A SUMMER ON THE YENESEl 117 



restrictions and espionage. Consequently those who 

 are undergoing a life sentence seldom have the spirit 

 or the opportunity to carve out more than a meagre 

 livelihood for themselves ; while those whose banishment 

 is temporary have no interest in the land, and hasten 

 to return to Europe when their time has expired. 

 There are few who, like Michael Petrovitch, return to 

 the place of their exile. 



Therefore it is not upon those who are her citizens 

 by compulsion that Siberia must depend, but rather 

 upon free immigration from the west. And so far this 

 immigration has been slow. In the course of three 

 centuries perhaps only three millions of Russians have 

 emigrated to Siberia, and these have not always been 

 of the type most suitable for colonisation. But 

 during the last ten years, the number of settlers has 

 increased by leaps and bounds. Between 1902 and 

 1912 three millions of colonists entered Siberia, and 

 the population of such towns as Yenesiesk and Tomsk 

 has almost doubled. During the five years between 

 1909 and 1913, 75,850 square miles of new land has 

 been parcelled out for colonisation, and about two million 

 souls have settled there. During the same time about 

 6300 miles of roads have been constructed. Figures 

 such as these bring home the extent of this development. 

 It is not merely a new country which is growing up 

 year by year, it is half a continent, and that the richest 

 continent in the world. Plantations are among 

 ancient, primitive, and heroical works. If Russia 

 never did anything more than colonise Siberia, still she 

 would have amply justified herself as a nation. 



