History of Russia. From the earliest times to 1880

Preface

The history of Russia is little known. Yet the tale of her life, through long ages of obscurity, has a peculiar interest; while that of her recent advance, with a ra] idity which has no example among modern States, to a pitch of territorial aggrandizement equally unparalleled, possesses an obvious importance. In* the present little volume it has been sought to illustrate her condition during those early periods in which are hidden away 9 great deal of vigour and romance; to sketch the manner in which the institutions wherewith she started were decomposed and reconstructed; and to trace her course through various trials and transformations onwards to her present width of dominion, and the beginnings of that new social order which she is labouring to found. In doing this, while rigid compression has been studied, it has also been sougbt to combine scrupulous fidelity with something of picturesqueness and animation ; and the hope is indulged that thus the attention of young students may be attracted and rewarded.

iLO.

HISTORY OF RUSSIA.

Introduction

Primitive Population. — The first inhabitants of Russia proper about whom anything is known were Slavonians. They belonged to the European branch of the great Scythian family. When they first settled in the country cannot be determined. At one time the territories of the race were very wide. The ancient Thracians are now thought to have belonged to it, probably with an intermixture of Pelasgic blood. So did the Dacians, the Mcesians, and other populations to the north of Thrace, as also the Venti of the Adriatic whom Csesar conquered. The names of many places in the Morea are the same with those of places in Pomerania and round Moscow, while its popular songs are more deeply tinged with Slavonian than with Grecian superstitions. After the fall of Rome, peoples of the Slavonic stock occupied the whole of Hungary, Poland, and Bohemia, as well as the lands betwixt the Danube and the Balkans. Their chief seats, however, were further north, between the Dnieper and the upper reaches of the Volga, coming west to the Baltic, and sending their offshoots on to the icy seas. Their neighbours gave them various names. The Scandinavians called them the Vanar. To the Germans they were the Wenden. The Latins styled them the Venetse. The appellation they took themselves was that of Sirbi

10 HISTORY OF BUfiSU. [OHAP. L

The name Slavonian is of comparatively recent origin, though its derivation is obscure. Some trace it to the native word " slava," which means glory; while others find its root in " slova," which signifies speech.

Government and Manners of the Slavonians. — Though great horse-breeders and cattle-rearers the Slavonians early settled in village communities, and addicted themselves to tillage. Gibbon quotes a manuscript referring to the close of the Roman period which states that there were 4600 villages dotted over the area of what was to become Russia and Poland. If the statement be correct, it is clear the villages must have been small; and it is curious to find, that to this day, among the Wends of Lusatia, the hamlets in which the inhabitants congregate are notably less in size than those of the neighbouring Germans. As to the social organization of the Slavonians, recent research has brought out discrepant views. The old chronicle, known as that of the monk Nestor, says " every man lived in his own rod separately," and every man ruled his own " rod" This word rod is now interpreted as meaning an association of relatives; hence some writers have concluded that the Slavonians were originally divided into clans. Others maintain that the term had an older use, which restricted it to a family, and so that all the statement implies is, that every Slavonian was master in his own household. In any case, it is plain that more general arrangements soon came to be adopted in respect of government and authority. Superior bravery and success in war led to the acquisition of superior influence; military chiefs became civil judges; and when the son of a hero inherited the qualities of his father, as well as his possessions, the parental dignity and power were continued to him. Eor a long while, however, any formal acknowledgment of hereditary title was most jealously excluded. The people reserved not only the privilege of choosing their chiefs, but likewise that of dismissing them. This was done whenever they were convicted of malpractices, and sometimes when there was nothing but suspicion to go upon,

GOVERNMENT AND MANNERS OP THE SLAVONIANS. 11

The variety of names given to these chiefs was even greater than the distinctions in their ranks and duties, though that was considerable. We read of boyards, and voywods, and kniaz, of pans, and jupans, with many others, all of which names survive among different portions of the race. The two first, from voye, a combat, were obviously applied in the outset to famous warriors, though ere long they came to designate great rulers and magistrates in general. The word kniaz is supposed to have meant the owner of thirty horses, whence it grew to the signification of noble captain or prince. For ages the most honourable functionary was the jupan. A cluster of villages was united in a jupa, which formed a district or hundred. At the head of each was the jupan. His chief duty was the administration of justice. Under him were several suddafs, sheriffs or inferior judges, who assisted him in his work. Above him, at least among certain tribes, was the pan, who had the superintendence of several districts, and who presided over the diets which the people of those districts held for common -council. To this day there are tracts of country where the peasants call their judges by no other name than jupan ; while in Polish pan is the name for a lord.

