RUSSIA. 



705 



Church of the Assumption,-which could only 

 accommodate the court and the state guests. 

 The coronation, attended by long and compli- 

 cated observances, was performed by the Czar 

 himself, who received the crown from the Met- 

 ropolitan of Novgorod, placed it on his head, 

 and was anointed with holy oil by the bishop. 

 After crowning the Czarina, the Czar entered 

 the sanctuary and partook of the sacrament, in 

 token of entering upon his functions as the 

 head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The 

 couple then displayed themselves in robes and 

 crowns before the people. A mystical inci- 

 dent, which was prepared', to work upon the 

 superstition of the people, was the appearance 

 of a white dove hovering over the Czar at the 

 moment of the coronation. 



The festivities which folio wed the coronation 

 lasted a week. The spectacles provided for the 

 people embraced the national drama, military 

 pantomimes, fairy extravaganzas, and harle- 

 quinades, performed in four great open-air 

 theatres, besides circus-feats and displays in 

 an enormous hippodrome, and a great variety 

 of minor shows. The mujiks assembled from 

 many miles around. On the day of the popu- 

 lar fete there were nearly a million persons on 

 the grounds. Baskets of meat-pies, cakes, and 

 sweetmeats were distributed, and beer was 

 served out without stint. About 400,000 peo- 

 ple partook of the lavish feast. The two hun- 

 dredth anniversary of the formation of the 

 Preobrajensky Guard by Peter the Great was 

 made the occasion of a grand feast, presided 

 over by the Emperor, at which the two oldest 

 regiments of the Russian army which composed 

 the Guard, deputations from all the other regi- 

 ments, and the select society of Moscow and 

 the visiting guests were regaled in the village 

 of Preobrajensk. 



Although the glories of the coronation festi- 

 val were designed to outshine if possible the 

 display and munificence of former occasions of 

 the kind, the essential character of the great 

 national feast was lacking. The citizens of the 

 loyal city and the faithful Muscovite peasantry 

 were not wanting in devotion, but their enthu- 

 siasm was chilled by the precautions which 

 were taken to prevent them from approaching 

 the Czar. Wherever the imperial cortege passed 

 a wide space was cleared by the military. The 

 mujiks were forbidden to toss their caps in 

 the air, lest they should contain bombs. Every 

 one felt the restraint of the police regulations, 

 which spread a gloom over the whole occasion. 

 There was not the slightest attempt at riot or 

 disturbance in Moscow. It was intended to 

 have the return of the Czar to St. Petersburg 

 celebrated by an illumination and popular fes- 

 tivities, but the plan was abandoned and all 

 demonstrations interdicted. A report of the 

 death of the German Emperor was fabricated, 

 to excuse the omission of the projected state 

 entry. A demonstration of disloyal sentiment 

 occurred on the evening of the coronation, 

 when an immense mob of workmen rushed 

 VOL. XXHI. 45 A 



through the Nevsky Prospect and the principal 

 streets. The disturbances were renewed the 

 following day, when the police forbade illu- 

 minations and out-of-door festivities on the re- 

 turn of the Czar. The royal couple arrived 

 secretly and returned to their seclusion in the 

 Peterhof palace. 



Foreign Poliey. The Russian Government was 

 constrained by the firmness and strength of the 

 European league, formed by Prince Bismarck 

 to preserve the status quo and uphold the de- 

 cisions of the Berlin Congress, to abandon any 

 design it had of reopening the Eastern ques- 

 tion. The prospect of aRusso-French alliance 

 faded from the range of probabilities. In the 

 Balkan lands the influence of the Austro-Ger- 

 man alliance, at least among the governing 

 circles, was supreme. The Muscovite war party 

 in Russia, which stood nearest to Alexander 

 III at the time of his accession, showed signs 

 of activity and influence before the coronation, 

 but after M. de Giers had tested the consistency 

 of the peace league the chances of an aggres- 

 sive policy disappeared. The journey of Min- 

 ister de Giers to the European capitals was in 

 itself an indication that the Czar refused to be 

 ruled by his Panslavistic advisers, and desired 

 to cultivate peaceful relations with the Central 

 European powers. M. d Giers arrived in Vi- 

 enna in the latter part of January, and also con- 

 ferred with the German Chancellor at Varzin. 

 An imperial message to M. de Giers after the 

 coronation was designed to allay the distrust 

 of European governments. " The great glory 

 and power," he wrote, " which, thanks to 

 Providence, have been acquired by Russia, the 

 extent of her empire, and her numerous popu- 

 lation, leave no room for any idea whatever of 

 further conquests. My solicitude is exclusively 

 devoted to the peaceable development of the 

 country and its prosperity, to the preservation 

 of its friendly relations with the powers on the 

 basis of existing treaties, and to the mainte- 

 nance of the dignity of the empire." In an- 

 other circular the Czar expressed appreciation 

 of the representation of foreign powers at the 

 coronation as "fresh pledges of concord which 

 agree with his own pacific intentions." The 

 Panslavist party did not cease their efforts in 

 the Balkan lands, but thev met with no popu- 

 lar response. The question of the union of 

 Eastern Roumelia with Bulgaria was agitated. 

 Later in the year the Bulgarians themselves 

 evinced impatience at the interference of Rus- 

 sia in their affairs, and administered a severe 

 rebuff. Panslavistic agitations are awkward 

 for the Russian Government, for domestic rea- 

 sons, since the confirmation of the autocratic 

 principle, because the Russian people in asking 

 for political freedom are apt to cast up to the - 

 Czar and his Government the -constitutions to 

 which they have helped the Servians and the 

 Bulgarians. The visits of King Carol of Ron- 

 mania, King Milan of Servia, Prince Alex- 

 ander of Bulgaria, as well as King George of 

 Greece and King Alfonso of Spain, to Berlin 



