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Annie Gwen Jones
Life on the Steppes of
Russia
1889 to 1892
Annie Gwen Jones
Life on the Steppes of
Russia
1889 to 1892
Impressions of Life on the
Steppes of Russia
Between 1889 to 1892
By Mrs Edgar Jones
Neé Annie Gwen Jones
Recollections written
about 1900
Transcribed from her notes
by Siriol Colley
John Hughes
In 1889 my grandmother, Mrs Edgar Jones (neé Annie Gwen
Jones) with the family of Arthur Hughes went to Russia
as tutor to his two daughters. Arthur Hughes was the
second son of John Hughes, who established the New
Russian Company to develop coal mining and the
production of iron and rails for the expanding railroad
system in Russia at the behest of the Czar in 1869.
When John Hughes exploited the area it is said that
there was only a shepherd and his dog in the area. Now
the town is known as the flourishing city of Donetz.
In 1892, because of the cholera riots, Nain, my
grandmother had to flee from the town of Hughesoffka.
This account of her experiences was found written in an
exercise book in a damp cellar and in a very poor
state. I consider myself most fortunate to have made
the discovery
Impressions of Life on the Steppes of
Russia
By Mrs Edgar Jones
Neé Annie Gwen Jones
(date circa 1900)
Transcribed from her notes by Siriol Colley
Annie Gwen Jones
Many years ago I left Wales burning with a strong desire
to see green fields and pastures new and especially to
see Russia, that land of oppression and misery that
country one hears so much about, but really about which
one knows so little. The fields were decidedly new, but
the fields by no stretch of the imagination could be
called green, for no barer, no more the dreary spot on
earth exists than those Steppes but more of them anon.
The much expected excitement of new scenes I had not
long to wait for after 6 days of travelling over the
continent with a short stay at Berlin we entered Polish
Russia and stopped at Warsaw, the Capital. Here I had
my first experience.
I had gone for a walk in the afternoon to get my first
idea of the city, the novelty of the countryside, the
strangeness of the inhabitants, the beauty of the
buildings and of the park, the wide fine peculiarly
paved streets lead me to prolong my walk somewhat beyond
what was prudent. I kept, as I had imagined, a sharp
lookout at the way I went thinking of returning along
the same route. I retraced my steps, but after trudging
for what appeared to me to be an age, I did not seem to
be getting any nearer to the Hotel we were staying at.
I did not know Polish; I had not a single coin in my
pocket except English money that was of no use to me. I
met Jews on all hands and Polish Jews of all Jews are
the most unprepossessing in appearance. I stopped one
said “Hotel Europeski”. He shrugged his shoulders and
shook his head. I asked several including a gendarme
but with no good result. I went to a troika driver and
said “Hotel Europeski” and he shook his head. Night was
drawing on and I was getting desperate. It was getting
dark and I knew moreover that my friends at the “Hotel
Europeski” who had tried to dissuade me from going out
on my own and were too tired to accompany me were
feeling anxious about me. The outlook was gloomy when
suddenly in front of me I heard two gentlemen speaking
English. I rushed up and begged them to show me the way
to the Hotel. In the long run I gained knowledge from
my escape, for on the way back these gentlemen pointed
to me a house, an unpretentious one, where the great
Napoleon stayed on his way to Russia in 1812.
It was an uncanny feeling being stranded in a strange
city, but it taught me not to wander forth again alone
in an unknown country with out efficient escort. I
stayed at Warsaw on three occasions after that and got
to know the place fairly well.
Arthur Hughes with his daughters Lisa and Ida and
Annie Gwen Jones. This photo was given by my aunt Miss
Gwyneth Vaughan Jones to the South Glamorgan Archives..
It would not be amiss here perhaps if I made a few
remarks about Warsaw and the Poles and the Jews who form
the bulk of the population and whose occupation is the
manufacture of boots and gloves.
The left bank of the river Vistula on which Warsaw is
chiefly built is high and the pretty, gay, animated city
with its stately lines of trees, wide squares and
spacious gardens and parks is picturesquely situated
along the brow of the cliffs and the plains above.
Perhaps one of greatest interests to me (one who
sympathies with races that have struggled for
independent existence) was the fine old castle whose
Royal apartments are now occupied by a Russian Governor
General - a grand remnant of the days when Poland was
not oppressed by the tyrannical sway of Russia. The
square in front of the castle was the scene of the last
Polish demonstration rebellion, her last struggle for
independence in 1867 when it was stained with blood.
