At the beginning of the XIX century. there was an official consolidation of the boundaries of Russian possessions in North America and northern Europe. The St. Petersburg Conventions of 1824 defined the borders with American () and English possessions. The Americans pledged not to settle north of 54°40′ N. sh. on the coast, and the Russians - to the south. The border of Russian and British possessions ran along the Pacific coast from 54 ° N. sh. up to 60° s. sh. at a distance of 10 miles from the edge of the ocean, taking into account all the curves of the coast. The St. Petersburg Russian-Swedish Convention of 1826 established the Russian-Norwegian border.

New wars with Turkey and Iran led to further expansion of the territory of the Russian Empire. According to the Akkerman Convention with Turkey in 1826, it secured Sukhum, Anaklia and Redut-Kale. In accordance with the Adrianople Peace Treaty of 1829, Russia received the mouth of the Danube and the Black Sea coast from the mouth of the Kuban to the post of St. Nicholas, including Anapa and Poti, as well as the Akhaltsikhe pashalik. In the same years, Balkaria and Karachay joined Russia. In 1859-1864. Russia included Chechnya, mountainous Dagestan and mountain peoples (Circassians, etc.), who waged wars with Russia for their independence.

After the Russian-Persian war of 1826-1828. Russia received Eastern Armenia (Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates), which was recognized by the Turkmanchay Treaty of 1828.

The defeat of Russia in the Crimean War with Turkey, which acted in alliance with Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia, led to the loss of the mouth of the Danube and the southern part of Bessarabia, which was approved by the Peace of Paris in 1856. At the same time, the Black Sea was recognized as neutral. Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 ended with the annexation of Ardagan, Batum and Kars and the return of the Danubian part of Bessarabia (without the mouths of the Danube).

The borders of the Russian Empire in the Far East were established, which had previously been largely uncertain and controversial. According to the Shimoda Treaty with Japan in 1855, the Russian-Japanese maritime border was drawn in the area of ​​the Kuril Islands along the Friza Strait (between the Urup and Iturup Islands), and Sakhalin Island was recognized as undivided between Russia and Japan (in 1867 it was declared joint possession of these countries). The delimitation of Russian and Japanese island possessions continued in 1875, when Russia, under the Treaty of Petersburg, ceded the Kuril Islands (to the north of the Frieze Strait) to Japan in exchange for recognizing Sakhalin as a possession of Russia. However, after the war with Japan in 1904-1905. Russia was forced to cede to Japan in the Portsmouth Peace southern half Sakhalin Islands (from the 50th parallel).

Under the terms of the Aigun (1858) treaty with China, Russia received territories along the left bank of the Amur from the Argun to the mouth, previously considered undivided, and Primorye (Ussuri Territory) was recognized as a common possession. The Beijing Treaty of 1860 formalized the final annexation of Primorye to Russia. In 1871, Russia annexed the Ili region with the city of Ghulja, which belonged to the Qing Empire, but after 10 years it was returned to China. At the same time, the border in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bLake Zaysan and the Black Irtysh was corrected in favor of Russia.

In 1867, the Tsarist government ceded all of its colonies to the United States of North America for $7.2 million.

From the middle of the XIX century. continued what had been started in the 18th century. promotion of Russian possessions in Central Asia. In 1846, the Kazakh Senior Zhuz (Great Horde) announced the voluntary acceptance of Russian citizenship, and in 1853 the Kokand fortress Ak-Mechet was conquered. In 1860, the annexation of Semirechye was completed, and in 1864-1867. parts of the Kokand Khanate (Chimkent, Tashkent, Khojent, Zachirchik Territory) and the Emirate of Bukhara (Ura-Tyube, Jizzakh, Yany-Kurgan) were annexed. In 1868, the Emir of Bukhara recognized himself as a vassal of the Russian Tsar, and the Samarkand and Katta-Kurgan districts of the emirate and the Zeravshan region were annexed to Russia. In 1869, the coast of the Krasnovodsk Bay was annexed to Russia, and the following year, the Mangyshlak Peninsula. According to the Gendemian peace treaty with the Khiva Khanate in 1873, the latter recognized vassal dependence on Russia, and the lands on the right bank of the Amu Darya became part of Russia. In 1875, the Kokand Khanate became a vassal of Russia, and in 1876 it was included in the Russian Empire as the Fergana region. In 1881-1884. the lands inhabited by Turkmens were annexed to Russia, and in 1885 - the Eastern Pamirs. Agreements of 1887 and 1895. Russian and Afghan possessions were demarcated along the Amu Darya and in the Pamirs. Thus, the formation of the border of the Russian Empire in Central Asia was completed.

In addition to the lands annexed to Russia as a result of wars and peace treaties, the country's territory increased due to newly discovered lands in the Arctic: in 1867, Wrangel Island was discovered, in 1879-1881. - the De Long Islands, in 1913 - the Severnaya Zemlya Islands.

Pre-revolutionary changes Russian territory ended with the establishment of a protectorate over the Uryankhai region (Tuva) in 1914.

Geographical exploration, discoveries and mapping

European part

From geographical discoveries in the European part of Russia, the discovery of the Donetsk ridge and the Donetsk coal basin, made by E.P. Kovalevsky in 1810-1816, should be mentioned. and in 1828

Despite some setbacks (in particular, the defeat in the Crimean War of 1853-1856 and the loss of territory as a result of Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905) By the beginning of the First World War, the Russian Empire had vast territories and was the largest country in the world in terms of area.

Academic expeditions of V. M. Severgin and A. I. Sherer in 1802-1804. to the north-west of Russia, to Belarus, the Baltic states and Finland were devoted mainly to mineralogical research.

The period of geographical discoveries in the inhabited European part of Russia is over. In the 19th century expeditionary research and their scientific generalization were mainly thematic. Of these, one can name the zoning (mainly agricultural) of European Russia into eight latitudinal bands, proposed by E.F. Kankrin in 1834; botanical and geographical zoning of European Russia by R. E. Trautfetter (1851); studies of the natural conditions of the Baltic and Caspian Seas, the state of fishing and other industries there (1851-1857), carried out by K. M. Baer; the work of N. A. Severtsov (1855) on the fauna of the Voronezh province, in which he showed deep connections between the animal world and physical and geographical conditions, and also established patterns of distribution of forests and steppes in connection with the nature of the relief and soils; classical soil studies by VV Dokuchaev in the chernozem zone, begun in 1877; a special expedition led by V.V. Dokuchaev, organized by the Forest Department for a comprehensive study of the nature of the steppes and finding ways to combat drought. In this expedition, the stationary research method was used for the first time.

Caucasus

The annexation of the Caucasus to Russia necessitated the exploration of new Russian lands, which were poorly studied. In 1829, the Caucasian expedition of the Academy of Sciences, led by A. Ya. Kupfer and E. Kh. Lenz, explored the Rocky Range in the Greater Caucasus, determined the exact heights of many mountain peaks of the Caucasus. In 1844-1865. the natural conditions of the Caucasus were studied by G. V. Abikh. He studied in detail the orography and geology of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, Dagestan, the Colchis lowland, and compiled the first general orographic scheme of the Caucasus.

Ural

The description of the Middle and Southern Urals, made in 1825-1836, is among the works that developed the geographical idea of ​​the Urals. A. Ya. Kupfer, E. K. Hoffman, G. P. Gelmersen; publication of the “Natural History of the Orenburg Territory” by E. A. Eversman (1840), in which comprehensive characterization the nature of this territory with a well-founded natural division; Expedition of the Russian Geographical Society to the Northern and Polar Urals (E.K. Gofman, V.G. Bragin), during which the Konstantinov Kamen peak was discovered, the Pai-Khoi ridge was discovered and explored, an inventory was compiled that served as the basis for mapping the studied part of the Urals . A notable event was the journey in 1829 of the outstanding German naturalist A. Humboldt to the Urals, Rudny Altai and to the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Siberia

In the 19th century continued exploration of Siberia, many areas of which were studied very poorly. In Altai, in the 1st half of the century, the sources of the river were discovered. Lake Teletskoye (1825-1836, A. A. Bunge, F. V. Gebler), the Chulyshman and Abakan rivers (1840-1845, P. A. Chikhachev) were explored. During his travels, P. A. Chikhachev carried out physical-geographical and geological studies.

In 1843-1844. A. F. Middendorf collected extensive material on orography, geology, climate, permafrost and the organic world of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, for the first time information was obtained about the nature of Taimyr, the Aldan Highlands, and the Stanovoy Range. Based on travel materials, A.F. Middendorf wrote in 1860-1878. published "Journey to the North and East of Siberia" - one of the best examples of systematic reports on the nature of the studied territories. This work gives a description of all the main natural components, as well as the population, shows the features of the relief Central Siberia, the peculiarity of its climate, the results of the first scientific study are presented permafrost, the zoogeographical division of Siberia is given.

In 1853-1855. R. K. Maak and A. K. Zondgagen investigated the orography, geology and life of the population of the Central Yakut Plain, the Central Siberian Plateau, the Vilyui Plateau, and surveyed the Vilyui River.

In 1855-1862. The Siberian expedition of the Russian Geographical Society carried out topographic surveys, astronomical determinations, geological and other studies in the south of Eastern Siberia and in the Amur region.

A large amount of research was carried out in the second half of the century in the mountains of the south of Eastern Siberia. In 1858, L. E. Schwartz carried out geographical research in the Sayans. During them, the topographer Kryzhin carried out a topographic survey. In 1863-1866. research in Eastern Siberia and the Far East was carried out by P. A. Kropotkin, who paid special attention to the relief and geological structure. He explored the rivers Oka, Amur, Ussuri, the Sayan ranges, discovered the Patom highland. The Khamar-Daban ridge, the shores of Lake Baikal, the Angara region, the Selenga basin, the Eastern Sayan were explored by A. L. Chekanovsky (1869-1875), I. D. Chersky (1872-1882). In addition, A. L. Chekanovsky explored the basins of the Nizhnyaya Tunguska and Olenyok rivers, and I. D. Chersky studied the upper reaches of the Lower Tunguska. Geographical, geological and botanical survey of the Eastern Sayan was carried out during the Sayan expedition N. P. Bobyr, L. A. Yachevsky, Ya. P. Prein. Exploration of the Sayan mountain system in 1903 V. L. Popov continued. In 1910, he also carried out a geographical study of the border strip between Russia and China from Altai to Kyakhta.

In 1891-1892. during his last expedition, I. D. Chersky explored the Momsky Range, the Nerskoye Plateau, discovered behind the Verkhoyansk Range three high mountain ranges Tas-Kystabyt, Ulakhan-Chistai and Tomuskhai.

Far East

Research continued on Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the seas adjacent to them. In 1805, I. F. Kruzenshtern explored the eastern and northern shores of Sakhalin and the northern Kuril Islands, and in 1811, V. M. Golovnin made an inventory of the middle and southern parts of the Kuril ridge. In 1849, G. I. Nevelskoy confirmed and proved the navigability of the Amur mouth for large ships. In 1850-1853. G. I. Nevelsky and others continued their studies of the Tatar Strait, Sakhalin, and adjacent parts of the mainland. In 1860-1867. Sakhalin was explored by F.B. Schmidt, P.P. Glen, G.V. Shebunin. In 1852-1853. N. K. Boshnyak investigated and described the basins of the Amgun and Tym rivers, the Everon and Chukchagirskoye lakes, the Bureinsky Range, and the Khadzhi Bay (Sovetskaya Gavan).

In 1842-1845. A.F. Middendorf and V.V. Vaganov explored the Shantar Islands.

In the 50-60s. 19th century coastal parts of Primorye were explored: in 1853 -1855. I. S. Unkovsky discovered the bays of Posyet and Olga; in 1860-1867 V. Babkin surveyed the northern coast of the Sea of ​​Japan and Peter the Great Bay. The Lower Amur and the northern part of the Sikhote-Alin were explored in 1850-1853. G. I. Nevelsky, N. K. Boshnyak, D. I. Orlov and others; in 1860-1867 - A. Budischev. In 1858, M. Venyukov explored the Ussuri River. In 1863-1866. the Amur and Ussuri rivers were studied by P.A. Kropotkin. In 1867-1869. N. M. Przhevalsky made a major trip around the Ussuri region. He carried out comprehensive studies of the nature of the basins of the Ussuri and Suchan rivers, crossed the Sikhote-Alin ridge.

middle Asia

As individual parts of Kazakhstan and Central Asia were annexed to the Russian Empire, and sometimes even anticipating it, Russian geographers, biologists and other scientists investigated and studied their nature. In 1820-1836. the organic world of Mugodzhar, the Common Syrt and the Ustyurt plateau was studied by E. A. Eversman. In 1825-1836. conducted a description of the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, the Mangystau and Bolshoy Balkhan ridges, the Krasnovodsk plateau G. S. Karelin and I. Blaramberg. In 1837-1842. AI Shrenk studied East Kazakhstan.

In 1840-1845. the Balkhash-Alakol basin was discovered (A.I. Shrenk, T.F. Nifantiev). From 1852 to 1863 T.F. Nifantiev conducted the first surveys of the lakes Balkhash, Issyk-Kul, Zaisan. In 1848-1849. A. I. Butakov carried out the first survey of the Aral Sea, discovered a number of islands, Chernyshev Bay.

Valuable scientific results, especially in the field of biogeography, were brought by the expedition of 1857 by I. G. Borshov and N. A. Severtsov to Mugodzhary, the Emba River basin and the Bolshie Barsuki sands. In 1865, I. G. Borshchov continued research on the vegetation and natural conditions of the Aral-Caspian region. Steppes and deserts are considered by him as natural geographical complexes and mutual relations between relief, moisture, soils and vegetation are analyzed.

Since the 1840s studies of the highlands of Central Asia began. In 1840-1845. A.A. Leman and Ya.P. Yakovlev discovered the Turkestan and Zeravshan ranges. In 1856-1857. P.P. Semyonov laid the foundation for the scientific study of the Tien Shan. The heyday of research in the mountains of Central Asia falls on the period of the expeditionary leadership of P.P. Semyonov (Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky). In 1860-1867. N. A. Severtsov explored the Kyrgyz and Karatau ranges, discovered the Karzhantau, Pskem and Kakshaal-Too ranges in the Tien Shan, in 1868-1871. A.P. Fedchenko explored the Tien Shan, Kuhistan, Alay and Zaalay ranges. N. A. Severtsov, A. I. Skassi discovered the Rushansky Range and the Fedchenko Glacier (1877-1879). The conducted research allowed to single out the Pamirs as a separate mountain system.

Research in the desert regions of Central Asia was carried out by N. A. Severtsov (1866-1868) and A. P. Fedchenko in 1868-1871. (Kyzylkum desert), V. A. Obruchev in 1886-1888. (desert of Karakum and ancient valley of Uzboy).

Comprehensive research Aral Sea in 1899-1902 conducted by L. S. Berg.

North and Arctic

At the beginning of the XIX century. the opening of the New Siberian Islands. In 1800-1806. Ya. Sannikov carried out inventories of the islands of Stolbovoy, Faddeevsky, New Siberia. In 1808, Belkov discovered the island, which received the name of its discoverer - Belkovsky. In 1809-1811. M. M. Gedenstrom's expedition visited the New Siberian Islands. In 1815, M. Lyakhov discovered the islands of Vasilievsky and Semyonovsky. In 1821-1823. P.F. Anjou and P.I. Ilyin carried out instrumental studies, culminating in the compilation of an accurate map of the New Siberian Islands, explored and described the islands of Semyonovsky, Vasilyevsky, Stolbovoy, the coast between the mouths of the Indigirka and Olenyok rivers, and discovered the East Siberian polynya.

In 1820-1824. F. P. Wrangel in very difficult natural conditions a journey was made through the north of Siberia and the Arctic Ocean, the coast from the mouth of the Indigirka to the Kolyuchinskaya Bay was explored and described ( Chukotka Peninsula), the existence of Wrangel Island was predicted.

Research was carried out in Russian possessions in North America: in 1816, O. E. Kotzebue discovered a large bay in the Chukchi Sea off the western coast of Alaska, named after him. In 1818-1819. the eastern coast of the Bering Sea was explored by P.G. Korsakovsky and P.A. Ustyugov, the delta was discovered largest river Alaska - Yukon. In 1835-1838. the lower and middle reaches of the Yukon were investigated by A. Glazunov and V.I. Malakhov, and in 1842-1843. - Russian naval officer L. A. Zagoskin. He also described the interior of Alaska. In 1829-1835. the coast of Alaska was explored by F.P. Wrangel and D.F. Zarembo. In 1838 A.F. Kashevarov described the northwestern coast of Alaska, and P.F. Kolmakov discovered the Innoko River and the Kuskokuim (Kuskokwim) Range. In 1835-1841. D.F. Zarembo and P. Mitkov completed the discovery of the Alexander Archipelago.

