The Englishwoman in Russia

by A lady

The government, in its excessive care regarding instruction, has established colleges and schools for every branch and for every rank in society excepting the serfs, who, poor people! know very little more than the cattle they drive, or beyond their own name and that of their village. It is not an exaggeration to say that they do not know their grandfathers, for among the serfs there are no surnames; like a dog, they only bear one name while alive, and leave none behind them when they are dead. Nine out of every ten cannot tell you how old they are, so it may readily be imagined what the extent of their knowledge is. In speaking of this wronged and “evil entreated” class, I may mention, as à propos to the subject of education, that I once went to a school which M. S——, a gentleman of the province of Twer, boasted he had established on his estate. He was possessed of nearly four thousand souls (i.e. men), so, of course, I expected to see a noisy crowd of merry boys all busily engaged in learning their A B C. I was shown into a small room in which were six or eight young lads standing with a dull and heavy look over some dirty books, the contents of which I had the curiosity to examine. The first one I took up was a Latin catalogue of the names of plants, with the pronunciation in Russian letters and the translation on the opposite page. No wonder, poor boy! he looked dull and heavy, to be obliged to con over those long botanical names in a language of which he knew nothing, and to repeat them like a parrot to the master, without feeling the least interest or meaning in the study. I expressed my surprise at his having to learn out of such a book, when I was informed that the lad was destined to be a gardener on the estate! and every one of those eight unhappy youths was only being taught to serve his owner’s interest. One was to be a steward, another a village apothecary for the serfs, and so on, just as if they were so many machines of flesh and blood which might be put to any use that their master pleased. This circumstance accounted sufficiently for the absence of the others, for, as they were destined to be merely field-labourers, it was not thought worth while to teach them any more than the horses and oxen on the estate!

The University at St. Petersburg is a long white-faced building on the quay of Vassili Ostroff. The students are taught as much as it is thought proper for them to know, and their studies are conducted under the watchful eye of the authorities; from all I could find out, astronomy seems the only science that is permitted to be thoroughly investigated by Russian subjects;[16] for the revolutions of the stars have not much to do with those of monarchies, nor the precession of the equinox with the advance of civilization.

Some years ago I was told an anecdote, which I was assured was a true one, and my informant affirmed that he knew the parties well. I will relate it here, as it may serve to show how matters are conducted in the Russian alma mater. I premise that the students do not reside under the roof of the university, but have to find lodgings elsewhere, and that many of them are extremely poor. Among the latter class was a young man of more than ordinary talents, who by great perseverance and industrious application had twice merited the prize; but there were two obstacles to his receiving it; the first was his poverty, which forbade him to offer any of those golden bribes which cause the superiors to discover wisdom in a fool and talent in an idiot; the second was the dislike one of the professors bore to him and his jealousy of his talents.

The young student, having been twice cheated of his just reward, was yet determined upon making a third effort to obtain it. His finances were become so reduced, that it was only by great privations and excessive economy that he could manage to exist, and pay for the humble lodging he occupied; indeed it was almost beyond his means to remain long enough to pass his examination. He was sure of the prize if it depended only on the knowledge required to obtain it; and it may readily be imagined with what anxiety he awaited the day which was to decide his fate. I should remark that more than the actual honour was involved; his daily bread, his very rescue from utter starvation, depended upon his passing the ordeal with credit; as so doing would entitle him to some post under government, which would furnish him with at least the means of subsistence. The time at last arrived; the examination was passed, and nothing remained but the receiving of the reward which he had so justly earned. All the professors, excepting the one before-mentioned, had testified their approbation; his voice alone was necessary to complete the votes that would decide the affair. All eyes were turned on him, when suddenly he arose and announced his intention of retaining his “suffrage,” making some remarks concerning the conduct (i.e. submission) of the student as the excuse for his hateful injustice. The unfortunate young man, before whose eyes starvation and want presented themselves in grim and terrible reality, who had been buoyed up to the very last moment with the certainty of reward, now saw all his hopes scattered to the winds, his prospects for the future dashed to the earth, his plan for his own support and that of his mother (for he was a widow’s son) crumbled into dust. Indignation at the injustice, grief at his loss, anger, rage, and despair, seized upon his heart, and, urged by an irresistible impulse, he rushed forward and struck the villain whose envy and hatred had caused him so great a misfortune. He was immediately arrested, brought to trial, and condemned by the Emperor himself to receive a thousand lashes of the knout.

