Italian states in the second half of the 17th – 18th centuries. Serf Russia in the second half of the 18th century

2.1 Life and customs

The second half of the 18th century, namely the period of the reign of Catherine II, went down in history as the “golden age” of the Russian nobility. One of the first manifestos of Catherine II after her accession to the throne was the “Manifesto on the granting of liberty and freedom to the entire Russian nobility,” according to which the nobles were exempted from the duties of military and civil service.

According to the same “Manifesto”, many nobles received lands into their possession, and the peasants, the inhabitants of these lands, were assigned to them. Naturally, these lands had to be improved. Improvement began, as a rule, with the construction of an estate. And the reign of Catherine was the heyday of noble estate culture. But the life of the majority of landowners was not separated by the “Iron Curtain” from the life of the peasants; there was direct contact with folk culture, and a new attitude was emerging towards the peasant as an equal person, as an individual.

Also, the second half of the 18th century was marked by a number of innovations concerning the life of citizens. Especially a lot of new things have appeared in the life of cities. After the government allowed merchants to keep shops in their homes, merchant estates with warehouses and shops appeared in cities, forming entire shopping streets.

Water pipelines appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but for most cities the source of water supply remained numerous wells and nearby reservoirs, as well as water carriers delivering water in barrels.

At the end of the century, lighting of main streets was introduced in some large cities. In Moscow, the first street lamps appeared in the 30s. XVIII century In them, a wick dipped in hemp oil was lit by special order of the authorities.

With the increase in population, hygiene issues became a big problem for city authorities, so the number of public baths in cities was growing, where visitors could have a meal and while away the night for a special fee. For the first time, a special decree of the Senate prohibited the patriarchal custom of bathing together for men and women, and according to the Charter of the Deanery of 1782, persons of the opposite sex were prohibited from entering the bathhouse on a day other than their own.

Another innovation in the second half of the century was the opening of city hospitals. The first of them appeared in St. Petersburg in 1779. But, despite this, the common people firmly retained faith in healers and conspiracies. The government itself strengthened prejudices: in 1771, during the plague epidemic in Kostroma, Catherine II confirmed the decree of 1730 on fasting and religious procession around the city as a means of combating the infection.

2.2 Education and science

In the “Catherine era” the trend towards nationalization of education received a new impetus and new character. If in the first quarter of the century main goal Education was to satisfy the state's need for personnel, then Catherine II sought, with the help of education, to influence public consciousness, to educate “a new breed of people.” In accordance with this, the principle of class-based education was preserved.

Book publishing played an important role in the spread of literacy and the development of education, which expanded significantly in the second half of the century. Book publishing has ceased to be a privilege of the state. The Russian educator N.I. played a major role in its development. Novikov. His printing houses published books in all branches of knowledge, including textbooks. An important event was the publication in 1757 of “Russian Grammar” by M.V. Lomonosov, which replaced the outdated “Grammar” by M. Smotritsky.

Primary school still remained the least developed link in the education system. As in the previous period, there were diocesan schools for the children of the clergy, and garrison schools for the children of recruits. Only at the end of the century were formally classless main public schools opened in each province, and small public schools in each district. However, the children of serfs were still deprived of the opportunity to receive an education.

Vocational schools continued to occupy a significant position in the education system. Further development received a network of medical, mining, commercial and other vocational schools, and new areas of special education emerged. In 1757 in St. Petersburg, according to the project of I.I. Shuvalov founded the Academy of the Three Most Noble Arts. A Ballet School was opened at the Moscow Orphanage. To train teachers of public schools, teacher seminaries were created in Moscow and St. Petersburg, on the basis of which pedagogical institutes subsequently emerged.

Significant changes have occurred in the higher education system. The largest cultural center of the Russian Empire was created in 1755 according to the project of M.V. Lomonosov and I.I. Shuvalov Moscow Imperial University. The university had philosophical, legal and medical faculties. Theology was not taught there until the beginning of the 19th century; all lectures were given in Russian. A printing house was organized at the university, where the newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti was published until 1917. In addition to Moscow University, where education in accordance with the charter was classless, noble corps (land, naval, artillery, engineering and pages) and theological academies still operated.

In 1764, the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens (Educational Society of Noble Maidens at the Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg) was opened for girls, at which there was a “School for Young Girls” of non-noble origin (later it was transformed into the Alexander Institute).

In 1786, the “Charter of Public Schools” was published - the first legislative act in the field of education. For the first time, unified curricula and a class-lesson system were introduced

By the end of the 18th century. there were 550 operating in the country educational institutions, which had about 60 thousand students; Women's education was started. Despite significant achievements in the spread of literacy and the development of a network of educational institutions, education still remained class-based; it was not universal, compulsory and the same for all categories of the population.

Catherine II continued the policy of state support for domestic science. Understanding the importance of the development of science for strengthening the economy and defense capability of the country, Catherine II supported various Scientific research. For example, it was she who received the first smallpox vaccination in 1768. In the “Era of Catherine”, domestic scientists took a dominant position in the Academy of Sciences, the circle of domestic scientists - academicians, among them the nephew of M.V. Lomonosov mathematician M.E. Golovin, geographer and ethnographer I.I. Lepekhin, astronomer S.Ya. Rumovsky and others. At the same time, fearing any “freethinking,” the empress sought to subordinate the development of science to strict state regulation. This was one of the reasons for the sad fate of many talented Russian self-taught scientists.

Natural sciences in the second half of the 18th century, as in the previous period, developed at an accelerated pace. By the end of the century, domestic natural science had reached the pan-European level. In the second half of the century, active development and description of new lands continued. To study the territory of the Russian Empire, its natural resources, population and historical monuments, the Academy organized 5 “physical” expeditions (1768-1774); polar explorer S.I. Chelyuskin described part of the coast of the Taimyr Peninsula; in honor of Russian navigators D.Ya. and H.P. Laptev named the sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean; S.P. Krasheninnikov, who is considered the founder of Russian ethnography, compiled the first “Description of the Land of Kamchatka”; V. Bering's expedition reached the strait between Asia and America, named after him. G.I. Shelikhov compiled a description of the Aleutian Islands and organized the exploration of Alaska.

By the second half of the 18th century. refers to the origin of domestic agronomic science, one of the founders of which is the Russian writer and naturalist A.T. Bolotov.

2.3 Literature

In the second half of the 18th century. In Russian literature, the intensive creative search that began in the previous period continued. The socio-political role of literature and writers has noticeably increased. XVIII century often called the "century of odes". Indeed, odes became widespread during this period, but in general literature is characterized by a multi-genre nature. Already known genres (elegies, songs, tragedies, comedies, satires, etc.) were further developed, and new ones appeared (a modern urban story - “Poor Liza” by N.M. Karamzin).

Until the end of the 60s, classicism remained the dominant direction. In the last third of the century, a new literary and artistic direction was born - realism, characterized by social topicality and interest in the inner world of man. Sentimentalism, which appeared in the last quarter of a century, proclaimed the cult of natural feeling, nature, and called for the liberation of man from the power of the social environment. In the literature of sentimentalism, the predominant genres were the lyrical story, family and psychological novel, and elegy. The flourishing of Russian sentimentalism is associated with the work of the writer and historian N.M. Karamzin (the stories "Poor Liza", "The Village", "Natalia, the Boyar's Daughter").

