466 
RUSSIA. 
Dimitri bestrode a furious stallion, which he mounted with¬ 
out the help of his attendants. In addition to these 
sources of discontent, it was rumoured that a timber fort, 
which Dimitri had caused to be constructed before Moscow, 
was intended to serve as an engine of destruction to the in¬ 
habitants, and that at a martial spectacle, which the tzar was 
preparing for the entertainment of his bride, the Poles, and 
other foreigners, that composed his body guard, were, from 
this building to cast firebrands into the city, and then 
slaughter the inhabitants. This rumour increased their hatred 
to fury, and they resolved to wreak their vengeance on the 
devoted tzar. The populace were still farther incensed by 
the clergy, who declaimed against Dimitri as a heretic, and 
by Schuiskoy, a nobleman, who had been condemned to 
death by the tzar, but had afterwards been pardoned. This 
nobleman put himself at the head of the enraged mob, and 
led them to attack the tzar’s palace. This they entered by 
assault, put to the sword all the Poles whom they found 
within its walls, and afterwards extended their massacre to 
such as were discovered in other parts of the city. Dimitri 
himself, in attempting to escape, was overtaken by his 
pursuers, and thrust through with a spear, and his dead body 
being brought back into the city, lay for three days before 
the palace, exposed to every insult and outrage that malice 
could invent, or rage inflict. His father-in-law and his wife 
escaped with their lives, but were detained as prisoners, and 
the tzaritza was confined at Yaroslavl. 
Schuiskoy, who had pretended to be actuated by no other 
motives than the purest patriotism, now aspired to the vacant 
throne, and had sufficient interest to carry his election. His 
reign was short and uninteresting, and indeed from this time 
till the accession of the house of Romanof, in 1613, the affairs 
of Russia have little to gratify the curiosity of our readers. 
We have seen the calamities brought upon the empire by 
the partitions of its early monarchs, and the wars to which 
these partitions gave birth; by the invasions and tyranny of 
the Tartars; and lastly, by the disturbances that prevailed 
from the machinations of the false Dimitri. We have ob¬ 
served the depression which the empire suffered under these 
calamities. We are now to witness its sudden elevation 
among the powers of Europe, and to accompany it in its 
hasty strides to that importance which it has lately assumed. 
But before we enter on the transactions that have enriched 
the pages of the Russian annals since the accession of the 
house of Romanof, it may not be improper or uninteresting 
to take a general view of the state of the empire at the be¬ 
ginning of the 17th century. 
At this period the government of Russia may be consi¬ 
dered as a pure aristocracy, as all the supreme power rested in 
the hands of the nobles and the superior clergy. In parti¬ 
cular the boyars, or chief officers of the army, who were also 
the privy counsellors of the prince, possessed a very consider¬ 
able share of authority. The election of the late princes 
Boris, Dimitri, and Schuiskoy, had been conducted princi¬ 
pally by them, in concert with the inhabitants of Moscow, 
where was then held the seat of government. The common 
people, especially those of the inferior towns, though nomi¬ 
nally free, had no share in the government, or in the election 
of the chief ruler. The boors, or those peasants who dwelt 
on a nobleman’s estates, were almost completely slaves, 
and transferable with the land on which they dwelt. An 
attempt to do away this barbarous vassalage had been made 
both by Boris and Schuiskoy, but from the opposition of the 
nobles it was abandoned. 
The laws in force at the time of which we are now speak¬ 
ing, consisted partly of the municipal laws drawn up for the 
state of Novgorod by Yaroslaf, and partly of an amended 
code, called sudebnik, promulgated by Ivan Vasiliivitch II. 
By this sudebnik the administration of the laws was made 
uniform throughout the empire, and particular magistrates 
were appointed in the several towns and districts, all subject 
to the tzar as their chief. The sudebnik consisted of ninety- 
seven articles, all containing civil laws, as the penal statutes 
are only briefly mentioned in some articles, so as to appear 
either connected with the civil, or as serving to illustrate 
them. In the civil statutes of the sudebnik, theft was 
punished in the first instance by restitution, or, if the thief 
were unable to restore the property stolen, he became the 
slave of the injured party, till by his labour he had made 
sufficient compensation. Of murder nothing is said, except 
where the person slain was a lord or master, when the mur¬ 
derer was to be punished with death. There is no mention 
of torture, except in cases of theft. 
Before the accession of the house of Romanof, the com¬ 
mercial intercourse which the cities of Novgorod and Pscove 
formerly held with the Hans towns, had entirely ceased; but 
this was in some degree compensated by the newly establish¬ 
ed trade between Russia and England, the centre of which 
was Archangel. This trade had been lately increased by 
the products derived from the acquisition of Siberia, in ex¬ 
change for which the English principally supplied the Rus¬ 
sians with broad cloth. In 1568, an English counting-house 
was established at Moscow, and about the same time the Rus¬ 
sian Company was incorporated. Previous to the 15th cen¬ 
tury, the trade of the Russians had been carried on merely by 
barter, but during that century the coinage of money com¬ 
menced at Novgorod and Pscove; and from this time their 
commerce was placed on an equal footing with that of the 
other European nations. 
The houses were in general of timber, and badly construct¬ 
ed, except that in Moscow and other great towns, there were a 
few houses built of brick. 
That contempt for the female sex, which is invariably a 
characteristic of defective civilization, was conspicuous 
among the Russians. The women were kept in a state of 
perfect bondage, and it was thought a great instance of libe¬ 
rality, if a stranger were but permitted to see them. They 
durst seldom go to church, though attendance on divine 
worship was considered of the highest importance. They 
were constantly required to be within doors, so that they 
very seldom enjoyed the fresh air. 
The men of the middle ranks always repaired about noon 
to the market, wdiere they transacted business together, con¬ 
versed about public affairs, and attended the courts of judi¬ 
cature to hear the causes that were going forward. This was 
undoubtedly a practice productive of much good, as the in¬ 
habitants of the towns by these means improved their ac¬ 
quaintance, interchanged the knowledge they had acquired, 
and thus their patriotic affections were nourished and invigo¬ 
rated. 
In agreements and bargains the highest asseveration was, 
“ If I keep not my word, may it turn to .my infamy,” a 
custom extremely honourable to the Russians of those 
days, as they held the disgrace of having forfeited their word 
to be the deepest degradation. 
If the wife was so dependant on her husband, the child 
was still more dependant on his father; for parents were 
allowed to sell their children. 
Masters and servants entered into a mutual contract re¬ 
specting the terms of their connection, and a written copy 
of this contract was deposited in the proper court, where, if 
either party broke the contract, the other might lodge his 
complaint. 
Single combat still continued to be the last resource in 
deciding a cause; and to this the judge resorted in cases 
which he knew not how otherwise to determine: but duels out 
of court were strictly prohibited : and when these took place, 
and either party fell, the survivor was regarded as a murderer, 
and punished accordingly. Personal vengeance was for¬ 
bidden under the strictest penalties. 
The nobles were universally soldiers, and were obliged to 
appear when summoned, to assist the prince in his wars. 
Till the end of the 16th century, the boor was not bound 
to any particular master. He tilled the ground of a noble¬ 
man for a certain time on stated conditions. Thus, he either 
received part of the harvest or of the cattle, a portion of 
wood, hay, &c.; or he worked five days for the master, 
and on the sixth was at liberty to till a piece of ground set 
apart for his use. At the expiration of the term agreed on, 
either party might give up the contract to the other; the 
boor 
