The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

ST. PETEESBTJEG. 335On the shores of Ladoga the two largest places are Noraya Ladoga, at themouth of the Volkhov, and Sehliisselburg, at the outflow of the Neva, bothconnected with each other not only by the lake, but also by two navigable canalsskirting its south coast, the former dating from the time of Peter the Great, thelatter recently completed on a much larger scale and without locks.The Putilovocliffs, on the south side of these canals, consist of sandstone rocks, whenceSt. Petersburg draws a large quantity of the material used in the building of itshouses, monuments, and thoroughfares,* All the craft plying on the lake andcanals pass under the guns of Sehliisselburg, formerly Orekhoviy, founded by theNovgorodians in 1323, held by the Swedes till 1702, and now one of the mostdreaded State prisons in the empire. Standing on the left bank of the Neva atthe outlet of the canals, Sehliisselburg is a sort of advanced suburb of the capitalon the lake, though little has been done to improve the navigation of these waterssince the Novgorod and Swedish tenure.No conqueror ever showed more daring than did Peter when he removed hisnew capital 360 miles from the old metropolis to a quagmire surrounded by drearywastes, and the very foundations of which had to be fixed by whole armies beforea single building could be erected. These works were for all Russia thebeginning of an organized system of forced labour, and in the four years between1712 and 1716 over 150,000 workmen were transported to the Neva marshes,where most of them perished of fever, hunger, and various epidemics.In order todrive all stonemasons throughout the land to seek employment in St. Petersburg,the building of stone edifices was elsewhere forbidden under penalty of confiscationand banishment. All nobles also, owners of not less than thirty serf families,received orders to raise metropolitan mansions for themselves on plans and scalesdetermined according to the rank of each. The treacherous ground on whichPeter thus planted his capital in defiance of man and nature had only been justtorn from the enemy, and, by the very fact of taking his stand in foreign territoryover ao-ainst Swede and German, he became committed to a ceaseless aggressivestruggle. Nor was he satisfied with " opening a window on the west," but alsoseized the lands stretching in advance of his new edifice.In order to change intoa natural equilibrium the artificial equilibrium created by this step, the conquestof Finland, Esthonia, Livonia, Kurland, Lithuania, and Poland became a necessityof State, and this is the reason why the policy of Peter has been so faithfullyadhered to by his successors.In other respects also this city was a necessary element in the organizeddevelopment of the empire. It was, so to say, the city of Novgorod removed tothe mouth of the Neva, but, except in regard of its climate, enjoying naturaladvantages far superior to those of the inland emporium.Standing at the head ofa deep inlet and on the delta of a considerable river, it commands both the sea andthe interior through all the natural routes converging here from the Volkhov,Upper Volga, and Neva basins. Of all the vital points on the Russian seaboard,* Yield of the Putilovo quarries (1875), £80,000.