RUSSIA. 



775 



Ministry, an office which Prince Bismarck had 

 temporarily resigned, while General Kumeko 

 \VH- appointed his substitute in the Ministry of 

 War. At the same time he was raised to the 

 rank of field-marshal. But his health was un- 

 equal to the duties of his post, and in Novem- 

 ber he received permission from the Emperor 

 to retire from public life. From that time ho 

 lived in complete retirement. 



RUSSIA (EMPIRE OF ALL THE RUSSIAS), an 

 empire in Europe and Asia. The Emperor, 

 Alexander II., born April 29, 1818, succeeded 

 his father, Nicholas I., March 2, 1855. The 

 heir apparent is the Grand Duke Alexander, 

 born March 10, 1845.* 



The area and population of the great divi- 



sions of Russia were estimated as follows in 

 1879 (" Almanach de Gotha," 1880) : 



For religious and other statistics of the empire 

 see " Annual Cyclopedia" for 1877 and 1878. 



The foreign commerce of Russia in 1876 and 

 1877 was as follows (values in rubles) : 



On January 1, 1879, there were 21,840 kilo- 

 metres of railroad in operation in Russia, ex- 

 clusive of Finland. In the latter country there 

 were 873 kilometres. The number of post- 

 offices in 1877 was 3,678; of letters sent in 

 1878, 93,692,546; of wrappers, 6,689,953; of 

 registered letters, 4,676,711 ; of money-letters, 

 7,692,640 (value, 2,494,115,000 rubles) ; of 

 packages, 2,468,573 (value, 82,938,000 rubles) ; 

 of newspapers, 63,350,064. 



The definite treaty of peace with Turkey 

 was signed on February 8th (see TURKEY), and 

 on March 5th the Russians began to evacuate 

 her territory. The condition of affairs in East- 

 ern Roumelia gave occasion to Russia to address 

 in March a note to the Powers, in which the 

 suggestion was made whether it might not be 

 advisable nay, necessary in the interest of 

 the execution of the stipulations relative to 

 that country, to make some temporary provi- 

 sions calculated to tide over the transition be- 

 tween the cessation of the present provisional 

 regime and the definitive organization of the 

 province. The quartering in the province for 

 one year of a mixed corps, in which every one 

 of the signatory Powers would be at liberty 

 to participate, would seem to Russia the best 

 means to insure the execution of the provi- 

 sions of the treaty respecting Eastern Roumelia. 

 Supported by this force, the International Com- 

 mission, after finishing the statute and having 

 it sanctioned by the Porte in Constantinople, 

 might return to Philippopolis, and, in concert 

 with the Governor appointed by Turkey, intro- 

 duce the instrument it had elaborated. This 



* For a fuller account of the imperial family, sea " An- 

 nual Cyclopedia " for 1877, article RUSSIA. 



proposition was not accepted by the Powers, 

 and in May the Czar assured the Sultan in an 

 autograph letter that he would see to it that 

 the provisions of the Treaty of Berlin with re- 

 gard to Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia were 

 carried out. (See BULGARIA and EASTERN ROU- 

 MELIA.) 



One of the most important events in the 

 history of Russia in 1879 was a new war in 

 Asia. Officially it was announced as being di- 

 rected against the Turkomans on the south- 

 eastern frontier of the empire, but it was com- 

 monly believed that its chief object was to 

 capture Merv, the capital of the Tekke Turko- 

 mans. This city was in former centuries one 

 of the most populous and important of Central 

 Asia, and both Russians and English look upon 

 it as a point of considerable strategic impor- 

 tance. The Russians have often been suspect- 

 ed of an intention to seize it, and the English 

 have uniformly on such occasions violently pro- 

 tested against it. In 1875, when a Russian 

 force had left the mouth of the Attrek, on the 

 southeastern shore of the Caspian, also for the 

 alleged purpose of occupying Merv, Sir Henry 

 Rawlinson, in his work " The British in Asia," 

 expressed the opinion that England should 

 rather declare war against Russia than consent 

 to the occupation. 41 The Russian Government 

 not only made no mention of Merv in its offi- 

 cial announcements of the objects of this expe- 

 dition, but expressly denied that it had any 

 intention of taking that city. In the English 

 Parliament, on July 13th, Mr. Bourke, in the 



For a Pill statement of the views of Sir H. Rawlinron and 

 a brief historical sketch of Merv, se " Annual Cyclopedia " 



fur 1-7.-. JKUX.- M6 '-'. 