Another remnant of Polish Independence is the fine old
Palace of the Polish Kings surrounded by one of the most
beautiful parks I have ever seen - now the residence of
the Emperor of Russia in which he might live if he ever
deemed it wise to visit Warsaw, but in which he never
would, for he knows that the odds would be against his
returning to Petersburg. An Emperor’s blood, as too
often Polish blood, would stain the square of Warsaw.
How terrible is the depth and breadth of hate for Russia
compared to Ireland’s hostility to England it is
nothing. They have good reason to do so. You know that
Poland has been gradually absorbed by Russia towards the
end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th
century but it was not fully subjected until after the
Polish Insurrection of 1830. The Polish language was
not allowed to be used in Public Offices. Indeed the
Poles are most harshly and unjustly treated especially
after the rebellion of 1862. It is forbidden to teach
Polish in the schools. Their beautiful anthem is not to
be sung. Imagine the feeling of Welshmen if we were not
allowed to sing “Hen Wlad fy Nhadiau” and if forbidden
to talk freely in our mother tongue. Would we submit
patiently?
Even more the Russians go out of their way to publicly
insult the Poles. I remember observing a monument
opposite our Hotel actually by the Russians to a Pole
who had treacherously betrayed his country to them and
whose memory is naturally loathed. The presence of the
monument is constant reminder of their degradation.
Were Poles numerous and had a spirited leader, the
natural spirit which is burning for revenge would soon
burst in to open revolt. I shall leave the question of
the Jews a little longer
From Warsaw we traversed a level and monotonous country
until we came to Kief, which is one of the most
interesting and historic towns in Russia. It is the
Rome of Russia, the Jerusalem, but I shall have occasion
to speak of it at greater length when speaking of
Russian Religion the Greek Orthodox Church. After two
to three days continual travelling we reached Charkoff,
one of the most important towns in South Russia, we
reached our journeys end and found ourselves planted one
memorable Sunday morning at an early hour in October on
a lonely dreary station called Charsisky on the
Steppes. Here there were conveyances awaiting us. A
drive of 15 versts, about 17 miles, brought me to the
spot that was to be my home for some years, Hughesovska,
that was if I could endure such a long period
Charkoff, about the size of Cardiff, is the principal
seat of trade in South Russia, being the centre from
which products and manufactures of North and Central
Russia are opened throughout the provinces to the South
and to the Caucasus. Beetroot, sugar, corn, brandy,
wool and hides are largely sold at five fairs held each
year. There is also a university at Charkoff with
several hundred students. It was at Charkoff I saw my
first piano, arranged like a washstand with pedals and
also saw guests arriving with their own bedding.
By the way, Russian distance is measured by versts, one
verst being equal to 2/3 of a mile. To correspond to
our milestones long wooden posts like telegraph poles
are used in preference to stones on account of the
snow. Bleak, barren woodless miles of endless plains
stretched out on all sides, not a house or hut in sight
anywhere so that at the end of the drive my heart sank
within me and an intense Hiraeth for the hills and vales
of Wales came upon me. No escape however was possible,
but even the Steppes, parched, cracked and dusty one day
and presenting the next a surface of mud, monotonous,
lonely and uninviting have there charm and when the time
came to leave a strange unaccountable sadness possessed
me, for they, too, in their monotony have their
variety. Occasionally (for a fortnight or so in the
spring) some parts are literally covered over with sweet
smelling violets which are renowned for their perfume as
Parma violets and other beautiful flowers which
delighted us, crocuses, for-get-me-nots, buttercups and
daffodils were in great abundance, but of my home
favourites, daisy, cowslip, bluebell and primrose I saw
none. Even the ivy, which grows at home in such
abundance, is very rare. Sometimes, but very seldom, it
was our good fortune to come across a perfect Oasis in
the desert; a very small, beautifully wooded and
well-watered spot would meet our gaze. Lilies of the
Valley even nestled there and grew wild in abundance and
we often drove a distance of 20 to 30 versts to obtain
them.
There are only cart tracks across wide stretches of
uninteresting Steppes spreading like billows for weary
miles and seeming to have no end, tracks indeed with
nothing definite about them, fifty yards wide with every
driver selecting his own course. It was a great
weariness riding across the gaunt Steppes with hardly
anything to gaze upon for days together with undulating
parched land, baked, and caked with heat.
