[276] R. von Pfaundler: Österreichisch-italienische Grenzfragen, _Pet. Mitt._, Vol. 61, 1915, pp. 217-223. [277] B. C. Wallis: Distribution of Nationalities in Hungary, _Geogr. Journ._, Vol. 52, 1916, No. 3, pp. 177-189. [278] Loc. cit. APPENDIX A GERMAN SETTLEMENTS IN RUSSIA Colonies of Germans in Russia are found mainly in the Baltic provinces and around the banks of the Volga. According to the census of 1897 the German residents of the governments of Livonia, Kurland, Esthonia and St. Petersburg numbered 229,084. The majority of this northern element is distributed along the shores of the Gulf of Riga. The banks of the Volga were first colonized by Germans in 1763 after a proclamation issued by Empress Catherine II inviting foreigners to settle on either side of the river in the environs of Saratoff and Samara and as far as Tzaritzin. The distress that followed the Seven Years’ War in Germany determined a number of families of the afflicted provinces to seek a better lot on Russian soil. By the year 1768 there had been founded 102 German settlements containing a total population of 27,000 inhabitants.[279] The newcomers had to face considerable hardships. Many of them were neither farmers nor peasants. Their endurance was taxed by the rigor of the climate. Insecurity of life and property prevailed as badly as in their devastated motherland. In 1774 rebel bands led by Jemelian Pontgatcheff wrought havoc and ruin in the new districts. Two years later hordes of Kirghiz nomads laid waste the land again and carried off a number of the emigrants as slaves. This state of affairs lasted until the last decades of the nineteenth century. The Tatar raiders were attracted mainly by the cattle of the colonists. The value of horses, camels and cattle stolen between 1875 and 1882 is estimated at 330,000 rubles.[280] It is estimated that fully five million rubles were spent by the Russian government to plant these foreign colonies. But no onerous terms were imposed on the settlers. A head tax of three rubles constituted their only pecuniary obligation to the state. Furthermore, a liberal administration was provided for their settlements. Each village was ruled by an assembly recruited from among its inhabitants. Unfortunately for the development of these communities the Russian system of collective ownership known as the “mir” was instituted. Under this form of tenure all land becomes the property of the village. Each male inhabitant is temporarily entitled to a share of the whole area and an exchange of plots is made every ten years. Each village then receives a new fraction and fresh lots are apportioned to those who have come of age during the decade. This method of ownership does not lead to development and generally retards rather than promotes agricultural progress.