The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-14 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF RUSSIA
FROM THE WAR.

BY AN EYEWITNESS.
(From Blackwood's Maya:inc.)
[The writer of the following statement left Russia,
where he had resided for many years, in the course of
the present summer.
It will be observed that he apologises for any defects
of style which appear in the narrative, on the ground of
the length of time during which he has been unaccus-
tomed to write his own language. No such defects will,
we feel satisfied, be found ; as the facts, so deeply inte-
resting in themselves, and so important in their bearing,
are told in plain sensible terms, leaving no doubt of the
writer's sincerity, and his desire to tell nothing but the
nab.]
Having recently left the interior of Russia, I think_
it
issy duty to lay before the public a plain statement of the
results already produced by the events that are now
passing. About the court and capitals I can give no
information, as I was only in them for a few days oon my
e
way home ; but all that I advance here
dre.lativoe
long,
particular part of the country I have_ laivde
thei 1
n s.honouf, on;
the truth, and to be relied on. I h
giving the same information to sore of the. highest per-
sonages in the kingdom soon after. my. arrival, and ap-
parentlyl they did not think it without importance ; so
have ventured to lay it before my country, trusting that
what has hitherto been dark will now appear in the
light of truth ; for I have put nothing down that did
not come under my own personal observation, or that I
did not obtain from sources on which I could rely. I
had thought of publishing a larger work upon Russia,
deterred by reading the books already published,
w but h
was i
c
h
showed me that I should be obliged to repeat
much that has been already written by abler pens, and
which may be relied upon ; I have therefore confined my.
self to what relates exclusively to the influence exercised
upon all classes in the interior by the war. There is,
doubtless, much left unsaid that might be of interest, but
of which I possess no information upon which I can de-
pend ; and, true to my resolve of only advancing what
I know to be facts, I have left nut all that is any way
doubtful. lam quite unused to writing for the public,
and have employed my native language so little of late
years, that I trust the garb hi which I have clothed my
truths will be excused if it be a little foreign in appear-
ance ; for the heart of the writer beats with a truly Bri-
tish enthusiasm, and breathlessly awaits the moment
when his country will have triumphed over allher enemies.
THE LANDED PROPRIETORS.
The persons who are the greatest sufferers by the pre-
sent war are thended proprietors. If the war continue
they will, for the greater part, be brought to ruin. This
will be seen by the following facts, which came under
my observation upon an estate where I Lave resided for
some years, and which I can give as an average speci-
men of the whole country. (It must be remembered
that I only speak of the south of Russia—of the north I
know comparatively nothing.) The estate in question
consists of about 40,000 acres of land, with about 1,300
serfs. Its principal productions are linseed, corn, and
woo], which are all sold for exportation by way of the
ports of the Azoff and Black Seas. These two seas hav-
ing been closed for some time, all the raw produce re-
mains rotting on the hands of the producer, with the
single exception of wool, which finds a ready market in
Germany, being transported overland through Austria ;
still the price diminished sensibly last year, on account
of the increased cost of transport. I will now proceed to
state the details of the losses experienced last year upon
this one property. The average income amounts to
about 6,0001., out of which 1,5001. has to be paid as in-
terest of the mortgage— for this, like most other
estates, is mortgaged to the Government. Last year
there were about 1500 quarters of linseed, which, sold on
the spot, would fetch upon an average lfis. per quarter.
Of this not a bushel has been sold ; SQ, on this article
alone, there is a loss of 1,2001. The wheat grown was
about the same quantity. The average price of wheat
is 12s. per quarter, and now only a limited quantity can
be sold at Bs. ; but, supposing the whole to be sold at
that pi ice, the loss will still amount to 3001. This,
however, is not the case, and the loss is not less than
5001. upon wheat. Last year the price of wool was,
upon an average, 15 per cent. below the usual price ;
in some instances there was a loss of 20 and 25 per
cent. ; the quantity sold usually fetched about
1.4001.—50 there was another loss of more than 2001.
