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Article A PAGE FROM RUSSIAN HISTORY. Page 1 of 10 →
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A Page From Russian History.
A PAGE FROM EUSSIAN HISTOET .
At this momentous period , when our minds are constantly turning towards Russia , we feel more than ever how entirely ignorant w e are of its history , we might almost add of its extent . We have a vague idea that it is a mighty empire embracing all the varieties of climate , and governed by an ultra-despotic ruler , called the Czar ; that its peasants are serfs , debased by an almost heathen idolatry ;
that its princes are tyrants , at once ignorant and over-educated ; but here our knowledge ceases . I say , we are aware that its religion is that of the Greek Church ; but has the whole nation received those tenets unquestioned ? Is it prepared to submit unhesitatingly to the dogmas . " of its . priests , and the iron will of its rulers ? No . Por years , nay centuries , both have been alike disputed . The democrats and dissenters have acted in strict union . The latter have occasionally been tolerated , but this
toleration has been of uncertain and short duration , as capriciously withdrawn as extended , and in most cases dependent on the progress made by the democrats . Did their number increase so as to give uneasiness at court ; were their ranks reunited from the nobility ; instantly Patriarch and Czar enfolded the dissenter and democrat in one cruel and untiring persecution , before which the dragonnades of Louis XIV . become merciful chastisements , and
the days of our Mary lose their sanguinary character . Uussian historians , at least those whom the Czarat acknowledges , ignore these fearful massacres , or disguise the patriotic attempts of the people to obtain liberty of conscience and of body under the convenient name of brigandage ; but there are existent archives which betray the fact that these were revolutions , the heroes of which were coeval with our Hampdens and Kussells . By the kindness of the Count de la Fite , a gentleman whose long residence in Bussia
and intimate acquaintance with its language make him an authority , we haye been permitted to make some extracts from a work lie is preparing on the subject , whose materials have been with difficulty obtained from authentic but seldom visited sources , and wo would now oiler to our reader an account of the struggle which took place in 16 G 5 . We here use M . do la File ' s own words : —
"Till now the opposition had constantly remained on the defensive , allowing the time for action to escape while occupied in endless debates , and without in the least advancing the work they had begun . In their fatal blindness they wished to preserve the appearance of legality , forgetting that a despotic power owns no law but that of force . But the very purity of the feelings which animated them forced them into action . "If they were politically wrong in adhering to the hist to the letter of the law , they still felt the necessity of union through all the distinctive sentiments and opinions which necessarily actuated thorn . ct The Czarat , faithful to its traditional policy , after having crushed the Church and the people , endeavoured to get rid of the opposition , by industriously cultivating petty jealousies and divisions , which , by creating ill-will among the chiefs , must infallibly prepare the downfall of their party ; especially where their
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Page From Russian History.
A PAGE FROM EUSSIAN HISTOET .
At this momentous period , when our minds are constantly turning towards Russia , we feel more than ever how entirely ignorant w e are of its history , we might almost add of its extent . We have a vague idea that it is a mighty empire embracing all the varieties of climate , and governed by an ultra-despotic ruler , called the Czar ; that its peasants are serfs , debased by an almost heathen idolatry ;
that its princes are tyrants , at once ignorant and over-educated ; but here our knowledge ceases . I say , we are aware that its religion is that of the Greek Church ; but has the whole nation received those tenets unquestioned ? Is it prepared to submit unhesitatingly to the dogmas . " of its . priests , and the iron will of its rulers ? No . Por years , nay centuries , both have been alike disputed . The democrats and dissenters have acted in strict union . The latter have occasionally been tolerated , but this
toleration has been of uncertain and short duration , as capriciously withdrawn as extended , and in most cases dependent on the progress made by the democrats . Did their number increase so as to give uneasiness at court ; were their ranks reunited from the nobility ; instantly Patriarch and Czar enfolded the dissenter and democrat in one cruel and untiring persecution , before which the dragonnades of Louis XIV . become merciful chastisements , and
the days of our Mary lose their sanguinary character . Uussian historians , at least those whom the Czarat acknowledges , ignore these fearful massacres , or disguise the patriotic attempts of the people to obtain liberty of conscience and of body under the convenient name of brigandage ; but there are existent archives which betray the fact that these were revolutions , the heroes of which were coeval with our Hampdens and Kussells . By the kindness of the Count de la Fite , a gentleman whose long residence in Bussia
and intimate acquaintance with its language make him an authority , we haye been permitted to make some extracts from a work lie is preparing on the subject , whose materials have been with difficulty obtained from authentic but seldom visited sources , and wo would now oiler to our reader an account of the struggle which took place in 16 G 5 . We here use M . do la File ' s own words : —
"Till now the opposition had constantly remained on the defensive , allowing the time for action to escape while occupied in endless debates , and without in the least advancing the work they had begun . In their fatal blindness they wished to preserve the appearance of legality , forgetting that a despotic power owns no law but that of force . But the very purity of the feelings which animated them forced them into action . "If they were politically wrong in adhering to the hist to the letter of the law , they still felt the necessity of union through all the distinctive sentiments and opinions which necessarily actuated thorn . ct The Czarat , faithful to its traditional policy , after having crushed the Church and the people , endeavoured to get rid of the opposition , by industriously cultivating petty jealousies and divisions , which , by creating ill-will among the chiefs , must infallibly prepare the downfall of their party ; especially where their