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fox, ermine-are caught. Seals are obtained from the Arctic Ocean and the Caspian Sea. The sturgeon is found in all the large rivers.

INHABITANTS: Russia is very thinly peopled, considering its great extent, though the total number of its population is large. Including Finland and Poland, this vast country contains over 106 millions of people, an average of 50 to the square mile, or less than a tenth of the density in England.

The population of the Russian Empire increases at the rate of over two millions a year, and now numbers about 129 millions, 22 millions of whom are the Asiatic subjects of the Czar. Less than a hundred years ago the Russian Empire only contained 36 millions; and the population has more than trebled during this century. Of the 106 millions of people in European Russia, 944 millions are in the Russian Provinces; 2 millions in the Grand Duchy of Finland; and 9 millions in Russian Poland.

Race: More than five-sixths of the entire population belong to the Slavonic race, but in the north-west are 3 millions of Finns and Lapps, and in the south-east nearly the same number of Turks and Tartars. Jews are numerous, especially in the western and south-western provinces, and number in all about 3 millions.

Language: The majority of the people speak the Russian language, of which there are three principal dialects-pure Russian being spoken only in the central provinces. Polish, Lettish, and the various Finno-Tartar languages are also spoken.

Education is very backward, except in Finland, where it is all but universal. In Russia proper only 20 per cent. of the recruits for the army can read and write. There are numerous military, naval, and mining schools, endowed by the Government, and six universities-namely, at Derpat, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Kiev, and Kharkov.

Religion: In religion the majority of the people of Russia belong to the Orthodox Greek Church. There are about 8%1⁄2 million Roman Catholics, and 3 million Protestants; 3 million Jews, and 21⁄2 million Mohammedans.

INDUSTRIES: The vast majority of the people are engaged in agriculture, for Russia is principally a corn-growing country. There are, however, numerous mines and metal-works in the Ural region, and the foreign and internal trade is very large.

The central and southwardly portions of its great plains, with the exception of the Steppe-region, are annually covered with crops of the finest wheat. The "Black Earth" region of Southern Russia has the most fertile soil in Europe. Rye and other grains, and also hemp and flax, are very largely grown. Vast numbers of cattle are reared on the Steppes.

One-third of the land in Russia is held by the "mirs," or peasant villagecommunities; about two-fifths are owned by the Crown or are attached to the Imperial domains, and one-fourth belongs to landed proprietors or companies. Nearly two-fifths of the Russian people are landed proprietors; but as regards the "mir," or village-community, the land around the village, consisting of arable lands and grazing grounds, belongs, not to individual peasants, but to the villagers as a community, and is parcelled out among the members in

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accordance with ancient usages. This system has prevailed in many parts of the world, but in Europe it has survived nowhere except in Russia."i

The mining industry is steadily increasing, and the metal-works, carried on within the valleys of the Ural region, display a high degree of manufacturing skill. But Russia is not, upon the whole, a manufacturing country. Less than a million people are employed in all the mines and factories of European Russia. But its foreign commerce is very large, and enormous quantities of corn, flax, hemp, tallow, wool, hides, and bristles, with timber, potash, and other productions of its vast forests, which cover fully one-third of the country, are exported, principally to Germany and Great Britain,

The naphtha springs at Baku, near the Caspian Sea, are annually increasing in importance, and already flood certain European markets with petroleum. An immense bed of coal, apparently inexhaustible, has been discovered in the basin of the Donetz (between the Rivers Donetz and Dnieper). Mariopol, Rostov, and Taganrog are the chief outlets of this coalfield. There are other important coalfields in Poland and around Moscow. About 17 million tons are raised annually.

The annual value of the imports is about 61 millions sterling, and of the exports, 110 millions sterling. Much of the inland trade is carried on at fairs. At the annual fair of Nijni-Novgorod, goods to the value of over 17 millions sterling are sold.

The mercantile navy of Russia consists of about 3.350 vessels. About half the foreign trade of the empire is centred at St. Petersburg, and is mainly carried on with Great Brita n and Germany. The German trade with Russia, as regards both exports and imports, is somewhat larger than that of Great Britain.

The trade between Russia and the United Kingdom amounts to about 41 millions sterling a year.

British imports of Russian produce, chiefly grain, flax and hemp, wood and timber, wool, petroleum, sugar, and eggs are between three and four times the value of Russian imports of British products, which are principally machinery, coal and iron, cotton and woollen goods, and chemicals. (Actual value, 1905: imports from the United Kingdom, £8,169,000; exports to the United Kingdom, £33,355,000.

The means of internal communication include excellent highroads, but few good cross-roads, extensive inland water communication by navigable rivers and canals, and over 32.750 miles of railways. In Asiatic Russia over 8,000 miles of railway are open.

The rivers of Russia intersect the country in every direction, and are con nected together by an extensive network of canals. Thus, goods from St. Petersburg are rapidly and easily conveyed by water to Archangel or Astrakhan, or to the Black Sea ports, and vice versa. In winter, the frozen rivers and lakes are admirably adapted for sleigh-travelling.

