1 The editors of the Grosse Politik of necessity exercised their editorial judgment in the selection of documents. As a result, not a single document in the collection deals with the plague and the resultant political and economic measures. The opening of the German diplomatic archives has made it possible to gain a better appreciation of the role of the plague and of its ramifications in the conduct of the domestic and foreign policies of the interested powers. The German archival materials used in this study were in the form of microfilm. The memoirs of the German ambassador to Russia, General von Schweinitz, served as the basis for a short analysis of the plague problem and Russo-German relations in H. Hauser, , ed., Histoire diplomatique de I'Europe, 1871-1914 (Paris, 1929), I, 172 Google Scholar.

2 D Barak, , “Die Pest in Russland,” Die Grenzboten; Zeitschrift fur Politik, Literatur, und Kunst, No. 5, Jan. 30, 1879, p. 195 Google Scholar. , (Moscow, 1898), No. 40 (Feb. 14, 1879), pp. 83-84; von Propper, S. M., Was nicht in die Zeitung kam: Erinnerungen des Geschaftsredakteurs der Birshevyia Vedomosti (Frankfurt a/M, 1929), p. 73 Google Scholar. Although the plague had ravaged Europe and Asia for many centuries and its symptoms were well known, Russian doctors were no wiser than their European or American col leagues in their understanding of its causes. Since it was not known that the plague is carried by rats and usually transmitted to man by fleas, the sanitary measures taken to eradicate this outbreak were often useless.

3 , , op. cit., No. 16 (Jan. 18, 1879), p. 37; No. 17 (Jan. 19, 1879), p. 40.

4 The Russo-German press war is discussed in detail in Irene Griming, , Die russische offentliche Meinung und ihre Stellung zu den Grossmdchten, 1878-1914 (Berlin-Konigsberg, 1929), pp. 63–68 Google Scholar.

5 C. , Konetf, aecmpo-pyccKO-zepjaaucKOio coma, I, 1879-1884 (Moscow, 1928), pp. 65-67. Griining, op. cit., p. 67. Fiirst von Bismarck, , Die gesammelten Werke (Berlin, n.d.), VIII, 306–8 Google Scholar. “Gortschakoff'sche Politik, ” Die Grenzboten, No. 11, Mar. 13, 1879, p. 416.

6 W. L. Langer, , European Alliances and Alignments, 1871-1890 (New York, 1931), p. 1931 Google Scholar. Taylor, A. J. P., The Struggle for the Mastery of Europe, 1848-1918 (New York, 1954), p. 1954 Google Scholar. fl. A., , ftneenuK fl. A. Mmwmuua (4 vols.; Moscow, 1947-50), III, Aug. 1, 1879, p. 153 Google Scholar. Miliutin was the long-time Minister of War during the reign of Alexander II.

7 Schweinitz to Biilow, Dec. 28, 1878, No. 462, Auswartiges Amt, Acta Russland, Russische Presse, I. A. B. i., 60, vol. I, conf. vol. 2. W. Windelband, , Bismarck und die europaischen Grossmdchte, 1879-1885, auf Grund unveroffentlichter Akten (Essen, 1942), p. 52 Google Scholar.

8 Ibid. Bismarck to Biilow, Jan. 1, 1879, A. A., Acta Russland, Russische Presse, I. A. B. i., 60, vol. 2, conf. vol. 3.

9 Taylor, op. cit., pp. 260-61. , op. cit., p. 64. The Treaty of Prague brought the Prussian-Austrian War to a close. Article V provided for a plebiscite in North Schleswig to decide the allegiance of the people of this area. It therefore marked a concession by Bismarck to French and Austrian pressure.

10 , March, 1879, p. 374. General von Werder, the personal representative of William I at the Russian court, to William I, Jan. 9, 1879, No. 3, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustdnde. Propper, op. cit., p. 73. H. L. von Schweinitz, Denkwiirdigkeiten des Botschafters General von Schweinitz (2 vols.; Berlin, 1928), II, 40.

