ft U S S I A. 



ia. might form colonies the permission to nil rank* to 

 -^ :irquiri> im-novea!)! j.roji-Tty for themselves the 

 foundation bf different univei-Mtifs, hospitals nthl pub- 

 lic seminaries the protection given to arts, sciences, 

 and manufactures of all kinds, which has led to won- 

 derful improvements the increase of the revenue of 

 the empire the augmentation and better state of dis- 

 cipline of the army, and the organization of military 

 colonies, of which hereafter the improvement of the 

 fleets in the Kiltie and Black Sea; in a word, the 

 general improvement of his extensive realms, and the 

 elevation of Russia to a rank hitherto unknown among 

 the states of Europe. By means of the marriages of 

 his brothers and sisters with a number of the reigning 

 families, Alexander has also formed close connections 

 which may be useful to the empire. 



GENERAL AND PROGRESSIVE GEOGRAPHY. 



ictal THK Russian empire is bounded on the north by 



pro- the Frozen Ocean ; on the west by Sweden, the Guff 

 gre&sive o f Bothnia, the Baltic Sen, Prussia, Austria, and the 

 Geography. Turkish provinces ; on ths south by the Turkish pro- 

 vinces, the Black S-n, Asiatic Turkey, Persia, the 

 Caspian Sea from the mouth of the Ural, (which falls 

 into the Caspian, ) to the mouth of a rivulet which falls 

 on the ri^ht side into the Irtish, (about forty versts 

 higher than the river Buchtarma,) by the steps of the 

 Kirghis Koz;iks, and from hence to the Sea of Ochotsk, 

 by lands under the Chinese dominion, as Zungoria, 

 Mongolia, Manjouria or Dauria, to the east, or more 

 correctly to the south-east, by the Eastern Ocean. 

 Besides this, the Aleutian and the Kurillian islands in 

 the Eastern Ocean, and a part of the north-west coast of 

 America, with the islands to the 55 of north latitude, 

 belong to Russia. Vide YAULOVSKII and VSEVO- 

 LOJSKII. 



According to Yablovskii, just quoted, the Russian 

 empire is contained between 35 20', and 207 56' of 

 north latitude. Its greatest length is between the 55 

 and 66 parallels, and extends to 1014 geographical 

 miles; but from Cape Laspinskii (in the Krimea) to 

 the northern Tchukotskoi Cape, it measures 1010 geo- 

 graphical miles. The breadth of Russia, in its extent 

 from north to south, is different in different places. In 

 Bessarabia it commences nearly from 45 15' of north 

 latitude, and in Lapland it reaches 70 P ; in the pro- 

 vince of Talishin, it begins from nearly 38 35', 

 and in the government of Archangel it stretches 

 to 68 37' 47'' ; in the Kirghis Koz6k step it commences 

 from 54, and in the government of Tobolsk it goes to 

 72 40' ; on the Chinese frontier from 49 and 56, and 

 at the Sea of Ochotsk it begins at 54 20', and finishes 

 on the north in the government of Tomsk at 78 ; from 

 the Chinese frontier the coast of the Russian empire 

 (excluding the peninsula of Kamtschatka) extends to 

 the north- east, and at 207 56' of longitude finishes 

 under 66 5' 30" of latitude, by the north Tchukot 

 Koi Cape. Consequently its greatest breadth is 450^, 

 its least breadth 280, and its middle breadth S(>8* 

 geographical miles. The superficies of the empire, ex- 

 cluding all the large gulfs of the sea, the Sea of Azoph, 

 and the islands lying in the Eastern Ocean, contains 

 311,066 geographic square miles. 



Another Russian author, Vsevolojskii, however, says 

 that Russia contains 330,570 geographic square miles ; 



and by sorrc tables which follow, the German* extend ttmi*. 

 it to 345 ' 



!'. a a fV>w centuries ago, the Rus ian territory 

 formed a fourth part of the present . \r\ Hut- 



sian, and about a seventeenth part of the present 

 Russian empire. In the reign of Ivan Vas5Hevitch 

 (III.) this territory was augmented 10,000 squire 

 miles, and in the reign of Vassilii 1 v/movitch I4.OOO 

 square miles. Ivan Vassilievitch (IV.) tripled the ex- 

 tent of his dominions, and Pheodor (I.) greatly ex- 

 tended them. In the reign of Alexei Michailovitch 

 all the provinces that had been taken by the Poles 

 were reconquered, and besides, he added 25?.000<quare 

 miles to the Russian states. Under the sway of Pheodor 

 (III.) the dreary region of Nova Xernbla was acquired. 

 Peter the Great extended his dominions 280,000 square 

 miles. The empress Ann, treading in the same path 

 of augmentation, left behind her a realm of above 

 324,000 square miles in extent; and while Catharine 

 the Second he.d the sceptre of the north, this territory 

 was increased to 335,600 square miles. In the reign 

 of Paul, and since the present sovereign Alexander 

 ascended the throne, the empire has been enlarged to 

 no less than 345 ; 000 geographic square miles ; of 

 which 85,00 J belong to Europe, and 260,000 to Asia. 

 Vide Crome's Allgemeine Uebe'iichl der Klaalskrqfle, 

 fyc. and Lyall's Pamphlet, spoken of hereafter. 



The empire of Russia at present comprehends the 

 ancient principalities of the great Dukes, together with 

 the kingdoms, countries, and provinces, which have 

 been added at different epochs, (as the natives say by 

 conquests and by restitutions, but as we say, sometimes 

 by fraud and seizure,) as lst r The kingdom of Kazan ; 

 2d, The kingdom of A strachdn; 3d, Siberia; 4th, The 

 provinces bordering the Baltic; 5th, The provinces re- 

 tnken from Poland ; 6th, Courland ; 7th, The territory 

 annexed to Russia by the peace concluded with the 

 Turks in 1774, between the Dnester, the Boog, the 

 Dneper, and the Black Sea ; 8th, The Krimea, and 

 part of the Kaucasus ; 9th, The tributary isles in the 

 East Sea ; 10th, The countries which have recently 

 submitted themselves, and which form the present 

 kingdom of Georgia ; llth, The possessions in Ame- 

 rica, partly islands, and partly on the continent of Ca-- 

 lifornia. Vide Vsevolojskii's Dictionnaire. 



FACB OK THE COUNTRY, CLIMATE, AND SEASON-. 



By the moderns, the Russian empire is divided 

 by the Ural Mountains and Mount Kaucasus into country, 

 European and Asiatic Russia. Formerly, several climate, 

 governments west of the Ural Mountains, were rec- "^ " 

 koned to belong to Asia. * European Russia there- 

 fore contains Russia Proper, Russian Lapland, Cour- 

 land, Livonia, Russian Poland, the Krimea or Tau- 

 ridain Chersonnesus, and the Land of the Kozaks of 

 the Don and of the Black Sea, and the rest of the 

 Kuban, as far south as the Terek. Asiatic Russia 

 contains all Siberia, Mount Kaucasus, and Georgia. 



Different divisions of the empire have been in use 

 at various epochs, as may be seen "by consulting the 

 Tables given hereafter under the head Populations 

 and which need not be repeated here, though equally 

 connected with the present subject. 



In an empire of such enormous extent, as might be Surface, 

 expected, its surface presents a great variety of appear- 

 ances, and especially in Asiatic Russia. 



VOL. XVII. PART II. 



* As in the Tables hereafter from liossell and Crome, under the head Population. 



