The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-17
THE STATE OF RUSSIA.
Although 1t Is Quiet, Despotism Is Still
Crushing the Country.


Letter in London Times.
Everybody must have been struck by the 81
lence of late observed respecting Russia. News
papers which for years had constantly given in
formation as to the state Of the country, the
persecution Of the Jews, the Nihilist plots, and
financial and industrial questions, all at once be-
came silent and neither the telegraph agencies nor
the press have been saying anything of late on
Russian events. the Nord(which, however, is not
published in Russia), did not from time 10 time,
furnish semi official notes showing Russia to be
now hostile, now disagreeable toward par
ticular power, one might fancy Russia to be
more deeply plunged than everin the famous re-
tirement maintained by her during the fifteen
years after the Cri1nean war
Yet nothing is changed in Russia Despotism
is more violent and resolute than ever, and the
press is more than ever subject to the arbitrary
will Of the authorities editors being daily accus-
toned to receive invitations to avoid discussing
specified questions. Nihiisln, however, has not
been disarmed, but continues to exist. with the
aggravating circumstance that the army. formerly
exempt from contagion has been contaminated
The last few Nihilist trials have shown among
che prisoners men belonging to the army, and
these not of the lowest rank. Among the last
batch sentenced to transportation for utilization
to Nihihsm was a leutenantcolone. Count
Tolstoi, formerly minister of education, and
now of tho interior, who enjoys exceptional in
fuence with the Emperor, is chiefly engaged in
the discovery and prosecution of Nihilsts; but
as fast SIS one society is broken up another is
formed. and Nihilist elements seem really mex
haustible
Count Tolstoi, moreover, while the great de
tector Of the Nhiists. is also their especial vic
tim. He is daily inundated with anonymous let
tiers from all parts of the capital and even of the
provinces, announcing sometimes that a mine
has been laid under his Office, and sometimes
that he has been condemned to death, and that
the sentence will be executed the first time he
crosses the threshold. He is kept in such sus-
pense that he rarely goes out; he is absent even
from the Cabinet councils, and when impera
lively bound to attend is the subject of special
precautions by the secret police 1t is notori-
Gus, in st. Petersburg, that every time he is
bold enough to stir out supplementary expense
of 800 roubles is incurred. When famous me-
dunn lately visited ST Petersburg, the Count
asked the Academy of Sciences to get upa seance;
but one of the members told him, why, for the
500 roubles which your going to the Academy
would cost, the medium would hold seance
under your own roof"
While Nihilism has thus extended it's sphere
of action to the army. and is more dangerous
than ever, the persecution of the Jews is as
fierce as it was a few years ago. when the
European press boiled over with indignation.
The only difference is that the great bankers,
especially the Germans who had then an inter-
est in sounding the alarm and deterring capital
from investment in Russia, now seem to have re-
allied sufficient profits to warrant change in
tactics. The very men who then melted the
subsidized press to denounce the ill-treatment of
the Russian Jews are now inclined to subsidize
it into silence, so that European confidence in
Russian finances may not be impaired. Finan-
cialIy, the situation Of Russia is not more bril-
liant. The revenue is collected with greater diff
hculty than heretofore, and the crops, even when
abundant, are less profitable than formerly,
American wheat subjects the Russian to a Sc
we're competition and Odessa now scarcely sends
cargoes to Marseilles