11 Werder to William I, Jan. 9, 1879, No. 3, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustdnde. , March, 1879, p. 374. A sample of the prevailing mood is found in E. M. M. de Vogue, Journal. Paris-St. Petersbourg, 1877-1883 (Paris, 1932), p. 107: “The Plague!!! Big sensation of the day. The plague has been announced in one Cossack village, at Vetlia n k a … . According to newspaper telegrams it has already arrived at Tsaritsyn, terribly, unpityingly carrying before it everything that it touches. The doctors who have arrived on the spot have all been stricken…. The papers are filled with nothing but stories of the plague. The official announcements issued in order to bring about calm, are, of course, accused of lying “

12 Since outbreaks of the plague occurred in Persia and Mesopotamia as recently as 1877, it might have been introduced into Russia in 1878 by soldiers returning from the Asiatic theater of war. See , op. cit., No. 16 (Jan. 18, 1879), p. 37. A story was bandied about in 1879 that a Cossack, returning to Vetlianka from Turkish Armenia, brought a scarf to his fiancee as a present. She supposedly wore it for a few days, then developed fearful symptoms of an undiagnosed nature, and died within a few days. The members of her family contracted the same disease and so did some neighbors. Refugees from the village reportedly carried the affliction to other Volga towns and villages. Barak, op. cit., p. 195.

13 , , op. cit., No. 40 (Feb. 15, 1879), p. 82. Barak, op. cit., p. 203. The doctor noted the sudden appearance of violent pounding of the heart and an irregular pulse among the ill. Their chests felt constricted, they vomited, their eyes became dull, and they were finally overtaken by complete apathy. Then followed attacks of high fever and a mild delirium. But these symptoms disappeared, the abscesses, which had developed after the swelling of the lymph glands, broke and produced normal pus and the eight patients of November 30 seemed to be on the road to recovery within a period of ten to twelve days after the onset of the first symptoms. After Dr. Depner's departure the earlier evolution of the disease was followed by the appearance of spots over the body, ranging in size from a grain to that of a small coin. The patients exuded a strange honey-like odor. They suffered from violent headaches, pain in their extremities, chills and fevers, and swelling of the stomach, liver, and pancreas. These signs continued for two or three days, followed by improvement in a few cases, but by new paroxysms, delirium, insomnia, high fever, reddish urine, and finally death in most cases. The German author of the article in the Grenzboten did not share Dr. Depner's doubts. He was certain that the doctor's description only permitted one conclusion: that it was the plague or a close relative. Ibid., pp. 202-14.

14 Ibid., pp. 203-14. op. cit., No. 40 (Feb. 15, 1879), p. 82.

15 Ibid., p. 83. Barak, op. cit., p. 196.

16 Ibid., pp. 204, 195. It was the latter of the two possibilities that probably contributed to a reduction of additional cases.

17 Werder to William I, Jan. 9, 1879, No. 3, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustdnde.

18 op. cit., Ill, he studied cabalist literature . Miliutin's daughter had tried to get permission from the Empress, the chairman of the Red Cross, to go as her representative to the lower Volga. She was dissuaded from her plan by the Empress. Ibid., Jan. 4, 1879, p. 110. Giers, later Foreign Minister, was still the assistant to Gorchakov in 1879.

19 , op. cit., No. 46 (Feb. 22, 1879), p. 95. Barak, op. cit., p. 196. On the same day that the medical experts issued their report, Dr. Botkin reportedly told the Medical Society of St. Petersburg that the available information did not suffice for a proper diagnosis. , op. cit., No. 40 (Feb. 15, 1879), p. 83.

20 Ibid., No. 16 (Jan. 18, 1879), p. 37. H. Schulthess, , Europaischer Geschichtskalender, 1879, p. 48 Google Scholar. Bulow to Schweinitz, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 56, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. Billow's letter to Schweinitz of Feb. 4, in which he emphasized Austrian leadership, was apparently meant to reach Russian ears only, for Bismarck expressed himself altogether more honestly to John Booth on Jan. 26, 1879: “As soon as I received the first news about the plague, even before the first news about security measures to be taken appeared in the papers, I took things energetically in hand.” Bismarck, , Gesammelte Werke, VIII, 292 Google Scholar.

21 Barak, op. cit., p. 204. Report of Bulow to Bismarck on conversation with Oubril, Russian ambassador to Germany, Feb. 2, 1879, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande.

22 Bismarck, , Gesammelte Werke, VIII, 292 Google Scholar.

23 , , op. cit., No. 17 (Jan. 17, 1879), p. 39; No. 40 (Feb. 15, 1879), p. 83.

24 Bismarck, , Gesammelte Werke, VIII, 292 Google Scholar. John Booth relates Bismarck's comment: “I would not eat fresh caviar either, and I do not like old caviar.” Ibid.

