44 



RUSSIA (HISTORY OF). 



was in Egypt. Suwaroff, commander of the united 

 Austrian* and Russians in Italv, was victorious at 

 MO, April 27, 1799, on the Trebia, July 17, 

 and at Novi, August 15; but political considera- 

 tions obliged him to march back, and .Manila 

 having been victorious over Korsakoff in Switzer- 

 land, he was compelled to retire to Upper Germany. 

 The alliance between Russia and Austria was 

 broken, as was also that of Russia with Britain. 

 Paul was embittered against Britain for occupying 

 Malta; yet the naval war was continued jointly. 

 The Russians and Turks occupied Corfu. In 

 1800, the republic of the Seven Islands was 

 established under the guarantee of the Porte and 

 Russia, and was occupied by troops of the latter 

 until 1807 a circumstance which very much 

 increased the Russian influence in the Mediter- 

 ranean. Paul renewed the plan of an armed neu- 

 trality in the north, in consequence of which the 

 battle of Copenhagen took place, April 2, 1801 ; 

 but the emperor had died nine days previous, and 

 his successor declared himself for peace and for 

 Britain. 



Under Alexander's mediation, the peace of 

 Luneville was concluded. He then devoted him- 

 self to the internal improvement, appointed a com- 

 mittee, under prince Lapuchin, for the revision of 

 the laws, constituted the senate as a kind of inter- 

 mediate body between the monarch and the people, 

 and gradually mitigated the rigour of bondage, 

 especially in the crown-villages and the German 

 provinces. The police, especially that of the health 

 department, was greatly improved ; about 2000 phy- 

 sicians were paid by government; vaccination was 

 introduced. Agriculture was much improved 

 under him, and some nomadic tribes, as well as 

 the Nogay Tartars, devoted themselves to hus- 

 bandry. Science was fostered. Krusenstern cir- 

 cumnavigated the world. In Charkow and Kasan, 

 universities and schools were established. But 

 Alexander soon became engaged in the desola- 

 ting conflicts of Europe with France; at lirst in 

 1805, in favour of Austria, until the unfortunate 

 battle of Austerlitz ; in the next year in connexion 

 with Prussia. Again unsuccessful, Russia concluded 

 peace with France at Tilsit, in 1807; received a 

 part of Poland (Bialystock), and ceded Jever; eva- 

 cuated Cattaro and Corfu ; broke off all connexion 

 with Britain; and declared war against Sweden, 

 the only ally of Britain. In the same year (1809), 

 the peace of Fredricshamm made Finland and east 

 Bothnia, with Tornea and the Aland islands, a 

 Russian province. In the war between Austria and 

 France, in 1809, Russia took but little share, but 

 continued with vigour the war with the Porte and 

 with Persia. By the peace of Vienna she received 

 a part of East Galicia, which, however, was res- 

 tored at the congress of Vienna. When, at length, 

 Russia objected to the extension of France to the 

 river Trave, on account of the emperor's connexion 

 with the duke of Oldenburg, and could not, in her 

 commercial system, accede to the views of Napoleon, 

 the war of 1812 began, which, in the sequel, in- 

 volved all the powers of Europe, and caused the 

 overthrow of Napoleon, in 1815. (See Russian- 

 German War.~) Russia, it is true, had suffered im- 

 mensely by this devastating war ; but it emerged as 

 a power of pre-eminent importance, and strengthened 

 by the addition of Poland to its immense territory. 

 This influence seemed, during the reign of Alex- 

 ander, continually to increase by means of the holy 

 alliance, founded and supported by him. At Vien- 



na, in 1815, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1818, at Trop- 

 pan, Lajbach, Verona (see fVw//r.ss,) this influence 

 was manifested, and the French cabinet was for a 

 considerable time divided into a British and a Russian 

 party. During the struggle witli Napoleon, Russia 

 discontinued its hostilities with Persia and the 

 Porte. The peace of Bucharest, May 28, 1812, 

 with the latter, gave her Moldavia as far as the 

 Pruth, Bessarabia, and the chief mouths of the. 

 Danube: the peace of Tiflis in 1813, with the 

 former, gained her all the territory west of the 

 Caspian sea, between the Kur and the Araxi s, 

 Georgia having been united before with Russia, in 

 1801 ; and, on the east coast, as far as the gulf of 

 Balkan, with the exclusive navigation of the t'a-- 

 pian sea. Particularly since the congress of Aix-la- 

 Chapelle, Russia maybe considered as having fuui-d 

 that her influence over Europe would be best pro- 

 moted by the continuance of peace, which woul 

 enable her to develope those resources which make 

 a country formidable in war. Alexander laboured 

 with great sagacity to develope the military power 

 as well as the productive capacity of his empire, 

 and at the same time interfered in the affairs of 

 Italy and Spain, and exerted a great control over 

 France and Germany, the less supportable as it was 

 founded on the predominance of force over intelli- 

 gence. He reorganized almost the whole interior 

 of the empire. (See Alexander /.) 



After the death of this emperor, December 1, 

 1825, his brother Nicholas ascended the throne, 

 Constantine Caesarowitsch having renounced his 

 right. A conspiracy, mentioned already in the 

 article Alexander, broke out December 26, 1825, 

 when the regiments of the guard, who had taken 

 the oath to Constantine immediately after Alex- 

 ander's death, were to take the oath to Nicholas. 

 Two companies refused, and a tumult ensued, which 

 continued for one day, and was suppressed at last 

 by the mingled firmness and moderation of Nicho- 

 las. The investigation of this matter brought to 

 light a conspiracy which had existed already for 

 years, founded, as it would appear, partly on crude 

 political ideas, partly on the offended prifle of the. 

 old Russian nobility. The committee of investiga- 

 tion published a report May 30 (June 11,) 1826. 

 The most, guilty, some high officers, were hanged, 

 others sent to Siberia, and others pardoned. The 

 foreign relations of Russia with China have re- 

 mained unaltered since the treaty of eternal arnity 

 between the two countries, concluded in 1727. 

 This treaty provides for the residence of a Russian 

 mission (a mission of young men who study Chinese) 

 in Pekin, by means of which the Russians always 

 maintain a communication with the capital of China. 

 According to the peace of Gulistan, October 12, 

 1813, ratified at Tiflis, September 15, 1814, Rus- 

 sia received, besides the territory along the Cas- 

 pian and the exclusive navigation of that sea with 

 ships of war, the right of trade in Persia, in con- 

 sideration of paying a duty of five per cent., and 

 engaged to support that prince, whom the reign- 

 ing sovereign should designate for his successor, and 

 not to suffer any interference of a foreign power in 

 the internal affairs of Persia. General Jcrmoloff at 

 the same time made war upon the mountaineers of 

 the Caucasus, who make a business of robbery. 

 Most of them had submitted in 1823, and, in t he- 

 same year, seven khuns of the Kirguises and Cal- 

 mucks had passed from the Chinese sovereignty 

 voluntarily under the Russian. About this time 

 the Persian shah had appointed his son Abbas-Mirza 



