RUSSIA. 



591 



distances was provided for without recourse to 

 a loan. It was done by keeping down expendi- 

 tures, which have increased in the last six years 

 at the rate of 125,000,000 rubles a year. Not- 

 withstanding various retrenchments, the increase 

 shown in the budget of 1901 was still large. The 

 increase in naval estimates was kept down to 

 6,000,000 rubles by postponing construction. The 

 normal credit for the navy was increased 10,- 

 000,000 rubles by a decree issued in August, 1900. 

 The loans to private railroads on the security of 

 their bonds include a large advance to the Chi- 

 nese Eastern Railroad Company for the restora- 

 tion of the line through Manchuria. The stock of 

 gold in Russia was diminished 74,000,000 rubles in 

 1900 owing to stringency in the international 

 money markets, the troubles in China, etc. The 

 amount of gold in the treasury and in circulation 

 at the end of that year was still 1,492,000,000 

 rubles, exceeding the amount of paper in circu- 

 lation by 225,500,000 rubles. 



The state debt was increased in the ten years 

 between 1890 and 1900 by 893,971,568 rubles and 

 the annual amount of interest to be paid by 35,- 

 485,584 rubles, but annuities decreased in the 

 decade by 15.894,520 rubles and the increase in 

 the annual debt charge was only 19,591,064 ru- 

 bles, or 2.2 per cent. The conversion or redemp- 

 tion was effected between 1889 and 1899 of 75,- 

 000,000 rubles paying 6 per cent., 65,174,900 ru- 

 bles paying 5J per cent., 2,723,983,016 rubles pay- 

 ing 5 per cent., 346,462,107 rubles paying 4J per 

 cent., 43,447,300 rubles paying 4 per cent., and 

 571,326,901 rubles of treasury obligations, mak- 

 ing a total of 3,825,394,833 rubles. The cost of 

 conversion and redemption operations was 72,- 

 724,063 rubles. New loans were concluded at 4 

 per cent, for the nominal amount of 3,198,531,806 

 rubles, of which the Government received 2,964,- 

 951,171 rubles, the cost of emission being 212,- 

 051,063 rubles. The state debt on Jan. 1, 1900, 

 consisted of 534,912,750 rubles of 3 per cent., 148,- 

 382,812 rubles of 3 per cent., 61,516,000 rubles of 

 3.79 per cent., 85,247,400 rubles of 3.80 per cent., 

 2,316,663,229 rubles of 4 per cent., 247,370,000 

 rubles of 4i per cent., 151,851,500 rubles of 5 per 

 cent., and 32,859,315 rubles of other loans, making 

 the total loans 3,578,803,007 rubles, and of treas- 

 ury bonds bearing from 3 to 6 per cent, interest 

 the sum of 2,646,292,984 rubles ; total debt, 6,225,- 

 095,992 rubles. The cash in the treasury on Jan. 

 1, 1900, was 216,727,000 rubles. The debts due 

 to the Government at the same date were 252,- 

 886,063 rubles of military obligations, 255,648,137 

 rubles from railroads, 1,486,017,970 rubles from 

 peasants for redemption of lands, 106,493,507 ru- 

 bles from local treasuries, 122,894,029 rubles from 

 the nobles' land bank, and 164,724,722 rubles 

 from various debtors; total, 2,388,664,431 rubles. 

 The funds in the treasury for famine relief, pen- 

 sions, and other purposes amounted to the addi- 

 tional sum of 375,410,489 rubles. 



The amount of paper currency in circulation 

 in January, 1901, was 630,000,000 rubles; amount 

 of gold in the treasury and bank, 1,492,300,000 

 rubles; amount of silver, 222,800,000 rubles. In- 

 terest on Russian rentes is subject to a coupon 

 tax of 5 per cent. The large loans raised in 

 recent years have been taken mainly in France. 

 On Dec. 17, 1900, an imperial ukase was issued 

 decreeing that foreigners not domiciled in Russia 

 who hold Russian Government securities shall 

 receive the full interest, without the deduction 

 of 5 per cent, for the coupon tax. On May 12 the 

 Minister of Finance announced a loan of 424,- 

 000,000 francs at 4 per cent, in order to replace 

 in the imperial treasury the sums spent in 1900 



in advances to railroad companies and to provide 

 for similar advances in 1001. These bonds can 

 not be redeemed before 1910 arid are exempt from 

 all duties and taxes imposed by UK- llussian Gov- 

 ernment. The loan was readily taken in Paris, 

 the issue price being 98 . 



