OBITUARIES, FOREIGN. 



631 



much time on the Isle of Wight, where in 

 friendly intimacy with Englishmen he familiar- 

 ized himself with the principles and working 

 of the British Constitution. In 1856 he re- 

 turned to Moscow and founded the " Russky 

 Vestnik " (" Russian Messenger "), in which he 

 ventilated hia ideas, arguing that national ad- 

 vancement should keep pace with the march 

 of European civilization, and especially advo- 

 cating a system of self-government on the 

 model of the English Constitution. In his pa- 

 per Turgenieff and other famous writers were 

 first introduced to the public. Katkoff op- 

 posed radicalism as well as reaction, and vigor- 

 ously combated the revolutionary projects of 

 the Socialists in their intrigues against the es- 

 tablished government of the Empire. In this 

 contest he won the hearty commendation of 

 the Czar. He founded, in association with his 

 former fellow - student, Prof. Leontieff, the 

 Moscow " Gazette," of which he became editor 

 in 1861. Katkoff's political opinions under- 

 went a radical change. The revolution in Po- 

 land and the force lent by that event to revo- 

 lutionary doctrines in Russia itself hastened 

 the transmutation in his political views. He 

 became the apostle of national.Russia, and in 

 this position he appeared an ardent admirer of 

 autocracy, of the classical system of education, 

 and of the orthodox Church, and a bitter foe 

 to anything in the shape of freedom on the 

 part of the people. Katkoff preached a cru- 

 sade against Western civilization and learning 

 that had been cultivated in Russia since Peter 

 the Great's time, and which he declared to 

 have worked as a debasing and corrupting in- 

 fluence, while the elements of a nobler Slavic 

 civilization were neglected and the national 

 genius was stifled. He urged the forcible 

 Russification of the Baltic Provinces and Po- 

 land. In the latter country the spirit of revo- 

 lution was rife, and the Government sought to 

 allay discontent by a conciliatory policy. The 

 doctrines enunciated by Katkoff found an echo 

 in the hearts of untraveled Russians, who were 

 continually outstripped in every line of ad- 

 vancement by foreigners and their denational- 

 ized countrymen. The Government ordered 

 Katkoff to publish a sharp reprimand for his 

 articles on Poland, or pay a fine of 2,000 rubles 

 for every day of delay. Refusing to print the 

 " vile prose," he paid the fine for eleven days. 

 The situation in Poland became more critical, 

 and the Government refunded the fines that 

 the popular and prophetic journalist had paid, 

 and withdrew its warning. When the revolt 

 of 1863 finally broke out in Poland he urged 

 in the " Gazette," the most energetic measures 

 for its suppression, and this now accorded well 

 with the temper of Alexander II. Following 

 the reactionary principles that he had adopt- 

 ed, Katkoff made a vigorous onslaught upon 

 the educational theories he had taught when 

 he held the chair of Philosophy in the Moscow 

 University. In conjunction with other Pan- 

 elavist champions he founded in Moscow the 



Nicolai Alexandrovich Institute, where, under 

 his supervision, by a strictly classical and mili- 

 tary pedagogism, the sons of wealthy and no- 

 ble Russians were taught the ultra tenets of 

 unchecked imperialism. It was upon the 

 model of this school that Count Tolstoi reor- 

 ganized the whole educational sytem of the 

 Empire, so that now the reactionary doctrines 

 of Katkoff are the formative principle of all 

 Russian youth. On account of the influence 

 of Katkoff over Czar Alexander II, this school 

 was the recipient of large suras from the na- 

 tional treasury. The articles that he published 

 in the " Gazette " against Nihilism were so 

 frantic that opinion was divided as to whether 

 he was cleverly rendering autocracy hateful by 

 an overdisplay of zeal, or suffering from ab- 

 erration of intellect. He became an advocate 

 of the Panslavist idea, urging the union of 

 the Slav populations of Europe in one empire. 

 The present Emperor in his early youth be- 

 came very strongly attached to Katkoff, who, 

 after the death of Alexander II, became the 

 head of the National party, and it was due to 

 his influence that the proposed summoning of 

 a parliament of provincial delegates was aban- 

 doned. He was then offered, but refused, the 

 portfolio of Minister of Instruction, accepting, 

 however, the dignity of a privy councilor. 

 By this time his views on educational matters 

 had been modified by his political leanings to 

 such an extent that he used his influence with 

 the minister Delyanoff, to procure the aban- 

 donment of the liberal university statutes of 

 1863, which he had been himself instrumental 

 in procuring. Katkoff was throughout the 

 greater part of his career anti-German in 

 everything except the system of education, yet 

 in 1884 he caused it to be made known that he 

 regarded the alliance with Germany as useful 

 to Russia, and that he saw no reason why she 

 should not live on good terms with Austria- 

 Hungary. Katkoff's name was again brought 

 into great prominence in 1886 and 1887 by 

 bitter attacks on Germany and an undisguised 

 polemic against the ministry in relation to the 

 influence which Bismarck was said to have in 

 controlling the foreign policy of the Empire. 

 This led to a spirited protest on the part of 

 M. de Giers, the Russian Foreign Minister, and 

 an appeal to the Czar to silence the Moscow 

 editor. Katkoff will always be remembered 

 in Russia as the eloquent exponent of Russian 

 instincts. During the reign of Alexander III 

 his influence over that monarch, who had dis- 

 credited his ministers by often concealing or 

 capriciously altering his policy, caused the 

 utterances of Katkoff to be examined with the 

 closest interest throughout the world. The 

 peculiar conditions of the Russian Government 

 afforded an example that is singular in modern 

 times of a philosopher and enthusiast exer- 

 cising a potent and irresponsible influence 

 in the policy of a mighty military power. 



Kirchbath, Hngo Ewald von, a Prussian soldier, 

 born in 1809 ; died in October, 1887. In the 



