Mariupol

Mariupol, a seaport of Russia, on the north shore of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, in the government of Ekaterinoslav, 67 m. W. of Taganrog. Pop. (1900), 52,770, including the inhabitants of two suburbs, Mariinsk and Kara-su. The place is said to have been inhabited in remote times under the name of Adamakha; the present town was built only in 1 779, by Greek emigrants from the Crimea. Its inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, cattle-breeding, fishing, and the manufacture of leather, agricultural implements, iron goods and bricks. In export trade Mariupol ranks next to Taganrog among the ports of the Sea of Azov; but its harbour is open to the south-east and shallow, though it is being gradually deepened by systematic dredging. The principal articles of export are cereals, with some oilcake, phosphate and coal; but the total value is only about £2,000,000 annually. The imports do not reach a quarter of a million sterling.