The chief imports are: from Germany, machinery and woollens; from United Kingdom, machinery and coal; from United States and Egypt, raw cotton.

The chief exports are: to Germany, cereals, eggs, timber and flax; to United Kingdom, cereals, timber, eggs and flax; to Netherlands, cereals and timber; to France and Belgium, cereals and flax.

The quantities of cereals (in 1,000 pouds) exported from Russia to different countries of Europe in 1904 and 1905 appear as follows:

The imports from Russia into the United Kingdom, and the exports of British home produce to Russia, according to the Board of Trade Returns, are shown in the subjoined table :

Imports from Russia into U. K.

Exports to Russia from U. K. .

21,903,574 25,673,958 30,932,997 31,402,838 33,366,234 8,673,334 8,635,393 9,114,434 8,229,577 8,169,454

The chief articles of import from Russia into the United Kingdom and of export (domestic produce and manufactures) from the United Kingdom to Russia in two years were :—

Other imports from Russia are linseed, 401,6327.;

hair, 105,1187. ; hemp, 338,1277.; oil-seed cake, 418,755l.; poultry and game, 291,1177. skins and furs, 212, 5557.; maize, 113,2637. in 1905. Minor British

exports to Russia are chemicals, 204,1617.; cottons and yarn, 358,1907. ; herring, 576,0937. in 1905.

The quantities of wheat imported from Russia into the United Kingdom in recent years from both the northern and southern ports of the Empire, were as follows:-1901, 2,541,500 cwt.; 1902, 6,540,457 cwt.; 1903, 17,176,300 cwt.; 1904, 23,529,500 cwt.; 1905, 24,703,200 cwt.

The chief Russian fair is that of Nizhnii Novgorod. Owing to the commercial development of Russia, the construction of railways, and especially of the Siberian railway, the employment of commercial travellers, and other causes, the character of the fair has changed, but statistics show little variation in the amount or the value of the business transacted. The goods annually brought to market amount to about 17,000,000l. sterling. They include raw cotton from Bokhara, Kokand, and Tashkent; Russian and Bokharan wool (the latter bought in large quantities for American carpet weaving); horse-hair, cow-hair, goat-hair, and camel-hair; skins and furs, cow-hides, and horse-hides. Among manufactured articles which change hands are cotton, woollen, and silk goods, and ready-made clothes; sacks for the Russian sugar, salt, cement, and other industries, sail-cloth, iron, leather, paper, earthenware, glass, illuminant oils, perfumery, rice, coffee, tea, sugar, fish (herring), and dried fruits.

Shipping and Navigation.

The registered mercantile marine of Russia for the last two years was as follows:

In 1903, 1904 and 1905 the navigation in the ports of Russia and the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus appeared as follows:

Coasting vessels visiting the ports of the White Sea, Baltic, Black and Azov Seas, Caspian Sea, and the Pacific Coast for the last three years :

The merchant vessels entered and cleared at the ports of European Russia appeared as follows for the last three years :—

Internal Communications.

I. RIVERS AND CANALS.

In European Russia (exclusive of Finland) there are 76,500 miles of rivers, canals and lakes, 16,680 miles being navigable for steamers, 8,105 for small sailing vessels, 26,800 for rafts.

The following tables give the results of the census of river fleet of Russian Empire in 1900, compared with those of 1890 and 1895. Number of vessels and their crew :

The horse-power of the river steam fleet in 1890 was 103,206; in 1895, 129,759; in 1900, 165,004. The tonnage of vessels not provided with steam power:-In 1890, was 6,468,835 tons; in 1895, 8, 495,215; in 1900, 10,869,583.

The traffic on the rivers (in millions of poods), for 1894, 1903, 1904, and the period 1894-1903 (average) was

Siberia has 30,000 miles of navigable rivers, and Central Asia 2,000 miles.

The naphtha flotilla of the Caspian Sea numbers 57 steamers and 263 sailing vessels, which have transported above 30,000,000 cwt. of naphtha.

II. RAILWAYS.

The railway-net open for traffic on January 1, 1907, had a length of 40,748 miles, of which 32,743 miles in European Russia, 8,005 miles in Asiatic Russia. The length of the lines belonging to and worked by the Government is 26,816 miles; that of the lines belonging to public companies is 11,424 miles; short local lines, 1,436; Manchurian line, 1,072.