Folk art. In the second half of the 18th century. oral folk art acquired a pronounced anti-serfdom character: songs about the hard lot of peasants and the tyranny of landowners; satirical poems ridiculing gentlemen; jokes in which the main character was a savvy man; stories about the life of serfs and Cossacks. Among the most striking works of this period are “The Tale of the Pakhrinskaya Village of Kamkina”, “The Tale of the Village of Kiselikha” and the song of the runaway peasant “The Lament of the Serfs”.

The patriotic themes traditional for the Russian epic received further development. Folk tales and soldiers' songs reflect the historical battles of the Russian army and the activities of outstanding Russian commanders of the 18th century.

2.4 Art

2.4.1 Visual arts

Second half of the 18th century. - time of intensive development various types fine arts, which was largely determined by the activities of the Academy of Arts created in 1757. The leading direction of academic painting was classicism, characterized by compositional clarity, clarity of lines, and idealization of images. Russian classicism manifested itself most clearly in historical and mythological painting.

The leading genre of Russian painting remained the portrait. The intensive development of secular portraiture by the end of the century raised it to the level of the highest achievements of modern world portrait art. The largest portrait painters of the era who were world famous were F. Rokotov ("Unknown Woman in a Pink Dress"), D. Levitsky, who created a series of ceremonial portraits (from the portrait of Catherine II to portraits of Moscow merchants), V. Borovikovsky (portrait of M.I. Lopukhina ).

Along with portrait painting, landscape painting (S.F. Shchedrin), historical and mythological (A.P. Losenko), battle painting (M.M. Ivanov) and still life ("tricks" by G.N. Teplov, P.G. Bogomolov) developed ) painting. In the watercolors of I. Ermenev and the paintings of M. Shibanov, images of the life of peasants appeared for the first time in Russian painting.

M.V. Lomonosov revived the smalt mosaic technique. Under his leadership, easel portraits and battle compositions were created using this technique. In 1864, a mosaic department was founded at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, the main task of which was to produce mosaics for St. Isaac's Cathedral.

At the end of the eighteenth century. Catherine II's purchase of a number of private art collections in Europe laid the foundation for one of the largest and most significant museums in the world - the Hermitage.

On July 29, 1762, another coup took place as a result of which Catherine II (1762-1796), Catherine proclaimed herself autocrat, and her husband deposed.

Development of crafts, manufactures, domestic and foreign trade Russia in the 50s - 80s. XVIII century dictated the government's active economic policy. It was dictated by the interests of the nobility and partly large merchants and industrialists. The proclamation of freedom of trade and industrial activity contributed to the development of peasant trade and manufacturing, which undoubtedly was beneficial to the nobility, because “capitalist peasants” were serfs and paid large quitrents and were bought out for a lot of money. During the reign of Catherine II, 2/3 of the manufactories registered in the second half of the 90s were created. XVIII century

In the social sphere, the policy of Catherine II was called “enlightened absolutism.” “Enlightened absolutism” is a pan-European phenomenon that has formed a natural stage state development many European countries. This option public policy arose under the influence of the ideas of the French Enlightenment. The main slogan of the Enlightenment was the achievement of the "kingdom of reason." Belief in the limitless powers of the human mind gave rise to ideas about the possibility of building a society on reasonable, fair principles. Many figures of the era pinned their hopes on an enlightened monarch who would be able to put their ideas into practice. The policy of "enlightened absolutism" in Russia was an attempt to prevent popular movements against the serfdom system and adapt the landowner economy to new bourgeois relations.

Under the influence of the ideas of the European Enlightenment, Catherine II decided to develop a new Code of Laws, which, while keeping autocracy and serfdom intact, would give grounds to speak of Russia as a state of law. For this purpose, in 1767, Catherine II convened the Legislative Commission in Moscow. Elections of deputies were class-based. The discussion of the peasant issue caused the greatest urgency at the commission meetings. The disputes over this issue became so protracted that the empress became disillusioned with the expediency of the commission's work and came to the conclusion of its dissolution. Under the pretext of war with Turkey in 1768, the commission was dissolved without drawing up a new Code.

The obvious tilt of the internal political course towards protecting the interests of the nobility (Charter to the nobility of 1785; Charter to the cities of 1785) led to the outbreak of the most bloody and brutal peasant war - the war led by Emelyan Pugachev (1773-1775), which demonstrated the presence of deep social contradictions in Russian society. The Pugachev uprising caused swipe according to the provincial administration. Catherine took steps to restore and improve local government, to give it stability. In 1775 she published the “Institution on the Provinces”. The new provincial administration relied on the nobility, which increased the empress's dependence on him.

There was an alliance of the most conservative elements of society against everyone else. He greatly slowed down the development of the commercial bourgeoisie and preserved the peasantry in silent and inert slavery, creating the social roots of the modernization crisis, which ultimately required considerable efforts to overcome. Thus, strict adherence to the principles of class society contradicted the modernization processes that had begun in the state.

Since the dissolution of the Statutory Commission, an important feature has emerged in Russian politics: from now on, periods internal reforms will alternate with periods of active foreign policy. Reforms in Russia were, as it were, too frightening, while the sphere of foreign policy was a more relaxed and reliable field of activity for energetic supporters of enlightened absolutism.

The main directions of Russian foreign policy under Catherine II were southern, western and eastern. The most important foreign policy task facing Russia in the second half of the 18th century was the struggle for access to the Azov and Black Seas. For a long time, the Crimean Khanate posed a great danger to the southern borders of the empire. From there, with the support of Turkey, Tatar military raids were constantly carried out. At the end of the century, Catherine II fought two victorious wars with Turkey - in 1768-1774. and 1787-1791, as a result of which Russia received Crimea and access to the Black Sea. The port cities of Chersonesus, Odessa, and Sevastopol were created on its coast, which became the military base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Russia's centuries-old task of strengthening its southern borders and gaining the opportunity for active foreign policy actions in the south has been solved.

Simultaneously with the events of the Russian-Turkish War, Europe was shocked by the events of the Great French Revolution. Revolutionary events turned out to be closely intertwined with the Polish question. Russia showed a very active position in its decision. As a result of three divisions of Poland (1772, 1793 and 1795) between Austria, Prussia and Russia, the latter took over Belarus, right-bank Ukraine, Lithuania, Courland, and part of Volyn. The unification of Belarusian and Ukrainian lands was a progressive act for the development of these peoples.

Russia's influence also grew in the east. Economic and cultural ties between Russia and Kazakhstan were strengthened, and the development of Siberia continued. In the first half of the 18th century. Russian travelers reach Alaska, and in 1784 the construction of permanent Russian settlements on its territory began.

After the death of Catherine II, the throne passed to her son, Paul I (1796-1801). Paul strove to further strengthen the autocracy, to individual power. The transformations of Paul I in the army, his desire to follow the military doctrine of the Prussian king Frederick II, caused serious rejection in the guard, which led to the last palace coup in the history of Russia. Paul 1 was killed by the conspirators. The Russian throne passed to his eldest son Alexander I (1801-1825).

