The reforms of Peter the Great strengthened the feudal-serf system in Russia, but at the same time they gave a great impetus to the development of an internal socio-economic crisis. The reforms of Peter I were the beginning of the process of decomposition of the feudal-serf system of the national economy, gave impetus to the formation and development of capitalist relations. Criticism of the vices of serfdom begins, and then of the serf system itself.

The economic development of Russia in the middle of the 18th century reached its peak in the conditions of feudal-serf relations. Feudalism, growing in depth and breadth, began to collapse from within. Commodity economy could not get along with serfdom, and as a result, both landowners and serfs found themselves in contradictory relations. The material interest of the manufacturer was needed, and it was inherent only to a free, free person.

The accession to Russia in the 18th century of vast territories required their development. And serfdom was a brake on the rapid development of these territories.

The Russian bourgeoisie was constrained in its aspirations, at the same time it was generated by the socio-economic development of Russia and was dependent on the monarchy.

After the death of Peter I, between his followers and the old Russian nobility, also, by the way, followers of Peter, a struggle began for influence on power. In a short time there was a change in the faces of political figures.

After the death of Peter I, the favorite of his wife Menshikov came to the fore. In 1727 Catherine I dies and the grandson of Peter I, Peter II Alekseevich, enters the throne. But he was only 14 years old and a supreme secret council was created to govern the country (Menshikov, Prince Dolgoruky, etc.). But there was no unity within this council, and a struggle ensued between Menshikov and Dolgoruky, the winner of which was the latter, but he did not have to take advantage of this, since in 1730. Peter II dies. The throne is free again.

At this time, the guardsmen, dissatisfied with the policy of the Privy Council, make a coup, enthroning the niece of Peter I Anna Ioannovna, who lived in Jelgava (near Riga).

Anna Ioannovna was offered some conditions, which she signed, which stipulated that her power was limited in favor of the large Russian aristocracy (Privy Council). The nobles were unhappy and Anna Ioannovna dispersed the Privy Council, restoring the Senate. She ruled for 10 years.

The reign of Anna Ioannovna is characterized by mass terror against the Russian nobility (Dolgoruky, Golitsin and many others suffered). Rising at the court of Biron, who rose from a groom to the chancellor of Russia.

Under Anna Ioannovna, a war was waged with Turkey.

Arbitrariness was unbearable, and only after the death of Anna Ioannovna in Russia does calm come. Dying, Anna Ioannovna leaves a will, which stated that the Russian throne should pass into the hands of Ioann Antonovich, the nephew of Anna Ioannovna (the grandson of Peter I and Charles CII, former enemies), while still a baby.

Naturally, his mother ruled for him - Anna Leopoldovna and regent Biron. But November 25, 1741. there was a coup. Biron and Munnich were arrested and exiled. The coup was carried out by the guards, dissatisfied with the dominance of foreigners.

Elizabeth ascends the throne, declaring that the death penalty is abolished. This ban was in effect throughout the 25 years of her reign.

In 1755 opened a Russian university.

Elizabeth surrounds herself with a group of advisers, among whom were Shuvalov, Panin, Chernyshov and others.

Under Elizabeth, a 7-year war was waged against Prussia (Frederick II), which led to the victory of Russian weapons. Subsequently, Frederick II said that "It is not enough to kill a Russian soldier, he and the dead one must also be thrown down."

The years of Elizabeth's reign were called the best years of Russia.

After Elizabeth, Peter III came to the throne, whose reign characterizes the dominance of the military. Peter III abolished all restrictions for the nobility. The peasants under him became the likeness of slaves. The landowner received the right to exile the peasant to Siberia for hard labor.

The activities of Peter III caused a storm of discontent and in June 1762. there was a coup d'état. Peter III was removed from power, and Catherine II the Great came to the throne.

The distribution of state lands begins, serfdom goes in breadth.

Catherine II, again using the nobility, secularized church lands in 1764. All lands owned by churches and monasteries were confiscated and transferred to the College of Economics. Church peasants were transferred to quitrent (that is, about 1,000,000 peasants received freedom); part of the land was transferred to the landowners.

