to compete with the Russian products which were beimj
brought into the Far East at that time.
According to the figures of freight carried on the Zabaikal
Railroad in 1912 the exportation of raw hides from the pro-
vince was 153,898 poods; of raw furs, 75,558 poods, and tins
was the situation when there were 40 tanneries in the province
(it is true that the majority of these lacked mechanical equip-
ment).
From the figures of freight carried on the Zabaikal Rail-
road it is evident that during the same year 304,735 poods of
63
machinery were brought into the province, of which 219,870
poods were agricultural machines, and the rest machinery for
manufacturing purposes, and in this must be included those for
the gold mining industry and the coal mining industry. Thus
machinery imported for actual manufacturing purposes was
only a small part of the total imports of machinery.
From the beginning of the World War, when the importa-
tion of manufactured products from Russia decreased, the ma-
nufacturing industry improved somewhat in the province, par-
ticularly the industry engaged in the development of animal
products, for which raw materials (hides, fats, wool) were
present in large quantities, there also being a permanent supply
of raw materials from Mongolia. Tanning materials for the
tanneries (oak and willow bark) were to be had in abundance,
and there was always plenty of local soda for soap manufac-
turing. Although due to the abundance of animal products
the industry ought to develop and, apparently, should surpass
any other industry in the country, in reality its total produc-
tion is considerably less than the industry engaged in the de-
velopment of vegetable products. The cause of this, as was
already stated, is that the majority of the factories and shops
lacked mechanical equipment. This applies to the tanneries,
soap making, candle making, and wool manufacturing plants.
The number of the more or less large factories in the province
may be seen from the folowing table in the districts Zabaikal,
Pribaikal, and Sretensk-Nerchinsk, which belong to the Pro-
vinces Zabaikal and Pribaikal:
Sretensk-
Pribm
Ikal District
A
Zabaikal District
K
Nerchinsk District
A
No. of
Annual
No. of
Annual
No. of
Annual
Name of Industry Plants
Production
Plants
Production
Plants
Production
Hide tanneries . . 10
96,000 hides
5
30,000 hides
3
30.000 hides
Soap Making
Factories 7
140,000 poods
2
180,000 poods
5
72,000 poods
Sheep skin tanneries 5
48,000 skins
7
100,000 skins
3
30,000 skins
felt boots factories. . . .
15,000 pair
Candle making factories. . ,
1
10,000 poods
2
18,000 poods
Thus there were 18 more or less large tanneries in the Za-
baikal and Pribaikal Provinces v\rhose annual production was
156,000 hides. There were 14 soap making factories with an
64
annual production of 392,000 poods; 15 sheep skin tanneries
and felt "boot" factories with an annual production of 178,000
skins and 15,000 pairs of felt boots; 3 candle making plants with
an annual production of 28,000 poods.
Besides these there were in the provinces 25 small tan-
neries (without mechanical equipment), which did not work
during the years 1919-1920, and only recently did they gradually
begin to revive.
The branch of industry engaging in the development of
vegetable products, in the number of plants and in the quantity
of production stands higher than the industry developing animal
products. This development is conected with the development
of agriculture in this cattle breeding province.
Besides the flour mills there are distilleries and breweries
well equipped technically, which sold their products outside of
the province, vegetable oil plants, etc. The number of these
plants and their productivity can be seen from the following
table :
Pribaikal District
Zabaikal 1
y\su\c\.
Sretensk-Nerchinsk District
A
A
j^
f ~
Name of Plants
Workers
^
Plants Workers
\
1
1
Plants
Workers
Industry No. oi
No. of
Productivity
No..
of No.of
Productivity
No. of
No. of
Productivity
Distilleries 1
80
75,000 gal.
1
40
35,000 gal.
1
40
37,000 gal.
Breweries 3
55
130,000 gal.
3
40
265,000 gal.
5
70
350,000 gal.
Flour
Mills 458
472
2,000 tons
7
115
1.500 tons
13
40
1,200 tons
Oil
Refineries 2
4
200 tons
•
. • •
..
..
• • • •
Saw Mills 6 saw mills in the Province, with a production of 400,000 logs.
From this table it is evident from the number of workers
employed that the majority of the enterprises were small fac-
tories.
The majority of the flour mills are either wind mills or wa-
ter mills, which employed only one worker. The number of
creameries is extremiely small in spite of the large cattle breed-
ing in the province.
