242 .SIHEKIA. 



was from Xizhni-Nuv^'oroi] tliroiigli Kazan, the Xikolobt;n;zuvhk wliuil and Lkat'.-nnliuig lu 

 Tiiimon, ihi' socorid, froiu Samara via fjfa, Krasiimifimsk ami Ekat'-rinburg to Tiumi'ii, ami 

 I III' lliinl, riom Samara tliroiii,'li Ufa, Zlatoust, to (^hellahiiisk. The rho'ioi of oin' of these 

 three flirecti(jiiN would i)iedi'ti'rmiiie to a certain extent that of the main Silterian line itself, 

 ami at the saim; lime to drcidi- this question finally, without having sulficient data on tbe 

 route which Siberian fn-igbts would taki- on the completion of tbe Ekaterinburg-Tiumen 

 line ilien under construction, joining the basins of Ihe Volga and the Obi, and also in consequenc'' 

 (d' the imminent completion of tbe Obi-Yonisci canal for Ihe uniting of the basins of tb'' Obi 

 and Yenisei, did not seem i)0ssible. Really the realization of tliese two works was openini.' 

 over a vast cxti'iit a water route coiniei'ting the basin of tiii- A'olga with lake Baikal, and 

 consequently must have a serious influence upon the direction te be taken by tbe railway 

 line right through Siberia. On the other hand arose the question, was there any necessity, 

 with the existence of excellent water communication, for the immediate construction of an 

 unbroken line of railway through the whole of Siberia, and was it not better to be content 

 in the first instance with the building of isolated sections possessing some political strateg- 

 ical or industrial importance. 



In this last respect the schemes put forth by the engineers Ostrovsky and Sidensnet 

 deserve particular attention. The former presented his proposal in the beginning of 1880: 

 he maintaineil the idea that at that time, for the consolidation and economical develop- 

 ment of Siberia and its relations with Russia, it was necessary above all things to improve 

 and facilitate the internal communications of Siberia and only then complete the routes of 

 transit then in existence upon this side of the Ural. Under the existing circumstances he saw 

 no need for an unbroken line of railway right through Siberia. The author saw the solution 

 of these problems merely in tbe quickest possible construction of the following three roads: 

 Perm-Tobolsk, to unite the two large rivers Kama and Irtysh: Tomsk-Krasnoyarsk, to unite 

 the Obi and the Yenisei, and finally the third, Omsk-Barnaoul, to unite the Irtysh at Omsk 

 with the Obi at Barnaoul, with its continuation to Biisk, and further to the frontiei'S of China. 

 On the creation of the two first lines, for an extent of 800 and 560 versts respectively, exten- 

 sive communication is opened between the basin of the Volga and that of lake Baikal, this 

 union being effected not with the aid of shallow and not always navigable rivers, but through 

 the Kama ami thi' Irtysh which never lack water. 



The engineer Ostrovsky ascribed special importance to the Omsk-Barnaoul line. This 

 line would shorten the great water road from the immensely rich mining district of Altai to 

 Tobolsk and would strengthen the trade with China through Biisk, Kobdo and Ulyasutai. Only 

 by taking advantage to th.e largest extent of the water ways of Siberia would be realized a 

 cheap and convenieut communication between the centre of Siberia, Irkutsk and the centre 

 of European Russia, Moscow. The direct union by an unbroken line of railway of the two 

 centres referred to will become urgent and realizable only in the more or less distant futui-e. 

 and beyond controversy only on Siberia attaining a higher degree of civilization than at 

 present. Having examined the conditions which this imposing construction must satisfy, the 

 engineer Ostrovsky indicates in general terms its direction from Moscow to Irkutsk as follows: 

 < The road should pass through Riazan, Spassk, Ufa and thence through Zlatoust, Cheliaba, Petro- 



