, reducing payments on the agrarian loans granted to the peasants, by 27 per cent, and rendering redemption from i8t January, 1883, compulsory on all those who still remained in the above mentioned condition of temporary subjection, which otherwise threatened to become permanent. This last measure completed the great act of the emancipation of the peasantry from serfdom. * On the proposal of the Minister of Finance Mr. Boongue.

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CLASS RIGHTS AT THE PRESENT TIME. 3- Class rights at the present time. The emancipation of the serfs was followed by a. series of reforms, which considerably modified class privileges. The most important modification in this respect was the introduction, in 1874, of general military-conscription and the abolition in 1885 of the poll tax. The first named reform imposed on all classes the obligation of military service. The second abolished in principle the division of classes into taxable and. untaxable bodies. The latter category included persons, formerly exempted from the poll tax, i. e. nobles,, clergy, and honorary citizens; the first category embraced the remaining classes. Thus, if one consider the rights,, enjoyed by separate classes at the present time, a somewhat different picture is obtained from that, which existed formerly. As a matter of fact, prior to the year 1861 only nobles were able to own land and serfs; at the present time there are no serfs, and land may be owned by everybody. Formerly the nobles were exempt from military service and poll tax; now the first privilege-no longer exists, and the nobles are taxed according their property, equally with other classes. As a remaining privilege the nobles have the right of entering the service of the State, although this right is also enjoyed by certain other classes, and generally by all persons, who have obtained a diploma from the higher or middle educational establishments. We have referred here only to the rights, enjoyed 29

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CLASS RIGHTS AT THE PRESENT TIME. l>y individual nobles. The nobility, as a class and a community, enjoy very important rights in the sphere of local government. These will be referred to in the Teview of the organization of the same. The rights of inhabitants of towns also underwent a ¦considerable modification in respect to what existed formerly. According to the first municipal law of Catherine II, 1785, inhabitants of towns were divided into eminent, subsequently called, honorary citizens, merchants, guildmen and boroughmen, or possadskie. These were town inhabitants in the exact sense of the word, and into their hands the whole management of the town was transferred. In 1870 a new municipal law was promulgated, which ¦enunciated an entirely different principle, viz: that the management of town affairs should be participated in by the inhabitants without distinction of class, seeing that such management was established for the economic ¦needs of the town, equally dear to all the residents. Thus, at the present time, the municipality comprises persons possessing real estate in the town, on which a tax is levied in favour of the civic treasury. The rights o{ town inhabitants in the strict sense acquired a purely -class character. For instance, although honorary citizens are termed a town class, many of them have no connection with town life, as, for example, the son of a -country priest, who may become an honorary citizen. Merchants, according to their grade, have the right to engage in trade; those of the Ist guild-wholesale, and the 2"a guild-retail. But these guilds are now open to persons of all classes excepting the clergy, if they pro- 30

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CLASS RIGHTS AT THE PRESENT TIME. vide themselves with the necessary licences. In each town the merchants form a special mercantile community, which has its Assembly and Board, consisting of an Elder and 2 assistants The burghers, personally, do not enjoy any special rights, and those, residing in settlements, are amenable, in respect of police and courts of law, to the same regulations as the peasants. In each town the burghers form a corporation, which elects a burgher Elder and his assistants. Lastly, special rights enjoyed by the peasants resolve themselves into the following: in affairs relating to their property and families, they conform to local usages, and are amenable to special peasant tribunals. Their corporative organization is closely connected with the whole system of local government, which will be treated of in a subsequent chapter. e) The rights and duties of Russian subjects in general. Class rights and duties must be distinguished from the general rights and duties, appertaining without distinction to all Russian subjects. Among rights of this nature must first of all be mentioned freedom of religion. The fundamental laws recognise as the foremost and dominating faith in the Russian Empire the Orthodox Eastern Faith; but at the same time all subjects of the Russian Empire, not belonging to the dominating church, and likewise foreigners in 31

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION the Russian service, or temporarily residing in Russia, enjoy everywhere freedom in celebrating their faith, and in religions worship. Moreover, freedom in profession of faith appertains not only to foreign christians, but also to Jews, mahommedans and heathens. Freedom of religion was originally conferred on the unorthodox by the Manifesto of Peter the Great in 1721. When inviting the Swedish prisoners to enter the Russian service, the Emperor promised that they and their posterity should retain their native faith, and possess their own chapels and clergymen. Later, by Ukaz of the year 1735, it was elucidated, that freedom of religion conferred on the unorthodox, signified only the right of celebrating worship, but not the right of preaching with the object of converting Russians to unorthodox tenets. Hence arose the rule, that only the Orthodox Church could propogate its faith among the members of other religions bodies. All dissension and departure from orthodox faith is regarded as an offence at law. Supporting this principle of the predominance of the orthodox faith, the law enacts, that in mixed marriages, i. e. between orthodox and others, the children shall be brought up in the orthodox faith. An exception to this last rule is made only for Finland. Securing in this manner the predominancy of the Orthodox Church over all other Christian faiths, the Russian laws take under their protection all Christian religions against non-christian faiths. Apostacy from Christianity entails the establishment of a trusteeship over the property of the apostate, exhortation to return to 82

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION. Christianity etc. Christians, with the exception of pro-testants, may not intermarry with non-christians. The adoption however of any Christian faith by disbelievers is not interdicted. A distinction is made by the law between the recognised unorthodox faiths and various sects. In order to protect orthodoxy from internal dissension, tire law prohibits the formation of new sects. But, as is well known, there exists in Russia a great number of sects, which to a certain degree are recognised and tolerated. These are the so called sects of dissenters, who from time to time fell away from orthodoxy. The commencement of the schism must be referred to a very remote period, but it only became actually developed in the XVII century, when books of religious worship were first printed. Certain dissenting interpretations were imperceptibly introduced into these books and, when later (in 1654), the Patriarch Nicon set about correcting these interpretations, the dissenters declared, that the alterations were innovations. The open revolt of dissenters even went to the extent of creating public disturbances. One common feature is exhibited in a greater or lesser degree by all the dissenters. They adhere to all that is ancient, which is to say, all venerable observances from the time of S* Vladimir (988), down to that of the Patriarch Nicon. Consequently, they pronounce and write the name of the Son of God in the ancient style Icyn, and not Iucycb. They recognise only the cross with eight points; the sign of the cross they make

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION. with only two fingers; they do reverence only to ancient icons, whilst their new icons are always copied from ancient designs, and all their rites are performed according to the ancient ritual. Soon, however, the dissenters commenced to differ in their views in regard to their relations to the Orthodox Church and they then became divided into two main sects, namely: those, admitting pnests-Popovtsy, and those, without priests-Ua*-Popovtsy. The primary difference between the two consisted merely in the first sect, allowing the rites of the church to be performed by priests, who had. been ordained prior to the Patriarch Nicon; whereas the priestless sect allow rites to be performed principally by laymen. When, however, in course of time, all the priests of the old ordination had died out, the Popovtsy decided to accept priests, who had deserted from the Orthodox Church, even though they had been ordained after the time of Nicon. The priestless sect Bez-Popovtsy, on the other hand, remained altogether without any clergy. This material difference exercised a most important influence on the further development of the character of both sects. The sect with priests commenced by degrees to approach orthodoxy. Recognising the necessity of three grades of clergy, namely, bishops, priests and deacons, this sect could not remain satisfied with fugitive priests, who were persons of doubtful character, and were regarded by the sectarians themselves with great suspicion. Consequently, the whole history of this sect is one of a quest for bishops, who could furnish a regular supply of priests. But this quest was not attended with success: not a 34

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION. single bishop could be persuaded to join the dissenters. This induced the «Old-Belief» monk Nicodemus, at the close of the last century to draw up a petition with the terms, on which certain of the Old-Believers would agree to join the Orthodox Church. He asked that the anathema, which had been pronounced by former councils against the ancient ritual, should be withdrawn, and that the Old-Believers should be given a bishop. This petition was received with favour, and in 1800 the Emperor Paul I confirmed the, so called, Edinoverie, points of conformity, which were regarded as a step towards orthodoxy. Permission was also granted to establish parishes of conformists, but special bishops were not appointed. These parishes of conformists were placed under the jurisdiction of the local bishops. Such conformity, however, was very far from being acknowledged by all the members of the sect. Almost at the same time that the monk Nicodemus presented his petition, other members of the sect Popovtsy assembled at the well known Rogosh cemetery in Moscow, and decided not to seek for bishops, but to reconsecrate the fugitive priests. This reanointment of priests was very extensively practised during the reign of Catherine II, the Government having abandoned the persecution of the fugitive priests. The authorities even attempted to entice back into the Orthodox Church the Old-Believers who had fled from the country, by promising them freedom of worship and the gift of 70,000 desiatines of land on the river Irgiz, in the province of Samara, where three monasteries for monks and two convents 35 - »

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION. for nuns, with their respective churches, were built and where nearly all the priests of the Old-Believers were reconsecrated. Finally, in the year 1822, the Government issued new regulations for the priests and the houses of prayer, according to which the Old-Believers were permitted to maintain fugitive priests, and these, in their turn, were allowed to keep registers. But it was not for long that the Popovtsy enjoyed these privileges. On the accession of the Emperor Nicholas I, the Government began the enforcement of a. long series of restrictions. The new fugitive priests were ordered back and the monasteries on the Irgiz were closed. These measures deprived the Popovtsy of their clergy down to the 4* decade of the present century. Then recommenced the former search for bishops, which led to the foundation in 1846 of the Bielokrinitzkaya eparchy in Austrian Bukovina, where a number of fugitive dissenters from Russia had long before settled in two^ colonies: Bielaya Krinitza and Klimoff. When the search for bishops began in the «forties», attention was attracted towards Bielaya Krinitza, and delegates were despatched to Austria from the Russian Old-Believers, who solicited the permission of the Austrian Government to establish an eparchy in that country. Although this eparchy was soon abolished at the demand of the Russian Government, it speedily came into existence again clandestinely. In the year 1859 it was officially recognised by the Austrian -Government with the sole condition only, that it should have no connection with the Russian Old-Believers; but of course this stipulation was not 36

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION. observed. As far back as 1849, the Bielokrinitzky metro-, politan furnished Russia with a special bishop, who took up his residence in Moscow, and thenceforward new bishoprics began to appear in Russia almost yearly among the Old-Believers. Moscow became the central point of the movement, where «an ecclesiastical and consecrated assembly or councils was established. In this manner the management of the Old-Believers passed finally into the hands of apostate priests of the Orthodox Church,, Such a state of things called forth strong protests from some of the Popovtsy and particularly the Bez-Popovtsy (priestless sect). The latter believed that the reign of Antichrist on earth had begun and consequently refused to recognize that the new clerg)' had been properly organized, insisting that there was no longer any sanctity in the rites, practised by the priesthood. These views were set forth in a long series of publications. The Popovtsy were not slow in replying, and in 1862 they published a «District Messages, in which they affirmed, that the true priesthood was preserved by the Greek Church and that the error of the Russian Church lay not in its rites, but in those anathema, which, as far back as the XVII century, it had pronounced against the ancient ritual. But this view, which directly suggested reconciliation with orthodoxy, was strongly protested against among the Popovtsy themselves. A violent polemic ensued, which ended in the division of the sect into «District» and «Anti-District» parties, so that, at the present time, out of 19 «Old-Belief» bishops 13 are «District and 6 «Anti-District». At the head of both 87

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION. parties are two Moscow bishops. All connection with the Bielokrinitzky eparchy has ceased since the year 1874. The Government does not persecute the «Old-Beliefs bishops, so long as they abstain from converting the orthodox to their faith, but it does not recognise their ecclesiastical rank. The Bez-Popovtsy possess an entirely special character. Having from the outset, renounced all clergy, they gradually lapsed into greater and greater difficulties, reaching at length extreme fanaticism. Being convinced, that Antichrist was on the earth and reigning in the Russian church, these sectarians, especially at the beginning of the schism, exhorted their followers to burn themselves, in order to escape from the chastisement of Antichrist and his agents, or to starve themselves to death, and thus the sooner to enter the kingdom of heaven. With the appearance on earth of Antichrist, every thing Godly had ascended to heaven, where the true sacraments were administered by the angels. Consequently, orthodox baptism was not baptism at all, and those joining the sect should be rebaptized, as if they were heathens. Not possessing holy sacrament, the Bez-Popovtsy receive sacrament in faith and hope of salvation and make confession to each other before the icon of our Saviour. Marriages also are not recognized, seeing that they can be officially annulled. However, in this respect, certain concessions were subsequently granted. The Bez-Popovtsy do not reverence icons and relics, because, in their opinion, the virtue of these symbols has departed. The chief centre of this sect is situated in Moscow 3a

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION. at the Preobrajensky Cemetery. It is spread in Siberia and on the Northern Sea coast in the Olonetz region. This sect is subdivided into numerous smaller sects. The chief of these the Pomorsky (Sea coast), Fedoseieftsy and Filipoftsy recognise in common those principles, which we have cited above. Several of these sects go to an extreme degree of fanaticism and cruelty; such as the Skoptzy (Self mutilators), Khlysty, (flagellants), who approach heathenism, the Stefanovtsy, who abandon their children in forests to be devoured by wild animals, the Raziny (Gapers), who, on Maundy Thursday stand with open mouths in expectation, that the Sacrament will be administered to them by angels, etc. Latterly, under the influence of rationalistic teaching, another sect has appeared in the South of Russia, called the Stundists, who refuse to recognise the priesthood, or the sacrament, and reject all outward forms of worship. Prior to the Stundists there appeared the Molokany (Milk drinkers), Boohohortsy (Wrestlers of the Spirit), who deny the Holy Ghost, and various other sects. The attitude of the state authorities towards the dissenters has varied at diflereut times. Up to the end of the XVII century they were persecuted, tortured and executed. During the reign of Peter the Great their civil status was recognised, but double taxation was imposed on them and they were ordered to wear a special dress &c. Since the time of Catherine II the measures, adopted against the dissenters, have been less severe and are at the present moment directed exclusively towards their con-vertion by means of missions, ecclesiastical fraternities, discourses, publication of books, &c. 39

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INVIOLABILITY OF THE PERSON. On the 3ld of May 1883, soon after the accession of Alexander III, a law was passed, which radically changed the position of dissenters and sectarians among the orthodox population. They were permitted to celebrate public worship and perform the religions rites of their respective persuasions both in private houses and other buildings, specially appointed for that purpose, and were only forbidden to form public and religious processions in clerical vestments, to carry sacred images in public, except in cases of burial and to sing sectarian hymns on the streets and public squares. Their pastors and other persons may freely perform the rites of their community, but are not allowed to spread their errors among the orthodox. As far as concerns their civil rights in general, in alteration of previous limitations, the sectarians are permitted to occupy public positions and to engage in trade and industry. Passports also are issued to them for residence in all parts of the Empire. Only the Stundists and those sects, which are distinguished by particular fanaticism, are entirely prohibited. Together with freedom of worship, an essential right enjoyed by everybody is the inviolability of the person. No one, having committed a crime or offence, can be deprived of his rights, or restricted in regard to them except by decisions of a Court of law. Punishment for crimes and offences is inflicted in exact accordance with the law. This general rule, however, is subject to certain exceptions. In the first place there are certain petty offences, 40

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INVIOLABILITY OF THE PERSON. which do not reach the court various violations of excise, customs, postal regulation &c. In such cases a protocol is sufficient, and fines are imposed by the administrative authorities. In the same category of exceptions are included also certain offences against public safety, such as violation of sanitary, quarantine regulations, &c. Furthermore, pending the investigation of offences committed, the suspected offender may be arrested by the police authorities or Criminal Judge. But every Judge or Prosecutor, who, within the limits of his jurisdiction, becomes convinced of the improper detention of any person, is bound to liberate the person arrested without delay. Persons so detained may lodge complaints in the District Court, which investigates such complaints at the earliest session. Eesides the cases indicated, special measures for the prevention of crimes against the State are adopted by the administration. These measures consist in placing persons under police surveillance, prohibition to reside in the capital, and other places, and the expulsion of foreigners from the country. Lastly, in exceptional cases, certain places for a certain period are declared to be in a state of enforced defence, during .which the representatives of the local administration (Governors-General and Governors) are invested with the right of placing private persons under arrest, of imposing fines, and of submitting certain cases to the investigation of Courts-martial, &c. At the present time this state of defence extends to the Provinces of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Harkoff, Kief, 41

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HETEROGENEOUS RACES. Podolia and Volhynia, several localities in the Governor-Generalship of Turkestan, and the Don Cossack Region, and to the towns of St. Petersburg, Odessa, Cronstadt, Nicholaeff, Rostoff on the Don, Taganrog and Nahitche-van. During the time of the fair at Nijny-Novgorod, the latter town is also placed under a state of defence. Besides inviolability of the person, the law also protects the inviolability of property. The confiscation of property is not permitted even as a punishment, decreed by a Court of law. It is only in certain cases, and by virtue of special enactments, that property is liable to sequestration for participation in revolts, or plots against the Sovereign power, or for high treason. But, in consideration of equitable compensation, the compulsory expropriation of real property is authorized for state or public requirements. Among the general obligations of Russian subjects, the first place must be assigned to general military service, the second to the duty of serving on juries, which devolves on all classes, and the payment of various taxes and dues in favour of the State, communes, municipalities, etc. More detailed information in respect to the obligations of subjects are set forth below in treating of the military, judicial and financial organization of the Empire. d. Heterogeneous races, Inorodsy. 1) Eastern races. As stated above, at the beginning oi this section, there are certain races, including the inhabitants of Fin- 42

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HETEROGENEOUS RACES. land, who are distinguished by their rights and obligations from the general mass of Russian subjects. Under this designation are classed certain races, of the east and north of Russia, as the Mongolian, Iranian and Finnish, and also the Jews. The law divides these eastern races into 6 categories: 1, tribes of Siberia, 2, those inhabiting the Commander Islands, 3, the Samoyeds of the district of Mezen in the province of Archangel, 4, the nomadic tribes of the province of Stavropol, the Nogaitzy, Kara-Nogaitzy, etc. 5, the Calmucks and 6, the Ordintzy of the Transcas-pian region. The privileges and exemptions from the general laws of the Empire, conferred on these races and tribes, are relics of the past. As a matter of fact Russia of the period, in which the city of Kief predominated, lost her independence through the influx of tribes and races, who advanced into Europe in an endless stream of migration from the steppes -oi Central Asia. Moscow, on the other hand, grew up as the new political centre of Russia under the oppression of the Mongolian yoke. During the second half of the XV century it succeeded in throwing off this yoke* and in the XVI century conquered two important centres of Tartar supremacy, viz: the Tsardoms of Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1554)- But the russification of different tribes and races proceeded very slowly, and they were always ready to * The battle of Koolikoff under Dmitry Donskoy against Mamay in 1380 and the reign of Ivan III (1462 1505). 43

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HETEROGENEOUS RACES rise in revolt. Moscow was therefore content, if it succeeded in securing peaceful relations with them in respect to Russian trade and Russian landowners on its eastern confines. Thus originated the privileges, which from time immemorable came to be enjoyed by the tribes of the Tsardoms of Kazan and Astrakhan. Moscow, however, had not succeeded in gaining complete control over these eastern tribes before the beginning of a period of tumult, when all, who were discontented with Moscow, rose in rebellion, including the tribes in question, and these latter were suppressed with difficulty. Hardly had Russia time to recover from the perturbation of these disorders, when there appeared from central Asia new hordes of CalmucJcs, whose raids undermined all security in the Tsardom of Astrakhan and rendered it impossible at first to find means of defence against them. Although during the reign of the Tsar Mihyil Theodorovitch, (1616 1645), and Alexey Mihylovitch, (1645 1676), treaties were concluded with the Calmucks, securing the integrity of Russian territory, yet these treaties were not observed. Peter the Great .adopted measures for the unification of the tribes with the native population. The exclusive position of the former was modified principally by the introduction of the poll tax, which was also extended to them. But after the death of Peter the Great his successors found it difficult to keep matters within the limits, which be had established. During the reign of the Empress Anna Ioan-novna (1730 1742), fresh hordes of Kirghiz and Bash-Mrs made their appearance. These hordes, as well as 44

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THE JEWS. the former tribes, took an active part in all insurrections. The vast proportions attained by the Poogatcheff revolt (1773 1775\ in the reign of Catherine the Great, was due to the part taken in it by those tribes. In consequence of this character of the tribal population, the Government was only able to enforce its laws cautiously and by degrees; which is the reason why certain tribes, expecially those in Siberia, enjoy particular administrative and financial privileges down to the present day. The settled tribes, as regards their rights and duties, are placed on an equal footing with native Russian subjects, according to their respective classes, but in regard to the management of their affairs they enjoy certain insignificant immunities. The nomadic tribes have been placed on a level with the peasantry, but their affairs are managed according to the usages and customs of the Steppe, which also guide their courts of law. The nomadic and wandering tribes have land assigned to them for their use and property, and native Russian subjects are prohibited from settling on such land. 2. The Jews. The Jews occupy quite a special and peculiar position among the heterogeneous races in Russia. In the Moscow period Jews were not admitted into the country. During the reign of Peter the Great no general laws concerning the Jews were passed; but the Ukaz of 1727 45

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THE JEWS. 4ecreed the expulsion of all Jews from Russia and forbade them to return. This Ukaz was subsequently confirmed in the year 1742 by the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. But in the reign of Catherine II the Jewish question assumed a different form owing to the annexation of several provinces of Poland, where the policy of king Casimir the Great had led to the permanent settlement of a very large Jewish population. It was then that a delimitation of territory for the residence of Jews was first established, and they were confined, in respect of permanent residence, to certain provinces. Later, in 1804, during the reign of Alexander I the first general enactment respecting Jews was promulgated, the main object of which was to induce the latter to engage in productive labour. To this end each Jew was obliged to join one of the existing unprivileged classes, and Jewish landowners were accorded certain privileges. On the other hand, Jews were strictly prohibited from keeping gin shops and inns in villages and settlements. In the year 1835, a new edict respecting the Jews was promulgated of a similar nature. At the same time, however, certain other measures calculated to strengthen their exclusiveness were adopted. Thus, by the enactment of 1835, they were permitted to have elected Boards i. e. cahals, for the assessment of rates and taxes. These official measures, which were, however, repealed in 1844, merely served to cover the existing ancient system of the cahal. Later, in 1844, a new Ukaz was issued esta- 46

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THE JEWS. blishing Jewish schools by means of a special Korobotchnoy tax, levied on the Jews. On the accession to the throne of Alexander II, the measures, adopted by the government regarding Russian Hebrews, were again modified and directed towards removing the hitherto existing restrictions of their rights, with the object of assimilating them with the native population. The main object of these means was to induce the Jews to engage in productive labour. According to existing laws, Jews are permitted to reside in all the 10 provinces of the Kingdom of Poland; in the provinces of Bessarabia, Vilna, Vitebsk, Volhynia, Grodno, Ekaterinoslaf, Kovno, Minsk, Mogilief, Podolia, Poltava, Tchernigof, Kief, Kherson and Taurida, with the exception of the following towns in those provinces, Kief, Jalta, Nicholaef and Sebastopol, where only Jews, who are merchants, are permitted to reside. In the province of Courland only such Jews, as have settled there before the year 1835, have the right of residence. Jews are furthermore prohibited from settling within a distance of 50 versts from the frontier, which is a measure adopted in order to prevent smuggling. By the law of 1882, they are likewise prohibited from settling and acquiring or taking on lease or mortgage any real estate outside of towns and hamlets. In all other parts of the Empire Jews are only permitted to remain temporarily for purposes of business. A very large number, however, are allowed freedom of residence, viz: 1, those belonging to the first guild of merchants for a term of not less than five years, 2, those holding learned degrees, or such 47

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THE FINNS. as have passed the curriculum of the higher educational establishments and 3, students in such establishments, etc. In general, Jews may not enter the service of the State, with the exception of those, possessing learned degrees, and medical men in places assigned for the residence of Jews. Furthermore, they are not permitted to take part in the election of communal and municipal representatives. It must be noted that all the above mentioned restrictions refer only to the Rabbinical Jews; the Karaims, who form a most useful and industrial element, have enjoyed all rights, appertaining to native Russian subjects from the time of Catherine II. The number of Rabbinical Jews in Russia at the present tims amounts to 5.000,000. 3. The Finns. Finnish citizenship is acquired: 1) by birth from an inhabitant of Hnland, 2) in the case of women, by marriage with a Finn, 3) in the case of foreigners, by naturalization, and 4) in the case of native Russians, by reinscription. Finland possesses a nobility of its own (in all 240 families), the rank and titles of which are conferred by the Monarch. The remaining classes, the lutheran clergy, townsmen and peasantry are not distinguished by any special rights. The population of Finland, in 1890, did not exceed 2.380,000 individuals. 48

State Administration. The higher institutions of State 56 49

THE RIGHTS OF FOREIGNERS IN RUSSIA. e) The rights of foreigners in Russia. Foreigners are subject to the laws of the Empire in as far as those laws may affect them, as, for instance, they pay taxes on property equally with Russian subjects, hut are not liable to military conscription. On the other hand, the law confers on foreigners certain rights enjoyed by Russian subjects. Thus, foreigners, in the first place, may enter guilds and industrial corporations and enjoy all the rights of trading. Further, they are permitted to acquire personal property and real estate. This latter right, however, is partly modified by the Ukas of 14th March, 1887, which, for political reasons, prohibits foreigners from acquiring or taking on lease any real estate outside of towns in 21 provinces, adjacent to the western frontier. The personal rights of foreigners are recognised according to their own laws. Lastly, as regards political rights, they are only allowed to enter the service of the State, in positions of an educational, scientific and technical nature. III. STATE ADMINISTRATION. a) The higher institutions of State. The sphere in which the direct functions of the Sovereign are exercised, is called the region of supreme administration; and the region of subordinate administra- 49 *

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THE HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF STATE. tion is confided to subordinate institutions, each possessing a certain degree of power defined by the law. In the region of supreme administration the Sovereign receives the cooperation of a number of higher institutions of the State. These are, firstly, the deliberative organs: the Council of State, the Council of Ministers, the Committee of the Siberian railway, the Council of War, the Council of the Admiralties, the Board of Trustees, and the Committee of Civil Service and Awards. The decisions of these institutions are confirmed by the Sovereign himself. Two other institutions with determining power also belong to the higher offices of State, viz: the Ruling Senate and the Holy Synod* Through them the Sovereign power takes direct effect in all the regions of civil, and ecclesiastical administration. 1- The Council of State- The Council of State as organized by its founder, the Emperor Alexander I, is a deliberative institution for the purpose of assisting the Monarch in drawing up and promulgating laws. It would scarcely be correct to regard the former Councils, which surrounded our Sovereigns, and whose functions were of a very miscellaneous nature, as the predecessors of the present institution. The former grand-ducal councils (dooma) pronounced their opinions on all the subjects, presented for the personal decision of the Grand Duke. The same must be said of the Council of boyars of the Moscow 50

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THE COUNCIL OF STATE. period, which was an institution, exercising legislative, administrative, and judicial functions at one and the same time. The extent of its power was undefined, some matters being determined independently by it, others required the confirmation of the Sovereign. In the reign of Peter the Great the Council of the boyars was abolished. In 1711 the Senate was organized, with the command to submit to its orders, ukas, as to the personal orders, ulcas, of the Sovereign. The Senate was an independent institution with the power of deciding questions, whereas the Council of State is a purely consultative organization. The idea of a consultative body for legislative purposes was first started in the reign of Catherine II. It was realized however, only in the reign of Alexander I. On March 30, 1801, an Ukas was issued, proclaiming the establishment of an institution «for the examination and consideration of State affairs on the footing of a perpetual council.* In the oath of allegiance, taken by its members, this council was then called the council of State. Though the Ukas intimated, that it was established solely for legislative purposes, yet, from the very first, judicial matters were likewise submitted to it for examination and from 1804 they grew to constitute the sole subject of its jurisdiction. Thus, ceasing gradually to exercise all vital influence over State affairs, it became quite incompatible with the subsequent organization of the different Ministries. This circumstance pointed to the necessity of a radical reform of the institution, consequently, on January 1st 1810, a new organization of the Council of 51 *

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THE COUNCIL OF STATE. State was published. The legislator intended oit to establish gradually a process of government, firmly based upon solid and unfailing principles of law, for the purpose of introducing and spreading uniformity and order in the state administration*. After 1810, certain alterations were made in the organization of this Council and in the extent of its jurisdiction, but in principle, the character of the Council of State, as a consultative institution for legislative affairs, has remained unaltered. According to a law now in force, the Council of State is called a corporation, in which legislative questions concerning all branches of state administration are examined. These questions pass through the Council to be placed before the Emperor. The examination of laws is not the sole occupation of the Council: it is the Emperor's Council for many other matters, although legislative ques-> tions play the chief part in its work. The affairs of the Council can be classified under eight heads: 1, Legislative affairs, to which belong the projects of new laws and of various supplements and commentaries to the acting laws. The Council has only the right of examining into projects of laws, and may not of its own accord start questions as to the necessity of any alterations in legislation. But while examining the projects brought before it, the Council has the right to modify and complete them, and these alterations are often very considerable. 2, All special enactments in favour of individuals or 52

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THE COUNCIL OF STATE. institutions, which are exceptions to the general laws, are brought before the Council of State for preliminary examination. These include: a) the establishment of joint-stock companies with special privileges, b) the expropria* tion of private property for state and public requirements, c) the confirmation of distinctions of honour, i. e. the titles of prince, count or baron. 3, Laws, on being issued, have to be collected and classified. This necessitates the publication of Collections, Codes of law and statutes. For this purpose in 1810 a Committee for the elaboration and arrangement of laws was organized in the Council of State. In 1826 it passed into the department of the Private Chancery of His Imperial Majesty under the name of IInd Section. In 1882 the II Section was again annexed to the Council of State, under the name of the department of Codification and on January 1, 1894, this department was abolished and replaced by a special department for the Codification of laws in the Chancery of State under the direction of the Secretary of State. The first Code of laws of the Russian Empire was published in I5 volumes in 1832. But since then a number of new laws have been issued, which considerably affect parts of this Code; so that it became necessary to publish separate supplements to the different volumes of the Code and to undertake a new edition of the whole. The last complete edition appeared in 1857, but the last editions of separate volumes are of a much later date. 4, The opinions of the Council of State are received by the Sovereign on certain higher questions of admini- - B3

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THE COUNCIL OF STATE. stration, such as: a) general instructions for the successful enforcement of the laws, b) extraordinary measures in exceptional cases and c) the more important measures of foreign policy declaration of war, signing of peace etc. In reality, however, this last category of subjects is hardly ever brought before the Council of State, as the questions of taking extraordinary internal measures and of directions for carrying out the laws are debated in the Committee of Ministers. Important external measures are brought before the Council of State only when circumstances admit of their preliminary discussion, which is naturally very seldom the case. 5, The scope of state administration includes matters, which in all states are under the control of the legislative institutions, namely, the higher questions of finance. Our laws strictly maintain this principle; all financial measures therefore, requiring supreme confirmation, are first laid before the Council of State, which thus takes cognizance of the State Budget, the various Ministerial estimates and demands .of different institutions In the next place, the Council enquires into all demands of credit for different institutions, above the estimates already made. Exception is made only for extraordinary credits, required by war or policy, especially when prompt despatch or secrecy is necessary; also in cases of extraordinary credits for the Imperial Court, and of special sums to be paid to various persons by direct command of the Sovereign. All these credits are solicited directly by the Ministers without reference to the Council of State. 54

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THE COUNCIL OF STATE. The financial matters, brought before the Council, also comprise: the revision of the accounts of state revenue and expenditure; questions of cancelling various crown charges; the transfer of state property or revenues into private hands, and, in fact, all extraordinary financial measures. Formerly, before the introduction of local self government Zemstvo, local financial questions were likewise brought before the Council of State, which inspected the estimates of income and expenditure of provinces and districts. At present these estimates are presented to the Council only by the authorities of provinces, which have no such local public institutions, while in the others the Zemstvo deals with them independently. 6. Mention has been made above of the rights of Sovereign power within the sphere of Justice. Some of these rights are exercised through the medium of the Council of State. In the time of the old form of procedure, although the Senate was considered to be the final Court of appeal, yet certain cases were laid before the Emperor through the Council of State. Since the introduction (1864) of the new Courts of law and the establishment of Departments of Cassation, in the Senate, the number of judicial matters before the Council has been considerably reduced. There remain the petitions of private persons against the final decisions of other Departments (not of Cassation) of the Senate, which are reviewed at special Sittings of the Council of State.* At these Sittings, however, the Council only determines * These sittings consist of members of the Senate under the presidency of a member of the Council of State. 55

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THE COUNCIL OF STATE. whether there exists sufficient cause for bringing such matters hefore the Plenary Sitting of the Senate. 7. The jurisdiction of the Council of State extends to cases of responsibility for violation of duty on the part of members of the Council of State, Ministers, General-Governors and others of equal rank. 8. Besides the categories enumerated, which form the normal sphere of duties of the Council, it may be empowered with extraordinary authority. In the event, for instance, of a prolonged absence of the Sovereign, the Council is empowered to act with special authority, entrusted to it by the Sovereign for that occassion. By special Supreme order, matters can be brought before the Council, which in no way come under its ordinary jurisdiction. The Council consists of three departments and the Plenary Assembly. Each department consists of not less than three members, who are appointed by the Emperor for the term of half a year. The Law Department reviews all projects of general laws; the Civil and Ecclesiastical Department controls all judicial matters and those of religious and police administration, while the Department of State Economy enquires into questions of industry, science, trade and finance. On certain questions the resolutions or decisions of these departments are presented directly to the Sovereign, though in the majority of cases they first pass before the Plenary Assembly of the Council. The Plenary Assembly consists of the members of departments, all the Imperial Ministers, and other mem- 56 -

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THE COUNCIL OF STATE. bers, who do not belong to the departments. In principle the presidency belongs to the Sovereign himself; but in reality the Sovereign has very seldom occupied the chair, which is therefore taken by one of the members, with the title of President of the Council of State. His authority is renewed annually. The business of the Council is transacted by the State Chancery under the superintendence of the Secretary of State. The recommendations of the State Council receive the Supreme assent and confirmation in various forms. The personal confirmation of the Sovereign is required for: 1, all new laws, 2, the assessment and abolition of taxes, 3, lists of newly appointed officials, 4, the State budget, and 5, the expropriation of personal property for state or public requirements. Of these, all new laws are sanctioned by the sign-manual of the Sovereign; the rest have the words «so let it be» in the handwriting of the Emperor on the resolutions of the Council. If His Majesty agree with the opinion of the minority or issue his own decision, he signs a special Ukas. In all other affairs the Imperial sanction is thus expressed: «His Imperial Majesty was pleased to confirm the opinion of the general assembly or department of the Council of State on such and such an affair, and has ordered it to be carried out». 57

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THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS. This resolution is then signed by the President of the Council. This variety of confirmation is of great practical importance, inasmuch as an Ukas, once signed by the Sovereign, and duly promulgated, can only be countermanded, according to law, by another Ukas. Therefore, if any Minister announced to his subordinate authorities a merely verbal decree of the Sovereign, which abrogated a law already confirmed by the Emperor's signature, such subordinate authorities would be bound, before carrying it out, to report thereon to the Minister, and in the case of the Minister repeating it, they would be obliged to bring the matter before the Senate for final decision. 2- The Council of Ministers- The Council of Ministers was established in 1857 for the purpose of uniting the functions of the different Ministers. All the most important reforms, except the abolition of slavery, at the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Alexander II, were previously elaborated by this Council under the personal supervision of the Sovereign. According to the law of its organization, issued in 1861, the Council of Ministers receive the original propositions of the various Ministries for modifying or repealing any of the existing laws. These propositions are here discussed by all the Ministers in a body and the resulting project is carried before the Council of State. Among matters of administration, discussed by the Ministerial Council, are projects 58

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THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS. for introducing perfection into this or that branch; questions of removing important difficulties, and measures, requiring the general cooperation of different departments. The Council is informed 01* the most important steps taken in all the departments, that each Minister may be aware of the principal actions of all his colleagues. The Council may likewise examine their accounts, reports on the progress of organizing different parts of the administration etc. But all these matters can only be brought before the Council with the sanction of the Sovereign, specially granted in each case, the object of the Council being to unite the administration of the State under the personal direction of His Majesty. On the other hand, the Council may, by Supreme order, investigate all other matters; but, at the same time, it in no way limits the jurisdiction of the Council of State or the Committee of Ministers. The affairs, examined in the Council of Ministers, do not escape being brought before the Council of State or the Committee of Ministers, if by the law they belong thereto. The Sovereign himself occupies the chair. The Council consists of: the Ministers, their equals in rank, the chiefs of separate branches of the administration, the Secretary of State, who gives explanations on questions of legis'ation, and other persons, deputed by Supreme appointment. The affairs are reported either by the Ministers or by the Superintendent of the affairs of the Committee of Ministers. 59

