Letters to Alexander III

Contents 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 Appendix God commanded us to experience this terrible day. It was as if God's punishment had fallen on unfortunate Russia. I would like to hide my face, go underground, so as not to see, not to feel, not to experience. God, have mercy on us. But for you this day is even more terrible, and, thinking about you in these moments, that the bloody threshold through which God wants to lead you into your new destiny, my whole soul trembles for you with the fear of the unknown future for you and for Russia, with the fear of the great unspeakable burden that is placed on you. Loving you as a person, I would like, as a person, to save you from the burden of a free life; but there is no human strength for this, for God was so pleased. It was His holy will that you were born into the world for this purpose and that your beloved brother, going to Him, would show you his place on earth. The people believe in this will of God, and at His command they lift up their hope in you and in the strong power God has entrusted to you. God bless you. May the people's prayer encourage you, and may the people's faith give you the strength and intelligence to rule with a strong hand and firm will. You get a Russia that is disturbed, shattered, confused, yearning to be led with a firm hand, so that the ruling power can see clearly and know firmly what it wants, and what it does not want and will not allow in any way. Everyone will wait in excitement to see what your will will be. Many will want to take possession of it and guide it. Your Majesty, let me tell you this day. The first days of your reign will be especially significant and require special consideration and prudence. I cannot calm down from the terrible shock. I cannot drive away the worry that oppresses me about you and your safety. Forgive me that in these sorrowful hours I come to you with my word: for God’s sake, in these first days of your reign, which will be of decisive importance for you, do not miss a single opportunity to declare your personal decisive will, coming directly from you, so that everyone can hear and know: “I want it this way,” or “I don’t want it.” No precaution is superfluous at these moments. I am not the only one who is worried: this anxiety is shared by all ordinary Russian people. Today I already met several ordinary people who all spoke with fear and horror about the Marble Palace. This idea has taken root among the people. The meeting on March 21 at V.V. had so far only resulted in a rapprochement between individuals, for the first time, and this was good; I rejoice that those who have hitherto avoided me speak to me without coercion. Since that day I have not seen any of the ministers. I look forward to when we get together for a general meeting. V. book. Vladimir Aleksandrovich noted that all the disagreement that has existed until now stems only from misunderstandings, but I am afraid that these misunderstandings are deeper than it seems, and should be revealed every time when it is necessary not only to speak, but to begin actions and orders. It is not difficult to reason, and to avoid disagreements, phrases and sharp shades of views and opinions are smoothed out; but when it is necessary to take decisive action, discord is revealed and the power of action is paralyzed. The strangest rumors and expectations regarding this meeting circulated among the public last week and continue to this day. Many were sure that on the 15th, then 17th, 18th something unusual would happen and appear. Rumors about representation have risen again - perhaps now they will die down. But the confusion will not calm down, I am convinced, until the government declares itself with such actions that would not leave doubt or split thoughts in anyone. I dare to think, Your Imperial Majesty, that in order to calm minds at this moment it would be necessary on your behalf to address the people with a firm statement that does not allow for any doublethink. This would encourage all well-meaning straight people. The first manifesto was too short and vague. I will try, if you like, to come up with an appropriate edition and present it at your discretion. At the same time, I continue to think that Your Majesty needs to appear in St. Petersburg. Your constant, non-stop stay in Gatchina arouses many rumors among the people, the most incredible, but nevertheless taken on faith. Today people have already asked whether it is true that the Tsar is no longer in the world and that they are hiding it. The spread and strengthening of such rumors can be very dangerous in Russia, and malicious people, there are so many of them now, use them to confuse the people. There are many of these in Russia - they are all waiting in excitement and fear to see what the real government will say, where it will go. Your Imperial Majesty. Forgive me for God's sake for bothering and bothering you so often. Today a thought was put into motion that terrifies me. People have become so depraved in their thoughts that others consider it possible to spare convicted criminals from the death penalty. The fear is already spreading among the Russian people that they may present perverted thoughts to Your Majesty and persuade you to pardon the criminals. This rumor reached the old man, Count. Strogonova, who came to me today in excitement. Could this happen? No, no, and a thousand times no - it cannot be that in the face of the entire Russian people, at such a moment you would forgive the murderers of your father, the Russian Sovereign, for whose blood the whole earth (except for a few, weakened in mind and heart) demands vengeance and loudly grumbles that it is slowing down. If this could happen, believe me, Sovereign, it will be considered a great sin, and will shake the hearts of all your subjects. I am a Russian person, I live among Russians and I know how the people feel and what they require. At this moment everyone is thirsting for retribution. Whichever of these villains escapes death will immediately build new forges. For God's sake, Your Majesty, let not the voice of flattery and dreaminess penetrate your heart. Your Imperial Majesty's loyal subject Konstantin Pobedonostsev March 30, 1881 St. Petersburg On the occasion of the current terrible events, the Holy Synod decided to publish a pastoral letter to all the people. This will correspond to the actual need stated everywhere. Similar examples occurred in much less important cases, for example, after the story of Petrashevsky in 1848. The resolution of the synod was passed by me today and is due to be implemented in the next few days. I have the honor to present a copy of the supposed message to Your Imperial Majesty. Before Easter, proposals for rewards in the spiritual department are usually presented to the Highest View. If it pleases Your Imperial Majesty to maintain the same order, then I will await orders when to appear with this report in Gatchina. Now ordinary people are filled with concern for the safety of Your Imperial Majesty: for many this concern is incessant and haunting. The pious resort to prayers, or seek to protect you with a revered icon or other home shrine. It is impossible to reject these impulses of ardent zeal. Yesterday a very simple man came to see me, a venerable old resident of the city of Tomsk, the merchant Khranov, who came here for a while. First, in the forest near Tomsk, then in Tomsk itself, in Khranov’s garden, a hermit of unknown origin lived in prayer for about 25 years, and died in 1864, already 90 years old. Local residents, especially Khranov himself, revered him during his lifetime as a saint, and even more revered him after his death. They claim that he predicted the future and that many receive healing at his grave. Old man Khranov, regarding the attempts on the life of the Sovereign Emperor, sent His Majesty a portrait of this old man and various news about his warnings and predictions. Now he brought with him from Tomsk this old man’s cap, which he kept reverently in his family and to which he attributes miraculous powers, saying that twice when he took it with him on the road, he miraculously escaped from robbers. I did not want to confuse the faith of this good man and did not dare to refuse him: I took this cap from him with the promise to present it to Your Imperial Majesty, along with a portrait of the elder. July 11, 1881 Oranienbaum Your Imperial Majesty. Again I must ask you for forgiveness for my importunity, because I am returning to the same subject about which I already wrote and bothered you. I have already dared to write to Your Majesty about a subject that I consider important - about Skobelev’s reception. Now in the city they say that Skobelev was upset and embarrassed that you did not show a desire to know details about the actions of his detachment and about the expedition, which attracted everyone’s attention and which was the last, main military action carried out during the past reign. They are now talking about this, and everyone who is dissatisfied with the latest changes is singing about this topic. I heard about this from serious people, from old man Strogonov, who is very concerned about this. Today gr. Ignatiev told me that D. A. Milyutin spoke about this impression of Skobelev with some gloating. I consider this subject so important that I risk incurring Your Majesty's displeasure by returning to it. I dare to repeat again that Your Majesty needs to attract Skobelev to you cordially. The times are such that they require extreme caution in techniques. God knows what events we may still witness, and when we will experience calm and confidence. There is no need to deceive yourself: fate has appointed Your Majesty to go through a stormy, very stormy time, and the greatest dangers and difficulties are still ahead. Now is a critical time for you personally: now, or never, you will attract to yourself and to your side the best forces in Russia, people who are able not only to speak, but most importantly, who are able to act in decisive moments. People have become so shredded, characters have been so weathered, the phrase has taken over everything so much that I assure you on honor, you look around you and don’t know where to stop. All the more precious now is a person who has shown that he has will and reason, and knows how to act: ah, there are so few of these people! Circumstances are shaping up to our misfortune in a way that has never happened before in Russia - I foresee the sad possibility of such a state in which some will be for you, others will be against you. Then, if on Your Majesty’s side there are people, although loyal, but incapable and indecisive, and on the other side there are leaders, then there may be great grief both for you and for Russia. It is necessary to act in such a way that such an accident is impossible. Now, it seems, some who are not disposed towards Your Majesty and consider themselves offended, whisper to Skobelev: “Look, we said that he does not value his previous merits and merits.” It is necessary to make sure that this crafty word turns out to be a lie, and not only to Skobelev, but also to everyone who declared themselves with real ability to conduct business and exploits in the last war. If Your Majesty has a dislike for some of these people, for God’s sake, extinguish it in yourself. Since March 1st, you, with all your impressions and tastes, belong not to yourself, but to Russia and your great service. Dislike can come from impressions; impressions could be inspired by rumors, stories, anecdotes, sometimes frivolous and exaggerated. Let Skobelev, as they say, be an immoral person. Remember, Your Majesty, how many great figures, commanders in history who could be called moral people - and they moved and decided events. You can be personally an immoral person, but at the same time be a bearer of great moral strength and have enormous moral influence on the masses. Skobelev, I will say again, became a great force and acquired enormous moral influence over the masses; that is, people believe him and follow him. This is terribly important, and now more important than ever. Every person has his own pride, and it is the more legitimate in a person, the more obvious to everyone the deed he has accomplished. If it were just a matter of petty vanity, it wouldn’t be worth talking about. But Skobelev has the right to expect that everyone is interested in the work that he did, and that the Russian Sovereign is interested in him first and foremost. So, if it is true that Your Majesty did not show any interest in this matter in a short conversation with him, a desire to know its details, the position of the detachment, the consequences of the expedition, etc. Skobelev could have taken a bitter feeling from this reception. Allow me, Your Majesty, to take a moment to look into your spiritual disposition. I can imagine that you felt awkward, unfree, restless with Skobelev, and that you tried to shorten the date. I understand this feeling of awkwardness, coupled with a reluctance to see a person, and the uncertainty that stems from it. I am afraid that such a feeling can be embarrassing in many cases. Your Majesty is in reception of some people. When ordinary people come to you, they always come out comforted and happy by your attention and questions. This happens because you, by nature, feel at ease with ordinary people, and when you feel constrained in your soul, you are burdened by your position and attitude towards the person. But I dare to think, Your Majesty, that now that you are the Russian Sovereign, there is not and cannot be a person with whom you would not feel free, for in your person, Russia itself, the whole earth with supreme power, stands before everyone and everyone. Is there at least one that you could not master morally the first time, from the first word? Your Majesty, you do not know your full strength. For God's sake, get to know it, understand it, believe in it - then everything will be clear to you, then every personal impression of the past will no longer cast a shadow on your relationship with people. When a person approaches you, think that it is not he and you, but he and Russia, then it will be clear to you how to treat the person and what to say to him, and your every word will be with authority and force. Here in the living rooms they say that the Empress deigns to receive Madame Adam, who came here from Paris. Without a doubt, Your Imperial Majesty knows that Madame Adam is a political adventurer and is among the main agents of the extreme republican party, in connection with the plans and calculations of Gambetta; they say that she was also his mistress. She is the publisher of the magazine La Nouvelle Revue, which serves as the party's organ. In connection with her arrival in Russia, articles appeared in Berlin semi-official newspapers that she was coming here for secret political negotiations aimed at bringing France closer to Russia and to the local political parties. January 6, 1882 St. Petersburg ...I consider it my duty to present to Your Imperial Majesty the issue of the newspaper “New Time”, which may not have reached you otherwise. Please pay attention to the proclamation reprinted here and to the reasoning about it. This is the business of the Druzhina and gr. Shuvalova. This proclamation was distributed in educational institutions and at women's courses. The children brought it home to their parents with bewilderment. And after the newspaper article, the whole of St. Petersburg is talking about this, dare I say, crazy and vile business. It is no secret to anyone who the culprits are, and for all of them - with the money of the Druzhina. I myself know one such aide-de-camp. There are rumors, each more ridiculous than the other. Not to mention the fact that my name is being woven into this matter; I know that at first some members of the Druzhina had the shamelessness to lure people into it in my name. It doesn't matter to me. The important thing is that in this truly pitiful and shameful matter, the name of Your Majesty is pronounced. This is what not a single honest Russian soul can endure, and the deeds of the Druzhina have already been made public throughout all of Russia. Your Imperial Majesty's Loyal Subject Konstantin Pobedonostsev The edition of the manifesto sent from Your Imperial Majesty did not seem satisfactory to me. It was copied (as you can see from the attached book) from a similar manifesto on April 17, 1856, and this is rather inconvenient. It seems to me that for the sake of decency the editorial staff should be diversified. Moreover, the current edition, with some changes, seems to me weaker than the previous one. I preferred to draw up a new one, which I present to Your Majesty’s discretion. At that time, one could point to the Peace of Paris as a clear sign that “the former calm had been returned to Russia,” that is, a peaceful state had returned after a disastrous war. Now it is impossible to point out such a sign, and therefore I really don’t like the phrase: “Now, when all-good providence returns Russia to its former calm” (as if it was in the internal state in the last years of the past reign). I think that it is much more decent not to mention this at all, but to go straight to the idea that the time has come, etc. And before that it was said in general about calming the indignant feelings of the people. In the same way, I found it necessary to change the formula of prayer. At the beginning I put the phrase: “during times of unrest.” If this word turmoil seemed too harsh, it could be released, leaving only the words “in a moment of terrible shock.” One more note. At the end I put: concern for the welfare of the people, and not the peoples, as it was said in the previous and in the printed edition. And in 1856 this word: peoples seemed strange. They noticed that the Austrian emperor can talk about his people, but we have one people and one power. With heartfelt gratitude I return to Your Majesty the letters of V. A. Zhukovsky. Truly it was a simple, pure and clear soul - and all of it is reflected in the letter dated August 30, 1843. When you read this letter, you involuntarily turn your thoughts to the era when it was written - 40 years ago. This was the clearest and most brilliant time of the reign of Emperor Nicholas. Much around the poet was simple and clear; those tasks of life, which since then have become unimaginably complicated and confused, also seemed simple and clear. There are times when the road ahead is wide and you can see where to go. There are other times when there is fog ahead, around the swamp. That time and now - what a difference - it’s as if the world around us has changed. The thought involuntarily comes to mind: this simple soul, this clear thought - how would Zhukovsky have expressed it if he had written not in 1843, but at least twenty years later? And God did not want him to live to see the time when his sovereign pupil became Emperor and entered into business. It seems that for the late Sovereign and for all of Russia the presence - only the presence - of a person with such a soul, with a direct and clear view of a Russian person on affairs and people, would be an invaluable blessing. With Zhukovsky - and maybe only with him - the late Sovereign would have been able to speak directly, without the slightest shadow, and would have accepted his word with complete confidence. Zhukovsky, with his clear instinct, would have understood everything that was false in many of the measures that were presented to the Sovereign during the era of reforms, and would have pointed directly to the danger that threatened those fundamental principles of government, which he so simply and clearly set out in his letter. And when you remember what kind of people at that time - in the mid-60s - decided the fate of these reforms, you will regret, with human reasoning, that Zhukovsky did not exist. But apparently it was God’s will that there should be neither him nor others like him. Once again I dare to appear as a petitioner to Your Imperial Majesty - to beg for help for a good cause. You will please remember how several years ago I reported to you about Sergei Rachinsky, a respectable man who, having left his professorship at Moscow University, went to live on his estate, in the most remote forest wilderness of the Belsky district of the Smolensk province, and has been living there continuously for more than 14 years, working from morning to night for the benefit of the people. He breathed completely new life into a whole generation of peasants who were sitting in pitch darkness, became truly a benefactor of an entire area, founded and leads, with the help of 4 priests, 5 public schools, which now represent a model for the whole earth. This is a wonderful person. He gives everything he has and all the resources of his estate to this cause, limiting his needs to the last degree. Meanwhile, the business is growing under his hands, and he is already forced to reduce it due to lack of funds. In addition to schools, he set up a special hospital for syphilis, which, as you know, in other areas is an ulcer of the population in villages, transmitted hereditarily from one generation to another. This hospital is extremely helpful; but, unfortunately, it too must close. "Alas! - Rachinsky wrote to me in December last year, - this undertaking is too expensive for me to hope to receive funds from anywhere: for its further support. Its annual budget is 600 rubles (paramedic - 300, maintenance of patients - 200, servants, medicines, lighting - about 100 rubles. Heating is provided by my brother). But not only that, the temporary premises are worthless; a building is needed, which will cost rubles at 1,500. In the hospital there are 4 beds, constantly occupied, for 9 months I treated 21 people; at home - about 90. The case is undoubtedly useful - syphilis, except in exceptional cases, is probably curable (the paramedic is excellent, the doctor comes six times a year) but I can’t continue this work except on debt. And the other day he writes: “It’s a difficult but necessary task to put my budget in order... The hospital will close in May (in the winter you don’t raise your hand - there are so many sick people).” Forgive me, Your Majesty, for bothering you with reading all of the above. My thought is this: while a person who knows how to conduct such a good work for the people and puts his soul into it is still alive, it is worth supporting him. You allowed me to ask, and this time I make up my mind. Would you be kind enough to donate 2,000 rubles to support this hospital, of which 1,500 will go towards the building and 500 towards maintenance for a year? This gift from Your Majesty will encourage and enliven with joy all who labor in this work. I consider it my duty to add that Rachinsky himself has no idea of ​​asking, expecting or hoping for anything from Your Majesty’s generosity. Forgive me, Your Imperial Majesty, that I dare to bother you again with a letter on the same matter. And now, like that time, I have only one goal in mind - the good of Your Imperial Majesty and the dignity of power in difficult times. I continue to consider this matter a matter of great importance, precisely in view of the coronation and the existing popular mood. Just now I saw Count Tolstoy, to whom you deigned to send my letter. I learned that on the theater case, Count Vorontsov presented a report to Your Majesty, which received approval. I would not hesitate to say to Count Vorontsov that he should not have done this without consulting in such an important matter with other persons other than the ranks of the theater management. It turns out that, wanting to secure the consent of another ministry, he had an explanation with Count three months ago on the same subject. Tolstoy and received from gr. Tolstoy’s answer is that Russian opera performances cannot be allowed during Lent, since this is contrary to the already announced Imperial command of 1881. Regardless of that, gr. Vorontsov decided to come in with a report to Your Majesty directly. The meaning of the Highest Command is clear, and the present resolution amounts to a revocation of it. This is how it will be accepted by the people. You can explain as much as you like that opera is a combination of living pictures and music. This may be understandable to St. Petersburg society, but in Russia they will not understand it, but they remember very well that in the past, before the Highest command requested by Count. Adlerberg, no operas were allowed to be presented. Based on the same logic, nothing prevents ballet from being allowed: there is not even a conversation here, and dancing is not directly mentioned in the text of the law. It occurred to Count Tolstoy whether he should now put a note in the Government Bulletin explaining that opera is supposedly not a dramatic performance, but a combination of a living picture with music. But I rejected this idea: such an announcement on behalf of the government would not reassure anyone, but would only strengthen the grave impression. Your Majesty! This is the last [time] I’m bothering you with these lines regarding the present case. But the duty of my rank and my heartfelt concern tells me to say again: the impression will be grave. It would have been less severe if permission had followed later, a year later or several years later. But now... now people will refuse to believe at first. Moreover, the coronation is being prepared in Moscow, and the main petition came from Moscow to close theaters during Lent, and in Moscow the permission for performances resonated most sensitively. It is necessary to preserve the people's feeling in its religious element precisely now, when it is so inclined before the coronation. This is how the groom protects the bride’s shy feeling before marriage... There will be many people who will say that these are empty whims on the part of the synod, that this is priestly fanaticism, etc. The Synod does not know anything about the present case, and the point is not in it, but in the people’s feeling, which will never understand how there can be performances in those days when every day in church it is read: “Lord, Lord of my life”... Ordinary people will also not understand how the royal word, greeted by all the people with such joy in the days of mourning and crying, could suddenly change. I dare to assure Your Majesty that my pride is not at all involved in this matter. Although the Highest command of 1881 was not asked for by me, and gr. Vorontsov, who did not listen to the advice of the Minister of Internal Affairs, did not want to consult with me - this does not offend me personally at all. I will intervene in this matter because I deeply feel the importance of the present moment for the whole reign, all the difficulty of the present era and all the burden of the burden placed on you by God's providence. It hurts me that others don’t feel this, but I can’t shy away and say: it’s none of my business. The order to allow opera performances is internal, at home, at the Imperial Theatres. It was not announced anywhere. Apparently, it would not be difficult to cancel it while there is still time. Even if this resulted in a loss for the theater box office, it would not be worth the embarrassment that would arise from putting the order into effect. All this depends solely on the will of Your Imperial Majesty. Your heart is in the will of God, and may God send you the right decision. The other day I saw old Dobryansky, who came here for several days from Germany, secretly, so that agents of the Austrian government would not find out about his trip to Russia. He tells a lot of terrible and instructive things. The monstrous trial on charges of high treason, brought against Dobryansky, Naumovich and other, the best and most valiant people of the Russian people, amazed sensible people throughout Europe. On behalf of the government, without the slightest reason, an accusation of a crime entailing the death penalty was raised against the Russian people, only because they wanted to remain Russian and keep their church to themselves! These people were locked up in prison for 7 months, tortured and subjected to shame and insults at trial. The court did not find them criminally guilty. Everyone asked in surprise: how crazy must a government be that allows such lawless persecution, needlessly irritating an entire nation with it? But here’s what’s very instructive, especially for us Russians. The Austrian government itself was saddened by this process and understood all its lawlessness, but was powerless to prevent it and saw itself in the need to submit to the party that initiated this process. A role unworthy of government; but the Austrian government forced itself into this lie because it is based on the constitution. In the diverse composition of the state, the Austrian government is forced to reckon with the representatives of the party that currently has power in parliament. Ministers, depending not on the single will of the monarch, but on the play of parties in parliament, in order to maintain their position and stay in their places, enter into a deal with the ruling parties and are forced to carry out their will, contrary to the true interests of the state. And so it turns out that these parties rule the state; in their spirit and according to their instructions, local administrators are appointed, with whose assistance a false game of elections is carried out, which are nothing more than a lie, and so the false parliamentary majority and the false direction of the whole government are supported by false representatives of the people. It is impossible to imagine how much lies and lawlessness stems from this, and how much theft and bribery spreads. Members of parliament, having ministers at their disposal, trade in both places and government transactions and contracts. This phenomenon is common, more or less everywhere where parliamentary government is established. Recently in the Revue de deux Mondes (I Feb.) there was a beautifully written article: La Republique en 1883, which depicts the extent to which this parliamentary corruption and this electoral lie have reached in France. Dobryansky, who knows both the people and the parties there, told me about Austria: "In Russia now and again we hear about embezzlement and theft. But all these phenomena of yours, no matter how depraved they may be, pale in comparison to what is happening here in Austria, and which has already become part of the system, thanks to parliamentary rule." Now all parliamentary power is in the hands of the Magyars and Poles. The Magyars are the complete masters of their country and crush without mercy and without conscience any other nationality, and the election system is so cunningly arranged by them and the Poles that no other Slavic nationality can have a strong voice in the chamber. The Poles have arranged it in such a way that in the Polish provinces, even where, as in Galicia, the people are all purely Russian, the entire administration and all power are in the hands of the Poles. When the court is separated from the state (to our grief, they managed to do this in Russia as well), and the court becomes an instrument of the dominant party or well-known political tendencies. The Poles, in an inextricable alliance with the Catholic Church, with priests and Jesuits, undertook to crush and Polish and Catholicize the Russian tribe. Having power in parliament, they conceived a whole series of laws to suppress the Russian people: changing the calendar, replacing the Russian alphabet with the Latin one, expelling the Russian language from the Russian school, replacing the Russian clergy with Latin ones, transferring Russian monasteries and theological schools to the Jesuits; it has gotten to the point where the police are removing Russian six-pointed crosses from churches and replacing them with Latin ones. In recent years, a fierce struggle has ensued between the Russian people and clergy - against the Latin-Polish authorities and propaganda. A people without leaders is lost, and so the Poles decided to crush the main leaders - Dobryansky and Naumovich - with the process. The Poles have in their hands both the prosecutor's office - a terrible weapon of a political tendency - and the court. They brought charges, threw the accused in prison - the government from Vienna was forced to look at all this lawlessness with folded hands. The investigation revealed nothing other than the most ordinary and insignificant facts that the indictment constructed as evidence of high treason. Suffice it to say that one of the proofs of treason was my imaginary (it never happened) petition to admit Dobryansky’s daughter to be raised at a St. Petersburg institute and my subscription to the most innocent Galician newspaper through the mediation of one of the accused. Any thought about the possibility of a guilty verdict seemed ridiculous; but the Poles decided, and when the case came to trial, the prosecutor - a Pole took away all the Russian jurors - only the Poles remained with a mixture of Jews. The accusation was undeniable. And this is what a court means in a constitutional state! A few days before the verdict, Dobryansky’s wife came to tell him that there was no other means of acquittal than bribing the jury. But Dobryansky no longer had any funds. His significant estate in Hungary was completely ruined and barren, because the Hungarian authorities forbade anyone from entering into transactions and business operations on his estate. With difficulty, his wife managed to borrow 20,000 guilders, and 6 jurors were bribed with this money. This is the only reason why the acquittal took place! These are the fruits of constitutional government! Nowadays it has already been discredited everywhere, but this lie has taken root everywhere, and the peoples are unable to free themselves from it and are moving towards their fatal fate. Especially for the young Slavic states, this is the first and most terrible ulcer, corroding the entire composition of society with lies and discord, creating discord and mutual misunderstanding and alienation between the people and the government. The evidence is obvious - in Romania, in Serbia, in unfortunate Bulgaria, to which, to our shame, we instilled this ulcer with our own hands - both a constitution and a court separated from state power! How crazy, how blinded were those quasi-state Russian people who conceived the idea of ​​supposedly renewing Russia and leading the government out of turmoil and sedition by discussing who knows what, the representatives of the peoples and foreigners of the empire that he painted, embracing the universe, filled with deserts, an empire in which another parish of the Yakut region (1100 versts long) or a Siberian county could contain the space of the whole of France. Who would benefit from this would be the Poles, who undoubtedly stand, hidden, at the center of every so-called constitutional movement in Russia. Here there would be for them a free field of activity, free play - and the death of Russia. Forgive me, Your Majesty, for bothering you with reading this long scripture. This is the most terrible danger that I foresee, for my fatherland and for Your Majesty personally. As long as I live, I will not leave this faith, I will not stop repeating the same things and warning about danger. My soul hurts when I see and hear that people who have power, but apparently do not have a Russian mind and a Russian heart, are still whispering about the constitution. Let them sometimes look at me suspiciously, as if I were a known opponent of this fatal fantasy. I am still alive and do not shut my mouth; but when I have to die, I will die with consolation, if I die with the confidence that Your Majesty stands firmly guarding the truth and will not lower that banner of unified power, which is the only guarantee of truth for Russia. This is where the truth is, and there is a lie, an alien, fatal lie for the fate of Russia. In the Volkovysk district of the Grodno province there is a town called Svisloch, which has long been known as one of the centers of Polish culture, which was once for the entire Polesie what Vilna is for Lithuania. Formerly Russian, this place was completely Polished in the 18th century by Count Tyshkevich, its owner. That is why even now the inhabitants there, although for the most part Orthodox, are significantly Polished and the literacy among them is Polish. In 1881, the efficient priest Yanushkevich was appointed there, who diligently set about returning the local population to Russian churchliness and literacy. The main means of this he chose to establish a school for girls, since culture is mainly spread through women, and now almost no woman there reads Russian. After much hassle, he managed to agree to come to the opening of the school and receive a monetary allowance from the educational department. In January 1882, the school was opened and up to 40 girls attended. The priest set to work very wisely, and we need to support him, which is what we try to do whenever possible. A powerful means for raising this school and attracting people to it would be to show the highest attention to it. Therefore, I dare to ask Your Imperial Majesty if it would be kind to you, as a sign of your attention and approval, to present to the Svisloch school personally an icon of the Mother of God. This gift would produce the most beneficial effect on the spot and would excite other zealous people to imitate it. And if, moreover, Your Majesty deigned to donate 200 rubles of money for the purchase of good Russian books for the school and parish libraries, this would serve doubly to revive the good undertaking. I never tire of asking Your Imperial Majesty. At the present moment, with St. The synod is developing the issue of organizing parochial schools, an issue of paramount importance for the state. Our people are disappearing, schism and sects are maintained due to ignorance: people grow up without receiving the first, most basic concepts about God, about the church, about the commandments. This ignorance will not be helped by a teaching that is crookedly structured and not adapted to life; it can further corrupt the common man, separating him from life and reality. For the good of the people, it is necessary that everywhere, close to them and precisely near the parish church, there should be a primary school of literacy, in inextricable connection with the teaching of the Law of God and church singing, which ennobles every simple soul. Orthodox Russian people dream of a time when all of Russia will be covered in parishes with a network of such schools, when each parish will consider such a school to be its own and take care of it through parish trusteeship, and church singing choirs will be formed everywhere in churches. Nowadays, all reasonable people realize that it is precisely this kind of school, and not another, that should be the main and universal means of elementary public education in Russia. In this sense, our commission receives statements from everywhere, from the most efficient representatives of the zemstvo, and from the clergy, who perked up noticeably when they heard that they were not leaving him in oblivion, but were relying on his activities. It is impossible to do without a village priest and, apart from him, there is no one to take on this great task in the middle of the deserted spaces in which our parishes are located. We hope that soon a diocesan movement in this sense will manifest itself everywhere. Meanwhile, the first experiment was made in the Mogilev diocese by the new bishop Vitaly, who arrived there, who had the opportunity to familiarize himself with our assumptions here in St. Petersburg before leaving there. Turning to the clergy of his diocese, he established in Mogilev (or, more correctly, restored the ancient, existing since 1602) Epiphany Brotherhood precisely with the goal of establishing, if possible, public schools in all parishes and taking care of maintaining them. This first undertaking must be encouraged; I think it is worthy and righteous to encourage him with the highest attention, which will undoubtedly cause imitation in other places. Would it please Your Imperial Majesty to allow me to express your attention to this institution with some kind of monetary gift, for example, 1,000 rubles. When this becomes known, many will be consoled by this, and there will no doubt be other benefactors. I rejoice with all my heart that the long-awaited day has finally arrived and Your Majesty’s entry into the Kremlin was successfully completed. The Russian people watched with tears and prayed fervently for you. Now may God bless us to pass the remaining days before the sacred coronation in silence and solitude, in sight of Moscow, in the greenery of the blooming Neskuchny Garden! Yesterday's letter was sent by me to Prince. Meshchersky immediately. I was delighted by Your Majesty’s note, for I myself wanted to ask permission to appear before you even before the coronation. I will await instructions of the day and hour from Your Majesty. May 10, 1883 House of the Synodal Printing House At the same time returning the most humble request of Mrs. Zhadovskaya, I dare to report that, in my opinion, her request to Your Majesty cannot in any way be satisfied. She writes that she was married, but divorced, and she took the blame (probably adultery) upon herself; she was accused and condemned to celibacy by a church court. Therefore, now, if she wanted to get married, her new marriage cannot be solemnized. Now, according to her, she entered into a relationship, gave birth to a child and asks to lift the ban imposed by the decision of the synod and allow her to marry. Many such requests are received in the name of Your Majesty, and for all these requests it is announced, in accordance with the Highest command given under the late Sovereign, that they cannot be satisfied. And indeed, if the supreme power took upon itself to lift the prohibitions imposed by the ecclesiastical court according to ecclesiastical law, this would result in extreme difficulties and considerable temptation. Marriage for us is a sacrament, and is performed only in church form. The priest, by virtue of his rank, submits exclusively to ecclesiastical authority in matters of church discipline and ritual. So, if church authority prohibits him from performing a marriage as illegal, and civil authority orders him to perform this marriage, that is, to perform a sacrament where it is not permitted by church authority, the priest’s conscience is placed in an impossible position. That is why in our country the supreme power has never interfered in matters of this kind. Under the late Emperor, there were abuses of his name; Once in Yalta, police officer Zefiropulo, taking advantage of his position, ordered a priest in the name of the Sovereign to perform an illegal marriage, but the late Sovereign, when I reported to him about this matter, deigned to tell me that he never gave such orders. Especially with the current ease of marriage and separation of spouses, such Highest commands could serve to increase promiscuity. Nowadays people, having married frivolously, soon, at the slightest disagreement, think about divorce and arrange it in such a way that one of the parties takes upon itself the guilt of adultery, in the hope that later it will be possible to ask for the ban on entering into a new marriage to be lifted. There are cases that after a new marriage, spouses soon plan a new divorce. So, if people could have hope for the lifting of the church ban through royal mercy, the strictness and strength of the marriage union would suffer even more from this. That is why the supreme power has always avoided direct permission for marriage. But in some cases, the late Emperor accepted requests to terminate cases of illegality of a marriage that had already been completed. There is no direct interference with ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The marriage was performed by a priest, although contrary to church prohibition; The spouses live together and have children. A case begins about the illegality of marriage, mostly based on denunciation. In such cases, the Supreme Command is sometimes announced: to suspend proceedings in the consistory on the illegality of marriage. Thus, the marriage remains in fact as it was originally recorded, that is, in the form of a legal one. Such Highest commands were announced repeatedly and on behalf of Your Majesty, according to my report. This is the only possible remedy in such cases. Let Mrs. Zhadovskaya look, as she pleases, in addition to the participation of the supreme power, for a way to get married; then the question of the illegality of this marriage may not arise at all, and if it does arise, then she can already turn to royal mercy. I consider it my duty to add that matters of this kind, that is, marriages, as well as matters of legitimizing illegitimate children, always require special caution, for here not everything depends on the consciousness of the innocence of spouses or children and on compassion for the unfortunate and innocent. Issues of this kind are often related to the legal rights of third parties - relatives, other children of the same person, finally, the honor of another, legitimate family, and often - the inviolability of inheritance rights. If Your Majesty were pleased to agree with the above considerations in this case, then would you please order that it be announced to the petitioner, as is announced to many others, that her petition for permission to marry contrary to the prohibition imposed by St. synod, is not subject to satisfaction. I consider it my duty to report to Your Imperial Majesty about the following: 1. I know that here, in the Historical Museum, founded under your patronage, they are eagerly waiting to see if you would like to visit it. Count Uvarov arranged for viewing ancient objects, very interesting and put in order by him. Everyone knows to what extent Your Imperial Majesty's time is occupied: but the people who devoted their work to this subject would be upset if you did not have the opportunity to come for at least half an hour to see what they have done and give them encouragement for the future. 