The Army. The active army on the peace 

 footing is estimated at 42,000 officers ami 1.000,- 

 000 men. The war strength of Kusshi is sup- 

 posed to be at least 75,000 officers arid 4.r>()fi.oOO 

 men. Infantry regiments, having in time of pence 

 a normal strength of 70 officers and 1,807 men, 

 can be raised in war to 79 officers and 3,945 men; 

 cavalry regiments from 32 officers and 779 men 

 w r ith 585 horses, have in war 30 officers and 073 

 men with 676 horses; heavy field-batteries from 

 207 to 259, light ones from 179 to 227, and moun- 

 tain batteries from 149 to 301 men, the 4 guns in 

 peace being increased to 8 for every field-battery. 

 The empire is divided into 13 military districts, the 

 army into 31 corps. There is 1 corps of guards 

 and 1 of grenadiers; 2 corps are in the Caucasus 

 district, 2 in the district of Turkestan, a corps is 

 in the Irkutsk, and 1 in the Amur district of 

 Siberia; there are 2 cavalry corps; and the army 

 corps are distributed in the districts of St. Peters- 

 burg, Finland, Vilna, Warsaw, Kiev, Odessa, 

 Moscow, Kazan, and the Don. There are 52 in- 

 fantry divisions and 23 brigades and 1 battalion 

 of rifles, besides 8 rifle battalions in Finland; 25 

 divisions and 2 brigades of dragoons, including 

 2 divisions of guards and 6 divisions of Cossacks; 

 492 batteries, of which 305 are light, 98 heavy, 

 26 howitzer, 15 mountain, and 48 horse artillery; 

 and 29 battalions of sappers each with a tele- 

 graph company. 7 battalions of railroad troops, 

 8 pontoon battalions, 12 fortress sapper compa- 

 nies, 11 submarine mining companies, 6 fortress 

 balloon detachments, and 7 fortress telegraph de- 

 tachments. The infantry weapon is a new rifle 

 having 5 cartridges in the magazine. The field- 

 artillery have steel breechloaders having a range 

 of 4,150 yards for the heavy guns, 4,480 yards 

 for the light, and the mountain guns have a range 

 of 4,700 yards, the howitzers one of 3,600 yards 

 for shell and shrapnel. 



The Navy. The Baltic fleet in the beginning 

 of 1901 consisted of 7 first-class and second-class 

 battle-ships, 2 of the second class, 7 coast-defense 

 vessels, 1 armored cruiser, 11 belted and pro- 

 tected cruisers, 30 gunboats, -and 8 old ironclads 

 and armored gunboats. There were building 6 

 first-class and 2 second-class battle-ships, 1 coast- 

 defense vessel, 1 armored cruiser, 7 protected 

 cruisers, and 2 gunboats. The turret-ships Oslia- 

 bia, Peresviet, and Pobieda, launched in 1898 and 

 1899, have a displacement of 12,674 tons, 10 inches 

 of Harveyized armor at the water-line, engines of 

 18,000 horse-power, making 18 knots, and an 

 armament of 4 10-inch guns in turrets, 11 6-inch 

 quick-firers (10 in casements and 1 in the bow), 

 and 20 3-inch quick-firers. They have a much 

 greater cruising radius than the Poltava, Petro- 

 pavlovsk, and Sevastopol, launched in 1894 and 

 1895, which have a displacement of 10,960 tons, 

 16-inch armor, engines of 10,600 horse-power, giv- 

 ing a speed of 17| knots, and an armament con- 

 sisting of 4 12-inch breechloaders and 12 6-inch, 

 20 3-inch, and numerous smaller quick-firing 

 guns. A newer type is that of the Brodino, Alex- 

 ander III, and Orel, of 13,400 tons, having a com- 

 plete belt of 11 -inch Harvey armor, engines of 

 16,300 horse-power, and an armament of 4 12- 

 inch guns in turrets fore and aft, 12 6-inch quick- 

 firers coupled in turrets on the broadside, 20 3-inch 

 quick-firers below, and many smaller ones. The 

 Tsarevich and Suvaroff, of 13,100 tons, are like 