Catherine signed a decree on the ownership of their land.

In 1767 adopted a decree on the attachment of peasants. Peasants were forbidden to complain about their landlords. The complaint was regarded as a grave state crime. Decree of January 17, 1765. peasants could be sent to hard labor by their landowner. Decree of May 3, 1783. Ukrainian peasants were assigned to their landowners.

The domestic policy of Catherine II was aimed at strengthening serfdom. Code of 1649 already hopelessly outdated. In this regard, Catherine II convenes the established commission to adopt new laws. As a reaction to the policy of Catherine, numerous peasant unrest and uprisings begin, which later develop into a peasant war led by Emelyan Pugachev of 73-75. The uprising showed that the administration of the state did not correspond to the times.

After the suppression of the uprising, Catherine begins new reforms. In 1775 By decree of Catherine II, regional reforms were carried out. In Russia, provinces and districts have been created, governors have been appointed, nobility supervision has been created, noble corporate and class institutions are being created, and the staff of officials, police and detectives is being increased.

In the same 1775. Decree on freedom of entrepreneurship and merchants was adopted. This decree led the need for reform in the cities. The process of registration of the privileges of the nobility and the merchants ends with two letters of liberties and advantages of the Russian nobility and a letter of commendation to the cities (1785). The first letter was aimed at consolidating the forces of the nobility, and the second met the interests of the merchants. The purpose of issuing charters is to strengthen power, create new groups and layers on which the Russian monarchy could rely.

Catherine decides to increase censorship after the French Revolution. Novikov and Radishchev were arrested.

In 1796 Catherine II died and Paul I came to the throne.

The character of the new emperor was largely contradictory. He did many things contrary to his mother's. Paul demanded that the nobility return to their regiments.

Some time later, by decree of April 5, 1797. approved that the peasants should work for the landowner no more than 3 days a week, banned the sale of peasants.

Paul broke off trade relations with England.

The higher nobility created a conspiracy against Paul, and on March 12, 1801. he was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle.

The foreign policy of Russia in the 18th century was characterized by the struggle for access to the Black Sea, Azov was captured in 1736, Kabardino-Balkaria was completely annexed, in 1731. Kazakhstan voluntarily joins Russia. During the 7-year war, Berlin and Konigsberg were captured.

During the reign of Catherine II, Poland was partitioned three times, and Poland itself ceased to exist as an independent state.

During the reign of Paul I, great heroic deeds of Russian troops took place under the leadership of Suvorov.

The policy of Catherine II (1762-1796) was called "enlightened absolutism". European politicians of that period considered Catherine II as an enlightened head of state and nation, who cared for her subjects on the basis of the laws he established.

In the concept of Catherine II, autocracy was not questioned. It was it that was to become the main instrument of gradual reform in all spheres of the life of Russian society. And the whole system of state institutions, according to Catherine II, is only a mechanism for implementing the supreme will of an enlightened autocrat.

One of the first initiatives of Catherine II was the reform of the Senate.

On December 15, 1763, a decree appeared, according to which its powers and structure were changed. The Senate was deprived of legislative powers, retaining only the functions of control and the highest judicial body.

Structurally, the Senate was divided into 6 departments with strictly defined competence, which made it possible to increase the efficiency of this central government body.

The main historical document, which outlined the political doctrine of Catherine II, was the "Instruction of the Commission on the drafting of a new Code", written by the Empress herself in 1764-1766. and representing the talented revision of the works of Sh.L. Montesquieu and other philosophers and jurists. It contains a lot of reasoning about the nature of laws, which should correspond to the historical characteristics of the people. And the Russian people, according to Catherine II, belonged to the European community.

The Nakaz said that the vast extent of the territories of Russia requires only an autocratic form of government, any other can lead the country to death. It was noted that the goal of autocracy is the welfare of all subjects. The monarch rules in accordance with the laws established by him. All citizens are equal before the law.

The order was intended for a commission convened from all over the country to develop a draft of a new Code, which began to meet in Moscow in July 1767. The commission consisted of 572 deputies elected according to the estate-territorial principle from nobles, townspeople, Cossacks, state peasants, non-Russian peoples of the Volga region and Siberia.

