Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-06-26
.7sAR|TsYN one OF.
MOST IMPORTANT
.C|T|Es UF RUSSIA

set up a separate government in de-
fiance of the authorities at Petrograd.
is one of the most important cities of
southeast Russia" says war geogra-
ply bulletin just issued by the Ma
tional Geographic society from its
Washington headquarters.
mot only on account of its enor-
nous railroad traffic, controlling COM
merce from middle Russia to the Cas-
plan Sea, and largely to the Sea OF
Azov, but also on account of its big
gun factory (the Russian Artillery
Works Coz established here by the
English firm of Vickers in 1914, just
before the European war began, Tsar-
itsyn is of immense Importance to
the new Republic of Russia.
THE city has population OF more
than 100000, is situated on the right
bank of the Mississippi of the Russian
empire, the river Volga, and it is the
terminus of the great railway line from
Riga on the Baltic, which intersects
practically all the railroads that rad
late to the west and south from Mos
cow. All the grain of middle Russia
bound for Astrakhan on the Caspian
Sea is trans-shipped from trains to
steamers and barges at this point, and
here all the salt, fish and fruit car
goes coming from Astrakhan and
bound for the Russian interior art
transferred to trains. Likewise, there
is importance commerce passing
through Tsaritsyn bound to and from
the Sea of Azov and the Crimea via the
river Don, as "a railroad some forty
miles in length connects this city witt.
Kalatch, thus forming an iron link be-
tween the Volga and the Don.
"In addition to it's commercial activ-
tiles, Tsaritsyn has numerous indus
tries, including breweries, distilleries,
machine shops, tanneries, brick works
and iron foundries. Great naptha and
petroleum tanks are located here, han
ding a considerable output of the Baku
oil fields output, and quantities of jam,
mead and the famous mustard of Sa-
repta Ca village of 5000 inhabitants a
few miles to the south on the banks of
the Volga) are shipped from the city.
"The rapid growth of Tsaritsyn dur
ing the last decade has been due in a
large measure to the improvement o:
the railroad facilities. A famous Eng
lish traveller presents an amusing pic
ture of the railway between this city
and Kalatch forty years ago. There
were only two trains week over the
40-mile line,' he says, and if you in
advertently missed ont you had to
wait about three days for the next
Prudent, nervous people preferred
travelling the road for on the railway
the strange jolts and mysterious creak-
ings were very alarming. On the other
hand, the pace was so slow that run
ming off the rails would have been
merely an amusing episode and even
collision could scarcely have been at
tended with serious consequences
"Tsaritsyn is district capital in the
government (province) of Saratov A
fort established on the site of the
present city in the sixteenth century
as an outpost against the incursions Of
free Cossacks, of Kalmuks, Circassians
and runaway serfs of the lower Volga.
At the beginning of the seventeenth
century, during the reign of Tsar Boris
Godounov, the town took an active part
in the successful uprising led by Yury,
the grandson of Galician boyer, who
claimed to be Demetrius, the son of
Ivan the Terrible, and who, therefore,
became known to history as one OF
the three pseudo or false Demetriuses.
About thirty miles to the east of
Tsaritsyn is the town of Tzarev, &C.
cupying the site of Sarai, where once
was pitched the famous golden tent OF
Batu Khan, grandson of Jenghiz Khan.
Batu was the leader of vast Tartar
army, which in the first half OF tn
thirteenth century overran all eastern
Europe and penetrated oGalicia and
Poland, finally winning costly vic
tory over Henry II. Of Silesia, after
which their leader retired to the banks
~ the volga, where he pitched his
, sumptuous camp, and from which the
great army Of marauders took the
name of the Golden Horde. Batu's
successors held sway over large
pant of Russia for more than century
and half being finally overcome by
tae terrible Tamerlane, in 1895. Only
a bare trace of the ruins of the ancient
capital of the Golden Horde is to be
found at Tzarev today"