Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-11-29

In the first century of its founda-
ton, the Russian Empire treads the
! stage, so to speBk. in full armor, FLom
| the disorder of host of not very war
like tribes, the foreign-Germanic-
dynasty of Rnriks calls realm into
existence ready armed for offence ;
and forthwith a despotism is devel-
oped, "horn with teeth in its head.
This earliest epoch dates from the
ninth to the eleventh century. Dur
ing it, the Rurik dynasty unites the
Finnish and Slovenian tribes of what
is now Northern and Central Russia
into one empire, overthrows in the
southeast the highly cultivated Tartar
Kingdom of the Khazans* who inhab-
tied the countries of the Don, Dneip.
err, and the Tauric peninsula, and for
two centuries wages war against the
government of Constantinople in or
der to unite the crowns of the Russo
Varangian princes with thegolden tt.
ara of Byzantium.
| *TThe history of the Khazan Kingdom, erro
neously COMPOUNDED with that of the Khanates
of rude nomadic hordes, almost remains to be
written. Although Tartar Tor Purkish) step
pe-tribe or origin, the Khazans of the ninth
century turned their attention to Greek Gull
ture and refinement, and acted as the pioneers
| of progress in Southern Russia. In those
tracts of land where the hideous Kalmuk and
Kirghiz people now swarm the Khaz ans creat@
ed wealthy towns and fruitful fields. The high>
| way flom Derbent to SUR was adorned by
| them with Furnishing cities such as Atel, Sar-
| KEEL, Kuram, Gadran Segekan, Samandar,
| Albaida, Ferus. Kapad the plans of most OF
(which towns had been traced out, and the chief
| buildings erected by Byzantine architects.
Khazan fleets traded up the Don, along the
| Black Sea, and in the Mediterranean as far as
| France and Spain. Unfortunately, this re
markable nation, which first began to anchor
| ate the savage habits of the Slavonians Of the
| Dneiper, was weakened in its power by Russian
| invasions, and afterwards overpowere6 by
nomadic inroads; thus these Eastern cOun
| tries were again handed back to the darkness
| OF barbarism.
The most monstrous designs were
set ON foot at this period by the north
ern despots They stroye for the an
nexation of the Balkan peninsula, the
dominion over the Black Sea, the
subjugation of the Crimea and the
Caucasus. Thus, from 865 to 1913,
the provinces of the Byzantine EN-,
pire were subjected to incessant in
roads from the North. The Grand
Princes marched their Germanic,
Finnish, Slavonian, and Tartar hosts
along the Dneiper into the Danubian
countries, or transported them into
| fleets of small craft across the Euxine
to appear as besiegers before the
"City of the World" The waters
of the Pontus, the provinces which
we now call Moldo-W allachia. Bulga-
ria, the Harmus passes, and the coasts
of Roumelia, were the battle grounds
for the armies and navies of Russia
and of the Lower Empire. In these
contests, the " Russian capital" as a
proud Rurik chieftain called it, was
tor time established at the foot of
the Balkan, at Praejeslaverty. But.
not satisfied with this conquest, the
invader pointed with his lance to
Cons tantinople as the future seat of
his government. 1t affords singular
spectacle to behold in the mirror of
this ancient history the forecast of
modern events. The treaties then
agreed upon between the Byzantines
and the Russians vivldly call to mind
the conventions of Kutjuk-Kainardji,
Adrianople, and others. With the
Grand Princes of the ninth and
eleventh centuries, as with the czars
of the eighteenth and nineteenth, it
was the practice to look upon treaties
as upon convenient conjurer's Baskets
from whence TO extract sophistical
justification for fresh aggression. With
the Russian rulers of eight hundred
years ago it was already good policy
to "protect the government of Con-
stantinople against internal seditions,
in order to degrade it into vassalage.
Then already the Danubian provinces
were seized upon by Russia as 'ma-
terial guaranty" then already the
government of Constantinople was
declared to be only encamped in Eu-
rope; = scarcely weaned from idolatry!
claimed a certain supremacy over
the Eastern Church
Such was Russian dynastic policy
eight hundred and nine hundred years
ago. We say "dynastic," because
the people played no part in these
events save one of passive obedience
Those mighty plans of a domineering
Northern monarchy were fostered
only in the brains of the Varangian
rulers.
But after these vast exerions, Rus
STA, by a sort of historical retribution,
collapsed under internal commissions
Her political unity was torn asunder
by quarrels among the different
branches of the reigning family; and
when at last the nomadic hordes of
Genghis Khan and Batou appeared on
the confines of the Empire, there was
no centre of resistance, no strength,
no patriotism to oppose them. With
in few years, Russia became the
slave of the Golden Horde. The
Tartar flood broke forth from the
depths of Asia, sweeping in its stormy
course towards the West, and, being
stayed by the rock of German and
Polish valor, settled down over the
Scytho -Sarmatian plains from the
Volga to the Valdai Hills For two
hundred and fifty years, from the
twelfth to the end of the fifteenth CEN
fury. the Mongols governed the king
dom of the proud Ruriks Russia
was now Mongolized in spirit, and
even IN the physical appearance OF
her people. Her very name became
confused in the memory of Europe.
A line of Kalmuk frontier-guards
drew, so to speak, a Chinese wall
round the boundaries of the empire
But when the sovereignty which
the Mongol Kaptchak had exercised
over Russia was at last destroyed mot
by Russian bravery, but by by con
fiicts among the wandering Asiatic
tribes themselves), the Muscovite
Grand-Princes assuming the title of
Gar and Emperor, again ran riot in
ambition. The chief scene of their
activity lay this time, not 20 the south
but to the north and west. Their
| o.rnrd x,yac ,,a;nfo1 not 20 Go,a,a,.;