bers of seals are taken. The rivers of the Caspian, particularly the Ural and Volga, and the Sea of Azof, are celebrated for their sturgeons. In the same quarters are also important salmon fisheries. In the regions bordering on the Arctic Ocean large herds of reindeer are kept; and in the S., among the Tartars of the Crimea and the inhabitants of the Caucasus, the camel is often seen.
Minerals.—Russia is rich in minerals. The precious metals are chiefly obtained in the Ural and Altai regions. In the Ural, iron beds are also rich and numerous, exceeding all others in productiveness. Copper is most abundant in the government of Perm; lead in the Ural and some parts of Poland; saltpeter in Astrakhan. Of the coal mines those of the Don basin are the principal, those of Kielce ranking second; the mines around Moscow come next. About 60,000 tons of manganese ore were annually extracted in the Ural and the Caucasus. The petroleum wells of Baku on the Caspian before the World War sent their products all over Europe.
Manufactures.—Prior to the accession of Peter the Great, Russia had no manufactories; he started them, and under the more or less fostering care of his successors and Russia's protective policy they steadily grew. Manufactures were in a chaotic state under the Soviet Government and no statistics of production were available. It was well known, however, that nearly 75% of the manufacturing establishments had ceased operations. In 1915, the latest date for which statistics were available, there were 14,056 manufacturing establishments, employing 1,600,860 persons.
Commerce.—The bulk of Russia's external trade was carried on through the European frontier and the Baltic and Black Sea ports. The chief exports were grain (about one-half of entire exports), flax, linseed and other oleaginous seeds, timber, hemp, wool, butter and eggs, spirits, bristles, and furs, in the order indicated. The chief imports were cotton, wool, tea, machinery, coal and coke, cotton yarn, metal goods, wine, olive oil, raw silk, herrings, textile goods, fruit, coffee, tobacco. The import trade was heaviest with Germany, Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium, in the order named. In the export trade Great Britain took the lead, Holland, France, Germany following. The development of the vast natural resources and trade of Russia is prevented by transport difficulties. The magnificent river and canal system is not available for a good part of the year, and railways are comparatively limited. No statistics of commerce are available later than 1916. The Soviet Government endeavored to bring about commercial relations between it and other European countries, as well as the United States, and proposed such an arrangement with Great Britain in March, 1921. The total lack of raw materials essential to manufacturing prevented the exportation of goods of any appreciable value.
Transportation.—There were in 1920 about 36,000 miles of railway in European Russia, and 10,586 in Asiatic Russia. Practically all lines were under the control of the government. Railway operation had become so thoroughly disorganized as to be almost useless. The Soviet Government gave large concessions for railway construction to syndicates in Norway and the United States, but no active work had been undertaken in relation to these at the end of 1920.
Finances.—The financial system suffered entire collapse during the Soviet rule. Issues of paper money had reached colossal figures and these had become of little value. The ruble depreciated until it became almost without value. As a result of this condition prices of commodities had mounted at a terrific rate. The revenue for 1919 was 48,000,000,000 rubles and the expenditure 230,000,000,000 rubles. The total debt amounted to over 32,300,000,000 rubles. The total estimated cost of the war for Russia is about £5,000,000,000.
Army and Navy.—There were no trustworthy figures of the strength of the Soviet army. By the decree of Feb. 1, 1918, the government established a Workers and Peasants Red Army Volunteers and this was brought under the guidance of regular officers of the old Russian army and assumed a fair state of efficiency. The Bolshevist armies were uniformly successful during the second half of 1919. (See History below.) The full strength of the Bolshevist army was estimated at 600,000 men, with a reserve and other forces amounting to another 700,000. These forces were organized into 13 armies, of which 5 are in the eastern front, chiefly in Siberia, 5 in the southern front, and the remaining 3 on the northern and western fronts. The navy figured little in the operations of the Bolshevist Government. Attempts were made by General Denikin in 1919 to organize the Black Sea Fleet, but this failed. The Baltic Sea Fleet fell completely into the hands of the Bolshevist Government and was used entirely for defensive purposes.
Government.—The so-called Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic is nominally governed by a constitution adopted by the Fifth All-Russian Soviet
