of 1899. The total exports for 1899 amounted to 601,600,000 rubles, against 708900,000 rubles in the preceding year. The chief articles of export were: Foodstuffs, 317,000,000 rubles, against 433,400,000 rubles in the preceding year; raw and partly finished materials, 249,900,000 rubles; animals, 17,300,000 rubles, and manufactures, 17,400,000 rubles, against 20,300,000 rubles in 1898. The exports for the first 10 months of 1900 amounted to 569,936,000 rubles, against 496,108,000 rubles for the same period in the preceding year. The greatest increase is shown in the export of food products, which amounted to 324,334,000 rubles, against 261,574,000 for the same period in the preceding year, due chiefly to the improvement in the crops. The imports for the calendar year 1899 amounted to 594,000,000 rubles, against 562,000,000 rubles in 1898. By countries, the imports were as follows: Germany, 230,853,000 rubles in 1899, against 202,171,000 rubles in 1898; Great Britain, 129,353.000 rubles, against 114,082,000 rubles in 1898; United States, 43.749,000 rubles in 1899 and 50,052,000 in 1898. Thus, it will be seen that while the imports from Germany and France show an increase over those of 1898, the imports from the United States, on the contrary. have declined since 1898. The merchant marine of Russia is under the control of two departments, belonging to the ministry of finance, and is aided considerably by the government. The total number of vessels on the inland and exterior seas in 1898 was 5044, of which 995 were steamers, with a total tonnage of 428,551, and 4049 sailing vessels, with a total tonnage of 499,275. The total value of the steamships in the same year was $41,612,000, while the value of the sailing vessels on the inland seas was estimated at $7.929.918. Total amount of freight carried on the waterways of European Russia (excepting Finland, Poland, and Caucasus) during the calendar year 1899 was 1,883,687,000 poods, against 1,799,012,000 poods in 1898. The amount carried on the Volga alone was 956,000,000 poods, or about 50 per cent. of the total. Postal and Telegraph Systems.-In 1898 there were in Russia 2117 postal-telegraph offices. The length of the government telegraph lines was 83,901 miles, with 5292 stations. There were also 25,617 miles of telegraph lines belonging to private railway companies and 2706 miles belonging to private telegraph companies.

Railways.-Probably in no other line of economic activity has the progress of Russia for the last decade manifested itself more clearly than in the construction and acquisition of railways. In 1889, when the government inaugurated the policy of acquiring the railways, the total railway mileage of the empire was 18,204, of which 23 per cent. belonged to the state and the remaining 77 per cent. was owned by 42 private companies. In 1899 the length of the railways built and projected increased to 36,654 miles, of which the state owned 61 per cent., and 39 per cent. were under the control of 9 private companies. The extent to which the construction and acquisition of railways is carried on can be seen from the fact that the sums appropriated for the ministry of ways and communication have increased from 196,411,583 rubles in 1896 to 383,143,459 rubles in 1901, and that of total extraordinary expenditures of 321,539,795 rubles during 1899, about 50 per cent. was expended on the construction of new railways and the payment of obligations for lines already acquired. The total length of railways in operation on October 1, 1900, in European and Asiatic Russia (excluding Finland) was 32,588 miles, against 29,783 miles at the same period in 1899. Of the total length, the government owned 17,604 miles in European and 4716 in Asiatic Russia, while the private companies controlled 10,268 miles. The railways of Finland had a total length of 1694 miles at the beginning of 1900. The total gross receipts from the government railways for the calendar year 1899 amounted to 347.529,000 rubles, against 340,343,371 rubles in 1898. In February. 1900, a preliminary agreement was reported to have been made between Turkey and Russia, whereby the latter country obtained a concession to construct a railway from Kars, in trans-Caucasia, to Erzerum, in Armenia. Though later this report was denied, it was announced, however, that after obtaining the requisite concessions Russia proposed not only to construct this line, but to extend it to Sinope by way of Trebizond, and to connect the latter town with the Russian port of Batum by a railway along the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Russia also intended, it was said, to prolong the Kars-Erzerum line by a branch through Sivas to Angora, where connection will be made with the existing Turkish line, direct communication being thus opened between the Caucasus and the Bosphorus.

Finances. The official returns for the calendar year 1899 give the revenue for that year at 1,673,313,062 rubles, an increase of 204,184,859 rubles over the expected revenue as given in the budget for 1899. The greatest increase is shown in the revenue derived from the excise on liquors, which amounted to 310,297,000 rubles, against 289,625,000 in 1898. The increase in the revenue from liquors is due to improved crops and also to the fact that the government sale of liquors was introduced in 15 governments in 1898 with the result that the consumption fell off and did not return to its former level until the following year. Next to the revenue from liquors the greatest increase is manifested in the receipts from the state railways,

which show an increase of over 35,000,000 rubles, as compared with the budget, and about 7,000,000 rubles, as compared with the receipts for 1898. The ordinary expenditures for 1899 were 1,463.572 rubles, against 1,462,659,233, as given in the budget. The extraordinary expenditures were 321,539,795 rubles, or 212,595,493 rubles more than was expected, according to the budget. This discrepancy is accounted for by the fact that nearly 200,000,000 rubles was expended on the refunding of bonds and over 5,000,000 rubles on the account of the preceding famine. The budget for 1901 is as follows:

A comparison of the budget for 1901 with that for the preceding year will show great increases in the appropriations for the ministries of finance and ways and communication and a slight decrease for the ministry of instruction. The state of the currency of the empire at the end of 1900 was as follows:

