RUSSIA 



to over 3,000,000 workmen employed in works, factories, mines, river transport, railways and 

 tramways. Insurance in case of accident is provided for on the Austrian system by terri- 

 torial mutual societies with capital supplied exclusively by employers, and man- 

 aged by them under Government control. A second bill was passed for insurance 

 asuraace. - n cascs o f temporary sickness to be undertaken by societies similar to the 

 Gorman Krankenkassen, the necessary funds in this instance being supplied in the proportions 

 of i| by the workmen and by the employers. Sick pay is to be granted for periods not 

 exceeding 26 weeks in one year. Considerable opposition was offered to the part of the 

 scheme which provides for medical aid at the expense of employers, but finally, after much 

 discussion in both houses, the bill was made law. 



The third Duma, which was the first really working Duma, completed its 5 years 

 term in 1912, and an Imperial ukaz summoned the fourth Duma, elections being held in 

 the late autumn. In these there is no doubt that the Government exercised 

 The fourth considerable pressure through M. Sabler, the Procurator of the Holy Synod, 

 Duma. on the clerical vote, and through the Zemskie Nachalniki and other local 



authorities on the peasant vote, also in the matter of distribution of electoral 

 boroughs, arbitrary removal of undesirable voters, and so forth. The result was, how- 

 ever, unsatisfactory for the Government after all its efforts, for its campaign having been 

 apparently directed against the Octobrists, the Opposition came in stronger than ever, 

 and the Octobrists, although they lost Goochkov and other good men, practically lost 

 only 10 seats. It seemed likely to be very difficult to arrange for a working majority in 

 the fourth Duma. The returns in November 1912 showed its constitution to be as 

 follows: United Right, 229, various parties of the Left, 109; Ministerial Centre, 80; 

 " Aliens " or Autonomists, 17; miscellaneous, 15. Of the whole 440 members of the 

 Duma only 7 or 8 were members of the first Duma (1906), and of the new party of the 

 Right 45 were priests of the Orthodox clergy, 2 being bishops, the outlook being un- 

 promising for any but reactionary legislation. 



In foreign affairs Russian diplomacy has played an active and pacific part, without 

 however, exhibiting enough energetic initiative and success to win popularity at home. 

 The former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Izvolsky, who in 1910 was trans- 

 ferred to Paris as Russian Ambassador, was severely criticized in the Rus- 

 sian press for not preventing the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 

 his successor M. Sazonov (who in 1912 paid important visits to Paris, London, and Ber- 

 lin) has been criticized at home with equal, if not greater severity, for nearly everything 

 he has done or not done. It was laid to his charge that he neglected to avail himself of 

 the opportunity of the Turco-Italian war to insist upon the Turkish troops withdrawing 

 from the Persian district of Urmia. After the Potsdam interview in 1912 between the 

 German Emperor and the Tsar, accompanied by their respective Ministers, M. Sazonov 

 was sharply criticized for the resultant agreement, whereby Germany received several 

 substantial advantages in return for merely promising not to interfere in Russia's 

 political relations with Persia. Germany, in fact, was given the possibility of accelerat- 

 ing the construction of the Bagdad Railway, and Russia undertook to solicit a con- 

 cession from Persia for a railway from Khamikan, the last station of the German line 

 on the Turco-Persian frontier, to Teheran, thus facilitating the competition of German 

 goods with those of Russia in the markets of northern Persia. Although Russia con- 

 tinued to proclaim the principle of non-interference in Persian affairs, a Russian Con- 

 sular officer was insulted by Persian gendarmes, and an ultimatum had to be sent to Te- 

 heran and more Russian troops entered the country. English and Russian co-operation 

 at Teheran was severely tried by the reign of Persian anarchy, but good relations were 

 maintained between the governments. Russia again had trouble with China as to 

 revision of the treaty of 1881, and towards the end of 1912 concerning the independence 

 of northern Mongolia. After much hesitation and refusing to accede to Mongolian 

 solicitations for protection against China, Russia concluded a convention with the new 

 Mongolian Government at Urga, recognising the autonomy of that region without 

 impugning the sovereignty of the Chinese over their former province. This gave rise 

 to much ill feeling against Russia in China. The explanation was that Russia was 

 obliged to establish direct relations with northern Mongolia in order to secure the treaty 



