CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



from the icy regions of the Arctic Ocean. In the 

 northern section, the winter is severe, and lasts 

 from eight to nine months ; summer, on the other 

 hand, is short and hot ; and there is, generally 

 speaking, neither spring nor autumn. In the 

 central region, winter is also severe, but shorter ; 

 there is something like spring and autumn, and 

 summer is still warmer. In the south, winter 

 continues only for about five months ; and summer 

 is often fervid and oppressive. The provinces 

 bordering on the Baltic have a wet and variable 

 climate, and this feature extends to the elevated 

 tract which borders the upper basin of the Volga. 



The vegetable and animal productions present 

 less variety than might be expected from a region 

 lying between the 45th and 7oth parallels. The 

 most remarkable feature in the former is the vast 

 expanse of forest growth, covering about two-fifths 

 of the entire superficies. Among the cultivated 

 plants, we may notice rye all over the country ; 

 barley to 67 north ; oats to 62 north ; wheat in 

 the fertile tracts along the southern rivers, but 

 also pretty far north ; millet along the Don ; hemp 

 and flax in the west and centre ; tobacco in the 

 Ukraine ; cranberries in the marshes of the north, 

 fruit in the south-east ; the vine in the Crimea 

 and Caucasian provinces ; and variously, potatoes, 

 rape, rhubarb, poppy, &c. The characteristic 

 wild animals are the polar bear, the black and 

 brown bears of the forest, the reindeer, elk, urus, 

 wild-horse of the Ukraine, wolf, blue fox, lynx, 

 beaver, sable, ermine, lemming, &c. ; game, but 

 not abundantly ; the sturgeon, salmon, trout, 

 carp, pike, mackerel, and a variety of other fishes 

 in the rivers ; and the bee, whose honey and 

 wax form valuable products of consumption and 

 export. 



The population of the country, amounting in 

 1 88 1 to more than 83,000,000, is composed of a 

 vast variety of races, differing in language, 

 religion, manners. The chief are : the Slavonic, 

 including the Russians proper, the Poles, Bul- 

 garians, and Servians ; the Finns of Finland, 

 Lapland, and Esthonia ; the Lettish tribes of the 

 Baltic provinces ; the Tatars of the Caucasus, 

 Astrakhan, Kazan, the Crimea, &c. ; the Germans 

 in Riga, Revel, and the Baltic provinces generally; 

 the Swedes of Finland ; and in lesser numbers, 

 Jews and Greeks, with some French and English 

 traders. The settled inhabitants are ranked in 

 four classes nobles, clergy (along with whom are 

 classed government officials, artists and professional 

 men generally), merchants, and peasants. Each 

 of these classes either possesses special privileges, 

 or is subject to special obligations ; on the other 

 hand, each enjoys, to a certain extent, the right 

 of self-administration in its own affairs. Each 

 apportions its taxes, and chooses some of its own 

 functionaries. In 1861, serfdom was abolished, 

 and 20,000,000 peasants became freemen. 



All forms of religious faith are tolerated ; but 

 that of the orthodox Greek Church, which has 

 54,000,000 adherents, is the established religion 

 of the empire, and is professed by the Russians, 



224 



Servians, &c. The Roman Catholic faith is that 

 of the Poles and Lithuanians ; the Swedes, Danes, 

 Finns, and most of the Germans are Lutherans ; 

 Calvinism reckons but a small number of Poles 

 and Germans ; Islamism is the creed of the Tatar 

 tribes. In Russia there are nearly 500 cathedrals, 

 and about 29,000 churches, with 70,000 parish 

 clergy belonging to the established faith. Be- 

 sides, there are about 550 convents. The emperor 

 is the Head of the Church, and appoints to every 

 office in it, but he does not possess the power to- 

 decide questions of doctrine. The ecclesiastical 

 chief is the archbishop of Moscow. Educa- 

 tionally, the country is in a very backward state. 

 In 1882, 19 out of every 100 of the inhabitants 

 could read and write. The number of primary 

 schools was only 28,000, and the number of pupils 

 1,539,975, but this is an immense advance on 1860. 

 In the same year, there were 456 secondary schools 

 for boys, and 384 for girls, and 8 universities. 



The industrial operations of the country are 

 rapidly increasing. Agriculture is in its first 

 stage, and yet, owing to the excellency of the soil 

 and comparatively small home-demand, large sup- 

 plies are annually exported. Of late years, manu- 

 factures, under high protective duties, have risen 

 to some consideration, and the country now pos- 

 sesses a number of establishments for the pre- 

 paration of woollen goods, silk, cotton, linen, and 

 metal wares. The chief seats of these are the 

 governments of Moscow, Novgorod, Vladimir, 

 Saratov, Tula, and St Petersburg. The Russians 

 excel in the manufacture of leather ; and from 

 their advantages in respect to raw material, their 

 canvas, strong linens, cordage, felt, mats, potash^ 

 soap, candles, caviare, and isinglass are quite 

 as good as those made elsewhere. During the 

 ten years from 1861 to 1871, the trade of Russia 

 with foreign countries more than doubled itself; 

 the imports in 1870 1880, varied from 54 to 91 

 millions, the exports from 55 to 96 millions. The 

 internal commerce has, of late years, been 

 immensely extended by the introduction of the 

 railway system; and in 1883 nearly 15,000 miles 

 of railway were open for traffic; and in 1882, 

 nearly 60,000 miles of telegraph. 



The government is an absolute hereditary mon- 

 archy ; all power emanates from the czar, emperor, 

 or autocrat, whose authority is without limit or 

 control. He is the central point of the adminis- 

 tration, the head of the church, as well as of the 

 state, and to his decision, or for his sanction, all 

 important measures must be submitted. His- 

 authority is delegated to four great boards, the 

 members of which are of his own appointment ; 

 and to these respectively are committed the order- 

 ing and execution of all legislative, judicial, civil, 

 religious, financial, and other affairs. Popula- 

 tion (1881) of" Russia in Europe, 83,000,000, and 

 of the empire, 98,000,000 ; revenue, ^93,000,000 ; 

 debt, ^640,000,000; army, on the peace-footing, 

 840,000, the war-footing, 2,264,000; navy, 224 

 vessels, of which 31 are iron-clads. Capital, St 

 Petersburg, with 876,500 inhabitants. 



