It was as if Europe had been divided into two halves
by a formidable barrier, which condemned the unfortunate Russians to
isolation. The herculean task of demolishing this barrier was, as we all
know, begun by Peter the Great. He built for himself a new capital on
the northwest frontier of his dominions--the beautiful city on the Neva,
recently christened Petrograd--in order to have, as he expressed it, a
window through which he might look into Europe. He looked into Europe
with very good results, and his successors have done likewise; but the
demolition of the barrier proved a very tedious undertaking, and it was
not completed till comparatively recent times.
The laudable efforts of the Russians to make up for lost time have been
particularly successful during the last fifty years. Immediately after
the Crimean War, which some of us are old enough to remember distinctly,
a new era of progress began. The Czar of that time, Nicholas I., whose
name is still familiar to the present generation, was a patriotic,
chivalrous, well-intentioned man, but unfortunately, as a ruler, he
belonged to the mailed-fist school, delighted in shining armor, and put
his faith largely in drill sergeants. Even in the civil administration
he fostered the spirit of military discipline, and he was at no pains to
conceal his contemptuous dislike of the self-government and
constitutional liberties of other countries.
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