Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c.

The treaty of Adrianople was in a manner the opening of a new era in the relations of Russia with the mountaineers; for it was by virtue of that treaty that the present tzar, al...

The Kalmucks, Like most of the other offshoots of the Mongol stock, are Buddhists, or rather Lamites. According to the opinion of all writers, Buddhism began in India, and Buddh...

The origin of the Don Cossacks has, like that of the Tatars of Southern Russia, given rise to interminable discussions. Some have represented this people as an offshoot of the g...

HISTORY OF THEIR ACQUISITION OF THE TRANS-CAUCASIAN PROVINCES--GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CAUCASUS--ARMED LINE OF THE KOUBAN AND THE TEREK--BLOCKADE OF THE COASTS--CHARACTER AND...

At some distance from the colony, a dull white line, scarcely distinguishable through the gloom, announced the presence of the Volga. We followed its course all night, catching...

COMMERCIAL POSITION OF ASTRAKHAN--ITS IMPORTANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES--ITS LOSS OF THE OVERLAND TRADE FROM INDIA-- COMMERCIAL STATISTICS--FISHERIES OF THE CASPIAN--CHANGE OF THE M...

We must not, however, form to ourselves an idea of the Russian nobility at all similar to those we entertain of the aristocracies of Germany, or of ante-revolutionary France. In...

The account we have given of our journey on the banks of the Volga, and the steppes of the Caspian, will have afforded the reader an idea of the strange and striking habits of t...

ANOTHER ROBBERY AT HOUIDOUK--OUR NOMADE LIFE--CAMELS--KALMUCK CAMP--QUARREL WITH A TURCOMAN CONVOY, AND RECONCILIATION-- LOVE OF THE KALMUCKS FOR THEIR STEPPES; ANECDOTE--A SATZ...

EXCURSION ON THE BANKS OF THE DNIEPR--DOUTCHINA--ELECTION OF THE MARSHALS AND JUDGES OF THE NOBILITY AT KHERSON--HORSE-RACING --STRANGE STORY IN THE "JOURNAL DES DEBATS"--A COUN...

Perhaps no people has given occasion to more discussions than the Tatars and Mongols, nor is the problem of their origin completely solved in our day, notwithstanding the most l...

DEPARTURE FOR THE CASPIAN--IEKATERINOSLAV--POTEMKIN'S RUINED PALACE--PASKEVITCH'S CAUCASIAN GUARD--SHAM FIGHT--INTOLERABLE HEAT--CATARACTS OF THE DNIEPR--GERMAN COLONIES--THE SE...

After some months' stay in Odessa, we left it in company with General Potier, a Frenchman by birth, to pass the winter at his country-house. Travelling would nowhere be more rap...

COMMERCIAL POLITY OF RUSSIA IN THE CRIMEA--CAFFA SACRIFICED IN FAVOUR OF KERTCH--THESE TWO PORTS COMPARED--THE QUARANTINE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE SEA OF AZOF, AND ITS CONSEQUENCE...

To complete our account of the southern regions of Russia, it remains for us to speak of Bessarabia, the most remote province which the tzars possess on the shores of the Black...

From the destruction of the Genoese colonies in the Crimea, in 1476, down to the treaty of Kainardji, a period of 300 years, the Black Sea remained closed against the nations of...

THE KALMUCKS AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF OUBACHA--DIVISION OF THE HORDES, LIMITS OF THEIR TERRITORY--THE TURKOMAN AND TATAR TRIBES IN THE GOVERNMENTS OF ASTRAKHAN AND THE CAUCASUS--...

Every one is aware of the mystic influence which Madame de Krudener exercised for many years over the enthusiastic temperament of the Emperor Alexander. This lady who has so cha...

That same winter at 10 P.M. on the 11th of January, we had a smart shock of earthquake, but which happily did no mischief in that part of the steppes. We were seated at the whis...

Leaving my wife to return with Mademoiselle Jacquemart to Oulou Ouzen, I took my way by the lower part of the valley of Soudagh through a labyrinth of vineyards and meadows cove...

CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE; GOVERNMENTS--CONSEQUENCES OF CENTRALISATION; DISSIMULATION OF PUBLIC FUNCTIONARIES-- TRIBUNALS--THE COLONEL OF THE GENDARMERIE--CORRUPTION-- PEDANTRY...

At four o'clock on a dull morning we left Piatigorsk of charming memory, to strike once more into the mountains, where by the by, in less than an hour, we were met by one of the...

The history of Astrakhan is so well known that the reader will no doubt thank us for not recapitulating the various political revolutions that have taken place in the regions of...

BANKS OF THE KOUMA; VLADIMIROFKA--M. REBROF'S REPULSE OF A CIRCASSIAN FORAY--BOURGON MADJAR--JOURNEY ALONG THE KOUMA-- VIEW OF THE CAUCASIAN MOUNTAINS--CRITICAL SITUATION--GEORG...

After a winter spent in the pleasures of repose, we left Odessa at the end of April to visit the Crimea, on board the _Julia_, a handsome brig, owned and commanded by M. Taitbou...

Beyond Novo Tcherkask the road to Astrakhan runs northward along the right bank of the Don; the country still continuing the same naked and monotonous appearance; it is only in...

After our excursion to Inkermann we left Sevastopol the same day, glad to quit the Russians and their naval capital for Bagtche Serai, that ancient city, which previously to the...

EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF SURFACE--MILESIAN AND HERACLEAN COLONIES--KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS--EXPORT AND IMPORT TRADE IN THE TIMES OF THE GREEK REPUBLICS--MITHRIDATES--THE KINGDOM...

From Georgief we set out for Piatigorsk, the chief watering place of the Caucasus, and travelled for three hours over a dreary plain, with nothing for the eye to rest on but her...

MARIOUPOL--BERDIANSK--KNAVISH JEW POSTMASTER--TAGANROK-- MEMORIALS OF PETER THE GREAT AND ALEXANDER--GREAT FAIR--THE GENERAL WITH TWO WIVES--MORALITY IN RUSSIA--ADVENTURES OF A...

As we turned our backs on Taganrok, we could easily foresee what we should have to suffer during our journey. A long drought and a temperature of 99 deg. had already changed the...

In contemplating the development and organisation of public instruction in Russia from the time of Peter the Great to these days, one cannot help thinking that the Russians atta...

We left Astrakhan at eight in the evening, and were ferried across the Volga in a four-oared boat. It took us more than an hour to cross the river, its breadth opposite the town...

It would have been impossible to travel more rapidly than we did from Stavropol to the Don. The steppe is as smooth as a mirror, and the posting better conducted than in any oth...

Under the Tatars Simpheropol was the second town of the Crimea, and the residence of the Kalga Sultan, whose functions were nearly equivalent to those of vice-khan. He exercised...

GENERAL REMARKS ON NEW RUSSIA--ANTIPATHY BETWEEN THE MUSCOVITES AND MALOROSSIANS--FOREIGN COLONIES--GENERAL ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY, CATTLE, &C.--WANT OF MEANS OF COMMUNICATION --...

The day of our release from quarantine, was as full of bustle and annoyances as that of our arrival, the _spolio_ alone excepted. How we regretted the freedom of the East! There...

On the 15th of May, 1838, we bade adieu to Constantinople, and standing on the deck of the Odessa steamer, as it entered the Bosphorus, we could not withdraw our eyes from the m...

The proximity of Ialta to the most remarkable places on the coast, its harbour, and its delightful situation, make it the rendezvous of all the travellers who flock to the Crime...

The brilliant fetes that took place on the arrival of the imperial family, happened most opportunely for us, and enabled us to see many celebrated personages. All the foreigners...

In justification of its prohibitive system, the government alleges the protection and encouragement it owes to native industry. Now it is evident that absolute exclusion cannot...

The country we passed over, next day, on our way to the southern coast, had a wild sylvan appearance strikingly in contrast with what we had hitherto seen. Between the valley of...

ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY OF THE DON COSSACKS--FEMALE PILGRIMS OF KIEV; RELIGIOUS FERVOUR OF THE COSSACKS--NOVO TCHERKASK, CAPITAL OF THE DON--STREET-LAMPS GUARDED BY SENTINELS--TH...

Of all the seaboard of the East, the coasts of the Black Sea are those from which the expense of freight are the greatest. Different circumstances combine in producing this effe...

Extent and Character of Surface--Milesian and Heraclean Colonies --Kingdom of the Bosphorus--Export and Import Trade in the Times of the Greek Republics--Mithridates--The Kingdo...

Commercial Polity of Russia in the Crimea--Caffa sacrificed in Favour of Kertch--These two Ports compared--The Quarantine at the Entrance of the Sea of Azof, and its Consequence...

The different Conditions of Men in Russia--The Nobles--Discontent of the Old Aristocracy--The Merchant Class--Serfdom--Constitution of the Empire; Governments--Consequences of C...

Another Robbery at Houidouk--Our Nomade Life--Camels--Kalmuck Camp--Quarrel with a Turcoman Convoy, and Reconciliation--Love of the Kalmucks for their Steppes; Anecdote--A Satza...

Excursion on the Banks of the Dniepr--Doutchina--Election of the Marshals and Judges of the Nobility at Kherson--Horse-Racing --Strange Story in the "Journal des Debats"--A Coun...

General Remarks on New Russia--Antipathy between the Muscovites and Malorossians--Foreign Colonies--General aspect of the Country, Cattle, &c.--Want of Means of Communication--R...

History of their Acquisition of the Trans-Caucasian Provinces --General Topography of the Caucasus--Armed Line of the Kouban and the Terek--Blockade of the Coasts--Character and...

The Kalmucks after the Departure of Oubacha--Division of the Hordes, Limits of their Territory--The Turcoman and Tatar Tribes in the Governments of Astrakhan and the Caucasus--...

Entry into the Country of the Don Cossacks--Female Pilgrims of Kiev; Religious Fervour of the Cossacks--Novo Tcherkask, Capital of the Don--Street-lamps guarded by Sentinels--Th...

Commercial Position of Astrakhan--Its Importance in the Middle Ages--Its Loss of the Overland Trade from India--Commercial Statistics--Fisheries of the Caspian--Change of the Mo...

Departure for the Caspian--Iekaterinoslav--Potemkin's Ruined Palace--Paskevitch's Caucasian Guard--Sham Fight--Intolerable Heat--Cataracts of the Dniepr--German Colonies--The Se...

Banks of the Kouma; Vladimirofka--M. Rebrof's Repulse of a Circassian Foray--Bourgon Madjar--Journey along the Kouma-- View of the Caucasian Mountains--Critical Situation--Georg...

Marioupol--Berdiansk--Knavish Jew Postmaster--Taganrok--Memorials of Peter the Great and Alexander--Great Fair--The General with Two Wives--Morality in Russia--Adventures of a P...