In springtime, which is exceedingly short, the Steppes
are infested with a rat known as the Steppe rat, which
is considered a terrible plague, quite as much as the
rabbit plague of Australia. They create great havoc and
are an endless source of destruction to the crops. All
landed proprietors and even peasants are compelled by
the Russian Government to send to the nearest
headquarters an enormous number of their feet annually
or pay a heavy fine. This is the way to decrease their
numbers. They adopt a most peculiar way of killing
these creatures whose burrows remind you of rabbit
burrows. Peasants are hired, they light a fire here and
there, heat the water that they have conveyed in flasks,
then pour the boiling water into the rat holes. The
rats come to the surface and are caught. They then have
their feet cut off; these are carefully guarded and then
sent off when the prescribed numbers have been got
together.
Arthur Hughes
Arthur Hughes, who had a large estate, was obliged to
send thousands of feet to the Government annually, this
was a form of taxation.
Foxes and hares are abundant, and many an exciting hunt
did we have in the cool and pleasant autumn. The hounds
were bought from the Court Estate, Merthyr Tydfil and
had been brought to Russia by steamer via Odessa.
Occasionally a polecat would pay us a visit, a very
unwelcome one, judging by the number of things, which
disappeared from the yard after the visit. Wolves were
now and then seen, driven in search of food not far from
our place, though I never happened to see any on the
Steppes. Peasants would often bring us young ones,
which we kept for the purpose of hunting.
I should have said that Hughesoffka the place in which
we lived was situated in the Government of Ekaterinislav
about 80 to 100 versts north of the sea of Azof about
six hours journey from the Taganrog Port and from
Marcople. It bordered also on Don Cossack country. The
Russian Government in honour of the late John Hughes
named Hughesoffka, the father of the gentleman in whose
house I lived and whose granddaughters I taught. When
he went out to Russia first at the invitation of the
Russian Government (for whom he had already made some
patent iron plates for the Russian Navy) he searched the
Steppes for a suitable place wherein to start an
Ironworks. The Steppes as far as is known is especially
rich in minerals. At last he fixed on a spot that is
now called Hughesoffka with a population of 25-30,000
but then was inhabited only by shepherd and dog. The
ironworks is called the New Russian Company. All this
was due to the Indomitable pluck and perseverance of
John Hughes, a Welshman born near Ynysgan, Merthyr
Tydfil. In Hughesoffka we were a small band of Welsh
and English in the midst of a mixed population of
Russians, Poles, Jews, Tartars, French and Germans. The
Russians of course predominating. An Armenian doctor
saved my life when I developed typhoid Fever.
Blast Furnace 1892.
(It is said that John Hughes had a dream. On the night
before he was expecting the Russian Emissaries from the
Czar at Mill wall Docks, London, he dreamt that a
workman with a grievance, threw had thrown a spanner
into the machinery at the works of the Millwall and
Engineering Company. He rose in the night, took his
carriage and drove to the works to find that his dream
was true. Had the machinery been damaged, the Czar
might never have commanded him to build the great steel
factory at Hughesoffka.)
Just a few words about the climate. Winter and summer
are just sudden incidents in Russia, one day the land is
snow bound and the next there is a great thaw; the next
is the beginning of summer. Briefly we can say that
there are only two seasons, summer and winter. In
winter the cold is intense, the thermometer falling to
several degrees below zero. Still it was very dry,
brisk and invigorating and far more endurable than the
damp winter climate, the snow was of great depth
indeed. We had to be very warm clad to withstand the
severity of the cold. We were muffled to the tips of
our noses with heavily and warmly lined fur cloaks, a
fur cap of Astrakhan-skin, over this again a shawl of
camels hair so that often when out driving we had our
faces covered except for our eyes, fur lined boots and
over these fur lined goloshes completed our costume. We
had no pretensions to fashion; we looked more like
Eskimaux than anything else; it was bitterly cold.
Members of the Hughes family on a horse drawn sleigh,
!890’s
One winter was exceptionally severe, so severe and so
deep was the snow that for two to three weeks we were
imprisoned in the house, all communications with the
outside world completely broken and the works stopped.
