concept
The Siberian Railway Manifesto (1891)
Siberian railway manifesto
also: манифест насчет сибирской дороги, Trans-Siberian railway manifesto
An imperial manifesto of May 1891 declaring construction of the Trans-Siberian railway a national undertaking, issued in connection with Tsarevich Nicholas's Far Eastern journey (during which he ceremonially broke ground on the line at Vladivostok). Chekhov, writing from Bogimovo, praises its tone as guaranteeing the railway's timely completion.
Reading notes
- To A. S. Suvorin, 20 May 1891. Bogimovo. §5 The last two manifestos
Two imperial manifestos issued in connection with the accession of Tsarevich Nicholas's Siberian journey and the 25th anniversary of Alexander III's own coming-of-age: one authorizing construction of the Trans-Siberian railway as a state undertaking, the other easing terms for certain categories of exiles and penal settlers to return to European Russia (short of the capital provinces). Chekhov, fresh from his own 1890 journey to Sakhalin and immersed in writing about the penal system, reads the second manifesto with particular attention as a genuine, if partial, reform -- a rare note of approval for a government measure in his correspondence.