The Slavonians, as became an agricultural people, were peaceably disposed, simple, and hospitable. Yet they could fight well, and cherished several customs marked by great ferocity and barbarism. When attacked they drew a rampart of linked cars about their camp, and placed their women and children in the centre. If they succeeded, they showed themselves cruel and greedy of plunder. In time of peace, however, it was accounted disgraceful to turn a stranger from the door. Rather than deny entertainment, a poor man was reckoned to be justified in stealing from a rich neighbour the means of giving it creditably, the virtue being held far to outweigh the vice. Music was cultivated with enthusiastic ardour. Many Slavonic songs which are still popular seem to be very old. So are numerous Russian couplets in praise of the Danube and the gods of paganism, which are fre-

12 RISTOBT OF RUSSIA. [CHAP. I.

quently quoted by the common people. The national instrument was the gusla, a species of guitar, played with a bow, to the accompaniment of the voice, though some sort of harps and lutes appear to have been in use also. Even on warlike expeditions these were not left behind, though the well-known story, told by Procopius, of a tribe of Slavi who were attacked at night by a Greek emperor, a.d. 592, being found with no arms, but only harps, in their camp, must be treated with scepticism — unless, indeed, the explanation be that he had come upon a number of minstrels like the Celtic bards, or the Scandinavian scalds, a class of men who, in all probability, composed those metrical romances about Kief and its glories which yet find recital even on the confines of Siberia. Polygamy was permissible, and widows were burned on the funeral piles of their husband. Male children were reared for war, being mounted on horseback, and having their hair cut, when they were eight years old ; but superfluous daughters were destroyed at birth. Moreover, when people became aged and helpless, they were left to die of want.

Every jupa had its chief town, where all religious rites were celebrated. No separate class of priests existed. The religion was polytheistic. The principal figures in the Slavonian Pantheon were the Biel Bog, or white god, and the Cherni Bog, or black god, representing respectively the principles of good and evil. Among the lesser deities, who, however, received greater adoration, were Perune, the god of thunder, an image with golden whiskers; Radegast, the god of hospitality, a naked man with the head of a lion, crowned by a bird; Porenut, the god of seasons; Yolos, the god of flocks; and Kupala, the god of fruits — whose fete-day, the 23d of June, is still observed in Russia, the name of tue pagan deity being linked with that of a Christian saint, and the dav being styled the festival of St. John Kupala. The god of war was named Rugevit, and was represented with seven faces. He had a colleague, Swiantovid, a figure with two bodies and four heads, whose worship took a

RUSSIAN SUBDIVISIONS — NOVGOROD THE GREAT. 13

form that ensured its observance. To him was conse* crated a white horse, which only the keeper of the shrines erected in his honour was permitted to feed or mount, and beside him lay continually a saddle, bridle, and sword, that when it pleased him he might ride forth for conquest. This was only half of what he symbolised. In one hand he held a large horn, which, on his festival day, was filled with mead. According to the quantity which remained at the next anniversary, it was prognosticated whether the ensuing harvest would be plenteous or scanty. When the horn was emptied the people were invited to refresh themselves with the same kind of liquor as it had contained; and this they did so liberally that the day became one of unrestrained merriment and license — the feast of Swiantovid thus resembling that of Saturn.

