Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1854-01-11
F,Eae Position of Russia.

The New York Tribune, Of late date, has a
leader in which it gives information obtained from
Russian source, to the state of affairs in that
country, and the designs of the Gar in reference
to the Turkish question. The authority from
which the statements were derived, is supposed to
have been the Russian ambassador to the Sand
wich Islands, who lately passed through New
York en- route for his destination. They are in
teresting, but of course not very reliable We
subjoin few extracts.
The Russian disposable force on the Danube at
the beginning Of hostilties amounted to no more
than $4,000 men. Only single army corps,
that of Gen. Dannenberg, originally crossed the
Pruth. Gen. Luders, with another corps, remain
ed in Bessarable, and near Odessa, in order to be
able to send reinforcements both te Asia and the
Princpalities. The corps under Osten -Sacken
was cantoned still further north in the Ukraine
Each army corps numbers $4,000 men,and seldom
more. Deducting the thousands in the hospital
and the detachments occupying the tofthed places
in the Principalities, Gortschakoff could scarcely
dispose of as many as $4,000 to oppose the at
tacks of Omer Pacha.
Nobody in st. Petersburg imagined that hostil-
ties would so soon begin. The declaration o
war by the Sultan ,as we'll the almost immediate
crossing of the Danube, took the Russians both
in Bucharest and in ST. Petersburg wholly una
wares.
1t is impossible to foresee what will be the in
f1uence in st. Petersburg of the recent military
and diplomatic events. The excitement IN Rus
sa, and above all in Moscow, the head of the En-,
pire, whose pulsations act powerfully on the
masses of the people through the whole country
| this excitement is on the increase and OF the
most dangerous character, because it is religious
| The Wealthiest merchants of that capital are
among the dissenters from the Orthodox Russian
| Church. and are generally not on good terms with
the government, but they have offered tc
furnish millions of rubles to carry on the holy
war. This example will be followed by other
cities and communities in the interior.
| IT, no paciication should take place during the
winter, Europe is really on the eve of terrible
conAagration In such case it is decided in the
| imperial Councils to open serious campaign, by
stirring up the elements of general discord.-
Pashkewitch will then be put at the head of the
active army, numbering above 100000 men, will
march-if he can,-directly on ConstantinoDle.-
Other corps d'elie, such that of the Grenadiers
and of the guards, 10000 in all, under the per-
sonal command of the Graud Duke Alexander,
the heir apparent, will be drawn up in echelons
between the theatre of and Poland, which
will be occupied by some 10000 men of the
Guards of the interior, all Of whom are veterans.
Europe will be arrayed into two hostile camps
no power of the second or third order being
able to remain neutral. How they will divide, il
is difficult to foresee precisely, but peace will be
nowhere The first hostile acts will be marked
by blockading the Baltic, the Euxine, and very
likely the Mediterranean. The American viii
be the only neutral flag. Even Holland, Sweden
and the German free cities, will soon be obliged
to side with one or the other of the belligerents
But God grant that they may not have occasion te
make the choice