Chapter 13: Kyiv and Valentin
Kyiv, "Mother of Rus' Cities."
The chronicle "Primary Chronicle" records the origin of the "City of Kyiv": Three brothers, Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv, leaders of the Polianians tribe, "built a fortress and named it Kyiv after the eldest brother."
This became the core of what later developed into the city of Kyiv.
Today, Kyiv is the capital of Kyiv Province under the Ukrainian Governorate.
The Russian Empire comprises 78 provinces, 21 regions, 9 cities with special status, and 1 autonomous district.
The distinction between provinces and regions lies in the degree of Russification, geographical location, and level of social development. Provinces are mostly located in Europe, with predominantly Christian and Slavic populations, while regions are mainly in Asia, with residents primarily being Mongols, Turks, and Muslims.
The autonomous district refers to the Uryankhay Krai.
Some provinces also have governorates as additional administrative units. The Russian Empire has 10 governorates: Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw, Irkutsk, Ukraine, Amur, Steppe, Turkestan, Finland, and Caucasus.
When Nikolai disembarked at the port on the Dnieper River in Kyiv, the city officials and council members had been waiting for some time.
In Russia, cities officially recognized as having city status have city councils. However, under Alexander III's centralization policies, both provincial local self-government bodies and city councils, which were democratic institutions, were generally suppressed.
After shaking hands and greeting these local dignitaries, Nikolai made a few perfunctory remarks, thus concluding the welcome ceremony smoothly.
Nikolai habitually reached up to scratch his head, a small gesture he often made in crowded situations.
He never thought he would become so adept at spouting nonsense.
Nikolai thought to himself that he had managed to speak in front of so many renowned local figures without blushing or becoming nervous, despite spouting complete nonsense.
While Nikolai was still marveling at his transformation, the Kyiv officials warmly invited the crown prince to visit Kyiv's historical landmarks.
Following the tradition of his predecessor, his first visit was to the Saint Volodymyr's Cathedral, completed in Kyiv in 1888, the cathedral currently under the Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in Kyiv.
Although Nikolai was not particularly enthusiastic about the Orthodox Church, it was sufficient for his behavior to appear as that of a dutiful Orthodox Christian.
The exterior of Saint Volodymyr's Cathedral is predominantly yellow, with the door and window frames painted white. Some materials were reportedly provided by the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, and the interior is adorned with meticulously crafted mosaics.
After leaving the cathedral and heading southeast, they came to Shevchenko Boulevard, with a pedestrian path in the middle flanked by two rows of tall trees and carriageways on the outer sides.
The Russians seemed to have a penchant for erecting statues, reminiscent of ancient Rome. On this street alone, Nikolai noticed statues of Pushkin, Kutuzov, Peter the Great, and many historical figures he couldn't name.
After this, Nikolai visited Kyiv's famous Golden Gate. The ruins were excavated in 1832, and it is now a reconstructed landmark on the original site, along with a section of the ancient city wall, a park, and a museum.
Additionally, Nikolai watched an unnamed opera at the Kyiv National Opera House. Opera in this era felt like movies to Nikolai, complete with some social elements.
Nikolai's first day in Kyiv ended with a banquet hosted by the city government. The banquet featured traditional Russian dishes, many of which Nikolai had tasted many times in Saint Petersburg. The only dish that left a lasting impression on him was Ukrainian dumplings served with sour cream.
The sour-sweet dumplings made Nikolai frown the entire time; he couldn't accept the sweet and sour taste.
After the banquet, there was a dance session. As a desirable bachelor, Nikolai was favored by the noble ladies. Although dancing for three hours straight was indeed tiring, holding the slender waists of Slavic girls and seeing their fair and fragrant chests made it worthwhile.
Fueled by alcohol, Nikolai enjoyed a delightful night.
The next morning, his natural body clock woke him up at eight, a habit cultivated by his predecessor. Next to him lay a graceful noblewoman.
"I still don't know your name."
Nikolai's movements woke her, and she murmured as she revealed her fair skin.
"Penny, Your Highness."
Penny's emerald-like eyes were pleasing to Nikolai, and her slender, well-proportioned, and elegant figure gave him a pleasant experience.
"I have official duties today; I'm sorry."
Nikolai lifted Penny's delicate hand and kissed the back of it. His gentlemanly demeanor made the girl's face flush, seemingly sparking a dream of becoming the "princess of the white knight."
However, this was just a minor interlude.
"There are many Poles and Jews in Kyiv besides Russians."
Witte had once held a private enterprise position in the Southwestern Railway Company in Kyiv and was a member of the Baranov Railway Committee. The current Russian Empire's *Railway Charter* is a product of this committee.
As Nikolai's carriage passed through a low-lying area near the Dnieper River, Witte told him this was the Jewish quarter.
"And Ukrainians?"
"Ukrainians? There's no such thing as Ukrainians..."
Like other high-ranking officials in the government, the upper echelons of Russian society generally believed Ukrainians were a branch of the Russian nation, and the so-called Ukrainian language was merely a Russian dialect with a peculiar accent.
However, Witte had many stereotypes about the so-called "Ukrainians," thinking they were inherently cunning, Poles were fond of ostentation, and Jews were arrogant and greedy. Nonetheless, Witte believed in meritocracy, regardless of ethnic background or religious belief.
"My father didn't like Jews."
Nikolai recalled Alexander III's look of disgust when mentioning Jews. Eastern European Jews were generally impoverished and uneducated lower-class residents, and the Kyiv Jews Nikolai referred to were mostly like this.
"Many in the government call you the 'friend of the Jews.'"
The rumors Nikolai heard stemmed from Witte having Jewish subordinates, the owner of the Southwestern Railway Company being Jewish, and even Witte's second wife being Jewish.