Concluding our brief excursion into the events of the 17th – 18th centuries, we can highlight the following changes in the development of our country:

1. During this period, the economic policy of the state was characterized by a policy of mercantilism and protectionism. The development of elements of capitalism, however, was hampered by the deepening of serf relations and their penetration into the emerging industry, which led to Russia's growing lag behind the advanced countries of Western Europe;

2. The social policy of the state was aimed at eliminating those social institutions that limited the absolutism of the tsarist power, as well as at creating new social strata and their unification;

3. State legal system of Russia in the 17th – 18th centuries. evolved from an estate-representative monarchy to absolutism. This was expressed in the creation of an extensive bureaucratic apparatus, a new service ideology, the concentration in the hands of the monarch of all legislative, executive and judicial powers, the absence of any bodies or legislative acts limiting his powers;

4. During the XVII – XVIII centuries. Significant changes are also taking place in the spiritual life of Russia. In the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries. the church falls under the control of secular power and is deprived of part of its wealth as a result of the secularization of church land ownership. Internal church life is also complicated by the schism caused by the reforms of the mid-17th century.

This period also saw the formation of a new class secular culture and education, the penetration of Enlightenment ideas into Russia, the formation of various trends in socio-political life;

5. Throughout the XVII – XVIII centuries. Russia's territory is expanding significantly as a result of an active foreign policy. The tasks of breaking out of economic isolation and strengthening state borders were solved, which led to a change in the geopolitical position of Russia and the formalization of its imperial status.

However, despite the efforts of state power, Russia remained an agrarian country, entangled in serfdom (feudal) relations, with the absolute power of the monarch. This led to the strengthening of elements of unfreedom in public life, and the germs of civil society were harshly suppressed.

Thus, despite a certain success of modernization, Russia at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. remained a traditional society.

additional literature

1. Anisimov, E.V. Time of Peter's reforms / E.V. Anisimov. - L.: Lenizdat, 1989.

2. Anisimov, E.V., Kamensky, A.B. Russia in the 17th – first half of the 19th centuries / E.V. Anisimov, A.B. Kamensky. - M.: MIROS, 1994.

3. Buganov, V.I. Peter the Great and his time / V.I. Buganov. - M.: Nauka, 1989.

4. Klyuchevsky, V.O. Historical portraits/ V.O. Klyuchevsky. - M.: Pravda, 1990.

5. Pavlenko, N.I. Peter the Great / N.I. Pavlenko. - M.: Mysl, 1994.

6. The first Romanovs on the Russian throne / N.F. Demidova. - M.: Publishing house. Center IRI RAS, 1996.

7. Sorokin, Yu.A. Alexey Mikhailovich / Yu.A. Sorokin // Questions of history. - 1992. - No. 4, 5.

8. With a sword and a torch. Palace coups of Russia 1725 - 1825 / Comp. M.A. Boytsov. - M.: Sovremennik, 1991.

WORKSHOP PLANS

Serf Russia in the second half of the 18th century

In the 2nd half of the 18th century. Russia expanded its borders in the south and west, annexing the Black Sea and Azov regions, the Buzh-Dniester lands, Belarus, and part of the Baltic territory.

Compared to the first half of the 18th century. By the end of the century, the population doubled and amounted to 36 million people, with only 4% of the population living in cities; in Russia the predominant population was rural. Up to half the population are privately owned peasants.

The development of the annexed territories was accompanied by the growth of feudal-serf relations in breadth and depth.

For 1783–1796 serfdom spread to the Ukrainian lands, Crimea and Ciscarpathia. Agriculture developed mainly extensively, due to new Russian lands and advancement into suitable areas of the Urals and Siberia.

With the increasing exploitation of peasants, serfdom expanded deeper. By a decree of 1765, landowners were allowed to exile their peasants without trial or investigation to hard labor in Siberia, which was counted as fulfilling conscription duties. The sale of peasants and cruel punishments were widespread. According to the decree of 1763, peasants themselves paid the costs, if they were recognized as instigators, for suppressing unrest. Finally, in 1767, Catherine II issued a decree prohibiting peasants from complaining about their masters.

In the 2nd half of the 18th century, two large regions with different forms of serf exploitation were identified in Russia. In the black earth provinces with fertile soil and in the south, corvée prevailed. Sometimes the landowner took the land from the peasant, and he actually turned into a farm laborer working for meager pay. In areas with infertile soil, cash rent prevailed. Some landowners sought to increase the profitability of their estates, used technical devices, introduced crop rotation, introduced new crops imported from other countries - tobacco, potatoes, sunflowers, built manufactories, then using the labor of their serfs. All these innovations were a sign of the beginning of the disintegration of serfdom.

In 1785, a special “craft regulation” (from the “Charter of Grant to Cities”) regulated the development of crafts in cities. Craftsmen were grouped into workshops, which elected foremen. This organization of life for artisans created better conditions for their work and apprenticeship. With this provision, the government hoped to turn urban artisans into one of the classes of feudal society.

Along with the city, crafts were widely developed in industrial villages. Thus, Ivanovo was famous for textile production, Pavlovo for metal products, Khokhloma for woodworking, Gzhel for ceramics, etc.

Second half of the 18th century. for Russia this means further growth in manufacturing production. If in the middle of the century there were more than 600 manufactories, then at the beginning of the 19th century. up to 1200. Manufactories using the labor of serfs predominated. But manufactories using free labor also appeared, in particular in textile production. The role of civilians was played by serfs released on quitrent. The relations of free employment were capitalist relations.

In 1762, it was forbidden to purchase serfs for factories, and manufactories founded after this year used civilian labor.

In 1775, peasant industry was allowed, which led to an increase in the number of business owners from merchants and peasants.

The process of the formation of capitalist relations became more and more noticeable and irreversible. The market for civilian labor appeared and began to grow. However, new relations appeared in a country where serfdom dominated, which influenced this process.

In the 2nd half of the 18th century. The all-Russian market continued to form. The specialization of the regions became more noticeable: the black earth Center and Ukraine produced bread, the Volga region supplied fish, leather, wool, the Urals - iron, Novgorod and the Smolensk lands - flax and hemp, the North - fish, furs, Siberia - furs, etc. All this was exchanged at auctions and fairs, the number of which grew. Through the ports of the Baltic and Black Sea regions, Russia conducted active foreign trade, exporting its goods - metal, flax, hemp, sailing cloth, timber, leather, bread. Russia imported sugar, cloth, silk, coffee, wine, fruit, tea, etc. Russia's leading trading partner at that time was England.

Trade primarily served the needs of the state and the ruling class. But it contributed to the establishment of a capitalist structure in the country.

In the 2nd half of the 18th century. The class system of the country is strengthened. Each category of the population - nobility, clergy, peasantry, townspeople, etc. - received rights and privileges by appropriate laws and decrees.

In 1785, in development of the Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility (1762), a Charter to the Nobility was issued, which confirmed the exclusive right of landowners to own land and peasants. The nobles were freed from compulsory service and personal taxes, and received the right to special representation in the district and province in the person of leaders of the nobility, which increased their role and importance locally.

Strengthening the class system in the 18th century. was an attempt to maintain the power of the ruling class, to preserve the feudal system, especially since this happened on the eve of the Great French Revolution.

Thus, in the 2nd half of the 18th century. The reserves of feudalism in the country had not yet been exhausted, and it could still ensure progress, despite the development of capitalist relations.

Catherine II. Enlightened absolutism 60–80 XVIIIV. Catherine II (1762 - 1796), having taken the throne in difficult times, showed remarkable abilities as a statesman. And indeed, her inheritance was not easy: the treasury was practically empty, the army had not received money for a long time, and manifestations of the ever-growing protest of the peasants posed a great danger to the ruling class.

