C ities and
T ew n s . ?
Edifices.
Inland
Navigation.
Vîflmeï
Vokifliok.
Ladoga.
Tatar kingdom of fiapfhafcj. ;&i£t'%$«lyii®ehes are chiefly of'brisks wwl,
the houfês of wood! The population is computed; at f«Oy90Ofe:.^.'CMtfk-
ftadt in the ‘ government of Peterfburg, and 'Koilonna in th a t o f tó o f-
c,0w, are fuppofed each to contain about 6o,ocó. inhabitants. Cherfon.
in the government of Ecatharinflav, and CafFa in Taurida, are faid each
to contain 2 0 ,0 0 0 ; white 30*000 are afcribed to Tu la, and 2 7;ooo ;ta
Riga, a city o f confiderable trade and confeguence. In. general the
Ruffian towns are built o f wood, and prefent few remarkable edifices*
A cathedral or two, and the royal palaces and fortrefies, maydeferve a.
dèfcription, better adapted to a book of travels, than to a work of this
nature.
The inland navigations o f Raffia deferve more attention. Among
other laudable improvements, Peter the Great formed the defigm- o f
eftabKfhmg an intercourfe by water between Peterfburg and Perfia, by
the Cafpian fea, the Volga, the Mefta, and the lake of Novgorod,
but this Icheme failed by the ignorance of the engineers, arrd the emperor
afterwards employed Captain Perry7 who rather taught the pröpér
manner than completed any great work. 0uri'ng the long' refgii of the
Fate émprefs many canals were accomplifhcd, or at léaft received fdeli
improvements that the chief honour muit be.aïfcribédi to htrr alhïiniftra-
tion. The celebrated canal of, Viflmèi Vbloffiok was iovfoHfe fhap’e
completed by P e te r, fo as to Form a communication betWèen Afthicafr
and Peterfburg, the courfê being chiefly afforded* by rfyers^ arid it
was only neceflary to unite the Twert’za ru n n in g towards the f Cafpian,
with the Shlina, which communicates with the Baltic. The navigation
is performed according to th e feafon o f th e year, from a fo rtn ig h t to a
m o n t h a n d it is fuppofed th a t near 4000 veffels pafs annually.1 ?
T h e canal of Ladoga, fo called, n o t becaufe it enters that lake, b u t
as winding along its margin, extends from th e .river V o lk o f to th e
Neva, a fpace o f 67-^ miles, and communicates w ith the former canal.
By thefe two im portant canals confiant intercourfe is maintained between
the northern and fouthern extremities o f the empire. Another canal
leads from Mofcow to the river Don, forming a communication w ith
’ Phillips, 20) 20.
the
•the Euxinej-j and the canal o f Cronftadt forms a fourth. Peter th e Great
•alfo. defigned to .have united.;.the Don with the Volga, and thus have
opened an intercourfe between the Gafpian, and E uxine feas and the
Baltic: and the whole empire abounds fo much with rivers that
many advantageous canals remain to be opened. Some progrefe was
made in a canal from the river V olkof towards th e White fea, which
•would cotifid’erably improve thé commilBj^of Afofomgel.
' By fbefiïfmè^ns the inland trade o f , Ruffia has attained confiderable
profperity ;• and the vi^ue o f -exports and imports have been long
xipon therincreafe. c Several mauufa^res a!re ëqiiduéted with confider-
able fpirit.1 That of ifinglafs, which is a preparation o f the founds,
or air bladder df thse; fturgcoa, fiourifoeS on the Volga* the chief feat
alfo o f that o f kaviar*: confiding of' the faked roes o f large fifh. The
manufactories o f oil and foap are alfo confiderable j and Peterfburg
exports great quantities o f candles,' befides tallow, which abounds in
an empire fo well replenkhed with pafturage; nor muft the breweries
and diftilleries be forgotten. Saltpetre is an imperial traffic, and fome
fugar is refined at Petersburg. There ar^ feveral manufactures o f
paper, and of tobapoo, which grows abundantly in the fouthern provinces.
Linen is manufactured in ahundance, the, heft comes from the
government o f Archangel. Cotton is little wrought, but the filk manufactories
are numerous: coarfe cloths, carpets, and hats arc alfo
made in Ruffia, and leather has long been a ftaple commodity. The
mode o f making Ruffian leather is deferibed with great, minutenefs by
Mr. Tooked Shagreen is made o f chofen portions o f the hides o f the
horfe and afs, imprefléd with the hard feeds o f certain plants, which
are trodden in to mark the leather. Ruffia produces vaft quantities o f
w ax , which is however generally exported unbleached; nor are there
w anting fabrics, o f earthen ware and porcelain. Iro n ' founderies
abound ] and fo the northern government o f Olonetz is a grand
foundery of dannon.
Thé commerce o f Ruffia was known in the middle ages, by the
,connexion between the Hanfe towns, in the north of Germany, and
•Novgorod, eftablifhed about 1276. So wide is now this empire that
1 T o o k e , iii. 463, & c . 3 V o l, iii. p. 513, &c.
I nland N a
VIG AT ION.
Manufactures
and
Commerce,
S S 2