i68 ANDREW J. SHIPMAN MEMORIAL 



Southern Russians. The Great Russians dwell in the central 

 and northern parts of the empire around Moscow and St. 

 Petersburg, and are so called in allusion to their stature and 

 great predominance in number, government, and language. 

 The White Russians are so called from the prevailing color 

 of the clothing of the peasantry, and inhabit the provinces 

 lying on the borders of Poland— Vitebsk, Mohileff, Minsk, 

 Vilna, and Grodno. Their language differs but slightly from 

 Great Russian, inclining towards Polish and Old Slavonic. 

 The Little Russians (so called from their low stature) differ 

 considerably from the Great Russians in language and cus- 

 toms, and they inhabit the Provinces of Kieff, Kharkoff, 

 Tchernigoff, Poltava, Podolia, and Volhynia, and they are 

 also found outside the Empire of Russia in Galicia, Bukovina, 

 and Hungary. The Great Russians may be regarded as 

 the norm of the Russian people. Their language became 

 the language of the court and of literature, just as High Ger- 

 man and Tuscan Italian did, and they form the overwhelming 

 majority of the inhabitants of the Russian Empire. They 

 are practically all Greek Orthodox, the Catholics in Russia 

 being Poles or Germans where they are of the Roman Rite, 

 and Little Russians (Ruthenians) where they are of the Greek 



Rite. 



The Russians have long been settled in America, for Alaska 

 was Russian territory before it was purchased by the United 

 States in 1867. The Russian Greek Orthodox Church has 

 been on American soil for over a century. The immigration 

 from Russia is however composed of very few Russians. It 

 is principally made up of Jews (Russian and Polish), Poles, 

 and Lithuanians. Out of an average emigration of from 250,- 

 000 to 260,000 annually from the Russian Empire to the 

 United States, 65 per cent have been Jews and only from three 

 to five per cent actual Russians. Nevertheless the Russian 

 peasant and working class are active emigrants, and the 

 exodus from European Russia is relatively large. But it is 

 directed eastward instead of to the west, for Russia is intent 

 upon settling up her vast prairie lands in Siberia. Hindrances 

 are placed in the way of those Russians (except the Jews) 

 who would leave for America or the west of Europe, while 

 inducements and advantages are offered for settlers in Si- 

 beria. For the past five years about 500,000 Russians have 