Catherine II had to develop a policy that would meet the needs of the time. This policy was called enlightened absolutism. Catherine II decided to rely in her activities on certain provisions of the ideologists of the Enlightenment - the famous philosophical movement of the 18th century, which became the ideological basis of the Great French bourgeois revolution (1789–1794). Naturally, Catherine II set out to use only those ideas that could help strengthen serfdom and feudal orders in the country.

In Russia, apart from the nobility, there were no other forces capable of personifying social progress.

The French encyclopedists Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu, and Rousseau developed the main provisions of the Enlightenment, affecting the problems of social development. At the center of their thinking was the theory of “natural law,” according to which all people were naturally free and equal. But human society in its development deviated from the natural laws of life and came to an unjust state, oppression and slavery. In order to return to fair laws, it was necessary to enlighten the people, the encyclopedists believed. An enlightened society will restore fair laws, and then freedom, equality and fraternity will be the main meaning of the existence of society.

Philosophers entrusted the implementation of this goal to enlightened monarchs who wisely used their power.

These and other ideas were adopted by the monarchs of Prussia, Austria, and Russia, but approached them from the position of serfdom, linking the demands of equality and freedom with the strengthening of the privileges of the ruling class.

Such a policy could not be long-term. After the Peasants' War (1773 - 1775), as well as in connection with the revolution in France, the end of enlightened absolutism came, and the course towards strengthening internal and external reaction became too obvious.

Catherine II had been corresponding with Voltaire and his associates since 1763, discussing with them the problems of Russian life and creating the illusion of interest in applying their ideas.

In an effort to calm the country and strengthen her position on the throne, Catherine II in 1767 created a special commission in Moscow to draw up a new set of laws of the Russian Empire to replace the “Conciliar Regulations” of 1649.

573 deputies were involved in the work of the Commission - from nobles, various institutions, townspeople, state peasants, and Cossacks. Serfs did not participate in this Commission.

The commission collected orders from localities to determine people's needs. The work of the Commission was structured in accordance with the “Order” prepared by Catherine II - a kind of theoretical justification for the policy of enlightened absolutism. The order was voluminous, containing 22 chapters with 655 articles, most of the text was a quotation book from the works of enlighteners with justification for the need for strong monarchical power, serfdom, and the class division of society in Russia.

Having begun its meetings in the summer of 1767, the Commission solemnly awarded Catherine II the title of “great, wise mother of the Fatherland,” thereby declaring her recognition by the Russian nobility. But then, unexpectedly, the peasant question came into focus. Some deputies criticized the system of serfdom; there were proposals to attach the peasants to a special board, which would pay the landowners' salaries from peasant taxes; this was a hint of the desire to free the peasants from the power of the landowners. A number of deputies demanded that peasant duties be clearly defined.

The commission worked for more than a year and was dissolved under the pretext of the outbreak of war with Turkey, without creating a new code.

Catherine II learned from parliamentary speeches about the mood in society and in further legislative practice proceeded from her “Order” and the materials of this Commission.

The work of the Statutory Commission showed a growing critical, anti-serfdom attitude in Russian society. Pursuing the goal of influencing public opinion, Catherine II took up journalism and began publishing in 1769 the satirical magazine “All Things”, in which, trying to divert attention from criticism of serfdom, she offered criticism of human weaknesses, vices, and superstitions in general.

The Russian enlightener N.I. spoke from a different position. Novikov. In the magazines “Drone” and “Painter” he published, he spoke out, defending specific criticism of vices, namely, he castigated the unlimited arbitrariness of the landowners and the lack of rights of the peasants. It was expensive for N.I. Novikov had this position, he had to spend more than 4 years in the Shlisselburg fortress,

Criticism of serfdom and Novikov’s social activities contributed to the formation of anti-serfdom ideology in Russia.

A.N. is considered to be the first Russian revolutionary-republican. Radishchev (1749 – 1802). His views were formed under the strong influence of internal and external circumstances. These are the Peasant War of E. Pugachev, and the ideas of French and Russian enlighteners, and the revolution in France, and the War of Independence in North America (1775 - 1783), and the work of Novikov, and the statements of deputies of the Statutory Commission.

In the work "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow", the ode "Liberty" and others, Radishchev called for the abolition of slavery and the transfer of land to the peasants, for the revolutionary overthrow of the autocracy.

Catherine II called Radishchev “a rebel worse than Pugachev.” He was arrested and sentenced to death, commuted to 10 years of exile in Siberia (Ilimsky prison).

So, Catherine II is a traditional figure, despite her negative attitude towards the Russian past, despite the fact that she introduced new techniques in management, new ideas into social circulation. The duality of the traditions that she followed also determines the dual attitude of her descendants towards her. The historical significance of Catherine's era is extremely great precisely because in this era the results of previous history were summed up and the historical processes that developed earlier were completed.

Catherine's ideology and projectsII.

Catherine II adhered to the policy of “enlightened absolutism”, the main provisions of which were reflected in the “Order” to the Empress of the Statutory Commission (1767):

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

Abolition of outdated feudal institutions (some class privileges, subordination of the church to the state);

Carrying out peasant, judicial, educational reforms, easing censorship.

Most of these plans were not implemented.

Presentation page 9

Catherine's domestic policyII.

With the “Manifesto on Freedom for the Nobility” (1762) and the “Charter Granted to the Nobility” (1785), Catherine II secured the privileges of the nobility:

The nobles were exempt from taxes and duties.

Noble land ownership increased noticeably.

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 (confiscation) of church lands in favor of the state continued.

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

Presentation page 10

The uprising of E.I. Pugacheva (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 covered the lands of the Yaitsk army, the Orenburg region, the Urals, the Kama region, Bashkortostan, part of Western Siberia, as well as the Middle and Lower Volga regions.

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

Basic demands: abolition of serfdom, restoration of Cossack liberties in areas where Cossacks lived.

In 1775 the uprising was suppressed.

Presentation page 11

XVIIIcentury. Wars with Turkey.

Foreign policy objectives:

the struggle for access to the Black and Azov Seas;

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

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

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Russian foreign policy in the second halfXVIIIcentury. Partitions of Poland.

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

According to the first partition (1772) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, part of eastern Belarus went to Russia.

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

According to the third partition (1795), western Belarus, western Volyn, Lithuania and Courland went to Russia.

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

Presentation page 13

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.

According to the termsKuchuk-Kainardzhisky world(1774) Russia received:

access to the Black Sea;

the steppes of the Black Sea region - Novorossiya;

the right to have your own fleet in the Black Sea;

right of passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits;

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 legal rights Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire.

Russian-Turkish War 1787-1791 also ended in defeat for Turkey.

ByTreaty of Jassy:

Türkiye recognized Crimea as a possession of Russia;

the territory between the Bug and Dniester rivers became part of Russia;

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

Presentation page 14

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 to three days a week.

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

The latter caused discontent among the nobility, and a conspiracy arose during which Paul I was killed.

Presentation page 16

By the middle of the 18th century. the general level of education in Russia was low. In the orders of deputies to the Statutory Commission of 1767 - 1768, where considerations on educational issues were publicly expressed for the first time, little benefit was noted from the schools established in Russia in the time of Peter the Great. However, "education" becomes fashionable among the nobility.

Home education is becoming widespread among landowner families. But most often it was superficial and consisted only in the desire to master “French grace.”

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

In the second half of the 18th century. A network of closed class educational institutions was created, intended primarily for children of the nobility. In addition to the famous Land Noble Corps, the Corps of Pages was founded in the late 50s, preparing nobles for court service.

