The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-15 00:00:00

INSURRECTION IN RUSSIA

The statement of an insurrection of the peasan-
try in the Ukraine is one of great interest, and the
accounts hitherto given are very various. The
Czos (a Polish paper published in Cracow) gives
the following aecount as the result of its special
inquiries :

"Carriers (probablydrivers of arabas) who were return-
ing from the Crimea through Podolia, narrated in the
neighbourhood of Mohilew that the French, although
they were fighting with the Russian troops, were by no
means ill-disposed to the Russian people, and wanted to
do away with all forced labour (villain aocage). On this
a deacon (a Pope not yet in full orders), in the village
of Moguslau, near Mohilew, having observed how little
effect the appeal of the Russian Synod in St. Petersburg
hast tad_ in rousing, this_people in 'the provinces of
Yolhynia, PerdOlia, and (fdrmetly
Polish) to take up arms for its faith and its co-reli-
gionists in Turkey, made the peasants believe that the
Synod had, in fact, addressed another appeal to the
people, in which the abrogation of the corvee was
proclaimed, and the fee-simple of the lands conferred on
the peasants who cultivated them. He assured them
that the great men who stood nearest the Emperor
had caused this address to be suppressed, but
that he .bad a copy of it. This document, of his
own concoction, he read to the peasants that were
already excited by the French news from the Crimea.
They proceeded at once to their Pope, and demanded
to have the genuine address of the Synod published,
and were of course informed there was no other than
the one already made known. In a number of villages
the excited peasantry began to maltreat their Popes,
and assembled together tumultuously, armed with scythes
and pitchforks ; but in no case were any threatening
demonstrations made against the land proprietors, the
lords of the manors. 'With the assistance of military,
acting energetically up to tl'e very sharp orders they had,
the dlsturbAnce was quieted-40 of the rioters lost their
lives, and about 200 of the more prominent were taken
priseners and sent to Siberia—the less prominent got off
with a plentiful dose of knout. The villages in question
remain occupied by soldiery, and the whole state of
feeling in Lesser Rus,ia is described as sultry and
threatening."

The 13)eussische Correspondenz favours in with
the following statement, which flavours strongly of
official inspiration :

" The disturbance was confined to the estates of the Pu-
liih Count Branicki, and some of the neighbouring domains,
and is principally traceable to the hatred of the peasants to
some of the lords of the manors. The peoplehad misunder-
stood the recent manifesto of the Emperor; they rose en
masse for the purpose of entering the ranks of the Militia,
declaring they would rather serve the Emperor as
soldiers than continue to serve their lords. The
movement caused the greatest apprehension among
the landed proprietors of those parts, whose
religion, language, and race differ from those of the
people. As no conciliatory and pacific means availed
to bring back the misguided people to their work,
military force was obliged to be called in, if a repeti-
tion of scenes that took place not so long back in Galicia
was to be prevented. This proves that they are perfectly
in error who, i❑ the above-mentioned disturbances, re-
cognise a Polish rising against Russian dominion."
The Oesterreichische Zeitung has another version,
different from any as yet given, viz., that a large
number of the noble proprietors of land, to in-
demnify themselves for the sacrifices thrust upon
them by the Government under the name of war
taxes and " voluntary contributions," had laid un-
usually heavy burdens on their serfs, and required
of them excessive services ; in consequence of this
oppression, the otherwise inexhaustible patience
of the latter had failed them. The appeal of the
Government to the people to co-operate in the de-
fence of the country, and to flock to the support of
their standard and the cross, afforded them a
welcome opportunity of escaping from their oppres-
sore ; to this was added a very sensible dearth of
salt, which raised their excitement to the highest.
The peasantry left their villages, and repaired in
troops to the towns, where they demanded to
be admitted into the militia, in order that they
"serve the Czar and get salt to eat." Under
the twofold pretence of love to their country and
to salt they strove to free themselves from their
feudal shackles, but the authorities refused to enrol
a

nybody that did not produce a written permission
to that effect from his lord ; all those unprovided
with such a document were sent back to their
homes under military escort and admonished.
This version, however, concludes like the first—
" In spite of every trouble and precaution the au-
thorit;es have not succeeded in quieting the ex-
citement in the Ukraine."