RUSSIA. 



of tht appellation (idolatry). How often have I be- 

 ^yte/ lu-ld witli dctp MMTOW, that rrvimici- and ac'i.: 



due to Cu>d al. i;c, In Mowed on the saints, and the holy 

 iinagi-s or pictures, and relics ! And in conversations 

 with the peasants, when Christian charity was inclined 

 tp regard their actions with every indulgence, how 

 frequently has my o>n-ri<'nce told me that there wu 

 no palliation of the brood charge of idolatry. Some of 

 the nobility, however, must be exempted." 



Besides the worship of image.", as they are called, 

 mere paintings, Dr. Lyall charges the Russians also with 

 the worship of graven images, and gives an account 

 of a number of them which he has seen in the cm- 

 It is notorious that one of these graven images 



is placed in the centre of Moscow, nay, in the very 

 centre of the Kreiule, and at the side of the great ca- 

 thedral of Moscow. It is a gaudy statue of St. Nicho- 

 ' 0| the tutelary saint of Russia, made of some com- 

 position, or cut out of wood, or of some other material. 

 As this is a novel and very striking fact, the Doctor 

 l.as given a representation of this celebrated image, to 

 which particular adoration is paid on the 6'th of Ja- 

 nuary, the name's-day of Saint Nicholas. 



The following comprehensive statement from Has- 

 .sell, gives a good view of the religions of the Russian 

 empire: 



1. C.rfd; . - - 34,000,000 



Proper Russians, Little Russians, Kozaks, 

 Kiiitsi-ns, Laplaixifis, Permians, .Zirianes, 

 Vivjoulcs, Tcheremiss, Voiiaks, Ostiaks 

 of the Ob, Teptiars, Kistimers, Georgians, 

 Koibals, Kamstcliatdals, Greeks, Ar- 

 naouts, Vallachians, Moldavians, Bulga- 

 rian.*, the majority of the Gipsies and Pro- 

 zelytes of all nations. 



2. Cat/wlict and United Greek, 5,308,000 



Poles, Lithuanians, French, Germans ; of 

 the last a small number. 



3. Lnthcrant. - 2,500,000 



Lettes, Courlnnders, Fins, Esthonians, 

 Swedes, Danes, a majority of Germans, 

 and many Poles. , 



4. liyormcd, .... 33,000 



iiritiah, Poles, a few Germans iu Livo- 

 nia. 



> .Irnieni/ins, - - 70,000 



n. Uerrehutteri) Germans, . - 8000 



7. Mtnoiiitet, Germans and Poles, - - 3000 



6. MaJtmnedans, - - 1,800,000 



Kazan, Tauridan, and Astrachan Tartars, 

 Turalintsi, Barabintsi, Kuban, Astruchun, 

 Kundurovsky, and Tauridan Nogays, 

 Kumykens, Basianes Trwhmenians, 

 Kirghis, Aralians, Karakalpaks, Tchi. 

 vintsi, Buchanans, Mestcheriaks, Bashirg, 

 Circasians, Avtchases, Lesghi, Osmanens, 

 Persians, Kisilbutheus. 



9. J - 210,000 



10. Lamtitet, 300,000 



Mongoles, Kalmuks, Burati, Kurilians. 

 Hi BraJimins, Hindoos, ... 300 



J2. Shamans, - - 500,000 



Tchuvashes, JMordvas, Ob and Ver- 

 chotonuky Tartars, Tchulimers, Katchint- 

 si,)Tulibertsi,Biriusses, Abintsi, Sayannes, 

 Jie'ltisi, Teleutians, Yakuti, Ossetinians, 

 Jugushi, Tchitchentsi, Mikshcsi, Kara* 

 bulaks, Tungusi, Lamutes, Samoyede, 

 Soyoies, Matorens, Tubintsi, Kaimashi, 

 Karagassi, Koriaks, Tchuktchi, Yukha. 

 giri, Jtiralen?, Arentsi, Assancnj, Kotov- 

 zeu, Ostiaks, Aleutians. 



As the effect of the Bible Societies is ultimately con 



nected with the n-iigious itate of the realm, we thall Kuia. 

 notice thrir ^rrnent tate. " ' <~ 



The utility of Bible Societies has been highly extol. 

 led by tome, and extravagantly abused by other*. 1 

 Lyall's opinion, then-lore, may be of some consequence, 

 in enabling us to judge for ourselves, at least in BO far 

 a* regards Russia. " The empire," ay be, " if not 

 ripe enough to receive all the benefit* anticipated from 

 them by seme ; but a few seeds may fall into good 

 {.round, and in time may send forth blooming fruit* 

 amidst the wide extended field of tares. Religion 

 paves the way for morality, refinement, and civiliza- 

 tion, and establishes a sure basis for the arts and 

 sciences, philosophy, and literature ; and therefore 

 Britons must rejoice at the flattering testimonial* 

 with which their offers, in behalf of Christianity, were 

 hailed, and the almost unexampled encouragement and 

 success which the plan of Bible Societies has bad 

 in Russia. Their effects may be felt when the pre- 

 sent race has passed away ; and the names of their pa- 

 trons may be lisped by innocence, and pronounced 

 with esteem and reverence by after generations. It 

 is not my province to dictate to so enlightened bodies 

 of men, as are at the helm of these sacred affairs ; but 

 I cannot avoid wishing, that a general system of intro- 

 ductory education made a chief object of so noble a pur- 

 Fuit as the illumination of the minds, and the salvation 

 of the souls of our fellow- mortals. The institution of 

 Bible Societies in Russia, will form a remarkable epoch 

 in the history of the present reign ; and the uncom- 

 mon interest taken in their prosperity by Alexander, 

 will reflect eternal lustre upon the memory of that mo- 

 narch. The degraded and melancholy views which 

 truth has forced me to bring forward of the character 

 of the Russian nation, so far from dispiriting the 

 friends of Christianity, and of Bible Societies, will only 

 tend to excite their energy, and to the device of new 

 schemes for making known the great truths of n- 

 ligion." 



FINANCES. 



For a particular account of the finances of Russia in 

 former times, we refer the reader to Tooke's " Vine of 

 the Russian Empire," and his " Life of Catharine //." 



In the year 1816', the revenues of the crown a- 

 mounted to 215 millions of roubles, and consisted of, 



1 . Revenues from the crown domains, 40,000,000 



2. state monopolies, 56,000,000 



3. taxes, . 108,000,000 



4. sundries, . 4,000,000 



5. natural 7 

 of the subjects, J 



Vide works of Hassell, p. 226, and of Crome, p. 77 

 80. 



The expenditure of the crown in 176*, was 

 14,305548 roubles; in 1790, it was 35,000,000; in 

 1802, it reached about 70.000,000; in 1811, it a- 

 mounted to 274,000,000; and although we have no 

 very certain data, it is known that the sum has annual- 

 ly augmented since that period. But we can place 

 little faith in the reports of the Russian government. 



The expensive wars in which Russia has been en- 

 gaged within the last century, have gradually brought 

 her into arrears to the amount of 400 or 500 millions 

 of roubles, and perhaps to a much greater extent. 



\Vith a revenue of 215,000.000 roubles, and an ex- 

 penditure of 'J?4,000,000, the empire of the north was 

 getting rapidly into debt, and was obliged to issue 