25 Barak, op. cit., p. 195.

26 Gorchakov to Novikov, Jan. 20/Feb. 1, 1879, quoted in , op. cit., p. 65. On J a n . 27, 1879, O u b r i l spoke with Bismarck. T h e Chancellor told the Russian envoy that t h e protective measures adopted by Russia's neighbors would cease only when the full extent of t h e plague was officially announced and when the full extent of Russian countermeasures was known and approved. Enclosure to letter of Billow to Bismarck, Feb. 2, 1879, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. , op. cit., pp. 70-71.

27 , op. cit., No. 19 (Jan. 19, 1879), p. 40. For example, TOJIOCX had published a report on Jan. 21, that an epidemic of fevers and swellings had occurred among children in Chernigov. The German language St. Petersburg Herold took up the story on Jan. 22, and left the implication that the disease might be the plague, and Berlin papers then reported that the plague had actually reached Chernigov. Ibid.

28 Compilation of telegrams to St. Petersburg, enclosure to letter, Bulow to Bismarck, Feb. 3, 1879, No. 2 1 , A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer, lnnere Zustande. The demand for the admission of medical teams was never presented. By t h e time Schweinitz received Billow's instructions, the l a t t e r had been informed by St. Petersburg that Russia would be happy to receive a German medical team. See below. The German-Austrian agreement proh i b i t e d the importation of linen cloths, rags, furs, skins, leather, hair bristles, feathers, caviar, fish, Sarepta balsam, felt, and wastepaper. Kasson, U.S. Minister to Austria, to Evarts, Secretary of State, Feb. 7, 1879, No. 165, U.S. Department of State, Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1879 (Washington, B.C., 1879), XXXV, 44.

29 Report to Bismarck of conversation of Biilow and Oubril, Feb. 2, 1879, enclosure to letter of Feb. 3, 1879, No. 2 1 , A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. lnnere Zustande.

30 Ibid. Bulow also informed his chief that Oubril had communicated his government's views “in the tone of a pathetic reprimand.” Its intended effect had been to cause the listener “to sink into the ground.” His opinion of Oubril was not high. Ibid.

31 Ibid. Bismarck compared Oubril's violent tone to the famous New Year's address of Napoleon III of 1859. Marginal note by Bismarck, ibid. Windelband dated the letter incorrectly as of Feb. 2, 1879. Windelband, op. cit., p. 53.

32 Ibid., Billow to Schweinitz, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 56, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. Biilow, however, could not resist telling Schweinitz that he would serve the intent of Bismarck if he used the proper occasion to express Bismarck's intense displeasure with Oubril's, i.e., Gorchakov's, remarks. Ibid.

33 In a talk with the Austrian ambassador, Count Szechenyi, in the midst of the plague crisis, Bismarck remarked: “You cannot imagine with what constantly renewed difficulties I meet in the person of my Emperor as soon as I desire to approach Russia in somewhat unequivocal language. No sooner do I believe that I have smoothed the path, there arrives one of those never-failing letters of Emperor Alexander, and immediately I stand before strong obstacles which I can surmount only through the employment of my whole diplomatic finesse.” Bismarck, , Gesammelte Werke, VIII, 293.Google Scholar

34 Biilow to Bismarck, Feb. 3, 1879, No. 21, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustdnde.

35 Ibid., Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Jan. 28, 1879, p. 40. Propper, op. cit., p. 76. Propper adds, without substantiation, that Lehwess was sent so that Bismarck would receive direct information about the plague and thus be enabled to circumvent Schweinitz, who was regarded as too Russophile in Berlin. Ibid.

36 Kasson to Evarts, Feb. 7, 1879, No. 165, U.S. Dept. of State, op. cit., p. 44; Novikov to Gorchakov, Jan. 22/Feb. 3, 1879, quoted in , op. cit., p. 65. The Austrian and Hungarian governments also included measures for the disinfection of all letters and packages, including diplomatic pouches. These were to be rendered harmless by the use of carbolic acid at 130° C. Kasson to Evarts, Feb. 7, 1879, No. 165, Mar. 10, 1879, No. 172, U.S. Dept. of State, op. cit., p. 44. Novikov added, in his dispatch to Gorchakov, that he had been confidentially informed that Austrian actions against Russia had been due to German instigation. Novikov to Gorchakov, Jan. 22/Feb. 3, 1879, quoted in , op. cit., p. 65. However, the American minister in Vienna reported that he had learned that Vienna had taken the first initiative for German-Austrian action. Kasson to Evarts, Feb. 7, 1879, No. 165, U.S. Dept. of State, op. cit., p. 44. Thus while Oubril was echoing the view, naturally desired by Germany, that Austria had been the instigator of the hostile measures, Novikov faithfully passed on the Austrian claim of innocence. Giers told Schweinitz, probably in response to Novikov's letter, that Andrassy blamed Germany for forcing Austria into an anti-plague coalition, although Giers had always told Schweinitz in the past that it was Andrassy's aim to abet the growth of Russo-German hostility. Schweinitz, op. cit., II, 42. The Russian tendency to accuse first one and then the other party of instigation appears less due to a Machiavellian intent to sow dissent between Germany and Austria, as Bismarck seemed to think, than to ignorance of the actual state of affairs. Novikov in Vienna and Katkov in Moscow were confident that Austrian commercial interests would protest actions considered injurious to Austria's economy. Ibid. , op. cit., No. 21 (Jan. 23, 1879), p. 44; No. 40 (Feb. 14, 1879), p. 84.

