674 



RUSSIA. 



of the country, a grand industrial exhibition 

 was inaugurated by the Czar at St. Petersburg 

 during the month of June. One of the impor- 

 tant results of the exhibition was a conference 

 of manufacturers and merchants from all parts 

 of Russia, who held daily sessions during the 

 time of the exhibition, at which many vital 

 questions of Russian trade, commerce, etc., 

 were discussed by men of practical information. 



The relative positions of Russia and Great 

 Britain in Central Asia have of late attracted 

 more than ordinary attention, the steady ad- 

 vance of the former, and the consolidation of 

 her power within the territory already ac- 

 quired or made tributary, causing no little un- 

 easiness at the court of St. James. A report 

 made to the home government by the Earl of 

 Mayo, with regard to the mission of Mr. For- 

 syth to Yarkhand, contains the following signi- 

 ficant passage : 



However willing wo may be to accept the assur- 

 ances made to Mr. Forsyth by the Government of St. 

 Petersburg that no intention or desire existed on the 

 part of Russia to extend her influence beyond the 

 Oxus at least for the present it would be the height 

 of political folly to close our eyes to the fact that she 

 is making powerful and persistent efforts to strengthen 

 her position within the limits she has ; for the mo- 

 ment, set to her ambition. Some time m November 

 last an expedition, supported by four guns, and vari- 

 ously estimated at from 1,500 to 3,000 men, was dis- 

 patched from Petrovsky, a port on the Caspian, ninety 

 or a hundred miles to the north of Derbend, to Balkan 

 Bay, on the southeastern shore of that sea. The little 

 force landed without any opposition from the Toorko- 

 man tribes in the neighborhood, and immediately set 

 about the construction of a fort, as if in an enemy's 

 country. As a matter of fact, Kizisuar, or Kizisoo, 

 as the place is variously called, appears to be situated 

 in a debatable land. The Persian Government, while 

 admitting that its sway over the Toorkomans dwelling 

 to the north of the Attruck is rather nominal than 

 real, nevertheless insists that the entire tract of land 

 lying between that river and the Balkan range is 

 subject to its sovereignty, and that, consequently, the 

 Kussian fort is an encroachment upon Persian terri- 

 tory. This position is denied by the Kussian Gov- 

 ernment. In the first place, it is stoutly denied that 

 the establishment at Kizisuar is any thing more than 

 a commercial settlement something, in short, after 

 the manner of the factories established in olden times 

 by the East India Company on the coasts and rivers 

 of Hindostan. In order, however, to protect the 

 peaceful traders against the attacks of Toorkoman 

 marauders, it has been found necessary to throw up 

 some banks of earth and mount a gun at each angle. 



The Russian G-overnment intimated that the 

 sole object of the expedition was simply to 

 develop the trade with Central Asia, and afford 

 security to caravans travelling to and from the 

 Caspian Sea and the Oxus. This new route, 

 it was said, had become indispensable, as the 

 frequent revolts of the Kirgheez tribes had 

 made the old lines of communication across 

 the steppes from Orenburg to Khokan and 

 from Mingishiak to Khiva, impracticable. The 

 only means of opening up this new country was 

 by securing a safe basis on the shores of the Cas- 

 pian Sea, and by encouraging traders to venture 

 across in firm reliance on the protection they 

 would receive from the Russian factory. 



Great fears Avers entertained at Teheran that 



the Caspian provinces of the Persian kingdom 

 were in no little danger of being annexed to 

 the Russian Empire, from which they were re- 

 covered by Nadir Shah, in the middle of the 

 last century. Prof. Hermann Vambery, who 

 is generally regarded in the literary world as 

 one of the best authorities on all questions on 

 Central Asia, published an interesting article 

 on the subject in the periodical Unsere Zeit 

 (Leipsic, November 15, 1870), in which he 

 maintains that in such a case the Caspian Sea 

 would become politically as well as naturally a 

 mare clamum, and Russian domination would 

 extend in a direct, unbroken line from the Black 

 Sea to the Ilindoo-Koosh, from Anapa to Merve, 

 which latter place is only five days' march from 

 Herat. The true purport of the expedition, he 

 says, is obvious enough. Under the pretext of 

 opening a new route from the Caspian to the 

 Oxus, a line of fortified posts or caravanserais, 

 as they will probably be called, will be estab- 

 lished across the desert, with the result of 

 curbing the Toorkoman population and bringing 

 it under the control of Russia. The Russians 

 already possess a naval station in the Bay of 

 Astrabad, in the southeast corner of the Cas- 

 pian, at the mouth of the Goorgaun. 



The advances made by the Russians toward 

 Kashgar were suspiciously watched by Jacoob- 

 Bek, the present ruler of that country, who did 

 not appear to be anxious to enter into friendly 

 relations with the approaching invader, al- 

 though he was aware that he must eventually 

 share the fate of the Ameer of Bokhara. The 

 latter, after applying to Russia for assistance 

 against Sheer Ali of Afghanistan, was so in- 

 timidated by the unexpected success of the 

 arms of his protectors, and, on the other hand, 

 so dreaded a revolt of his own subjects, that 

 he deemed it the best policy to surrender un- 

 conditionally. The Russians did not hesitate to 

 take hold of the administration of the country, 

 and to make their vassal feel that he must in 

 every respect obey the will of the Czar of 

 Russia. The power of Russia in Toorkistan 

 was more and more consolidated, and the con- 

 dition of the country had materially improved, 

 trade and commerce being in a flourishing 

 condition. The revenue of the government 

 amounted, in 1869, to 2,302,748 rubles ; expen- 

 diture, 1,148,737 rubles. A great many sub- 

 stantial buildings had been erected by the 

 Russians at Tashkend, the capital of the coun- 

 try, new streets were laid out according to the 

 most approved plan, and many other improve- 

 ments had been quietly introduced. As the 

 Russians were tolerant toward the Mohamme- 

 dans, the inhabitants of the city and country 

 showed no aversion to their rule, which may 

 be called an easy one, as the taxes have been 

 much reduced, and are not levied arbitrarily. 

 The Russians also opened at Tashkend a library 

 comprising a great many manuscripts of im- 

 portance for the history of Central Asia. Com- 

 merce was increasing rapidly, and the culture 

 of cotton was extending more and more. The 



