We have seen that the chief national aim of Russian foreign policy from the times of Peter the Great has been the acquisition of a harbour on the open sea. That aim is perfectly justified. The wonder is not that Russia should have pursued that policy undiscouraged by persistent obstacles, but that she should have had to wait for two centuries before achieving her ends. The present war has proved once more how her national security, her trade and industry, are at the mercy of her enemies for want of an outlet on the sea. For want of an outlet on the sea Russia throughout the war has been at the mercy of Germany and Turkey, and has been unable to equip her heroic armies. Great Britain in the past has thwarted legitimate Russian aspirations, she has sacrificed the Balkan nationalities to the unspeakable Turk; Great Britain is now paying the penalty, and is now discovering that she also through her anti-Russian policy in the past has only played the game of the King of Prussia.
