668 



RUSSIA. 



action of the Government, although the insur- 

 rection was found to have ramifications all 

 over the country. 



The regular session of the Legislature was 

 opened by Prince Charles on the 27th of No- 

 vember. In a speech from the throne, the 

 Prince congratulated the representatives of 

 the people that Eoumania, in the midst of a 

 European war of stupendous magnitude, had 

 been in a position to remain true to her inter- 

 national treaties, and had continued in the 

 most friendly relations with the Sublime Porte 

 and the other European powers. As a proof 

 of these good relations, he pointed to the 

 willingness of the Austro-Hungarian Govern- 

 ment to enter into a special convention for the 

 regulation of consular jurisdiction, and for a 

 complete reform of the juridical and adminis- 

 trative relations between the two countries. 

 He alluded to the necessity of a law for the 



consolidation of the floating debt of $7,560,- 

 000, and said that the anticipated deficit in the 

 budget for 1870 ($2,354,400) would be greatly 

 diminished, if not covered altogether, by ex- 

 traordinary sources of revenue, although the 

 budget provided for the payment of the an- 

 nuities on the railroad debt. As regards the 

 latter, the Prince remarked that the line from 

 Koman to Luceava and Jassy had just been 

 thrown open to the public, while the one from 

 Koman to Galatz and Bucharest would soon 

 he opened. 



RUSSIA, an empire in Europe and Asia. 

 Emperor, Alexander II., born April 17 (new 

 style, April 29), 1818 ; succeeded his father, 

 Nicholas, February 18 (March 2), 1855. Heir- 

 apparent, Grand-duke Alexander, born Feb- 

 ruary 26 (March 10), 1845. According to the 

 census of 1864, the area and population of the 

 various provinces were estimated as follows : 



The total area and population of the Russian 

 Empire, inclusive of Poland and Finland, are as 

 follows : 



PROVINCES. 



Square Miles. 



The majority of the inhabitants belong to the 

 Orthodox Oriental (Greek) Church. A number 



of sects have branched off from this church, 

 and are designated by the collective name of 

 Raskolniks. According to the official pub- 

 lications, the population connected with them 

 does not number more than 800,000 souls; 

 but foreign writers on Russia claim for them 

 a population of five or even of fifteen mill- 

 ions. (For full information on these sects, 

 see AMERICAN ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA for 1869, 

 article GREEK CHURCH.) The following ta- 

 ble exhibits the ecclesiastical statistics of 

 all the divisions of the Russian Empire in 

 Europe. 



