OMUL 



RUSSIA. 



381 



at 1818. Napoleon invaded Rusaia with 600,000 men, defeated 

 Kntaaoff at Borodino, and advanced to Moscow ; but the country was 



.,mtus Uid waste, and the conflagration of the capital itself by 

 the -yiMUOf Boatopchin compelled the French to retreat in the midst 

 of a winter of unexampled rigour, pursued by the Russians : nine- 

 tenth* of their vast host either perished or were taken prisoners. A 

 powerful Ruanan force continued to take part in the campaigns of 

 181S-14 against France, and Alexander entered Paris in triumph. By 

 the oongraa* of Vienna (1815), Warsaw and a large territory, under 

 the name of the kingdom of Poland, were annexed to the crown of 

 Rusaia, but with a separate administration and free press. A desultory 

 wmr with Pama (1804-13) had been concluded by the peace of Goolistan, 

 Persia ceding most of her Caucasian provinces, and giving up her 

 claims on Georgia. 



The military power and political influence of Russia were now 

 paramount on the continent; and after the final downfal of 

 wo, in 1815, she became the head of the ' Holy Alliance,' 

 into by herself, Austria, Prussia, and France, for the sup- 

 of revolutionary principles. The remainder of the reign of 

 _ jT-TTi _ J r wu peaceful, and occupied chiefly in reforms of the internal 

 goremment In one of these tours of inspection Alexander died at 

 Taganrog, on the Don, aged 48 (Dec. 1825); and was succeeded by his 

 brother Nicholas, the third son of Paul, the second brother, Constan- 

 tino, having previously renounced the succession. This change in the 

 ucoraaion occasioned some military tumults, which were not quelled 

 without bloodshed. In 1826 a dispute respecting boundaries led to a 

 (rash war with Persia, which continued till 1828, when the progress of 

 the Russians compelled Persia to give up Erivan and the country as 

 far as the Araxes, as the price of the peace of Turkmanchai. The 

 Greek revolutionary war was now raging, and the treaty of London 

 was signed (July 1827) by Russia, France, and England, for the settle- 

 ment of the question ; but the refusal of the Porte to accede to the 

 terms dictated to her produced the destruction of the Turkish fleet 

 by the allied squadrons at Navarino ; and in 1828 a Russian army in- 

 vaded Turkey, and though repulsed from before Shumla in the first 

 campaign, succeeded in crossing the Balkan (1829), and occupied 

 Adrianople, where a treaty was concluded, by which Russia acquired 

 numerous frontier fortresses on the Black Sea, and the protectorate of 

 Moldavia and Wallacbia. A general insurrection of the Poles (Nov. 

 1830), who were goaded by the tyranny of their viceroy the grand-duke 

 Constantino, and by repeated infractions of their constitution, was 

 crushed, after a campaign of frightful devastation and bloodshed, by 

 the capture of Warsaw, Sept. 1831 : many thousand Poles of all ranks 

 were tent to Siberia ; the kingdom was incorporated with Russia, and 

 has ever since been governed as a conquered province. The relations 

 with the Porte assumed a new form in 1833, from the application of 

 the sultan for aid to check the advance of the rebel pasha of Egypt : 

 an auxiliary force was sent to Constantinople, and terms imposed on 

 the paaha ; but this service was repaid by the treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, 

 binding the Porte to have recourse to no other power for assistance, 

 and to close the Dardanelles against all foreign ships of war. These 

 proceedings excited in England a strong popular feeling of hostility 

 towards Russia, which was further augmented by the seizure in 1836 

 of a British merchantman on the coast of Circassia, where a fierce 

 gurrilla warfare with the natives hod been for some years carried on, 

 the Russians claiming the country as ceded to them by the peace of 

 Adrianople. The march against Herat (1838) of a Persian army, 

 directed by Russian officers, viewed as preliminary to the invasion of 

 the Anglo-Indian empire, brought the conflicting relations apparently 

 to the verge of a rupture : but the apprehensions of the English 

 cabinet were tranquilUsed by the repulse of the Persians, and the 

 subsequent conquest of Afghanistan by an army from India ; and the 

 Russian schemes of aggrandisement in this quarter received a further 

 check from the failure of a formidable* expedition directed (1840) 

 against the predatory Uzbek state of Khiva. 



Russia was now actively but secretly employed in consolidating her 

 power, fortifying her ports, and strengthening her frontier fortresses. 

 She became also the protectress of the continental monarchies against 

 the efforts for constitutional governments made by their subjects. In 



,848 a alight attempt at revolution in favour of the independence of 



Poland was made at Cracow, which had been formed into a free 



republic in the treaties of 1815, under the sanction of all the allied 



On February 22nd a Russian army took possession of 



Cracow, and in November a joint decree of Russia, Austria, and 

 Proaria revoked and annulled the articles of the treaty, and Cracow 



wa* made over to Austria. Soon afterwards the Russian portion of 



T*.-.l*%.9 An lill. _ L _ ___*.; 1:1 i_ _ a i . 



a note to Switzerland, stating that they abstained from intervention 

 only on condition of the Swiss adhering to the compact of 1815 ; that 

 is, not altering or in any way liberalising their domestic institutions 

 tlio vorort protested against any foreign interference, proceeded in 

 their own course, and the only measures taken were by Austria in 

 some vexatious restrictions on commerce and intercourse. 