The Novaya Zemlya archipelago was intensively explored. In 1821-1824. F. P. Litke on the brig Novaya Zemlya explored, described and mapped the western coast of Novaya Zemlya. Attempts to make an inventory and map the eastern coast of Novaya Zemlya were unsuccessful. In 1832-1833. the first inventory of the entire eastern coast of the southern island of Novaya Zemlya was made by P.K. Pakhtusov. In 1834-1835. P.K. Pakhtusov and in 1837-1838. A. K. Tsivolka and S. A. Moiseev described the eastern coast of the North Island up to 74.5 ° N. sh., Matochkin Shar Strait is described in detail, Pakhtusov Island was discovered. The description of the northern part of Novaya Zemlya was made only in 1907-1911. V. A. Rusanov. Expeditions led by I. N. Ivanov in 1826-1829. managed to compile an inventory of the southwestern part of the Kara Sea from Cape Kanin Nos to the mouth of the Ob. The studies carried out made it possible to begin studying the vegetation, fauna and geological structure of Novaya Zemlya (K. M. Baer, ​​1837). In 1834-1839, especially during a major expedition in 1837, A. I. Shrenk explored the Chesh Bay, the coast of the Kara Sea, the Timan Ridge, Vaigach Island, the Pai-Khoi Range, and the polar Urals. Exploration of this area in 1840-1845. continued A. A. Keyserling, who surveyed the Pechora River, explored the Timan Ridge and the Pechora Lowland. Comprehensive studies of the nature of the Taimyr Peninsula, the Putorana Plateau, the North Siberian Lowland were carried out in 1842-1845. A. F. Middendorf. In 1847-1850. The Russian Geographical Society organized an expedition to the Northern and Polar Urals, during which the Pai-Khoi ridge was thoroughly explored.

In 1867, Wrangel Island was discovered, the inventory of the southern coast of which was made by the captain of the American whaling ship T. Long. In 1881 American explorer R. Berry described the eastern, western and most of the northern coast of the island, and for the first time explored the interior of the island.

In 1901, the Russian icebreaker Yermak, under the command of S. O. Makarov, visited Franz Josef Land. In 1913-1914. a Russian expedition led by G. Ya. Sedov wintered in the archipelago. At the same time, a group of members of the distressed expedition of G. L. Brusilov visited the place on the ship “St. Anna”, headed by navigator V.I. Albanov. Despite the difficult conditions, when all the energy was directed to the preservation of life, V.I. Albanov proved that Petermann Land and King Oscar Land, which appeared on the map of J. Payer, do not exist.

In 1878-1879. For two navigations, a Russian-Swedish expedition led by the Swedish scientist N. A. E. Nordenskiöld on a small sail-steam vessel “Vega” for the first time passed the Northern Sea Route from west to east. This proved the possibility of navigation along the entire Eurasian Arctic coast.

In 1913, the Hydrographic Expedition of the Northern Arctic Ocean under the direction of B. A. Vilkitsky on icebreaking ships"Taimyr" and "Vaigach", exploring the possibility of passing the Northern Sea Route to the north of Taimyr, met solid ice and following their edge to the north, discovered the islands called the Land of Emperor Nicholas II (now Severnaya Zemlya), approximately mapping it eastern, and next year - southern shores, as well as the island of Tsarevich Alexei (now - Lesser Taimyr). The western and northern shores of Severnaya Zemlya remained completely unknown.

Russian Geographical Society

The Russian Geographical Society (RGO), founded in 1845 (since 1850 - the Imperial Russian Geographical Society - IRGO), has made great contributions to the development of domestic cartography.

In 1881, the American polar explorer J. De Long discovered Jeannette, Henrietta, and Bennett Islands northeast of New Siberia Island. This group of islands was named after its discoverer. In 1885-1886. the study of the Arctic coast between the Lena and Kolyma rivers and the New Siberian Islands was carried out by A. A. Bunge and E. V. Toll.

Already at the beginning of 1852, it published its first twenty-five-verst (1:1,050,000) map of the Northern Urals and the Pai-Khoi coastal ridge, compiled based on materials from the Ural expedition of the Russian Geographical Society in 1847-1850. It depicted for the first time with great precision and detail Northern Ural and the Pai-Khoi coastline.

The Geographical Society also published 40-verst maps of the river regions of the Amur, the southern part of the Lena and the Yenisei, and about. Sakhalin on 7 sheets (1891).

Sixteen large expeditions of the IRGS, led by N. M. Przhevalsky, G. N. Potanin, M. V. Pevtsov, G. E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, V. I. Roborovsky, P. K. Kozlov and V. A. Obruchev, made a great contribution to the survey of Central Asia. During these expeditions, 95,473 km were covered and photographed (of which over 30,000 km are accounted for by N. M. Przhevalsky), 363 astronomical points were determined, and the heights of 3,533 points were measured. The position of the main mountain ranges and river systems, as well as the lake basins of Central Asia, was clarified. All this greatly contributed to the creation of a modern physical map of Central Asia.

The heyday of the expeditionary activities of the IRGO falls on 1873-1914, when the Grand Duke Konstantin was at the head of the society, and P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky was the vice-chairman. During this period, expeditions were organized to Central Asia, Eastern Siberia and other regions of the country; two polar stations have been established. Since the mid 1880s. The expeditionary activity of the society is increasingly specialized in individual branches - glaciology, limnology, geophysics, biogeography, etc.

The IRGS made a great contribution to the study of the country's relief. A hypsometric commission of the IRGO was created to process the leveling and make a hypsometric map. In 1874, the IRGS conducted, under the leadership of A. A. Tillo, the Aral-Caspian leveling: from Karatamak (on the northwestern shore of the Aral Sea) through Ustyurt to the Dead Kultuk Bay of the Caspian Sea, and in 1875 and 1877. Siberian leveling: from the village of Zverinogolovskaya in the Orenburg region to Baikal. The materials of the hypsometric commission were used by A. A. Tillo to compile the “Hypsometric map of European Russia” on a scale of 60 versts per inch (1:2,520,000), published by the Ministry of Railways in 1889. More than 50 thousand high-altitude marks obtained as a result of leveling. The map made a revolution in the ideas about the structure of the relief of this territory. It presented in a new way the orography of the European part of the country, which has not changed in its main features to the present day, for the first time the Central Russian and Volga Uplands were depicted. In 1894, the Forest Department under the leadership of A. A. Tillo with the participation of S. N. Nikitin and D. N. Anuchin organized an expedition to study the origins of major rivers European Russia, which gave extensive material on relief and hydrography (in particular, on lakes).

The Military Topographic Service, with the active participation of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, carried out a large number of pioneer reconnaissance surveys in the Far East, Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, during which maps of many territories were compiled, which were previously "white spots" on the map.

Mapping of the territory in the XIX-beginning of the XX centuries.

Topographic and geodetic works

In 1801-1804. “His Majesty's Own Map Depot” issued the first state multi-sheet (on 107 sheets) map at a scale of 1:840,000, covering almost the entire European Russia and called the “Hundred-sheet Map”. Its content was based mainly on the materials of the General Land Survey.

In 1798-1804. The Russian General Staff, under the leadership of Major General F. F. Steinchel (Steingel), with the extensive use of Swedish-Finnish officers-topographers, carried out a large-scale topographic survey of the so-called Old Finland, i.e., areas annexed to Russia along the Nishtadt (1721) and Abosky (1743) to the world. Survey materials, preserved in the form of a handwritten four-volume atlas, were widely used in the compilation of various maps at the beginning of the 19th century.

After 1809, the topographic services of Russia and Finland were merged. At the same time, the Russian army received a ready-made educational institution for the training of professional topographers - military school, founded in 1779 in the village of Gappaniemi. On the basis of this school, on March 16, 1812, the Gappanyem Topographic Corps was established, which became the first special military topographic and geodetic educational institution in the Russian Empire.

In 1815, the ranks of the Russian army were replenished with officers-topographers of the General Quartermaster of the Polish Army.

Since 1819, topographic surveys on a scale of 1:21,000 began in Russia, based on triangulation and carried out mainly with the help of a beaker. In 1844 they were replaced by surveys on a scale of 1:42,000.

On January 28, 1822, the Corps of Military Topographers was established at the General Staff of the Russian Army and the Military Topographic Depot. State topographic mapping has become one of the main tasks of military topographers. The remarkable Russian surveyor and cartographer F. F. Schubert was appointed the first director of the Corps of Military Topographers.

In 1816-1852. in Russia, the largest for that time triangulation work was carried out, stretching for 25 ° 20′ along the meridian (together with the Scandinavian triangulation).

Under the direction of F. F. Schubert and K. I. Tenner, intensive instrumental and semi-instrumental (route) surveys began, mainly in the western and northwestern provinces of European Russia. Based on the materials of these surveys in the 20-30s. 19th century semi-topographic (semi-topographic) maps were compiled and engraved for the provinces on a scale of 4-5 versts per inch.

In 1821, the military topographic depot began compiling an overview topographic map of European Russia on a scale of 10 versts per inch (1:420,000), which was extremely necessary not only for the military, but also for all civilian departments. The special ten-layout of European Russia is known in the literature as the Schubert Map. Work on the creation of the map continued intermittently until 1839. It was published on 59 sheets and three flaps (or half sheets).

A large amount of work was carried out by the Corps of military topographers in different parts of the country. In 1826-1829. detailed maps were drawn up on a scale of 1:210,000 of the Baku province, the Talysh Khanate, the Karabakh province, the plan of Tiflis, etc.

In 1828-1832. a survey of Moldavia and Wallachia was carried out, which became a model of the work of its time, since it was based on a sufficient number of astronomical points. All maps were summarized in an atlas of 1:16,000. total area shooting reached 100 thousand square meters. verst.

From the 30s. geodetic and boundary work began to be carried out on. Geodetic points carried out in 1836-1838. triangulation became the basis for creating accurate topographic maps of the Crimea. Geodetic networks were developed in Smolensk, Moscow, Mogilev, Tver, Novgorod provinces and in other areas.

In 1833, the head of the KVT, General F. F. Schubert, organized an unprecedented chronometric expedition to the Baltic Sea. As a result of the expedition, the longitudes of 18 points were determined, which, together with 22 points related to them trigonometrically, provided a reliable justification for surveying the coast and soundings of the Baltic Sea.

From 1857 to 1862 under the guidance and at the expense of the IRGO in the Military Topographic Depot, work was carried out to compile and publish on 12 sheets a general map of European Russia and the Caucasus region on a scale of 40 versts per inch (1: 1,680,000) with an explanatory note. On the advice of V. Ya. Struve, the map was created for the first time in Russia in the Gaussian projection, and Pulkovsky was taken as the initial meridian on it. In 1868, the map was published, and later it was repeatedly reprinted.

In subsequent years, a five-verst map on 55 sheets, a twenty-verst and forty-verst orographic maps of the Caucasus were published.

Among the best cartographic works of the IRGS is the “Map of the Aral Sea and the Khiva Khanate with their environs” compiled by Ya. V. Khanykov (1850). The map was published in French by the Paris Geographical Society and, on the proposal of A. Humboldt, was awarded the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd degree.

The Caucasian Military Topographic Department, under the leadership of General I. I. Stebnitsky, conducted reconnaissance in Central Asia along the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.

In 1867, a cartographic institution was opened at the Military Topographic Department of the General Staff. Together with the private cartographic establishment of A. A. Ilyin, opened in 1859, they were the direct predecessors of modern domestic cartographic factories.

Relief maps occupied a special place among the various products of the Caucasian WTO. A large relief map was completed in 1868 and exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1869. This map was made for horizontal distances on a scale of 1:420,000, and for vertical - 1:84,000.

The Caucasian Military Topographic Department, under the leadership of I. I. Stebnitsky, compiled a 20-verst map of the Transcaspian Territory based on astronomical, geodetic and topographic works.

Work was also carried out on topographic and geodetic preparation of the territories of the Far East. So, in 1860, the position of eight points was determined near the western coast of the Sea of ​​Japan, and in 1863, 22 points were determined in Peter the Great Bay.

The expansion of the territory of the Russian Empire was reflected in many maps and atlases published at that time. Such, in particular, is the “General Map of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Finland attached to it” from the “Geographical Atlas of the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Finland” by V. P. Pyadyshev (St. Petersburg, 1834).

Since 1845, one of the main tasks of the Russian military topographic service has been the creation of the Military Topographic Map of Western Russia on a scale of 3 versts per inch. By 1863, 435 sheets of the military topographic map had been published, and by 1917, 517 sheets. On this map, the relief was rendered in strokes.

In 1848-1866. under the leadership of Lieutenant General A. I. Mende, surveys were carried out aimed at creating topographic boundary maps and atlases and descriptions for all provinces of European Russia. During this period, work was carried out on an area of ​​about 345,000 square meters. verst. Tver, Ryazan, Tambov and Vladimir provinces were mapped on a scale of one verst to an inch (1:42,000), Yaroslavl - two versts to an inch (1:84,000), Simbirsk and Nizhny Novgorod - three versts to an inch (1:126,000) and the Penza province - on a scale of eight miles to an inch (1:336,000). Based on the results of the surveys, the IRGO published multi-color topographic boundary atlases of the Tver and Ryazan provinces (1853-1860) on a scale of 2 versts per inch (1:84,000) and a map of the Tver province on a scale of 8 versts per inch (1:336,000).

The surveys of Mende had an undeniable impact on the further improvement of the methods of state mapping. In 1872, the Military Topographic Department of the General Staff began work on updating the three-verst map, which actually led to the creation of a new standard Russian topographic map at a scale of 2 versts in an inch (1:84,000), which was the most detailed source of information about the area used in troops and the national economy until the 30s. 20th century A two-verst military topographic map was published for the Kingdom of Poland, parts of the Crimea and the Caucasus, as well as the Baltic states and areas around Moscow and St. Petersburg. It was one of the first Russian topographic maps, on which the relief was depicted by contour lines.

In 1869-1885. a detailed topographic survey of Finland was carried out, which was the beginning of the creation of a state topographic map on a scale of one verst in an inch - the highest achievement of pre-revolutionary military topography in Russia. One-verst maps covered the territory of Poland, the Baltic states, southern Finland, the Crimea, the Caucasus and parts of southern Russia north of Novocherkassk.

By the 60s. 19th century the Special Map of European Russia by F. F. Schubert on a scale of 10 versts in an inch is very outdated. In 1865, the editorial commission appointed captain of the General Staff I.A. new cartographic work. In 1872, all 152 sheets of the map were completed. The ten-versustka was repeatedly reprinted and partially supplemented; in 1903 it consisted of 167 sheets. This map was widely used not only for military, but also for scientific, practical and cultural purposes.

By the end of the century, the work of the Corps of Military Topographers continued to create new maps for sparsely populated areas, including the Far East and Manchuria. During this time, several reconnaissance detachments traveled more than 12 thousand miles, performing route and eye surveys. According to their results, topographic maps were later compiled on a scale of 2, 3, 5 and 20 versts per inch.

In 1907, a special commission was created at the General Staff to develop a plan for future topographic and geodetic work in European and Asian Russia, chaired by the head of the KVT, General N. D. Artamonov. It was decided to develop a new class 1 triangulation according to a specific program proposed by General I. I. Pomerantsev. The implementation of the KVT program began in 1910. By 1914, the main part of the work had been completed.

By the beginning of the First World War, a large volume of large-scale topographic surveys was carried out on the territory of Poland completely, in the south of Russia (the triangle of Chisinau, Galati, Odessa), in the Petrograd and Vyborg provinces partially; on a verst scale in Livonia, Petrograd, Minsk provinces, and partially in Transcaucasia, on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea and in the Crimea; on a two-verst scale - in the north-west of Russia, to the east of the survey sites of half- and verst scales.

The results of topographic surveys of the previous and pre-war years made it possible to compile and publish a large volume of topographic and special military maps: a half-verst map of the Western border area (1:21,000); verst map of the Western border area, Crimea and Transcaucasia (1:42,000); a military topographic two-verst map (1:84,000), a three-verst map (1:126,000) with a relief expressed by strokes; semi-topographic 10-verst map of European Russia (1:420,000); 25-verst military road map of European Russia (1:1,050,000); 40-verst Strategic map Central Europe(1:1 680 000); maps of the Caucasus and adjacent foreign states.

