The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-02-21

Modern Russia.
OF all that tremendous ami ire
mendously growing agglomcration of
books spoken of to-day as wa ltera-
ture" n composed Of bewilderingly
diversified writings that bear, directly
or indirectly, naturally or construc-
lively. upon the present war and the
nations participating in ii. the most
genuinely useful portion is probably
that Of adventurous rather than COM
rercially calculated '~timeliness."
which places the Powers. by tracing
recent political and economic devel-
opmcnt. in logical alignment with re-
lation to the monstrous conflict. Of
the nations under arms. even includ-
ing Servia. Russia is the least ac-
~Curately known Ia the peoples on
either Atlantic saboard cit is hes,
known by England, and the fact gives
usefulness beyond its intrinsic prop
critics to NodcrH Rua0d. written by
GREGoR ALExINsKY. eX-Deputy in the
Duma, and translated by BERNARD
Mall Uondon. T. Fisher Cnwin:
Scribners). The uncomplim~ntary
suggestion Of -intrinsic properties" is
directed not at MIR. A~leNinsky'S au-
thorShtp. hut Al n certain populiStic
enthusiasm apparent in his subjective
interpretations: easily dealt with be-
cause Of its perfect frankness, and
in itself no negligible commentary on
what is happening in modern Russia
Let Mr.. AlcNinSky tel about his
country. Back Of the people Is the
49, ThA @ftV,a.a ,nl-~ IT
character. Mountains mould custom.
In the forest one sort OF people: on
the plains another. Trade flows as
the rivers. The natural passageway
from the NariaSs, Scandinavians. TO
the Greeks" from the Black Sea to the
Baltic. through the Dnicper, The Neva
and the connecting waterways, di-
rected the currents OF influence. The
Russians are not autoShtons of east
ern Europe; the Slavs are mercy
the latest invaders Of Russia. The
Scythians planted a Greek culture on
the shores OF the Black Sea. The
ArNan Sarmatians invaded the
stepT~s; they survive in the Ossetcs
on the north Caucasian slopes. The
Aryan flood was lost in surging,
reCe-isnG, resurging waves from the
heart Of Asia. Turkish tribes over
flowed. The Huns. Bulgars. Avars
stormed the steppes; tho Khasars,
~PetcheneEs. P~olevctzes pranced across
the stage. After the Turks. the Mon
gois. The Tartars spent five centuries
in Russia, tribe after tribe Of them.
Between the Black and Caspian seas
they found h~arboragc; the northv,ard
F--a,- ll- .. -
tions, The Firms settled in the forest
region, blazed a way for the Slays,
who marched" east from the Car
path!ans in the sixth century. They
first ColoniZcd the zone marked u
by the Grck-Sca ndinavian highway;
kieff and Novgorud arose In this belt.
Tho fourteenth century brought them
into the basin of the Dvina; in the
sixteenth tFhey ovcrSprcad the White
Sea shore. In seventy years more
they spread from the Trails To the
northwes, Of Siberia. In the south
they warred with .Nsiatics; the Rus
STA of kicff' fell, NJ scow became the
national centre. the struggle con-
tinued, and not until Ivan III in
1850 WAS the Tartar yoke thrown of. -
L ne INISSIsil illSlpI AN Y hhIoNShN CdilS
the Tartars tho PruSSians Of those
times. They Influenced Russian gov
eminent, but not the popular custom.
With the Firms the Skivs mingled
pcaccably, social amalgamation took
place without military conquest.
The Russian population to-day falls
into three leading physical types. the
Great Russian, al Nielikoruss: the Lit
tie Russian. Ukrainian or Ma,oruss,
and the White Russian or Bieloruss,
The Little Russians are perhaps tho
finest representatives of the Slav type.
though they carry some infusion Of
Asiitic character: the White Rus
slams have the Lithuanian Gross" and
the Great russians are modified by the
Finnish amalgamation. The national
question Of Russia is, however. in Mr.
AleNinSky's view. not So vitally a mat
ter of racial conflict as of adjuStmen;
of diverse occupations to the modern
standard and method. But the raCLiI
movement is still unfinished, even as
Is .he typographical development Of
the Land The moving sands OF the
Russian plain, covering moro thar
5000 900 acres. carry some threat OF
Covering he vegetable soil and max
ing Russia's the fate Of Turkcstan';
and the Russia of flesh and blood /,
stu far from tho attainment of stati,
tnalitN. What a population it is, with
is IN9I, tine latest CcnsIis) Ia, 900,
900. of whom S3.a33. 800 are Slavs, "a.
66i 300 Great Russians. 1850, 900 Lit,
TIC Russians and 1855, 900 White Rus,
s'ons. OF Polish Slavs there wer,