Chapter Text
[Alexander III : what was he doing?]
-"Former Governor of Colorado, William Gilpin, [member of the Radical Democratic Party], proposes an overland connection across the Bering Strait for a railroad spanning the entire world - of which Denver, would be the railroad centre of the West."...- Alexander Alexandrovich reads, is not a full manifesto (yet), but is interesting to read the 'proposal' by Gilpin.
-Charming proposal. It won't start or happen in our **** lifetime tho.-
-Thanks heavens, you are not considering it, sir.- Witte claimed, breathing more easily after that reaction.
-I may be silly and have a thing for mega-projects, but I am not crazy, Sergei Yulyevich. I think.- Alexander III claimed back, dropping the newspaper, for now.
[...]
There are hysterical reactions in England, just a few months after Victoria's assassination by a lunatic criminal, the Irish "Invincibles" have murdered Chief Secretary for Ireland, William Edward Forster, of the ruling Liberal Party & the oldest Irish civil servant, Thomas Henry Burke.
A cascade of reactions is coming to Ireland and England as a result, as the Liberal Party searches for excuses and justifications for why these events have happened during their government, & ways to gain or regain popularity among the people.
-Mmm, I'd hate to be in Gladstone's shoes.- Alexander Alexandrovich commented, sipping a cup of tea.
[...]
The ultimatums to Egypt, directed against Colonel Urabi, are received in Russia with relative interest...
Seeking to outdo each other, to preserve their commercial interests, and to gain domestic popularity, the United Kingdom and France have deployed significant naval and military resources to this operation.
-I don't think Urabi can keep the British and French 'entertained' for long.- Nikolai de Girs, Minister of Foreign Affairs, commented on the matter.
-You're probably right as usual, but I hope we can take advantage of the distraction to perhaps push our interests on the Ottoman peripheries. Not necessarily an all-out war, but seeing local revolts continue to destabilize Turkey...- Alexander Alexandrovich resolved, unless the Egyptian affair drags on too long, a new Russo-Turkish war at this time, on such short notice, would be complicated.
But there are still the revolts by the Kurds and Albanians & there is the new revolt in Bosnia-Herzegovina (autonomy technically within the Austrian sphere, but which could also affect the Ottoman Empire).
***
[Outlaws and others]
Being released from prison was a sentence in itself for Jesse James; it was a "shameful" retirement, his outlaw days were over, and so all that remained was decline, old glories and tall tales from the frontiers and big cities such as Atlanta (where the most famous bank robbery by the gang had taken place).
For the next thirty years, the James brothers Jesse and Alexander, worked at a variety of jobs, and telling stories for twenty-five cents.
Thomas Coleman Younger, more simply known as Cole Younger, made sure of that - another "bushwhacker" like the James brothers during the 'War of Northern Aggression', Cole and his brothers Jim, John and Bob betrayed the James-Younger gang when it began to decline in the second half of the 1870s, in exchange for rewards and forgiveness for their crimes.
Some saw this as a justifiable act, considering that it stopped the group's criminal activities, but most people detested the betrayal, accusing the Youngers of cowardice and more.
Coleman Younger presented his act as a "great service" to the Confederacy, and began a career as a "veterans' supporter," getting involved in politics - notably, went from 'outlaw' to law enforcer, and member of the Confederate intelligence service.
This saved Coleman's neck, but eventually led to the murder of some of his brothers or relatives some time later.
[...]
*the Hole-in-the-Wall, Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming.
The end of the Old West is approaching much faster than many think; while border conflicts between Native American groups, African-Americans, outlaws, desperados, deserters, spies, and pro-Yankee or pro-Dixie "guerrillas" will continue for a while [due to the conflict between the US & the CSA and Mexico, and the nature of these borders], the North American 'frontiers' are becoming more tame every day.
The separation of the US and the CSA has led both governments to emphasize law enforcement and 'order' in their territories, including the West Coast in the US & Texas in the CSA.