In addition to the above maps, the Military Topographic Department of the Main Directorate of the General Staff (GUGSH) prepared maps of Turkestan, Central Asia and the states adjacent to them, Western Siberia, the Far East, as well as maps of the entire Asian Russia.

The corps of military topographers over the 96 years of its existence (1822-1918) carried out a huge amount of astronomical, geodetic and cartographic work: geodetic points were identified - 63,736; astronomical points (in latitude and longitude) - 3900; 46 thousand km of leveling passages were laid; instrumental topographic surveys were carried out on a geodetic basis at various scales over an area of ​​7,425,319 km2, and semi-instrumental and visual surveys were carried out over an area of ​​506,247 km2. In 1917, the supply of the Russian army was 6739 nomenclatures of maps of various scales.

In general, by 1917, a huge field survey material had been obtained, a number of remarkable cartographic works had been created, however, the topographic coverage of the territory of Russia was uneven, a significant part of the territory remained topographically unexplored.

Exploration and mapping of the seas and oceans

Russia's achievements in the study and mapping of the World Ocean were significant. One of the important incentives for these studies in the 19th century, as before, was the need to ensure the functioning of Russian overseas possessions in Alaska. To supply these colonies, round-the-world expeditions were regularly equipped, which, starting from the first voyage in 1803-1806. on the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva" under the leadership of I. F. Kruzenshtern and Yu. V. Lisyansky, made many remarkable geographical discoveries and significantly increased the cartographic knowledge of the World Ocean.

In addition to the hydrographic work carried out almost annually off the coast of Russian America by officers of the Russian Navy, participants in round-the-world expeditions, employees of the Russian-American Company, among which were such brilliant hydrographers and scientists as F. P. Wrangel, A. K. Etolin and M D. Tebenkov, continuously updated their knowledge of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean and improved the navigational charts of these regions. Especially great was the contribution of M. D. Tebenkov, who compiled the most detailed “Atlas of the Northwestern coasts of America from the Bering Strait to Cape Corrientes and the Aleutian Islands, with the addition of some places on the Northeastern coast of Asia”, published by the St. Petersburg Naval Academy in 1852.

In parallel with the study of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, Russian hydrographers actively explored the coasts of the Arctic Ocean, thus contributing to the finalization of geographical ideas about the polar regions of Eurasia and laying the foundations for the subsequent development of the Northern Sea Route. Thus, most of the coasts and islands of the Barents and Kara Seas were described and mapped in the 20-30s. 19th century expeditions of F. P. Litke, P. K. Pakhtusov, K. M. Baer and A. K. Tsivolka, who laid the foundations for the physical and geographical study of these seas and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. To solve the problem of developing transport links between the European Pomerania and Western Siberia, expeditions were equipped for a hydrographic inventory of the coast from Kanin Nos to the mouth of the Ob River, the most productive of which were the Pechora expedition of I. N. Ivanov (1824) and the hydrographic inventory of I. N. Ivanov and I. A. Berezhnykh (1826-1828). The maps compiled by them had a solid astronomical and geodetic justification. Studies of sea coasts and islands in the north of Siberia at the beginning of the 19th century. were largely stimulated by the discoveries of islands in the Novosibirsk archipelago by Russian industrialists, as well as the search for mysterious northern lands (“Sannikov Land”), islands north of the mouth of the Kolyma (“Andreev Land”), etc. In 1808-1810. during the expedition led by M. M. Gedenshtrom and P. Pshenitsyn, who explored the islands of New Siberia, Faddeevsky, Kotelny and the strait between the latter, a map of the Novosibirsk archipelago as a whole was created for the first time, as well as the mainland sea coasts between the mouths of the Yana and Kolyma rivers. For the first time, a detailed geographical description of the islands was made. In the 20s. Yanskaya (1820-1824) under the leadership of P.F. Anzhu and Kolymskaya (1821-1824) - under the leadership of F.P. Wrangel - expeditions were equipped in the same areas. These expeditions carried out on an extended scale the work program of the expedition of M. M. Gedenstrom. They were supposed to survey the banks from the Lena River to the Bering Strait. The main merit of the expedition was the compilation of a more accurate map of the entire continental coast of the Arctic Ocean from the Olenyok River to the Kolyuchinskaya Bay, as well as maps of the Novosibirsk, Lyakhovsky and Bear Islands group. In the eastern part of Wrangel's map, according to local residents, an island was marked with the inscription "Mountains are seen from Cape Yakan in the summer." This island was also depicted on maps in the atlases of I.F. Kruzenshtern (1826) and G.A. Sarychev (1826). In 1867, it was discovered by the American navigator T. Long and, in commemoration of the merits of the remarkable Russian polar explorer, was named after Wrangel. The results of the expeditions of P. F. Anzhu and F. P. Wrangel were summarized in 26 handwritten maps and plans, as well as in scientific reports and works.

Not only scientific, but also of enormous geopolitical significance for Russia were carried out in the middle of the 19th century. GI Nevelsky and his followers intensive marine expeditionary research in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Sea of ​​Japan. Although the insular position of Sakhalin was known to Russian cartographers from the very beginning of the 18th century, which was reflected in their works, however, the problem of accessibility of the Amur mouth for sea ​​vessels from the south and north was finally and positively resolved only by G. I. Nevelsky. This discovery decisively changed the attitude of the Russian authorities towards the Amur Region and Primorye, showing the enormous potential of these richest regions, provided, as G. I. Nevelsky's studies proved, with end-to-end water communications leading to the Pacific Ocean. These studies themselves were carried out by travelers sometimes at their own peril and risk in confrontation with official government circles. The remarkable expeditions of G. I. Nevelsky paved the way for the return of Russia to the Amur region under the terms of the Aigun Treaty with China (signed on May 28, 1858) and joining the Empire of Primorye (under the terms of the Beijing Treaty between Russia and China, concluded on November 2 (14), 1860 .). results geographical research on the Amur and Primorye, as well as changes in the borders in the Far East in accordance with the treaties between Russia and China, were declared cartographically on maps of the Amur and Primorye compiled and published as soon as possible.

Russian hydrographs in the XIX century. continued active work on European seas. After the annexation of Crimea (1783) and the creation of the Russian navy on the Black Sea, detailed hydrographic surveys of the Azov and Black Seas began. Already in 1799, the navigation atlas of I.N. Billings on the northern coast, in 1807 - the atlas of I. M. Budischev on the western part of the Black Sea, and in 1817 - the “General Map of the Black and Azov Seas”. In 1825-1836. under the leadership of E.P. Manganari, on the basis of triangulation, a topographic survey of the entire northern and western coasts of the Black Sea was carried out, which made it possible to publish the “Atlas of the Black Sea” in 1841.

In the 19th century intensive study of the Caspian Sea continued. In 1826, based on the detailed hydrographic works of 1809-1817, carried out by the expedition of the Admiralty Colleges under the leadership of A.E. Kolodkin, the “Complete Atlas of the Caspian Sea” was published, which fully met the requirements of the shipping of that time.

In subsequent years, the maps of the atlas were refined by the expeditions of G. G. Basargin (1823-1825) on the western coast, N. N. Muravyov-Karsky (1819-1821), G. S. Karelin (1832, 1834, 1836) and others. on the east coast Caspian. In 1847, I. I. Zherebtsov described the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay. In 1856, a new hydrographic expedition was sent to the Caspian Sea under the leadership of N.A. Ivashintsov, who over the course of 15 years carried out a systematic survey and description, compiling several plans and 26 maps that covered almost the entire coast of the Caspian Sea.

In the 19th century Intensive work continued to improve the maps of the Baltic and White Seas. An outstanding achievement of Russian hydrography was the “Atlas of the entire Baltic Sea…” compiled by G. A. Sarychev (1812). In 1834-1854. based on the materials of the chronometric expedition of F. F. Schubert, maps were compiled and published for the entire Russian coast of the Baltic Sea.

Significant changes were made to the maps of the White Sea and the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula by the hydrographic works of F. P. Litke (1821-1824) and M. F. Reinecke (1826-1833). Based on the materials of the Reinecke expedition, in 1833 the “Atlas of the White Sea ...” was published, the maps of which were used by seafarers until the beginning of the 20th century, and the “Hydrographic description of the northern coast of Russia”, which supplemented this atlas, can be considered as a model geographical description coasts. The Imperial Academy of Sciences awarded this work to MF Reinecke in 1851 with the full Demidov Prize.

Thematic mapping

Active development of basic (topographic and hydrographic) cartography in the 19th century. created the basis necessary for the formation of special (thematic) mapping. Its intensive development dates back to the 19th-early 20th centuries.

In 1832, the Hydrographic Atlas of the Russian Empire was published by the Main Directorate of Communications. It included general maps on a scale of 20 and 10 versts per inch, detailed maps on a scale of 2 versts per inch, and plans on a scale of 100 fathoms per inch and larger. Hundreds of plans and maps were compiled, which contributed to an increase in the cartographic knowledge of the territories along the routes of the corresponding roads.

Significant cartographic work in the XIX-early XX centuries. carried out by the Ministry of State Property formed in 1837, in which in 1838 the Corps of civilian topographers was established, which carried out mapping of poorly studied and unexplored lands.

An important achievement of domestic cartography was the Marx's Great World Desktop Atlas, published in 1905 (2nd edition, 1909), containing over 200 maps and an index of 130,000 geographical names.

Mapping nature

Geological mapping

In the 19th century intensive cartographic study of the mineral resources of Russia and their exploitation continued, special geognostic (geological) mapping is being developed. At the beginning of the XIX century. many maps of mountain districts were created, plans for factories, salt and oil fields, gold mines, quarries, and mineral springs. The history of exploration and development of minerals in the Altai and Nerchinsk mining districts is reflected in particular detail in the maps.

Numerous maps of mineral deposits, plans of land plots and forest holdings, factories, mines and mines were compiled. An example of a collection of valuable handwritten geological maps is the atlas “Salt Mine Maps” compiled by the Mining Department. The maps of the collection belong mainly to the 20-30s. 19th century Many of the maps in this atlas are much broader in content than ordinary salt mine maps and are, in fact, early examples of geological (petrographic) maps. So, among the maps of G. Vansovich in 1825 there is a Petrographic map of the Bialystok region, Grodno and part of the Vilna province. The “Map of the Pskov and part of the Novgorod province” also has a rich geological content: showing rock and salt springs discovered in 1824…”

An extremely rare example of an early hydrogeological map is the “Topographic Map of the Crimean Peninsula…” with the designation of the depth and quality of water in the villages, compiled by A.N. with different water availability, as well as a table of the number of villages by counties in need of watering.

In 1840-1843. The English geologist R. I. Murchison, together with A. A. Keyserling and N. I. Koksharov, conducted research that for the first time gave a scientific picture of the geological structure of European Russia.

In the 50s. 19th century The first geological maps began to be published in Russia. One of the earliest is the Geognostic Map of the St. Petersburg Province (S. S. Kutorga, 1852). The results of intensive geological research found expression in the Geological Map of European Russia (A.P. Karpinsky, 1893).

The main task of the Geological Committee was the creation of a 10-verst (1:420,000) geological map of European Russia, in connection with which a systematic study of the relief and geological structure of the territory began, in which such prominent geologists as I.V. Mushketov, A. P. Pavlov and others. By 1917, only 20 sheets of this map were published out of the planned 170. Since the 1870s. geological mapping of some regions of Asiatic Russia began.

In 1895, the Atlas of Terrestrial Magnetism was published, compiled by A. A. Tillo.

Forest mapping

One of the earliest handwritten maps of forests is the “Map for Reviewing the State of Forests and the Timber Industry in [European] Russia”, compiled in 1840-1841, as established by M. A. Tsvetkov. The Ministry of State Property carried out major work on mapping state-owned forests, the forest industry and forest-consuming industries, as well as on improving forest accounting and forest cartography. Materials for it were collected by inquiries through local departments of state property, as well as other departments. In the final form in 1842, two maps were drawn up; the first of them is a map of forests, the other was one of the earliest samples of soil-climatic maps, which marked climatic bands and dominant soils in European Russia. A soil-climatic map has not yet been discovered.

The work on mapping the forests of European Russia revealed the unsatisfactory state of the organization and mapping of forest resources and prompted the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of State Property to create a special commission to improve forest mapping and forest accounting. As a result of the work of this commission, detailed instructions and symbols were created for the preparation of forest plans and maps, approved by Tsar Nicholas I. The Ministry of State Property paid special attention to the organization of work on the study and mapping of state lands in Siberia, which became especially widespread after the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861, one of the consequences of which was the intensive development of the resettlement movement.

soil mapping

In 1838 a systematic study of soils began in Russia. Mostly on the basis of interrogation information, many handwritten soil maps were compiled. Prominent economic geographer and climatologist Academician K. S. Veselovsky in 1855 compiled and published the first consolidated “Soil Map of European Russia”, which shows eight types of soils: black soil, clay, sand, loam and sandy loam, silt, solonetzes, tundra , swamps. The works of K. S. Veselovsky on climatology and soils of Russia were Starting point for works on soil cartography by the famous Russian geographer and soil scientist V.V. scientific classification based on the genetic principle, and introduced their comprehensive study, taking into account the factors of soil formation. His book Cartography of Russian Soils, published by the Department of Agriculture and rural industry in 1879 as an explanatory text for the Soil Map of European Russia, laid the foundations of modern soil science and soil cartography. Since 1882, V. V. Dokuchaev and his followers (N. M. Sibirtsev, K. D. Glinka, S. S. Neustruev, L. I. Prasolov and others) carried out soil, and in fact complex physical and geographical studies in more than 20 provinces. One of the results of these works was soil maps of provinces (on a scale of 10 versts) and more detailed maps of individual districts. Under the leadership of V. V. Dokuchaev, N. M. Sibirtsev, G. I. Tanfilyev and A. R. Ferkhmin compiled and published in 1901 the “Soil Map of European Russia” at a scale of 1:2,520,000.

Socio-economic mapping

Economy Mapping

The development of capitalism in industry and agriculture necessitated a deeper study National economy. To this end, in the middle of the XIX century. survey economic maps and atlases begin to be published. The first economic maps of individual provinces (St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yaroslavl, etc.) are being created. The first economic map published in Russia was the “Map of the Industry of European Russia Showing Factories, Factories and Industries, Administrative Places in the Manufactory Section, Major Fairs, Water and Land Communications, Ports, Lighthouses, Customs Houses, Major Quays, Quarantines, etc., 1842” .

A significant cartographic work is the “Economic and Statistical Atlas of European Russia from 16 Maps”, compiled and published in 1851 by the Ministry of State Property, which went through four editions - 1851, 1852, 1857 and 1869. It was the first economic atlas in our country devoted to agriculture. It included the first thematic maps (soil, climatic, agricultural). In the atlas and its text part, an attempt was made to summarize the main features and directions of development of agriculture in Russia in the 50s. 19th century

Of undoubted interest is the handwritten "Statistical Atlas", compiled in the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the direction of N. A. Milyutin in 1850. The Atlas consists of 35 maps and cartograms, reflecting a wide variety of socio-economic parameters. It, apparently, was compiled in parallel with the "Economic and Statistical Atlas" of 1851 and, in comparison with it, provides a lot of new information.

A major achievement of domestic cartography was the publication in 1872 of the Maps of the Most Important Branches of Productivity in European Russia compiled by the Central Statistical Committee (about 1:2,500,000). The publication of this work was facilitated by the improvement in the organization of statistical affairs in Russia, associated with the formation in 1863 of the Central Statistical Committee, headed by the famous Russian geographer, vice-chairman of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society P. P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky. The materials collected during the eight years of the existence of the Central Statistical Committee, as well as various sources from other departments, made it possible to create a map that multifacetedly and reliably characterizes the economy of post-reform Russia. The map was an excellent reference tool and valuable material for scientific research. Distinguished by the completeness of content, expressiveness and originality of mapping methods, it is a remarkable monument to the history of Russian cartography and a historical source that has not lost its significance up to the present.

The first capital atlas of industry was the “Statistical Atlas of the Main Branches of the Factory Industry of European Russia” by D. A. Timiryazev (1869-1873). At the same time, maps of the mining industry (the Urals, the Nerchinsk District, etc.), maps of the location of the sugar industry, agriculture, etc., transport and economic charts of cargo flows along railways and waterways were published.

One of the best works of Russian socio-economic cartography of the early 20th century. is the “Commercial and industrial map of European Russia” by V.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shan scale 1:1,680,000 (1911). This map presented a synthesis of the economic characteristics of many centers and regions.

