However, the reaction began already in 1862. Instruction in the School of Medicine, as well as in the town hall, was discontinued. Then began the first exodus of Russian women students to Germany and Switzerland. But in St. Petersburg, in 1867, there was formed a society, under the presidency of Mrs. Conradi, to secure the reopening of the course for adult women. The society appealed to the first congress of Russian naturalists and physicians. This congress sent a petition, with the signatures of influential men, to the Minister of Public Instruction. In two years Mrs. Conradi was informed that the Minister would grant a two-year course for men and women in Russian literature and the natural sciences. The society accepted what was offered. It was little enough. Moreover, the society had to defray the cost of instruction; but it was denied the right to give examinations and confer degrees. All the teachers, however, taught without pay. In 1885 the society erected its own building in which to give its courses. The instruction was again discontinued in 1886. Once more the Russian women flocked to foreign countries. In 1889 the courses were again opened (Swiss influence on Russian youth was feared). The number of those enrolled in the courses was limited to 600 (of these only 3 per cent could be unorthodox, _i.e._ Jewish). These courses are still given in St. Petersburg. Recently the Council of Ministers empowered the Minister of Public Instruction to forbid women to attend university lectures; but those who have already been admitted, and find it impossible to attend other higher institutions of learning for girls, have been allowed to complete their course in the university. The present number of women hearers in Russian universities is 2130. A Russian woman doctor was admitted as a lecturer by the University of Moscow, but her appointment was not confirmed by the Minister of Public Instruction. She appealed thereupon to the Senate, declaring that the Russian laws nowhere prohibited women from acting as teachers in the universities; moreover, her medical degree gave her full power to do so. The decision of the Senate is still pending. A recent law opens to women the calling of architect and of engineer. The work done on the Trans-Siberian Railroad by the woman engineer has given better satisfaction than any of the other work. A bill providing for the admission of women to the legal profession has been introduced but has not yet become law.