7. Russia's foreign policy in the second half of the 18th century During the Seven Years' War, Russia's actions brought Prussia to the brink of a military catastrophe, and King Frederick II was preparing to make peace on any terms. He was saved by the death of Elizabeth, which followed on December 25, 1761.

Ideology and projects of CatherineII.

Catherine II adhered to the policy of "enlightened absolutism", the main provisions of which were reflected in the "Instruction" to the Empress of the Legislative Commission (1767):

Creation of a new legislative code based on the principles of the philosophy of education;

The abolition of obsolete feudal institutions (certain class privileges, the subordination of the church to the state);

Carrying out peasant, judicial, educational reform, softening censorship.

Most of these plans were not implemented.

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Catherine's domestic policyII.

“Manifesto on Liberty to the Nobility” (1762) and “Charter to the Nobility” (1785) Catherine II secured the privileges of the nobility:

The nobles were exempted from taxes and duties.

Noble landownership increased markedly.

The exemption of the nobility from compulsory service (introduced by Peter III) was confirmed.

In 1775, the country was divided into 50 provinces instead of the previous 20. The population of the province ranged from 300 to 400 thousand people.

The secularization (withdrawal) of church lands in favor of the state continued.

In 1787, a system of city schools was created (main and small public schools)

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Uprising E.I. Pugachev (1773-1775)

In 1773, an uprising of the Yaik Cossacks (who lived in the area of ​​the Yaik River) began, a peasant war led by E. I. Pugachev.

Pugachev proclaimed himself Emperor Peter III.

The peasant uprising swept the lands of the Yaik army, the Orenburg Territory, the Urals, the Kama region, Bashkortostan, part of Western Siberia, as well as the Middle and Lower Volga regions.

During the uprising, the Bashkirs, Tatars, Kazakhs, Chuvashs, Mordovians, Ural factory workers and numerous serfs from all provinces where hostilities unfolded joined the Cossacks.

Basic requirements: the abolition of serfdom, the restoration of Cossack liberties in the areas of residence of the Cossacks.

In 1775 the uprising was crushed.

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XVIIIcentury. Wars with Turkey.

Foreign policy objectives:

the struggle for access to the Black and Azov Seas;

the liberation of the lands of Ukraine and Belarus from foreign domination and the unification in one state of all the Eastern Slavs;

the struggle against revolutionary France in connection with the Great French Revolution that began in 1789;

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Russia's foreign policy in the second halfXVIIIcentury. Partitions of Poland.

Together with Prussia and Austria, Russia participated in the division of the Commonwealth (Poland).

According to the first section (1772) of the Commonwealth, a part of eastern Belarus went to Russia.

According to the second section (1793) - Russia received the rest of eastern and central Belarus with Minsk, Volhynia and Podolia.

According to the third section (1795), western Belorussia, western Volhynia, Lithuania, and Courland were ceded to Russia.

Thus, under the rule of Russia, almost all the lands of the Eastern Slavs that were part of Kievan Rus were united, excluding the Galician lands with Lvov (Galicia), which became part of Austria.

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Russo-Turkish War 1768-1774

After a number of victories on land (under the leadership of P.A. Rumyantsev, V.M. Dolgorukov and A.V. Suvorov) and at sea (under the leadership of G.A. Spiridonov, A.G. Orlov and S.K. Greig ) the war was over.

TermsKuchuk-Kaynarji world(1774) Russia received:

access to the Black Sea;

the steppes of the Black Sea region - Novorossia;

the right to have its own fleet on the Black Sea;

the right of passage through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles;

Azov and Kerch, as well as Kuban and Kabarda, passed to Russia;

The Crimean Khanate became independent from Turkey;

The Russian government received the right to act as a defender of the legitimate rights of the Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire.

Russian-Turkish war 1787-1791 also ended with the defeat of Turkey.

ByYassy peace treaty:

Türkiye recognized Crimea as a possession of Russia;

Russia included the territory between the rivers Bug and Dniester;

Turkey recognized the Russian patronage of Georgia, established by the Treaty of St. George in 1783.

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Paul's reformsI (1796-1801)

In 1796, Paul I (son of Catherine II and Peter III) came to power. During his 5 years in power, he carried out important reforms:

1. the law on succession to the throne, according to which the eldest son of the monarch became the heir to the throne,

2. limiting the work of peasants for the landowner three days a week.

3. reduction of noble privileges and the restoration of the compulsory service of the nobles.

The latter caused dissatisfaction of the nobility, a conspiracy arose, during which Paul I was killed.

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The most important task of foreign policy facing Russia in the second half of the 18th century was the struggle for access to the southern seas - the Black and Azov. From the third quarter of the XVIII century. The Polish question occupied a significant place in Russia's foreign policy activity. The Great French Revolution, which began in 1789, largely determined the direction of the foreign policy actions of the Russian autocracy at the end of the 18th century, including the struggle against revolutionary France. On the southeastern borders of Russia, the situation was relatively stable.

Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774

The Russian government was prompted to take active steps in the south by the interests of the country's security, and the needs of the nobility, who sought to obtain the richest southern lands, and the developing industry and trade, which dictated the need for access to the Black Sea coast.

Türkiye, instigated by France and England, in the autumn of 1768 declared war on Russia. Military operations began in 1769 and were conducted on the territory of Moldavia and Wallachia, as well as on the Azov coast, where, after the capture of Azov and Taganrog, Russia began building a fleet. In 1770, the Russian army under the command of the talented commander P. A. Rumyantsev won brilliant victories at the Larga and Cahul rivers (tributaries of the Prut River) and reached the Danube. In the same year, the Russian fleet under the command of A. G. Orlov and admirals G. A. Spiridov and I. S. Greig, leaving St. Petersburg, entered the Mediterranean Sea through Gibraltar and completely destroyed the Turkish squadron in the Chesme Bay off the coast of Asia Minor. The Turkish fleet was blocked in the Black Sea.

In 1771, Russian troops under the command of Prince V. M. Dolgorukov captured the Crimea, which meant the end of the war. However, Turkey, relying on the support of France and Austria and using the internal difficulties of Russia, where the Peasant War was going on, disrupted the negotiations. Then in 1774 the Russian army crossed the Danube. The troops under the command of A. V. Suvorov defeated the army of the Grand Vizier near the village of Kozludzha, opening the way for the main forces led by P. A. Rumyantsev to Istanbul. Türkiye was forced to ask for peace.

It was concluded in the Bulgarian village of Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi in 1774. Under the terms of the Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhi peace, Russia received access to the Black Sea, the Black Sea steppes - Novorossia, the right to have its own fleet on the Black Sea and the right to pass through the Bosporus and Dardanelles. Azov and Kerch, as well as Kuban and Kabarda passed to Russia. The Crimean Khanate became independent from Turkey. Türkiye paid an indemnity of 4 million rubles. The Russian government also won the right to act as a defender of the legitimate rights of the Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire.

As a result of the successful end of the Russian-Turkish war, the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula launched a national liberation struggle against the Turkish yoke. The autonomy of Moldavia and Wallachia, accepted by Russia under its protection, was restored. The development of Novorossia (southern Ukraine) began. The cities of Yekaterinoslav (1776, now Dnepropetrovsk), Kherson (1778) arose there. For brilliant victories in the Russian-Turkish war, Catherine II generously awarded her commanders with orders and nominal weapons. In addition, A. G. Orlov began to be called Chesmensky, V. M. Dolgorukov - Krymsky, P. A. Rumyantsev - Zadanaisky. A. V. Suvorov taught a golden sword with diamonds.

Annexation of Crimea

Türkiye did not want to come to terms with the assertion of Russia in the Black Sea. In response to Turkey's attempt to return the Crimea under its rule, Russian troops in 1783 occupied the Crimean peninsula, which became part of Russia. Sevastopol was founded as a support base for the fleet. G. A. Potemkin for success in annexing the Crimea (the old name of Taurida) received a prefix to his title "Prince of Tauride."

In the spring of 1787, Catherine II, accompanied by the court, the Polish king and European ambassadors, made a trip to Novorossia and the Crimea. In Kherson they were joined by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II. The trip was aimed at getting acquainted with the wealth of Novorossia and the successes of G. A. Potemkin, who was at the head of the department of the south of Russia, in its development. In addition, the guests had to make sure that Russia had a firm foot on the Black Sea. These results were achieved, although the expression "Potemkin villages", meaning excessive show-off, came into use after Catherine's trip.

Georgievsky treatise

In 1783, in the city of Georgievsk (Northern Caucasus), an agreement was concluded between the Georgian king Erekle II and Russia on a protectorate. The Treaty of Georgievsky was signed, according to which Russia took Eastern Georgia under its protection.

Russian-Turkish war 1787-1791

In the summer of 1787, Türkiye demanded the return of the Crimea and opened hostilities. A. V. Suvorov defeated the enemy in the battle of Kinburn (near Ochakov, 1787), Fokshany and on the Rymnik River (1789). For this victory, Suvorov received the title of count and the prefix to it - "Ryminiki". In December 1788, after a long siege, G. A. Potemkin stormed the "key to the Black Sea" - Ochakovo, a Turkish fortress on the Dnieper estuary.