In 1764, the “Educational Society of 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 estate school consolidated the dominant position of the nobility in the main areas of administrative and military activity and turned education into one of its estate privileges. However, closed educational institutions left a noticeable mark on the history of Russian culture. Many famous cultural figures were educated there.

From the second half of the 18th century. vocational 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 of artistic education in the fields of painting, sculpture and architecture. Music classes at the Academy of Arts played a well-known role in the development of music education and upbringing in Russia. All these educational institutions were closed; Children of serfs were prohibited from studying there.

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

The opening of Moscow University, as well as the Academy of Sciences, was a major social and cultural event. The University in Moscow has become a national 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 18th century. Moscow University became the center of national 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 published here.

For the first time, many works of Western European enlighteners were printed in the university printing house; 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”), and the magazine “Musical” began to be published. entertainment." 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 alphabet books of the peoples of Russia - Georgian and Tatar.

In the second half of the 18th century. In Russia, a comprehensive school system began to take shape. The Charter of public schools, approved in 1786, was the first general legislative act for Russia in the field of public education.

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

Continuity in education was achieved by the commonality of the 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, a university 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 data available in the literature, there were 550 educational institutions with a student population of 60-70 thousand. About one person out of one and a half thousand residents 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 significantly higher.

One-year parish (church) schools were established at each church parish. They accepted children of “any condition” without distinction of “gender and age.” The charter proclaimed a continuity 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 this either to local city governments, or to landowners, or to the peasants themselves in the state village.

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

The appearance of new textbooks in the second half of the 18th century. associated with the activities of the Academy of Sciences, primarily M.V. Lomonosov, and professors from Moscow University. Published in 1757, Lomonosov’s “Russian Grammar” replaced the already outdated grammar of M. Smotritsky as the main manual on the Russian language. The textbook on mathematics, compiled in the 60s by a student at Moscow University D. Anichkov, remained the main textbook on mathematics in schools until the end of the 18th century. Lomonosov’s book “The First Foundations of Metallurgy, or Ore Mining,” became a textbook on mining.

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

The publishing base is expanding, and in addition to state-owned ones, private printing houses are appearing. The Decree “On Free Printing Houses” (1783) for the first time granted the right to open printing houses to everyone. Private printing houses were opened not only in capitals, but also in provincial cities.

In the second half of the 18th century. The repertoire of books is changing, the number of original scientific and artistic publications is increasing, the book is becoming more diverse in content and design.

The first public cultural and educational organizations appeared. For some time (1768 - 1783) in St. Petersburg there was a “Meeting for the Translation of Foreign Books,” created on the initiative of Catherine II. It was engaged in the translation and publication of works of ancient classics and French enlighteners. The publisher of the works of the “Collection” for some time was N.I. Novikov.

In 1773, Novikov organized in St. Petersburg the “Society Trying to Print 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, since 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 Entertainment of Employees” began to be published (1755). The academic printing house also published the first private magazine in Russia, “The Hardworking Bee” (1759), whose publisher was A.P. Sumarokov.

In the second half of the 18th century. Periodicals are becoming a noticeable social and cultural phenomenon not only in capital cities, 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., began to be published in Tambov. Derzhavin, at that time the civil governor of the city. The magazine “The Irtysh Turning into Hippokrena” (1789) was published in Tobolsk.

A special role in the publication and distribution of books in the last quarter of the 18th century. belonged to the outstanding Russian educator N.I. Novikov (1744 - 1818). Novikov, like other Russian educators, 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 gained its greatest scope during the period he rented the printing house of Moscow University (1779 - 1789). About a third of all books published in Russia at that time (approximately 1000 titles) came out of his printing houses. He published political and philosophical treatises by Western European thinkers, collected works of Russian writers, works folk art. Magazines, textbooks, and Masonic religious and moral literature occupied a large place among his publications. 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 18th century. Satirical journalism became widespread, on the pages of which works “to correct the morals of employees” were published, and anti-serfdom educational thought was formed. The most important role in this process belonged to Novikov’s publications “Truten” (1769 - 1770) and especially “Painter” (1772 - 1773). This bright and bold satirical magazine by N.I. Novikova contained sharp criticism of serfdom in Russia.

The development of education is associated with an 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 provided food for small employees and students. At the Academy of Sciences, some workers received their salaries 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 18th 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, and closed educational institutions. The library of the Academy of Sciences continued to operate. In 1758, the library of the Academy of Arts was opened, the basis of the fund 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 accessible; in the reading room, books could be used not only by students of the Academy, but also by everyone. IN certain days weeks, halls of other libraries were also opened for “book lovers”.

In the 80s - 90s of the 18th century. The first public libraries appeared in some provincial cities (Tula, Kaluga, Irkutsk). Paid (commercial) libraries appeared at bookstores, first in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and then in provincial cities.

The intelligentsia played a large role in the spiritual life of society. In terms of its social composition, the intelligentsia of the 18th century. was mostly still aristocratic. However, in the second half of this century, many commoners appeared among the artistic and scientific intelligentsia. Commoners 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 of Russia at the end of the 18th century. there was the existence of a serf intelligentsia: artists, composers, architects, performers. Many of them were talented, gifted people, they understood the severity of their powerless situation, and their lives often ended tragically.

The fate of the serf intelligentsia in Russia reflected the incompatibility of serfdom and free spiritual development personality. A new concept developed by public consciousness human personality conflicted with real life.

Conclusion

The dominant trend in the development of culture in Russia in the 18th century. was similar to the European one: the separation of science from the religious-mythological worldview, the creation of a new picture of the world and new sources of knowledge.

The development of state enlightenment into the Age of Enlightenment in Russia proceeded differently than in Western Europe, and had a slightly different content. If for European enlightenment 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 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, and guides of European enlightenment. They sought to imitate, assimilate, proud of the successful acquisition of knowledge, skill, and idea.

The 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 secular intellectual tradition of its own.

34) Geopolitics studies the dependence of the foreign policies of states on their geographical location. In 1904, the British scientist Halford Mackinder published his work “The Geographical Axis of History.” In Mackinder's theory, Russia was given a central place. 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). Eurasia, according to Mackinder, is a gigantic natural fortress that is difficult for maritime states to conquer. She's rich natural resources and can rely on its own strengths in economic development. According to the scientist, the unification of two continental powers - Germany and Russia - in the struggle for dominance in the world is dangerous for the oceanic powers - Great Britain and the USA. It was on Mackinder’s advice that after the end of World War I, the so-called buffer belt was created between Germany and Russia.

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

Mackinder's geopolitical formulas say: "He who controls Eastern Europe controls the Heartland. He who controls the Heartland controls the World Island. He 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 XX century Among Russian emigrants living in Europe, the socio-political movement of Eurasians arose. Among the Eurasian scientists were the historian Georgy Vladimirovich Vernadsky, geographer and economist Pyotr Nikolaevich Savitsky, lawyer and legal scholar Nikolai Petrovich Alekseev, as well as philosophers and theologians. Eurasians 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. Eurasians called this single 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 continent (Western Europe, China, Iran, Japan, India) are outskirts that occupy a peripheral (i.e., marginal) geopolitical position. P. N. Savitsky considered cooperation between continental Russia-Eurasia and the oceanic powers to be very important. The scientist considered the possible political union of Russia, Germany and France as the geopolitical axis of the entire continent.

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

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

From Spykman's point of view, the geopolitical position of a country is determined not by its internal territories, but by its 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 irschalekdoi (from the English rim - “rim”, “edge”). Therefore, according to his theory, the USA 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 from gaining 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 emerge, 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 political and economic development in Eurasia.

