Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

by Astolphe De Custine

  In no other place have I been so impressed with the instability of human things. Often in Paris and in London have I said to myself, a time will come when

  VOL. I.I

  170REMARKS ON PETERSBURG.

  this noisy abode will be more silent than Athens or Home, Syracuse or Carthage ; but to no man is it o·iven to foresee the hour nor the immediate cause of the destruction; whereas, the disappearing of St. Petersburg may be foreseen, it may take place tomorrow, in the midst of the triumphant songs of its victorious people. The decline of other capitals follows the destruction of their inhabitants, but this will peri§h at the moment even when the Russians will see their power extending. I believe in the duration of Petersburg, just as I believe in that of a political system, or in the constancy of man. This is what cannot be said of any other city in the world.

  What a tremendous power is that which can thus cause a metropolis to spring up in the wilderness, and which, with one word, can restore to solitude all that it has taken ! Here real existence seems to belong only to the sovereign: the fate, the power, the will of an entire people are all centred in one single head. The Emperor is the personification of social power; beneath him reigns the equality that forms the dream of the modern Gallo-American democrats, the Fourriórists, &c. But the Russians acknowledge a cause of storm that is unknown to others, the wrath of this emperor. Republican or monarchical tyranny is preferable to atitocratic equality. I fear nothing so much as a strict logic applied to politics. If France has been practically prosperous during the last ten years, it is, perhaps, because the apparent absurdity which presides over her affairs is a high practical wisdom ; action, instead of speculation, полу governs us. In Russia the spirit of despotism always exerts itself

  VIEW OF SOCIETY IN KTTSSIA.171

  with a mathematical rigour, and the result of such extreme proceeding is an extreme oppression. In beholding this effect of an inflexible policy we feel shocked, and ask ourselves, with a kind of terror, how comes it that there is so little humanity in the actions of man ? But to tremble is not to disdain; we never despise that which excites our fear.

  In contemplating Petersburg, and in reflecting on the dreadful existence of the inhabitants of this camp of granite, one might be led to doubt the compassion of Deity. There is presented here a mystery that is incomprehensible, and at the same time a greatness which is prodigious. Despotism thus organised becomes an inexhaustible subject for observation and meditation. This colossal empire, which rises before me all at once in the east of Europe — of that Europe, where society is suffering from the decay of all recognised authority—appears to me like a resurrection. I feel as though in the presence of some nation of the Old Testament, and I stop with fear mingled with curiosity before the feet of the ante-diluvian giant.

  The first view of society in Russia shows that its arrangements, as contrived by the Russians themselves, are only adapted to their own social system : he must be a Russian who would live in Russia, even though outwardly every thing may appear to pass as in other places. The difference lies in the foundations of things.

  It was a review of the fashionable world which I took this evening at the islands. The fashionable world, they say, is the same every where ; nevertheless each society has a soul, and this soul will be instructed, like any other, by the fairy which is called I 2

  172ABSOLUTE POWER.

  civilisation, and which is nothing more than the customs of the age.

  This evening all the city of Petersburg, that is to say, the court and its followers, were at the islands; not for the pure pleasure of promenading on a fine day, such a pleasTire would appear insipid to the Russian courtiers, but to see the jmcket-boat of the Empress, a spectacle of which they never tire. Here every sovereign is a god, every princess is an Armida or a Cleopatra. The train of these changeable divinities never changes: it it< composed of a people ever equally faithful; the reigning prince is always in the fashion with the Russian people.

  Nevertheless these submissive men, let them say and do their best, are forced and constrained in their enthusiasm. A people without liberty has instincts, but not sentiments; and their instincts often manifest themselves in an officious and little delicate manner. The emperors of Russia must be overwhelmed with submission : sometimes the incense wearies the idol. In fact, this worship admits of terrible interludes. The Russian government is an absolute monarchy moderated by assassination ; and when the prince is not under the influenee of lassitude, he is under that of terror. He lives, therefore, between fear and disgust. If the pride of the despot must have slaves, the feelings of the man must yearn for equals ; but a czar has no equals : etiquette and jealousy maintain invidious guard around his solitary heart. He is more to be pitied than even his people, especially if he possesses any amiable qualities.

  I hear much boast made of the domestic happiness of the Emperor Nicholas, but I see in it the consola-

  PAVILION OF ТПЕ EMPRESS.173

  tions of a superior mind, rather than the proof of real happiness. Consolation is not felicity ; on the contrary, the remedy proves the evil; an emperor of Russia must have a heart like other men if he has one at all. So much for the over-lauded private virtues of the Emperor Nicholas.

  This evening the Empress, having proceeded from Peterhoff by sea, landed at her pavilion on the islands, where she will remain until the marriage of her daughter, which is to be celebrated to-morrow, in the new winter palace. While she remains at the islands, the leafy shade which sm·rounds her pavilion serves as a shelter during the day for her regiment of chevalier guards, one of the finest in the army.

