GURDJIEFF CHOSE RUSSIA from which to introduce the teaching to the West. He arrived in St. Petersburg in 1912; it was the most cultivated and cosmopolitan city of Russia and its capital. He came with over a million in rubles, rare carpets and two collections of Chinese cloisonné. It was a vast sum—all of which he had earned himself. Why bring so much money and valuables? He wanted to be dependent on no one—to have no one interfere with the establishing of the teaching. His plan was to recruit students of a high caliber, form them into groups, and then open an Institute from which to propagate the ideas. There is some indication, though not conclusive, that Gurdjieff might have posed as a Turkish prince—a certain "Prince Ozay"—in order to gain entrance to the court at the Winter Palace, the home of all the Russian Tsars. However that may be, he did marry an attendant to the court, the Polish countess Julia Ostrowska. He was not successful in recruiting students and so, after a year or so, left for Moscow where he did form groups. He met P.D. Ouspensky in April 1915 in Moscow and as Ouspensky was living in St. Petersburg, a 350-mile journey by train, he had Ouspensky recruit and form a group for him in St. Petersburg.