Fortunately we had stocked ourselves with provisions in
early winter, a wise precaution in such a country. We
had visitors staying with us at the time and they were
totally unable to leave until the snow was cleared. It
was even higher than our windows so that for sometime we
saw nothing of the outside world. Still indoor life was
not too bad, reading kept us going, cards always for
money.
What we had to guard against was sudden snowstorms.
They were of frequent occurrence and we had to take
great precautions that we should not be caught in them
while sledging. It was not at all a rare thing to find
peasants who had been overtaken by storms in the
Steppes. Several times we returned with some members of
our party suffering from frostbite of the nose or
cheek. We had to be very cautious indeed. We were on
one afternoon on the point, of going out for a sledge
drive when we were persuaded not to go as the weather
was threatening so we reluctantly stayed at home and it
was very fortunate thing that we did for a severe
snowstorm came on mere like a whirlwind in nature.
Early next morning 11 bodies were found frozen to death
in the Steppes quite close to Hughesovska, including a
boy whose mother hailed from Rhymney.
My favourite outdoor pleasure and exercise in winter was
skating, but this we could only indulge in the early
months before the very cold weather set in. It was a
fine scene to see the hundreds of people flitting like
swallows over the large frozen reservoir dam
(constructed by the company), nor was this exercise
confined to weekdays only, Sunday after service in
Church was the most popular day for this, indeed for
every other form of enjoyment, card playing, circuses,
dances, balls, parties of all kinds, riding, boating and
hunting. It was on Sunday that the markets and the
Bazaar was a scene of great bustle and excitement.
Sledging was however as popular and enjoyable outdoor
recreation as skating, we often formed parties of 6 or 7
sledges and away we would dash over the Steppes at
breakneck pace drawn by Troikas. The Russian Troika
consists of 3 horses abreast adorned with bells, the
centre horse trots the outsiders gallop, followed almost
always by a crowd of the most unsightly wolfish dogs one
could ever see. In Russia as in Turkey where dogs act
as scavengers it is considered a great crime to kill a
dog. They are very numerous indeed, they often seem in
a half starved condition and indeed we often thought we
were being followed by a pack of wolves.
As the sledge is the conveyance in winter so is the
torsi in summer. It more resembles a square plank on
wheels than a carriage. It was by no means comfortable
on long journeys, or cosy, as there was no support for
the back, sitting on his heels was a favourite position
with Russian drivers. The severe winter lasts for about
6 or 7 months and often into April and May when an
extremely sudden change follows. The antic of snow
disappears and the sun bursts out in all its glory, all
is covered with an inconceivable thickness of mud, then
it is impossible to walk or drive anywhere. Conveyances
cling to the mud, people get stuck and only with great
difficulty are they extricated.
Suddenly all nature revives, the trees bud and bloom
with the most marvellous rapidity and we could almost
detect the processes of change. A beautiful
eye-soothing greenness covers the plain and then it is
that the violets and other flowers spring forth. Indeed
it is to me a perfect transformation scene, and all
takes place within a few days. But the delight of
spring is of far too short a duration, generally a
fortnight, it was a cause of congratulation if spring
lasted 3 weeks. Summer follows with a heat as intense
as the winter was cold.
The winter was the pleasantest season despite the cold;
the heat of the summer was simply unbearable. The
double padded windows of winter are now reduced to one;
the dark blinds are down all day until evening. Flies,
mosquitoes, locusts and other unmentionable little
brutes abound in thousands; we felt sometimes too
languid for anything and would have given much for a
whiff of air. Our summer garments were as light as the
winter ones were heavy and warm. We kept indoors all
day unless it was absolutely necessary to go out, when
evening came we went out a little, only then could we
endure it. This great heat coupled with the total want
of drainage, great dearth of rain, prevalence of dry
sand dust gave rise to fevers of all sorts, which
greatly damaged our health. The mortality from
dysentery especially among little children was simply
appalling from 40 - 50. Mothers returned to work in
the fields within days after the advent of their little
ones.
Sometimes we had no rain for months with the consequence
that the works had to close. To amend this state of
things a dam was constructed by the company, which
supplied the works with water as well as supplying us
with a splendid skating and boating ground. The autumn,
which is as short as the spring is most cool and
pleasant. Then riding was the order of the day and
hunting.
I must tell you something about the people. What
strikes me immensely is the wide, enormous, unbridged
gulf between the upper and lower classes of Russia.
