POSTING IN RUSSIA. 537 



Russia pragon, is paid in advance at each station. In all the post vil- 

 lages of Russia there are boors besides the Yamshtshiki, who hire their 

 horses to travellers, and who on this account are called Oshatiki, that 

 is to say, volunteers. These boors not only assist the post when short 

 of horses, but maintain a correspondence with each other on the most 

 frequented roads, and have escorts in the different towns. Those who 

 apply to them may perform a whole journey by means of their assistance, 

 and in this manner can travel as expeditiously and somewhat cheaper 

 than by post-horses. 



Before 1663 all letters in Russia were conveyed by special messengers ; 

 but in that year a regular post was established at Moskva, by the same 

 person to whom this empire was indebted for its first manufactory of 

 cloth. This post set out from Moskva twice every week from Riga and 

 Vilna, and brought back the letters from different parts of Europe. As 

 soon as the post arrived at Moskva the mails were carried to the Potzolkoi- 

 Prikas, or post-office in the castle, and there opened, to prevent private 

 persons from obtaining information, sooner than the court, of the state of 

 public affairs both in the kingdom and in foreign countries, but in par- 

 ticular to detect suspicious correspondence. The post brought also the 

 Dutch, Hamburgh, Konigsberg, and other gazettes, which the tzar 

 caused to be translated or read to him in the Russian language.* 



Those, therefore, are wrong who ascribe to Peter the Great the in- 

 troduction of the post into Russia, as this prince only improved and 

 rendered it more generally useful. For the speedy conveyance of ukases 

 and letters, he caused posts to be established in the year 1720 in all the 

 large towns situated on the high roads. According to a writer who re- 

 sided at that time in St. Petersburgh, the order for this purpose was 

 issued so early as the year 1718. " In this year," says he, " the riding 

 post was established on the same footing as in Germany. The pos- 

 tilions were obliged to blow horns, and to wear a grey frock, having a 

 post-horn cut out of red cloth sewed on their back."f It is, however, 

 probable that this writer alludes only to the alteration which Peter made 

 in regard to the foreign post, for the establishment of the internal post 

 could not be earlier than 1720. 



At present the business of the post-office is entrusted to the manage- 

 ment of directors, who reside at St. Petersburgh, and whose chief is 

 director-general of this department throughout the kingdom. Three 

 post-offices, each of which has a director namely, those of Petersburgh, 

 Moskva, and Lesser Russia, are subordinate to them, and these three 

 have under their inspection all the post offices in the towns, the affairs 

 of which are conducted by postmasters. 



The post-office at St. Petersburgh is the centre of all the foreign and 

 internal correspondence, and consequently the most important. The 

 posts which arrive at and set out from this office are, - 



1st. That of Moskva, which comes and goes twice every week; and 

 each time an extra-post, a light and a heavy, is dispatched also. This 

 extra-post conveys private letters, which are paid for according to 

 weight ; small packets, which do not weigh more than five pounds, and 



* Kilburger, in Busching's Magazine, vol iii. p. 3J9. 

 ] Weber's Veiandert Russkuid, vol. i. p. TJ6. 



