Kursk

“ The more southerly part of the province of Kursk is in the Ukraine, or ancient border country. Its semi-nomadic population obtained in early days the designation of Cossacks. This word is not Sclavonic, but Turkish; and although it long denoted in Russia a free man, or, rather, a man free to do anything he chose, it had been used by the Tartar hordes to designate the lower class of their horsemen. From the princes of the House of Rurik these southerly districts passed into the possession of Lithuania, and, later, into those of Poland. ”

“ He smiled, his whole face expressed the consciousness of his superiority over me.
"Look now, it's quite simple. Think it out. They sent me from Petersburg, and in sending me invited me to choose, for certain reasons, my place of residence Say I choose Kursk, for example. Well, I appear at Kursk, and go to the police-station. I have the honour to present myself there. The Kursk police cannot welcome me amiably—they have their own little brothers there—and are full up. They assume that they have before them a sharper, and a clever sharper too ”

“ Vsevolod himself marched against Andrei, son of Monomach, in Pereyaslavl, taking with him his own brother Sviatoslav, for whom he intended this city. While on the road he sent Andrei a message containing the sentence: “Go thou to Kursk!” “I will die rather than leave my inheritance,” retorted Andrei. “My father ruled here, not in Kursk. If there is not sufficient land for thee elsewhere in Russia, and thou must have this place, slay me and take it. While I live, I will not leave what belongs to me.” ”

“ KURSK, a town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name, at the junction of the railways from Moscow, Kiev and Kharkov, 330 m. S.S.W. from Moscow. Pop. (1897) , 52,896. It is built on two hills (750 ft.) , the slopes of which are planted with orchards. The environs all round are well wooded and the woods are famous for their nightingales. Among the public buildings the more noticeable are a monastery with an image of the Virgin, greatly venerated since 1295; the Orthodox Greek cathedral (18th century) ; and the episcopal palace, Kursk being a bishopric of the national church. ”

“ The Kursk district contains more than sixty old town sites; and barrows or burial mounds (kurgans) are extremely abundant. Notwithstanding the active efforts of the local councils (zemstvos) , less than 10% of the population read and write. The government is crossed from north to south and from west to south by two main lines of railway. The trade in grain, hemp, hemp-seed oil, sheepskins, hides, tallow, felt goods, wax, honey and leather goods is very brisk. There are fifteen districts, the chief towns of which, with their populations in 1897, are Kursk (q.v.) ”

“ Kursk is a large industrial centre and I was interested in the fate of the workers there. We learned from our visitor that there had been repeated skirmishes between the workers and the Soviet authorities. A short time before our arrival a strike had broken out and soldiers were sent to quell it. The usual arrests followed and many workers were still in the Tcheka. This state of affairs, the Tolstoian thought, was due to general Communist incompetence rather than to any other cause. People were placed in responsible positions not because of their fitness but owing to their party membership. ”

“ What foolish people the French are! By heavens! I should like to tackle them all, and give them a thrashing. I have also read a fine description of a ball given by a landowner of Kursk. The landowners of Kursk write a fine style.
Then I noticed that it was already half-past twelve, and the director had not yet left his bedroom. But about half-past one something happened which no pen can describe.
The door opened. I thought it was the director; I jumped up with my documents from the seat, and—then—she—herself—came into the room. Ye saints! how beautifully she was dressed. ”

“ On reaching Bucharest, he writes a letter to his aunt Tatyana, in the shape of a diary, describing in a concise way the journey and first impressions on arriving.
"From Kursk I have made about 2,000 versts instead of the 1,000 I intended, and I went through Poltava, Balta, Kishinev, and not by Kiev, which would have been our of the way. ”

“ A layer of fertile loess covers the whole surface, and Kursk belongs almost entirely to the black-earth region. The flora is distinct from that of the governments to the north, not only on account of the black-earth flora which enters into its composition, but also of the plants of south-western Russia which belong to it, a characteristic which is accentuated in the southern portion of the government. The climate is milder than that of middle Russia generally, and winds from the south-east and the south-west prevail in winter. ”

