INTRODUCTION. XVII 



conditions for the growth of this kind of economical activity. This is especially true 

 as the first conditions of such a development are density of population, (a scattered 

 people not affording to manufactui'ing industry the fundamental conditions of a wide 

 development, but only exceptional manufactories and mills), the convenience of ways 

 of communication for the export of surplus products and the import of raw mate- 

 rials, and finally a supply of cheap fuel. But these three conditions are very unevenly 

 distributed in Russia. Therefore, to become acquainted with Russia's industry it is 

 necessary in the first place to enter into its divisions in districts possessing various 

 economical characters. As however the administrative division of Russia into govern- 

 ments and territories, the number of which reaches, inclusive of Finland, ninety- 

 eight, is very minute, it is convenient for the sake of clearness without departing 

 from the administrative division according to which all statistical information is col- 

 lected, to group all the governments into a few economical regions, whose number 

 shall be limited. Following the most popular system of arrangement and beginning 

 with the two capital industrial districts, a short description of these regions will be 

 put before the reader. 



I. The Central or Moscow Region. 



This region often bears the name of the Industrial District, because many forms 

 of manufacturing industry were first established there. Herein enter the governments 

 of Moscow, Vladimir, Kaluga, Kostroma, Nizhni-Novgorod, Smolensk, Tver and Yar- 

 oslav. Their total may be classified as follows: 



Governments and territories in European Russia proper . . 50 



» » » » Finland 8 



» » » » Vistula Region 10 



» a » » Ciscaucasia and Transcaucasia 12 



» » » » Eastern and Western Siberia 9 



» » » » Steppe. Central Asiatic and 



Transcaspian possessions . 9 



Total . . 98 



The above area covers about 356 thousand square versts, or about 7,360 square 

 geographical milts, or more than the area of Great Britain but less than that of 

 France. The number of inhabitants is about 12 millions. This most densely populated 

 of the primitive Russian regions, although lying in the temperate zone and having 

 long ago developed its agriculture, yet produces less grain than it consumes, and 

 therefore became long ago a manufacturing centre. Here numerous household peasant 

 industries are extremely well developed, and the people are imbued with an ancient 

 trading and industrial spirit, so that the deficiency of agricultural activity is here 

 compensated by the development of enterprise in a greater degree than in many 

 other districts. The Moscovite Princes and Tsars had already planted here many 

 kinds of industry, and this region is to be considered to this day as the most developed 

 in an industrial sense. Here have been concentrated the most important manufactor- 



II 



