Kaluga

Kaluga, chief town of the Russian government of Kaluga, 76 miles by rail NW. of Tula and 188 SSW. from Moscow. Situated in the centre of the empire and on the navigable river Oka, it carries on an extensive trade, especially in corn. It manufactures leather, oil, bast mats, tallow, candles, &c.; but its speciality is 'Kaluga cakes,' sold throughout Russia to the extent of more than £100,000 annually. Pop. (1896) 40,252. Kaluga has often been a place of banishment for political offenders, among others of Shamyl, the Circassian chief. Area of government, 11,942 sq. m.; pop. (1897) 1,178,835. The surface is flat; the soil sandy, clayey, and only moderately fertile; iron ore is worked.