Of particular importance was the capture of Ishmael (1790) - the citadel of Turkish rule on the Danube. After careful preparation, A. V. Suvorov appointed the time of the assault. Wanting to avoid bloodshed, he sent a letter to the commandant of the fortress demanding surrender: "24 hours - freedom, the first shot - already captivity, assault - death." The Turkish pasha refused: “Rather, the Danube will stop in its course, the sky will fall to the ground, than Ishmael will surrender.” After a 10-hour assault, Ishmael was taken. In the battle for Izmail, the student of A.V. Suvorov, the future commander M.I. Kutuzov, glorified himself.

Along with the ground forces, the fleet, commanded by Admiral F.F. Ushakov, successfully operated. After a series of brilliant victories in the Kerch Strait and at the Gadzhibey fort, the Black Sea became free for the Russian fleet. In the battle at Cape Kaliakria (near the Bulgarian city of Varna) in 1791, the Turkish fleet was destroyed. Türkiye turned to Russia with a proposal to make peace.

In 1791 peace was signed in the city of Iasi. According to the Yassy peace treaty, Türkiye recognized Crimea as a possession of Russia. The Dniester River became the border between the two countries. The territory between the rivers Bug and Dniester became part of Russia. Türkiye recognized the Russian patronage of Georgia, established by the Treaty of St. George in 1783.

As a result of the Russian-Turkish wars, the economic development of the steppe south of Russia accelerated. Russia's ties with the countries of the Mediterranean were expanding. The Crimean Khanate, a constant hotbed of aggression against Ukrainian and Russian lands, was liquidated. Nikolaev (1789), Odessa (1795), Ekaterinodar (1793, now Krasnodar) and others were founded in the south of Russia.

Russo-Swedish War 1788-1790

At the end of the 80s of the XVIII century. Russia had to simultaneously conduct military operations on two fronts. In 1788, Sweden decided to return the lands lost in the Great Northern War. Military operations took place near St. Petersburg, when the main Russian armies fought in the south against Turkey. The offensive of the Swedes on land did not produce results, and soon the Swedish king and his troops left Russia. Moreover, Russian troops occupied a significant part of Swedish Finland. Battles at sea went on with varying success. In 1790, the Treaty of Verel was signed in a Finnish village on the Kymmene River, which retained the former borders.

Education USA and Russia

One of the significant international events of the third quarter of the XVIII century. there was a struggle of the North American colonies for independence from England - a bourgeois revolution that led to the creation of the United States of America.

Disagreements between England and Russia had a favorable effect on the course of the American Revolution. In 1780, the Russian government adopted the "Declaration of Armed Neutrality", supported by most European countries. The ships of neutral countries had the right of armed protection if they were attacked by the belligerent fleet. This caused England to abandon attempts to organize a naval blockade of the American coast and objectively contributed to the victory of the American Revolution.

Partitions of Poland

In the last third of the XVIII century. The Polish question has become one of the central issues in the field of international relations in Europe. The Commonwealth was going through a severe crisis, the cause of which lay in the self-serving, anti-national policy of the Polish magnates, who brought the country to collapse. The cruel feudal oppression and the policy of national oppression of the peoples that were part of the Commonwealth became a brake on the further development of the country. Peasant farms were brought to ruin.

The central government in Poland was weak. The Polish king was elected at the Sejm, where separate groups of nobility were at enmity with each other. Often, these groups, regardless of national tasks, sought help abroad. The principle of “liberum veto” (the right of free prohibition) was in effect, according to which all decisions of the Sejm had to be taken unanimously (even one vote “against” frustrated the adoption of the law).

The plight of Poland was taken advantage of by its neighbors: the monarchs of Prussia, Austria and Russia. Russia acted under the pretext of liberating the Ukrainian and Belarusian lands, which experienced the most cruel oppression from the Polish feudal lords.

The reason for intervention in the affairs of Poland, where the dominant religion was Catholicism, was the question of the situation of non-Catholic Christians. The Russian government agreed with the Polish king on the equalization of the rights of the Catholic and Orthodox population. The most reactionary part of the Polish gentry, instigated by the Vatican, opposed this decision. The government of Catherine II sent troops to Poland to suppress the uprising of the gentry group. At the same time, Prussia and Austria occupied part of the Polish lands. The Prussian King Frederick II initiated the partition of Poland. Catherine II, unlike him, considered it expedient to preserve a united Poland, but under Russian influence.

In 1772, the first partition of Poland took place. Austria sent its troops to Western Ukraine (Galicia), Prussia - to Pomorye. Russia received the eastern part of Belarus up to Minsk and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia.

The progressive part of the Polish nobility and the emerging bourgeoisie made an attempt to save the Polish state. In accordance with the Constitution of 1791, the election of the king and the right of "liberum veto" were abolished. The army was strengthened, the third estate was admitted to the Sejm, freedom of religion was introduced.

The new Polish Constitution was adopted when France was in the flames of revolution. Fearing the spread of the "revolutionary infection", and also feeling the decline of their influence in the country, the Polish magnates turned to Catherine II for help. Russian troops, followed by the Prussians, entered Poland. The old order has been restored.

In 1793, the second partition of Poland took place. Central Belarus with Minsk, Right-Bank Ukraine went to Russia. Prussia received Gdansk, part of the land along the Warta and Vistula rivers.

In 1794, Polish patriots led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko, striving to preserve the sovereignty of Poland, raised an uprising. Catherine II suppressed it by sending troops under the command of A. V. Suvorov. This predetermined the third partition of Poland. In 1795 Prussia received Central Poland with Warsaw, Austria received Southern Poland with Lublin and Krakow. Lithuania, Courland, Volyn and Western Belarus went to Russia. As a result of the partitions, Poland lost its statehood and sovereignty for more than a century. The Polish king abdicated and moved to Russia.

The reunification of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples with Russia was of great progressive significance. These lands have historically been linked by common economic, political and cultural life. The Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples received more favorable opportunities for their further development, they were delivered from religious oppression. Accession to Russia helped Ukrainians and Belarusians to preserve their national culture and identity. Within the framework of a single state, three fraternal Slavic peoples - Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians - united again.

Tsarism in the struggle against the revolution in France

In 1789 a bourgeois revolution took place in France. The rebellious people of Paris stormed the Bastille on July 14. The bourgeois system was established in the country. The French Revolution had a huge impact on the entire course of world history. The entire 19th century passed under the sign of the French Revolution.

The fear of the “French infection”, “this terrible monster” (as the nobles called the revolution in France) forced Catherine II to take the most decisive measures to help the counter-revolutionaries. After the execution of King Louis XVI, Russia severed diplomatic and trade relations with France. The distribution of the works of the French Enlightenment was prohibited. Together with England, an attempt was made to put economic pressure on France. Inside Russia, repressions against progressive people intensified. It was at this time that A. N. Radishchev was exiled to Siberia, and N. I. Novikov was arrested. In 1794, an uprising in Poland prevented Catherine II from openly speaking out against France. The events in Poland saved the French Revolution.

War with revolutionary France

Paul I continued the struggle with France, which sought to assert its dominance in Europe. In 1798-1799. followed by Napoleon's capture of Malta, the Ionian Islands and Egypt. In 1798, Russia found itself in an anti-French coalition of European powers led by England. Military operations were concentrated in Italy and the Mediterranean Sea, where the fleets of England and Russia headed.

The Russian fleet under the command of F.F. Ushakov in the fall of 1798 entered the Mediterranean through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, and then into the Adriatic, where the Ionian Islands were liberated from the French troops. F. F. Ushakov stormed the fortress on the island of Corfu - the main base of the French. The Greek population greeted the Russian sailors with enthusiasm. The following year, 1799, F.F. Ushakov liberated Naples and Rome from French troops.

The Russian land army, which acted jointly with the Austrians in Northern Italy, was headed by A. V. Suvorov. The troops under his command cleared Northern Italy of French soldiers within five weeks, triumphantly entering Milan and Turin (Italian campaign).

However, the successful actions of A.V. Suvorov were dissatisfied with the Austrian allies, who claimed Northern Italy. Paul I ordered the transfer of the troops of A.V. Suvorov to Switzerland to join the corps of General A.M. Rimsky-Korsakov and the Austrian army. Russian miracle heroes, led by a 70-year-old commander, accomplished an unprecedented feat. With difficult battles, especially for the St. Gotthard Pass and at the Devil's Bridge, where the French troops were defeated, the Russian army made its legendary crossing of the Alps (Swiss campaign).

Soon, due to the aggravation of contradictions within the anti-French coalition, Russia withdrew from its composition. Russian troops were withdrawn. For the victories won, the great Russian commander A.V. Suvorov received the title of Prince of Italy and the highest military rank of Generalissimo. However, soon A. V. Suvorov, to whom Paul I had an acute dislike, fell into disgrace. In 1800 he died.

Results of foreign policy

In general, the foreign policy results of the second half of the XVIII century. were positive for the further development of Russia and the peoples inhabiting it.