2. Today I heard that Your Majesty will deign to move this evening to the Petrovsky Palace and will not return to Moscow, but will go straight to the Nikolaevskaya road, and not on the 29th, as was announced in the schedule, but tomorrow, i.e. on the 28th in the evening. The people, to whom this change has not been announced, will be very embarrassed and upset when they learn on the morning of the 29th that the Tsar is no longer in Moscow. If my position included taking care of this subject, it would seem to me that the simplest and best thing would be for Your Majesty, after all the festivities, to rest for a day or two in complete peace, in sight of Moscow, in Neskuchny, and then straight from there along Kaluzhskaya Street, through the Kremlin and Myasnitskaya, to go to the Nikolaevskaya Road station. It would be a joyful and calm farewell to Moscow and the people. But I do not dare insist on this subject, because the persons to whom it directly concerns may see special reasons for acting in one way and not another. In any case, however, I dare to report that if it pleases Your Majesty to leave Moscow completely today, then on the way to the Petrovsky Palace, would you please stop at the Iverskaya Chapel and go there. This may also serve as a sign of farewell to Moscow for the people. I dare to draw the attention of Your Imperial Majesty to the attached letter from Rachinsky. This is one of the countless cries now heard everywhere, from all over Russia. During the coronation, this nationwide call to the government was especially heard for the healing of this terrible ulcer that is corroding the people - for liberation from the tavern, before the omnipotent power of which the people are powerless, and the individual efforts of those entering the fight against the tavern and tavern owners are fruitless. Rachinsky, who lives constantly in the village, among the people, knows better than anyone about all this evil. He managed to do a lot at home, attracting children, fathers of peasants, and local clergy to the union of sobriety: but all these efforts are broken by the power of the tavern. The tavern is our main source of crime and all sorts of mental and moral depravity - and its effect is unimaginably terrible in the dark peasant and working environment, where nothing can be opposed to its influence, where life is empty and only the material interests of daily bread dominate. The tavern sucks all the healthy juices out of the people and spreads naked beggary and disease everywhere. Vast Russia consists of deserts, but there is no such desert, no remote corner where taverns do not appear in abundance and do not play a leading role in people's life. And the further it goes, the worse it gets. The destruction of the tavern is absolutely the first need, it is a necessary measure to save Russia. The fight against nihilism by external measures will not be successful as long as the tavern remains in current power, and Rachinsky says quite rightly that the taverns are the main conductor of nihilistic theories among the people, that is, the gradual corruption of that only healthy environment in which the building instincts and constructive principles of national and state life are stored. This is the first need. Along with her is another. In order to save and raise the people, it is necessary to give them a school that would enlighten and educate them in the true spirit, in simplicity of thought, without separating them from the environment where their life and activities take place. I never stop thinking about this great matter, in agreement with I.D. Delyanov. At this moment the drafting of regulations on parochial schools has already been completed. But when it begins to be put into action, it will be necessary to turn to the government for help. to the Treasury. God knows whether this petition will be successful, but the money invested here, of course, will be much more fruitful than the millions that are assigned to many scientific institutions. The enormous importance of this subject cannot be sufficiently appreciated, and it is worthy of Your Majesty's intense attention. Here, one might say, are the very keys to Russia’s future well-being. That is why I turn to Your Majesty with my most earnest request. I know how valuable your time is, but if the idea of ​​your trip to Denmark comes true, please take with you the attached book (which, if I’m not mistaken, was already presented by me once) and read it. I am sure that, once you start reading, you will not tear yourself away from it until the end - it is so vividly written, it breathes so much real truth and concerns such an important subject for Russia. I ordered it to be printed in large quantities and am distributing it everywhere to excite people to good activities. These are the first, main people's needs of the present moment. And along with them there are others, equally significant and who also do not wait. In connection with the tavern, the local peasant government or self-government is so upset that the truth is drying up everywhere. There is no government that acts intelligently, the weak do not find protection from the strong, and power has been seized into the hands of local capitalists, that is, village kulaks-peasants and merchants, innkeepers and village officials, that is, ignorant and depraved volost clerks. It is necessary to establish order here, but I am afraid that the projects drawn up in the Kakhanov Commission are unlikely to be established. Finally, the court is such a great and terrible thing - the court, the first instrument of state power, falsely set up by institutions, falsely directed - the court is in disorder and powerlessness. Instead of simplifying, it has become more complicated and will soon become inaccessible to anyone except the rich and skilled in casuistic formalism. But it's time for me to finish. I apologize for bothering Your Majesty, but the matter is so important that I could not resist writing a few words about Rachinsky’s letter, which again aroused my thought and concern. Oranienbaum. July 30, 1883 To prevent false rumors that could reach Your Imperial Majesty, I hasten to report on what happened today at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers. Reported in the presence of the Grand Duke. Mikhail Nikolaevich the case, which he initially initiated, about the establishment in Tiflis of the government and at the expense of the “state. treasury of the closed school for Muslim women. This case was submitted to the committee by order of the Highest, as a result of a disagreement between I.D. Delyanov and Prince. Dondukov and the Grand Duke. I was forced in good conscience, in agreement with Delyanov, to object to the proposed establishment. Its very task, in my opinion, is set incorrectly, and the government would put itself in a false position through this institution, obliging itself at public expense to educate Muslim women in the spirit of the Muslim religion and to monitor their performance of Muslim rituals. They assured that some of the noble Muslims in Tiflis wish to give their daughters a European education; and if they themselves had drawn up a plan and wanted to set up an establishment at their own expense, with supervision only from the government, one could only rejoice. But when the Russian government itself takes upon itself this matter and the role of, so to speak, guardian of education in strictly Muslim law, the situation becomes false. The Russian boss, according to the instructions of the Sheikh-ul-Islam and the Mufti sitting on the board of trustees, must ensure that the girls are taught the dogmas of polygamy and the Mohammedan paradise. This situation is impossible. This is what I tried to prove, and then, in agreement with the Minister of Finance, I argued that it is strange to spend 40 thousand rubles from the treasury on such a thing, when the treasury should, for lack of funds, refuse to satisfy the most essential and urgent needs of the indigenous Russian population, when in 17 dioceses the clergy is begging and remains without a salary, when there is no money for literacy schools for the peasants. Then I pointed out that in the Caucasus itself there are glaring needs for which there is no money. The Georgians are ignorant, the clergy lives in ignorance and beggary, and there is nothing to train them for. I pointed out that in Ozurgeti, in a religious school, 700 Georgian children live like animals in windowless huts, walk half naked in winter and prepare lessons by the light of fires, by which they warm themselves: there is no money to arrange a room for them. I mentioned that previously the Society for the Propagation of Orthodoxy Beyond the Caucasus spent 63,000 rubles. for clergy benefits; but now it has fallen into insolvency and gives nothing. Here the Grand Duke interrupted me: it did not occur to me that this society, which during its administration had upset its affairs, constituted a sensitive chord in it. He stood up and announced to Reitern that he could not stay, since what I said constituted criticism of his administration. Reitern began to calm him down, and he sat down again, and I expressed my surprise, in which His Highness was pleased to see criticism of his administration, which I did not touch in a single word, but only wanted to show what needs there are in the Caucasus, incomparably more serious and thorough than the establishment of a Muslim women's school at the expense of the state. The matter ended well. Almost everyone present on the committee expressed the opinion that the establishment of such an institution at the expense of the treasury is undesirable; and if some Tiflis Muslims desire such an institution, then, just as happens when establishing gymnasiums, the society itself can raise funds for this; subsequently, the government may, for its part, provide assistance to such an institution. Thus, the matter ended happily and without disagreement; but I consider it my duty to report the above episode to Your Imperial Majesty, since it concerns me and may come to your attention in an inaccurate form. Petersburg. October 4, 1883 Please accept, Your Imperial Majesty, my heartfelt congratulations on the threshold of the New Year 1884. May God's blessing and God's mercy be upon you and your entire household in the coming year! This is the third time during your reign that you have to enter a new year and carry over the threshold the heavy burden of power over the whole world entrusted to your rule in the most difficult era for your reign. The people feel in their hearts how difficult it is for you, and they pray for you fervently everywhere. The Providence of God, having placed this burden on you, also showed you a fate that is entirely in the hands of God, inextricably linked with the destinies of the people, who have held on for centuries only by faith in God and hope in the Sovereign. If anything can encourage and strengthen you, it is faith in God’s providence and in people’s prayer. I pray to God that he will preserve you quiet joy in your home and family, and may he send you happiness - to find people who are reasonable, faithful, strong in thought and will, burning in heart, firm in word, direct and right, and not double-minded and self-interested servants. God bless the coming new summer for you and for Russia! From Your Majesty’s letter I see that it would be desirable for you to slightly shade the Prince’s current answer. Dolgorukov. And it seems to me that there is a reason for this. In the address of the book. Dolgorukov there is a note that it is desirable to cover with another note. It says here: the nobility recently declared their readiness to faithfully serve the throne. But today I am immensely glad that I can express such a statement from all other classes. Something sounds amiss here: as if one could be afraid that other classes harbor some other feeling or do not want to express the same thing. And now, thank God, the burden subsides - and others express the same. This is an inconvenience - to highlight this or that class in the sense of some kind of preferential right to devotion to the throne and the fatherland. In this everyone is equal, but the position of each class is not the same. The nobility, indeed, has a special position, as a class that has served since ancient times and therefore has a special class honor. That is why, although perfection and unconditional virtue cannot be expected from anyone, the nobility, due to its historical position, more than any other class, is accustomed, on the one hand, to serve, and, on the other hand, to rule. That is why a noble landowner is always more trustworthy than a merchant landowner and will have more trust among the people, and they know about a merchant that he primarily has in mind his own profit on the farm. That is why, in our present situation, it is extremely important that noble landowners strive to live as much as possible on their estates inside Russia, and not accumulate in the capitals. In this sense, the nobility indeed plays a leading role, but certainly in connection with the responsibility that history has imposed on it. But it does not in any way follow from this that the nobility, compared with other classes, is distinguished by the special property of devotion to the Tsar and the Fatherland. There are many examples of the opposite in every class, and we see how many traitor nobles there were during the troubled times in Russia. In these thoughts I prepared the answer to the book. Dolgorukov, which I hasten to submit for the consideration of Your Majesty. February 26, 1884, 6 p.m. Forgive me, Your Imperial Majesty, for disturbing you. But this is a matter of such important interest and such a serious danger for Russia that I cannot resist. Please read the attached notes on the unfortunate case of elevators, in which the majority opinion exceeds my understanding. Either I have completely lost my mind, or the decision of the majority, if it comes true, will be detrimental to Russia and will arouse justified murmurs in the most important sections of the population - murmurs that the most important branch of our industry, the grain trade, has been sold into the hands of the Americans. That is why I consider this matter extremely important and I dare to submit my considerations for the consideration of Your Majesty. The journal of the meeting was ready yesterday and signed today. Petersburg. February 27, 1884 Several individuals, under the guise of founders, turned to the government with a request for permission to establish a society in America for the establishment of elevators in Russia, with the right to set up warehouses and accept grain as collateral against mortgage notes, or warrants. Unfortunately, among these petitioners, Russian names come first: Lieutenant General. Durnovo and Prince Demidov. Behind them are the real masterminds of the business: the bankrupt Duke de Morny and two people who call themselves Americans, unknown factors Martin and Fischer. It is obvious that all these people, and least of all Durnovo and Demidov (who do not know how to manage their own farms), have no serious goal of starting and running the elevator business. Their goal is clear: having received a concession from the government, sell it, of course, for an expensive price in America, where, no doubt, there will be buyers for it. And now, in all likelihood, a significant price has already been promised to them. Meanwhile, the implementation of this plan, skillfully conceived and promising benefits to some of its inventors, threatens with serious danger the main national industry and may subsequently cause serious difficulties for the Russian government, placing it in obligatory relations with the North American state. One thing is already surprising and very strange. Until now, rights and privileges of every kind were granted only to a known person or to a known established society. In the present case, there is no society yet, and there is no charter for this society. It is only yet to be established and must be established in America and will, according to local law, consist exclusively of American citizens and be governed by American laws and interests. Therefore, now we are talking about granting rights to something unknown, not yet existing. Now the Russian government, without seeing the charter, must in advance impose obligations on itself regarding a foreign institution that has to operate in Russia. And, therefore, when this institution is formed and publishes its charter, the Russian government will be obliged to obey it, no matter what is written in it. And all this in order to, as quickly as possible, now approve the plan and assumptions of the founders, who themselves, in all likelihood, will never be members of the society, and if they are, they will not receive a vote in it, since they are not American citizens. In addition, according to the founders, it is supposed to give the future company the right to issue warrants, or mortgage sheets for grain, while our law does not yet have any regulation on warrants. The founders claim that the basis for this decision is the satisfaction of the urgent need that we allegedly have for establishing elevators and they argue that our grain trade will revive from this, and that nothing will prevent Russian capitalists from setting up their own elevators and entering into competition with American society. Nobody doubts that we need elevators. But the fact that our grain exports have stopped does not depend at all on the lack of elevators, but on the fact that America has taken over the foreign grain market, using its capital and industry to reduce the cost of grain production, its delivery, and freight to the last degree. Obviously, for us, circumstances will not change at all because our elevators will be built, and, moreover, by the same Americans. As for competition, how will it be possible for a Russian capitalist against an American company once it has already established itself in place? However, the founders would not even bother about elevators alone. What is important is what they ask for along with the elevators and under the pretext of constructing elevators. They are asking for the right to set up grain warehouses and receive grain in them for storage with the issuance of so-called grain. warrants, or mortgage notes. It is at this point that the main danger lies. As soon as the elevators and warehouses are established, the company will have a terrible monopoly in its hands, to which, willy-nilly, the entire Russian grain trade will have to go into bondage. It is obvious that the Americans, who now own the grain market in Europe and are in direct relations with all the major agents of all grain markets, will take everything into their own hands - and past this route of selling bread through the company, all other ways will either stall or be extremely difficult. The means for loading grain, and perhaps for freighting cargo, will all fall into the hands of the company. Grain prices will also be exclusively in her hands. Therefore, whoever brings bread will have nowhere to sell it except to the company. Moreover, if the price becomes unprofitable, it will remain possible to store bread only in the warehouses of the same company. The founders took care to determine in advance such conditions for the terms and tariffs for storage that warehousers would fall into this network, as if into a trap, and many would be forced to either give up the folded bread to the company for a period of time, or leave it altogether. It is easy to imagine what kind of grip our grain trade will then fall into. Not only that. A foreign company receives the right to purchase land and lease it in ports. It seems that we have already experienced enough of the consequences that arise from the fact that foreigners are allowed to freely acquire real estate in our country. The mass of foreign property in Russia is a great evil that threatens disaster in international relations. The individual foreigner is always in a privileged position with us, for he is under double protection - both under the protection of Russian law, and, most importantly, under the protection of his consul and envoy. How many times will this privilege be stronger than a relatively large, multi-capital and, moreover, American company? How many difficulties will our government face, especially in relation to the government of the United States, where, as everyone knows, everything is now based on money interest and bribery, where the people's representatives in Congress serve primarily as representatives of private and commercial interests, and where industrial companies constitute almost the dominant force in the state? Moreover, I will also note that the right of the proposed American company for all its enterprises in Russia to import here workers, all its agents and leaders from America is not limited in any way: hence a new evil, the consequences of which cannot be foreseen. I will not go into the moral assessment of those founders who bear Russian names and are themselves rich people. God is their judge. But how can one not be surprised that 38 votes in the State Council fell into this trap, set by the founders under the pretext of benefit for Russia! The minority consists of 8 votes. Among them, the 9th would have been the Minister of War, but he accidentally had to leave the meeting at the time the case was being heard. But the majority do not agree with each other. It also split into two opinions on the issue of privileges that the founders are asking for. The minority proposes to completely reject the founders’ proposal, as incompatible with the most important interests of Russian industry. In any case, even if we were to allow a discussion of this matter, it would not be now, when we have to judge without having all the data and without seeing anything clearly. There can be no talk of granting any rights to an American company in a matter so closely connected with the most important interests of Russia until this company is formed in America and its legally approved charter is presented. I have already had the honor of reporting to Your Imperial Majesty about the movement of Estonians towards the Orthodox Church that has arisen since last year. This movement still continues with increasing opposition from local pastors and landowners who make up the administration. In view of this opposition and all kinds of complaints against the clergy, I have not ceased and will not cease to invite the local bishop of Riga to exercise all possible caution and prudence in this matter. I still have no reason to complain about the lack of either. Meanwhile, the Revel superintendent Schultz and the leader of the nobility Bar came to me with explanations on this matter. Wrangel. I certified to both that individual annexations do not occur suddenly, but with due diligence, and that all extraneous incentives are removed from this matter in every possible way; on the contrary, it is instilled in the peasants that they should not count on any material benefits and advantages. However, they continue to worry and fuss here to ensure that any further movement is stopped by government measures, although I tried to assure them (of which I am confident) that the calmer they are towards this movement, the sooner it will calm down. Superintendent Schultz had already filed a formal petition with the Ministry of the Interior to restore the Imperial order that had been issued in 1845 and then canceled, that a six-month period be observed between the registration of those wishing to join and the actual joining. On this petition, the Ministry of Internal Affairs asked for my opinion. In order to fully explain this matter and bring it to the surface, and at the same time show all the harmful consequences that this period had, I instructed the efficient official who was with me, Doctor of Art. with Kryzhakovsky, study the entire history of this case from documents scattered in the archives. Having completed this work, he compiled a note, very interesting and based on the most accurate data. This note was printed in a small number exclusively for government officials. I consider it my duty to present it at the discretion of Your Majesty, in case it is convenient and necessary for you to explain this matter to yourself. At the end of the note, on page 65, information is provided on how the accession was carried out last year. From this it is clear that none of them happened suddenly, but after the test of those who joined and not earlier than, in any case, two weeks from the time of the statement. Considering that while the journey lasts, Your Majesty may have more leisure than at ordinary times, I allow myself to send by last courier the attached three books of the Kharkov magazine “Faith and Reason” and draw your attention to the articles published here by Prof. Nadler “On the religious development of Emperor Alexander I.” The articles are well written and very interesting and educational. They contain a sad story about the fatal misunderstandings of the highest ruling class, about the people and their needs - misunderstandings that have filled the new history of Russia since the 18th century. Judging by our weather, I think that your boat trip should have been a complete success. May the Lord protect you until your safe return! Oranienbaum. June 24, 1884 For the third week now, the Committee of Ministers has been hearing a case about the incompatibility with certain positions of the civil service of participation in the management of the affairs of joint-stock companies and service in these companies. This matter seems to me to be very important in its moral significance and requires great caution in its decision. There is no doubt that there are some government titles and positions with which participation in joint-stock enterprises is completely incompatible. Recently, cases of this kind have been a common occurrence. Members of the State Court Councils, senators, adjutants general, etc., being members of the board of directors in banks, railways, insurance, etc. companies, at the same time took part in the judgment on matters of national importance relating to these very enterprises, were intercessors for them in various institutions, etc. The mixing of personal interests with state interests in this matter reached the point of shamelessness. The driving force in this was the desire to get rich, to acquire large capital without much work. It often happened that people incapable of any practical activity, using only their position in the service or at court, gave their names to participate in the most impractical and artificially formed enterprises, in order only to carry out through their influence and petition, then create a fictitious value of shares and acquire large capital for themselves. This temptation had to be stopped without fail regarding large people and important government positions. But regardless of these extreme cases, in which enrichment was meant, there are many cases of a completely different kind, relating to medium and small positions in the bureaucracy. Here it is no longer a question of enrichment, but only of acquiring means for home life through extracurricular activities. With the general high cost of living, life became difficult everywhere for family officials. Many of them, while in public service, were looking for extraneous occupations, and cases of this were presented in various activities in industrial enterprises, work in offices, agencies, boards, etc. Cutting off all these people's path to replenishing their household budget with additional private labor without harming the service would be both unfair and, at the same time, not only not useful, but also very harmful for the public service. It is impossible to forget that in our country every person who has received an education somewhere strives for public service, the number of officials has increased to the extreme with the formation of new institutions, and everywhere there is an extreme shortage of capable officials. The most capable and active of them are located in the middle and lower ranks of departments and offices. An unconditional prohibition of extraneous activities for them would force those who were most capable to leave the service altogether, and the interests of the service would suffer as a result. In addition, there is no doubt that for those remaining in the service, this prohibition will certainly serve as a reason to ask for additional remuneration, allowances, rent, etc., which, in the aggregate, will become a significant addition to government expenses. Treasury (and now some department directors are declaring, as a result of the expected prohibition, the need to ask for rent). I expressed these thoughts in the committee of ministers when discussing the matter. The purpose of the current law is, of course, not to stop abuses. It would be in vain to expect that this law will stop them. The main reason for abuses is that those who should be watching are not looking at the matter. It is obvious that when the boss himself does not understand the matter or is inattentive and indifferent, he will accept and sign everything that the rapporteurs and executive officials present to him. And no law will prevent a member of a higher government institution or an official, whatever his position, from acting in a biased manner. Even though he does not officially bear the title of director of the company, he can still act in its favor out of personal interest, and even more conveniently undercover. The purpose of the law, in my opinion, is completely different: to protect the dignity of public service and the sense of moral decency, which everyone has forgotten since the time when the joint-stock company movement arose in the 50s, the stock market fever arose and shares began to float. We have stopped being ashamed; and a person holding a position, large or small, already considered it as his right, without telling anyone, without asking anyone, to join the service of companies, to take care of their affairs privately and openly, so that for others, this service to private interest became in the foreground of their activities, and public service became, as it were, an appendage and a tool for achieving personal goals. It is this false concept that should be destroyed, reminding everyone of the forgotten basic idea about duty of service. So, some senior positions and titles should be declared absolutely incompatible with founding and serving on joint stock boards. As for the remaining, subordinate positions, it must be declared that an official who holds a position in the service and is obliged to devote his activities to it, does not have the right to take on other positions and occupations in private enterprises without notifying his superiors. The authorities have to decide whether it is possible to allow this to happen without damaging the service and without violating the basic rules of official integrity - and no one except the authorities can judge this. That's why the boss is appointed, and if he is bad or is not honest himself, then there is nothing further to look for. The Committee of Ministers agreed with the main idea of ​​this argument, but the details of the drafting dragged on for three weeks, due to the absence of some ministers (military and naval) and due to some misunderstandings. Today, the final version was finally adopted. But there is one article in it, mainly because of which I decided to burden Your Majesty’s attention with my extensive writing. It is proposed to subject to an unconditional ban all those on active service in the military and military medical ranks of the land and naval departments. This includes, therefore, the entire army, in large and small ranks, no matter what. I admit that for me the benefit of such an unconditional prohibition is very doubtful, and on the contrary, I am very afraid of its unfavorable consequences. It is harmful and immoral that here in the capital there are adjutant generals, aide-de-camps, etc., who take advantage of their position to build their fortunes in various joint-stock and other enterprises; but if you think about all of Russia and the whole army, what harm will it do to the service if this or that lieutenant or major is an active member of this or that enterprise? Some of them also need technical members, which are found among officers. Finally, how many poor officers are there who, not being able to survive on their salaries, rely on these activities to make their living? Wouldn't it be fairer, having identified the highest ranks and positions, to generally make this activity dependent on the discretion and consent of the authorities? But here it is also not just about justice. It is important, in my opinion, very important, the impression that will be made on the entire army by the sudden adoption of such a drastic measure. Your Majesty, of course, is not unaware that now in the military environment there is already a dull murmur against many measures and orders of the highest military administration to reduce staff and salaries, on innovations regarding service and production, etc. They are already saying that it is not worth serving in military service, that the officer ranks are cramped and cut off, that regimental service in both the army and the guard is no longer paid the same attention as it was before, etc. I can’t judge how well-founded these complaints are, but there is no doubt that they are heard from everywhere. There is no doubt that this murmur will intensify with the publication of a new law, but it seems to me that this should not be neglected, especially in the current troubled time of fermentation of minds. Moreover, this is what is important. It is said everywhere that the idea of ​​all these restrictions comes from Your Majesty. I have no doubt that you are coming from a correct and completely fair general idea about the need to raise the dignity of service and official ranks; but it is hardly possible to recognize all the details of application as coming from you personally. Meanwhile, I know that, for example, many of the members of the Committee of Ministers were ready to express their doubts regarding the appropriateness of the proposed restriction of military ranks; but they were stopped by the ulterior thought that this was already the indispensable will of Your Majesty - and, it seems, this was the opinion of the Minister of War himself. I dare to think, Your Majesty, that it would be very undesirable, with the publication of a new law, to give rise to that opinion or rumor (and it will probably spread) that this unconditional restriction on the army comes directly from Your Majesty. Therefore, I think: wouldn’t it be more prudent at the present time to separate from the general decree an article on military and military medical ranks, and to allow the Minister of War to make his own assumptions regarding this article? Given the specialty of the subject, these considerations could be submitted to the military council (which has its own legislative provisions). Then, at least, there would be a direct judgment on this matter by the military council, in connection with the rules and conditions of military service, and the matter would be clear. And now the Committee of Ministers, apparently, has removed itself from discussions on this subject, as if specifically military. Petersburg. November 27, 1884 I consider it my duty to present to Your Majesty’s attention two interesting notes compiled by the professor of the local Theological Academy, Trinity, to whom I sometimes turn to investigate controversial church issues that arise. I then communicate these notes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which uses them. One of these notes concerns the curious, increasingly prominent question of the decline of the church in those Slavic lands where a constitution was introduced, according to the Western model. It expresses very true, in my opinion, thoughts. With an involuntary sigh, you turn to the past and ask: how could Russian state power come to the fatal, blindingly false idea of ​​​​introducing a constitution composed according to Western standards in liberated Bulgaria? It is true that this happened at a time when the most fantastic ideas dominated our internal politics; but, it would seem, in foreign policy one sense of self-preservation should have warned us that we were laying a murderous hand on ourselves and destroying the centuries-old traditions of Russian national politics... Recently I had a conversation on this subject with Prince. Dondukov, whom others consider to be the culprit of this case. He indignantly rejects this accusation, assuring that his project was completely redone in St. Petersburg under the influence of gr. Shuvalov and through the commission, which was chaired by a kind, Russian at heart, but - alas! - characterless, flexible and compliant to the point of complete self-destruction, Prince. Urusov... It was a great, fatal mistake - and God knows if it will ever be possible to correct it! Articles in Greek newspapers show what kind of gratitude Russia can expect from those for whom she shed her blood, when the bonds of common faith that previously united us with them are destroyed and when the wind pulled them from East to West. Another note relates to the recently arisen question of recognition by the Ecumenical Patriarch of the new Serbian hierarchy. The Patriarch (a still dubious figure in any case) now refers to the looming danger from the union of the Serbian Church with the Karlowitz Metropolis. The author of the note proves that this is an imaginary danger, and at the end indicates where our policy should strive - indicates, in my opinion, correctly. On this last subject, I consider it not superfluous to report to Your Majesty that our information about the church affairs of the East and the Slavs, and relations with the people there, is constantly increasing, although it was previously very meager. About three years ago, we sent one, a very gifted and well-liked candidate from the Palmov Theological Academy, on a trip to the East and throughout all Slavic lands to study local church affairs and church history. He returned recently, having traveled around both the main centers and dark corners, and brought back a lot of interesting information. Now a department of the history of Slavic churches is being established for him at the local theological academy, precisely for the purpose of disseminating accurate information about the history and current state of church affairs there. Petersburg. December 22, 1884 Forgive me, Your Majesty, that I perhaps too often bother your attention with my writings. But what to do when the heart does not tolerate such matters, in which only Your Majesty can look for strong support and living movement towards the truth. The sad Jacobstadt event forces us to pay vigilant attention to this particular angle, which seems to have completely escaped the attention of the government. Meanwhile, here is perhaps the most dangerous Polish nest that exists in Russia - and with what dexterity it is constructed and hidden from supervision! I would like to explain in brief words why this happened. The reasons are historical and are explained more clearly with the help of a map. This corner is made up of the so-called Selburg deanery from ancient times, to which the entire Dvina part of the Friedrichstadt district and the entire Illukst district belong - a narrow strip, 9/10 of its figure adjacent to the Vitebsk and Kovno provinces. According to history, it is clear that on both sides of the Dvina there was an ancient possession of the Polotsk princes with a Russian population that went into the Latvian one. There was a long stubborn struggle between Russians, Germans, Lithuanians and Poles. By the 16th century, a division had occurred. The right bank remained with Poland (Livland districts - Dinaburg, Rezhitsky, Lyutsinsky); the left bank, under the name of the Selburg district, entered Courland, which was also under the protectorate of Poland. So, from that time on, the Poles mixed here with the Germans in the common interest (then the Platers, Siebers, etc., originally Germans, converted to Catholicism and turned into Poles). The population, however, was purely Russian and Orthodox. Jacobstadt itself was founded in 1670 by Russians and named after Duke Jacob. The Jesuit Palevin, traveling to Russia in 1582, stopped in Illuksta and did not find a single Catholic house in the entire area. But the rulers of Polotsk, to whose diocese the region belonged, were the first to change, went over to the union and began to spread it. Jesuits and Basilian monks appeared, and in the 18th century conversion to the union was carried out by the masses - by the end of it the entire population (except for Jacobstadt with its old monastery) was cut off from Orthodoxy. The seductions continued after the annexation of Courland to Russia (1795), until the reunification of 1839 took place. It is curious that here, in this Selburg district, a phenomenon took place, I think, unprecedented in Europe - the friendly unity of the Germans with the Poles, which is still strikingly striking. The German met the Pole in an effort to isolate himself from all Russian influence, and the Germans, with their special institutions, completely closed the Pole from the government with its most intensified propaganda: all the exceptional Russian laws that limited Polish and Latin propaganda had no effect in this region. The Selburg district was ahead of everyone during the uprising of 1863 and was distinguished by the most daring enterprises (attacks on transports, gatherings for an attack on Dinaburg, harboring the most important leaders) and behind all this, thanks to its position, it avoided the administration of Muravyov, laws on the purchase of estates by Poles, etc., Lutheranism did not cross its line, and here, in the courtyards of Polish landowners, “guests from Lithuania and Poland.” Book Suvorov, who, unfortunately, served as an instrument of many enterprises harmful to Russia, helped Polish propaganda in this regard. After the annexation of Courland, all Uniate parishes remained under the jurisdiction of the Polotsk Uniate diocese. They remained behind her even after the reunification of the Uniates. This affiliation with Polotsk kept the Aelburg parishes, along with others, reunited in front of the government and under the general leadership of the New Orthodox church authorities. It was necessary to destroy this guarantee with the hands of the prince. Suvorov. According to his ideas, these parishes were annexed to the Riga diocese in 1849, therefore, sheltered from the supervision of the authorities, specifically called upon to monitor Polish-Latin propaganda. And since then, this propaganda has been operating in this region without any restrictions and without any control. It got to the point that up to 40 priests returned from Siberia gathered to live in Illuksta. Further, I will not burden Your Majesty’s attention with an indication of the facts of this propaganda collected from me. I only wanted to point out the special significance and exceptionally privileged position of this area. I will only dare to point out one more unfavorable manifestation of our imprudence and Polish influence in this region (on a special piece of paper). The report, which I have the honor to present here, is the result of a discussion that lasted two years in the synod, and corresponds to the desire of pious people declared on all sides to restore closed parishes and restore worship, which was stopped in many rural churches with the introduction of new states in 1869. Unfortunately, the reduction of churches and the closure of ancient parishes, to which the people were accustomed, followed precisely at a time when, with the liberation of the peasants, the need for churches turned out to be more urgent than before. But it turned out that at this very time the taverns came closer to the people in the smallest villages, and the churches, on the contrary, moved away from them. So, in many places people began to wean themselves from the church, getting used to the tavern. The schism also took advantage of this a lot, especially in remote places. Recently, the synod has made all sorts of facilitations for the opening of closed parishes; After all that, there are still a lot of them left. The current resolution of the synod aims to introduce permanent rules to facilitate this matter and to restore deacons to the church staff, for which many parishes have been petitioning for a long time. I have the honor to present to Your Imperial Majesty, firstly, a copy of the message of St. synod, made on April 6; 2nd, a copy of publications for the same day of the Slavic charitable society, intended for free distribution and already sent out in large quantities (according to the number of parishes) to all parts of Russia. This pile contains two lives in Russian, written for a prize from the Slavic society. The first prize was given to the girl Viliame, who graduated from the Catherine Institute about a year and a half ago; and the second is also a girl. The third life is short, in the Slavic language, with the addition of prayers and instructions, from ancient manuscripts. Both are noteworthy in that they contain a warning against the Latins, who have now decided to appropriate Cyril and Methodius for political purposes, rejecting the Cyrillic alphabet they invented. In addition, the services of St. preserved in ancient manuscripts have been published. Cyril and Methodius. For several years now, the Riga Curia has been agitating about Cyril and Methodius, directed against the Orthodox Slavs and Russia. Its main leader is Bishop Strahmeier of Diakovor, who planned to unite all the Austrian Slavs under the banner of Catholicism and introduce the same propaganda among the Orthodox. By April 6th, with the assistance of Rome, he has long been preparing a huge demonstration in Velegrad. These preparations forced us to take care of the solemn, if possible, celebration of this day in Russia. The matter has already been publicized everywhere, met with great sympathy, and now in all cities and in many villages festivities are being prepared for April 6 with a solemn service and processions of the cross. I think that this celebration will not remain without important consequences and will establish in the popular consciousness (which is especially important in the outskirts) a sense of nationality and the concept of enlightenment associated with the church. Indeed, one cannot help but admit that the seed of our entire historical culture is laid in the alphabet invented by Cyril and Methodius, and in the books they translated into the Slavic language and which to this day constitute the precious heritage of the folk spirit in Russia. So, this celebration can be called all-Russian. That’s why it comes to mind: wouldn’t it please Your Majesty to honor him with your presence in St. Isaac’s Cathedral, where the main celebration will take place, and after the liturgy, at about 12 o’clock, a prayer service. This would, in my opinion, be extremely important for the people's consciousness. On the same day, before the liturgy, the consecration of Archimandrite Mitrofan Ban, who recently arrived here from Cetinje, will take place in the cathedral, and will be appointed Metropolitan of Montenegro. His arrival on this particular day was very opportune. He is still young, vigorous-looking, studied at Zara Dalmatskaya, comes from Boccadi-Cattaro, and so far only speaks Montenegrin. After the consecration, Your Majesty, without a doubt, will deign to accept him as evidence of our good relations with the Montenegrin people. Meanwhile, wouldn’t it please you to honor him by bestowing on your behalf a bishop’s vestment in the same way as the vestments were made for bishops for their coronation? The last time I was in Gatchina, Your Majesty deigned to talk about the projects for a monument to the late Tsar in the Kremlin, and especially about Antokolsky’s project, which, if I’m not mistaken, caught your attention, although it did not completely satisfy you. At the same time, I expressed my usual thought that the monument in the Kremlin was in some unusual place, and that the best monument here would be a small church or chapel. But it seems that it has already been decided to be a monument. In this case, it is very important what kind of monument it will be. Antokolsky's project, as far as I know, is hardly suitable for the subject and for the place. And what kind of monument is this - many figures sitting in a semicircle? This would be, especially in the Kremlin, a strange and unusual sight. Moreover, a monument requires a solid, central idea that visually and poetically unites the idea, but here there is no visual center at all. Yes, a Jew, a cosmopolitan by nature and by the nature of his talent, is hardly able to grasp this idea. Some time after this conversation, I happened to meet with Kramskoy. Of all the artists I know, Kramskoy is the most sympathetic to me, because he has a living, Russian and religious soul. He feels deeply and understands deeply. Then I learned that Kramskoy was toying with the idea of ​​this monument, and this idea completely took possession of him. The coronation in Moscow, which he witnessed, shocked him to the core, and the great image of it has haunted him ever since, in connection with the thought of the monument. This idea, it seems to him, matured in him, and he came up with the project. I promised Kramskoy, when he developed his project, to present it directly to Your Majesty at his discretion. Now he has developed it and brought it. Indeed, his thought is deep, and the project is grandiose and worthy of the subject. There is an idea here, very apt and poetic. From the attached description (in two versions), Your Majesty will deign to see what this idea of ​​​​the monument consists of. It seems to me that you, too, will find this project more satisfactory than others. But I have objections to the details, which I expressed to Kramskoy yesterday. There are too many figures in the project that overwhelm it and distract from the central idea. The group emerges majestic, but unwieldy. Moreover, these figures (ministers, generals, etc.), constituting an