Upon this same estate there are kept about 13,000
sheep, of which there are generally sold every year
2,000 for their tallow and skins, at an average price of
7s. a-head ; now, on account of the difficulties of ex-
porting tallow, the price is only 55., another 2001. out
of the pocket of the proprietor. It will be seen by the
foregoing statement, that the income of the possessor of
this one estate is diminished more than one-third, by
restrictions laid upon trade by the closing of the ports
of the Azoff and Black Seas ; and as this may be taken
as a good criterion of the whole southern part of Russia,
the loss is consequently something enormous. A few
of the proprietors, it is true, sold their produce, at
almost nominal prices, to merchants who speculated
upon the results of the Conferences at Vienna, and
bought up largely and transported the corn to the
different ports of the south, to be ready to take ztivan-
tags of the first opening of the trade, had the Con-
ferences led to the much-desired peace. The immense
quantities of corn destroyed during the late expedition
to the Azoff did not, as was stated, belong to the
Russian government, but was the ;property of private
speculators, among whom I know one who bought
largely in wheat in the month of March, transporting
it to Berdiansk, and I have no doubt he is a very large
sufferer by the late event.. Ido not assert, however,
that no portion of the corn belonged to the Imperial
government, but certainly not more than a fifth of the
whole quantity destroyed was intended for the use of
the troops, although it might have all been siezed for
that purpose later in the w:lr, under the name of rawN
Lary contributions.

theirt
wh at isa
arteearl.l y
Thefor wthaeri r
isuse,
as e ,r
iaenh de
pwpho ar
tt
n nf oi
try tf
oh ra t hoef
eutploycs to make money, because they make all their
demands upon the peasants without producing any writ-
ten authority from a superior officer, merely stating, in
their written or verbal orders, that certain articles are
required on such a date, and of course they are ready
without any demur or inquiry, as it may happen that
the Government actually, in this particular instance, re-
quires what is demanded ; then the man who sought
' ocular demonstration is considered refractory, and sent
to Siberia to improve his manners, and to serve as an
example to others, who, after this, will be ready to give
all that is required of them without inquiry.
Another exaction to which all the agricultural popula-
tion is subject, is the furnishing means to transport all
the munitions of war through the country. At the be-
ginning they were paid for this service in a kind of Go-
vernment check, called contremark, which was received
again at the treasury in payment of the poll-tax ; but
since August, 1854, this has been changed, and this ser-
vice is paid in money—i.e., not paid at all, for the em-
ployes pocket the money, which it is never prudent to
ask. The contremark was of no use to the employes,
consequently the service was always accurately paid,
but new the peasants get nothing but kicks and cuffs
for their trouble.

THE PEASANTRY.
The sufferings of the inhabitants of those villages
situated on the lines of march taken by the armies
that traversed the country from north to south, during
the winter of 1853-1854, were so intense that even
.the
soldiers themselves pitied them ; and it takes something
to touch the heart of a Russian soldier. The troops, in
order to obtain sustenance, were obliged to disperse them-
selves over a large tract of country, marching in a parallel
direction, and falling on the poor peasantry, whose stock
of winter provisions was only prepared for the wants of
their families ; like locusts, eating up everything, and re-
ducing the inhabitants to the greatest distress ; while the
male population, who generally earn something consi-
derable with their horses during the winter, in trans-
porting merchandise from one fair to another, was en-
gaged on the main road in the transport of artillery and
tumbrils, which, by the wise arrangements of the Rus-
sian Government, had to be dragged over a country co-
vered to the depth of six or eight feet with snow, upon
wheels ; so that tumbrils, which could have been drawn
easily by four or six horses if placed upon sledges, re-
quired twelve or fifteen to move them with their large
wheels imbeded in the snow. Huring a journey I was
obliged to make in February, 1854, I met more than 500
tumbrils transported in this laborious manner. It made
my heart bleed to see the treatment both horses and
peasants received at the hands of the soldiery who were
frequently obliged to use double, and even treble, the
number Of horses required on the level ground. Roads
had to be cut in some places through the snow, to admit
of the passage of the heavy artillery. The peasants are
seldom kept at this work for more than a fortnight to-
gether ; but they are frequently a hundred miles from
their homes, so that after an absence of a month they
return only to find their home swept clean by the hungry
warriors whose fighting materials they have transported
with so much difficulty. That many died of the artifi-
cial famine caused by these preparations for glorious
war, I have no doubt. The Russian soldier, too, is
mush imbued with a strong propensity for thieving, and
there is nothing he will not steal if the opportunity of
so doing should present itself. Finding all the houses
where they were billetted without the master, of course
many of the little articles of furniture were missing after
the visit. These things were generally taken to the next
halting-place and sold fur brandy, only, perhaps, to be
stolen again by the next party. It frequently happened
that soldiers and recruits met in the same villages,
and the number billetted in one house was so
great that the master and his family were obliged
to sleep out in the sheds with cattle, or upon
the snow, for slugba (as the peasants call the soldier)
must have his lodging. Nor were the sufferings of the
troops themselves less acute, marching as they did at
such an inclement season of the year. They strive, how-
ever, to enliven their dreary marches by songs and jests,
for in every company there is always a certain number
of singers, who march in front, led by a man with a
tambourine or an old violin, who dances, sings military
songs, of which the other singers take up the chorus, or
else he cracks jokes at any one's expense. It is a curious
sight to meet a party of soldiers in the midst of a snowy
desert, where nothing is to be seen but snow below and
snow above ; for the very air is impregnated with it.