In Russia, unlike the colonial empires of Western Europe, which had overseas territories, the Russian population lived side by side with the peoples attached to the empire. Joint work on the development of the country's wealth objectively contributed to the rapprochement of peoples, allowed them to survive in the vast expanses of Eurasia. The ruling stratum of the annexed lands was an organic part of the Russian ruling elite. As a rule, the state almost did not interfere in the internal structure of small peoples. The possibility of free movement across the vast territory of the country, the development of it led to the "striped" resettlement of its inhabitants. This is how a single geopolitical space was formed on the territory of Eurasia.

By the middle of the XVIII century. The general level of education in Russia was low. In the orders of deputies to the Legislative Commission of 1767-1768, where for the first time considerations were publicly expressed on education, little benefit was noted from the schools established in Russia in the time of Peter the Great. However, "education" is becoming fashionable among the nobility.

Home education is widely developed in the families of landowners. But most often it was superficial and consisted only in the desire to master the “French elegance”.

There was virtually no elementary school in the country. Literacy schools continued to be the main form of education for the tax-paying population. They were created by private individuals (“masters of letters”, as a rule, priests). Teaching in them was conducted mainly according to the Book of Hours and the Psalter, but some secular textbooks were used, for example, “Arithmetic” by L.F. Magnitsky.

In the second half of the XVIII century. A network of closed estate educational institutions was created, intended primarily for the children of the nobility. In addition to the well-known Land Gentry Corps, the Corps of Pages was founded in the late 50s, preparing the nobles for court service.

In 1764, the "Educational Society for Noble Maidens" was founded in St. Petersburg at the Smolny Monastery (Smolny Institute) with a department for girls from the bourgeois class.

The development of the class school consolidated the dominant position of the nobility in the main areas of administrative and military activity, turned education into one of its class privileges. However, closed educational institutions left a noticeable mark in the history of Russian culture. Many famous cultural figures were educated there.

From the second half of the XVIII century. professional art schools appeared in Russia (Dance School in St. Petersburg, 1738; Ballet School at the Moscow Orphanage, 1773).

The Academy of Arts, founded in 1757, became the first state center for art education in the field of painting, sculpture and architecture. The music classes of the Academy of Arts played a well-known role in the development of musical education and upbringing in Russia. All these educational institutions were closed; they were forbidden to study the children of serfs.

A qualitatively new moment in the development of education in Russia was the emergence of a general education school. Its beginning is associated with the foundation in 1755 of Moscow University and two gymnasiums: for the nobility and raznochintsy with the same curriculum. Three years later, on the initiative of university professors, a gymnasium was opened in Kazan.

The opening of the Moscow University, as well as the Academy of Sciences, was a major social and cultural event. The University in Moscow has become a nationwide center of education and culture, it embodies the democratic principles of the development of education and science, proclaimed and persistently pursued by M.V. Lomonosov.

Already in the XVIII century. Moscow University became the center of Russian education. The printing house, opened under him in 1756, was, in essence, the first civilian printing house in Moscow. Textbooks and dictionaries, scientific, artistic, domestic and translated literature were printed here.

For the first time, many works of Western European enlighteners were printed in the printing house of the university, the first magazine for children ("Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind"), the first natural science magazine in Russia ("Shop of Natural History, Physics, Chemistry"), the magazine "Musical amusement." Moscow University began publishing the first non-governmental newspaper in Russia, Moskovskie Vedomosti, which existed until 1917.

The undoubted merit of the university was the publication of the ABCs of the peoples of Russia - Georgian and Tatar.

In the second half of the XVIII century. In Russia, a system of general education schools began to take shape. Approved in 1786, the Charter of Public Schools was the first general legislative act for Russia in the field of public education.

According to the Charter, the main four-class schools were opened in the provincial cities, approaching the type of secondary school, in the county - two-class schools, small ones, in which reading, writing, sacred history, elementary courses of arithmetic and grammar were taught. For the first time, unified curricula were introduced in schools, a class-lesson system, and teaching methods were developed.

Continuity in education was achieved by the common curricula of small schools and the first two classes of main schools.

The main public schools, opened in 25 provincial cities, small schools, along with estate schools, universities and gymnasiums in Moscow and Kazan, thus constituted the structure of the education system in Russia by the end of the 18th century. In the country, according to the data available in the literature, there were 550 educational institutions with 60-70 thousand students. Approximately one person out of one and a half thousand inhabitants studied at the school. The statistics, however, did not take into account various forms of private education (home education in noble families, education in literacy schools, in peasant families, etc.), as well as foreigners educated abroad or who came to Russia. The actual number of literate people in Russia was obviously much higher.

One-year parish (parochial) schools were established at each church parish. They accepted children of "any condition" without distinction of "gender and age." The charter proclaimed a succession between schools of different levels.

However, in fact, very little was done to spread education and enlightenment among the masses of the people. The treasury did not bear any costs for the maintenance of schools, transferring it either to the local city government, or to the landowners, or to the peasants themselves in the state village.

The school reform made the problem of teacher training urgent. The first educational institutions for teacher training arose in the second half of the 18th century. In 1779, the Teacher's Seminary was founded at Moscow University. In 1782, the St. Petersburg main public school was opened to train teachers of public schools. It was a closed educational institution that trained gymnasium teachers, boarding school instructors, and university teachers. The teachers of district, parish and other lower schools were mainly graduates of gymnasiums.

The emergence of new textbooks in the second half of the XVIII century. associated with the activities of the Academy of Sciences, primarily M.V. Lomonosov, and professors of Moscow University. Lomonosov's Russian Grammar, published in 1757, replaced the outdated grammar of M. Smotritsky as the main textbook on the Russian language. The mathematics textbook, compiled in the 1960s by D. Anichkov, a student at Moscow University, retained its importance as the main textbook on mathematics in schools until the end of the 18th century. Lomonosov's book "The First Foundations of Metallurgy, or Mining" became a textbook on mining.

An important indicator of the spread of education was the increase in book publishing, the appearance of periodicals, interest in the book, its collection.

The publishing base is expanding, in addition to state-owned printing houses, private printing houses appear. The Decree "On Free Printing Houses" (1783) for the first time granted the right to start printing houses to everyone. Private printing houses were opened not only in the capitals, but also in provincial towns.

In the second half of the XVIII century. the repertoire of books changes, the number of original scientific and artistic publications increases, the book becomes more diverse in content and design.

The first public cultural and educational organizations appear. For some time (1768 - 1783) in St. Petersburg there was an "Assembly, trying to translate foreign books", created on the initiative of Catherine II. It was engaged in the translation and publication of the works of ancient classics, French enlighteners. The publisher of the proceedings of the "Collection" for some time was N.I. Novikov.

In 1773, Novikov organized in St. Petersburg the "Society for the Printing of Books", something like the first publishing house in Russia. Many famous writers of the 18th century took part in its activities, including A.N. Radishchev. The activity of the "Society" was also short-lived, as it faced great difficulties, primarily with the weak development of the book trade, especially in the provinces.

The main centers for publishing books and journals were the Academy of Sciences and Moscow University. The academic printing house printed mainly scientific and educational literature. On the initiative of M.V. Lomonosov, the first Russian literary and scientific journal, Monthly Works for the Benefit and Amusement of Employees, began to be published (1755). The academic printing house also printed the first private journal in Russia, Hardworking Bee (1759), published by A.P. Sumarokov.

In the second half of the XVIII century. Periodicals become a noticeable social and cultural phenomenon not only in the capital, but also in provincial cities. In Yaroslavl, in 1786, the first provincial magazine "Solitary Poshekhonets" appeared. In 1788, the weekly provincial newspaper Tambov News, founded by G.R. Derzhavin, at that time the civil governor of the city. The journal The Irtysh Turning into Hippocrene (1789) was published in Tobolsk.

A special role in the publication and distribution of books in the last quarter of the XVIII century. belonged to the outstanding Russian educator N.I. Novikov (1744 - 1818). Novikov, like other Russian enlighteners, considered enlightenment to be the basis of social change. Ignorance, in his opinion, was the cause of all the errors of mankind, and knowledge was the source of perfection. Defending the need for education for the people, he founded and maintained the first public school in St. Petersburg. Novikov's publishing activity reached its greatest extent during the period when he rented the printing house of Moscow University (1779 - 1789). About a third of all books published in Russia at that time (about 1000 titles) came out of his printing houses. He published political and philosophical treatises of Western European thinkers, collected works of Russian writers, works of folk art. A large place among his publications was occupied by magazines, textbooks, Masonic religious and moral literature. Novikov's publications had a large circulation for that time - 10 thousand copies, which to a certain extent reflected the growing interest in the book.

In the 60s - 70s of the XVIII century. Satirical journalism became widespread, on the pages of which works “employees for the correction of morals” were printed, anti-serfdom educational thought was formed. The most important role in this process belonged to Novikov's publications Truten' (1769-1770) and especially The Painter (1772-1773). This bright and bold satirical magazine by N.I. Novikov contained sharp criticism of the feudal system in Russia.

The development of education is connected with the expansion of the circle of readers. In the memoirs of contemporaries there is evidence that "people from the lower classes enthusiastically buy various chronicles, monuments of Russian antiquity and many rag shops are full of handwritten chronicles."

