Project Gutenberg's Russian Life To-day, by Right Rev. Herbert Bury

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Title: Russian Life To-day

Author: Right Rev. Herbert Bury

Release Date: July 31, 2010 [EBook #33303]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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RUSSIAN LIFE TO-DAY

[Illustration: _His Imperial Majesty the Tsar._]

RUSSIAN LIFE
TO-DAY

BY THE

RIGHT REV. HERBERT BURY, D.D.

_Bishop for Northern and Central Europe
Author of "A Bishop among Bananas"_

A. R. MOWBRAY & CO. LTD.

LONDON: 28 Margaret Street, Oxford Circus, W.
OXFORD: 9 High Street
MILWAUKEE, U.S.A.: The Young Churchman Co.

_TO MY FELLOW COUNTRYMEN
AT WORK IN SIBERIA_

First impression, March, 1915

New impressions, April, July, December, 1915

INTRODUCTION

My first inclination, when the entirely unexpected proposal of the
Publishers came to me to write this book, was immediately to decline.
There are so many well-known writers on Russia, whose books are an
unfailing pleasure and source of information, that it seemed to me to be
nothing less than presumption to add to their number. But when I was
assured that there seems to be a great desire just now for a book which,
as the Publishers expressed it, "should not attempt an elaborate sketch
of the country, nor any detailed description of its system of government
and administration, or any exhaustive study of the Russian Church, and
yet should give the _impressions_ of a sympathetic observer of some of
the chief aspects of Russian Life which are likely to appeal to an
English Churchman," I felt that I might venture to attempt it.

It has been given to me to get to understand thoroughly from close and
intimate knowledge the commercial development of Siberia by our
countrymen; and yet everywhere, both there and in Russia proper, I have
to go to every place specially and