These armed men are wending their way to destroy, or
be destroyed, as the case may be.

WORKING TRADESMEN.
Among those who feel the pressure of the war in the
towns, are the working tradesmen, such as tailors and
bootmakers. In all regiments there are a certain num-
ber of men who work for their comrades in time of peace,
making for them their clothing, boots, &c. ; but as now
all are called upon to bear arms, they have to quit the
needle and awl for the rifle and bayonet. The duty of
providing the troops with their grey greatcoats falls upon
the tailors, who are suffering enough from the depressed
state of all trades. They are supplied with so much
cloth or leather, as the case may be, and are required to
return a certain number of articles ready for use ; but
the materials have already passed through the hands of
the officials, who make their profit out of the affair by
keeping back for their own use a good per-tentage
of the materials, exacting at the same time the re-
quired number of articles. The poor tradesman has
to make good the defa:cations of this grasping
rapacity, out of his own pocket, besides the loss of
the labour he is compelled to perform. Before I
left the town where I was last May, I could not
get a pair of boots made, as all the bootmakers were
working upon this Government work, to the detriment
of their own interests and that of their customers. Far
this work they get a mere nominal price, the greater
part goes into the pockets of the same m,, ..tmeu
them of their ninth hat they can obtain no redress for
and look upon it as a necessary evil.

THE CONSCRIPTION.
I have attempted to show the losses that the present
war occasions the landowner, by the trammels it imposes
on trade ; we will now take into consideration the enor-
mous taxes he is subjected to, in order that the govern-
ment may be provided with means of carrying on the
war, or ruining him, which is synonymous. The most
severely felt tax at all times is the conscription. This
in time of peace does not take place oftener than once
a-year' and the number of recruits required is generally
seven from every 1,000 serfs ; but since the war broke
out there have been two conscriptions in the year 1854,
and already one in 1855, each of 12 in the 1,000, being,
for 18 months, 36 able bodied labourers out of every
1,000 males, old and young together. Ido cot know
what the proportionate number of able-bodied men there
is in 1,000 males, but the effective strength must be con-
siderably diminished when such a large number is taken
away. This is not all. When the recruits are sent to
the town to be examined and passed by the proper au-
thorities, there must be for every 12 men at least 18
more, in case the others should be rejected ; these are
sometimes kept away from their work two or three
weeks, without any indemnity whatever. By this state-
ment it will be seen that, during the last 18 months, the
possessor of the estate I have quoted above has given to
the government 47 conscripts, being the propoition of 36
in the 1,000 for 1,300, and lost the labour of about 70
men for the space of 14 days ; which latter loss, at 6d.
a-day, will be 241. 10s. without counting the entire loss
of 47 men for ever. But every proprietor is obliged to
pay a sum of money (about Si.) to provide the recruit
with an outfit and arm him ; this will give again a
sum of 8761. for the year and half. The southern
governments, in consideration of their vicinity to the seat
of war, are exempted from the militia of thirty in the
thousand, which is being raised in the northern go-
vernments. If they have not the militia, they are sub-
jected to exactions under the name of voluntary contri-
butions. In the spring of 1854 the estate was obliged
to send 40 oxen as rations for the troops then in the
Danubian provinces; at the same time there were re-
quired five waggons, with a pair of horses and a driver
to each, which are to be returned at the end of the war.
