Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-06


band for your Natalia" later naming him
self This girl was the mother of Peter the
Great, whose son, Alexis. by has 1athers
first and divorced wife. took Russian
woman TO wife. Their son, Peter II, who
died of smallpox, lad Of fifteen, in 1880.
three years after his coronation, was the
last car of the pure Romanon blood. his
chief aim was to undo the work of his dis
tinguished grandfather, whose mother was
the first Russian princess to lift the cur
tains of her chair and let the people gaze
on her features. She was progressive, ana
from her her great son inherited ms moo-
ern tendencies.
Following Peter II came Anna. daughter
of the imbecile Ivan v who ruled for
time with Peter the Great. his stepbrother'
and who married within the realm Anna
bequeathed the throne to the infant Ivan
VI, son of her niece Anna, who was the
daughter of her full sister, Catherine, who
married the Duke of Mecklenberg. Eliza
beth, daughter OF Catherine l. Peter the
Greats second and Lithuanian peasant
wife, seized the throne, arresting the en-
peror Ivan and all his family and principal
supporters over night. Elizabeth made the
throne over to PeteE<son of her sister Anna,
who had Duke Frederick of Holstein Got
torp as husband. This Peter HIS wife
was Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst ana
in the same year that he became car she
deposed him and became the Czarina CATH
crime II. Her son and successor was Paul,
who restored the principle of pTimogenlture,
set aside by Peter the Great, who lnsu-
tuted the custom of the cars naming nus
own successor. and thus made possible the
succession of his former widowed prisoner
of war, Catherine l. This first Romanor
czarina was almost wholly under the inf1u-
ence of Menshikoff, who at one time had
sold cakes in the streets of MOSCOW.
Now Paul's wife was the Princess Doro-
thea of Wurtemberg. Their son, Alexander
I. took to wife, while cZarevitch, Louise
Marie of Baden. They had no son, so
Nicholas AleXander's brother, succeeded,
nd 70 wa he Princess 10
Prussia. The wife of their son, Alexander
II, was the Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darm-
stadt. Alexander IFS son and successor,
the third Alexander, married the Princess
Dagmar, daughter of King Christian of
Denmark. of German descent. She is the
present dowager czarina; and, of course,
everybody remembers the marriage of her
son, the present emperor, and the Princess
Alix of Hesse.
Germans, not Russians, are responsible
for the outrages that are being committed
in Russia today; for not only are the latter
day czars of German descent, but, of course,
the grand dukes as well. 1t is idle to sur
mise that, If the German peasant had
proved as supine through all the years until
now as his brother, the Russian, he, too,
today would be In the throes of revolution
against brutal autocracy of his OWN
German Interference.
During all the revolutionary commotion
of which Nicholas II has been the center
the world has been expectantly looking for
some sort of intervention by the German
emperor. If William does carry Nicholas
and his family away from danger on his
warships, or send troops across the border
into Poland or otherwise assist his dis
tressed cousin, he will simply be following
In the footsteps of many a predecessor on
the Prussian throne.
German interference in the affairs of the
Romanoffs and the consequent deep-rooted
Russian hatred of Germans-that is, of all
except those observation-disclosures who rule
over thenl-began in Annals time. Her dis
tinguished uncle, Peter the Great. had mar
red her to the Duke of Courland, when he
found he couldn't win the duchy from Po-
land. and, naturally. she surrounded herself
with German influence. Elizabeth got rid
of 1t with vengeance when she had de-
throned the infant Ivan The daughter of
her great father Peter, when Frederick the
Great objected, she licked him in battle
until he thought of suicide the next year
her soldiers sacked Berlin, and all the while
she was making her famous collection of
10000 dresses, thousands of slippers and
two chests of silk stockings Frederick was
more than ready to offer her Eastern Prus-
STA for peace. when, fortunately for him.
she died, and Peter III came on the stage
of crowns
Peter was chiefly notorious among his
court for two things-he was always and
consistently and beautifully drunk: and, as
soon as he was crowned he gave back to
him. besides forming an offensive and de-
fensiye alliance with the late enemy. Peter
carried his drunken love for Frederick so
far that in one of his orgies he shouted:
Let US drink to the health of our king
and master, Frederick. You may be as
sured If he should order It, would make
war on he'll with all my empire"
Such frank comment caused his wife,
W hnf Hnf~t,N Er,~ Il
though she was, shortly to depose him.
German influence was nil in Russia dur
ing the thlrty-four years that she waged
war right and left, gobbfing UP large
share of what remained Of Poland, and at
the same time whipping Sweden In the
north and wrestling the Crimea from the
Turks in the south. Small wonder that
despite her numerous vices, one Of which
was for numerous liasons, she is held in
high regard by all Russians RomanofY
affairs have not been free of German in
huence since the great GATHERINGS day
though at times it has been stronger than
others. Just at present It seems to be
rather more than less.
In Humanity's Cause.
The Romanoffs are the under dogs at
this time and everybody who delights In
drawing the deep breath of freedom seems
also, to be taking keen delight in kicking
them. But even under dogs have rights
ana these are some OF The things it were
well for US to remember in all mercy, in
order to give even to the Rornanofns their
rights.
It was n Romanof Peter the Great who
led Russia out of the path of the barba-
rian into the highway of civilization, where
She is now stumbling but ever forward.
Romanoffs have welded mighty nation
and stiH mightier empire out of a gigantic
human crazy quilt, covering one-seyenth
OF the earth's land surface. They are de-
veloping over one-haIf of all Europe--one-
third of Asia's area-one of the worlds
greatest future storehouses, Siberia
Whatever may be the politics back Of
IT all, they have shed rivers of Russian
blood in defense of the Balkan Christians
against the ruthless Turk.
1t was RonfanOff that made Waterloo
possible by burning the ancient Muscoyite
capital and destroying, largely by his Cos
sacks ali but $4,000 of the 67S,OO0 picked
soldiers that Napoleon led into Russia
This same car also granted autonomy to
Finland after winning it from Sweden.
Two Romanoff5 proved our friends and
stanch friends of freedom, In our hours
of great need-Catherine the Great during
the revolution. Alexander Ill, in 1861 And
1t was this latter Romanoff who by
stroke of his pen. gave freedom to q, 00O,-
0o0 people.