Unfortunately there are only two real classes; there is
no real middle class, the chief mainstay and backbone of
a country. The wellborn Russian despises and spurns the
lowborn moujek or peasant and treats him on most
occasions more like a dog than a human being. To this
day the poor moujek bears the impress of serfdom or
slavery in every action and in every word.
It was in 1861 that Alexander II, who was afterwards
most foully murdered in 1881, granted emancipation to
the serfs who had previous to that been like slaves.
The moujek is a miserable looking individual but well
built and tall, he is utterly uneducated, his vocabulary
consists of 2-300 words at the most. His arithmetic is
extremely elementary, when transacting any business,
over which he is very sharp, he reckons up his accounts
on an abacus.
The peasant is a fine built man with lovely teeth, his
wife is not at all a poor specimen and not bad looking,
but all cleanliness is hidden under a most ungainly
garb. In winter it is really difficult to distinguish
the peasant from his wife, their outdoor garment is so
alike. They wear high thick felt boots reaching up to
their knees, then a sheepskin cloak the white skin
showing with no pretensions to shape or form reaching to
the top of the boots. On the head a sheepskin cap
covered over with a kerchief or scarf of various or
varied colours, this is the costume of both the male and
female.
Their holiday and Sunday apparel is very smart, indeed,
the women deck themselves in picturesque costumes of all
colours imaginable red, yellow, green and blue prints
being the material all mixed up in a most promiscuous
manner, a skirt of one colour, a bodice of another
bright colour, an apron of another beautifully
embroidered as only Russians can embroider with all
kinds of threads in all kinds of patterns, the neck
adorned with glass beads of all sorts and colours, they
wear no hats but tie a coloured kerchief round their
heads. They plait their dark hair in many plaits and
tie each one with a different coloured ribbon, a married
woman with two plaits.
They have no boots on their feet, even pour servants
when serving at table never wore boots or shoes and very
often when a peasant happens to be the proud possessor
of a pair of leather boots, which is very rare indeed,
he prizes them so highly that he often walks barefooted
and carries his boots on his arm. It is generally a
sign that a peasant is better off than his neighbour
when he can afford to buy a pair of boots. I liked the
peasant moujek, they are very good natured, simple
minded and childish.
Their homes are not comfortable, but hovels sometimes
dug right down into the ground and built of mud with
only a little smoke issuing from a chimney or stove
visible. Some were made of wood, but all of one floor,
no upstairs and only one or two rooms. Every Russian
house whether rich or poor had an icon or an image of
Christ or the Virgin Nary or a saint in a top corner of
the room, it is before the image that they pray. It is
a well-known fact that Russian peasants have no beds but
sleep on top of the large stoves, which occupy as a rule
1/3 or 1/4 of the room. In spite of all these drawbacks
the Russian peasant has a resigned sort of nature and
appears content with his lot.
The Russians are not ‘total abstainers’ nor do they
believe in the moderation principle. I have thought it
would not be a bad place for the British Temperance
Association to start a branch9 though from
the onset I could promise them no hope of success.
Vodka is the Russian drink par excellence, both rich and
poor are addicted to the drinking of it, it is an
extremely strong whitish intoxicating spirit distilled
from rye containing a high percentage of alcohol. Kvas
too is a favourite drink, a kind of light beer made of
rye. They drink an enormous mount of tea, in some parts
Kiomoso or fermented mare’s milk is partaken especially
by those who are afflicted with diseases of the chest.
I can only say from personal experience what ever may be
its alleged curative properties that mare’s milk is a
very refreshing and pleasant drink.
So far I have only told you about one section of the
Russian community, now let us look at the other and
compare the great difference. The wellborn Russian
receives the very best education, at home first of all
under the care of governesses and tutors and then at
university, men as well as women go, they are well read,
artistic and excellent linguists. It is nothing for
them to know 4 or even 6 languages besides their own and
converse in them fluently. They are lazy and indolent
and consider it beneath them to do any manual work. In
their fine country mansions their days and evenings are
given up to amusement, dancing, cards and music. Still
in some respects they are the most accomplished people
that one could wish to meet, some of them are the most
marvellous musicians. With all their faults, which are
numerous and evident, they are most hospitable,
lavishing much on their equals and foreigners but their
treatment of the peasant was certainly unpardonable.