  `Ve arrived too late to see her leave her sacred vessel, but we found the crowd still under the excite-- ment caused by the rapid transit of the imperial star. The only tumults possible in Russia are those caused by the struggles of flatterers. This evening the human effervescence resembled the agitation of the waves, that continue boiling in the track of some mighty vessel long after she has entered port.

  At last, then, I have breathed the air of the court! though the deities who exhale it upon mortals are still unseen.

  It is now one o'clock in the morning; the sun is about to rise, and I cannot yet sleep : I will, therefore, finish my night as I commenced it, by writing without lights.

  Notwithstanding Russian pretensions to elegance,

  * foreigners cannot find in all Petersburg one hotel

  that is endurable. The great lords bring with them,

  from the interior of the empire, a suite which is always

  I 3

  174VERMIN IN ST. PETERSBURG.

  numerous. Man is their property and their luxury. The moment the valets are left alone in the apartments of their masters, they squat themselves, in oriental fashion, on the seats and couches, which they fill with vermin. These creatures pass into the walls and flooi`s, and in a few days the house becomes infested past all remedy ; for the impossibility of airing the houses in winter perpetuates the evil from year to year.

  The new imperial palace, built at such cost of life and money, is already full of these vermin. It might be said, that the wretched workmen who were killed in order to ornament with greater celerity the habitation of their master, have avenged their own death by inoculating with their vermin those homicidal walls. If the palace is infected by these nocturnal foes, how should I be able to sleep at Coulons ? I have given up the idea; but the clearness of the night consoles me for every thing.

  On returning from the islands about midnight, I again went out on foot, and occupied my mind with reviewing the scenes and conversations which had most interested me during the day ; of these I will presently give the summary.

  My solitary walk led me to the beautiful street called the Perspective Newski. I saw in the twilight, shining from afar, the little pillars of the tower of the Admiralty, surmounted with its lofty metallic spire. The spire of this Christian minaret is more taper than any Gothic steeple. It is gilded all over with the gold of the ducats sent as a
present to the emperor Peter I. by the States of the Netherlands.

  The revolting dirtiness of this inn-chamber, and

  BEAUTY OF THE SLAVONIAN RACE. 175

  the almost fabulous magnificence of that building, present a correct picture of Petersburg. Contrasts are not wanting in a city where Europe and Asia exhibit themselves to each other in mutual spectacle. The people are handsome. The men of pure Slavonian race, brought from the interior by the rich nobles, who either retain them in their service, or permit them for a certain period to carry on various trades in the city, are remarkable for their fair hair, their rosy complexions, and yet more for their perfect profiles, which equal those of Grecian statues. Their eyes have the oval Asiatic shape, with the colouring of the North; they are generally of a light blue, and unite a singular expression of gentleness, grace, and cunning. This expression, always restless, gives to the iris those changing hues, which vary from the green of the serpent, and the grey of the cat, to the black of the gazelle, though the ground colour still remains blue. The mouth, adorned with a gold and silky moustache, is beautifully formed, and the brilliant whiteness of the teeth lights up the whole countenance. The latter are sometimes sharp and pointed, when they resemble those of the tiger, but more commonly their shape is perfectly regular. The costume of these men is always original. It consists, either of the Greek tunic, with a lively-coloured girdle, the Persian robe, or the short Russian pelisse lined with sheepskin, the wool of which is turned outwards or inwards according to the season.

  The women of the lower orders are less handsome;

  but few are met in the streets, and those few have

  little to attract: they appear degraded and stupified.

  It is a singular fact, that the men take pains with

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  176DRESS OF RUSSIAN WOMEN.

  their dress, and the women neglect it: this is perhaps owing to the former being attached by service to the houses of the nobles. The women have a clumsy carriage; they wear heavy boots, which deform the foot: their figures are without elegance; and their complexions, unlike those of the men, lose all freshness and clearness even while they are yet young. Their little Russian coats, short, and open before, are trimmed with fur, which is almost always hanging in rags. This costume would be pretty if it was less shabby, and if the effect was not generally spoilt by deformity or revolting dirtiness of person. The national head-dress of the Russian women is handsome, but it has become rare; being now only worn, I am told, by nurses, and by the ladies of the court on days of ceremony. It is a species of pasteboard tower, gilt, embroidered, and much widened at the top.

  The accoutrements of the horses are picturesque, and the horses themselves show speed and blood; but the equipages that I saw this evening at the islands, not excepting those of the highest nobles, were not elegant, nor even clean. This accounts to me for the disorder and carelessness of the servants of the hereditary Grand Duke, and for the clumsiness and wretched varnish of that prince's carriages, which I noticed at Ems. Magnificence on a large scale, a gaudy luxury, gilded trappings, and an air of showy grandeur, are natural to the Russian nobles; but eleganee, carefulness, and cleanliness are things unknown. I have listened this evening to several curious traits, illustrative of what we call the slavery of the Russian peasants.

  It is difficult for us to form a just idea of the real

  SALE OF SERFS.

