Omaha daily bee., 1874-07-10
RUssIA'S ACQUISITIONS.
A Review of the Startling Rapid
ty of Muscovite Progress.

The extent OF the russian acqul-
sitiOns of territory in Central Asia
is as little understood as the curious
chapter, half of deliberate policy
and half of accident, which contains
the history of these acquisitions.
The general statement that in a
quarter of century Russia has ed
vanced her frontier 700 miles to the
south and 900 miles to the south
east, gives but a vague impression
of the startling rapidity of Musco-
vite progress. Russia is an empire of
''magrificent distances" and the
mention of its advancing from
tier suggests the acquisition of
barren steppes or frozen deserts.
But it must be remembered that the
parallel of latitude under which we
live would about pass through the
center of the Russian territories, in
Western Turkestan. TIL" three
great ADMINISTRATIONS Kho-
kand, and Khiva-which Russia has
virtually absorbed during the pres
ent generation, have been the seats
of highly civilized empires, and
have formed the subject of contest
between dynasties, whose names
are among the foremost of Asiatic
potentates. Genghiz Khan, the
modern Attila, once ruled a vastdo-
miniOn from Samarcand, which has
now become a Russian munich
pality, and a successor of Timour,
the TurcOman, founded the EN-
pire of the Great Mogul in India.
Territories both wealthy and pros
porous had, however, sunk into that
peculiarly hopeless style of barbar-
ism characteristic of the effete
stages of Mussulman rule, long be-
+, fore Russia crossed the KirghiZ
steppe, or began to continue her
Siberian forts southwark toward The
Jaxartes. At every stage of her
advance she has replaced the most
debased forms of tyranny with a
system of administration which, if
tainted with the vicesOf military ar
rogance and civilian rapacity, is at
| least a guarantee of social security
and an immense stride toward civil
| lLdtlOus lit dillDltlOh " LCt kCIlCl dlS
Operatingat immense distances from
the central authority, and necessa-
rily Invested with very ample dis
cretion i'm dealing with semi-bar-
barous foes, has had rather more to
do with Russian advances in Asia
than any steadfast line of policy
traced at st. Petersburg. Nothing
Is more striking than the ridiculous
smallness of the armies with which
Russia has subjugated Turkastan.
Tashkend was taken with loss than
1000 of an assaultlng force, though
the town contained 5000 inhabi-
tants and a garrison of 1900 to 15,-
900 men, and so on with other cele-
brated actions of the last twenty
years. The late expedition against
Khiva was planned with more de-
liberation and carried out with a
greater display Of strength than any
previous advance against the other
Khanates. The causes which led
to that expedition are, however, q
fair sample of the reasons that have
compelled the conquest of the sur
rounding States. As the civilized
nation advance Its protectorate, the
tribes which 1t cOwed became less
fitted than before to resist the at
tacks of their Independent neigh
bors, and in sheer self-de-
Tease the Russian Outposts had to be
pushed further and further into ter
ritories which were used chiefly for
the concealment of organized bands
of armed robbers. Or, the ENJOYS,
the merchants, the soldiers of the
advancing power were taken prison.
ers by some of the trines beyond
the line of conquest, and expedi-
ions for their rescue and the pun
ishment of their captors, led by q
natural enough series of events, to
permanent occupation.-Nea: York
Times.