RUSSIA. 



663 



act of the newly-appointed Supreme Executive 

 was to issue the following proclamation to the 

 inhabitants of St. Petersburg : 



A series of attempts of unparalleled atrocity, aimed 

 at the subversion of public order and at the sacred 

 person of his Majesty the Emperor, just at the time 

 when all classes are preparing to celebrate the twenty- 

 fifth anniversary of the reign, so beneficial at home 

 and so glorious abroad, of the most magnanimous of 

 monarehs, has evoked not only the deep resentment 

 of the Russian nation, but the horror and indignation 

 of all Europe. The Government has already repeated- 

 ly appealed to society to combine in a struggle against 

 criminal tendencies destructive to the foundations of 

 civil order, upon which the development of every 

 well-ordered state depends. At the present time the 

 Government is forced to resort to more energetic meas- 

 ures to repress an evil assuming dimensions perilous 

 to public security. According to the supreme will of 

 the Emperor, the difficult task has fallen on me to as- 

 sume the conduct of the measures rendered unavoid- 

 able by the present situation. Confiding in the Most 

 High, and with a firm belief in the steadfastness of the 

 Russian system of government, which has already 

 passed through manifold and serious crises ; fully con- 

 vinced, moreover, from my long service to the Em- 

 peror and the country, of the healthy feeling and 

 moral strength of the Russian nation. I numbly accept 

 this new sign of the sovereign's confidence in my feeble 

 powers, I fully recognize the difficulty of the task 

 before me, and I do "not conceal from myself the re- 

 sponsibility with which I am laden. Without enter- 

 taining exaggerated and premature expectations, I can 

 only promise one thing that I will employ every ef- 

 fort and the fruits of my lengthened experience, on 

 the one hand, not to permit the slightest forbearance 

 or to shrink from the most exemplary punishments 

 in respect of actions which are an insult to Russian 

 society ; and, on the other, to protect in a peaceful con- 

 dition the lawful interests of the well-disposed portion 

 of the community. I am assured that I shall meet 

 with the support of all right-minded people, who are 

 devoted to the Emperor, and are sincerely attached to 

 their country, now suffering such unmerited trials. 

 To society I look as the mainstay of the authorities in 

 the renewal of a regular and orderly course of national 

 life, through the interruption of which its own in- 

 terests sufler in the highest degree. In this trust I 

 appeal, in the first place, to the residents of the capi- 

 tal as immediate witnesses of the late unprecedented 

 deeds, with the urgent request to await the future with 

 dignity and serenity, and not to be led astray by either 

 malicious or frivolous whisperings^ speeches, or ru- 

 mors. In the discreet and firm attitude of the popu- 

 lation, in face of the present oppressive situation, I 

 view a security for our success in attaining an end 

 alike wished for by all the restoration of order and 

 the return of the Fatherland to those paths of peace 

 and prosperity which the benevolent intentions of its 

 leader so clearly pointed out. 



The twenty-fifth anniversary of the acces- 

 sion of the Czar Alexander II to the throne 

 was celebrated March 2d. The day was ob- 

 served as a general holiday in St. Petersburg. 

 First in order of the ceremonies of the day, 

 the Czar received the congratulations of the 

 various members of his family. He then, amid 

 the playing of bands and the firing of salutes, 

 appeared on the balcony of the Winter Palace, 

 and for twenty minutes saluted the multitude 

 assembled there in acknowledgment of their 

 acclamations. A reception was afterward given 

 to the imperial suite and the dignitaries of the 

 empire, and was followed by a thanksgiving 

 service in the palace, while the whole diplo- 



matic body awaited the return of his Majesty 

 to the throne-room. The levee which was 

 given here was attended by nearly four thou- 

 sand persons. In the afternoon a cantata, com- 

 posed by Prince Peter of Oldenburg, the na- 

 tional anthem, and the hymn, "Long Life to 

 the Czar," were sung in the white drawing- 

 room by six hundred school-children. The 

 Emperor drove through the city during the 

 day, and was loudly cheered. In connection 

 with the celebration, a number of decrees 

 were published, remitting arrears of taxes and 

 fines due to the state from various classes of 

 people. The festivities were not marred by 

 any disturbance or inappropriate event, but 

 on the next day General Loris-Melikoff was 

 shot at as he was alighting from his carriage 

 before his official residence in the Grand Mors- 

 kaia. The assassin was so close that General 

 Melikoff was able to strike him in the face 

 with his fist, and was at once secured. He 

 proved to be a baptized Jew, named Wlad- 

 etsky Minsk. He was tried and sentenced to 

 death on the 4th of March, and was executed 

 on the 5th. He maintained a defiant demeanor 

 throughout the trial, and refused to stand up 

 or make any defense, or take any part in the 

 proceedings. He said that he was a Jew who 

 had turned Christian because it was impossible 

 otherwise to live. After judgment had been 

 pronounced upon him, he addressed the Court, 

 saying that he had been arrested in the pre- 

 vious year in St. Petersburg, and departed to 

 his native district. On hearing from his com- 

 panions that they were preparing a revolution 

 for the 2d of March, he had returned to the 

 capital. Orders were, however, given that 

 nothing should be done on that day. He then 

 determined to kill General Melikoff, as the 

 cause of the postponement of the movement \ 

 by which he had been prevented from obtain- 

 ing money. He said, also, that General Meli- 

 koff would be killed by some of his comrades. 

 Although his own attempt had failed, a second 

 would be made, and, if that miscarried, a third 

 man would be found to execute the deed. The 

 Revolutionary Committee issued a proclama- 

 tion declaring that the attempt of Wladetsky on 

 General Melikoff was his own act, and was not 

 undertaken at their instance. 



The appeal of Count Melikoff was well re- 

 sponded to by the citizens of St. Petersburg, 

 who gave him many assurances of support. 

 He invited the town council to elect four mem- 

 bers to participate in the labors of the Supreme 

 Commission for the maintenance of public 

 safety in the city ; divided the city into nine 

 districts, each of which was placed under the 

 superintendence of one civil and two military 

 officers; and, not satisfied with merely repres- 

 sive measures, entered upon a policy looking to 

 the removal of the sources of existing evils. 

 General Drenteln having resigned the office of 

 Chief of the Third Section, or the Secret Po- 

 lice, he undertook the management of that de- 

 partment with the intention of purging it from 