  177

  position of this class of men, who live in the possession of no acknowledged rights, and who yet form the nation. Deprived of every thing by law, they are still not so much degraded morally as they are socially. They have good mental capacity, and sometimes even elevation of character; but, nevertheless, the principle which chiefly actuates their conduct through life is cunning. No one has a right to reproach them with this too natural consequence of their situation. Ever on their guard against their masters, who are constantly acting towards them with open and shameless bad faith, they compensate themselves by artifice for what they suffer through inµistice. The relations between the peasantry and the owner of the soil, as well as their less immediate relations with the country, that is to say, with the Emperor, would alone be a subject worthy of a long sojourn in the interior of Russia.

  In many parts of the empire the peasants believe themselves to belong to the earth, a condition of existence which appears to them natural, even when they have difficulty in understanding how man can be the property of man. In many other countries the peasants believe that the earth belongs to them. Such are the most happy, if they are not the most submissive, of slaves. Not unfrecruently the peasants, when about to be sold, send a deputation to some far off master, of whose character for kindness reports have reached them, imploring him to buy them, their lands, their children, and their cattle ; and if this lord, thus celebrated for his gentleness, (I do not say his justice, for the sentiment of justice is unknown in Russia,)—if this desirable lord has no money, they I 5

  178

  SALE OF SERFS.

  provide him with it, in order to be sure of belonging only to him. The benevolent lord, therefore, buys his new serfs with their own money; after which he exempts them from taxes for a certain number of years; thus indemnifying them for the price of their bodies, which they have paid to him in advance, by furnishing the sum that represents the value of the domain to which they belong, and of which they have, as it were, obliged him to become the proprietor.

  The greatest misfortune which can happen to these vegetating; men is to see their native fields sold. They are always sold with the glebe, and the only advantage they have hitherto derived from the modern ameliorations of the law, is, that they cannot now be sold without it. This provision is, however, notoriously evaded. Instead, for instance, of selling an entire estate, a few acres are often sold with one or two hundred men per acre. If the government becomes aware of such collusion it punishes the guilty parties, but it has seldom an opportunity of interfering; for between the crime and the supreme authority, that is, the Emperor, are a whole multitude of people interested in concealing and perpetuating abuses. The proprietors surfer as much as the serfs from this state of tilings, especially those whose affairs are deranged. Estates are difficult to sell; so difficult, that a man who owes debts and is willing to pay them, is finally obliged to have recourse to the Imperial Bank, where he borrows the sum which he requires, the Bank taking his property in mortgage. By this means the Emperor becomes treasurer and creditor of all the Russian nobility; and the latter, thus curbed by supreme power, are placed in a

  SALE OF SEEFS.

  179

  situation which makes the fulfilment of their duties towards the people impossible.

  On a certain day a nobleman declares his intention of selling an estate. The news of this project throws the country into alarm. The peasants send to their lord a deputation of the elders of their village, who throw themselves at his feet, imploring with tears that they may not be sold. (< It must be," replies the lord: "I cannot conscientiously augment the tax which my peasants pay, and nevertheless I am not rich enough to keep an estate which scarcely brings me in any tiling."

  " Is that all ? " cry the deputies; " we then are wealthy enough to enable you to keep us." Whereupon, of their own free will, they raise their rent to double the amount which they have paid from time immemorial." Other peasants, with less gentleness, and greater craft of character, revolt against their masters, solely with the hope of becoming serfs of the crown. This is the highest ambition of the Russian peasant.

  To emancipate suddenly such men would be to set the country on fire. The moment that the serfs, separated from the land to which they are attached, were to see it sold, let, or cultivated without them, they would rise in a mass, crying that they were despoiled of their goods.

  It is but a short time ago that, in a remote village which was on fire, the peasants, who complained of the tyranny of their master, availed themselves of the disorder they had perhaps caused purposely, to seize his person,
impale it, and roast it in the flames of the conflagration. For such acts the Emperor i 6

  180

  VALUE OF SEIÎFS,

  usually orders the transportation of the entire village to Siberia. This is called in Petersburg peopling Asia.

  When I reflect upon these, and a thousand other cruelties, which, with greater or less secrecy, take place daily in the bosom of this immense empire, where the distances equally favour oppression and revolt, I am ready to conceive a hatred against the land, the government, and the entire population : an indefinable sense of uneasiness takes possession of me, and I think only of flyiug.

  The fortune of a wealthy man is here computed by the heads of peasants. The man who is not free is coined; he is equivalent (on an average) to ten roubles a year to his proprietor, who is called free because he is the owner of serfs. There are districts where each peasant brings three and four times this sum to his master. In Russia the human money alters in value, as, with us, the land, which doubles in price when markets can be opened for its produce. Here I involuntarily pass my time in calculating how many families it has taken to pay for a bonnet, a shawl, or a rose tree : nothing appears to me as it does elsewhere ; every thing seems tainted with blood. The number of human beings condemned to suffer, even unto death, in order to furnish the requisite quantity of stuff which forms the dress of some lovely woman at court, occupies my thoughts more than all her finery or her beauty. Absorbed in the labour of this melancholy computation, I feci myself growing unjust. The most charming face reminds me, in spite of my efforts to banish such ideas, of those caricatures of Bonaparte which were spread all over Europe