We should dwell on one more outstanding cartographic work created by the Department of Agriculture of the Main Directorate of Agriculture and Land Management before the First World War. This is an atlas-album "Agricultural trade in Russia" (1914), representing a set of statistical maps of the country's agriculture. This album is interesting as an experience of a kind of “cartographic propaganda” of the potential possibilities of the agricultural economy in Russia to attract new investments from abroad.

Population mapping

P. I. Koeppen organized a systematic collection of statistical data on the number, national composition and ethnographic characteristics of the Russian population. The result of the work of P. I. Keppen was the “Ethnographic Map of European Russia” on a scale of 75 versts per inch (1:3,150,000), which went through three editions (1851, 1853 and 1855). In 1875, a new large ethnographic map of European Russia was published on a scale of 60 versts per inch (1:2,520,000), compiled by the famous Russian ethnographer, Lieutenant General A.F. Rittich. At the Paris International Geographical Exhibition, the map received a 1st class medal. Ethnographic maps of the Caucasus region were published at a scale of 1:1,080,000 (A.F. Rittikh, 1875), Asiatic Russia (M.I. Venyukov), the Kingdom of Poland (1871), Transcaucasia (1895), and others.

Among other thematic cartographic works, one should mention the first map of the population density of European Russia, compiled by N. A. Milyutin (1851), “The General Map of the entire Russian Empire with the indication of the degree of population” by A. Rakint at a scale of 1:21,000,000 (1866), which included Alaska.

Integrated research and mapping

In 1850-1853. The police department issued atlases of St. Petersburg (compiled by N.I. Tsylov) and Moscow (compiled by A. Khotev).

In 1897, a student of V. V. Dokuchaev, G. I. Tanfilyev, published the zoning of European Russia, which for the first time was called physiographic. Zonality was clearly reflected in Tanfiliev's scheme, and some significant intrazonal differences in natural conditions were also outlined.

In 1899, the world's first National Atlas of Finland was published, which was part of the Russian Empire, but had the status of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1910, the second edition of this atlas appeared.

The highest achievement of pre-revolutionary thematic cartography was the capital "Atlas of Asian Russia", published in 1914 by the Resettlement Administration, with an extensive and richly illustrated text in three volumes. The atlas reflects the economic situation and conditions for the agricultural development of the territory for the needs of the Resettlement Administration. It is interesting to note that this edition for the first time included a detailed review of the history of mapping in Asian Russia, written by a young naval officer, later a well-known historian of cartography, L. S. Bagrov. The content of the maps and the accompanying text of the atlas reflects the results of the great work of various organizations and individual Russian scientists. For the first time, the Atlas contains an extensive set of economic maps for Asian Russia. Its central section is made up of maps, on which backgrounds of different colors show the general picture of land ownership and land use, which displays the results of the ten-year activity of the Resettlement Administration for the arrangement of settlers.

A special map has been placed showing the distribution of the population of Asiatic Russia by religion. Three maps are devoted to cities, which show their population, budget growth and debt. The cartograms for agriculture show the share of field cultivation different cultures and the relative number of major livestock species. Mineral deposits are marked on a separate map. Special maps of the atlas are devoted to communication routes, post offices and telegraph lines, which, of course, were of extreme importance for sparsely populated Asiatic Russia.

So, by the beginning of the First World War, Russia came with cartography that provided for the needs of the country's defense, national economy, science and education, at a level that fully corresponded to its role as a great Eurasian power of its time. By the beginning of the First World War, the Russian Empire had vast territories, displayed, in particular, on the general map of the state, published by A. A. Ilyin's cartographic institution in 1915.

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Lecture 11 Russian Empire in the late XIX - early XX century. : search for ways to modernize Russian society (90s XIX-1914)

Plan 1. Leading trends in world development at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries. 2. Political and socio-economic processes in the Russian Empire in the late XIX - early XX centuries. 3. Revolutionary upheavals of 1905 -1907. and the third June monarchy (1907-1914).

XX century - the century of great achievements of mankind and global antagonisms This is the time: grandiose scientific discoveries; world wars; deep democratic transformations; cruel tyrannical regimes. . The origins of the contradictions of the 20th century go back to the 18th-19th centuries. during the formation of an industrial civilization, when, as a result of the industrial revolution, the traditional agrarian society was replaced by an industrial society, where industry became the defining branch of the economy.

Types of modernization "Organic modernization" Epicenter of the first echelon of modernization England - with subsequent spread to continental Europe and North America. "Progressive" model of development: the genesis of capitalism was carried out mainly on the basis of self-development from the initial accumulation of capital to the industrial revolution and factory production. “Inorganic modernization” epicenter of the second echelon of modernization – Russia, a number of European countries (Germany, Italy, Scandinavian states) and Asia (Japan) “Catching up” model of development: countries that embarked on the path of capitalism much later actively used the decisive role in the processes industrial development played by the state.

Turn of the 19th – 20th centuries - new signs of industrial society: The term "imperialism" used by free competition capitalism gradually began to acquire modern researchers for the features of monopoly capitalism, entering into trends in the characteristics of the new imperialist stage of development. political life economic and leading industrial powers of the world, manifested in the late XIX - early XX century. Qualitative indicators of imperialist development: q high concentration of production and the formation of monopolies; q active implementation of the achievements of scientific and technological progress in production; q Consolidation and monopolization of banking capital; q merger of banking capital with industrial capital and the formation of large financial and industrial groups; q the export of capital and the formation of large transnational corporations; q Strengthening the economic and political expansion; q struggle for redistribution of spheres of influence and new territories between the most powerful states of the world.

The share of leading countries in world industrial production in the late XIX - early XX centuries. Years Germany France England USA Russia 1870 13, 2 10, 3 31, 8 23, 3 4, 0 18961913 16, 6 7, 1 19, 5 30, 1 5, 0 1913 15, 9 6, 4 14, 0 35, 8 5, 3

Russian Empire at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. By the beginning of the XX century. The Russian Empire occupied the 2nd place in the world in terms of territory and population, second only to Great Britain along with the colonies.

Russian Empire at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. q Territory - 22 million sq. km (17% of the entire earth's surface). q Administrative-territorial division - 81 provinces and 20 regions. q Population - according to the All-Russian census of 1897, 128.2 million people lived in Russia. , of which 57% were non-Russian peoples. By 1914, the population of Russia had increased to 182 million people. q The political system is an absolute monarchy. q The main classes: the nobility, the clergy, urban inhabitants (residents of cities), rural inhabitants (peasants). q Economic condition - agrarian-industrial medium-developed country.

Russian Empire hereditary absolute monarchy "Basic Laws of the Russian Empire" Article 1. "The Emperor of All Russia is an autocratic and unlimited monarch. Obey his supreme power not only out of fear, but also out of conscience, God himself commands. q The concentration of all legislative and executive power in the hands of the emperor. q High degree of bureaucratization of public administration. q The complete absence of representative institutions of power, civil rights and freedoms. q Absence of legal political parties.

Nicholas II Alexandrovich (1868 -1918) - the last Russian emperor (1894 -1917) q He ascended the throne in 1894 after the death of his father, Alexander III. q Wife - Alexandra Feodorovna (Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt). q Children: Olga, Tatyana, Maria, Anastasia, Alexey. q Considered autocracy unshakable and saw in it the main condition for the prosperity of Russia. q March 2, 1917 signed the Manifesto on abdication. q Since March 8, 1917, by decree of the Provisional Government, he was kept under arrest, first in Tsarskoye Selo, and then in Tobolsk. q On July 17, 1918, he and his family were shot by decision of the Ural Regional Council of Workers and soldiers' deputies and with the sanction of the leaders of Soviet Russia V. I. Lenin and Ya. V. Sverdlov. q In 2000, the royal family was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint.

The modernization process is a determining factor in Russia's social development at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modernization is a gradual transition from a traditional agrarian society to an industrial society. q Industrialization - accelerated development of industry. q Urbanization - the growth of cities and the increase in the urban population. q Democratization - political reform of power. q The dynamism of the social system is the destruction of social isolation. q Growth of the educational and general cultural level of the population. q Secularization of public consciousness. All the leading powers have gone through a similar period of development.

Specificity Russian modernization Reasons: feature of historical development. Manifestations: q in the economy - diversity; q in the social sphere - the unequal position of the estates, the lack of land of the peasants, the unresolved labor issue, the dual position of the bourgeoisie (economic wealth and political lack of rights), national oppression; q in the political structure - legacy system the state structure of the empire, the lack of representative bodies of power, civil rights and freedoms; q in the spiritual sphere - the preservation of traditional consciousness, low literacy of the population.

Alternatives to Russian modernization Protective-conservative course (Nicholas II, V. K. Plehve) ▲ Growth of the material well-being of Russians, while observing the socio-economic interests of the nobility ▲ Preservation of the inviolability of the autocratic monarchy. Liberal-reformist course (S. Yu. Witte, P. D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky) ▲ Accelerated industrial development ▲ Gradual, government-controlled, political reforms of a bourgeois-liberal nature. Radical revolutionary course (parties of socialist orientation - RSDLP, AKP) ▲ Destruction of the autocracy, the transfer of power into the hands of the people. ▲Construction in Russia of a new social society on the basis of people's self-government, public property and the abolition of the exploitation of man by man.

Witte Sergey Yulievich (1849 -1915) q Graduated from the Novorossiysk University in Odessa. q From 1889 - director of the railway department of the Ministry of Finance. q From 1892 - Minister of Finance. q Since 1903 - Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers. q From 1905 to 1906 - Chairman of the Council of Ministers. q Alexander III considered the ideal emperor.

Reformatory activity of S. Yu. Witte The goal is to turn Russia into a leading industrial power q q q q Ways of implementation: state protectionism of industry; achievement financial stability by strengthening the Russian ruble through its gold backing (currency reform of 1897); creation of transport infrastructure based on railway construction, including the Trans-Siberian Railway; attraction of foreign capital on the basis of state guarantees; agrarian reform with the aim of eliminating the lack of land of peasants, the free exit of peasants from the community (1902 -1905 "Special Conference on the Peasant Question"); development of labor legislation (1897 -1903); preparation of the Manifesto October 17, 1905

Plehve Vyacheslav Konstantinovich (1846 - 1904) q In 1867 he graduated Faculty of Law Imperial Moscow University. q From 1881 to 1884 - Director of the State Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. q From 1885 - Comrade (Deputy) Minister of the Interior. q Since 1902, after the assassination of the Minister of Internal Affairs D.S. Sipyagin, he was appointed to the post of Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. q Member of the Russian Assembly - the first monarchical organization. q In 1904, he was killed by the Socialist-Revolutionary E. S. Sazonov.

The state course of V. K. Plehve: "Russia will be delivered from the oppression of capital and the bourgeoisie and the struggle of the estates" The goal is the conservation of the traditional way of Russian life (classes, religiosity, the peasant community) due to the futility of the development of capitalism in Russia. Ways of implementation: q Encouragement of labor entrepreneurship, severe prosecution of the activities of financial fraudsters, speculators, unscrupulous entrepreneurs; q introduction of measures to limit the exploitation of hired workers; support for the landed nobility and peasantry based on strengthening state control over the activities of zemstvo institutions 1902 - a ban on zemstvos to collect statistical information, 1903 - the abolition of mutual responsibility for peasants; q active struggle against the revolutionary movement (police terror, executions of demonstrations, punitive expeditions to areas of peasant unrest); q achieving social stability through strengthening administrative and police control.

Svyatopolk-Mirsky Petr Dmitrievich (1857 - 1914) q Graduated from the Corps of Pages, the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. q Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877 - 1878. q In 1890 -1900. was the leader of the nobility of the Kharkov province, the governor in Penza and Yekaterinoslav. q In 1900 he became a comrade (deputy) of the Minister of the Interior. q In 1904, after the assassination of VK Plehve, he was appointed Minister of the Interior. q On January 18, 1905, he was dismissed.

Reforms proposed by P. D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky The reform project: “On measures to improve the state order” was developed in November 1904. Purpose: using liberal reforms to attract the bourgeois opposition to the side of the government and prevent a revolutionary explosion Content: q partial amnesty of political prisoners q relaxation of censorship q inclusion in the State Council of elected representatives from zemstvos and city dumas The fate of the project: in December 1905 the project was rejected by Nicholas II, the last opportunity to overcome the social crisis in a peaceful way was lost by the authorities

Russo-Japanese War January 27, 1904 - August 23, 1905 V. K. Plehve “Russia needs a small victorious war!” "The cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" in the battle near Chemulpo" (artist unknown) q War between Russia and Japan for control over Manchuria and Korea. q One ​​of the first wars of the 20th century. for the division of spheres of influence. q Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War was the accelerator of the first Russian revolution. q. Reasons for Russia's defeat: qunderestimation of the enemy's military strength; q the suddenness of the first strike from Japan; q incomplete rearmament of the Russian army; qmistakes and incompetence of the command of the Russian troops.

Brief chronicle Russo-Japanese War q January-December 1904 Sudden attack by the Japanese fleet on the Russian cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets. Heroic Defense Russian troops of Port Arthur. q August 1904 Defeat of Russian troops near Liaoyang (Manchuria). q February 1905 Japanese victory at Mukden. The death of the 1st Russian Pacific squadron while trying to break through to Vladivostok. q May 1905 Tsushima naval battle. The defeat of the 2nd and 3rd Pacific squadrons of Russia. August 23 (September 5), 1905 signing of a peace treaty in Portsmouth (USA). Portsmouth Peace Treaty between Russia and Japan Russia recognized Korea as a sphere of influence of Japan and ceded to Japan: q South Sakhalin, q rights to the Liaodong Peninsula with the cities of Port Arthur and Dalniy, q part of the South-West Railway from Port Arthur to Kuanchengzi.

Causes of the revolution of 1905-1907. Systemic crisis was provoked by the contradiction between the socio-economic development of the industrial type (capitalist relations) and the political system traditional society(absolute monarchy). . q Remnants of feudal landownership - landlord economy and lack of land of the peasants. q The desire of the bourgeoisie to participate in government. q Preservation of absolute monarchy as an attribute of a feudal society, the need to restructure the political system. q Labor and national issues.

The main political forces of the revolution of 1905-1907. Three political camps in the revolution Government camp Liberal bourgeois camp Preservation of the absolute monarchy Constitutional monarchy Revolutionary democratic camp Democratic Republic

Periodization of the first Russian revolution January 9, 1905 - June 3, 1907 Stage I - the upward development of the revolution - January-September 1905. q Bloody Sunday January 9, 1905 - execution of a peaceful demonstration in St. Petersburg. q Growth of workers', peasants' and social movements. q Unrest in the army and navy. "January 9, 1905 on Vasilyevsky Island". Artist V. Makovsky

Periodization of the first Russian revolution January 9, 1905 - June 3, 1907 Stage II - the culmination of the revolution - October-December 1905 q All-Russian October political strike. q Manifesto of October 17, 1905 q December armed uprising in Moscow.

Periodization of the first Russian revolution January 9, 1905 - June 3, 1907 q q q Stage III - the decline of the revolution - January 1906 - June 1907 The tightening of government measures in the fight against revolutionary actions. fade out protest speeches. The growth in the number of political parties and the activation of their activities on a legal basis. Elections to the I and II State Dumas. P. A. Stolypin's bills on reforming the agrarian sector of the economy. The formation of a new political system - the "Duma" ("June Third") monarchy. June 3, 1907 - "the third of June coup d'état» dissolution of the II State Duma and the adoption of a new electoral law

Manifesto "On the Improvement of the State Order" dated October 17, 1905 Contents q Granting Russian citizens political rights and freedoms. q Establishment of the State Duma, a legislative and representative body of power. The draft was prepared by S. Yu. Witte and signed by Nicholas II Meaning q Restriction of the emperor's autocratic power. q Formation of legal political parties in Russia. q The beginning of the formation of Russian parliamentarism was the activity of the State Duma, an elected representative body of power.

I State Duma April 27 - July 8, 1906 "Reception in the St. George's Hall of the Winter Palace on the occasion of the opening of the First State Duma on April 27, 1906" (artist V. V. Polyakov)

I State Duma April 27 - July 8, 1906 Chairman - Cadet S. A. Muromtsev The majority of deputy seats (43%) were held by Cadets. The main question is agrarian. Worked for 72 days. Disbanded for failing to "calm down the people".

II State Duma February 20 - June 2, 1907 Chairman - Cadet S. A. Golovin The majority of seats were held by the revolutionary democratic parties (43%) and the Cadets (19%). The main issues are agrarian, reforms of education, taxation, political freedoms. Disbanded on charges of 55 deputies in a conspiracy against the royal family.

