Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1291

 DEFENCE 935

II. Local Finance.

The actual annual receipts of the 32 provincial assemblies (the zcmsh'os), which were 32i million roul)les in 1881, reached 44,679,400 in 1894, as against 49,291,500 roubles foreseen in the estimates. Of the 585,300,000 acres which pay the lantl tax, 235,000,000 acres belonging to peasants pay an average of 6 "3 copecks per acre, while the 351,000,000 acres belonging to landlords pay an average of 3 '3 copecks per acre. The aggregate expenses of the zcvistvos reached the same year 56,638,100 roubles. Of that, 8 per cent, was spent for the administration of the zcmstvo.'^, 24 per cent, for hygiene and medical help, 15 per cent, for education, and 37 per cent, for obligatory expenses. Debt of all zcmsLvos to Government, 37,466,300 roubles.

The aggregate budgets of 684 towns of European Russia and Poland reached in 1893 67,252,370 roubles of income and 68,250,214 roubles expenditure. Only 6 towns have each an income above one million roubles, and 8 more above 500,000. The aggregate debt of all towns reached in 1882 26,842,177 roubles.

The expenses of the village communities have been tabulated for 50 provinces of European Russia proper for 1891 ; they reached the sum of 45,016,796 roubles ; that is an average of Ir. 35c. per male soul of population, varying from 41c. to 3r. 38c. in different provinces.

Defence. I. Frontier.

Russia has an extensive frontier both by sea and land, pro^ tected by numerous fortifications of various classes. On the west, Poland is defended by a system of four strongholds, sometimes called the Polish Quadrilateral — Novogeorgievsk on the right bank of the Vistula ; the fortifications of Warsaw ; Ivansrorod on both sides of the Vistula ; Brest-Li to vski on the Bug. As the Vistula line remained unprotected on the rear from a possible invasion through Eastern Prussia, new fortifications have been raised in the rear of these fortresses. Western Poland, to the west of the Vistula, remained also quite unprotected, but new fortifications are being raised now about Kielce, at the foot of the Lysa-Gora Mountains in south-west Poland. There are numerous other fortified places, mostly neglected, on the Vistula and Bug.

The more important fortresses and forts are divided into three classes as follows : — In the first class are Warsaw, Novo- Georgievsk, and Brest-Litovsk in the Warsaw district, and Kovno in the Vilna district. The second class consists of Kronstadt and Sveaborg in the St. Petersburg district ; Ivan- gorod in the Warsaw district ; Kerch in the Odessa district ; Libau in the Vilna district ; and Vladivostok in the Pri-Amur district. In the third class are Viborg in the St. Petersburg district ; Ossovets and Ust-Dvinsk (Diinamiind) in the Vilna district ; Sevastopol and Ochakov in the Odessa district ; and