beloved country, yield obedience only
to the Law; but the laws are made by ourselves, and they allow us (p. 015)
to do as we please, so long as we do not interfere with others who
have the same rights; and those laws are ever ready to protect us. In
Russia laws are made or unmade at the will of one person who is
himself above the laws. Every man, woman, or child, born and living in
that country, is at his mercy. Mere suspicion is sufficient to drag a
man from his family and home, perhaps to disappear without leaving a
trace. Such a government is called an autocracy, and the man who may
thus dispose of people's life and property, is known as an Autocrat.
Hence the title of the Emperor of Russia is: Autocrat of All the
Russias.

Why "All the Russias"? Look at the map of Eurasia, the continent
embracing the two Grand Divisions Europe and Asia. You will see that
the Russian Empire is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean; on the
east by the Bering Strait, the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the
Japan Sea; on the south by China, Pamir, Afghanistan, Persia, Asiatic
Turkey, and the Black Sea; and on the west by Roumania,
Austria-Hungary, the German Empire, the Baltic Sea, Sweden, and
Norway. This immense empire is the growth of many centuries, and even
in Europe it has not yet been welded into one whole. When we read
Russian books, we learn about Great and Little Russia, White and Red
Russia, which shows that divisions of bygone years are still observed
by the people. Much has been done towards effacing those boundary
lines; but the fact that the czar, autocrat though he is, recognizes
and admits the division in his title, shows that even he is, to some
extent, subject to public opinion.

Russia in Europe, however, with the exception of Poland and (p. 016)
Finland, is a country with one religion and one language; that is, the
czar and his government recognize and admit no other. That is the
cause of the persecution of the Jews, four fifths of whom dwell in the
southwest of Russia in an area covering 356,681 square miles, which is
sometimes mentioned as the Jewish territory. Every succeeding czar has
tried to make all his subjects think and act in the manner prescribed
by him. The process is known as "Russianizing," and goes on
incessantly in its different stages. Immediately after the conquest of
a country, its people are assured that their religion, institutions,
and language, shall be respected; the only dif