New electoral law of June 3, 1907 Purpose: to ensure representation in the State Duma political forces, loyal to the official government, the representation was reduced: q from peasants (90% of voters) by 2 times - only 22% of electors had the right to elect instead of 42%; q from workers - the number of electors decreased by 2 times (from 4% to 2%); q 3 times decreased the number of seats from Poland, the Caucasus and Asiatic Russia (non-Russian peoples of Transbaikalia, the peoples of Central Asia), Astrakhan and Stavropol provinces; q ensured the privileges of landowners (0.2% of voters) - 50% of electors; q suffrage military personnel, students under 25, women did not have. Thus, in 1907, only 13% of the country's population entered the electorate, the number of members of the State Duma decreased from 524 to 442.

"Third of June" monarchy or "Duma" monarchy (1907-1914) The political system that developed in Russia after the revolution of 1905-1907. , and existed until the start of the First World War Characteristic features q A certain limitation of the emperor’s power by the activities of the Russian parliament q The activities of the Russian parliament - the State Council (upper house) and the State Duma (lower house) q The formation of a multi-party system q Reform activities of P. A. Stolypin

Stolypin Petr Arkadyevich (1862 -1911) q. A native of an old noble family, a large landowner. q Graduated from the natural department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University. q 1902 - governor of the Grodno province. q 1903 - governor of the Saratov province. q From April 1906 - Minister of the Interior, then - Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Implemented extensive reforms. q On September 1, 1911, he was killed by terrorist D. Bogrov in Kyiv.

A.F. Koni: “Having repeatedly betrayed Stolypin and put him in a defenseless position in relation to overt and secret enemies, the “adored monarch” did not find it possible to be at the funeral of the murdered man, but he found an opportunity to stop the case of the connivance of the killers.” On September 1, 1911, in the Kiev Opera House, during the intermission of the play The Tale of Tsar Saltan, P. A. Stolypin was mortally wounded by D. G. Bogrov. He died on September 5, 1911. He was buried in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. On September 9, Bogrov appeared before the Kiev District Military Court and on September 12, according to the court's verdict, he was hanged.

P. A. Stolypin’s reform activity P. A. Stolypin: “You need great upheavals, we need Great Russia!" . agrarian reform. q Introduction of religious freedom. q Establishment of civil equality. q Expansion of labor legislation. q Local government reform. q Introduction of universal primary education, improvement of the material support of public teachers. q Reform of higher and secondary schools. q Police reform. q

Agrarian reform by P. A. Stolypin Purpose: the creation of a class of peasants - owners - the pillars of stability in the Russian Empire. The program was designed for 20 years with "external and internal calm" . Contents q On November 9, 1906, the Decree “On supplementing certain provisions of the current law concerning peasant land ownership and land use” was issued. q June 14, 1910 "Law on Amending and Supplementing Certain Decrees on Peasant Land Ownership" . q Peasants received the right to leave the community with the fixing of communal land in personal ownership. q Redemption payments were cancelled. q The lack of land of the peasants was overcome: v. Part of the state, specific and redeemed land from the landowners was transferred to the Peasants' Bank for sale. v A resettlement policy was carried out to the eastern outskirts.

Agrarian reform P. A. Stolypin: “We must give the capable, industrious peasant the opportunity to strengthen the fruits of his labors and give them inalienable property. » Results q 1907 -1914 28% of households left the community - 2.5 million farms. q 3.3 million people (of which 0.5 million returned) moved beyond the Urals. q Yield increased by 20%. q Acreage increased by 10%. q The export of bread increased by 30%, the marketability of peasant farms increased. q In 1916, peasants sowed (on their own and rented land) 89.3% of the land and owned 94% of farm animals. The landlord economy has lost its economic significance. The reforms of P. A. Stolypin were not supported by either the official authorities or society.

III State Duma November 1, 1907 - June 9, 1912 Chairmen N. A. Khomyakov A. I. Guchkov M. V. Rodzianko The Octobrists - the party of large landowners and industrialists - had 154 deputies and controlled the work of the entire Duma. Two majorities were formed: the Right-Octobrist and the Octobrist-Cadet. The main issues are: q budget, q agrarian reform, q army reform, q politics in the "national outskirts".

IV State Duma November 15, 1912 - February 27, 1917 Chairman - M. V. Rodzianko q During the First World War, it formed the Progressive Bloc and turned into a political opposition to the official government, which became the most important reason for the February Revolution of 1917 q October 6 1917 The Provisional Government dissolved the State Duma in connection with the preparation of the Constituent Assembly elections.

Peculiarities of the Russian multi-party system q Political parties in Russia emerged much later than in Europe and the USA. q In Russia long time there were no legal opportunities for party political activity. q The initiator of the creation of parties, regardless of their social orientation, was the Russian intelligentsia. q Socialist parties were the first to form. q The official authorities refused to conduct a constructive dialogue with the State Duma and parties, recognizing only monarchist parties.

Political Parties in Russia During the period of the first Russian revolution, there were about 100 parties and 25 unions, organizations and movements in Russia. The largest parties represented the three main political directions Monarchist (Black Hundred) parties Union of the Russian people Bourgeois liberal parties Revolutionary democratic parties Union of October 17 (Octobrists) Russian Social Democratic Labor Party Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadets) Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) Bolsheviks Mensheviks

Conclusions Ø In the late XIX - early XX centuries. attempts were made in Russia to accelerate economic modernization and political reforms. Ø However, the official authorities were unable to use the possibilities of the June 3 political system to organize the effective operation of the State Duma as a mechanism for dialogue with society and the opposition, which inevitably created the ground for social instability and new revolutionary explosions. Ø All the obvious and hidden contradictions of Russian society escalated during the First World War.

If in the primary period of its development (XVI-XVII centuries) the political elite of the Russian state demonstrated an almost perfect foreign policy, and in the 18th century it made only one serious mistake in Poland (the fruits of which we are reaping today, by the way), then in the 19th century the Russian Empire, although it continues to mainly adhere to the paradigm of justice in relations with the outside world, still commits three completely unjustified actions . These blunders, unfortunately, still come back to haunt the Russians - we can observe them in interethnic conflicts and a high level of distrust of Russia on the part of the neighboring peoples "offended" by us.

The 19th century begins with Russian sovereign assumes the responsibility to protect the Georgian people from complete extermination: on December 22, 1800, Paul I, fulfilling the request of the Georgian king George XII, signs the Manifesto on the annexation of Georgia (Kartli-Kakhetia) to Russia. Further, in the hope of protection, the Cuban, Dagestan and other small kingdoms beyond the southern borders of the country voluntarily joined Russia. In 1803, Mengrelia and the Imereti kingdom joined, and in 1806 - Baku Khanate. In Russia itself, the methods of work of British diplomacy were tested with might and main. On March 12, 1801, Emperor Paul was assassinated as a result of an aristocratic conspiracy. The conspirators associated with the English mission in St. Petersburg were unhappy with Paul's rapprochement with France, which threatened the interests of England. Therefore, the British "ordered" the Russian emperor. And after all, they did not deceive - after the murder was carried out, they paid the performers in good faith the amount in foreign currency equivalent to 2 million rubles.

1806-1812: Third Russo-Turkish War

Russian troops entered Danubian principalities in order to encourage Turkey to stop the atrocities of the Turkish troops in Serbia. The war was also fought in the Caucasus, where the attack of Turkish troops on long-suffering Georgia was repulsed. In 1811, Kutuzov forced the army of the vizier Akhmetbey to retreat. According to the peace concluded in Bucharest in 1812, Russia received Bessarabia, and the Turkish Janissaries stopped systematically destroying the population of Serbia (which, by the way, they have been doing for the last 20 years). The previously planned trip to India as a continuation of the mission was prudently canceled, because it would have been too much.

Liberation from Napoleon

Another European maniac who dreams of taking over the world has appeared in France. He also turned out to be a very good commander and managed to conquer almost all of Europe. Guess who again saved the European nations from a cruel dictator? After the most difficult battles on its territory with Napoleon's army superior in number and armament, which relied on the combined military-industrial complex of almost all European powers, the Russian army went to liberate other peoples of Europe. In January 1813, Russian troops, pursuing Napoleon, crossed the Neman and entered Prussia. The liberation of Germany from the French occupation troops begins. On March 4, Russian troops liberate Berlin, on March 27 they occupy Dresden, on March 18, with the assistance of Prussian partisans, they liberate Hamburg. On October 16-19, a general battle takes place near Leipzig, called the "battle of the peoples", the French troops were defeated by our army (with the participation of the miserable remnants of the Austrian and Prussian armies). March 31, 1814 Russian troops enter Paris.

Persia

July 1826 - January 1828: Russo-Persian War. On July 16, the Shah of Persia, incited by England, sends troops across the Russian border to Karabakh and the Talysh Khanate without declaring war. On September 13, near Ganja, Russian troops (8 thousand people) defeated the 35,000-strong army of Abbas Mirza and threw back its remnants across the Araks River. In May, they launched an offensive in the Yerevan direction, occupied Echmiadzin, blockaded Yerevan, and then captured Nakhchivan and the Abbasabad fortress. Attempts by the Persian troops to push our troops away from Yerevan ended in failure, and on October 1 Yerevan was taken by storm. According to the results of the Turkmanchay peace treaty, Northern Azerbaijan and Eastern Armenia were annexed to Russia, the population of which, hoping for salvation from total destruction, actively supported the Russian troops during the hostilities. By the way, the treaty established the right of free resettlement of Muslims to Persia, and Christians to Russia within a year. For the Armenians, this meant the end of centuries of religious and national oppression.

Mistake No. 1 - Adygs

In 1828-1829, during the fourth Russian-Turkish war, Greece was liberated from Turkish yoke. At the same time, the Russian Empire received only moral satisfaction from a good deed performed and thank you very much from the Greeks. However, during the victorious triumph, the diplomats made a very serious mistake, which will come back to haunt more than once in the future. At the conclusion of the peace treaty, the Ottoman Empire transferred the lands of the Adyghes (Circassia) to the ownership of Russia, while the parties to this agreement did not take into account the fact that the lands of the Adygs were not owned or ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Adygs (or Circassians) - the common name of a single people, divided into Kabardins, Circassians, Ubykhs, Adyghes and Shapsugs, who, together with the resettled Azerbaijanis, lived on the territory of present-day Dagestan. They refused to obey secret agreements made without their consent, refused to recognize both the authority of the Ottoman Empire and Russia over themselves, put up a desperate military resistance to Russian aggression and were subdued by Russian troops only after 15 years. At the end of the Caucasian War, part of the Circassians and Abazins were forcibly relocated from the mountains to the foothill valleys, where they were told that those who wished could stay there only by accepting Russian citizenship. The rest were offered to move to Turkey within two and a half months. However, it was the Circassians, along with the Chechens, Azerbaijanis and other small Islamic peoples of the Caucasus, who caused the most problems for the Russian army, fighting as mercenaries, first on the side of the Crimean Khanate, and then the Ottoman Empire. In addition, the mountain tribes - Chechens, Lezgins, Azerbaijanis and Adygs - constantly committed attacks and atrocities in Georgia and Armenia, protected by the Russian Empire. Therefore, we can say that on a global scale, without taking into account the principles of human rights (and then it was not accepted at all), this foreign policy mistake can be ignored. And the conquest of Derbent (Dagestan) and Baku (Baku Khanate, and later Azerbaijan) was due to the requirements of ensuring the security of Russia itself. But the disproportionate use of military force by Russia still, admittedly, took place.

Mistake #2 - Invading Hungary

In 1848, Hungary tried to get rid of Austrian power. After the refusal of the Hungarian State Assembly to recognize Franz Joseph as the king of Hungary, the Austrian army invaded the country, quickly seizing Bratislava and Buda. In 1849, the famous "spring campaign" took place. Hungarian army, as a result of which the Austrians were defeated in several battles, and most of the territory of Hungary was liberated. On April 14, the Declaration of Independence of Hungary was adopted, the Habsburgs were deposed, and the Hungarian Lajos Kossuth was elected ruler of the country. But on May 21, the Austrian Empire signed the Warsaw Pact with Russia, and soon the Russian troops of Field Marshal Paskevich invaded Hungary. On August 9, she was defeated by the Russians near Temesvar, and Kossuth resigned. On August 13, the Hungarian troops of General Görgey capitulated. Hungary was occupied, repressions began, on October 6, Lajos Battyani was shot in Pest, 13 generals of the revolutionary army were executed in Arad. The revolution in Hungary was suppressed by Russia, which turned, in fact, into a mercenary of cruel colonists.

middle Asia

Back in 1717, individual leaders of the Kazakhs, given the real threat from external opponents, turned to Peter I with a request for citizenship. The emperor at that time did not dare to interfere in the "Kazakh affairs". According to Chokan Valikhanov: “... the first decade of the 18th century was a terrible time in the life of the Kazakh people. Dzungars, Volga Kalmyks, Yaik Cossacks and Bashkirs with different sides smashed their uluses, drove away cattle and took away whole families into captivity. From the east, the Dzungar Khanate posed a serious danger. Khiva and Bukhara threatened the Kazakh Khanate from the south. In 1723 the Dzungarian tribes in once more attacked the weakened and scattered Kazakh zhuzes. This year went down in the history of the Kazakhs as a "great calamity".

On February 19, 1731, Empress Anna Ioannovna signed a letter of voluntary entry of the Younger Zhuz into the Russian Empire. On October 10, 1731, Abulkhair and most of the elders of the Younger Zhuz concluded an agreement and took an oath on the inviolability of the contract. In 1740, the Middle Zhuz came under Russian protection (protectorate). In 1741-1742, the Dzungarian troops again invaded the Middle and Younger zhuzes, but the intervention of the Russian border authorities forced them to retreat. Khan Ablai himself was captured by the Dzungars, but a year later he was released through the mediation of the Orenburg governor Neplyuev. In 1787, in order to save the population of the Little Zhuz, who were being pressed by the Khivans, they were allowed to cross the Urals and roam in the Trans-Volga region. This decision was officially confirmed by Emperor Paul I in 1801, when the vassal Bukeevskaya (Internal) Horde headed by Sultan Bukei was formed from 7500 Kazakh families.

In 1818, the elders of the Senior Zhuz announced that they had entered under the protection of Russia. In 1839, in connection with the constant attacks of the Kokand on the Kazakhs - Russian subjects, Russia began military operations in Central Asia. In 1850, an expedition was undertaken across the Ili River in order to destroy the Toychubek fortification, which served as a stronghold for the Kokand Khan, but it was only possible to capture it in 1851, and in 1854, the Vernoye fortification was built on the Almaty River (today Almatinka) and the entire Trans-Ili region entered into Russia. Note that Dzungaria was then a colony of China, forcibly annexed back in the 18th century. But China itself, during the period of Russian expansion into the region, was weakened by the Opium War with Great Britain, France and the United States, as a result of which almost the entire population of the Celestial Empire was subjected to forced drug addiction and ruin, and the government, in order to prevent total genocide, was then in dire need of support from Russia. Therefore, the Qing rulers went to small territorial concessions in Central Asia. In 1851, Russia concluded the Kuldzha Treaty with China, which established equal trade relations between the countries. Under the terms of the agreement, duty-free barter was opened in Ghulja and Chuguchak, Russian merchants were provided with unhindered passage to the Chinese side, and trading posts were created for Russian merchants.

On May 8, 1866, the first major clash between the Russians and the Bukharians took place near Irdzhar, which was called the Irdzhar battle. This battle was won by Russian troops. Cut off from Bukhara, Khudoyar Khan accepted in 1868 a trade agreement proposed to him by Adjutant General von Kaufmann, according to which the Khivans were obliged to stop raids and looting of Russian villages, and also to release the captured Russian subjects. Also, under this agreement, Russians in the Kokand Khanate and Kokandians in Russian possessions acquired the right to stay and travel freely, arrange caravanserais, and maintain trade agencies (caravan-bashi). The terms of this agreement impressed me to the core - no seizure of resources, only the establishment of justice.

Finally, on January 25, 1884, a deputation of the Mervians arrived in Askhabad and submitted a petition to the Governor-General Komarov for the acceptance of Merv into Russian citizenship and took an oath. The Turkestan campaigns completed the great mission of Russia, which first stopped the expansion of nomads to Europe, and with the completion of colonization, finally pacified the eastern lands. The arrival of the Russian troops marked the arrival a better life. The Russian general and topographer Ivan Blaramberg wrote: “The Kirghiz of Kuan Darya thanked me for freeing them from their enemies and destroying the robber nests,” military historian Dmitry Fedorov put it more precisely: “Russian dominion acquired great charm in Central Asia, because it marked itself humane peace-loving attitude towards the natives and, having aroused the sympathy of the masses, was for them a desirable dominion.

