Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/879

 MOSCOW 861 senting Scriptural subjects and the events of the wars of 1812-' 15. In the area in front are the statues of the Russian generals promi- nent in those times. The Zemlianoi Gorod (earthen town), so called from the former earth rampart, now the outer boulevard, occu- pies the zone between the two boulevards. It contains the depot of the commissariat, the depot for spirits, the commercial school, the imperial philanthropic society, and many other public buildings, besides a iarge number of fine private residences. The Zatchateiski monas- tery, which takes its name from the church dedicated to the Zatchatiye or conception of St. Ann, is a great ornament to this part of the city. The church is a Gothic building, noted for the elegance of its interior. The Slobodi (suburbs) constitute all that part of the city outside of the Zemlianoi Gorod. "Within its imits are most of the great monastic and benevolent institutions, a large number of churches, many parks and handsome residences surrounded by gardens, an imperial palace, the empress's villa, the race course, the St. Peters- burg railway station, &c. Among the great ospitals are the Galitzin, Sheremeteff, St. tharine, Alexander, St. Paul, and the mili- tary. The Novo-Dievitchie convent is a vast institution founded in the 16th century, with high walls surmounted by 16 towers. It has six churches, in the principal one of which are the tombs of many czarinas and princesses. Near it is the Dievitchie Pole or Maiden's field, where the people are entertained at the im- perial coronations. The Seminoff monastery, dating from the 14th century, is also sur- rounded by walls with high towers, one of which is 125 ft. high. It has six churches and a belfry 330 ft. hig6. The Novospasski mon- astery has five churches and a belfry 235 ft. high. The Daniloff monastery, with white walls, and the Donskoi, with red walls and battlements, have many churches, chapels, cloisters, gardens, and courts within their bounds. Without the St. Petersburg gate, a short distance beyond the circumvallation, are the Petrovski palace and gardens, a fashion- able summer resort. Napoleon retired to this palace when the Kremlin became untenable. Moscow has nearly 400 churches, all of the orthodox Greek faith, with the exception of the English and Roman chapels, a German and a French chapel, two or three Armenian chapels, and a Turkish mosque. It is the seat of one of the three metropolitans of the Russo- Greek church, and is excelled in ecclesiastical importance by St. Petersburg only. It is the residence also of many of the great Russian nobles, particularly in the winter. Between it and St. Petersburg exists a literary rivalry, which has done much to stimulate intellectual activity. Its schools and seminaries are cele- rated. The university, a state institution ider the authority of the minister of public instruction, has 100 professors and teachers id usually about 1,500 students. It has a library of 160,000 volumes, a cabinet of coins and medals, museums of natural history, a botanical garden, chemical laboratory, and observatory, a medico-chirurgical school and fine anatomical theatre, and a printing office. Among the other educational establishments are a Greek theological seminary, a practical commercial academy and a commercial school, an institute of oriental languages, five male and three female gymnasia, two military gymna- sia and a military school, theatrical, mechan- ical, agricultural, veterinary, and other spe- cial schools, and numerous district and parish schools. The Catharine, Alexander, and Eliza- beth institutes are for the education of young ladies of noble birth, and the Nicholas insti- tute is for the instruction of female orphan children of the servants of the crown. There are several learned societies for the promotion of letters, art, and science ; a public museum, with a library of 165,000 volumes and 5,000 manuscripts, a gallery of painting and sculp- ture, and a cabinet of coins and medals ; and several other museums and libraries. Moscow is the centre of Panslavism, and, though not now the political capital, is the real heart of Russia and the richest and most characteristi- cally Russian of all the cities of the empire. It is the residence of the general commanding the military circumscription of Moscow, con- sisting of 12 governments, and of a military and a civil governor general ; and is the seat of a division of the directorial senate, consisting of the 6th, 7th, and 8th departments for criminal and civil affairs. For administrative purposes it is divided into 21 districts. On account of its central position and superior facilities for transportation, Moscow is the great entrepot for the internal commerce of the empire. It has water communication with the Baltic, the Caspian, and the Black seas, and is connected by railway with St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Ta- ganrog on the sea of Azov (by two lines, each with important connections), Nizhni Novgorod (with a branch to Kineshma), and Vologda. In the winter an enormous traffic is carried on by sledges with Tiflis and other places ; and in 1874 a company was formed for trading with Afghanistan. It is also the centre of a great manufacturing industry, with several hundred establishments using steam power and the most approved machinery, and as many more in the surrounding towns and villages. Its chief manufactures are textile fabrics, principally of woollen, cotton, and silk, hats, gold and silver plate and jewelry, hardware, glass, porcelain, delft ware, paper, tapestry, chemical products, beer, brandy, and leather. Besides the Riadi and the Gostinnoi Dvor, there are many other market places where a large trade is carried on. The horse market is of great importance. The so-called winter market presents a remark- able appearance during the winter, when the fish of the White sea and northern lakes, frozen oxen from the Crimea, Caspian sheep, -and deer from the banks of the Irtish and Yenisei, are