accessory, nevertheless correspond to well-known figures of the era and therefore cannot be completely impersonal. It would seem that the idea of ​​a monument would gain a lot if it were expressed in only four or five figures, of which only two - the Emperor and the Metropolitan - would focus attention, while the others (for example, a standard bearer, a boy with a staff, etc.) would be truly accessory. Kramskoy could not but agree with this remark, and reworking the project in this sense would not have presented any difficulties if only the main idea had been approved. The mosaic picture at the back of the monument will have a significant meaning and will represent a great moment in the overall idea. So, I have the honor to present Kramskoy’s drawings along with his notes and his last letter to me for the discretion of Your Majesty. In case Your Majesty would like to have any additional explanations, I propose to appear in Gatchina on Saturday, the 20th, at 12 o’clock, unless I receive other instructions from Your Majesty. Today's news about the health of gr. Tolstoy is very disturbing. He hasn’t slept for 18 nights, is very weak, and this week on Friday they plan to take him to Moscow. They doubt whether the Crimean air is favorable for him. Petersburg. April 15, 1885 Having returned today from my trip, I consider it my duty to report to Your Imperial Majesty that everything that I saw and witnessed left me with the most gratifying impressions. Kazan has always seemed to me the most remarkable center of intellectual activity in Russia, and it was near the church that many serious, conscientious, tireless people gathered there. This time the circle was significantly strengthened by the arrival of new faces. Among the visiting bishops (Saratov, Ufa, Orenburg, Astrakhan, Simbirsk, Vyatka, Perm, Yekaterinburg), I met two particularly interesting ones - Veniamin of Orenburg, very serious and active, and Elder Dionysius of Ufa, who continued missionary work in the Yakut region for 43 years. On the foreign issue, there was a person who was unique and invaluable in his kind - Ilminsky, the director of the teachers' seminary; priest Vasily Timofeev, from the Tatars, founder and head of the baptized Tatar school; Yakovlev, a Chuvash by birth, who devoted himself to the education of his tribe, the founder of 153 Chuvash schools in the Simbirsk province, and several remarkable professors at the Kazan Theological Academy in this regard, including the young Mashakov, who went to Arabia for 2 years for a special study of the Arabic language and the local Islam. Regarding the schism, the first expert on the matter, Prof., was summoned here from Moscow. Subbotin; in Kazan there is another expert, Professor Ivanovsky. But most importantly, several well-known missionaries were summoned to Kazan - peasants and priests, from Penza, Perm and Orenburg, people who practically knew the matter of the schism. These people, with their practical instructions and explanations, should bring great benefit to the assembled bishops, many of whom were familiar with this matter only superficially and from books. So, this Kazan meeting will, I hope, be much more fruitful than last year’s in Kyiv. It opened solemnly on the 9th, presided over by Rev. Palladium of Kazan, an intelligent and managerial man; then everyone divided into 2 groups: according to the schism and according to the foreign cause, and each meets twice daily - in the morning and in the evening. The matter went very amicably with the assistance of the persons I have named, and I have no doubt that considerable benefit will come from it, moreover, Kazan has never seen such church celebrations: the liturgy is celebrated in the cathedral by 8 bishops with great triumph and with excellent singing. It was especially interesting and touching for me to listen to the all-night vigil at the Baptized Tatar school last Saturday. The whole church was filled with many peasant boys, girls and young rural teachers, and this entire congregation - up to 150 people - the whole church sang the all-night vigil in the Tatar language; the reading and the entire service were also in Tatar. They sing artistically, at times switching to Slavic Russian in some prayers. But anyone who has not heard it cannot imagine the whole peculiarity of the Tatar singing of children and boys - how much life and expressiveness there is in it, and such sincere simplicity. The same service and singing in Simb. schools in Chuvash. This performance of services in native dialects produces an amazing effect. The children all learn to read and sing well and, coming to the village, become missionaries in their families among their Tatar parents, who were considered Orthodox only in name, without knowing the language. Then from them teachers are formed for rural Chuvash and Tatar schools, and they organize services and singing in their own country according to the same example, and from them, as far as possible, priests and deacons are appointed in foreign parishes. This is a great cause raised in Kazan by N.I. Ilminsky following the ancient example of the first Kazan bishops Guria and Barsanuphius and Stephen of Perm - an example that was forgotten for 300 years. I left Kazan with such pleasant impressions last Monday. I stayed in Nizhny Novgorod for several hours at the very beginning of the fair, managed to examine the newly opened and interesting exhibition of handicraft and factory industries, and did not avoid the common fate of suffering a great feeding from merchants. At breakfast, the venerable old man I. N. Volkov, coming up to me, said: “We all ask you to report to His Imperial Majesty that when necessary, as it was under Minin, so it will be now, we are all ready to give everything to defend the Tsar and the Fatherland from enemies.” Then new impressions awaited me in Vladimir, where I had never been before. I stayed there for a day and saw great beauty in the churches. Whenever Your Majesty had a convenient time to go to Vladimir from Moscow for a few hours, it would be a great honor and joy for the city, now forgotten and serving only as a passing railway station; and for you, I am sure, it would be a matter of the most lively interest to look at this middle point of the Russian land - at the nest of Moscow and the Russian state - and to see these churches, unique in their significance. Especially since last year, when the restored Assumption Cathedral with wall paintings from the 12th century was opened. A special feeling presses into your soul when you enter this majestic church, the only monument that survived the pogroms of ancient times in Russia; when you think that here, in these very choirs, the grand-ducal family was strangled by fire and smoke during the invasion of Batu. Through the diligence of the local venerable “Archbishop Theognostus,” many things hidden from antiquity have been restored here. Grand-ducal tombs were found buried within the walls, cleaned, framed, decorated - and all the names! This is an incomparable church, and next to it is the Dmitrovsky Cathedral of great beauty, and even nearby is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, from where the body of the deceased prince was taken out and transported to St. Petersburg - a cathedral restored under Nicholas I in all the original beauty of its architecture. I was also in the Bogolyubov Monastery, in the old cathedral, at that very dormer window, in the very room where the murderers strangled Andrei Bogolyubsky. All this is extremely curious, and everything, together with the surrounding fields, meadows and villages and churches, is filled with that beauty that the soul of the northern Russian man loves so much and to which the soul responds so much. But here is a transition from the south to the north, because Andrei Bogolyubsky came here from the south to Kiev and here he erected a golden gate in the image of the Kiev one, christened many tracts with Kiev names and laid, so to speak, the Great Russian dominion power on the southern Russian names and bones. Oranienbaum, June 19, 1885 Perhaps Your Imperial Majesty will be curious to look at the group of bishops gathering in Kazan - they have all already left, having finished their work. Meanwhile, on July 22, in the Far East, in Irkutsk, another congress of seven Siberian bishops who gathered there opened. Among them, the Rev. arrived from Blagoveshchensk. Martinian, on the way to Simferopol, where he was transferred, and brought with him archimandrite. Guria, his successor, whose consecration took place right there, in Irkutsk, on July 22. By this time, Count Ignatiev had also arrived there. Korf, unfortunately, could not arrive on this day, as he initially expected, but sent the Transbaikal governor on his behalf. From August 1, Rev. Veniamin of Irkutsk telegraphs that their meetings on church and civil issues have ended and meetings on church affairs will continue for another week. The matter of prenuptial subscriptions known to Your Majesty receives, thank God, a worthy outcome in silence! Tomorrow, I hope, decrees will be sent out from the synod, a sample of which I will have the honor to present to Your Majesty. At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to repeal the instructions of 1865, which gave Lutheran pastors a free hand. When they find out about this, there will be a lot of grumbling and irritation. I have no doubt, unfortunately, that here too many of the so-called higher circles will be indignant, from their point of view, at what seems to them a violation of religious tolerance and civilization. This indignation will, of course, be directed at me, but I calmly submit to it, because I feel and realize that I have fulfilled my duty by drawing Your Majesty’s attention to this matter. As for religious tolerance, I cannot count among it our unfortunate tendency to give ourselves, with our hands tied, both the church and the people, into the hands of infidels and foreigners who look at us and our church with contempt. I’m leaving today for Smolensk and from there to Salzburg in a week. I will follow with heartfelt concern the path of Your Majesty to Nemirov and Kyiv: God grant that everything happens safely! In Kyiv, I dare to draw Your Majesty’s attention to the 80-year-old but still vigorous old man Yuzefovich, who, no doubt, will introduce himself; he rejoices that God still allows him to meet another Sovereign in Kyiv. This is the oldest and most respected of the Kiev fighters for the Russian cause against Polonism and Ukrainophilism, and was once an assistant trustee at the university. Both in Nemirov and Kyiv, of course, many Polish counts and princes will try with all their might to turn Your Majesty’s presence and reception at the court to their advantage. God grant that everyone who is in charge will be able to distinguish between dignity and cunning intrigue. Petersburg, August 6, 1885 Having returned from a trip abroad on September 24 and having assumed office, I consider it my duty to inform Your Imperial Majesty about this. It was pleasant to relax in Salzburg, but our world was outraged by the news of the insane and outrageous fantasy of the Bulgarian prince. It was not difficult to guess that forces hostile to Russia were secretly operating behind his back. Unfortunately, we are surrounded by enemies, secret and open, and every combination of events, reprehensible or harmful to Russia, is met with joy everywhere and finds zealous instigators and accomplices. God save us from the new shedding of Russian blood for such a thing, for which, in the end, we ourselves will have to pay; and in this Bulgarian movement nothing is still visible except intrigue with a trap set for Russian complacency. Pass over, God, this dark cloud! Upon arrival here, we were immediately met with grief, and we experience the most difficult feelings at the sight of the sufferer Baroness Raden, who is ending her life so pitifully. It is difficult to imagine how pitiful she is and how she suffers. Within a few days, her illness took on terrifying proportions. Her whole body is covered with tumors - she barely moves anymore, and it is difficult to make out what she is saying, but she looks with such a painful gaze that it is impossible to see without tears. Almost no one is allowed to see her anymore; there is no hope, and one only needs to wish for one thing - that her suffering ends as soon as possible. Anyone who knew her lofty soul and the high qualities of her mind and heart, perfectly developed, is struck with horror at the thought of what a pitiful state a human being, a creation of God, so richly gifted, can reach. Without a doubt, the Empress will deeply regret this loss, because there is no one to replace her - she was the only one. For me and for my wife, this is a great loss: we had in her our only friend, a faithful and strong soul. But her death will be a great loss for the entire St. Petersburg society, even for those who will not mourn her. She had a moral force that restrained many and acted on many unconsciously. Everyone knew her and everyone was not indifferent to what Baroness Raden thought and how she judged - for many she was a living conscience. In the small cramped rooms where she lived, no one came to her from morning to evening, for advice, for approval, with grief, with joy, with doubt; many people with a bad conscience were afraid of her and still looked for her. She kept within herself the best traditions of the past generation, and whoever approached her tried to be decent both mentally and morally. And she is the last of her kind! Seeing its destruction now is indescribably painful. We will now await Your Majesty's safe return. May God grant you a safe voyage and a complete sense of peace upon your return. Your Imperial Majesty's faithful Konstantin Pobedonostsev Petersburg, September 26, 1885 Thank God that we waited for the safe return of Your Imperial Majesty. May God grant that everyone is in good health and that your stay in Gatchina begins and continues peacefully and happily. By agreement with Danilovich, I plan to arrive tomorrow night in Gatchina in order to be in time for the station early on Friday morning. Prince Tsarevich. On Friday, at about 2 o'clock, I will ask permission to introduce myself to Your Majesty. Meanwhile, tonight God stopped the suffering of Edita Raden. She died, and the sorrow for her loss will deeply resonate not only here, but also among everyone who knew her in all of Russia. Dying, she prayed for you and for the Empress - she couldn’t wait for Her Majesty’s arrival. The poor woman suffered a lot and died, one might say, every day for a whole week, but she retained her eyes and thoughts to the end, although she could no longer speak. She wrote a few lines in advance to the Empress, her last farewell and last request. I am sending her letter along with this one. She was born and died in a Lutheran name, but in her soul she loved Orthodoxy and the Orthodox Church and understood it. Her closest friends were not Germans, but Orthodox Christians, ardently devoted to their church, for example, Samarin. Close communication in spirit with the best people in Russia and with many spiritual people helped her understand the spirit of our church, and she was alien to that narrow, proud fanaticism that is so often found among the Germans. She loved our services and prayed fervently in our church, crossing herself with a large Russian cross; and in the institutions where she went, she set an example for the Orthodox of respect for our church and its rituals. Especially in recent years, with a decline in strength and health, she felt more strongly the spiritual poverty of the Lutheran rite and more often resorted to the consolation provided by ours. Last year, after an operation, Mother Maria from Kostroma (who was close to her) sent her an icon of the Mother of God, and the patient placed it in front of her with consolation. Then she could still control herself, but now, on her deathbed, she was already powerless. Her relatives, strict Lutherans, gathered around her, and the dry, narrow, stern (like almost all of them) Pastor Hesse appeared to her; he, of course, made sure that the icons stood in another room, and walked past with contempt and a suspicious look. But the look of the sick woman told her Russian friends that this was not enough for her and that her soul was asking for a different, living consolation. How pleased she was when at night the sister of mercy read her Russian prayers, an akathist to Jesus, etc. How happy she was when Mother Maria (who had come from Kostroma for that purpose) came to see her for a few minutes and overshadowed her with a large Russian cross... Before her death, she showed me and her sister her briefcase, where she had placed her last orders, including a letter to the Empress. Here we found only two or three pieces of paper, but it is noteworthy that among them was F. I. Tyutchev’s famous poem about Lutheranism, copied by her hand: "I am a Lutheran, I love worship, Their ritual is strict, important and simple; These bare walls, this empty church I understand the lofty teaching. But you see, having prepared for the journey, For the last time you will have faith. She has not yet crossed the threshold, But her house is already empty and bare. She has not yet crossed the threshold, The door has not yet closed behind her... But the hour has come, it has struck... Pray to God - For the last time you pray now!" And so we mourn her and grieve even more that we will not bury her our way. And how many poor people will mourn her - she did a lot of good for the poor. Petersburg, October 9, 1885 Having now received an order from Your Majesty, I will immediately communicate it to Manassein. The rumor about Nabokov's resignation actually spread, although I did not say a single word about anything like that to anyone. However, rumors of this kind are repeated incessantly - and last year in the fall, after Nabokov’s trip to Russia, society expected the same. This time the rumor has especially intensified and gained significance since last Wednesday. Everyone knew that Your Majesty did not receive Nabokov and demanded a report with papers. There was confusion at the Justice Department, and there was talk all over town, with at least 6 candidates named. Last night Nabokov came to see me and asked persistently if I knew anything definitive, in view of the rumors that had spread. I told him that I knew absolutely nothing, that having been in Gatchina on Friday, I had not had the opportunity to see Your Majesty. “One thing I know,” I told Nabokov, “is that the Tsar, especially after the Mironovich case, is very dissatisfied with the judicial department and is surprised, as he has expressed before, at the indecisiveness of your actions. Nabokov was embarrassed and began to assert that he was being accused in vain, that he was constantly concerned about correcting the situation, had already managed to significantly improve it, and was preparing a number of measures according to a well-thought-out plan. Of course,” he said, “if the Sovereign finds my actions insufficiently energetic, I am ready to lay down the burden of management, but it would be painful for me to think and feel that no merit is being recognized for me in what I have done and tried to do so far. Today telegrams appeared about the entry of Serbian troops into Bulgaria and the declaration of war. The latest news from the East is extremely confusing to the general opinion - everything is in some anxiety and uncertainty. Everyone feels "that events in the East are not only turning against us, but are also directed against Russia; everyone has the idea that under the cover and under the pretext of the alliance of the three emperors, hidden thoughts and secret goals directed against Russia and Russian politics in the East. They are perplexed and ask themselves: do we have a clear and definite plan of action in view of the unforeseen and random events in the East and in view of the zealous participation of England in the intrigue against us, which has become clear to everyone directed? It occurs to me: wouldn’t it be useful in the present circumstances to invite Count N.M. Ignatiev to the meetings taking place at Your Majesty’s? He knows closely and personally all the main figures in the current Eastern drama, knows their past and their current relationships, and could, it seems, provide information and give instructions useful for Russian policy in the present crisis. I allow myself to address Your Imperial Majesty with three earnest petitions for patronage and assistance to three good deeds: 1. In the Trinity-Sergius Lavra there is a young worthy hieromonk Nikon, a scholar, in poor health, intelligent, diligent and with an excellent life. He decided to devote himself to a good cause - to select articles from the old and new spiritual literature familiar to him, simply and warmly written, in a language understandable to the people, and publish them in separate sheets for distribution to the people coming to the Lavra. He discovered taste and art in selection, and the publication, which began in 1880, was and is a remarkable success and, under the name of Trinity leaves, gained popularity throughout Russia. More than 10 million of them have already been sold, and many of the most remote places are ordering hundreds of them for distribution. In this case, of course, there is no expectation of profit; the only calculation is to maintain the publication, which is only possible with the help of philanthropists. Last year, the same Nikon undertook, in favor of the same Trinity leaves, to write a public life of the teacher. Sergius and publish it in a luxurious form, with all diligence. This book has just appeared, beautifully printed, with paintings and vignettes depicting the churches and antiquities of the Trinity Lavra. Hieromonk Nikon asks me to bring this book and the Trinity leaves to Your Imperial Majesty. I consider both worthy of your attention. If, moreover, Your Majesty deigned to donate a certain amount (for example, 500 rubles) as an allowance for this matter, that is, for the publication of Trinity leaflets for the people, this would encourage the worker and attract the attention and patronage of the spiritual authorities to his work. 2. Following the example of the Vladimir Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood, here in St. Petersburg, the Brotherhood of the Most Rev. Mother of God for the purpose of taking care of rural schools and, in general, the spiritual education of the people in the local diocese (to which Finland also belongs). The need for this is great - there is a lot of poor population, a lot of poverty and ignorance and drunkenness (especially in the Shlisselburg and Novoladozh districts, along the waterways). People set to work diligently. They established lively relations with the parishes; the priests turned out to be young, zealous, but without any means and without moral support in their efforts to influence the people through the school. This business promises a lot of benefits and is already bringing them - we have already managed to find and support several good workers. The Brotherhood also takes care of the dissemination of church singing among the people, publishing books and sheet music. From time to time they gather in a general meeting in my hall, reports on schools are read, and a very good fraternal choir sings new arrangements of old church tunes. This institution is worthy of Your Majesty’s attention, but there are many needs and demands from everywhere, and the funds are meager. At the last meeting, several members dismantled several poor schools under their trusteeship. And there are many cases that require help. For example, I recently found a young priest near Novaya Ladoga, very zealous, but completely exhausted. He has a parish of 200 souls - poor people and many taverns. No income; salary 160 rub. per year - and that's it. He is not at home, he lives in a dilapidated hut and immediately gathers the children for school. Now, with the help of a local merchant who supports the local church, we are going to build a house for the priest and for the school together, for which I allocated 1000 rubles from the amount donated by Koenig. Would you please, Your Majesty, to donate a certain amount, for example, 1000 rubles, as encouragement and assistance to the brotherhood? 3. I apologize that I have already written a lot. But here is the third request: He cared a lot about parish schools throughout Russia. This is an important matter and, God willing, it will grow little by little and bear fruit; just don't rush. The system of this matter includes the establishment at each theological seminary of an exemplary parochial 2-grade school, so that it serves both as an example for all others and at the same time as a living model for seminary students preparing for the same activity. In some dioceses (for example, Vladimir, Ryazan, Kazan, Taurida, etc.) these schools have already opened and are operating. The first school of this kind opened in Ryazan at the seminary there, one of the most populous (over 600 students), one of the best in our country. Thanks to the diligence and skill of the rector and teacher, this school has become so good that it can be called truly exemplary, and there are so many people who want to study that it is impossible to accept everyone. All this is supported, of course, with the most modest means. They ask me from there to diligently send portraits of Your Majesty and the Empress for the school. I could send on my own behalf, but the thought comes to me that sending portraits on behalf of Your Majesty would be a sign of attention to the first institution of its kind, and one that has an undoubted success. If it is favorable, 50 rubles would be enough for this. I consider it my duty to report to Your Imperial Majesty about the following circumstances: Today a young Serb Stefanovich came to see me, who previously served in the Horse Guards, and is now in the reserve and lives here. I knew him four years ago, when he came to me from Metropolitan Michael. The current state of Serbia suggests the possibility of a coup, and it is clear that something is being prepared there. Yesterday, they say, Horvatovich left here, suddenly summoned by his party, hostile to Milan. According to Stefanovic, it could easily happen that in the event of a coup, Horvatovic will become the head of the government. Looking at the circumstances, some Serbs of the same consent are only waiting for a sign to go there, including this Stefanovic. These plans apparently include Metropolitan Michael in mind. What he will do at the present moment, I don’t know; he is now in Moscow. He is an ardent patriot and a person capable of hobbies. I have no doubt that at a certain moment his appearance in Serbia could be of great importance for affairs; but in such circumstances it is very important not to make a mistake in choosing the moment. In all likelihood, Metropolitan Mikhail is now subject to disturbances from various sides in Moscow, and it seems to me that he should not be left without leadership, in connection with the general direction of policy. Seeing, according to Stefanovich, that they were boiling there, and an explosion could follow suddenly, I decided to telegraph Mikhail, asking him to come here. He himself had been planning to come to St. Petersburg for a long time, and we have matters related to internal administration that could serve as a reason for calling him for personal explanations; but at the present moment it is also desirable to know his mood and appearance. I think he will arrive tomorrow. Now I’ll go to notify Girs about this, but in the meantime I consider it my duty to report to Your Majesty. Petersburg, November 16, 1885 Your Imperial Majesty deigned to draw attention to the correspondence from Kronstadt published in the newspaper “Novoe Vremya” about the need to appoint a priest there for the Estonians and Latvians living in Kronstadt, and deign to ask: what is supposed to be done about this. This matter has been known to me since the beginning of this year. It arose from the fact that one of the best priests there, Dean Tizik, came to Kronstadt from Estland, sent services for Orthodox Estonians and celebrated mass for them in Estonian. This created excitement among the Estonian population of Kronstadt, and a petition arose for the formation of a permanent parish there and for the appointment of a priest. It was impossible to arrange this matter soon - the most significant question of maintenance was presented to the priest, and then it was necessary to find it. In any case, a place for worship would have been found in one of the churches. The synod entered into correspondence on this subject with the metropolitan, from whom in November they received feedback on the amount of support for the clergy. Now we have to find a source from where to get the money, and find a priest who knows the language. At the same time, I am sending one of the officials to Kronstadt to collect the necessary information on the spot. But a similar need was discovered here, in St. Petersburg, for the local Estonians and Latvians. We also care about her satisfaction; but here it is more difficult to find a church for worship. In general, there are too few churches in St. Petersburg for the Orthodox population - the people can barely fit in, and in each of them both early and late masses are served daily, between which it is not easy to find time for a third liturgy. However, we hope that this too will gradually work out. Due to the special interest that affairs on Sakhalin Island have for me, I allow myself to draw the attention of Your Imperial Majesty to Major General Ginze, the head of Sakhalin Island, who will be introduced to you tomorrow, May 3. 2 I saw him, and he made a very favorable impression on me, as a serious, reasonable, practical and devoted man, with a keen interest [in] the work that was entrusted to him. The information I have collected confirms this impression. He himself is originally Finnish; served until his last appointment in the troops of the Amur region. Having found nature on Sakhalin that was similar to that of Finland, and having economic ability, he got down to business practically. The administration's abuses were significant on Sakhalin. He tried to get them out and restore order, eliminated, if possible, drunkenness and the secret trade in wine (which was carried out by the heads of the department!) and put all his care into activating local industries and developing the natural resources of the island. So, for example, he started a pottery production there and began selling products to Vladivostok; set to work building roads; began to boil his own salt (until then it was brought to Sakhalin), and without salt the untold wealth of his fish was wasted; so that the houses on the shores are teeming with fish, and for consumption they have to sell them out; appointed a prize for finding lime on the island (they also bring it, but without it it is impossible to build). Now he is making every effort to beg for a steamer, because without a steamer, communication along the coast from Douai with other administrative areas is unthinkable, and the local administration without a steamer is like without hands. Now he was called back from Sakhalin by a sad circumstance. He settled there with his family, but his wife could not stand the climate and was struck by paralysis, so he was forced to bring her to Odessa and leave her there with his family. Now he has to go to Sakhalin alone, without his family, and this circumstance, difficult for a family man, apparently leads him to think. Meanwhile, it is desirable in all respects that the work he started should be continued by him. I believe that in this much will depend on Your Majesty’s gracious attention to him and to the work to which he is called; and that’s why I’m bothering Your Majesty with this writing. I have just learned that N. X. Bunge presented Your Imperial Majesty with his printed note with objections to Mr. Smirnov’s note on financial policy. This obliges me to set out before Your Majesty the story of this and that note, as far as the matter concerns me, in order to prevent possible misunderstandings. The situation of our finances has lately been of concern not only to government officials, but, one might say, to all Russian people. Everyone feels and sees that things are going badly and that danger is threatening; everyone is aware, some vaguely, others clearly, of the mistakes of our financial policy, which have been going on for about 30 years; Everyone is trying to find a way out of the current difficulties. All classes agree in this feeling - government officials, the nobility, commercial people, and the peasantry. It is no wonder that recently, almost every week, a new note appears with an analysis of the existing system and with a proposal on how to help grief. These notes are printed freely and distributed and sent to high-ranking officials. So, there is nothing surprising, I think there is nothing reprehensible in the fact that Comrade Chief Prosecutor Smirnov began to write such a note. He could consider himself a knowledgeable person, because in his previous activities he dealt exclusively with financial issues, and even in the 60s, together with N. X. Bunge, he constantly wrote leading articles in the then economic journal. Having written this note, he read it to me, read it to M. N. Ostrovsky, and showed it to Count D. L. Tolstoy. Both Ostrovsky and I essentially agreed with the main ideas of the note and only advised him to smooth out some harsh expressions, which he did. In this form, the note contained criticism of the system that continues not only under the current Minister of Finance, but also under his predecessors, therefore, it could hardly be interpreted as a personal accusation. In any case, the subject to which she referred is a subject of great importance for the state. Smirnov's main goal was to present his note to Your Majesty, and he thought of presenting it through me. But I resolutely avoided it. I wanted to avoid any criticism from the Minister of Finance; and besides, although according to common sense I have always, since the 60s, been an opponent of our dominant financial system, but, not being one of the specialists in this matter, I could not have such a definite opinion in it as to decide to express my opinion and, therefore, defend it before Your Majesty. On private issues, I considered it my duty to express my opinion definitively in the State Council, contrary to the projects of the Ministry of Finance (for example, on matters of salt, on duties on inheritance, on stamp duty, on drinking regulations, on the establishment of tax inspectors), but I remained in the minority or was forced to listen to ironic refutations. So, in all cases when many people asked me to present their financial notes to Your Majesty, I always avoided doing so. Thus, Mr. Smirnov’s note remained nothing more than a personal statement of his view of finances and a means of correcting them, intended for distribution in the closest circle of people close to the matter. It was printed in 40 copies and communicated first of all to the Minister of Finance himself, Abaza, Selsky and then to some ministers and members of the State Council. It was without a name or signature, but everyone knew who its author was. After reading it, both the Minister of Finance and Abaza spoke to me about it with some disdain, but neither one nor the other made any claim to me that it was written by a fellow chief prosecutor. And it seemed there was nothing to claim. Other persons declared their agreement with the thoughts expressed in the note. After this, I was quite surprised when the other day I received from N. X. Bunge a note, printed by him and sent to all ministers and members of the State Council, in which he took the trouble to refute Smirnov’s thoughts, calling him by name. I was even more surprised to see at the end of the note, on the last lines, an accusation indirectly directed at me. Previously, many notes and much sharper refutations of our financial policy had been published, but N. Kh. Bunge did not consider it necessary to write refutations of any of these notes. Marveling at this, I, however, was not at all embarrassed by it, and soon left it completely unattended, not seeing anyone these days and not having the opportunity to talk about Bunge’s note. But today I just learned from Ostrovsky that N. X. Bunge presented his note to Your Majesty: therefore, he attaches special significance to both it and Smirnov’s note. This forced me to bother Your Majesty with my actual writing. Obviously, it seemed to the Minister of Finance or, more likely, it was suggested to him from the outside that Smirnov’s note was, so to speak, sent by me in order to shake his credit; of course, he was told that I presented this note to Your Majesty, and he hastened to reflect it. In this case, he was instilled with completely unnecessary fear. Your Majesty knows that I did not take it upon myself to present the note to you, and in general, it seems, I never once touched upon financial issues in my explanations to you. Forgive me, Your Majesty, this is a long piece of writing, but it is essential for me that there should be no misunderstanding in your thoughts regarding my participation in this matter. Please, Your Imperial Majesty, view the attached article. In the living conditions that exist in Tomsk, is it possible to go, so to speak, towards the harmful elements and insist on the establishment of a university in Tomsk, which has already been decided in the economy department of the State Senate, with the allocation of money, for the first time about 70 thousand rubles, from the state treasury. From the very beginning I called the idea of ​​​​establishing a university in Siberia (which arose during the period of complete impoverishment and fall of our universities) unfortunate and false; but at first they didn’t want to listen to me, and then, although they agreed with me, they objected: “What to do? The government has already gone too far; they have been promised; significant donations have been accepted in the amount of up to 900 thousand rubles; a large house has been built; everything is ready; you can’t go back.” But it seems to me that when the danger is obvious, it is never too late to go back or at least stop, for which there is a pretext - the extremely difficult situation of the state. Treasury. What kind of professors will they get in Siberia when even the local universities don’t know where to get serious and reliable people, especially lawyers! (and it is planned to open a law faculty in Siberia). Obviously, only very young and weak people will go there, attracted by high salaries. They will want to fill the university and at first they will be forced to accept just anyone as students, and then they will start asking the treasury for money for scholarships. Tomsk society consists of all kinds of rabble; one can imagine how it affects the university, and how the university will affect it. Count Ignatiev wrote to me on October 8 about his passage through Tomsk: “we examined the notorious Siberian University. The building is excessively luxurious; I don’t know if it will be filled and by whom? and what will come of all this?” Forgive me, Your Majesty, for disturbing you often; it may seem that I am taking on matters that do not belong to me; but what should I do when people contact me? I answer almost everyone: it’s none of my business, but sometimes you have to stop for the sake of the truth or for the sake of pity. Today the Duchess de Ferrari visited me and sat for a long time. The story she tells about herself is like a fairy tale of the most incredible content, but when you ask her: what does it all mean? she swears that she herself has not understood anything since she, an innocent 17-year-old girl, was taken from Russia. Then they take a signature from her father that he renounces his daughter, support her at the expense of the court, keep an eye on her, correspond about her through the minister of the court and through diplomats, introduce an official sent from Russia to her, and finally take part in negotiations about her marriage - all this looks like some kind of adventures of Princess Tarakanova from the 18th century. I don’t understand anything here,” and she assures that she doesn’t understand anything. I am conveying my personal impression. This woman doesn't look like an adventurer at all. So, her look and manner of speaking are completely sincere and completely Russian, and she inspires confidence in me. She is 46 years old. Your idea of ​​the purpose of her coming here is completely at odds with what I learned from her, and that is why I decide, after what I heard from Your Majesty on the way from Gatchina, to write more about her. You deign to assume that she came here with some kind of claim to money, in connection with the speculation of some foreigner chevalier du Lys. She, on the contrary, seeks to clear herself of all solidarity with this speculation, which outrages her, and to clear herself and the name of her husband from any such suspicion. Her husband sent her here solely for this purpose. He is considered the richest owner in Italy, with a capital of up to 50 million. francs, and she has no claim to any money. "I am Russian at heart," she says, "I owe everything to the sovereigns Nicholas I, Alexander II, and I would be happy to see the sovereign and empress and make sure that they do not consider me dishonest and a participant in some vile speculation. I don’t know what will happen to me if I return to my husband and do not bring this consciousness with me. I love him, and he loves me, but his blood boiled when he heard that my name was being attached to this vile trick. This is my entire, and only, goal. I’m so unhappy, so unhappy that I still have the suspicion that I’m innocent of it!” I present herewith a note brought to me by the Duchess de Ferrari. She brought me another letter addressed to Your Majesty. I submit all this for your consideration; It seemed to me that this matter was not unworthy of your attention, and if I am mistaken, then I ask you not to count the anxiety this causes as my fault. I consider it my duty to present to Your Imperial Majesty the notebook “Acts of the Bishops Gathered in Kazan” that was just published last year. All these acts were carefully prepared and then considered in the synod. Among them there is an appeal to the flocks and another, special appeal to the Old Believers. The resolution of the meeting relates to subjects of the greatest importance for dioceses in which schismatic and foreign populations abound. These acts truly constitute an event in the Russian Church and, without a doubt, will arouse general interest among the people and make a beneficial impression. At the same time, the synod issued an explanation on the subject that constitutes the main point of contention about the oaths imposed by the Moscow councils of the 17th century on the old rites. These oaths have already lost all meaning since the establishment of common faith; nevertheless, the stubborn teachers of the schism continue to preach that the Russian Church holds them under an oath, and to lift it they demand the convening of a council with the ecumenical patriarchs. This explanation was compiled with all the caution necessary in such cases and was checked in every phrase from all sides for a whole year. All these issues that may seem small and unimportant from the point of view of the intelligentsia, who have retreated from the people's life, but they are of the greatest importance for the people. It is difficult to imagine to what extent, how vividly and how deeply the people are interested in these questions: the entire spiritual life of the people is in the church, and questions of truth in the church are for them questions of life and death. Just the other day, and precisely in St. Petersburg, there was living evidence of this. The Penza Edinoverie priest Kryuchkov, the most powerful of our missionaries, came here for a short time from Orenburg. Coming from peasants, a former schismatic, he perfectly mastered the knowledge of scripture, old books, and all the techniques of special dialectics in disputes with schismatics. He is very smart and skillful, he speaks masterfully, simply, figuratively clearly, attracting attention to himself, and has an irresistible effect on everyone who hears him. In the Ural army last year he caused a complete shock among the schismatics. Just at the same time, the most famous of the schismatic teachers, Shvetsov, appeared in St. Petersburg, the most cunning and dexterous agitator, constantly moving between Moscow and Bukovina - also a smart head, but of a completely different type - a type of Jesuit fanatic, a master of leading astray and confusing anyone who competes with him. It was very important to take advantage of this opportunity to set Kryuchkov against Shvetsov: there was no doubt that Kryuchkov would defeat Shvetsov in the sight of the entire people - and this was very important. And last week, 4 conversations were held in the hall of the Theological Academy so that the students there could be witnesses. These conversations remained, of course, unknown to the official world in St. Petersburg, but what happened among the people is difficult to describe. Without any announcements, just word of mouth, huge crowds of people, both Orthodox and schismatics, gathered at the academy. Hardly a third of it could fit in the large hall, and in such a way that man was pressed against man in an unimaginable atmosphere; the rest stood in the corridors and in the courtyard. The meeting was blessed by the bishop, and there was complete order, but one can imagine the interest of the people in this matter when people climbed into the hall to take their seats at 1 o’clock in the afternoon, waited until 4 o’clock for the opening and then stood, sweating profusely, listening to every word, without eating or drinking, until 10 o’clock in the evening. Indeed, there was something to listen to, because there was art on both sides, and Kryuchkov’s speech was lively, popular, and intelligent. His opponent suffered complete defeat in all his arguments in view of the schismatics, who were forced to be indignant against their own speaker, and to the complete delight of the Orthodox, who in this dispute learned for themselves what to answer to the schismatics in the most basic concepts about the church, about the hierarchy, about rituals. To complete the effect, one of those present, a schismatic mechanic who was passing through the Caucasus, convinced by this dispute, joined the church. Yesterday this joining took place in the academic church with a large crowd of people, and today Kryuchkov left for Orenburg, where they have been waiting for him for a long time. Now, undoubtedly, the news of the St. Petersburg competition is spreading throughout Russia, which is the subject of talk everywhere, in shops between merchants and workers, in taverns and in horse-drawn carriages. While I’m still here, I never stop bothering Your Majesty with my reports and requests. Would you please allow some bishops to introduce themselves to you one of these days? The reason for this is the following: 1. Yesterday, Caucasian Bishop Vladimir, newly appointed to Stavropol from Tomsk, arrived here. This is a man worthy of attention, and just like the current diocese where he is going is also very difficult (due to the diversity of foreigners and sectarians), Your Majesty’s attention will serve to encourage him. Rev. Since 1865, Vladimir has been the main commander and leader of the Altai Mission, which is of primary importance among our missionary institutions. Its founder was the famous Macarius, a man remarkable for his missionary spirit and spiritual influence on his associates. Since 1879, Vladimir was the bishop of Biysk, vicar of the Tomsk diocese, and in 1883 he was appointed to Tomsk. Hard service with extensive travel developed a stone disease in him, and for this reason alone he was transferred from Siberia to Stavropol, where missionary activity also awaits him. In Biysk, that is, at the center of the mission, Macarius, a Siberian