Trans-Siberian Railway as the Russo-Chinese part of the Trans-Siberian Railway, connecting Russia with China and providing a shorter route to Vladivostok. A Russian staff and administration based in Harbin operated it. Siberian agriculture began to send cheap grain westwards beginning around 1869. Agriculture in Central Russia was still under economic pressure after the end of serfdom, which was formally abolished in 1861. To defend the central territory and prevent possible social destabilisation, the Tsarist government introduced the Chelyabinsk tariff-break (Челябинский тарифный перелом) in 1896, a tariff barrier for grain passing through Chelyabinsk, and a similar barrier in Manchuria. This measure changed the
Babushkin (town) Babushkin (town) Babushkin (), known as Mysovsk () before 1941, is a town in Kabansky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located on the southern shore of Lake Baikal on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Population: 9,000 (1967). It was founded in 1892 as a postal station Mysovaya (), its name derived from the Russian word "Mys" meaning "cape", referring to its location on the shores of Lake Baikal. A few years later it was chosen as the eastern terminus for the train ferry across Lake Baikal, which was used as part of the Trans-Siberian Railway until the rail line around