manufactures of Russia have been chiefly in debted for their encouragement and progress to the efforts of the government. The czars Ivan I. and II. invited artisans and workmen from Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, and established at Moscow, Yaroslav, Smolensk, and Kiew manufactures of woollen cloth, linen, arms, &c. But the civil wars before the accession of the house of Romanoff, and the interference of Sweden and Poland, which led to the desolation of the country, checked the infant manufactures, so that in fact nothing was done till the reign of Peter the Great, who in this, as in many other respects, was the founder of the prosperity of Russia. He gave great encouragement to foreign manufacturers, and founded in the first instance great mauufactories of arms at Tula, Petrosawodsk, and at Sestrabeck, near St. Petersburg ; and the great imperial menu factories of woollen and linen at Moscow. At St. Petersburg he established manufactories of articles of luxury, such as mirrors, expensive glass-wares, rich carpets, silks, cotton, &e. In all the larger cities he established at least one manufactory of woollen, linen, and metal, so that at his death there were twenty-one great imperial mauufnetories, and many smaller ones, partly supported at the public expense. The chief seat of manufactures is Moscow and its govern ment; and next the governments of \Vladimir, Nischnei-Novgorod, Saratov, and St. Petersburg. In Poland the woollen, linen, and leather manufactures attained great prosperity under Alexander L, sod the cotton manufacture, with steam machinery, has been sioce introduced. [1'mA:4ml The Russian workman is very clever, and imitates with wonderful facility ; but as he attends mainly to external appearance, his works ale deficient in quality and durability.
Among the most important branches of national industry are— manufactories of woollen cloths and other woollen goods, silk, cotton, linen of all kinds; tanneries, tallow melting-houses, candle manufac tories, soap manufactories, and metal-wares. The central part of the empire is the chief theatre of manufacturing industry. Tula alone used to be mentioned for its manufactories of all kinds of metal articles; it still maintains its manufacturing activity, but no longer holds the first place. The government of I'erm has recently become very distinguished for its manufacture of metal-ware and leather. The manufacture of tobacco and snuff, and beet-root sugar, have greatly increased in recent years. The cultivation of beetroot for tho manufac ture of sugar has taken a great extension within the last twenty years. In the governments of Kiew, Czernigow, Charkow, Kursk, Podolia, and Volhynia, there were 307 factories in 1343 yielding 12,800 tons of sugar, or about one-fourth of the consumption of the empire. This manufacture, like most other Russian manufactures, protected' by heavy import duties upon colonial sugar, the quantity of which con sumed in Russia automata annually to only about 35,000 tons Besides the workmen employed in these great establishments, there are above two millions of hands employed in handicraft trades, and in coarse woollen and linen mannfactures, iron and other metal wares or in preparing bast-mate, caviar, hogs'-bristles, in dressing furs, &c. Many
articles such as tables, vases, library furniture, &c., have been recently manufactured in Russia from malachite, or green carbonate of copper, which is capable of a high polish.
Comraerce.—The inland trade is carried on in a very great measure by means of annual fairs, the meet remarkable of which is that of tscusc-Novootton. The principal fairs are those of Ninchuei Novgorod, Irbit, Roma*, Charkow, Kursk, Korman, Roston; Sumy, Saratov, Simbirsk, Tambow, Taganrog, Jakutzk, Lebedjan, Penza, Nischnel-Lomott Several new fairs and weekly markets have been established within the last twenty years. The inland trade is greatly promoted by the extensive system of inland navigation, by which, as above shown, the interior of the empire is able to send Its products to the White Sea, the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Caspian. With the exception of the road from St. Petersburg to Moscow, which is one of the broadest and best in Europe, and the port-roads, which are kept in tolerable repair, the highways and cross-roads in Russia are in a very broken condition. The great bulk of Russian produce however is conveyed to the ports or to the dep6ta on the navigable rivers and canals on sledges during the long winter. A railway, 400 mike long and straight as an arrow, connects St. Petersburg with Moscow. Another railroad runs month from Warsaw to the Vienna-Krakow line, which connect' the west of the empire with the Austrian and Prussian railway system. These are the only railways completed In the empire. A railroad is projected between St. Petersburg and Warsaw; and a line was enthorieed in 1352 to be made from Riga to Duuabnrg. to join the St. Petersburg-Warsaw The principal trar1iag•porta in Ramis are—Rigs, Cronstadt, and St. Petersburg on the Bahia ; Odom on the Black Sea; Archangel on the White Sea; and Astrakhan on the Caspian. By these chiefly corn, flax, hemp, tallow, hides, timber, and other raw products of Russia are exported and foreign produce importaL There are however many smaller ports of considerable importance in the Baltic and the Black Sce. Since war was declared between Russia and the Western Powers in 1854, east quantities of Russian produce have been forwarded for export by the Vistula, from the Prussian harbours of Memel and Danzig, on account of the blockade of the Paselso coasts by the French and English fleets. In 1852 the total exports were valued at 114,773,829 silver rubles (about 32. 4d. each), and the imports at 100,861,052 silver rubles. Of the imports, goods to the value of only 16,619,447 silver rubles entered the empire by the Asiatic fron tier, which was crossed by exports to the value of only 12,423,835 silver ruble'. All the rest of the trade was with European states. The total customs receipts of the empire in 1352 amounted to 31,102,789 silver rubles, of which 7 per cent. was absorbed by the maintenance of the frontier guard.