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Emperors of Russia: Crimea
CLIMATE AND PRODUCTS.-The climate of Russia is severe, the mean temperature of winter even in the most southern districts being below the freezing point, although the Crimea is in the same lat. (45° N.) as the rich plains of Lombardy and Central France, while the trans-Caucasian provinces extend 5º further S. The climate is not unhealthy, and the peasantry endure without complaint great extremes of both heat and cold. S. of lat. 58° the mean annual temperature is from 40° to 55° Fah., the winters are protracted and severe, and the summers short and very hot. The great central district extends N. from Moscow to Archangel, and here the thermometer in winter often reaches 20° to 30° below zero, while during the short summers 85° to 95° Fah. is not uncommon. N. of Archangel arctic conditions prevail, the extreme points being 11º within the Arctic circle. The productiveness of the soil varies greatly in the different provinces, even of the southern and central divisions. Perhaps the richest section is that S. of Moscow and the line of the Valdai hills and extending E. to the Volga at Saratov and Sarepta, almost to the Sea of Azov, and W. to Galicia. This is the great wheat-producing district, which for many years past has exported immense amounts of breadstuffs to both Asia and Western Europe. Corn is grown largely in the Black Sea provinces, and barley and rye in the central and northern divisions. Little machinery is used; the peasants are averse to improvements, and cultivate their fields in very primitive fashion. Russia grows great crops of hemp and flax, the potato flourishes in nearly every province of the empire, and there is a large acreage devoted to the culture of hops, tobacco, and beet roots. In the Crimea, Bessarabia, and other southern provinces are extensive vineyards. The forest area of Russia was formerly very great, but the immense timber districts have been greatly reduced by improvident management, although many large forests still exist.
ANIMALS.-The government devotes much attention to the improvement of the breed of horses. It is reported that Russia contains over
20,000,000 horses,
30,000,000 horned cattle, 65,000,000 sheep, and
12,000,000 swine. Organized efforts have been made to raise the standard of the live stock, and with considerable success, more especially with sheep. As illustrative of the vast area and the variety of climatic conditions in this empire, it may be stated that in the N. the reindeer is the only draught animal, while in the S.-W. large herds of camels are used as beasts of burden. Russia is the home of numerous wild animals, which the advance of civilization and the extension of settlements have driven from most other European countries. Wolves abound on her trackless steppes; elks, deer, bears, foxes, antelopes, and wild hogs are plentiful; and in Lithuania the last of the aurochs, an animal of the ox family contemporary with the mammoth of prehistoric times, yet survive. Great numbers of fur-bearing animals are found in Russia, and their skins are an important article of export. In no other country are the river fisheries more important and valuable, the chief being those of the Volga and Ural and their tributaries.
MINERAL WEALTH. -The empire is very rich in metals, the Ural Mountains being the chief producing district. Gold is found here in great abundance, the annual production being valued at over $
20,000,000. Silver and platinum are also plentiful. There are a number of copper mines, and the iron mines furnish enough for the wants of the country, and leave a surplus for export. Over 50,000 laborers are employed in the iron mines of the Ural Mountains. Coal is found in most of the southern provinces, the deposits being both extensive and of great thickness, and the quality superior. The number of salt and brine springs is very large, and more than 600,000 tons of salt are produced every year. Building stone is abundant and of first-class quality.
COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.-The railroad system has been greatly extended since the accession to power of the Emperor Alexander I. The Russian commercial fleet numbers over 2289 vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 653,446. Much of the inland trade is conducted by means of the annual fairs, of which that of Nijni-Novgorod is the chief. Of the seaports the chief are Archangel on the White Sea; St. Petersburg and Riga on the Baltic; Odessa, Nikolaiev, and others on the Black Sea; Taganrog on the Sea of Azov; and Astrakhan on the Caspian. Of the exports the most important are wheat, flax and flax seed, wool, hides, tallow, cattle, hemp, furs, timber, and hogs' bristles. The chief imports are raw cotton, hardware, machinery, tea, tobacco, metals, liquors, cotton and woolen goods, raw silk and oils. The manufacturing interests of this vast country are increasing with wonderful rapidity. There are reported to be nearly 100,000 factories, employing more than a million operatives. The most important are those of woolen goods, silk, linen, cotton, leather, tallow, candles, soap, and metal goods. The greatest strides are being made in the manufacture of the textile fabrics. Nearly 80,000 workmen are employed in the manufacture of sugar from beet-roots.
THE PEOPLE.-There is a general impression that the inhabitants of Russia constitute a homogeneous race of Tartar origin, but in reality there is no nation which embraces so many distinct races of men. There are over 100 nations and tribes included in the empire, and more than 40 different languages are spoken within its confines. Still the vast majority of the people are of one race, the Sclavonic, of whom the Russians proper number 60,000,000 and the Poles 5,000,000. The Finns are entirely distinct, as are also the Lithuanians and the Germans of the Baltic provinces. There are many Tartars in the S.-W., and tribes of Mongolian descent inhabit the Don Cossack country and other districts in the S. The Iranic and Armenian races are represented in trans-Caucasia, the Greeks in the Black Sea provinces, and the Jews are numerous in Poland and West Russia.