Page:The Spirit of Russia by T G Masaryk, volume 1.pdf/119

Rh his acquaintances. The outlines of the plan for the holy alliance of which he became the head were furnished him by Baroness Krüdener. In courtly and noble circles mysticism of the most varied kinds was at that time prevalent. Some were adherents of Irvingism, advocating a spiritual imitation of Christ; others followed Selivanov of the skoptsy sect (before the war with Napoleon, Alexander had made a pilgrimage to this pope of the skoptsy); Baroness Krüdener, Tatarinova, and others, had adherents. The Bible Society had flourished since 1812. Religious fanaticism was cultivated in many masonic lodges. Notable churchmen, Filaret, for example, participated in this movement; but the official guardians of the church speedily awoke to the danger. Fotii (Photius) Spasskii, a typical religious fanatic, took the field against all those romanticists.

Reaction towards superstition became more and more frequently manifest. From time to time Alexander saw through its pretensions, but he looked on passively, as in the case of the other excesses of his subordinates. It was owing to his weakness in this respect that the real work of government passed into the hands of such men as the war minister Arakcěev, Benckendorff, the censors Magnickii and Runič, etc., etc.

It is psychologically instructive to note that despite his infirmity of will Alexander was strong enough to carry out the most draconian measures. As previously recorded, he had agreed to mitigate the lot of the peasantry, but he subsequently established the notorious military colonies by which he hoped to secure a large army at low cost and to regulate agricultural production with military precision. His detestation of Speranskii became so acute that he would gladly have shot his faithful adviser with his own hand.

The spirit of this reaction is characterised by the fact that Magnickii had pathological specimens taken from the museums and buried in the churchyard. During the years 1821 to 1824