The line gradually ascends to the crest of the
Yablonoi Mountains, reaching a height of 3,412 feet above the sea
level. This is the greatest altitude of the Siberian Railway. In
this province of Transbaikalia lies the interesting city of Chita,
the far-off home of the most famous and estimable Socialist exiles
sent from Russia. From this point to the Amur, where Manchuria is
reached, the line is carried down the Pacific slope, through one
of the wildest and most romantic tracks ever penetrated by railway
engineers. It is not generally remembered that the Great Siberian
Railway was begun at the Pacific end, and that the present Tsar
Nicholas II., when Tsarevitch, inaugurated the colossal enterprise
by laying the first stone of the eastern terminus at Vladivostock,
on May 12, 1891.
_HIGH LIFE IN RUSSIA_
_THE COUNTESS OF GALLOWAY_
The Russian aristocracy and plutocracy have few powers or privileges
beyond that of serving their sovereign, and their position depends
entirely on the will of the emperor.
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