722 



RUSSIA. 



The adoption of prohibitive duties against 

 German products in the interest of the manu- 

 facturers of central Russia was a triumph of 

 the Panslavist party of M. Katkoff, who openly 

 attacked Ministers Bunge and De Giers in the 

 "Moscow Gazette." M. Bunge on Jan. 13, 

 1887, retired from the Ministry of Finance, 

 which was placed under the charge of M. 

 Vishnegradski, a high protectionist and the 

 first man in mercantile life who has held a 

 ministerial post in Russia during recent times. 

 When M. Katkoff continued his attacks on the 

 foreign office and his efforts to displace M. 

 de Giers also, he was finally warned to desist. 

 The iron duties that were adopted range from 

 30 .to 70 copecks per pood, which is equivalent 

 to from $13.25 to $31 per ton for pig, plate, 

 and bar iron, while for manufactured articles 

 they are fixed at 140 copecks, except locomo- 

 tives, which pay 200 copecks. 



Commerce. The value of the imports in 1886 

 was 433,800,000 rubles, as compared with 

 538,000,000 rubles in 1884, 557,300,000 rubles 

 in 1883, and 566,800,000 rubles in 1882. The 

 imports from Europe in 1885 were of the value 

 of 379,800,000 rubles, as compared with 486,- 

 300,000 rubles in 1884; from Finland, 14,500,- 

 000 rubles, as compared with 15,400,000 rubles ; 

 from Asia, 39,500,000 rubles, as compared with 

 36,300,000 rubles. The total exports in 1885 

 amounted to 538,600,000 rubles, as compared 

 with 589,900.000 rubles in 1884, 640,300,000 

 rubles in 1883, and 617,700,000 rubles in 1882. 

 The exports across the European frontiers were 

 of the value of 497,900,000 rubles in 1885, as 

 compared with 550,500,000 rubles in 1884; to 

 Finland, 17,100,000 rubles, as compared with 

 14,700,000 rubles; to Asiatic countries, 23,600,- 

 000 rubles, as compared with 24,700,000 rubles. 

 The following table shows the proportions in 

 which different foreign countries participated 

 in the foreign trade in 1885, the values of the 

 imports and exports being given in rubles : 



The exports of cereals to European countries 

 ,- in 1885 were valued at 280,050,000 rubles, 

 against 310,381,000 rubles in 1884. The exports 

 of textile materials declined from 96,346,000 to 

 81,400,000 rubles; the exports of timber from 

 35,156,000 to 26,470,000 rubles. There was a 

 falling off also in the exportation of sugar and 



other natural products. The imports of precious 

 metals in 1885 amounted to 6,407,000 rubles 

 and the exports to 8,549,000 rubles. The im- 

 ports and exports of the different classes of 

 merchandise and of specie by way of the Euro- 

 pean frontiers in 1886 were of the following 

 values : 



Navigation. The number of vessels entered 

 at the Baltic ports in 1885 was 5,833, of which 

 3,528 were with cargoes ; the number entered 

 at the ports of the Black Sea and the Sea of 

 Azov was 5,016, of which 1,862 had cargoes, 

 while of 5,004 that were cleared, 4,227 were 

 laden. The returns of the Caspian and White 

 Sea ports swell the total number of vessels 

 entered to 12,944, of which 2,837 were Russian, 

 3,063 English, 1,671 German, 1,448 Swedish 

 and Norwegian, 588 Turkish, 971 Greek, 919 

 Danish, 778 Austrian, and 200 Dutch. The 

 number of steamers entered was 8,100. The 

 total number of vessels cleared was 12,939, 

 of which 8,130 were steamers. The number 

 of coasting voyages recorded was 39,086, of 

 which 18,861 were made by steam-vessels. 



The merchant marine on Jan. 1, 1884, num- 

 bered 4,411 sailing-vessels, of 401,340 tons, 

 and 379 steamers, of 199.214 tons. 



Railroads. The railroad network on Jan. 1, 

 1887, comprised 26,145 kilometres of com- 

 pleted lines, exclusive of the railroads of Fin- 

 land and without reckoning the Trans-Caspian 

 line, which had a length of 1,072 kilometres. 

 The gross receipts of the railroads in 1885 

 amounted to 230.171,000 rubles. The Govern- 

 ment has approved plans for the building, 

 within five years, of a line from St. Petersburg, 

 through the whole length of Siberia, to Vlad- 

 ivostock, the naval port on the Pacific. The 

 section between the capital and Ekaterinburg 

 is already in existence, and its extension to 

 Tiumen is in progress, to be soon continued to 

 Tomsk, the capital of West Siberia. The 

 Council of State, on the recommendation of 

 the War Department, which urged the need of 

 arrangements for the transport of troops to 

 the Chinese frontier and the Pacific, approved 

 the construction of lines from Tomsk to Ir- 

 kutsk, near Lake Baikal, and to Stretinsk, a 

 settlement on a branch of the Artioor, whence 

 communication may be continued by water to 

 Lake Khanka, which will be connected by a 

 line of railroad with Vladivostock. 



The Post-Office. The number of letters for- 

 warded in 1885 was 139,103,194; post-cards, 

 11,642,962; registered letters, 12,030,224; 

 money letters, 10,423,649; newspapers, 102,- 

 515,895; circulars, 17,503,609. The receipts 

 were 68,112,720 francs. 



