The New Student's Reference Work/Astrakhan

Astrakhan (ăs-trà-kăn′), a government in the southeast of European Russia; area 91,042 square miles; population, 1,005,460. It is watered by the Volga and washed by the Caspian Sea. The climate is severe, and the population is noticeable for the number of its nationalities. For the government of Astrakhan a reformed tribunal, but without jury, was introduced in 1894, when a reformed system of justice was organized for other departmental districts of Russia.

Astrakhan, its capital and one of the chief towns of Russia, is built on a high island in the Volga, forty-one miles from its mouth. It is surrounded by fruit trees and vineyards, and consists of the fortress, the white town and sixteen suburbs. A canal runs through the city. The population, 121,580, consists of Russians, Armenians, Tartars and Persians. Astrakhan is the principal harbor on the Caspian Sea, and its great markets every year attract many thousands of merchants, while its three bazars are among the busiest marts in Europe or Asia. Its fisheries rank among the greatest in the world. Enormous numbers of sturgeon are taken. The industries are shipbuilding, dyeing, silk-making, tallow-melting, oil-refining and soap-making. Almost the entire commerce with Persia and Transcausasia passes through the city. The main imports are wheat, barley, woolen stuffs, spirits, iron, tin, drugs, raw silk and cotton fabrics.