RUSSIA 



5115 



RUSSIA 



sunlight. In the southern part of the country 

 the length of day and night corresponds to that 

 in the northern half of the United States for 

 the same season of the year. 



Plants. The Arctic zone of vegetation, whose 

 southern boundary practically coincides with 

 the Arctic Circle, consists of the tundra (which 

 see), and this is frozen a large portion of the 

 year. Here the plants consist chiefly of mosses 

 and lichens, a few hardy shrubs, and, in places 

 where humus has accumulated, flowering plants 

 which can withstand the severity of the climate. 

 South of this is the great belt of evergreen or 

 coniferous forests, which extends southward to 

 an irregular line drawn from the Gulf of Fin- 

 land to the southern end of the Ural Moun- 

 tains. To the south and west is the hardwood 

 forest, which blends on its southern and eastern 

 border with the grassy plains or steppes that 

 occupy the southeastern portion of the country. 



The larch, silver fir, birch and other trees 

 characteristic of a subarctic climate are found 

 in the northern part of the forest belt. This 

 border gradually merges into the grand forest 

 of magnificent evergreen trees, in which pine 

 and fir predominate. Forest areas separated by 

 impassable marshes, dense thickets and numer- 

 ous lakes are the leading features of this region. 



The hardwood forest, or oak region, as it is 

 sometimes called, occupies all of Central Rus- 

 sia, and is characterized by a rolling surface 

 and forests of oak, birch and other hardwood 

 trees interspersed in sandy places with Scotch 

 pine. The forests are separated by open spaces 

 occupied by farms and villages, imparting to 



the landscape a pleasing variety of woodland 

 and meadow. 



In their native condition the steppes were 

 covered by a luxuriant growth of wild grass and 

 flowers. Such trees as the wild cherry and wild 

 apricot are found on the slopes bordering 

 streams, and thickets of willows are found in 

 the depressions. However, nearly all this re- 

 gion has been changed by cultivation and fer- 

 tile fields and green pastures are seen on every 

 hand. 



Animals. In the region within the Arctic 

 Circle the seal, the polar bear and the reindeer 

 are found. The great forest south of this re- 

 gion is the home of many fur-bearing animals, 

 although some of the most valuable species 

 have been nearly exterminated by hunters. 

 Here are found bears, wolves, foxes, the elk and 

 various species of deer, the wild boar and the 

 glutton. In the more open forests of the cen- 

 tral part of the country, squirrels, hares and 

 many other small animals occur in large num- 

 bers. The agricultural region contains a num- 

 ber of animals of the marmot family, which, 

 because of their destruction of crops, are pests. 

 During summer the fields and forests of the 

 entire country are enlivened by the flight and 

 song of birds common to the cool temperate 

 regions of Europe and North America. In the 

 north thousands of wild geese, ducks and other 

 water fowl frequent the marshes during the 

 nesting season. The lakes and rivers abound in 

 fish, and the Russian farmer, like fanners in 

 other temperate regions, suffers yearly losses 

 from insect pests. 



Sources of Russia's Wealth 



Minerals and Mining. The country has great 

 mineral \vi-alth, but owing to the scarcity of 



and lack of transportation facilities mining 

 has not until recently been developed as rapidly 

 as in other parts of Europe. However, after 

 1900, the coal ami iron industries achieved 

 rapid progress, owing largely to investment* by 



ich and Belgian capitalists ami tin intro- 



1011 of modern, scientific methods of mining 

 and smelt mi:. Th. rhief mining regions arc 

 the Ural Mountains; the government of Eka- 



ioelav, north of the Sea of Aiov; the r ! 

 ince of the Don Cossacks, east of Ekaterino- 

 slav; Baku, in the extreme southeast, and the 

 Donetz coal region in Poland. Since the revo- 

 lution, Russian Poland has been incorporated 

 with AIM nan ami Cerman Poland in an inde- 

 pendent Polish republic (see POLAND). 



The Ural Mountains are the great source of 

 platinum, and over nine-tenths of the world's 

 supply comes from them. The most important 

 coal mines are in the Donetz basin, and iron is 

 obtained chiefly from the southern provinces. 

 In 1914 Russia was producing three-fourths of 

 the coal, four-fifths of the pig iron and practi- 

 cally all the steel used in the country. Copper 

 is obtained in the Ural Mountains and in the 

 Caucasus, where an attempt is being made to 

 set up a state independent of Russia. Baku 

 contains one of the largest oil fields in the 

 world, but the future ownership of these wells is 

 t uncertain! v. 



Fisheries. The waters on the northwest coast 

 and the rivers and lakes abound in the best 

 varieties of food fish, including cod, salmon, 

 sturgeon and other varieties. The northwest 



