conclusion that Russia, almost as much as France, has been the great crusading nation of history. The glorious title of "Tsar Osvoboditel," or "liberator Tsar," which is inscribed on the statue of Alexander II in the Government Square at Sofia, has been earned in like measure by Alexander I and by Alexander II.
II. The Tragedy of Poland
In at least one case Russia has been guilty of an odious crime against a weaker nationality. The suppression and oppression of Poland is the dark spot in the political history of the Russian Empire, even as the oppression of Ireland is the dark spot in the history of the British Empire. In both cases the oppression has been largely a case of religious intolerance, and has been partly a tragic inheritance of the past. But in the case of Poland it is not Russia, but Prussia, who is the main culprit. It was Frederick the Great who took the initiative of the partition of Poland, and who secured and compelled the complicity both of Russia and Austria.
Maria Theresa, after the partition of Poland, prophesied only too accurately all the evil consequences which would result from the crime.