But it soon became clear that the deputies of the Legislative Commission were poorly prepared for legislative work. The main reason for the commission's failure was the contradictions between representatives of different social, regional and national groups, which it was not possible to overcome in the course of the work. In December 1768, the empress issued a decree dissolving the Legislative Commission under the pretext of another war with Turkey. As a result, Catherine II took up law-making on her own and continued to govern the state with the help of nominal decrees and manifestos, replacing in this sense the entire Legislative Commission.

Another important transformative element in the policy of Catherine II was the secularization reform. In February 1764, the empress issued a decree, according to which the monastery lands, together with the population, were seized from the church and subordinated to the College of Economy. Now the peasants, by their legal status, became state-owned and paid taxes no longer to the church, but to the state. They got rid of the monastic corvee. The land plots of the peasants increased, it became easier for them to engage in crafts and trade. As a result of this reform, spiritual power was finally transferred to the maintenance of secular power, and the clergy turned into civil servants.

Catherine II eliminated the remaining elements of the liberties and privileges of the national territories that became part of Russia. The governing bodies and the administrative-territorial division of the Novgorod land, Smolensk, Livonia (Russia's Baltic possessions) were unified and brought into line with Russian laws. In 1764, the hetmanate in Ukraine was liquidated and P.A. Rumyantsev. The remnants of autonomy and the former Cossack freemen were liquidated. In 1783, Catherine II issued a decree prohibiting the transfer of Ukrainian peasants from one landowner to another, which finally consolidated serfdom here.

In 1791, the Empress established the Pale of Settlement for the Jewish population, which limited the rights of Jews to settle in certain territories.

New in the national policy of the state was the invitation to Russia of German colonists, mostly simple peasants. In the mid 1760s. more than 30 thousand migrants began to develop the territories of the Lower Volga region, the Urals, and later the Crimea and the North Caucasus.

In the general structure of Catherine's reforms, the reform of the local government system occupies an extremely important place.

As a result of the provincial reform (1775), local government acquired a clearer and more organized structure. The number of provinces increased to 50. The province was a territory with a population of 300-400 thousand people, which was divided into counties, each with a population of 20-30 thousand people. In county towns, power belonged to the appointed mayor. Administrative and judicial functions were separated. Special provincial chambers of criminal and civil courts were created. Some positions are elective.

The provincial reform strengthened the local government, the center of administrative activity was moved here, which made it possible to gradually abolish some colleges.

In 1782, a police reform was carried out, according to which police and church-moral control was established over the population.

The administration reform was completed by the adoption of two most important documents - Letters of Complaint to the Nobility and Cities (1785), which became the fundamental legal acts in the sphere of the empress's estate policy.

The charter granted to the nobility legally secured for him all the rights and privileges as the main class of society. In the case of the service, the right to choose or refuse service was confirmed, special rights were retained in matters of land ownership, court, taxation, and corporal punishment. The criteria for reckoning with the nobility were strictly defined, the compilation of genealogical books put all the nobles in their places. The corporatism of the nobles was strengthened through the legal registration of noble assemblies and the election of provincial and district leaders. Only one question, concerning the right and ownership of serf souls, was not covered in the Letter of Complaint. The Empress, as it were, left this problem open.

The charter granted to the cities was aimed at the formation of the "third estate" in Russia. A new body of city self-government was created - the city duma, headed by the mayor. City residents were elected and could be elected to it, divided into six categories depending on property and social differences. Thus, an elective-representative institution of power appeared in Russian cities. The charter provided the city dwellers (philistines) with a structure of rights and privileges close to that of the nobility. The philistines were defined as a special class, and this title, like the nobility, was hereditary. The right of ownership of property and its inheritance, the right to engage in industrial and commercial activities were guaranteed. The merchants of the first and second guilds, as the most significant part of the townspeople, were exempted from corporal punishment, as well as from the poll tax and recruitment duty. In return, they paid a tax of 1% on capital and contributed 360 rubles per recruit.

