CHAPTER XXVII. TERRITORIAL PROGRESS OF RUSSIA. It will In connection with these observations upon the characteristics of Russian mind, it is interesting to consider the actual progress of the Empire, and observe whether it corresponds to these supposed capabilities of the race, and in what direction the national effort has been made. be seen that the policy of the nation has been steadily shaped toward certain definite aims, that have not been lost sight of at least for a hundred years, while Nicholas has been the first to conceive a truly national scheme fittted to accomplish the national purpose. This purpose embraced several distinct points, viz: general territorial enlargement, the control of the Baltic and the adjacent seas, the control of the Black Sea and the Dardanelles, an outlet for her Siberian possessions on the Pacific, and a station there for a great eastern naval depot for a Pacific fleet and the East Indian commerce. In 1452, at the time of the fall of the Greek Empire, the territory of Russia was estimated at a little more than two hundred thousand square miles, not quite equal to four States the size of Illinois, and its population was only about six millions. It had not a single seaport, nor any independent method of communication with the commerce of the world. At the accession of Peter the Great, in 1689, the territory had been increased to nearly four millions of square miles, while the population was still but fifteen millions. At the present time her territory is considered to be equal to about seven millions square miles, and her population is variously estimated from seventy millions to eighty millions. The following account of the steps of Russian progress is taken from Alison's History of Europe: 1721. The battle of Pultowa and the treaty of Neustadt gave the Russians the province of Livonia, and the site where Cronstadt and St. Petersburgh now stand. 1772.-The frontier of the Empire, on the side of Poland, was brought down to the Dwina and the Dnieper. 1774. By the treaty of Kainardji, the Muscovite standard was brought down to the Crimea and the Sea of Azoff. At about the same time acquisitions from Tartary were made, larger than the whole German Empire. 1783. The Russian sway was extended over the Crimea, and the vast plains which stretch between the Euxine and the Caspian, as far as the foot of the Caucasus. 1792.-The treaty of Jassy advanced the frontier to the Dniester, and Odessa was brought beneath their rule. 1793. In this year they obtained command of Lithuania. 1794. The Russians extended their frontier to the Vistula, and nearly half of the old kingdom of Poland was obtained. The peace of Tilsit rounded their eastern frontier by a considerable province. 1809.-Russia attained the whole of Finland, as far as the Gulf of Bothnia. 1812. Her southern frontier was extended to the Pruth, and she gained partial possession of the mouths of the Danube. 1800 to 1814.-Many conquests were made from the Persians and Circassians, and Georgia obtained. 1815. The Grand Duchy of Warsaw was added to the Empire. 1828. The Araxes became the southern frontier of their Asiatic territories. 1834. The Dardanelles were closed to armed vessels, and the Black Sea was open only to her ships of war; and whether France and England will succeed in holding open the gates of the Euxine, or whether they will be closed forever against them, remains yet to be seen. Since the above dates, additional territory has been obtained in Poland; a province has been gained from China, on the Pacific, which gives Russia the command. of the river Amoor, navigable in the direction of southeastern Siberia, for more than two thousand miles, and affording a most important naval station at its mouth. Such has been the actual progress of Russia, and such is her present position. With her position, resources, and means of defense sufficient to arrest the combined power of France and England at one of her outposts, it is difficult to understand how a reasonable man can entertain the idea that Russia can now be persuaded or compelled to abandon the settled policy which is interwoven with the thoughts and desires of the whole nation, surrender those advantages which it has cost the labor of a century, and an immense expenditure of life and treasure to obtain, and give up the very purposes for which the Russian government exists. Russia has too strong a faith in her national mission, to be easily checked in her career, or to be turned permanently aside from the line of her nation's march. The demands which the Allies made upon her, required a complete revolution in her national policy, the surrender of her settled scheme of Empire. They asked, indeed, that modern Russia should cease to exist, and that the Empire should be rolled back a hundred years in policy and position, and should return to its former state of seclusion. France and England virtually demanded that Russia should retire from the field of Europe, and yield the control of the world to them; and it may be safely predicted, that the Muscovite will never do this while he has people and arms. CHAPTER XXVIII. BURBIA AIMS AT A CIVILIZATION DISTINCT FROM THAT OF WESTERN KUROPE. The popular opinion concerning Russia may, perhaps, be expressed in a single sentence her government is a horrible despotism, and she is the determined foe of liberty, the chief barrior to European progress. This assumption undortion all the attempts which have been made, both in Europe and America, to arouse against her the indignation of the world. Another outery was popular on both sides of the Atlantic, that the ferocious Northern Bear was about to stop and devour the Lamb of Turkey, and an armed world was bound to rush to the rescue. If this were disinforested benevolence, if those who raised the cry were not so anxious to be the guardians of the lamb for the sake of the fleece, or to appropriate it entirely to their own use, it would be entitled to more respect. But if the lion wars against the bear merely because he desires the prey himself, it is not needful, on this account, that American sympathies should be strongly excited. Another English charge against Russia is made moro particularly for home consumption. It is that Russia will not consent to adopt the free trade system, and render herself, on that account, a huge dependency of England, but insists on protecting her own industry, and applies herself to the steady development of her own |