37 , op. cit., I l l , Jan. 23, 1879, p. 114. In fact, the editors of the Miliutin diaries, in a Marxist analysis, explain the German import restrictions, particularly the prohibition of the importation of cattle, as a deliberate domestic measure to gain the support of the Junkers by a monopolistic grant. This German measure, in turn, violated the interests of the Russian gentry and marked the beginning of the Russo-German trade war and the deterioration of the Russo-German diplomatic relationships. Ibid., notes 45 and 65, pp. 292, 294.

38 , op. tit., No. 21 (Jan. 23, 1879), pp. 44-45; No. 28V (Jan. 30, 1879), p. 59.

39 De Vogue, op. cit., Feb. 15, 1879, p. 115.

40 Schweinitz to Biilow, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 27. A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. Although the Tsar refused to make use of the occasion for a direct criticism of German policies, Grand Duke Michael told the visiting Prince William of Baden that Alexander had spoken to him “with a certain sadness” about the conduct of German policy. In former times, he complained, he would have been prepared confidentially beforehand if Germany felt forced into actions undesired by Russia. Schweinitz to Biilow, Feb. 7, 1879, No. 32, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande. , op. cit., Ill, Jan. 21, 1879, p. 112. Schweinitz, op. tit., II, Feb. 6, Mar. 1, 1879, pp. 41, 44.

41 , op. cit., Ill, Jan. 21, 1879, p. 113. Werder to William I, Jan. 30, 1879, No. 8, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande. , op. cit., No. 20 (Jan. 22, 1879), pp. 42-43. The only opposition to Makov's broad plan apparently came from Miliutin. He did not wish to use his regular forces as a cordon around Cossack areas affected by the plague. Schweinitz to Billow, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 27, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. Werder to William I, Jan. 30, 1879, No. 8, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. Katkov was, of course, highly critical of the invitation to foreign doctors. He recalled that the idea had stemmed from his arch enemy, the editor of , and had been taken up by German papers, some of which had even suggested the dispatch of German military officers in view of Russia's evident inability to summon the necessary trained manpower. Why stop with halfway measures, asked Katkov. Why not substitute German for Russian troops? “Then Europe would be relieved and Russia would be grateful that a responsibility too great for it had been taken away from it.” , op. cit., No. 28V (Jan. 30, 1879), p. 60.

42 op. cit., Ill, Jan. 21, 1879, p. 113. The two other candidates were General Trepov, the gradonachal'nik (city governor) of St. Petersburg, who had gained fame as the target of the assassination attempt by Vera Zasulich, and General Gurko, the Governorgeneral of St. Petersburg. Werder to William I, Jan. 30, 1879, No. 8, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande.

43 , op. cit., Ill, Jan. 21, 23, 1879, pp. 113, 115. A. P. XL (1930), p. 175, n. 173. , op. cit., No. 20 (Jan. 22, 1879), p. 42. Werder to William I, Feb. 13, 1879, No. 10, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande.

44 Report to Bismarck of conversation of Bulow with Oubril, Feb. 2, 1879. Ibid.

45 Schweinitz to Biilow, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 27, Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande.

46 ibid.

47 Werder to William I, Feb. 13, 1879, No. 10, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande. Schweinitz to Biilow, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 27, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande.

48 , op. cit., Ill, Jan. 27, 1879, p. 115.

49 Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Feb. 6, 1879, p. 41. Werder to William I, Jan. 30, Feb. 13, 1879, Nos. 8, 10, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande.