In 1786, an educational reform was carried out: a system of educational institutions was created.

Catherine II opposed the extremes of serfdom, condemning them in her works. But objectively, during her reign, there was an increase in feudal oppression in the country (the final spread of serfdom in Ukraine, the tightening in 1765 of Elizabeth's decree on the right of landlords to exile serfs without trial to Siberia for settlement and hard labor, the ban on peasants to file complaints against the nobles), which was one of the main reasons for the intensification of popular uprisings, which resulted in the largest in the eighteenth century. Cossack-peasant war.

9.2. Cossack-peasant war led by E.I. Pugacheva (1773–1775)

During the reign of Catherine II, social contradictions intensified in the country, caused by the strengthening of serfdom against various categories of peasants and the expansion of the privileges of the nobility. Quite often, popular demonstrations broke out under anti-serfdom slogans, and the flight from the landowners of the peasants, driven to despair, acquired a massive character.

The southern regions of the state became the center of social discontent. The movement began among the Cossacks. It was headed by Emelyan Ivanovich Pugachev. Serfs, working people, as well as foreigners of the Volga region (Bashkirs, Tatars, Mari, Udmurts, etc.) become under his banner.

In the territories under the control of the Pugachevites, authorities were created like a Cossack circle (community) with elected chieftains, elders and other officials.

The war had three main phases:

Stage I (September 1773 - March 1774): an unsuccessful 6-month siege of Orenburg by E. Pugachev and a defeat from government troops near the Tatishchev fortress.

Stage II (April-July 1774): the movement of Pugachev's troops from the city of Orenburg through the Urals and the Kama region to Kazan; battle for Kazan (July 12–17, 1774). The capture of the city by the rebels, and then the defeat of the troops of Colonel I.M. Michelson.

Stage III (July 1774 - January 1775): On July 31, 1774, E. Pugachev issued a decree on the release of peasants from serfdom and taxes; the movement of E. Pugachev from Kazan to the south; unsuccessful siege by E. Pugachev of the city of Tsaritsyn; August 25, 1774 - the decisive defeat of the rebels at the Salnikov plant; the army of E. Pugachev ceased to exist; September 18, 1774 - the capture of E. Pugachev by the Cossack elite and his extradition to the tsarist authorities; January 10, 1775 E.I. Pugachev and his closest associates were executed in Moscow.

Peasant war in Russia in the second half of the 18th century. was the largest uprising of the masses against serfdom and was, in essence, a kind of civil. All this testified to the crisis of the feudal-serf system in the country.

9.3 Foreign policy of Catherine II

In the second half of the XVIII century. Russia's foreign policy was focused on solving problems in two main directions: southern and western.

In the southern direction, there was a sharp struggle between Russia and the Ottoman Empire for the Northern Black Sea region and ensuring the security of the southern borders. This led to two Russo-Turkish wars.

Russo-Turkish War 1768–1774 The reason for the war was the intervention of Russia in the affairs of Poland, which caused discontent in Turkey. September 25, 1768 Turkey declared war on Russia.

The fighting began in the winter of 1769, when the Crimean Khan, an ally of Turkey, invaded Ukraine, but his attack was repelled by Russian troops under the command of P.A. Rumyantsev.

Military operations were conducted on the territory of Moldova, Wallachia and at sea. The decisive year in the war was 1770, in which brilliant victories were won by the Russian army.

The fleet under the command of Admiral G.A. Spiridov and Count A.G. Orlov rounded Europe, entered the Mediterranean Sea and in the Chesme Bay off the coast of Asia Minor on June 24–26, 1770 completely destroyed the Turkish squadron.

On land, a number of victories were won by the Russian army led by P.A. Rumyantsev. In the summer of 1770, he won victories on the tributaries of the Prut - the Larga and Cahul rivers, which made it possible for Russia to reach the Danube.