Russian Subdivisions— Novgorod the Great. — Extending over an area so vast and so diversified, it was inevitable that the mass of Slavonic settlers should split into fragments, gathering peculiarities of feature, dialect. and custom. This befell naturally enough, the separation taking three great divisions — the south Slavonians or Czekhs; the central Slavonians, the ancestors of the Poles and Lithuanians; and the north Slavonians, now the Russians of Muscovy. None of the divisions was left to develop itself freely and naturally. Each was assailed, broken in upon, and disrupted, by foreign agencies. Goths, Huns, Tartars, and Mongols swept over the lands of the two first in successive waves of resistless inundation. For a long while the third remained exempt from such disturbance. The immunity is no doubt justly attributable to the bleak and barren character of the region they inhabited. They had fallen into four well-marked subdivisions. One group of colonists had settled in the richest parts of that great tract of country which is drained by the Dnieper and its affluents. To the north-west, another group peopled the basin of the Dwina. To the north-east, a third group were to be found among the forests that overspread the

14 HISTORY OF RUSSIA. [CHAP. 1

upper part of the Volgo basin. Round Lake Hmen a fourth had established themselves. The development of regular institutions on a greater scale than the primitive " jupa," and the growth of towns much larger than the primitive " grad," were helped by the rise of trading employments. From time immemorial the products of the East have found transmission to Russia by the Caspian Sea, whence they were wont to be conveyed in boats up the Volga. A further journey, partly overland, brought them to the country about Lake Ilmen, on the shores of which, tradition says, centuries before the date at which authentic history opens, there sprang up the city of Novgorod. It grew till it became the capital of an independent community, governed by an elected president, and then of a confederation of such communities. Wider and wider spread its influence, till the inquiry, " Who can resist God and Novgorod the great?" passed into a proverb. Its prosperity, however, was marred by internal disorders, feuds, and revolutions, which it has been the fashion of historians to charge upon the democratic spirit of the people. " Unfortunately," says the Frenchman Levesque, before whose book nothing worthy the name of a Russian history had appeared, "it is rare that men are willing to be peaceable unless they are bound with chains." The time soon came when the northern Slavonians were to be thus bound. The foreign influences which had interfered with, overborne, and to some extent transformed, alike politically and socially, their kinsfolk in the south, were now to be directed upon them.

Arrival of Rurik the Varangian. — How the opportunity arose, or was taken avail of, is matter of great dispute. Some say that a soft-hearted president, feeling his death near, and vexed by a strife he had failed to quell, gave the counsel that some wise and strong mar. from the outside should be invited to take the office of governor. Others allege that a band of the Scandinavian pirates whom Harold Harfrager had driven from Norway, some of whom visited Iceland, while others descended

ARRIYAL OP RURIK THE VARANGIAH. 15

upon Britain, and others voyaged to France, found their way to Lake Ilmen, and made themselves masters of Novgorod. Certain it is that, whether by force or by invitation, in a.d. 862 one Rurik acquired the sovereignty. He brought with him two brothers, Sineus and Trevor, one of whom obtained the government of a district called Bielo-Orzero, the other that of a district called Izborsk. But the brothers soon died, and thus Rurik became the master of northern Russia.

A modern school of Slavonic antiquaries and enthusiasts have set up the untenable theory that these incomers were not strangers, but kinsfolk who had located themselves nearer the Baltic. Despite the earnestness and erudition with which this conceit has been maintained, it must be put aside: it is scouted by^ every authority of note outside Russia. The very name given to the Btrangers, alike by old Nestor and by the Byzantine historians, " Varangians/* goes to disprove it. The word in the northern tongues signifies sword-men or war-men; and it is a striking fact that, a hundred years later, when a Swedish king visited Constantinople, the Yarangian guard, who were employed specially to protect the emperor, acknowledged him as their chief. Whether Rurik, instead of being a wanton aggressor, may not have been asked to compose the distracted condition of the state that yielded to his government, and then have been chosen to that office by the voluntary suffrages of its people, is more of a moot question. The case is probably similar to that of the Saxons and the Picts, or the people of Normandy and Duke Rollo — in both instances the invited allies became the ultimate masters.