Books were copied, sold, and this often fed small employees and students. At the Academy of Sciences, some workers were paid in books.

N.I. Novikov contributed in every possible way to the development of the book trade, especially in the provinces, considering it as one of the sources of book distribution. At the end of the XVIII century. bookstores already existed in 17 provincial cities, about 40 bookstores were in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

During this period, there were libraries at universities, gymnasiums, closed educational institutions. The library of the Academy of Sciences continued to work. In 1758, the library of the Academy of Arts was opened, the foundation of which was donated by the curator of Moscow University I.I. Shuvalov collection of books on art, a collection of paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck. From the moment of its foundation, it was publicly available; not only students of the Academy, but also everyone who wished, could use the books in the reading room. On certain days of the week, halls of other libraries were opened for "book lovers".

In the 80s - 90s of the XVIII century. in some provincial cities (Tula, Kaluga, Irkutsk) the first public libraries appeared. Paid (commercial) libraries arose at bookstores, first in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and then in provincial cities.

A large role in the spiritual life of society belonged to the intelligentsia. According to its social composition, the intelligentsia of the XVIII century. was mostly nobility. However, in the second half of this century, many raznochintsy appeared among the artistic and scientific intelligentsia. Raznochintsy studied at Moscow University, the Academy of Arts, and some closed educational institutions intended for non-nobles.

One of the features of the cultural process in Russia at the end of the XVIII century. there was the existence of a serf intelligentsia: artists, composers, architects, artists. Many of them were talented, gifted people, they understood the gravity of their disenfranchised position, and their lives often ended tragically.

The fate of the serf intelligentsia in Russia reflected the incompatibility of serfdom and the free spiritual development of the individual. The new concept of the human personality worked out by public consciousness came into conflict with real life.

Conclusion

The dominant trend in the development of culture in Russia in the XVIII century. was similar to the European one: the separation of science from the religious and mythological worldview, the creation of a new picture of the world and new sources of knowledge.

The outgrowth of state enlightenment in the Age of Enlightenment in Russia proceeded differently than in Western Europe, and had a slightly different content. If for European education the main task was the development of positive scientific knowledge, then in Russia - assimilation knowledge, overcoming traditionalism with the help of other people's rational knowledge. In other words, the priority direction was not the development of science, but education, school; not writing new books, but distributing them.

The new Russian culture was created in the conditions of active assimilation of Western European culture, its programs and conceptual schemes. The new Russian culture is being built as a more or less original copy of the culture of Europe. The creators of a new culture, as a rule, did not strive to be original. They acted as cultural leaders, educators, conductors of European enlightenment. They sought to imitate, assimilate, being proud of the successful acquisition of knowledge, skill, ideas.

Enlightenment in Russia turned out to be a time of inspired apprenticeship, assimilation of the ideas of the European Enlightenment in the conditions of a weak own secular intellectual tradition.

34) Geopolitics studies the dependence of the foreign policy of states on their geographical location. In 1904, the British scientist Halford Mackinder published his work The Geographical Axis of History. Russia was given a central place in Mackinder's theory. The scientist believed that the one who has a dominant influence on Central Asia has the most advantageous geopolitical position. He called Central Asia the core land (in English heartland .- "heartland"), Eurasia, according to Mackinder, is a giant natural fortress that is difficult to conquer for maritime states. It is rich in natural resources and can rely on its own strength for economic development. According to the scientist, the unification in the struggle for dominance in the world of two continental powers - Germany and Russia - is dangerous for the oceanic powers - Great Britain and the USA. It was on Mackinder's advice that the so-called buffer belt was created between Germany and Russia after the end of the First World War.

A buffer belt is a territory between large and powerful powers, on which small and weaker states, as a rule, are located in a dependent position. They protect geographically close countries from clashes or, conversely, from a close political union. The buffer belt between the First and Second World Wars included the Baltic States, Poland, and Romania.

The geopolitical formulas developed by Mackinder are: "Who controls Eastern Europe controls the Heartland. Who controls the Heartland commands the World Island. Who controls the World Island rules the world." The scientist called Eurasia the world island. Russia, according to Mackinder's theory, occupies a central and very advantageous geopolitical position.

In the 20s. 20th century among Russian emigrants living in Europe, a socio-political movement of Eurasians arose. Among the Eurasian scientists were the historian Georgy Vladimirovich Vernadsky, the geographer and economist Pyotr Nikolaevich Savitsky, the lawyer and jurist Nikolai Petrovich Alekseev, as well as philosophers and theologians. The Eurasianists believed that Russia was not just a huge country, but a cultural and geographical world that united many peoples from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean and from the Kola Peninsula to Central Asia. The Eurasians called this common space Russia-Eurasia. It includes Eastern Europe, all of Northern Eurasia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. In relation to Russia-Eurasia, the remaining parts of the mainland (Western Europe, China, Iran, Japan, India) are outskirts that occupy a peripheral (i.e. marginal) geopolitical position. P. N. Savitsky considered the cooperation of continental Russia-Eurasia with the oceanic powers to be very important. The scientist considered a possible political union of Russia, Germany and France as a geopolitical axis of the entire continent.

After World War II, the world split into two parts. On the one hand were the United States and its allies, mainly in Western Europe, and on the other, the Soviet Union and the dependent countries of Eastern Europe. For the first time, the arena of geopolitical rivalry was not just one continent, but the entire globe. The invention of nuclear weapons made this rivalry especially dangerous. Such a geopolitical system was called a bipolar (i.e., bipolar) world, and the USSR and the USA were the poles of "attraction".

In the 70-90s. 20th century In the United States, American-centric concepts have emerged, according to which the United States plays a central role in the world. The most famous adherents of this concept are the American geopoliticians Nicholas Spykman and Zbigniew Brzezinski.

From Spykman's point of view, the geopolitical position of the country is determined not by the internal territories, but by the sea coasts. He identified three major centers of world power: the Atlantic coast of North America and Europe, as well as the Far East of Eurasia. By analogy with the concept of "heartland", Spykman called these territories rshyalekdoi (from the English rim - "rim", "edge"). Therefore, according to his theory, the United States and Great Britain, as the two centers of the Rimland, should enter into an alliance. This scheme reduced the importance of Russia in the world order. The task of the Rimland powers, according to Spykman, is to prevent Russia's wide access to the ocean.

In the 60-90s. the works of Zbigniew Brzezinski became very popular. In his opinion, Russia, as a huge Eurasian state with an unpredictable foreign policy, is doomed to collapse. In its place, several federal states should appear, gravitating towards different centers of power - Europe and the Far East. In Brzezinski's theory, the United States is also a Eurasian power, that is, a state that can and should actively influence the political and economic development in Eurasia.

In the 70-80s. Japan, China, India, and Germany have grown politically and economically. After the collapse of the world socialist system, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the geopolitical concept of a multipolar world arose.

According to the concept, there are several regional centers of power that should interact with each other: the USA, Western Europe, Russia, Japan, China, the countries of Southeast Asia. These countries have different political and economic interests, but for the security of the whole world, they must be harmonized. Within the framework of such a concept, it is impossible to imagine the dominance of one geopolitical center or state.

All geopolitical models emphasize the role of Russia. Eurasia is recognized as the center of the world, and Russia occupies key positions on this continent.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE GEOPOLITICAL POSITION OF RUSSIA

Over the centuries, the geopolitical position of Russia has repeatedly changed. At the end of the 15th century, when the Russian lands were liberated from the Horde yoke, the expansion of the Muscovite state to the east began. The territories of the Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) khanates were captured, Siberia and most of the Far East became part of the country. Borders of Russia at the end of the 17th century. very similar to its borders at the end of the 20th century. From a marginal Eastern European state, Russia has turned into a Eurasian state rich in natural resources, with rigid centralization in governance and a strong army.

However, this geopolitical position also had disadvantages. Firstly, Russia had strong rivals: in the south - the powerful Ottoman Empire and its vassal, the Crimean Khanate, in the Far East - the Chinese Empire, which stopped the development of the Amur region by Russian explorers.

Secondly, the vast territory of Russia was poorly developed, especially in the east (in particular, the Pacific coast). And finally, the main thing - Russia had no access to the commercial seas. In the Baltic, Sweden blocked the road, in the Black Sea - Turkey, and in the Pacific Ocean there was no one to trade with. Constant wars with Poland and Lithuania hindered the development of political and trade relations with European states. Establishing strong relations with them was also hampered by religious differences. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Russia remained the only Orthodox power in the world; The official religion of most European states was Catholicism and Protestantism.

The geopolitical position of our country changed again in the 18th - mid-19th centuries. Russia won access to the Baltic and Black Seas, its borders moved to the west and south: the Baltic states, Finland, Poland, the Southern Black Sea region, the Caucasus and Kazakhstan became part of the state. Russia reached the height of its power at the beginning of the 19th century. However, now the Russian state included areas so heterogeneous (in culture, religious traditions, etc.) that this weakened it.

