THE CORONATION OF THE TSAR.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVII, Issue I, 4 July 1896, Page 3

THE CORONATION OF THE TSAR.

The festivities in celebration of the coronation of the Tsar of All the Russias was a rare and wonderfully interesting event. The solemn, spectacular entry of the Emperor and Empress of Russia into the city of Moscow —the true capital—in anticipation of their coronation is a sight, said The Standard, in an interesting article, to recall the splendours of a Roman Triumph. Europe has other Imperial potentates besides the Tsar, and they, as a rule, get crowned. But though, continues The Standard, at Berlin and Vienna troops may be put in procession as numerous, as finely trained, and as richly attired as those which marched in their gala uniforms from the precincts of the Petrovsky Palace to the gates of the Palace within the crenelated walls of the ancient Kremlin, yet what other power can, like Russia, show, side by side, every description of European troops, and, at the same time, semi-Oriental and purely Asiatic levies ? Useful infantry of Western type were there, with here and there some historic regiment wearing the garb of the period at which it is raised ; formidable artillery ; brilliant cavalry, including hussars in tunics of green, blue, and scarlet, uhlans with long lances, dragoons with long swords, glittering cuirassiers with helmets worthy of ‘ Lohengrin ’ ; and Cossacks

of different degrees of picturesqueness, from the Bon, the Volga, the Black Sea ; Circassians with their high caps of white or black lamb’s wool, and their cartridge cases spread across their breasts ; and, finally, squadrons of Kirgis horsemen from the plains of Central Asia. The Circassian and the Kirgis Cavalry were not brought to St. Petersburg and Moscow for show purposes alone. They served to remind the nation of the extent of Russian dominion, and of the constant spread of Russian power. Not conscious, perhaps, of much personal might himselt, the humblest Russian peasant is proud, on seeing the magnificent and representative Russian Army, to feel that he belongs to one of the mightiest empires in the world. The entry into Moscow was probably the finest, and most certainly the most effective, of all the sights and shows Included in the coronation programme. The central ceremony of all, the self-Coronation of the Tsar, under the blessing of the Metropolitan of Moscow, from whose hands he receives the Crown, was very impressive ; but only a favoured few could possibly see it. For climatic reasons, no doubt, and to prevent pious congregations from being frozen to death, cathedrals in Russia, like churches generally, were constructed of the narrowest dimensions. In the heart of the Kremlin, four so-called cathedrals stand, not one of which will hold more than a few hundreds of persons. The Cathedral of the Assumption, in which the coronation took place, is not more spacious than the others ; and, when places have been found for the clergy, the choir, the august personages immediately interested, with their attendants, the Ministers of State, the high officials, the Marshals of Nobility, representing the territorial aristocracy of Russia, the ambassadors, visitors of the first distinction, including many members of reigning families, the building is fill d to overflow.ag. It is not until the announcement is made by the cannon of the Kremlin that the fact of the Coronation having taken place is known to more than a select few. The illumination, on the other hand, of the city is a sight which the whole population can see. Some are dazzled by the blaze of light. Others love to read, in lines of fire, the architectural design, perfectly marked out, of the churches and monasteries, the towers and belfries, the mansions and public edifices of the most picturesque city in Europe. Moscow stands, like Rome, on hills, and there are points of view from which certain altitudes of illuminated Moscow looks like ‘ set pieces ’ in some unusually fine exhibition of fireworks. The illuminations are prepared under the direction of artists, who light up the ancient Russian Capital on artistic principles. From the gardens of the Kremlin, the cathedrals and the belfry of Ivan Veliky can be seen in their fire dress ; while, as one looksdown from the Kremlin terrace, the whole of Moscow seems to stretch itself out in a sea of flame. Much of all this and what follows was written in anticipation of the event.

An exhibition of fireworks will be given on a subsequent evening in connection with an open-air concert, at which the massed bands of an entire Army Corps will execute the National Anthem with the accented notes marked by that most unmusical instrument, the cannon. Another highly popular entertainment will be the Feast for the People (we know now, alas ! how it ended), at which oxen, sheep, and pigs, roasted whole, will form the principal items of the repast, with pies of various kinds to follow, and with kvass, beer, mead, and vodka as beverages and stimulants. There are, moreover, to be

popular theatrical performances ; and at the Grand Theatre of Moscow some opera will be performed with red-legged Generals and Civil functionaries in the stalls, Ministers of State, Ambassadors, and visitors of distinction in the bel ftage, of which the centre box is reserved for the Emperor and Empress, and so on throughout the six tiers of the tastefully - decorated boxes. Wherever seated, all presentwillbethe Emperor’s guests, and every place will be a place of honour. But perhaps the most thoroughly characteristic, the most truly Russian, of all the entertainments will be the grand ball in the palace of the Kremlin, to which the Emperor invites his subjects in genera) ; receiving them in person, entering freely into conversation with those aronnd him, and treating his thousands of guests as friends and equals. Merchants, and sometimes peasants, will come to Moscow from the furthermost limits of the Russian Empire in order to attend the Kremlin ball, at which neither the lavish display of gold and silver plate nor the luxurious character of the refreshments will be so remarkable as the perfect decorum, without the slight est appearance of self-re-straint, which, on such occasions, characterises the demeanour of all present.