In the 70-80s. Japan, China, India, and Germany became stronger politically and economically. After the collapse of the world socialist system, in the late 80s - early 90s, the geopolitical concept of a multipolar world arose.

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

All geopolitical models highlight 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, Russia's geopolitical position has changed repeatedly. At the end of the 15th century, when the Russian lands were freed from the Horde yoke, the expansion of the Moscow state to the east began. The territories of the Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) khanates were captured, Siberia and most of Far East. 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 strict centralization in governance and a strong army.

However, this geopolitical situation 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 is that Russia did not have access to the trading seas. In the Baltic, the road was blocked by Sweden, in the Black Sea by Turkey, and in the Pacific there was no one to trade with yet. Constant wars with Poland and Lithuania prevented the development of political and trade relations with European states. Religious differences also hampered the establishment of strong relations with them. 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 gained access to the Baltic and Black Seas, its borders moved west and south: the state included the Baltic states, Finland, Poland, the Southern Black Sea region, the Caucasus and Kazakhstan. Russia reached the peak of its power at the beginning of the 19th century. However, now the Russian state included areas so diverse (in culture, religious traditions, etc.) that this weakened it.

In the middle of the XIX - early XX centuries. Russia's influence in the West has diminished. 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 I860, Vladivostok was founded - the first convenient seaport on the Russian Pacific coast. During this period, the geopolitical position had both its advantages (a huge territory, access to the seas of three oceans, the opportunity 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 and influence on world politics, it lost the palm to other countries - Germany, France, and 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 territory. The socialist system that had established itself in the USSR prevented the establishment of strong political relations with Western countries. Therefore, until the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), the USSR was in political isolation. By the end of the war, the Soviet Union had approached the borders of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century on almost all fronts. Its sphere of influence included all of Eastern and part of Central Europe.

In the 40-80s. The USSR was one of two world powers (along with the USA) that determined the world political order. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has not had the same influence in Eastern and Central Europe. The coastal situation worsened: many Black Sea ports went to Ukraine, and the Baltic ports went to the Baltic states. At the end of the 20th century. Russia can no longer compare in military and economic power with the United States and Western Europe, but it still remains the largest state in Eurasia.

Over a thousand years of Russian history, the peculiarities of its geopolitical position have emerged. Our country has a stable geopolitical core - areas that have invariably 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 separated Russia and Western Europe. They were either in the zone of Russian influence or in the zone of influence of Western powers. Russia, even during 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 19th 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 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 explains 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 states to the Far East. It belonged to Alaska and some other territories in North America. The country's population by mid-century was about 74 million people. It consisted of numerous peoples living on vast 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, which was fleeing the onslaught of Persia, became part of Russia. As a result of the war with Persia and Turkey in 1804-1813, Imereti, 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, except for its southern part, went to Russia. 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 (Grand Duchy of Finland) and the Åland Islands were annexed to Russia. Finland had greater independence as part of Russia: an elected diet, its own constitution, monetary and customs systems. A governor was appointed there on behalf of the Russian emperor. It can be said that Finland was more of a special state united with Russia by a personal union than a Russian province.

By decision of the Vienna (1814-1815) Congress European countries, who defeated Napoleon, almost all of Poland (Kingdom of Poland) was included in Russia, which was ruled by the Tsar’s governor. The body of power in Poland was the Sejm, and 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 sector of the Russian economy. Approximately 90% of the country's population were peasants. The development of agricultural production occurred 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 named after. M.V. Lomonosov. Faculty of History - 4th ed., revised. and additional - M.: Prospekt, 2012 - 528 pp. The introduction of more advanced methods of soil cultivation and new varieties of agricultural crops occurred very slowly, grain yields at the beginning of the century averaged “one-three”, “one-four”, i.e. . When sowing one pood, three to four poods of grain were harvested. There were frequent crop failures, which led to mass starvation of peasants and the death of livestock. The main agrotechnical system remained the traditional three-field system; in some places, cuttings were still preserved (in Siberia), and in the steppe regions - the fallow (fallow) system. Livestock farming was predominantly subsistence in nature, i.e. livestock were raised for home consumption and not for sale.

By the middle of the 19th century, agriculture gradually began to change. Crops expanded industrial crops- hops, tobacco, flax, and in the 1840s the area under potatoes increased significantly, which became not only the “second bread” for peasants, but also a raw material for the food industry. The area under a new crop, sugar beet, also increased, especially in Ukraine and in the south of the Black Earth Region. Enterprises for its processing appeared. The first beet sugar production plant 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, winnowers, seeders, reapers, etc. The proportion of hired workers increased. In the 1850s, their number reached 700 thousand people, mostly coming for seasonal work in the southern, steppe, Volga provinces, and the Baltic states.

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

In the first half of the 19th century, as in the 18th century, peasants were divided into the same categories: landowners, state and appanage (palace). Landowner peasants made up the most large group. In the 1850s, there were more than 23 million people of both sexes, including 1.5 million household servants and 540 thousand who worked in private factories and factories of Nekrasov M.B. Domestic history: textbook (M.B. Nekrasova, 2nd ed., revised and supplemented. - M.: Higher Education, 2010 - 378 pp..

At the beginning of the century, the share of serfs accounted for 40% of the country's total population, and by the middle of the century - 37%. The bulk of the landowner peasants lived in the central provinces, 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 region there were none at all Nekrasova M.B. Domestic history: textbook (M.B. Nekrasova, 2nd ed., revised and supplemented. - M.: Higher Education, 2010 - 378 pp..

In different regions of the country, the ratio of corvee and quitrent was different, since it depended on the economic characteristics of the province. Thus, in the central region, where the level of commercial activities of peasants was high, the quitrent system became widespread - from 65 to 90%. In the Baltic states, Belarus, and Ukraine, where it was considered more profitable for the landowners to increase the lordly plowing, the peasants were predominantly in corvee labor - up to 90-95% of the peasants.

By the middle of the century, there were about 19 million souls of both sexes by state (state) peasants. Officially they were called “free rural inhabitants.” As in the 18th century, their economic situation was more stable. They were provided with land plots, for which they had to, in addition to state taxes and fees, also bear feudal duties in the form of monetary dues. Since 1801, this category of peasants was allowed to acquire land ownership. They could make a relatively free choice: engage in agriculture or handicraft production, create their own small enterprises, or move into the urban class.

But this legal status of state-owned peasants was not strong enough and guaranteed by the state. The government could transfer them to military settlements, give them ownership to a nobleman (which already happened extremely rarely 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, the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia.

The category of appanage peasants in 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. Appanage peasants paid quitrents in favor of the royal family, paid state taxes and worked off duties 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 landowners (about 70%) had no more than 100 male serfs and were considered small-scale landowners. Among small estates, more than half had only a few serfs, on average 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. Labor productivity in corvee labor was noticeably declining, and peasants were looking for all sorts of excuses to avoid it. As a contemporary wrote, peasants go to work later and later, work carelessly, just so as not to get the job done, but to waste the day. While the landowner was vitally interested in increasing the production of agricultural products for sale, and primarily grain, the peasants showed less and less effort in their work.