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THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS. 3. The Committee of Ministers. Matters relating to the higher administration of State are examined in the Committee of Ministers. Its establishment was effected at the same time with the establishment of the Ministries, in 1802. In the manifesto on the establishment of the Ministries it was stated amongst other things, that the Ministers were members of the Council of State, and that ordinary affairs were to be discussed in a Committee, consisting exclusively of the Ministers; for more important affairs the other members of the Council were to be invited once a week. This shows, that the Committee was originally a kind of more exclusive assembly of the Council, consisting only of the nearest councillors of the Sovereign, his Ministers. Count Speransky, the best authority on state institutions of that period, says, that «the reports of the Ministers were presented separately or conjointly. Special days and hours were appointed for the presentation of the report of each Minister separately, whereas the joint presentation of reports was made at a general meeting of the Ministers "in the presence of the Sovereign, which was called the Committee; so that this Committee was not a special institution, but simply a method of presenting ministerial reports.* The first regulations for determining the functions of the Committee were issued on September 4, 1805, in consequence of the departure of the Sovereign from 60

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THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS. St. Petersburg; and the same mode of procedure was ordered to be maintained as that, observed during the Supreme presence. At the same time the Committee was empowered, on the responsibility of all its members, to give the Ministers authority to take measures in urgent cases without obtaining the Supreme permission. In 1808 the jurisdiction of the Committee was still further extended by being entrusted, besides its ordinary duties, with those of a superior police authority in regard to assuring the peace and tranquility of the citizen, and in the matter of public alimentation. Therefore, the Minister of the Interior, and all the other departments of the administration, were obliged to supply the Committee with information, referring to the welfare and safety of the State. At the same time, however, the personal attendance of His Majesty at the Sittings of the Committee was discontinued. Nevertheless, the Emperor Alexander I did not cease to follow closely the work of the Committee, often instigating and directing its actions. The war with Napoleon I was the cause of the rights of the Committee being secured to it together with a still greater extension of power. On March 20, 1812, the Emperor Alexander I, before leaving for the army, sanctioned a new organization of the Committee, which gave it a special power in all affairs, generally relating to the State administration. A special president of the Committee was also appointed, and, besides the Ministers, the Commander in Chief of the city and the presidents- -> 61

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THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS. ot the Departments of the Council were commanded to attend at the sittings. Certain temporary rights, with which the Committee was invested on account of the departure of the Sovereign, were naturally afterwards withdrawn. But the ordinary competency of the Committee was being constantly extended, especially during the reign of the Emperor Nicholas I, by the transferrence into its jurisdiction of affairs of various categories. At present two classes of subjects come before the Committee of Ministers: 1. Matters relating to the current affairs of all parts of the administration of the Ministries and especially those, which exceed the degree of power, entrusted to each Minister in particular. They are brought before the Committee in the event of it being beyond the jurisdiction of the Senate to pronounce any decision upon them. Moreover, matters are brought before the Committee by the Ministers, which seem doubtful to the Ministers themselves, or the execution of which necessitates the cooperation of several parts of the administration. 2. The second category consists of matters, the very nature of which places them under the jurisdiction of the Committee, and which are so various, that they can hardly be classified. The Committee was entrusted with them by degrees, as the necessity arose. They are questions, concerning public safety and tranquility, public alimentation, and all other important circumstances; certain administrative measures for the protection of orthodoxy; affairs relating to ways of communications, industry and 62

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THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS. finances, especially concessions for building railways and the principal measures for working them, and also matrers, concerning the establishment of joint stock companies, etc. As a higher administrative institution, the Committee examines the reports of Governors and General-Governors, determines the order and mode of their presentation, and supervises the fulfilment of remarks made upon them by the Sovereign. The Committee takes cognizance of the reports of Ministers and decisions of the Senate regarding reprimands to be made to Governors and the provincial administration. Within the region of local self-government the Committee has the right to annul or modify the decisions of the Rural, eemsky, Assemblies and Town-Councils, if they do not tend to promote the welfare of the State or if they clearly oppose the interests of the population. Finally, in the Civil service the Committee decides on matters, concerning the increase of pensions and, until 1891, had the granting of Imperial rewards, etc. As the Committee is a deliberative institution, all its decisions, with a few exceptions, as, for instance, the suppression of injurious books, have no force without the Supreme confirmation, neither has the Committee any executive power. Its decisions are put into execution by the Ministries. The Committee consists of the following persons, who are members by right of their station: 1, all the Ministers and their equals, the Chiefs of separate parts of the administration; 2, the presidents of the departments of the Council of State; and 3, the Secretary of 63

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THE COMMITTEE OF THE SIBERIAN RAILWAY. State. The Sovereign may appoint other persons to be members. The Chancery or Office of the Committee of Ministers is under the management of the Superintendent of the affairs of the Committee. Subsidies, guarantees, and other privileges made to railways by the Government are investigated by a Joint Assembly of the Committee of Ministers and the Department of Economy of the Council of State, presided over by the President of the Committee; the Department of Economy being the one which examines all financial measures. The management of the affairs of this Assembly is entrusted to the Superintendent of the affairs of the Chancery of the Committee of Ministers. 4- The Committee of the Siberian Railway. All general matters, relating to the construction and working of railways, are investigated by the Committee of Ministers; but in view of the special importance of the Siberian railway and its influence on the colonization and industrial development of Siberia, the late Emperor was pleased to appoint a special Committee on the subject for the general management and unification of different departments, engaged in building this line and for the purpose of deciding all questions connected with it. These questions relate to the colonization of districts bordering the railway; the opening up and development of Siberian industry, especially, coal-mining, production of iron, steel, cement, etc., also the promotion of steam navigation on lake Byhal and rivers, intersecting the 64

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THE COMMITTEE OF THE SIBERIAN RAILWAY. railway and otherwise connected with it. At the same time it was found necessary to make a careful investigation of certain districts, still insufficiently explored. All these matters come before the Committee of the Siberian Railway, of which the Heir-Apparent Cesarevitch, now reigning Emperor Nicholas II, was appointed President. In opening the first sitting of the Committee, on February 10th, 1893, the August President was pleased to remark that, though beholding the magnitude of the task before them with profound trepidation, the love he bore his country and an ardent desire to further its prosperity gave him the necessary strength to accept his dearly beloved Father's mission. On ascending the throne His Majesty retained the presidency of the Committee, and at the first sitting in his reign stated that the cheap, prompt and steadfast accomplishment of this peaceful act of enlightenment, begun by his never to be forgotten Father, represented not only his sacred duty but also his most earnest desire. The Committee of the Siberian Railway is composed of the following members: the President of the Committee of Ministers, the Ministers of Interior, of Agriculture and State Domains, of Finances, of Ways of Communication, and of War, also the Director of the Ministry of Marine, and the Comptroller-General. The Committee may invite other persons to assist them in their deliberations. For legislative affairs is convoked a Joint Assembly of the Committee of the Siberian Railway and the departments of the Council of State. - 65 - *

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VARIOUS COMMITTEES. The management and transaction of the business of the Committee are entrusted to the Superintendent of the affairs of the Committee of Ministers and its Chancery. Besides the above enumerated institutions of higher administrative functions, various other Committees have existed at different times. Thus, in the beginning of the reign of Alexander I, a prominent place was occupied by the well-known ((Unofficial Committees, consisting of the following persons intimately known by Alexander I: Count Kotchoobey, Novossiltseff, prince Tchartoryisky and count Strogannoff. This Committee investigated not only the most important current affairs of State, but even all the projects of radical State reforms of that period. Later, during the ((Patriotic Wars (with Napoleon) a Committee of Finance was organized, which exists to the present day. Then again, in 1821, a Siberian Committee was formed for investigating Count Speransky's reports of his inspection of Siberia. It was here that his project for organizing the administration of Siberia was discussed and finally confirmed in 1822. The realization of this project naturally rendered superfluous the existence of the Committee and it was, therefore, transformed into a Special Institution for investigating Siberian law-projects and reports. In 1838 this Institution was closed, but was reestablished in 1852, when a new census of the Siberian provinces and territories was undertaken, and it continued to represent the higher debating institution on all matters relating to Siberia, until 1864, when it was annexed to the Committee of Ministers. 66

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VARIOUS COMMITTEES. A similar Committee existed for the Caucasus, 0840-1882). The revolts in Poland, of 1830 and 1863, caused two Committees to be opened: a Western Committee in 1831, and a Committee on the higher executive affairs of the kingdom of Poland. The first was convoked «for the purpose of finding means to submit the Polish provinces annexed to Russia to the administrative order existing in the other Russian provinces)). It was closed in 1848 and reopened for 2 years at the end of 1862. The second Committee was established in 1864 and in 1881 its functions were transferred to the Committee of Ministers. Finally, there are the Committees that are called in extraordinary cases of emergency, as the one of 1891, during the general bad harvest, presided over by the Heir-Apparent-Cesarevitch, the present reigning Emperor Nicholas II. Of the functions of this Committee we shall have occasion to speak in the chapter on public alimentation. In the general review of the organs of supreme administration mention has been made of other existing deliberative institutions for the Monarch's use, as, for instance, " the Board of Trustees, the Council of War, the Council of the Admirality, and the Committee of Civil Service and Awards; but in view of the connection between these institutions and certain special branches of administration, it will be more appropriate to speak of them, when reviewing the Ministries and other executive organs, which are placed at the head of these branches of administration. 67 »*

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THE RULING SENATE. 5. The Ruling Senate. The Ruling Senate is a supreme institution, to which all departments and official functions of the Empire are subordinate, with exception of the higher State institutions, such as the Council of State, the Committee of Ministers, etc. It has no special President, as the person of His Imperial Majesty is supposed to preside over it. Hence the power of the Senate is limited solely by the power of the Sovereign. The Senate's orders, Ukasy, are obeyed, by all subordinate persons and offices of administration in the same way as the personal orders, UJcasy, of the Sovereign. The explanation of this importance of the Senate is to be found in its history. The Senate was established, on February 22nd, 1711, by the Emperor Peter the Great, who, on leaving for the Turkish war, deemed it necessary to create a superior state institution with extraordinary and extensive power. All branches of the administration, supreme supervision over the execution of justice, and superior power and legislative initiative were concentrated in the Senate. Subsequently, under Peter the Great's successors the-powers of the Senate were restricted by two institutions, following closely upon each other, namely, the Privy Council in the reigns of Catherine I and Peter II, and the Cabinet in the time of Anna Ioannovna. But on the accession of the great Reformer's daughter, the Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, the Senate recovered its former significance, which, with the single exclusion of legislative matters, it retained during the ensuing reigns. When 68

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THE RULING SENATE. the Ministries were formed in 1802, the Senate necessarily lost a considerable share of influence over the -various branches of State administration. Its participation in the executive functions of the Government was also greatly curtailed on the establishment of the Committee of Ministers by the Emperor Alexander the Blessed in the same year (1802). Nevertheless, the Senate has retained its essential rights and duties in State administration down to the present day, and continues to constitute the high Court of Justice for the Empire. Peter the Great established the post of Attorney General in the Senate, with the intention, that it should form the ¦connecting link between the Senate and the Sovereign. It was named by Peter I «The Tsar's eye in the affairs of State*. The Attorney General was invested in the reign of Catherine II with great power, Prince Viazemsky, who held the post, concentrating in his hands many of the functions of the central administration. On the establishment of the various Ministries, the office of Attorney General was transferred to the Minister of Justice, who became responsible for the legality of the decisions, rendered by the Senate, and the accuracy of its proceedings. At present the Ruling Senate is composed of eight Departments, two of which are Courts of Cassation, (one ¦criminal and the other civil), and one the Department of Heraldry. These Departments, irrespective of their separate functions, also act together in Plenary Meetings and Sessions. According to law, as was mentioned above, the person of His Imperial Majesty may alone preside over 69

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THE RULING SENATE. the Senate. There is therefore no president in the" Ist Department, which has to deal with the more important class of questions, while in all the others the chair is taken by a Senator, specially appointed by Supreme command. The Ministers or their assistants may be invited to attend at the sittings of the Senate in cases of certain importance. In each Department the proper transaction of business is superintended by a legal officer or Ober-Procuror, who in the Department of Heraldry bears the title of Master of Heraldry. The Ober-Procuror has charge of the chancery of his Department and is directly responsible to the Minister of Justice. The competence of the Ruling Senate is of an extremely varied character. The jurisdiction of the Ist Department, which affords the most striking instance in this respect, extends to the promulgation and elucidation of laws; the supervision over all offices of the central and local administration, and the determination of all disputes and conflicts between them; the indictment of higher officials; and to matters of so-called administrative justice,, relating to complaints of the illegality of orders, emanating from different administrative departments and persons in authority not excepting even the Ministers themselves. The 2"a Department elucidates the meaning of regulations concerning the peasants, and investigates complaints, made against peasant institutions in the provinces. The Department of Heraldry manages all matters, relating to the rights of the nobles and honorary citizens. It is also charged with the duty of composing coats of arms and of compiling the Armorial Register of the nobility. 70

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THE RULING SENATE. The 3ld, 4th and 5th Departments of the Senate undertake the management of judicial, civil and criminal affairs in places, where, the new judicial institutions have not yet been introduced, as for example, Siberia and Toor-kistan. These Departments have, furthermore, the conduct of special matters, relating to land surveying, and commercial lawsuits, brought before the Senate from the commercial Courts. Judicial cases coming before the Senate from places, enjoying the operation of the new judicial institutions, formed by the law of November 20th, 1864, are subject to the jurisdiction of the two Departments of Cassation, civil and criminal respectively, each Department being subdivided into several independent sections. In regard to the General Assemblies of the Ruling Senate, it must be mentioned, that the Ist and 2nd Assemblies examine exclusively matters, laid before them either by Supreme command, or by the Departments, in consequence of a divisions of opinion amongst the senators, or by means of protest on the part of the Ober-Procurors. The General Assemblies, whether of the Departments of Cassation only, or of the Ist Department and Departments of Cassation, are convoked for the decision of questions of a judicial-administrative character, specially subject to their jurisdiction. In addition to these, the more important matters, connected with the control over courts of law and judicial administration, are distributed between the united sessions of the Ist Department with the two Departments of Cassation, 71

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THE HOLY RULING SYNOD. and the so-called High Court of Discipline. Finally, a special Court is formed in the Senate consisting of six senators and four class representatives for the trial of crimes against the State. 6. The Holy Ruling Synod. The general significance of the Synod, which was established by Peter the Great in 1721, is set forth in the fundamental laws, which state that in church administration the autocratic power acts through the medium of the Holy Synod. Thus the rights of supreme power within the sphere of church administration are determined by the competency of the Synod. In order to form a correct idea of the jurisdiction of the Synod it must be borne in mind, that the Russian Church is a local one and only apart of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church; and is, therefore subject to the dogmas and regulations of the Ecumenical councils. The Synod has taken the place of the former Patriarch of Russia as the chief administration of the Russian Church, and, consequently, only matters of church administration come under its jurisdiction. The Synod is, therefore, in the first place, the guardian of the purity of faith; it sees, that all the members of the clergy perform their duties in the spirit of Orthodoxy; it concerns itself with the extermination of dissent and superstition, and superintends the publication of religious books. In the second place, the Synod takes charge of public religious education and the propagation of Ortho- 72

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THE HOLY RULING SYNOD. doxy; it also has control over religious educational establishments, and, since 1885, over church parish schools for laymen. Thirdly, the Synod is the highest court for all ecclesiastical affairs whether administrative or judicial; and it decides all matters, relating to marriage. The Synod is composed of permanent members with the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg as their president, and temporary members, who are bishops, appointed to attend the Synod periodically. The Procuror General, or Attorney General, of the Synod has the power of a Minister in matters of church administration, and serves as the medium between the Synod and all other state institutions. The Procuror General has an assistant and a chancery, or office. He is also at the head of a number of other establishments, namely: 1. the Committee of Spiritual Education, which governs the institutions of religious instruction; 2. the Council for Parish Schools, belonging to ¦the Church; 3. the Censorship of religious subjects; and 4. the Economical Department and Control of special funds of the Synod. Besides St. Petersburg, the Synod has two other offices, one for Moscow, and the other for Georgia Imeritia. 73

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HISTORY OF THE MINISTRIES. b) THE MINISTRIES, a) Their history. The history of the Ministries begins only in the XIX century. As central institutions, entrusted generally with the management of all parts of the administration, their place was previously filled in Russian history by the Prikazy, or Offices of the Moskow period, and the Boards, Kollegii, of Peter the Great. 1. The Offices, op Prikazy, were first established in Moscow when the Grand Dukes, who were engaged in gradually uniting the territories of Russia under one ruler, found it impossible, even in the chief town, to al-tend personally to all the duties of State, so complicated had those duties become. It was, therefore, found necessary to exclude certain matters from their personal superintendence, and, according to the literal meaning of the word prilcae, to «order» them to be undertaken by servitors of the Crown. Hence the name of prikae, «order» or «command», applied to the various Offices or duties, thus laid upon different members of the Tsar's Court. The number of these Offices increased with the growth of the Tsar's power and splendour; but at that time they had no definite limits of jurisdiction, as there was no exact notion of the objects of power. This is evident from their very organization. They were founded on considerations, not of state utility, but of temporary expediency. In the first place, these Offices administered general state affairs as well as the private affairs of the Tsar. For instance, the Office of Secret 74

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HISTORY OF THe MINISTRIES. Affairs which was established for superintending the operation of the entire administration, also took charge of the Tsar's Hunt. Out of the total of 36 Offices under Alexey Mikhailovitch, 13 of them, more than one third, superinterded the Tsar's Court. The next largest number of Offices were occupied with matters of War and Finance, namely 9 and 5 respectively, as the principal aims of the State at that time were defence against its foes, and the accumulation of material resources. There were no Offices for the care of public education, or the economical welfare of the population. 2. Boards, or Kollegii. Peter the Great turned to the western nations for models of better administration, and found a superior kind of organization in the system of Boards, Originally 10 Boards were established, embracing all parts of the administration; and these were finally increased to 12. At the head of all of them was placed the Senate, which, however, Gould not in reality serve as an organ of general supervision, being in itself a part of the administration, although of the higher rank. At first this circumstance led to no inconveniences, as Peter the Gteat himself, with his unflagging energy,, performed the duties of President of the Senate, and personally directed all its functions. Subsequently, political complications, wars, etc. absorbed the Emperor's attention, and diverted it from the business of the Senate, which thus deprived the latter of the necessary guidance, and soon exposed the unfavourable side of its organization. It was owing to this, that Peter I entrusted the most important affairs of State not to the Se- 75

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HISTORY OF THE MINISTRIES. nate, but to statesmen, enjoying his special confidence. «I1 est tres remarquable,» wrote Minich, «que ce grand Prince, dont la penetration et les maximes d'Etat etaient des plus remarquables, avait toujours en vue le grand vide, qu'il y a entre la souverainete" du Monarque de la Russie et l'autorite de Senat, et c'est par cette raison ¦qu'il choisissait toujours une personne, capable de diriger le Senat et de gouverner, surtout dans son absence, lout l'Empire.» These words contain the principal reason for the .appointment in 1722 of a Procuror-General, or Attorney general, to the Senate, with subordinate Attorneys. In all more important affairs Peter the Great relied solely upon the Procwror-General and communicated with the Senate or the Boards only through him. The defects of the Board system lay partly in the practical absence at that time of all organized local administration, although Peter the Great bad undertaken its reformation. The Boards, i. e. the central institutions, had, therefore, to take upon themselves all the details of local administration, which was naturally a task far exceeding their powers. Furthermore, the Boards in theory guaranteed the regular operation of the administration but as all their best energies were employed hy the army, the personal staff of the civil administration was very deficient. Minich, in a letter to the Empress Catherine II, stated openly that the vast Empire of Russia has long been governed by the secretaries and head secretaries and not by either the president of the Boards or the councillors. 76

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HISTORY OF THE MINISTRIES. During the reigns of Peter the Great's successors, down to the time of Alexander I, no consecutive reorganization was undertaken; but in all the alterations introduced subsequently, there is the tendency to replace the Boards by institutions, in which the power should-be centered in one person. Catherine II, in particular,, enlarged and strengthened the power of the Procuror-General, by concentrating in his hands all branches of internal administration, while the Senate, divided into-Department, was entirely excluded from any active participation. Moreover, Catherine II, from the very beginning" of her reign, had the intention of reorganizing locaL administration. fThe wholes said she «cannot be goodr if the parts are in disorder.* Consequently, in 1775 appeared the new provincial organization, which transferred all the Boards (with the exception of the Boards of war, foreign affairs and the admiralty) to the provinces under the name of palaty, etc.; and, by the end of her reign, the central Boards practically ceased to-exist. The entire adminisration was entrusted to separate persons. The Emperor Paul I, Catherine TVs successor, returned to the system of Board administration. .Certain of the former Boards were in fact reestablished, but at the head of each was placed a chief Director with authority over the president and councillors. This functionary-alone reported to the Sovereign and announced the Supreme orders to the Board. On the other hand, the power of the Procuror-General grew still greater, at- - 77

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HISTORY OF THE MINISTRIES. though the financial business was taken from him and submitted to the State Treasurer Count Vassilief, who may thus be considered to have been the first Minister ¦of Finance. Shortly afterwards, a special institution for communication by water was established under Count Sivers. At length, in 1797, the first Ministry, that of the Appanages, was founded, followed in 1800 by the Ministry of Commerce. 3. The Ministries. The organization of the Ministries was completed in rhe reign of the Emperor Alexander I; tut in 1802 the first institutions of this kind still bore the characteristics of a compromise between the old and the new systems of administration. In fact their were no Ministries, but only Ministers, amongst whom the duties of all the Boards were distributed. The Ministers had the right of reporting personally to the Sovereign on all most important matters, but not without the consent of the other Ministers. Superior control over the Ministries was entrusted to the Senate, which examined the accounts of the Ministers and reported on them to the Sovereign. The. principal object of the establishment of the Ministries is clearly stated in the Manifesto of February 10, 1802, which says: «We have found it necessary to separate the affairs of State into different sections, according to their natural connexion.*) Another object to be attained was expressed by Alexander I in a letter to Laharp, viz: «The measure we have discussed so often is in full operation, the Ministry is organized, and has been going on well for more than a month. Affairs 78

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THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF MINISTRIES. have thereby acquired greater lucidity and method, and, whenever anything goes wrong, I know immediately whom to blames. Thus, on the one hand an effort was made to obtain an effective distribution of business and on the other, to invest the organs of administration with responsibility. In 1803, Prince Kotchoobey, the Minister of Interior, presented a report to the Sovereign, pointing out the inconvenience of retaining the Boards on account of their slowness of procedure, insufficient distribution of labour, redundance of formality, and lack of responsibility. This report led to the abolition of all the Boards, except those of War, Marine, and Foreign Affairs, and the substitution in their place of departments, or institutions of a bureaucratic nature. In 1811 a reorganization of the Ministries was effected on the plan of Count Speransky, which obtains down to the present day. b) The present organization of Ministries. Ministries are institutions, by means of which the Supreme power operates in executive order. Consequently the Ministries in their action are directly subordinate to the Monarch, who conducts through them the whole administration. In this sense the Ministries constitute the organs of Supreme government. But, at the same time, they enjoy very extensive independent authority and stand together with the Senate at the head of the whole subordinate administration. 79

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THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF MINISTRIES. They enforce the execution of laws and orders- by subordinate institutions, supervise the action of such institutions, and decide, by virtue of the law, all difficulties and doubts, arising in the administration. In special cases, in which the existing laws are found to be inadequate, the Ministers report to the Emperor and solicit his decision. But in cases, not admitting of delay, they may even exceed the limits of their legal authority, and are only bound subsequently to prove the urgency of the measures adopted. The legislation of late years has more and more frequently left it to Ministers to issue orders not only for the fulfilment of existing laws, but also for their amplification, as the law determines only general principles, and necessitates the elaboration of details by means of Ministerial Circulars. Each Minister, on taking posession of his post, is required to revise his Ministry, and submit to the Emperor a plan of improvements in the department confided to his care, and, subsequently, he must report from time to time on the extent to which the plan indicated has been carried out. In addition to this, an annual report must be drawn up in each Ministry, and examined first by a special commission, and then by the Council of Ministers. Pecuniary Accounts are audited and verified-by a special institution, called the State Comptrol. The examination of reports may lead to a Minister being held responsible for any illegal action on his part thereby disclosed. Moreover, the question of responsibility may arise 80

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THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION OH MINISTRIES. on the complaint of private persons, or in consequence of charges brought forward by the local authorities, etc. But all declarations in respect of the illegal or irregular action of Ministers cannot be proceeded with further without the approval of the Emperor. Ministers are responsible istly for exceeding their authority, and 2"aiy for inaction. Transgression of authority, however, is not punishable, if the Minister can prove the urgency of the extraordinary measures adopted by him. Even a law that is harmful, although it may have been submitted by a Minister, does not entail the responsibility of the Minister after it has been accepted and confirmed in due course of legislation, as this confirmation, of itself, removes such responsibility. Lastly, a Minister is not responsible for any executive measure proposed by him, if it be accepted by the Senate, or approved by the Emperor, unless he shall have wilfully misled the Senate or the Sovereign power. The rights accorded to Ministers, bring them into contact with all the institutions of the State legislative, judicial and executive. In the first place, Ministers may not of themselves issue any new law; they can only give notice of the necessity of a new law, or the repeal of any existing law. In the next place, as members of the State Council, Ministers participate in the discussion of legislative projects; and lastly, they enjoy the right, equally with other high dignitaries, of announcing verbal decrees of the Sovereign. Such are their relations to the legislative authorities. 81 8

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THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF MINISTRIES. In principle Ministers may not try any person, or impose punishment. But in detail this general xule is subject to certain material exceptions. Thus, numerous, violations of the customs, revenues and other regulations are punished by administrative authority. Each institution possesses also important disciplinary powers in respect to its employes. The most extensive powers of the Ministers are of course those appertaining to them as executive organs, in view of the fact, that the organization of the higher State administration, according to the plan of Count Speransky, was based on the principle of a division of authority legislative, judicial and executive, and the latter confided to the Ministries. At the same time, in the sphere of administation, in the strict sense oi the word, certain rights appertain to the Committee of Ministers and the Senate. These institutions take cognizance of such cases, the decision of which exceeds the authority of individual Ministers. Certain of these cases may be decided by virtue of the law, as, for instance, when a uniform order is required from all the Ministries simultaneously. Such a measure manifestly exceeds the authority of one Minister, and must be issued through the Senate. But cases occur in Which the laws are inadequate, and an Imperial decree is then necessary. Such cases come before the Committee of Ministers, and are thence submitted to the Emperor. There are several Ministries, and amongst them the whole task of administration is divided. At the same time all the Ministries constitute one -administration, al- 82

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THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION DF MINISTRIES^ though no Minister may encroach upon the jurisdiction of another. Unity among the Ministries is maintained by the Sovereign power, and the means for this purpose, it will be remembered, is the institution of the Council of Ministers. Each Minister is entrusted with a certain branch of administration, and he can demand from his subordinates precise and unquestioned obedience in carrying out his orders. But such compliance should not be merely passive, but within the limits of the law. Every official, on receiving instructions from a Minister, revoking any law whatsoever, is bound to notify the Minister to that effect and if the latter repeat the order, the matter must be submitted to the Senate. This course is followed even in cases, in which a Minister announces a verbal Imperial decree in disagreement with existing laws. Furthermore, persons, subordinate to a Minister, are not obliged to execute his instructions, if in substance they belong to the jurisdiction of another Ministry. Such cases have to be submitted for the decision of the latter. Ministers are provided with Assistant Ministers, who of themselves, with certain exceptions,, do not possess any executive authority, although a Minister may entrust to his Assistant the decision of certain series of questions or the management of any section of the Ministry. "During the absence or illness of a Minister, his duties are generally fulfilled by the Assistant. A Minister is invested with the power of decision. But before arriving at a decision, each case must be carefully discussed and reported. The reporting of cases devolves on the Departments and Chanceries, of which 83 6*

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THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF MINISTRIES. there are generally several in each Ministry, according to the nature of its business, and the Departments in their turn are subdivided into sections. In criticising the organization of the Ministries in 1802, Count Speransky observed, inter alia, that with the abolition of Boards and their substitution by Departments, the Ministries lacked a consultative body, which would secure mature deliberation. This want was supplied by Ministerial Councils. The Ministerial Council consist of all the Directors of Departments and Chanceries and of persons, specially appointed by Imperial decree. Extraneous individuals, specialists and experts in various matters etc. may also be invited. The Minister presides at the Council and, in his absence, the Assistant Minister. The Council examines all the most important affairs of the Ministry, projects of new laws, yearly budgets, the principal economic regulations, complaints, lodged against officials, the prosecution of offenders etc., and generally all such matters, as the Minister himself may consider it necessary to refer to the Council. The resolution of the Ministerial Council is not obligatory on the Ministers, who may adopt a decision contrary to the opinion of the Council, but in such a case, in submitting the affairs to the State Council, to the Committee of Ministers etc., a brief statement of the Ministerial Council is annexed.

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SEPARATE MINISTRIES. e) Separate Ministries. In 1802 Ministries were formed, as we have seen, by distributing among them the various Boards, giving over to each Ministry the Board that most resembled it in respect of the objects, for which it was created. In this manner 8 Ministries came into existence, namely: of War, of Marine, of Foreign Affairs, of Justice, of Internal Affairs, of Finance, of Commerce and of Public Education. Later, in 1810, a rearrangement of Ministries was adopted on the plan of Count Speransky, who maintained, that the general grouping of the work of administration should correspond with the division of the laws into Civil and State laws, and the latter into public, external and internal. From the first arise external relations and state defence, from the second «public economy »and internal safety. In accordance with this plan 5 principal sections of administration were obtained: 1, external relations, 2, external security, 3, internal security, 4, Courts of laws and 5, public economy. There were also ecclesiastical matters, which cannot be relegated to any one of these categories. For external relations the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established, for external security the Ministries of War and of Marine, for internal security the Ministry of Police and for the Courts of law the Ministry of Justice. The most extensive group was that of public economy, to which belonged the Ministries of Public Education and of Finance, the Revision of state accounts, the State Treasury, the supervision over the Ways of Communication, the Posts and the Mini- 85

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SEPARATE MINISTRIES, stry of the Interior, under which agriculture, factories and trade were placed. Subsequently, a chief Department for the ecclesiastical affairs of foreign creeds was also added to this Ministry. The rearrangement of i8ii3 however, was not of long duration, and in 1826 the whole internal administration was again divided into 3 groups: 1, administration of Justice, 2, receipt and expenditure of state revenues and 3, public security and welfare. Each of these groups was entrusted to several Ministries. This division with certain important modifications, however, has survived down to the present time. There are 14 Ministries and similar institutions in Russia at present: i^ The Ministry of the Imperial Court and Appanages. 2, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 3, The Ministry of War. 4, The Ministry of Marine. 5, The Ministry of Interior. 6, The Ministry of Justice. 7, The Ministry of Public Education. 8, The Ministry of Finance. 9, The Ministry of Agriculture and State Domains. 10, The Ministry of Ways of Communication. The following institutions, though not bearing the name of Ministries, are yet of a similar nature to them. 11, The Office of the Orthodox faith (its Chief is the Ober-Procuror of the Holy Synod). 12, The Special Chancery of His Imperial for the institutions of the Empress Mary. - 86

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SEPARATE MINISTRIES. 13, The State Comptrol. 14, The Head-Office of the State Studs. In the course of the present century, besides the above enumerated institutions, there existed in Russia, as mentioned above, a Ministry of Commerce and a State Treasury, subsequently incorporated with the Ministry of Finance; a special Ministry of Police, and a Head-Office for the Church affairs of foreign religions, "both now forming a part of the Ministry of Interior. In 1826 the department of the higher police, however, "was separated from it and entrusted to the III Section of the Special Chancery of His Imperial Majesty, but in 1880, the III Section being abolished, the affairs of the higher police were again transferred back to the Ministry of Interior. From the very beginning of their ¦existence in Russia post institutions formed a separate administration; in 1865 a separate Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs was created, (the telegraphs before that belonged to the Ministry of Ways of Communication). But in i86£this Ministry was incorporated with the Ministry of Interior; in 1880 it was once more separated from it, forming the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs and Church affairs of foreign religions. This institution existed only till 1881, when it was again incorporated with the Ministry of Interior. The Chief Office of the Appanages was also a separate institution till 1826, when it was joined to the Ministry of the Imperial Court. The Ministry of the Court, must be considered apart from the rest, as being under the direct and immediate cognizance of His Majesty the Emperor. Besides the 87

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. Ministry of the Court, there are 2 Imperial Chanceries,, i. e. the Special Chancery of His Imperial Majesty, and. the Chancery of Petitions presented in the Imperial name. We will, therefore, begin with these in describing; the organization and province of separate Ministries. 1. The Ministry of the Imperial Court. The Ministry of the Court was established in the year 1826, and embraced in one institution all the former separate branches of the Court administration. The Ministry of the Court is under the personal cognizance of His Majesty the Emperor and, therefore, renders account of all its affairs to His Majesty alone. Consequently, the State Comptrol has no concern with this Ministry, and complaints against it must be brought not before the Senate, but directly before His Majesty, through the Chancery of Petitions. The Ministry of the Court consists of: 1, the Minister himself, 2, an assistant Minister, 3, a Ministerial Council, 4, general sections, 5, special sections, 6, a chapter of Imperial orders, and those of the Tsars, and 7, the Chief Department of Appanages. The, so-called, general sections of the Ministry comprise 6 institutions, beginning with the Cabinet of His. Imperial Majesty, which has under its direction the personal staff and the econominal part of the Ministry, the management of the Altay and Nerchinsk metallurgical Works, the Imperial China and Glass factories, the Ekaterinburg granite Works, and the Principality of Lovitch. 68-=-

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. in the Kingdom of Poland; it, furthermore, has custody" of the Imperial regalia, the crown jewels, the Generalo-gical Book of the Imperial House, and, in certain casesr the Wills of the Members of the Imperial family. The Altay and Nerchinsk Works, under the management of the Cabinet, are so important in the metallurgical industry of Russia, that it will not be out of place to say a few words here respecting their origin and production. The district of the Altay metallurgical Works comprises 4 out of the 6 districts of the Province of Tomsk: Kainsk, Barnaul, Kooznetsk and Biesk and also the southern part of the Tomsk district with a population of about 560,000 persons. The numerous remains of the mines of the ancient Tchood race long ago indicated the metallic wealth of the Altay region, and in fact the name itself signifies «golden mountains.» The first attempts of the Russians to avail themselves of this wealth date back to the end of the 17 century, but it was only fat the beginning of the 18 century that mining in the Altay was properly started by Akinfy Demidoff, son ot Nikita Demidoff, a Toola blacksmith. By Imperial Ukas of Ist May, 1747, all the works and mines established by Demidoff in the Altay were placed under the management of the Cabinet of His Majesty, and from that time the work of mining developed very rapidly. Down to the end of the 18 century a large number of new mines were opened and 9 new works were constructed. At the beginning of the present century 2 more works were started. Nearly all the works of the Altay are engaged in silver smelting, the only exceptions being the 89

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. Tomsk and Goorief Iron foundries and the Suzun Works, 'which produces copper, as well as silver. The chief wealth of the Altay district is silver, of 'which about 600 poods were smelted there in 1891, or more than 70 per cent of the whole quantity smelted in Russia. In the «fifties* and «sixties >, however, the quantity of silver smelted was considerably greater reaching up to one thousand poods per annum. But on the emancipation of the local population from compulsory labour at the works, and the exhaustion of the local supply, the production diminished to such an extent, that on May 20th, 1893, an order was given to close several of the silver smelting works. The output of lead decreased together with that of silver. Formerly the Altay produced up to 100,000 poods of lead, whereas in 1891 the output was only 11,000 poods, which still represented about Vs of the whole production in Russia. The other metals and minerals, obtained in the Altay, namely, gold, eopper, iron and steel are of less importance. According to all appearance, the coal industry in this district has also a very brilliant future, if we may judge from the enormous deposits which have been prospected in the, so-called, Kooznetsky depression, covering an area of about 44,000 square versts. The proximity of the iron ore mines to the coalfield justifies the prospect of an extensive development of the iron industry. In respect of valuable stones, the Altay region has become famous for its porphyry and jasper of various ¦colours, which, after being polished and cut at the Ko- 90

