but it still remains the emporium of the trade with Siberia and the northern governments. It is strongly fortified, and the seat of a depot of the Russian military marine. Petrozavodsk has two spacious docks, an imperial cannon-foundry, powder-mills, and manufactures of silks. Vologda, a place of considerable trade, with a large annual fair. Novgorod, at one time the capital of an independent state, and a great commercial emporium, has fallen into insignificance since the founding of St Petersburg in 1703. Jaroslav, an important manufacturing town on the Volga. Kostroma and Pskov, celebrated for the manufacture of russia leather. Tver, an important fortified town on the Volga, and on a canal which establishes a connection between the Baltic and Caspian, possesses an extensive trade. Vladimir, the capital of the Grand-Duchy of Russia from 1157 to 1328, has a trade in fruit, and manufactures of linen and leather. Murom and Vixa, with valuable iron-mines, the latter being among the most extensive in Russia. Nijni-Novgorod, at the confluence of the Oka and Volga, noted for its great annual fair, the largest in the world, which begins on the 1st of July, and continues for eight weeks, at which time the population amounts to a quarter of a million: merchants from all parts of Europe and Asia attend, and the sales are valued at £22,000,000 sterling. Smolensk was a place of great importance as early as the ninth century; was taken by the French army after the famous battle of Smolensk, and a great part of it reduced to ashes. Viasma: here the French army was defeated by the Russians in October 1812. Kaluga, one of the most important manufacturing towns in the empire, the manufactures consisting of muskets, cloth, oil, paper, cotton, leather, &c. Tula, the Birmingham of Russia, and the great seat of its iron manufactures; here vast quantities of arms are made annually, giving employment to 20,000 persons. Moscow, formerly the capital of Russia, and still the second city in the empire, greatly surpasses St Petersburg in the extent of its commerce, having water-communication with all the principal cities and ports in the empire. The view of the city from a distance excites the admiration of all travellers: the innumerable towers, some with cupolas, others rising in the form of ninarets, and the many gardens and trees intermixed with houses, give it quite an Oriental appearance. Its manufactures of cottons, woollens, silks, and carpets are immense, employing 40,000 weavers. Moscow was founded in the middle of the twelfth century; was sacked by the Moguls in 1233 and 1293; and burned by the Russian general after his defeat by the French army at Borodino, Sept. 7, 1812, thus compelling Napoleon to commence his disastrous retreat. Orel, the entrepôt for the commerce between N. and S. Russia. Jeletz has extensive iron-mines in the vicinity. Kursk and Voronetz are important manufacturing and commercial towns. Tambov, strongly fortified, has a college and a military school for nobles, and an active general trade. Perm has a great trade in metallic products, which are wrought extensively in the neighbourhood, and is the principal emporium of the trade between Russia and China. Ekaterinburg, on the Asiatic side of the Urals, is the centre of all the great ironworks belonging to the Crown. The inhabitants are largely engaged in mining, and in polishing topazes, amethysts, jaspers, and other precious stones obtained in the Urals. Viatka carries on great trade with Astrakhan, Arkhangel, and the capital, and has manufactures of iron machinery. Kasan, the great entrepôt of the commerce between Siberia, Bokhara, and European Russia, has been long celebrated for its educational establishments. Simbirsk maintains a flourishing trade in corn and fish. Penza has manufactures of leather and soap; iron, chalk, sulphur, and vitriol are found in its vicin

ity. Saratov, a large, fortified, commercial and manufacturing city on the Volga. Samara, the capital of a government of same name, contains some ironworks, and a trade in cattle, sheep, and fish. Orenburg, a fortified city on the Ural, carries on an extensive trade with Bokhara and other parts of Central Asia. Astrakhan, at the mouth of the Volga, is a thriving commercial city, with manufactures of cotton, silk, leather, and shagreen: from its favourable situation it has become the entrepôt between Russia, Persia, and India. Ufa, cap. of new government of same name, is a walled town with 16,000 inhabitants. Warsaw, the capital of Poland since 1566, and the great entrepôt of its commerce, is in point of population the third city in the empire, and contains the largest Jewish population of any city in Europe. Warsaw is strongly fortified, is one of the principal stations of the Russian army, and the scene of unparalleled atrocities on the part of the Russians during the Polish insurrection of 1863. Kalisch near it the Poles defeated the Swedes in 1706. Lublin has extensive cloth-manufactures and trade in corn and Hungarian wines: also three large fairs, each lasting a month. Plock has manufactures of leather and skins, and an active transit trade. Kovno is famous for its mead, has an active trade in corn, and some linenweaving. Vilna, the former capital of Lithuania, is a large town with a considerable trade. Vitebsk, built of wood and enclosed by walls, has a college for nobles, and manufactures of woollen cloth and leather. Grodno here Stanislaus, last king of Poland, abdicated his crown in 1795. Minsk carries on a large trade in timber, iron, and russia leather, and has manufactures of woollen cloths and hats. Moghilev conducts a large export trade in agricultural products. Jitomir has a flourishing trade in woollens, silks, linens, salt, and agricultural produce. Kaminietz, a fortified town, containing a theological seminary. Tchernigov, a very ancient town, containing numerous buildings of antiquarian interest. It was taken by the Tartars in 1239, after an obstinate resistance, and again by the Poles in 1617. Kiev, once the capital of Russia, is an ancient and fortified city, with an arsenal and a richly-endowed university. It is noted for its ancient catacombs. Berditchev has great commerce, and four annual fairs, at which goods to the value of £600,000 are disposed of annually. Poltava or Pultawa contains a monument to Peter the Great, who here signally defeated Charles XII. of Sweden, 27th June 1709. Kharkov or Kharkova has numerous manufactures and extensive trade; its fairs are among the most important in the Ukraine. Kishenau has extensive manufactures of woollen cloths. Akerman, a fortified town on the Dniester, has large exports of salt, obtained in the adjacent lakes. Here was concluded, in 1826, a famous treaty, exempting the Danubian provinces (Moldavia and Wallachia) from all but a nominal dependence on Turkey. Bender, taken and stormed by the Russians in 1770 and 1809: here Charles XII. resided for seven years after the battle of Poltava. Chotyn, formerly an important border-fortress of the Turks, and frequently the object of struggles between them and the Russians. Kherson, a fortified town, near the mouth of the Dnieper, and a place of great trade: near it is the tomb of Howard the philanthropist, who died here January 20, 1790. Odessa, a strongly-fortified seaport city, and the great commercial emporium for the Black Sea and Danube traffic, was founded in 1792. Its trade chiefly consists in the exportation of grain and in importing foreign goods. It has several hundred large grain-magazines, and is now the third commercial city in the empire: exports and imports valued at £5,000,000 annually. It narrowly escaped bombardment in the late war with Russia. Nicolaïev, a fortified town at the con