They are fond of jewellery wearing many rings on their
fingers. Both men and women are inveterate smokers
holding the cigarette in their much jewelled fingers,
the men are most flattering in their attention to the
ladies, they take pride in saying pleasant things
utterly devoid of meaning, it is their way, extravagant
in everything. There are not many rich Russians; most
of the noblemen are in the hands of the usurers who have
mortgaged their estates to the hilt. It is a shame that
in a rich country like Russia that there are so many
poor. The mineral wealth of the country is immense but
they have neither the will nor the energy nor the money
to found or start any new works or manufactures.
There are gangs of robbers and thieves stationed here
and there, we had a night watchman whose sole duty,
accompanied by his lantern, his dog and his whistle, was
to parade around the house each night. The works also
had to be guarded and so Mr Hughes obtained the
Government’s permission to have some Cossack soldiers at
Hugheffka in case of rioting. Mr Hughes had barracks
built for them, their pay was very little, practically
nothing apart from their food; they were a body of about
100 men. The Cossacks had customs and actions that were
marvellous and their wild charges accompanied by weird
yells and howls struck terror into us onlookers and
forced an impression upon us of a savage and uncivilised
race of men.
The Russians have a peculiar mode of address. It is very
rarely that you hear their surname. Take for instance
John Jones, son of William Jones, the Russians would say
Ivan Vasilovich, Anne Jones would Anna Vasilovna the
feminine termination. Perhaps the three questions that
will interest most people are religion, the Nihilists
and the treatment of the Jews.
There is hardly any need for me to tell you who the
Nihilists are. I may say that they are not the
easy-going peasants but generally made up of students of
the University who came from what they call the ranks.
Their university training has raised them as they think
above their former position and when their university
course is over they do not feel inclined to return to
their former position or tread their father’s
footsteps. The professions are not open to them nor can
they ever obtain a high place in the army, all
professions and position of high rank are kept
exclusively to the upper ranks. We have a band of men
and women (which is unjust) discontented with their lot,
unable to attain the social position they desire and
driven to secret revolt against the existing state of
affairs. They form secret societies whose sole object
is to rouse and educate the masses of their secret
writings and their agents to revolt against the form of
Government. They wish to instil into the people a
desire for a new condition of things (and rightly so)
Many of the Nihilists are moved by a strong, burning,
sincere love for their country and a keen desire to
better its conditions. Some however stoop to ignoble
and criminal means of carrying out their aims and
intentions. Much as one sympathises with their ideals,
one cannot sympathise with open assassination like that
of Alexander II in 1881 of the dastardly attempt upon
the life of the late Czar Alexander III by wrecking his
train.
I remember passing over the spot many times, now a
Church is built on the spot to commemorate the escape.
At first it was thought to have been an accident, but
was one of the cleverest plot imaginable. The servant,
who in the act of handing him a cup of tea, was killed
on the spot as well as the dog at his feet. The Czar
himself was quite unhurt though the train was a complete
wreck. Whenever the Emperor undertakes a railway
Journey the whole route along, which he goes is lined
with soldiers at a distance of a few yards. All
telegraphic communication is stopped so that traffic is
dislocated and the Nihilists cannot communicate to a
band in the next town. Every care is taken to keep him
and his family from danger.
The peasants used to look on the Czar as a supernatural
being, they used to call him ‘The Holy Father”.
Unhappily the head that wears the crown is especially
true of the Russian Monarch; one hears of so many plots,
so many attempts on his life. The Czar, we are told is
not as black as he is painted. The Nihilist agitation is
fast shaking the social order to its foundations.
I shall relate a tale I was told by a Russian Gentleman
of a Nihilist who was caught red-handed trying to shoot
the late Emperor when out driving, and though the man
was caught in the act, declared that he was not guilty.
He said that he belonged to a band of Nihilists who were
bent on getting rid of the Emperor. Lots are usually
drawn as to who shall carry out the work of the plotters
and on this occasion it fell on the accused man, who
happened to be the best and surest shot, to shoot the
Emperor. He was compelled by orders of the Brotherhood,
so set out and waited for his opportunity of firing at
the Emperor. He said that he purposely missed his aim
(he had never been known to miss before) and so saved
the Emperor’s life. He could have shot him if he liked,
but he confessed that he could not do it in cold blood.
He knew that if he refused the orders of the band he
himself would be shot and he knew that Siberia would
await him had he perpetrated the deed so he begged for
mercy from the court and strange to say obtained it.