1853-1856: First Eastern War (or Crimean campaign)

Here it will be possible to observe simply the quintessence of cruelty and hypocrisy of our so-called "European partners". Not only are we again witnessing a friendly association of almost all European countries in the hope of destroying more Russians and plundering Russian lands. We are already used to this. But this time everything was done so openly, not even hiding behind false political pretexts, that one is amazed. The war had to be waged by Russia against Turkey, England, France, Sardinia and Austria (which took a position of hostile neutrality). The Western powers, pursuing their economic and political interests in the Caucasus and the Balkans, persuaded Turkey to exterminate the southern peoples of Russia, assuring that, "if anything," they would help. That “if anything” came very quickly.

After the Turkish army invaded the Russian Crimea and “slaughtered” 24,000 innocent people, including more than 2,000 small children (by the way, the cut off heads of the children were then kindly presented to their parents), the Russian army simply destroyed the Turkish and the fleet was burned. In the Black Sea, near Sinop, Vice-Admiral Nakhimov on December 18, 1853 destroyed the Turkish squadron of Osman Pasha. Following this, the combined Anglo-French-Turkish squadron entered the Black Sea. In the Caucasus, the Russian army defeated the Turkish at Bayazet (July 17, 1854) and Kuryuk-Dara (July 24). In November 1855, Russian troops liberated Kars, inhabited by Armenians and Georgians (which once in a row we save poor Armenians and Georgians at the cost of thousands of lives of our soldiers). On April 8, 1854, the allied Anglo-French fleet bombarded the Odessa fortifications. On September 1, 1854, British, French and Turkish troops landed in the Crimea. After a heroic 11-month defense, the Russians were forced to leave Sevastopol in August 1855. At the congress in Paris on March 18, 1856, peace was concluded. The conditions of this world surprise with their idiocy: Russia has lost the right to patronize Christians in the Turkish Empire (let them cut, rape and dismember!) And has pledged to have neither fortresses nor a navy on the Black Sea. It doesn't matter that the Turks slaughtered not only Russian Christians, but also French, English (for example, in Central Asia and the Middle East) and even German ones. The main thing is to weaken and kill the Russians.

1877-1878: Another Russo-Turkish War (also known as the Second Eastern War)

The oppression of the Christian Slavs in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Turks caused an uprising there in 1875. In 1876, the uprising in Bulgaria was pacified by the Turks with extreme cruelty, massacres of the civilian population were committed, and tens of thousands of Bulgarians were slaughtered. The Russian public was outraged by the massacre. On April 12, 1877, Russia declared war on Turkey. As a result, Sofia was liberated on December 23, and Adrianople was occupied on January 8. The way to Constantinople was open. However, in January, the English squadron entered the Dardanelles, threatening the Russian troops, and in England a general mobilization was appointed for the invasion of Russia. In Moscow, in order not to expose its soldiers and population to obvious masochism in a useless confrontation against almost the whole of Europe, they decided not to continue the offensive. But she still achieved the protection of the innocent. On February 19, a peace treaty was signed in San Stefano, according to which Serbia, Montenegro and Romania were recognized as independent; Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina received autonomy. Russia received Ardagan, Lars, Batum (regions inhabited by Georgians and Armenians, who have long been asking for Russian citizenship). The terms of the Peace of San Stefano provoked a protest from England and Austria-Hungary (an empire that we had recently saved from collapse at the cost of the lives of our soldiers), who began preparations for a war against Russia. Through the mediation of Emperor Wilhelm, a congress was convened in Berlin to revise the San Stefano peace treaty, which reduced Russia's successes to a minimum. It was decided to divide Bulgaria into two parts: the vassal principality and the Turkish province of Eastern Rumelia. Bosnia and Herzegovina was given to the control of Austria-Hungary.

Far Eastern expansion and mistake #3

In 1849, Grigory Nevelskoy began to explore the mouth of the Amur. Later he establishes a winter hut on the shore Sea of ​​Okhotsk to trade with local population. In 1855, the period of economic development of the uninhabited region began. In 1858, the Aigun Treaty was concluded between the Russian Empire and Qing China, and in 1860, the Beijing Treaty, according to which Russia's power over the Ussuri Territory was recognized, and the Russian government in return provided military aid China in the fight against Western interventionists - diplomatic support and the supply of weapons. If at that time China had not been so severely weakened by the Opium War with the West, it would, of course, have competed with St. Petersburg and would not have allowed the development of border territories so easily. But the foreign policy conjuncture favored the peaceful and bloodless expansion of the Russian Empire in an eastern direction.

The rivalry between the Qing Empire and Japan for control of Korea in the 19th century cost the entire Korean people dearly. But the saddest episode occurred in 1794-1795, when Japan invaded Korea and began real atrocities in order to intimidate the population and the elite of the country and force them to accept Japanese citizenship. The Chinese army stood up to defend their colony and a bloody meat grinder began, in which, in addition to 70 thousand soldiers from both sides, a huge number of Korean civilians died. As a result, Japan won, transferred hostilities to the territory of China, reached Beijing and forced the Qing rulers to sign the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki, according to which the Qing Empire ceded Taiwan, Korea and the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan, and also established trade preferences for Japanese merchants.

On April 23, 1895, Russia, Germany, and France simultaneously appealed to the Japanese government demanding that they abandon the annexation of the Liaodong Peninsula, which could lead to the establishment of Japanese control over Port Arthur and further aggressive expansion of the Japanese colonizers deep into the continent. Japan was forced to agree. On May 5, 1895, Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi announced the withdrawal of Japanese troops from the Liaodong Peninsula. The last Japanese soldiers left for their homeland in December. Here Russia has shown nobility - it forced the cruel aggressor to leave the occupied territory and contributed to preventing the spread of mass violence to new territories. A few months later, in 1896, Russia signed an alliance agreement with China, according to which it received the right to build a railway line through the territory of Manchuria, the agreement also established Russia's protection of the Chinese population from possible Japanese aggression in the future. However, under the influence of the trade lobby, the government could not resist the temptation to use the weakness of its neighbor, exhausted by the unequal war, and "profit".

In November 1897, German troops occupied the Chinese Qingdao, and Germany forced China to give this region a long-term (99 years) lease. Opinions in the Russian government on the reaction to the capture of Qingdao were divided: Foreign Minister Muravyov and Minister of War Vannovsky advocated taking advantage of the favorable moment to occupy the Chinese ports on the Yellow Sea, Port Arthur or Dalian Van. He argued that it was desirable for Russia to obtain an ice-free port in the Pacific Ocean in the Far East. Finance Minister Witte spoke out against this, pointing out that “... from this fact (the capture of Tsingtao by Germany) ... it is by no means possible to conclude that we should do exactly the same as Germany and also seize from China. Moreover, such a conclusion cannot be drawn because China is not in an allied relationship with Germany, but we are in an alliance with China; we promised to defend China, and suddenly, instead of defending, we ourselves will begin to seize its territory.

Nicholas II supported Muravyov's proposal, and on December 3 (15), 1897, Russian warships stood in the roadstead of Port Arthur. On March 15 (27), 1898, Russia and China signed the Russian-Chinese Convention in Beijing, according to which Russia was provided with leasehold use for 25 years of the ports of Port Arthur (Lushun) and Dalny (Dalian) with adjacent territories and water space and was allowed to lay to these ports of the railway (South Manchurian Railway) from one of the points of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Yes, our country has not undertaken any violence to solve its economic and geopolitical problems. But this episode of Russian foreign policy was unfair to China, an ally that we actually betrayed and, by our behavior, became like Western colonial elites who will stop at nothing for profit. In addition, by these actions, the tsarist government acquired an evil and vindictive enemy for its country. After all, the realization that Russia actually took away the Liaodong Peninsula captured during the war from Japan led to a new wave of militarization of Japan, this time directed against Russia, under the slogan "Gashin Shotan" (Jap. "dream on a board with nails"), who urged the nation to endure the increase in taxation for the sake of military revenge in the future. As we remember, this revenge will be undertaken by Japan quite soon - in 1904.

Conclusion

Continuing its global mission to protect the oppressed small peoples from enslavement and destruction, as well as defending its own sovereignty, in the 19th century Russia nevertheless makes gross foreign policy mistakes that will certainly affect the way it is perceived by a number of neighboring ethnic groups for many years to come. The wild and completely inexplicable invasion of Hungary in 1849 will in the future cause mistrust and hostile wariness of this nation towards Russian identity. As a result, she became the second "offended" by the Russian Empire European people(after Poland). And the brutal conquest of the Circassians in the 20-40s, despite the fact that it was provoked, is also difficult to justify. Largely due to this, the North Caucasus today is the largest and most complex region in the federal structure of interethnic relations. Although bloodless, but still an unpleasant fact of history was the hypocritical and treacherous behavior of the St. Petersburg imperial court in relation to allied China during the Second Opium War. At that time, the Qing Empire was fighting the whole Western civilization, which had actually turned into a huge drug cartel. It is also worth noting that the Russian establishment, naturally “attracted” to enlightened Europe, in the 19th century continues to try to build the country into the halo of influence of Western civilization, strives to become “its own” for it, but receives even more cruel lessons of European hypocrisy than before.

Lesson Objectives.

Educational: to form an idea of ​​the main features and problems of the demographic, social and economic development of the Russian Empire at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries; continue working on concepts, developing the ability to highlight the main idea, establish cause-and-effect relationships, compare, draw conclusions, work with a supporting summary, concise information

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Theme of the lesson: "The Russian Empire in the late 19th early 20th century"

History of Russia Grade 8.

Lesson goals.

Educational: to form an idea of ​​the main features and problems of the demographic, social and economic development of the Russian Empire at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries; continue working on concepts, developing the ability to highlight the main idea, establish cause-and-effect relationships, compare, draw conclusions, work with a supporting summary, concise information.

Developing: to promote the development of students' analytical skills, the ability to work with textual information, develop oral and written speech skills.

Educational: to continue the formation of teamwork skills, a sense of patriotism and pride in one's country

Educational equipment: historical documents, textbook, Handout, presentation "Russia at the beginning of the 19th century", interactive whiteboard, computer, map "Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century".

During the classes:

Stage 1. Two students form a pair, two pairs form a group. Each of them has its own text and paragraph of the textbook:

1) the territory of Russia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Population.

2) estate system.

3) economic system.

4) political system.

Within 10 minutes, everyone works with their own text and begins filling out a table in their notebook from their column, entering the keywords:

Russian Empire in the late 18th - early 19th century.

Stage 2. By agreement, one of the students recites his text. The other listens, asks clarifying questions, writes down key words, and then tells his friend his topic, now the first listens and asks questions.

3rd stage. Pair change. The first options in the group are swapped. Work continues in pairs of shifts until each student has completed the entire table in the notebook. 5 min. working time for the presentation of the material and entries in the table. Total total time to work 30 minutes.

Stage 4. Consolidation of knowledge.

Front work. Board test:

1. By the beginning of the 19th century, the population of Russia was

A) 46 million

B) 24 million

C) 128 million

D) 44 million

2. By the beginning of the 19th century, the most numerous estate in Russia

A) merchants

B) landowners

B) peasants

D) clergy

3. The political system of Russia at the beginning of the 19th century is

A) a parliamentary republic

B) Autocratic monarchy

B) theocratic state

D) Limited monarchy

4. The Russian Empire was:

A) a multinational state

B) Mono-ethnic state

Stage 5 Reflection.

Give your description of the country by writing in front of the letter, an adjective that suits you:

R -

Homework: pp5-7.

Appendix:

Text #1.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire was a huge continental country. It occupied one sixth of the land and stretched from the Baltic Sea to Alaska in North America. By the middle of the 19th century, the territory of Russia reached 18 million square kilometers. The country was divided into 69 provinces and regions, which in turn were divided into counties (in Belarus and Ukraine - into counties). On average, there were 10-12 counties per province. Groups of provinces in some cases united into governor-generals and governorships. So, three Lithuanian-Belarusian (Vilna, Kovno and Grodno, with a center in Vilna) and three Right-Bank Ukrainian provinces (Kyiv, Podolsk and Volyn, with a center in Kyiv) were united. The Caucasian governorship included the Transcaucasian provinces with the center in Tiflis.

Text number 2.

in the 17-18 centuries, the Cossacks were used by the state to protect external borders; in the 17-18 centuries, the Cossacks, mostly the poorest part of it, formed the backbone of the rebels during the peasant wars, but at the turn of the 18-19 centuries. the government established control over the Cossack regions, and in the 19th century. began to create new Cossack troops to protect the borders, for example, the Siberian and Transbaikal. The Cossacks were mostly state peasants. By the middle of the 19th century. in Russia there were 9 Cossack troops: Don, Black Sea (Kuban), Terek, Astrakhan, Orenburg, Ural, Siberian and Ussuri troops; the heir to the throne was considered the chieftain of all Cossack troops. At the head of each army was an appointed (appointed) ataman. The village atamans were elected by the Cossacks themselves.

Text number 3.

The main forms of feudal exploitation are corvée and dues.

The spread of the corvée form of exploitation applies primarily to the chernozem provinces. In the central industrial provinces, where soil fertility was low, the quitrent form prevailed.

The landowners sought to increase the production of bread for sale. To do this, they reduced the peasant allotments, increased the area under crops. The number of corvée days increases, and in some cases a month is introduced.

month - a kind of corvee. The landowner took away from the peasants their allotments, forcing them to work only on his land. For this, he gave them a monthly allowance of food and clothing.

The increase in gross grain production occurred precisely because of the expansion of sown areas, while the corvée system could not be profitable and was in crisis. The productivity of forced labor was constantly falling, which is explained by the disinterest of the peasants in the results of their labor.

The amount of dues for the first half of the XIX century. increased by 2.5-3.5 times. Since agriculture did not provide enough money for dues, the peasants began to engage in non-agricultural activities, such as handicrafts. In winter, the cart trade (transportation of goods on their sledges) is spreading. With the development of industry, the number of otkhodnik peasants increased, who went to work in manufactories, earning money there for dues (otkhodka).

There were also contradictions in the quitrent system. Thus, the competition among peasant craftsmen is intensifying. On the other hand, the developing factory industry was a serious competition to peasant crafts. As a result, the earnings of quitrent peasants fell, their solvency decreased, and hence the profitability of landlord estates.

Text No. 4.

According to its political structure, Russia was autocratic monarchy. At the head of the state was the emperor (in common parlance he was traditionally called the king). The highest legislative and administrative power was concentrated in his hands.

The emperor ruled the country with the help of officials. According to the law, they were the executors of the will of the king. But in reality the bureaucracy played a more significant role. In his hands was the development of laws, it also carried them out. The bureaucracy was the sovereign master in the central government and in the local (provincial and county). The state system of Russia in its form was autocratic-bureaucratic. The word "bureaucracy" is translated like this: the power of the offices. All segments of the population suffered from the arbitrariness of the bureaucracy, from its bribery.

The highest bureaucracy consisted mainly of noble landowners. Of these, the officer corps was also completed. Surrounded on all sides by the nobles, the king was imbued with their interests, defending them as his own.

True, sometimes contradictions and conflicts arose between the tsar and individual groups of the nobility. Sometimes they reached very sharp forms. But these conflicts never captured the entire nobility.

Chapter 1. Russian Empire at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries

§ 1. Challenges of the industrial world

Features of the development of Russia in the late XIX - early XX century. Russia entered the path of modern industrial growth two generations later than France and Germany, a generation later than Italy, and about the same time as Japan. By the end of the XIX century. The most developed countries of Europe have already completed the transition from a traditional, basically agrarian society to an industrial one, the most important components of which are a market economy, a rule of law state and a multi-party system. The process of industrialization in the XIX century. can be considered a pan-European phenomenon, which had its leaders and its outsiders. Great French revolution and the Napoleonic regime created the conditions for rapid economic development in much of Europe. In England, which became the first industrial power in the world, an unprecedented acceleration of industrial progress began in the last decades of the 18th century. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain was already the undisputed world industrial leader, accounting for about a quarter of the total world industrial output. Thanks to its industrial leadership and status as a leading maritime power, it has also gained a position as a leader in world trade. The UK accounted for about a third of world trade, more than twice the share of its main rivals. Great Britain maintained its dominant position in both industry and trade throughout the 19th century. Although the model of industrialization in France differed from that in England, the result was equally impressive. French scientists and inventors held leadership in a number of industries, including hydropower (turbine construction and electricity generation), steel smelting (open blast furnace) and aluminum, automotive, and at the beginning of the 20th century. - aircraft construction. At the turn of the XX century. there are new leaders of industrial development - the United States, and then Germany. By the beginning of the XX century. The development of world civilization has accelerated sharply: the achievements of science and technology have changed the face of the advanced countries of Europe and North America and the quality of life of millions of inhabitants. Thanks to the continuous growth of output per capita, these countries have achieved an unprecedented level of prosperity. Positive demographic changes (decrease in the death rate and stabilization of the birth rate) free the industrial countries from the problems associated with overpopulation and the establishment of wages at a minimum level that ensures only existence. Feeded by completely new, democratic impulses, the contours of civil society appear, which receive public space in the subsequent 20th century. One of the most important features of capitalist development (which in science has another name - modern economic growth), which began in the first decades of the 19th century. in the most developed countries of Europe and America - the emergence of new technologies, the use of scientific achievements. This can explain the sustainable long-term nature of economic growth. So, between 1820 and 1913. the average rate of productivity growth in the leading European countries was 7 times higher than in the previous century. During the same period, their per capita gross domestic product (GDP) more than tripled, while the share of those employed in agriculture decreased by 2/3. Thanks to this leap to the beginning of the XX century. economic development acquires new distinctive features and new dynamics. The volume of world trade grew 30 times, the global economy and the global financial system began to take shape.

