The Wrangell sentinel., 1920-07-22
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction in Europe Follow the Great
 World War;
RUSSIA ALWAYS UNDER YOKE
Easy to Understand Why the Unhappy People Have Turned to Boishe- vism In Their Cropping for
 Freedom.
Article XVII.
By FRANK coMERFoRD.


 the mother of Russian cities. In the ninth century Slavs and Films lived in tribal state In the forest region near Lake linen, between Lake Ladoga and the upper waters of the Dnieper river. Bands of military adventurers from the land of Rus, which Is supposed to have been a part of Sweden, exacted tribute from the tribes. In the year S59 the tribes threw off the yoke of the Norsemen and drove them out of the country It was Russia's first revO- lution, so the old chronicler relates. and 1t was successful. Freed from the tyranny of the tribute takers the tribes began to quarrel among themselves. Their land was large and fertile, but civil war destroyed order. Then as now, order was the first essential to peace and happiness. It Is told that after three years of tribal war they confessed their inability to manage their own affairs and they sent mis- sion to Rus to invite their old masters to come and rule over them.
 According to the legend, three broth CTS, princes of Rus. Rurik, Sineus and Truvor, accepted the call and founded a dynasty, from which many of the Russian princes of the present day claim descent.
 While much discussion has been pro vOked as to the identity of the war riors from the land of Rus, the found- CTS of the Russian empire, 1t is gen.
 erally believed that they were the hardy Norsemen, who in the ninth cen tury roamed through various countries of Europe These rowing bands in- vaded and conquered territory and lived as the dominant military caste until they were gradually absorbed by the native population.
 Novaorod First Capital.
 Prince Rurik built his capital on the banks of the River Volkhov, which with Lake linen formed part of the great waterway connecting the Baltic and Black seas. By this route, the tall, blonde Norsemen, who composed the famous Varangian bodyguard of the Byzantine emperors. travelled from Scandinavia to ConstantinOple. Rus sia's first capital was NovgOrod.
 These new rulers from the land of Rus brought with them the spirit of adventure of the Norsemen. They were not contented to rule the tribes who had invited them. They set out to conquer the surrounding country in all directions, and before two hundred years had passed they had invaded Byzantine territory, established them selves at Kiev, threatened Constanti- nople with fleet, secured as a consort for Vladimir I, one of their princes. a sister of the Byzantine emperor. adopted Christianity for themselves and their subjects, learned to hold in check the nomadic hordes of the steppe. and formed matrimonial al- dances with the reigning families of Poland, Hungary, Norway and France. They became great power in eastern Europe.
 They had great appetite for con- quest, but they lacked the power to organize the territory they conquered. The political future of the new state was destroyed when the princes of the Rurik dynasty divided the state into number of independent principalities. For time these were weakly and loosely held together by the patri- archal authority of the senior mem- Der of the family, the grand prince, who ruled in Klev. Family quarrels became frequent. These princes were strong men. They wanted power. They strove to enlarge their territories at the expense of their rivals. The tradi- tiOnal authority of the grand prince declined. YarOslav the Great was the last of the grand princes. With his death in 1O54. family feuds multiplied and disintegratiOn set in. During the next ITO years, from 1854 to 1224. Russia was split into over sixty prin- cipalities. Disputes over the question of succession led to eighty-three civil
 wars.
 Ruined by Internal Struggle. During these interminable struggles of rival princes, Kiev, which had been so long the residence of the grand prince, was repeatedly taken by storm.
 and ruthlessly pillaged. Finally the whole valley of the Dnieper fell a prey to the marching tribes of the steppe Thereupon Russian colonization and political influence retreated north-
 ward, and from that time the cOntin-
 uous stream of Russian history Is to be sought in the land where the
 Vikings first settled, and in the adjoin-
 ing basin of the upper volga. Here
 new principalities were founded, some
 of them having a grand prince. who
 no longer professed allegiance to Kiev. Thus appeared the grand princes of
 Suzdal, of Tver, of Ryazan and of
 Moscow-all irreconcilable rivals with
 little or no feelings of blood relation
 ship. The more ambitious and power