native, also a remarkable man in the spirit of missionary work and energetic activity, was appointed as his successor. God grant that his strength does not fail him. The Altai mission is very important as an instrument of Russian culture and civilization between wild tribes, because of which there is still a silent, invisible to the administration, but strong struggle between Russian influence and Mongol-Chinese and Tibetan propaganda. Only missionaries, using special means, wage this struggle in the remote desert. Just in case, I present to Your Majesty just [that] I received the latest report of the Altai mission, beautifully compiled by the Rev. Makariy. Of course, you don’t have time to read it, but please skim through the places I have marked, starting from page 13. On page 42 the civilizing significance of missionary work in Altai is perfectly described. On page 15 facts of Lama propaganda from Tibet, which is intensifying every year, are given - very important facts, occurring far from the administration and inconspicuous for it (on this occasion one cannot help but regret that the Tomsk province was separated from the General Government too early). Only the missionary has to fight these propagandists with his weak means. The Chevalkov mentioned here is a remarkable person in his own way, a natural Altai, now a very old man, converted and trained by the late Macarius from childhood. Our former missionaries brought out many such nuggets, and these people work in cold, hunger and need - and who knows? A mission is essentially a state institution and does state business. And it exists on relatively insignificant funds allocated by the Moscow missionary society (under the patronage of the Empress), whose income is also meager, and on private donations from generous Russian people. At this point, in Kashagach, where the Lama’s intensified propaganda, essentially political, is now directed, a permanent missionary table should have been established long ago, but there are no funds. I have been asking them for a long time, according to the instructions of last year’s report, from the missionary society, but they do not have free money. In Biysk itself there was not even a bishop's house. Rev. Vladimir built it with great effort with the help of merchant sacrifices and some help from the synod, but the other day, on the eve of the Ascension, this house burned down and the bishop was left homeless. Now I’ll try to look in Moscow to see if there are any philanthropists. So, here are the reasons why I am worried about Your Majesty: would it be good to receive the Most Reverend. Vladimir and let me know what day and time. 2. The other two – Rev. Palladium of Kazan and Rev. Seraphim of Samara would like to have the good fortune to present himself to Your Majesty with gratitude for the decorations received at Easter. Rev. Palladius would also like to present to Your Majesty the action of the Kazan Council, which took place last year under his reasonable and caring chairmanship. Rev. Palladium is very beloved in his diocese. Having settled down in Kislovodsk, I consider it useful to present Your Imperial Majesty with some news about local affairs. I spent a day in Rostov-on-Don and met some representatives of the local merchant class. I found them to be intelligent, experienced people and quite Russian in mood. They all love their city and attach great importance to it in the south of Russia, they are all proud of the fact that all the power in it is Russian, and that not one of the foreign elements - neither Jewish, nor Armenian, nor German - can break into power in it and take a dominant position in affairs. The city, spread widely along the mountainous bank of the Don, has grown amazingly. Since 1869, when I last saw him, he has not been recognized. In appearance it is one of the most comfortable. Wide streets lined with acacias, running water everywhere, a lovely, shady city garden, a regulated, well-maintained cemetery, exemplary in order and cleanliness, public institutions are very interesting. The city was populated and built in the old days very correctly - people came from nowhere, settled and built secretly, without asking anyone (the whole settlement is called Nakhalovka for this reason), and now all buildings, streets and nooks and crannies are systematically regulated. The cathedral is beautiful, with a splendid service and a wonderful choir of singers. I was especially interested in the question of how the population felt about the idea of ​​the city joining the military administration. I confess that I treated this idea with some prejudice, fearing confusion in administrative relations. Now I am convinced that this has long been desired by the local residents; Everyone is busy with this thought at the moment, and the news of the imminent resolution of the issue was greeted joyfully both in Rostov and Taganrog. The city administration is burdened by extreme difficulties in resolving economic and administrative matters that are important for the city, now connected by two complex clerical knots. For all matters, one must go to distant Yekaterinoslav and Odessa to the Governor-General, with whom they sometimes stay for months and years, bogged down in the office, on matters of keen interest for the city. They hope to avoid all these difficulties by joining one Don administrative center. Here, in Kislovodsk, I see P.S. Vannovsky and Prince every day. Dondukov. With the latter there are a lot of conversations about local affairs, which do not present a comforting appearance. The bitter experience that Russia has to endure with all the saved and blessed foreign nationalities is repeated here. It turns out that the Georgians almost prayed for us when there was still danger from the Persians. When the storm began to pass under Yermolov, signs of alienation already appeared. Then, when Shamil appeared, everything became quiet again. This danger also passed - the Georgians began to go crazy again, as we became complacent with them, pampered them and accustomed them to generous favors at the expense of the treasury and state property. This system of courting foreigners brought it to its current state. Any attempt to bring them to order arouses absurd passions and claims. The terrible event with the rector of the seminary resonated among foreigners not with indignation at the killer beast, but with gloating. It is clear that they will not stop there. At the rector’s funeral, the exarch said a passionate word in which he expressed all the grief and all the indignation at the crime committed. This speech seemed offensive to the murderer’s insane supporters, and so the Kutaisi leader of the nobility writes a stupid and impudent letter to the exarch, with a veiled threat, advising him to leave the Caucasus. I am enclosing a copy of this letter and the reply. Book Dondukov, rightly outraged by this act of a representative person, writes to the Minister of Internal Affairs and asks for Kipiani to be expelled from the region, so that this insolence does not go unpunished and does not encourage others. I barely had time to read these documents when I received a telegram with news from Ozurget about a new trick by an 18-year-old unfit student of the local religious school, expelled for bad behavior. He attacked the school superintendent and beat him on the head until he bled with a stick... All these are phenomena that prove that a general, strict system of measures is needed in this region to establish order and respect for authority. Unfortunately, the local foreigners have an ingrained idea that the current administration is constraining them, but on the contrary, they hope for the support and protection of the previous administration. The weather is beautiful. The air here is wonderful and there are green picturesque mountains around. May God grant that Your Majesty may now take advantage of the warm summer and relief from worries! Your Imperial Majesty's faithful Const. Pobedonostsev Your Imperial Majesty deigned to express some surprise why the murderer of Rector Chudetsky was not sentenced to death by a military court, but to hard labor. To explain this, the court cites that the offender has not yet reached full adulthood (although there is no completely reliable information about his real age). But the most regrettable thing in this case, in my opinion, is that the court conducted this case in a public hearing, and a detailed report about it, outlining all the speeches, was published in all newspapers. The meeting room was filled with the public, consisting in large numbers of students from various educational institutions and from the Georgian element. The mass of the public clearly showed their sympathy for the criminal, so the chairman had to restrain them. And in the presence of such an audience, the defense lawyer used the usual methods of defense, that is, while exonerating the criminal, he tried to blame the authorities, proving, among other things, that the authorities violated the student’s morals when they took away a forbidden book from him. Unfortunately, Prince Dondukov was not in Tiflis at that time; but even in his absence, the chairman of the court had every right to close the meeting, as P. S. Vannovsky explained to me. He wanted to pay attention to this when passing through Tiflis. Unfortunately, our judges are now so demoralized and spineless that they do not dare to act on their own in such cases. And there are many such cases everywhere, and God knows how much demoralization has already been brought in different corners of Russia to an idle, poorly educated and easily captivated public by public court hearings in cases of this kind. And besides, when the meeting was public, all the newspapers vying with each other printed a report about it, with frivolous and sometimes insane comments. The audience's enthusiasm, in turn, affects the judges. This is a great evil, and truly must be stopped, and in military courts the indiscriminate use of publicity is doubly tempting. In May, Manassein submitted to the State Council a proposal to limit publicity in the courts. It will not be easy to carry it out, despite its relative moderation. It is noteworthy that we in Russia are now only with difficulty achieving the right that was written long ago in the general German statute, i.e., granting the court itself the right to close a hearing. But this spring the German government introduced a draft law on further restrictions on publicity, and we are afraid to take the first step in this direction. The exarch, whose position here is very difficult and difficult in view of the rising Georgian madness, came here and lived here for a week, in frequent conferences with me and with the prince. Dondukov. They talked a lot about how to improve the situation with the seminary. Unfortunately, no matter how much effort is put into internal correction, one cannot stop the excitement from the outside, which feeds on the weakening of the fundamental springs of power in the region. It is impossible to equate the local administration with other parts of the empire: here it is necessary to arm the main commander with greater powers of power, and when forming a new local institution, the concern was how to limit it. The most urgent orders must be communicated from here to St. Petersburg (for example, about the expulsion of insane and harmful agitators from here), and the boss’s assumptions are often not confirmed or weakened, and this makes his power lose significance and gives rise to all sorts of rumors and gossip about the authorities, and the hope of support from the capital for harmful elements. So from everyone I hear that the difficulties for the authorities have increased since last year’s stay of the former governor here, for the imagination of the Georgians and Armenians was inflamed by the absurd hope of finding in him support and protection from the current administration. Here I met a respectable man, Markov, the director of the Tiflis gymnasium, who has been keeping the crowded and diverse institution in excellent order for a long time. He is a tireless and intelligent teacher, but he told me what it cost him to run an institution in recent years - thanks to his decisiveness of character and physical strength. He is forced to keep a revolver in his pocket, and more than once managed to stop daring attacks and criminal attempts with his determination. He receives death threats, as does County Trustee Janowski. Both of them, however, are exhausted and can’t wait to leave this area. This is how many of the most serious figures here argue. Following the murder of the rector, it was deemed necessary to dissolve the seminary immediately, although it was already time for exams. This was also necessary because the unsuitable part of the students hoped to act with terror on the examiners in order to relax the exams. So, the exams have been postponed until mid-August. There is no doubt that even here there will be attempts to intimidate mentors. Therefore, I considered it necessary to send the vice-director of the office of Privy Councilor Chistovich from St. Petersburg to attend the exams. Then the composition of the corporation will have to be significantly changed and all Georgian mentors known for participating in intrigues and arson will have to be transferred from Tiflis to internal Russia. From here on, I allow myself to bother Your Majesty with my letters about this region, in the thought that another message may not be useless. Last week I examined it together with Prince. Dondukov, 45 versts from here, there is a very interesting colony of Tempelgov Mennonites, or Orbelianovka. These are immigrants from the Tauride province, who settled here 18 years ago on a lease near Camel Mountain, on the lands of Prince Orbeliani. There was nothing here but bare steppe, and now there is a thriving settlement of 40 households, with large gardens and a vineyard. They were the first to grow grapes here and now collect up to 500 buckets of wine per tithe. Their economy is truly remarkable. But the most pleasant thing is that they all speak excellent Russian, which is a rarity in the German colonies. For their children, they set up a pro-gymnasium in the steppe (which is located in a house no different from all the others). All teachers, from their own environment, are trained in universities, and all subjects are taught in Russian. We were met at the foreman's house by a brass band, composed of them, with music, and their choir sang beautifully in Russian: God save the Tsar. This colony leaves the most pleasant impression. Book Dondukov left here on the 10th and went on a detour around the Terek and Kuban regions for a month. Here I met the boss. Terek region gene. Yurkovsky, with Stavropol - Zisserman, and with the Black Sea - Nikiforaki. All of them are generally praised. On the contrary, bad news is heard about the Kara governor Tomich; Of course, I would not have mentioned these news and rumors if a scandal had not happened to Tomic the other day, after which it would hardly be possible for him to stay. They write to me from Tiflis: "Here, all attention is absorbed in the duel of the Karsky governor with the inspector of the Karsky school over the latter's wife. The inspector slapped the governor in the face at an act in the women's school, where the inspector's wife is the boss." Don't punish me, Your Majesty, for a long letter. I pray to God to keep you and your entire home safe. I allow myself to further disturb Your Imperial Majesty with a word about the sugar business. Every day brings me new evidence of the excitement this matter has created in the minds of all of Russia. Everyone is waiting to see how it will be resolved, given the disagreement that has occurred. I will not be mistaken if I say that the victory of the majority will make a grave impression. The general opinion is that the present attempt at rationing is nothing more than a clever plan drawn up in favor of sugar speculation, skillfully carried out with a double discussion of the matter. I personally have no doubt that this matter is set up and is the last link in a series of repeated attempts to direct all sugar legislation in favor of large breeders. The first of these attempts was in my memory, in 1872, upset by Chevkin in the department. economy, where these matters were previously sent and at that time valuable research was collected to clarify the matter, which was now not in the minds of the Committee of Ministers. This matter also has another important moral significance in my eyes. If such a majority was formed in the Committee of Ministers, this must be attributed exclusively to the decisive influence that Abaza acquired on the Minister of Finance, and on Selsky, and on Ostrovsky, and on Reitern, and on other members who did not have the opportunity to delve into the matter, but were inferior to Abaza’s dominant tone in his speeches. I know two or three who, on the eve of the meeting, strongly protested against the rationing, and at the meeting followed the majority. But Abaza dominates the economics department itself, where he presides, almost without objection. He suppresses his opponents who object to him so unceremoniously that it becomes difficult for many, and is decidedly harmful for business. In many cases that the Department of Economy considers in joint presence with the Department of Laws, Abaza also presides and carries out whatever he pleases with the same despotism. Some members of the State Court. The Council is so outraged by this that they avoid participating in the debate. This predominance of Abaza - especially in the most important financial measures - is very harmful. If he now emerges victorious from this matter, his influence will undoubtedly increase, and this will not be anything good for the affairs of the State Council, which is already depleted of strong forces. Forgive me, Your Majesty, if these lines seem like inappropriate interference to you. But the matter seems important to me. Finance is such a sore spot in our public administration, and any mistake in financial policy entails such disastrous consequences that it is impossible to remain calmly waiting for what will happen next. With the multitude of papers coming for Your Majesty’s consideration, I only occasionally allow myself to present to your attention your information about important and interesting phenomena of church life, although there is a lot of it. I consider it useful to draw Your Majesty’s attention to the letter from Archimandrite Meletius of the Solovetsky Monastery, which I received the other day. We are talking about an institution that is very important for Murmansk, a completely deserted and forgotten region - the restoration of the ancient Pecheneg monastery of St. Tryphon (whose memory is still revered by the Lapps). For this cause, which local residents have been trying and asking for for a long time, up to 30,000 rubles have been collected. voluntary donations. But it did not move until the synod decided to give it to the care of the Solovetsky Monastery. Thank God, it began in the summer, as described in the attached letter. In addition to this report, I also have interesting messages about the same thing from our new consul in Finnmarken, Ostrovsky, a very diligent person who knows the region. Worthy of note is what is written here about the ancient church of Boris and Gleb, on the very border with Norway, in the so-called. Pazretsky Lapp churchyard, in a corner, cut off from Murman and the rest of Russia. Here, in complete wilderness and desolation, one worthy priest, Fr. Shche-Koldin, in the midst of poverty and poverty of all kinds, alone sows and maintains the original culture and religious feeling in the Lapp population. This priest is now opening a parish school, and we are trying to help him with this. To appreciate the energy of such a modest act, one must compare it with its Norwegian neighbors. 10 versts from him, across the border, lives in a beautiful government house a pastor who receives 3,200 crowns (about 1,700 rubles) and free travel, a doctor with a salary of 2,600 crowns, and six schools in which teachers receive 24 crowns a week. Shchekoldin receives 700 rubles. papers and his psalmist – 300 rubles. I dare to bother Your Imperial Majesty with a matter of paramount importance for Russia, especially in these difficult times. This is a constant, day after day, unprecedented fluctuation of our exchange rate and its current unprecedented fall. Until we are freed from this disaster, we are powerless and forced to endure the weakening of all the productive forces of the state, submitting to some mysterious force that controls the value of our money from the outside. And this is extremely shameful for us, because it only happens to us. It’s a shame to think that in small states - in Serbia, in Romania - the coin unit maintains its nominal value, and our ruble falls in price at the behest of the Berlin exchange, without any rational reason. It’s a shame to think that Austria, which has the most pitiful and disorganized finances, now gives almost one guilder per ruble to the Russian Empire, whose financial position is immeasurably stronger and higher than Austria’s. At the same time, our interest-bearing securities remain at a high price. But the value of our ruble is unscrupulously played to its advantage by some external force, causing us an annual loss of over one and a half million, so that over the entire period of time of exchange rate fluctuations, we gave over two billion rubles to foreign bankers for free! It is impossible to reconcile with this situation. In case of war, it threatens us with terrible difficulties. We have fallen into the bondage of the Berlin stock exchange - and, apart from it, all other paths are closed to us. In England and France, capitalists are grumbling that past Berlin they cannot have direct dealings with us. What is the reason for this phenomenon? Is there really no way for us to stop the evil and restore the value of our money unshakably? It is no wonder that these questions trouble the soul of every Russian patriot. In recent years, especially, I have offered them to many people. I admit that the answers of our statesmen did not satisfy me: they were based on an abstract book theory, which seemed to me to make no sense when applied to Russia. From it, I still could not understand what real, rational, internal reasons there could be for the fluctuation of our course. On the contrary, people who have studied the practical side of the matter, experienced experts on life and the stock exchange, constantly told me that the entire fluctuation of our exchange rate is based on illusion, on deception, and is nothing more than a clever exploitation of our simplicity by the bosses of the Berlin stock exchange and our state bankers associated with them, first Stieglitz, then Zach and Co., that putting a limit to this is not only necessary, but also very possible, if only with our side will understand that they are playing with us, and who is playing with us and how. The explanations of these people seemed completely clear and understandable to me. I asked one of them, a very smart and knowledgeable person, to write a shorter and more explanatory note on this subject, and the other day I received it. This subject is of the greatest importance to us. That is why I decide not only to present this note to Your Imperial Majesty, but also to most humbly ask you to personally read it. There are many notes presented to Your Majesty, and it is not possible to read them all, but this one deserves special attention. It is written clearly, without unnecessary words, and gives a clear, immediate understanding of the subject of the most burning interest. Petersburg, December 3, 1886 In addition to what I had the honor to report to Your Majesty last Friday, I consider it my duty to present the following. After that, I saw Polyakov again and questioned him. His speech briefly goes as follows: "Owning railways in the East means actually owning a country. So, it would be a great strength for us if the roads in Turkey, Bulgaria, Persia, etc. could be in Russian hands. The railways in European Turkey and Bulgaria, built by the Turkish government, are now owned by Austrian capitalists for 50 years, on a joint stock basis. They are managed by people sent from Austria (one road, from Rushchuk to Varna, belongs to an English company, which was built by it. The Bulgarian government intended to buy it, but could not due to lack of funds, and the coup that took place stopped this business altogether). I accidentally learned that there is a plan to transfer the Turkish-Bulgarian roads into English hands, with the participation of a joint English and Austrian government. This plan can be carried out quietly, through commercial means (since every share is of value, subject to free sale), just as England secretly became the owner of all shares in the Suez Canal. This will be a new evil for Russia. On the contrary, the Russian government, when it decided to act in a similar way, that is, in a commercial way, through the mediation of private individuals and under the cover of private interest, could also secretly transfer these roads into Russian hands. With this in mind, I tried to enter into the matter under the guise of my private interest and entered into communication, private and secret of course, with the persons in whose hands the springs of the matter were in their hands. Since these matters are common in the commercial sphere, my participation could not arouse suspicion, especially since now there is no suspicion of such plans of the Russian government. At first it was, then it was replaced by surprise at how the Russian government avoids all such enterprises in view of their important political interest; and, finally, in the commercial spheres the possibility of such combinations no longer even comes to mind. To eliminate any suspicion, I put forward the mediation in this matter of the Dutch exchange. In Amsterdam, I proposed to form a syndicate to conduct this entire business, so that it would take on the appearance of exclusively private interest. So, I consider it quite possible, without excitement and without haste, to acquire shares in Turkish-built railways through ordinary commercial means. And then, after some time, with the same caution and secretly, the Russian government could transfer these shares into its own hands. But success in this matter requires a perfect secret. You ask why I do not want to make it known to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because we are taught by bitter experience. Firstly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot keep a secret: the matter will be made public in the offices, reflected in correspondence, and then everything will be lost. Secondly, the ministry will probably object, as is its custom: all such plans are unpleasant to it. In all such cases, we hear one answer from him: “We already have a lot of worries, and this matter will give us a new one. Foreign powers will find out, they will object, and what will we answer them? There will be correspondence. No, leave us alone.” In all such cases, the Ministry prevented the establishment in foreign markets of those politically important commercial enterprises that foreigners themselves, on the contrary, carry out freely and unhindered in our market. Our Dombrovskaya road has already passed entirely into the hands of the Germans and is now controlled from Berlin, but we could not organize such an operation anywhere. That is why I do not see in the present case any other way or method than to appeal to the personal discretion of the Sovereign Emperor. If His Majesty would like to recognize this plan as useful for Russia and subject to implementation, I will zealously begin to arrange the matter for the government and for the benefit of the state - and believe me that I have no personal interest in mind here. If His Majesty deigns to admit for some reason that an enterprise of this kind is not currently within the scope of the government, I will leave it completely and will not bother about it.” This is what Polyakov was talking about up until now. Of course, the easiest thing would be to tell him that this matter has nothing to do with me at all. But this idea is so serious that I considered it my duty not to shy away from presenting it to Your Majesty’s attention. In addition, I think it would be useful to add: 1. I know that some time ago an English company that owns the Ruschuk-Varna road offered one of the influential and knowledgeable persons here in St. Petersburg the sale of shares into Russian hands. But this person, having applied to the foreign ministry. affairs, met with opposition to the plan. 2. I know that Prince Mingrelsky, thinking about the possibility of his calling to Bulgaria, seriously dwells on the need to build roads there with Russian hands and in Russian hands, and the other day he consulted about this subject with knowledgeable people. If Your Majesty would like to tell me anything, please let me know - as usual, I am leaving today, at 9 o’clock in the evening, for Gatchina. (Having written this, I received a telegram that tomorrow there would be no classes with the Tsarevich.) Petersburg, December 11, 1886 I often bother Your Majesty with letters, but it is difficult to resist when the matter is important, and it seems to me that no one else will report it. One of these days, in all likelihood, M. X. Reitern will be presented to Your Majesty. I have reason to believe that he is thinking about asking for his dismissal from the title of chairman of the Committee of Ministers. The reasons for this, of course, will be valid: illness, weakening of strength, and finally blindness, which, as we hear, can cause a fourth operation. It would be a great shame to lose him and very difficult to replace him. I will truly say that in all my life, having been present at countless meetings, I have never met such a chairman, which is very important for the affairs of the committee. His head is remarkably fresh, he always knows things perfectly (despite the fact that he cannot read himself), follows the debate in every detail, maintaining complete calm and dignity, summarizes what has been said briefly and clearly, and in difficult cases, with great skill, leads the matter to a solution. When he is absent, this is very clearly reflected in the affairs of the committee (which was especially noticeable under Count Palen). Moreover, Reitern behaves quite impartially, even in such matters (such as, for example, Baltic Sea), where one could assume outside influence on him. But it seems to me that with some resistance and with Your Majesty’s flattering attention, he would have stayed. It is true that his health has deteriorated, but not as much as he thinks (he is suspicious). His eyes can't see well, but his head is completely fresh. He leads a very regular life, and I think that, having retired from the affairs to which he is accustomed, he will be bored. If he needed to leave for some time for treatment, it would be possible to appoint a temporary replacement for him in case of illness. There were similar appointments: under the late Emperor on the occasion of the illness of Count. Bludov was appointed as a deputy or vice-chairman on the committee of Prince. Gagarin. Moreover, rumors also reached me that Reitern would be very sensitive to external signs of Your Majesty’s attention. Ambition does not sleep and sometimes flares up even more in old age. I heard that he was expecting a title or portrait for his coronation. And now, probably, the reward would encourage him. Petersburg, December 16, 1886 Today, the general meeting of the State Council heard the case brought by Manassein on limiting publicity in the courts. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the minority - 20, while on the opposite side there were 31. Disagreement on the question of whether the Minister of Justice has the right, in exceptional cases, to propose to the courts to exclude the public. At the last minute, Count Palen confused many with a rather strange argument, which nevertheless had an effect on many: “The right of publicity is such a sacred right that, apart from the court, it can only be touched, in every case, by the supreme power! And therefore, when the Minister of Justice arrogates to himself this right, he thereby arrogates to himself the right of the supreme power.” Therefore, whenever, somewhere in a small town, it is necessary, according to information, to eliminate the public, it is necessary to do nothing other than ask for the Highest command. Strange as it may seem, this reasoning captivated many, including, it seems, the chairman himself. On special occasions, I allow myself to bother Your Majesty with requests to encourage school institutions by sending icons on your behalf. This sign of the highest attention to the zeal of local leaders in such an important matter has great significance and beneficial power, especially in places where the Russian and church elements have to fight against heterodox and foreign influences. And where there are zealous and energetic workers, the establishment of parish schools has a striking effect. In a very short time, the life and mood of the peasants are transformed, and light and meaning penetrate into the wildest corners. I consider it a great thing to look for such phenomena (mostly in remote places) and immediately pay attention to them. Seeing this, local leaders receive moral support, and their example provokes others to imitate them. For this purpose, from time to time I send an intelligent person who is with me to tour the villages to inspect the school work that is starting. So, he traveled around the Northwestern Territory in the summer, and in the fall - the Kyiv, Volyn and Podolsk provinces. In this way, precious information is obtained and live connections are made. So, for example, recently in the wilderness of the Tarashchansky district of the Kyiv province, in the midst of the darkness of ignorance, drunkenness, in an environment infected with shtunda, 3 young priests were found, unknown to their superiors, in need and humiliation, working from morning to night to educate the dark masses - one of them, for example, managed to eradicate shtunda in his parish at the age of 2 - and these people, having 5-6 children each, still poor relatives in their arms, must subsist with their family on just 200 rubles a year and are exhausted in hunger and cold. If a person is so unselfish, then his situation is terrible. So, the priest in question does not take requests. Church income ranges from 3 to 13 kopecks on major holidays. There were 3 weddings - for two they gave nothing, for the third they gave 55 kopecks. (This is where there are sectarians, but under ordinary conditions they give from 10 to 15 rubles for a wedding.) You can imagine how important it is for such a worker to receive benefits on time, but no one gives him. When I learn of such cases, I send them what I can - fortunately, there are some funds for this from the money donated by Koenig and other philanthropists. So, for example, 250 rubles were sent to these three priests for the holiday, and they came to life in spirit. I apologize for this preface to my request. It is as follows. In the Mogilev province, in the Klimovets district, there is a young landowner Meshchersky. Living in the village without a break, he set about his school work with all his ardor and in a short time achieved remarkable success (a short note about this is attached). Having learned about him by chance, I sent people to him and tried to deliver him benefits. Now his business is growing. It is impossible to recognize the children - entire choirs of singers are made up of them, and after the children, the parents transform. The school's activities spread further and further throughout the county. This matter fully deserves Your Majesty's gracious attention. Would you please, this time too, to welcome the icon in your name to the central school in the village of Miloslavichy? This will give new strength to the entire movement. Forgive me, Your Majesty, for disturbing your peace with my letters; but what to do when the soul cannot bear it. I just read L. Tolstoy’s new drama and I can’t get over my horror. And they assure me that they are preparing to perform it at the Imperial Theaters and are already learning the roles. I don’t know if this book is known to Your Majesty. I don't know anything like it in any literature. It is unlikely that Zola himself reached the level of crude realism that Tolstoy achieves here. The writer's art is wonderful - but what a humiliation of art! What a lack, - moreover, - a denial of the ideal, what a humiliation of moral feeling, what an insult to taste! It is painful to think that women listen with delight to the reading of this thing and then talk about it with delight. I will even say: the direct feeling of a Russian person should be deeply offended when reading this thing. Are our people really the way Tolstoy portrays them? But this image is consistent with the entire newest tendency of Tolstoy - our people are all in darkness with all their faith, and he, Tolstoy, is the first to bring him his new gospel. Look, this is what your faith is - a woman, killing an unfortunate child, does not forget to baptize him and then presses... Every drama worthy of this name presupposes a struggle based on an ideal feeling. Is there any struggle in Tolstoy's drama? The characters are bestial animals who commit the most terrible crimes simply, out of the impulses of animal instinct, just as they eat, drink and get drunk: there is no mention of any struggle with a higher principle. In the view of the viewer, one might say, they take place on stage one after another: the poisoning of a husband, several bestial incests, the mother’s incitement of her son and wife to commit a crime, and finally, a terrible infanticide, with the crunching of bones and the squeaking of a baby - and all this without struggle, without protest, in the crudest form, in the impossible expressions of peasant speech, with the cynicism of debauchery, with drunkenness. And you can’t see a living human face here, except perhaps the pale Marina and the old man Akim, and he is some kind of relaxed creature without a will, only a kind and submissive nature. They say the end is moral. I don’t find this either - Nikita’s repentance at the end, among the drunken guests, also seems to be some kind of random phenomenon that does not morally consolidate anything in this depraved environment, does not solve anything, so this moment disappears, one might say, in a terrible impression of bleak horror during all 5 acts of the drama. In the same vein, there is Serov’s musical drama “Enemy Power”; but what a difference! There the viewer is deeply shocked, but in a completely different way, there the form is pure, there is a struggle, a struggle with passion, and the repentance of the criminal, carried away by passion, really crowns the drama. But in Tolstoy’s drama there is not even passion, there is no passion, just as there is no struggle, but there is only a stupid, senseless action of animal instinct - and that’s why it is so disgusting. In Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment,” for all the realism of his art, an analysis of the struggle—and what else!—runs through the entire action, and the ideal does not disappear from the action for a minute. What is this? My God, what we have come to in the field of art! The day on which Tolstoy's drama will be presented at the Imperial Theaters will be the day of the decisive decline of our stage, which has already fallen very low. And the moral decline of the stage is no small disaster, because theater has an enormous influence on morals in one direction or another. I'm imagining the first performance. The boxes are filled with gentlemen and ladies of high society, lovers and lovers of strong day and night sensations. Ladies in luxurious toilets eagerly look at the performance from a “masculine” world alien to them, in which people also live and move, but they look like animals. There is a pleasant “horror” in every act. In the 5th act, - on the occasion of infanticide, with the crunching of bones and squeaking, the mothers will begin to cry - oh! what fake tears... Wouldn’t it be similar to how in the last century the elegant ladies of the most educated society in Europe gathered to watch the public execution and torture of criminals, and also cried, between sweets and ice cream? But that's not all. The play will become fashionable. The entire St. Petersburg public, young and old, will flock to the theater. The moral level of our public is very low, as is its taste. The boxes will be filled with young girls and young children (this is probably because they are taken to the theater for operettas). What morally will be the habit of watching for several hours a living picture of debauchery, crime and wild life? The children, returning home, will begin to repeat with laughter and jokes the phrases and words they heard in the theater, such as: “breathe again, skurekha, careful skin, put pie with peas in your mouth,” etc. But that’s not all. St. Petersburg amusements set the tone for amusements throughout Russia. Nowadays, in every city of any significance there are theaters into which all the evil spirits of the St. Petersburg and Moscow scenes move, corrupting the morals of the idle public. Theaters have already opened locally and in villages. In Moscow, under the merciful management of the local administration, under the name of the people, a theater has been opened under the company “Skomorokh”, where the audience crowds, at prices from 5 to 60 kopecks, in shirts and sheepskin coats, listening to plays from the general theatrical repertoire, and during intermissions is entertained by a buffet with vodka. Tolstoy's drama will spread across all these district and rural scenes. I imagine the peasant and worker, factory audience of such a performance: what will they take out of it? The picture of outrageous crimes appears before the public as an ordinary phenomenon of wild life, without the slightest elevation of spirit: here people living by instinct, without an idea, near the ubiquitous tavern, will see with their own eyes how simply and with what ease crimes are committed in this environment. They say that when Tolstoy, having gathered peasants and servants, read his drama to them in order to see the impression it made, one of the lackeys, when asked about Nikita, answered: “everything went well, but in the end he made a mistake.” It is not surprising that a similar impression will be made by the mass of spectators, immersed, like the characters, in the same mud of material instincts and interests. And what will the best, healthy, honest representatives of the people feel? They will undoubtedly be offended in their best feelings. They will think like this: “This is what they decided to amuse themselves with in the bar! Look, it’s clear how they understand the people. Are all of us, ordinary Russian people, really such brutes and scoundrels in our home life? It’s a shame. And if someone had decided to show off counts and princes and big boyars like that, they probably wouldn’t have allowed it, they would have banned them from giving a play. This is not like our brother.” It’s not good if honest and moral Russian people talk like that. It is also worth thinking about how such a public presentation of Russian rural life will resonate with foreigners and abroad, where the entire press, breathing malice against Russia, greedily seizes on every phenomenon in our country and sometimes inflates insignificant or fictitious facts into a whole picture of Russian ugliness. Here, they will say, is how the Russians themselves depict the life of their people. And it’s no longer good that at this moment Tolstoy’s drama, published as a national edition in a huge number of copies, is now being sold for 10 kopecks by peddlers at all crossroads; soon it will go around all of Russia and will be in the hands of everyone, young and old. On the title page it says “for adults,” but this announcement itself will attract all minors and minors to the book, and, of course, in all educational institutions it is already read avidly. What will happen when it is staged in theaters! Sorry, sir. I expressed everything and relieved my soul. I know the participation Your Majesty takes in the destinies of the northern region, which was deaf and desolate as the caring hand of the government was taken away from it. For local figures, that is, to revive them, living evidence of Your Majesty’s participation in this region is extremely important. That is why I regretted that the Arkhangelsk governor, Prince, who came here. Golitsin did not have the opportunity to personally report to Your Majesty about the needs of his province. They did not dare to bother you with a request to receive him before leaving, but the damage to the roads forced him to hurry, and he expected to leave tomorrow. During my personal discussions with him, I saw with pleasure that he loves the region, takes an active approach to its needs and does not want to leave it. At my last meeting with him the other day, I saw that he was leaving here with sad concern on the occasion of the decisive closure of the Arkhangelsk port and the taking of the last two military ships from there, which, apparently, was decided irrevocably in the Navy Ministry, despite all the requests and convictions of the governor, who considers the presence of a few military ships in the White Sea a matter of essential necessity for the region. Noticing that I was interested in this matter, Golitsin delivered me a note, which is probably unknown to Your Majesty. In the form of the importance of the subject, I allow myself to present it for your consideration. Regarding the current movement towards Orthodoxy in the Baltic region and the new measures taken by the government, foreign German newspapers are filled with unimaginable gossip and slander. Incredible stories are told of persecution and oppression. It is known that there is no lie that foreigners would not believe when told about Russia. Unfortunately, even among the Russians, especially among the noble ladies here, from a foreign voice they also believe all sorts of absurdities and shout about the persecution of allegedly Lutheranism! I received from abroad, from Switzerland, a solemn message from members of the Evangelical Union. Apparently, they want to repeat the controversy that took place in the 50s; but then they tried to mix diplomacy into it and addressed claims and complaints to the prince. Gorchakov. Now they turn, which is much more convenient, to the chief prosecutor of the synod. I considered it my duty to answer them and the other day I sent my answer to Schafhausen. But in order to familiarize, if necessary, whoever should be aware of this matter, I ordered this correspondence to be printed, not for distribution to the public, in a small quantity of 75 copies. I consider it my duty to present this brochure for the attention of Your Imperial Majesty. I spend all these days in some kind of severe stupor from what happened on March 1st. On this day I felt anxious excitement due to some unaccountable feeling. It happened that March 1, 6 years later, fell on a Sunday again. It also happened that in the morning the same man who was with me at the very hour of the catastrophe on March 1, 1881 came to see me at the same hour - and since then his face every time vividly reminded me of the terrible moment. What is most disturbing is the thought of the embarrassment that this incident aroused in Your Majesty’s soul: this is what is most painful to think about. I wanted to write to you right away, but I resisted: I didn’t dare to disturb you, and I was very confused in my soul. Life is hard now for all Russian people who passionately love their fatherland and seriously understand the truth in life. It was hard, and it is, and, sadly, it will be. The burden does not go away from my soul, because I see and feel every hour what the spirit of the time is and what people have become. No grapes will grow from nettles; truth cannot be drawn from a lie; from the mixture of laziness, indifference, ignorance