These were for the transport of baggage and troops upon
an emergency ; and it was upon tikein that the
armies who fought the battle of Inkertnal we
transported last autumn. lii the autumn of the same
year (1854) there were required half a, pond (18th.) of
biscuit from every male serf for the army, Which, for
1,300, would amount to 650 poods ; but the proprietor
offered 1,010 poods, which had to be made
anal de-
spatchedr in about three weeks. While the preparation
of the biscuit was going on, there came another order
for 10 waggons, with a driver and a pair of horees to
each, to be ready and delivered up to the authorities in
10 days, as the case was urgent. This was just before
news of the descent in the Crimea reached us. All these
exactions were made just at the time when the harvest
was going on—the end of August—so that the hands
were of the greatest consequence to get all the corn Many pereons ThilaEv e aeuxspBrleasNsedsOsLuDrplrEitse. at the smallness
killed on the part of the Russians after
housed before the autumnal rains broke up the roads of the returns ;sf
; hut, to any one who understands the
and rendered the transport impossible The num. an enaagse 1
ed,
while he
As willpnayot appear strange at all.
to send in returns of only a small proper-
The praestlcsete'!m? '
receivethis
ber of oxen required to transport the biscuit
months,
Russian -Lmen
greatthp
twenty pairs, which were absent nearly ,
eer
sgo remaindergenerals
1 are :ro
havee
ws supposed po
dpmoo
ns
lee dt
rhteeo.
as they had to carry it along distance after the-
htieoin.notfhtehfiekld'i,i
and a
4.ngland, remarved " '
and rations, to the benefit
roads were broken up, and when the mud was knee
dhethcoisloinneEl
dead men's treaterp Nor oorf issthere any daner of detec-
deep. A little later in the same year was required a
number of oxen again fur rations. Ido not remember _
loeft et
there any
colonels eat the
the exact number required but having sent so many
ng something similar
same thing before, and are practising
away with biscuits, and the murrain being very bad tion, for. the g
among the cattle at this time, instead of sending them, .
hile the subalt
the proprietor forwarded to the proper authorities 90/, at all times, w erns hoPe sorne day to be-
Innmony s. I kno •
come colonels themselve
w a instance of a man
a regiment, who, from the April of the present year, double the quantity commanding
year was required ; malt taking the field in the summer of last of his regi year up to
as I travelled through the country in the month of the end of last November, was in the habit
May, I saw thousands of tons piled outside the towns of sendir,
, two or three thousand roubles every week to his family'
for transportation to the army, which of course while he is known to possess no private fortune. All this
has to bo done by the proprietors and peasants of the money was of course squeezed out of the soldiers' rations
Crown. I met upon the road long strings of waggons and forage, for it is a cavalry regiment. The life of a
going to load with this biscuit, and stopped and talked Russian soldier is so miserable that I think half of them
I
with the drivers, who wer the chief part peasants would prefer to be killed to dragging ou such a wretched
belonging to the Crown. They lamented bitterly their existence. They are torn from their homes by the arbi-
hard fate, being obliged to leave their homes just as the trary hand of despotism, and made to form part of an
haymaking was about to commence ; and as they had immense machine called a regiment, which again forms
to perform a journey of some 1,500 versts, going and part of another called a division; but they have not the
returning, it would be late in the autumn before they remotest idea why they are made to execute certain
reached their homes again, and consequently too late to movements. The English officers who were taken pri-
make any preparations for winter. Many of them said goners at different times admired the severe discipline of
to me: “Batuslika fwe suppose that we are intended to the Russian army, little thinking that it v:as purchased
starve this winter . last winter we suffered enough while at the expense of every moral feeling ; for the soldier is
the troops Were pas'siog, but now we shall not be able to brutalised at the treatment he receives, every officer
provide anything for ourselves, for there are onlY the having the right to buffetand cuff him as he may
babas (old women) at home, and what can they do ?" think proper. told me, that
proper. An old cavalry officer once
The peasante of the Crown are subjected to many if
horse died there was a rigid inquiry into the
the same exactions as the ro rietors —I think to all off ca as
them, except only th P Pand them lam t tau se of his death; and if the least thing appeared
e waggors, about 0 show that it had been neglected, the subaltern who
not sure. I know that they had to provide the biscuit was in
just as their superiors had, and the oxen, too, for rations, rest ;
bexi.mand of the squadron was placed under ar-
il is, however, extremely difficult to as erta'n the amount death bosh if, on the other hand, a man died, on his
of contributions exacted from thesec poor, misca led fellow
lighroeported to the colonel he would say, 'Poor
free serfs ; for the employ6s by whom -they are I-min' counted for eZI he is in heaven ! " This may be ac•
aged exact so much from them for own use, nual sum to proyvidete3ough. The colonel receives an an-
saying that it is required for the service of every hoes affects direhorses fur his regiment, so that
tho Goverawut, that it is impossible to dietingweh coat him nothing !'