50 De Vogue, op. cit., Jan. 29, 1879, p. 112. , op. cit., No. 27 (Jan. 29, 1879), p. 55.

51 Ibid., No. 22 (Jan. 24, 1879), p. 46. Werder to William I, Jan. 30, 1879, No. 8, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande. A special commission of the Moscow Medical Society proposed the establishment of special settlements outside the city to house plague victims if the need arose. The worst slums of the city were to be closed to occupancy immediately. The duma of Samara allocated funds for the reimbursement of families whose dwellings might have to be razed in case of the plague. , op. cit., No. 20 (Jan. 22, 1879), pp. 43-44.

52 , op. cit., No. 24 (Jan. 26, 1879), p. 52. Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, Third Series, vol. 243, 1879, Feb. 14, 1879, Lords, pp. 1186-87. The British government frankly admitted it imposed its restrictions only to obviate Italian threats to prohibit traffic with Malta if the island permitted the arrival of ships from the Black Sea. Ibid.

53 Ibid., pp. 1185-86; Feb. 14, 1879, Commons, pp. 1195-96. Dr. Wiblin, the Medical Superintendent of Quarantine at Southampton, promised total success “by the free employment of nitrous acid fumes, produced by pouring fuming nitric acid upon copper filings.” Ibid., Feb. 15, 1879, Lords, pp. 1185-86. The United States’ reaction to the plague followed the English rather than the continental examples. On Feb. 7, Kasson at Vienna, evidently affected by the local alarms, anxiously inquired in Washington whether the American authorities were still not aware of the urgency of preventive measures. Once the plague is introduced by way of American commerce, isolated and local action will be too late. Kasson to Evarts, Feb. 7, 1879, U.S. Dept. of State, op. cit., p. 44. The Treasury Department at last published a series of mild regulations to prevent the introduction of the disease. Hoffman, U.S. Minister to Russia, to Evarts, Apr. 4, 1879, No. 79, U.S. Dept. of State, ibid., p. 912. *

54 , op. cit., No. 21 (Jan. 23, 1879), p. 44; No. 22 (Jan. 24, 1879), p. 45; No. 24 (Jan. 26, 1879), p. 52. Biilow firmly rejected the Russian charge that Germany had brought about the Turkish security measures. Biilow to Schweinitz, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 56, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. “The quarantine measures, ” wrote Miliutin, “have the appearance of an anti-Russian conspiracy.” The Rumanian steps were particularly annoying for they interrupted Russian communications with the forces still beyond the Danube. , op. cit., Ill, Jan. 27, 1879, pp. 115-16. Katkov joined his foe Miliutin in the estimate that the Rumanian anti-plague measures were meant to force Russia out of the Balkans. , op. cit., No. 22 (Jan. 24, 1879), p. 46. Miliutin therefore pressed strongly for the most effective measures of protest against these obstacles to Russian communications. , op. cit., Ill, Jan. 27, 1879, p. 116. Minister Kasson's claim that Austria was largely responsible for the Rumanian precautions thus corroborates the suspicions of Katkov. Kasson to Evarts, Feb. 7, 1879, No. 165, U.S. Dept. of State, op. cit., p. 43.

55 , op. cit., No. 28V (Jan. 30, 1879), p. 59. Propper, op. cit., p. 75. “The associated governments have undertaken the strictest measures of segregation, as if the Black Death actually raged and flowed in all directions.” , op. cit., No. 21 (Jan. 23, 1879), p. 44. ibid., No. 17 (Jan. 19, 1879), p. 40.

56 Biilow to Schweinitz, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 56, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. Not only was Germany innocent of any desire to interfere in Russian trade but, on the contrary, it was Russia, said Biilow, which had pursued for fifty years a protectionist policy at the expense of Germany. Ibid. The same idea, expressed in almost identical words, appeared in Bismarck's favorite paper, the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, on Feb. 28. , op. cit., No. 42 (Feb. 17, 1879), p. 89. , op. cit., p. 64. de Vogue, op. cit., Feb. 26, 1879, p. 119. An Austrian paper urged, on Feb. 1, that Austria and Germany make political capital of the plague. “Die Interressen mogen in das Spiel eingegriffen haben.” , op. cit., p. 65. The Vienna Neue Freie Presse wrote that while Russia's aggressive designs had been blunted through the outcome of the congress of Berlin, “Russia now pours out over Europe a new evil—the plague, ” quoted in , op. cit., No. 22 (Jan. 24, 1879). The Austrian papers urged the government to make use of Russian embarrassments over the plague to demand the withdrawal of remaining Russian forces from the Balkans. , op. cit., pp. 64-65. , op. cit., Nos. 21, 22 (Jan. 23, 24, 1879), pp. 45-46.