In the middle of the XIX - early XX century. Russia's influence in the West has declined. The country lagged behind the leading European powers militarily and economically and could no longer play the role of first violin in the European political orchestra. But on the eastern and southern borders, it continued to expand its borders. The Russian Empire (as our state was called from 1721 to 1917) included Central Asia and the south of the Far East. In 1860, Vladivostok was founded - the first convenient seaport on the Russian Pacific coast. During this period, the geopolitical position had both its advantages (a vast territory, access to the seas of three oceans, the ability to enter into political alliances with different neighbors) and disadvantages (significant cultural and natural heterogeneity of the territory and its poor economic development). Russia remained one of the leading world powers, but in terms of economic and military power, influence on world politics, it lost the palm to other countries - Germany, France, Great Britain.

With the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, new states appeared on the political map of the world - Finland, Poland, etc. However, the core of the former empire was preserved, and in 1922 a new state was proclaimed - the Soviet Union. He inherited some of the geopolitical traditions of the Russian Empire, in particular the desire to expand the territory. The socialist system, established in the USSR, prevented the establishment of strong political relations with the countries of the West. Therefore, before the start of World War II (1939-1945), the USSR was in political isolation. By the end of the war, the Soviet Union approached the borders of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century on almost all frontiers. His sphere of influence included all of Eastern and part of Central Europe.

In the 40-80s. The USSR was one of the two world powers (along with the USA) that determined the world political order. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has no such influence in Eastern and Central Europe. The coastal situation worsened: many Black Sea ports passed to Ukraine, and the Baltic ones - to the Baltic states. At the end of the XX century. Russia can no longer match the military and economic power of the United States and Western Europe, but it still remains the largest state in Eurasia.

For more than a thousand years of Russian history, the features of its geopolitical position have been identified. Our country has a stable geopolitical core - regions that have been part of Russia for centuries. The regions that make up this core are inextricably linked by political, cultural, economic and simply human ties.

On the western borders there is a buffer belt - the states of Eastern Europe. For a long time these countries divided Russia and Western Europe. They were part of the zone of Russian influence, then the zone of influence of the Western powers. Russia, even in difficult periods of its history, has always had a serious impact on all geopolitical processes taking place in Eurasia.

36) Socio-economic development of Russia in the first half of the XIX century

State of agriculture

The socio-economic development of Russia in the first half of the 19th century can be characterized as pre-crisis, since the old, feudal, and new, market relations were intertwined in the economy in the most complex way. During these years it became clear that the country burdened by the system of serfdom could not move forward, but it was necessary to take radical steps in this direction. This is the reason for the inconsistency of many events during the reign of Alexander I and Nicholas I.

By the beginning of the 19th century, Russia occupied a vast territory from the Baltic to the Far East. She owned Alaska and some other territories in North America. The population of the country by the middle of the century was about 74 million people. It consisted of numerous peoples living on endless lands, and this also left its mark on the state of the economy.

In 1801-1804, at the request of the Georgian kings and princes, Georgia became part of Russia, which was fleeing from the onslaught of Persia. As a result of the war with Persia and Turkey in 1804-1813, Imeretia, Guria, Mingrelia, Abkhazia, as well as Dagestan and the khanates of Northern Azerbaijan with their capital in Baku, went to Russia. In May 1812, Russia signed peace with Turkey in Bucharest, and Bessarabia ceded to Russia, except for its southern part. As a result of the war with Persia (1826-1828), all of Armenia was annexed to Russia. After successful military operations against Sweden in 1808-1809, Finland (the Grand Duchy of Finland) and the Aland Islands were annexed to Russia. Finland had greater independence within Russia: an elected diet, its own constitution, monetary and customs systems. On behalf of the Russian emperor, a governor was appointed there. It can be said that Finland was rather a special state, united with Russia by a personal union, than a Russian province.

By decision of the Vienna (1814-1815) Congress of European countries that defeated Napoleon, almost all of Poland (the Kingdom of Poland), which was ruled by the royal governor, was included in Russia. The Sejm was the governing body of Poland, the constitution was in force. The Polish corps (army) was part of the Russian armed forces. True, later, as a result of the defeat of the uprising of 1830-1831, Poland lost its constitution, the Sejm was abolished, and the Kingdom of Poland was declared an integral part of the Russian Empire.

In the first half of the 19th century, agriculture remained the main branch of the Russian economy. Approximately 90% of the country's population were peasants. The development of agricultural production took place mainly by extensive methods, due to the expansion of new sown areas, which increased by 53% over half a century, mainly in the southern and eastern regions. History of Russia: textbook / A.S. Orlov and others; Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov. Faculty of History - 4th ed., revised. and additional - M .: Prospekt, 2012 - 528 pp. The introduction of more advanced methods of tillage, new varieties of agricultural crops was very slow, the yield of bread at the beginning of the century averaged "sam-three", "sam-four", i.e. . when sowing one pood, three or four poods of grain were collected. Crop failures were frequent, which led to mass starvation of the peasants, the death of livestock. The traditional three-field system remained the main agrotechnical system, in some places the undercut was still preserved (in Siberia), and in the steppe regions, the fallow (shifting) system. Animal husbandry was predominantly subsistence, i.e. cattle were raised for domestic consumption, not for sale.

By the middle of the 19th century, agriculture gradually began to change. The sowing of industrial crops - hops, tobacco, flax - expanded, and in the 1840s, the area under potatoes increased significantly, which became not only a "second bread" for the peasants, but also a raw material for the food industry. The area under the new crop, sugar beet, also increased, especially in Ukraine and in the south of the Chernozem region. There were enterprises for its processing. The first plant for the production of beet sugar was built in 1802 in the Tula province, by 1834 34 plants had been built, and in 1848 there were over 300.

New machines began to be introduced in the countryside: threshers, winnowing machines, seeders, harvesters, etc. The share of hired workers increased. In the 1850s, their number reached 700 thousand people, who mainly came for seasonal work in the southern, steppe, trans-Volga provinces, and in the Baltic states.

The process of specialization of individual regions in the production of various types of agricultural crops continued slowly: in the Trans-Volga region and in the steppe regions of Russia, more and more land was given for growing wheat, in the Crimea and Transcaucasia - for viticulture and sericulture, near large cities - for commercial gardening, poultry farming. In Novorossia, Bessarabia, and the North Caucasus, fine-wool sheep breeding was developed, which was carried out by large landlords with great support from the government, which was interested in supplying raw materials for army cloth factories.

In the first half of the 19th century, as in the 18th century, the peasants were divided into the same categories: landowners, state and appanage (palace). The landlord peasants constituted the largest group. In the 1850s, there were more than 23 million people of both sexes, including 1.5 million - yard and 540 thousand - working in private factories and plants Nekrasov M.B. Domestic history: textbook (M.B. Nekrasova 2nd ed., revised and supplementary - M .: Higher education, 2010 - 378 pages ..

At the beginning of the century, the share of serfs was 40% of the total population of the country, and by the middle of the century - 37%. The bulk of the landlord peasants lived in the central provinces, in Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus. In the north and south of the country, there were much fewer serfs - from 12 to 2%. There were few of them in Siberia, and in the Arkhangelsk province they were not at all Nekrasova M.B. Domestic history: textbook (M.B. Nekrasova 2nd ed., revised and supplementary - M .: Higher education, 2010 - 378 pages ..

In different regions of the country, the ratio of corvée and dues was different, since it depended on the economic characteristics of the province. So, in the central region, where the level of fishing activities of the peasants was high, the quitrent system became widespread - from 65 to 90%. In the Baltic States, Belorussia, and the Ukraine, where it was considered more profitable for the landlords to increase the lord's plowing, the peasants were predominantly on corvee - up to 90-95% of the peasants.

State (state) peasants by the middle of the century, there were about 19 million souls of both sexes. Officially they were called "free villagers". As in the 18th century, their economic situation was more stable. They were provided with land plots, for which, in addition to state taxes and dues, they had to bear feudal duties in the form of a cash dues. Since 1801, this category of peasants was allowed to acquire ownership of land. They were relatively free to choose whether to engage in agriculture or handicraft production, create their own small businesses, or move into the urban class.

But this legal status of state peasants was not strong enough and guaranteed by the state. The government could transfer them to military settlements, give them as a gift to a nobleman (which was extremely rare in the 19th century), transfer them to the category of appanage peasants, etc. This class group was concentrated mainly in the northern and central provinces, in the Left Bank and steppe Ukraine, in the Volga, Urals, Siberia.

The category of appanage peasants, in terms of its legal and economic status, occupied an intermediate position between the other two categories. In the 18th century they were called palaces, i.e. belonged to members of the imperial family. In 1797, the Department of appanages was created to manage the palace lands and peasants, and the peasants were renamed appanages. By the middle of the 19th century, there were almost 2 million souls of both sexes. Specific peasants carried dues for the benefit of the royal family, paid state taxes and worked out dues in kind. They lived mainly in the provinces of the Middle Volga region and in the Urals.

As for the nobles, out of 127 thousand noble families, or about 500 thousand people (1% of the country's population), in the early 1830s, 109 thousand families were landowners, i.e. had serfs. Most of the landowners (about 70%) had no more than 100 male serf souls and were considered small estates. Among the small estates, more than half had only a few serfs, an average of about seven souls.

