ction of the Trans-Siberian Railway
in May, 1891.

The same year, 1891, saw the visit of a large French fleet at
Kronstadt, the harbor of Petrograd, which was welcomed effusively.
Two years later, in 1893, a Russian fleet repaid the compliment by
visiting Toulon and found an equally hospitable reception. Even
previous to this a large amount of French capital had been invested
in Russian Government Bonds and in Russian industrial undertakings
and the friendship between the two nations increased rapidly.
However, the death of Alexander III in November, 1894, somewhat
delayed the actual conclusion of the alliance and it was not until
1896 that an extensive and far-reaching treaty was signed at the
occasion of the visit of the new Czar, Nicholas II, to Paris. The
immense significance which this Franco-Russian treaty had in respect
to its effect on all of Europe was immediately recognized. If the
treaty succeeded in lasting for any length of time, it was
reasonably clear that it would be only a question of time before it
would result in an entirely new arrangement of European affairs.

The next five or six years were characterized by Russia's determined
advances in the Far East, a strengthening of the Franco-Russian
friendship and serious internal difficulties. The first of these
brought Russia more and more in conflict with England and Japan of
which we shall hear more immediately. The second resulted in a
growth of the estrangement between Russia and Germany. The third for
a time threatened the very existence of the Russian monarchy and it
seemed almost impossible that anything else than revolution and
anarchy could be the final outcome. These were averted only at the
last moment by the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War.

In April, 1902, a treaty had been signed between China and Russia.
According to it Russia agreed to observe the integrity of China and
to evacuate Manchuria which it had begun to occupy as early as 1897.
The evacuation was to be stretched over a year and a half and in the
beginning Russia lived up to the terms of the treaty. At the end of
the first six months, however, further evacuation stopped and when
China demanded explanations Russia repudiated the arrangement and
refused to proceed with the evacuation unless additional
concessions were made by China. Throughout 1903 negotiations took
place between Japan and Russia concerning this matter which,
however, were not very rich in results. On January