57 Ibid., No. 21 (Jan. 23, 1879), p . 45. , op. cit., p . 64.

58 The Russian protests were effective only in the case of Rumania. The latter's restrictions were probably eased as a result of German and Austrian advice. , op. cit., Ill, Feb. 6, 1879, p. 118. “Gortschakoff'sche Politik, ” Die Grenzboten, No. 11, Mar. 13, 1879, p. 414. Biilow to Schweinitz, Feb. 4, 1879, No. 56, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. , op. cit., No. 22 (Jan. 24, 1879), p. 46.

59 Bismarck had demanded secrecy in the spring of 1878, lest the publication of the agreement give offense to Russia. Late in 1878, however, he decided upon an early publication in order to quash Danish agitation for implementation of the article. Andrassy approved, provided the agreement was postdated (i.e., after April, 1878), in order to avoid the suspicion that Austria had purchased German benevolence at the gress of Berlin by this concession. Langer, op. cit., p. 173. In early 1879, Bismarck no longer worried about Russian sensitivities and was, in fact, ready to provoke Russia during the plague crisis. Taylor, op. cit., p. 260.

60 , op. cit., No. 29 Qan. 31, 1879), p. 62. Propper, op. cit., p. 115. Le F16, French ambassador to Russia, to Waddington, Feb. 15, 1879, No. 385, France, Ministere des affaires dtrangeres, Documents diplomatiques francais, 1871-1914, lere s£rie, 1871-1900 (Paris, 1931), II, 437-39.

61 Windelband, op. cit., p. 53. , op. cit., No. 29 (Jan. 31, 1879), pp. 61-62. Gruning, op. cit., p. 64.

62 Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Feb. 20, 29, 1879, p p . 42, 44. Schweinitz probably agreed with the validity of this observation, even if he did not present it as his own. Windelband, op. cit., p. 62. The French ambassador reported to Paris that he had received broad hints that Russia was ready for a rapprochement with Paris. Le Flo to Waddington, March 11, 1879, No. 392, D. D. E, lere s£rie, II, pp. 452-54. Tojioch also spoke of the opportunity to gain French gratitude by rescuing France from Bismarck's policy of isolation. Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Feb. 20, 1879, p. 42.

63 Gorchakov (actually Jomini) to Novikov, Feb. 2, 1879, quoted in , op. cit., p. 70.

64 , March, 1879, p. 375. , op. cit., No. 21 (Jan. 23, 1879), p. 45. . op. cit., Ill, Feb. 4, 1879, p. 117

65 , March, 1879, pp. 374-75. , op. cit., No. 38 (Feb. 13, 1879), p. 79; No. 40 (Feb. 15, 1879), p. 84.

66 Fiirst von Bismarck, , Die politischen Reden des FiXrsten Bismarck (Stuttgart, 1893), VII, 1877-79, p. 359 Google Scholar. Bismarck, , Gesammelte Werke, XII, 20.Google Scholar

67 , March, 1879, p. 375.

68 ., op. cit., No. 38 (Feb. 13, 1879), p. 78; No. 40 (Feb. 15, 1879), p. 81. Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Feb. 28, 1879, p. 44. Propper, op. cit., p. 76.

69 , op. cit., No. 40 (Feb. 15, 1879), pp. 81, 85.

70 Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Feb. 14-18, 1879, p. 42. Berlin reacted furiously to his complaint. He received a “wutschnaubende” answer. Ibid.

71 Kasson to Evarts, Feb. 7, 1879, No. 165, U.S. Dept. of State, op. cit., p. 44. op. cit., No. 21 (Jan. 23, 1879), p. 45; No. 40 (Feb. 15, 1879), p. 85; No. 42 (Feb. 17, 1879), pp. 87-88. Propper had a particularly painful yet hilarious confrontation with the “system.” He had received an affidavit from Baron Aehrenthal, the Austrian charg£ in St. Petersburg, stating that he had resided exclusively in St. Petersburg for the past several years. When Propper arrived at the Austro-Russian border the train was halted outside the station, on the Austrian side. Austrian officials and medical orderlies as well as policemen arrived for the quarantine check. The medical orderlies held steel pans filled with glowing coals. The latter had been soaked in a very odoriferous liquid. All the passengers were ordered to remain in the cars and to hold their passports out of the open windows. The passports were then grasped by long tongs and held over the smoke of the pans before they were held by hands and read. (Propper perhaps did not see the contents of the pans clearly, for he essentially described the method proposed by Dr. Wiblin in England. See note 53 above.) All the passengers were at last permitted to leave their cars, with one exception. This man had played a practical joke upon the officials by shouting that he had just arrived from Vetlianka. His passport, still grasped by the tongs, was quickly dropped and the Austrian personnel commenced to pour smoke upon each other. More police were summoned and the suspect was hastily segregated in a quarantine hut. Those who had been in the railroad carriage with him were given a medical examination and held for three days under quarantine before they were allowed to resume their journey. Propper, op. cit., pp. 76-77.