fluence of the Ingul and Bug, the station of the Russia Black Sea fleet, and, since the destruction of Sebastopol, the principal naval arsenal of Russia in the Black Sea. Simferopol is the residence of all the Russian authorities in the Crimea. Bakchi-Seraï, near the Alma, a small river, on whose banks the allied army obtained a brilliant victory over the Russians, 20th September 1854. Sebastopol, at the mouth of the Inkermann, formerly the Gibraltar of Russia, was founded by the Empress Catharine in 1787, and made the chief naval arsenal for the Russian fleet. Immediately after Turkey declared war against Russia, a large Russian squadron issued from Sebastopol and destroyed the greater portion of the Turkish fleet at Sinope, November 13, 1853, when 4000 Turks perished. To avenge this outrage, and to check the numerous encroachments of Russia, England and France declared war against Russia in the following March. They sent one fleet to the Baltic, which destroyed Bomarsund, &c.; and another, together with a large military force, against Sebastopol. The landing was effected at Old Fort, about thirty miles south of Eupatoria, on the 14th September 1854; and on the 20th September, 25th October, and 5th November following, were fought the memorable battles of the Alma, Balaklava, and Inkermann: on the 8th September, 1855, the Malakoff Tower was taken, and the day following the Russians evacuated Sebastopol, which was reduced to a heap of ruins by the allied army. Ekaterinoslav, founded in honour of Catharine II. of Russia, in 1787, has manufactures of cloth, and an important annual wool fair. Taganrog, the great outlet for the produce of the countries drained by the Don. Stavropol, cap. of government of same name, and of all Ciscaucasia (which consists of one government and two inorganised territories), is a fortified town with some manufactures of soap and leather. Kizliar, a fortified town on the Terek, with an active trade in wine. Jiesk, capital of the territory of the Kuban, founded in 1848, is a modern seaport town on the Sea of Azov. Vladi-Kaukas, a town and fortress at the N. entrance of the Dariel Pass, the principal pass of the central Caucasus. Tiflis, formerly the capital of Georgia, and now of Transcaucasia, is well fortified, and is the great mart for the interchange of Russian, Turkish, and Persian produce. Akhalzikh, a fortified town taken by the Russians from the Turks, with trade in silk and honey. Erivan, formerly capital of the Persian province Azerbijan, situated on the great caravan-route between Tiflis and Erzroum, has a considerable transit trade. It has a strong citadel, taken by the Russians in 1804. Alexandropol, a strong fortress at an elevation of 5860 feet, where the cold is often intense. Baku, capital of province Shemakha, has the best harbour on the W. side of the Caspian it exports vast quantities of naphtha and salt from the Apsheron peninsula. Within 10 m. of this town is Atash-ja ("sacred flame"), the place of pilgrimage of the fire-worshippers of Asia. Here the soil is impregnated with sulphur and inflammable gas. Derbend, a place of great strength and importance, being situated at the entrance of a defile in the Caucasus, called by the ancients the Albanian Gates.

