The Arizona sentinel., 1888-04-21
LIFE IN RUSSIA.
The RemorseIess Power Exercised by the
 Czar's Police Officials.

The RemorseIess Power Exercised by the
 Czar's Police Officials.
 There is no power on earth so arbi- trary. s) omnipotent, so omniscient and so remorse'es as the Russian po- lice! I shall have something more to say about them in future letter. but stop here to advise every traveller bound for Russia. of whatever age sex or nationality, 10 take passport lroperly indorsed by the representa- tive of the Rus sian Government at New York or Washington. It will do no harm, and it may be useful to have both; for the Russian police are of an inquiring frame of mind and lack con- flence in human virtue. With pass rort properly visel, a strict obedi- ence 10 all the regulations that are plain and unmistakablc. aE discreet tongue. and a decent behavior, one can be as safe and comfortable as in any country on the globe and see much and enjoy much that can not be seen or enjoyed elsewhere. It has few picturesque landscapes, no mountains and no springs; but the people and the palaces the churches and the customs, will revivify the most blase traveller, and the gayeties of both the summer and winter seasons offer a treat to those who have exhausted Paris and other social centers of the world
 There need be no annoyance from the tyranny that IS constantly exer- cised over both citizens and strangers. there need be no fest of patience; it is only necessary 10 submit. ani do it as gracefully and politely as possible. A visitor can see nothing without a pass or without police surveillance. He may not look at picture nor the curiosities of the museum without hay ing a gendarme peering over his shoulder. If he is an artist he must obtain the permission of the police to make sketches, and to go any where he has got to have a pass. But all these obstacles are easily overcome and all the objects of interest can be thoroughly enjoyed by an observance of the requirements and disposition o acknowledge the sovereignty of the police. Submission is all that is re- quired, and the rigid rules have been made necessary by nihilism and dyna- mite.
 Every citizen must have permit 70 live in the country. These permits are issued annually upon the pay ment of a fee. If he wants to leave the country or go from one town. to another he must notify the police, for that branch of the Government must know where each inhabtant of the vast empire sleeps every night In the provinces the rigid surveillance is relaxed, but at St. Petersburg and Moscow and other places visited by tourists there is constant contact between the sovero;Sn and the subject that is disagreeable to both. The po- lice grant permi $sion to go and come readily. There is no interference with travel nor with trade. Submis- sioni submission! that is all. No one can get ticket at a railroad station nor on a steamboat without showing a permit to leave; no hotel will enter tain a guest till he shows his passport. One can not go anywhere or do any thing without the consent of the au- thorities. but it is easily obtained. and costs forty copecks for the stamp that appears on the document-about fifteen cents. " E. Curtis, 10 Chicago NeOS.