Despite the differences, the countries of the first echelon of modernization had many common features, and most importantly, a sharp reduction in the role of agriculture in an industrial society, which distinguished them from countries that had not yet made the transition to an industrial society. The growth of agricultural efficiency in the industrialized countries provided a real opportunity to feed the non-agricultural population. By the beginning of the XX century. a significant part of the population of industrialized countries was already employed in industry. Thanks to the development of large-scale production, the population is concentrated in big cities urbanization is taking place. The use of machines and new sources of energy makes it possible to create new products that continuously enter the market. This is another difference between an industrial society and a traditional one: the emergence a large number people employed in the service sector.

No less important is the fact that in industrial societies the socio-political structure was based on the equality of all citizens before the law. The complexity of this type of society made it necessary for the general literacy of the population, the development of the media.

Huge Russian Empire by the middle of the XIX century. remained an agricultural country. The vast majority of the population (over 85%) lived in rural areas and was employed in agriculture. The country had one railway St. Petersburg - Moscow. Only 500 thousand people, or less than 2% of the able-bodied population, worked in factories and factories. Russia produced 850 times less coal than England, and 15–25 times less oil than the United States.

Russia's lag was due to both objective and subjective factors. Throughout the 19th century the territory of Russia expanded by about 40%, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Finland became part of the empire (although in 1867 Russia had to sell Alaska to the USA). Only the European territory of Russia was almost 5 times larger than the territory of France and more than 10 times larger than Germany. In terms of population, Russia was in one of the first places in Europe. In 1858, 74 million people lived within its new borders. By 1897, when the first All-Russian census took place, the population had grown to 125.7 million people (excluding Finland).

The vast territory of the state, the multinational, multi-confessional composition of the population gave rise to problems of effective manageability, which the states of Western Europe practically did not encounter. The development of the colonized lands required great efforts and funds. The harsh climate and the diversity of the natural environment also had a negative impact on the pace of the country's renewal. Not the last role in Russia's lagging behind European countries was played by the later transition to free ownership of land by peasants. Serfdom in Russia existed much longer than in other European countries. Due to the dominance of serfdom until 1861, most of the industry in Russia developed on the basis of the use of forced labor serfs in large manufactories.

In the middle of the XIX century. signs of industrialization in Russia are becoming noticeable: the number of industrial workers increases from 100 thousand at the beginning of the century to more than 590 thousand people on the eve of the liberation of the peasants. The general inefficiency of management, and first of all the understanding by Alexander II (emperor in 1855–1881) that the country's military power directly depends on the development of the economy, forced the authorities to finally abolish serfdom. Its abolition in Russia took place about half a century after most European countries did it. According to experts, these 50-60 years is the minimum distance Russia lags behind Europe in economic development at the turn of the 20th century.

The conservation of feudal institutions made the country uncompetitive in the new historical conditions. Some influential politicians in the West saw Russia as a "threat to civilization" and were ready to help weaken its power and influence by all means.

"The beginning of the era of great reforms". The defeat in the Crimean War (1853-1856) quite clearly showed the world not only the serious lag of the Russian Empire from Europe, but also revealed the exhaustion of the potential with which feudal-serf Russia entered the ranks of great powers. The Crimean War paved the way for a series of reforms, the most significant of which was the abolition of serfdom. Since February 1861, a period of transformations began in Russia, later called the era of the Great Reforms. Signed by Alexander II on February 19, 1861, the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom forever eliminated the legal affiliation of the peasants to the landowner. They were awarded the title of free rural inhabitants. Peasants received personal freedom without ransom; the right to freely dispose of their property; freedom of movement and could henceforth marry without the consent of the landowner; enter into various property and civil transactions on its own behalf; open commercial and industrial enterprises; move to other classes. Thus, the law opened up certain opportunities for peasant entrepreneurship, and contributed to the departure of peasants to work. The law on the abolition of serfdom was the result of a compromise between various forces, for this reason it did not fully satisfy any of the interested parties. The autocratic government, responding to the challenges of the time, undertook to lead the country to capitalism, which was deeply alien to it. Therefore, she chose the slowest path, made maximum concessions to the landowners, who were always considered the main support of the tsar and the autocratic bureaucracy.

The landlords retained the right to all the land that belonged to them, although they were obliged to provide the peasants with land near the peasant farmstead, as well as a field allotment, for permanent use. The peasants were given the right to buy out the estate (the land on which the yard stood) and, by agreement with the landowner, the field allotment. In fact, the peasants received allotments not for ownership, but for use until the land was completely redeemed from the landowner. For the use of the land received, the peasants had to either work off its value on the lands of the landowner (corvée), or pay dues (in money or products). For this reason, the right of peasants to choose their economic activity, proclaimed in the Manifesto, was practically impossible. Most of the peasants did not have the means to pay the landowner the entire amount due, so the state contributed money for them. This money was considered debt. The peasants had to pay off their land debts with small annual payments, called redemption payments. It was assumed that the final settlement of the peasants for the land would be completed within 49 years. Peasants who were not able to immediately redeem the land became temporarily liable. In practice, the payment of redemption payments was delayed for many years. By 1907, when redemption payments were finally completely abolished, the peasants paid over 1.5 billion rubles, which, as a result, far exceeded the average market price of allotments.

According to the law, the peasants were to receive from 3 to 12 acres of land (1 acre is equal to 1,096 hectares), depending on its location. The landlords, under any pretext, sought to cut off the surplus land from the peasant allotments; in the most fertile black earth provinces, the peasants lost up to 30-40% of the land in the form of “segments”.

Nevertheless, the abolition of serfdom was a huge step forward, contributing to the development of new capitalist relations in the country, but the path chosen by the authorities to eliminate serfdom turned out to be the most burdensome for the peasants - they did not receive real freedom. The landlords continued to hold in their hands the levers of financial influence on the peasants. For the Russian peasantry, the land was a source of livelihood, so the peasants were unhappy that they received the land for a ransom that had to be paid for many years. After the reform, the land was not their private property. It could not be sold, bequeathed or inherited. At the same time, the peasants did not have the right to refuse to buy land. The main thing is that after the reform, the peasants remained in the power of the agricultural community that existed in the village. The peasant did not have the right to freely, without agreement with the community, leave for the city, enter the factory. The community protected the peasants for centuries and determined their whole life, it was effective in the traditional, unchanging methods of farming. Mutual responsibility was maintained in the community: it was financially responsible for collecting taxes from each of its members, sent recruits to the army, built churches and schools. In the new historical conditions, the communal form of land use turned out to be a brake on the path of progress, holding back the process of property differentiation of the peasants, destroying the incentives for increasing the productivity of their labor.

Reforms of 1860-1870s and their consequences. The liquidation of serfdom radically changed the whole character of public life in Russia. In order to adapt the political system of Russia to the new capitalist relations in the economy, the authorities had first of all to create new, all-class administrative structures. In January 1864 Alexander II approved the Regulations on zemstvo institutions. The meaning of the establishment of the Zemstvos was to connect new layers of free people to the management. According to this provision, persons of all classes who owned land or other immovable property within the uyezds, as well as rural peasant societies, were granted the right to participate in the affairs of economic management through elected vowels (i.e., those with the right to vote), who were part of the uyezd and provincial zemstvos meetings convened several times a year. However, the number of vowels from each of the three categories (landowners, urban societies and rural societies) was not the same: the advantage was with the nobles. For everyday activities, district and provincial zemstvo councils were elected. The zemstvos took over the care of all local needs: the construction and maintenance of roads, the provision of food for the population, education, medical care. Six years later, in 1870, the system of elective all-estate self-government was extended to cities. In accordance with the "City Regulations", a city duma elected for a period of 4 years according to the property qualification was introduced. The creation of a system of local self-government had a positive impact on the solution of many economic and other issues. The most important step along the path of renewal was the reform judicial system. In November 1864, the tsar approved a new Judicial Charter, according to which a unified system of judicial institutions was created in Russia, corresponding to the most modern world standards. Proceeding from the principle of equality of all subjects of the empire before the law, a classless public court was introduced with the participation of jurors and the institution of sworn attorneys (lawyers). To 1870 new courts were created in almost all provinces of the country.

The growing economic and military power of the leading Western European countries forced the authorities to take a number of measures to reform the military sphere. The main goal of the program outlined by Minister of War D. A. Milyutin was to create a mass army of the European type, which meant reducing the excessively high number of troops in peacetime and the ability to quickly mobilize in case of war. 1st of January 1874 signed a decree on the introduction of universal military service. Since 1874, all young people who have reached the age of 21 began to be called up to serve military service. At the same time, the service life was halved, depending on the level of education: in the army - up to 6 years, in the navy - 7 years, and some categories of the population, for example teachers, were not drafted into the army at all. In accordance with the objectives of the reform, cadet schools and military schools were opened in the country, and peasant recruits began to be taught not only military affairs, but also literacy.

In order to liberalize the spiritual sphere, Alexander II carried out an education reform. New higher educational institutions were opened, a network of elementary public schools was deployed. In 1863, the University Charter was approved, which again granted higher education institutions broad autonomy: the election of rectors and deans, the obligatory wearing of uniforms by students was abolished. In 1864, a new school charter was approved, according to which, along with classical gymnasiums, which gave the right to enter universities, real schools were introduced in the country, preparing students for admission to higher technical institutions. Censorship was limited and hundreds of new newspapers and magazines appeared in the country.

The “great reforms” carried out in Russia since the early 1860s did not solve all the tasks facing the authorities. In Russia, the educated representatives of the ruling elite became the bearers of new aspirations. For this reason, the reformation of the country went from above, which determined its features. The reforms undoubtedly accelerated the economic development of the country, liberated private initiative, removed some vestiges and eliminated deformations. Socio-political modernization carried out "from above" only limited the autocratic order, but did not lead to the creation of constitutional institutions. The autocratic power was not regulated by law. The great reforms did not touch upon the issues of either the rule of law or civil society; in their course, mechanisms for the civil consolidation of society were not developed, many class differences remained.

Post-reform Russia. The assassination of Emperor Alexander II on March 1, 1881 by radical members of the anti-autocratic organization Narodnaya Volya did not lead to the abolition of autocracy. On the same day, his son Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov became Emperor of Russia. Even as Tsarevich, Alexander III (emperor 1881-1894) believed that liberal reforms conducted by the father, weaken the autocratic power of the king. Fearing the escalation of the revolutionary movement, the son rejected the reformist course of his father. The economic situation of the country was difficult. The war with Turkey demanded huge expenses. In 1881, Russia's public debt exceeded 1.5 billion rubles with an annual income of 653 million rubles. Famine in the Volga region and inflation aggravated the situation.

Despite the fact that Russia retained many of the features of its cultural appearance and social structure inherent only to it, the second half of the 19th century. became a time of accelerated and noticeable cultural and civilizational transformation. From an agrarian country with low-productive agricultural production by the end of the 19th century. Russia began to turn into an agrarian-industrial country. The strongest impetus to this movement was given by the fundamental restructuring of the entire socio-economic system, which began with the abolition of serfdom in 1861.

Thanks to the reforms carried out in the country, an industrial revolution took place. Number steam engines tripled, their total capacity - four times, the number of merchant ships - 10 times. New industries, large enterprises with thousands of workers - all this became a characteristic feature of post-reform Russia, as well as the formation of a wide layer of wage workers and the developing bourgeoisie. The social face of the country was changing. However, this process was slow. Wage workers were still firmly connected with the countryside, and the middle class was small and poorly organized.

And yet, since that time, a slow but steady process of transforming the economic and social organization of the life of the empire has been outlined. The rigid administrative class system gave way to more flexible forms of social relations. Private initiative was liberated, elected bodies of local self-government were introduced, legal proceedings were democratized, archaic restrictions and prohibitions in publishing, in the field of stage, music and visual arts. In desert places far from the center, during the lifetime of one generation, vast industrial zones arose, such as the Donbass and Baku. The successes of civilizational modernization most expressively acquired visible outlines in the guise of the capital of the empire - St. Petersburg.

At the same time, the government launched a railway construction program relying on foreign capital and technology, and reorganized the banking system to introduce Western financial technologies. The fruits of this new policy became visible in the mid-1880s. and during the "big push" of industrial production in the 1890s, when industrial output increased by an average of 8% per year, which exceeded the highest growth rates ever achieved in the Western countries.

The most dynamically developing industry was cotton production, mainly in the Moscow region, the second most important was the production of beet sugar in Ukraine. At the end of the XIX century. large modern textile factories are being built in Russia, as well as a number of metallurgical and machine-building plants. In St. Petersburg and near St. Petersburg, the giants of the metallurgical industry are growing - the Putilov and Obukhov plants, the Nevsky shipbuilding and Izhora plants. Such enterprises are also being created in the Russian part of Poland.

A great merit in this breakthrough belonged to the railway construction program, especially the construction of the state Trans-Siberian Railway, begun in 1891. By 1905, the total length of the railway lines in Russia amounted to over 62 thousand km. The green light was also given to the expansion of mining and the construction of new smelters. The latter were often created by foreign entrepreneurs and with the help of foreign capital. In the 1880s French entrepreneurs obtained permission from the tsarist government to build a railway connecting the Donbass (coal deposits) and Krivoy Rog (deposits iron ore), and also built blast furnaces in both areas, thus creating the world's first smelter operating on the supply of raw materials from remote deposits. In 1899, there were already 17 factories operating in the south of Russia (until 1887 there were only two), equipped with the latest technology. European technology. Coal and iron production skyrocketed (whereas in the 1870s domestic iron production met only 40% of demand, in the 1890s it served three-quarters of the vastly increased consumption).

By this time, Russia had accumulated significant economic and intellectual capital, which allowed the country to achieve some success. By the beginning of the XX century. Russia had a good gross economic performance: in terms of gross industrial production, it was in fifth place in the world after the United States, Germany, Great Britain and France. The country had a significant textile industry, especially cotton and linen, as well as a developed heavy industry - the production of coal, iron, and steel. Russia in the last few years XIX in. even ranked first in the world in oil production.

These figures, however, cannot serve unequivocal assessment economic power of Russia. Compared with the countries of Western Europe, the standard of living of the bulk of the population, especially peasants, was catastrophically low. The production of basic industrial products per capita lagged behind the level of the leading industrial countries by an order of magnitude: 20–50 times for coal, and 7–10 times for metal. Thus, the Russian Empire entered the 20th century without solving the problems associated with lagging behind the West.

§ 2. The beginning of modern economic growth

New goals and objectives of socio-economic development. Russia at the beginning of the 20th century was at an early stage of industrialization. The structure of exports was dominated by raw materials: timber, flax, furs, oil. Almost 50% of export operations were occupied by bread. At the turn of the XX century. Russia annually supplied abroad up to 500 million grains. Moreover, if for all the post-reform years the total volume of exports increased almost 3 times, then the export of bread - 5.5 times. Compared to the pre-reform era, the Russian economy developed rapidly, but a certain brake on the development of market relations was the underdevelopment of the market infrastructure (lack of commercial banks, difficulty in obtaining loans, dominance of state capital in the credit system, low standards of business ethics), as well as the presence of state institutions that did not compatible with a market economy. Profitable government orders tied Russian entrepreneurs to the autocracy, pushed them into an alliance with the landowners. The Russian economy remained multi-structural. Subsistence farming coexisted with the semi-feudal landlord, small-scale farming of the peasants, private capitalist farming and state (state) farming. At the same time, having embarked on the path of creating a market later than the leading European countries, Russia widely used their experience in organizing production. Foreign capital played an important role in the creation of the first Russian monopoly associations. The Nobel brothers and the Rothschild company created a cartel in the Russian oil industry.

