Russia and

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 1 "i ' -.'.' ' .' dictator of St. Petersburg, he at least tried the effect of a vigoroui repression of disorder accompanied by, an attempt to improve the system of Government administration. At this time several suggestions of reform were considered by the Government, and at last the Emperor so far yielded to the advice of his counsellors as to summon elected representatives from the County and Town Councils, and even from those provinces where such Councils did not exist, to form with members nominated by the Crown a consultative national Commission.1 After all, when once County Councils existed all over Russia, it was only consequent to summon their representatives to St. Petersburg, and this alone would be an immense step towards the triumph of the principle of representation. The summons was decided upon, then postponed, and finally sent to the Government Press. While it had had not as yet been made public, the Emperor went for his customary drive through the streets of St. Peters- Mar. 13, burg. He avoided the Nevsky Prospekt, which, as it 1881. happened, was undermined at more than one point, and turned down the road which led along the Catherine Canal. Here a man threw a bomb at the carriage. The Emperor, who had escaped injury, got out to look after the wounded. It was while he was thus engaged that a second bomb was thrown at him; he was torn to pieces, and only survived to be carried to the palace. The murderers had put back the clock in Russia for twenty-four years. The new Emperor Alexander III., as has been said, " mounted to the throne as a soldier mounts the breach." For Russian sovereigns the moment of accession has often been critical. Nicholas I. became Emperor in the midst of the Decembrist rising, and remained reactionary to the end of his days. Alexande...