with madness and depravity, order does not arise by itself. What we sow is what we must reap. It is very dark and difficult for all people who are not indifferent to the truth, because when we compare the present with the past, long past, we see that we live in some other world, where everything is definitely going backwards to primeval chaos, and in the midst of all this fermentation we feel powerless. But of all the crosses that lie on us, the heaviest of all is the cross to which Providence condemned you, Your Majesty. I saw how hard it was for you to take it on your shoulders. And there would not be enough strength to bear it if there were not consciousness and faith in your soul that this is a great sacrifice to which God was pleased to condemn you, and that to evade this sacrifice means dooming your entire people, all of Russia, to complete chaos, to final destruction. I remember the prophecy of Caiaphas... I know that you have this consciousness and this faith. She, and she alone, gives you the strength not to hang your head in the midst of the confusion of life, gives you the peace of mind necessary to be able to retain the vitality and strength of will for the power of government. Throughout Western Europe, conspiracies of socialists and anarchists and explosions of hellish shells have become almost a daily occurrence. In Germany they were ready, and only chance prevented them, to blow up the emperor with his entire retinue at the opening of the monument. There it became a common occurrence - from there this infection came and, through our sins, was grafted onto us; but every phenomenon of this kind among us is picked up by our enemies as a weapon against us. It is true that with us it means much more than there - and our enemies know this well - and God also knows whose cunning hand directs, whose money supplies our villains, people without reason and conscience, possessed by a wild instinct of destruction, degenerates of a false civilization... It is impossible to track them all down - they multiply epidemically; You can't cure all those who are mad. But we need to question ourselves: why do we have so many distraught young men? Is it because we have introduced a false educational system, completely unusual for our way of life, which, tearing everyone away from their native environment, carries him away into the environment of fantasy, dreams and inappropriate claims and then throws him into the big market of life, without the ability to work, without a specific task, without a living connection with the life of the people, but with an exorbitant and ugly pride that demands everything from life, without contributing anything to it! God, have mercy on us sinners and save poor Russia both from our own and from strangers! May he give Your Majesty the strength not only to endure, but also to act in the midst of difficult trials! We, ordinary Russian people, believe that he will not leave you and poor, suffering and believing Russia with you! Allow me, Your Majesty, to disturb you on a matter to which I attach political importance. Now it has come to my attention that you deigned to order that on a general basis a warning be announced to Katkov for the article in No. 66 of Moskovskiye Vedomosti and in general for the direction of his articles on foreign policy. First of all, I make a reservation that I do not in the least justify Katkov and do not excuse him and do not mean his personal situation; but I mean the significance that Moskovskie Vedomosti acquired along with his face. It is true, as you once deigned to express to me, that Katkov forgets himself and adopts a tone inappropriate for his position. But is he the only one to blame? Government officials are largely to blame for putting him in an abnormal position and turning his head. Everyone will be forgotten if he is taken out of proportion and given disproportionate importance. Katkov is a highly talented journalist, intelligent, sensitive to true Russian interests and to strong protective principles. As a journalist, he provided valuable services to Russia and the government in difficult times. He became the subject of fanatical hatred among all enemies of order and the subject of worship, authority among many Russian people striving to restore order. Both are extremes, but both are facts of no small political significance. A fact that has to be taken into account. All the strength of Katkov is in the nerve of his journal activity, as a Russian publicist, and, moreover, the only one, because everything else is trifle or rubbish, or a trading shop. But why was it necessary to make a statesman out of Katkov? There were ministries in which nothing important was undertaken without Katkov’s participation. This spoiled him and took him out of proportion. He wrote excellent articles, but one could enjoy them, and not make a state event out of them. Especially in view of the foreign press and foreign diplomacy, which gave Katkov’s articles the meaning of articles inspired from above, the government should avoid everything that could be interpreted in the sense of the government’s solidarity with Katkov’s articles. That is why I was not happy when I read in the newspapers the rescript last year proposed for Your Majesty’s signing by I.D. Delyanov; I was not happy when Katkov came here from Moscow for a long time, and in the local society, living on gossip, and in the foreign press, nonsense rumors arose that they were consulting with him every day about foreign policy matters. Is it any wonder that on issues of this kind Katkov, receiving approval from the highest spheres for his articles and notes, was more and more out of proportion? However, the false coverage that Katkov received both here and abroad is an undoubted fact. Everything that happens with Moskovskie Vedomosti becomes an event not only all-Russian, but also European. The fall of Moskovskie Vedomosti is a great triumph for one party (unfortunately, precisely the party of enemies of Russia and order) and a great despondency for the other party, the opposite one. I will also add that Katkov, with all his shortcomings and hobbies, is very dear to his newspaper precisely now, in the era of unrest, that when he is gone, there will be absolutely no one to replace him in our press, which is dissolute and poor in serious talents; and, finally, that this moment, which cannot but be feared, is probably not far off, because Katkov is unlikely to hold out for long. Now I allow myself to draw attention, Your Majesty, to the consequences likely if a warning is published on a general basis to Katkov for the direction of his articles on foreign policy. The telegraph will spread this news to all corners of the world. This will be a wonderful political event. It will be interpreted in the sense of a turn in our policy. It will be reflected on the stock exchange. It will cause solemn demonstrations in all big cities and, by the way, from parties hostile to Russia. There will be extreme bewilderment and confusion within Russia. Moreover, knowing Katkov’s mood and nature, I am sure that, following the warning, he will stop publishing Moskovskiye Vedomosti. This will be an extreme embarrassment for the mass of Russian readers and, I dare to think, in any case it will be a loss of very significant strength for the government, moral strength. Is this article, albeit written in an indecent and insane tone, worth all this? However, I fully understand that it is impossible to be indifferent to this tone and this manner of Katkov’s articles. However, I note that until now no one has told Katkov in an imperious tone and imperious speech that he needs to restrain himself, that this tone and this manner are not only not approved, but are also strictly condemned by Your Majesty. The Minister of the Interior, the authority directly above him, never had a positive explanation with him on this subject. On the contrary, Katkov himself could sometimes imagine that his articles were pleasing to the government. Your Majesty, you will, of course, believe that mere efforts for good and peace prompt me to write this letter. The Minister of Internal Affairs is absent; I foresee that the proposed measure in the present circumstances will not have good consequences. Let me present your next consideration. You can achieve the same result, but avoiding undesirable consequences, in a different form. The same warning, but even more severe and valid, could have been announced to Katkov on behalf of Your Majesty, only not in official form and without publication. For this, Feoktistov could go to Moscow or gr. Tolstoy personally could have conveyed to Katkov everything that Your Majesty wished to express. Here Katkov for the first time would positively perceive Your Majesty’s displeasure and anger. I have no doubt that he would have accepted this suggestion with all humility and would not have hesitated to either change his tone or completely avoid polemical articles on the most important policies. This letter was written by a believer who has deeply studied the Scriptures and the fathers of the church. His tone is solemn. It ends with an appeal to the royal power: let wickedness crush the wicked. How many similar appeals are sent from all over Russia from ordinary Russian people, confused, not understanding what is happening around them, and looking for a way out. It is clear that they do not see any other way out, they do not expect any other salvation than from the royal power. Tradition holds on to the belief that the Tsar can do anything, and that his words will transform the face of the Russian land. It hurts to read these letters. Alas! Ordinary people do not know that everything in institutions and people has changed greatly, and that giving orders is no longer as easy as before; the concepts of the beginning people are so mixed up that it is already difficult to distinguish between good and evil and truth from lies; and the government is bound by many contradictory laws and institutions, the network of which continues to become more complex and tangled. Ordinary people do not know - and it’s good that they don’t know - that both among the top officials of the state and in assemblies discussing laws, the simplest and most sensible principles meet stubborn opposition: thoughts about truth and untruth are so confused even among good people who want good. But, in any case and in all circumstances, power everywhere, and especially here in Russia, has enormous moral power, which no one can take away or diminish unless they want to. It is the right and power to distinguish good from evil and truth from untruth in people and human actions. This power, if constantly used, will in itself serve as a great lever for moral improvement and for uplifting the spirit of society. When the good and upright feel confident that they will not be indifferently mixed with the unkind and evil before the authorities, this will give extraordinary energy to the growth of every good seed. Our main problem is that our colors and shadows are mixed. It always seemed to me that the main principle of governance is the same one that appeared when God created the world. “God distinguishes between light and darkness” - this is where the creation of the universe begins. Where there is no this difference, there is only chaos. To get out of it, it is necessary to have a clear eye, distinguishing light and colors, and a strong will, unwavering in discrimination and action. But beyond all that, the power of God alone can support the government in the great and terrible matter of government! Last Monday the Don case was heard in the State Council. K. Mirsky did not come to the meeting. It ended with one Minister of War remaining stuck to his opinion and, it seems to me, not out of direct conviction, but in the thought that this opinion was the only one pleasing to Your Majesty. Meanwhile, the goal set by Your Majesty is achieved incomparably more effectively and conveniently by the method on which the members of the assembly settled. Rostov and Taganrog constitute a separate administration, which, without merging with the Don Army, is completely subordinate to the ataman as governor-general. This completely solves the problem, and if, in view of local circumstances, it was necessary to further strengthen the power of the ataman against the provisions on protection, everyone would willingly agree to this. On the contrary, the merger of institutions in the Don Army seems so disorganized, confusing, and impossible to implement that for the ataman power itself it would serve as a hindrance and a source of countless bewilderments, wranglings and clashes. Your Majesty, of course, would be convinced of this for themselves if they had the opportunity to consider the details of the proposed merger. Mirsky was absent, and the Minister of War referred to him that he, Mirsky, did not consider it possible for himself to govern differently. But to decide the question from this personal point of view is completely unwise. Mirsky thinks so, but his predecessors Chertkov and Prince, who were sitting right there. Dondukov has a completely different opinion, and it is very possible that if Mirsky’s desire were now satisfied, his successor, in turn, would consider the situation difficult for himself and would petition for a new change in the institution. Yesterday we sat in the Committee of Ministers until 6 o'clock on a matter of the greatest importance - the Baku oil pipeline. Unfortunately, it ended in a disagreement on a significant issue, and I, together with Manassein, Ovruchev, Posyet and, it seems, Prince. Dondukov remained in the minority. But I could not give in, having full and obvious confidence that the implementation of the project by the state government. property threatens with great disaster both Transcaucasia and Russia. Already, there is a danger hanging over us that all the most important lands and industrial establishments of this region will soon pass (many have already passed) into the hands of Rothschild and foreigners (against which measures should have been taken long ago), and if the oil pipeline is carried out on the assumed grounds, then this result seems to me undoubted. I absolutely do not know how to explain to myself how the Minister of State Property with Min. finances do not see or do not want to see this obvious danger. It is proposed that the Baku industry, which has already developed, be artificially transferred to the shores of the Black Sea, and for this purpose the oil pipeline company is given a monopoly for 75 years. Its device will cost 25 million. It is obvious that the money will be foreign, and the company will be foreign, and, in addition, all the oil refineries in Batumi (without which the oil pipeline has nothing to do) will also be foreign. So, with the help of an all-crushing monopoly, Russian industry will be killed. God forbid I'm wrong about this. Zarudnaya arrived yesterday from Paris, worried about her son. She saw both Manassein and the director, Dr. Durnovo, and learned from them everything that could be told to her. Her son is transferred from the fortress to a house of preliminary detention in order to give his mother the opportunity to see him. Durnovo told me that he himself would try in an intimate explanation with him to persuade him to frankness. Both Zarudny brothers were arrested based on indications of them found on a draft plan, found, it seems, by Shevyrev, which showed the apartment of one brother in Petrovsky, near Moscow, and the other brother in St. Petersburg. The elder brother, apparently accidentally involved in this matter, clarified his relationship and was released. Unfortunately, teacher Sosnowski, who lived in their house, took advantage of the chaos of home child care and tried to weave them into his scheme. As for the younger brother, there is testimony about him that Sosnovsky had a meeting with him in a coffee shop on Mikhailovskaya Street, then introduced him to Shevyrev, under the name of Kuzminsky, and agreed that Kuzminsky would come to him in Petrovskoye to receive information from him about Moscow student circles. Sergei Zarudny answers questions about all these circumstances with stubborn denial. That's the reason why he's still being held. It is unlikely that they have already managed to lure him into any active participation in the conspiracy, and he remains silent, in all likelihood, out of a false ambition not to reveal the secret and not to reveal anyone’s participation. In all likelihood, his mother will now be calmer, seeing more closely what’s going on. Indeed, parents are primarily to blame. Where there is no peaceful and comfortable family, children scatter to the wind. The Zarudny family was neither peaceful nor comfortable; the parents lived in constant quarrel in front of their children. The father, with pedagogical fantasies, left the children to grow up in freedom, and the mother did not know how to gather them under her wing. This Sergei, who grew up wayward, was fired from the page corps for some prank. Then the boy was sent alone to Kyiv to take an exam at some institution, without a mentor... He returned without passing the exam. What to do with it? Again they sent him alone to the Petrovsky Academy and left him to live somewhere in a hut, God knows with what company of comrades. Here are the results. When you think that in a big city a comfortable family has become a rarity among us, and that the emptiness of social life, with luxury, with self-will, has reached the extreme, you fear for the future generation. But the family is not alone and is to blame. How many kind and honest parents cry at educational institutions where they sent their children good and from where they receive them home corrupted and confused. The top management sees that something is wrong, writes new regulations and statutes, and composes new rules for educational affairs. But what is the use of a new paper appearing in place of the old one, and a new order or confirmation in place of the old one? What's the point when, in reality, few people do their work on the spot, and the living work, the educational work, is carried out mechanically, since papers are written in the office! The military regulations are strict and precise, but what would happen when the commanders relied on it and calmed down on it? What would come of the camp if there was no one to check whether the sentries were in their places, whether they were sleeping at the post, and whether the shifts were taking place correctly? Petersburg, April 38, 1887 It seems to me that it is worth bringing to the attention of Your Majesty the following circumstance, about which unpleasant rumors and judgments are heard everywhere. News about Your Majesty's trips and travels are published officially in the Government Bulletin and are read in all corners of Russia. So, it is necessary to compose them with extreme attention, so that each expression corresponds to the dignity of the subject and cannot serve as a reason for misunderstanding, much less temptation. Unfortunately, this work is sometimes entrusted to ignorant people, lacking general education and tact - people from the category of ordinary newspaper reporters. And those who should be observing their writing do not always pay due attention to this subject. Unfortunately, on Your Majesty’s last trip they took an ignorant man, a certain Prokofiev, an ordinary reporter for the newspaper “Novoe Vremya” and various others, and his reports, completely ineptly compiled, were published under the official title of correspondence “Government Bulletin”. It is clear that this is an ignorant and completely tactless person when, having mentioned the presence of Your Majesties in the khurul, he included here, for some unknown reason, the following phrase: “Baksha presented Her Majesty with a golden incense burner from the altar, with which Her Majesty stood during the service.” I’m surprised how none of the authorities thought of stopping the baksha from presenting the incense burner to the Empress. This should not have been allowed, and this never happened during visits to the khurul, which usually happened in the Kalmyk village, and not in Novocherkassk, where there are no khuruls. But let’s assume that one way or another this was allowed! Why mention this in the press as a circumstance worthy of attention? Unfortunately, this phrase was omitted from the press and is now stirring up speculation. I have no doubt that in different corners of Russia, ordinary Orthodox people, having read it, will begin to shake their heads and say or think: what is this - did the Empress really sacrifice to idols? It is worth paying attention to these correspondences: they are more important than some bosses above may think. And is it even worth keeping special correspondents of this category at court in order to convey through the newspaper news of every movement of the Highest Persons, and convey, as sometimes happens, in the vulgar form of newspaper reporting. Your Majesty, of course, does not and cannot follow all this news, but sometimes it’s just a shame to see how they are compiled, and it’s sad to think that they are not being watched as they should be. Now Katkov was with me in extreme embarrassment that he had been innocently slandered before Your Majesty. Feoktistov came to him today on the instructions of Count Tolstoy to announce Your Majesty’s displeasure to him. It has been brought to your attention that Katkov wrote and, through Zion, sent some letter to Grevy in Paris with ideas about what appointments to the new ministry might be pleasant or unpleasant for our government. If this were fair, then, of course, Katkov would deserve the wrath of Your Majesty for such active interference in politics. But Katkov certifies that nothing like this not only did not happen, but did not even enter into his thoughts; and the news that was spread about this, he can only attribute to malicious slander; that he had not had any written communications with any of the political persons abroad and with Zion itself in recent months and even deliberately avoided information and explanations that some visitors asked for, so as not to incur suspicion and not give rise to gossip. That all of his political activities were expressed solely in the articles of the Moskovskie Vedomosti, and in some notes, which were presented to Your Majesty and were not communicated to anyone else. You can trust Katkov that he would not deny his actions. And I allow myself to bring all of the above to the attention of Your Majesty because I know from experience and see daily how gossip and slander, deliberately composed and spread, now serves as a powerful weapon of intrigue and malice. It’s hard to believe how developed this art has been. Just yesterday I bothered Your Imperial Majesty with a letter on the Katkov case, and now I come again with a letter that Saburov begs to present to you. I am afraid that you will condemn me for this bother, but I am deciding to do this for the sake of justice, which prompts me to listen to the accused in any accusation. I don’t know Saburov and I’m seeing him for the fourth time today; had no relations with him; I only heard about him in 1883 from Giers, who accused him of intrigue. But when a person swears that he is innocent of what he is accused of before Your Majesty, I think that in fairness it is necessary to know what he can say in his defense. Last Saturday I returned from a trip that lasted one week, and perhaps now, with some leisure in Finland, Your Majesty will read, not without interest, some of the impressions I made. In a general sense they were quite favorable. The Smolensk province has long been known to me, and the city of Smolensk attracts me with both personal memories and the extraordinary beauty of the location and the grandeur of the cathedral, the only one of its kind. The province is unhappy, poor, with many ruined nobility; and recently I was upset by the management of Kavelin, a kind man, but completely lethargic and incapable. Thank God that he left, and that a living, honest person who knew the matter and took it to heart, regardless of office correspondence, was appointed in his place (Sosnovsky, former vice-governor in Kharkov). The position of the governor is now difficult everywhere due to many new laws that have entangled all power and confused the boundaries of authority. But it is precisely for this reason that now, more than ever, the governorship assumes great importance. A managerial, honest and reasonable governor, active and not afraid of responsibility for his every step, now serves as the main and only support of order in the province. On the contrary, an incapable, indifferent person, a clerk in this position, can bring enormous harm, will become a tool in the hands of clever and unscrupulous exploiters, of whom there are many everywhere, and in the shortest possible time such a demoralization of local government can occur under him, which is then extremely difficult to correct. It is difficult to imagine how far large and small bribery can go in this case: so inventive is the art of officials to profit from the dark people. So, for example, in Smolensk, in the Zadneprovskaya part (where the population is poor), the police bailiff had this among his income items. There are many retired soldiers there who receive small pension payments from the treasury based on their books. The police periodically took away these books from them, without which it is impossible to receive money, and, holding them for six months or longer, gave them out only for a certain fee, collecting 1 ruble each. 50 kopecks per person. The unfortunates had to obey, having experienced in practice that complaints lead nowhere. Efficient and, moreover, strong governors are needed now more than ever. Unfortunately, it has become a custom to transfer them from province to province frequently, sometimes after a year. And for a governor to take a closer look at his province, one year is not enough. You can imagine what it’s like for a province where sometimes two or three governors have changed in five years. That is why, taking the interests of the Smolensk province to heart, I was frightened in the spring when I learned that the ministry proposed transferring Sosnovsky, as an efficient governor, from Smolensk to Saratov, and barely a year had passed before he settled in Smolensk - and persuaded Count. Tolstoy leave him. Now, under him, government has improved significantly, and serious people have come to life, sensing support, and the worthless ones have become afraid.” And the new leader (in place of the deceased K. Obolensky) shows good hopes: a young and serious man - Khomyakov, the son of the late Moscow poet and Slavophile philosopher. In the Smolensk province a phenomenon is taking place that should have been noticed long ago: Polish colonization is taking place, just as German colonization is taking place on the southwestern outskirts; and it is clear that the Poles are moving systematically. Krasninsky district is the best in the province in terms of land quality, a native Russian landowner district, it will soon become completely Polish. Most of the estates were bought by the Poles, who are already giving support to the district zemstvo. It started with the Poles who were exiled during the rebellion and then returned. They are forbidden to settle in the places from which they were expelled, but they did not think to protect the Smolensk outskirts, which had long been Russified, from them. It was they who began to purchase estates in the Krasninsky district, and others followed suit. Another plague is the Jews, who flocked to this region in large numbers and took all financial affairs in impoverished Smolensk into their own hands. Others, having signed up as merchants of the 1st guild (which is not difficult), purchase large estates at public auction and thus become landowners. It’s a pity to look at the old, ruined landowners’ estates. From Smolensk, next door, I traveled for two days to Vitebsk, where I had never been before. This is the edge of a long-standing struggle against Poland and Latinism - a struggle that continues to this day, but has greatly revived recently. And, thank God, hopes for success are intensifying, if only we don’t give up, if only serious Russian leaders feel continuous moral support in the administration and in the general policy of management. But the trouble is that this support is again interrupted in the form of the governor’s power. Here was the governor of von Wahl (now he is in Volhynia), a capable and active man, but devoid of a Russian streak, himself a German, a Lutheran, who came under the strong influence of the Poles. Under him, the Poles penetrated everywhere, and the Russian people had no support. It’s good that they took him from here; It’s good that Dolgorukov was chosen to replace him. The Russian people came to life and stood up. Dolgorukov, despite all his shortcomings, is a lively and active person: he significantly raised the Russian cause in this region. People are coming to him. He managed to group around him in the province several very efficient Russian people - leaders and police officers. The leaders in all districts (except two, including the provincial one) are Russian; I know two: Boldyrev from Gorodok and Pisarev from Dinaburg, strong people in all respects. In other districts, groups of Russian people (leader, police officer, head, church warden) managed to form, working together and closely. I was especially pleased to see that with the help of these people and some remarkable figures from the clergy, the work of establishing parochial schools, which is of particular importance in this region, has made great progress. But the most important thing is this case in the Rezhitsky district, in the midst of a continuous mass of schismatics, numbering 60,000, and of the worst, darkest character. These are Bespopovites, Fedoseevites, who moved here in the last century. They are dangerous not because of propaganda, the influence of which is completely negligible in the rest of the Belarusian population, but because of the impenetrable darkness of ignorant depravity in which entire generations live and grow. The main teaching of the Fedoseevites - celibacy - became among them a source of naked debauchery, a complete perversion of family life, a justification for debauchery, polygamy and infanticide. All this is supported by connections with the main and rich nest of Fedoseevites - with the Preobrazhensky cemetery in Moscow. Rezhitsa schismatic villages serve throughout the entire region as a nest of thieves, horse thieves and villains of all kinds. It is obvious that in the midst of this darkness the best, healthy natures remain without support and without a way out. This is where only a church with a parochial school can and should serve as a way out to the light. Until now, missionary work in this region has been extremely weak and undeveloped, both due to lack of funds and lack of people. There are two parishes with schools, but this is not enough, and it is difficult to find people for hard work. However, recently the dark environment has moved significantly, especially thanks to the truly evangelical service in the Tuskata parish of a small, frail, sick man, Hieromonk Meliton. It was truly an angelic, infant soul, full of love and meekness. He lived there for 15 years with his old mother, in complete poverty, working day and night on a school, to which he even managed to attract girls. I knew him personally - he came to St. Petersburg from time to time to buy books. But he is no longer there—this kind old man died two years ago—and his end was tragic. He acquired a young teacher for his school and loved him with all his soul; together they worked on the school and church. But then one day a young teacher appeared at a nearby ministerial school, apparently one of the bobbed ones. She, unbeknownst to Meliton, seduced his favorite Vanya and began to teach her science. One day, going into the teacher’s room, Meliton [found] Renan’s “Life of Christ” in his Russian (hectograph) translation, and was stupefied with horror. I started asking questions and heard rude answers. Then he soon found his teacher with an insolent look and an insolent speech. The old man could not stand it, fell ill with a nervous fever and lost his mind. The Rezhitsa merchant Maslennikov, a friend of Meliton, converted from the schism, told me touching details about the last days of his life, how in his delirium he remembered his Vanya and lamented about him. An intelligent priest was appointed to replace Meliton, and one can hope that with the help of zealots in Rezhitsa the matter will not die out. There are two cathedrals in Vitebsk - St. Nicholas and Assumption, both remarkable for their enormity and beauty of size, especially the latter: both came to us from the hands of the Jesuits and Basilians. The Assumption Cathedral is historically remarkable. Here Orthodox townspeople killed the fanatic torturer Josaphat Kuntsevich. For this, the whole city was executed, Jehoshaphat was elevated to sainthood, and the townspeople were sentenced to tear down the old cathedral and, in its place, build a huge new one with their own hands. Three miles from the city, in a delightful place, on the banks of the Dvina, stands the Markov Monastery, founded more than 200 years ago by Mark Oginsky, then an Orthodox Christian. The wooden cathedral, of remarkable, original architecture, has been standing here for 200 years, strong and fresh, as if it was built yesterday. More about Vitebsk. The governor is extremely concerned about the influx of Latvian Catholics into the province that has begun in recent years and is growing. Up to 150,000 souls have already settled on the lands acquired with the help of the Cross. jar. And at the same time, local evictions of Orthodox Belarusian peasants are taking place. Latvians are distinguished by their hard work and ability to cultivate the most barren land; but one cannot help but be alarmed by the strengthening of the Latin Catholic population in a region where all policies should be aimed at strengthening the Orthodox Russian population. In Moscow, a congress of anti-schismatic missionaries is being prepared for June 29, convened here from all points important in this regard. It will take place in a Edinoverie monastery under the leadership of the abbot, the first and most authoritative of our missionaries, the famous Paul of Prussia. By this day, I am sending Sabler there, and from Moscow he must travel to Kyiv, where it is necessary to think with the old metropolitan about organizing missionary work against the Shtunda, which has spread greatly in this region. This matter is not organized at all here, but it is an important matter, because the propaganda intensively spread by propagandists from Germany, from Sweden, from our Baptists and Pashkovites threatens a very dangerous ulcer for the peasant population. It begins with a protest against the church, but leads and very soon leads, among the ignorant masses, to a protest against the authorities and state laws. This, Your Majesty, is the end of my long report. May God grant you rest and refreshment in the sea. But more than once, in the midst of the local rains and winds, you had to think carefully about whether your voyage was safe. The other day, at night, on the seashore, where I am now secluded, such a fierce and furiously howling wind blew that I, waking up, began to fear for your voyage. May the Lord bless you. At the dacha, near the Sergievskaya Hermitage, June 23, 1887 Your Imperial Majesty knows what kind of infection the crazy Pashkov, with his followers of both sexes, who, unfortunately, belong to the so-called high society, spread throughout Russia. Not knowing either their church or their people, these people, infected with the spirit of the narrowest sectarianism, think of preaching the word of God to the people, but in reality they distract the people from the church, acting with negative methods, inciting peasants and workers, not prepared to resist the teaching, to swear at icons, crosses, church rites and the clergy. In the spirit of the most absurd fanaticism, these gentlemen and ladies are not ashamed to bribe the poor people with gifts and material benefits. Thus, they have already spread in different provinces, in cities and especially in villages, or narrow and ignorant fanatics, swearing at the church, in the middle of the village and in the middle of the peasant family itself, where religious discord, unknown to us until now, is established; or - a crowd of hypocrites of industrialists who, not appreciating any faith at all, pretend to be hired into Pashkov’s service as agents and spread negative teachings in an ignorant environment, which is generally not difficult to confuse with fables of all kinds. One of the fables spread in this way is that all the noble people in the capitals, even the Tsar and Tsarina, had turned to Pashkovism or Stunda. But in fact, the people already see that there are counts and princes and rich landowners living on their estates and spreading pashkovism. Unfortunately, in the capitals, among high-ranking officials, you often meet men and women who, although they themselves do not belong to a sect, but, accustomed to judging everything easily and not knowing closely either the church or the people’s life, are inclined to sympathize with any sect under the guise of religious conviction and are ready to object to any measure tending to restrict the freedom of sectarian propaganda. Your Majesty knows that after discussing the case at a special meeting, several years ago, the highest order was issued - to expel Pashkov and the bar. Korfa from Russia, announcing to them that in the event of their unauthorized return or continuation of propaganda, their estates would be taken into custody. Pashkov and Korff have since lived in Switzerland and England, but not only have they not stopped their propaganda, but Pashkov especially actively continues it through his agents, for which he has significant means in his great wealth and in his many estates in different provinces. He places zealous sectarians as managers of these estates, and since he has factories and factories with many workers, it is clear what propaganda tools are concentrated in his hands. So, for example, in his main estate, the village of Matcherka, Morshansky district, Tambov province, managed by Anton Chanilash, the factory director - a Pole (now expelled) appointed 13 Molokans as chief caretakers at the plant. Many reports about this propaganda come to me from different parts of Russia. The Pashkovites unite in different places with the Stundists, Baptists, and Molokans. The peasants are worried, discord arises in sectarianism, the curses of sectarians stir up fights and violence, and when the breeders and scolders are put on trial, the court often acquits them with the help of lawyers - they return in triumph, and the evil intensifies. In this state of affairs, I was amazed the other day when I learned that Pashkov returned to Russia, is in his village of Matcherka and continues his propaganda freely. I did not want to believe this and asked the Tambov bishop, who confirmed the news that had fully reached me. He sends me an authentic report from a local priest, which, among other things, says: "... On July 5, Pashkov came to the houses of both priests. He did not find me in the house and asked my family to see him. The next day, July 6, I had a meeting in his house. The conversation began with him reproaching me for harming him - I was preventing him from doing God’s work; then the conversation turned to the soil of a religious dispute, from which I was convinced that Pashkov was an inveterate sectarian who did not stop spreading his thoughts my false teaching. At all points of the conversation I energetically objected to him and concluded the conversation by saying that I would always oppose him with all my might.” Having received such information, I began to scout here at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. how Pashkov ended up in Russia. And what did I learn! That back in the spring, Pashkov’s most humble request for permission to return was received, that Richter reported this directly to Your Majesty and that permission followed. Pashkov's expulsion from Russia followed a report from the Minister of Internal Affairs. affairs, after a detailed meeting in which I also participated. So, I cannot help but regret in every possible way that O. B. Richter did not consider it for the good, before reporting to Your Majesty about this matter, to explain it with references, that is, to enter into relations with both me (for I have all the information about Pashkov) and with the Minister of Internal Affairs. Then O. B. Richter (who himself does not know and hardly fully understands the full significance of this propaganda) would have seen that Pashkov has not stopped his propaganda since the time of his expulsion, that his teaching is spreading, and that Pashkov’s return to Russia threatens great harm. I am sure that Count Tolstoy would energetically object to Pashkov’s request being granted. And now, according to the information I received from the internal office. It turns out that Pashkov, as soon as he returned, considered it his first duty to go around the main nests of Pashkovism; was in Tula province, in the famous nest of the prince. Gagarina, - in the village. Sergievsky; was in Kaluga province. with the Kozlyatinov girls, where there is also an old nest of propaganda, and now it is found and operates at home, in the village. Matcherke. I consider it my duty to bring all of the above to the attention of Your Imperial Majesty. Just yesterday I tired Your Majesty with a long letter and today I allow myself the same. I cannot bear it when it is necessary to bring the truth to the attention of Your Majesty, in the midst of the ocean of lies and gossip in which we are moving. It's about the well-known story with Katkov again. Katkov has already died, and there would be no point in disturbing the peace over his grave now, if it concerned only his personal memory. But it seems to me necessary to explain the present case in order to show what means malice and slander are used in order to denigrate in your eyes another faithful servant of Your Majesty and Russia. Katkov was tormented by this slander, especially since he could not get to its source. Having already returned to Moscow, a few days before paralysis, he wrote to me: "What does all this mean? Was Morenheim the conductor of the slander brought against me and, in a conversation with a person who knew nothing about his participation in this matter, pretended to also know nothing (Morenheim gave such an answer to the Russian who asked him on behalf of Katkov), or the telegram reported to the Sovereign did not come from Morenheim, but directly from Katakazi, and was only supported by the name of the ambassador? To my great happiness, Sovereign deigned to instruct Count Tolstoy to tell me its contents, so that I could immediately declare this supposedly “true fact” an absolute lie. But it could happen—and this was apparently expected—that I would not have become aware of this slander, and I would have felt only its consequences, not knowing the reason and not knowing what to justify myself with.” Katkov wrote to Paris, wanting to get to the truth. And it was only after his death that the truth was revealed through research that reveals with complete certainty who the culprit of the slander and intrigue is. Please, Your Majesty, read the note given to me by Zion today. It reveals the hand of Katakazi, long known for his ability to intrigue. Unfortunately, this clever Greek had recently managed to gain the confidence of the grand dukes during their stay in Paris, and this circumstance gave him a loan that not only the ambassador, but also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself began to fear. The unfavorable rumors about Zion that reached Your Majesty probably came from him. Your Majesty already knows that Aivazovsky recently gave a dinner to everyone who greeted him on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his artistic activity. At this dinner, the host gave each of the guests (of whom there were at least 150) a picture that he had written and inserted into the photograph. I grabbed two extra pictures in order to send them to Your Majesty; It seemed to me that now on the other side this little thing from St. Petersburg would occupy you for a minute. At the same time that we were rejoicing, expecting your return the other day, everyone was saddened by the news about the sudden illness of the children and that we would have to wait for a long time. Thank God the illness appears to be mild; Let's hope that God will help them recover soon. We will only calm down when we find out that you are all at home in Russia. Meanwhile, the local machine slowly and heavily begins to move. Those who were absent are gradually returning. The first meeting in the general meeting of the State Court is scheduled for October 19. Council, but everything is somehow sluggish without the owner. About the health of the city. Tolstoy had favorable information. They expected him in mid-October, but now they say he will be back by November. I just returned from Moscow, where I went for one day, October 11th. On this day I try to be there to participate in the great all-Russian celebration - in the procession around the Kremlin in memory of the French leaving Moscow. This is a spectacle that has no comparison, except in coronation celebrations: all the Moscow clergy in the procession, all the church shrines, a whole forest of historical banners, a countless number of people along the entire route; the procession develops in a ribbon of about a mile and a half and goes for 2 hours around the entire Kremlin with singing, with bells ringing, with a solemn prayer service at the top of the execution place, in the middle of Red Square, covered with a sea of ​​naked heads. This time, October 11 marked the 75th anniversary of the great era of the 12th year. And as if on purpose, after the nasty rain and snow, the bright sun shone for that time. Wonderful! How pleasing to the Russian heart are these living and reverent, these picturesque memories of great historical events! Oh, God grant that all our disasters end so gloriously and that God always have mercy on us, as He had mercy on us then! May the Lord protect and have mercy on you and your entire home and all of Russia! Your Majesty's loyal devotee Petersburg, Tuesday, October 13, 1887 Today a case was heard at the general meeting of the State Council that once again proved how powerless we, the Russian herd, are in the face of the pressure of two or three Germans. Last year, I remember, the Livonian governor, in his report, spoke about a circumstance that had long been hampering the Ministry of Internal Affairs. business The Baltic provinces are ruled together with barons and nobles by pastors, all of the most fantastic mood. Without fearing anything, denying all Russian laws, they commit illegal actions with impunity, perform services, baptism, marriages, etc. between Orthodox Christians contrary to the law, and in their sermons they vilify both the Russian Church and the authorities; one even dared to take the peasants to swear allegiance to the nobility; one publicly called to pray especially for those members of the royal house who stand for Lutheranism, etc. In practice, nothing can be done legally with these pastors. Of the 139 pastors, 53 are on trial for such acts, but cases about them have remained motionless since 1884, because Lutheran consistories and secular courts stubbornly refuse to give these cases any progress, denying the guilt of the pastors in any case. The governor indicated that the only way to help matters and break stubbornness was to subject pastors brought to trial, even in extreme cases, to temporary removal from office by order of the Minister of the Interior. business In this case, they would lose half of their contents, and thus the court would be forced to carry out and terminate these cases. On this assumption, Your Majesty deigned to make an approving mark, which was subject to execution