Whence the name Russia? Three explanations are current. One derives it from Rurik. It is said he belonged to the Varangian tribe or family of Rus, and hence the land to which he came was called Russhaya: Russish or Russian. Another, with much more plausibility and weight of evidence, traces it to a Slavonian tribe or confederation, who seem to have made their power felt with extraordinary effect during the first

It HISTORY OF RUSSIA, [CHAP. &

centuries ot the Christian era — theRhoxolani or RhoxanL Seeing that in the Doric and Eoli 3 dialects of Greece the x was expressed by s, the transition to Russian was easy alike as regards sound and sense. Moreover, it is shown alike by Roman and Byzantine historians, as well as by ancient chronicles and traditions, that these people occupied in the three first centuries those parts of Poland, Red Russia, and Kiova, which the Russians occupied in the ninth. The third suggested explanation connects itself with the myth, growing out of the Slavonian disparting, which tells how, in vastly remote ages, three brothers left their home in the Illyrian Mountains, each to found a great state; that their names were Tchekh, Lekh, and Russ; and that, having succeeded in their object, they left their names to the people who sprang from them. This is obviously too romantic and airdrawn a fancy to be accepted by the most credulous in the present day. The second theory, which Malte Brun has the merit of having stated and recommended long ago, has t)een received even by enthusiastic Pan-slavists; and the word Russ has come to be applied with strictness only to the Kief and the mid-Dnieper district

Chapter II Legendary Russia And The " Appanage" Period

The Reign of RuriE (862-879).— The advent of Rurik marks the period when the light of authentic history begins to dawn upon the fortunes of Russia. For a long while, however, the illumination it sheds is scant, feeble, and confused by the thick mists of tradition. The founder of the monarchy reigned for seventeen years. He ruled with a firm and vigorous hand. Yet, more than once, the continuance of his power was menaced by revolt. The last and most formidable of these attempts at rebellion was headed by a popular leader named Vadim. To subdue it was a task that gave Rurik much trouble, but he succeeded. Vadim was slain in fight; his followers were either exterminated or reduced to quietness; and henceforward the sovereignty of Rurik was acquiesced in.

Beizure of Kief— Reign of Oleg. — Two of his companions, Ascold and Dir, imitated his example on their own account. They left Novgorod professing an intention to seek a more brilliant fortune in the service of the Greek emperor. As they journeyed south they came to Kief, which was even then a considerable town. The Slavonian inhabitants of the district which had it for capital — those Rhoxani, who of old time had often harassed the Roman confines near the Danube and the Carpathians, who in 166 carried on wur against the Marcomanni, and who in 270 were numbered among the enemies whom Aurelian conquered — had now sunk into tributaries of the Khazars, a half-nomad people of the Tartar race, the predecessors of theii brethren the Turks. Ascold and Dir thought

B

18 HISTORY OP RUSSIA. [CHAP. II.

they could do no better than abide there, so, calling upon a number of their fellow- Varangians, they easily made themselves masters and rulers of the place. They soon became so strong that they were able to wage war against the Greek emperor, whom it had been their design to serve. Legends tell of how they were foiled in a manner they deemed supernatural, were so moved by the occurrence that they sent for a Christian bishop to instruct them in his faith, gladly receiving his words, and then built a church dedicated to Elijah the prophet upon the heights of Kief, where it was said St. Andrew the apostle, on his westward journey nine centuries before, had proclaimed the doctrines of the cross. The tale of this Greek invasion, it must be added, gets no countenance from the Byzantine annals.

A terrible reverse soon ensued. When Rurik died, the reins of government at Novgorod passed to his kinsman Oleg, either as being the eldest male of his family, or as the guardian of his infant son Igor. Oleg was ambitious, unscrupulous, and successful. The passion for an advance southwards was strong upon him. He followed Ascold and Dir to Kief. His party dropped down the Dnieper in a few galleys which it was given out were merchant craft. The two chiefs were tempted on board, were then seized by hidden warriors, and were forthwith put to death. Oleg and Igor were readily recognised as fit successors in the government, and thus the course of Russian annexation and conquest was begun. With the aspect and situation of Kief, Oleg was greatly charmed. He named it a "fit mother of cities," and transferred thither from Novgorod the seat of government.

He made his power felt all around. No doubt many of his wars were merely ravaging forays. He is credited, however, with having, like his predecessors, organised an expedition against Constantinople, which, unlike theirs, was attended by a measure of success. In this instance, too, the story is dubious, being probably invented to adumbrate what was to come after, under the strong influence which it has exerted. His death is said to have taken place in a manner which repeats a fable contained in a very old Icelandic saga. He had a favourite horse which he had ceased to ride, because the diviners had predicted it would cause his death. The animal itself died. Going to look at it, Oleg placed his foot on the skull, whence issued a serpent that stung him. The wound proved fatal.