In the 1820s, it became obvious that the possibilities for the development of landowner farms based on serf labor were practically exhausted. The productivity of labor in the corvee was noticeably decreasing, the peasants were looking for all sorts of pretexts to evade it. As a contemporary wrote, the peasants go to work later, work carelessly, if only not to do the job, but to kill the day. While the landowner was vitally interested in increasing the production of agricultural products for sale, and primarily grain, the peasants were less and less diligent in their work.

Crisis phenomena were also felt by those farms in which the quitrent system prevailed. With the development of peasant crafts, competition grew among workers, and the earnings of peasant quitrents fell, therefore, they paid less and less rent to the landowners. Increasingly, debtor landlords began to appear who could not repay debts to credit institutions. So, if at the beginning of the 19th century only 5% of serfs were pledged, then in the 1850s - already over 65%. Many estates were sold under the hammer for debts.

So, the serf system had the most detrimental effect primarily on agricultural production. But serfdom also held back the successfully developing industry and trade. This was due to the fact that there was no labor market in the country. In addition, the serfs had a very low purchasing power, which significantly narrowed the scope of market relations.

Development of industry and transport

In the first half of the 19th century, the main part of industrial output was produced not by large enterprises, but by small industries. This was especially true for the manufacturing industry producing consumer goods. In the 1850s, they accounted for up to 80% of the total output. Crafts were most common in the central non-chernozem provinces - Moscow, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Kaluga, etc., where in almost every village the peasants were simultaneously engaged in agriculture and some kind of craft: weaving, making pottery and household utensils, sewing shoes and clothes .

Gradually, the population of many villages and fishing districts completely abandoned agricultural labor and switched entirely to industrial activity. There are such villages as Ivanovo-Voznesensk and Teikovo in the Vladimir province, Pavlovo in the Nizhny Novgorod province, Kimry in the Tver province, which have become centers of the textile, metalworking and leather industries.

A large role in the development of domestic industry was played by dispersed manufactory, in which the entrepreneur-buyer distributed work to homework peasants. Later, these workers began to be collected under one roof, where they worked on the basis of a detailed division of labor. Thus, capital was gradually accumulated, qualified personnel were trained for future large industrial enterprises.

As before, seasonal crafts, which originated in the 17th century, were still important for the rural population. They became widespread in the central and northwestern provinces, where peasants could not support their families and pay taxes on marginal lands. By the middle of the century, up to 30-40% of the adult male population went from here to work in large cities. This process served as an important factor in the formation of the labor market, as well as the growth of the urban population.

In the 1820s-1830s, serfs accounted for 46% of the total number of industrial workers in the country, and only by 1860 did their share decrease to 18%. But even among the 82% of "freelance" workers, the overwhelming majority were serfs, released by the landowners to work.

The number of industrial enterprises by 1860 increased to 15 thousand, but most of them were small-scale industries, where 10-15 people worked, most often hired workers. The share of such enterprises in their total volume reached 82% by the middle of the century.

But there were still many enterprises based on serf labor: old mining mines and factories created in the Petrine era, as well as patrimonial manufactories founded by landowners. Many of them were in a state of crisis and were inferior in competition to enterprises based on hired labor due to low productivity, poor quality of their products and their high cost. Work at patrimonial manufactories was one of the most difficult forms of corvée for the peasants, which pushed them to resistance. The session manufactories also experienced an acute crisis due to their low efficiency.

The development of Russian industry was uneven. Cotton production developed most rapidly. In the 1850s, Russia ranked fifth in the world in the production of cotton fabrics. Noticeable successes were observed in the wool industry, and the production of linen and silk fabrics was in a state of stagnation. If in 1804 there were 285 linen manufactories in the country, then by 1845 their number was reduced to 156. The state of depression also affected metallurgy. During the first half of the 19th century, the production of pig iron only doubled - from 9 to 18 million poods, while at the same time England increased its production of pig iron 30 times. Russia's share in world metallurgy fell from 12% in 1830 to 4% in 1850. This was the result of technical backwardness, low labor productivity of serfs. Russian metallurgy survived only thanks to a rigid system of customs tariffs for the import of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

In the 1830s-1840s, large enterprises began to be created in industry - factories - based on machine technology, i.e. the industrial revolution began. The transition to factory production meant the emergence of completely new social groups of the population: entrepreneurs and hired workers. This process began first of all in the cotton industry, where already in 1825 94.7% of the workers were hired, and later in the mining industry. This is due to the fact that textile enterprises were faster than others to be equipped with various machines, for the maintenance of which more trained workers who were not related to agriculture were needed.

The first enterprise based on machine technology was the state-owned Alexander Cotton Manufactory in St. Petersburg (1799). In 1860, there were already 191 such enterprises in the Moscow province alone, and 117 in the St. Petersburg province. By this time, special equipment was widely used in spinning and calico printing.

One of the indicators of the industrial revolution can be considered the emergence and development of Russian engineering. And although, until the 1860s, foreign-made machines were mainly used in the national economy, it was during these years that the first machine-building plants were built in St. Petersburg: the Berd plant, the Nevsky Machine-Building Plant, the Alexander State Plant, which produced steam engines, steamships, steam locomotives, etc. In 1849, a factory was built in Sormov (near Nizhny Novgorod), which began to produce river boats. In the Baltic States, in the Ukraine, agricultural engineering was developed. From 1804 to 1864, labor productivity in industry increased almost fivefold, despite the presence of serf labor in the country. Nevertheless, factory production began to occupy a dominant position in all industries only after the reforms of the 1860s and 1870s.

It is necessary to note the specific features that were inherent in pre-reform employees and entrepreneurs. Wage workers, as a rule, were at the same time serfs who had gone to quitrent, but were still connected with agriculture. They depended, on the one hand, on the manufacturer (breeder), and on the other hand, on the landowner, who could at any moment return them to the village and force them to work in the corvée. And for the manufacturer, hiring such a worker was quite expensive, since in addition to the wages of the worker, he had to reimburse the dues to the landowner for him. The state (official) peasant who went to the city was also not completely free, because he was still connected with the community by certain relations.

The Russian pre-reform bourgeoisie was characterized by other features. It came predominantly from guild merchants or from among the "trading peasants" who received "tickets" (special certificates for the right to trade) and managed to establish any enterprise. Most often they combined trade and entrepreneurial functions. In the middle of the century, the number of merchants of all three guilds was 180 thousand, and approximately 100-110 thousand - "trading peasants".

But most of the entrepreneurs and trading peasants still remained serfs. And although many of them already had large capitals, owned manufactories, they, as in the 18th century, continued to pay considerable sums of dues to the landowners, who were in no hurry because of this to let the wealthy entrepreneurs go free.

For example, the owner of a large silk-weaving factory in the Moscow region, I. Kondrashev, remained the serf of the Golitsyn princes until 1861. As an example, we can also cite the manufacturer S. Morozov, who in the 1820s bought himself free from the landowner Ryumin for 17 thousand rubles. - an amount equal to the annual quitrent from two thousand serfs. Several dozen manufacturers in the village of Ivanovo ransomed from Count Sheremetev for more than 1 million rubles.

One of the indicators of the degree of development of new economic relations was the growth of the urban population. If at the end of the 18th century the population of cities was 2.2 million people, then by the middle of the 19th century it had increased to 5.7 million people, which accounted for only 8% of the total population of the country. In half a century, the number of cities increased from 630 to 1032, and 80% of these cities were very small, up to five thousand inhabitants each. The trade centers of the Volga region, as well as the trading and industrial villages that were turning into cities, grew especially rapidly: Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Pavlovo-on-Oka, Rybinsk, Gzhatsk, etc. In 1811, the population of only 19 cities exceeded 20 thousand, and only St. really big cities. Moscow has grown in half a century from 270 thousand to 460 thousand, and St. Petersburg - from 336 thousand to 540 thousand inhabitants.

In the first half of the 19th century, Russia remained an off-road country, which greatly hindered its economic development. The main types of transport in Russia at that time were water and horse-drawn (transportation on horseback). Along the rivers - the Volga, the Dnieper, the Northern and Western Dvina, the Neman, the Don - the main cargo flows moved: bread, agricultural raw materials, metallurgy products, building materials, timber, etc. At the beginning of the century, canals were put into operation that connected the Volga with The Northern Dvina and the Baltic basin, the Dnieper was connected by canals with the Vistula, Neman, Zapadnaya Dvina, but their throughput was small. In 1815-1817, the first steamboats appeared on the rivers, and by 1860 there were already about 340 of them, mostly of foreign manufacture. On the rivers, cargo was rafted on rafts, barges or with the help of horse and barge traction. In 1815, the first Russian steamship "Elizaveta" opened regular flights from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt. The speed of the ship was 9.5 km per hour.

If waterways were used in summer, then in winter, horseback riding along a sledge track was a more convenient mode of transport. Most of the roads were unpaved, almost impassable in muddy conditions. In cities, the streets were often paved with cobblestones. In the first half of the century, highways began to be built between St. Petersburg and Moscow, Warsaw, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. By 1860, there were 9 thousand miles of highways in the country, which was, of course, very little for vast Russia (1 verst = 1, 07 km).