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. livain polishing Mill, are sent to the Imperial Court at St. Petersburg. At the present time in the Altay there are 8 quarries at work, producing porphyry, azure and green jasper, granite, white and different coloured marble, breccia, topaz (rauchtopaz) quartz red, rosecoloured and blue, agate and calcedon. As regards the works at Nerchinsk in the Zabykal region, their chief production is also silver and lead. Rumours reaching Moscow of the existence of silver mines along the banks of the rivers Shilka and Arguin, estuaries of the Amoor, Peter the Great sent Greek miners to Siberia; in 1698 they discovered there layers of silver-lead, which they commenced to work, and in 1704 the Nerchinsk Silversmelting Works were constructed. In view of the fact, that the country round Zabykal was wild, and inhabited only by nomads, it was necessary to send Russian labourers there and at first the metallurgical industry developed very slowly. But with the opening of new mines the smelting of silver during the period of 1763 86 attained 629V2 poods annually, after which time it gradually diminished under the influence of similar conditions to those in the Altay district. At present only 10 mines are being worked and the one smelting works of Krutomorsk turns out about 50 poods of silver per annum. On the other hand, the extraction of gold in the Nerchinsk district is far more considerable, extending to 120 poods annually. The remaining metals are the same as in the Altay district, but the production is less. 91

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. Besides the Cabinet, the general sections of the Ministry of the Court comprise: the Chancery of the Minister, the Control, the Cash department, the Medical Inspection section and General Archives. Its special sections or institutions are very numerous. These are: 1, Section of the Marshal of the Court, for the provisioning of the Imperial Court and the arrangement of receptions. 2, Expedition of Ceremonies. 3, Chancery of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress. 4, The clergy of the Court under the direction of the Protopresbyter of the Cathedral of the Imperial Winter Palace and the Cathedral of Annunciation in Moscow. 5, The Court choristers. 6, The private library of His Imperial Majesty. 7, The Imperial Hermitage and its Museum of Arts. 8, The Imperial Academy of Arts, founded in 1757, consisting of 2 sections, one for painting and sculpture, the other for architecture. Besides preparing artists, the Academy holds periodical exhibitions of pictures and possesses a permanent art museum. 9, The Imperial Archaeological Commission, which supervises all archaeological research in Russia. 10, Direction of the Imperial Theatres in St. Pe tersburg and Moscow. 11, The Imperial band of Musicians. 12, The Imperial Stables. 13, The Imperial Hunt. 92

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. 14, The electrotechnical section, superintending the lighting of the palaces etc. and 15, The Corps of Court Grenadiers, instituted for distinguishing and rewarding meritorious soldiers. These grenadiers perform sentinel duty at certain monuments and in the palaces etc. Among the special institutions of the Court Ministry must also be reckoned the Chancery of the ((General on duty near the person of His Majesty*, and the palace police under his direction, also the whole administration of the Imperial palaces and all the palaces of Their Imperial Highnesses the Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses, The chapter of orders is under the direction of the Chancellor of Orders the Minister of the Imperial Court^ and includes the Grand Master of Ceremonies and the Chancery. Temporary assemblies of knights of Orders, under the designation of knights' Dooma, are also included in the chapter of orders. These assemblies are composed of several knights of an order, under the presidency of the senior member, who meet to discuss questions, respecting the bestowal of certain orders for special merits, as prescribed by the statutes. The resolution of the assembly of knights is submitted for Imperial confirmation by the Chancellor of Orders. In Russia there are 8 orders, viz: 1, The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle established by Peter the Great in 1698 in honour of St. Andrew the Apostle, <who took the first steps towards enlightening our domains by baptism.* 2, The Order of St. Catherine, or of liberation (for 93

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. females). This order was founded in memory of the delivery in 1711 of the Russian army from danger during the Proot campaign, when, surrounded by the enemy 10 times more powerful, the Empress Catherine I, by her presence sustained and encouraged both the army and the Tsar. The order was established on November 24, 1714, and consists of 2 grades, each composed of: 12 Ladies of the Larger Cross (besides members of the Imperial House and of the other reigning families) and 94 Ladies of the Smaller Cross. The Chief of this Order is Her Majesty the Empress, remaining so during the course of her whole life, even in the event of widowhood. The title of namiestnitsa, or Deaconess of this Order, is h;ld by the Wife of the Heir-Apparent or by the Empress herself, if the Dowager Empress is the chief of the Order. 3, The Order of St. Alexander Nefsky. In 1724, when the relics of St. Alexander Nefsky were transported from the town of Vladimir to St Petersburg, Peter the Great intended to establish an order of the name of that «conqueror of the Swedes,* but died before carrying ont his intention. The Order was established in 1725 by his wife, Catherine I, in memory of her husband, and was first granted on May 21, 1725 to Charles Frederick Duke of Schleswig-Holstein on his marriage with the Cesarevna Anna Petrovna. 4, The Order of the White Eagle. This is one of the oldest Polish Orders, its foundation reaching back to 1325 in the reign of King Vladislaf the Short. The Emperor Alexander I, on the annexation of the kingdom 94

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. jof Poland to Russia, used to grant this Order to natives of Poland, but on November 17,. 1831, the Emperor Nicholas I ordered it to be added to the list of Russian Orders. 5, The Military Order of St. George the Martyr and Victor, founded exclusively for the recognition of military services on November 26, 1769, by the Empress Catherine II. It has 4 grades^ besides special badges of distinction for privates, of which there are also 4 grades. In addition, generals, staff-officers, and subalters are presented with gold sabres and swords with the inscription «for bravery»; these weapons, when conferred on generals, are ornamented with diamonds. 6, The Order of St. Vladimir, co-equal with the Apostles, awarded in recognition of special services rendered to the State. It was founded in commemoration. of 20 years' reign of the Empress Catherine II in honour of the Grand Duke Vladimir, Saint and co-equal with the Apostles, «who had undertaken so much labour for the enlightenment of Russia by means of the Holy baptism.» Has 4 grades. 7, The Order of St. Anne was established by the reigning Duke Charles Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein in T735> in memory of his deceased wife Anna Petrovna. Since the arrival in 1742 of Peter III, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (grand-son to Jeter the Great) in Russia, the Order of St. Anne used to be granted by the Russian Sovereigns, and in 1797 the Emperor Paul I had it added to the list of Russian Orders. It has 3 grades and one besides that is worn on the sword with the 85 .

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THE MINISTRY OF THE IMPERIAL COURT. inscription «for bravery» on the hilt, and a sword knot of the ribbon of the Order of St. Anne; this Order has, moreover, a special badge of distinction for soldiers. 8, The Order of Stanislaf was founded on May 7, 1765, by the King of Poland Stanislaf-August (Ponia-tovsky) in honour of his patron saint. On the annexation of the Kingdom of Poland to Russia, the Emperor Alexander I used to bestow this order upon natives of Poland and subsequently, on November 17, 1831, it was added by the Emperor Nicholas I to the list of Russian Orders. Has 3 grades. Tliere are also badges of distinction for irreproachable service, military medals for saving life, etc. There exists, besides, the Badge of the Red Cross, ¦established on February 19, 1878. It is bestowed upon females, who have devoted themselves to the care of wounded and sick soldiers, and is also granted for rendering special services to the wounded and sick to persons who are known to be of high moral qualities. There are 2 grades, both granted by the Empress herself, with the sanction of the Emperor. The Chief Direction of Appanages (formerly Department) was established as far back as 1797, simultaneously with the promulgation of the institutions concerning the Imperial family. The Department of Appanages was originally placed tinder the direction of a special Minister, but in 1826 it became subordinate to the Minister of the Court, who, therefore, bears the title of Minister of Appanages. At the present time the Department has been transformed 96

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THE SPECIAL CHANCERY OF HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR. into the Chief Direction of Appanages, which has under its management all the appanage estates and also the estates of the Emperor, several of the palaces and the Imperial stone-polishing factory. Eleven local appanage districts have been established under the management of directors. But several estates (Livadia, Murgab, Massandra etc.) are placed under special managers, directly subordinate to the Chief Direction. 2- The Special Chancery of His Majesty the Emperor. This Chancery, established as far back as the reign of Peter the Great, was during the reign of Nicholas I a most complex organization, consisting of 6 Sections, each of which enjoyed the signification of a special Ministry. But since then the staff of the Chancery has gradually diminished: the II Section has been converted into the Codification section of the Council of State; the III Section, which supervised the higher police, has been incorporated with the Ministry of the Interior; the IV Section was formed into a special Chancery for the institutions of the Empress Mary; the V Section was transformed into the Ministry of State Domains, and the VI Section, relating to the Caucasus, has been entirely abolished. There only remains, therefore, the I Section, placed under a Director with an assistant. The Chancery includes an Inspection Section, established in 1894, which took the place of the Inspection Department of the Civil service, abolished in 1858. The Inspection Section, under the direct management of the assistant Director of the Chancery, watches over the 97 '

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THE SPECIAL CHANCERY OF HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR. precise and uniform observance of the Statutes of the Civil Service. Cases of promotion, awards and nominations are submitted to a special Committee of the Civil service, under the presidency of the Chancellor of Russian Orders, the Minister of the Imperial Court; it consists of the Manager of the special Chancery of His Imperial Majesty and of 4 other officials, appointed by the Tsar. The Committee is also attended by assistant Ministers on matters, connected with their service. In addition to the Inspection Department the special Chancery of His Imperial Majesty includes a Committee of Benevolence for deserving Civil officials quitting the service on account of grave and incurable disease. The Committee grants pensions, in addition to the pension from the State, provides pecuniary aid, places orphans in schools and supports a special asylum for widows and orphans of meritorious civil servants. The resolutions of the Committee are confirmed by the Emperor. It will be appropriate in this place to say a few words respecting the grades or ranks, obtaining in Russia for officials in the service of the Government, seeing that so much depends upon them in regard to the enjoyment of various rights and privileges; a servant of the State without a grade, or occupying a post above his grade, is an exception; and he can enjoy the rights appertaining to such post, only as long as he occupies it; whereas the rights belonging to a grade are permanent, and are retained by officials after their retirement 98

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THE SPECIAL CHANCERY OF HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR. Persons possessing a grade are eligible for employment in the service of the State. The grades also regulate the class of rewards and orders, and the amount of pension to be received. They determine the civil status of officials and their families; the acquirement of the rank of nobility, of honorary citizenship, and various other honorary titles; the questions of precedence at ceremonials, and of reception at Court, etc. The grades, at present existing, were created by the Table of Ranks of Peter the Great, which was promulgated on the 24th of January 1722. The total number of civil grades is 14, of which the XIII and XI have since been abolished, thus leaving only 12. In the subjoined list they are set forth in the order, corresponding with the degrees of rank in the Army, Navy and Imperial Court: 99

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Class. CIVIL RANKS. MILITARY RANKS. I. Chancellor or Actual Privy Councillor of Ist class. General Field Marshal. II. Actual Privy Councillor. General of Infantry. General of Cavalry. General of Artillery. Engineer General. \ III. Privy Councillor. Lieutenant General. IV. Actual Councillor of State. Major General. V. Councillor of State. Staff officers. 1 VI. Collegiate Councillor. Colonel. VII. Aulic Councillor. Lieutenant Colonel. VIII. Collegiate Assessor. Titular Councillor. IX. Subaltern officers. Captain. Captain of Cavalry. X. Collegiate Secretary. Second Captain. Second Captain of Cavalry. XI. Abolished. XII. Provincial Secretary. Lieutenant. XIII. Abolished. XIV. Collegiate Registrar. 100 Sub-Lieutenant. Cornet.

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NAVAL RANKS. COURT RANKS. Titles appertaining to the ranks. Lord High Admiral. Admiral. Lord Grand Chamberlain. Lord High Marshal. Grand Master of the Hounds. Grand Cup-bearer. Grand Equerry. hold. Lord Steward of the House- High Excellency. Vice-Admiral. Marshal of the Court. Equerry. Master of the Hounds. Grand Master of Ceremonies. Grand Carver. Excellency. Rear-Admiral. Chamberlain. Master of Ceremonies. High-born. Captain. High well-born. Master & Commander.

Lieutenant.

m Well-born. Midshipman.

101

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THE CHANCERY OF PETITIONS PRESENTED IN THE IMPERIAL NAME. Persons possessing the hereditary titles of Serenis-sime (Counts and Princes) do not enjoy the titles of their official rank. 3. The Chancery of Petitions presented in the Imperial Name- The Chancery of Petitions replaced in 1884 the previously existing Commission of Petitions; and is since 1895 put under the direction a special Manager in chief, who receives all petitions and complaints lodged in the Imperial name, to wit: 1, Complaints respecting final decisions of Departments of the Ruling Senate, with the exception of those of Cassation. They are first laid before a special section in the State Council (vide above page 55); 2, Complaints against the higher state institutions, Ministers, Governors General, and others. These complaints are submitted by the Commander of the Tsar's Military Staff to the Emperor for His Majesty's decision, whether to refer them to the State Council, the Committee of Ministers or the Senate. 3, Petitions for grace and clemency are -referred, with the sanction of the Emperor, to the competent Ministers, and lastly, 4, Petitions for pardon or mitigation on behalf of persons condemned to punishment or fulfilling their sentence, are referred to the Minister of Justice, War or Marine, (according to the nature of the case as far as it relates to the Military or Naval Courts) and these Ministers report thereon to the Emperor. 102

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. The Chancery has moreover a special section for affairs relating to family disagreements. L INTEKNATIONAL KELATIONS. (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.) To write the history of Russia's international relations would necessitate the writing of the greater part of the general history of Russia, and that, of course, could not be done in this book. We shall, therefore, restrict ourselves to a few remarks only on the most prominent features of the subject. Thus it is well known, that even prior to the Tartar invasion (XIII century) Russia of the Kief period was apparently in the most active relations with both the East and the West. Kief was a town with a flourishing trade and foreigners flocked to it from all parts. The treaties of the Grand dukes Oleg and Igor with the Greeks (X century) have descended to us as undoubtable proofs of the fact. Vladimir, subsequently canonized, was visited by envoys from Germany, Byzantium and the Caliphate with the purpose of inducing him to embrace their faith, and Anna, the daughter of Yaroslaf the Wise, married the French King Henry I (io48). Russia's martial fame had spread far and wide, and Oleg, gaining a famous victory over the Greeks, even nailed his shield to the gates of Constantinople (907). Such was the state of things in the south, in Kief; Novgorod, the northern centre of trade and commerce,. 103

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. was in equally active relations with north European countries and with the towns of the Hansa union. The feuds among the grand dukes and especially the Tartar invasion caused a long interruption in the development of Russia. Her merit, internationally, however was very great: though subjugated by the barbarians, Russia stopped their further advance westward, whilst the Tartars, after 2!/2 centuries spent amongst the Russians, lost to a considerable extent their barbarity and were influenced by Russian culture; and this culture at last enabled the Russians to shake off the Tartar yoke. A new state centre was then established in Moscow, which shortly afterwards succeeded in uniting all the scattered territories under its power. The new State soon felt the want of friendly connections with its neighbours and in the XV century the interrupted relations were again resumed. In 1489 the German Emperor Frederick III sent an envoy to Moscow to solicit for his nephew Albrecht, Margrave of Baden, the hand of one of the daughters of the Grand duke Ivan Vassilievitch. In the same year the Grand Duke of Moscow despatched to Austria a Greek, named Trachaniot, with his comrades to establish free intercourse between the two countries and to institute mutual embassies. During the XVI and XVII centuries Russia entered into still closer relations with Austria, treaties of alliance being concluded between them to oppose their common foes Poland and Turkey. In the north the same motive defence against the

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. enemy led to the alliance of Moscow with the Duchy of Prussia and the Markgravate of Brandenburg. Unfortunately, at about the same time with the fall of Great Novgorod the former active commercial relations of Novgorod with the Hansa towns came to an end. But Moscow concluded treaties not only with her nearest neighbours, and their motive was not always defence. In the reign of the Grand duke Vassily Ivanovitch, in the XVI century, certain Dutch merchants received a document, securing to them free trade and passage in the State of Moscow. In 1553 a similar right was granted to Chensler, an English merchant, who established in England a «Russian Company* for trading with the State of Moscow. Dating from this year an animated interchange of embassies between England and Russia sprang up, and in the beginning of the XVII century mention is already made of an English consul in Moscow. The English even succeeded in obtaining the right of a trade monopoly in Russia. At length, under Peter the Great, Russia becomes an indispensable member of the European international society, and during the XVIII and XIX centuries no international question of any importance is decided without her. We shall nor speak here of such well known facts, as Russia's participation in the 7 years' war, her victories over the Turks, the great importance she gained on the Balkan peninsula under Catherine II; neither shall we do more than mention the fact of all Europe having been freed from the rule of Napoleon with the 105

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. assistance of Russian forces. We intend but to pause before those principles of international rights, to the development and solidification of which Russia rendered the most powerful aid. One of the most important of these principles is the idea of neutrality. We find its origin only in the XVI century, though glimpses of it appeared already in the middle ages. The rights of neutral states during war were recognized only on dry land. At sea neutral trade was subjected to all manner of violence. According to a prevailing rule the neutral flag could not protect the enemy's goods, i. e. the latter being subject to confiscation, though on a neutral ship. This circumstance gave the combating nations the possibily of stopping and searching neutral vessels on the open sea. These very constraining measures called forth a reaction, the initiative of which belonged entirely to Russia. On the proposal of the Empress Catherine II in 1780 and subsequently in 1800 were formed the first and second Unions of armed neutrality, which proclaimed, that the enemy's goods on neutral vessels should be considered free, except in cases of military smuggling. Two camps were formed upon this in the views taken of the rights of neutrality, as England and partly the United States continued to keep to the former principles. But on Napoleon I applying to everything, that bore an English name, the continental system, which was in fact but a consequentive continuation of the former rules, England altered her intention and in 1856 signed in Paris the international 106

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. declaration, by which the «Russian international Code* of 1780 was raised to the level of an obligatory law. Russia has, moreover, the honour of taking the first steps towards the task of the Codification of laws and customs of war. Laws, determining the rights and obligations of armies in the enemy's country, were first promulgated in different European States only in the XVI century. They were however, mostly unpractised, having to become universally known and based upon common agreement before they could be generally recognized. Such an agreement Russia succeeded in attaining in 1868, when, at her instigation, all the civilized States pledged themselves not to use in time of war explosive bulletsr weighing less, than was stipulated by the convention (400 gr). Later, in 1874, at the Emperor Alexander IPs initiative, a conference was called in Brussels for the codification of all the rules and customs generally of war. The declaration arrived at by the Conference was not confirmed, owing to political complications, yet it should be regarded as the best expression of these rights and customs. At the same time the Russian Government made an attempt to lay certain limits even to reprisals, i. e. violence practised in response to the enemy's violence, but often considerably exceeding the boundary of mere retaliation. Russia not only advocated humane principles, bur practised them. In 1877, when entering upon Turkish ter- 107

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ritory, the Grand Duke Nicholay Nicholaevitch, Commander in Chief of the Russian army, declared the peaceful inhabitants and their property inviolable, and threatened with severe retribution all violation of the Geneva convention of 1864 respecting the protection of wounded and sick enemies. All through the war the military authorities demanded from the inhabitants provisions for the army not otherwise than in return for payment, and not a single case occured of town or place being laid under contribution. Moreover, in spite of all the brutality of the Turks (Bashy-Boozooks and Tcherkesses), the commanders of the Russian forces could recur to reprisals only with the consent of the Commander in Chief and after informing the Commander of the enemy's army. Great principles of philantropy aud civilization governed Russian politics in the east. In the well known treaty of Kootchook-Kynardjy, concluded by Catherine II with Turkey in 1774, a whole number of paragraphs refer to the inviolability of the Christian faith, according to which the Russian Ambassador at the Porte has the right of intercession for her own (Turkish) Christian subjects. Wishing to put an end to the influence Russia had in the east, the European powers directed their attention to this circumstance in Russia's relations with Turkey, and, according to the Paris treaty of 1856, the Turkish subjects were proclaimed enjoying freedom of faith, and the right of other countries to interfer was abro* gated. But shortly afterwards (in i860 and 1867, owing to insurrections in Syria and Candia) the European powers themselves came to the defence of the Christians, 108

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THE MINISTRY T)F FOREIGN AFFAIRS. and thus, through force of circumstances, were obliged to follow in the footsteps of Russia. In 1877 78 Russia once more came forward to defend the Christians in the east, as the freedom of faith proclaimed by the Paris treaty in 1856, had not, apparently, taken root in Turkey. The war concluded by the liberation of Bulgaria. The European powers at the Berlin Congress of 1878, to mar these successes, confirmed, openly already this time, the principle of collective protection in fovour of the Christian Turkish subjects, thereby in fact taking but a step forward in the direction, in which Russia had led the way. In the far east in Central Asia the civilizing influence of Russia is but the continuation of the historical process, which, having begun in European Russia in the XIII century during the Tartar invasion, had as its natural issue, when the Tartar Tsardoms of Astrakhan and Kazan and then Siberia were taken the constant assimilation of the heterogeneous tribes, inorodsy, with the Russian population. The construction of the Siberian railway, which will remain for ever connected with the name of the late Emperor Alexander III, undoubtedly represents an historical moment of this great process of civilization. If England took the first steps towards suppressing the slave trade in the west, in the east that merit is due entirely to Russia. In Central Asia the Russian Government is struggling down to the present day with unfailing energy 109

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. against the capturing of people and their sale into captivity, by including into the treaties of peace paragraphs, obliging liberation of slaves and abolishing slavery for the future. Defence of peace and peaceful trade was the cause that led to the subjection in 1873 of the khanate of Khiva, the inhabitants of which had, during many centuries, robbed the Russian caravans and sold the captured traders into slavery. The khanate is put under Russia's protectorate; the Khan calling himself «the humble servant ¦of the Emperor of all the Russias*, and renouncing all direct relations with the neighbouring states. A greater independence is enjoyed by Bokhara, which, however, is likewise under the protection of Russia, and the Emir of Bokhara, when visiting St. Petersburg in 1893 received from the Emperor Alexander III the title of cserenissime.* The peaceful policy of Russia, which was formerly regarded perhaps with suspicion by some of the European powers, was in the past reign admitted by all. A month after his accession, Alexander III declared to the foreign powers his intention to guard the general peace, and to apply himself above everything else to the business of internal state development. Only the duty of defending her honour, said the despatch, can divert Russia from this work. «The reign of Alexander III», said the Marquis of Salisbury, about a month after the death of that monarch, in addressing a meeting of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations, «has not been 110

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. a long one, and during I think I may say the greater part of it I was in a position to appreciate the working of his character and the motive of his acts. Beginning, as I confess I did, with some doubt of the attitude he would assume, the force of facts and of constant experience strongly convinced me, long before my official connection with the Foreign Office had terminated, that Europe owed to him a debt, which it was difficult to express, for the peace which his restraint and his Christian character had secured to us. He has left behind him a record for which all nations are bound to be grateful, and which our future rulers in all lands, whether monarchical or popular will do well to study and to follow.» It is hardly necessary to mention that Russia takes part in mostly all the conventions, bearing an international character. These are, firstly, the Geneva convention of 1864 for the protection of wounded and sick soldiers and the thence resulting institution in Russia, as in other States, of the Society of the Red Cross. On May 25, 1893, Russia signed an international sanitary convention drawn up in Dresden by the representatives of the European powers for the purpose of guarding the health of the people during the cholera epidemic. Russia likewise joined in all the postal coventions, beginning with the one at Bern in 1874, when the General Postal Union was established. In 1875 in St. Petersburg the convention, introducing the General «Telegraph Union» was signed, and in 1890 Russia together with Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc., con- Ill

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. eluded in Bern a convention for the international railway transmission of goods of direct connection. We shall not touch upon commercial treaties, as they belong to the province of the commercial policy of the State. Suffice its to say that Russia has concluded these treaties with almost all the European states. These treaties from an international point of view are very important in defining the rights of trading foreigners, securing to them equally with the subjects of the country the defence of the laws. In the sphere of civil law Russia has concluded a whole row of conventions for the delivery of property remaining after deceased seamen and Russian civil laws determine the execution in Russia of contracts drawn up abroad and the resolution of foreign courts of law. The external relations of the Empire are transacted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was preceded in the Moscow period of Russia's history by the so called Possolsky Trihaz or Embassy Office, and later, from Peter the Great till 1832, by the Board of Foreign Affairs. The general duties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consist of: 1, Political relations with foreign governments. 2, Protection in foreign countries of Russian trade and Russian interests. 3, Protection of Russian subjects in their affairs abroad, and 112

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 4, Assistance rendered to foreigners on their legal claims in business transactions in Russia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, who sometimes bears likewise the calling of Vice-Chancellor or Chancellor, is at the same time the Keeper of the large State Seal, which is affixed only to the most important State acts. The Minister has, besides his Assistant, certain councillors, who together with the Directors of Chancery and Departments form the Council of the Ministry. The Chancery has the correspondence on political matters. Of the 3 Departments, one is for all relations of Russia with European States, another the Asiatic Department for relations with the East, and the third for the staff and the business, connected with the appointment and dismissal of the employes, for managing the financial affairs of the Ministry, etc. The foreign institutions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consist of embassies and missions, and consulates. The first two are for political relations, the last chiefly for commercial and economical matters. Permanent representatives of Russia in foreign States date only from Peter the Great. At present there are embassies in Austria, Great Britain, the German Empire, France, Italy and Turkey: their chiefs are called ambassadors (extraordinary and plenipotentiary) and they alone are considered as the representatives of the Person of His Imperial Majesty. In other countries Russia has missions, under the management of extraordinary and plenipotentiary ministers, resident ministers, political agents and charges d'affaires. 113 8

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THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. The consular institutions consist of general consulates in the principal towns, consulates, vice - consulates and agencies. The chief duty of the consuls consist in furthering the advantages of Russian trade and navigation. They have therefore to render Russian war-ships and trading vessels all possible assistance and aid. The consul by his calling already is the mediator in lawsuits and disputes amongst Russian merchants skippers and their crew, and in fact amongst Russian subjects in general, if the parties at variance appeal to him. The consuls in the eastern States are empowered with special judicial rights. Besides taking care of the private interests of Russian subjects, consuls are obliged to further by all the measures in their power the development and facility of Russian relations with the State wherein they reside. They therefore present to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Finance their opinions and remarks on trade and navigation, send the prices of goods and of bills of exchange, give general surveys of the progress of trade and navigation, provide information on customs tarifs and on the other measures taken in the Country, where they reside. In agricultural countries the consul has to report annually on the harvest, on the advance of the corn trade, on the prices of agricultural products, etc. Finally it is their duty to telegraph immediately of all symptoms of infectious diseases that may appear in their district, and to inform all passing Russian vessels of the fact. 114

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MILITARY SERVICE. II. STATE DEFENCE. (The Ministries of War and Marine). 1. Military service. The foundation of a permanent army and navy in Russia was laid by the Emperor Peter the Great. Prior lo that time most of our military forces consisted of temporary levies of militia, opoltchenie, some of which were composed of nobles and the sons of boyars, who -were distributed according to localities, and compelled to appear for service mounted, fully accoutred, and provisioned, at their own expense. Another portion of the militia was composed of, so-called, «given people», sdatochny, taken from among the peasantry, and sent home at the end of a war. Permanent service in time of peace was performed by the streltsy, town cossacks and bombardiers, principally in towns and fortresses. From the time of the Tsar Mikhail Feodorovitch (1616 1645), it became the custom to hire foreigners; and these at first, and afterwards the nobility and «sons of boyars »,* were employed to form special regiments of cavalry and dragoons. During the xeign of the Tsar Alexey Mihailovitch regiments of infantry, composed of volunteers, were organized, but there was still no regular, permanent service. Those who served were engaged during most of the year in agriculture or industry,, and were called together for only very short periods of drill. A class next in rank to the class of boyars. 115

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MILITARY SERVICE. Peter the Great in forming a regular army introduced general obligatory service from the very beginning and entirely on his own idea, while the ranks of all the other European armies were being filled by conscription, and the system of general obligatory service was adopted only a hundred years later. By ukas of Peter the Great, in 1699, the first operation of recruiting was carried out; and with the 32,000 recruits then collected were formed 27 infantry, and 2 dragoon, regiments, divided into three divisions. The recruiting was not personal, but communal, that is to say, each rural or urban commune had to furnish a certain number of recruits, and the selection, of them was left to the communes themselves. Only the nobles, without exception, were compelled to serve for life until prevented by complete exhaustion or old age. Thus, the system adopted by Russia at the beginning of the 18 century, was very different from the methods employed by the military authorities of West European countries, in which volunteer recruits were enlisted, and sometimes pressed into the service, or enticed into it by various forms of deception. The obligation of military service in Russia extended to all classes of society. But in the course of time exemptions began to be made, as service for life was a grievously heavy burden; and these exemptions were gradually granted to all the higher classes of society, namely, the nobility, honorary citizens, merchants, and clergy. Exceptions were even made among the artisans and peasantry. The inhabitants of whole localities were some- 116

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MILITARY SERVICE. times relieved of the obligation of serving, which thus fell upon only four fifths of the total population. The wars at the end of the XVIII and beginning of the XIX century, however, compelled all the principal European States, except England, to replace voluntary recruiting by compulsory for military service. Armies began to be formed, not of volunteers, but of citizens, called upon by the law to fulfil a sacred duty to their country. The obligation of military service was made personal, not admitting of exemption by payment or substitution, and it became compulsory for the whole male population of a certain age capable of bearing arms; but, at the same time, the service was limited for everyone in time of peace to the smallest term necessary for military instruction, and the formation of trustworthy cadres, wherewith to complete the army in time of war. In Russia general compulsory service replaced the recruiting system in 1874, and the chief principles on which it was established are as follows: All the male population capable of service, from the ages of 21 to 43, enter into the composition of the armed forces of the State. Some, however, belong to the regular, permanent troops, while others are counted as militia, opoltchenie, and are called out only in time of war, and then principally for service in the rear of the regular army. The general term of service in the regular army is 18 years, 4 of which are passed with the colours, and 14 in the reserves, which correspond with the Prussian Landwehr. 117

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MILITARY SERVICE. It must be noted, however, that the term of active service is considerably diminished in proportion to the degree of education, the shortest being only one year. .Although military service is considered obligatory on everybody, nevertheless, in Russia, as in other States, a great many exemptions are made; as the full number of conscripts afforded by the whole population is not necessary to complete the cadres in time of peace. For instance, the cadres of the Russian army on a peace-footing represent about 900,000 men, called out for 4 years; consequently V* of that number, or 225,000 conscripts, are required annually; but in view of completely filling up the ranks of the army in case of war, the yearly contingent is fixed at 265,000 men. At the same-time the population furnishes yearly 880,000 men of 21 years of age, which is three times the required number. Therefore the remaining 2/» have to be relieved in some way or other from the duties of active service. The principal ground for exemption is physical incapacity; and for this reason about 290,000 conscripts are-made free of military service every year. In the nex£. place, the privilege is granted for domestic reasons; as,, for instance, in the case of an only son of a family, or an eldest on assisting his father when his brothers are unfit for work, etc. By right of their vocation the clergy of christiai* religions are entirely exempt. Medical men, dispensing: chemists, teachers etc. are at once included in the reserves-for 18 years. Finally, a great many other persons are permitted to postpone their military service for physi- 118

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MILITARY SERVICE. cal and domestic reasons, and for the purpose of completing their education. The remainder of superfluous conscripts are exempted by drawing lots. Out of the yearly contingent of 265,000 men, about 6,000 are placed in the Navy; the remaining 259,000 being included in the regular land forces. A special regulation regarding military service is applied to certain heterogeneous races at the Caucasus, "who may pay a tax of money instead of furnishing conscripts. A special arrangement is also established for the Grand Duchy of Finland, according to which the term Of service is only 3 years of active duty and 2 years in the reserve, while these troops are compelled to serve exclusively in the local army. As to the peculiarities of military service among the Cossacks, we shall have occasion to refer to them in subsequent remarks. The burden of military service is lighter for the population in Russia, than in other States, both in the proportion of the annual number of recruits and in respect to the vast immunities that in Russia are granted on family grounds. Thus of the male population of 21 years of age are yearly exempt from serving enter the through on family service yearly, incapacity, grounds, about: about: about: France. . . .767o 23»/o 0«/o Germany -457o 4270 2% Austria . . . 340/0 5770 4% Russia. . . . 31 «/o I27o 5170 119

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THE LAND FORCES. 2- The land forces-All the land forces, according to the nature of service, are divided into regular troops, and Cossacks; and this permanent army is supplemented in case of war by the soldiers of the militia reserves, who are called out and organized into the formation units of the opoltchenie. Every unit of formation (regiment, battalion, battery, etc.) has two establishments, one for peace, and one for war. In time of peace only the cadres of the army are maintained, and from those the full strength of its organization is developed in wartime. As no state is in a position to maintain its army permanently on a war footing, all armies in time of peace do not represent more than 7*> or even lk, of the entire armed strength of the country. At the same time, the greater the importance of certain parts of the army in time of wary the nearer their cadres approach to the war establishment in time of peace. For this reason all units of formation are kept up in the field army or active troops, from the company and squadron to the army corps, and full staff of commanding officers and administration. It, therefore, only becomes necessary in time of war to add about one half the rank and file and a smalL number of junior officers. In the reserve and fortress troops a much smaller proportion of the war establishment is maintained; and the reserve troops are only organized in time of war. The same differences in the cadres exist in other separate branches of the army. The peace establishment of the army is placed on a war 120

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THE LAND FORCES. footing by means of mobilization. All officers and privates of the reserve are then called into the service. The requisite complement of horses is furnished by the population under compulsory regulations, and paid for out of the Exchequer. Finally, the additional material required for the full expansion of the army is supplied from the reserve stores, which are kept intact, and consist of material property representing the extra requirements of the war service as compared with the peace establishment. The greater the strength of the cadres in time of peace, the quicker and more easily can the units of formation be mobilized, in other words, the fewer men and horses have to be added. In Russia the cadres of the peace establishment amount in round figures to 860,000 900,000 men, which is more than in all other Continental States of Europe. In Germany, for instance, there are 599,000, in France 572,000, in Austria 335,000 and in Italy 222,000. But when the cadres in Russia are compared with the great distance and extension of her frontiers, one is inclined to call them comparatively restricted. The field forces of various arms are united in the highest strategical unit, the army corps. As a rule each corps consists of 2 infantry divisions and one cavalry division with the corresponding artillery. Rifle and sapper brigades are not included in the army corps. There are 22 army corps in all, 19 of which are composed of troops of the line; the remaining 3 being the corps of the Caucasus, the Grenadiers, and the Guards. 121

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THE LAND FORCES. The Finnish troops, consisting of 9 rifle battalions and one dragoon regiment, receive their full complement of men on a special basis from among the local inhabitants, and are stationed in Finland. They are under the orders of a separate Commander of Finnish troops. The Guard Corps is specially remarkable for the complexity of its composition. The Russian Guard was first formed in the time of Peter the Great from the Preobrajensky and Semenoffsky regiments, and gradually grew to the present number of 12 infantry and 12 cavalry regiments, 4 rifle battalions, a company, sotnia, of Ural Cossacks, 21 field, and 6 horse, artillery batteries, the detachment of guard marines, and a squadron of gendarmes of the Guard. All these troops enter into the composition of the Guard Corps, in addition to which the following are also included. His Imperial Majesty's Body Guard of 2 squadrons of Cossacks from the Kuban and 2 squadrons from the Terek under the orders of the Commander of the Imperial Military Household; a company of Grenadiers of the palace under control of the Minister of the Imperial Court; a life-guard sapper battalion, and reserve detachments. Such is the composition of the regular forces, to which, as we see, are attached certain regiments and batteries of Cossacks, who, by virtue of the character of their service, belong to the irregular troops. As regards the latter their origin must be referred to a very remote time. It is well known that a numerous military popula- 122

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THE LAND FORCES. tion gradually appeared on the south and south-eastern confines of Russia under the name of Cossacks. The word «Cossack» is Turkish, and means a «free man,» a «free lance». The first Cossacks were settlers of various races on the river Dnieper. When Russia, after the invasion of the Tartars under Battuiy in the XIII century, became divided into Moscowy and Russian Lithuania, a great many inhabitants of the present Little-Russian provinces, having lost their country, retired to the islands of the Dnieper, guarded by rocks, impassable reeds and swamps. Here they welcomed every one who was oppressed, and in general all refugees from all countries and peoples. Out of this free population in the region of the Dnieper gradually arose a martial Christian society or knighthood, calling themselves «Cherkess», and subsequently «Cossacks». They soon became divided into two castes, married men, and bachelors. The married Cossacks settled throughout Little Russia and the Ukraine, where they took to agriculture, and became a kind of Polish nobility. This helped the Polish government in its efforts to bring the Cossacks under subjection. Accordingly, at the end of the XVI century, under Stephan Bathory, a decree was issued, which created a body of free Cossacks of 6000 families from among the population of the Ukraine, with the right of electing their own Colonels, but with dependence upon the Hetman of the Crown. Thus the Cossacks were to be transformed into a small force of militia; and those, who did not enter its ranks, were reduced to serfdom. But this reform did not completely 123