72 op. cit., No. 42 (Feb. 17, 1879), p. 88.

73 Ernst Wiederkehr, , Les origines de I'alliance jranco-russe: Les annees 1878-1881 (Fribourg, Switzerland, 1942), p. 62 Google Scholar.

74 , op. cit., No. 58V (Mar. 7, 1879), p. 118. op. cit., Ill, Feb. 17, 1879, p.120.

75 op. cit., Nos. 42, 46 (Feb. 17, 22, 1879), pp. 87, 95. , op. cit., Ill, Feb. 17, 1879, p. 120. Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Feb. 29, 1879, p. 44. Schweinitz to Biilow, No. 62, Feb. 28, 1879, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustdnde. After Botkin had left the Tsar's presence, the latter supposedly turned to the Cesarevitch and remarked: “He wants to have a plague in St. Petersburg at all costs.” Valuev expressed himself to Schweinitz in similar terms: “II n'y a de pire sourd que celui qui ne veut entendre.” Ibid.

76 Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Feb. 27, 1879, p. 44. op. cit., Ill, Feb. 17, 1879, p. 120. Propper, op. cit., p. 78.

77 , , op. cit., No. 46 (Feb. 22, 1879), pp. 95-96. Prokofiev also turned into a rather pitiable creature. “The patient guessing that he had the plague, seeing how everyone recoiled from him, assumed an indescribable look of terror, and, for a long time, lay there white as a sheet, and lost in some strange kind of mental condition.” Ibid., p. 96.

78 Schweinitz, op. cit., I I , Feb. 27, 1879, p . 44. Schweinitz to Biilow, Feb. 27, 1879, No. 61, Russland, no. 61, Seer. Innere Zustande. Schweinitz t o Biilow, Feb. 27, 1879, N o . 58, Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande. General Trepov told Schweinitz that he was certain that “if the nihilists could acquire poisoned clothes in Vetlianka, they would bring them to St. Petersburg.” Ibid. Katkov fully shared these hysterical views. , op. cit., No. 58V (Mar. 7, 1879), p. 118. In fact, it appears that Schweinitz's reports on the nihilist plague conspiracy to the Foreign Ministry in Berlin were leaked to the press, for almost exactly the same stories appeared in the London Daily News and were then picked up by Katkov. Ibid.

79 Propper, op. cit., p . 78. op. cit., I l l , Feb. 17, 1879, p . 120. de Vogue, op. cit., Feb. 28, 1879, p . 119. , op. cit., No. 46 (Feb. 22, 1879), p . 96.

80 Ibid. , op. cit., I l l , Feb. 17, 1879, p . 120.

81 Hansard's, vol. 243, Feb. 27, 1879, p p . 1823-24, 1834. An English physician had publicly suggested that no precautionary measures be taken in England. A few cases of the plague would then occur, but they could be controlled and, at the same time, studied in the interests of science. The Earl of Carnarvon was aghast at the suggestion. “[Russia], one might say, is only a few hours journey of this country, ” and medical authorities, after all, agree “that distress, poverty, and want of food are conditions favorable to the existence of the plague and, unfortunately, the conditions exist at the present time to a greater degree than has been experienced for a very long time.” Ibid. Long after Prokofiev's illness had proven less worrisome than had been expected in other countries, the British belatedly issued an Order in Council on March 22, 1879, providing for the quarantine detention of all ships coming from the Baltic as well as from the Black Sea. Ibid., vol. 245, March 31, 1879, p . 17. This order was probably the result of the arrival of a Swedish vessel laden with rags in mid-March. It h a d left the Baltic port of Libau, had become immured in ice for a month, and had then proceeded to a Swedish port, where it was refused permission to dock. The ship continued, instead, to Britain. The authorities there feared not only the possible introduction of the plague, despite the fact that the vessel and crew had lived in complete isolation from any possible source of contagion for a month, but, more important, were concerned lest a permission to dock would lead to retaliatory measures against British goods and vessels in other countries. The ship was therefore detained, placed under quarantine, and fumigated. Ibid., vol. 244, March 18, 1879, pp. 1157-58.

