The Kremlin, from whose battlements Napoleon watched the burning of Moscow, is an old fort, about 100 acres in extent, occupying a hill above the Moskva river. It is inclosed by a high stone wall with 19 towers and 5 gates. The Kremlin contains a number of buildings, among them the Uspenkiy Cathedral where the tsars were consecrated, the private chapel where they were baptized and married, and the imperial palace, a fine building in white stone with a gilded cupola. The great campanile of Ivan Veliky, erected in 1600, rises to a height of 318 feet. Close by is the celebrated Tsar-Kolokol (king of the bells), 65 feet in circumference around the rim, 19 feet high, and weighing 198 tons. It was cast in 1735, but was broken before being hung.

began to threaten the existence of Russian autocracy. The Nihilists worked among both the artisans in the cities and the peasants in the country. Not being able to agitate publicly, some of them, together with anarchists, resorted to assassination as the only means of ridding the country of reactionary officials. The revolutionists acted on the principle that since the government ruled by terror, it must be fought with terror. Alexander II himself fell a victim to them in 1881.

Alexander

1894

Undeterred by his father's fate, Alexander III continued to be "Autocrat of all the Russias." The tsar's reign is chiefly significant for the efforts made by the governIII, 1881- ment to "Russify" the whole empire, so that its non-Russian inhabitants should have one law, one language, and one religion. This policy led to severe treatment of the Poles, Lithuanians, Esths, Letts, and Germans, and especially of the Jews. The persecution of the Jews was followed by their emigration in great numbers to the United States.

Nicholas II

The Russian government under Nicholas II did not abandon the policy of "Russification" which earned for it the hatred of Poland, Lithuania, and the Baltic provinces. To these was now added the Grand-Duchy of Finland. The Finns for ninety years had enjoyed self-government; Nicholas II by a manifesto swept away their most cherished privileges. Meanwhile, the opposition to autocracy developed rapidly in Russia, not only among the working people and peasants, but also among the middle classes and enlightened members of the nobility. All the liberal and discontented elements combined to demand for Russia the free institutions which were now no longer novelties in western Europe. Revolutionary disorders at length compelled the tsar to issue decrees in 1905-1906, granting a wide franchise and providing for a representative assembly (Duma). The Duma met four times and accomplished some useful legislation. It did not succeed, however, in winning liberty for the Russian people. The corrupt and inefficient autocracy seemed in 1914 to be as firmly established as ever.

209. Turkey and the Balkan States

The racial situation in the Balkan peninsula is exceedingly complex. Greeks, Thracians, and Illyrians were the earliest known inhabitants. Goths, Huns, and Avars The

left few recognizable traces there. The settle- Balkan peoples ments of the Serbo-Croats, beginning in the sixth century, spread Slavic speech and customs throughout the area south of the Danube and between the Adriatic and the Black Sea. The Bulgarians, a people of Asiatic origin, appeared in the seventh century and in time adopted Slavic culture. Seven hundred years later came the Ottoman Turks.

The

Turks

The empire of the Ottoman Turks formed a typical Oriental despotism. The Sultan was not only lord of the Turkish realm, but also the caliph,1 or spiritual head, of all Islam. He lived shut up in his seraglio at Constantinople Ottoman and depended on his vizier (prime minister) and divan (council of ministers) to execute his will. Each province had its pasha (ruler), nominally subject to the Sultan, but more often than not practically independent of him. The pashas did little but collect tribute; real government in the interest of the people did not exist.

The Ottoman Empire was exc`usively Moslem. Only those who accepted Islam were citizens. Many Christians in the Balkan peninsula adopted the faith of their con- Turks and querors, in order to enjoy political rights and Christians escape the heavy taxes laid on unbelievers. Even including these converts, the Turks in southeastern Europe remained a small minority of the population. Impassable barriers, raised by differences of religion, race, language, and customs, separated them from their Christian subjects.

After the fateful year, 1683,2 the Turks lost ground in Europe. Austria soon secured Hungary. Russia under Catherine II seized the Crimea, with the adjoining territory, Dismemberand under Alexander I took Bessarabia. Then, ment of as the nineteenth century progressed, the Christian peoples of the Balkans, stirred by the same enthusiasm for

1 See page 82 and note 1.

Turkey

2 See page 423.

nationality which moved Italians, Germans, Poles, and Bohemians, threw off the Turkish yoke and declared for freedom. The dismemberment of Turkey began.

The warlike Serbo-Croats of Montenegro never fully accepted Turkish rule. A little corner of the "Black Mountain” country always remained a free Christian state. The Montenegrin principality, enlarged by conquests from the Turks, became a kingdom in 1910.

Montenegro

Serbia

The Serbo-Croats in Serbia have a memorable history. One of their rulers, Stephen Dushan, built up an empire covering a large part of the Balkan peninsula. He aimed to unite Serbians, Greeks, and Bulgarians, in order to expel the Turks from Europe. The defeat of the Serbian army in the battle of Kossovo (1389) shook the empire to its foundation and paved the way for Ottoman conquests. The Serbians were Turkish subjects for three hundred and fifty years. After two revolts early in the nineteenth century, Serbia received self-government as a principality and later complete independence. It became a constitutional monarchy in 1882.

Greece

The Greeks had endured Turkish rule since the fifteenth century. The French Revolution awakened their longing for national independence, and in 1821 they raised the standard of revolt. Volunteers from every European country, as well as a few Americans, came to help them. The governments of Europe for a time stood coldly by, while the Turks massacred or enslaved their Christian subjects. Great Britain, France, and Russia at length decided to intervene. The combined fleet of the allied powers destroyed the Turkish navy at Navarino, and a Russian army moved upon Constantinople. When the Russians were almost at his gates, the Sultan yielded and granted independence to central and southern Greece (1829). Large parts of the ancient Greek world, including Thessaly, Epirus, and Crete, remained under Turkish sovereignty.

Greek patriots favored a republican government, but the European powers in 1832 set up a monarchy. A Bavarian

prince occupied the throne for thirty years, until a revolution drove him out with his German soldiers and Kingdom German courtiers. A Danish prince then became of Greece king under the title of George I. Greece at this time received a new and entirely

the "sick man" of Europe and of his approaching funeral, reopened the Eastern Question by invading Turkey. The result was the Crimean War. Great Britain supported the Sultan because of the fear that the downfall of Turkey would be followed by Russian control of the eastern Mediterranean, thus menacing British communications with India. France joined with Great Britain, principally because Napoleon III wished to pay off the grudges against Russia which his imperial uncle had accumulated. Count Cavour added the Sardinian kingdom to the alliance, in order to further his plans for the unification of Italy. The war was mainly confined to the Crimea, where the allied armies finally took the fortress of Sevastopol after a long siege. Russia then withdrew from the unequal contest.

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

Miss Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) did remarkable work during the Crimean War for the

relief of sick and wounded British soldiers. To

her self-sacrificing labors are also due many improvements in hospital management, sanitation,

and the training of nurses.

1 Assassinated in 1913 and succeeded by his son, Constantine I.