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THE LAND FORCES. succeed. Besides the Cossacks recognized by the government, there appeared other free and independent Cossacks, who retired to inaccessible islands beyond the rapids of the Dnieper, where they constructed a fortress called the Syetcli. To the military society formed in this way they gave the name of Kosha, which means a «camp». Entry into the association was entirely free, the only necessary condition being a profession of the Orthodox faith. The life of the association was based on the complete equality of its members and self government. The members were divided into groups called koorien, a kind of fellowship of persons, coming from the same country or district. Each koorien chose an ataman, and the chief of the entire association was the elected Ataman of the kosha, aided by assistants, military judges, clerks and captains. The life of these Zaporogian Cossacks was distinguished by remarkable simplicity. Its most prominent feature was celibacy. The introduction of women into the Syetch was forbidden under penalty of death. Owing to the proximity of the Tartars, it was impossible for these Cossacks to engage in agriculture; and therefore their only occupations, besides war, was hunting and fishing. At the outset they all lived together in the Syetch, each koorien having its own tent of tree branches covered with horse skins. The members of each koorien kept house in common, with a common table. Order was preserved within the Syetch by severe discipline. Theft, committed within the bounds of the association, was punishable by death. Disputes and quar- 124

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THE LAND FORCES. rels among its members were prohibited. These features, of course, obtained only during the first period of its existence, and were subsequently very much changed. At first the principal force of the Syetch was directed in the South against the Crimean Tartars and the Turks. But Poland fearing war with Turkey tried to put a stop to the raids of the Zaparogians, whereupon the latter turned against Poland itself. This movement was strengthened by the reinforcement of serfdom in the Ukraine, and the introduction of the Uniate Church, which caused the population of the lower Dnieper to escape and join the ranks of the Zaparogians, who finally became the champions of the national religion against the Uniates and Catholics, when their Hetman Konashe-vitch Sagaidatchny succeeded, at the beginning of the 17 century, in establishing an Orthodox Hierarchy. Here were henceforth organized all the revolts against Poland, which ended in the liberation of Little Russia, at the time of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, and its transfer to the power of Moscow. At the same time the Syetch recognized the Tsar of Moscow, but would not submit to the Hetman of Little Russia, although he called himself Hetman of the Zaparogian troops. Nevertheless, in the following years these troops took part in all the seditious movements of Little Russia down to the reign of Peter the Great. In spite of the warning of that Emperor, the Zaparogian Cossacks lent their assistance, in 1709, to Charles XII. For this defection the Syetch was stormed and captured by the Russians, and the Zaparogians were forbidden to enter Russia. They then took 125

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THE LAND FORCES. service of the Khan of the Crimea, although, at the same time, they made efforts towards a reconciliation with Russia. These efforts led to no result until the reign of the Empress Anna Ioanovna, when the Zapa-rogians were permitted to form a new Syetch, not far from the former one; but there was no stability in this new establishment on account of continual disorders, and the anxiety which it gave to the Government. The Zaparogian Cossacks were still indispensable to Russia, as long as she was threatened by danger from the side of the Khan of the Crimea. The latter was much weakened by the wars of 1769 1774) and finally conquered by Russia. In 1775 Russian- troops occupied the Syetch, and the Zaparogian Cossacks were suppressed. Some of them fled to Turkey, and organized a Syetch in the Dobroodja, which existed till 1828. Those who remained in Russia, were in 1783 formed into the troops of the Black Sea. As regards those of the Little Russian Cossacks who did not belong to the Syetch, they were very numerous as early as the time of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, and formed no less than 34 regiments. At the beginning of the r8 century there were only ten regiments left, and these were reformed in 1783 into Carabiniers. Such in Russian history was the remarkable appearance of the Western Cossacks, who have now ceased to exist. The most numerous and also the oldest body of existing- Cossack troops are those of the Don. They grew into a military society at the end of the 16 century from among refugees from all parts of Russia^ 126

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THE LAND FORCES. principally Cossacks of Riazan; and in 1570 these troops received a charter from John the Terrible. At first the Don Cossacks, like the Zaparogians, led a free life, and submitted to no authority. Even after they had submitted to Russia, their freedom was by no means put an end to, especially during the seditious period of 1612, when they made a raid to plunder Moscow. From the time of Peter the Great, however, the Cossack troops of the Don have frequently shown examples of their loyalty and affection, particularly in 1812 1814, under the leadership of Count Platoff. In the XVI and partly in the XVII century fresh emigrants from the Ukraine and the Don formed the Volga,Yaik, Astrakhan, and Greben Cossacks troops; and the survivors of the Cossack bands of Yermak, who conquered Siberia in 1581, became the progenitors of the Siberian Cossacks. The significance of the eastern Cossacks consisted in the strong barrier which they constituted against the invasion of Russia by the peoples and hordes of Asia. Continuous fighting developed in them a martial spirit, inured them to hardship, gave them a special aptitude for outpost duty, and in general made of the Cossacks the most suitable troops for so called minor, or partisan, warfare. In course of time the greater part of the Cossack troops lost their original importance; but the Government has always endeavoured to preserve their military organization and martial spirit for the purpose of reinforcing the regular army with cavalry and thus curtailing the regular contingent of this expensive branch of the ser- -=- 127

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THE LAND FORCES. vice. At the present time the Cossacks population of the Empire occupy several extensive territories, and comprise ii different bodies of Cossack troops. These are, reckoning from west to east, the Don, Kooban, Terek, Astrakhan, Ural, Orenburg, Semiretchie, Siberian, Trans-baikal, Amoor and Oossoory-Cossacks. The most numerous are those of the Don, Kooban and Orenburg. The fundamental idea of the present regulations of military service, which is obligatory service for the entire male population, has been the chief rule for the Cossacks from the earliest times. They all possess definite and considerable allotments of land, and enjoy various privileges, in return for which one and all are bound to serve as soldiers. Each body of Cossacks has its own service constituent and militia reserve. The service constituent is divided into 3 kinds, namely, the preparatory, active and reserve, troops. Cossacks from 18 to 21 years of age are reckoned in the preparatory contingent, and from 21 till 33 in the active troops. Active service, however, lasts only 4 years, during which the Cossacks thus serving are reckoned in the i8t category. They must provide their own uniforms, equipment, and horses. At 33 years old the Cossacks pass into the reserve, and after 38 into the militia reserve, opolchenie. The Commander in Chief of all the Cossack troops, with the title of Ataman, is the Heir Apparent Cesare-vitch. Each separate Cossack body is under the immediate command of a Deputy Ataman, who also governs the local civil administration. Wherever there is a Governor 128

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. General, the above title belongs to him, and special deputy atamans act under his orders. In time of war the various Cossack populations furnish: His Majestv's Body Guard, 146 cavalry regiments, 39 separate squadrons, 20V2 infantry, or, so-called, pkstoon battalions, and 38 horse artillery batteries, representing the regulation total of 176,000 rank and file. In peace only one third of these regiments, battalions and batteries are in service, the rest being allowed the privilege of exemption. The irregular cavalry also include besides Cossack, other variously named bodies of troops formed among the native races of the Caucasus, and the Transcaspian region. Some of these perform principally local service and have no permanent or uniform organization. Of this character are the Dagestan cavalry regiment, the militia regiments of the Kooban, Terek, Dagestan, Kars. and Batoom; and the division of irregular cavalry of Turkoman. 3. Organization of Military Administration. Supreme command over all the military forces of the Empire is concentrated in the person of His Majesty the Emperor. The indications of the Supreme power in relation to the land forces are carried out by the Minister of War, to whom is subordinate the administration of Military circuits in their respective localities, having the management both of the troops, and all establishments, necessary for the army and defence of the State. Next in order below the administration of circuits 129 »

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. come the command of the troops in formation and the management of military establishments, that is to say, separate branches of military adminisration. The command of the troops in formation is so simple, that it scarcely needs any description. It naturally follows from the very character of military service that the command is here invested always in one person, who is responsible for the particular formation of troops under his control; such persons being commanders of companies, squadrons, battalions, regiments, brigades, divisions, and army corps. In regard to the military circuits, of which there are altogether 13,* these, as already stated, are territorial units, in which command over all the troops is also concentrated in the hands of one person, commanding the troops of the circuit. But as the duties of this officer are very complicated, and concern not only the management of the troops, but every branch of military administration, it becomes necessary to have a great many institutions and establishments, each having its own circle of authority, under the general guidance of the commander of the troops. Therefore, in every circuit there is first of all a circuit Staff, and then circuit departements of the commissariat, of artillery, engineers, and medicine, and a circuit court martial. There is also a Military Council of the circuit, which is the highest institution for matters Namely: St. Petersburg, Finland, Vilna, Warsaw, Kief, Odessa, Moscow, Kazan, Caucasus, Toorkistan, Omsk, Irkootsk and Pri-Amoorsk. On this basis is administered the Transcaspian region and on a special basis the Territory of the Don Cossacks. 130

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. of military economy within the circuit, and is composed of all the chiefs of separate departments and one representative of the Minister of War, under the presidency of the Commander of the troops or his assistant. The relation of the circuit administration to the circuit is the same as that of the Ministry of War to the whole Empire; directing, as the latter does, the action of all local organs and superintending all branches of military administration. At the head of the Ministry is the Minister of War. He reports to the Emperor on all matters of military administration, signs Imperial orders, and announces the commands of the Tsar to the military authorities. The Ministry itself is composed of several parts, differing in rights and organization. It contains two superior institutions, called the Military Council, and the Chief Military Court of Justice. The Military Council discusses all legislative matters and the more important affairs relating to economical administration. In matters of legislation concerning only military jurisdiction, the resolutions of the Council are submitted directly to the inspection of the Emperor. Other resolutions are placed before the Council of State. Economical questions are decided, for the most part, by the Military Council on its own authority. The Council is directly subordinate to the Supreme power, and assembles under the presidency of the Minister of War. Attached to the Military Council are two superior Committees, one of Military Codification, for the inves- 181 ~ 9*

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. tigation of legislative questions,* and the other of Military Sanitation. Another superior institution of the Ministry is the Chief Military Court of Justice, which acts as a Court of Appeal, and also examines the projects of laws relating to courts martial in general. The remaining central institutions of the Ministry of War are of a bureaucratic character. First of all in. this category conies the Grand Staff, in which are concentrated matters relating to the personal composition and completion of the ranks of the army, its organization, instruction, distribution, and economy. Then comes the Chancery, or Office, for matters which are decided directly by the Minister, and for the work of the Military Council. For separate parts of military administration there are several superior departements, similar to those of the military circuits, namely: i, Commissariat, 2, Artillery, 3, Engineer, and 4, Military Medical Departments, 5, Military Educational Department, controlling all military educational establishments, besides the Academies, Officers' schools, special and Younker schools which are subordinate to the Grand Staff, or corresponding superior departments of artillery, etc., 6, Superior Department of administration of Cossack troops, and 7, Superior Department of military Justice, under the authority of the Military Procuror, which is something like a Ministry of Military Justice and which superintends all procurors and courts. * The military laws and regulations are published in a special code of 6 parts and 24 volumes. 182

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. As the command of the army is concentrated in the person of the Emperor, an institution is attached to His Majesty for the purpose of taking his personal orders, and of carrying out special instructions. This institution is the Imperial Military Household, or Staff, ¦which is composed of its Commander, all Adjutants General and Generals of His Majesty's suite, aides-decamp, and several other officers constituting the war staff of the Emperor. The Imperial Staff also includes an Office, and His Imperial Majesty's Convoy, or Body Guard. The duties of the Commander include all arrangements for journeys uf the Emperor, for distribution of the members of the Imperial Staff, and for their supply of provisions. When the Minister of War is not in attendance on the Emperor while travelling, the Commander of the Imperial Staff receives the orders of His Majesty on military matters, and reports them to Ihe Minister of War. The military administration has to do with such a great number of people and their multifarious requirements, that a complete system has to be organized for the satisfaction of their peculiar wants and necessities. It is enough to mention that about a fourth of the Budget (288.000,000 roubles) is absorbed by military expenditure. First and foremost, of course, are the arrangements for victualling the hundreds of thousands of persons composing the army; and for this purpose a sufficient ¦quantity of provisions and fodder must be prepared. This is no easy matter. Prices are often so high 133

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. in consequence of bad harvests, that the Commissariat authorities are put to considerable trouble and have to make purchases through their own special commissioners, instead of from the usual contractors. At the same time, the slightest difference in price makes an essential difference in the total of about 40.000,000 roubles worth of provisions, and 16.000,000 roubles worth of fodder. The fluctuation in price is often very considerable. In 1881, for instance, provisions were twice as dear as in 1888. Provisions prepared by the Intendant, or Commissariat, authorities are kept in special warehouses. A very large quantity has to be stored in reserve in the frontier districts in case of mobilization; and there is great difficulty in keeping it always fresh. As flour in particular soon spoils by keeping, a portion of the bread stuff is stored in the grain, and converted into flour and bread as required in military steam flour mills and baking ovens on the spot. The preparation of clothing, boots, etc. is not less, difficult, when it is considered that the expenditure for this purpose exceeds 20,000,000 roubles annually. But besides this, there are the paramount requirements of the troops in weapons, cannon, ammunition, etc. After the war with Turkey in 1877 1878, all the materials and the armament of the troop was found to be either useless, or very imperfect. The late Emperor Alexander III, who was convinced of this, devoted the whole of his reign to the reorganization and rearmament of the fortresses, the rearmament of the 134

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ORGANIZATION OF MIHTARY ADMINISTRATION. troops, the improvement of their instruction in formation drill, etc.* It will suffice to note that the ordinary assignment for improvements in artillery amounts in Russia to 11,000,000 roubles. For the rearmament of the troops with the latest pattern of rifle from 23 to 34 million roubles have been allotted during the latter years. It is imposible to order rifles and shells from private factories, as such factories either do not exist or, at any rate, are very few. There are some articles of which the manufacture, in the interests of the State, cannot be entrusted to private persons, such as the new rifle of the latest pattern, smokeless powder, etc. Therefore the military authorities must maintain factories and arsenals of their own, and independently conduct the complicated administration of such establishments. There are three such rifle factories, the most celebrated of which is at Toola; also the St. Petersburg Artillery Factory, 3 powder and pyroxaline factories, cartridge and rocket factories, and 3 arsenals at St. Petersburg, Briansk and Kief respectively. The engineer authorities have equally complicated work to perform, such as, the construction of fortresses, barracks and, so called, strategical roads. The Ministry of War has also constructed entire lines of railway, like that of the Transcaspian, which is still under the direction of the military authorities. Even the civil administration of certain regions is under the control of the * The intoduction of this reform was superintended during the whole reign of the late Monarch, by General Vannofsky, Minister of War. 135

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ORGANIZATION JOF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. Ministry of War, especially in territories close to the Central Asian frontiers, such as the Transcaspian, Toor-kistan and Trans-Bykal provinces, and also where the population consists principally of Cossacks, as on the Don, the Terek and the Kooban. Consequently, very extensive and varied knowledge is required of those serving in the military administration, and this necessitates the existence of an entire system of military education. In the first place the moral, as well as fighting, qualities of the army depend to a very great extent upon good officers and non-commissioned officers; but this is not enough. The recruits can hardly become good soldiers without at least some rudimentary instruction; and in this respect the military service becomes a powerful aid to national education, especially in States where this is very little developed. In Russia about 75 per cent of the conscripts are totally unable to read or write. In other words, out of 265,000 men drafted into the army every year, 200,000 are in this state of utter ignorance. On entering the army they are taught to read and write in their respective companies and squadrons. They are instructed in elementary information necessary to every private, which consists in a knowledge of certain prayers, of the meaning of the soldier's calling, the oath, the flag, the titles of the members of the Imperial Family, etc.; so that compulsory military service converts 200,000 of the population every year into men able to read and write. Some of the more capable soldiers are sent into 136

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. the company schools, where they learn arithmetic, as -well as reading and writing. For the purpose of preparing privates to become non-commissioned officers, each regiment has an «edu-¦cational command*, or detachment. Finally, in addition to the position of non-commissioned officer, there are other auxiliary duties devolving upon members of the rank and file, which also require z. certain amount of preparation and instruction, such as those of the regimental scribe, or feldsher, assistant surgeon, etc.; for which there are a large number of special schools. In the Cossack provinces the Ministry of War has introduced military trade schools. The establishments in which young men are prepared to be officers are divided into 3 categories. In some of them elementary education is given to the degree necessary only for service in separate branches of the army. These are the Younker schools of the infantry, cavalry, and Cossacks. In othe'r establishments, or, so-called, military schools, the instruction in military science is on a more extensive' scale. Of these there are two for infantry, two fdr artillery, and one each for the cavalry and engineer troops and military topographers. Preparatory instruction for admission into the military schools is- given in 23 corps of cadets, with a course of study lasting 7 years, and partaking" of the character of the education in modern gymnasiums.* Among this number of Cadet Corps there are two, * Modern gymnasiums, as distinguished from classic gymnasiums, are those where no classics are taught. 137

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. namely, the Imperial Corps of Pages, and the Finnish Corps, which possess the addition of special classes taking the place of the military schools. The Corps of Pages educates children of persons, who have served the State, and they generally leave that establishment to take service in the guards. The third category of military educational establishment comprises the military academies for furnishing officers with the highest class of education necessary in special branches of the service. The first of these is the Nicholas Academy of the Grand Staff, with its geo-desical section; after which rank the Michael Artillery-, and the Nicholas Engineer,-Academies, and the Academy of Military Jurisprudence. Superior officers, who have served several years, are admitted into the Academies on examination. The course of study lasts 2 or 3 years, with a supplementary course. For the preparation of officers for service on the Eastern confines of the Empire there is an officers' course of study in oriental languages of 3 years duration, in connection with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Besides the educational institutions above enumerated, 3 schools have lately been established for giving officers-a perfect knowledge of the various arms of the service, and for preparing them to occupy independent posts among the troops of formation. These are the Rifle and Cavalry Schools, and the Artillery School for practice in firing, with a fortress section. The Cavalry School also trains expert non-commissioned officers as riders and smiths. Among the engineer troops the officers' 138

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION, electrotechnical class plays, to some extent, the part of a school for officers. The following are the regulation numbers in the .above-mentioned institutions. In 23 corps of cadets*...... 8,135 men> In 14 Younker schools..... 3,59° » In 7 military schools...... 2,045 » In 4 schools for officers..... 270 » In 4 Academies together with the class for oriental languages . 509 » 14,549 men. In 189 3 2,3 72 young men left these institutions with the rank of officers; and as the diminution in the number of officers during that year was not more than 1,651, the military educational institutions, in this respect, are fully capable of satisfying the demand. The total expenditure of the Ministry of War on military education amounts to 9,000,000 roubles. The enormous numbers of the army give rise to-two more military questions, namely, the preservation of the health of the troops, and the care of invalids. The average number of sick in the army during the-last few years has been about 25,000 men daily. For their care and treatment there are 25 permanent hospitals, and 165 lazarettos with altogether 28,000 beds. Irt places where no lazarettos exist, they are organized among the troops themselves. In the event of war, this * Besides these there is a school (in Volsk) for inefficient cadets, and (in Irkootsk and Khabarovsk) 2 preparatory schools for qualifying the sons of local officers for the Omsk Cadet Corps- 139

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ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. accommodation for the sick is considerably increased by the addition of field and fortress hospitals, the ambulances of the Red Cross Society, etc. The one deficiency which makes itself felt is the inadequate number of doctors, chemists, veterinaries, and feldsherSi or assistant surgeons, although the military authorities have their own Academy of Military Medicine for 750 students, and schools for assistant surgeons, or feldshers. On the other hand, the general sanitary condition of the troops is much better than in former years. In the «forties» of the present century the rate of mortality in the army was every year as much as 37 per 1000. It has ever since continued to decline, and in 1892, in spite of cholera, there were not more than 9 deaths to the 1000. Bu it still stands higher than in other European States, as, for instance, in Germany, where in 1880 and the following years the death rate was not much more than 3 per 1000. A few words must here he added in reference to the benevolent institutions of the military authorities. The chief establishment of this character is the Alexander Committee for the wounded, founded in 1814 with the object of protecting officers and privates wounded in battle or otherwise in the exercise of their duties. This Committee is under the presidency of the Grand Duke Mihail Nicolaivitch, and its protection consists, for the most part, in granting pensions out of the capital for invalids; besides which it places the wounded in military asylums, procures them various occupations, and 140

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THE NAVAL FORCES. also pecuniary assistance for hiring apartments, for servants, and for the cure of their wounds, etc. The asylums of the Alexander Committee are very numerous. The most important is the Chesma Asylum in St. Petersburg for 476 inmates, and that of Ismail at Moscow for 458. As regards size these rank next to-the celebrated Hotel des Invalides at Paris for 5000 inmates, and are larger than the homes for invalids hr Berlin and Vienna. Next comes the Lopookhin Asylum for invalids in the district of Porkhoff, Government of Pskoffr for 50 men, and a number of separate houses in com* memoration of various persons or events, as well as several small houses of charity not under the control of the Alexander Committee. But the concern of the Government for its invalid soldiers is not confined to placing them in hospitals and asylums. Many privates receive help from the exchequer at the rate of 3 roubles per month, and some are placed under the care of trustworthy persons who are paid a. certain remuneration. 4. The Naval forces. The creation of the Russian navy was initiated by Peter the Great. In 1688, while inspecting the flax barn of his grot grandfather Nikita Ivanovitch Romanoff in the village of Ismailofsky near Moscow, he noticed among a quantity of old things a boat, which that boyar had received as a present from certain Englishmen, and which had been used for pleasure trips on the water by the Tsar Alexey Mihailovitch. The old boat was re- HI

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THE NAVAL FORCES. paired by a Dutchman, named Karston Brandt, and launched on the Yaoosa. Peter watched the power of the sail and the action of the rudder with enthusiasm. He then ordered the construction of several vessels on the lake of Pereyaslaf, where he himself worked with an ax, and soon fitted out quite a flotilla. Subsequently, in 1693 1694, Perer saw some English ships for the first time at Archangel, and became possessed of the idea of creatiug a fleet for the purpose of more convenient communication with Europe. The first sea-going ^vessels were built on the Northern Dvina, whence the Tsar sailed on the yacht «St. Peter» into the White Sea, and visited the island of Solovetsk. On the return voyage the vessel was nearly lost in a terrific storm; but Peter was not alarmed. At the same time he began the ¦construction of a fleet at the other end of his Empire. He visited Voroneje and ascertained that there was an abundant supply of timber for ship building in the neighbourhood, and that the river Voroneje was navigable. Thereupon, stocks were laid down, and vessels were luilt with great success in the presence of the Emperor himself. By the spring of 1696 the newly created fleet ¦comprising one large vessel, 2 fire ships, 23 galleys, and a few dozens of Cossack boats, was able to blockade the mouth of the Don against the Turks, and xooperate in the capture of Azoff. Having thus proved the utility of a fleet, the idea of increasing it never left Peter's mind. During his visit to Holland (1697 1698), he learned ship building in practice while working as a carpenter. In England he acquired theoretical information, and 142

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THE NAVAL FORCES widened his views on the maritime power of the State. But, meanwhile, the Tsar did not forget Voroneje, and often sent instructions there. Unfortunately the vessels built at Voroneje and other southern wharfs did not last long on account of the bad quality of the timber used in their construction; and the final blow was given to this- fleet by the campaign on the Proot, in 1711, when Russia lost Azoff by the treaty of peace. The ¦flotilla of the Caspian remained, and took part in all our wars with Persia. On the other hand, our fleet in the north continued to develop. In 1702 the Emperor issued an ukas for a vessel to be built on the Syas «for defence, and for repulse of the enemy's, Swedish, troops». Later, in 1703, the first sailing frigate of the Baltic fleet, «the Standard*, was built in Olonets on the river Svir, and subsequently, several other vessels were constructed here. In the same year two Swedish ships with 18 guns were boarded and captured at the mouth of the Neva by the bombardier Captain Peter. This was the first action of the young Baltic fleet; and Captain Peter and Lieutenant Menstchikoff were rewarded with the order of Saint Andrew. Soon after this victory the city of St. Petersburg was founded; and here the work of shipbuilding on the new stocks was greatly increased. At -first the Baltic fleet acted exclusively on the defensive; but in 1708 it made a descent with a landing party on Borgo, and subsequently rendered valuable support to the land forces at the capture of the fortress of Viborg. At the same time, the building, arming, and equipment of ships went on rapidly under the direct supevision of 143

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THE KAVAL FORCES. the Tsar at Olonets, New Ladoga, St. Petersburg, and Archangel; and several vessels were purchased in England and Holland. We will not expatiate further on the success of the Baltic fleet during the Northern War, which came to a close with the peace of Nystad in 1721; although that success was very remarkable in view of the fact that the Baltic fleet, from its very cradle, so to speak, entered into a contest with the fleet of an enemy representing then a first class naval power, and sustained it with honour for more than 19 years. When Peter died in 1725, Russia had 3 ports in the Baltic sea, St. Petersburg, Cronstadt and Reval; and employed her own shipwrights and workmen in shipbuilding. Irrespective of the vessels from Voroneje, which had become useless, there were as many as 100 vessels on the Caspian, and 40-ships of the line, 10 frigates, and about 100 smaller craft and galleys in the Baltic. The first captains were foreigners, principally Dutchmen; but in order to educate Russians to be captains-and officers, Peter sent young noblemen for several years of practical instruction to England, Holland, France, Italy,. and Venice. With the same object he established a school of mathematics and navigation in the SookhareflF Tower at Moscow, and a Naval Academy at St. Petersburg for 300 men. The power and importance of our navy declined under Peter's more immediate successors, and it was not before Catherine II that Russia became a first class-naval power. As soon as she ascended the throne the 144

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THE NAVAL FORCES. Empress appointed the Heir Apparent Cesarevitch General Admiral, and then laid down fixed regulations for the peace and war establishments of the navy, the guiding principle of which was, «that the Russian fleet ashould not only be equal to each of the fleets of Den-«mark and Sweden, but more powerful in the number «of ships of the line.s We will not enumerate the victories of the Russian fleet under Catherine the Great: those of Chesma, Otchakoff, Hochland and Rotchensalm have covered it with unfading glory. In relation to the development of our maritime power, the establishment of a fleet in the Black Sea played a specially important role. After the subjugation of the Crimea, in 1783, Catherine considered the organization of that fleet as her first duty. The chief port of the Black Sea was established at Sebastopo!, and in 1787 the Empress was greeted there with the thunder of the guns of the new fleet, which soon afterwards gained several brilliant victories over the Turks. The successor of Catherine II, the Emperor Paul, as General-Admiral devoted much labour and thought to the development and organization of the navy. In 1797 new statutes were issued, which required the fleet to consist of 12 ships of 100 guns, 36 of 74 guns, 12 of 66 guns, and of 45 frigates, besides other smaller vessels. Under Alexander I this regulation number was somewhat curtailed, because, in reality, there were far fewer vessels, than appeared on paper; but, at the same time, improvements were made in naval construction, in the training of pilots, and in naval artillery; and subsequently, 145 10

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THE NAVAL FORCES. a special flotilla was established in the sea of Okhotsk, (now the Siberian flotilla). It must also be mentioned that steamboats began to be built in 1817. Then for the first time Russian ships began to circumnavigate the world. Krusenstern made the first voyage of the kind in the schooner «Hope», in 1803 1806; voyages for scientific purposes also increased (Kotzebue, 1815 1818; Kotzebue and Lenz, 1823 1826; Bellingshausen, 1819 1821). On the accession of Nicholas I, naval construction was further developed. After the glorious battle of Navareen (1827) that Emperor desired to «place the «maritime power of the Empire on a sound basis, and «more in keeping with the condition of one of the leading fleets of Europe;» and in fact towards the end of the «forties» our war navy comprised 120 battle ships of different classes, -distributed in all seas, but principally in the Baltic and Black Sea. But unfortunately for Russia in 1853 began the Crimean War: though it proved the heroism of our sailors at Sinope and in the defence of Sebastopol, the treaty of Paris (1856) deprived Russia of the right of maintaining a fleet on the Black Sea, with the exception of the smallest vessels for purposes of defence. The Baltic fleet remained, and was the object of special attention. In 1863 the construction of ironclad ships began in Russia under the direction of the General-Admiral, the Grand Duke Constantine Nicolaievitch, whose object was to render the building of iron and ironclad vessels from the very beginning independent of foreigners. The entire Admiralty was completely rebuilt; new 146

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THE NAVAL FORCES. slips and workshops were constructed, and entirely new works sprang into existence. From l86i a complete revolution was also effected in naval artillery. The old breach-loading cannon gradually gave place to the modern breach-loading rifled guns. At first, the Naval authorities were obliged to resort in this matter to the assistance of Krupp; but subsequently, on the establishment of the Obookhoff Works, this necessity was obviated. As regards the Black Sea fleet, in 1871 Russia threw off the restriction imposed upon her by the Paris treaty. Unfortunately, when soon afterwards the war with Turkey broke out (1877 1878), the Black Sea fleet consisted of only two vessels for coast defence (the Popofkas) an Imperial yacht, 9 schooners, 20 different steamboats and 4 floating batteries. Nevertheless, the exploits of Bara-noff, Doobassoff, Shestakoff, Skridloff and others, had the effect of restraining the powerful fleet of Turkey from all action throughout the war. During the reign of the late Emperor Alexander III the development of our fleet in the Baltic, and the resuscitation of the fleet in the Black Sea made rapid progress under the direction of the new Great Admiral the Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovitch with the help of the Marine Ministers the. Admirals Shestakoff and Tchikhatchoff. Beginning with 1881 a large number of ironclads and cruisers were built, and also torpedo boats, which were first introduced in Russia in 1878. In 1885 the statutes of the navy, and the superior regulations of the administration of the naval authorities were revised. At the present time our war fleet consists of 6 Imperial yachts, 147 - '«

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THE NAVAL FORCES. 15 squadron ironclads, 23 ironclads for coast defence, 23 cruisers, 66 torpedo cruisers and other torpedo vessels, 25 gunboats, 4 training ships, and 97 torpedo boats, without counting transports and harbour vessels of various kinds.* In point of numbers, Russia now occupies the third place among European nations after Great Britain and France, as Italy and Germany are only superior to Russia in the matter of torpedo vessels, their ironclads and cruisers being less in number. A perfectly peculiar position is occupied by our Volunteer Fleet, which in time of peace is engaged in purely commercial work. This fleet sprang into existence in 1878, when the threats of war gave rise to the collection of subscriptions for the acquisition of fast-going steamers, capable of being employed as cruisers. Money, beginning with kopeks and ending with hundreds of thousands of roubles, began to flow in rapidly; and by September 1878, the subscriptions already exceeded 3 million roubles. This sum was at once employed in purchasing 3 ocean steamers, which were then included in the war fteet. When the danger had passed those 3 steamers were returned to the Committee of the Volunteer Fleet and engaged in transporting our troops from Turkey. In 1880 1881 the steamers of the Volunteer Fleet again formed part of the War fleet, joining the Pacific squadron in view of political difficulties with China. With exception of these two occasions, the * Vessels at present in the course of construction: 3 squadron ironclads, 1 ironclad for coast defence, 4 cruisers, 21 torpedo cruisers and other torpedo vessels, 2 gunboats and 1 training ship. 148

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ADMINISTRATION OF THE NAVY. activity of the Volunteer Fleet has been entirely of a commercial character. At present it consists of 9 steamers, and 4 in construction, several of which represent the very latest improvements and inventions in naval science, and will bear comparison with the best cruisers of other nations. These steamers carry on a regular mail, commercial, and passenger, service between St. Petersburg, Odessa and the ports of the Pacific, and also with Kamtchatka and the Sea of Okhotsk, for which the Government grants a subsidy. Administration of the navy. The administration of the navy, in its system of general organization, closely resembles that of the army. In the navy, as well as the army, a distinction must be drawn between the management of vessels and the effective force of the fleet, and the administration of naval institutions, connected with definite localities. The unit of formation is each ship separately, with its commander, one seperior, and several junior, officers. The ships, together with their officers and men, are brought together in equipages, or crews of 900 to 1100 men, each under the orders of the commander of the most important vessel of the group. The equipages of the Baltic Fleet are 18 in number, excluding the Guard Equipage under the chief of the Naval Staff. The Black Sea Fleet form 7 equipages; besides which, there are equipages for the local flotillas of the Caspian Sea and Siberia. These equipages of the fleet are united in divisions under the command of flag officers. There are 2 such - 149

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ADMINISTRATION OF THE NAVY. divisions in the Baltic, and i on the Black Sea. In addition, the vessels sent to the Pacific compose the Pacific squadron under a special flag officer. The Military ports, of which there are 9, are local institutions of the fleet. The principal are: Cronstadt, St. Petersburg, and Nicholaief, and 6 ports of the second class Reval, Sveaborg, Sebastopol, Batoom, Baku and Vladivostock. On the Caspian there is the naval station of Astrabad, and at Libau a military avant-port. As a military harbour Cronstadt occupies the chief position in the Empire. It protects the entrance to the mouth of the Neva by numerous batteries, and guards the safety of the capital. Of great importance among the other ports is that of Sveaborg, with its unapproachable rocks, and narrow entrances from the Finnish Gulf into the harbour of Helsingforsj and also Sebastopol, with its glorious reputation of heroic defence against the allies in the Crimean War. Sebastopol, which possesses one of the finest roadsteads in the world, was made an exclusively military harbour in 1892 for the war ships of the Black Sea. Vladivostock also has excellent roadsteads sheltered from the winds. In the matter of administration, Cronstadt and Nicholaief are on a special footing. The flag officers of the Baltic are subordinate to the Commander in Chief of the port of Cronstadt, and the Black Sea Fleet, and all the ports of the Black Sea, to the Commander in Chief of Nicholaief. These officers may, therefore, be compared with the commanders of the 150

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ADMINISTRATION OF THE NAVY. military circuits of the land forces. For economical purposes the military ports are the centres of equipment and victualling of the fleet, although, in the strictest sense, this position belongs only to the principal ports, and to Sebastopol and Vladivostock, among those of the second class. In all these ports there are provision and clothing stores, and reserve material for artillery and marine mining operations, etc. There are port offices for managing economical matters; and for ship-building, the fitting of machinery, all kinds of submarine mining, constructive and hydraulic work, there are building stocks, docks, workshops, and a large number of occupations carried on by ship-wrights and others. At Cronstadt there is a special steamship works, and at St. Petersburg a factory for manufacturing pyroxaline. Finally, the ports superintend the general sanitary conditions of the fleet by means of medical inspectors and hospitals, the latter being of various dimensions, according to the size and importance of the port. There are 5 hospitals, with altogether 2,370 beds, besides which, many of the ports have lazarettos and medical wards for the reception of patients. The officials at the ports also control the shore lighthouses and floating signals, life-saving stations, and warning, or, so-called, directing signals. Besides all kinds of workshops and factories at the ports, the Naval authorities also possess separate factories, namely, the Admiralty, the Ijora, and the Baltic Shipbuilding and Mechanical Works, and the Obookhoff Steel Works. The superior administration of the Navy is suh- 151

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ADMINISTRATION OF THE NAVY. ordinate to the Ministry of Marine, which has taken the place of the former Admiralty Board. Its organization is somewhat different from that of the other Ministries, inasmuch as, although the head of it is a Director with the rights of a Minister, the supreme control belongs not to him, but to the General-Admiral, at present the Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovitch, who is the chief authority over the Navy and the Admiralty. In this capacity His Imperial Highness presides over the Admiralty Council, of which the Director of the Ministry is only vice-president. The Council of the Admiralty considers projects of new laws and regulations for the Navy, besides those concerning the Naval Court, and projects of new regulations, regarding technical and naval construction, economical matters, etc. The projects touching matters of naval construction and technical questions, are submitted directly from the Council to the Emperor for Imperial confirmation, while projects of regulations, regarding the numerical establishment and pecuniary estimates of the Navy, are first submitted to the Council of State. Other questions are decided independently by the Admiralty Council.* Another institution is the chief Naval Court, which has a sphere of jurisdiction similar to that of the Chief Military Court of the Army. At Cronstadt, Nicholaief, and Vladivostock there are Courts of first instance. Then follow: * The laws concerning the Navy are published in a special Code of Naval Orders. 152

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ADMINISTRATION OF THE NAVY. 1, The Chief Naval Staff, at the head of which is the Assistant to the Director of the Ministry of Marine, in all that concerns the discipline and fighting readiness of the Fleet; 2, The Chief Hydrographical Department, controlling all measures for securing the safety of navigation; 3, The Chief Department of Naval Construction and Equipment; 4, The Naval Technical Committee; 5, The Chancery, or Office; 6, The Department of the Chief Medical Inspector of the Fleet; 7, The Administration of the Chief Naval Court, under the management of the Chief Naval Procuror; 8, The Section of the «Emeritus» Savings Bank of the Navy; and 9, the Archives. For the maintenance of the Fleet and the Ministry of Marine the sum of about 58,000,000 roubles is allotted annually. As in the Army, the Navy also has its educational and benevolent institutions. Elementary instruction of sailor-conscripts is carried out in the Navy on the same basis as in the Army. A certain number are then placed every year in the educational detachments of the artillery, the marine mining engineers, and others. Such detachments, schools and classes are very numerous, as the special duties of the sailors are of the most varied description. The educational institutions for preparing officers of 153