Reflneries obtaining oil from cedar nuts would be of tremen-
dous importance in the Zabaikal and Pribaikal region. The Pri-
baikal region has vast resources of cedar forests covering enor-
mous areas of the basins of Rivers Chikoy and Selenga. The
local peasants distill oil and obtain from the remnants, cakes by
65
hand process. In the village Krasny-Yar it is Intended to put
Into operation soon an oil refinery with a capacity of 40,000
poods of oil and 120,000 poods of cakes annually.
Of great importance not only for the Zabaikal region but
for the industry of the Far Eastern Republic would be the es-
tablishment of factories for the preparation of tanning extracts
so essential for tanneries. In the district of Verkhneudinsk and
Troitskosavsk counties there are tremendous quantities of
willow, oak and so-called "bodan", and it would be very simple
to obtain tanning extracts from their bark with the aid of al-
kalies. It is only necessary to have kettles for boiling, filters
and dryers. Such experiments were made in the laboratories
of the Verkhneudinsk Regional Self-Government, and they gave
very positive results. The requirements of tanning extracts
for the tanneries of the Zabaikal Province alone is not less than
25,000 poods annually. Until now the tanning extracts were
received only from abroad.
The development of mineral resources in the Zabaikal
Province is in the embryonic state in spite of the fact that the
province is prosperous with the richest deposits of ores, strata
(lime, clay, etc.) soda, salt, and saline lakes. There are the
richest deposits of lime in the region of Station Zaigraevo on
the Zabaikal Railroad, 1), near verst 508, 2) seven miles from
the above mentioned station. The lime deposits were inves-
tigated thoroughly and are of the best quality, almost without
any mixture of silica, and its deposits amounted to tens of mil-
lions of poods. These deposits are within 8 and 20 miles south
of Station Zaigraevo. They have not been explored, but are
used by the peasants who derive good earnings from them.
In the same district there are deposits of clay although not
fire-proof, but its contents are fit for the production of cement.
The Bryansk cement factory which was built 25 years ago, near
Station Zaigraevo, has been worked up to 1914, producing for
the market (primarily for the Zabaikal Railroad) 150,000 bar-
rels of cement annually. The owners of the factory intended
to increase the capacity of the factory up to 300,000 barrels,
in order to do which a power plant was imported, and set up,
with a steam turbine for 600 kilowatts. It was intended to
move the plant to Junction 37 of the Zabaikal Railroad where
66
the Tarbogatai mines are located. Here the frame of the fac-
tory had been built, the power plant moved, the pipe furnace
put up, and most of the machinery shipped from the old plant.
But the war, and later the revolution and intervention, stopped
the further moving of the plant, so important to the Province
and the entire Republic. The question of finishing the moving
of the plant and putting it into operation is under consideration
by the local government at the present time. The wealth of
the Zabaikal Province in saline and soda lakes makes it pos-
sible to develop highly the production of sulphate and also ren-
ders possible the development of the glass industry. Twenty-
three miles from the city of Bargusin there is the Algin Sul-
phate factory which can produce up to 100,000 poods of saline
and which can be worked to yield 30,000 poods of sulphate. At
the present time, because the owner lacks capital, the work in
the factory is gradually decreasing. This plant furnishes
saline and sulphate to the yerkhneudinsk glass factory.
About 4 miles from Station Dauria on the Zabaikal Rail-
road on Lake Shekolan, there is working another sulphate fac-
tory obtaining crystallized saline from the lake. Its production
was annually up to 10,000 poods of pure dry sulphate.
In the Zabaikal region there are many other saline lakes
which have been explored geologically. Such lakes are: the
Kazhar-Shan, Tsinganar, Belentuy, Hangai, Emikoy, and also
others, that are still to be explored. The glass factory in oper-
ation in Verkhneudinsk yields the following annual production:
window glass, 14,000 cases; bottles, up to 500,000; tumblers, up
to 600,000; lamp globes, up to 200,000; and pharmaceutical
utensils up to 1,000,000 pieces.
The demands for glass in the Zabaikal and Amur Province
where there is no production of glass at all, is extreme, and the
Verkhneudinsk factory cannot satisfy the demand, just as the
demand for glass cannot be satisfied by the single glass factory
in the Maritime Province. It is necessary to utilize the saline
lakes for obtaining the raw materials, and developing the glass
industry in the Republic (quartz, lime, and clay necessary for
the production may be found on the spot in various localities in
any quantity).
