Pictorial History Of The Russian War 1854 56

Excerpt from Pictorial History of the Russian War, 1854-56 In the middle of the fifteenth century, as will be seen by a glance at the accompanying map, what is now Russia consisted only of the grand-duchy of Moscow - a limited territory in the centre of Northern Europe, scarcely known even by name in the countries of the West. From that nucleus, in pursuance of an ambitious policy, and by a series of skilfully executed manœuvres, it has been enlarged in all directions, till it now embraces the vast region lying between the Arctic Ocean on the north and the Black Sea on the south, with the Pacific as its eastern and the Baltic as its western boundary. Previous to the reign of Peter I., surnamed the Great, who ascended the throne in 1689, the history of Russia presents only a succession of savage struggles with surrounding nationalities. The ruling authority had attacked and been attacked by Mongols, Tatars, Cossacks, Turks, Lithuanians, Poles, and Swedes; and, advancing in power, had acquired the title of Czar or Emperor. Slavonic in race and language, and professing the Greek form of Christianity, the Russian people have never intermingled with the Western nations, but may be said, as a race, to partake of that character which we associate with the semi-civilised inhabitants of Asia. Amidst the rude Slavonians, Peter arose as a reformer of manners; and notwithstanding some grave faults, deserves to be spoken of as one of the greatest men in an age prolific in distinguished persons. His personal history is well known, and need not be repeated. What concerns us at present, is his eager desire to extend as well as to consolidate the Russian power. Peter was animated with great aspirations. Besides desiring to civilise his people, his aim was to elevate them to the position of a leading nation; and he lived to accomplish his purpose. Assuming the title of 'Emperor of all the Russias,' he vastly enlarged his dominions, built cities, created a navy and a well-disciplined army; and, aiming at trade with India, pushed his conquests to the borders of the Sea of Azof. In these projects may be perceived the first encroachment on the Ottoman dominions, which, during a period of nearly two centuries, would appear to have been the coveted prey of Russia. In 1709, Peter established a series of posts from the Volga to the Don; and at the mouth of this latter river built Taganrog, as a centre of intercourse on the south, whence further advances could be effected. He was, however, in 1711, obliged to relinquish Taganrog and the Sea of Azof to the Turks. Being thus shut out from Persia and India by a route westward of the Caucasus, he turned to the east. In 1717, he sent Prince Alexander Bekevitch on an apparently friendly mission to Khiva, eastward of the Caspian, but with secret orders to seize certain gold-mines, in whose existence he thought he had reason to believe; but the Khivans were as cunning and cruel as he was treacherous; they defeated his plan, and destroyed all the members of his embassy. He next sent an embassy to Persia, to open commercial relations with India; and here Peter met with that which the czars have ever seemed to take delight in - a discontented tributary to a neighbouring monarch. The governor of Kandahar was at issue with his sovereign, the Shah of Persia. Persia was weak, and was attacked by Turks, Afghans, and Lesghis all at once. Peter, in 1722, interfered in the wonted Russian fashion: he 'protected' his 'old good friend the shah,' his 'great friend and neighbour,' his 'dear friend,' as he called him in a remarkable manifesto; he sent an. army of 50, 000 men into Persia; and ended by conquering and appropriating three Persian provinces on the shores of the Caspian. After this, the Afghans deposed one shah and set up another: this was a favourable opportunity for Russia; Peter offered his aid to the deposed monarch, on condition of certain concessions; and the result was, that in a few years Russia obta...

Excerpt from Pictorial History of the Russian War, 1854-5-6: With Maps, Plans, and Wood Engravings The Author of the present volume has endeavoured so to avail himself of all the above-mentioned resources - augmented and in some instances corrected by private comm unications - as to present a truthful picture of that short, but fearful and extraordinary war. While estimating the contest conscientiously as a whole, in its national and international aspects, he has endeavoured to be - so far as such a character is possible - eu impartial spectator; and while seeking to trace events up to their causes, to deduce the probable consequences, or to disentangle perplexities, he has deemed it a duty to observe caution in passing judgment on the actors in those scenes - j udgment which cannot fairly be pronounced until angry controversies have been smoothed away by lapse of time, or on transactions hitherto obscure. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book provides an illustrated history of the Russian War, including maps, plans, and wood engravings. It takes readers on a journey through the war and provides them with a visual understanding of the conflict. This is a must-have for history buffs and enthusiasts alike. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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