The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE AKMY AND NAVY. 479Some of the Russian fortresses are amongst the strongest in Europe.Kronstadt, Sveaborg, and Viborg, in the Gulf of Finland, seem to have been renderedimpregnable from the sea, while Modlin, or Novo-Georgiyevsk, and Warsaw in thePolish quadrilateral, may serve as entrenched camps for large armies.In the BlackSea, Sebastopol, rising stronger than ever from its ruins, and Kertch no less formidable,serve as the advanced bulwarks of Xikolayev, the "Russian Portsmouth."Russia lacks the advantage enjoyed by England of being able to unite herfleets. The two squadrons maintained in the Baltic and Euxine have no accessto the open sea except through narrow straits held by foreign powers ; still bothcombined would form a first-class navy, both for the number of ships and thestrength of their armaments. About two-thirds of the most formidable areconcentrated in the Baltic, where they cover St. Petersburg and Kronstadt,while menacing the coasts of Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. The Europeanfleet consists altogether of 28 ironclads and 304 steamers, including two so-calledpopovka in the Euxine, which sail with circular motion, but which proved of littleservice during the last war.The naval forces, numbering about 29,000, are recruited,like the army, by conscription, but the length of service, formerly twenty-two years,has been reduced to nine, of which seven are in the active and two in the reserve.These formidable armaments, together with the land forces and the interest onthe national debt, absorb nearly two-thirds of the imperial revenue, althoughthis has been considerably increased since the middle of the century. The firstregular Budgets date only from 1866, but notwithstanding fictitiousbalances, theexpenditure seems to have exceeded the income every year since 1832, exceptin 1871 and 1875. The chief sources of income are the indirect taxes, and ofthese the most willingly paid is that on alcoholic drinks, the national vice guaranteeingover one-third of the State expenditure.The taverns are daily crowded withcopious consumers of coarse brandies mixed with extract of belladonna and otherbaneful ingredients, and since the financial reforms of 1865 yielding an annualaddition to the revenue of about £1,280,000. In 1876 the Budget received fromthis source about £30,000,000, while the salt and tobacco duties figured for£1,432,000 and £1,683,000 respectively.The spirit excise is about sufficient to meet the army expenditure in time ofpeace. In 1876 the Minister of War demanded over £30,000,000, and in thesame year the cost of the navy was over £4,300,000. In ordinary times thearmy and navy together involve an outlay of about £32,000,000, but this sumhas been doubled and even trebled during the great wars.The last campaign inthe Balkans cost, down to November 13th, 1878, £142,000,000. In 1876 theinterest of the national debt exceeded £17,000,000, a burden which has sincebeen considerably increased. The expenses of the imperial family are relativelygreater than in any other sovereign European state, except in Turkey andMontenegro. But it is difficult to ascertain the actual sum, as the Czar has nocivil list in the ordinary sense. However, the total income drawn from theimperial domain—forests, mines, and arable lands—is known to exceed£2,000,000, and the Minister of the Imperial Household expends from £1,850,000