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MOSCOW (Russian Moskva)

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 891 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MOSCOW (See also:Russian Moskva) , a See also:government of Central See also:Russia, bounded by the governments of See also:Tver on the N.W., See also:Vladimir and See also:Ryazan on the E., See also:Tula and See also:Kaluga on the S., and See also:Smolensk on the W., and having an See also:area of 12,855 sq. m. The See also:surface is undulating, with broad depressions occupied by the See also:rivers, and varies in See also:elevation from 500 to 850 ft. The government is situated in the centre of the Moscow See also:coal-See also:basin, which extends into the neighbouring governments. Its See also:geology has been carefully studied, and it appears that in the See also:Tertiary See also:period the surface of this See also:province was already See also:continental; but during the Cretaceous period it was to some extent overflowed by the See also:sea. See also:Jurassic deposits are represented by their upper divisionsonly; the See also:lower ones, as well as Triassic and See also:Permian deposits, are wanting. The Carboniferous deposits are of a deep-sea origin, and are only represented by the upper See also:division which lies upon Devonian deposits, discovered in an artesian well at Moscow at a See also:depth of 1508 ft. The pendulum See also:anomaly, mentioned by Kaspar Gottfried See also:Schweitzer (1816-1873), has been investigated. It appears in a See also:zone to m. wide and about 95 M. See also:long from See also:west to See also:east, and is See also:positive (+10 6") to the See also:north of Moscow and negative (-2.7") to the See also:south. The government is drained by the See also:Volga, which skirts it for a few See also:miles on its See also:northern boundary, by the navigable Sestra, which brings it into communication with the canals leading to St See also:Petersburg, by the Oka, and by the Moskva. The Oka and Moskva from a remote period have been important channels of See also:trade, and continue to be so notwithstanding the development of the See also:railways. The Oka brings the government into See also:water communication with the Volga. Extensive forests (39% of the entire area) still exist.

The See also:

soil is somewhat unproductive; See also:agriculture is carried on everywhere, but only two districts export See also:corn, all the others being more or less dependent on extraneous supplies. The See also:principal crops are See also:rye, oats, See also:barley, potatoes, with some See also:flax, See also:hemp and hops. The See also:population, 1,913,700 in 1873, numbered 2,430,549 in 1897, and 2,733,300 in 1906. They are nearly all See also:Great-Russians and belong to the See also:Greek See also:Church (4% Nonconformists). The importance of the Moscow government as a manufacturing centre is steadily increasing, and it now stands first in Russia. The See also:chief factories are for cottons, woollens, silks, clothing, chemicals, See also:sugar refineries, distilleries, See also:iron-See also:works. There is besides a very great variety of See also:minor See also:industries—such as those concerned with See also:gold See also:thread and gold brocades, gold and See also:silver See also:jewelry, See also:bronze, See also:perfumery, sweets, See also:tobacco, tanneries, See also:gutta-percha, See also:furniture, carriages, See also:wall-See also:paper, toys, baskets, See also:lace, and See also:papier-mache. The government is divided into 13 districts. The prehistoric See also:archaeology of Moscow has been carefully studied. This See also:district has been inhabited since the See also:Stone See also:Age. Bronze implements are rare, and there are places where See also:instruments of stone, See also:bone and iron are found together. The inhabitants who constructed the See also:burial mounds in the loth to 12th centuries seem to have been of Finnish origin, and were poorer, as a See also:rule, than their contemporaries on the Volga.

End of Article: MOSCOW (Russian Moskva)

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