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<br />2036 <br /> <br />Russia has about a third of the world's known reserve of petroleum. But <br />most of it is looated in a single border region, near the Caspian Sea. Compara- <br />tively little natural gas is assooiated with the Russian oil wells. They do not <br />pipe this gas over vast distanoes, as do we. <br /> <br />Amerioans have heard muoh about the Dnieprostroy hydro-eleotrfe develop- <br />ment. In oonsequenoe. they are apt to think of Russia as a land of vast water- <br />power poss ibilities. The truth is ouite the opposite. Most of the area of Russia <br />is flat and the rivers are sluggish. The average rainfall, over most 01' the oounily <br />is light, The olimate is dry, the evaporation great. These faotors all mitigate <br />against waterpower. Russia has nothing to compare with our Niagara, nor our <br />Columbia River, <br /> <br />To make a long story short, the industrialization of Russia is an uphill <br />task, It is based on pauo ity !l!!-d in!1OoessibiHty rather than an abundanoe of re- <br />souroes. <br /> <br />Questionl We understand that Russia has a formidable problem in transportation. <br />Is that oorreot7 <br /> <br />Answer: Russia's transportation problems are formidable. <br /> <br />Russia has about 2-112 times the area of the United States, but she has <br />only one-fifth of our railroad mileage, Her rail lines are largely main arteries <br />of trave 1. <br /> <br />The traffio dens ity on Russ ian railroadS is heavy. In 1937, the Russ ians <br />moved two-thirds as many ton-miles of freight as we did, in spite of their rela- <br />tively low mileage of traok, <br /> <br />Water transport, by river and by sea. represents only a very small fraotion <br />of Russian domestio freight movement, Her landlooked and ioe-bound geography does <br />not lend itself to the dominant use of water-borne freight, <br /> <br />In the United States. thanks to the Great Lakes, the Hississippi and Ohio <br />Rivers, our two long seaboards and our Panama Canal, our water-borne domestio <br />frei~ht eltoeeds our rail-borne freight. <br /> <br />Transport is a serious problem to the Russians, Their distanoes are great. <br />Their resouroes are soattered; they have few highways; fewer pipe lines, Their <br />.i"IlUroads must oarry the burden. Thus far, they have managed, after a fashion. <br /> <br />If you spend a few nights riding through Russia in so-oalled (an~ wel~- <br />named) "hard Oars", the shortoomings of Russia's transport will be well imprinted on .' <br />your memory and also on your anatOIllY <br /> <br />~estionl further, by way of baokground, oan you tell US a little about Russia's <br />'dustrial status prior to the Crnrumunist Revolution? <br /> <br />-2- <br />