by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. business But the word is still a long way from doing the deed! At the end of summer, the Minister of Internal Affairs. Affairs made a presentation to the Committee of Ministers in the above sense. It was heard in the fall. Baron Nikolai stood up and began to argue that this case was not subject to the jurisdiction of the committee, but should be considered by the State Court. Council, since it involves an addition to the articles of the statute of the evangelical consistories. The view is obviously strained, since the subject of the presentation is purely administrative. Unfortunately, due to the importance of the matter, Count Tolstoy himself attended this meeting. He had just returned from vacation and was in some kind of sick mood and spoke weakly. Bar on offer. Nicholas, he agreed. What were the other members to do (who for the most part had a different opinion) when the minister who made the presentation agreed to transfer the matter. I objected, but gr. Tolstoy did not support. If he had persisted, the matter would have been decided in committee. This turn of events was already morally unfavorable: the news was immediately transferred to Riga, and the pastors were encouraged. A week later the case was heard in the joint. dep-tah - laws and civil - State. Council. The ministry proposed another version of the law, weaker than the previous one, but still satisfactory: the Minister of Internal Affairs. d. in necessary cases, proposes the removal of the pastor of the consistory, and this proposal is mandatory for the consistory. The resolution was unanimous, and the matter moved to the general meeting. Richter stood up and began to speak in an excited voice (I expected more prudence from him) about the fires of the Inquisition, about the Night of St. Bartholomew, about the repeal of the Edict of Nantes under Louis XIV, about the devotion of the Baltic Sea people to the government, etc. Count Palen joined him with similar speeches. Both expressed the opinion that the temporary removal of a pastor was such an important matter that it should be submitted to the Senate, which could only order it if the guilt was proven by clear evidence! They talked a lot, and votes could have been collected, but those members suggested transferring the matter to the departments for a new discussion. Unfortunately, the chairman supported this opinion, and so the matter drags on again, and on the spot the stubborn pastors receive new encouragement. The consideration of cases of this kind in the Senate takes away all the moral force from the measure, transferring the discussion to the collegium, that is, to a controversial place where the vote of at least one member already paralyzes the power of the decision. Moreover, this order is associated with a slowdown in production, and paths are opened for petitions of all kinds. And the main thing, which is very dangerous and which the Lutherans themselves may not have thought about, is that this measure would serve as a dangerous precedent for Latin priests as well. Then the Roman Curia will certainly rise up and demand from the Russian government that its priests be equalized with pastors. There will be no small difficulty for the government. Petersburg, December 21, 1887 Having read Lyubimov’s note sent from Your Majesty, I do not find anything in it that would justify the indignation it aroused among the count. Vorontsova. There is much that is true and fair in this note, and if he, being a defender of the new university charter, tries to show that this charter had no influence on the riots, one can hardly condemn him for this, although his view of the matter is necessarily somewhat one-sided. I also don’t understand why Vorontsov thought that the note “distorted native speech.” I find that the note is written in clear and correct language. And in Vorontsov’s letter the matter is decided immediately in such a decisive tone based on the first impression. In my opinion, the current university riots are significantly different from the previous ones, which occurred since 1862, precisely in that they do not show a political background, but are mainly visible as boyishness, which has engulfed a significant mass of heated students. In this respect, they resemble stories that in the past happened in educational institutions, mostly due to absurd reasons for displeasure with the authorities. Only now all this was happening on an enormous scale. It is impossible to take seriously the demands made by the crowd; It is also impossible to leave without strict and decisive condemnation the violence and insolence of some towards the inspectors, whatever they may be. So, now to make any concessions, no matter how thorough, would be a mistake on the part of the government. Now the most important thing is to let young people calm down and let all kinds of gossip and rumors fall silent. Therefore, in the meeting that took place with Count. Tolstoy, everyone agreed with Vyshnegradsky’s proposal to delay the opening of universities until the beginning of the next semester, i.e. until March - to postpone in principle, giving the opportunity to start classes earlier if the professors guarantee that there will be no disorder. But from what reasons did these riots arise? (What connection do they have with the new charter? With the actions of officials in the ministry and in the universities?) This is the question that is now the topic of conversation. Gr. Vorontsov proposes to solve it through some kind of investigative commission of 3 members of the State Council and, as a result, to find the perpetrators in order to execute them “mercilessly.” This idea seems strange, to say the least. This would give the whole story the inappropriate dimensions of some important state event, would excite the minds mainly of the same youth, which, on the contrary, should be calmed, would arouse passions, give rise to denunciations and gossip of all kinds, of which there are already many, would not lead in essence to any definite result, and meanwhile would immediately make it impossible for the current Ministry of the People to remain. enlightened, and would have tied the hands of all his successors. There is hardly anything that could be more harmful than this measure in the current state of affairs. It is completely clear to me why the riots arose in their current form. This is how I explain this matter to myself. Your Majesty may recall that I was among the opponents of the new charter in its entirety. I said: “Change some articles, limit the elective principle, strengthen the power of the authorities, but do not fundamentally break the system of the entire organization! You separate students from professors, while strengthening the moral connection between them should serve as the main interest of activity and the main support of order. No good will come from this. Why build a new institution and even from someone else’s model, when the old institution is only powerless because people do not do their job in it properly, and the power itself does not use your rights? In Ropsha, at Your Majesty’s, I alone was the representative of this opinion against gr. Tolstoy, Delyanov and Ostrovsky. It was difficult for Your Majesty to disagree with two – current and former – ministers of the people. enlightenment in a matter in which they are direct and responsible masters. The new charter was approved. There were immediately many professors at universities who were dissatisfied and irritated. Students found the new order difficult. Without a doubt, every serious and conscientious professor should, although not sympathizing with the new order, submit to them by force of law, support them, apply his activities to them (for not everything in them is bad and impossible to fulfill) and reconcile students with the rules, and not incite them against it. But not all of them are serious. Among them are many young, frivolous, proud, self-willed, there are many with fantasies in their heads, with a political background, with a desire to make stimulating speeches in the pulpit. Unfortunately, there are quite a few of these in Moscow, where they play a role in society, in literary circles, and others at the prince’s court. Dolgoruky. So, for the successful operation of the new charter, it was imperative to form a healthy circle of influential persons among the professors who would enter into its spirit and provide moral assistance to the government in its implementation. Instead, unfortunately, a circle formed in a completely opposite direction - people who brought with them to the university a bilious, irritated protest against the new order. Perhaps the ministry could have acted with greater skill and tact in taking measures, in choosing people, etc., but it is difficult for anyone to act unerringly in the current general debauchery of minds and morals, and besides, the ministry with the new charter set itself a task beyond its strength and was forced to implement new orders at all costs. So, these are the flammable elements that accumulated in universities and especially in Moscow! Several professors, already known to be harmful in their activities, had to be fired; this increased the number of dissatisfied and irritated circles, and those dismissed continued their activities, although outside the university, but in the university, i.e., professorial and student sphere. Irritation was fueled by daily rumors, gossip, stories about persons to whom unprecedented actions and words were attributed about various measures being prepared, etc. Gossip has enormous power among us, and this, in my opinion, is the greatest evil from which we suffer. People do not find direct paths and make their way in roundabout ways. Private meetings, home conversations, club conversations, newspapers - all of this is teeming with incredible stories and stories about people and events that irritate society. Moving to Moscow, rumors of this kind take on even more fantastic forms; this has always happened, but now, with everyone’s chatter, it has intensified excessively. In 1886, Your Majesty visited the university and was greeted by the enthusiasm of the students. But, as always, I will honestly express my thoughts, if it were up to me, I would not have decided to organize this reception at the university. This is not like the appearance of the Sovereign among the people, but the arrival of the Sovereign at a well-maintained, integral, disciplined educational institution. The university in its current situation has a crowd of students (in Moscow there are 3,500). Involuntarily, we had to sort it out, remove a lot of people who were not trustworthy enough, and admit a circle of certain professors who stood and frowned. All these are dissatisfied people who began to further increase their irritation. Rumors were spread among the masses of young people about meanness, about espionage - words that are capable of in themselves to ignite youth without any verification. You deigned to listen to the student choir, stud. orchestra - institutions organized by the inspector. Suddenly rumors arose that he had started all this for the sake of espionage, and that it was vile to take part in them. I don’t know Inspector Bryzgalov - maybe he really did have a rude manner at times, and did not always act with tact - but you never know what kind of bosses we had in the past, and it’s difficult for an inspector of students to maintain complete impeccability in view of the persecution that comes against him. And now there are stories about him that no one has verified, and which, when verified, turn out to be fiction, and yet they are believed for the time being. It is under the influence of these current reasons that, in my opinion, Moscow history flared up. Lyubimov writes the truth that the extreme frivolity of our society had a lot to do with it. Often, parents and acquaintances, instead of restraining and reasoning with young people, themselves aroused them under the influence of the same rumors and gossip and the unimaginable confusion of concepts about duty and order. Finally, the trouble is that our local administration sometimes runs counter to the educational authorities. I myself witnessed in Kyiv how the governor general and the university spoke about the riots. The authorities formed two camps and two parties, acting against each other. Something similar happened, it seems, in Moscow. Unfortunately, many of us in power do not understand that you can see the mistakes of the authorities, you can deeply mourn them, but you should not expose them to shame, and in decisive moments, duty dictates to stand on the side of the authorities. Of course, if the authorities in Moscow had been able to immediately extinguish the unrest that had arisen, then the entire movement would have been limited to Moscow alone. But the spark there lit up everywhere. In St. Petersburg, the rector is the scapegoat - an unfortunate victim - and a victim of duty, because he conscientiously took up the task to which he was called, but did not calculate either his strength or the conditions of the environment in which he had to act! He is a straightforward person, but not polished, without any elasticity that is required for administration. Meanwhile, monstrous stories have been written about him and, according to rumors, they call him a “scoundrel,” although they cannot explain why and why they disgrace him so much. He was put in this position because he is a man of conviction. I don’t know, maybe a flexible person without convictions would be more comfortable; but is it easy to find and choose one? Your Majesty deign to write that at a convenient moment you will call me for a verbal explanation on this matter; but it is difficult to predict when you will have free time for this; So, I sat down to write my thoughts as thoroughly as possible. When you deign to let me know, I will appear and add whatever is required. Letter from gr. Vorontsov, no doubt, only I will know, by Your Majesty’s confidence. Last night I met Vyshnegradsky at the ball. He was embarrassed by the sudden drop in our rate - and as low as it had ever fallen. “Do you know what the immediate cause of this fall was?” he said, “the news of the decision of the Moscow jury in the Ketkhudov case.” The decision is truly outrageous. Officials stole 120 thousand rubles from the post office, sent to Berlin, and the jury found the thief not guilty. This decision took place under the influence of the speech of the lawyer, who proved that although the money was stolen, but what money? Sent with damage to the treasury, and where? To Berlin, the center of stock market speculation, sucking money from our people. Obviously, the news of such a decision should have made an impression in Berlin. And now the newspapers, defending our jury at all costs, are beginning to justify this verdict on the same grounds. And so our international relations, already confused by all sorts of misunderstandings, gossip, newspaper articles, now suffer even more from ridiculous court verdicts. Truly, it is high time to put an end to this outrage of court decisions! The institution of juries is not at all tailored to our standards, and now everywhere except England it is wavering. Our jury, without any discipline, without strict leadership, randomly assembled, ignorant, remains under the influence of lawyers' speeches and all kinds of influence of rumors, public chatter, intrigues and interests, and chairmen who would have the character, will and experience to lead the debate are a great rarity among us. I allow myself to once again draw Your Majesty’s attention to this urgent need. It is true that it is not easy to do this without the direct will of Your Majesty. A year has already passed since the Minister of Justice introduced a draft law on limiting jury trials to the State Council. It would be necessary to put it into use immediately, but the civil department is not inclined to do so. The matter was delayed by the idea of ​​demanding a conclusion from all the ministers, which, I think, there was no need for. So, the matter is still pending, since, they say, there is no conclusion from the 4 ministers yet. So it can move unmoving into the next year if a push is not given from above. If Your Majesty had wished to declare a decisive will to the Grand Duke-Chairman, one must hope that things would have moved forward. I think that Your Imperial Majesty will not be without interest in some details about the current Kiev celebration. I arrived here on the morning of July 11, at the very hour when the monument to B. Khmelnitsky was unveiled. The city was making hasty preparations for the holiday; but the matter of its organization was in some uncertain state - the orders changed every hour, and we had to have a long conversation with the Metropolitan, and with the head, and with A.R. Drentelny in order to reconcile the differences. The late A.R. regarded this celebration with some distrust and suspicion; He was painfully afraid that there would be some manifestations about the Slavs and the Slavic question, and therefore he tried, even to the point of scrupulosity, to eliminate any participation in the triumph of civil and military authorities. He wanted to compress the whole matter into the framework of the annual celebration of July 15, exclusively church. Meanwhile, the matter assumed wide dimensions, far beyond the limits of these narrow frameworks: the matter turned out to be a truly national triumph, and a remarkable animation appeared. Deputations from different cities and institutions arrived hourly. From Nizhny, the head and the citizens brought a magnificent banner as a gift to Kyiv; Moscow banner bearers brought 4 precious banners; delegations from various cities, especially those with a historical connection with Kiev, brought patriotic addresses; Representatives of different dioceses came from bishops from Nizhny, from Chernigov, from St. Petersburg and Moscow, from Chisinau, etc.; The Metropolitan of Montenegro arrived with his deacon. They came, despite obstacles, from Serbia, Protic and Grujic (former ministers and envoys to Russia); from Romania - devotees of Russia - Prince. Bogoridze, Raznovano and several other persons (the Romanian government, to its shame, did not give Bishop Melchizedek leave to go to Kyiv!). In Austria, the government formally prohibited giving passports to Kyiv; however, the same Galicians and Slovaks who were in St. Petersburg on the day of Cyril and Methodius arrived from Galicia and from Hungary at the risk of persecution and were already subjected to persecution for that reason. On the 13th, 11 peasants from Galicia appeared; They secretly made their way across the border - they were given a hospitable welcome in the Lavra. All these people reverently, with tears in their eyes, walked through the churches and streets of Kyiv. The monument to Khmelnitsky made a strong impression on them; on it is the inscription: “We are leading under the Eastern Orthodox Tsar,” and they devoured this inscription with their eyes. Even the Serbs, passing by, said: “This is our program, why should we look for another one.” Russian people of all numbers arrived in great numbers, and everyone was in joyful anticipation of the triumph. It was necessary to give satisfaction to this feeling; it would not be satisfied with the usual church celebration on July 15th. I spoke with Drentelny about this. The city was preparing lunch for 450 people. It was this dinner that Al was especially afraid of. Romanovich was afraid of speeches with Slavic politics, and therefore announced in advance that there would be no speeches, and every speech would be covered with music. I managed, however, to convince him that it was necessary to give expression to patriotic feelings. I accepted this as my responsibility: I will be the only one to speak, and what I say will not be dangerous. At this point Drenteln calmed down. The weather was fine. The city was cleaned up, decorated and became truly wonderfully beautiful, thanks to its picturesqueness. The churches were all cleaned for the holiday: in the St. Sophia Cathedral the dirt and soot were removed, the upper tier of the iconostasis was removed, so that the entire indestructible wall was exposed. Work is underway in the St. Michael's Monastery: most interesting frescoes, which are thought to be from the same era as the Sofia ones, have recently been discovered there under a layer of new painting. On the 13th, a solemn funeral liturgy was served in the small church of St. Nicholas at Askold’s grave, and then on the platform in front of the church, in view of the multitude of people humiliating the neighboring peaks, they served a cathedral memorial service for all the soldiers killed in battle for 9 centuries! It was a touching ceremony. On the 14th, an act took place at the Theological Academy, in an ancient hall hung with old portraits. This was, so to speak, the first act of celebration, which left a deep impression on everyone. Prof. Malyshevsky gave a wonderful speech with animation, in which he reviewed the history of Russia in connection with Kiev, with the church, with Poland and Latinism. Everyone was in a solemn mood. Then the reading of addresses from Moscow, Nizhny, and other cities, animated by patriotic feelings, began. Metropolitan spoke with greetings. Michael of Serbia, Montenegrin Mitrofan, Greek Archimandrite Neophytos. Finally, I read a most interesting document that I had just received from London - a message from Archbishop Edward of Canterbury to Metropolitan Plato of Kyiv. I am enclosing it here in Russian translation. That same day in the evening, at 6 o’clock, they celebrated the all-night vigil. We went first to Sofia. Everywhere there were several bishops serving with excellent choirs of singers, everywhere there was a great crowd of people, everywhere there was splendor. After standing here for the beginning, we moved to St. Andrew's Church, where the main all-night vigil was celebrated. The litiya was held outside the church, on a high platform that goes around it, and so, high above the city, in view of the wonderful picture of the Trans-Dnieper, everyone stood with candles, and a procession walked around with a cross overshadowed on all 4 sides. They then came out here to sing “praise,” and immediately there was the singing of a canon with an akathist. Alexander Romanovich and his wife stood next to me all the time... would you have thought that the next morning he would be gone. From here to the Lavra. There's a wonderful picture there. In the temple there is nowhere to stand from those praying, and the entire courtyard, bathed in moonlight, is filled with pilgrims-pagans who sit and lie here in groups and immediately spend the night waiting for the morning bell. All this walking was carried out by Sabler with many foreign speakers, whom he led with him, showing and explaining to them - 5 Romanians, 3 Serbs, three young Japanese (who had just graduated from the Russian seminary in Tokyo and were sent to the academy) and two young Englishmen who had arrived from London the day before and were now looking with amazement and, apparently, with delight at Kiev, at the people and at our church beauty. Today, at 8 o'clock in the morning, they struck at St. Sofia. It was impossible to say how good it was in the church; everything sparkled and shone, everything triumphed and sang! I looked at Protic and Grujic - large tears were rolling down their faces. Two Abyssinians, whom Annenkov brought yesterday, also appeared; both stood in white clothes and black cloaks on top (all this was sewn for them in Moscow and St. Petersburg), - both stood with dignity and prayed earnestly, holding their books in their hands, with serious faces; - it was clear that they were in amazed delight at everything they saw. Their fellow countrywoman, a black girl (a smart girl living in a St. Petersburg convent) in a pink dress and a bright yellow hat, looked at them from the wing with a tender gaze. They sang beautifully. After mass, Plato, despite his fatigue, said a wonderful word about faith, and then the move began. The day was absolutely brilliant and sultry. The procession moved from St. Sophia, past the St. Michael's Monastery, up the mountain, to the monument to Vladimir, where a prayer service was served, then down to the river, where the Jordan is built, from here to the Church of the Nativity, where the Metropolitan from the dais blessed with a cross in all directions: there stood a choir of 500 boys and girls and sang the troparion of St. Vladimir. The troops on the aisle played “Kol Slaven”. Two choirs sang all the time as they walked. The new shiny banners were carried by the Moscow banner bearers, because the local ones would not cope with them. I am unable to describe the beauty and grandeur of this move! Kyiv is the only area where a complete picture of a procession with the entire mass of people can unfold, because here are the mountains from which you can see everything. Wherever you look, everything is covered with a mass of people, with the most picturesque setting: everything around, all the peaks are humiliated, and below on the Dnieper, opposite the Jordan, there are a mass of steamships, humiliated by people. The picture is the only one. The foreigners who were with us were completely overwhelmed by the impression of everything that they saw today - here all the powerful strength of the Russian people, animated by faith, and in their sympathetic features, is evident. Our British did not want to believe that all this had gathered here by itself, without any convocations or invitations. The march had barely ended at 3 o'clock, and at 3 o'clock we had to go to dinner. This lunch will remain in everyone's memory for a long time. I wanted it not to resemble the usual dinners on these occasions, but to bear the stamp of a religious and national triumph. Therefore, right after the soup, when we had not yet drunk wine, I began my first speech, which should have concluded not with a toast, but with a prayer... The singers in the choir began, and the congregation took up “We praise God to you.” From that moment on, a special mood was ensured, which was then supported by subsequent speeches. The Nizhny Novgorod leader Demidov perfectly said the welcoming address of the Nizhny Novgorod residents to Kyiv. Following the last toast, the main guests left, the rest probably stayed until the night with the most elaborate speeches and toasts. Our holiday was darkened, however, by the sudden death of Drenteln. The news of this was brought to church halfway through the liturgy and struck us like thunder. He was cheerful and cheerful this morning and cheerfully sat down on the saddle to accompany the procession, according to custom, but had scarcely sat down when a blow struck him, and he died immediately before he was taken down. This death, one must think, was easy for him, but it’s terrible to think about his unfortunate wife, with whom he lived in harmony all the time - I knew him when he was still unmarried and then I saw his life. This evening I was at a memorial service and saw her: she was sitting, petrified, like someone killed... Now the great question for the Russian people is: who will replace him? He was very firm in his policy regarding the Poles and Germans, and if his successor adheres to a different policy, there will be trouble for this region. Unfortunately, the Volyn province is overcrowded with Germans who have managed to firmly establish themselves here. In the evening, at 9 o'clock, I went to. to Alexandra Petrovna, knowing that she was impatiently waiting for me; She had already had dinner and was getting ready to go to bed, but she was glad to see me and listened with delight to what I told her - she lay there and cried. I visited Her Highness for the first time upon arrival, on the 12th, I was there at 2 o'clock - they were setting the table for her, and she left me to dine. They brought out both Ilyusha and Natasha; both of them look somewhat of the Abyssinian type, and both are preparing for the clergy. There were about 18 people sitting at the table - some house girls in white dresses, one abbess, old man Labzin, a merchant from Pavlovsky Posad with a peasant companion and his daughter. Vel. The princess kindly treated everyone. She talked to me for a long time, crying, talking about Your Majesty, about the Empress, about the Queen of Greece, whom she adores. I liked her speeches - she said a lot of things intelligently, and she looked the healthiest and most cheerful. The Grand Duchess is very kind. But this is how I have already tired Your Majesty with my long writing. I myself have not had any rest since leaving St. Petersburg, but here only every minute nervous excitement makes me forget my extreme fatigue. But I am completely satisfied with everything I saw and felt today. And now I was delighted by the telegram that Your Majesty and the Empress deigned to participate in the procession both on the water and in the square. The day after tomorrow I want to go back to Marienbad and am looking forward to resting in the carriage. May God grant Your Majesty health and prosperity and possible rest until the time comes for new labors. Your Majesty's most devoted A letter from Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was delivered here to me, according to the content of which Your Majesty would like to keep my review in mind. I have already had occasion before to hear the desires and assumptions of His Highness regarding the Highest awards that he would like to bring with him to Jerusalem. I have nothing to object to the awards on the list. On the contrary, I consider them useful for the cause and consistent with the purpose for which the Grand Duke is undertaking the journey. As a result, Comrade Chief Prosecutor, with my consent, will present Your Majesty with a most submissive report in this regard. Truly I will say that in the Jerusalem matter, which is of great importance for us, only the Palestinian society began to do and is doing the real thing, attracting the sympathy of the Russian people and voluntary donations, both because it took up the matter not as an official, and because the business is run by a man who is devoted to it in soul, a Russian, who knows both Jerusalem and Russia, is reasonable and educated - V. I. Khitrovo. Through his efforts, dedicated people were attracted to this cause. At the present critical time, when in the East, due to the mercy of Western intrigues, the material strength of Russia has weakened, it is most important to protect the sources of our moral strength there, which is invisible to the eye, but significantly attracts the sympathy of the local population. This cannot be achieved through the formal action of bureaucratic authorities. That's why I think it's useful to encourage Palestinian figures. For awards Archim. The Asian Department looks askance at Antonin. But Antonin is our only energetic figure in Palestine among those in power. With his institutions in Palestine, churches, and hospices, he made the Russian people feel at home in his shelters, and the Russian church appears in attractive splendor. His character is difficult, it’s true; but many of the unpleasant encounters with him depend on the false position in which the mission is placed regarding the consulate. When Antonin is gone, it will be difficult to replace him: gentle and obedient people will live in peace with the consulate, but will turn into officials - sluggish and inactive. The false state of our mission needs to be stopped, but suddenly this cannot be done, which I already had the opportunity to report to Your Majesty once. It comes from the unnatural connection in which the mission is placed with the consulate and with the Palestine Commission. The Russian consul should stand separately and not be connected with the economy of Russian institutions. He must be an impartial observer of them and a fair defender of Russian interests in the country. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem consul is appointed, as it were, the owner of the mission, has premises in it and the right of disposal, and even receives a significant part of his salary not from the treasury, but from the budget of the Palestine Commission, i.e. from the amount that is directly allocated to the mission. In this situation, the consul becomes a participant in all the petty economic and domestic gossip and squabbles that abound in Jerusalem life. He, as a consul, also involves the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in these gossip and squabbles. affairs - hence the mass of correspondence based on such mutual bickering and complaints, which should not even reach the ministry. On the other hand, the position of the Palestine Commission, which is, as it were, part of the Asian Department and manages the economy of the Russian mission with a special budget, which includes church fees for the mission, and from where expenses are made for some officials of the Asian Department who manage the affairs of the commission, is also false. The Palestinian society has its own amount and its own budget, although in essence both institutions should serve a common goal. So, it would seem that it would be better, both for unity of action and even for economy, to unite the work of the Palestine Commission, decoupling it from the ministry, with the Palestinian society, especially since both institutions now have one chairman - the Grand Duke. But until now, the ministry is so jealous of its right to manage the Palestine Commission that it is very difficult to raise this issue right away - perhaps it will still be ripe. Now Palestinian society has to reckon with this jealousy and with many obstacles both in Palestine itself and in official spheres, at home, in Russia. In Palestine, the attitude towards the patriarch and the Greeks, who hate everything that goes past their pockets, requires extreme prudence and serpentine wisdom. Every new Arab school, new orphanage, new Russian church arouses gossip, slander, complaints, and bickering on the part of the Greeks about the power and competence of the local Greek clergy. Unfortunately, this Greek intrigue finds support in Russia, in the person of some deceitful zealots of the Eastern Greek Church; such, for example, is Mr. Filippov, a poisonous zealot for some kind of Greek autonomy, ready to accuse the Russian Church before the Greeks. Vel. The prince knows how many misunderstandings and gossips there were at first with the patriarch because of him, and how, finally, Filippov, who was caught, led. the prince in obvious slander, had to leave the Palestinian society; Since then he has not ceased to secretly oppose him. This episode with Filippov happened precisely in connection with the teacher Kezma, who is now being nominated for a reward, about which, if it pleases Your Majesty, you would like to ask the Grand Duke. Now Filippov, having united with Prince. Meshchersky, opened in “Citizen” an arena for the exaltation of the patriarch and for slandering Russian leaders in Jerusalem. But enough about this subject. I take this opportunity to add a few more words about these places. On the one hand, I cannot express what pleasure the delightful beauties of nature bring here, in the midst of wonderful mountains and greenery, both in the bright sun and under a cloudy sky. On the other hand, I cannot express how disgusting is the mass of slander and lies and hatred that falls on Russia and the Russian people in the local newspapers - and here everyone reads the newspapers from morning to night. Newspapers in general are a kingdom of lies, but Austrian and Hungarian ones in particular, and to them, indeed, one can attach the word of the Savior to the Jews: “You are the father of the devil and do his lusts, he is a lie and the father of lies.” - By the way, almost all newspapers are Jewish. But regardless of the newspapers, it is amazing how here both statesmen and diplomats, not knowing Russia, fear it and hate it instinctively. May God grant us to survive this time and, being at peace with everyone, not to trust any of them. Everyone is now equally striving to crush the Russian element everywhere - with lies, deception, and, if possible, violence... It would seem that there is nothing to get attached to the Kyiv holiday, but it does not give them peace: they are trying with all their might to prove that it was a political fiasco. Thank God that there were no political speeches at the dinner either: at the last meal the Metropolitan stood up, and everyone followed him; A small meeting of hunters remained until the evening, and here, probably in a close circle, there were many speeches. Now Jewish newspapers are trying to embellish the political agitation of Count Ignatiev and the so-called Pan-Slavists. But the Kyiv holiday also left difficult memories. Drenteln's passing will not soon be forgotten, and who will replace him? And I personally suffered great grief. 3 days after the holiday, an irreplaceable man died there, my right hand, Kryzhanovsky - a pure soul, a warm Russian heart, an educated mind. He handled mainly Baltic, Uniate, and Czech affairs for me. In the spring I sent him to Volyn - to the Czechs, and he did a great job there; they loved him, they believed in him... He himself was an old Kiev resident, already sick, worked with all his might for the holiday, waited for it, rejoiced and could not stand it. It’s hard to think of anyone to replace him! Sorry for the long write-up. May God protect and bless all the paths of Your Majesty, and may He send you intelligent, honest, capable people with a warm Russian heart - oh God, how they are needed! Your Imperial Majesty Salzburg. August 4, 1888. In Vladikavkaz - Bishop Joseph, an old man of little intelligence, but for a long time in this region and from the very beginning he managed the affairs of the Ossetian mission. He knows the Ossetian language well; published a dictionary of the Ossetian language, the only one in existence, and a significant number of translations of liturgical and edifying books from Russian into Ossetian. Ossetian parishes and schools need priests and teachers. The students of our seminaries could not satisfy this need; they could not approach the simple, semi-wild and poor life of Ossetian villages. So, for this need, a special school was established about 2 years ago in the Ardon village, near Vladikavkaz. With a simple course adapted to local needs, it aims to prepare Ossetian children for service without separating them from rural life. For the first time, this business started successfully; caretaker of the school of St. The synod appointed a wonderful young monk, modest and zealous. Until now, all the news received from the place, both from the spiritual and from the civil authorities, is very comforting. The commander of the local troops living in Ardon, when he was in St. Petersburg, spoke to me about this school with great praise. In New Athos, of course, Bishop Gennady of Sukhumi will be awaiting the arrival of Their Majesties, the first bishop of the newly established diocese, perhaps the poorest of all the dioceses. I have already had occasion to present a special note about the deplorable state of the churches there. The poor Abkhaz population cannot build churches for themselves; There are also Russian settlements there without churches. The need is great, and the funds are vetted. For such a diocese it was necessary to look for a bishop not from among scholars, but from a simple, but diligent and economic one. After a long search, they chose an experienced hieromonk of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, who managed the farm there for 28 years. His situation is difficult. He does not yet have a permanent residence or a built home; He doesn’t even have his own church, because there is only one small church in Sukhum, where it’s too difficult for a priest to serve. For the first time, his main refuge was the New Athos Monastery, from where he traveled around his diocese. The New Athos Monastery is a wonderful institution, most beneficial for the whole region both religiously and culturally. It is like a hive of bees, working tirelessly. It forms a colony of the Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos and is dependent on it. Hegumen Hieron, a most handsome old man, will, of course, attract the attention of His Majesty. Everything that was built and erected by the labors of the monks is extremely wonderful. The premises for Their Majesties will be arranged, of course, in the old Genoese tower, at the monastery gates. The area is incredibly picturesque and the air is very pleasant. If the weather permits and time permits, how nice it would be if Their Majesties had the opportunity to climb along the convenient road built by the monks to the high mountain above the monastery, where at the top are the interesting ruins of the old cathedral and traces of an entire city from the first centuries of Christianity. It takes a little effort to get there on horseback, but anyone who succeeds will not forget their impressions of the rare grandeur of the views opening up from here. Notable in the monastery is the treasurer Innokenty, from the Cossacks, who was once a daring horseman. Noteworthy is the old man Zakharia, a passionate lover of plants, who collected rare specimens of local vegetation in the small garden of his cell. The monastery has a school for Abkhaz boys, the only one of its kind. They sing some prayers in church in their own language, similar to the chirping of birds. They sang “Our Father” in front of me. On the other side of Sukhum there is another monastery, Drandsky, which was also partly made up of Athonites; but he's just starting to get comfortable. In lovely Batum, among many other things, the city’s primary school, run by caretaker Bogdanov and his sister, deserves attention. I saw there with the greatest interest many boys and girls of 11 nationalities, gathered together and learning to write and read in Russian. In connection with it, craft workshops. The yard is guarded by an old Turk, very nice and a great lover of children. Two years ago, the school house burned down due to misfortune; it's probably in a new location now. There are many educational institutions in Tiflis, and all are worth attention, especially the 1st gymnasium (near the palace), the women's gymnasium, and the teachers' seminary. Judging by their appearance, they are in great order. But there is a small and modest women’s diocesan school there, to which it would be desirable to draw the attention of the Empress. How happy they would be if Her Majesty were pleased to visit them. The school is run beautifully, modestly and worth attention. The girls are almost all poor, mostly naked orphans, but many of them, for their upbringing and beauty, end up without a dowry: the grooms come themselves. Last year, the boss said that out of 17 released - all orphans - 8 turned out to be brides upon graduation. There is a new exarch in Tiflis - Rev. Palladium (formerly Vologda, Ryazan, Tambov, Kazan). He has great experience and tact in dealing with people. Gentle in manners, but persistent. Generous and hospitable. Until now, only praise for him has been heard from the local population in Georgia. He has two vicars - Alexander and Vissarion. Both are pathetic, but among the Georgians there was no one else to choose from. In Kutais, the bishop, also from Georgians, Rev. Gregory, the only representative of learning in the Georgian clergy. He is quite smart, academically educated, a preacher and has published 2 volumes of sermons in Georgian - perhaps the only publication of this kind. In Kutais, near the wonderful ruins of the old huge cathedral, the Kutaisi Theological School is located. We have more than 700 boys there - all poor and needy. If His Highness, c. The Tsarevich would like to visit the school; it would be worth giving some money for a treat for the boys - this is a great holiday for them. And feeding children is a great thing. In Batum, of course, there will be a Mingrelian bishop, a handsome man, originally from the Dadian princes. He has no remarkable abilities, but an impeccable character, behaves with dignity, is strict with the clergy and has authority among the local population, accustomed to revere the Dadians. Vladikavkaz is also notable for the fact that there is an abundance of sectarians of various kinds (in general, there are quite a few of them in the Terek region). Recently, Pashkov’s propaganda has also penetrated heavily there. In recent years, the local priest Mamatsev (originally from Georgians), skillful, educated and zealous, has become a strong weapon against them. Crowds of people, sometimes several thousand, gathered to listen to him. Meetings, due to the lack of indoor space, took place in the square. But he aroused such sympathy among the local population that in a short time several thousand rubles were collected by subscription, and a large booth was built for him, where conversations are probably taking place today. I consider it my duty to present to Your Majesty the following. Now the attention of all Russian people, who take the good of Russia to heart, is occupied by the question: who will be Drenteln's successor in Kyiv? Everyone feels how important this is - will the management system in the Russian spirit continue, or will an unfortunate turn take place again, like the one that happened in Vilna and Warsaw? It all depends on the face; and now there are so many people wavering in the direction that one inevitably has to think with fear: someone will be there - a Russian person in spirit and mind, or a person only Russian in name, but of a foreign spirit. They name many names, of course, without any reason, because no one can know who is meant. But recently they have begun to intensively name one name that arouses strong fears. They have already written to me from St. Petersburg that they are talking about Vladimir Bobrinsky, and now I. D. Delyanov writes from Moscow that this rumor is widely spread there and raises fears. I cannot know whether there is anything substantive in this rumor, and whether the name of gr. Bobrinsky in Your Majesty's advice. But I cannot keep silent that, in my opinion and in the opinion of many Russian people, such an appointment would be disastrous for the region. All the Bobrinskys, no matter how many times I know them, are people of a foreign upbringing, a foreign way of thinking, cosmopolitans in politics and filled with liberal fantasies. A gr. Vladimir Bobrinsky (at one time the manager of the Ministry of Railways) is known especially for his activities in the Baltic provinces, when the late Emperor at the beginning of his reign sent him to investigate the issue of the movement towards Orthodoxy of Estonians and Latvians. Then young Bobrinsky, having fallen completely under the influence of the barons, presented the matter in a distorted form and was one of the main culprits in the triumph of the Germans in this matter. Your Imperial Majesty. God bless! You are returning to us unharmed, and God bless the day and hour of your return! But what days, what sensations we experience! What a miracle of mercy God has destined us to witness! We rejoice and thank God warmly. But with what trepidation our joy is united, and what horror remains behind us and frightens us with a black shadow! Everyone has a truly terrible thought in their souls about what could have happened and what really did not happen simply because God did not have mercy on us because of our sins. This thought will not calm down for a long time, and now for two days I cannot do anything calmly. The same reverent feeling, I am convinced, will cover all of Russia. Just as after a terrible dream a person, waking up, seeks with his hands and eyes to make sure that he did not feel the horror in reality, so after the former horror, people everywhere will want to shake off fear and horror in reality. God inspired you to stay in Kharkov and Moscow, and thank God, the people saw (you) there and were delighted. But all of Russia now, one might say, longs to see and touch its king in reality. For Your Majesty, this is one of those rare days when God reveals himself to a person in his destinies. But at the same time, I dare to think, this is a day when the living communication of the Russian Tsar with the people is especially felt, and the people need the Tsar’s word. I dare to bring this thought to Your Majesty's attention. If it would please you to accept it, then in this case I present a sample manifesto that would correspond to the real need! The soul asks to see you soon. I don’t dare disturb you on the day of your arrival in Gatchina. I'll try the next day, if not, please come here soon. We all pray with one heart - may the Lord protect you at your entrances and exits. Petersburg. October 20, 1888 On the case of the zemstvo chiefs, there were three Saturday meetings in the joint departments of the State Council. Everyone objected, although from different points of view, to the project as it was presented. But in essence all the objections boiled down to one thing: gr. Tolstoy wants to create power for the peasant world. Such power cannot be isolated and placed correctly, without connection with all other powers. It is necessary, at least, to place the zemstvo chief so that he is the authority in the entire territorial area and is directly dependent on the general provincial authorities. Otherwise there will be confusion. But Count Tolstoy, at the second meeting, declared that he understood his zemstvo boss to be exclusively peasant, and could not deviate from this view. It was desirable to avoid disagreement on this point, and therefore at the last meeting, December 17, when the bar. Nikolai turned to me, I, by agreement with both Ostrovsky and Manassein, stated the following: "At the very beginning of the discussion, on the preliminary question posed by the chairman, many members expressed themselves in the sense that the reform proposed by Count Tolstoy is incomplete, insufficient and therefore incorrect, because it threatens a confusion of powers, while what is most important is unity of power. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to organize the administration of the entire district, in which district commanders will also find their place. If we were now (10 years ago) to discuss the preliminary question of how to proceed with the reform of local government, I would certainly join this opinion. But at the present moment the matter, as posed by the Minister of the Interior, is presented in a different form. He tells us that time is of the essence. Seven years have passed in the works on local government reform; if we now turn them back, the same amount of time will pass, and hardly anything will be done. Meanwhile, in the countryside, disorder is intensifying, and the question of establishing order there is the most urgent; the peasantry constitutes the main force of the state and 90% of the entire population... One cannot but agree with the Minister of Internal Affairs on this and therefore it is necessary to dwell on his project and accept it for discussion. Indeed, peasant society urgently requires power and order. Since 1861, when the peasant regulations were issued, experience has shown its insufficiency in precisely this regard. It cannot be said that these subjects were left without attention by the legislator even then; but he assumed that the peasant authorities themselves would maintain order; it did not and could not be justified. No human community can do without the police and the court. And in the situation of 1861 we find the beginnings of these institutions, but frail and weak, incapable of development, without a strong beginning. Rural authorities were established in the form of villages. elders and ox. foremen. The law directly states the police's duties - in general law, to take the necessary measures to maintain decency, order and security, prevent grassing, logging, detain vagrants, make inquiries, detain the perpetrators, etc., etc. But this power remained only on paper. Why? Because it is formless, elective and devoid of authority, not connected with the source of authority in the state. Power, in order to be real power, must bear the stamp of the state and have its support outside the local social environment and above it. Without this sanction it cannot act. Rural authorities, depending solely on choice, b. part of the disorderly, random or downright depraved, she feels around her only the oppressive force of the same disorderly environment that has chosen her, and she only submits to it, having no other, higher support outside the rural world. So, it came to pass that this power lost all meaning of right and became only a heavy duty. The worst, seedy men are chosen as elders, doomed to sit through fines and penalties imposed on them for the sins of others. The real power belongs to the fists and loudmouths of the gathering. It is necessary to establish real police authorities in the village so that they have support outside the village, as servants of the state and guardians of order; it is necessary to provide them with instructions, which they do not have, and to assign a living person to them for supervision and guidance. The Minister of Internal Affairs wishes to achieve this goal through the establishment of zemstvo or village chiefs. The need for such an institution cannot be denied. The Minister of the Interior does not want it to be a territorial authority, but especially a peasant institution. We agree with him on this too. It cannot be disputed that from this point of view the institution will be predominantly peasant. Mostly this is true. But even the minister himself would hardly dare to call it exclusively peasant. d. In his project, he himself expands it beyond the boundaries of the peasant community. He attracts to his department not only peasants, but also townspeople, and merchants living in the village, although they do not belong to the rural society, and even persons of other classes living outside the peasant territory, under certain agreements with the peasants. On this basis, we should discuss the project in separate parts and in detail, which is very important. The new law can either worsen the situation or improve it, depending on how the position of the new position and the range of its actions in a number of other institutions are determined. - Along with it, the action of both the general police and the magistrate’s judicial institutions will remain in the same environment of rural peasant society. If the mutual relations and limits of power and competence are not defined, instead of benefit there will be harm, and instead of simplification and unification of powers, there will be a multiplication of powers in the same subject - even worse than before. It is necessary to connect the zemstvo chief with the highest authorities so that it is clear on whom he depends and who orders him. This is unclear in the draft, and the zemstvo chief is an authority in the province, not subordinate to the governor, who gives him only suggestions. This will be an anomaly, threatening a new fragmentation of authorities. All this needs to be discussed and streamlined. The Minister of Internal Affairs told us that he would not defend every single article of his draft and was ready for changes if he was convinced of their need. So, why should we make a disagreement - essentially not of a practical, but of a theoretical nature? We can directly admit that the proposed gr. According to Tolstoy, the institution is predominantly peasant, and this will be established in order to consider the project article by article, and, if necessary, differences of opinion on individual subjects will be revealed.” This is what I said, hoping that this way the matter will be taken to the right path, and we will avoid disagreement at the very threshold of the discussion and on the preliminary issue. And everyone was ready to agree with this opinion, but, to my surprise and everyone’s, Count Tolstoy did not agree, wanting to make a difference. I can’t figure out what benefit this will bring to him or the cause. Things will just slow down. Let us assume that in a month, in the normal course of production, his opinion (to which both I and Ostrovsky should have joined) will be confirmed, that is, it will be said: discuss the institution as a peasant one. After all, all the same, when discussing the articles, it will be impossible to avoid disagreements, and very significant ones, since everything depends not on the idea of ​​the institution, but on its formulation in detail. And in the form as the project of gr. Tolstoy, he, in my deep conviction, shared by very many, can only cause harm and not only will not establish order, but will cause unrest, giving rise to a confusion of authorities and extreme confusion of relations. How can we explain this desire of Mr. Tolstoy to cause controversy? I explain it to myself only as a misunderstanding. Gr. From the very beginning, Tolstoy suspected some kind of principled opposition in all the objections to his project and stood by this impression, no matter how much I convinced him. Unfortunately, due to the state of his health, he cannot stand a long conversation and delving into the details of the case. It seems to me that in the present case he will suspect that they want to reduce the argument to some inconvenient ground, to catch it in some way in vain. By insisting on disagreement, he only delayed the matter, the speedy resolution of which he himself insisted on. And in this matter, the details of setting up an institution are so important that discussing them will certainly require a lot of work and a lot of time. To resolve these important issues quickly and without careful, detailed discussion would be to jeopardize the great question of bringing order and peace to the rural population of Russia. Allow me to express to Your Majesty my impressions about the performance of “Merchant Kalashnikov”. After the rehearsal, I left the theater stunned and could not shake off the whole day from a heavy feeling - as if after some terrible nightmare. But I also wanted to test my impressions with a public performance and attended it. I took away from him an even more painful feeling and became convinced that many shared it with me. Nothing bright, nothing uplifting the soul, nothing ideal - this is one continuous, living picture of monstrous vice, depravity, violence acting before the viewer. The king is a monster; everyone around him is depraved, drunken robbers; the people are miserable slaves; both church and faith are one blasphemy against faith! It was as if art deliberately wanted to trample into the mud all the ideals of the Russian land - the tsar, the church, the people. And it all ends with an inexpressibly sad, joyless funeral song over a man executed in honor of vice and violence. In a poem or, more correctly, in a song-ballad, Lermontov comes out poetically; but transferred to the stage, there is not and could not be a trace of poetry in the action - only action remains, disgusting, and, frankly speaking, unworthy of art. The stage production tried to give it reality, and the reality comes out false, unnatural, as if tendentious. Who saw the setting of the monastic life of the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda? Is it possible that the orgies of the guardsmen took place in the same church where the tsar performed his prayers? But the decorators arranged the chamber completely in the form of a church, painted it with images of saints, and even with aureoles around the head, which only happens in a church. And here, hardly behind a riotous scene, there is church singing (with a motive taken from the church, with words from the psalms), the Tsar is canoning, and after that there is immediately a dance of buffoons and general drunkenness. The king is a monster, a beast and nothing more. And then, in derision of the truth, the words of prayer for the Tsar are constantly remembered: Orthodox Tsar... But history presents us with a terrible drama in the life of Ivan the Terrible, with a great struggle, which one judgment of God will decide in truth. In this soul we see the traits of virtue and learn with horror how they disappear into the traits of a beast; but we know what a struggle there was, how this man acted atrociously and repented, and suffered, and fought with himself, and strenuously sought in his conscience justification for his atrocities. We see how straight Russian people entered into a struggle with him, for the sake of truth, for the sake of his royal honor, and became martyrs of the truth. There is A. Tolstoy’s drama “The Death of Ivan the Terrible,” which was deemed necessary to be removed from the stage; but there is a struggle, there is a movement of history... And here, in the opera, there is nothing but abominations collected at one moment, on one stage, and, one might say, in one chamber, representing a church, and mixed with prayer, which, having a church appearance, at the same time appears to be nothing more than a terrible blasphemy. Indeed, in daily life we ​​meet people who strictly observe church rituals, do not miss a single service in church, and at home they commit debauchery and robbery; but if these people in the church itself, in the middle of prayer and mixing it with prayer, committed their debauchery and frenzy, it would be impossible for us to look at such blasphemy, we would run away from this sight... And is this really art? In the third act, to the sound of music, they fight with their fists, jump, somersault, they do something unworthy of art with the Tatar... and, in the end, the royal fun consists of a reference to the execution of her husband, who suffered violence from the guardsman... These words of Ivan the Terrible make sense in Lermontov's song - but after all, it is a song, then a fairy tale, born in the imagination of the poet, and everyone feels that this is said by the poet in the person of Ivan the Terrible! But when they show us the living Terrible on stage, and these poems are put into his mouth, it becomes creepy and disgusting. I am writing these lines at night, after the performance, under a fresh impression. Would you believe, Your Majesty, that, leaving the box, I saw two people who had tears in their eyes, and heard the following speeches: "My God! Why are they showing us such a picture, and why, why did they choose such a time for this, when, one can say, that the Russian land became younger and all its eyes were fixed on its Tsar, recognizing in him the features of the ideal that the people ardently, passionately want to recognize in their Tsar? The first time they gave the Kalashnikov, in 1880, it was a completely different time - a time of madness, irritation, great unrest. And Now! Now, let’s say, the Tsar and the Queen do not see their thoughts in the simplicity and purity, but we, Russians, we, the people, feel insulted by this picture, in which everything that is sacred to us is disgraced!” I heard such speeches today, and there is no doubt that many Russian people have similar thoughts stirring in their souls after this performance. For several years now, persistent petitions have been ongoing here, in St. Petersburg, in Moscow and in other big cities, from clerks, housekeepers and other workers and office people for a legislative or government order so that on Sundays and major holidays trade in shops, shops and other establishments should be stopped. These petitions are supported by the clergy and many zealots of piety, with the aim of sanctifying holidays and providing the working people with holiday rest. Several years ago I entered into communication with the Minister of the Interior on this subject. Count Tolstoy rejected raising the issue of this issue through legislation, citing the existing law, by virtue of which city Dumas are authorized to make mandatory resolutions on this subject. I, for my part, did not consider it necessary to insist further, realizing that the regulation of the law on this subject is associated with difficulties. Exactly: 1. The law on the observance of a holiday must have unity and integrity, must be imbued with one thought; otherwise he will be false and hypocritical. The law of this kind is understandable in England, where on holidays all noise stops and all trading places and places of entertainment are closed. And where this cannot be done, a legislative cessation of all work can only be used to encourage laziness and idleness. In our big cities, the holiday opens a wide door not to peace and quiet, but to revelry and debauchery of all kinds, and everywhere traps are opened to attract an idle crowd. Taverns and taverns are open wide open, and entertainment establishments, designed for the corrupt tastes and base instincts of the crowd, are teeming everywhere. It is obvious that a lot of service people will go to these places (and not to church and not to the silence of home, which only a few have comfortable) both on Saturday evening and on Sunday. These are the sad fruits of the newest civilization, imbued with commercial principles! There is nothing to think about, for example, here in St. Petersburg or in Moscow, about eliminating or even limiting places of entertainment during the holiday, which, like mushrooms, are growing everywhere, taking on more and more vulgar character. This will be opposed, first of all, by the authorities themselves, both from a financial and police point of view, not to mention personal motives. 2. Another difficulty is also not insignificant. It is presented for legislation wherever this issue has been raised, which is still the subject of controversy. With the current development of trade, industry and social life in general, many industries require continuous work and do not allow rest. So, when establishing by legislative means the cessation of work on holidays, it is necessary to exclude entire categories of such productions that are not subject to this restriction or are subject to a special extent. This is a very difficult and dubious work, because the law is powerless to define with all precision all types of production and determine the corresponding economic and social significance of each. So, about 4 years ago such a law was published in Austria, with a table of different proceedings on several pages. But it turned out to be in such a discrepancy with the actual needs of life that soon after its publication it served as a reason for popular unrest in Vienna. And here in Moscow, a year ago, the Duma issued a similar resolution, which also aroused a lot of bickering and grumbling, so that this year the Duma itself abolished it. On the other hand, it is extremely difficult for Dumas and city administrations to pass resolutions restricting trade on holidays. There are cities in which this goal has been achieved (for example, Smolensk and some others). But in general and especially in big cities it is extremely difficult to achieve results. The Dumas consist for the most part of merchants, innkeepers, etc., and everywhere a strong party is formed that does not allow any restrictions on trade that is beneficial to them. There is nothing to say about the Jews, our great plague that has penetrated everywhere. In the Western and South-Western regions it has reached the point where the working population is all in bondage to the Jews, and it is impossible for a worker to even think about church on holiday - the Jews are not allowed in. In cities, for example, in Mogilev, Vitebsk, etc., you see a custom in the church that is strange to us. After the Gospel, the service stops, screens are put up and confession begins. What does this mean, you ask? This means that Orthodox workers do not have time for a whole year to fast, but somehow, having asked a Jew for leave, they run to church for confession and communion. From the above it can be seen that the question of satisfying the petition of clerks and inmates is not an easy one. But many of the owners themselves feel the need to close their shops on holidays, but do not dare to take a voluntary initiative, and ask for an order. Let them order us, then we’ll close everything. How can I close my shop in the guest yard when my neighbor’s is open? It is known with what difficulty in Russia people agree in mutual interests and how often in such cases they appeal to the government for orders or instructions to resolve difficulties. I have no doubt that this request of the merchants stems from similar motives, which I submit herewith for the discretion of Your Majesty. I think that if you want to offer them a word of gratitude or praise, this example will find many imitators. Your Majesty knows what a terrible plague among our people is drunkenness, which is increasing every year. It is the main reason for the impoverishment of the peasants and the disruption of the peasant family, and all kinds of unrest. It can be said directly that most of the crimes committed among the people are caused by drunkenness. Unfortunately, to this day the drinking house serves as the main source of government revenue. In the latest legislation they thought to alleviate the evil by replacing the tavern with a tavern; but it turned out even worse, because the taverns, the establishment of which was facilitated, actually became drinking houses, and, moreover, the secret sale of wine, which is difficult to keep track of, became so intensified that in some villages they sell wine in almost every house. Thus, the drinking business, which the treasury is accustomed to consider the main source of income, actually becomes a source of popular impoverishment, that is, the depletion of the very payment power on which all state income is based. This evil cannot be reconciled; You cannot rest in this state of mind. At that time, when the peasants were freed, it was impossible not to fear that the freedom, suddenly given, with the weakening of rural discipline (albeit harsh and often self-serving and arbitrary) would lead to an excessive increase in drunkenness among the people. Then people who took this great concern to heart undertook to attract the people to abstinence from wine by arousing moral and religious feelings, through the establishment of unions or temperance societies. Then this movement came from the clergy, mainly in the south of Russia, where, at the call of the priests, temperance societies began to arise one after another. But this movement was met with hostility by the drinking and excise department, out of fear that drinking revenues would suffer from it. The Ministry of Finance very decisively demanded that the spiritual authorities stop and ban temperance societies. The Synod could not agree to such a decisive and shameful measure, but was forced to surround this matter with such difficulties that all temperance societies were closed, and the priests who started the business were paralyzed, and then apathy towards this institution, combined with a fear of responsibility, took root in the clergy. Much time has passed since then, and there has been no news of temperance societies. Meanwhile, drunkenness intensified to such an extent and its disastrous consequences became so obvious in peasant life and economy that voices were heard from among the peasants themselves, save us from drunkenness! People began to think diligently again about temperance societies. When the State Council considered the new drinking regulations, it was supposed to include several articles that would make it easier to combat drunkenness among society itself. Unfortunately, significant of them were not adopted, but they managed to pass one article in which temperance societies were indirectly mentioned. This was necessary in order to show that the temperance society is not some kind of illegal institution. Since last year, the movement towards sobriety has picked up again. I have already had the opportunity to report to Your Majesty about the activities of a truly remarkable person - Sergei Rachinsky, in one of the most remote areas, in the Belsky district of the Smolensk province. It has been more than 20 years since this man, a scientist, one of the brilliant professors of Moscow University, left his service, settled on his family estate and devotes all his energy to the moral and religious cultural education of the people, establishing a whole network of rural schools. It is difficult to list how many people he put on their feet and how many he contributed to the improvement of the dark peasant environment around him. He has already turned many people away from drunkenness; many of his pupils are now the best priests, deacons, psalm-readers, and village teachers. Seeing around him a terrible picture of drunkenness with all its consequences, he has long been looking for a means to help the trouble through a sobriety society, which has gradually gathered around him. Last summer, he decided to make a public statement with his statement, which appeared in the “Russian Bulletin”, then reprinted in the “Church Gazette” and, spreading throughout Russia, attracted heated reviews from everywhere. In response to these reviews, he wrote an open letter to parish priests, which was sent last week to all parishes under the Church Gazette. I am attaching both. Please, Your Majesty, read these leaflets: I consider it my duty to draw your attention to this matter, which is especially important at the present moment. The people are stirring everywhere and everywhere, instinctively seeking a way out of their darkness and out of their troubles. Russia is great and vast; Not everywhere there are legitimate shepherds who could and would be able to master this movement, lead it, teach and enlighten it. There are sectarians here - dangerous figures. They attract the people, by the way, in the name of sobriety, but at the same time they take them away from the church and at the same time from the nationality and, forming a sect, develop a spirit of pride in it, but do not give real enlightenment to the people. Meanwhile, often these sectarians, turning to the Orthodox, reproach them and confuse them with these words: we are sober and getting rich, but you in your church get drunk and go broke! Here is another reason why it is necessary to meet this movement with a healthy movement from among the church towards the sobering of the people. There is no doubt that many will respond to this call. Petersburg. December 12, 1889 I had the opportunity to report to Your Majesty that the brothers of Yuri F. Samarin have interesting correspondence between him and Baroness Raden. Many of these letters are excellent, written as masterfully as he could write and she could write. I think that some letters, namely those that relate to Baltic affairs, will be of particular interest to Your Majesty. They were written illegibly, and I ordered (with my brother’s permission) to rewrite them and hereby have the honor to present them. The letters of the 60s were at the height of the controversy between Samarin and Edita Raden regarding Baltic affairs and especially regarding the publication of “Okrain”. There was almost a break between them, but not for long. Both of them softened and friendship, bound by tender feelings, strengthened between them. The tone of the letters of the 70s completely changes, and they become even more interesting. The last letter presented does not concern Baltic affairs - it was written by Samarin from the village, and it is so good that I do not hesitate to draw Your Majesty’s attention to it. I have the honor to report to Your Imperial Majesty that I have returned from my trip to Perm and Yekaterinburg. It was necessary to get acquainted with these places and settle some rather acute misunderstandings in the local diocesan administration in the new Yekaterinburg diocese, which was achieved. The three-day voyage along the Kama was pleasant and interesting. In Yelabuga, Perm, and Yekaterinburg, I had the opportunity to meet many wonderful Russian people, local leaders and generous donors, and to see wonderful institutions, such as, for example, the Zemstvo hospital for the insane in Yekaterinburg. I drove a little further, to the Berezovsky gold mines, and inspected parish schools along the way; I was at the Verkhne-Isetsky iron plant and at the lapidary factory of the court department, which had been neglected for a long time and was now just beginning to be updated. The active Perm governor Lukoshkov traveled with me from Perm to Yekaterinburg. The vast spaces of Perm abound with inexhaustible wealth. Recently, the still huge working population in the factories (there are factories where there are at least 30,000 workers) was desperately poor and worried about the lack of work and falling prices; but in recent years, thanks to protective duties, work has revived everywhere and the workers have sighed. But this summer, two large factories - Verkhne-Ufaleysky and Nevyansky - suffered a great disaster - a terrible fire. Both here and there, 1,000 houses burned down, and if they do not have time to rebuild for the winter, one can fear poverty, theft, robberies and robberies. The Nevyansk plant is particularly at risk of this, since all the forests around it have been cut down, and there is nothing to build on. The timber must be brought from afar, and therefore they are asking the state administration for 80 tons of trees from the general forests, so that their transportation by rail is allowed. the road for free or at a reduced rate, so that you can get down to business before the fall. Convinced of the desperate situation of the workers and the urgency of the need, I took the liberty of telegraphing this from the road and to the Minister of State. assets, and min. finance; from the latter I received news of permission to transport logs. But I now encountered great need on the Volga and even on the Kama due to the hitherto unprecedented shallowing of rivers: extreme difficulties in transporting goods and millions of losses. The Kama was still famous for its high water levels, and now even on the Kama there are continuous stops for shallow water. These difficulties are, of course, reflected at the Nizhny Novgorod fair, where there is still little movement. In Kazan I managed to see an interesting exhibition. Everyone there is in great anticipation and in timid hope that the Tsarevich will come. I did not dare either kill this hope or support it. I left here myself with some hope, having heard from Your Majesty that the German Emperor would not stay here long; but, having arrived here, I find out that he will hardly stay until August 14th. In the middle of camp activities, I do not dare bother Your Majesty with a request for a personal report, but I hear that you will deign to move to Peterhof on August 1, and then on the 2nd I will try, if there is time, to ask for admission. In foreign countries, when one or another party wishes to carry out any measure or carry out an institution contrary to the opinion or decision of the government, the following means are used for this purpose: meetings are convened, the newspaper press is set in motion, and thus agitation is carried out, which is presented as an expression of public opinion, and, finally, it achieves its goal by selecting votes in parliaments. Since the 60s, we have also been using similar means for this in a different form. A well-known party begins agitation in influential circles of society, sometimes mainly through women, and then this agitation is reflected in government circles and often achieves its goal, so that in this way measures are sometimes introduced into legislation that do not at all agree with the expressed direction of the government. Here is one such example. Along with many ideas that have penetrated into our society since the 60s from Western Europe, the idea of ​​women's emancipation also penetrated and began to excite minds and spread. Fanatics appeared for the equalization of women with men in all social rights, the establishment of women's courses and the admission of women to the university. Under the influence of these ideas, courses were established in the 70s at the Medical-Surgical Academy, which graduated female doctors with rights. It is known what harmful moral effects these courses had. It is true that some of the women who completed the courses declared and are still declaring in different places their useful activities, but among the masses of students there was the most outrageous corruption of concepts, and it is difficult to calculate how many of them were corrupted and died. These courses were closed by Vysoch. command in 1882, to the great indignation of all advocates of women's emancipation. And they immediately opened agitation for their restoration in a different form, if possible, even more decisive. Controversy arose both in society and in the press, and the benefits that women could bring in the medical field were always brought to the fore. In this agitation, ladies from society took the leading role. Some of them, in order to achieve their goal, declared significant monetary donations for the establishment of higher medical courses. These donations became the pretext for reopening an issue that seemed resolved. But the main donors are known as fanatical champions of the very idea of ​​women's emancipation. This remedy worked, and the consequences show how skillfully it was invented. From private individuals, some zemstvo leaders, former teachers and students, petitions arose to the Highest Name to strengthen the future of the courses. And in the same year, 1882, by order of the Highest, a meeting of several ministers on this subject was opened. It was announced that the Sovereign Emperor does not interfere with such an institution, as long as it is not state-owned, but private, and maintained with private funds and donations. Then the meeting recognized that in the future it would be possible to admit females to medical education in order to prepare learned midwives for the special treatment of women's and children's diseases. This special educational institution must be established in the amount of funds available from donations to the department of the Nar. enlightenment. To develop regulations on this, a committee has been formed under the chairmanship. comrade min. adv. enlightenment. The committee operated from 1883 to 1891, collecting information and listening to experts. Now something new has come out of the committee, far beyond the limits of the dimensions previously assumed, namely: Instead of an educational institution, an entire women's university was formed, under the name of the Women's Medical Institute, which was supposed to be established in St. Petersburg, about which the most respected report of the Minister of Public Education had already been made in 1891. This institute is supposed to have a full university course, and it will no longer produce learned midwives, as was previously assumed, but female doctors, with full rights to treat all diseases. So, the matter comes down in 1891, even with a surplus, to the same thing that was destroyed in 1882. A charter was drawn up with an extensive staff, in which up to 52,000 rubles were calculated for the salary of the director, professors, etc. alone, not counting many other expenses - for the construction of the house, supplies, library, for the establishment of a boarding house, etc. These expenses have not even been calculated, but they will be enormous 4 . It is not known with what funds all this will be arranged, and already Minister N. etc. submitted the charter of the women's institute for approval by the State Court. Council, and on May 18 it was adopted by the united departments. What funds can you count on? It turns out that currently no more than 30,000 rubles are available. per year - interest on the donated capital. “Nothing,” they answer, “we can open the institute when half of the calculated amount (and even then not quite the budget of 52 thousand rubles) is provided, and then whatever God gives.” This decision will be greeted with delight by all supporters of the higher equality of women with men. Is it unsatisfactory for the government? One can doubt this. A strange-looking institution appears. It is called private, but is organized as a university and gives the right to the title of doctor. It opens without sufficient funds to provide itself with even the most necessary supplies. He has some kind of trustee committee of donors and other persons who will have to take care of providing him with material resources. Its charter is approved before an exact calculation of the entire amount that will be needed for its opening, and it is intended to open it only with some funds. It is clearly obvious what will follow, and what, no doubt, the instigators and champions of this whole affair secretly have in mind. They will open this institute with the permission of the government, invite professors, recruit girls, hold on somehow for a while and then turn to the government, which will then have to either close the institution, or support with funds from the state treasury (for a large sum) an entire women's university, not conceived by them, not by the government, but, so to speak, imposed on it - and imposed by whom? A circle of champions of women's emancipation, that is, a movement that is in opposition to government measures. We can say with confidence that the government will choose the latter path, because they will argue that it is impossible to dissolve the girls and destroy such a church of science, which has already been put into operation. And thus the opposition’s plan will be completely successful, and the government will find itself in the unusual role of being the executor of not its own will and not its own decision. The late Count D. A. Tolstoy foresaw all this in his response to the Minister of the People. enlightenment from April 19 1889 (placed in a printed note of the State Council) rebelled resolutely against the proposed institution (not yet foreseeing that it would degenerate not only into an institution for midwives, but into an entire women’s university). He rightly feared that this institution would be an intensified repetition of previous women's courses and would become, given the current mood of the youth flowing into the capital, a center of harmful agitation and a source of unrest. This is the state of affairs that is difficult for the government. To get out of it, it would seem necessary to reject the consideration and approval in the State Council of the charter introduced there, until at least such capital is formed, with interest from which an institution could be supplied, organized, put into operation and supported, according to the most accurate calculation, in the size not of a university, but of the kind of institution that was in mind in 1883. My trip to Pskov was extremely interesting and instructive. For a Russian person, an ancient Russian city, full of historical memories, seems like a shrine, and in this sense, Pskov comes first: here every inch of land is either watered with blood or bears the trace of a historical event. You drive, and they say: the assembly was agitated here; from here Alexander Nevsky went to the ice battle; here the citizens of Pskov met Vasily Ivanovich, the first destroyer of Pskov freedom; here the holy fool Nikolai, with a piece of bloody meat, stopped the bloodthirsty Terrible; and here are the relics of this holy fool in the cathedral; from here, from the bell tower, Stefan Batory looked at the attack on September 8; here is a fresh breach, laid in one night by Pskov citizens and women - and so on at every step. The old Pskov wall - a truly great shrine, similar to Sevastopol - Grozny did not dare to move his army, and some citizens defended their city against the entire army of the first commander Batory, to the surprise of all Europe, and for the salvation of all Rus', for if Pskov had not resisted, Moscow would not have resisted. And the people attributed this salvation not to themselves, but to the intercession of the Mother of God - in a desperate moment, when the enemies had already broken into the city and there was no salvation, they carried the ancient Pechersk icon along the walls, carried out the relics of Vsevolod-Gabriel from the cathedral - “Holy Prince, save your city yourself.” And a miracle happened - men, women and children drove away the strong knights. The people remember all this with fervent prayer, and every year from October 3 to October 15 a great celebration is held in memory of the siege - a procession from the Pechersky Monastery around the walls of the entire city, with a universal memorial service at the breach, and another liberation of Pskov in 1812, also attributed to the miracle of God's great mercy, is celebrated. Almost all the churches in the city are ancient, of the ancient type from the 14th and 15th centuries, with bell towers instead of bell towers. Two beautiful convents and one community of sisters with a school. The monastery is one and completely miserable; but this monastery is a jewel of distant antiquity, perhaps the only church building that has remained intact since the 12th century. This is the Spaso-Mirozhsky Monastery. But this jewel evokes a mournful feeling. Several years ago it was discovered that on the walls of the cathedral, under a layer of plaster, from top to bottom, there were frescoes of the 12th century, extremely remarkable. They began to wash off the plaster; The work was entrusted to Academician Suslov and began. The church is filled with scaffolding, and what has been revealed so far is excellent. But here’s the problem: about a year and a half ago, all work was interrupted, Academician Suslov left for other work, it seems, to Suzdal, and the business was abandoned. This business has not yet died, but here is what is regrettable and what confuses the Pskovites: the workers who carried out the work, probably to study the masonry of the old building, knocked off all the plaster of the outer wall of the cathedral, and it has been standing bare for two years now; So, the building, which has stood since the 12th century, is in danger of destruction. It is a shame to abandon the old world in this way, and it would be advisable to convince someone to at least cover the protruding stones with new plaster in order to protect the entire building from destruction. Another wonderful building in Pskov, that’s the name. Pogankin chambers, preserved, presumably, from the 14th or 15th centuries. This is a huge house that belonged to a wealthy merchant, perhaps from the Hanseatic era. The walls are of immense thickness, stairs, windows, doors - everything is intact; the arrangement of the rooms is very interesting; huge premises for storing goods, below are traces of the former mint. These chambers were purchased by the treasury in the last century and are now turned into a warehouse for the provision department; this circumstance may have protected them from destruction. On Sunday I happened to attend a touching ceremony, which can only be seen in our church and among our people. In the cathedral, it was necessary to recast a large bell, which had been familiar to all residents for about 200 years; Recently it has cracked and its sound has deteriorated. And so on Sunday, after the solemn vespers, which was served by the bishop, farewell to the bell took place. A great crowd of people gathered. After Vespers, the cathedral archpriest said a wonderful word in which he explained what this bell meant, which had been calling the people of Pskov to prayer for 200 years. After that, everyone went out to the square and, in farewell, struck the bell three times solemnly, then they untied their tongue and lowered it from the bell tower. In Pskov, it was a pleasure for me to meet pleasant, kind and sympathetic people, starting with the governor. A particularly pleasant impression was made on me by the zemstvo leaders of the Pskov district, who all gathered in the city for this occasion - all local noble landowners, native Russian people, from the healthy party of the Pskov zemstvo, which in the past was distinguished by its liberal mood. I spent a whole pleasant day in the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, which I had long wanted to see as the oldest stronghold of Russian Orthodoxy and the Russian state in that region, similar to the Trinity Lavra. God grant that one day Your Majesty will have the opportunity to become acquainted with this monastery and with Pskov in general. Please read a few pages about the Pechersk monastery, which are also attached. They are very interesting and depict the historical importance of this place. The monastery has fallen into extreme disrepair in recent years, and therefore it was still desirable to explore it. Now that he has been taken from the control of the bishops and entrusted to a new archimandrite, a man of business, he is coming into order; and the new Pskov-Rizhskaya railway. the road brought him closer to the city and made the path easier for the pilgrims. In the vicinity of the monastery it was necessary to see the so-called settlements. “half-believers” and visit some schools. This tribe of Half-Believers is very interesting: the descendants of Chudi, who settled here near the monastery and under its roof since the 14th century. They preserved their language, different from both Latvian and Estonian, and, having been baptized long ago, they unshakably maintained Orthodoxy and love for the Pechersk Monastery, despite the increasing influx of Lutheran-Latvians around them with kirks, pastors and schools. A healthy, tall and beautiful tribe; women wear original costumes - large silver plaques on their chests, hung with old coins. They don’t know Russian well, especially women, and now Russian schools are especially needed for them, which are being opened. Among the Russian children, the half-religious ones soon learn the language, and I have designated two, very capable ones, for admission to the theological school at their request. The surroundings of Pskov are very interesting, very picturesque. When you stand on the ruins of ancient walls, behind the cathedral, as they call it. Detinets, there is an extensive picturesque view of the river from all sides. Great and far away, with many churches. There are now up to 50 of them in the city, but during the siege there were 366, and foreigners were amazed at the wealth of the city, considering it one of the most famous in Europe. My other, equally interesting trip was along the river. Great to Lake Peipus and to the islands, three in number, where a large population of fishermen lives in a small space, without arable land, living by catching smelt, which is abundant in Lake Peipsi. On each island, the entire population with all the small fry of boys and girls accompanied us to the grove, and to church, and to school. Thank God, this year the Pskov province is one of the happy ones, in the hope of a good harvest - and everyone is cheerful in this hope. But from central Russia, especially from the steppe strip, desperate, terrible news comes. In many districts of the Samara, Penza, Simbirsk provinces there is already famine, although it is scary to say this word, and bread prices everywhere are rising every day. Returning to St. Petersburg, I went straight to a mournful funeral. Voluntary Fleet inspector Bakhtin died after a serious illness. This is a big loss and will be difficult to replace. Bakhtin was in this business from the very beginning, and his entire economic organization rested on him. He was an honest, experienced and diligent man. God grant that the choice of his successor is at least successful. I dare to bother Your Majesty with this brief report about my trip, in the hope that during the journey through the skerries there may be an idle moment for her. May God bless Your Majesty and all his companions until your safe return. I decide to write to Your Majesty about disappointing subjects. If I had known in advance that Leo Tolstoy’s wife was asking for an audience with Your Majesty, I would have begged you not to accept her. What could have been feared happened. Countess Tolstaya returned from you with the thought that her husband in you has protection and justification in everything, for which sensible and pious people in Russia are indignant at him. You allowed her to place the “Kreutzer Sonata” in the complete works of Tolstoy. It was possible to foresee how they would use this permission. This complete collection consists of 13 volumes, which can be put on sale separately, the 