The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-09-23
GEOGRAPHY, HARD
 ENOUGH, WILL BE
 EVEN HARDER NOW
When New Offshots of Rus sian Empire Get Into Schoolbooks Boys and Girls Will Cuss.

|
 Schoolbooks Boys and
 Girls Will Cuss. Petrograd, Sept. 23 = Americans boys who have to learn the boundar- ieS Of the countries of the world and their capitals will have a hard time when makers of geographies incor- sHorate the new offshoots of the Rus sian Empire in their schoolbooks.
 The realm over which czar Nicho- las ruled is now split. up into 27 na- tions which are all federated with MoSuSow. "A new official map issued by Se Soviet government shows all these divisions of what was once European and Asiatic Russia
 Finland and Poland are not in- cluded in this map. Although they Were formerly of the Russian Elm pire, their complete independence has been recognized. Also Esthonia, Lat via and Lithuania, the new Baltic | states which have just been recogniz- ed by the United States, are conced- wholly separate. Consequently there are really 32 new nations where there was only one before Soviet rule pre- vailed in Russia.
 Moscow Soviet Capitol.
 The main or parent Soviet republic comprises practically all of Central and Northern European Russia and | has it's capital ill Moscow. Many of the other governments which have | sprung up are in remote sections and comprise slightly populated territory with cities of no size. Some of them are republics. Others are autonomous.
 The Ukrainian republic, with its capital at Kharkoff, embraces the | best part of Southern Russia and in- cludes Odessa. This is the richest section of agricultural Russia and it contains the greatest deposits ofNiron | and coal. It was highly industraliz- l ed under the Czar's government. l Practically all of Siberia west of | Irkutsk is included in the Far East ern Republic with it's capital at Chfta. Immediately south of this is the Mon 1 go,ian republic with its head at Urga. l This was really not Russian territory but belonged to China before the war. China still insists that it owns Mon golia and denies the existence of the new Soviet rei7ub1ic which Russia has created. Mongolia had limited au- tonomy before the war, but Russia | dominated it and claimed it as it's | sphere of influence, steadily refusing | to allow American railway construc- tors to take concessions which would | touch this territory.
 | The Karelian Workmen's Commune, | with its capital at Petrosovodsk. lies north of Petrograd, adjoining Finland and has recently been the scene Of and Soviet troops. It is a sterile and worthless country, but because of it's | strategic position commanding the railway to FSo1a, Russia's only ice | free coast on the north, is Of great | importance. | Minsk is the capital of the White Russian Republic, which is of great importance because it adjofns Poland and the new Baltic state of Iithuania. The Crimean republic, with it's capital at Simferopol, includes Sevastopo1 and several other imp ortant Black Sea ports. Great Oil Fields.
 The Georgian and Azerbaijan Re- publfcs are of great importance be- cause they include the great Russian | oil supply which European nations covet more than any other Russian possession. Their capitals are T1fl1s and Be.ku.
 1 Bokhara, the land of rugs, with a capital of the same name, is listed
 as one of the Soviet republics which Moscow has created east of the Cas- plan. Khiva, the land formerly ruled 1 by the khan of Khiva who is now a prisoner in Moscow, is now slated as a republic with it's capital at Khiva. The Daghestan government has a | Even harder for the student of geo. I1raphy will be the name of the capi- tu of the Khirghese Republic, Va anne of the capital city of the Abe bashishe Republic.
 Erivan is the capital of the new il Armenian republic, which is now fed erated with Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Chuvash, Tartars, Kalnnucks and z svera1 other Siberian tribes have
 1 leir own separate republics. The i1 artar republic has it's capital at ka- zln, on the Vofblga, and is the cen t.r for one of the most extensive fam
 tle relief organizations created by the
 American Relief administration.
 Markstadt, on the Volfa, is the head l6f commune whose population is made up chiefly of German colonists who have also been helped extensive
 V by American relief organizations
 Many of the new republics are much
 smaller than were the governments,
 or provinces. under the imperialistic regime and their federation with lrToscow is more or less fictiona1 at ltae present time. Their armies are directed by Moscow. Also their rail- lways, if they have any. In other
 words, Moscow takes care that they
 hall not endanger the Soviet central
 government, and lets them paddle lI1 Y,