PORTS: The chief ports are St. Petersburg, Riga, and Revel, on the Baltic; Archangel, on the White Sea; Ekaterina, a new ice-free port in Russian Lapland; Astrakhan, near the mouth of the Volga; and Odessa, Poti, and Batum, on the Black Sea.

1. Previous to the year 1861, the great mass of the 2. In 1891, the cotton, woollen, silk, and linen people were serfs, in a social condition but little goods, furs, leather and leather-ware, iron and steel, superior to absolute slavery, and rated as the pro- Brass goods, glass and earthenware, consigned to perty of their owners, like so many head of cattle. the fair, were valued at 168 million roubles, of which Serfdom, however, was abolished by the Emperor 11 million roubles' worth remained unsold. (Average Alexander II. (who was assassinated in St. Peters- value of the rouble about, $10 the pound sterling). burg on March 13, 1881), and great improvement in In 1892, the total business done amounted to 177 the general condition of the Russian peasantry has million roubles.-The Statesman's Year Book, 1894

ensued.

GOVERNMENT: Russia is an absolute hereditary monarchy, the sovereign bearing the title of Czar or Emperor. An immense standing army is maintained in Russia, and everything is regulated according to the rules of military discipline.

The whole legislative, executive, and judicial power is vested in the Emperor, whose will alone is law. In 1905, however, an elective State Council and Duma were created, and a law was promulgated granting the Russian people liberty of conscience, speech, assembly and association, and a share in the government of the country. In 1906. the Council of the Empire was reorganised, and the constitution of the Duma was altered. Both bodies have equal legislative powers, and all measures must be passed by both before being submitted for Imperial sanction. The administration of the empire is still entrusted to great councils, of which the chief is now the Council of Ministers. In addition, there is a Committee of Ministers, the College of the Holy Synod, controlling the religious affairs of the country, and the Ruling Senate, which superintends the Courts of Law, and by which all laws must be promulgated.

The Grand Duchy of Finland has a separate Government and a Parliament of its own, formerly consisting of Representatives of the "Four Estates "--the nobles, the clergy, the burghers, and the peasants-but since 1906, composed of one Chamber of 200 members chosen by direct and proportional vote. university town of HELSINGFORS is the capital.

The

Local Government in Russia, so far as the peasantry and their lands are concerned, is entrusted to the people. Each village community, or “mir," manages its own affairs, and the local officers are elected by the peasants from among themselves. District and provincial affairs are to some extent managed by the Zemstvos, or District and Provincial Assemblies, consisting of representatives elected by the peasants, urban householders, and landed proprietors. Recently, however, the local authorities have been placed under the more direct control of the central Government.

The annual Ordinary Revenue and Expenditure of the empire each amount to about 200 millions sterling. The War Expenditure in 1905 amounted to another 120 millions. The entire Public Debt has increased from about 665 millions sterling, at which it stood before the war with Japan, to the enormous amount of 882 millions.

Military service is compulsory for all men from their 21st year. The regular Army and Reserve number 870,000 men on the peace footing, and over 3%1⁄2 millions on the war footing, exclusive of the irregular troops, mainly composed of Don Cossacks. The Navy includes 6 modern battleships, 14 cruisers, 120 torpedo gunboats and destroyers and torpedo-boats, and 22 submarines.

TOWNS: The vast majority of the Russians are agriculturists, and dwell in villages and hamlets. Only one-eighth of the people live in towns, sixteen of which have upwards of 100,000 inhabitants. Two towns (St. Petersburg and Moscow) have above a million inhabitants.

The largest towns, next to ST. PETERSBURG and Moscow, are Warsaw, Odessa, Lodz, Kiev, Riga, Kharkoff, Vilna, Kazan, Saratov, Ekaterinoslov, Kishinev, Astrakhan, Rostov, Tula, all of which have above one hundred thousand inhabitants.

There are 38 towns with between 50 and 100 thousand inhabitants, and 118 with a population of 20 to 50 thousand.

DIVISIONS: Russia is divided, for administrative purposes, into "governments" and districts, which are generally grouped under eight great divisions.

Four of the Russian governments' are called, from their situation, the Baltic Provinces. Finland is divided into eight districts. Nineteen governments, lying within the central portion of the empire, are distinguished as Great Russia; four (in the south-west, towards the River Dnieper) as Little Russia. Eight governments are known as West Russia, and ten as Poland; these embrace territories which formerly belonged to the kingdom of Poland. Six of the governments are known as South Russia, and ten as East Russia.

Great Russia (Muscovy), gained its independence under Joan Baselowitz in 1479; East Russia (Kazan), was annexed in 1550-80; Little Russia (Ukraine), in 1686; the Baltic Provinces in 1700-10; South Russia (New Russia), in 1791; West Russia (Polish Russia), in 1795; the Grand Duchy of Finland was formerly a part of the Swedish monarchy, and only became attached to Russia in 1809. Poland was long a distinct and powerful kingdom. The territory to which the title of "Poland" is now given has been, since 1831, a Russian province, and embraces only a small part of the country formerly known by that name, the other portions having been annexed by Prussia and Austria. By the Treaty of Berlin (1878), which closed the Russo-Turkish war, the district of Bessarabia, east of the Pruth, was restored to Russia.

