The Story of Russia | Page 3

how the huge empire was
formed and grew to its present size, it is necessary to become (p. 018)
better acquainted with the aspect and nature of the country. Looking at
the map of the Eurasian continent, that is, the continent embracing
Europe and Asia, we cannot fail to notice that Russia is a country of the
plains. Its southern boundary seems to follow the mountain barriers
which divide Asia into two parts. Does it not seem as if long billows of
earth roll down toward the Arctic Ocean, where they rest benumbed by
the eternal cold? These mountains branch off toward the south, east or
west, but scorn to throw so much as a spur northward. It is true that a
solitary chain, the Urals, runs north and south, but it stands by itself,

and is nothing more than what the word Ural signifies, a belt or girdle
separating the European from his Asiatic brother. These mountains do
not form the backbone of a country, nor do they serve as a watershed,
like our Rocky Mountains or the Andes of South America. Some of
their peaks rise to a height of 6,000 feet above the level of the sea, but
the chain, 1531 miles long, seems destined only to keep the two races
apart.
Beyond the Ural mountains, the plain resumes its sway. This extensive
flat could not fail to exert a noticeable influence upon the country and
its inhabitants. The dense forests in the north, while acting as a screen,
do not afford protection against the icy polar winds which sweep with
scarcely diminished force over the broad expanse, so that the northern
shores of the Black and Caspian Seas in January have about the same
temperature as Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The mountains of
Western Europe shut off the aërial current of the Gulf Stream which
tempers the summer heat as well as the winter cold. (p. 019) Russia's
climate, therefore, is one of extremes. In summer the heat is very
oppressive, owing to the absence of the sea breeze which elsewhere
affords so much relief; and when a wind does blow, it only adds to the
discomfort, because it has lost its moisture. That is the reason why
Russia suffers so often from drought. This is especially the case in the
south where no forests are found to attract rain.
Nature has provided a substitute in the splendid waterways. In about
the center of European Russia, rises the Valdai plateau to a height of
1,100 feet above the sea level. This is Russia's great watershed. Near it,
in Lake Volgo, rises the largest river of Europe, "Mother Volga," as the
Russian ballad singers love to call it. Its entire length is 2,336 miles, or
nearly the length of the Missouri; it has a basin of 590,000 square miles.
Owing to the slight slope of the land, the great river flows placidly in
its bed, which is fortunate since its Waters are swollen by several large
rivers, so that there are points where it is seventeen miles wide. The
Kama, one of the tributaries of the Volga, is 1,266 miles long; the Oka,
another confluent, has a length of 633 miles. At Kazan, the Volga is
4,953 feet wide, at Jaroslaf 2,106 feet, and at Samara, 2,446 feet. It
empties into the Caspian Sea, with a delta of more than seventy

branches. The fish caught in this river often grow to gigantic
proportions; its sturgeons, lampreys, and salmon, are highly prized.
Since time immemorial, the Volga has been a great highway of trade.
Kostroma, Nishni Novgorod, Kazan, Simbirsk, Saratof, and Astrakhan,
are the most populous cities on its banks.
Other large rivers rise on the Valdai plateau. The Dnieper runs (p. 020)
south, passing by Kief, and empties in the Black Sea, near Odessa. The
Dwina runs northward, seeking the icy Arctic, which it enters by way
of the White Sea near Archangel. The Düna takes a westerly course
towards the Gulf of Riga where it empties near the city of that name. Of
greater importance are the small streams which feed Lakes Ladoga and
Onega, because they connect Central Russia with the Baltic Sea by
means of the Neva.
European Russia is usually divided into four zones or belts, from the
character of the soil and the nature of its productions; their general
direction is from southwest to northeast. In the north, as a screen
against the Arctic blast, is the poliessa or forest region, densely covered
with lindens, birches, larches, and sycamores, with oaks on the
southern fringe. These forests are invaluable to Russia where, in the
absence of mountains, stone is scarce. The houses are built of wood,
and fires are of common occurrence. Both lumber and fuel are supplied
by these forests which originally