Extreme care had to be taken by all of us as to our
conversation about Nihilist matters. One day when
entering a room where there were several Russian
visitors and seeming all to be silent and absorbed I
thoughtlessly made the remark: “You all look as if you
were hatching a plot against the Emperor” whereupon I
was seriously warned to be cautious of my remarks.
Now I come to the punishment of the Nihilists. I
believe that Russia (I am not sure about Switzerland) is
the only country where hanging has been abolished, but
there are tortures worse than death and there are deaths
from starvation and cruelty more numerous in Russian
prisons then cases of hanging in England. Hanging is
considered too mild and too speedy a form of punishment
so other methods of torture were invented, the knout and
mutilation and disfigurement of the face followed by a
journey to one of the poisonous mines of Siberia never
to return. In the entire language of civilisation there
is no word that conveys an idea of more cruelty, more
superhuman suffering than that conveyed by the word
Knout. The knout has not been used for a hundred
years, but three cases have been known in recent times,
to hear the word in Russia is to shudder. When the
prescribed number of cuts have been given the victims
are taken to hospital where the wounds are dressed with
salt and when recovered are taken to Siberia. They
start on their awful journey, the prisoners, both men
and women, are as a rule attired in a uniform kind of
dress which is a long loose great coat of a rough grey
cloth. Groups or bands of the convicts are fettered
together by chains or rings so as to make it easier for
the guards to watch them.
Family gathering outside the Dacha
Every English paper was read through in the head Post
Office and then if there was any remark derogatory to
the Russian Government the paper then was either
confiscated or the paragraph blotted out. Certain books
were not allowed into Russia. As an example of the
extreme precaution not to allow dissenting bodies into
Russia, the last time I crossed the frontier I was not
allowed to have a passport without a declaration that I
belonged to the State Church (Church of England) (not
by me).
Miss Annie Gwen Jones’ Passport.
On the reverse side is written: “It is essential to
swear that we are all members of the English Protestant
Church. Dissenters are not allowed to have
passports for Russia. Mr Hughes had to state that I
belonged to the English Church, which is not true you
know. This is quite a new thing. Last time we had no
nonsense of the kind.”
Much has been said about the treatment of the Jews, they
are the true victims of harsh laws, have no freedom or
justice and are compelled to swear allegiance to the
hand that punishes them. They were very numerous in
Hugheffka and possessed two very large synagogues; their
connection with us was very great as they almost had all
the business of the community. They were unjustly said
to be the cause of riots, which were not of rare
occurrence. Their usual call to prayer is the triple
knock and then they all repair to the synagogue.
Sometimes the knock acts as a warning. They are watched
and suspected by the Russians, so much are they hated
that in one Russian City, Odessa, I believe a notice to
this effect was posted up at a bathing establishment,
“No dogs or Jews are allowed to bathe here”.
I have to make a few remarks about their language
coinage customs and a few other things. I shall touch
on them briefly. The coinage is simpler than our
coinage, you have to remember only Kopek and Rouble, the
Kopek is about 1/4d and 100 kopeks
are equal to one paper rouble, which is about 2/- 6d.
Perhaps it would be interesting to know the various
commodities, which were obtained from the large towns
and brought to our place by means of a conveyance drawn
by teams of oxen yoked together as in ancient times.
Beef was very cheap, procured for 2d a pound, but the
beef was so tough, ‘Proverbial leather’ was soft and
sweet compared to it. Mutton was a trifle better.
Turkeys and Geese could be had feathers and all for 1/-.
Fowls for 6d, fish sold for 6 - 7 kopeks a pound,
sturgeon, salmon, lampreys, eels, whitebait. Butter was
fairly cheap, but rather scarce, the Russians do not
care for butter. In several noblemen’s houses we were
offered tea with bread made of rye sweetened with tiny
sweets and no butter at all. Russians generally drink
their tea in glass tumblers with glass saucers. No
household is without its Samovar. The tea is very pale,
but highly and deliciously flavoured, the addition of a
slice of lemon vastly improves it. Some like their tea
sweetened with jam not sugar, it is well known that
Russia pays the best price for China Tea and thus gets
the pick of the market, it comes overland not by sea.