A specific feature of the development of the market in Russia was a high degree of concentration of production and labor: the eight largest sugar producers were concentrated at the beginning of the 20th century. in their hands 30% of all sugar factories in the country, the five largest oil companies- 17% of all oil production. As a result, the bulk of the workers began to concentrate on large enterprises with more than a thousand employees. In 1902, over 50% of all workers in Russia worked at such enterprises. Before the revolution of 1905–1907 there were more than 30 monopolies in the country, including such large syndicates as Prodamet, Gvozd, Prodvagon. The autocratic government contributed to the growth of the number of monopolies, pursuing a policy of protectionism, protecting Russian capital from foreign competition. At the end of the XIX century. duties on many imported goods were significantly increased, including for pig iron they were increased by 10 times, for rails - by 4.5 times. The policy of protectionism allowed the growing Russian industry to withstand competition from the developed countries of the West, but it led to increased economic dependence on foreign capital. Western entrepreneurs, deprived of the opportunity to import manufactured goods into Russia, sought to expand the export of capital. By 1900, foreign investments accounted for 45% of the total share capital in the country. Profitable state orders pushed Russian entrepreneurs into a direct alliance with the landowning class, doomed the Russian bourgeoisie to political impotence.

Entering a new century, the country had to solve in the shortest possible time a set of problems relating to all the main spheres of public life: in the political sphere - to use the achievements of democracy, on the basis of the constitution, laws to open access to the management of public affairs to all segments of the population, in the economic sphere - to implement industrialization of all industries, to turn the village into a source of capital, food and raw materials necessary for the industrialization and urbanization of the country, in the sphere of national relations - to prevent the split of the empire along national lines, satisfying the interests of peoples in the field of self-determination, contributing to the rise national culture and self-awareness, in the field of foreign economic relations - from a supplier of raw materials and food to become an equal partner in industrial production, in the field of religion and the church - to end the relationship of dependence between the autocratic state and the church, to enrich the philosophy, work ethic of Orthodoxy, taking into account the establishment in the country of bourgeois relations, in the field of defense - to modernize the army, to ensure its combat capability through the use of advanced means and theories of warfare.

Little time was allotted for solving these priority tasks, because the world stood on the threshold of a war unprecedented in scope and consequences, the collapse of empires, the redivision of colonies; economic, scientific, technical and ideological expansion. In the face of fierce competition in international arena Russia, not entrenched in the ranks of the great powers, could be thrown far back.

Land issue. Positive shifts in the economy have also affected the agricultural sector, although to a lesser extent. The feudal land ownership of the nobility was already weakened, but the private sector was not yet strong. Of the 395 million acres in the European part of Russia in 1905, communal allotments amounted to 138 million acres, treasury land - 154 million, and private - only 101 million (approximately 25.8%), of which half belonged to peasants, and the other - to landowners. A characteristic feature of private landownership was its latifundial character: approximately 28,000 owners held three-quarters of the entire landownership, an average of about 2,300 dessiatins. for everyone. At the same time, 102 families owned estates of more than 50 thousand dessiatins. each. For this reason, their owners rented out lands and lands.

Formally, leaving the community was possible after 1861, but by the beginning of 1906 only 145,000 farms had left the community. Collections of basic food crops, as well as their yields, grew slowly. Per capita income was no more than half that of France and Germany. Due to the use of primitive technologies and lack of capital, labor productivity in Russian agriculture was extremely low.

One of the main factors behind the low level of productivity and income of the peasants was the egalitarian communal psychology. The average German peasant economy at that time had half as much crops, but 2.5 times more yield than in the more fertile Russian Chernozem region. Milk yields also differed greatly. Another reason for the low productivity of basic food crops is the dominance of backward systems of field cultivation in the Russian countryside, the use of primitive agricultural implements: wooden plows and harrows. Despite the fact that the import of agricultural machinery grew from 1892 to 1905 at least 4 times, more than 50% of the peasants of the agricultural regions of Russia did not have improved equipment. The landowners' farms were much better equipped.

Nevertheless, the rate of growth in the production of bread in Russia was higher than the rate of population growth. Compared with the post-reform period, the average annual yields of bread increased by the beginning of the century from 26.8 million tons to 43.9 million tons, and potatoes from 2.6 million tons to 12.6 million tons. Accordingly, over a quarter of a century, the mass of marketable bread increased more than twice, the volume of grain exports - 7.5 times. In terms of gross grain production, Russia by the beginning of the 20th century. was among the world leaders. True, Russia won the glory of the world grain exporter due to the malnutrition of its own population, as well as the relative smallness of the urban population. Russian peasants ate mainly plant foods (bread, potatoes, cereals), less often they consumed fish and dairy products, and even less often - meat. In general, the calorie content of food did not correspond to the energy expended by the peasants. In the event of frequent crop failures, the peasants had to starve. In the 1880s after the abolition of the poll tax and the reduction of redemption payments financial situation peasants improved, but the agricultural crisis in Europe also affected Russia, the price of bread fell. In 1891–1892 severe drought and crop failure swept 16 provinces of the Volga and Chernozem regions. About 375 thousand people died from starvation. Failures of various scale also occurred in 1896-1897, 1899, 1901, 1905-1906, 1908, 1911.

At the beginning of the XX century. in connection with the steady expansion of the domestic market, already more than half of the marketable grain went to domestic consumption.

Domestic agriculture covered a significant part of the needs of the manufacturing industry in raw materials. Only the textile and, to some extent, the woolen industries were in need of imported raw materials.

At the same time, the presence of many remnants of serfdom seriously hampered the development of the Russian countryside. Huge sums of redemption payments (by the end of 1905 the former landlord peasants paid more than 1.5 billion instead of the initial 900 million rubles; the peasants paid the same amount instead of the initial 650 million rubles for state lands) were pumped out of the village and did not go to development of its productive forces.

Already from the beginning of the 1880s. more and more clearly emerged signs of growing crisis phenomena which caused the growth of social tension in the countryside. The capitalist restructuring of the landowners' farms proceeded extremely slowly. Only a few landlord estates were centers of cultural influence on the village. Peasants were still a subordinate class. The basis of agricultural production was low-commodity family peasant farms, which at the beginning of the century produced 80% of grain, the vast majority of flax and potatoes. Only sugar beets were grown on relatively large landlord farms.

In the old-developed regions of Russia there was a significant agrarian overpopulation: about a third of the village was, in essence, "extra hands".

The growth in the size of the landowning population (up to 86 million by 1900), while maintaining the same size of land allotments, led to a decrease in the share of peasant land per capita. Compared with the norms of Western countries, the Russian peasant could not be called land-poor, as was commonly believed in Russia, however, under the existing system of land use, even having land wealth, the peasant was starving. One of the reasons for this is the low productivity of peasant fields. By 1900, it was only 39 pounds (5.9 centners per 1 ha).

The government was constantly involved in agricultural issues. In 1883–1886 the per capita tax was abolished, in 1882 the "Peasant Land Bank" was established, which issued loans to peasants for the purchase of land. But the effectiveness of the measures taken was insufficient. The peasantry constantly did not collect the taxes required of it, in 1894, 1896 and 1899. the government provided the peasants with benefits, fully or partially forgiving arrears. The sum of all direct fees (state, zemstvo, secular and insurance) from peasant allotment lands in 1899 amounted to 184 million rubles. However, the peasants did not pay these taxes, although they were not excessive. In 1900, the amount of arrears was 119 million rubles. Social tension in the countryside at the beginning of XX. turns into real peasant uprisings, which became the harbingers of the impending revolution.

New economic policy of power. Reforms S. Yu. Witte. In the early 90s. 19th century In Russia, an unprecedented industrial boom began. Along with the favorable economic situation, it was caused by the new economic policy of the authorities.

The leader of the new government policy was the outstanding Russian reformer Count Sergei Yulievich Witte (1849–1915). For 11 years he held the key post of Minister of Finance. Witte was a supporter of the comprehensive modernization of the national economy of Russia and at the same time remained in conservative political positions. Many of the reform ideas that were put into practice in those years were conceived and developed long before Witte headed the Russian reform movement. By the beginning of the XX century. the positive potential of the reforms of 1861 was partially exhausted and partially emasculated by conservative circles after the assassination in 1881 of Alexander II. As a matter of urgency, the authorities had to solve a number of priority tasks: stabilize the ruble, develop communication routes, find new markets for domestic products.

A serious problem by the end of the XIX century. becomes scarce. Last but not least, it was associated with population explosion that began in the country after the abolition of serfdom. The decrease in mortality while maintaining a high birth rate led to a rapid population growth, and this becomes by the beginning of the 20th century. a headache for the authorities, as a vicious circle of excess labor is formed. The low incomes of the majority of the population made the Russian market low-capacity and hindered the development of industry. Following the Minister of Finance, N. H. Bunge, Witte began to develop the idea of ​​​​continuing agrarian reform and eliminating the community. At that time, in the Russian countryside, the leveling and redistribution community prevailed, which carried out the redistribution of communal lands every 10–12 years. The threats of redistribution, as well as striping, deprived the peasants of incentives for the development of the economy. This is the most important reason, according to which Witte turned from "a Slavophile supporter of the community into its staunch opponent". In the free peasant "I", the liberated private interest, Witte saw an inexhaustible source of development of the productive forces of the countryside. He managed to pass a law limiting the role of mutual responsibility in the community. In the future, Witte planned to gradually transfer the peasants from the communal to the household and farm economy.

The economic situation called for urgent action. The obligations assumed by the government for redemption payments to the landlords, abundant financing of industry and construction from the treasury, high costs of maintaining the army and navy led the Russian economy to a serious financial crisis. At the turn of the century, few serious politicians doubted the need for deep socio-economic and political transformation capable of relieving social tension and bringing Russia into the ranks of the most developed countries in the world. In the ongoing discussion about the ways of the country's development, the main issue is the question of priorities in economic policy.

The plan of S. Yu. Witte can be called industrialization plan. It provided for the accelerated industrial development of the country within two five years. The creation of one's own industry was, according to Witte, not only a fundamental economic but also a political task. Without the development of industry, it is impossible to improve agriculture in Russia. Therefore, no matter what efforts this may require, it is necessary to work out and unswervingly adhere to the course for the priority development of industry. The purpose of Witte's new course was to catch up with the industrialized countries, take a strong position in trade with the East, and ensure a surplus in foreign trade. Until the mid 1880s. Witte looked at the future of Russia through the eyes of a convinced Slavophile and opposed the breaking of the "originally Russian system." However, over time, in order to achieve his goals, he completely rebuilt the budget of the Russian Empire on new principles, carried out a credit reform, rightly counting on accelerating the pace of the country's industrial development.

Throughout the 19th century Russia experienced the greatest difficulties in monetary circulation: the wars that led to the issuance of paper money deprived the Russian ruble of the necessary stability and caused serious damage to Russian credit for international market. By the beginning of the 90s. the financial system of the Russian Empire was completely upset - the rate of paper money was constantly declining, gold and silver money was practically out of circulation.

The constant fluctuations in the value of the ruble came to an end with the introduction of the gold standard in 1897. The monetary reform as a whole was well conceived and carried out. The fact remains that with the introduction of the gold ruble, the country forgot about the existence of the recently “cursed” issue of the instability of Russian money. In terms of gold reserves, Russia bypassed France and England. All credit notes were freely exchanged for a gold coin. The State Bank issued them in quantities strictly limited by the actual needs of circulation. Confidence in the Russian ruble, extremely low throughout the 19th century, was fully restored in the years leading up to the outbreak of the World War. Witte's actions contributed to the rapid growth of Russian industry. To solve the problem of investments needed to create a modern industry, Witte attracted foreign capital in the amount of 3 billion gold rubles. At least 2 billion rubles were invested in railway construction alone. The railway network was doubled in a short time. Railway construction contributed to the rapid growth of the domestic metallurgical and coal industries. Cast iron production increased almost 3.5 times, coal mining - 4.1 times, the sugar industry flourished. Having built the Siberian and East China railways, Witte opened vast expanses of Manchuria for colonization and economic development.

In his transformations, Witte often encountered passivity and even resistance from the tsar and his entourage, who considered him a "republican." Radicals and revolutionaries, on the contrary, hated him "for supporting the autocracy." The reformer did not find a common language with the liberals either. The reactionaries who hated Witte turned out to be right; all his activities inevitably led to the elimination of the autocracy. Thanks to "Witte's industrialization", new social forces are gaining strength in the country.

Starting your state activity a sincere and staunch supporter of unlimited autocracy, he ended it with the author of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905, which limited the monarchy in Russia.

§ 3. Russian society in the conditions of forced modernization

Factors of social instability. Due to accelerated modernization, the transition of Russian society from traditional to modern at the beginning of the 20th century. accompanied by extreme inconsistency and conflict of its development. New forms of relations in society did not fit well with the way of life of the overwhelming majority of the population of the empire. The industrialization of the country was carried out at the cost of multiplying "peasant poverty". The example of Western Europe and distant America undermines the previously unshakable authority of the absolutist monarchy in the eyes of the educated urban elite. The influence of socialist ideas on politically active youth is strong, the possibility of participation in legal public politics is limited.

Russia entered the 20th century with a very young population. According to the first All-Russian census in 1897, about half of the 129.1 million inhabitants of the country were under 20 years old. The accelerated growth of the population and the predominance of young people in its composition created a powerful reserve of workers, but at the same time, this circumstance, due to the propensity of young people to rebellion, is becoming one of the most important factors in the instability of Russian society. At the beginning of the century, due to the low purchasing power of the population, industry entered the stage of a crisis of overproduction. Entrepreneurs' incomes have fallen. They shifted their economic difficulties onto the shoulders of the workers, whose number has increased since the end of the 19th century. grew. The length of the working day, limited by the law of 1897 to 11.5 hours, reached 12-14 hours, real wages decreased as a result of rising prices; for the slightest fault, the administration mercilessly fined. Living conditions were extremely difficult. Discontent grew among the workers, the situation got out of control of the entrepreneurs. Mass political actions of workers in 1901–1902. took place in St. Petersburg, Kharkov and a number of other major cities empire. Under these conditions, the government showed a political initiative.

Another important factor of instability is the multinational composition of the Russian Empire. At the turn of the new century, about 200 large and small peoples lived in the country, different in language, religion, level of civilizational development. The Russian state failed, unlike other imperial powers, to reliably integrate ethnic minorities into the economic and political space of the empire. Formally, there were practically no legal restrictions on ethnicity in Russian legislation. The Russian people, which accounted for 44.3% of the population (55.7 million people), did not stand out much among the population of the empire in terms of their economic and cultural level. Moreover, individual non-Russian ethnic groups even enjoyed some advantages compared to Russians, especially in the field of taxation and conscription. Poland, Finland, Bessarabia, the Baltic States enjoyed a very wide autonomy. More than 40% of hereditary nobles were of non-Russian origin. The Russian big bourgeoisie was multinational in composition. However, responsible state posts could only be held by persons of the Orthodox faith. The Orthodox Church enjoyed the patronage of autocratic power. The heterogeneity of the religious environment created the ground for the ideologization and politicization of ethnic identity. In the Volga region, Jadidism acquires political overtones. Unrest among the Armenian population of the Caucasus in 1903 was provoked by a decree on the transfer of the property of the Armenian Gregorian Church to the authorities.

Nicholas II continued his father's tough policy on the national question. This policy found expression in the denationalization of the school, bans on the publication of newspapers, magazines and books in the native language, restrictions on access to higher and secondary educational institutions. Attempts to forcibly Christianize the peoples of the Volga region resumed, and discrimination against Jews continued. In 1899 a manifesto was issued limiting the rights of the Finnish Diet. Office work in Finnish was prohibited. Despite the fact that the requirements of a single legal and linguistic space were dictated by objective modernization processes, the tendency towards rough administrative centralization and Russification of ethnic minorities strengthens their desire for national equality, the free execution of their religious and folk customs, and participation in the political life of the country. As a result, at the turn of the 20th century there is an increase in ethnic and inter-ethnic conflicts, and national movements become an important catalyst for the brewing of a political crisis.

Urbanization and the labor question. At the end of the XIX century. about 15 million people lived in Russian cities. dominated small towns with a population of less than 50 thousand people. There were only 17 large cities in the country: two millionaire cities, St. Petersburg and Moscow, and five more that overstepped the 100,000 mark, and all in the European part. For vast territory This was extremely small for the Russian Empire. Only the largest cities, by virtue of their inherent qualities, are capable of being genuine engines of social progress.

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