White Russia

WHITE RUSSIA, a republic of the Russian U.S.S.R. Area 125,703 sq.km. Pop. (1933) Poland lies to the west, the Ukrainian S.S.R. to the south, the provinces of Bryansk and Smolensk to the east and the Pskov district of the Leningrad Area to the north. In the north and west there are hills, the Lysaya Hills north of Minsk being the highest (over r,000 ft.), but the south-east is a low and marshy plain sloping to the Pripet river, and the swamps and marshes lying south of it, and forming part of a great lacustrine depression. The Western Dvina flows through a morainic region and its bed is interrupted by waterfalls due to boulders and outcrops of harder rocks, as is that of the Dnieper. The Berezina canal links these two rivers and thus avoids some of these difficulties. Among the numerous streams of the Republic are the Drut, Berezina, Pripet and Sozh, tribu taries of the Dnieper, and various streams flowing into the Niemen and the Western Dvina. Fishing in these streams and the numer ous lakes is productive, and about 200 artificial breeding ponds exist. The chief kinds of fish are pike, bream, sandre, perch, dace, tench, cruciancarp, silurus and ling. Fishing for export ceased during the recent wars and did not begin again until 1923. In 1924-5 the catch was about 800 tons as against a normal yield of 9,500 tons. Steam navigation was also greatly lessened by the destruction of the war years and is still far below pre-war level; the severance of the former opening to the Baltic via the Western Dvina is another factor in the diminished freightage.

The forest wealth of the region has been markedly diminished by destructive exploitation before the World War and by the ruthless cutting of forest during 1914-21 for the conflicting armies. At present about 25% of the region is under forest, oak in the south and pine and fir in the north. Much timber is exported through Latvia for foreign markets, the rest going to the Ukraine, the Crimea and the Moscow region. In dependence on the forest there are saw-milling, wood-working, match and paper factories, but many were razed to the ground during the war period and production is much diminished. A tenth of the surface is covered with bog, and peat working is increasing. This peat and the numerous waterfalls are potential sources of electrical energy, little developed as yet in the republic; a station at Osino vich is under construction (1928). The soils in the republic are

not very favourable to agriculture, being mainly of the ash coloured forest type, with some clays and sands. The climate is less continental than that of the rest of Russia and is under the influence of the Baltic and Atlantic ; the rainfall averages about 3o inches per annum. Frost lasts for 13o to 140 days, while the summer temperature averages 18.5° C.

Agriculture.

These climatic and soil conditions are favour able to stock-raising, which is carried on successfully, pig-breeding having developed lately. There is not much dairying except near the towns for local supply. Cattle diminished markedly in the war years, and their progress towards more normal numbers was sharply set back by the slaughter of 1926-7 consequent on the bad harvest. In 1924-5 manuring for meadows was introduced in some places, with great benefit to the hay crop. Agriculture is still pre-eminently of a grain character, though potato and flax cultivation began to increase in 1924. The chief crops are rye and oats. The region is, however, comparatively densely'peopled and the local grain supply is altogether insufficient, 267,000 tons of imported grain being used in 1926-7. The strip system prevails, though in some places individual farms have replaced it. In spite of the devastation of the area, restoration of sowing has been more rapid here than elsewhere in Russia.

The cutting off of the western regions from Russia has altered the balance and direction of trade. In accordance with the long and tragic history of this region of struggle with difficult natural conditions and with perpetual invasions the standard of life is low and illiteracy is common. Here, as in most other places in Russia, there is insufficient accommodation in school for children and at least 40% of the present generation are receiving no edu cation. Since 1921 a Communist University and an Institute of White Russian Culture, with a Polish and a Jewish section have been established in Minsk. The population consists of White Russians 8o%, Jews 8%, Great Russians 7%, Poles 2% with some Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Letts, etc. The administrative centre is Minsk (q.v.). Other towns (q.v.) are Vitebsk, Gomel, Mogilev, Bobruisk, Borisov, Orsha and Polotsk.