The crisis was also felt by those farms in which the quitrent system prevailed. As peasant crafts developed, competition among workers grew, and the earnings of peasants-obrochniks fell, therefore, they paid less and less cash rent to the landowners. Increasingly, debtor landowners began to appear who could not repay their debts to credit institutions. So, if at the beginning of the 19th century only 5% of serfs were on mortgage, 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, first of all, on agricultural production. But serfdom also held back successfully developing industry and trade. This was due to the fact that there was no labor market in the country. In addition, serfs had 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 bulk of industrial products were produced not by large enterprises, but by small-scale industries. This was especially true in the manufacturing industry producing consumer goods. In the 1850s, they accounted for up to 80% of total output. Crafts were most common in the central non-black earth provinces - Moscow, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Kaluga, etc., where in almost every village 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. Well-known villages are Ivanovo-Voznesensk and Teykovo in the Vladimir province, Pavlovo in the Nizhny Novgorod province, and Kimry in the Tver province, which have turned into centers of the textile, metalworking and leather industries.

Disseminated manufacturing played a major role in the development of domestic industry, in which the entrepreneur-buyer distributed work to home-based peasants. Later, these workers began to be gathered under one roof, where they worked on the basis of a detailed division of labor. Thus, capital was gradually accumulated and qualified personnel were trained for future large industrial enterprises.

Still important for rural population had latrine trades that originated in the 17th century. They became widespread in the central and northwestern provinces, where peasants on infertile lands could not support their families and pay taxes. By the middle of the century, up to 30-40% of the adult male population left here to work in large cities. This process served important factor in the formation of the labor market, as well as the growth of the urban population.

In the 1820s-1830s, serfs made up 46% of the total number of industrial workers in the country, and only by 1860 their share dropped to 18%. But even among 82% of the “civilized” workers, the overwhelming majority were serfs, released by the landowners to earn money.

The number of industrial enterprises had increased to 15 thousand by 1860, but most of them were small 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 era of Peter the Great, as well as patrimonial factories 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 products and their high cost. Work in patrimonial manufactories was one of the most difficult forms of corvée for peasants, which pushed them to resist. Possession manufactories also experienced an acute crisis due to their low efficiency.

The development of Russian industry was uneven. Cotton production developed at the fastest pace. In the 1850s, Russia ranked fifth in the world in the production of cotton fabrics. Noticeable successes were observed in the wool industry, while 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 had decreased to 156. The state of depression also affected metallurgy. During the first half of the 19th century, cast iron production only doubled - from 9 to 18 million poods, and at the same time England increased cast iron production 30 times. Russia's share in world metallurgy fell from 12% in 1830 to 4% in 1850. This was the result of technical backwardness and low labor productivity of serf workers. Russian metallurgy survived only thanks to a strict system of customs tariffs on the import of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

In the 1830s and 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 workers were wage earners, and most recently in the mining industry. This is explained by the fact that textile enterprises, faster than others, began to be equipped with various machines, the maintenance of which required more trained workers not related to agriculture.

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

One of the indicators of the industrial revolution can be considered the emergence and development of Russian mechanical engineering. And although until the 1860s in national economy mainly foreign-made machines were used, it was during these years that the first machine-building plants were built in St. Petersburg: the Berda plant, the Nevsky machine-building plant, the Aleksandrovsky state-owned plant, which produced steam engines, steamships, steam locomotives, etc. In 1849, a plant was built in Sormovo (about Nizhny Novgorod), which began to produce river vessels. Agricultural engineering has developed in the Baltic states and Ukraine. 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 1860-1870s.

It is necessary to note the specific features that were inherent in pre-reform employees and entrepreneurs. Hired workers, as a rule, were also serfs who went on quitrent, but were still associated with agriculture. They depended, on the one hand, on the manufacturer (breeder), and on the other, on the landowner, who could at any time return them to the village and force them to work as corvee labor. And it was quite expensive for the manufacturer to hire such a worker, since in addition to the worker’s wages, he had to compensate the landowner for his rent. The state (state) peasant who went to the city was also not completely free, because he was still connected with the community by certain relationships.

The Russian pre-reform bourgeoisie was characterized by other features. It came primarily from guild merchants or from among the “trading peasants” who received “tickets” ( special certificates for the right to trade) and managed to found an enterprise. Most often they combined trading 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 were “trading peasants”.

But most of the entrepreneurs and trading peasants still remained serfs. And although many of them already had large capital and owned factories, they, as in the 18th century, continued to pay considerable amounts of quitrent to the landowners, who were in no hurry to release the rich entrepreneurs because of this.

For example, the owner of a large silk weaving factory in the Moscow region, I. Kondrashev, remained a serf of the Golitsyn princes until 1861. As an example, we can also cite the manufacturer S. Morozov, who in the 1820s bought his freedom from the landowner Ryumin for 17 thousand rubles. - an amount equal to the annual rent from two thousand serfs. Several dozen factory owners from the village of Ivanovo were bought 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 increased to 5.7 million people, which accounted for only 8% of the total population of the country. Over half a century, the number of cities increased from 630 to 1032, and 80% of these cities were very small, with up to five thousand inhabitants each. The shopping centers of the Volga region grew especially quickly, as well as the commercial and industrial villages turning into cities: Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Pavlovo-on-Oka, Rybinsk, Gzhatsk, etc. In 1811, the population of only 19 cities exceeded 20 thousand, and only St. Petersburg and Moscow were really major cities. Moscow has grown over 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 a country with no roads, which significantly hampered its economic development. The main modes of transport in Russia at that time were water and horse-drawn transport. The main cargo flows moved along the rivers - the Volga, Dnieper, Northern and Western Dvina, Neman, Don: grain, agricultural raw materials, metallurgical 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, and Western Dvina, but their capacity was small. In 1815-1817, the first steamboats appeared on the rivers, and by 1860 there were already about 340 of them, mostly foreign production. Cargoes were floated along the rivers on rafts, barges, or using horse and barge traction. In 1815, the first Russian steamship Elizaveta opened regular flights from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt. The ship's speed was 9.5 km per hour.

If waterways were used in the summer, then in winter a more convenient form of transport was transportation by horse along a sleigh route. The roads were mostly dirt and practically impassable during muddy times. In cities, 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 versts of highways throughout the country, which was, of course, very small for the vast Russia (1 verst = 1. 07 km).

In the 1830s, construction of railways began. The first railway, which had almost no economic significance, was built in 1837 between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo; its length was only 25 versts. 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 government 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 (still preserved) was adopted solely as a protectionist measure. It was believed that a direct railway connection with Europe would lead to an influx of cheap European products, with which it was very difficult for Russian goods to compete. Let us note that Russia is still suffering unjustified losses of time and money on the border change of wheeled bogies of all trains.

At the same time, a railway from St. Petersburg to Warsaw was built using private funds. In total, by 1861, Russia had only about 1.5 thousand miles of railway lines, and in terms of this indicator the country was extremely 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 feasibility of their development. Even in the government there were opponents to the construction of railways, who argued that in Russia there would supposedly be no cargo or passengers for them. Minister of Finance Yegor Frantsevich Kankrin (1774-1845) stated that railways“incite frequent unnecessary travel and thus increase the fickleness of the spirit of our era.” He said that connecting Moscow and Kazan by rails is possible only in 200-300 years.

This position of the country's chief treasurer led to the fact that the underdeveloped 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 Russia's defeat.