18 the German revolutionary struggle was going on, and the 

 insurrection against Austria commenced in Hungary. Unsuccessful 

 in repressing this great national movement, Austria called in the 



assistance of Russia, which was readily granted. Early in 1849 tin 

 army was marched into Hungary ; on June '23 the battle of Eperies 

 was fought, on July 23 that of Miskolcz, and on July 31 that of 

 Segesvar, and in all the Russians were the conquerors ; on August 31 

 the Hungarian army under Qorgey, 25,000 strong, surrendered them- 

 selves to the Russians at Vilagos, near Uroswardein. In the meantime 

 the Turks had been protesting against the violation of their territory 

 by the marching of Russian troops through Turkish Transylvania. 

 On the loss of the Hungarian cause many of tlio leaders had fled to 

 Turkey, and their expulsion waa demanded by Austria, seconded by 

 Russia ; and on compliance being refused, the Russian minister sus- 

 pended all diplomatic intercourse with the Porte. Upon this the 

 British fleet entered the Dardanelles and diplomatic relations were 

 resumed on the refugees being located at Kutayeh. 



In 1851 considerable progress was made in the construction of rail- 

 roads, and that between St. Petersburg and Moscow was opened for 

 traffic. In 1852 the emperor Nicholas visited Vienna and Potsdam ; 

 and entered into an agreement as to the succession to the Danish 

 crown. 



The possession of the Holy Places at Jerusalem, which were the 

 temple, the sepulchre, and perhaps some others, had long been matters 

 of contention between the monks of the Latin and Greek Churches iu 

 that city. A recent dispute had sprung up relative to the right of 

 repairing the temple. The Turkish government had endeavoured to 

 settle it by repairing it themselves, but this gave satisfaction to neither 

 party. The defence of the Latins was undertaken by France, who 

 obtained a firman from the Porte which was thought objectionable by 

 Russia, who of course protected the Greeks. On February 28, 1853, 

 Prince Menzikoff arrived on a special mission at Constantinople ; on 

 March 16, in an interview with the Sultan, he announced the dissatis- 

 faction of the emperor with the measures taken as to the Holy Places, 

 demanded an arrangement that should remove these causes of com- 

 plaint, and that a guarantee should be given for the future. In a 

 second note (of April 19) such a guarantee was demanded as would 

 best secure the integrity of the Greek faith throughout the Turkish 

 empire. The Porte endeavoured to satisfy these demands by proposing 

 to issue firmans securing the religious rights of the Greek Christians ; 

 but on May 5 Prince Menzikoff informed the ministers that the firmans 

 would not satisfy him, and demanded an immediate decision. The 

 Turkish ministry asked for time to consider of so important a matter ; 

 but Meuzikoff on May 18 replied that he saw, from the desire of post- 

 ponement, that his efforts to secure a pacific decision were vain, and 

 therefore considered his mission terminated; that, as the Porte 

 refused to give the required guarantee for the support of the orthodox 

 Greek-Russian faith, nothing remained but for Russia to take the 

 necessary guarantees by force. The next day the Turkish ministry 

 replied to this note. They stated that their government had made no 

 change ; that with regard to the Holy Places, the dispute was not with 

 it, but between Frauce and Russia only ; that however they would grant 

 permission to Russia to build a church and an hospital in Jerusalem, 

 and that a solemn decree should be issued confirming the privileges of 

 the Greek clergy. These compliances were ineffectual. On May 21 

 Menzikoff rejected them, and quitted Constantinople. Ou the 26th 

 the Porte addressed a memorandum to the ministers of Great Britain, 

 France, Austria, and Prussia, detailing the state of the affairs. Ou the 

 31st a note from the Emperor of Russia granted a delay of eight days 

 to the Porte for re-consideration of his demands, but approved of the 

 conduct of his ambassador, as he considered the conduct of the Porte 

 to be a personal offence. The reply to this was, that the demands 

 were wholly inconsistent with the independence of the state, and would 

 not be complied with. On the 26th the Russian manifesto against 

 Turkey was issued, and on July 2 Russian troops entered Wallachia. 



In the meantime the English and French ambassadors at Constan- 

 tinople had protested and remonstrated against the claims of Russia ; 

 the resolution of England having been much strengthened by an 

 invidious proposition made by the emperor Nicholas to the ambas- 

 sador at St. Petersburg for apportioning Turkey he taking Constan- 

 tinople provisionally only, and England taking Egypt. On the appear- 

 ance of a commencement of hostilities, the British fleet was summoned 

 to the Dardanelles, and that of the French quickly followed. 



In September 1853 war was formally declared by the Porte against 

 Russia, and on the 1st of October an appeal for material support was 

 made by Turkey to France and England. On the 27th of October the 

 Turks crossed the Danube opposite Widdiu, and with greater force on 

 the 3rd of November. Whenever the Russians attacked them, the 

 Turks maintained their position with obstinate courage. 



On the 30th of November the Turkish fleet was destroyed in the 

 harbour of Sinope by the Russian fleet from Sebastopol. The narrative 

 of that destruction was so full of horrible circumstances, presenting 

 the character of rather a cruel massacre th:ui an equal battle, that, tlio 

 indignation of Knglaud was fairly roused. The combiued fleets of 

 Great Britain aud France entered the Black Sea on the 3rd of December, 

 on the demand of the Porte to the ambassadors. The Russian fleet 

 retired to the shelter of Sebastopol, from which it never again 

 stirred. 



We cannot go into the details of the war with the minuteness of a 

 history : it will be sufficient to mention the more striking events. On 

 the 22nd of April the allied fleets bombarded Odessa; the Russians laid 