-For the time being, this remains neutral territory.- Butch Cassidy, by now famous for his exploits on both sides of the border, calmly warns.
The Hole-in-the-Wall has served to some extent, since the years of the Civil War, as a space for outlaws from both countries, which were once one - of course, a situation that doesn't please everyone; in part, because maybe they know the CSA and USA will go to war again soon or later, or perhaps just because life is that way.
-...Whatever you say.- Billy "the Kid" (now just over 21), criminal and 'veteran' of the "La Placita del Rio Bonito War," a hero on the Yankee side of the border for his fight against Confederate border rangers and outlaws, is the first to give in.
Billy and his Confederate opponent exchange a look for a moment before going their separate ways. Cassidy sighs; it's getting more complicated to be the 'voice of reason' every day...
***
[Outlaws in Russia].
The Russian Empire has hundreds, thousands of criminal chronicles, which probably deserve to be recounted—at some time.
Although perhaps it's better to speak of certain generalities—the creation of the Transcaucasian Railway to the south, the expansion of the city of Baku, and the general modernization of European Russia obviously affected the Caucasus.
"Traditions" gave way to standardized law & the Russian state won over a significant part of the Caucasian leadership over time, during the reign of Alexander III—after surviving the defeat on the Caucasian War (which officially ended on 1864), the late 19th century marked the end of the partisan-robbers of the Caucasus Mountains, known as "abreks" among the Caucasian peoples & Russians.
Beyond the 'Caucasian Warrior' separating from family and friends, to fight for a just cause (due to the anti-peasant taxes and projects by authorities and "rich oppressors" like landlords), ever-popular in folklore and culture, because people like a good story; abreks were also people expelled from their communities, usually for having committed a crime, notably murder on 'blood feud acts' or revenge.
The result was that these abreks went to live in the mountains, outside of authority and the law, becoming bandits.
The expansion of the modern state meant that such individuals were sent to correctional prison departments or directly to prison - but those who managed to escape, acting alone or in small groups, continued the "traditional" abrek lifestyle: killing officials, robbing banks, assaulting the rich, roaming the foothills and hiding in the mountains, etc.
Which obviously earned them persecution from police officers, local militias and the army & "temporary hunting detachments".
Perhaps in the early 1880s [up to 1882-1885, depending on the case], the most famous living abreks, or rather "gachaq" (outlaw, fugitive), were of "Azeri" origin: Tariverdi Allahkuli, Ali Khidir, Gachaq/Runaway Nabi [born in what was Yelizavetpol Province, it is debated whether he was Kurdish, Turkmen, or something else].
Often, their defeat came at the hands of the authorities, civilian informants, or traitors within the criminal gangs themselves.
The reforms of 1881-1882 were a severe blow to the partisan-guerrilla outlaws, as many communities received local rural self-government; and although this didn't solve all local problems immediately, it did diminish popular support for outlaws, favoring the Russian government instead.
[...]
-So? What name are you going by now?- Gushmazuko, wealthy man of Dagestan, asked his 'former' compatriot, who had taken the life of an abrek, as a result of an accusation of murder.
-Korganov.- the man, disguised as a Cossack, replied.
He took the surname of Ensign Korganov, the man who murdered the famous Dargin abrek Taymas Gubdensky (d. 1859).
Now there is a small bounty of 600 rubles on his head (enough to buy at least 10 cows at 60 rubles each!), for robbery; sadly he doesn't has a cool nickname, even his bounty is miserable, considering they could go as far as 5000 rubles.
-I got my name on the "most wanted list" tho!- Korganov claimed, showing his name at the very bottom of the local list of Grozny; the 'most wanted [in Russia] list' was created following the assassination attempt on Alexander III on 1881.
-That's...not good.- Gushmazuko replied; in his opinion, Korganov should have taken those three years in prison rather than becoming an abrek.
[...]
*[Crime in Russia]
Map from "Studies on the Percentage of Exiles to Siberia in the Period 1827–1846", dated 1873.