Religion and Education.-The Græco-Russian, or Orthodox, Catholic Church is the national church of Russia; and, according to the census of 1897, over 80,000,000 people were Greek Catholics. The number of persons belonging to other churches is estimated as follows: Roman Catholics, 8.300.000; Protestants, 2.950,000; Jews, 3,000,000; Mohammedans, 2,600,000, and pagans, 26,000. The educational system of Russia is mostly under the control of the ministry of public instruction, but there are also many schools under the ministries of agriculture, interior, ways and communication, and holy synod. No definite figures for elementary education in Russia are obtainable, and the current statistics are mostly based on estimates. The number of universities in Russia is 9, with 4 faculties each and a total enrolment of 16,613 students in 1899-1900. There are also several schools of medicine, law, and 5 higher technical institutes, with an enrolment of 4000 students. For secondary education there were in June, 1899, 196 classical gymnasia, with 70,766 pupils; 117 realschule, with 34,056 pupils, and 44 pregymnasia, with 6869 pupils. Only the institutions for elementary education are coeducational, and the middle schools for girls are under a separate department. There were in 1898 nearly 200 gymnasia for girls and 176 pregymnasia, with an aggregate number of 80,000 pupils. There are also several

institutions for the higher education of women. The total number of elementary schools under the ministry of finance is estimated at over 27,000; under the ministry of war, 10,270, with 301,093 pupils, and under the holy synod, 12,970 schools, with 981,976 pupils. There were also 464 elementary schools supported entirely by owners of factories and mills and attended by 11,000 pupils. The total number of persons attending schools is estimated at 3,801,133, or 3 per cent. of the total population. Finland has a separate educational system, consisting of I university, with 2400 students; I polytechnic, 44 lyceums, and several other institutions for secondary education, besides a considerable number of primary schools. According to a United States consular report, the newspapers and periodicals published in Russia in 1900 were as follows: Russian, 631; Polish, 65; German, 42; Esthowian, 11; Latin, 9; French, 8; Armenian, 6; Caucasian, 5; Hebrew, 2; total, 779.

Army.-Military duty is obligatory for all males of over 21 years of age, with certain exceptions, which include teachers and clergymen. The term of actual service is 4 years in infantry and artillery and 5 years in cavalry regiments. In Asiatic Russia and Caucasia the term of actual service is 7 and 3 years respectively. At the expiration of the term of service in the active army every soldier is kept in reserve up to the age of 43. The term of active service is shorter for graduates from gymnasia or universities. The active army of Russia on a peace footing in 1900 consisted of 612,150 infantry, 118.940 cavalry, 118.256 artillery, and 34.800 engineers, etc. The strength of the army on a war footing is estimated at nearly 4,000,000 men and over 7000 guns.

Navy. The Russian navy consisted on December, 1900, of 6 battle-ships of the first class, 10 of the second, and I of the third class; 5 cruisers of the first class, 7 of the second, and 2 of the third class; 9 gunboats, 21 torpedo-boat destroyers, 16 coast-defence ships, and 81 first-class torpedo boats. There were also in the course of construction 7 first-class battle-ships, 10 cruisers of the first and I of the third class, 22 torpedo-boat destroyers, and first-class torpedo boats.

In the latter part of 1900 the Russian squadron in the Far East comprised "6 large ironclads, 9 first and 2 second class cruisers, 7 ocean-going gunboats, 2 torpedo cruisers, 2 torpedo transports, and 10 torpedo boats-altogether 38 vessels, with 962 guns, 550 officers, and 11,534 men.' It was announced that in 1901 the Russian fleet in the Pacific would comprise the following vessels: 7 ironclads-the Retvisan (which was built in America), the Pereswiat, the Askold, the Bogatyr, the Gromoboy, and the Baïane, and the second-class cruiser Novik; 11 first-class cruisers, 3 secondclass cruisers, 7 gunboats, 4 torpedo cruisers, and 10 torpedo steamers; in addition, there are 8 torpedo vessels at Port Arthur.

HISTORY.

Siberia.-Probably the most important events in the internal history of Russia in 1900 were the partial abolition of the Siberian exile system and the introduction of new prison regulations necessitated by the change. It had been recognized for a long time that the development of Siberia was being hindered by the transportation there of criminals, and in May, 1899, a commission was appointed to devise a scheme of penal reform. The commission was instructed to consider the advisability of substituting other suitable penalties for exile in the case of those judicially convicted; to discuss the expediency of limiting or entirely abolishing the system of administrative exile (exile by government authorities or the police without trial or specific accusation), and to devise measures for improving the condition of exiles already in Siberia. The results of the commission's labors were published in an imperial ukase of July 3, 1900, whose most important features were as follows: For most crimes and misdemeanors, imprisonment in penitentiaries or houses of correction was to take the place of exile. Transportation for political and religious offences was to be retained, but not necessarily to Siberia. In Siberia exiles were to be imprisoned and no longer allowed to settle in the country. The reason for continuing the transportation of political prisoners was, as one writer put it, the fact that their character was such as to make them a blessing rather than a curse to a new country. Between 1807 and 1899 it is estimated that 864.549 persons were exiled to Siberia, forming about one-sixth of the entire population. Of these, 150.000 were transported during the last twelve years. The effects of the new regulations on the prison system at home will be beneficial. The increased number of criminals to be provided for will necessitate radical reforms in penal administration. Over $3,000,000 was appropriated in 1900 for the construction of new prisons. Important laws provided that released prisoners should all be restored to their civil rights, and directed rural communities to readmit after a fixed period members who had been expelled as dangerous to public security.

Economic and Financial Measures.-On January, 13, 1900, a government department of industry and commerce was created. The development of industry in Russia, and especially the expected development of Siberia, led to the step. On January