TSARITSYN, a district town of the government of Saratoff, Russia, situated on the right bank of the lower Volga where it suddenly turns towards the south-east, only 40 miles distant from the Don. It is the terminus of a railway line which begins at Riga and, running south-eastwards, crosses all the main lines which radiate from Moscow to the south. It is also connected by rail with Kaɫatch on the Don, where merchandise from the Sea of Azoff is disembarked and transported by rail to Tsaritsyn, to be sent thence by rail or steamer to different parts of Russia. Corn from Middle Russia for Astrakhan is transferred from the railway to boats at Tsaritsyn; timber and wooden wares from the upper Volga are unloaded here and sent by rail to Kaɫatch; and fish, salt, and fruits sent from Astrakhan by boat up the Volga are here unloaded and despatched by rail to the interior of Russia. The town has grown rapidly since the completion of the railway system, and has a large trade in naphtha from Baku, which is shipped up the Volga to Tsaritsyn and sent thence by rail to the interior of Russia. The railway between the Baskunchak salt lakes of Astrakhan and the Volga has made Tsaritsyn also a depot for the salt trade. In 1882 10,000,000 cwts. of merchandise, valued at one million sterling, were landed at Tsaritsyn, and since then the figures have notably increased. In addition Tsaritsyn is the centre of the trade connected with the mustard plantations of Sarepta, Dubovka, and the neighbourhood; 170,000 cwts. of mustard seed are either ground or converted into oil annually, the exports being 70,000 cwts. of mustard and half the corresponding quantity of oil (valued at <£250,000). The fisheries of the place are also important. The population (6750 in 1861) numbered 31,220 in 1882. It is ...

TSARSKOYE SELO, a district town of Russia, in the government of St Petersburg, and an imperial residence, 18 miles to the south of the capital, is situated on the Duderhof Hills and consists of the town proper, surrounded by several villages and a German colony, which are summer resorts for the inhabitants of St Petersburg, and the imperial parks and palaces. The town is built according to a regular plan, and its houses, a great number of which have been erected by the crown, are nearly all surrounded by gardens. The cathedral of St Sophia is a miniature copy of that at Constantinople. The town has two gymnasia for boys and girls. The imperial parks and gardens cover 1680 acres; the chief of them is the “old” garden containing the “old palace,” built by Rastrelli, the gallery of Cameron adorned with fine statues, and numerous pavilions and kiosks. The population numbered 15,000 in 1885.

When Peter I. took possession of the mouth of the Neva a Finnish village, Saari-mois, stood on the site now occupied by the town, and its Russified name Sarskaya was changed into Tsarskoye when Peter I. presented it to his wife Catherine. It was especially embellished by Elizabeth. Under Catherine II., a town, Sophia, was built close by, but its inhabitants were transferred to Tsarskoye Selo under Alexander I. The railway connecting the town with St Petersburg (1838) was the first to be constructed in Russia.