In 1866, a study by Yevgeny Nikolaevich Anuchin was published in Tobolsk, devoted to the criminal statistics of Russia for 20 years [1827 to 1846]. "Studies on the Percentage of Exiles to Siberia", written on the basis of documentary materials of the Tobolsk Order on Exiles (engaged in organizing the exile of criminals to Siberia from all over the empire).
According to Anuchin, almost 160 thousand people passed through the order during this period of time: Half of them were exiled administratively for vagrancy, bad behavior, and escape from Siberia - while the other half, were criminals exiled by a court sentence, notably for fraud and theft (slightly over 40-thousand people), murder (14.5 thousand people), and robbery (5 thousand people); as the main three reasons.
-Statistically speaking, these are still our most common crimes.- Witte commented.
-I'll sound stupidly positive on the matters, but it's not as bad as it seems. It arguably shows a transition from violent to non-violent crimes as main 'criinal activity'. Of course, we should be concerned about the quantitative nature of such crimes now that we must be worried about the proper functioning of the criminal system and protections of private property, but still...- Alexander Alexandrovich tried to see the positive side of the situation, of course there is still a lot of work to be done.
If we go by "St. Petersburg Slums" by Vsevolod Krestovsky, published in 1867, the imperial capital already has a wide range of criminals and criminal jargon itself.
In these capital slums, we find: exiled convicts (жиганы, zhigans), beggars, prostitutes, swindlers (мазурики, mazuriks), prison inmates, and even representatives of certain religious sects.
There is also the "Golden Company" («золотую роту») phenomena, a name for criminal groups [led by a leader-"captain" / капитаном], who extort money from ordinary thieves and swindlers.
-And we should also worry about Moscow, Kiev, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Odessa [...]- Witte added, 'organized crime' has become more developed during the XIX century(among other myriad criminal phenomena that have taken place during the period).
Sonka "Zolotaya Ruchka", or "Sonka [the] Golden Hand" (Сонька Золотая Ручка) -known for her jewelry thefts and scams, supposedly associated with a wider criminal community called «Червонные валеты» (Jack of Hears)-, on a penal colony in Sakhalin, 1888.
[...]
*A particular case.
In April 1874, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna [married to Konstantin Nikolaevich, younger brother of Alexander II] reported the disappearance of three diamonds from icons given to her by Tsar Nicholas I as a blessing for her marriage.
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich called the police, and soon the diamonds were found in a pawnshop in St. Petersburg.
The man who delivered the diamonds to the shop was E. P. Varnakhovsky, adjutant of the couple's son—who stated during an interrogation on April 15, that he had brought the stones given to him by Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich.
Alexander III put Count Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov in charge of the investigation, and Shuvalov interrogated Nicholas Konstantinovich in Konstantin Nikolaevich's presence.
"No remorse, no consciousness, except when denial was impossible, and even then it was necessary to pull out vein after vein. Bitterness, and not a single tear. We implored him by everything sacred to ease his impending fate with sincere repentance and consciousness! Nothing worked!" - wrote later, the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich.
In the end, it was concluded that the diamonds had been stolen by Nicholas, and the proceeds were to be used as gifts to the Grand Duke's mistress - 24-year-old American dancer (and swindler), Fanny Lear [real name Hattie Blackford].
The members of the royal family discussed what to do with the Grand Duke: give him up as a soldier, to bring him to a public court & to exile to hard labor...
However, it was feared that this would damage the prestige of the royal family - Alexander III and relatives resolved to publicly declare Grand Duke Nicholas mentally insane, put his property over guardianship, and expel him from the capital.
Privately, the "family sentence" ruled to prohibit the mention of his name in any paper relating to the Imperial House, and the transfer of any inheritance belonging to him to his younger brothers.
Fanny Lear was expelled from Russia, with a ban on ever returning here.
-Ironically, she had another lover, Nikolai Gerasimovich Savin. From the noble Savin family, volunteer on the 1876 war.- Alexander Alexandrovich commented.
