CHITA

chita, a town of east siberia, capital of transbaikalia, on the siberian railway, 500 m. e. of irkutsk, on the chita river, half a mile above its confluence with the ingoda. pop. (1883) 12,600; (1897) 11,480. the imperial russian geographical society has a museum here. several of the palace revolutionaries, known as decembrists, were banished to this place from st petersburg in consequence of the conspiracy of december 1825. the inhabitants support themselves by agriculture and by trade in furs, cattle, hides and tallow bought from the buriats, and in manufactured wares imported from russia and west siberia.