ion, and its exercise shall not be
regarded as an unfriendly act." A permanent Court of Arbitration was
established at The Hague. It is composed of judges selected from a
list on which every country is represented. On the 29th of July, the
delegates of sixteen nations signed the protocol embodying the
conclusions; it was afterwards signed by sixteen more. It remained,
however, with the United States, to give vitality to an institution
which was looked upon with ill favor by many governments.

Although the reign of terror from the nihilists has passed, (p. 257)
political murder is still rampant in Russia, and recent events in the
Far East have caused a renewal of the agitation for reforms. In 1904,
the Governor-general of Finland was assassinated, and soon afterwards,
the hated and dreaded Minister of the Interior de Plehve shared that
fate. His successor seems to be anxious to grant greater liberties to
the people. The united action of the zemstvos, and the final issue of
the war in the Far East, may have important results. Nicholas II, amid
all his perplexities, was made glad by the birth of a son and heir,
who received the name of Alexis.

[Illustration: Map] (p. 258)

XXVIII--THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE ASIATIC EMPIRE. (p. 259)

A close study of the history of Asiatic Russia reveals the fact that,
until within a comparatively recent date, the Russian government had
no fixed policy in or toward Asia. There was a national instinct which
impelled Russia eastward. Twice had Europe been invaded by Asiatic
hordes, and, owing to its position, Russia was doomed to bear the
brunt of the onset. Russia's history points out a ceaseless desire to
be a European nation, to share with Europe its progress and its
burdens. It is within a few years that the heir to the throne first
visited the extensive Asiatic dominions. No czar had ever put foot in
them. Until the reign of Nicholas I (1825-1855), the Russian Empire
spread eastward much as the United States expanded westward, by
individual effort.

The movement began in 1558, when Ivan the Terrible granted to Gregory
Strogonof ninety-two miles of waste land on the banks of the Kama. The
new owner explored the mineral resources of the Urals, crossed the
mountains, and found himself in the kingdom of Sibir. Strogonof had
become acquainted with one Yermak or Irmak, a Cossack and captain of a
robber band kno