Russia

(xūsh'ah,) an empire constituting one-seventh of the territorial surface of the globe, and extending over a large portion of its N. regions. In addition to Ru ia in Europe, situate bet. N. Lat. 40° 20′-70°, and E. Lon. 18°-60° 45′, and embracing more than half that continent, it comprehends one-third of Asia. The entire length of the empire, from E. to W., may be taken at some 6,000 m.; average breadth, 1,500 m. Area, 8,082,970 sq. m. It is b. W. by Sweden, the Baltic, Germany, the Austrian dom., and Roumania; S. by the Black and Caspian Seas, Turkey in Asia, Persia, Turkestan, Mongolia, and China; E.by the Sea of Kamtschatka and Behring Strait, the latter dividing it from the American state of Alaska; and N. by the Arctic Ocean. The empire may be cla ed under 5 grand divisions, viz.: European Ru ia; the kingdom of Poland; the grand duchy of Finland; the viceroyalty of the Caucasus; and Siberia and Ru ian Turkestan. The first is subdivided into 50 govts.; Poland into 10; Finland into 8; the Caucasus into 12 govts., pro vs., or territories; and Asiatic R. into 15 govts. or pro vs. The E. and W. continental divisions of the empire are parted by a natural barrier formed by the Ural Mts., which extend in a N.N.E. direction from the Caspian Sea to the Arctic Ocean. S. the Caucasus chain constitutes the mountain-system which forms her Asiatic frontier; while, in Asia, the Great and Little Altai Mts. constitute, along with the river Amoor, the line of demarcation which separates her territorial limits from those of Central Asia, Mongolia, and China. With these alpine exceptions, the entire surface of the empire consists of one vast plain, or series of plains, those of Siberia being known as steppes. R. po e es some of the largest rivers of the Old World: the chief of which are, in Europe, the Volga, Don, Dneister, Dnieper, Bug, Dwina, and Niemen; in Asia, the Obi, Amoor, Lena, and Yenesei. Her N. coasts are broken into by the large inlets of the Arctic Ocean called the White Sea, and the gulfs of Obi, Yenesei, and Lena; on the Pacific side are the gulfs of Anadyr and Jinginsk, and Sea of Ochotsk; S. the Ru ian dom. semi-enclose the seas of Aral and Azoff, and Black and Caspian seas, while to the N.W. her shores are washed by the gulfs of Bothnia, Finland, and Riga - arms of the Baltic. The principal inland lakes are those of Ladoga, Peipus, Onega, and Baikal, besides quite a congeries of extensive bodies of water dispersed over Finland. The soil of R., as may be inferred from its vast area and climatic conditions, is very various. The greater part of European R. is very fertile, and the S. govts. comprise some of the finest grain producing soils in the world. The chief cereals raised are wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat, millet, and especially rye, the staple food of the in hab. Hemp and flax are articles of extensive cultivation, and, of late years, potatoes and tobacco. Gardening is an important branch of rural industry. The forests and woodlands are very extensive, occupying an area of 486,000, 000 acres; oak, lime, maple, and ash trees predominate, and timber is the chief article of internal commerce. The Ural Mts., which contain nearly all the mineral riches of the country, are the principal seat of mining and metallurgical industry; producing gold, platinum, copper, iron of very superior quality, rock-salt, marble,and kaolin. During the year 1868, the total product of Ru ian mines was estim. at $39,000,000. Gold mining would appear to be on the increase, and that of silver on the decrease, the mines of the latter in the [s. 783]