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THE FINANCES. the fleet are of two categories. Those of the lowest class are the Naval Cadet Corps for about 400 pupils,, and the Technical School at Cronstadt for about 80. The higher category includes institutions, corresponding with the Military Academies of the Army,, namely, the Nicholas Naval Academy, consisting of 3 sections, for hydrography, mechanics, and naval construction respectively, (20 persons), and 2 classes of 20 officers each, for marine mining and artillery. Officers of the Navy also enter the Military Academies, and the Mining Institute. As regards benevolent institutions, there are the Home for Invalids of the Emperor Paul at St. Petersburg for 90 men, and a large number of small houses for invalids of the Black Sea Fleet. These latter were first established in 1862, and now number altogether 28. Near Nicholaief there are 21, with one family in each, and near Sebastopol 7, each holding 2 families. III. THE MATERIAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE. (The Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and State Domains, Ways of Communication, the State Comptrol, and the Chief Administration of Imperial Studs). 1. The Finances. The Finances embrace the entire economy of the State in the widest sense of the term. They, therefore, include the revenue and expenditure, not only of the State Exchequer, but also of all those organs of self-government which are charged with the performance of 154

The Material Resources of the State. The Finances 162 155

THE FINANCES. various administrative functions, and, consequently, have their own budgets and separate money offices. Such are the institutions of the gemstvo, or territorial assemblies, of the towns, the volost, or rural district, and the institutions of the peasants. The general source of State economy is represented by the national gain or revenue, a portion of which is devoted to the needs of the State. The expenditure of the State may be burdensom for the following reasons: In the first place, the population may be called upon to sacrifice a larger portion of their income than they can afford; secondly, the State expenditure may not be replaced by a corresponding development in the productive strength of the nation, and thirdly, the taxes may be so unequally imposed, as to take less from some than from others, to the detriment of the welfare of the latter. In regard to the first question, it should be observed that our budget, which 40 years ago was not more than 360,000,000 roubles in the currency of that time (exclusive of Poland and the Transcaucasia), has gradually grown till it now reaches the imposing sum of 1,362,000,000 roubles, thus having increased almost 4 times. The same increase is to be seen in other States. We cannot, however, judge of the burden of State expenditure by these gross figures. The growth of national prosperity must be taken into account, representing an increase in national revenue. In France, for istance, in 1830, when the budget did not exceed one milliard francs, the national income was reckoned at 8,808,000,000 155

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THE FINANCES. francs. Therefore, the budget represented about l/t of that sum. The latest total of the national income of France is about 26V2 milliards, and consequently the budget, (3,300,000 francs) represents '/s of that amount. In this way we observe an almost parallel increase of the budget with the wealth of the nation As regards Russia, such a calculation is impossible. There are no figures to give even the least approximate estimate of the national income of former times. In recent years it has been estimated by some statisticians at io milliards of roubles, which would make our State budget of 1,362 millions represent, as in France, a little more than l/8 of the national income. But further consideration of this subject requires the explanation of one point. Every expense of the State administration is intended to satisfy some necessity or requirement of the State. In this sense all State expenditure must be recognized as absolutely productive in respect to the object of its allotment. Some expenses, however, have a direct, and others only an indirect, influence on the increase of national prosperity. For example, the more the State spends on ways of communication, the better can they be kept up, and the greater the possible number of roads, etc. The more money allotted for education, the greater the posible number of schools, and persons able to read and write. On the orther hand, the protection of internal order and security repuires more expenditure in proportion to the failure of good manners or morality to guarantee that order and security. Prisons are more necessary where crime is most 156

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THE FINANCES. prevalent. Finally, the chief expense of this nature, namely, for defence of the country, continues to increase in exact ratio to the growth of mutual distrust among the nations. It clearly follows, therefore, that the budget is comparatively light for the population of that State, in which the first kind of expenditure predominates, as the material and moral forces of the people grow simultaneously with the expenditure, and augment the sources available for the means of the State. If we turn to figures for the elucidation of this question, and compare the latest budget of Russia with the budgets of other countries, we shall find that from this point of view our State expenditure is in no way exceptional. In point of fact, we spend about 8% of our budget on the Church and clergy, national education, agriculture, and the other branches of industry and ways of communication (the railways excluded), i. e. less than France, and less than Great-Britain (n%), but as much as Prussia disburses for the same purposes (8%) and more than Italy (7.8°/o). This matter, however, can only be thoroughly considered by reference to the local budgets, which are as follows: State budgets: Local budgets, about: Percentage: In Russia . . . Rbl. 1,362,000,000 Rbl. 195,000,000 14°/o » Prussia . . . Mr. 2,311,000,000 Mt 523,000,000 23°/o » France . . . Fr. 3,300,000,000 Fr. 1 ,255,000,000 38°/o » Iuly .... Lir. 1,634,000,000 Lir. 644,000,000 39°/o » AustriaProper Fl. 566,000,000 Fl, 227,000,000 4O°/o » Great-Britain £ 90,000,000 £ 70,000,000 78% 157 -

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THE FINANCES. Thus, while, as stated above, the needs of the State in Russia absorb almost the same proportion of the national income as in France, the local budgets in France are much heavier than those of Russia. It must be borne in mind, however, that the expenses of local institutions are devoted mainly to productive purposes, or, in other words, to the satisfaction of local requirements, such as the construction of roads, schools, hospitals, and the care of the poor; and, therefore, the increase of local budgets cannot be considered always as unfavourable for the population. According to accounts of the expenditure of eemstvos, towns, volosts, and peasant communes in the 46 provinces of European Russia, out of 153 million roubles of general expenditure, 70 millions, or 46°/o is devoted to the repair and maintenance of roads, to public health, public charity and education. A third element in the burdensomeness or lightness of the budget is the character or the sources from which the State, or its local organs, draw their resources. In this respect financial authorities have expressed different opinions. This is certainly not the place to discuss them, and we shall only refer to the chief principles underlying our present financial economy, and to certain historical facts by way of explanation. The economical conditions of Russia were considerably changed in the early years of the reign of the Emperor Alexander II. Prior to that time our financial administration had to deal with an enormous population of serfs without rights. The emancipation of these placed the Government in relations with a vast number of new tax payers. 158

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THE FINANCES. The first requirement therefore of the new epoch was the reform of taxation. But in order to appreciate its significance we must first refer to what existed previously. Before the advent of Peter the Great we meet with a system of taxation which was fairly organized for the time. The taxes were levied on the plough, (the German hufe and English hide of ancient times); in other words the tax was levied upon a certain extent of arable land. The plough tax was not uniform, but differed according to the quality of the soil and the industrial income of the owners, while in towns and settlements a certain number of families were reckoned as a unit of liability for the payment of this tax. Therefore this tax per plough was at one and the same time an impost on land, houses and industries. But this system was very much disorgauized by the political disorders-of the interregnum (1598 1613), and subsequent wars. For this reason Peter the Great considered the poll tax, as it existed in the XVII and XVIII centuries in many States of Western Europe, a much simpler form of collecting revenue. Consequently, the poll tax, with the creation of, so called, taxable classes, namely, peasants, burghers, and merchants, was introduced into Russia in 1724. After that no essential alteration was made in the organization of our direct taxation, with the exception perhaps of the exemption of the merchant class from payment of the poll tax during the reign of Catherine II, in exchange for a tax on commercial capital. On the accession of the Emperor Alexander II this system included: 159

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THE FINANCES. 1, The poll tax proper; 2, The Zemsky taxes, principally also per head, or poll; and 3, The land taxes from the State serfs, which were in reality a payment for the use of Government land, .and represented an addition to the poll tax. The inequality of the imposition of this tax per soul, or per head, became apparent as soon as asoulsa -ceased to have any particular value. It is true, that within the bounds of the village the distribution of the poll tax was left to the commune itself, and levied according to the land and income of the individual peasants. But the .amount levied on each village was fixed according to the number of souls registered by the revision of 1857, which disagreed altogether with the actual numbers; and therefore in some villages the «revised souls» were five times more numerous than the actual male inhabitants. At the same time, the principle of «collective liability)) for the payment of taxes was established, and extended itself to all payments of the peasantry in general. This ((collective liability)), consists in the responsibility for due and proper payment of Government taxes being laid upon the entire rural commune collectively instead of its individual members; and arrears of payment are, therefore, exacted, not from the actual defaulter, but from all the inhabitants of his village indiscriminately. Such a system of taxation required, on the one hand, the binding of the peasants to the soil by means of passports, so that they could not evade payment, while, on the other, it led to a tendency to arbirary absen- 160

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THE FINANCES. teeism in search of more profitable occupation. In the end the arrears of taxes grew to such an extent, that in some provinces they exceeded the total amount of taxes to be levied. Firstly, in 1863, during the financial administration of Reutern, the burghers, one of the least prosperous classes of town inhabitants, were exempted from the poll tax, and in exchange a duty was placed on landed property in towns, settlements and hamlets. As regards the peasantry the poll tax continued to exist until the «eighties > of the present century, although they were also partly freed from one or the other of the various imposts, levied in the manner of the poll tax. Thus, as far back as 1859, the land tax on the State peasants was transferred from the «soul» to the land. Subsequently, beginning from 1864, the Zemsky poll taxes were almost everywhere replaced by taxes on land and landed property, and a portion of them, included in the State estimates for 1875, were called State land taxes, i. e. taxes on land, independent of the class or condition of its proprietors. Finally, in 1879 an Imperial decree was issued ordering the consideration of a repeal of the Government poll tax. The realisation of that important State measure belongs to the reign of Alexander III during the financial administration of M. Boongue. The preliminary step was taken in 1883 by the exemption of various categories of persons, for whom the tax was particularly onerous; and from the Ist of January 1887 the poll tax was repealed for all classes in European Russia. The poll and peasant land taxes 161 11

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THE FINANCES. are still in force in Siberia, where there is no exact data of landed property; but there also a beginning has been made in transferring the Zemsky poll taxes from the «souls», or male persons, to the land. The inconvenient passport restrictions, which were closely connected with the system of the poll tax, have been considerably lessened by the new passport regulations of 1894; and at the same time, in accord with the indications of the late Emperor, the financial administration has begun to prepare for the reform of the means and methods of ga- ' thering the taxes from the peasantry. At the present time, therefore, the principal taxes of our fiscal system are the State taxes on land and landed property in towns, settlements and hamlets, which have nothing in common with the class taxation of former times. The essential feature of the collection of these taxes is that each province is called upon to furnish a certain sum, which the organs of local self-government levy by distribution of payment among districts, towns and individuals on the basis, established for the distribution of local taxation in favour of Zemstvos and towns. From the foregoing explanation it will be seen, that we have no general cadastral survey for the whole Empire; no exact description of the profitableness of landed estates, with definition of the character of holdings, cultivation and so forth. But this is not surprising, considering that in France, with her comparatively small territory a cadastral survey took 43 years to make. Besides this at the present time in Western European States 162

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THE FINANCES. cadastral surveys are much facilitated by the fact that the precise definition of the quantity and quality of landed estates is of great value not only for the financial authorities, but also in the interests of the proprietors themselves, as a basis for the mortgage system, which is so important for assuring the rights of proprietorship and the organization of agricultural credit. Wherever the system of registering landed property for the purposes of loans, mortgages, etc., exists, the ground is already prepared for making a cadastral survey, and the cost is consequently much less. But in Russia, ¦with the exception of Poland and the Baltic provinces, this system does not exist. In general, however, despite the difficulty of introducing such a complicated matter as the distribution of ¦direct taxation, which is not quite satisfactorily established even in the rich and enlightened countries of Western Europe, our Zemstvo institutions have attained results in this respect surpassing expectation. Existing defects depend chiefly upon the meagre character of the regulations laid down on the subject by the law. Consequently, in 1893 regulations were issued for the valuation of fixed or landed property, with the appointment of provincial and district commissions of valuation, composed of representatives of the authorities of finance, the zemstvos, and towns. This law of 1893 differs from previous regulations in requiring the valution of landed property to be made according to the average net revenue which it is capable of yielding, and not its actual value; and rules in detail are laid down for the procedure to - 163 - »*

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THE FINANCES. be observed in such valuation of various kinds of immove-able property. In respect of its proportion our State taxation of land and landed property cannot be considered heavy or burdensome: on the average it does not exceed 4% of the productive profit of such property, whereas, for example, in Austria the land taxes amount to nearly 23% of the net profit of the land. But it must not be-forgotten that to the 25,000,000 roubles of Government taxes are to be added the zemsky and municipal taxes, the private class obligations of the communities of nobility, the taxes of the peasant communes for meeting the requirements of rural and vdlost communities, and finally, the land redemption payments; with these additions, the total sum of pecuniary taxes from land and landed property exceeds 200,000,000 roubles*, or 3o°,'o of the revenue; while at the same time only 73,000,00a roubles are derived indiscriminately from all kinds of immoveable property, 2 millions represent the special payments of the nobility, and the remaining 128 millions are drawn from the land of the peasantry. Another not unimportant addition is the contribution in kind, whicb is also borne principally by the peasants; especially the-obligation to repair roads, furnish carts for the journies-of the police and other authorities, etc. The Zemstvos- Including (in 52 provinces and territories of European Russia^ Government taxes . . . .25 million roubles. Town » Zemsky * Nobility » Peasant » Redemption payments 8 40 2 40 88 164

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THE FINANCES. have the right to replace these contributions in kind by money payments, and have largely availed themselves of the right wherever possible, but the alteration has by no means taken place everywhere. It must be observed that the above mentioned sum of 128,000,000 roubles contributed by the peasants includes 88 millions on account of redemption payments, of which we have already had occasion to speak in the chapter on classes. These payments represent the amortisation of advances made to former proprietory peasants by the Government to enable them to pay their former masters for their land. Since 1887 the State peasants also pay them to the Exchequer for the purchase of their land, in lieu of the former land tax. The operation of redemption will be completed by the year 19 31. As far as regards the direct taxation of trade and industry, Russia has had in operation since 1824 the patent or license system, borrowed from France, which consists in the levy of a uniform tax for each guild for the right of trading, irrespective of the amount of capital. Besides this, there is a «ticket» or license tax, levied according to the number of shops belonging to each trader, that it should conform with the extent of circulating capital invested in the commercial or industrial enterprise. The main deficiency of this system is its extreme inequality. Although the taxes for certificates and licenses differ in amount, according to the kind of trade or industry, and to the locality, it not infrequently happens, that commercial and industrial establishments with a 165

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THE FINANCES. circulating capital of millions do not pay more than enterprizes that only deal in thousands. In order to correct this inequality, and at the same time to increase the Government's revenue from trade and industry, a supplementary duty was established in 1885, during the financial administration of M. Boongue,. which is of two kinds. In the first place a separate tax of 5% is levied on the net profits of various share companies and joint-stock associations. All other commercial and industrial undertakings contribute towards a. total sum, that is fixed for each province every 3 years,, and divided annually among the districts and taxpayers according to their expected profits, by special taxing bodies assisted by members selected from among the taxpayers themselves. Statistics show a considerable increase in our taxation of trade and industry during the last 30 years. In 1863 it did not exceed 6.2 million roubles, while in 1893 it reached 40.5 millions, thus showing an increase of nearly 7 times the first sum, although the supplementary taxes furnished only about 13 million roubles. Nevertheless this taxation cannot be considered excessive when it is remembered that trade and industry bear very little of the local taxes for the benefit of Zemstvos and towns, altogether not more than 20 million roubles. On the other hand, if we take into account that, exclusive of the new taxes (the 5% and distributive taxes), the growth of State revenue from taxation of trade and industry continues to diminish, that in 1863 83 it amounted on the average to 11% a year, 166

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THE FINANCES. and in 1883- 93 only to 3.6°/o, it becomes clear that this taxation has reached a limit beyond which, under the present organisation of the taxes for certificates and licences, it cannot go. This circumstance has led to the question of a general radical reform of commercial and industrial taxation. The question was raised as long ago as the «eighties*, and became the subject of a special Commission, appointed in 1892, in the Ministry of Finance. Besides the revenue received from land, landed property, and trade and industry, there is also revenue derived from pecuniary capital lent out to others. In every State there are large numbers of persons, who live upon the percentage received from various kinds of bonds, obligations, Government funds, shares of joint -stock associations, and so forth, and taxes were imposed upon this kind of income in Western Europe long ago. In Russia this tax was established in 1885, and is now levied at the rate of 5°/o. The enumerated taxes exhaust the chief categories of duties placed upon separate sources of income. In Western Europe, however, at the beginning of the current century the form of a general income tax was introduced, consisting in the taxation of every kind of income from land, houses, capital, industry, and labour in proper proportion after deducting the amount necessary to the existence of the taxpayer and his family (existene-minimum). The extreme difficulty of estimating or calculating the total income of each taxpayer is at present an essential obstacle to its introduction in Russia. Never- 167

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THE FINANCES. theless, the fundamental idea of an income tax has to some extent been applied by the introduction of a tax on the rental of apartments in towns and town settlements, which was established in 1894 by the Minister of Finance M. Witte, and which was based upon the principle that the rent of living apartments generally corresponds with the means possessed by the tenant. This tax is of course very far from being a general income tax, seeing that it excludes all persons not residing in towns or town settlements, and this is a point of no small importance in view of the insignificant development of urban life in Russia as compared with Western Europe. After reviewing all that has been done during the last two reigns for the organization of a just and regular system of direct taxation, it is impossible to lose sight of the difficulties with which our financial authorities often had to deal after the Crimean War and the Eastern campaign against Turkey. In spite of such difficulties, however, the poll tax has been abolished, and together with it the class character of our system of taxation; correct principles have been introduced into the distribution of the taxes on landed property and on the profits from trade and industry; a considerable amount of income has been brought within the sphere of taxation, which was entirely exempt before, and, finally, the first step has been made towards the establishment of a general income tax. As regards the last reign in particular, an idea of its financial history will be obtained by a cursory glance at the following figures, which speak for themselves. 168

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THE FINANCES. According to the I. Contributions from the taxable Estimates for: classes.* 1881- 1895- In millions of roubles. Poll tax........... 59 i 58 Land tax........... 35 2 33 Redemption payments .... 72 88 4-16 Total . II. Taxes levied on all classes.* Taxes on land, landed property, etc. Taxes on trade and industry . Tax on money capital .... Succession duty...... Lodging tax....... Total . 35 95 -\-6o At the same time the reigns of Alexander II and Alexander III have been prolific in reforms of indirect taxation. Indirect taxes in Russia are taxes levied on articles of consumption. Some are levied within the Empire, such as the excise duties on wine, tobacco, sugar, products of naptha, and matches, and formerly on salt; others are collected on the frontiers from imported goods, and constitute the customs duties. While falling upon expenditure, these taxes in an indirect manner are drawn from income. From a practical point of view, indirect is more convenient than direct, taxation, as the first does not 166 91 75 16 32 + 16 19 41 - -22 13 + 13 6 + 6 3 + 3 * Irrespective of taxes in Poland which have not undergone any change. 169

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THE FINANCES. require any compulsory measures, but is contributed in small amounts in proportion to the consumption of taxable products. For this reason indirect taxation pkys a predominant role in all European budgets. On the other hand, indirect taxation has its unsatisfactory side. The more these taxable products represent articles of prime necessity, the less the expenditure in the form of their consumption corresponds with the income of the consumers. In this sense taxes on bread, salt, and meat, are most unjust, because they fall alike on rich and poor, and may compel the latter to diminish the consumption of these necessaries. Formerly there were a great number of such indirect taxes, and even to-day they exist in some countries. In Russia the former duty on salt belonged to this category, inasmuch as it weighed heavily on the population, and was detrimental to cattle breeding and other branches of industry. The Emperor Alexander II, therefore, desiring to «give the people a fresh proof of concern for their welfare in the unfortunate year of famines, repealed the salt excice duty from the Ist of January, 1881, and ordered a corresponding decrease in the customs duty on imported salt. The results of that excellent measure soon became evident: the yearly production of salt increased on the average from 53 to 78 million poods, and in consequence the price sank much lower even than the amount of the previous excise duty. The financial administration of Russia now shows to advantage, as compared with many countries of Western Europe, in the complete absence of duties on articles of 170

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THE FINANCES. vital necessity. Thus has been realised the advice of the Tsar Alexey Mikhailovitch to his posterity «not to tax articles of foods. The most important in amount of all the indirect taxes is the duty on liquor. This duty alone gives 260 million roubles, or about 80% of all indirect taxation, ¦without counting the customs. It represents the largest figure in the State revenue, not, however, in Russia alone, but also, for example, in France. We have no exact knowledge of when the sale of spirituous liquors in Russia first became a source of Government revenue; but it is certain that in the 16 century Government liquor stores existed in towns, and that in the 17 century the sale of spirits, beer, and mead was an exclusive privilege of the State. The sale of these liquors took place in shops which were either under Government direction, or let out to others. Both systems in their turn lasted pretty long. In the provinces of Great Russia the farming-out system prevailed exclusively from 1827. The subsequent practice, previous to the repeal of this system, was for the Government to receive the liquor from private producers on contract, and to give it out for sale to those, who purchased the right and who were regarded as commissioners of the Exchequer. These persons received a certain reduction in their favour. Such a system had the advantage of placing the Exchequer in immediate relations with a small number of monopolist commissioners; but in reality it was a very unprofitable method of gathering liquor revenue, and ruinous for the economical welfare of the 171

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THE FINANCES, people. The absence of competition placed the popula-' tiofi in the power of a few monopolists, who were free to sell bad liquor at high prices, while their agents, engaged in the extermination of secret production or sale of spirituous liquor, oppressed the people. These were the reasons for the abolition of the Government system of farming-out, which took place in 1863 during the financial administration of Minister Reutern. From that time the liquor revenue has been gathered in two forms: 1) An excise duty on each degree of distilled, anhydrous spirit, and 2) a license tax on distilleries and establishments for the sale df drink. Besides this, we have another excise duty on beer and mead, while vodka and other products of spirit are taxed with an additional banderole duty. The excise system produced good results. The liquor revenue considerably increased, especially lately, in consequence chiefly of the increase of duty from 3 4 to 10 kopeks per degree. In the next place the process of distilling improved. Primitive distilleries gave place to establishments of the newest and most improved construction; more sprit was extracted per pood of material; and instead of corn, a considerable quantity of potatoes, and even beet-root sugar refuse began to be used in distilling. The production, however, was concentrated for the most part in large distilling factories. The smaller ones, which are Very important for agriculture as a source of cattle-feeding and landmanuring, unable to compete with the large establishments were mostly obliged to cease operations. This result induced the Government in 1890 to 172

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THE FINANCES. issue a law, rendering all possible facilities to agricultural distilleries. The sale of strong drinks was proclaimed a free trade on the introduction of the excise in 1863. Subsequently, in view of decreasing drunkenness among the people, the opening of liquor-houses was made dependent upon the permission of town and village communities; but these bodies began to take money for such permission, and, instead of creating a free trade, they developed a private monopoly in the hands of the drink-shop proprietors. The complaints of drunkenness, there' fore, did not cease. Consequently, in 1885 the communities were deprived of the right of licensing; and in order to encourage the people to consume their liquor at home, the drink-shops were converted into shops for the sale of liquor not to be drunk, on the premises. But the rural communities, being thus deprived of their former profits, regarded this new measure with disfavour, and began to encourage secret traffic in liquor, without license. The present Minister of Finance M. Witte, has sought to remedy this state of things by the introduction of a Government liquor monopoly. With the establishment of this State monopoly for the sale of intoxicating liquors by the Government, it is hoped that the encouragement given to drunkenness by the drink-shop keepers, the sale of liquor on credit or in exchange for various articles bartered or deposited as security, etc., will no longer be practiced. The class of drink-shop keepers, who now exercise a large influence 173

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THE FINANCES. in rural districts, will also disappear. Furthermore, the quality and refinement of spirituous liquors will be improved; for at present the drink-shop keepers not only sell badly refined spirit, but also adulterate it -with different injurious ingredients. Special supervision, which is to be exercised over the sobriety of the people in each province, will likewise further the task of inculcating the consumption of liquor in moderation. In the opinion of the Ministry of Finance this moderation, as is always the case, will increase the total quantity of the product consumed, and at the same time increase the revenue of the State. By this measure it is also proposed to assist agriculture, as a very considerable quantity of spirit to be furnished to the Government will be taken from agricultural distilleries. This general principle has already received the Imperial approval, and from the Ist January, 1895, the sale of spirituous liquors by the Government was introduced by way of experiment in the provinces of Perm, Ufa, Orenburg and Samara. During the next 3 years it will he extended to the provinces having a Jewish population, that is to say, to the Southern, Western, and Polish, provinces. The Ministry of Finance does not conceal from itself the great difficulty connected with this introduction of a State liquor monopoly, as shown by the experiments in this respect made in Russia from 1819 to 1827, when it was difficult to find trustworthy employes for the purpose. There is no doubt, however, that during the past 70 years there has been a great change in the views of 174

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THE FINANCES. society regarding the duties of the service, and the Government can now have more confidence in undertaking administrative and economical tasks of this kind, which were formerly regarded as difficult to carry out, for example, the exploitation of railways. Without dwelling on a description of the other excise duties on sugar, tobacco, naptha and matches, it will suffice to note that altogether they produce about 85 million roubles. In ancient Russia, external indirect taxes, or customs duties, as at present understood, hardly existed. There were trade taxes, taken not only from foreigners on the frontiers, but also from local merchants in each town or settlement, and at each river ferry where there was an internal barrier. This barrier system, which was a great hindrance to trade, existed, as we know, all through Europe in the middle ages, and partty in later times. In Russia it was abolished only in 1753. As regards external customs of the modern kind, as payment for the passage of merchandise across the frontiers of the State, if they existed at all towards the close of the Moscow period, it was only in the form of a certain item of State revenue obtained equally from imports and exports. Peter the Great, on the contrary, who wished «in «every way to improve and extend trade*, gave a protective character to the tariff by placing higher duties on those kinds of foreign goods which could be produced in Russia. A certain correlation was in fact established between the higher tariff and the degree of development, which had been reached in the production of - 175

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THE FINANCES. any given article. From that time our customs policy was always in a state of fluctuation. At the close of the «fifties*, under the influence of an unsatisfactory state of trade in connexion with the severe tariff of the XIX century, the ideas of free trade prevailed, and led to the lower tariff of 1857. In the end, however, the influx of foreign goods increased to such an extent, that the balance of trade turned against us. Therefore the protective system began to take deeper and deeper root, beginning from the tariff of 1868, which was compiled with the assistance of the Heir-Apparent Cesarevich, afterwards Emperor Alexander III. This was especially shown in 1877 by the decree, establishing the receipt of all duties in gold, which increased them by 30%. Such a wholesale increase, and subsequent repetitions of it, naturally only made existing inequalities all the more conspicuous, and a revision of each article of the tariff was felt to be necessary in order to conform it to the actual needs of Russian industry. On this ground a gradual modification of the tariff rates was begun in 1882 under the Minister of Finance, M. Boongue, with the result that, while duties were raised on coal, iron, and other manufactures, the duties on raw, and half wrought foreign materials, necessary for our industries, were in certain cases altogether abolished. Subsequently, in 1891, a new ultra-protective tariff was issued, which closely affected the commercial interests of Germany, and called forth a number of hostile measures against us on the part of that country. Our relations became so bad, that in 1892 Germany concluded commercial 176

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THE FINANCES. conventions with several States, by which she gave them low rates of duty on articles which constituted our export, and these advantages were given principally to our competitors in the wheat export trade. A war of customs tariffs ensued, during which the duties were raised on both sides. Meanwhile, in 1893, Russia gave up her one tariff for all States alike, and adopted the double tariff system of Western Europe. This consisted in a minimum tariff for those nations, which in return gave us the benefit of their lower tariff, and a maximum tariff for others, including Germany. Finally, a special conference met at Berlin to clear up the misunderstanding. The result of its deliberations was the commercial treaty of 1894, by which Russia and Germany agreed to allow each other the rights of the most favoured nation for a long period, till 1903. This firm establishment of commercial relations constitutes a very important achievement. The treaty in question secures equality of advantages for our agricultural produce on international markets in competition with the same produce of other countries, and enables the agricultural classes to live through the present difficult period of low prices for wheat with less inconvenience and embarrassment. This result was of course only obtained by means of several not unimportant concessions in the form of reduced duties on German products. In concluding this sketch of the sources of State revenue, we must enumerate other different kinds of taxes, namely, stamp, deed, and judicial taxes; also taxes on documents in official departments, on passports, on 177 12

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THE FINANCES. railway passengers, and railway freights by express speed, and on insured property. Altogether they furnish about 50 million roubles. Of revenue from mining, minting, posts, telegraphs and various kinds of State property, we shall have occasion to speak in other parts of this work. We have thus sketched out the fundamental principles of our financial administration in the sphere of taxation; and we must now say a few words on the budgets and credit of the State. The utilization of the credit of the State, in more or less permanent form, began in Russia not earlier than the reign of the Empress Catherine II. That credit, down to the «sixties» of the present century, took the following shape: 1) foreign loans, mostly on very unfavourable conditions; 2) borrowing from deposits in government banks; and 3) the issue of paper money. There were also internal percentage loans, but comparatively seldom, as in general all operations of credit at that time were confined to the deposits in official banks, which in their turn were placed to the credit of the government on loan or on the security of landed estate. In regard to paper money, the issue of excessive quantities of it, and continual wars at last reduced the value of the rouble of 100 kopeks to only 25 kopeks, and enormous labour was required to put our finances in order. This was accomplished chiefly owing to the fact that from 1817 there were no new issues of paper and at the same time, together with the paper money (assignatsii) the circulation of coin was permitted according to the rate of 178

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THE FINANCES. exchange, both in private transactions and in payments to the Exchequer. Consequently, as the coin did not all go abroad, it regulated the exchange rate of assignatsii on internal markets. This rate certainly rose very little, but it became pretty firm, and rendered it possible, in 1843, to effect without! disturbance the exchange of the old assignatsii for new ones, at the rate of 3V3 roubles of old assignatsii for one rouble new paper money, exchangeable for silver coin. Only 10 years later, however, our monetary system received a new and heavy blow. This was the Crimean War, which in the four years, 1853 1856, created the enormous deficit of nearly 800 million roubles. It was, of course, quite impossible to cover such a deficit by means of taxation, seeing that arrears were continually on the increase. Foreign loans were also not easy to obtain at a time, when we were at war with nearly the whole of Europe. We therefore had to content ourselves with borrowing from the Government banks to the extent of 220 million roubles, and by falling back on the last resource, fresh issues of paper money. These issues increased the amount of paper from 311, to 735 million roubles, while, at the same time, the free exchange of paper for silver had to be stopped, and all transactions and. payments in metallic roubles forbidden. It seems that these measures were intended to support the value of the paper rouble; as a matter of fact, however, with the efHux of coin abroad, the exchange began to depend principally upon the balance of payment, which, in view of considerable in- 179 «

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THE FINANCES. debtedness and small development of the export trade, could not be in our favour. In this way the rate of exchange in 1866 fell to 76 kopeks metal for one paper rouble. All efforts to withdraw a portion of the paper from circulation led to unsatisfactory results; and an attempt made in 1862 to reestablish free exchange, only led to exhaustion of the metallic fund of the State Bank and to fresh loans to support it, as the coin did not remain in the country, but was immediately sent abroad. If, therefore, the rate of our exchange began to improve after 1866, and in 1874 rose to 87 kopeks, it was chiefly due to the general financial measures of the reign of the Emperor Alexander II, and our peaceful relations with other powers during that period. The attention of the Government, from the time of the Minister of Finance Kniajevitch, and especially during the tenure of office by M. Reutern, was mainly centered, in addition to taxation reform, upon the antiquated system of credit, which gave no support to the productive forces of the nation. Here, as everywhere else at that time, the principal means of reform was looked for in the development of individual initiative, and the widest field was allowed to all kinds of private institutions of credit. The former official banks were abolished, and in their place the present State Bank was founded «for the purpose of giving an impulse to trade and industry >. Since that time fresh tasks have been imposed upon the system of State credit by the general development of industry, trade and social activity. For- 180

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THE FINANCES. mer loans were contracted principally for the purpose of covering chronic deficits, or extraordinary military expenditure. In later years a large number of enterprises, conceived on a. wide scale of operation, have come to the fore, and changed the entire economical situation. It was necessary to assist the peasants in buying out their allotments of land, and to cooperate with a lavish hand in the construction of railways, the scarcity of which was felt so keenly during the Crimean War. The vast sums required for these purposes, naturally increased' the total debt of the State. The land proprietors were paid by the Government for the allotments, made to the peasantry not in actual money, but in Government bonds, on which the Exchequer paid interest and amortization in return for the redemption payments due from the peasants. For the purpose of aiding railway enter-prize by payment of the interest, guaranteed by the Government on the shares of the railway companies and the purchase of their obligations, it was necessary to resort to fresh loans. Nevertheless, without taking into consideration that the redemption operations constituted a clear pecuniary gain for the Exchequer, it must not be forgotten that?- when the Emperor Alexander II ascended the throne, there were only 979 versts of railway, and at the time of his decease 21,228 versts. The Government then began to recognize that, with the deficiencies of control and the secrecy surrounding everything connected with the finances, it was impossible to secure perfect confidence in such matters. Consequently, in 1862, it was decided to publish 181

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THE FINANCES. the State Estimates for general information, and a detailed mode of procedure was established for their examination by the Council of State. At the same time unity of the cash office, or depositary, of the Exchequer was introduced on the model of Western European States, so that all sums were concentrated in the coffers of the Ministry of Finance, whereas only V* of all official payments were previously lodged there (75 niillions out ot 275 million roubles); the remaining 3/* being deposited in the cash offices of various departments, almost entirely without control. This unity established the general principle of proper control, and since 1866 the report of the State Comptroller on the execution of the estimates is also published for the information of the world at large. Altogether the conditions above enumerated produced favourable consequences. The deficits, which were referred almost every year, and which in 1866 had reached to 61 million roubles, were almost first to disappear from our budgets; and in 1871, 1874 and 1875, at the end of the administration of Minister Reutern, there were even surpluses, amounting, for example, in 1875 to 35 million roubles. But at that moment began the movement of fresh political interference in the Balkan peninsula, leading to the war with Turkey in 1877 1878. The entire expenditure necessitated by that war, from 1876 to 1880 inclusive, amounted to about 1.075.000,000 roubles, and produced an extraordinary increase of national debt. It is worthy of remark, however, that this time the mi- 182

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THE FINANCES. litary and other expenses led to the issue principally of internal loans. Between 1876 and 1881 there were two issues of Bank Bonds and three Eastern Loans, which produced 901.6 million roubles. Of course the difficulties of the situation were not surmounted without the issue of fresh paper rouble notes for 543 millions. Still a portion of these notes were soon withdrawn from circulation, and in 1881 only 400 million roubles remained of that temporary issue. The rate of exchange, notwithslanding fell to 63 kopeks per paper rouble, and in 1880 chronic deficits again began to appear. The Emperor Alexander III, therefore, turned all his thoughts towards the attainment of a stable equilibrium in the budget by means of reasonable economy, and his reign effected the realisation of those principles of a correct system of accounts, which were elaborated in the « sixties ». A special obstacle to the execution of the estimates consisted in extra credits demanded by various departments without the least consideration of available means. Consequently, all Departments or Ministries, not excluding even the Ministry of War, were informed of the Imperial will, that they should regulate their expenditure in conformity with the credits allotted to them in the estimates, and not present measures for Imperial sanction, which required further outlay, without first requesting the necessary credit. In effect, this supernumerary expenditure was considerably lessened, and is now almost discontinued. Strict economy and financial reforms, by increasing 183

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THE FINANCES. the State revenue by one half of what it was before, have produced beneficial results. The execution of the budget of 1880, as we have seen, resulted in a deficit, and such deficits continued to appear down to 1888. But from that year, when the Minister of Finance Vish-negradsky was in office, ordinary revenue began to exceed ordinary expenditure, until in 1894 this excess reached 158.6 million roubles. The State Exchequer thus began to have free capital at its disposal, and was enabled in 1891 and 1892 to spend upwards of 154 million roubles in aid of the sufferers from the failure of harvests. And notwithstanding the temporary exhaustion of this free capital, it still amounts at present to 271 million roubles, of which 120 millions will go to cover the purposed extraordinary expenditure in 1896, and 151 millions will remain over. The increasing confidence in Russian finances has created incomparably better conditions for State loans, besides rendering Russia more and more independent of foreign markets. For example, in 1880 we borrowed money abroad at ')l/z^/o, in 1883 at as much as 6.1%, while recently we were able to obtain it at only 4.1% and even 3.7°/o- The sum total of State debt amounted on Ist January 1881 to 3.840.000,000 roubles. The increased transfer of railways to the State, the construction of new lines, and other productive expenditure, raised this amount in 1895 to 5-589.000,000 roubles. Meanwhile the payments 184

