The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

898 RUSSIA IN EUROrE.near the point where the Oka enters the province of Tambov.are rope-making and tanning.Its staple industriesThe chief river of the government of Tambov is the Tzna, which joins theOka below Kasimov. Near its source is Tambov, the provincial capital, on theMoscow-Saratov railway, but otherwise a place of no importance. Morshamk ismuch more conveniently situated lower down the Tzna, which is here navigable,and by means of which the town forwards the agricultural produce of a vastdistrict. Morshansk is one of the centres of the Skoptzi sect. Farther north isShatzk, on a small western affluent of the Tzna.After its junction with the Tzna, the Oka flows by Yetalma through a rockygorge, which is continued northwards by the valley of a lateral stream, on whichstands the town of Melenki.On the left bank, and a little above the confluence of the Tosha, are Murom,one of the oldestplaces in East Russia, and the thriving town of Arzamas, whichtakes its name from the Finnish tribe of the Arza. For over two hundred yearsMurom was the chief Russian mart in the Mordvinian country, and here theVolga Bulgarians came every summer to exchange their produce for the waressupplied by the Slav and Greek traders. Murom thus became the centre of aremarkable civilising movement, and even still remains a sort of capital for thesurrounding Finnish tribes. But its chief importance is derived from its tradewith Nijni-Novgorod. and the rest of Russia. It is the great emporium of cornfor the whole of the Lower Oka basin. Near it is the village of Karacharovo,where a lacustrine town, like those of Switzerland, has been discovered by Polakovin the alluvium of an ancient lake.The Klazma, which joins the Oka at Pavlovo, the centre of the Russianhardware trade, is the chief river of the government of Vladimir. It risesnorth of Moscow, and at the town of Vladimir becomes navigable throughout theyear for small boats, and in spring for large craft. Vladimir-na-Klasme, orVktdimir-Zaleskiy, the old capital of the principality which later on becameMuscovy, dates from the twelfth century, and owes its name to VladimirMonomachus, Prince of Kiev.During his rule Vladimir was much more populousthan at present, and it has preserved of that epoch various sculptures in itschurches, besides the "Golden Gate" of its kreral. It has few industries, andexports little beyond vegetables and cherries from the surrounding gardens.A still more decayed place is Suzdal, formerly Sujdal, which existed at thevery dawn of Russian history, and gave the name of Suzdalia to all the countrywatered by the Klazma and Lower Oka. It has preserved its old kreml, but isotherwise now chiefly noted for the excellency and abundance of its cucumbers,onions, radishes, and other garden produce. The Suzdalian mercers have forcenturies visited every part of Russia, and the term " Suzdalian " is often appliedcollectively to hawkers and pedlars, as if they all came from this place. In thesame way the paintings, of which two or three millions are annually producedat Klwhiy and other villages in the Lower Oka districts of Vazniki and Gorokhovetz,are usually known as "Suzdalian images." A simple "artist" can