Reign of Igor (912-945). — Igor succeeded him. Hia reign was long, but it was one of chequered prosperity. Twice over he certainly did make war against the Greeks. On the first occasion he was unsuccessful. His galleys were burned by Greek fire, and his land forces had great difficulty in making their way back. On the second occasion the tables were turned. Igor made way so far that the emperor was scared; the stoppage and return of the invaders were bought with gold;* and a treaty was concluded between the powers, in which for the first time the term " Russian land" was used. At Kief, the con* firmafcion of this bargain was made the subject of a religious ceremonial. The Christian Varangians, who had changed creeds with Ascold and Dir, repaired to the church, and took oath upon the gospel to its observance; Igor and his fellow-pagans laid their swords and shields at the feet of Perune, the thunder-god, and then swore to the compact.

He was killed in a contest with the Drevilians, an outlying Slavonian tribe, who held land among the forests and hills to the westward of the Pripet, and who were of a sterner and fiercer breed than the men of the plains. An attempt was made to exact from them a heavy tribute. They paid the first slight demand which was made upon them, but this renewed and increased imposition they resisted with great energy. In striving to make his levy Igor was worsted, was taken prisoner, and slain. His assassination was avenged in a perfidious and wholesale manner by his widow, Olga, a woman of great beauty and commanding talent, who bore rule during the minority of her son Sviatoslaf. Sne professed to desire peace with the Drevilians, invited their chief men to her court,

20 HISTORY OF RUSSIA. [OHAP. IL

and had them killed while enjoying a great feast she had prepared for them. Then she started with an army who pillaged and destroyed wherever they went, encountering little resistance except at the town of Korosten, the place where Igor met his death. It was taken by artifice. The queen promised she would raise the siege if she were presented with all the pigeons in the place. Having got them she had rags steeped in oil tied to each. After night-fall the rags were lighted, the birds were \&t loose, and they, flying wildly back to their homes, very soon set the thatched huts of the town in a blaze. In the confusion the inhabitants were cut off.

The Regency of Olga — Her Conversion to Christianity.— For the ensuing twelve years Olga guided the affairs of the principality Her conduct in that office was such as to render her a memorable personage in Russian annals. In them she is distinguished by the appellation of " the wise." Undoubtedly she was a woman of remarkable energy, and still more remarkable foresight. In various respects she was much before the ideas of her time and people, though in others she exaggerated their worst qualities, particularly those of deceit and cruelty. To the task of internal improvement she gave herself with unwearying diligence and sagacious knowledge. She founded many new villages in wellchosen sites. She developed means of communication by laying out suitable roads. She cared for the administration of justice with a jealous care. She endowed sundry institutions of a sort intended to mould and benefit the future. There is reason in the eulogy which pronounces her the mother of Russian civilization.

She tried to introduce Christianity as well. Her attention was turned to its claims when she had surrend 32'oi the throne to her son. The motives for inquiry may have been as questionable as the sincerity of her conversion; but, at any rate, she was led to abjure paganism. To inquire was the ostensible reason for a visit paid to Constantinople almost immediately after her abdication. The emperor at that time was Coi*«

A.D. 957-972.] THE REIGN OP SVIOTASLAF. 21

stantine Porphyrogenitus, the historian. From the description he gives it is plain she was received with much respect, which soon changed to admiration. She was impressed alike by the grandeur of the churches and of the services conducted within them. When she intimated her wish to be baptized, Constantine himself proffered to stand sponsor. The ceremony was performed by the patriarch, who pronounced over her the benediction: " Blessed art thou among Russian women, in that thou hast turned from darkness unto light. From generation t4 generation shall the Russian people call thee blessed." The prediction has been abundantly fulfilled. Before her death her fame as a ruler was an object of popular reverence ; long after it the church added the honour of canonization; and to this day the wise and sainted Olga holds a pre-eminent place in the catalogue of Russia's worthies. Not that it can be averred her conduct, even after her change of creed, was above reproach. When she left Constantinople, the emperor loaded her retinue with valuable gifts. She promised in return to send presents of fur and wax, which were in much request, as also some recruits for the Varangian guard. These promises she found it convenient to forget. When the emperor, who had pressing reasons for urgency, reminded her about the recruits, she replied by evasions which were barely civil and largely false.