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THE FINANCES. on State loans have only increased from 238 to 257.000,000 roubles; which is to say, that the amount of debt has been augmented 45%, and the payments thereon only 8%, or 5 times less. This result has been obtained chiefly by means of the conversion of State loans, or in other words, by lessening the percentage paid on the loans. These conversions were began by the Minister of Finance Vishnegradsky, and continued by his successor M. Witte. Our loans, which were made at 5V2°/o, 5% an(i 4V2% when interest on borrowed money was higher, no longer corresponded to the new conditions of the money market, and the growing confidence in Russian finances. Consequently the Government proposed to its creditors to agree to accept 4°/o, or to take back their capital. The majority naturally consented to receive the smaller rate of interest, as the investment of money at any higher rate would be difficult and not without risk. The most brilliant conversions were undoubtedly those of the 5% Bank Bonds and the Eastern Loans for 1.014.700.000 roubles into 4% rente, which, without almost any increase of the capital amount of the debt, will effect a saving annually of over 23 million roubles. At the same time these internal loans in the form of rentes have finally secured a position within the sphere of our State credit, and as we know, offer the advantage of being redeemable at the discretion of the Government, either by return of the capital or by purchase on the market at the current rate of exchange, if that be more profitable, instead of fixed conditions as to term and proportion of payment. This kind of loan is certainly 185

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THE FINANCES. only possible where there is great confidence in the finances of the country, and therefore at the present time it is the form of loan, that most prevails in western European States. Without entering here into the organisation of State credit on land, in connexion with the institutions of the Nobility and Peasant Banks, the reform of the State Bank, and the wide development of Savings Banks, as these questions are economical and not financial, let us note the beneficial influence, which the good order introduced into the finances has exercised on our currency. The most important effect is undoubtedly to be seen in the comparative stability of the rate of exchange, which during the past three years has kept pretty firm at 67 kopeks per rouble. The total reserve of gold concentrated in the hands of the Russian Government has grown from 291 millions on the Ist January, 1881, to 685 million roubles at the present time, covering 6i°/o of the nominal value of the paper notes now in circulation. Finally, the Government during the past year has taken important measures in the direction of clearing the way for a metallic currency. Thus, to facilitate the ingress from abroad of metal into the country, it has permitted transactions to be concluded in gold value. Moreover, it has been decided to accept payment in gold of excise duties in the cash offices; this is shortly to be extended to all payments, and lastly, a sale and purchase of gold is opened in the institutions of the State Bank, and deposits of gold are accepted there, under deposit receipts, exchangeable at sight. 186

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THE FINANCES. Economy, serious financial reforms, the improvement of credit, and attainment of stability in the currency, these are the results of the peaceful policy of the Emperor Alexander III, thus again proving the truth of the words of Baron Louis, Minister of Finance to the Kings of France Louis XVIII and Louis Philip: «Faites moi de la bonne politique et je vous ferai de bonnes finances ». The following table contains the State Budget for the year 1896. 187

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STATE KEVENUE. Ordinary revenue: Thousands of roubles. Percentage of the whole sum. i. Direct taxes on: i) Land, landed property, and other taxes.......... 2) Trade and industry . ... 3) Income from capital. . . . 4) Succession........ 48,024 43,353 13,159 15,411 3.5 3.2 1.0 1.1 2. Redemption payments..... 3. Indirect taxes: 1) Internal.......... 2) External (customs)..... 119,947 89,000 385,586 153,876 8.8 6.5 ' 28.s 11.3 4. Duties............ 5. Regalia (revenues of posts, telegraphs, mines, minting and Government sale of liquors)......... 6. State property and capital: 1) Railways.......... 2) Other property ...... 539,462 49,864 76,021 232,328 62,580 294,908 14,822 3,138 52,310 39.6 3.7 5.6 17.1 4.6 7. Compulsory payments of private railways ......... 8. War indemnities......... 9. Various............ 21.7 l.i I 0.2 3.8 ' Total of ordinary revenue . . . 1.239,472 91.0 - 188

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STATE EXPENDITUKE. Ordinary expenditure: 1. System of State credit . . . . 2. Higher State institutions..... 3. Holy Synod.......... 4. Ministry of Imperial Court .... 5. » Foreign Affairs. . . . 6. > War........ 7. » Marine ....... 8. t> Finances....... 9. » Agriculture and State Domains...... 10. » Interior....... 11. » Public Instruction. . . 12. » Ways of Communication 13. » Justice....... 14. State Comptrol......... 15. Chief Administration of Imperial Studs............ 16. Unforeseen expenses...... Total of ordinary expenditure. . Thousands of roubles. 269,228 2,434 17,488 12,965 4,693 288,522 57,966 186,811 32,180 90,025 24,863 196,412 28,010 5,956 1,536 12,000 1.231,089 Percentage of the whole sum. 19.8 0.2 l.s 0.9 O.s 21.2 4.s 13.7 2.4 6.6 1.8 14.4 2.1 0.4 0.9 90.4 189

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Thousands of roubles. Percentage of the < whole sum. Extraordinary resources: j Permanent deposits in State Bank . . 2,200 0.2 Free cash of the State Treasury . . . 119,876 8.8 1 Total .... 1.361,548 100 190

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Extraordinary expenditure: Construction of Siberian railway . . . Auxiliary enterprises connected with the construction of the Siberian railway............ Construction of other railways of general significance....... Construction of local railways and branch lines. . ....... Thousands of roubles. Percentage of the whole sum. 82,248 2,485 35,726 10,000 6.1 0.2 2.6 0.7 Total of extraordinary expenditure . . 130,459 9.6 1.361,548 100 Besides the general Budget of the Empire there is a special budget for the grand Duchy of Finland, the total of which for 1895 amounted to 71.264,930 Finnish marks. 191

Agriculture and rural economy in general 199 192

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY IN GENERAL. 2, Agriculture and rural economy in general. In making a survey of the rural economy of Russia we must begin by recognizing the widely spread notion, that Russia is preeminently an agricultural country. The truth of this opinion hardly admits of doubt if we consider the present tendency of the productive forces of the Russian people. More than 87% of the population live in villages, and less than 13% in towns. This relation is quite different from that of other European countries. In great Britain, for instance, the urban population comprises 65%, and in Germany and the United States of America respectively 44% and 29°/o. This is more strikingly shown by a comparison of the value of agricultural products with that of the produce of industry. In the United States, for example, the value of manufactures in 1880 amounted to more than a milliard pounds sterling, while agricultural produce came to less than half a milliard, (£ 443,000,000). In Russia, on the contrary, the yearly value of our manufactures, including metallurgical production, is not more than 1600 mil. roubles, whereas the total ot our cereals alone reaches the sum of 1800 or 2000 millions-a year, according to the quality of the harvest. To complete the comparison, Russia exports through the European frontier manufactures and metals for an average annual sum of 90 million roubles, and agricultural produce for 5 50 million roubles, or six times more. This preeminently agricultural character of the 192

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AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY IN GENERAL. country differentiates Russia externally in a salient manner from Western Europe, and gives her an approximate resemblance, as far as regards agricultural productiveness, to the United States of North America. But a nearer examination of facts and figures leads to a somewhat different conclusion. As a matter of fact, the area of land under cultivation of cereals in European Russia and in the United States is almost the same, and in Russia even a little more; but the medium crop per desiatine is twice less, not only than that of most European States, but of that of the United States. Consequently, even with the comparative paucity of population, Russia has per head about as much grain as France, which uses all it has at home, and at the utmost but half as much as the United States. This circumstance clearly depends, in a great measure, upon the inadequate intensity of Russian cultivation. There is, therefore, a wide field for improvement, which is necessary in order to prevent the export of Russian wheat from depriving the country of what is needed for home consumption. Not the whole of Russia by a long way can be called the granary of Europe. Without mentioning Siberia, where the conditions of climate and soil will not permit the cultivation of hardly i6°/o of the total area, the surplus of grain over and above the quantity needed for consumption in European Russia is produced by scarcely one third of the total area of the, so called, black-soil of the south eastern zone, the northern boundary of which runs eastward from the south, approximatively from Bessarabia to Ufa. Here there are about ioo mil- 193 is

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AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY IN GENERAL. lion desiatines of black-soil, comprising altogether somewhat more than x/& of European Russia. In other northern and north-western parts of the Empire the soil is-clayey and argillaceous, interspersed in places by sand (in Polessia with marshes) and in the north with stone, which leads up to the Siberian toondras. In these regions the idea of agriculture as the principal resource of the population has long been abandoned, and the districts of Moscow, of the river Vistula, and of Poland have already achieved considerable importance by their industrial development. It must not be thought, however, that Russia is thus divided into two sharply denned parts, namely, the agricultural zone of the south-east, and the industrial region of the north-west. The first of these, by reason of its natural riches, is far more suited for industrial activity than the second. It will suffice to recall the fact that the southern provinces bordering the Black Sea and the Sea of Azoff possess the extensive coal fields of the Donets basin, (spread over an area of about 40,000 square versts), and in the immediate neighbourhood of this enormous reserve of mineral fuel are some of the richest deposits of iron ore. Its proximity to the sea, and the splendid means of communication with the centre of the country by the Dnieper, Don, and Volga give to this agricultural region the prospect of a great industrial future. The eastern provinces, with their surplus production of grain, have also long been known as the nursery of Russian metallurgical industry, (the mines of the Ural), 194

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AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY IN GENERAL. and their vast forests of wood yield the necessary supply of fuel. Even in the central black-soil zone the economical activity of the population has long since extended beyond the exclusive pursuit of agriculture, especially owing to the impoverishment of the soil by intensive methods of cultivation. It is scarcely necessary to refer to the industrial future of the Caucasus. In regard to Siberia, whose industry is yet in its infancy, there is the Kooznets coal basin in the province of Tomsk, 44,000 square versts in extent, second in size only to the basins of North America and Eastern China. In its vicinity are to be found abundant iron deposits, which, however, owing to the comparative scarcity of population, have as yet been very little worked. These natural riches point to the opportunities for industrial activity which await the Russian people in this part of the Empire on the construction of the Great Siberian Railway. If, therefore, Russia may be compared with the United States of North America from the point of view of agriculture, the comparison also holds good in relation to natural facilities for industry and trade. The difference is, of course, that the Americans have already profited by such facilities to exert their industrial activity to a very high degree of development, so that scarcely anyone will now call the United States an agricultural country, whereas in Russia such development is the work of future enterprize and energy, in which respect a beginning has already been made. As Professor Mendeleyef 195 w

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DISTRIBUTION OF LANDED PROPERTY. very justly remarks, Russia, on the emancipation of her peasantry, and their endowment with land, entered upon a new era of activity, embracing a mixture of agriculture and industry. We may add that it is precisely this mixture which constitutes the chief superiority of Russia over Western European countries, while it is also the main point of analogy between Russia and the United States. Like the latter country, Russia with her natural wealth is able and bound to produce for herself a great deal of what she now imports from abroad, without at the same time requiring bread stuffs from anybody else for her own consumption. This, after all, is only a picture of the probable future. At the present time Russia must certainly be designated in the main an agricultural country. I. Distribution of landed property. In describing the conditions of agricultural industry, and in particular the activity of the Government in this matter, we must first of all dwell upon the question of the distribution of landed property, as on that distribution depends to a great extent the character of rural economy, and the welfare of the rural population. The total area of landed property in 49 provinces of European Russia* represents 391 million desiatines. Of this quantity 150 million desiatines, or 38.5°/o, belong to the Crown; 131 million desiatines, or 33.5°/o, to the peasant communes in the form of allotments; 93 million desiatines, about 24%, to private owners, societies, and companies, and the remaining 17 million * Exclusive of the territory of the Don Cossacks. 196

Distribution of landed property 204 197

PEASANTS PROPRIETORSHIP. desiatines, or 40/0, to the Appanage Department, the Church, monasteries, towns, and other institutions. Therefore the Crown in Russia is proprietor of the largest quantity of land, which, however, is very unequally distributed. If we exclude the provinces of the north (Archangel, Vologda and Olonets), and of the north-east, (Perm and Viatka), where Crown lands constitute from 48 to 97%) of the total area, the remaining 44 provinces do not contain more than 16 million desiatines of Government territory, or only 7°/o. As the same time the amount of available Crown land, not covered with forest, in these 49 provinces is about 4 million desiatines, of which Vs is concentrated in the province of Samara. Consequently, the peasant holdings come first as the most important in relation to agricultural economy, and as providing for the subsistence of the most numerous class in the State. It is, therefore, necessary to enquire somewhat more closely into their condition. 1. Peasants' proprietorship, a) Its character and dimensions. The peasant reforms consolidated the old form of peasant ownership of land, descended from earlier times, and the peasant communes retained in the form of allotments, for the most part, all the land of which they had enjoyed the use before. In the next place, within the limits of the village communes, in localities populated by Great Russians, the new laws preserved the ancient common usufruct of land, which probably originated in the tribal communities of early times, when all the members of the tribe or family had equal rights in the common land. 197

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PEASANTS PROPRIETORSHIP. In Little Russia, and in the localities comprised within the bounds of the former kingdom of Poland, as well as in the Baltic provinces, the peasant commune was never strong enough for development, owing to the complete domination of the Polish and German nobility; and therefore, in those parts at the present time the predominating form of proprietorship is that of the homestead. The communal use of the land means, in substance, that by resolution of the village assembly, the arable lands may be periodically redivided among the peasants. Therefore, each plot of field or arable land, (land occupied by farm buildings and gardens not being subject to repartition) remains in the use of one peasant, or his heirs, only temporarily, and by the process of redistribution may be transferred to the use of another. As a matter of fact, radical repartitions of land take place periodically only in comparatively few communes, in consequence of alteration in the number of souls, and in others they occur very rarely indeed. In some communes no repartition has ever been made since the emancipation of the serfs, more than 30 years ago. On the other hand, these repartitions take place for the most part in those villages, whose land is held in use by separate families. The fact is that with exception of the Baltic, and some of the fnorth-western provinces, the peasant settlements in the majority of cases reach very considerable dimensions, and the extent of the holdings, allotted to such large peasant communities is often as much as 2000 and 3000 desiatines, or more. In regard to the rotation of crops and division of the 198

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PEASANTS PROPRIETORSHIP. land into meadows, fields, woods, and pasture, the land owned in this way constitutes a single unit, so that each proprietor must have a plot in each field, and consequently has to conform to the common system of sowing as regards rotation of crops (German Flurzwang). Whereas, it also often happens that the village assembly is compelled by economical considerations to remeasure the plots among separate proprietors. Therefore, in regard to repartition the difference between land of the commune and family holdings, especially in the south and south-west, where the villages are larger, is by no means so great, as may appear at first sight. All that has been said in the foregoing explanation applies specially to field or arable land. Besides this, each village possesses pasture land for the common use of the horses and cattle of all the inhabitants in general. In addition some village communities do not distribute their wood and grass lands, but simply divide the hay and cut wood when gathered in. In 1890 there were more than 10V2 million peasant families in the 50 provinces of European Russia. The land plots of the peasantry in the majority of cases, constitute from 35% to 60% of the area of each province, although in the black-soil zone they are much more extensive than anywhere else. Of the total quantity of peasant land, (with exception of land belonging to the Cossacks and to several other races in the eastern provinces), 80 million desiatines were under the communal system of holding, and only 22 millions under that of the family. The largest plots received by the former 199

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PEASANTS PROPRIETORSHIP. proprietary peasants on their emancipation varied between 2V2 and 15 dessiatines per soul, according to the revised list of souls or male peasants at that time, although, of course, the majority of allotments only approached the maximum. The peasants of the Imperial Domains and the Appanage almost everywhere received allotments il/2 times, or even twice, larger than those bestowed upon the peasants of other proprietors. On the average the Russian peasantry received a little more than 5 desiatines per soul; but since that time the population, has increased to such an extent, that in J878 it was calculated that each soul could only have about 4.1 desiatines more or less, and each family of land endowed peasants 12.3 desiatines of good land. Subsequently, by January Ist, 1892, it was considered that there were only 3.8 desiatines per soul, or u and a fraction desiatines per family of allotment land fit for cultivation. Of course land was bestowed upon the peasantry in very different proportions in the different parts of European Russia. If the country be divided into four parts by the parallel and meridian of Moscow, it will be found that in south-western Russia, which had the smallest allotments, there were about 8 desiatines per family; in the north-west and north-east, about equally, 14 desiatines;. and in the south-east the largest plots of 18 desiatines. But these absolute figures tell us nothing as to the sufficiency of the allotments. In France, for example, each landed property (counting small, medium, and large estates together) averages less than 5.2 hectares, or only 4.7 desiatines; so that the medium size of small peasant 200

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PEASENTS PROPRIETORSHIP. holdings is much less. Among our neighbours, the Germans, the medium size is about 8 hectares, or approxi-matively 7 desiatines per farm, and in the small properties (up to 20 hectares, or 18 desiatines) only 3.$ hectares, or about 3 desiatines. Even in Russian Poland for every peasant property there is an average of 7 desiatines. Therefore, the size of peasant holdings in. European Russia in altogether very favourable. The sufficiency of the allotments, however, does not depend upon their dimensions alone, but also upon the quality of the land, the method of cultivation, knowledge and experience, the composition of the peasant family, and so forth. In comparing Russia with France and Germany it must not be forgotten that in those countries the gross production per desiatine is twice as large as in Russia; so that in such a comparison the medium standard of 11 desiatines per family, or homestead, ought to be reduced by one half. On the other hand, although the allotment land represents the principal basis of existence for the peasantry of the greater part of Russia, it is not the only one. Various auxiliary industries and work in factories, undertaken by some of the members of the peasant family, always constitutes a considerable source of income; and therefore, the comparatively small allotments in the industrial districts are undoubtedly more profitable to their owners than the larger plots of south-eastern Russia. However this may be, the fact of there being too little land in many cases can hardly be disputed. It is proved by the hiring of land by the peasants from neighbouring Govern- 201

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PEASANTS AGRARIAN CREDIT. ment and private estates; the purchase of private estates by the more thrifty peasants, and a tendency to migrate to the spacious territories of Siberia. With the further increase of the population the want of land will certainly be more strongly felt, and, therefore, it is necessary to call attention to the means of effectually meeting this difficulty. Such means are indicated for the most part by the ordinary course of existence. First of all the peasants hire land from neighbouring private or Government property. In 1881 it was calculated that 11V2 million desiatines had thus been rented by the peasants, and these figures are apparently much below the actual facts. It is interesting to note that this land is held by the more prosperous peasants; while the poverty of the poorer class compel them to abandon even their small allotments. b) Peasants' agrarian credit. Another means is the acquisition of freehold outside the land of peasant allotments. After the reforms the peasantry soon turned to this means, and the investigation of 1877 78 disclosed that they had acquired by purchase, without the aid of the Government, about 6 million desiatines. Not more than 60% of this was purchased in small lots, while the remainder was bought by rich peasants in large estates often containing 10,000 desiatines, and more. At the beginning of 1880, on the appointment of M. Boongue to the post of Minister of Finance, the Government gave special attention to this want of land among the peasants, and in 1882 the Peasants' Agrarian Bank was established for the purpose of enabling the peasantry of all denominations to supple- 202

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peasants' agrarian credit. 4 ment their allotments by the purchase of more land. In the course of 12 years, down till January Ist, 1895, the Bank had assisted the peasants to purchase 2,228,712 desiatines of land for 98 million roubles, of which sum the Bank advanced 76 millions, the remaining 22 millions having been paid by the peasants with their own money. The operations of the Bank extend throughout European Russia with exception of the Baltic provinces. Advances for the purchase of land are made; 1, to rural communes; 2, to associations of peasants, and 3, to individual peasants. The largest quantity of land that each householder is permitted to purchase with the aid of the Bank must not exceed the working power of the purchaser and his family, and is determined for each district by a special administrative order. Formerly loans were made, according to desire, either for 24xh or 34V2 years. At first the interest payable on loans for these periods were respectively 8'/2°/o and jl/2°/o per annum with amortization; but by the gracious Manifesto of the 14th November 1894, issued in honour of the marriage of His Majesty the present reigning Emperor Nicholas II, this interest, in view of the unfavourable condition of agriculture, was reduced to jl/a°/o and 6l/zo/o* At the same time, in order to enable the Bank to help the greatest number of peasants to acquire land, it was commanded that a certain portion of the redemption payments should be added every year to the means of the Bank, beginning from 1895, until its capital reaches the sum of 50 million roubles. After this ensued the publishing of new statutes for the Peasants' Bank, 203

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MIGRATION TO FREE TERRITORIES. according to which its activity is to be still further extended, as it is afforded the possibility of purchasing land on its own account with the object of selling it to the peasants. The deductions from the redemption payments granted to the Bank are intended principally to meet this end. As yet this operation is still on trial, and will continue so till January iat, 1898. The new statutes afford another great facility to the peasants purchasing land by raising the extent of the loans to 90% of the value, and increasing the terms of amortization. These extend from 13 to 51 years 9 months (in the last case the peasant pays only 6% with amortization). It must not be thought, however, that purchase through the Peasants' Bank exhausts the process of acquisition of land in addition to peasant allotments. On the contrary, it is to be presumed that the purchase of land without the assistance of the Bank goes on to a much greater extent, although there are no exact statistics on this point for the whole of Russia. According to information, for instance, of peasant landed property in addition to allotments, in 7 provinces only, namely, Tver, Moscow, Smolensk, Kharkoff, Kherson, Orenburg and Courland, between 1877 and 1887, the quantity of land purchased by the aid of the Bank was 229,000 desiatines, and without its aid 907,000 desiatines, or 4 times more. c) Migration to free territories. Finally, a remedy for insufficiency of land is migration to free territories. As the historian Solovief justly remarks, «the history of Russia is the history of the colonisation of the countrys. In ancient Russia freedom of movement 204

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MIGRATION TO FREE TERRITORIES. gave to the peregrinations of the people a natural character; but from the beginning of the 16th century the forcible attachment of the peasantry to the soil placed considerable obstacles in the way of migration, and, owing to the burden of taxation and other obligations, it gradually assumed the character of running away. Nevertheless the Government itself, on acquiring new territories, took measures to attract colonists thither, principally by bestowing estates on servitors of the State, who were followed by the peasants. On the other hand, runaway and vagabond colonists endeavoured to settle on the confines of the Empire in free communities, and thus formed various Cossack settlements, which rendered Russia great services even prior to the time of Peter the Great, not only in the matter of colonisation, but also in the struggles for religion and nationality. From the beginning of the 18th century the increase of State authority and serfdom checked the voluntary colonisation of the frontiers. But the need of such a movement still existed, and was felt by the Government, who endeavoured to open a way to colonisation by permission of authority. Peter the Great thus took steps to populate the newly acquired territory of Ingerman-land; and in the middle of the 18th century the Government gave permission for the colonisation of Siberia. In the reign of the Empress Catherine II there was an especially large movement of migration from the centre of Russia to the southern provinces and the newly annexed country of the Crimea. In characterizing all these measures, it must in general be stated that they were 205

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MIGRATION TO FREE TERRITORIES. principally intended, not to serve the interests of the colonists, but to meet the necessities of defending- and populating the districts of the frontier. ft was only oil the establishment of a Ministry of State Domains under the Emperor Nicholas I, that views on this subject underwent a considerable change. That Ministry was founded, among other things, for the direction of affairs relating to tutelage over the peasants of the State. At the head of it was placed Count Kisselief, well known for his activity in the administration of the principalities of Moldavia and Walachia. The inspectors whom he sent into the provinces in 1837 discovered an extreme dearth of land in many places. Many peasants abandoned their villages and went in search of free land into other provinces. The Ministry, therefore, first of all undertook a survey of the land of the State peasants, granting allotments to those in need, and subsequently, April 8th, 1843, regulations were issued for migration and colonisation-These regulations permitted migration from those localities deficient in land, where there were less than 5 desiatines per soul. The land to be colonised was first measured out into plots of 4000 to 5000 desiatines for the settlement of entire village communities. In each plot Vs was set apart as a reserve for increase of population. The district departments of the State Domains-were obliged to render every possible assistance to the-peasants while on the way to their new homes by furnishing them with provisions, looking after those who were ill, and so forth. The necessary corn, hay, agricultural implements and working cattle were prepared 206

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MIGRATION TO FREE TERRITORIES. for them on the spot to begin -with, and they also re* ceived pecuniary assistance. But the regulations of 1843 applied only to the State peasants, who in reality were the richest in land. They could not extent to the peasant serfs, as the migration of these latter was at that time the business of the landed proprietors, their masters. Therefore, when the emancipation of the proprietary serfs took place the question of their migration should also have been considered. Unfortunately, this question was left entirely to the peasant communes. The peasant was allowed to change his place of residence only by permission of the commune to which he belonged, and to enter another one only by a similar permission from the same, while the conditions of obtaining these permissions were rendered very troublesome. Subsequently, in i866r a new set of regulations was applied to the State pea" sants in the place of those of 1843. The migration to Siberia was not so much restricted. It was only necessary in this case for the would-be colonist to obtain permission from the commune he was leaving, and from the provincial authorities. But Siberia-was far off, and many peasants on their way there stayed on the abundant lands of the eastern provinces, of Ufa. and Orenburg; so that nothing was left to the Government to do but to legalize these unauthorized settlements. It was only in 1889 that a general law was proclaimed for the colonisation of rural inhabitants and burgesses on Crown land. By this law intending colonists must now procure the permission of the two Ministers of the Interior, and of State Domains, and when -this is obtained, 207

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MIGRATION TO FREE TERRITORIES. -they no longer need a certificate of departure from their village communes. Colonists are offered land in European Russia in the provinces of Tobolsk and Tomsk, and in the territory of the Governor Generalship of the Steppe. In European Russia, land is at first leased to the colonists on temporary tenure only, which may subsequently become unlimited. In Asiatic Russia the allotments are at once granted for permanent use: they are not trans-ferrable, and may not be burdened with debt. In order to supply colonists with information regarding land and -the most convenient routes, a Government Colonisation Office was established in 1881 at Batrak, district of Sizran, near the ferry across the Volga; and later colonisation committees were formed in Orenburg, Tiumen and Tomsk. In 1890 a society for assisting colonists -was started in St. Petersburg. Finally, during the harvestless years of 1891 1892, the Special Committee for aiding the indigent peasants, presided over by the Heir-Apparent Cesarevitch, at present the reigning gracious Emperor Nicholas II, was occupied not only with questions of alimentation, but also with the general economical crisis in the stricken regions, and the most important causes of emigration. It paid the most careful attention to the wants of the emigrants, assigning as much as 89,000 roubles to be disposed of in their cause by an official, specially appointed to Tomsk for the purpose. Part of the money was expended in taking measures against the infectious diseases that had spread amongst the emigrants. The above mentioned measures exhausted the action 208

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MIGRATION TO FREE TERRITORIES. of the Government and society in regard to regulating peasant colonisation down to the period when the Committee of the Siberian Railway was established, when the question entered a new phase. We have already had occasion to remark that the quantity of Government land suitable for agricultural colonisation in European Russia is now comparatively small. This, however, is not the case in Asiatic Russia. In Siberia nearly all the land, as we know, belongs to the Government or to the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty. Of this land a very considerable portion in point of extent is under the direct control of the Government and the Cabinet. This is almost entirely forest land and tracts unsuited for agriculture. Another portion, vast in extent, is composed of almost uninhabited taigas, toondras, and in general stretches of country in a perfectly wild state. All the best lands, most suitable for agriculture and cattle breeding, are held in use by the peasants and the more civilized natives. Many of them occupy land simply on the strength of traditional and immemorial tenure, without any other formal right. The use of land within each separate unit of more or less extent (village and volost) is organized in a variety of ways. In localities colonised recently, and thinly inhabited, in Eastern Siberia, and on the Amoor, the commune has not succeeded in establishing itself, Land ii so abundant, that every one may plough, mow, grow vegetables, and pasture his cattle wherever he wishes, without interfering with anybody else. Land thus seized is called a Zaimha, otherwise Khootor, or farm. Some- 209 u

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MIGRATION TO FREE TERRITORIES. times these Zaimky, comprise from 500 to 1000 desiatines and more. When in this way every available piece of land has been added to this or that farm, and fresh additions of population require land for themselves, the Zaimka, or farm, gradually gives way to the «frees form of land tenure, (principally in Tomsk and Tobolsk). This form consists in each having the right to the land which he cultivates, and as long as he cultivates it. At last, as the population grows thicker, the free form of tenure becomes inconvenient, and gradually gives place to the communal system, with its distribution of allotments. The foregoing sketch will suffice to characterize the territorial wealth of Siberia, and the possibility of a considerable increase of its agricultural population. It shows further, that the colonisation movement in Siberia is destined to continue for a long time to come. At present, during the course of 9 years (1887 1895), 94,000 families comprising 467,000 souls, have settled in Siberia and the region of the Governor Generalship of the Steppe. As many as 3/* of the general number of emigrants settle on the lands of His Majesty's Cabinet in Altay, government of Tomsk. The construction of the Siberian Railway will very naturally place Siberia still nearer within the reach of the whole of the Russian peasantry. This is why, when the late Emperor Alexander III, reposing in the Lord, appointed his Heir Apparent, the present auspiciously reigning Gracious Emperor, to the head of the Committee of the Siberian Railway, the Rescript of the 14th January, 1893, connected the laying of a continuous railroad through Siberia with 210

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MIGRATION TO FREE TERRITORIES. the realisation of proposals for facilitating the colonisation of Siberia. In the first place, it was decided to survey and mark out tracts of free land along the route ¦of the Siberian Railway suitable for colonisation. For this purpose several parties of land surveyors were organized, and instructed, that while demarcating land for fresh colonists, they were to make all possible efforts not to interfere with the native inhabitants. By means of these surveying parties in 1893 x^95 .an area of over 3 million desiatines was parcelled out into 817 parts. The next two essential matters were the necessity of helping the colonists on the road, and their proper settlement on the land. In regulating the migration the Committee received the means of organizing medical aid and the distribution of provisions along the line of march. The credit for advancing money to the colonists was then considerably increased, and rules were ¦drawn up for regulating the grant of such loans to the peasants for continuing their journey, and for arranging their affairs on arriving at their destination. They also received timber from the Crown forests for building their houses. At the same time measures were taken to satisfy the more pressing spiritual needs of the colonists. For this purpose churches and schools are being established at various places, principally near the railway ^stations, for which good work subscriptions and gifts of church articles are coming in from all parts of Russia. Colonisation is the extreme means of dealing with the deficiency of land. Considering the peasant's love for his land, this is a remedy under specially painful condi- 211 1**

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ORGANIZATION OF PETTY RURAL CREDIT. tions, and, therefore, comparatively few avail themselves of it. As we have seen above, during 9 years only 467,000 souls have gone to Siberia, or an average of 52,000 a year. Even if these figures are not quite exact, it must be remembered that the natural annual increase of population in European Russia amounts to 1,500,000 souls. In any case, it is not in the compulsory retention of the population in their actual dwelling places, that the means of averting migration on too large a scale is to be found. It is necessary to create conditions that will in themselves keep the peasants at home. They must be persuaded that they can find everything requisite for themselves and families where they are at present; and this can only be done by widely spreading education, and in particular agricultural and technical knowledge. Furthermore, the pursuit of agriculture, as we know, leaves plenty of free time, especially in winter, which can be employed in so called home industries. Our agricultural population has long appreciated the importance of these small industries, which do not take the peasant away from his land, and have, therefore, been very considerably developed. But here also the peasant requires more knowledge, and is as much in want of the school for the successful pursuit of this occupation as he is in that of agriculture. d) Organization of petty rural credit. Another want of the peasant is necessary money for improvements, for the commonest forms of industry, and for everyday needs when out of work. This should be supplied by a properly organized system of petty rural credit, without which the peasant is liable to fall 212

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ORGANIZATION OF PETTY RURAL CREDIT. under the power of the usurer and other exploiters, and be forced, as a last resource, to sell his property and migrate to some other part of the country. The first attempts to organize such a system of petty credit in Russia dates back to the beginning of the present century; but for a long time they were entirely of a spasmodic nature. Some importance was attained by agricultural banks for the peasantry of the Domain estates, and relief and savings banks for the former State peasants. There were a great many of the latter in 1866 (more than 4V2 thousand), with a working capital of 9 million roubles, but their number has since diminished, and their business become completely disorganized. At the beginning of the «sixties*, after the emancipation of the serfs, the idea was started of organizing cheap credit among the peasantry in general, and also for the benefit of small tradesmen and manufacturers for the purpose of supporting and developing their business and industries. At that time, in Germany, the ideas of selthelp and credit on the principle of mutual aid, as advocated by Schultze-Delitch, were very popular. These ideas penetrating to Russia met with a great deal of sympathy and practical realisation. One of the initiators in this matter was a land-owner in the government of Kostroma, C. F. Looginin, who founded the first Mutual Loan and Savings Bank Association in Russia, on his estate in the volost of Rojdestvensk, district of Vetlooga. The statutes of this association served as a model for other associations of the same kind subsequently established. 213

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ORGANIZATION OF PETTY RURAL CREDIT. Since then altogether 1510 of these Associations have sprung into existence at different times; but some of them never came to anything and others were dissolved; so that at present there are only 764 in the 63 governments of European and Asiatic Russia. The working capital of each association is gradually formed by the subscriptions of the members for the creation of shares not exceeding 50 roubles. The Association accepts deposits and makes loans to its members in proportion to their shares, whilst responsibility for engagements is guaranteed by all the members. On the Ist of January, 1893, the following information was forthcoming as to the working capital of our Loan and Savings Bank Associations and their prototypes in Germany on the Schultze-Delitch principle: In Russia. In Germany. Number of associations 662* 1,075 Members...... 211,400 512,509 Marks 147,462,000, or Own capital. .Roubles 9,118,000 Roubles 67,833,000 Borrowed capital ., . AOlaiannn r Marks 434,248,000 or and deposits. Roubles 12,343,000 Roubles 199,754,000 Marks 1,589,034,000 or Loans advanced Roubles 18,271,000 Roubles 707,956,000 In regard to these figures it must be explained that the above 1,075 Associations in Germany are those only which have rendered accounts; whereas there are altogether 4,791 Savings Bank Associations, with at least 2 million members, besides a large number of other kinds, These figures refer to only 662 associations out of the 764. 214

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ORGANIZATION OF PETTY RURAL CREDIT. such as industrial, supply, building, and other associations, in all 4,130. At the same time, besides the Savings Bank Associations, we also have other etablishments for the purpose of furnishing small credit. In 1883 the Minister of Finance was empowered to authorize the establishment of Rural Banks, or loan and savings banks, in villages where there were no associations of this character. The characteristic feature of these banks is that the foundation capital is not created by means of shares, but with money from the commune or by private donation. In this respect these Rural Banks Yesemble another type of German establishment, called Reifeizens banks. These Rural Banks advance loans only to their peasant founders at the rate of 200 roubles maximum for the limit of one year. In the case of non repayment of the loan at the appointed time, the debtor is prosecuted in the same way as for taxes. Such banks, however are not yet numerous: there are altogether only 153 in 13 governments, with a total capital of 400,000 roubles, and deposits for 235,000 roubles. The loans which they have made, amount to only 657,000 roubles. In Germany there are about 2,500 Reifeizens banks, which have made loans to the total amount of over 100 million roubles. Besides these general kinds of institutions for rural credit, there exist in different places a good many independent types of such institutions, as, for instance, 1295 gmina loan and savings banks in Poland, advancing loans for nearly 12 million roubles to peasants, agriculturists 215

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ORGANIZATION OF PETTY RURAL CREDIT. of the burgess class, landless rural labourers, and small land-owners of the Polish nobility; also loan and assistance banks in the province of Mogileff, etc. The above data shows that we have made a beginning with the establishment of minor credit, but its development is yet a very long way behind the progress made in this respect in Germany. In places, it is true, there are land proprietors, who maintain close relations with the peasantry, and assist them on favourable conditions for the latter, but such assistance is accidental, and cannot be of any great extent. Consequently, when the State Bank was reorganized in 1894, it was authorized to grant credit to owners of land, those engaged in domestic industries, and small traders to the extent of 300 roubles, on the security of solo bills of exchange, i. e. bills with a single signature. At the same time loans may be advanced by the State Bank through the medium of the Zemstvo institutions, private credit establishments, artels, and even by private individuals in close relationship with the peasant borrowers. Undoubtedly, however, it is impossible to establish popular credit solely by means of pecuniary cooperation on the part of the Government. Therefore, the Minister of Finance, M. Witte, recommends the cooperation of the State Bank, the Zemstvo, and other public institutions, as well as private persons, in creating associations of credit by means of advances for the purpose of forming the foundation capital only, (under the obligation of the loans being repaid out of the profits). Such asso- 216