“ Area, 17,932 sq. m. It belongs to the central plateau of middle Russia, of which it mostly occupies the southern slope, the highest parts being in Orel and Kaluga, to the north of Kursk. Its surface is 700 to 1100 ft. high, deeply trenched by ravines, and consequently assumes a hilly aspect when viewed from the river valleys. Cretaceous and Eocene rocks prevail, and chalk, iron-stone, potters’ clay and phosphates are among the economic minerals. No fewer than four hundred streams are counted within its borders, but none of them is of any service as waterways. ”

“ I should have been glad indeed to take lessons of her--of Russian life, I mean--but she's dumb, the poor dear. You must take her as she is; but that's beyond my power: you must give me the inference; you must present me with a conclusion. Here you have a conclusion too: listen to our wise men of Moscow--they're a set of nightingales worth listening to, aren't they? Yes, that's the pity of it, that they pipe away like Kursk nightingales, instead of talking as the people talk.... ”

“ A memorial in regard to the Jews, written in 1884 by Ivan Blioch, and published by the ministry of the interior—The Jewish Question in Russia—shows by statistics that the greatest percentage of pauper peasants is found in the Jewless governments of Moscow, Tula, Orel, and Kursk; that the prosperity of the peasantry in the governments within the pale is incomparably higher than in the territory from which the Jews are excluded. ”

“ Profit by our offer, and avenge yourselves upon the enemy who has warred against you in the past.” The envoys were seized and put to death immediately, and the Russians continued their march.
At the Kalka, a small stream flowing into the Sea of Azoff, they encountered the Mongol forces, led by two great commanders, Subotai and Chepé. Mystislav the Gallant, Daniel of Volynia, and Oleg of Kursk, wishing to win for themselves all the glory of the victory, rushed forward without the aid of the Prince of Kief, and even without warning him of their intention. ”

“ I learned the truck belonged to a factory in Kursk, where Nikolai was employed by the new government in some industrial capacity, and the truck was to be delivered there. We continued our journey in the truck until late in the afternoon, when we stopped in a wooded spot with tall poplars, birches, walnut and elm trees which grew profusely in this area near Penza. We rested a while and then proceeded toward the city, an old historical site. We made some purchases of food here, although the prices were prohibitive. Alexander noticed a woman selling shawls. ”

“ Craftsmen, traders and people of all kinds came readily to settle in Moscow. Land-tillers found it more to their profit to live there than in places torn by quarrels. Hence Moscow was made up of men from every part of Russia. Next to Moscow was Tver, but there was less strength in Tver and less order. The turmoils of Novgorod were felt in Tver somewhat, and Tver was more exposed to raids from Lithuania. The place was, moreover, distinguished for an almost frivolous and insolent demeanor toward Mongols; hence in Moscow there was less danger from Mongols. ”

“ Vladimir was to hurry to Volok and get warriors in those parts.
Meanwhile the Khan’s troops were rapidly approaching. In his army were Dmitri’s brothers-in-law; Oleg of Ryazan was there also.
In Kostroma the Grand Prince enrolled perhaps ten thousand men. From Novgorod no word had come thus far. The Tver prince, instead of helping Dmitri, sent his son to the Khan with gifts and homage. Many warriors in Dmitri’s regiments deserted; whole companies went home of their own accord. There was a general paralysis. In Moscow, deserted by the army and left without a leader, there was anarchy. ”

“ Dust dimmed the sun; people fell like grass when scythes are cutting. A horse was killed under Dmitri; he mounted another. Later he was seen on foot, limping and wounded. After that no man beheld him till the battle was over.
When the Russians began the struggle, they had the Dubik on the west and the Smolka on the east at the left, and looked themselves toward the south. Bobrok and Vladimir retired to the forest and hid there, as they had been commanded. On the left wing from which they had withdrawn, was the Nizni prince. ”

“ Soon a party of richly dressed warriors rode toward the Kremlin, princes of the Horde, with a suite in large numbers. In front of all were the brothers-in-law of the Grand Prince, Simeon and Vassili, sons of Dmitri of Nizni. The suite made signs that they came for peace, and were allowed to ride up to the defenses. “The Khan wishes to show his people grace,” said they. “He has come not against you, who are guilty of nothing. Our sovereign has not come to strike you, but Dmitri. He is not angry with you,—ye are worthy of favor. He only asks you to come out with small gifts and show honor ”