Thee y his pocket ; whereas the men
men are allowed meat by the
•

THE MERCHANTS:
The merchants are not subjected to such heavy losses
AS might be supposed, considering the perfect annihila-
tion of all external commerce. It is true they are obliged
to subscribe largely to the voluntary contributionsfor
the expenses of the war ; but as nearly all business is
carried on with ready money, they merely withdraw their
capital, and wait patiently the course of events. It is
among this class that the greatest number of patriots
is to be found ; for, as they understand no other lan-
guage but their own, and are strongly attached to their
country, not knowing any other, they get all their
information of what passes, from the highly-coloured
misrepresentations that are published for them by the
Pnssian government. They were enchanted with patri-
otic verses, that were to be found in all the Russian
papers, describing the prowess and victories (future ?) of
the holy Musoovite armies. Lori Palmerston is repre-
sented to them as a monster, and the author of the war.
In one of these poetical effusions his lordship is carica-
tured as a great warrior, who fights his battles on a
map with his forefinger. Since the battles of Alma and
lukerman these productions have become less frequent.
There is one that appeared in the spring of 1854, that I
must mention. It is an allegory, composed by an actor,
I believe ; and relates that a Russian mo/odetz (young
man) was going quietly on his way, when ho found his
passage stopped by three men—a turbaned Turk, a
bearded Frenchman, and a red-haired English merchant.
With a few swings of his powerful arm he made the
Turk and Frenchman bite the dust, while the English-
man was glad to escape the same fate by surrendering
the vontents of his pockets to this fine fellow. These
may serve as specimens of what is allowed to poison the
minds of those who can read ; while those who cannot
are excited by yet grosser fictions.
Since the beginning of the present year there has been
a great scarcity of silver and gold coin in the southern
provinces of the empire, though gold was very plenti-
ful last autumn. This scarcity may be accounted for by
the merchants withdrawing their capital from trade. As
few of them have any confidence in the paper circulation,
they availed themselves of the gold, then very plentiful,
which all disappeared in this way in a very few weeks.
A friend of mine, who was in Simpheropol in February,
wishing to change a 100-ruble note into notes of one,
three, and five roubles each, was obliged to pay 10 per
cent. for the exchange ; and he assured me that, if any
small article were purchased, the value of which did not
amount to a rouble, the merchant would rather lose the
sale than give coin in exchange, though he was perhaps
making a profit of 100 per cent. This state of things is
gradually travelling northwards. In Ekaterinoslav it was
the same is April ; and in Kharkoff, in May, there was a
great difficulty in procuring coin, especially gold and
the smaller silver money. Kharkoff is a large commercial
town, and the capital of the Ukraine. The issue of notes
ltitai:trecently been very great. All this tends to prove
every sinew is now strained to bursting to carry on
the war.

~ IL

Government three days a-week, except during the fasts,
and brandy on Sunday and great holidays. The officers
generally propose to the men to accept, instead of meat,
the money, and to provide themselves. To this, of
course, the poor fellows agree, as a proposal from an
officer is tantamount to an order ; but they never see
more than one-fourth of the money, which is disposed of
as follows :—The colonel takes one-fourth, the majors
commanding battalions another, and the captains of
companies a third, while the other goes to the soldiers
themselves ! This may account for the finding only black
bread in the knapsacks of the killed and wounded. I
have given these examples in order to show the system
under which these men fight so desperately, and which
prevails throughout the whole empire,--one vast system
of fraud, peculation, and pillage.