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PRIVATE LAND. ciations, when once founded on Government loans, will soon attract confidence and private capital on profitable terms. It also obviates the necessity of share subscriptions, which in the case of existing loan and savings bank associations are often not paid at all. This project received the Imperial sanction on June iBt, 1895. Furthermore, very considerable alterations have been made in the organization of all former institutions of minor credit, which have thus been better adapted to the objects of their foundation and made more accessible to the population. In conclusion, institutions of minor credit have been enabled by permission of the Minister of Finance, to transact commission business by purchasing necessary articles for their members, and selling the produce of their labour. The benefit of including this kind of transaction in the operations of loan and savings bank associations is proved by the example of the Rei-feizens banks, which owe their success to it. This, in brief, is the basis of the new laws on minor credit, which inspire the hope that more success will in future attend its development than heretofore has been the case. 2. Private land, a) Its character and dimensions. The second category in importance of landed property is that of private estates. In 1878 all private estates in the 49 governments of European Russia numbered 481,000, with a total of 92 million desiatines of land. In this total number of private land-owners the peasants come first. In 1878 they constituted more than half the number; but as regards quantity of land, the 217

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PRIVATE LAND. nobility possess 80%, merchants Jio/o> and peasants only sV2°/o. The characteristic form, therefore, of private landed-property in Russia is that of the estates of the nobility. The history of the rise of landed property belonging to the nobility is in its main features as follows: In ancient Russia there were two kinds of landed property, namely, the votchina, or private property in the full sense of the word, and estates, or feudal property, which the Russian. Princes granted in return for service, and which they could take away at will. From the 15 th century the votchina gradually became merged in the other kind of property, and both kinds were tenanted as land granted in return for service to the Prince, and on which lived the serfs. Such land could of course be held only by servitors, otherwise the nobility. At the end of the 18th century State service ceased to be obligatory on the nobility, and, consequently, all landed estates again became votchina- But as the serfs continued to live on the land, and they could be owned only by the nobility,, the privilege of owning inhabited estates remained with the nobility, and was abolished per §e only on the emancipation of the peasants. These historial facts sufficiently explain the contemporary predominance of the landed property of the nobility. However that may be the land of the nobility is gradually diminishing under the eflects of the extension of the right of possessing land to all classes of the population. In 1861, at the time of the peasant reforms, almost all private property in land belonged to the nobility; but in 1878, 218

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PRIVATE LAKD. seventeen years later, about 19 million desiatines, or 20% had passed into the possession of other classes, and at the present time this proportion must be much greater. The average, or medium extent of private estates in Russia does not exceed 190 desiatines, owing to the large number of small parcels of land owned by peasants in addition to their allotments. On the other hand the medium extent of estates belonging to the nobility is 638 desiatines; but it would be unfair to draw conclusions exclusively from the property of the nobility, now that almost /s of the land has passed into the hands of other classes. Therefore, in making comparisons with other States it would be more correct to exclude altogether the small private estates of all classes in general, as, in the first place, the latter are not important in extent, and secondly,, a comparison with the small estates of foreign countries,, which correspond with the allotments of our peasantryr has already been made above. In this way, if we compare private estates of more than 100 desiatines, 100 hectares, or 300 acres, we find that the medium size is: In Russia......1116 desiatines, » England.....629 » » France......460 » > Germany. . . . 374 » But the extent alone gives no idea of the cultivation of an estate. In Western Europe the gross return per desiatine is much greater than with us. In England it is three times, and in Germany and France twice, as 219

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HIRE OF VILLAGE LABOURERS. much. Therefore the number of desiatines must be multiplied by the coefficient of productiveness, as follows: Russia.......1,116X1=1,116 England......629X3=1,887 France......460X2=920 Germany..... 374X2=748 so that it is not Russia, but England which ranks first. If we divide Russian landed property into 3 categories, namely, small estates up to 100 desiatines, medium from 100 to 1000, and large estates above 1000 desiatines, it will be found that the first occupies only 7°/o of the whole, the second 23%, and the third 7o°/o. Large private properties are especially numerous in the north western and eastern border districts; medium estates in the central provinces, and small ones in the north. But here again, of course, absolute figures must be compared with local conditions of rural economy, as there can be no doubt that a thousand desiatines of land in the Baltic provinces is not the same as a thousand desiatines in the provinces of Perm or Ufa. b) Hire of village labourers. In passing on to consider the methods of employing the land, we must make a distinction in this respect between the system of cultivation of proprietors* and that of peasants. The land of the peasants is cultivated with few exceptions by the owners themselves, without the help of hired labour. Whereas, the proprietors, who formerly had their serfs to do the work, are now obliged to engage the village labourer, The condi- * Under the name of proprietors hi this case is understood also such leaseholders of private estates that are not peasants. 220

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HIRE OF VILLAGE LABOURERS. tions of hired labour, therefore, constitute one of the most important considerations in the cultivation of the land. They depend, above all, upon the number of the local labouring population, corresponding to the area of land to be cultivated. In some regions, especially in the thickly populated blacksoil provinces, and also in the industrial districts, and for the most part outside the limits of the black-soil, the quantity of land is small in comparison with the labour capacity of the local agricultural population. In these parts there is thus a very considerable surplus of labourers, who leave temporarily the blacksoil country to seek work principally on land in the south and south-east of Russia. From the country outside the blacksoil region they go for the most part into the towns and industrial centres. In a very few localities, (on the confines of the thickly settled blacksoil region and in some provinces beyond, were industries are not much developed), the population almost suffices for the area of cultivation. In the vast region embracing all southern and south-eastern Russia, an enormous extent of land is cultivated and sown exclusively by the help of these temporary labourers from other districts. In those parts where the number of agricultural labourers is sufficient for the cultivation of all the land, most of the estates are worked by the local peasants, who employ their own implements and cattle. This arrangement, which existed nearly everywhere prior to the liberation of the serfs, has now assumed three forms: i, the engagement of peasants for separate work in the 221

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HIRE OF VILLAGE LABOURERS. fields: ploughing, sowing, harvesting, etc.; or for tilling and reaping entire desiatines, for which payment is made either in money or in land, that is to say, for example, in return for tilling and reaping 2 desiatines the proprietor allows the peasant to sow the third desiatine with his own seed for his own benefit; 2, giving the land over to the peasants in return for one half, or a certain proportion, of the harvest, and 3, the lease of entire estates or large plots of land for long periods, commonly to village communes or associations, and by the desiatine for one crop to individual peasants. A fourth method of labour supply is the hiring of men permanently, by the year, the day, or for other limited terms. The engagement of labourers by the month, or for the summer prevails in the South, where the local peasantry are too few, and where most of the work on private estates must necessarily be performed by men from a distance. Yearly labourers are kept principally in the Baltic, the Vistula and the Western, provinces. The essential importance of the conditions of labour hire to the land-owners in the cultivation of their land, explains why the Government has always given special attention to the question of providing a sufficient number of labourers. It was the deepest concern of the Government in ancient Russia. In those days, as we know, the rich land-proprietors and monasteries, with their financial privileges, attracted the peasants from the smaller estates, and the owners of these latter were thus rendered unable to perform their duties to the State on account 222

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HIRE OF VILLAGE LABOURERS. of the lack of labourers to till their land. The complaints and discontent of the land-owning class on this head ¦were the reasons which caused the Government to fix the peasantry to the soil; and down to 1861 serfdom was the only means of securing to the land-owners a sufficient supply of labour. Since that period the position of affairs has been radically changed. The system of free contract became the basis of mutual relations, and the Government was called upon to regulate the situation, so as to equalize the interests of both sides. It "was necessary to protect the land-owner against any sudden violation of contract in times of difficulty and stress, and to secure the economical and personal liberty of the labourer as well as just and proper remuneration for his work. The latter conditions are not less important for the proprietor. The small productiveness of the land when worked by the forced labour of the serfs has been fully demonstrated. Consequently, soon after the emancipation, namely, in 1863, the Government issued «Temporary regulations for the hire of rural labourers and servants)), and these were altered again in 1886. By these regulations the party hiring has the right of demanding the return of any labourer who may have left before the expiration of his term and taken work with another employer, and the latter can be prosecuted for damages. The employer, or hirer, may also demand that any labourer not appearing, or voluntarily disappearing, be brought back to him. The employer may deduct a fine from the wages of a labourer for drunkenness and neglect of his work, also for carelessness, insolence, disobedience 223

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HIRE OF VILLAGE LABOURERS. and injury done to the property of the estate; but the fine must not exceed two days' pay. For drunken desertion of duty the fine may be doubled for all the time thus wasted. For complete non-appearance the master may prosecute the labourer for damages, not exceeding, however, his 3 months' wages. In order to secure the economical and personal independence of the labourer it has been laid down, that a contract cannot be made for a longer period than 5 years; and in particular, in the case of working off any debt to the proprietor, a labourer is forbidden to bind himself for longer than one year. Besides this, an employer may not compel the men to accept wages in kind, in the form of corn, goods or other articles instead of money, and a fine may be imposed on an employer for delaying payment. Such are the legal regulations regarding the conditions of hiring labour from the juridical point of view. Not less important is the economical side of the matter. In point of fact, the extent of necessary working capitaL depends upon local conditions of securing labour. In the thickly populated districts of the blacksoil provinces, where the local peasantry go to work with their own cattle and agricultural implements, the land owner in most cases keeps very few cattle and implements; also, where the land is worked on the condition of a part of the produce going to the peasant labourers, or where the land is let out to the peasants for long periods, the owners may altogether dispense with any inventary of their own. On the other hand, in those parts where the labourers come from a distance the inventary of the 224

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HIRE OF VILLAGE LABOURERS. land owner must necessarily be very extensive, as also in districts where labourers are engaged by the year. The labour question is not less important in its effect upon the profitableness of private land. The gross profits of agriculture depend upon the harvest and the selling prices of wheat, but the expenditure depends upon the price of labour. The price of wheat in times of bad harvest generally rises, while the price of labour in such a case is diminished, and vice versa. The fluctuations in this respect ought to balance the one with the other; but in reality it often turns out quite the contrary. In the south, for instance, in years of good harvest, the price of wheat falls so low, and that of labour rises so high, that the losses of agricultural proprietors are greater than in years of the very worst crops. For this reason the most profitable years are those of middling harvests, or a little above the average. This changes for the better the further one goes to the north, as in that region the productiveness of land and the price of labour are less subject to fluctuation, and the area of land in the possession of private owners is comparatively insignificant. But in the south the impossibility of foreseeing exactly the extent of expenditure necessary for gathering in the crops forces the proprietors either to resort to loans, or to sell the yet ungamered crops, burdened with considerable advances. These circumstances lead to the necessity of properly explaining and solving the question of agricultural credit both for long and short terms. 225 15

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LONG AND SHORT CREDIT FOR LANDOWNERS. c) Long and short credit for landowners. As regards the first, the mortgage of land as security was known in Russia in the XIV century, and in the XVI century it assumed a sufficiently definite form. But with the prohibition of acquiring land, the plebian class were not permitted to give loans on the security of land, which was a considerable hindrance to such transactions, and increased the rate of interest on the loans. It was first in the reign of the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, in 1754, that two Government banks for the nobility were established at St. Petersburg and Moscow, for the purpose of saving the nobility from usurers. Under Catherine II the St. Petersburg bank was turned into a State Loan Bank. In the course of time advances came to be given not only by the Loan Bank, but also by the Deposit Bank, attached to the Foundling Hospitals at St. Petersburg and Moscow, and the Offices of Public Benevolence. Down to 1859 all these institutions had advanced about 425 million roubles on security of more than 2/8 °f tne total number of serfs. We had occasion to refer above to the abnormal character of this system of State agrarian credit, and the peasant reforms, which were then approaching, rendered a radical rearrangement necessary, inasmuch as the gratuitous labour of the serfs soon ceased to be the chief source of means for the landowners. And in effect all these Government institutions of agrarian credit were abolished in July. 1859. On the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, the advances made to proprietors in return for the land allotted to the peasants were employed to liquidate their debts to 226

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LONG AND SHORT CREDIT FOR LANDOWNERS. the former institutions of credit; and subsequently, down to 1864, there was, properly speaking, no organization whatever of agrarian credit, although the question was very diligently discussed, and preference was shown for banks of mutual credit, that is to say, associations of land proprietors mutually guaranteeing each other. The first bank of this kind was established in the province of Kherson in 1864, and in 1866 a more important institution came into existence, the Society of Mutual Agrarian Credit. Subsequently, beginning in 1871, agrarian share banks were started in Kharkoff, Poltava, Toola, etc. As far back as 1865 the indebtedness of private landed property was calculated at 92 million roub^ les, and by 1886 this sum had increased to 700,000,000 roubles. The great fall in the price of cereals in «the eighties* placed the proprietors of mortgaged estates in an almost inextricable position. Their incomes were considerably diminished, and yet the payments due to the credit banks and expenses in general remained the same as before. This circumstance, coupled with the rapid transfer of land from the original landed nobility into the hands of other classes, gave great concern to the Government. Therefore in 1885 the Government established the State Land Bank of the Nobility, which makes advances exclusively to noblemen. The extent of such loans must not exceed 60% of the estimated value of the land, on the mortgage of which the money is advanced. Advances are made for terms from n do 67 years, and, according to the Manifesto of November 14, 1894, the percentage charged on them besides redemp- 227 15*

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LONG AND SHORT CREDIT FOR LANDOWNERS. tion is lowered to 4% per aunum. Such favourable conditions could certainly not be offered to borrowers by any private land bank; and consequently the indebtedness of private landed property has increased principally at the expense of the Land Bank of the Nobility. From 1886 to 1894 it was increased by 475 million roubles, out of which 335 millions were advanced by the Bank of the Nobility. It must be explained here, that the operations of the Bank of the Nobility do not extent to Poland, the Baltic provinces, Finland, Transcaucasus, or to landowners of Polish extraction in the Western provinces. The total sum of debt upon private estates on the i'1 January, 1894, was 1,175.000,000 roubles, without taking into account the debts on private mortgages, which, however, is much less. As security for the above amount of debt there were 108,000 estates mortgaged comprising 47,5 million desiatines, which constitutes 4i,8°/o of the entire area of private estates in European Russia, the kingdom of Poland and the Caucasus. The greatest number of estates mortgaged are in the Baltic provinces, where mutual loan banks for the nobility were founded at the beginning of the XIX century. More than half, reaching up to 70%, of the land of all private estates is mortgaged in the southern, southwestern and central blacksoil provinces, where a xeady working and reserve capital is required in view of the great fluctuations in the quality of the harvests and the price of labour. At the same time in Russia as in Western Europe a very inconsiderable part of the money borrowed has been 228

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LONG AND SHORT CREDIT FOR LANDOWNERS. spent on the needs of the land. For the most part it has been employed either in facilitating the purchase of estates, or for covering payments due to third parties on account of family divisions of inheritance, and so forth. In the management of estates more importance is attached to credit on short terms. During the period immediately following the abolition of serfdom the proprietors obtained working capital partly by selling the interest bearing paper, given to them as remuneration for the loss of the land allotments presented to the emancipated peasants, and partly by means of loans on the security of their land. But when those resources were exhausted, and the land was already burdened with heavy debt, attention had to be directed to the organization of agricultural credits for short terms. The land banks, by their statutes, were able to provide such credit only out of a comparatively small part of their means, and land proprietors seldom solicited aid of the State Bank, because the latter could only discount bills of a commercial nature. Private credit also was excessively dear, especially when the harvest failed, or there was stagnation in the grain trade. All these circumstances gave rise in 1884 to the law of solo bills of exchange from landowners, according to which the State Bank and its branch offices were authorized to give credit to landowners in return for solo bills (that is, bills with the single signature of the drawer, whereas commercial bills of exchange require the signature of a second party), on condition of a lien upon the estate for the amount of credit so given, (at present inventaries, guarantees, etc. 229

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DISTRIBUTION OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF LAND. are likewise accepted as security for solo bills). Down to 1893 credit had been opened for a total of 13 V& million roubles, and advances made for only 9 millions. Since then, especially in 1894, when new statutes were issued for the State Bank, all possible measures have been taken to facilitate the formalities, involved in the acquisition of credit on solo bills of exchange. Down to 1895 18 million roubles have been paid on solo bills. A second form of short agrarian credit consists in advancing money on the security of agricultural produce. This system is of essential importance for the landowner, as it helps him to become more independent of arbitrary prices fixed by buyers. It came into use in «the forties», long before the introduction of solo bills of exchange, and when the State Commercial Bank of that time established branch offices at Kieff and Kharkoff, and advanced loans on security of agricultural produce kept on the spot by the land proprietors. At first this operation developed rapidly; but through the want of satisfactory buildings on the estates in which to store the mortgaged produce, and the difficulty of maintaining the necessary supervision thereof, it gradually fell out of use and was at last done away with altogether. This occurred in «the sixties»; but the system was revived in 1894 on the reorganisation of the State Bank. On the other hand, with the development of railways, this operation was undertaken by the railway authorities. II. Distribution of the different kinds of land. We must now turn from the consideration of peasant and private land in particular to that of agriculture in general. The - 230

Distribution of the different kinds of land 238 231

FOREST LAND. first question in this connexion is the distribution of the different kinds of land. According to statistics of 1881 the 50 provinces of European Russia contain 39% of forest land, 26% of arable land, i6°/o of meadow and pasture land and 19% of land unfit for use. a) Forest land. It therefore appears that forest land predominates, but it would be a mistake to call European Russia a wooded country. Onlj two regions can be properly described as chiefly composed of forest land, namely, the extreme north (S7°/o), and the Ural region (45%)-The provinces of the middle Volga and the lake districts are wooded to the same extent as Austria (29 30°/o); and the following regions are more wooded than France, but less than Germany: the Moscow industrial districts, the provinces of White Russia, with Lithuania, the kingdom of Poland, the wooded parts of the Ukraine (the provinces of Kieff and Volhinia), and the Transcaucasus (20 24°/o). The Baltic provinces resemble France (17%), and in the remaining provinces the proportion of forest land is still less, although France is considered a thinly wooded country. Finally on the steppe land of the south eastern regions there is not more than i°/o of forest. In relation to the number of inhabitants more favorable results are obtained. There are i,s desiatines of forest to every inhabitant, whereas in Europe in general there are only 0,8, and in particular in Austria l/z desiatine, in Germany V3 and in France Vs desiatine. But if we reckon by zones and districts more than 7a of the population have less forest land than in Ger- 281

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FOREST LAND. many, and V* less than in France. The gross consumption of wood for domestic and industrial purposes is estimated by professors Roudsky and Shafranoff at 45 million cubic sajens yearly. Reckoning 25 cubic sajens to a desiatine, we find that about 2 million desiatines of timber are cut down annually out of the 142 million desiatines composing the entire forest area, or xji\. This destruction of timber could not be considered excessive if the entire area of forest land were equally distributed; but unfortunately this is not the case; and thinly wooded districts are being denuded of timber with frightful rapidity. Such deforestation of our grain-growing provinces could not fail to attract special attention. Trees, as we know, moderate the sharp fluctuations of temperature by softening the hoar frosts of the early morning, which are so injurious to young crops, and by influencing the quantity of moisture, thus regulating the climate and irrigation. In the wooded parts of European Russia the amount of atmospheric precipation is much greater than in the woodless regions. This deforestation has brought about destructive inundations in the basins of the Dniester, Dniepre, Boog, Don, and Western Dvina, which were formerly unknown. Woods and forests also purify the atmosphere, arrest the drifting of sand, and formation of dunes, form a protection against the detrimental effects of hail and storms, strengthen the banks of rivers and streams, and prevent the latter from becoming silted up and shallow. This explains the great importance of woods and forests in Russia, which has hitherto been chiefly an agricultural 232

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FOREST LAND. country, and in which the well being of a majority of the inhabitants depends upon equality and moderation of climatic conditions. Therefore the history of the relations of the community and the State towards this question of woods and forests is of no small interest. In ancient times the woods and forests of Russia were too abundant to have any value or importance among the thinly scattered population, and were not even regarded as private property. It was not till the end of the XV century that a beginning was made in this respect by the issue of «preservative charters* to a few landowners against the cutting of wood by unauthorized persons. In the law code of the Tsar Alexey Mikhailo-vich there is a general system of punishments laid down against the voluntary use of other persons' wood. But it was only in the reign of Peter the Great that the Government began to take decisive measures in- regard to the forests of the country. In 1703 all woods and forests within 50 versts of the larger rivers, and 20 versts of the smaller ones were declared to be «Zapoviedny», i. e. their destruction was interdicted. Punishment of death ¦was decreed against the- voluntary cutting down of oak, and 10 roubles fine for the destruction of every other land of tree. For the purposes of supervision and control a body of foresters was created, with a Chief Forester at their head. (Ober-Waldmeister's instructions, 1723). After Peter the Great many of these regulations were mollified; but Anna lohannovna revived the system of Peter, and even made it more severe. Under Catherine II, with the 233

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FOREST LAND. new ideas of the time as to the freedom of private property, the system of forest regalia was entirely abolished, and the Government concentrated its attention only on forest land belonging to the Crown. With the establishment of a Ministry of State Domains in 1838 the authorities began to attach importance to the existence of woods and forests as an element in the cultivation of the country. A body of forest guards was formed for preserving the forests of the Crown, and a corps of foresters for their proper management and cultivation. The results of these measures, which continue to operate at the present day, were very important, not only in the sense of increasing the income of the State on this head from 1 to nearly 28 million roubles, but in the general interests of the State, as the extent of forest land owned by the State is immense. In European Russia alone the State owns 2/« of all the woods and forests. Here again, however, the distribution is very unfavourable. Most of the State forests are in the thickly wooded localities of the north, while a predominence of insecure private property in woods and forests obtains in the more thinly wooded zones. In these spheres the necessity of preserving woods and forests has been very slowly recognized. Consequently, on the establishment of the Zemstvos in «the sixties* many of the assemblies of those institutions raised the question of forest preservation, in which they received the strong support of the Minister of State Domains, Count Valooieff. The first project of laws for the preservation of forests was then drawn up, but was confirmed by the Emperor only in 1888. By those laws 284

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FOREST LAND. the following forests and coppices may be recognized as-protected throughout European Russia and the Caucasus: i, forests or coppices arresting movable sands; 2, protecting the banks of rivers or other waters; 3, growing irr any quantity on mountains, hills, precipices, and slopes, if such trees or shrubs prevent the falling of earth or rock, and 4, protecting the upper reaches and sources of rivers and their tributaries. These kinds of wood or forest may not be turned into any other sort of rural property, and the plan of management is confirmed by the Government. Besides this, in case of the owner not agreeing to carry out this or the other improvement,, the Ministry may buy out his forest or wood at a valuation price. Private woods and forests not recognized as protected may be turned into other kinds of land only in certain cases. Destructive felling of trees and the pasture of cattle in young woods or in clearings are forbidden. Land irregularly cleared of timber must be replanted with trees by the owner, and so forth. For the purpose of carrying out these laws a forest preservation committee exists in each province, presided over by the governor, and composed of representatives of the nobility, of the administration, of the law courts, of the-zemstvo, and the owners of woods and forests. Down to the i8t January, 1895, there were 36,000,000 desiatines of forest under the supervision of these committees, including 7,000,000 desiatines of peasant land, and 19,000,000 desiatines belonging to private owners: in this total there were 890,000 desiatines of forest recognized as protected, and the plans of management of 285

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FOREST LAND. 4,166,000 desiatines of unprotected forest had been sanctioned by the Government. Such are the preservative measures for the protection of existing woods and forests. But as we have already observed, there are large tracts of country almost ¦destitute of forests. In such places positive measures are required for directly increasing the extent of the woodlands. The attention of the Ministry of State Domains ¦was turned to this matter as soon as that department came into existence. Scientific authorities declared that it was impossible to afforest the steppes; but Count Kis-seleff was not dissuaded from making the attempt; and accordingly, a young Russian forester, named Victor Graff, was sent to the province of Ekaterinoslaff to try the ¦experiment. With enormous energy this man overcame all difficulties, and created a forest on the steppe in the, so called, Great Anadolsky forestry. What was formerly a desert is now covered with 3000 desiatines of fine forest. Subsequently the work was extended to other parts of New Russia, where several other young forests nave been created. The forest department add about 750 ¦desiatines every year, and the example has been followed by other Government Departments and private individuals. It is also worthy of remark that trees have been planted to withstand the shifting sand on the dunes near Libau and Windau, and near the mouth of the Dnieper, .close to the town of Aleshky; and, in general, measures for arresting the movement of sands in different localities are to be adopted on the widest possible scale. At present the forest authorities, while encouraging - 236

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FOREST LAND. the private cultivation of woods and forests, also give-out young trees for planting from the existing 31 Government nurseries, and offer prizes for forest cultivation, etc. A few words remain to be said in conclusion as to-the forests of Siberia, which all belong to the Government. In Western Siberia alone these forests are estimated at no million desiatines. In Eastern Siberia the forest area is much greater, but the extent of it is not yet known. As in European Russia, the enormous sylvan wealth of Siberia is very unequally distributed, and in the south there is hardly any wood at all. For a long time the Siberian forests have been free of all supervision and control, and down to the present day the law recognizes the right of the denizens of Siberia to the free use of forest timber lor all requirements, including" the construction of boats. Owing to this attitude, the accumulation of windfallen trees and branches, frequent fires, indiscriminate felling of timber, and the pasturing of cattle, etc., have reduced most of these forest properties to a chaotic condition, and in the more populated-localities of Siberia there has even come to he a want of wood. It was only in «the sixties* that regulations were introduced in Western Siberia for the payment of stump and sajene fees. But, owing to the absence of control, these regulations did not produce much benefit until a forest department and keepers had been instituted in that region. A great deal of effort is of course still necessary to put order into the forest management of Asiatic Russia, and this will undoubtedly be facilitated 237

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. gradually by the growth of population, the increasing demand for timber, and its advance in price. b) Systems of cultivation and auxiliary pursuits. The remaining kinds of ruraJ land, consisting of arable, meadow, and pasture, constitute together 26-|-i6=42o/o of the total area of European Russia. The proportionate quantities of each in any particular locality characterize to some extent the predominant form of rural economy. Most land is tilled in the populated blacksoil provinces. To the north and south of, that zone there is comparatively less ploughed land, the smallest percentage being naturally found in the northernmost provinces of Vologda, Olonets and Archangel. In these regions forest land predominates, together with the so called field and forest system of rotation which suits best the local conditions. This system consists in sowing wheat at intervals and meanwhile allowing wood to grow for long periods at a time. This field and forest system is followed also in remote districts of the provinces of Novgorod, Kostroma, Viatka and Perm, besides the 3 northern provinces mentioned, and then gradually merges into the three-field system, which predominates throughout Russia. The most usual and most widely spread form of this system consists in the following alternation: 1) fallow, 2) winter rye, 3) oats, barley or buck-wheat. There must necessarily, however, be great variety in the cultivation of these regions on the three-field system, as indicated by the one single circumstance that in the northern hah0 of these provinces the cultivation of clayey, sandy and manured soil constitutes 20 30, and occa- 238

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. sionally 40% °f the total area, whereas on the black-soil it amounts to 50 60%. For instance, from the west towards the region of the field and forest system, there is the flax region, comprising the provinces of Pskoff, Vitebsk, Novgorod, and parts of the provinces of Yaroslaff, Kostroma, Vologda, Tver, and also Smolensk and Courland. In these regions corn crops are first followed by flax, which is sown partly on forest clearings and partly on arable soil, which, besides, is for the most part richly manured and improved by the cultivation of clover. The entire area not composed of blacksoil produces up to 13 million poods of flax fibre, which is as much as can be produced by all the other countries of Europe taken together. The blacksoil zone, Siberia and the kingdom of Poland produce up to 18 million poods, and in addition 23 million poods of linseed. The local consumption of these products is not large: it does not exceed '/3 of flax fibre and 20% of linseed; the value of our export of flax products may be estimated at about 80 million roubles. Russia therefore takes the lead in supplying the international market with prepared flax, and comes second after the East-Indies in exportation of linseed. The flax region, not composed of blacksoil, gives place on its confines to the region in which cattle breeding predominates. This comprises the province of St. Petersburg, the three provinces of the Baltic, Lithuania, a portion of White Russia and the industrial districts. In these parts the percentage of tilled land varies considerably. The largest proportion is in Lithuania (up to 289

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. 40%) and the smallest in the Baltic region (about 20°/o)» The whole of the above mentioned region is characterized by the production on land included in the seed overturn for feeding purposes, of clover, potatoes, Ti* mothy grass etc., and also by an abundance of natural meadow land and pastures along the banks of rivers and lakes, lowlands, marshes, waste land, and young woods. The possession of an abundance of cattle of the, so called, Great Russian breed, and the production of large quantities of manure constitute the essential conditions of rural economy; and in consequence there is a very high development of dairy farming. In the latter half of «the sixties* a landowner of Tver, named Verestchagin, visited Switzerland for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the association form adopted there in that particular pursuit, which he decided to introduce into Russia under the form of the Russian artel system of organisation. In 1871 with the help of the Zemstvo of Tver and the Government, Verestchagin opened the first school of dairy farming in the village of Edimonoff, Government of Tver. From that time the improvement of dairy farming made rapid strides, and in the middle of «the seventies* a number of cheese and butter factories sprang up, producing Swiss, Dutch, Limburg and French cheese. Prior to that cheese in Russia was made out of curds. Cream butter and Holstein and Paris butter also began to be manufactured. At the present time there are several thousand butter and cheese factories. In 1886 a kind of travelling butter factory was established for the purpose 240

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. of introducing improved methods of manufacture among landowners and peasants, and also a dairy farming laboratory, and a number of dairy schools on the model of those in Finland. The result was that the import of foreign butter and cheese began to diminish, and the Russian export of these products, which had never before existed, went on continually increasing, until in 1891 it reached 63,000 poods of cheese and 433,000 poods of butter made from the milk of cows and sheep. Nevertheless, the production of cereals is very considerable even in the region in which cattle breeding prevails so largely. The area of corn sowing in this region, as everywhere under the three-field system, constitutes 2/s of the arable land (as 73 remains fallow); but in the Baltic provinces, under the many field system, more than 70% of all the arable land is sown. The prevailing cereal is of course rye. Considerably less oats and still less barley is sown, as everywhere in the regions not composed of blacksoil. In characterizing the rural economy of the regions not composed of blacksoil in general, it way be said that without reckoning the employment of agriculture and domestic industries, the population is obliged, owing to the comparative poverty of the soil, to seek additional means of livelihood in other rural occupations, such as the preparation of flax, cattle breeding, etc. For the same reason the three field system is gradually giving way to more perfect methods, and the cultivation of valuable spring plants, chiefly root crops, and likewise grass for 241 i«

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. feeding, with a corresponding development of cattle breeding. The land is continually manured, and in the west, instead of dung, the manure used is generally superphosphate and borie dust, the import of which is twice as great as it was in 1886. The blacksoil zone exhibits quite other characteristies. In this region grain cultivation predominates, and supports the welfare of the population. It may be subdivided in its turn into two parts. The first part, embracing all the central blacksoil provinces, and parts of the Little Russian and south western provinces, is called the region in which the three field system predominates. Owing to the fine quality of the soil there is a great deal of land under cultivation, more than Vsj, and even up to */*; but the want of food for cattle is so much felt that cattle breeding is very little developed, and consequently the use of manure, although very general, is very limited in quantity, and began to be used not more than 30 years ago. The cereals principally cultivated are: winter rye in the northern part, and wheat in the southern; also spring-oats, backwheat, occasionally barley, peas and millet. Potatoes are cultivated for the manufacture of spirit and starch, and among the peasantry for food. It must not, however, be thought that the whole of this region represents one kind of cultivation. Here also grass growing, is gradually being added to the three course system, clover and Timothy grass principally. The second half of this grain growing territory, including the provinces of SaratofF, Samara, Voroneje, 242

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. Kharkoff, Poltava, Ekaterinoslaff and Kherson, is called the region of the improved fallow, or manifold course and pasture system. Here one perceives a transition towards the system of the steppes, in which cultivation of the fields alternates with more or less prolonged periods of rest in order to renew the productive powers of the soil. The difference is that land which has rested for some years is again rendered productive: grasses are sown on it, principally Timothy, esparcet, lucerne etc., which are thus included in the rotation of crops. The cereals cultivated are mostly wheat, millet, oats occasionally barley and peas, and in places flax for seed. Cattle breeding is pretty general, but as the land is hardly ever manured, it has hitherto been confined to the breeding of fine-wool sheep. With the increase of the rental value of land, sheep farming has of late years become unprofitable, and is now rapidly on the decline. A middle place between the 3 course and the manifold course and fallow systems is occupied by the beet growing region. Although the cultivation of beet root for sugar is found in the central blacksoil provinces, the real beet growing region comprises only some parts of the provinces of Kursk, Kharkoff, Chernigoff, KiefF, Po-dolia and Volhynia. As regards the technical part of rural economy, the cultivation of beet root here is of equal importance with other root crops. Finally, in the south and south east of European Russia, in the provinces of Oufa, Orenburg, Samara and Astrakhan; the territories of the Kuban, the Terek and the Cossack troops of the Don, and in some parts of - 243 - »*

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. the Taurid, Kherson and Ekaterinoslav provinces, the fallow system, pure and simple, prevails. There is comparatively less arable land here than in the foregoing regions, and less than 5o°/o of it is sown; even less than 30%, for instance, in the province of Oufa. Manure has been used on the land only during the past 10 years, and then only as a rare exception to the rule, while in the south and south eastern provinces it is never used at all. It must, of course, be borne in mind that at the end of the last, and beginning of the present, centuries, agriculture on the steppes scarcely existed, and therefore, the blacksoil of this region is still very fertile. Sheep farming has also begun to develop here during the last few years. The most lucrative occupation of the inhabitants of the south and south east of Russia is cattle breeding, which therefore requires a few words of description. In the whole of European and Asiatic Russia there are about 167 million head of cattle, including 28 million horses, 40 million oxen, 87 million sheep and goats, and 12 million hogs. Horse breeding is carried on in a fairly equal degree all over Russia, although the greatest number of horses per man of the population is found in the east and south east. Of the total number of horses, 82% belong to the peasants, 15% to the land proprietors, and only 3°/o to the inhabitants of towns. Nevertheless the peasants who have no horses ('A) are specially numerous in the south west, where oxen are used as draught animals. Horses of the peasant and steppe breeds are most abundant, and those of breeding 244

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. studs comparatively small in number, although for the purposes of improving Russian horses in general, the trotting studs, and those of pure-bred and half-bred English horses are of essential importance. The studs of trotting horses are now so numerous that Russia in this respect is fully provided for. On the other hand, the studs of pure-bred race horses, which are the .only ones suitable for improving the horses of the steppes, are as yet very few. The Chief State Department of Horse Breeding is therefore continually increasing the Government studs, and also the prizes and rewards for encouraging trotting matches and races, and the number of horse shows. As regards horses of the type used for >agricultural purposes, the most remarkable are the klepper and Swedish ponies in Finland and the Baltic provinces, and the bityoogy of Voroneje and Tamboff, bred from Dutch stallions imported by Peter the Great. Among those of the steppe breed, suitable for riding, the most important are the well known Kirghiz horses, which are bred over a very wide area of south eastern European Russia and the Asiatic steppes; also the horses of the Kalmucks, Bashkirs and Don Cossacks. The latter kind from the Don, when crossed with English and Arabian blood, furnish the chief supply of horses for the Russian cavalry. In general, the south east of European Russia and the Asiatic steppes offer such a wide field for the breeding of horses that there need be no fear for the future of this pursuit, although unfortunately many owners of Russian studs have not yet been able to 245

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. acquire the necessary knowledge and experience, nor the means for producing good cavalry and cart horses. The cattle, as well as the horses of Russia, are pretty equally distributed. We have already described the cattle and dairy farming of Great Russia and the northern provinces. The steppe cattle, that is, the cattle of the southern steppes, the south western, Little Russian, and south eastern provinces, are very large, and good for work and meat. The trade of the interior in live cattle is concentrated at the fairs and bazaars, especially in the Don, Kuban and other territories, where many thousands of oxen are generally collected. Hence they are despatched to the towns alive, or as meat in refrigerating railway cars. But the first place in importance in the south and south eastern regions belongs to sheep farming. All sheep in Russia may be divided into 2 groups: the fine wool, or merino, and the common, or coarse wool sheep. The sheep of the first kind are estimated at l/s, although latterly, with the fall in price of marino wool, and the development of agriculture proper, their number has begun to decline. On large farms sheep are kept in flocks of many thousands. It was Peter the Great who first pointed out the profitableness of sheep farming; and in 1720, with the assistance of foreigners, a State farm for sheep breeding was established and sheep were given away gratis. In the reign of Catherine II the breeding of merino sheep was further extended, and under Alexander I land was given gratis to many foreign sheep farmers in the provinces of the southern steppes. Of all the kinds 246