Trade, money circulation, finance

Domestic trade first half of the 19th century century was almost no different from the trade of the 18th century, either in structure or content. The bulk of domestic trade continued to be in agricultural products and handicrafts. And only by the middle of the century the share of products of large industrial enterprises, especially textile and leather goods, increased. The role of wholesale trade centers—fairs—has noticeably increased. The largest ones, with a turnover of over 1 million rubles, were few, only 64: Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov (Yaroslavl province), Korennaya (near Kursk), etc. In addition, almost 18 thousand fairs were medium and small.

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

As in the 18th century, peddlers and ofeni walked through remote villages, carrying fabrics, haberdashery, and small household items, often not selling them for money, but exchanging them for raw materials (linen, linen, etc.).

By the middle of the 19th century, trade had 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 guild merchants lost their monopoly position in the market. Following the industrialists, “trading peasants” literally poured into city markets and fairs, pushing aside the merchants in some places. Thus, in Moscow in the 1840s, peasants already made up almost half of all traders.

Russia's foreign trade was built mainly with an orientation towards the Western European market, which accounted for up to 90% of all foreign trade turnover. England continued to be the main trading partner - over 30% of Russia's trade turnover was accounted for by this country. France and Germany played a significant role in turnover. Western countries bought bread and agricultural raw materials from Russia, and sent cars, raw cotton, paints, etc. what was necessary for Russian industry. But if for Western countries Russia was a supplier of raw materials and semi-finished products, but for the countries of the East, and especially Central Asia, Russia acted as a supplier of industrial products, mainly textiles and metal products. During the first half of the 19th century, the volume of foreign trade increased significantly. The average annual export volume in 1800-1860 increased almost fourfold: from 60 million to 230 million rubles, and imports more than five times: from 40 million to 210 million.

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

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

Later, after E. Kankrin left his 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, alcoholic beverages and some others.

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

In 1839 E. Kankrin conducted 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, and this meant the devaluation of banknotes. By 1843, they were completely withdrawn from circulation and replaced by credit notes, freely exchangeable for silver. But in the course Crimean War and after its defeat, the government more than once resorted to issuing money. As a result of this policy, the exchange rate of the credit ruble constantly decreased compared to the rate of the silver ruble, so free exchange was abolished. The country was actually threatened with financial collapse. During 1853-1856, the budget deficit grew from 57 million to 307 million rubles, inflation rose to 50% per year.

State finances of the first half of the 19th century were constantly under great strain, the state budget deficit increased from year to year, since the main source of state revenue remained taxes from the tax-paying population, mainly from peasants, while the nobility and clergy paid almost nothing personal taxes, the merchants paid only small fees. But these revenues could not cover the needs of the state. Thus, before the reform of 1861, the lower tax-paying strata paid 175 million rubles. per year from 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 bulk of bank loans were used for very preferential lending to noble households. Very insignificant amounts were spent on lending to trade and industry, since for these purposes loans were subject to a number of conditions.

Specific feature Russia was that the initial accumulation of capital took place under serfdom. The most important source of accumulation was feudal rent, received by large landowners in kind and in cash. But basically the process of accumulation ended after the abolition of serfdom, when the nobles, having received huge redemption 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 incurred on the estates pledged to the treasury. And by 1860, the landowners had about 400 million rubles of such debts. Later, in 1871, of the total amount of redemption payments, almost 250 million rubles. went to pay off the bank debts of the nobility.

Merchant capital was mostly created through extremely profitable government contracts and farm-outs, especially for the wine monopoly. In 1860, wine farmers paid 128 million rubles to the treasury, and their own income from wine trading was several times higher. In the middle of the century, up to 40% of all budget revenues came from the so-called drinking income - from the wine trade. Private capital also grew due to unequal trade with the Russian outskirts, the rapid growth of the gold mining industry in Siberia, etc.

social economic industry trade

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

Palace coup 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 “Grants of Letters” to the nobility and cities, abolished by Paul I, abolished corporal punishment for nobles and other reactionary and punitive decrees introduced during the reign of Paul I. Officials and officers expelled without trial - approximately 10 thousand people - were returned to service. All those arrested and exiled by the “secret expedition”, i.e., were released from prison and returned from exile. without a court decision. It was allowed to open private printing houses, import foreign literature from abroad, and the free travel of Russian citizens abroad was again allowed.

For the socio-economic reform of the country, the new emperor formed a Secret Committee of young noblemen: P. Stroganov, V. Kochubey, A. Czartoryski, N. Novosiltsev. At meetings of this committee during 1801-1803, projects of government reforms were discussed, including the abolition of serfdom. With the direct participation of these advisers, some liberal reforms were carried out in Russia. Upon his 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. According to the decree of 1801, the long-awaited purchase of land by non-nobles was allowed: merchants, burghers, and state-owned peasants. True, according to this decree, the landowner peasants who were engaged in business did not receive such permission. They received this right only in 1848.

On February 20, 1803, a decree “On free cultivators” was issued, which provided for the possibility of freeing serfs and their families with land plots, entire villages or settlements, but with the obligatory consent of the landowner. However, in practice this decree was applied very rarely. Under Alexander I, only 47 thousand male souls, or 0.5% of all serfs, became free cultivators, and during all the years of this decree (1803-1858) only 152 thousand, or approximately 1.5%, were able to take advantage of it. serfs.

In 1802-1811, a reform of the highest government bodies was carried out. First of all, eight ministries were created to replace the old Peter's collegiums: 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 all economic departments were brought together under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance: the Ministry of Commerce, the Department of Manufacturing and Foreign Trade. The preparation of a unified state budget began, information about which, due to its scarcity, was strictly classified. All responsibility for matters to be resolved fell solely on the ministers, which was more convenient for management. But at the same time, the bureaucratic essence of the state apparatus intensified. The ministerial system in this form existed in Russia without changes until 1917.

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

Thanks to his outstanding abilities, energy, and desire to serve the benefit of the fatherland, he quickly became one of the most prominent 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 government reforms. At the same time, he intended to use some norms of French legislation from the so-called Napoleon 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 goal of the document was to streamline outdated and chaotic legislation that had been 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 envisaged to create a bicameral parliament consisting of the State Council and 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 to the Duma, and after their adoption in the Duma, they were finally approved by the emperor.

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

Further, fate was unkind to M. Speransky. Particular dissatisfaction with the “popovich,” as he was called at court, increased due to a decree of 1809, which prohibited advancement through the government ladder 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 forming, and everyone understood the inevitability of war with France. The reason for Speransky's imminent resignation was also the introduction of new direct taxes in the country: the poll tax from peasants and townspeople increased from a ruble to two rubles, and a tax was also introduced on noble estates and landowners' lands. This caused irritation among various segments of the population.

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

Some transformations took place at the beginning of the century in the field of education. In all educational institutions the principle of classlessness and free education at the lower levels was proclaimed. A coherent education system of four levels was formed: parish one-class schools, district schools, gymnasiums and universities. In 1802-1804, universities were opened in the cities of Vilno (Vilnius), Dorpat (Tartu), Kazan, Kharkov, and in 1819 the Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg was transformed into a university. In 1811, a famous lyceum was opened in Tsarskoe Selo, which trained 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: election of the rector and professors, their own court, non-interference by administrative authorities and the police in the affairs of these educational institutions, etc.

After successful completion Patriotic War 1812 and the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814, the international authority of Russia grew significantly. In 1815, the Holy Alliance was created, which set as its goal to maintain unshakable existing borders in Europe, strengthen monarchical dynasties, and suppress all kinds of revolutionary uprisings. Decisions were even made on the right to intervene in the internal affairs of states to suppress revolutionary movements.

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

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