The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-09-28
TIE SIZE OF SIBERIA.
Features Of the Country Which Have
a Present Interest.


The British commercial agent in Rus
STA in Il report just issued by the foreign
office, gives an account Of the physical
feature of the country through which
the Trans Siberian railway is to pass.
He declares that it is not too much to
say that the completion of this gigantic
tho:oughfar2. which is to bring Paris i'll
to direct overland communication with
otherwise, be one Of the greatest events
OF the opening years OF the new country.
Proceeding to describe Siberia, he
states that, broadly speaking, under the
name OF Siberia is usually included Ill
the territories Of Russia beyond the
Trails, all Asatic Russia. except 'he
Trans Caucasus, Caspian and TurGestan
Of territory stretching from the Polar
ocean to the Chinese frontiers, and from
the Trails to the Pacific. 1t embraces
two vast governments Of the Obi Basin,
Tobolsk. and Tomsk, known as Western
Siberia; two belonging to the basin of
the Yenisti those Of Yenescisk and IT,
kutch, as well as the Yakutch territory,
washed by the Lena, Iana, 1ndiEirka,
and kolm rivers, all forming the so
called Eastern Siberia, and from an adj
miniStrative point of view the governor
ycneralship OF 1rkutch; two ''oblasts,' or
regions, those of Akmolinsk and Semi
palatinSk. the northwestern parts Of the
Central Asian steppes, and, administra-
lively. the soyernot-generalsh'p or the
Skaia borderland, Or goverpor-Seneralsh1p
Of the Anus, consisting Of the extreme
northeastern frontier zones along the Ech-
ring sea, Sea of Okhots, and kamtchat-
k;,, with the islands OF Sakhalin. 1h"
total area covered within the boundaries
enumerated is over 12,OOO,0OO square
vrrStS. or, in othe" words, is an cXpanSe
of territory one and y half times the size
Of Europe.
The population according to the census
Of january, 1897, was 1901, 22444, as
against $,-f$o, $50 in 1888. ;Thc increa*-
ing number Of immigrants has probably
now brought the total population up to
over S,OOO,OOO. The densest parts, COM
paratively speaking, are the governments
of To1,sk and Tobo1sk. The average dis
tribution is O.5S per square vcrst. Males
predominant as regards numbers. the pro
portion Of women varying according to
the province from 81 to 1O2 per 100 mon,
coming to a total average OF 3} per 100
OF the stronger sex. Among the larger
hahitants, are TonlSk and lrkutch:, with
- ,4:}o and - .434 respectively, followed
by On,sk with over 10000, Rarnoul.
Bla goviest clensk and Tiumcn with 30
600 each. kraSnoyarsk with 2G,6OO. and
PetropavloSk and Tobolsk with about
10000 each The inhabitants of the
towns form but s per cent of tho general
population, Il small proportion, speaking
little for the industrial activity Of Sbe-
ria generally.
Dealing with a vast expansc of terri
tory exceeding in area the whole Of Eu-
rope and some forty times the size of the
British Isles. it would require a bulky
volume to give amy adequate idea Of the
Universities OF the country and climate. it's
peoples and customs. it's old and new
land routes and unreasonable water
ways, or in general to describe the re-
sources and possibilities included in the
term Siberia. What it is. and at the
same time what it might be. even when
duly considering it's extensive polar
wastes, is seen from the fact that the
total population Of this Greater Russia
has but lately begun to exceed that OF
London.
1t will be to Russia's increasing mil
lions what British dependencies have
been to the United Kingdom The rail
road now approaching completion will
give the desired impetus to colonization
and development, and by making the
whole country u vast transit route be-
tween east aud west open it out to the
whole world.-London Globe