There are great possibilities in the Zabaikal Province, be-
67
sides the production of sulphate, in obtaining and in the pro-
duction of soda, crystallized as well as caustic, and calcined.
Of the soda lakes the best known and worthy of attention
is the Doronensk lake, which is located 80 miles to the south of
Chita and which has an abundance of larch and pine forests
four miles from the River Ingoda, which can be used for float-
ing purposes. Judging by the content of soda in brine, from
8% to 10%, and also from the content of raw soaa (according
to the calculations in 1912 by Chemist Belousov this supply is
24,000,000 poods), it is undoubtedly of great industrial import-
ance. In the winter time when the temperature of the water
is lowered, the soda in crystal form drops to the bottom of the
lake from where it may be obtained by most elementary meth-
ods as a pure product.
As soon as the lake is covered by ice there appears on the
ice the same crystallized soda, the layer of which is sometimes
1% inches thick. What quantity can be obtained by the simple
process of sweeping off the soda can be imagined when the fact
is taken into consideration that the area of the lake is 4 square
kilometers. In 1920 the lake was investigated by an English
company, which intended to obtain 100,000 poods of crystallic
soda annually, 60,000 poods of calcined soda, 20,000 poods of
caustic soda, and up to 200,000 poods of cooking salt. But the
war prevented the realization of this plan. The Doronensk
Lake belongs to one of those gems of nature which are scat-
tered throughout the Russian Far East, and which await only
the application of capital. Considering the fact that there are
over 100 carbonic springs in the Zabaikal region, it may be ex-
pected that there are other such lakes there. No investigation
has been made in that line as yet.
The Kiron cooking salt plant deserves attention. It was
built on the lake of the same name, and is 20 miles from Ky-
akhta, and 3 miles from Mongolian frontier, and ly^ miles from
the river Chikoy which can be used for floating purposes. In
1885 a salt boiling plant was built on the lake, and in 1895 it
produced 31,000 poods of salt, which is the maximum of its
capacity. Since 1887, besides salt, there were also produced as
by-products bitter salts, and they were reproduced into caustic
soda. This salt plant is still being worked by primitive meth-
ods.fl The brine is prepared during the warm part of the year,
68
i. e., it is pumped into a basin where by freezing in winter time
it is separated from the bitter salts, and it is placed in boilers.
The salt obtained contains 99.07% of sodium chloride. The
Borzin salt lake is in the Aksha county not far from Station
Borzya. During the summer, when the water is evaporating,
the cooking salt precipitates. The lake has been little inves-
tigated, and it is difficult to say regarding the quantity of salt
in it. At the present time local peasants obtain salt from it by
hand methods.
THE AMUR PROVINCE.
The industry which handles animal products in the Amur
Province is little developed, as well as all of the manufacturing
industries of that province. It is much below the basic indus-
tries.
Of industries engaged in developing animal products in the
Amur Province there are tanneries, soap making, candle mak-
ing, and felt making. The plants are very small and the m'ajor-
ity of them need mechanical equipment. The number and pro-
ductivity of plants can be seen from the following table:
Annual Production
60,000 pieces
24,000 poods
2,500 poods
15,000 pair felt boots
\ 15,000 yards of felt
Sheep coat making 7 5,000 sheep skins
1,500 sheepskin coats
The utilization of the vast fishing wealth of the Amur Ri-
ver, in the fish canning industry, is only beginning. Among
the manufacturing industries the first place belongs to those
developing vegetable products. Due to the great production
of grain, the numerous water power mills and wind mills do not
satisfy the requirements of the district. There is a necessity
for large steam flour mills. Most of the existing steam flour
mlills are located in the city of Blagoveshchensk, v/here even
grain from Manchuria is milled. But the flour produced by
these mills cannot compete with the flour imported from ab-
roadfl from Manchuria and America. Thus further develop-
69
Name of Industry
No.
of Plants
Tanneries
23
Soap Making . . ,
5
Candle Makings. .
1
Pelt Making ....
18
Productivity
up
to 10,000,000 poods
up
to 1,000,000 gold rubls
up
to 700,000 gold rubls
up
to 60,000 poods
merit of the general flour milling industry of the country is pos-
sible only with additional technical equipment and capital.
