The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1822-08-13
RUSSIAN POLICY.

! When we take "A retrospective view OF
reign of Peter the Great and mark the un-
deviating course of his successors, we CON
irss we are rather To 4 loss IN account
for the conduct attributed TO the Emperor
| Alexander who, il whai is said Of him be-
true, must have abandoned all those pro-
lccts Of ambition, which, il is well known,
Were never before lost sight of by the court
Of St. Petcrsburgh. The Gar Peter did
not merely c0nline his views to a military
preponderanec amongfhe European states.
| One OF his first objects was the creation OF
anavy, and to accomplish this he common
ccd with an attempt to make himself mas
ter of the sea Of Azor, by wrestling the pro-
vinces, eklrilng lis shores, from Charles
| XII. Of Sweden. In Catharine H. yea
lous promoter Of Peters plans, we find a.
similar policy. She possessed herself Of
the Crimea, and extended her dominion a
long the Black Sea- from the mouth of tie
Don to that of the Pruth. Steady in the
promotion of the same object, the present
| Emperor was induced 10 strip the tnfortu-
nate Gustavus ". of the valuable prov vince
of Finland, to which subsequent treaties
have added a considerable portion Of the
northern parts of Poland. There il no ex-
ample in history of "A country acquiring 50
rapid an increase of political importance, as
that of the empire of the Cars. Little
more than century ago, RUSSIA MS scarce
| ~ considered as an European power; and
little did the Peter the Great loresee, while
| contending the many difficulties which
cnrrn,tpHaH him, fh4f txfff Inn, ft4,t
one of his descendants should dictate laws
TO the victorious Mussuiman, and enter the
ca ,ital of France at TIE head ola triumph
ant army. Notwithstanding the improba-
bIllty of these events, we have, within the
above comparatively short period, seen
Russia extend her dominion ifomthe shores
of the Baltic to those of the Black Sea, and
from the most eastern boundaries OF Eu-
rope to the banks of the Nistula.
But the imperial successors Of Peter did
not coniinc their ambitious vie~sto Europe
merely. The Empress Catharine, il is
well known, contemplated the founding, in
the Russian royal family, new Byzantine
dynasty and ever since that moment, the
whole of the measures of the cabinet of St.
Petersburgh, in reference ~ Turkey, have
that object Even Alexander himself, il has
been repeatedly asserted, and never con-
tradicted, has long calculated ON being one
day able to place his brother, the Grand
Duke Constantine ON the throne of the Sui
tan, with the title of Emperor Of the Fast.
That he was able to effect this, single han
ded, no one could doubt who contemplated
the vast resources of his extended empire,
and reflected on the abcct submission to hia
will of the incalculuble population over
which he exercises sovereign authority
The distractions ofthe Ottoman empire, so
recently increased by the revolt of the
Greeks, seemed to render the present mo-
ment peculiarly favorable To me schemes
of Russia. Evidently viewing matters in
this light, the cabinet of 81, Petersburgh
openly ayowed its determination to protect
the Grecians, and pere,-Iptorily demanded
Of the Porte the delivery of two offs finest
provinces, as "A guarantee of Ks further good
behaviour.-Tu second these demands, and
to show the Divar that Alexander was Sc
rlOus in his resolves, immense armies were
marched, at an enormous expense, from the
larthest corners of Russia 10 the frontiers
ofTurkey; where they have been auglnen-
ting for many months by new arrivals, un-
til they assumed an attitude which left no
doubt of the Emperor having determined,
at all hazards, to carry his long medltated
plans into effect, whenever the season would
admit oil his troops commencing active o.
peratios To our utter agtonishlnent, how
ever, the period fortaking the field has gone
by; the Turks haze made no surrender OF
territory in compIionce with the perenPto-
ry demands Of Aleyender; and the Greeks
| continue TO have their Threats cut by the
savage followers of Maliomet. Add TO this,
that il is confidently stated, in some Of the
last received English papers, that the Rus
sian cabinet has been induced to abandon
its schemes of ambition, and TO leave TIE
ocrseeuted Greeks to the mercy u Their