trouble was again brewing among the Balkan nations,
which were still subject to the Turks. Revolts had broken out among
the Serbians, and the people of Bosnia and Bulgaria. As has already
been told, these nations are Slavic, cousins of the Russians, and they
have always looked upon Russia as their big brother and protector. Any
keen-eared, intelligent Russian can understand the language of the
Serbs, it is so much like his own tongue. (Bel-grad, Petro-grad; the
word "grad" means "city" in both languages.)

Not only was Russia hostile toward the Turks because they were
oppressing the little Slav states, but she had reasons of her own for
wanting to see Turkey overthrown. Ever since the reign of Peter the
Great, Russia had had her eye upon Constantinople. Peter had conquered
the district east of the Gulf of Finland, and had founded St.
Petersburg[4] there, just to give Russia a port which was free of
ice. In the same way, other czars who followed him had fought their
way southward to the Black Sea, seeking for a chance to trade with the
Mediterranean world. But the Black Sea was like a bottle, and the
Turks at Constantinople were able to stop the Russian trade at any
time they might wish to do so. Russia is an agricultural country, and
must ship her grain to countries that are more densely inhabited, to
exchange it for their manufactures.

[4] Now called Petrograd.

[Illustration: Entrance to the Mosque of St Sophia]

Therefore, it has been the dream of every Russian czar that one day
Russia might own Constantinople. Again, this city, in ancient days,
was the home of the Greek church, as Rome was the capital of the
western Catholic church. The Russians are all Greek Catholics, and
every Russian looks forward to the day when the great church of St.
Sophia, which is now a Mohammedan mosque, shall once more be the home
of Christian worship. With this plan in mind, Russian diplomats were
only too happy to stir up trouble for the Turks among the Slavic
peoples of the Balkan states, as Serbia, Bulgaria, Roumania, and
Montenegro are called. Glance at the two following maps of
southeastern Europe, and see how Turkey had been reduced in size
during the two hundred years which followed the Turkish defeat at the
gates of Vienna by John Sobieski and the Austrians. The state of
Bessarabia had changed hands two or three times, remaining finally in
the hands of Russia.

The revolts of the Balkan peoples in 1875 and 1876 were haile