13th volume is a small book in which small articles of the same spirit are placed along with the “Kreutzer Sonata”. They put this book on sale separately, and now its third separate edition has already been published. Now this book is in the hands of both high school students and young girls. On the way from Sevastopol, I saw it for sale at stations and for reading in carriages. The book market is filled with the 13th volume of Tolstoy. Moreover, he announced in the newspapers that he was allowing everyone to reprint and publish all articles from the latest volumes of his works, that is, all works of the newest, harmful, destructive trend. Recently, when he was objected to this statement, he replied that he did not care what effect his articles would have, since his conviction was firm. Tolstoy is a fanatic of his madness and, unfortunately, captivates and drives thousands of frivolous people into madness. How much harm and destruction came from it is difficult to calculate. Unfortunately, the madmen who believed in Tolstoy are just as possessed as he was by the spirit of indomitable propaganda and strive to put his teachings into action and bring them to the people. There are already many such examples, but the most striking example is the book. Khilkov, a guards officer who settled in Sumy district, Kharkov province, distributed all the land to the peasants and, based on a farm, preaches Tolstoy’s gospel to the peasants, with the denial of the church and marriage, on the principles of socialism. One can imagine the effect it has on the ignorant masses! This evil is growing and spreading to the borders of Kursk province, in an area where a restless spirit has long been noticeable among the people. It’s been almost 5 years since I’ve been writing about this to both the governor and the ministry, but I can’t achieve decisive measures, and meanwhile Khilkov has already managed to corrupt the entire population of the village of Pavlovka and neighboring villages around him. He sends out harmful leaflets and brochures both near and far, which the peasants believe. The people are completely behind the church: in two parishes the churches are empty, and the clergy are starving and subject to ridicule and insults. There are 6,000 souls in the parish, and on major holidays, for example, Intercession, there were only 5 old women in the church. Under the influence of Khilkov, peasants refuse to take the oath for public positions. This situation threatens with great danger, and, according to the latest news, I most convincingly ask the minister to expel Khilkov, who is already boasting to the people: “They don’t do anything to me, therefore, I teach correctly.” Now I hope that the ministry will make the proper order. One cannot hide from oneself that in recent years mental excitement has increased extremely under the influence of the writings of Count Tolstoy and threatens the spread of strange, perverted concepts about faith, about the church, about government and society; the direction is completely negative, alienated not only from the church, but also from nationality. It was as if some kind of epidemic madness had gripped our minds. A completely distraught Solovyov joined Tolstoy, presenting himself as some kind of prophet, and, despite the obvious absurdity and inconsistency of everything he preaches, they listen to him, read him, applaud him, as was recently the case in Moscow. Circles of this kind are grouped especially in Moscow and, unfortunately, near the university, where three societies: legal, lovers of literature and new, psychological, gather an audience, mostly from inexperienced youth, to disseminate the most perverted ideas; they all have their own publications in the same direction. In Moscow, there are now liberal rich merchants and merchant women who support with capital both institutions of the spirit of emancipation (like women's courses) and harmful magazines. Thus, at the expense of one merchant’s wife, the magazine “Russian Thought” is published, unfortunately, the most widespread of all Russian magazines; it is in the hands of all the youth, and many heads are confused by it. Thus, the merchant Abrikosov (a candy establishment) supports the magazine: “Questions of Philosophy and Psychology,” which serves as an arena for Solovyov and partly for Tolstoy. In these circles there is a legend that all this harmful literature can count on Your Majesty’s protection against any restrictions on speech and writing, and this legend intensified especially after Countess Tolstaya was received by Your Majesty. Now these people have developed new fantasies and new hopes have arisen for working among the people on the occasion of the famine. Abroad, the haters of Russia, whose name is legion, socialists and anarchists of all kinds, base the wildest plans and assumptions on the famine - others are planning to send emissaries in order to stir up the people and rebel against the government; It’s no wonder that, not knowing Russia at all, they imagine that this is an easy matter. But we also have a lot of people, although not directly malicious, but insane, who, on the occasion of famine, undertake to introduce their faith and their social fantasies to the people under the guise of help. Tolstoy wrote an insane article on this topic, which, of course, will not be missed in the magazine where it is published, but which, of course, they will try to distribute in the lists. Recently, a wealthy Moscow merchant woman came to I.N. Durnovo, offering 300,000 rubles. for benefits, so that she will send her agents to distribute them. When she was refused, she announced that she would still send them without any permission. She was told that in this case the agents would arrest her. She left indignantly, and a few days later a telegram from St. Petersburg appeared in the London “Daily News” that the Minister of Internal Affairs. Affairs ordered the arrest of society agents for the distribution of benefits... All this shows how much caution is needed. The year is very difficult, and the winter ahead is especially difficult, but with God’s help, perhaps we will survive and recover. Forgive me, Your Majesty, for disturbing your peace in Livadia with such news and such thoughts; but it seemed to me useful to report to you about some circumstances that might not have come to your attention. I dare to bother Your Imperial Majesty with my present concern, since it also applies to church affairs. Today I heard about the proposal to take Prince Shakhovsky from Revel and transfer him to Kursk. This news confused me and will undoubtedly confuse all Russian leaders in the Baltic region. I am sure that this movement will have an unfavorable effect on Russian affairs in these outskirts. Direction of the book. Shakhovsky had long been identified and it was very important that for the local German population he was the personification of the steady principles of the new Russian policy. They began to get used to him and, even when irritated, gave him justice. Nevertheless, it is known that representatives of the Estonian nobility in every possible way wanted to get rid of him and more than once bothered about this by spreading rumors about him in different strata of society. Now his translation will undoubtedly be interpreted in the Baltic region as a victory over the Russian party and as a turn in government policy, and will discourage all Russian leaders. The transfer of Sinyagin to Moscow had already somewhat upset the friendly action of the administration in the three provinces, and the transfer of Prince. Shakhovsky will upset him even more, because he was still considered the main figure, in the Russian sense. I think it would be more careful to let him finish what he started. On the outskirts of Russia, strong administrators are even more needed than on the inside. I cannot help but fear that with his removal, the business that he led for 7 years will be upset: there is no doubt that the people whom he attracted to the business from the very beginning and gathered around him (and this is a considerable merit of his) will disperse after him. New people will come, whom I don’t know whether his successor will be able to tidy up and guide. And experience, unfortunately, shows us that the successor, for the most part, tries not to continue the work of his predecessor, but, on the contrary, approaches him with criticism and tries to put his new one in the place of the old one. And this should be especially feared in the case of the Baltic administration, which is just being established. But in such a matter as the Baltic region demands, the administration will do little else if it confines itself to only orders, instructions and decisions. It is necessary to plant in the region such institutions that could show examples of Russian Orthodox and national culture in the local population and arouse sympathy for themselves. In this regard, the book. Shakhovskaya, together with his wife, laid a good foundation for an institution that promises to bring abundant fruits, but, having begun to develop, may die out without them. I mean the women's community founded by Prince. Shakhovsky in Chevva and now transferred to Pyukhtitsa, where a monastery should arise from it. This community has already managed to attract general sympathy with its worship service, hospital, and school with a shelter for children; princes Shakhovskaya, with the assistance of her late mother Maria and other people, managed to attract zealous and active women to this institution and she herself constitutes its soul. The matter was completely successful and to such an extent that the owner of Pyukhtitsa, Dikhof, who had previously been strongly at enmity with the community, now fell in love with it so much that he donated to it the unfinished Lutheran church, which he had previously barely agreed to give up for 10 thousand rubles. So, if the Shakhovskaya spouses leave the region, this important institution for the Russian cause will have to be shaken, since the nuns and teachers gathered by Princess Shakhovskaya will hardly be left without her... I apologize to Your Majesty that I dare to submit all these considerations to your favorable discretion. Tomorrow, in all likelihood, the Minister of the Interior will report to Your Imperial Majesty on the outcome of the unfortunate story that played out in Warsaw in the spiritual department. To examine cases regarding requests for the affiliation of persons descended from former Uniates to the Orthodox Church or the Catholic Church, there are mixed commissions, whose decisions are subject to approval by the spiritual consistory. Recently it was discovered that a gang of swindlers had formed among the officials of the consistory, which, in connection with some Polish lawyers and priests, took money from petitioners for the successful completion of the case at their request. As usual, money was taken from both the right and the wrong. The main instrument of this lawlessness was the deacon of the castle church, Rodkevich, who was in charge of the proceedings of these affairs in the consistory, and the members, out of trust in him, sometimes signed without reasoning what he presented to them. The Governor-General recognizes that it is inconvenient to send this case to judicial proceedings, that is, to publicity, and proposes to end it administratively, namely, to expel the perpetrators from the local region to the disposal of the administrative authorities. The Holy Synod has already made a possible order within the limits of its power. Namely, all members of the Warsaw consistory were dismissed from their positions for neglect of their duty and replaced with new ones. As for the main culprit, Deacon Rodkevich, who had already been demoted by the Warsaw spiritual authorities to clerics, he, by order of the synod, will be exiled to the fortress of the Suzdal Spaso-Evthymius Monastery and there deprived of his rank. The two Quakers who submitted the address to Your Majesty are known to me. They visited me on October 16 and exhausted me with a long conversation. These are monomaniacs who come from time to time to enlighten Russia. One of them came from Australia. He says that while living in Sydney, one night he heard a voice: “Go to Russia to preach Christ.” And he left immediately. Another Quaker, from Glochster, joined him in England. This latter says about himself that he is with his comrade, like a faithful dog. “No,” the other objected to this, “you are much more to me than a dog.” In vain I explained to them that there are no wild people living in Russia, that we have a church and Christ is preached; that free propaganda of all sects and all teachings is not allowed in our country. They all stand their ground. What would you do, how would you begin to preach among the people, having no idea about them and not knowing the language? And to this they do not give a definite answer, but only say that they want to establish freedom of preaching and ward off persecution for the faith. Having freed myself from them, I sent them to Sabler and to Prince. Kantakouzena, whom they tormented with similar conversations. It seems that Plehve had them. Of course, writing them to Your Majesty does not require any response. I advised them to leave here as soon as possible, but I see that they are still living here. I have no doubt that they have already entered into a conversation with Countess I. A. Tolstoy, who willingly receives all sorts of eccentrics from England, and with various ladies of Pashkov’s circle, who are here conducting insane propaganda among the poor population. Petersburg, November 10, 1892 Knowing how busy Your Imperial Majesty’s time is, I refrain from asking permission to appear in person. I consider it my duty to report that the current condition of the Metropolitan of Moscow does not give hope for a speedy recovery. He is unable to consciously manage, and business is already stagnating. Therefore, today the synod sent a decree to the senior vicar, Bishop Alexander of Dmitrov, to temporarily take over the administration of the diocese. Quite often interesting news comes from America. Thank God, for the first time a wise and caring bishop appeared there, and therefore things revived. But its situation is difficult, because there are almost no reliable people at all, and it is difficult to find people willing to go there. There is a lot to unravel and reconcile the errors and omissions of the past. I very much regret that our new envoy did not see me. But I find great help in the intelligent, educated and kind American envoy White, with whom I often see. Among the Russian Galicians there, a strong movement towards Orthodoxy has arisen and is intensifying. Our difficulty is that we have to set salaries for the priests of new parishes. Recently a new parish was formed at Strittor, near Chicago, where 600 people joined. It is curious that they, unprompted by anyone, came up with the idea on December 6 to send congratulations to the heir to the Tsarevich on Angel’s Day and were very pleased with His Highness’s reply telegram: “Most happy to hear such good news. Thank new converted orthodoxes.” By order of Your Imperial Majesty, I had an explanation with Archpriest Pavlovsky, and this is the essence of what I heard from him. “According to the will of the late I.V. Rozhdestvensky,” says Pavlovsky, “I was appointed his executor, due to his special trust in me, which is also indicated in the will itself, which says that I am entrusted with the execution of all orders at the verbal or written statement of the deceased, and it is said that I must remember that I will give the only account of this to the Eternal Judge. Even during his lifetime, the deceased handed over to me a special, two-page handwritten note about his orders, where there was a special decree and about the diary that was left after him. I.V. took great care of this diary and during his lifetime he used to tell me that he did not write any memoirs, but wrote down something briefly when going to bed, and not for preservation, but, as he said, to warn himself in the future from previous mistakes. He took care that after his death this diary (about 30 notebooks in total) would not fall into the wrong hands, and then in a special note he expressed his will that these notebooks would serve me for his biography, which he allowed me to write, and then he insistently demanded that I burn them. Upon the death of I. V-cha, I immediately began to execute the will. We had to hand over some things, icons, etc. to the grand dukes. For this purpose I came to V. book Sergei Alexandrovich (in 1882). At this meeting in. the prince asked me: is it true that after Iv. V. left the diary, and when I answered in the affirmative, V. book asked if it was possible to give it to him to read, and expressed that he was especially interested in the time when I.V. was with the young princes in Gapsala. Returning home, I selected 10 notebooks dating back to this time and handed them over to Vladimir. to the prince. More than a year has passed since that time, but he did not return the notebooks to me. prince, and without them I could not begin to compile the biography. Then I asked Vera Perovskaya to remind me about them. to the prince. After a while, Vera Perovskaya gave me the answer that he had. The prince instructed Arsenyev to explain to me about the notebooks. Following this, I received an invitation from Arsenyev to come to him in the naval corps. This meeting left me extremely perplexed. Arsenyev spoke to me in a decisive tone and began to demand all the notebooks from me, saying that I was obliged to give them back as a loyal subject. I answered him that it was not for him to teach me about the duty of a loyal subject, which I taught to a whole generation and could still teach him. If the Grand Duke had turned to me himself, or you (addressing me) had asked me, I would not have had any difficulty giving it to him, but I refused to give it to Arsenyev precisely because he could read what was written there, and I was obliged to hide the notebooks from all strangers, moreover, I knew that there were passages in the notebooks relating to Arsenyev. After this explanation, I decided to directly carry out the will of the will, and burned all the other notebooks.” “About 10 years have passed since then. I was worried about the thought that they were still staying with V. Prince's notebooks, not destroyed. Then (last December) I decided to remind the Grand Duke about them again through my maid of honor Kozlyaninov. Kozlyaninova later told me that this was a reminder. the prince only changed his face and stepped aside.” Here is the content of what I heard from Rev. Pavlovsky; he certifies that he has declared the absolute truth, and asks me to justify him before Your Majesty. If, he says, the Emperor had then asked me for these notebooks, even through you, I would have immediately given them back. I asked him to bring me an authentic note from I.V. Rozhdestvensky and his will. I saw both today and, knowing I.V.’s manuscript, I was convinced of its authenticity. I am enclosing an extract from the original note regarding the diary. This note was given to Pavlovsky in an envelope on which was written in the hand of I.V.: “To my executors - Archpriest Pavel Vasilyevich Lebedev (he died before the death of the testator) and Leonid Andreevich Pavlovsky - my orders according to my spiritual will.” Pavlovsky says that he himself did not read the entire diary, which for many years consisted of short notes, but only skimmed some of it (since he did not start compiling a biography). I.V. was a reserved person and therefore, according to Pavlovsky, would not allow himself to spread himself. At my suggestion, Pavlovsky brought me a letter in which he certifies that no one has read this diary and no copies have been made from it. Petersburg. April 27, 1893 Your Excellency, dear sir Konstantin Petrovich! Regarding the fate of the diary of Archpriest Ioann Vasilyevich Rozhdestvensky, who died on October 10, 1882, I have the honor to inform Your Excellency the following: Ten notebooks of this diary were presented by me on December 7, 1882 to His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, at his urgent request. After some time had passed, I made a humble request to return to me these notebooks, necessary for the biography of Archpriest I.V. Rozhdestvensky, which I intended to compile, but Vice Admiral Arsenyev told me that the notebooks of the diary could not be returned to me. Given the impossibility of using for the biography of Archpriest I.V. Rozhdestvensky the source that he himself indicated in his handwritten note to the executors, I, in accordance with the same note, which I had the honor to present to Your Excellency in the original for reading, and a copy of which I am enclosing, destroyed all the remaining notebooks of Archpriest I.V. Rozhdestvensky’s diary. “I bear witness to my priestly conscience” that no one read this diary and no one made any copies from it. I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and zealous worshiper. Archpriest Leonid Pavlovsky From a handwritten note from Archpriest Ioann Vasilyevich Rozhdestvensky to the executors. My notes (diary) and surviving letters from various persons, as being of no interest to anyone except me, should be destroyed. In the bishop's letters there is something worthy of memory later, and in my diary there are notes that are not devoid of general interest and are suitable for my biography, but who has the leisure and diligence to sort through all the rubbish and make a serious choice? Regarding the diary of I.V. Rozhdestvensky, the idea comes to me to declare in advance before Your Imperial Majesty that, since I moved here from Moscow and entered into an indispensable and varied work, I have not had the custom of writing down everything that happened to me and what I witnessed. And not because I considered it unnecessary or dangerous, but simply because I didn’t find the leisure or time for it and I still can’t understand how people who are busy with business manage to write down the day’s incidents, conversations and judgments. I’m busy during the day, and by night I’m so tired that I don’t have the strength to write about myself. I write down every day only the names, who was with me, who I was with, what meetings were, only for a practical purpose, that is, to remember when names and numbers are needed. Therefore, there is no reason to fear that after my death anything like this will remain. True, in recent years, especially since the 70s, I have been a witness, and partly a participant, of many important events and could have written down many interesting things, but I never had time to do this, moreover, the more important the events, the more difficult it is to describe them, and in the last years of the past and in the first time of the new reign, everything that I saw produced such a strong excitement in me that I would not have the strength to write any chronicle with a pen in hand. This same excitement, with heartache about many things, did not allow me to convey my impressions to anyone, of course, except for my wife, who, like me, kept them deeply in her soul. There was only one person who was very close to both of us - the late Katerina Fedorovna Tyutcheva. It was to her alone that I wrote to my heart during the troubled era of 1880–1881, and these letters constitute the only material of my impressions. After her death, this correspondence was returned to me, and I intend to someday, having sealed it, give it to the Public Library for safekeeping. Your Majesty remembers that in the first years of your reign you placed close trust in me. I actually have traces of it, but not in the form of any notes. These are various kinds of papers that characterize the era with its unrest, partly everything that you sent me, and your notes. I don’t keep anything from my letters, because I write everything straight blank. All these materials are unknown to anyone except me, but I collected them over the years into folders, of which I have several, with the inscription: "Novum regnum". This is the only thing that will remain after me, as historical material, and I will be ready to hand over all this to a safe place right now. I am writing about this for this purpose. I have already become old and probably won’t stay long, - and in general too 3/4 of my life has already been lived, and a person can die suddenly, and I wouldn’t want my wife to be bothered after me with searches for papers of political significance. In addition to what was stated above, I hasten to add before the courier’s departure that an investigation into the attempt on my life is being carried out. The young man excites extreme pity, all sick, exhausted and, apparently, weak-minded, upset by his nerves. Having locked himself up at first, he confessed the next day in a conversation with the investigator, but when asked about what prompted him to such an act, he gives a strange answer: he was so exhausted by illness that he sought death and chose this attempt, which could lead him to execution, as the way to achieve this. Such an explanation either indicates an extremely frustrated imagination, if it is sincere, which can be doubted, but if it is invented, then there must be another motive. After lying in the hospital for 2 1/2 months, he went straight from there to carry out the assassination attempt. If he served, moreover, as an instrument of third-party suggestions, then, the question arises, where did they come from and where did they appear - in Pskov or in the hospital? Yesterday, when I arrived at the committee, I found all the city ministers in the greatest confusion about the new decree sent for publication. Today I was only able to familiarize myself with the contents of this decree, and due to my loyal devotion, I cannot resist confessing to Your Majesty my greatest embarrassment and fear. As for the general idea of ​​the decree - that is, the establishment of the inspection department - no one would consider themselves entitled to object to Your Majesty's will, once it is expressed. But in the wording of this decree there is Article 8, which gives the entire institution a special meaning that is difficult to understand. It is difficult to understand that this edition expresses Your Majesty’s true thought. I cannot help but be amazed that the persons who brought the decree to your signing did not report to you every word, every phrase, so that the meaning and meaning of each word, which should receive the force of a law to be executed, could be weighed. In fact, this is what the wording of Article 8 means: that the Emperor, leaving in place the ministers he has chosen, expresses in the law itself a direct distrust of them, limiting them to the essential condition of any government, that is, the right to elect and appoint subordinate instruments of the executive power, and subject every appointment to the verification of a special tribunal, according to the report of which every appointment, throughout vast Russia, to the last lowest ranks, may be lacks approval. Thus, ministers are transformed from a spiritual instrument of the government, invested with royal trust, into a mechanical enforcer, deprived of power and responsibility inseparable from power. In such a situation, the very exercise of power becomes impossible for the minister, and a terrible principle of anarchy is introduced into the state mechanism. It cannot be, it is impossible and it is inconceivable that such was the thought of Your Majesty. I dare say: what is written in this decree is not what you ordered to be written. It cannot be that the supreme power itself, in the face of the people, establishes the beginning of anarchy. The matter seems to me so important that I dare to say: all of Russia will be embarrassed by this edition of the 8th article of the decree. I dare to assure Your Majesty that there has never been such a law in any state or in any legislation. And when this 8th article is announced in Europe, it will produce amazement: in some - extreme embarrassment, in others - gloating. In Russia, even now, there are complaints from everywhere that the authorities are shaken, that their springs have weakened. And the supposed rule of the 8th article will result in a decisive vacillation of the authorities. Please, Your Majesty, draw attention to the practical consequences of this rule. All subordinate ranks, appointed by ministers and local authorities, are called upon, each in his own circle, to act with the authority with which they are vested. They receive their power from the sanction of a higher power and before receiving it they cannot act with the confidence of power. Now what will be the position of even a police official appointed in Siberia by the governor's authority - until, perhaps in a year or more, an order for his approval comes from St. Petersburg? What if, instead of approval, you get a paper from the inspection department (as happens with awards) stating that the Highest permission was not followed? How to understand then and to what extent to recognize those actions, orders, sentences that followed from him? And if he was sent by his superiors to serve in a distant land, at whose expense should he be returned? It may also happen today that an official is appointed in violation of the rules on ranks and forms, and the appointment may be declared invalid; but until that time he was still the legal authority, and his actions retain their force. What can we say then about appointments that, for the sake of state security, require immediate authority - and the need for this is now often encountered. The position of the Minister of the Interior, in particular, will become truly bleak and simply impossible under the new rule. The same applies to dismissal from service. Nowadays the law gives the authorities the saving right to get rid of worthless officials, from careless, from unfit, from bribe-takers, who cannot be directly exposed. They are dismissed by order or upon request. Now the dismissal of such people before approval from St. Petersburg also remains unknown. But what if, in similar cases, the paper turns out that there was no approval? Then the entire authority of the authorities is completely undermined. What else can we say about appointments in the field of pedagogy, in educational institutions, where one teacher or director constantly has to be replaced by another and immediately dismissed teachers who are unreliable and harmful in moral and political terms? What turmoil will happen in this area when appointments and dismissals throughout Russia fall under the same rule! I dare to point out another great danger that threatens extreme demoralization of the whole matter. In theory, all appointments, dismissals, etc. come from the Supreme Authority. But this is just a fiction, because, without a doubt, Your Majesty cannot have a separate consideration about the individuals in the immense mass of officials from all over Russia. The manager will present the reports, but he, too, is in almost the same position relative to this mass. However, he has the right to object, to present his veto against the assumptions of ministries and local authorities. What will it be based on? At reports from your office? But this office, like all offices, is not immune from its inherent ulcers - partiality, patronage, slander and, finally, bribery. What if, in the interval between the assumption and the confirmation, these petitions, ingratiations, gossip, complaints, accusations and, as usual, offerings begin to contact the office? At this point the most disastrous exploitation of local appointments may develop, and the office of the inspectorate department may turn into a bogeyman of ministers. Sorry, Your Majesty. In the past, you honored me with trust when I dared to contact you with warnings about what, in my deep conviction, threatened a misunderstanding or mistake in the mind of Your Majesty. Do not be angry now for my writing - I think that you do not doubt its impartiality even now. Order it, for the sake of truth, for the sake of it. for the public good - I dare say, for the sake of the glory of your name - to delay the publication of the decree until the entire wording of it, especially in Article 8, has been strictly revised. If this article appears, as it is, in the form of a law, it will be difficult to give it a decent interpretation in a different sense! Here is the literal text of Article 8 of the decree: No official of a civil department can be considered appointed to or dismissed from a position until the Supreme Commander has issued an order to that effect. But the authorities in charge, on whom the assignment to the position and dismissal from it depend, are expected to continue to fill vacant positions at their own discretion, within the limits of the power granted to them, as well as to release them from the duties of the positions (?) and allow them to hand over the affairs, with the fact that the persons appointed by the indicated procedure are considered appointed only if the appointment is confirmed by the Highest order, and this appointment should be considered from the time when it took place an order to assign this person to perform the duties of his position; persons dismissed in the manner explained may be issued a certificate no earlier than the date of dismissal issued by the Highest Order. Your Majesty already knows that in the Ural army in recent years there has been a strong movement towards unification with the Orthodox Church on the basis of common faith. This movement does not stop, thanks to the reasonable measures of the chieftain and the activities of the missionary Xenophon Kryuchkov. Your Majesty's gift - a camp church - also greatly excited the population of the Ural region. The description of the celebration that took place on this occasion in Uralsk is widespread among the Cossack troops, especially in Tersk, and everywhere arouses sympathetic talk. I am pleased to report to Your Majesty that now a similar movement is arising in the Terek army, which, through the guards, is placed closer to the palace. And the Terek army was always distinguished by stubborn fanaticism, even in the person of the village atamans and the generals themselves. For a long time, a very long time, since 1816, we have been working on the construction of an Orthodox Edinoverie church in the village of Chervlenaya, where a handful of new Orthodox Christians were suppressed by a mass of fanatical schismatics, who had their own 2 churches with bells there. The place for the church had long been allocated, but it was overgrown with grass and weeds; the crosses placed on it since 1817 have long since rotted and were replaced three times. All efforts were frustrated by rough opposition, not so much from the Cossacks as from the village authorities; and the Terek atamans, due to some kind of superstitious fear of the mass split, refused their assistance. But the construction of an Orthodox church there was extremely important in this particular place, and there was no money. The Orthodox Cossacks are poor, and all my efforts to beg money from the Minister of War from military capital were in vain. But, thank God, last year a kind man, Prince Nikolai Peter. Meshchersky, sent 10,000 rubles at my disposal. to build a church where it is desperately needed. Since spring, things have been in full swing, thank God, without engineers who would have brought the consumption figure to incredible proportions. The plan was ready, and I entrusted the matter to the same Kryuchkov, who purchased the timber and all the materials in Astrakhan and delivered it all 500 miles with great difficulty to Chervlenaya. Now the church is almost completely ready and will cost about 8 thousand. Construction had just begun when the entire population became animated and took a hearty part in it, not excluding even the schismatics. It is noteworthy that Kryuchkov tells me, who just recently arrived from there and from the village of Prochno-Okopskaya, which served as the main stronghold and center of the split in the Terek army. It is there that a strong movement towards unification arises - it is necessary to build a church there too. Until now, they had a false bishop, Silouan, a simple, illiterate man, but extremely arrogant. Moving from the local villages to the Don and from there to here, greeted with honor by the village authorities, he openly served with a council of 12 priests and even had the audacity to decorate himself with the ribbon of Anna of the 1st degree. Fortunately, they stop believing him, and voices are already being heard, especially from among the guards, that it is better to be in the same church with the Tsar and under the right bishop. I was born in Moscow, in the family of a Moscow professor. university. My father had 11 children, all of whom were raised through the labors of their father. He was raised in a pious family, devoted to the Tsar and the Fatherland, and hardworking. My father took me, his last son, to St. Petersburg and managed to enroll me in the School of Law in 1841. I completed the course in 1846 and settled in my home in Moscow, serving in the Senate. By nature, not at all ambitious, I did not look for anything, did not ask for anything, content with what I had and my work, devoted to intellectual interests, I did not look for any career and throughout my life I did not ask for any position, but when I was able, I did not refuse any work or any official assignment. In the 50s, Moscow University, having become depleted of legal professors, turned to me, and I did not refuse, remaining in the service in the Senate, giving lectures there, 8 hours a week, for 5 years. When reforms began following the death of Emperor Nicholas and the work of various commissions began to boil in St. Petersburg, they called me back there, but I refused to venture into the unknown sea of ​​new work, which frightened me. But, finally, there was no avoiding it. In 1861, Count Stroganov began to call me to teach legal sciences to Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich. Out of a sense of patriotism, I could not refuse and moved to St. Petersburg for a whole year. This decided my future fate fatally. In 1863, I was invited to accompany the Tsarevich on a trip to Russia. I also became known to the court. At the end of the trip, I returned to Moscow to my studies and dreamed of staying here. But God wanted it otherwise. The Tsarevich died, mourned by all of Russia. The new crown prince, having heard good things about me from his late brother, wished to have me with him to teach. I could not evade and moved to St. Petersburg in 1866 to live and serve. Here I had the opportunity to consistently conduct classes with V. book Vladimir, and with Tsarevna Maria Fedorovna, and with V. book Sergius, and even with V. book Nikolai Konstantinovich. I became known in ruling circles, they began to talk about me and give exaggerated importance to my activities. I found myself, without any fault of mine, in an atmosphere of lies, slander, rumors and gossip. Oh, how blessed is the man who does not know all this and lives quietly, unknown to anyone in his work! The Tsarevich treated me sympathetically and showed me confidence. I became a familiar face in the Anichkov Palace. But at that time, none of the ministers and ruling officials had contact with the crown prince, and this environment was fed by all sorts of rumors and gossip about his character and mood. They didn’t know me either and harbored suspicions about some kind of influence I had on the Tsarevich, and to the Tsar the then temporary workers - Count. Shuvalov, Valuev, etc., inspired the same suspicions. On the other hand, due to the same opinion about me, people, while condemning and scolding me on the side, tried to be kind to me. Without any petition on my part and without any participation of the Tsarevich, I was appointed a member of the State Court. Council and here he got the opportunity to express out loud to everyone his opinions on state issues - opinions that he never hid from anyone. So, little by little I acquired a reputation as a stubborn conservative - in opposition to new directions and trends of state liberals. By the end of the reign, these influences and trends acquired dominant significance. Due to general discontent, an insane desire for a constitution began, that is, for the destruction of Russia. This became a kind of infection in their minds: the Russian people, who still retained their reason and memory of the past, waited in fear of what would happen, for the late Emperor had already been completely persuaded to take this disastrous step. Such was the mood that even the disaster of March 1st did not bring anyone to their senses. On the contrary, a handful of people who held power in their hands were in a hurry, especially in the very first days after the disaster, to achieve their goal. The young Sovereign, taken by surprise by the terrible event, seemed to them unable to resist - none of them knew him, and they all hoped to take him into their own hands and control him. His situation was terrible - he did not know what to do and what to do to get out of it. I saw how passions flared up, and I was directly afraid for his safety - needless to say, how afraid I was for the fate of Russia. And, indeed, in order to get out of this situation, I convinced him to take a decisive step - to publish a manifesto on April 29, 1881. Everyone was more or less aware of my participation in this matter. And from this fateful day for me, a feeling of anger towards me begins and continues, flaring up, feeding both in Russia and everywhere abroad on the general unsteadiness of minds, the gossip that now dominates in all circles of society, the ignorance of the Russian intelligentsia and the hatred of foreign intelligentsia towards any Russian power. Unfortunately, both here and there there is an inveterate opinion that in Russia, under autocratic power, there is certainly one or the other - one omnipotent person who controls everything and on whom everything depends. And this is the person everyone and everywhere began to consider me and still consider me - a person who always avoids any exclusive appropriation of any power to himself. Naturally, at first the young Sovereign, feeling lonely and confused, began to turn to me, to a person closer to him known and devoted. He consulted with me about people, and on a few occasions I had the opportunity to point out people to him: Baron Nikolai - for the people. education, on Count Dmitry Tolstoy - for min. ext. business, and, fortunately, I was not mistaken. When people spoke to me, I answered; when the sovereign entrusted me with work, I performed it. But that's it. Never once did I allow myself to beg for favors or appointments, etc., for anyone. But people imagined differently about me, and then I had to see a lot of human vulgarity in our society. People turned to me for favors and appointments; and when I answered that I do not interfere in these matters and cannot do anything except what concerns the business entrusted to me, they did not believe me and scolded me. On the other hand, the hatred of other people from the court and other spheres was aroused towards me, who sometimes happened to interfere with me in the implementation of various selfish plans. I saw my position very clearly. Despite all the trust the Sovereign had in me, I could foresee that it too could be shaken, and I knew by what suggestions the sovereigns were shaken by it. One has only to suspect a person of seeking dominance over the will and decision of the sovereign. Envy and intrigue are common in courtly spheres. The people who made up the usual society of the Anichkov Palace, not knowing me, not having direct communication with me, heard only conversations and anecdotes about me in the living rooms and, passing them on, managed to impress both the Empress Maria Feodorovna and, in part, the Tsar. I continued to carry out his instructions, but in recent years I already felt that something had been said to me. Without interfering with any affairs of other departments, I led a solitary life; however, despite all this, everywhere - both in Russia and abroad - I continued to be considered an all-powerful person, from whom everything comes, in Russia, and all and every order of the government, about which I had no idea, was placed on my account. From different corners of Russia, from Europe, from America, angry, threatening letters rained down on me, either from nihilists, anarchists, liberals of all shades, or from the Jews, who attributed to me personally all the restrictions, all the orders for their expulsion, and so on. A new reign has arrived, and all anti-government, false-liberal elements have been revived with new hope. Remaining almost the oldest of the old servants of the three reigns, I was ready to serve the new Sovereign in whatever way I could. But a different time has already arrived - the people around me and in government circles have all changed: people of a new generation, alien to the old traditions, the old orders, the past events. I myself have become weak. At the beginning of the new reign, I considered it my duty to sometimes speak to the young Sovereign about affairs and people, but this soon had to be put to an end, and I limited myself only to the affairs of the title entrusted to me, and the people around me and around the throne became more and more new - people of the new generation, many who knew me only from rumors and rumors about me. And, despite all this, not only were they not silenced, but the absurd rumors about me flared up and intensified, as if I was an all-powerful person in Russia. They did not subside even in the highest circles of society, judging the state of affairs only from newspapers and on the basis of chatter in living rooms, and in the growing circles of anarchists, socialists, radicals - both abroad and in Russia - I became, more than ever, a person standing in the way of all progress and the main culprit of all oppression, all persecution, the extinguisher of all light. This is the feeling of all the distraught youth now, both in the capitals and in all corners of Russia: a crowd of people who have no idea about the course of state affairs, about the springs of the administration, about affairs and about people, exposes me as the culprit of all that they have a reputation for - abuses, violence, retrograde measures, and shouts that in the name of freedom it is necessary to destroy me. From this prejudice, from this malicious idea towards me, I, innocent of anything that is attributed to me, am unable to get rid of it and am forced, of necessity, to endure it. You can judge how it spread everywhere when the unfortunate Lagovsky, who shot at me, appeared as its representative from a small circle in Samara. In his testimony, he directly explains that he wanted to exterminate me, as the main culprit of any restrictions that interfere with progress and freedom. It is curious that in the first place in the indication of my wines he puts: “spreads superstition and ignorance among the people through parochial schools.” From this, it is already clear in what ignorance and in what savagery of mind and heart this mass of half-educated or proletarians of science grows and develops, brought up on articles in liberal newspapers, on absurd proclamations, on underground pamphlets, on rumors and gossip passed on from mouth to mouth. And I am accused of a matter that I consider at the present time to be the most important and necessary matter for Russia - for the people are the whole strength of the state, and the people can be saved from ignorance, from savage morals, from debauchery, from the disastrous infection of absurd, outrageous teachings - can only be saved through the church and the school associated with the church. This is the fate of my life. And I believe that it is guided by providence, which, in addition to my will, often in spite of it, put me in a prominent position for a matter from which I had no right and could not evade. Letter No. 7 and some of the following have been omitted by the compiler The annual maintenance of the medical faculty in Tomsk costs the treasury 200,000 rubles. per year. (Note original)