82 Propper, op. cit., p. 78, Wiederkehr, op. cit., p. 62.

83 Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Feb. 27, 1879, p. 44. Propper, op. cit., p. 79. si Ibid. Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Mar. 3, 1879, p. 45. Wiederkehr, op. cit., p. 62. S5 Propper, op. cit., p. 79. se Ibid. Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Mar. 5, 1879, p. 45.

87 Propper, op. cit., p. 79. ss

90 , op. cit., No. 47 (Feb. 23, 1879), p. 100. so Ibid., No. 58V (Mar. 7, 1879), pp. 118-19; No. 42 (Feb. 17, 1879), p. 88.

91 ibid. Propper, op. cit., p. 79. Schweinitz, op. tit., II, Mar. 18, 1879, p. 46. op. cit., I l l , Mar. 10, 1879, p . 127. Schweinitz attended the same gala dinner. He found the Tsar in a happy mood, but noted that he spoke somewhat ruefully of his pleasant memories of times spent in former years in Germany. Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Mar. 22, 1879, p. 47. 9i Talk with Dr. Moritz Busch, Feb. 27, 1879. Bismarck, , Gesammelte Werke, VIII, 306–8.Google Scholar

92 Die Grenzboten, No. 11, Mar. 13, 1879, pp. 416-22. , op. cit., pp. 65-66. Less than a month later, on April 3, 1879, Die Grenzboten published another article, summarizing the reaction to the first. Germany's position, it claimed, was understood everywhere but in Russia. continued to be accused of being the mouthpiece of Gorchakov and Jomini. Despite the official inspiration of the first article, the writer of the latest one made veiled denials of the accusations that Bismarck had sponsored it. “Unser Artikel Liber Gortscbakoff und die fremde Presse, ” Die Grenzboten, No. 14, Apr. 3, 1879, pp. 30-36.

93 , op. cit., pp. 65-66.

94 , VI (1892), 136.

95 Schweinitz to Billow, Mar. 28, 1879, no. 89, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Innere Zustande. No public announcement of this eruption was ever made. The Russian government feared that a further admission of this sort would give renewed incentive to revolutionary outbreaks. Makov, the Minister of the Interior, told Schweinitz of the event only after the cases had already subsided. “He wished to put an end to the nervousness fed and increased by [their] poorly regulated press … . “ Ibid.

96 , op. cit., I l l , Apr. 2, 1879, p. 135. It is interesting to note that more than a year later, in Sept., 1880, Loris-Melikov, by then the Tsar's chief minister, was awarded the Pour le mirite by the German government. Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Sept. 29, 1880, p. 127. By the beginning of April, the American minister in St. Petersburg could already claim that the disease had not been the plague at all but a virulent form of typhus. Besides, he added, it produced less excitement in northern Russia than in the United States. In St. Petersburg, he wrote, “it forms no more of a subject of conversation than if it had happened in Rio Janeiro.” Hoffman to Evarts, Apr. 4, 1879, No. 79, U.S. Dept. of State, op. cit., p. 912.

97 , March, 1879, pp. 373-76.

98 The quarantine policies of Bismarck and of other powers, wrote Katkov, injured the pride of Russians. “Until now the word ‘sick’ has only applied to Turkey. Now it has been extended to us. Until now only the Turkish administration enjoyed the kind of reputation which brought about the dispatch of international commissions…. Now we see international commissions in the Russian Tsaritsyn.” , op. cit., Feb. 15, 1879, p. 85.

99 Munster, German ambassador to London, to Biilow, Mar. 5, 1879, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer, lnnere Zustande.

100 Biilow to Schweinitz, Mar. 9, 1879, No. 122, ibid. Undated note by Biilow on letter, Munster to Biilow, Mar. 5, 1879, ibid.

101 Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Mar. 11, 1879, p. 45.

102 G. A. Craig, , The Politics of the Prussian Army, 1640-1945 (Oxford, N.Y., 1956), pp. 262–63 Google Scholar.

103 Biilow to Reuss, German ambassador in Vienna, Mar. 20, 1879, No. 174, A. A., Russland, no. 61, Seer. lnnere Zustande.

104 Werder to William I, Mar. 27, 1879, No. 14, ibid.

105 Schweinitz, op. cit., II, Mar. 22, 1879, pp. 47-48. loe/foid., Apr. 1, 1879, p. 60. Wiederkehr, op. cit., pp. 54-56, 65. Langer, op. cit., p. 175.

107 Schweinitz, , Briefwechsel des Botschafters General von Schweinitz (Berlin, 1928), Essay on Russia, Oct./Nov., 1883, p. 359Google Scholar.