The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

CHAPTER XII.MATERIAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION OF RUSSIA.1LTE present population of the Russian Empire is estimated at95,000,000, of whom 81,000,000 are in Europe, making rather morethan one- fourth of the inhabitants of this continent. But as Russiaand Finland combined are somewhat more than half the size ofEurope, the population is about half as dense as that of otherEuropean states. From Poland to the confluence of the Volga and Kama therestretches a densely peopled zone, which may be regarded in this respect as an easterncontinuation of the continent. "With a mean breadth of 240 miles, this zoneembraces Volhynia, Podolia, the Dnieper basin between Kiev and the rapids, GreatRussia from Tver to Voronej, gradually tapering farther eastwards, and ramifyinginto two branches, one stretching beyond Kazan, the other reaching the Volga atSaratov. North, south, and east of this zone the population diminishes everywherein proportion with the severity of the climate, the infertility ofthe soil, and theshortness of the period of settlement. The rich lands of New Russia, between theSea of Azov and Ciscaucasia, are still but very thinly peopled, emigrants beinglargely excluded from these lands by the laws affecting passports and otheradministrative obstacles.Vital Statistics.In most of the empire the growth of population is very rapid. In 1722, whenEuropean Russia was only one-fifth smaller than at present, it contained approximatelyno more than 14,000,000 inhabitants.Sixty years thereafter the number had doubled, and in 1830 the total hadagain been doubled, while it is now nearly six times greater than at the time ofthe first valuation. Judging from the rate of progress maintained during thepresent century, the population is doubled every sixty-five years. The yearlyincrease by excess of births over deaths is at present more than 1,000,000, whereasit was only 500,000 during the first decade of the nineteenth century, so that at thesame, or even a slightly less, rate, European Russia will certainly have a populationof 100,000,000 before the close of the century. At the same time the rate varies