Distilling of spirits and brewing was developed in this pro-
vince to an insufficient degree. In the Amur Province there
were two distilleries and four breweries.
During the latter years the manufacturers planned to build
sugar refineries and for this purpose experiments were made of
planting sugar beets, which gave very satisfactory results. The
following table shows the production of enterprises engaged in
the development of vegetable products.
Name of No. of No. of
Enterprise Enterprises Workers
Steam Flour Mills... 9 597
Spirit Distilleries 2 105
Breweries 4 200
Oil Refineries 2 —
In spite of the vast forest resources, the timber industry
is not developed, and produced only for local requirements. The
work of the saw mills and lumber mills was confined to the cut-
ting of timber, manufacturing of boards and beams, sleepers,
and only partially staves for barrels and the manufacturing of
the latter. There are no furniture factories in the province.
The match industry was limited to one factory in the city
of Blagoveshchensk where about 21,000 cases of matches were
produced monthly. The Blagoveshchensk matches were used
in the Zabaikal region also, but naturally there was not enough
of them and a great quantity of matches was imported from
Manchuria and Japan.
The production of chemicals from wood, was in an infant
stage, and there were a few small plants for dry distillation and
for the production of turpentine. These plants had no mechan-
ical equipment. There are no paper or cellulois plants. Only
by an influx of capital and the application of m^echanical meth-
ods can this industry be developed.
The following table shows the productivity of the plants
engaged in manufacturing wood products in the Amur Pro-
vince.
70
No. of No. of
Name of Industry Enterprises Workers Annual Production
Saw Mills 11 206 500,000 logs
Match Factories . . 1 66 21,000 cases
Plants for dry wood 130,000 poods of tar
distillation No information 50,000 poods turpentine
The industry engaged in developing mineral products is
also in its primitive stage, in the Amur Province, in spite of the
very large valuable mineral ore deposits. The cause was the
absence of mechanical equipment and therefore the inability
to compete with Russian and Japanese products.
This was the condition of the only glass making factory
in the province which obtained its raw materials on the spot,
(saline, lime, quartz).
According to the statistics, the value of imported glass
products in the province from Japan and European Russia in
1906, was 3,000,000 gold rubles. In many places there were
tremendous deposits of fire-proof clay which is well suited for
•the production of china and deposits of lime wTiich, together
with the clay, and, considering the presence of mineral coal in
the province, would make it profitable to build cement factories
in the province.
The manufacture of metals and machine production are
also of great importance to the country in view of the considre-
able use of agricultural machinery and the developm,ent of river
shipping.
In Blagoveshchensk in 1906 there were five mechanical
plants engaged in the production of pig iron (at the present
time the work there has almost ceased). In spite of this the
importation from abroad (particularly from America) of ma-
chines and metal products during the same year, 1906, was
2,098,000 poods, and their value v/as almost 17,000,000 gold
rubles. In 1907 the imports amounted to 12,348,000 gold rubles,
(according to statistics the average value of imported metal
products per person in the total population of the province was
30 gold rubles).
The following is a table of industries engaged in the pro-
duction of articles from the mineral resources of the provinces.
71
No. of No. of
Name of Industry Enterprises Workers Productivity
Glass Manufacturing.. 1 30 20,000 poods glass prod.
Pig Iron and Machine 826,000 gold rubles
Construction 5 306 am't of production
Brick Manufacturing.. 47 167 63,000 gold rubles
am't of production
THE MARITIME AND PRIAMUR PROVINCES.
The Maritime and Priamur Provinces are extremiely rich
in fish, forests, fur animals, coal, iron, and silver-lead. The
Maritime Province is bounded by the ocean on one side, has a
navigable river, Ussuri, which is a tributary of the Amur; the
city of Vladivostok, the gem of the Par East, is in the Maritime
Province. Through Vladivostok the Maritime Province is con-
nected by means of the Ussuri Railroad, with the Chinese
Eastern Railroad and the Amur Railroad. Thus there were
present all the requisites for turning the Maritime Province, and
particularly its southern part, into an industrial center. The
development in that direction gradually began, but for general
reasons which retarted the development of industry in the Rus-
sian Far East, this developlnent in the Maritime Province was
retarded as well. The timber industry in the Maritime Pro-
vince was more developed than in the other Provinces. Its
turnover during the year 1913 reached 3i/^ million gold rubles.
