CHITA, a county, town and river in the Far Eastern area of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic. The area of the county is 181,o39sq.km. and its population (1926) 380,000, urban 65,032 and rural 314,968. It consists of the south-western tongue of the Far Eastern area lying between Mongolia and the Buriat Mongol S.S.R., and is thus a plateau area, with the south-western portion of the Yablonoi mountains rising above the plateau. An island of territory on the south-eastern slopes of the Yablonoi mountains, extending to the left bank of the Onon river, and crossed by the railway from Chita to Manchuria, belongs to the Buriat Mongol S.S.R. The sub-alpine conditions and the extreme continental character of the climate are unfavourable to agricul ture except along the valleys of the Shilka and its tributaries the Ingoda and Onon. Rye is the main crop, though oats, wheat, buck wheat, barley, grass and potatoes are also grown. Herding of horses, cattle, sheep and goats is, however, more important than cultivation, and only .9% of the county is ploughed land. But the essential wealth of the county is in its forests and minerals. Tim ber and fur (especially fox and squirrel) are exported, the latter being sent to the Irbit and Nijni Novgorod fairs. The mineral wealth of the county is very great, gold is produced in quantity and men were working in the gold mines in 1923-24. Brown coal is mined, and used mainly for the railway and for the town of Chita, and iron ore is mined in quantity. It is almost the only area in U.S.S.R. where wolfram, bismuth and molybdenum are found. There are tin mines near the Onon river and precious stones, e.g., crystal, topaz, aquamarine, amethyst, tourmaline and beryls occur, but are not exploited at present. Mining in the area ceased during the civil war following the 1917 revolution, but most of the mines were working again in 1925. Much of the rolling stock of the railway was destroyed in this period and great damage done to the permanent way, and this hampered the reor ganization of the mining industry. Manufactures are little devel oped, the chief being metal goods and leather. A few electric sta tions exist. The district is noted for contraband trade with Manchuria and Mongolia.
The town of Chita, lat. 52° N., long. 113° 2 5' E. Pop. (1926) is on the Chita river above its confluence with the Ingoda. With the coming of the Trans-Siberian railway and the increasing exploitation of the mineral, timber and fur wealth of the county, the population and importance of the town have greatly developed. Its industries include iron-founding, fur and leather dressing, soap boiling, chemical works and box-making. The Russian Geograph ical society has a museum in the town. The Dekabrists, exiled after the December 1825 plot, by their improvements in draining and levelling, converted Chita from a village to a prosperous settlement.