In 1771, Russian troops under the command of Prince V.M. Dolgorukov took the Crimea. In 1772–1773 an armistice was concluded between the warring parties and peace negotiations began. However, they ended up with nothing. The war has resumed. The Russians crossed the Danube, in this campaign brilliant victories in the summer of 1774 were won by the corps of A.V. Suvorov. Turkey started talking about making peace. On July 10, 1774, at the headquarters of the Russian command, in the town of Kyuchuk-Kaynarzhi, a peace treaty was signed, according to which Russia received the Black Sea lands between the Dnieper and the Bug; the right to build a Russian military fleet on the Black Sea; indemnity from Turkey in the amount of 4.5 million rubles; recognition of the independence of the Crimean Khanate from the Ottoman Empire.

Russo-Turkish War 1787–1791 The confrontation between Russia and the Ottoman Empire continued. The Turkish Sultan Selim III began to demand the return of the Crimea, the recognition of Georgia as his vassal and the inspection of Russian merchant ships passing through the Bosporus and Dardanelles. On August 13, 1787, having received a refusal, he declared war on Russia, which acted in alliance with Austria.

Military operations began with the repulse of an attack by Turkish troops on the fortress of Kinburn (not far from Ochakov). The general leadership of the Russian army was carried out by the head of the Military Collegium, Prince G.A. Potemkin. In December 1788, after a long siege, Russian troops took the Turkish fortress of Ochakov. In 1789 A.V. Suvorov, with lesser forces, twice achieved victory in the battles of Focsani and on the Rymnik River. For this victory, he received the title of count and became known as Count Suvorov-Rymniksky. In December 1790, the troops under his command managed to achieve the capture of the fortress of Izmail, the citadel of Ottoman rule on the Danube, which was the main victory in the war.

In 1791, the Turks lost the fortress of Anapa in the Caucasus, and then lost the naval battle at Cape Kaliakria (near the Bulgarian city of Varna) in the Black Sea to the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral F.F. Ushakov. All this forced Turkey to conclude a peace treaty, which was signed in Iasi in December 1791. This treaty confirmed the accession to Russia of the Crimea and the protectorate over Eastern Georgia; acquisition by Russia of lands between the Dniester and the southern Bug; the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova, Wallachia and Bessarabia.

The implementation of the policy in the western direction was to strengthen the position of Russia in Europe and was associated with participation in the partitions of Poland, as well as with the opposition of France, in which in 1789-1794. a bourgeois revolution took place and whose revolutionary influence was feared by the European monarchical states, and above all by the Russian Empire.

The initiator of the division of the weakened Poland was Prussia. Its king, Frederick II, offered Catherine II to divide the Commonwealth between its neighbors, especially since Austria had already begun the division, since its troops were located directly on the territory of this state. As a result, the St. Petersburg Convention of July 25, 1772 was concluded, which sanctioned the first partition of Poland. Russia received the eastern part of Belarus and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia. In 1793, the second partition of Poland took place. Russia took possession of central Belarus with the cities of Minsk, Slutsk, Pinsk and Right-Bank Ukraine, including Zhytomyr and Kamenets-Podolsky. This caused an uprising of Polish patriots in 1794 led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. It was brutally suppressed by Russian troops under the command of A.V. Suvorov. The third and last partition of the Commonwealth took place in 1795. The lands of Courland, Lithuania, and Western Belarus were ceded to Russia. As a result, Russia captured more than half of all Polish lands. Poland lost its statehood for more than a hundred years.

As a result of the divisions of Poland, Russia acquired vast territories, moved the state border far to the west to the center of the continent, which significantly increased its influence in Europe. The reunification of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples with Russia freed them from the religious oppression of Catholicism and created opportunities for the further development of peoples within the framework of the Eastern Slavic socio-cultural community.

And finally, at the end of the XVIII century. the main task of Russia's foreign policy was the struggle against revolutionary France. After the execution of King Louis XVI, Catherine II broke off diplomatic and trade relations with France, actively helped the counter-revolutionaries, and, together with England, tried to put economic pressure on France. Only the Polish national liberation uprising of 1794 prevented Russia from openly organizing an intervention.

Foreign policy of Russia in the second half of the 18th century. was active and expansionist in nature, which made it possible to include new lands in the state and strengthen its position in Europe.

