AKSAKOV, Konstantin Sergeievich, Rus sian historian and publicist: b. 1817; d. 1860. He grew up in the village of his birth but when his parents moved in 1826 to Moscow he came suddenly, as a nine-year-old boy, into the midst of the high life of Russian society. From his earliest childhood he manifested a strong love for everything Russian and par ticularly for things of Old Russia. He was able to read at four years of age and by the time he was 12 years old he had already read the entire classical literature. His education was completed at home with the aid of some of the most able preceptors, as also by the professors of Moscow University where he studied comparative literature. Having finished his studies at the University in 1835, he dedi cated himself entirely to literature: at first in the field of criticism and poetry and later, of history. In 1847 he defended successfully his doctorate thesis, 'Lomonosov in the History of the Russian Literature and Language.> In 1850 Aksakov wrote for the National Theatre of Moscow a historic patriotic drama, 'Liber ation of Moscow in 1612,' which was sup pressed the next day by the authorities be cause of his claims that Moscow was freed by the peasantry and not by the nobility. Some of his publications Wealthy Prince Vladimir,' etc.) were not only censured, but even caused their author's arrest. His his toric comedies 'Prince Lipovitzki' (1856) in which he glorifies the national Russian genius triumphing over the *venomous* Western civ ilization, and 'Oleg at the Gates of Constanti nople' do not show a powerful playwright, but may be considered as valuable historic studies with weak dialogue. His efforts in the field of Russian philology were crowned with more success as he proved the evil to 'the Russian idiom caused by the inroads of foreign lan guages. In his treatise On the Fundamental
Pririciples of Russian History' (1861) Aksa kov distinctly separates the people from the government and asserts that between them ex ists a permanent chasm bridged by mutual con cessions.
ilc-sheh'r (*white city"), Turkey in Asia, a city of the Konieh vilayet, on the north slope of the Sultan-Dagh, five miles south of Lake Ak-Shehr and 100 miles by rail northwest of Konieh. It abounds in historical interest. Mentioned in the martyr dom of Polycarp and in the correspondence of Cicero; it is the Philomelium of Strabo; the burial place of Nur-eddin Khoja; here in 1190 Frederick I, the German Emperor, fought a battle with the Seljuks; and here in 1403 the Sultan Bajazet I died while a prisoner in the fortified camp of Tamerlane. The modern city manufactures carpets of repute and is an im portant trading-centre between Constantinople and Syria. Pop. 15,000.
AKSU, ;k-soo' (*white water))) China, a town of East Turkestan, on the Aksu River and the southern slope of the Tien-shan Moun tains, about 250 miles northeast of Kashgar. It is a great caravan-centre for Chinese, Rus sian, West Turkestan, Kashmir and Indian traders and its industrious and hospitable in habitants manufacture unglazed *bias* cotton cloth, ornamented saddlery of deerskin, jewels and jasper ornaments. Copper, iron and lead deposits nearby are mined by Chinese convicts. Aksu was the former capital of the Khans of Kashgar and Yarkand. In 1867 the Khan of Kashgar regained it, only to lose it again to the Chinese in 1877. It was almost destroyed by an earthquake in 1716 and in 1800 was flooded by a freshet in which 3,000 lives were lost. Pop. 25,000.