This instrument, which happily is unknown out of the Muscovite empire, inflicts so dreadful a chastisement, that a single blow, when struck on particular parts of the back or side, is sufficient to deprive a human being of life; and I have often been assured that, if the criminal be rich enough, he pays the wretch destined to be his executioner[17] to put him as speedily as possible out of his pain, by striking him in a vital part. When the day arrived on which the unhappy young man was to suffer for his imprudence, the whole of the students and professors were ordered to be assembled to witness his punishment, the horrible details of which can scarcely be conceived; at every blow of the barbarous knout a long line of flesh flew off, until the bones were quite bare and the heart was exposed to view. Of course long ere this the unfortunate victim had ceased to breathe, but the sentence was a thousand lashes, and, whether he was alive or dead, the number must be given. Several of the horror-stricken students, the spectators of this disgraceful sight, were lying insensible on the ground, having fainted with dismay; and my informant shuddered as he mentioned that a piece of flesh fell on his own sleeve as the knout was uplifted. The Almighty will be the judge between this wronged man and his assassins; but what real civilization can exist in a land where such savage acts are done? Scenes such as this are sufficient to show from their cruelty the barbarous state of the nation at large, and would do more to retard its enlightenment than a whole university of professors could contribute to its advancement.

Whilst speaking of this horrible punishment I may mention another execution which took place in St. Petersburg, although it has nothing to do either with the university or education. A certain gentleman (?), who was rich in “blood and ore,” employed his faculties in the invention of what may be designated a truly “infernal machine” for the castigation of his slaves: it was constructed in such a manner that, when the unfortunate delinquent was placed in it, so that he could not move, a piece of mechanism, ingeniously contrived, was put in motion and inflicted severe blows on his back. The slaves, at last driven to desperation at being made victims for his amusement, one day placed him in the machine, and let him feel by experience the pain he had so often out of mere wanton cruelty caused them to endure. How he escaped from their hands I never heard; but he did find means to do so, and immediately lodged complaints against them; they were cited, and condemned to be knouted. An eye-witness of their punishment assured me that the same fearful details took place as those mentioned in the preceding example; but he also added that carriages filled with ladies (to their shame and disgrace) were drawn up in a line, and their occupants were the spectators of this diabolical execution. Well might our friend have pronounced that “c’était le siècle de Louis Quinze,” for does not this remind us of the crowd of ladies of his court who were witnesses to the awful punishment of his would-be assassin, and of the amiable countess who so feelingly and gracefully gave a description of the horrid scene at an evening party on the same day on which she had seen it?

But enough of these horrors; let us return to the subject from which their recital has formed a long digression. The University men eschew the long black gown and square-topped cap of Oxford and Cambridge, and have an uniform assigned them in which a cocked-hat and sword figure as the most remarkable features. As regards the hat, there is nothing against that, as we may suppose a cocked one answers the purpose of covering the head as well as any other; but the utility of the sword is incomprehensible. A great number of the students are Germans, or rather Russo-Germans, and some of them are excellent musicians; they give a concert about once a fortnight during the winter season, for the benefit of their poorer brethren. These concerts are well worth attending, not only for the pleasure of contributing to a laudable purpose, but also from the excellent manner in which the music is performed.

There is a naval school at the Admiralty, in which maritime affairs are taught by theory, and fresh-water sailors manufactured.

“Have you ever been to sea?” I asked of a young officer of three-and-twenty.