"If the 'Jewish problem' could be solved by throwing all Russian Jews into the Black River, that would be one thing, but that path is unworkable. So, the solution should be to gradually withdraw the numerous special legal discriminations against Jews."
Witte straightforwardly expressed his stance.
The so-called "Jewish problem" referred to the issue of how to deal with the five million Jews in Russia. Currently, Russia is the most anti-Semitic country in Europe.
While Crown Prince Nikolai was inspecting the rural economy of Kyiv Province, the disaster spreading across southeastern European Russia continued to worsen.
Valentin considered himself lucky, as the adults in his village often told him.
When he was a child, there was a small river in front of the village. The quietly flowing river was a place where Valentin and several of his friends played together, but it was also dangerous.
Valentin couldn't remember the exact reason, but he remembered that he had been late that day due to diarrhea. As a result, his two playmates who went into the water first drowned.
One of them had a cramp in the cold water, and the other drowned trying to save him.
Valentin remembered that one of them was named Peter, but the other was a bit of a blur since he was so young at the time.
The adults were very sad. Some people in the village said that Valentin was blessed by God, which caused his diarrhea and spared him from that tragic fate.
Although Peter's parents were very sad at the time, they got over it in a few days.
It was normal for people to die in the countryside; sometimes, life could be lost unexpectedly.
This was the first instance.
As Valentin grew older, he was able to help with the farm work.
Their fields were far away, requiring a long walk. On a rainy day, his then "fourth brother" gave him an old coat to cover his head, not wanting the young Valentin to get wet.
Valentin remembered his fourth brother telling him that he had a strong constitution and wasn't afraid of the cold.
But shortly after returning to the village, he caught a chill at night and came down with a cold.
There was a doctor in the village commune, but he had no medicine. They had to go to the county town to buy proper medicine. The doctor prescribed some medicine and told the fourth brother to hang on. At that time, his cold hadn't turned into pneumonia yet.
After a week, he developed pneumonia, and Valentin's fourth brother passed away.
Valentin's father, old Boris, was also very sad. The fourth brother hadn't yet started his own family—a fine young man gone too soon...
But they still had to eat, and life had to go on.
Living itself was a hardship!
This was the second instance.
Later on, Valentin slowly grew to his fourth brother's age.
Valentin originally had three older brothers, but they all died young. By 1891, only four brothers were still alive.
However, the poor harvest of 1891 completely shocked Valentin.
Valentin was old Boris's youngest son, so his father loved him the most. Even when he was starving, his father would save some of his portion for Valentin.
Valentin wondered if his father might have survived if he hadn't given him those extra portions.
Valentin had two sisters, one married within the village, and the other followed a farmer who went to work in the city. The sister living in the village survived, but they lost contact with the other sister, just like their eldest brother.
But Valentin couldn't think about these things; he only knew that if he waited any longer, he would die too.
"Follow the railway south; there's food there."
This was what the overwhelmed county officials told Valentin and his fellow villagers while inspecting how many people were still alive.
The provincial government's handling of the disaster in Saratov was equally disastrous.
Throughout 1891, the governor insisted that the situation in the province was not as severe as the continuous reports suggested.
When a local county official under the Saratov Province sent an urgent telegram requesting that seeds and necessary relief supplies be sent more quickly to the county, the governor delayed responding to the request for a week.
Such inaction left many disaster victims in Saratov Province waiting in vain, starving until they finally succumbed to despair.
Because seeds could not be distributed in time, farmers who had eaten their seed grain out of sheer hunger during the winter of 1891 had no seeds to plant in the next year's fields.
By early 1892, the situation in Saratov Province had not significantly improved.
"The governor allows economic activities within the province to go unchecked and unregulated. He is oblivious to the famine and refuses to understand the real situation. Under his administration, even the activities of county agencies can only be carried out independently, which I consider to be a severe dereliction of duty."
When Troitsky, the head of the Central Statistical Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, inspected the Volga region, he found that Saratov Province was still in a state of "anarchy" in the face of famine and lacked any direction of action.
Valentin was indeed lucky; he was among the first disaster victims to head south.
When Valentin arrived in his county town, an inspector from the local self-government agency provided Valentin and a few other starving people with bread and water to the best of his ability.
This gave Valentin the strength to continue his journey.
Public works relief efforts were underway, but during the same months of 1892, detailed plans for these original projects had not yet been formulated, resulting in inconsistencies and chaotic management during the implementation of public works projects.
Valentin's luck was that he was among the first group of farmers to arrive at the construction site, allowing him to earn 15 rubles in half a month before the project ended.
Because Valentin's worksite was hastily initiated and poorly managed, it had to be abruptly halted after half a month due to a lack of skilled personnel to construct the grain elevator.
Without work, the site managers believed they didn't need to pay the farmers. But without wages, how could these farmers get food?
So many farmers had to pawn their clothes and incur debts to get bread.
Valentin decided to flee, carrying a few rubles with him.
Relying on these few rubles, Valentin headed further south, and his luck brought him another chance at survival.
When he arrived at a new worksite near the Caspian Sea, he happened to be one of the last farmers recruited. This site was preparing to build a new railway.
Valentin also saw hundreds of farmers waiting for employment on the shore, but they were only met with dismissal.
Many had traveled a long way on empty stomachs, with no work or shelter. They collapsed on the roadside from prolonged exhaustion, never to rise again.
Moreover, Valentin was fortunate to encounter a responsible project manager who carefully formulated a payment and food standard for the site.
Some irresponsible project managers would delay wages and only provide food every two or three days.
In such conditions, many farm laborers would become extremely weak from prolonged malnutrition, eventually falling ill and never recovering.
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