The principal towns in the Baltic Provinces of Russia are St. Petersburg (1,439), Cronstadt (60), Riga (283), Revel (65), Jurjeff formerly Dorpat (42), and Mittau (35).

ST. PETERSBURG, the Capital of the Russian Empire, stands beside the nouths of the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland. It has about 900,000 inhabitants in summer, and over a million in winter, and thus ranks high among European capitals in order of population. St. Petersburg is a splendid city, of modern origin, having been founded by Peter the Great in 1702. Its wide streets, called "Prospects" (i.e., Perspectives), contain handsome buildings, and the Nevsky Prospect is considered to surpass the Unter den Linden in Berlin, which is regarded by many as the finest street in Europe. The manufacturing industries and commercial relations of St. Petersburg are important, but, as the Gulf of Finland is ice-bound for nearly 150 days in the year, its over-sea trade is not so large as that of Odessa, the great corn port of the Black Sea.

Cronstadt, the port and naval arsenal of St. Petersburg, is on an island in the Gulf of Finland, a few miles to the west of the capital. Riga, at the outlet of the Western Dwina into the Gulf of Riga (an arm of the Baltic), is an im portant seaport, one of the chief seats of Russian commerce. Revel, at the entrance of the Gulf of Finland, is the chief port of Esthonia. Jurjeff (formerly Dorpat), near Lake Peipus, is the university town of the German Provinces of Russia. Mittau is the chief town in the ancient Duchy of Courland.

In the Grand Duchy of Finland the chief places are Helsingfors (106), Abo (42), and Viborg (34).

Helsingfors, on the north side of the Gulf of Finland, is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland. It is defended by the fortified works of Sveaborg, which occupy several small islands in front of the port. Abo, the ancient capital, is on the coast further west, at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia. Viborg is a timber port and arsenal on the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland, about 50 miles north of Cronstadt.

Great Russia contains the ancient city of Moscow (1,092), and the towns of Nijni-Novgorod (90), Tula (115), Tver (54), Smolensk (47), Novgorod (27), and Archangel (30).

The famous city of MOSCOW, in the heart of Russia, was long the capital of the empire, and its celebrated citadel, the Kremlin, is still the favourite object of Russian regard. Moscow stands on the River Moskva, an affluent of the Oka, which latter river joins the Volga. About 60 miles west of Moscow is the village of Borodino, the scene of a sanguinary engagement between the French and Russian armies in 1812. After the battle, the Muscovites set their "ancient, holy, and beautiful city on fire-the grandest sacrifice ever made to national feeling "-rather than that it should shelter Napoleon and his victorious army, who were thus forced to abandon the city and begin their disastrous "retreat from Moscow." The city is now a great centre of internal trade, and is connected by rail, river, and canal with the ports on the Baltic, the Black Sea, the White Sea, and the Caspian.

Nijni Novgorod, at the junction of the Oka and the Volga, is an important seat of inland trade, and is distinguished for its great annual fair, the gathering-place of traders from nearly every nation of Europe and Asia. The trade done at this fair is estimated at considerably over 20 millions sterling. Smolensk is a picturesque old town on the Dnieper. At Novgorod the foundations of the Russian empire were laid. Tula has large manufactures of fire-arms, cutlery, and hardware, and is sometimes called the Birmingham" of Russia. Tver, on the Volga, marks the limit of steamship navigation on the Volga, the chief artery of the internal trade of Russia. Archangel, near the mouth of the Northern Dwina, is the chief port for the commerce of the White Sea, and is now connected by rail with St. Petersburg; but its harbour is only free from ice during three months of each year. Ekaterina, however, a new port in Russian Lapland, is actually ice free throughout the year, and is connected with Archangel by rail.

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In Little Russia the principal towns are Kiev (319), Kharkoff (174), and Poltava (54).

The ancient university city of KIEV, on the Dnieper, was formerly the capital, and is still regarded with the profoundest veneration as the " 'Holy City" of the Russians. It is strongly fortified and has important manufactures and a large trade. Kharkoff, a great emporium near the Donetz, also has a university. At Poltava, Charles XII. of Sweden was totally defeated by Peter the Great in 1709.

West Russia contains several considerable towns, among which the largest are Vilna (163), Berditcheff (54), Minsk (91), and Pinsk. VILNA, the ancient capital of Lithuania, is an important railway centre near the German frontier, and carries on a large trade in grain and timber. Many Jews reside here and also in the trading town of Berditcheff, which lies between Kiev and the River Bug. Grodno stands at the head of the steam navigation of the Niemen, near the western frontier of Russian Poland. Minsk and Pinsk are on the borders of the vast marshes that occupy nearly the whole basin of the Pripet, one of the chief tributaries of the Dnieper.

In Russian Poland are two famous towns-the one, Warsaw (756), the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Poland, the other, Lodz (352), a modern manufacturing town of the first rank.

WARSAW, though fallen from its former greatness, is still an important city, and ranks next to St. Petersburg and Moscow in amount of population.

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