;;2 siiinMA. 



iiiiiny as i;<> llmiisiiiMl «lur|| in ilir Altai IllilliIl^' tlistrin. Hall arc scitjr'il, ar-ccpu-il lon^' a|,'o 

 ilic (.rilimldx iaiih ami an- siimif/ly riissiljcil : ihc diher lialT ii(tina<li/os, (ir niorft accurately, 

 leads a vat/al)(iiiil lil'' ami Imlds In sliaiiianisiii. In iIk- fultivalfd or a^frifiiUural zone are 

 50,000 Tarlais: piiii nj iln'in liavr Iicciiuk; nissilicd. Imi ilic iiiajuriiy |»nif<'ss indhammtMhuiism, 

 and III a icriain rxicnt, as loi- cxainpli', in llic Uaraha slcppo, lead a mtniad lif".'. Finally, 

 in ilii' zunc of lorcst indnsiri<'s and spuradif atMiciilliirf; thon' arc yr^t another 2O.f»0O Tartars, 

 iiailly Willi lixcd liaiiilallnns. |iaiiiy wandcrint/. and mainly innrrssifii/ i|i«' nioliawiincdan rdi- 

 ;-M(in. Till' Tartars speak rmlln' innsl part a Tiurksk dialect, rcsemhlinf,' that ol' the Kazan Tar- 

 tars in European Russia, but among some of the Tartar tribes of the Altai jninitiL' district 

 l'iniii>li dialects are still prosorvod, 



Amillier nali\e element consists of llie pniely l''innisli iiilies nj' the Voguls ami Ustiaks. 

 The iinmlier of huih legether amounts to 40,000 souls, 'ilie inajoiiiy ol these tribes, namely 

 MO.O'K), inliahir the lores I zone of Western Siberia and belong to the hunting peoples. Only the 

 souilieiu nienilieis have acccpteil luiliodoxy and become rnssiauizi-d: the majority adheres to 

 shauuiaism. As many as lO.OiX) Ostiaks dwell in the polar tundra zone, where they occupy 

 themselves wiih reimleer breeding and li.shing, and lia\e become largely assimilated with the 

 Samoyeds. 



The ihiiil native element is the polar iiibe of the Samoyeds. They are reckoned to 

 number 20X)0o smils, id whom Hit! Jiiajority still inhabit the forest zone; the minority, the 

 polar tundra zone, wlieiv ibey are engaged in rearing reindeer and in fishing. 



Finally the roiiiih native element is formed by the Mongol tribe ofKalmycks, inhabit- 

 ing the Altai mining region lo the number of 20,(K)0. The riissiiication of the natives only 

 proceeds in ilie cultivated zone and in the Altai foothills. In the forest region, and still more 

 in the polar tundra, region and in the inteiiuil valleys of the Altai, the natives preserve their 

 national trails. On the whole iliere is no eviileiice ol' the eMinciion of the natives in Western 

 Sitieria. 



'I'lie most considerabli' part of the [lopulaiion of AVesteru Siberia is composed of Rus- 

 sian emigrants, who are very uiioveuly distributed over tin' tlilferent zones or regions of 

 Western Sibeiia. In the cultivated zone of Western Siberia dwell 1,80)0,000 persons of both 

 sexes, that is, L>12 iiduibitaiits to the square geographical mile, out of whom less than three 

 per cent belong to the native non-Russian population. Considerable also is the population 

 of the Altai mining ilistrict. amounting to 600,000 souls of both sexes, or 78 per square 

 geographical mile, id' whom the native tribes form not more than seven per cent. The popu- 

 lation scaiiered in small oases among an unbroken stretch of forests and swamps, namely that 

 of the zone of high growing trees, forest industries and sj»ora<lic agricnlture, is much thinner. 

 Its eMeiii does not cxcced- 270,000, or 15 inhabitants to the s(iuare geographical mile, among 

 whom the native tribes form 15 per cent. Fiiuilly in the polar tundra zone the population 

 does not i-xceed 30,0<J0 of both sexes, the natives here, however, constituting moi-e than 95 per 

 cent, wli'ich i-learly demonstrates that the Russian settled population cannot live in this zone, 

 the Russians here appearing not as settlers but only as proprietors and exploiters of the country. 

 It is evident that in Western Siberia the idation borne by the town inhabitants to the 

 total popnlaiiou is even lower than in European Russia, where in its turn, the proportion of 