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. of merino sheep the most distributed are the elektoralny and negretti. Of the coarse wool sheep, the most remarkable are the tsagaisky in the south west, and the volojsky in the south east of Russia. The wool of these two kinds is exported in large quantities, especially to the United States. In the north also, in the province of Yaroslav, there is another kind of sheep called the romanofsky, which furnishes good skins for coats. European Russia produces altogether yearly from 7 to 7V2 million poods of dirty and washed wool, including 2l/a to 3 million poods of merino. Most of it is sold dirty on the spot at the farms, or at fairs, especially at the fair of Kharkoff. Without dwelling in detail on hog breeding, which is particularly developed in north western, and south ¦western Russia, we may observe, in conclusion, that cattle and the products of cattle breeding (meat, tallow wool, leather, bristles etc.) are exported to the total value of about 49 million roubles, while the import does not exceed 32 million roubles. The most important item, as regards both import and export, is that of wool, amounting to 14 and 22 million roubles. In order to complete this sketch of farming systems a few words must be said about the Caucasus, Siberia and Turkistan. In the Caucasus, with its variety of climate, soil, and economical conditions, there exists a very great difference of system and method. There is even a difference in one and the same locality according to the height of different parts above the level of the sea. On 247

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. the steppes, and at the foot of the mountains the fallow-system prevails; in other wooded parts at the foot of the mountains the forest and field system. The least followed is the three field, or three course system, and still more rarely other more improved methods. In low-lying localities of the Western Caucasus, which are flooded by the rising waters of rivers, the same fields are sown over and over again with the same seed, generally Indian corn. Manure is seldom used, and the exhausted soil is left fallow for considerable periods at a time. In the remaining parts of the Western Caucasus we meet with a transition from the rotation of field and forest, to the systems of one field, or course, three courses and even manifold courses. Finally, in the lower parts of the Eastern Caucasus, cultivation is carried on only by the help of artificial irrigation. If, therefore, there is plenty of irrigating' water during the whole period of growth, fruit and vegetable gardens are kept up,, and rice and also valuable commercial commodities are grown; but if the water can only be made use of in spring and autumn, cultivation is restricted to cereals. When there is no water at all the land remains uncultivated. Even the fertility of the soil is renewed for the most part only by means of irrigation. The following is the total quantity of cereals produced in the Caucasus: Wheat......197 million poods. Barley......52 » » Indian Corn. ... 23 » » Other Grain. ... 60 » » Altogether .332 million poods. 248

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. After deducting for seed and food, and exclusive of potatoes, the surplus of wheat available for export reaches 180 million poods. Such a superabundance is not produced by any of the grain growing regions of Russia proper, wherefore the Caucasus may be justly called the granary of Europe. The agrarian economy of Siberia, like that of the Caucasus, is extremely varied, owing to the extraordinary variety of climatic and territorial conditions, even in that pait called the cultivated, agricultural zone. In those of the Siberian provinces containing the greater mass of agricultural inhabitants and suitable land a peculiar system of rest and fallow, unknown to European Russia, com-' pletely predominates. Land cleared of wood or ploughed up on the steppe is sown with wheat two or three years running, then left fallow, and this rotation is continued until the fertility of the soil declines and weeds begin to grow. When this takes place the land is left altogether to rest, and other fields are taken in hand. Poor land, before being left to rest, is ploughed 3 to 4 years, and the best blacksoil 25 to 30 years. There is even land (in the southern part of the province of Tobolsk) which has been tilled for more than 100 years without any interval of rest. The gradual impoverishment of the soil, however, has little by little compelled farmers to use manure, and on the northern confines of the agricultural zone of the province of Tobolsk the usual three course system of European Russia is now being introduced. Nevertheless, as Brehm justly remarks «the real gold of Siberia is its blacksoib, and notwithstanding the 249

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. intensivity of the methods of farming, its territory produces about 160 million poods of various cereals, including 60% of spring wheat and oats, about 20% of autumn rye and 20% of other kinds of grain. In conclusion, Turkistan, in relation to the principal occupations of its inhabitants, may be divided into two parts: the first comprising irrigated land along the rivers and at the foot of the mountains, inhabited by a sedentary, agricultural population; the second the steppes, rich in cattle and nomads. The area of irrigated land in Turkistan is not great, not more than 2V2°/» of the total extent, or iVa million desiatines. This insufficiency is made up for by the cultivation of wheat on bogarny fields, that is, fields not irrigated, in anticipation of a reserve of winter moisture in the soil, and the fall of spring rain. In years favorable for moisture these fields generally yield good harvests, but in times of drought their extent is rapidly diminished. In spite of the risks of this kind of farming, these bogarny fields occupy '/s, and in places '/« the total extent of cultivated land, (as much as 700,000 desiatines). But with new methods of irrigation, and improvement of the old ones, a considerable increase of irrigated land may be expected, and in consequence a decrease in bo-garny cultivation. Without dwelling on the cultivation of cereals, we must observe that Turkistan is the chief home of the cotton plant. Its cultivation in Central Asia has existed from time immemorial. After the conquests of the Russians the favorable conditions of the country gave rise 250

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. to the idea of introducing American cotton seed into Turkistan as being of much finer quality. The first attempts, however, extending over more than 10 years, proved quite unsuccessful until in «the eighties*- the Upland sort was brought under notice, and energetically recommended and distributed. Experimental plantations: were established, and seed was given away gratis, etc. Thanks to these measures private plantations began to appear in Turkistan and also in the Trans-Caucasus; and in 1892 the plantations of Cotton in Turkistan occupied not less than joo.000 desiatines, 8/* of which were sown with Upland, producing cotton fibre to the extent of 2 million poods, and together with the cotton produce of Khiva and Bokhara, up to 4. million poods. There is, moreover, every probability, that the production in Turkistan may be brought up to 6 or 7 million poods. There are not very many extensive plantations of more than 100 desiatines. Most of them consist of small plots of 1/-2 to 5 desiatines, the owners of which send their cotton to the towns and villages, where it is bought by agents of large firms, with money, or else for advances on future crops, or on cotton in store for sale. Among auxiliary, or subsidiary branches of rural economy in fhe south of Russia, in Bessarabia, the Crimea and the Caucasus, precedence must undoubtedly be given to viniculture and the making of wine. In the Caucasus it is estimated that there are more than 120,000 desiatines of vineyards, producing more than 13 million vedros of wine; in Bessarabia up to 70,000 desiatines, furnishing yearly more than 12 million vedros 251

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. at the lowest prices of 20 kopeks to 1 rouble the vedro; and in the Crimea only 8000 desiatines, with a production of 1'/a million vedros, which, however is the best south coast wine. Wine is also made in Turkistan, in the Don territory, (the well known Tsimlyansky wine)r and in several southern provinces. Altogether the total extent of all Russian vineyards is calculated at 225,000 desiatines, with an average production of 28 million vedros of wine. Consequently, Russia produces 10 times less wine than Italy, 9 times less than France, 7 times less than Spain, and less even than Portugal and Algeria. At the same time, the area of viniculture in the Caucasus, Crimea and Bessarabia might be 10 times as large;, but progress is very slow, owing to the phyloxera, which. was first discovered in the Crimea in 1880, and afterwards in other localities. The Government has given very serions attention to the means of combatting this-disease of the vine, and for that purpose a special Commission was formed under the direction of Adjutant General Baron Korff, who was subsequently appointed to-the General Governorship of the Amoor territory. That officer succeeded in destroying the infected vineyards;, but unfortunately the phyloxera spread to other localities. During the last few years attempts have been made to cure the vines; but on the whole, this operation, on. which some 135,000 roubles a year have been spent, cannot be considered as complete. The cultivation of the tobacco plant is carried on in 50 provinces of European Russia, in the Caucasus and Siberia. It is more extensive in Little Russia, where the 252

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. inferior sorts are almost exclusively, grown, such as mdk-horha, bakun and others (3.8 million poods). Next comes the Caucasus, Taurid and Bessarabia, where the superior sort called Turkish is grown to the extent of about i,s million poods. All tobacco plantations in 1893 numbered 664,000 but they are very small, and their total area is not more than 54,000 desiatines. These figures, however, are subject to variation. Tobacco culture was adopted as an auxiliary occupation by agriculturists, and under unfavourable conditions is often abandoned; so that in 1889, for instance, there were only 38,000 desiatines, and in 1886 59,000 desiatines. In any case, Russia in this respect is not behind any of the countries of Western Europe, although the export of Russian tobacco has hitherto been altogether insignificant. The chief centres of Russian sericulture are the Caucasus and Turkistan. The total number of deems engaged in this industry reach 1 million, and about 1.8 million raw cocoons are produced. For the most part this is a small subsidiary occupation of the agricultural population. In order to improve and develop the cultivation of the silk worm the Government has established experimental stations in Turkistan and Tiflis, besides which, the elementary schools of Southern Russia and the Caucasus, the South Russian Zemstvos, and agricultural associations have also taken an active part in spreading a knowledge of sericulture among the people. Finally, the Russian fisheries probably constitute the most important branch of agrarian industry after that of 253 -

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. cattle breeding. Thejr importance may be appreciated by the fact that they give occupation to half a million of professional fisherman and several millions of peasants, for whom the catching of fish is a subsidiary means of living. Formerly, when the population was scanty, the abundance of fish was so great, that it was hardly of any value; but little by little, with the clearing of forests, the establishment of mills and factories, and especially with the increase of population, the quantity of fish decreased, and fishing was gradually abandoned in the upper reaches of rivers, and began to be carried on at their mouths, and even out at sea. The largest quantity of fish is naturally caught in the south eastern parts of European Russia, in the lower Volga, the Don, and the Caspian and Azoff Seas. As much as 37 million poods of fish are caught in these parts. Then follows the region of the north west, with the Baltic Sea, and a large number of lakes, rivers and streams, also the upper and lower reaches of our large rivers, producing altogether 27 million poods. The lower course of the Dnieper, Dniester and the Black Sea give 3 million poods, and under 1 million poods is obtained in the region of the Arctic-White Sea fisheries: altogether for European Russia a total of about 68 million poods. Nearly all the fish caught in Russia is consumed in the country. Only the better kinds, and also caviar, oil, glue and fat, are exported, to the extent of about 6 millions. As the more important fisheries are comparatively distant from the places of consumption, and as the fish can only be caught at certain times of the year, it has to be salted 254

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SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION AND AUXILIARY PURSUITS. in summer, and frozen in winter. During the last few years there has also been some progress in the trade of preparing fish conserves. But all these branches of the fishing industry are very unsettled and insecure, and must remain so until bounds can be set to the predatory destruction of fish. The existing fishery regulations have been found impracticable, and at present new ones are being made. In addition to Government institutions, the Piscatorial Society, which publishes a journal, is also engaged in studying, and in cooperating towards, the improvement of Russian fisheries. Among the industries of the rural population, which have no very fixed and definite character, must be reckoned the shooting and capture of game and wild animals. This is carried on chiefly in Siberia and the Kirghiz territory. In European Russia this industry is yearly on the decline, because the destruction of forests, drives the fur bearing animals further to the north, and the north east. On the other hand, in the far East the fur industry and destruction of wild animals constitute an important source of State revenue, and the sole occupation of many of the natives. The annual value of fur animals killed throughout Russia is estimated at io million roubles; but in reality, it is probably much more, as the fairs of Nijni-Novgorod and Irbit alone receive furs to the amount of io 12 million roubles every year. The export of furs to foreign countries is estimated at i1'* million roubles; but the import of the same kind of goods amounts to much more, namely about 4'/a million roubles. 255

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EXTENT OF PRODUCTION OF CEREALS. c) Extent of production of cereals. Having digressed somewhat for the purpose of describing the subsidiary branches of agrarian economy, we must now complete the account of its characteristics by some further data as to the crops and harvests of cereals. What do these data show? For the 50 provinces of European Russia the following average results are obtained: from something more than 60 million desiatines of cultivated land are gathered about 2,400 million poods of grain, or 40 poods per desiatine, whereas the following foreign countries produce per desiatine in poods: England............120 United States..........86 Germany...........79 Austria-Hungary.........75 France.............74 Italy.............57 Such unfavorable results must be explained either by conditions of soil and climate, or by the absence of intensive cultivation, methods of manuring, tilling and sowing, or by some, or all of these causes taken together. We can hardly be wrong in asserting that this low measure of production is due to ignorance of improved methods of agriculture. In this respect, when we compare the different regions of European Russia, we find that from the north west to the south east the production of positively every sort of bread stuff diminishes as we proceed, and the harvest is worst where the soil is best. The poorest harvests are obtained in the south and south east, where the system of resting 256

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AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. the land prevails, and the crops are very thin. On the other hand, the best harvests of every sort of bread stuff are produced by the Baltic provinces, where improved methods of farming are practiced under the manifold course system of rotation, and an intensive cultivation. Such, however, are the average figures for several, years. For the whole of Russia any considerable deviation from the average is seldom met with; but, if we take separate regions, other results are obtained. In the greater part of the blacksoil zone, and especially on the steppes of that region, average or nearly average harvests occur comparatively seldom. Here the crop is either very abundant or very scanty. The further we go to the north west the less the fluctuation, while in the north and in the Baltic provinces such fluctuations are quite insignificant. In other words, Russian agriculture risks the greatest loss in the most fertile grain growing regions, and this affects the food supply of the country and the export of grain. It is therefore very necessary to make some advance in the technics of agriculture,, and herein lies much work for the Government and the community. In the first place agricultural knowledge and information must be more widely spread. A great deal has certainly been done in this respect; but a great deaL more remains to be accomplished. III. Agricultural education. The history of our agricultural education as a speciality is by no means of early date. Its beginning goes back no further than the reign of the Empress Catherine II. In 1765 was founded the Imperial Voluntary Society of Economy in St» Petersburg, 257 «

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AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. which still exists for the purpose of «disseminating useful and necessary ((knowledge of farming and housekeeping among the peoples. Its example was soon imitated, especially in the Baltic provinces, where a number of agricultural societies were formed. A great deal of work in all branches of farming has been done by the Moscow Agricultural Society, which was established in 1819. Subsequently, and particularly during the last 30 years, following the emancipation of the serfs, the number of these societies has notably increased. They now number 114 with 66 branches and constitute the foundation of special agricultural instruction in Russia. In 1822 the Moscow Agricultural Society opened an Agricultural School in that city, together with a model farm, for the instruction of young persons in the various duties of managing and farming landed estates. The Voluntary Economical Society also undertook the supervision of 2 such schools, and the Department of Imperial Appanages established a similar institution near St. Petersburg for the education of the sons of peasants. Subsequently, in 1833, the Voluntary Economical Society adopted the idea of its president, the well known Admiral Mordvinoff, and instituted a Committee for the improvement of Russian agriculture. This Committee succeeded in obtaining considerable assistance for the schools of agricultural societies, without counting several schools for horticulture and wine making in the south. This, in substance, is all that was done, until the creation of the Ministry of State Domains. From that time the Government itself began to take a direct interest in 258

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AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. the matter. In 1840, in the town of Gorky, province ol Mogileff, an Agricultural school was opened, with a very comprehensive course of special studies. This establishment was subsequently transformed into two educational institutions: the Higher Agricultural Institute of Gorky, which has since been transferred to St. Petersburg, and reorganized into the School of Forestry, and the Middle Agricultural School for educating rural managers and assistants. A third Agricultural School was opened near Kharkoff. The model farms were intended for the preparation of young peasants as experienced farmers, and for trying various agricultural improvements. Unfortunately, prior to the emancipation of the serfs, the institutions of agricultural education, especially the lower ones, produced comparatively little benefit, and their pupils on returning to their homes, generally fell back into the old routine of work. The failure of these schools must be chiefly attributed to the want of general education as a preparation, and to the circumstance that the peasants did not attend them of their own free ¦will, but were compelled to it by order of the authorities or the land proprietors. A new era of agricultural ¦education was therefore inaugurated by the liberation of the peasantry. In general, these educational institutions have remained, as before, of 3 grades. In the higher grade the Institute of Forestry in St. Petersburg comes first, with 352 students. The Institute commands considerable means; but the teaching is principally theoretical, as practical instruction is only possible on the Government Farm, 80 versts away. Another agricultural establish- 259 «

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AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. nient of this class is the Agricultural Institute of Moscow, formerly the Petrofsky Academy, opened in 1865. Besides the Petrofsky Academy, the New Alexander Institute was established in Poland at the end of «the sixties*, and a special agronomical section is included in the Polytechicum of Riga. As regards the middle schools, several of them were established at different times, and the total number is now 9. Recognizing the want of general knowledge, the Government established for them a course consisting not only of special agricultural studies but likewise of general instruction. Thanks to this measure, the middle schools now turn out not only managers but also teachers for the lower agricultural schools. The latter began to be established only when the middle grade institutions had been sufficiently developed. Besides the schools for dairy farming and horticulture 5 lowgrade schools were started at different places, mostly for purely agricultural instruction. One of them, however, at Gorets, was intended to prepare mechanics for the manufacture and repair of agricultural machinery. But the maintenance of these schools, in spite of private donations, is very expensive, and the number of pupils turned out is very inadequate to the demand. As long ago as «the seventies* the Ministry of State Domains came to the conclusion that the lower grade agricultural schools could be established much better and cheaper on well organized private estates, and that education offered in this way would produce better results than that given on Government property. For this reason the new normal regulations of 1883 regarding lower agricultural 260

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AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. schools authorizes zemstvos, societies, and private individuals to open such schools at their own expense, or with the help of Government assistance given in the form of parcels of Government land to the extent of 500 desiatines, and in money. The object of these schools is to spread a fundamental knowledge of farming among the people, and to teach them the industries necessarily connected therewith, in a practical form. In relation to the course of studies, these schools may pursue a general or special plan of instruction, the latter being specially devoted to some particular branch of agriculture. There are also lower schools of forestry (173 pupils) for the purpose of preparing technical foresters of the second grade by means of instruction imparted principally during work in the woods. Moreover, during the last years an experiment has been made of introducing the teaching of the rudiments of agriculture in certain seminaries for teachers, higher church parish schools, and low schools for general instruction. In regard to horticulture and wine making, there formerly existed independent institutions for spreading information on these subjects. At first, in 1812 the Ni-kitsky Garden was started near Yalta by the former Governor General of New-Russia, Duke de Richelieu, for the purpose of growing and acclimatizing the plants of sou* them countries in the Crimea, Somewhat later, the Imperial Botanical Gardens was established in St. Petersburg on the spot formerly occupied by the Apothecary's Garden of Peter I. The aim of this establishment was somewhat different, namely, the cultivation of exotic plants, 261

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AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. and the formation of a herbarium and other collections. Through the attention bestowed upon the Botanical Gardens by the Ministry of Imperial Domains, the total number of specimens of plants which it now contains-reaches 75,000, with 25,000 separate varieties. Its herbarium is considered one of the richest in the world; so that foreign botanists seldom undertake any great work without first applying for information at the Botanical Gardens of St. Petersburg. The museum of the Garden, with its dendrological, paleontological and other collections, contains 40,000 specimens, and the library about 12,000 works of 25,000 volumes. Our Botanical Garden therefore must justly be considered the principal scientific institution in the matter of Russian horticulture. As far as concerns the educational establishments of the higher class for horticulture and the manufacture of wine none exist; but there is a number of schools for educating practical gardeners and wine growers. In one of these, at the Nikitsky Garden in Yalta, there is a course of higher studies for persons, who have already passed the middle schools; and quite recently, a- middle school of viticulture has been opened at Kishineff. Altogether, by the end of 1894, we had the following number of schools of agriculture (besides schools of forestry): students 4 High schools...........412 9 Middle schools..........1543 73 Lower schools..........2794 21 Schools ot general instruction with courses of agriculture...... 1247 107 5996 262

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IMPROVEMENTS OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY. For their maintenance the Government allows 974>ooo roubles; the Zemstvos 160,000 roubles; and 291,000 roubles are contributed by various persons and institutions. It must be admitted that this number is far from satisfying ihe requirements of the Russian people in the matter of agricultural education. In 1883, in Belgium alone 1343 public conferences, or lectures to the people, on agriculture were held in 296 buildings by teachers and students of the higher agronomical educational establishments before a total audience of 85,000 persons. Recently, however, since 1890, special courses of study have been started by the Government and Zemstvos in many agricultural institutions for the necessary preparation of public-school masters for teaching agriculture in their schools. In 1893 and 1894 there were 30 such courses, or classes, attended since their opening by 4044 persons. IV. Improvements of agricultural economy. Such are the measures adopted for spreading agronomical knowledge among the population. The second category of measures are those concerning improvements in different branches of agricultural economy. In this respect the Government and public institutions can act in two ways: assistance may be given to agriculturists undertaking such improvements; or the work of amelioration may be directly taken in hand, in cases in which the extent of such work, and the public interest connected with it, place it beyond the means of private individuals or when the latter cannot sufficiently guarantee its success. Measures of the first kind were begun as long ago as the time of Peter the Great. 263

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IMPROVEMENTS OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY. With the establishment in 1838 of the Ministry of State Domains the conviction took root in Government spheres and society, that agriculture could only be improved by encouragement and cooperation, and not by means of compulsion. From that time forward this has-been the guiding principle in the activity of all institutions in Russia concerned in matters of agriculture. We have already seen the unfavourable influence exercised on harvests and agricultural economy in general by the droughts in the zone of the south eastern steppes. The Government long ago took steps to remedy this evil. But more systematic work in the matter of irrigation was not begun until the beginning of 1870, and then, the disconnected nature of the experiments at once pointed to the necessity of a common plan. Such a plan was drawn up in 1880, when irrigation was undertaken in view of the failure of the crops as work for public relief. This work was led with great energy by the Minister of State Domains Mr. Ostroffsky, and in the Transcaspian region on the lands of the Appanages by the Minister of Court Count Vorontsoff-Dashkoff. The results attained were most satisfactory: several basins, besides irrigation, served as reservoirs; new villages appeared on the steppes; agricultural labour was greatly facilitated; and the rental of the land rose in value after the water had been let out. A second time, irrigation, was undertaken on a larger scale, as public relief work in 1892, and still continues to be carried on according" to a definite plan, which by the will of the Emperor is to be extended to Western Siberia. 264 -

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IMPROVEMENTS OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY. In the northern and north-western provinces on the other hand, agriculture suffers from too much moisture, and is impeded by a large number of marshes. The desiccation or draining of marshes was carried on very long ago. During the reign of the Emperor Nicholas I, the Committee for superintending this work in the province of St. Petersburg was presided over by the Heir Apparent-Cesarevitch, afterwards the Emperor Alexander II. During his reign the work of marsh draining received wider application under the care of the former Minister of State Domains, Count Valooyeff, and also thanks to the intelligent instructions of the Minister of State Domains Mr. Ostroffsky and of Lieutenant-Ge-neral Jilinsky, who stood at the head of the work, and carried it on throughout the reign of Alexander III. In 1873 two expeditions were organized, one for the north, and the other for the west. The western expedition was sent into Polessia, with its 6 million desiatines of marsh land, where only grass grew unfit for fodder, and even that was gradually being choked by the growth of moss. In such conditions agrarian economy in Polessia naturally laboured under great difficulties. Cattle keeping, which was its mainstay, continually declined, and corn growing could only be maintained in a few of the more elevated parts of the country. At the present time, however, when 4 thousand versts of canals have been made by the expedition over an area of 2,670,000 desiatines, there are 335)Ooo desiatines of meadow land, which was formerly unavailable marsh and swamp; 110,000 desiatines of land fit for tillage and other purposes; 490,000 desiatines of 265

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THE GRAIN TRADE. decomposing vegetation and forest have assumed a normal and healthy growth; about 600,000 desiatines of valuable Government timber, which formerly had no market, is now to be found near the canals, and 1.135,000 desiatines are placed in better conditions of exploitation. Finally, the revenue of the drained land has increased in places by more than 20 times its former figure. V. The grain trade. There is another factor which directly affects the profit derivable from rural economy and consequently the possibility of realising any amelioration. This is the price of corn. The position of Russia in regard to prices of corn has greatly changed during recent years. This will be seen from a comparison of Russia's export trade of former years with that of the present time. During the first decade of the nineteenth century the average annual export of cereals from Russia did not exceed 15 million poods. During the period between 1844 and 1853 it was trebled, amounting, to 46 million poods. Within 20 years, 1866 to 1870, it reached 128 million poods, and between 1887 and 1891, that is, in 20 years, it amounted to 438 million poods, or 3V2 times more. In spite of this increase of our grain export, the relative participation of Russia in the grain supply of European markets has changed for the worse. At the end of «the eighties» Russia was certainly the chief purveyor of wheat to England and other Western European countries. In «the sixties», for example, 120 million poods were taken from Russia, and only 75 million poods from the United States, and about 39 million poods from Austria-Hun- 266

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THE GRAIN TRADE. gary. These two countries were almost our only competitors. But in «the seventies» the United States, owing to the rapid development of railways, and the increase of population through emigration, were able to increase their production of wheat to such an extent, that in 1881 1887 they exported an average of 313,000,000' poods, whereas Russia during the same time was able to export only 300 million poods. Russia was, therefore, obliged to give precedence to the United States. Nevertheless, our export trade in times of greater demand did not encounter any special difficulties until new competitors appeared in the field such as the East Indies, Australia, later Roumania, Canada, and the Argentine Republic. Thus, for example, the probable export of wheat in 1894 5 is estimated from Russia at 95 million bushels, and from the countries competing with it at 330 million bushels, i. e., 3V2 more. The mass of wheat then imported into Europe began to exceed the demand, and prices were in consequence reduced. All these conditions have made Russian rural economy directly dependent upon the state of the international grain trade. If in «the sixties* the extent and quality of our harvests fixed the price of wheat in Europe, at present our home prices of wheat are determined by those ruling on the foreign markets. In the export ports these prices follow the rise and fall of prices abroad, which influence in their turn the prices in the interior, and on the smaller markets of the country. There is, of course, no rule without exceptions-y and on certain internal markets prices are comparatively 267

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THE GRAIN TRADE less affected by those abroad. Such places are found remote from railways and rivers and supply large centres of demand for consumption in Russia itself. However the case may be, the fall in the price of wheat down to 1891, and expecially during the last 2 years, has produced a most depressing effect upon our rural economy, besides which there is another factor, in addition to supply and demand, that renders prices still more impossible. This is the fluctuation in the value of the paper rouble, as the following table will show: Price of 1 pood Fluctuation Exchange va- Yeats. of wheat of value in °/o lue Cred. kop. Cr. k. Met. k. Cred. Met. per gold roub. 1871 75 88 74 100% 100% 119 1876 80 102 68 116% 92% 149 1881 85 102 65 116% 88% 158 1886 91 81 51 92% 70% 160 These figures show that actual prices have fallen uninterruptedly since the beginning of 1870, and that the rise in 1876 85 was fictitious, produced by a still greater fall in the value of the paper rouble. We have already explained the results obtained in strengthening the exchange value of the paper rouble in the section on Finance. We will now add a few words on Russia's grain trade, and measures for its improvement. The total dimensions of our grain export, as we have seen, increase pretty regularly, although there are years of considerable fluctuation. If we exclude 1892, when the export of wheat was prohibited for a time on account of the famine, we find that it was sometimes l/s above the normal, and at other times did not reach 268

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THE GRAIN TRADE. 70°/o- Nevertheless, if we compare these figures with those of the harvests and home consumption, we shalL find that the fluctuations in the export trade were much weaker than might be expected. In some years there was nothing to export, and the quantity of wheat in Russia could not have sufficed for feeding the population, and yet as much corn was exported as in previous years. This is explained by the reserves of grain left over from one year to another, which help to keep up the export. Besides this, home consumption, in years of such a complete failure of crops as that 1880 and 1891, is considerably diminished. The chief article of Russia's grain export, taking the average for 5 years, 1889 1893, is-wheat (42%), followed by barley (i8°/o), rye (i5%)r oats (i3%)> and Indian corn (6°/o). By a comparison of the export with the production of each of these cereals, it appears that a third of the total harvest of wheat and barley is exported, about l/i of that of oats, and only '/i2 of that of rye. This is accounted for by the fact that rye is the chief article of food among the local population, and the surplus is exported principally to neighbouring countries, like Germany, which takes 60% of the total export, while Holland takes 28%. Russian wheat, on the contrary, is grown specially for export, chiefly to England (35°/o)r which also takes about 6o°/o of the total export of oatsr and 40% of that of barley. Therefore, the most important market for all Russian cereak, except rye, is in England. At the same time the importance of Russia in the supply of cereals to all the principal States of Wes- 269

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Oats. Barley. 7O°/o 50% 29% 16% 93% 50% 81% 54°/o THE GRAIN TRADE. tern Europe is shown by the following figures, representing the percentage of Russian grain in the total import: Wheat. Rye. Great Britain 32% France 28% Germany 56% 86% Holland 41% 78% The cereals of Russia are exported chiefly as grain. The United States exports more than half its wheat in the form of flour, and Russia less than 2%. This is not in consequence of a want of flour mills in Russia as we have more than sufficient for our own requirements, and many of them are constructed after the most improved patterns. The fact is however, that in England, Belgium, and Holland, where the absence of any duty on wheat and flour favours a large import, the finer kinds of flour are required in very small quantities, while bread is made of the second quality. For the United States the export of this kind of flour is not difficult, as the American population is fond of good flour, and its purchase pays in part for the production of the inferior sort. In Russia, on the contrary, it is this inferior sort that is required for home consumption, and there is no advantage in selling it abroad. For Russia this is one of the most unfavourable conditions of competition with the United States. The main artery of Russias's grain trade is the river Volga and its tributaries. When there was not yet a single railway in Russia the grain trade enlivened that 270

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THE GRAIN TRADE. river, thanks to the fertility of the lowlands and the cheapness of water transport. But during the last few years the accumulation of grain at the ports on the Volga has been gradually diminished to $. certain extent by many failures of the harvest in the provinces of Samara, Saratoff, Orenburg, Kazan, and Oufa, and partly owing to the development of railway transport. The quantity has fallen from 95 million poods in 1888, to 76 millions in 1893. The collection and preparation of corn on the banks of these rivers is carried on principally in the winter, when the roads are good, and the peasants have most leisure. The corn purchased in the winter lies stored in warehouses until the opening of navigation, and as soon as the ice goes from the Volga, it is sent up the river before the water begins to get low. The despatch of corn purchased in the summer is much more expensive, and corn freshly ground can rarely be got as far as St. Petersburg before the close of the navigation. It lies during the winter months at Ribinsk, which is the chief centre of the grain trade on the upper Volga. In general the process of this trade is distinguished by great slowness, and the sale price of ¦wheat at the ports has to cover the interest on capital locked up for nearly the whole year; besides a great many items of expense for storage, loading, etc. The region comprising the south western, southern and Little Russian provinces, and the territories of the Don and the Northern Caucasus, is still more important. Nearly all the trade of that region is carried on for foreign export, and consists in transporting as much as 271

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THE GRAIN TRADE, 300 million poods of grain to the ports of the Black Sea and Sea of Azoff along the Dniester, Boog, Dnieper and Don, also over a number of railways running southwards, and in carts by the ordinary roads. The grain trade in these parts suffers unfortunately from too many middlemen, commissioners and brokers. The remaining regions as regards the grain trade, are of less importance. In that of the Northern Dvina, which gravitates towards Archangel, the grain, to the extent of 5 million poods, is transported by road in winter to the landing stages of the Northern Dvina and floated, down to Archangel: V2 goes in local consumption, and '/a are exported abroad. The trade of this region suffers greatly from bad roads, and will, no doubt, be much be-^ nefited by the railway now under construction between Perm and Kotlas. In the central regions, comprising 6 blacksoil provinces, and 6 industrial provinces, the grain is transported over the railways, and on the rivers Oka, Oopa and Msta, from south to north, principally towards Moscow and thence also to the ports of the Baltic. Finally, in the western region, consisting of the Baltic, White Russian, Lithuanian and Polish provinces, the trade also gravitates towards the Baltic ports. The principal routes here are the Dnieper, Vistula, Nieman and Western Dvina rivers, and the railways Riga-Orloff, Libau-Romny, Kieff-Brest, and others. Such are the internal routes of the grain trade. The export of grain abroad may be divided geographically into 4 groups, namely, that of the White Sea, the Baltic, overland export, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azoff. 272

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THE GRAIN TRADE. In the White Sea group the chief port is Archangel. The Baltic group includes St. Petersburg, Reval, Riga and Libau. In the overland group, on the frontiers of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Roumania, the most important places are Verjbolovo, Graevo and Mlava; while Odessa, Nicholaieff, Sebastopol, Novorossisk, RostofF, Taganrog, Mariopol and Berdiansk, are the chief ports for this trade on the Black Sea and Sea of Azoff. The relative importance of these outlets for export is very different. In any case during the last 20 years Odessa has held the first place, followed formerly by St Petersburg, but in the last years St. Petersburg's place has been taken by Robtoff, after which comes Nicholaieff, followed by Libau and Novorossisk, and St. Petersburg occupies only the sixth place. In general, the corn export along the Baltic coast has considerably diminished of late in favour of the southern seas. Oats constitute the chief export of the Baltic ports, and wheat on the Russo-Prussian frontiers, and at the southern ports. The export of rye was at one time pretty equally divided between the southern and the Baltic frontiers, but at present it has gradually gone over to the south. The same must he said of barley, the export of which is yearly increasing. Changes in the relative quantities of grain exported by these groups of towns and ports are produced principally by the extension of railways, and their tariffs. For example, the importance of St. Petersburg, since the construction of new railways, has diminished in favour of Libau, whereas Novorossisk, since the opening of the 273 18

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THE GRAIN TRADE. Vladikavkaz branch of railway, which leads to it, has made rapid progress. As far as regards tariff's, in former years, when these depended in most cases upon the railway companies, the grain trade often found new routes of its own; but now that all railway tariffs are under direct control of the-Government, measures have been taken to do away with the preference given by the previous scale of charges to the Baltic ports over those of the Black Sea, The distribution of export is also much affected by the scale of sea freights and various other charges. The sea freight to England, for instance, is 30% per pood dearer from the ports of the Sea of Azoff than from those of the Black Sea, and 150% more than from the Baltic. Thus, the cheapest freight of all is obtained at the Baltic ports which, however, is an advantage counteracted by the greater distance of these ports from the grain growing regions. As regards other charges, it is very difficult to ascertain their dimensions, with the exception of port dues, which are more or less the same everywhere. Before loading into the railway trucks the producer has to pay for transporting the grain to the railway station, and for the agency of others in selling it on the spot. As the network of our railways is not yet close enough, and we have very few good highways and roads, transport to the railway stations becomes expensive. The causes, however, of this dearness clearly point to the means of remedy. We must then take into consideration the agency of various middlemen, which probably costs more, besides doing great harm to our __ 274

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THE GRAIN TRADE. grain export, than the means of transport; as the export-agents, especially those at our southern ports, are often dishonest in their dealings, and injure the reputation of our grain on the foreign market by mixing with it all kinds of dirt. For this reason grain exported from the Baltic ports often fetches 10 kopeks per pood more. But our agriculturists and farmers cannot get on without middlemen. Only persons commanding capital are able to take the risk of organizing export and of waiting for favourable prices. It may be imagined, therefore, how much the producer loses in this way. With the construction of railways, which has radically changed the conditions of the Russian grain trade, and removed its centres of gravity from the markets of the interior to the ports, the business of agents and middlemen has greatly increased. This has led to a consideration of the necessity of setting them aside in one way or the other. The initiative in this good work was taken by the directors of the South-Western Railways, who established a Commercial Agency at Odessa for the sale of grain on commission, and the advance of money on the security of the same. In 1888 the Government found it useful to issue regulations for the advance of money by the State Bank on the security of grain, through the medium of the railway authorities, who would undertake to hire or build special warehouses for storing the ' grain and establish a special agency in Russia and abroad for the sale of it on account of the senders. This organization should enable owners of grain to wait for favourable opportunities, with their corn in store; 275

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THE GRAIN TRADE. and also help them to do without middlemen, brokers etc.; while the railways should thus be enabled to establish something like a connected system of elevators in the interior, and at the ports. In this way also, the natural reserves; of grain, continually renewed and distributed along the ways of communication, may serve as a powerful adjunct in guaranteeing the victualling of the population. Unfortunately, this is only a picture of the future. At present we have only a few elevators, and compulsory classification and inspection of grain for the purpose of superintending its cleaning and sorting, as in the United States, has as yet been introduced only at the elevators, and the ports of Nicholaieff and Libau, although this is the only means of preventing various kinds of cheeting in the grain trade. In this matter, a beginning has already been made by the establishment of Special Corn Exchanges at Rybinsk, at the Kalashnikoff landing stage in St. Petersburg, and in Moscow; but these are of more importance for trade with the interior, than for export abroad-