The Reign of Sviotaslaf (957-972)— Division of the Empire. — Sviotaslaf, much as he revered his mother, had no disposition to imitate her example in turning Christian. He regarded with aversion and weariness both her religious observances and the attention she bestowed on civil affairs. His tastes were all of another sort. He was a man of reckless, boisterous, jovial temper, fond of turmoil and adventure, who cared for nothing so much as war and the chase. Dismissing his train of menials, he placed himself at the head of a hardy band of soldiers whom he led from place to place, camping in the open air, broiling his food (which was often horse-flesh) on the naked fire, and cutting it up with his dagger. While

22 HISTORY OF RUSSIA. [CHAP. IL

Olga lived lie was content to leave the business of administration to her, so that no harm came of the style in which he indulged his likings, and her repute was exalted. During this period his constant wars led to a considerable extension of his dominions. After Olga died reverses came, and more than once the permanence of his possession was put in jeopardy. On one occasion, in his absence, Kief was besieged by the Petchenegans — a nomad and warlike race who had supplanted the Khazars, and roamed the wide steppes that lie between the Dnieper and the Don — who well-nigh conquered it. For years he was at feud with the Bulgarians, who had begun their long series of conflicts with the authorities of Constantinople, pushing them so hard that they were fain to pay for his help. When success shone upon his arms he formed the idea of abandoning Kief, and fixing his seat upon the Danube. His design was suspected, and he was put under a solemn engagement to evacuate the country. The pledge was given, but he so refused or delayed to fulfil it that the Greeks and Bulgarians came down in league upon him. He fought against them with extraordinary valour, but was overpowered and shut up within the walls of what is now Silistria. Here, at an interview with the Emperor John Zimisces, a fresh convention was agreed upon, and he took his departure. On his way he could not resist the temptation of dealing a by-stroke at the Petchenegans. They had been warned of his approach, and were ready for him.

In the fight that ensued he was signally defeated. Only a few of his followers made their escape. He was among the slain. His head was cut off, and the skull was formed into a goblet, ornamented with gold, on which was carved an inscription to this effect: — "In trying to seize what belonged to others thou didst lose what was thine own." Reunion of the Provinces. — For some time Sviotaslaf had exerted but a nominal sovereignty. The cares of state which he had gladly left to his mother he was fain to make over, soon after her death, to his three sons. The eldest, Yaropolk, was the ruler of Kief; Oleg, the next, had charge of the Drevilian land; while Vladimir, the youngest, was established at Novgorod. The arrangement was continued after their father's fall, each of the princes asserting a large measure of independence. This set the example of a style of partition which was often repeated in subsequent times. It always wrought ill, and never worse than in this first instance. The brethren were speedily at variance. Oleg was as devoted to the chase as his father. He caused a trespasser in his preserves to be slain. The youth was the son of Sviotaslafs bravest and most influential captain, who was mightily incensed. In his rage he prompted Yaropolk to avenge the deed by making war, and in the strife Oleg was killed. Vladimir had an astute foreboding that his brother might desire to restore the unity of power, and be moved for that purpose to sacrifice him. He consulted safety, therefore, by hiding himself among his Varangian kinsmen beyond the Novgorod frontier. Tired of obscurity, however, he came back in a couple of years, recovered his position, and then successfully put in practice the policy he had dreaded as against himself. He robbed his brother of his betrothed bride, killed her father with her two brethren, and then forced her into a marriage. Next he declared war upon Yaropolk, besieging him in the town of Rodnia, the population of which were reduced to such straits that their sufferings became proverbial. At length Yaropolk was inveigled into a parley. As he entered the room where it was given out Vladimir would be found, two assassins, posted behind the door, plunged their swords into him, and thus freed their employer from all rivalry.