MENDELEEV D.I. (1834–1907), AUTOGRAPH Autograph letter addressed to Anna Mikhailovna [Evreinova]. Boblovo, 13 July 1888. 4 pp.; 8vo. Autograph signature at the end of the text. In Russian

The letter concerns the preparation for publication of his substantial article 'Budushchaya sila, pokoyashchayasya na beregakh Dontsa' [The Future Power Resting on the Banks of the Donets]published in 1888 in the journal 'Severny Vestnik' (St. Petersburg, 1888, issues 8–12), edited by A.M. Evreinova. The article seemed too long to Mendeleev, but he found it difficult to decide which sections to shorten in order to reduce its length. Therefore, he granted the editor full freedom of action; however, he noted that the article should not be divided into chapters, etc. D.I. Mendeleev visited the Don region and the eastern areas of the Donbas three times, in 1886 and 1888. In Lugansk, Lisichansk, Makeevka, and Gorlovka he visited mining settlements, mines, and factories, including the Yuzovsky metallurgical plant, and studied the Donets coal deposits. After his return, he submitted to the government a report entitled 'O merakh dlya razvitiya Donetskoy kamennougol'noy promyshlennosti' [On Measures for the Development of the Donets Coal Industry], the main conclusions of which were later elaborated in the article published in Severny Vestnik under the title cited above. Mendeleev set out in detail the prospects for the development of the Donets region’s resources and provided a thorough analysis of the natural conditions necessary for the growth of the coal industry. He argued that these resources could not only supply fuel to southern and central Russia but also support coal exports abroad. His conclusions were forward-looking: the Russian Empire could not only cease importing coal but become an exporter. Mendeleev also proposed revisions to customs tariffs on coal, justified the expansion of the railway network, the development of navigation on the Donets and the Don as key export routes, the construction of locks, river dredging, and the development of ports on the coasts of the Azov and Black Seas. Anna Mikhailovna Evreinova – Russian lawyer, publicist and publisher. She was the first Russian woman to receive a doctorate in law (University of Leipzig) and specialised in the customary law of the South Slavs. From 1885 to 1889 she published the journal Severny Vestnik.