In the 1830s, railroad construction began. The first railway, which had almost no economic significance, was built in 1837 between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo, its length was only 25 miles. In 1843-1851, a 650-verst railway connected St. Petersburg and Moscow, which was of great economic and strategic importance for the country. Construction was carried out with public money.

For the gauge of this railway, a width of 1524 mm was approved, which was 89 mm narrower than the European gauge. This difference in width (which still exists) was adopted solely as a protectionist measure. It was believed that a direct rail link to Europe would lead to an influx of cheap European products, which were very difficult for Russian goods to compete with. It should be noted that Russia still suffers unjustified losses of time and money on the border change of wheeled carts of all trains.

At the same time, a railway from St. Petersburg to Warsaw was built with private funds. In total, by 1861 in Russia there were only about 1.5 thousand miles of railway lines, and according to this indicator, the country was extremely lagging behind Western Europe. In England at that time the length of railways was 15 thousand miles.

But, despite the urgent need to create new means of communication, not everyone in society understood the expediency of their development. Even in the government there were opponents of the construction of railways, who argued that in Russia there would supposedly be no cargo or passengers for them. Finance Minister Yegor Frantsevich Kankrin (1774--1845) stated that railways "incite frequent travel without any need and thus increase the fickleness of the spirit of our era." He said that connecting Moscow and Kazan with rails is possible only after 200-300 years.

This position of the chief treasurer of the country led to the fact that the undeveloped Russian infrastructure was unable to provide the Russian army with food and weapons during the Crimean campaign of 1853-1856, and this played a role in the defeat of Russia.

Trade, money circulation, finance

The internal trade of the first half of the 19th century did not differ much from the trade of the 18th century either in structure or in content. The bulk of domestic trade continued to be in agricultural products and handicrafts. And only by the middle of the century did the share of products of large industrial enterprises, especially textile and leather, increase. The role of wholesale trade centers - fairs - has noticeably increased. The largest, with a turnover of over 1 million rubles, were few, only 64: Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov (Yaroslavl province), Korennaya (near Kursk), and others. In addition, almost 18 thousand fairs were medium and small.

The largest fairs remained the core of Russian entrepreneurship. In the middle of the 19th century, with the assistance of many foreign wholesalers, large international transactions were concluded here. At the fairs, in addition to the trading process itself, technical innovations were demonstrated, business contacts were established, partnerships and joint-stock companies were created. The fairs acted as a sensitive barometer of the economic life of the country, they were spontaneous regulation of the balance of supply and demand, coordination of the economic mechanism.

As in the 18th century, pedlars, ofeni, carrying fabrics, haberdashery, and small household items, often did not sell them for money, but exchanged them for raw materials (flax, linen, etc.) through remote villages.

By the middle of the 19th century, trade had already ceased to be the privilege of the guild merchants. In 1842, laws were repealed that prohibited industrialists from engaging in retail trade themselves, as a result of which the guild merchants lost their monopoly position in the market. Following the industrialists, “trading peasants” literally poured into the city markets and fairs, pushing the merchants in some places. So, in Moscow in the 1840s, the peasants already accounted for almost half of all merchants.

Russia's foreign trade was built mainly with a focus on the Western European market, which accounted for up to 90% of the total foreign trade turnover. England was still the main trading partner - more than 30% of Russia's trade turnover fell on this country. France and Germany played a significant role in the turnover. Western countries bought bread, agricultural raw materials in Russia, and sent cars, raw cotton, paints here, i.e. what was necessary for the Russian industry. But if for Western countries Russia was a supplier of raw materials and semi-finished products, then for the countries of the East, and above all in Central Asia, Russia acted as a supplier of industrial products, mainly fabrics and metal products. During the first half of the 19th century, the volume of foreign trade increased significantly. The average annual volume of exports in the years 1800-1860 increased almost four times: from 60 million to 230 million rubles, and imports - more than five times: from 40 million to 210 million.

After a number of battles in Europe, the Treaty of Tilsit, unsuccessful for Russia, was concluded with the French troops (1807), according to which Russia was obliged to follow France in many international affairs, which significantly limited its independence. In 1808, France forced Russia to join the continental blockade, i.e. stop trading with England. This caused significant damage to the Russian economy, since it was losing the capacious English market, where Russian landowners exported their agricultural products and from where industrial production went to Russia. In addition, as a result of the blockade, prices for colonial goods (sugar, tea) rose enormously. This economic alliance with Napoleon brought noticeable financial losses and led to a further depreciation of the domestic currency - banknotes.

E. Kankrin paid much attention to customs policy, believing that it was tough protectionism that would not only support domestic producers, but also bring large revenues to the treasury. Since in 1816-1821 Russia noticeably weakened the tariff taxation of imports, one of Kankrin's first steps as Minister of Finance was to increase customs duties. Tariffs were mainly imposed on cheap English goods (especially textiles and iron), up to a complete ban on their import. As a result, the revenues of the treasury from tariff duties increased in 1824-1842 from 11 million to 26 million rubles.

Later, after the departure of E. Kankrin from the ministerial post, Russia began to reduce tariffs, and in the 1850s began to support the policy of free trade. Many previously established import bans were lifted, and by 1857 tariffs remained on only seven goods: sugar, iron, liquor, and a few others.

Speaking about the financial system of Russia, it should be noted that the Patriotic War of 1812, which caused significant material damage, had a great influence on its condition. More than 100,000 people were killed and wounded during the hostilities. The fire of Moscow destroyed almost the entire city, many other settlements and industrial enterprises suffered. In addition, Napoleon literally flooded Russia with counterfeit money. By 1814, the rate of banknotes had reached a very low level: 20 kopecks were given for one paper ruble. silver. The amount of banknotes issued reached astronomical figures, in 1818 it amounted to 836 million rubles. During the first decades of the 19th century, the rate of banknotes constantly fluctuated, even in different parts of the country it differed markedly.

In 1839, E. Kankrin carried out a monetary reform, according to which the silver ruble was again declared the main monetary unit. It was found that 350 rubles. paper money equals 100 rubles. silver, which meant the devaluation of banknotes. By 1843, they were completely withdrawn from circulation and replaced by credit notes, which were freely exchanged for silver. But during the Crimean War and after the defeat in it, the government more than once resorted to money emission. As a result of this policy, the rate of the credit ruble was constantly declining compared to the rate of the silver ruble, so the free exchange was abolished. The country was actually threatened by financial collapse. During 1853-1856, the budget deficit increased from 57 million to 307 million rubles, inflation rose to 50% per year.

The state finances of the first half of the 19th century were constantly in great tension, the state budget deficit increased from year to year, since the main source of state revenues remained taxes from the taxable population, mainly from peasants, while the nobility and clergy paid almost no personal taxes. , the merchants paid only small fees. But these revenues could not cover the needs of the state. So, before the reform of 1861, the lower taxable strata paid 175 million rubles. per year out of the total amount of direct taxes of 191 million rubles.

The credit and banking system of Russia has hardly changed since the time of Catherine II and continued to remain in the hands of the state, there were practically no commercial credit institutions in the country. The main part of bank loans was directed to highly concessional lending to noble households. Very insignificant amounts were used for lending to trade and industry, since loans for these purposes were subject to a number of conditions.

A specific feature of Russia was that the initial accumulation of capital took place under the conditions of serfdom. The most important source of accumulation was feudal rent received by large landowners in kind and in cash. But in general, the accumulation process ended after the abolition of serfdom, when the nobles, having received huge ransom sums, sent some of them to the production sector.

The redemption process also brought great income to the state, which withheld from the landowners all the debts that were on the estates mortgaged to the treasury. And by 1860, the landlords had about 400 million rubles of such debts. Later, in 1871, out of the total amount of redemption payments, almost 250 million rubles. went to pay the bank debts of the nobility.

Merchants' capital was for the most part created through extremely profitable government contracts and farming out, especially for the wine monopoly. In 1860, wine farmers paid 128 million rubles to the treasury, and their own income from the wine trade was several times higher. In the middle of the century, up to 40% of all budget revenues were the so-called drinking income - from the wine trade. Private capital also grew due to non-equivalent trade with the Russian outskirts, the rapid growth of the gold mining industry in Siberia, and so on.

social economic industry trade

Socio-economic development of Russia in the pre-reform period

The palace coup of 1801 was the last in the history of Imperial Russia. Alexander I, who ascended the throne, immediately announced that he would follow the laws of Catherine II. He restored the “Charters of Letters” canceled by Paul I to the nobility and cities, abolished corporal punishment for nobles and other reactionary and punitive decrees introduced during the reign of Paul I. Officials and officers expelled without trial were returned to service - about 10 thousand people. All those arrested and exiled by the “secret expedition”, i.e., were released from prisons and returned from exile. without a court order. It was allowed to open private printing houses, to import foreign literature from abroad, the free travel of Russian citizens abroad was again allowed.

