ference is that the
native officials are displaced by Russians. This continues until
Russian rule is firmly established, and no one dreams of resisting the
czar. Then the Russian language displaces the native tongue, and if
disturbances occur, the military is called in to inflict a terrible
punishment. The loss of the native language carries with it that of
old institutions, and when the people have submitted to their fate, it
is the turn of their religion. The Russian is in no hurry; he has a
conviction that time has no changes in store for his empire, hence he
bides his time, and is likely to succeed in his purpose. This process
is now carried on in Central Asia where Russian power has found its
greatest expansion in modern times. It is but fair to admit that
Russian absorption there has been highly beneficial because robber
tribes were reduced to law and order.

[Illustration: Russia]

Before telling the Story of Russia, that is, of how the huge empire
was formed and grew to its present size, it is necessary to become (p. 018)
better acquainted with the aspect and nature of the country. Looking
at the map of the Eurasian continent, that is, the continent embracing
Europe and Asia, we cannot fail to notice that Russia is a country of
the plains. Its southern boundary seems to follow the mountain
barriers which divide Asia into two parts. Does it not seem as if long
billows of earth roll down toward the Arctic Ocean, where they rest
benumbed by the eternal cold? These mountains branch off toward the
south, east or west, but scorn to throw so much as a spur northward.
It is true that a solitary chain, the Urals, runs north and south, but
it stands by itself, and is nothing more than what the word Ural
signifies, a _belt_ or _girdle_ separating the European from his
Asiatic brother. These mountains do not form the backbone of a
country, nor do they serve as a watershed, like our Rocky Mountains or
the Andes of South America. Some of their peaks rise to a height of
6,000 feet above the level of the sea, but the chain, 1531 miles long,
seems destined only to keep the two races apart.

Beyond the Ural mountains, the plain resumes its sway. This extensive
flat could not fail to exert a noticeable influence upon the country
and its inhabitants. The dense forests in the north, while acting as a
screen, do not afford protection against the icy polar winds which
sweep with scarcely diminished force over the broad expanse, so