RUSSIA (HISTORY OF). 



47 



to day, the last resistance on the part of the Turks 

 before the Russians reached Adrianople, was made 

 at Slivno, or Selimno, said to be next in importance 

 to Adrianople, among the cities of the Ottoman 

 empire. The Turks abandoned the city, August 

 12, after a very feeble resistance. From this time 

 the Russians encountered hardly any difficulties, 

 before reaching Adrianople, except such as arose 

 from the excessive heat of the weather, the rocky 

 ground, and bad state of the roads. On the 19th, 

 the Russians approached Adrianople, which was 

 occupied the next day without opposition. Nego- 

 tiations now commenced, and, September 14, a 

 treaty of peace was signed, the principal points of 

 which were the cessation of hostilities; the resto- 

 ration by Russia of the principalities of Walachia 

 and Moldavia, and of all the towns occupied by 

 the Russians in Bulgaria and Rumelia; the settle- 

 ment of the boundaries between the two powers 

 in Europe and Asia; the provisions for the reli- 

 gious liberty, independent administration and free 

 trade of the people of Moldavia and Walachia; 

 freedom of commerce to Russian subjects thrgugh- 

 out the Ottoman empire, as secured by former 

 treaties; free commerce and navigation of the 

 Black sea to all nations at peace with the Porte ; 

 the stipulation of the Porte to pay 1,500,000 

 ducats of Holland to Russia within eighteen 

 months, as an indemnification for losses of Russian 

 subjects, and a further sum, such as should be 

 agreed on, as an indemnity for the expenses of the 

 war; the accession of the Porte to the arrange- 

 ments of Russia, Great Britain, and France, respect- 

 ing Greece. By a subsequent separate act, the 

 indemnities mentioned as stipulated were agreed to 

 be paid by instalments, the first in four increasing 

 payments at short intervals; the second in ten 

 annual instalments. On the first payment of the 

 portion of the smaller sum, the Russian forces 

 were to retire from Adrianople; on the second, to 

 recede beyond the Balkan ; on the third, to repass 

 the Danube; and on the fourth payment, to eva- 

 cuate the Turkish territory. Thus the emperor 

 Nicholas, according to the pledge which he had 

 given to his allies at the commencement of the 

 war, stopped short in the career of conquest, when 

 he had obtained the objects for which the war was 

 professedly undertaken. 



The beginning of the insurrection in Poland has 

 been given in the article Poland. The following 

 is a short account of the struggle which ensued. 

 When the diet of Poland met, December 18, 1830, 

 at Warsaw, general Chlopicki resigned the dictator- 

 ship; on the 20th, indeed, he was reinstated in the 

 office, but he finally resigned, January 19, 1831. 

 Whilst Poland was preparing for the unequal con- 

 flict with great enthusiasm, at least among the bet- 

 ter educated classes, the Jews not excepted, the 

 emperor Nicholas, December 17 (24), 1830, is- 

 sued a proclamation to the Poles, calling upon them 

 to submit to their legitimate government. January 

 21, prince Radzivil was elected commander-in-chief 

 of the Polish army, and on the 24th, the termina- 

 tion of the Russian dynasty in Poland was declared. 

 Marshal Diebitsch, who had so successfully con- 

 ducted the war with the Turks, entered Poland at 

 the head of a large army. He advanced as far as 

 Warsaw, and was victorious over the Poles near 

 the walls of their capital, February 25, 1831 (the 

 loss of the Poles is stated to have been 5500, that 

 of their enemies 4500) ; but when prince Radzivil 

 resigned the command on the 28th, and Skrzynecki, 



then only a colonel, was appointed in his place, the 

 Polish cause gained strength. This brave officer, 

 though finally unsuccessful, like the heroic Kosci- 

 usko, proved that he deserved a better fate. March 

 31, he was victorious over the Russians in a night 

 attack. He advanced cautiously, and, favoured by 

 the darkness of the night, reached their cantonments 

 without being perceived. The advanced guard of 

 general Geismar, consisting of 8000 or 10,000 men," 

 was first attacked, and almost wholly destroyed ; 

 the Poles took 4000 prisoners and 1600 pieces of 

 cannon. Immediately afterwards, he attacked gene- 

 ral Rosen, who was posted with 20,000 men at 

 Dembe Wielski, and obliged him to retreat with 

 the loss of 2000 prisoners and nine pieces of cannon. 

 Another important victory was afterwards gained 

 near Zelcchow, where 12,000 Russians were killed, 

 wounded or taken, with twelve pieces of cannon. 

 During this action, the Lithuanians an'd Volhynians, 

 who served in the Russian army, turned their arms 

 against the Russians, and materially contributed to 

 the success of the Poles. The peasants in various 

 quarters of Poland now took an active part in the 

 war, and hastened, with whatever weapons they 

 could obtain, to the army. Insurrections broke out 

 in Lithuania, Volhynia, Kowno, the Ukraine, 

 W T ilna, and even in ancient Poland, as far as Smo- 

 lensk. On the other hand, general Dwernicki, who 

 had been sent to make a demonstration in the rear 

 of the Russians, and who had been victorious over 

 them, was at last compelled to pass into the Austrian 

 dominions, where he surrendered to the authorities 

 of that country, April 27, with 5000 Poles. He 

 is said to have been treated humanely. Skrzynecki, 

 after having had several unsuccessful encounters 

 with the Russians, and having avoided a decisive 

 engagement with an enemy superior in strength, at 

 last fought the battle of Ostrolenka, May 26. The 

 Russian army is said to have amounted to 55,000, 

 and the Polish to 20,000. The Russians were vic- 

 torious. The same day the Polish general Chla- 

 povski was victorious over the Russians, under 

 Sacken, at Mariampol. The ardour of the people 

 still continued, and hopes were entertained in every 

 country that the manly resistance of the Poles 

 would induce the powerful cabinets to interfere ; 

 but, unfortunately, Prussia and Austria, being 

 themselves in possession of a part of the spoils of 

 Poland, did all in their power to prevent interfer- 

 ence, whilst Britain and France were too much 

 occupied at home to render essential aid. June 19, 

 count Diebitsch suddenly died of the cholera mor- 

 bus, which the Russian army had carried to Poland, 

 at Klechewo, having been superseded, on the 16th 

 of the same month, by general Paskewitsch, whose 

 campaign in Asia has been already mentioned. The 

 military operations were now prosecuted with new 

 vigour, and the emperor, who, in a manifesto ad- 

 dressed to the Russians, had called them the legiti- 

 mate masters of the Poles, was ready to make 

 every sacrifice to regain the Polish throne. The 

 Poles were successful, July 14, under general 

 Chrzanski, five miles from Warsaw, against the 

 Russians; but, owing to causes which have not yet 

 been satisfactorily explained, a change of govern- 

 ment took place in Warsaw, and general Skrzy- 

 necki was superseded by Dembinski as commander- 

 in-chief. The behaviour of the former seems to 

 have been throughout exemplary, and such was his 

 deportment on his discharge from the supreme com- 

 mand. The skill and valour of generals Roziski 

 and Czartoryski were no longer of any avail. A 



