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partners believed that a business success depended on the working conditions and everyday life of the company’s employees. Single employees were provided with board and lodging. The benefit society established to address emergency situations, was of great help. A library, a bowling alley, a billiard-hall, a hospital

– all this ensured adequate recreation. Boys working in the stores could attend evening courses, and in the summer they were sent to gymnastics classes organized by a local sports society.

In 1880 the businessmen decided to come back to Germany. The company was managed by Adolf Datten, later in 1886 he joined the firm as the equal partner. In 1896 Gustav Kunst went out of business. In 1910 Gustav Alberts made his business over to his son Alfred Alberts. In 1913 proved to be triumphant year for the company. At the exhibition devoted to the 300 anniversary of the Romanov dynasty it built an exceptionally beautiful pavilion. Emperor Nikolay II rewarded A. Dattan with the Prussian Order of the Crown of the Sixth Degree for his contribution to the active development of trade in the Priamurskiy General-Governorship. The fateful 1914 began. A strict supervision was introduced over all German companies. Business competition had been always strong and some competitors wrote false papers to put the blame on the rival company. What really happened is not quite clear now, but the “Kunst and Alberts” activities were banned and the company’s managers were arrested.

After a lot of investigations the company was allowed to resume its operations. During the Civil War it successfully fulfilled orders placed by the military department. On coming back from the exile, A. Dattan left Russia for Germany. The company and its branches were put in charge of the resident managers. In 1925 the company was deprived of its property, and it had to rent its own buildings from the municipal authorities. Five years later it had to stop its activities. A few decades passed, and in 1950-s the “Kunst and Alberts” firm was exculpated and the espionage charge was removed.

V. CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE

TEST "THE KHABAROVSKY KRAI"

1.What month was the Khabarovsky Krai organized in?

a)August, 1945

b)November, 1917

c)October, 1938

d)February, 1922

2.What strait separate the Khabarovsky Krai from Sakhalin Island?

a)Tatar

b)Bering

c)Nevelskoy

d)Laperuzo

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3.What rivers are the tributaries of the Amur?

a)The Argun

b)The Amgun

c)The Aldan

d)The Tumnin

4.The southern foreign neighbour of the Khabarovsky Krai is … .

a)North Korea

b)Japan

c)China

d)Mongolia

5.The oldest settlement of the Khabarovsky Krai is … .

a)Nikolaevsk

b)Okhotsk

c)Ayan

d)Khabarovsk

6.What city is famous for producing submarines?

a)Khabarovsk

a)Amursk

b)Komsomolsk-on-Amur

c)Nikolaevsk

7.What's the length of the Amur?

a)4400 km

b)3531 km

c)4444 km

d)4092 km

8.What climatic zone does the Khabarovsky Krai belong to?

a)Monsoon

a)Continental

b)Sharply continental

9.What time zone does the Khabarovsky Krai lie in?

a)The local time is +12 hours fast of the Greenwich Mean Time

a)The local time is +11 hours fast of the Greenwich Mean Time

b)The local time is +10 hours fast of the Greenwich Mean Time

c)The local time is +9 hours fast of the Greenwich Mean Time

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10.Khabarovsk has Russia’s third largest … .

a)River port

a)Railway station

b)Airport

11.Most of the Khabarovsk Krai area is characterized as … .

a)Plateaus

b)Lowlands

c)River valleys

d)Mountainous

12.The sea port Sovgavan was earlier called … .

a)Imperatorskay gavan

b)Communistic gavan

c)Japanese gavan

d)Nevelskoy gavan

13.The largest port of the Khabarovsky Krai is … .

a)De Kastri

b)Vanino

c)Okhotsk

d)Nikolaevsk

14.The river Amur was discovered by … .

a)Nevelskoy

b)Muravyov

c)Khabarov

d)Poyrkov

15.The number fish species in Amur is more than … .

a)100

b)80

c)140

d)50

16.The Khabarovsky krai takes 3 place in … .

a)fishing

b)gold-mining

c)coal-mining

d)oil-processing