THE "BLACK BAND" IN RUSSIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7004, 28 July 1884, Page 4

THE "BLACK BAND" IN RUSSIA

A trial is now taking place at St. Petersburg (says the correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald) which causes a great Bensation, that of the so-called " Black Band," a group of clever thieves and adventurers, which grows with alarming rapidity, and extends its ramifications over all Russia. Four of theße people now stand before the bar of their country, by means of "chantage." Thoy have ruined numerous persons, and oven, driven to suicide the son of a noble family. " Chantage," or the unlawful extortion of money, trading on secrets, &c. has no name in the Russian language, and has preserved the French appellation. Though this crime flourishes in Paris, it has been but lately successfully practised in Russia, and the present trial ia tbe first that has shown the public the abyss" of

d6s^»HL and °°rr?P«on into whioh have eftkens IrT™ °f *& most r<*pected Russian newsT™™ g *5 e aOCUBed editors of r«S Pl 8 ' locates, and other hitherto respected members of cultivated society. The pnncipal hero of this affair is a certl&valiel d Industrie called Doubetuky ; and there ia no has an o rhL Cn Uel tion, °£ v wh*ch tMa V*™™& h?L?\ ~l?!m lky •he bas bat^d in mud and d iv?n^,nh tbe V6ly eyes- Ch6atißg at oari", diiving unhappy women to madness by tradinfe m thoir secrets, setting paople to fight duels ruining young girls,-he has dona all tW and would no doubt have gone on £ infinitum had not the suicide of one of Ms victims led the police to the discovery of the secret organisation of the "Black Band °' and W*ihe arr h est-° £ four, of its membera..' Dou betsky who is an old man, and iv pewon ™Hir °>? °l the Jew ,in " 01iver Twist,» has got off with two years'imprisonment, which considering the height of his offences, is simply an insult, to justice, as are three-quarters of the Russian verdicts. He and hi H daughter took care to make a little diversion in Court Un hearing his sentence read, Doubetskv caught up a water-bottle, and, assuming a tragical attitude, tried to break his head with it Ho received a souce, but no hurt, for hia head proved too bard to be so easily broken, men tbe daughter (dressed elegantly in black) as suddenly shot herself with a little toy pistol and just grazed her arm. But the report caused, of course, a great panic and turmoil ni court, and the lady was carried out to have her wounds looked to. Her scratch having been declared nothing at all, and her worthy father having had his venerable white w P ™rWlP6d ?%* i ack"to^l, the proceedings Win J T Sd' ?°? b?,tß^y Preserved a dignified bearing throughput all this long trial that lasted five d ay 3 and mghtß> It orth f that even he found a sophist to defend his honour, for he was pictured by his advocate! m w£ m°U.? taT of ? vid ™ce, and as a most J,;"»«t t6d, d calumniated person, a sort of ht^ a<r ledge\b^efactor °£ humanity. One hardly knew whether to laugh at this clever of ?Z* VJ?r aSed at hi?- There ™ Plenty 2«ihV X Pers?. nages here who will defend anything and anybody if well paid, but the r£ U<K UC9 ?1 this fellow reall/exceeded all propriety. .It was simply a burlesque. The general opinion is that the punishment of all four scoundrels is much too light, and that their companions who escaped will sco therein trade" encoura Semeat to oarry on their nefarious