Europe - The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques And Discoveries Of The English Nation - Volume 4 - Collected By Richard Hakluyt
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As For All His Possession In Lituania (To The Number Of 30.
Great Townes And More,) With Narue And Dorp
In Liuonia, they are quite
gone, being surprised of late yeeres by the Kings of Poland and Sweden.
These Shires
And Prouinces are reduced into foure Iurisdictions, which they
call Chetfyrds (that is) Tetrarchies, or Fourth parts.
[Sidenote: The breadth and length of the Countrey.] The whole Countrey is
of great length and breadth. From the North to the South (if you measure
from Cola to Astracan which bendeth somewhat Eastward) it reacheth in
length about 4260. verst, or miles. [Sidenote: Pechinga.] Notwithstanding
the Emperour of Russia hath more territorie Northward, farre beyond Cola
vnto the Riuer of Tromschua, that runneth a hundred verst, welnigh beyond
Pechingna, neere to Wardhouse but not intire nor clearely limited, by
reason of the kings of Sweden and Denmarke, that haue diuers townes there,
aswell as the Russe, plotted together the one with the other; euery one of
them clayming the whole of those North parts as his owne right. The breadth
(if you go from that part of his territorie that lyeth farthest Westward on
the Narue side, to the parts of Siberia Eastward, where the Emperour hath
his garrisons) is 4400. verst or thereabouts. A verst (by their reckoning)
is a 1000. pases, yet lesse by one quarter than an English mile. If the
whole dominion of the Russe Emperour were all habitable, and peopled in all
places, as it is in some, he would either hardly holde it all within one
regiment, or be ouer mightie for all his neighbour Princes.
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