In some magical way, Savin's name didn't appear in the documents on the whole diamond-theft affair...but he remains one of the few witnesses to the full motives and facts of the theft.
-That guy lives in Paris right now, I believe? He claims to be a victim of our government and sells "court secrets" to the people. Like how Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich was planning to overthrow Alexander, and the money from the diamonds was going to these revolutionary purposes. He even says Nicholas Konstantinovich financed the Narodnaya Volya that tried to assassinate your father last year.- Witte added regarding Savin, turned criminal for his lover, and now a criminal in his own right (Lear will die of tuberculosis in 1886, and Savin will continue with criminal activities).
-...Well that explains a lot.- Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich [14 years old, and 'old enough' to get at least a bit more of the truth] declared, still surprised by the whole diamond-theft issue, and the "family trial and sentencing" issue, & to add, the criminals behind it apparently...
***
[Kennel Club Successes]
Alexander III founded Russia's first kennel club in the early 1870s; at that time, such organizations were just beginning to emerge on the West (and then the rest of the world), following the popularization of dog competitions and other canine affairs in Victorian England.
Meanwhile, in Russia, such clubs served more as a means of "preserving" (to the extent possible) historical breeds and their health, and promoting dog adoption, training and care.
One of the Russian kennel club's considerable successes must be the preservation of historical Russian breeds, such as the Medelyan or Medlen dog, also known as the Russian Mastiff or Medelyanskaya Sobaka.
In the 1860s, the bloodsport known as bear-baiting was banned in the Russian Empire - that is, organized fights between bears and dogs, & later certain restrictions on bear hunting [as a sport] began to be placed on the country as well.
And so, the Medelyan breed went into decline alarmingly fast; The Medelyan appeared in Russia, some say, in the 15th century, during the reign of Vasily II of Moscow, and became a favorite of the nobility ever-since [well, at least until the XIX century], for its usefulness in tracking and hunting bears & were historically in the kennels of many Russian Tsars; supposedly being a favorite of Ivan the Terrible, that used them for baiting sports, and impress and intimidate visiting foreign dignitaries.
To understand how valuable the Medelyan were, it is enough to say that in price, it could be similar to a horse - a purebred could be five or six times the price of a thoroughbred hound, & they were even exported abroad in exchange for weapons, textiles, including silk, jewelry, and horses.
A puppy of this breed could cost a small fortune, and it was a sign of great respect to give one of these to foreign dignitaries.
They were used to improve and maintain local Great Dane breeds, for example, in the English Mastiff & even the Old Russian Hounds (Старинные русские гончие).
Is not surprise the dog-breed even became a symbol of Russian culture, appearing in Fyodor Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov," Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov's "Beast," and Leo Tolstoy's "Bulba" (Bulka).
The Medelyan, a Molosser descended from the Molossus-type dogs or Molossian hounds-type dogs of Milan (ancient Mediolanum, from which the name "Medelyan" possibly comes*), are large dogs—growing up to 75-90 centimeters, and reaching around 100-120 kilos. And the largest ones supposedly reached as far as 101 centimeters (40 inches), and go well over the 200-220 pounds.
*Other theories propose that the name comes from a corruption of the name "Nedelyan", which was used to describe dogs that were used for baiting sports every Sunday (Nedelya).
In short, a large, though rather even-tempered, only moderately aggressive dog - a Medelyan can be a babysitter for children, and even tolerate strangers, but tends to be very confrontational with other dogs.
The Gatchina Palace became, to a certain extent, the most important center of the Medelyan breed during this critical period following its decline in the 1860s, to the early XX century.
Alexander III did his best to preserve this ancient Russian breed; although certainly, few people [like himself] could afford to maintain such huge dogs in large numbers at least.
The breed found moderate success in its 'shorthair' version, which became popular among portions of the Russian working class - although of course, this was a moderate success for the preservation of the Medelyan.
Medelyan dog, early XX century.