When  the  Tsar  ordered  those  of  them  who  held  office  to  refrain
from  extortion  and  peculation,  his  orders  were  not  so  punctiliously
obeyed,  but  in  this  disobedience  there  was  no  open  opposition —
no  assertion  of  a  right  to  pilfer  and  extort.  As  the  disobedience
proceeded,  not  from  a  feeling  of  insubordination,  but  merely  from
the  weakness  that  official  flesh  is  heir  to,  it  was  not  regarded  as
very  heinous.  In  the  aristocratic  circles  of  St.  Petersburg  and
Moscow  there  was  the  same  indifference  to  political  questions  and
public  affairs.  All  strove  to  have  the  reputation  of  being  "well-
intentioned,"  which  was  the  first  requisite  for  those  who  desired
Court  favour  or  advancement  in  the  public  service;  and  those
whose  attention  was  not  entirely  occupied  with  official  duties,  card-
playing,  and  the  ordinary  routine  of  everyday  life,  cultivated
helles-UUres  or  the  fine  arts.  In  short,  the  educated  classes  in
Eussia  at  that  time  showed  a  complete  indifference  to  political  and
social  questions,  an  apathetic  acquiescence  in  the  system  of  ad-
ministration adopted  by  the  Government,  and  an  unreasoning  con-
tentment with  the  existing  state  of  things.