Capes, Peninsulas, and Islands.-Zelania, N. of Novaia Zemlia; Kanin and Sviatoï, on either side of the entrance to the White Sea; Hango Head, S. W. of Finland; Domesnes, N. of Courland; Kinburn Point, N. W. of Taurida; Chersonese, S. of the Crimea; Ap. sheron, the E. extremity of Mount Caucasus. The only important PENINSULAS are Shemokhovskaia, bet. the White Sea and the G. of Tcheskaia, and the Crimea, in the S. of Taurida. ISLANDS.-Vaigatch and Novaia Zemlia, N. E. of Arkhangel; Spitzbergen and the Seven

Sisters, 10° N. of Norway; Kolguev, between Vaigatch and Cape Kanin; Solovetskoï group, in the White Sea; Aland group, S.W. of Finland; Kronstadt, near the head of the Gulf of Finland; Dago, Oesel, Worms, Nuko, and Moen, W. of Esthonia.

Seas, Gulfs, and Straits.-Kara Sea, N.E. of Arkhangel; Vaigatch Str., bet. Vaigatch I. and the mainland; Karskaia Str., bet. Vaigatch and Novaia Zemlia; Tcheskaia G. and White Sea, in the N. of Arkhangel; Varanger Fiord, bet. Arkhangel and Finmark; the Baltic, bet. Russia and Sweden; G. of Bothnia, bet. Finland and Sweden; G. of Finland, bet. Finland and Esthonia; G. of Riga, bet. Esthonia and Courland; Black Sea, bet. Russia and Asia Minor; G. of Odessa, S. of Kherson; G. of Perekop, N.W. of the Crimea; Sea of Azov, bet. Taurida and territory of the Kuban; Str. of Kertch, uniting the Black Sea and Sea of Azov; Caspian Sea, separating Russia from Persia and Independent Tartary.

Mountains.-Russia is the least mountainous country in Europe; for though two immense mountain-chains skirt its E. and S.E. frontiers, the latter containing several summits greatly loftier than Mont Blanc, the whole of the interior and west consists of one enormous plain, which extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea, and from the Baltic to the Caspian, with the single exception of the Valdai Hills, at the sources of the Volga.—(See under “Europe,' p. 70.)

THE VALDAI HILLS, in the government of Novgorod, divide the waters flowing into the Baltic from those entering the Caspian. Highest summit, between Ostashkov and Valdai, 1100 feet.

THE URAL RANGE, separating European Russia from Siberia, and the basins of the Petchora and Volga from that of the Obi. Reckoning, as is usually done, from Orenburg to the Arctic Ocean, they traverse 18° of latitude; but as they in reality commence near the Sea of Aral, and have an insular prolongation in Vaigatch and the two islands of Novaia Zemlia, they extend over 30° of latitude, or 2000 English miles. The highest summits are the following:-Konjak-Ofski (lat. 59° 55'), 5397 ft.; Obdorsk (lat. 67°), 5286 ft.; Taganaï (lat. 55° 20′), 3592 ft. The Urals nowhere attain the limit of perpetual congelation, and are usually of very moderate elevation. They are covered with dense forests, and are rich in gold, precious stones, and other valuable minerals. The mountain-passes are not remarkable; the only good carriage-road leads from Perm to Ekaterinburg. THE CAUCASUS.-This vast chain, the loftiest in Europe, extends from Cape Apsheron, in the Caspian, to the Peninsula of Taman, between the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, being a total distance of 750 miles. They separate Europe from Asia on the S. E., and the basins of the Kuban and Terek from those of the Kur and Rion. Mount Elburz, the culminatingpoint of Europe, 18,571 ft.; Mount Kazbek (lon. 44° 20′), 16,523 ft.; elevation of line of perennial snow, 11,000 ft. Cultivation of grain extends from 7000 to 8000 ft. The existence of glaciers is uncertain. The range is covered with timber to a great height. The north side is abrupt and precipitous, but the south side descends by a succession of terraces. The Caucasus contain no active volcanoes, but they are frequently visited by earthquakes. They consist mainly of crystalline rocks; while the principal minerals are copper, lead, iron, sulphur, and coal.

The only Mountain-passes practicable for carriages are The Dariel Pass, from Mozdok to Tiflis, by the valley of the Terek, 8000 ft. high; and the Pass of Derbend, on the east coast.

The Mountains of the Crimea are a mere prolongation of Mount Caucasus: culminating-point, Tchatir-Dagh, 5000 ft. high.

River-Basins.-The river-system of Russia belongs to 4 distinct river-basins-viz., those inclining to the Arctic Ocean, the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Caspian. The two former are the least extensive, although possessing the greater number of rivers, the principal of which are the Petchora, Mezen, Dwina, Neva, Düna, and Niemen. The two latter are represented by the Dniester, Dnieper, Don, Kur, Volga, and Ural. These 12 basins comprise of the area of Russia, and 57 out of the 71 capitals, or nearly of the entire number. Three basins (Neva, Dnieper, and Volga) contain 39 capitals, or about of the whole, and drain an area of 822,000 sq. miles, being considerably over of the area of Russia. The basin of the Volga alone is 527,000 sq. miles. (For the areas of the other basins, see pp. 72-76.)

Table of Rivers and Towns.—In the following table 168 rivers are enumerated, 33 of which are principal rivers, entering the sea immediately, the remainder being their affluents; and the total number of towns exceeding 5000 inhabitants, contained in their basins, is 320.

N.B. For the Pregel, Vistula, &c., see under "Austria.