RUSSIA IX EUROPE 
3 
RUSSIA IN EUROPE* 
By Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, LL. D., President of the National 
Geographic Society 
England, the United States, and Russia have each made 
greater territorial acquisitions during the present century than 
all the other countries of the world together. In the case of the 
British empire, these have been larger and more important than 
those of either the United States or Russia. The United States 
and Russia have only annexed contiguous territory, save Alaska. 
Russia when first enrolled among civilized nations, in the time 
of Peter the Great, had no outlet to any ocean except the Arctic, 
and consequently no possibility of a navy or of commerce. 
Since then she has extended her dominion northwest to the 
gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic sea, building St. Petersburg on 
the marshes of Finland, south to the Black and Caspian seas, 
southeast to Afghanistan and China, and in the extreme east to 
the river Amur and the Pacific. 
The acquisitions of the Russian Empire within this centuiy 
are greater in extent and importance than the whole of European 
Russia before that time. Her frontier has been advanced 
toward Stockholm 630 miles, toward Berlin 700 miles, toward 
Constantinople 500 miles, toward India 1,300 miles. Her terri- 
tory in Europe comprises more than one-half of that continent; 
yet with all her great empire she has only three ports, and 
these on the Black sea, open to navigation throughout the year, 
the others being closed by ice from three to six months, while 
from those on the Black sea ships of war have no right to 
pas.s into the Mediterranean. Until within one hundred years 
southern and southeastern Russia were infested with hordes of 
Tartars and Kalmucks, who overran nearly one-third of Russia — 
wandering tribes without fixed habitation or permanent govern- 
ment, “ marauders, slave-dealers, and vagabonds,’’ who “ came, 
compiered, burned, ])illaged, murdered, and went.’’ The first 
step of Russia when she determined that her em])ire should 
l)elong to the civilization of Europe was the subjugation of these 
tribes. This has been accomplislied by compelling the Tartars 
*Ammal :ul(lre.ss delivercil May 10, 1805. 
