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northwest, while the Dnieper, Don and Volga rise in the same plain but flow southeast. The three other large rivers are the Vistula, Dniester and Pruth. The headwaters of some of these rivers have been connected by canals, as the Volga and Neva, so that St. Petersburg stands not only at the mouth of the Neva but at the real mouth of the great Volga basin. The tundras of the Arctic shore are in the main covered with mosses and lichens. South of the tundras are forests of evergreens, and south of these, forests of oak, birch and hornbeam. Still further south are the Russian steppes or prairies.
Population. The population in 1909 was 160,095,200, distributed in the six great territorial divisions of the empire as follows: European Russia 116,505,500; Poland 11,671,800; Caucasia 11,392,400; Siberia 7,878,500; Central Asian Provinces 9,631,300; and Finland 3,015,700. Of the population it is estimated that 66 per cent, are Russian Slavs; seven per cent. Poles; five per cent. Finns; nine per cent. Turco-Tartars; three per cent. Jews. A recent partial census shows that the number of Jews in Russia exceeds 5,000,000. The chief cities are St. Petersburg, the capital (population, with suburbs, 1,870,000), Moscow (1,468,563), Warsaw (764,054), Odessa (520,000), Kiev (320,000), Lodz, Poland (393,526) and Riga (318,400) Class distinctions are marked. There are the nobility, the clergy, the professions, the merchants and the peasants. The last comprise three fourths of the population and include the former serfs. They are poor and ignorant, working the soil under hard conditions.
Climate. The wide expanse of the empire presents great diversities of climate. North of latitude 67° is the polar region. Between that parallel and 57° the mean temperature varies from 32 to 40°, the mercury going to 30° below zero in winter. In the temperate region between 57° and 50° the mean annual temperature varies from 40° to 50°, while in the warm southern region the mercury often reaches 100° in summer, though the winter often shows extreme cold with heavy snows.
Mineral Resources. Russia is rich in minerals of all kinds. Gold is found in the Urals and Siberia; silver and lead in Siberia, the Kirghiz steppes, Caucasia and Finland; platinum in the Urals; zinc in Poland; tin in Finland; cobalt and manganese in Caucasia; while iron is abundant in most parts of the empire. Salt is got from the southern lakes; coal from Poland and about the Don River and other parts of Russia; and petroleum in Baku.
Agriculture. In European Russia, exclusive of Poland, the arable land is estimated at 401,435,000 acres; there are 474,000,000 acres of forest and 191,473,000 of grazing-land. Of the whole area 36 per cent. belongs to the state, the imperial family, towns etc.; 42 per cent. to the peasants; and 47 per cent. to private owners. In 1906 the area devoted to crops, including European Russia, Poland and Asiatic Russia, was: cereals 228,791,000 acres; potatoes 10,095,000; meadows 89,143,000. The production for the year 1910 was: wheat, European Russia, 699,413,000 bushels; Asiatic Russia 76,282,000 bushels; rye 867,622,000 bushels; barley 458,992,000 bushels; oats 1,045,991,000 bushels. Root-crops, including sugar-beets, are abundant. Cotton is raised in Turkestan and other provinces; also tobacco and silk. In 1910 the number of horses was 33,166,000, cattle 50,588,000, sheep and goats 79,166,000.
Manufactures. Russia did not become a manufacturing nation to any great extent until the serfs were freed. Her manufactures now amount to $1,460,000,000 annually. In 1911 there were 15,721 manufacturing establishments, employing 1,951,955 men and women. The chief branches of industry include textiles, sugar, leather, wood and paper.
Commerce and Transportation. Wheat and other grain-products, together with animals, head the list of exports. In 1909 the value of exports was 1,427,300,000 rubles, and of imports 909,300,000 rubles. Inland trade is much helped by the great yearly fairs at Nijni-Novgorod, Kharkoff and other cities. Trade is carried on in great part by means of the great network of rivers, besides which there are 45,078 miles of railroad. The government owns more than half of the roads. The Siberian railway (q. v.), completing the line from St. Petersburg to the Pacific coast, with its branches extends over 6,000 miles, and was built in ten years at a total cost of about four hundred million dollars. There are 55,000 miles of navigable rivers, beside 507 miles of canals and 711 miles of canalized rivers.
Education. Most of the schools are under the ministry of public instruction, though many special schools are under separate ministers. The total contribution for education in 1911 was 121,030,167 rubles, about 5,000,000 being for universities. There are universities at St. Petersburg (8,955 students), Moscow (10,087), Kharkov (4,473), Kiev (5,208), Kazan (3,049), Odessa (3,195), Yuriev or Dorpat (2,699), Tomsk (1,295), Warsaw (1,328), and Saratov (107). Total number of students, 40,396 (in 1910). According to the latest report (1911), the total number of all schools in the Russian Empire (high, middle, special and primary) was 112,549, attended by 6,234,525 pupils.
Army. With a population of nearly 95 millions of Russians and 48 millions of other races, it is possible for Russia to raise immense armies. Military service is
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