At one time there were in operation in the Maritime Province 44
saw mills, with a capacity of 2,000,000 logs. There was also
a furniture factory, box factory, and veneer factory, a match
factory, a ship building plant, and a railv/ay car assembling
plant. The production of tar and turpentine reached consider-
able size. In spite of the abundance of flax, oil refining was
only in embryonic stage, and there is no doubt that in the future
it will develop into a large industry. The same is true of the
tobacco industry. The steam fiour mills of Vladivostok pro-
duced large quantities of flour and in the near future there will
begin to be operated a new large flour mill for the milling of
Manchurian wheat for export. The development of animal
products, local as well as of other provinces, and partially of
Mongolia, is beginning to develop and promises to increase in
72
the future. A new tanning plant with a capacity of 2,500
hides monthly, recently began operations. Of enterprises en-
gaged in developing minreal rsources there have been in opera-
tion cement, brick, and glass factories. Recently there has been
completed a third glass factory.
In Vladivostok there is in operation a large government
owned well equipped mechanical and ship building plant. Lack
of capital interferes with the development of its operation on a
large scale. Another large government machine plant is in
Khabarovsk. There are about 20 foundries and pig iron plants
which are mostly engagend in machine repairs, but so far they
did not even satisfy the local demands. On the Bay of St. Olga
a large iron producing plant could be built, as there are very
large deposits of iron ore there. From there it would be pos-
sible to supply in addition to the Petrovsk plant located in the
Pribaikal Province not only the entire Far Eastern Republic,
but also Western Siberia and part of European Russia.
There are three industrial centers in the Martiime and Pri-
amur Provinces, namely, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Nikolsk-
Ussuriisk.
The total turnover of the factories and shops of Vladivostok
during the year 1915 was 12,000,000 gold rubles. The following
table gives information about the larger factories and shops in
the Maritime Province.
Some of the distilleries in the Republic are being worked
again by the Goverment, the alcohol being used for technical
and medical purposes.The income from this industry to the Go-
vernment in the provinces except Maritime amounts to one
million gold rubles, but much more is expected in the near
future.
78
No. of
Industry Plants
Saw Mills* 44
Paper Mills 1
Furniture 1
Box 1
Veneer 2
Ship Building ... 3
Pig iron & machine 20
Glass** 2
Brick 6
Soap 4
Tanneries*** 3
Steam Flour Mills**** 18
Oil Refineries .... 8
Spirit Distilleries.. 3
Breweries 13
Canneries* ****.. 1
Tobacco and
Cigarettes 11
Electric Power
Plants 11
No. of Value of Production,
Workers or Capacity
700 up to 2,000,000 logs
3,600 poods of cardboard
210
900
15
320
1,025
404
455
580
200
650
60
300
38,000 cu. ft. of wood
2,000,000 cu. ft. of wood
up to 2,200,000 gold rubles
30,000 poods window glass
310,000 bottles
1,100 poods silicate
13,000 poods soap
1,100,000 pieces toilet soap
40,000 hides
3,500,000 poods grain
15,600 poods vegetable oil
not working at present
not working at present
37,656 cans of crabs
4,000 poods of tobacco
75,000,000 cigarettes
300,000,000 paper cases for cigarettes
5,067,640 kilowatt
Remarks:
*At the present time the number of saw mills has considerably decreased.
Only 28 or 30 are in operation.
** Recently a third plant was put in operation.
***Recently a fourth plant began operation with a producing capacity of 2,500
hides monthly,
****A new large steam flour mill is being built.
*****The second canning plant is closed at the present time.
74
CHAPTER X.
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.
lliere ia no exact and exhaustive data in regard to the ex-
ports and imports in the territory at the present time occupied
by the Far Eastern Republic, from which a definite idea can be
had regarding the movement of merchandise and of the charac-
ter of the commercial life of the country. The figures for the
years 1913-1917, i. e., for the pre-revolutionary period, are gen-
eral figures of imports to Asiatic Russia as a whole, i. e., into
the present territory of the Far Eastern Republic and also for
further transit to Siberia and Russia. The same thing is true
in regard to exports. It does not seem possible to exactly de-
termine the proportion of this trade which can be applied to the
territory at present occupied by the Far Eastern Repubhc. These
figures are characteristic and important for determining the