Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-03
THE BIC WHITE BEAR
Winter Sports in the Capital
of Russia.
SUPERB SLEIGHING
OFFICIALS, SOLDIERS AND
PRIESTS CLOSELY VIEWED.
Revolutionary Fires Smolder, but the
Peasantry is the Backbone
of the Nation.
SUPERB SLEIGHING
Copyright, 1902. by F. E. Clark)

Copyright, 1902. by F. E. Clark
Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia,
March 81, 1902.
The Great Polar Bear, when 1 saw him,
had on his whitest coat, for though II was
| early in March, yet in Russia even the
backbone of the winter did not seem to be
broken. The Neva was as solid as in jan
uary, and electric cars, the tracks laid on
the ice, connected the opposite banks at
several points, with little likelihood that
the rails would have to be removed for
more than another month. This is the only
city in the world where l have seen the Ice
used as the bed of a railway track, and L
doubt if anywhere else a "broomstick train"
can be seen whizzing over frozen water.
1t was an Eager and nipping air. that
blew around the corners of the streets,
with the mercury at zero, and it seemed
far colder than those glorious, still,
bright days in Lapland. which 1 have al
ready described, much further north though
Lapland is.
But after all this is the best time of year
to see Russia, for 1t is the season most
characteristic of the country. 1t is winter
land. The houses are built frostproof as
well as fireproof. The great white porce-
lain stoves that reach from floor to ceiling
have a prominent place in every ROOM
Every one wears furs, from the poor mou-
jik to the car. They do not don the same
kind of furs to be sure, for when the car
puts on his seal and sable the peasant puts
his sheepskin.
with the woolly side out
And the skinny side in.
A derby hat and ordinary overcoat seem
as inadequate to the situation as a 'duster
in the Klondike.
| But there are plenty of compensations.
The sleighing is superb. The sledges are
| cheap; the skating is excellent on the pub
| lie Kinks, which are kept free from snow by
paternal government, and the toboggan-
| ing is unsurpassed.
Moreover, however, cold it may be out of
| DOORS the Russian knows how to keep his
| house warm. Heat breaks no bones" is
one of his proverbs. In fact, he rather
| overdoes it, as is often the case in very
| cold countries, for he Theoretically seals
| his house against the cold, pastes strips OF
paper over the cracks of the windows, so
that they cannot be opened from November
to April and goes into winter quarters In
good earnest, like any bruin, when the colo
weather begins
What Peter Dared.
Only an autocrat like Peter the Great
would have thought of founding a mag
nif1cent capital in a climate where lit is mid
winter for eight months and late in the
fall for the rest Of the year." but he dared to
think of 1t and to do 1t, and here, on the
banks OF the NeNd, STATUS d Spltlulu, pIoS-
porous, substantial city, with magnificent
palaces and gorgeous cathedrals, wide
streets thronged with Surging masses of
people, who show how humanity can adapt
itself to every condition of arctic cold or
torrid heat.
Four characteristic classes of Russia are
| the officials, the priests, the soldiers and
| the peasants. When you know these classes
thoroughly you may be said to know Rus
STA. l do not profess to speak with au-
thority, but even short journeys In such
country (and on previous visit 1 have
been from one end Of this great land to
the other and throughout the vast breadth
of Siberia) tell one something about the
| people If he keeps his eyes and ears open.
| OF the Russian official class the least said
| the better, from the weak young car to
| the poorest understrapper who feathers his
| own nest at the expense of the people while
| he has his brief day of authority. Unless
| all rumorS and evidences are false Tam
| many itself has been out-Tammanyed in
many quarters Of Russian officialdom. Or
| did Tammany learn its lesson first in the
| cars domain? Corrupt almost beyond be-
| lief I am credibly informed is much of the
| official life of Russia, and the only gleam
| of hope in the situation is that. bad
| things are, they used to be worse, and in
some departments there tangible evil
dences of reform.
The priests are by no means a negligible
factor in Russia, for the Russians are a
most devout. God-fearing race, and the
priests, ignorant as many of them are, and
of repeatedly shady morals, have immense
power. Far he 1t from me, however, to con-
denim them a class. If are to Judge
the tree by its fruit the Greek Church and
its priests have made a nation of devout
and zealousy religious people. Ignorant
and superstitious as many of the common
people are, their genuine faith and devotion
cannot be questioned
Wealth In the Churches.
The large place that their religion occu-
pies in the lives of the people is made evil
dent by the wealth that they lavish upon
their churches. In every little Siberian viii
lage through which passed on a previous
journey the church was the conspic-
uous and often beautiful building. The
home of every inhabitant of the village
might be built Of rude logs, chinked with
moss and mud to keep out the cold, the
church was sure to be a spacious and fire.
quently imposing structure, rich in chimes
and pictures and vestments.
Moscow, the religious capital of Russia,
has more costly and magnificent churches
than any city in the world; and the devout
peasant Is kept, hat in hand, bowling and
crossing himself half Of the time as he
goes through the streets, so numerous are
the affairs, shrines and places of worship.
One of the most costly cathedrals in the
world is st. Isaac's, in ST. Petersburg,
which, though not SO large rivals and in
some respects surpasseS ST. Peters in
Rome. I attended a service in this magnif-
cent temple. 1t was Saturday. at o'clock
in the morning, when the Greek Church
thronged with worshipers, as are all the
Russian churches at all the services. And
such worShiperS! Devotion, reverence
awe, was written upon every face. AS /
saw the old men and women, and the little
boys and girls as well, kneeling upon the