For the socio-economic reform of the country, the new emperor formed an Unofficial Committee of young well-born noblemen: P. Stroganov, V. Kochubey, A. Czartorysky, N. Novosiltsev. At meetings of this committee during 1801-1803, projects of state reforms were discussed, including the abolition of serfdom. With the direct participation of these advisers, some liberal transformations were carried out in Russia. Upon accession to the throne, Alexander I proclaimed that from now on the distribution of state-owned peasants into private hands, which was very common in the 18th century, would cease. Thus, an end was put to the expansion of serfdom throughout the country. By decree of 1801, the long-awaited purchase of land by non-nobles was allowed: merchants, petty bourgeois, state peasants. True, according to this decree, landlord peasants who were engaged in entrepreneurship did not receive such permission. This right was obtained by them only in 1848.

On February 20, 1803, a decree “On Free Plowmen” was issued, which provided for the possibility of redeeming serfs with a family with land allotments, entire villages or settlements, but with the obligatory consent of the landowner. However, this decree was rarely used in practice. Under Alexander I, only 47,000 male souls, or 0.5% of all serfs, became free cultivators, and for all the years of this decree (1803-1858), only 152,000, or approximately 1.5%, were able to use it serfs.

In 1802-1811, a reform of the highest governing bodies was carried out. First of all, eight ministries were created to replace the old Peter's colleges: military ground forces, naval forces, foreign affairs, justice, internal affairs, finance, commerce, public education (later their number increased to 12). It should be noted that under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, all economic departments were gathered: the Ministry of Commerce, the Department of Manufactory and Foreign Trade. The preparation of a unified state budget began, information about which, due to its scarcity, was strictly classified. All responsibility for the issues being resolved fell solely on the ministers, which was more convenient for management. But at the same time, the bureaucratic essence of the state apparatus was strengthened. The ministerial system in this form existed in Russia without change until 1917.

One of the outstanding statesmen of the first years of the reign of Alexander I was undoubtedly Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (1772-1839). He was the son of a poor village priest, he graduated from the theological academy, where he became a professor. Then he moved to the civil service in the State Council, and later - in the Ministry of the Interior to Count Kochubey.

Thanks to his outstanding abilities, energy, and desire to serve the fatherland, he quickly became one of the brightest politicians of the early 19th century. Beginning in 1802, he drafted or edited the most important laws and decrees. In 1808, on behalf of Alexander I, Speransky began work on an extensive plan for state reforms. At the same time, he intended to use some of the norms of French law from the so-called Napoleonic Code. By October 1809, the project was developed and presented to Alexander I under the title "Introduction to the code of state laws." The main purpose of the document was to streamline the outdated and chaotic legislation developed over many decades, as well as to bring legal norms closer to the requirements of developing market relations, taking into account the European changes of that time. Of course, it was assumed that the reform would be carried out from above, in the interests of the autocracy and the preservation of the class structure of society.

For effective legislative work, it was planned to create a bicameral parliament, consisting of the State Council and the State Duma. The State Council under the emperor was supposed to prepare and discuss bills, then they should be considered by the emperor, then they were submitted for discussion in the Duma, and after their adoption in the Duma, they were finally approved by the emperor.

This principle of government was approved by Alexander I, who was ready to approve Speransky's project. But as a result of the intrigues of the highest court officials, who considered the project extremely radical, the document was rejected by the sovereign. Alexander I decided to go only to the creation of a legislative Council of State (1810), which included all the ministers and senior dignitaries appointed by himself. And the convocation of the State Duma took place only at the beginning of the 20th century - in 1906.

Further, fate was unfavorable to M. Speransky. Particular dissatisfaction with the "priest", as he was called at court, increased due to the decree of 1809, which prohibited promotion through the state ranks without a university education or passing a special exam. In addition, Speransky's French sympathies aroused hostility in high society, where a hostile attitude towards Napoleon was already taking shape, and everyone understood the inevitability of war with France. The reason for the imminent resignation of Speransky was also the introduction of new direct taxes in the country: the poll tax from peasants and burghers increased from a ruble to two rubles, a tax was also introduced on noble estates, on the land of landlords. This caused irritation among various segments of the population.

At the beginning of 1812, on a false denunciation, he was removed from his post, exiled first to Nizhny Novgorod, and then to Perm, where he stayed for more than four years. Later, disgrace was removed from him, he was appointed governor of Penza, then governor-general of Siberia, where he carried out a number of administrative transformations. In 1821 he was returned to the capital, appointed a member of the State Council, but no longer played a prominent role in government.

Some transformations took place at the beginning of the century in the field of education. All educational institutions proclaimed the principle of classlessness and free education at the lower levels. A coherent system of education was formed from four levels: parochial one-class schools, county schools, gymnasiums and universities. In 1802-1804, universities were opened in the cities: Vilna (Vilnius), Dorpat (Tartu), Kazan, Kharkov, in 1819 the Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg was transformed into a university. In 1811, the famous lyceum was opened in Tsarskoe Selo, which prepared a whole galaxy of outstanding people for the country, and above all A.S. Pushkin, many Decembrists. The university charter of 1803 provided higher educational institutions with broad rights and independence in their internal life: the election of the rector and professorship, their own court, non-interference of administrative authorities and the police in the affairs of these educational institutions, etc.

After the successful end of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814, the international prestige of Russia grew significantly. In 1815, the Holy Alliance was created, which set as its goal to keep the existing borders in Europe inviolable, to strengthen the monarchical dynasties, to suppress all kinds of revolutionary actions. Even decisions were made on the right to interfere in the internal affairs of states to suppress revolutionary movements.

Until the early 1820s, the domestic policy of Alexander I did not yet feel a clear tightening, since he did not immediately become a supporter of absolutism. In 1818, several dignitaries were instructed to prepare draft decrees on the abolition of serfdom on rather moderate and favorable terms for the landowners. But the nobility expressed resistance to such intentions of the emperor, and he did not dare to continue this process.

However, in the Ostsee Region (Latvia and Estonia) the government has taken some steps in this direction. Starting from 1804-1805, there was gradually carried out

At the end of the 18th century the process of development of Russian culture is entering a new stage of development. A national culture is being formed, the centuries-old process of accumulating knowledge is entering the stage of the formation of sciences, a literary Russian language is being formed, national literature is appearing, the number of printed publications is increasing, masterpieces of architecture are being built, painting and sculpture are developing.

The old church and class schools have ceased to satisfy the need for the quantity and quality of educated citizens. Since the 80s the government begins the creation of general educational institutions. In 1786, in accordance with the Charter of public schools, main public schools with four classes were established in provincial towns, and small public schools with two classes in county towns. The number of estate schools for the education of nobles increased. An outstanding figure in the field of education was I.I. Betsky. In addition to public schools, he created a school at the Academy of Arts, a Commercial School, a nursing department at the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens.

The main center of scientific activity was the Academy of Sciences. In order to develop higher education in Russia, on January 12, 1755, Moscow University was opened with two gymnasiums, which became the center of Russian education. Unlike European universities, education in it was free for all classes (except for serfs). In 1773, the Mining School was opened in St. Petersburg. The creation of a network of higher educational institutions required the publication of new textbooks. They were developed by the Academy of Sciences and Moscow University. An outstanding role in the development of domestic science was played by M.V. Lomonosov is a multi-talented scientist, poet, historian and naturalist.

Special development in the 18th century. received the natural sciences. In the 20-50s. 18th century The Academy of Sciences organized the Great Northern Expedition to explore the northeast of Asia, the Arctic Ocean and the northwest of America.

In the 60-80s. a comprehensive study of the north of the European part of Russia was carried out. The most important geographical discoveries were made by S.I. Chelyuskin, S.G. Mapygin, Laptev brothers. V. Bering and A.I. Chirikov passed between Chukotka and Alaska, opening the strait between America and Asia.

In the second half of the 18th century. there is a rise in technical thought. I.I. Polzunov was the first to develop a project for a universal steam engine. I.P. Kulibin created a project for a single-arch bridge across the Neva, invented a searchlight, an elevator, and prostheses for the disabled.

The literature of this period is represented by three directions. Classicism represents the work of A.P. Sumarokov (tragedy "Dmitry the Pretender", comedy "Guardian"). N.M. writes in a romantic style. Karamzin ("Poor Liza"). The artistic and realistic direction is represented by D.I. Fonvizin (comedies "Brigadier" and "Undergrowth").

In 1790, A.N. Radishchev "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow", which contained a protest against serfdom.

The architecture was dominated by the Russian baroque style, which was distinguished by special luxury. It was a fusion of European classicism and domestic architectural traditions.

The largest architects of this direction were V.V. Rastrelli in St. Petersburg and D.V. Ukhtomsky in Moscow. The style of classicism in St. Petersburg was represented by D. Quarenghi, N.A. Lvov and C. Cameron. In Moscow, V.I. Bazhenov and M.F. Kazakov.

Russian painting is being improved in traditional portraitism (works by F.S. Rokotov, D.G. Levitsky, V.L. Borovikovsky). M. Shibanov laid the foundation for genre painting. The founders of landscape painting - S.F. Shchedrin and F.Ya. Alekseev. The first paintings in the historical genre were created by A.P. Losenko.

Remarkable creations are created by sculptors F.I. Shubin is a master of sculptural portrait and M.I. Kozlovsky, who became the founder of Russian classicism in sculpture.