Our dainties were very expensive. Sardines were 2/- or
so a tin which would cost 5 pence at home, caviar, if
fresh is also rather dear, it consists of the roes of
sturgeon, dried and salted, it is a favourite meal with
the Russians. Caviar is spread on black bread with a
glass or two of vodka. A little meal, called a Zakouska,
is generally partaken of before dinner and never fails
to give a good appetite. It is always spread on a side
table before the usual dinner begins and is considered
an indispensable thing as a preliminary to a feast of a
great many courses. Wines of all sorts are found n the
table of the upper classes. Another favourite dish is
the suckling pig and you generally had one in every
house at Easter time. Fruit is very cheap indeed,
especially grapes, melons and peaches, game is
plentiful, especially partridge and pheasant.
Dress material, when it was your good fortune to come
across any, was exorbitant in price. Often would
Tartars, Greeks, Jews and Russians travel from place to
place with their stock of goods, silk, lace etc. Russian
lace is very beautiful indeed, in some villages the
peasants are all occupied in making lace by hand.
There is one most peculiar custom the Russians have and
on a certain Saints day they all congregate at a
cemetery, take their Samovars and cakes and have a meal
on the gravestones of their departed friends and
relatives, it is their kindness that prompts them to do
that they think that the spirits come to join them in
their feasting.
The dominant population of Russia is Slavonic, the Slays
are divided into two branches, one branch in Poland,
Bohemia and Moravia and the other composed of
Bulgarians, Serbians and two or three small tribes known
as Croatians and Slovaks. Even at present anyone more
or less acquainted with modern Russian has no difficulty
in understanding a Pole, Bulgarian or Serbian. The
language used 1000 years ago is still used in the
service of the Russo-Greek church, is of course as
unintelligible to the Russians now as Anglo-Saxon would
be to the English. I have said nothing about poetry and
prose; the names of Tolstoy, Pushkin, Turgenieff,
Lermostoff, Gogul, Gorky are of European fame.
I have touched on some points, which interested me
during my stay in South Russia. I left Hughesovka just
a week before the Cholera riot made its appearance
there, taking as its victims several of nay Russian
friends, but a fortnight before the terrible Cholera
riots at Hughesoffka reported in the London Papers
during which a great part of the village was burnt, the
most valuable machinery of the works destroyed and
numerous lives lost. This riot was found to have been
instigated by the Nihilists.
I have always advocated friendship with the Russians for
in spite of their faults they have excellent
possibilities and I have always felt that we Britishers
could be the means of enlightening them and bringing
happiness and prosperity to them.
There is a great want in rural Russia of doctors,
hospitals and nurses; the death rate is very high. The
poor quality and insufficient food prepared the way for
disease which is further prompted by the want of
cleanliness, lack of sanitation and medical help. At
the best of times the peasant is poorly fed and liable
to skin trouble, asthma, typhoid and smallpox. When
scarcity prevails they die in their thousands of hunger
and a special form of disease which follows in the wake
of famine.
Because the houses were made of wood, fires were
frequent in the summer, so a watchtower was built. A
watchman was always on duty to report a fire, Mr Hughes
organised a fire brigade, the majority of the members of
which were English and Welsh.
Treatment of the Jews
Unbelievable in the 20th Century, the persecution of the
Jews was unusually active during the reign of Alexander
III (1881-1894). in 1886/7 the Czar signed edicts which
gave the Minister of Education the power of restricting
the number of Jewish pupils in schools of all grades.
Jews were at the same time forbidden to establish
schools of their own. From 1887-1890 they were harried
from their homes and in 1890 Grand Duke Serge was
appointed Governor of Moscow and the expulsion of 700
Jews was thought necessary to purify the place for his
arrival. Deprived of nearly every means of livelihood
and crowded in the cities of the ?Pal many died of
starvation.
Certain trades were permitted but these were never
authortively defined and the limits of exemption were
frequently and arbitrarily contracted. Those who were
enrolled by artisans to pursue the vocation of
watchmakers were expelled because they had sold watch
keys. Tailors were expelled because they did not
manufacture the buttons attached on the clothes sold.
The Russian persecution of the Jews, stands apart from
other anti-Semitic movements on account of its
unparalleled magnitude and ferocity and also because it
is the direct act of a Government deliberately and
systematically, remorselessly seeking to reduce to utter
misery about 4 and half million of its own subjects.
No Jew is allowed to hold any official office; he must
serve in the army but can never rise from the ranks. He
cannot be employed in the railways or work in their
construction.
Mrs Edgar Jones, in later years on the balcony at Eryl,
Barry, South Wales.
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