“ The weakening of Lithuania, even for a time, was a godsend to Moscow. Not without satisfaction might the people there look on this struggle between the two deadly enemies of Russia. Tamerlane’s war with Tohtamish and Vitold’s great conflict with Kutlui were vastly important, and useful to Moscow and Russia. Many Smolensk people, weary of Vitold, wished to recall their native prince, Yuri, son of Sviatoslav, who was living in Ryazan with Oleg, his wife’s father, and in 1400 Yuri turned to his father-in-law with these words: “My Smolensk friends have sent men saying that many desire me. ”

“ Fight to the death. He who is not killed will be living. Hit hard! God is in truth, not in numbers. Forward like men! Hit hard! Forward on foot or on horseback, but forward!”
The Novgorod men remembered the fight of their great-grandfathers when they were led by the great-grandfather of Mystislav, and the blood rose in them. “We will not fight on horseback,” said they. Steam was rolling now from the oncoming enemy. The Novgorod men threw off their boots and upper clothing and rushed to the fight with axes and clubs, vying with the men of Smolensk in their valor. ”

“ Great numbers of people had come from the country to Novgorod; and now disease appeared. Communication with the world was interrupted, and hunger was approaching. To complete the disaster, evil news came from Dvina regions: The voevodas of Moscow had scattered the Novgorod army; Prince Shuiski, its leader, was wounded severely; the inhabitants had taken the oath to the Grand Prince.
The Novgorod adherents of peace and alliance with Moscow attacked the opponents for listening to women and destroying the Commonwealth. The Assembly sent envoys to Ivan. ”

“ Between some grey spikes on a wall I can just discern the boisterous current of the Kura, with sakli [warehouses] and houses glued to the opposite bank, and the figures of some workmen on the roof of a tanning shed. Below, with his cap pushed to the back of his head, a sentry is pacing backwards and forwards.
Wearily my mind recalls the many scores of Russian folk whom it has seen perish to no purpose. And as it does so it feels crushed, as in a vice, beneath the burden of great and inexorable sorrow with which all life is dowered. ”

“ The Grand Prince and his men marched on the ice of Lake Ilmen and halted three versts from Novgorod, at the village of the boyar Lashinski. Not relying on frost alone, Ivan built a bridge over the Volkoff, thus ensuring connection with all the parts of his army.
What could the city do against this dreadful power which beset it on all sides? In the first war with Moscow the city had considerable forces, but now we find them not even attempting to fight in the open. Every energy was turned to defending the walls and the fortress. ”

“ The lands now included in the governments of Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Tver and Moscow, with a part of Novgorod and Vologda, were scenes of ruin and terror. Everywhere the same marks of Mongols. Such noted places as Tver, Torjok, Volokolamsk, Yaroslavl and Mologa were sacked and burned to the ground, as well as villages and settlements beyond reckoning. The Russians looked on this invasion as a testimony of God’s anger, such an evil as a flood or an earthquake, irresistible and almighty. In small villages, when the Mongols appeared, the people grew helpless from terror ”

“ The Novgorod troops marched at once against Holmski, who had taken and burned Russa, and was advancing slowly, while waiting for Pskoff men. Their plan was to crush Holmski before he could be reinforced by the Pskoff army, and then to rout the latter. Meanwhile, the Novgorod horse were moving along the west bank of Lake Ilmen. A part of the warriors had debarked on its southern border, near Korostyno, but the Moscow guard noted this movement quickly, and despatched couriers to Holmski, who struck on the Novgorod foot at once. ”

“ Meanwhile the old hero of Kulikovo, Dmitri’s cousin, Vladimir, defended Moscow. The walls were strong and well mounted with new and old weapons. There were plenty of defenders; hunger alone could reduce the capital. Edigai now sent to the Tver prince, Ivan, son of that Michael who had fought so long against Moscow, and commanded him to come with troops, cannon, and wall-breaking instruments. But this Tver prince would not serve the enemy of Russia ”