9.4 Russia under Paul I (1796–1801)

Paul's views were formed under the influence of many factors and underwent a certain evolution during his life. The heir to the throne grew up as a romantic young man and believed in the ideals of enlightened absolutism until he saw many inconsistencies in the policy of Catherine II compared to the proclaimed ideals. Gradually, a critical attitude towards the deeds of his mother grew in him. Other factors soon added to this: the alienation between Paul and Catherine II, who was not going to share power with him and even thought about depriving her son of the throne and transferring him to his beloved grandson Alexander. All this led to a change in his views and character. He becomes nervous, quick-tempered, suspicious and despotic.

With the accession of Paul I to the throne, a reorientation of domestic policy and, above all, the system of state administration begins.

Centralization based on administrative-bureaucratic methods began to play the predominant role in this area. Paul I replaced elected positions of the nobility with appointed bureaucratic and bureaucratic ones and strengthened the supervisory functions of the prosecutor's office. He restored a number of state departments involved in the economy: berg-, manufactory-, camera-, commerce-boards.

Introduced a new system of succession. On April 7, 1797, he issued a decree on the succession to the Russian throne, in accordance with which the decree of Peter I of 1722 on the appointment of his heir as the current emperor was canceled. Now the principle was introduced (in force until 1917), which provided for the transfer of the throne by inheritance according to the right of primogeniture through the male line.

The system of local government underwent a major change: city dumas were closed, the chambers of the civil and criminal courts were again merged into one, and some judicial instances were abolished.

The administrative-territorial division of the country and the principles of managing the national outskirts were revised. 50 provinces were transformed into 41 provinces and regions of the Don Cossacks, in Ukraine and in the Baltic provinces traditional government bodies were reintroduced.

The trend in Pavlovian politics towards centralization included such extreme manifestations as the desire for complete unification and regulation in the life of society. Special decrees ordered the wearing of certain styles of clothing, it was forbidden to wear round hats, shoes with ribbons instead of buckles, and so on. Censorship is on the rise. In 1797–1799 639 publications were banned. The production of books in Russia was sharply reduced, and a ban was introduced on their import from abroad.

Paul I paid special attention to the army, deciding to reform it in the Prussian manner. He introduced a new uniform in the army, completely copying the Prussian one, put things in order in drill training, new regulations were developed, and discipline was tightened.

Estate policy was also based on principles different from Catherine's. For Paul I, the class freedom enjoyed by the nobles thanks to the reforms of Catherine II was unacceptable. He obliged the nobles to serve, allowed them to be subjected to corporal punishment, abolished provincial noble assemblies, and county ones lost many powers. Restrictions were imposed on the transition of nobles from military service to civil service: to choose a civil service instead of a military one, the permission of the Senate, approved by the tsar, was required. The nobles were taxed for the maintenance of the provincial administration.

There is a certain amount of historical facts that can be interpreted as the monarch's concern for the people, for example: a manifesto appeared on a three-day corvee a week; for the first time in the history of the country, serfs were ordered to swear allegiance to Paul I, who had ascended the throne, along with freemen; some recruiting sets were canceled (in 1796 and 1800); arrears were withdrawn from the peasants and philistines for poll taxes; it was forbidden to sell serfs without land; peasant complaints were resolved. But other historical facts are also known. At the beginning of his reign, peasant unrest broke out in a number of provinces, which were brutally suppressed. The peasants were ordered to obey the landowners without complaint.

The reign of Paul is characterized by the mass distribution of state-owned peasants to private individuals as a reward.

No archival historical documents have been preserved that testify to Paul's ardent desire to abolish serfdom.

In general, the domestic policy of Paul I was controversial and was aimed at leveling Catherine's reforms, which, in principle, could not be done, since the period of Paul I's stay in power was short.

The foreign policy of Paul I was inconsistent. At the beginning of his reign, he declared neutrality with respect to revolutionary France and refused to send a Russian corps there to conduct military operations. However, after the capture of the island of Malta by Napoleon in 1798, Paul I decided to participate in the struggle against France as part of a coalition with England, Austria and the Kingdom of Naples. But in 1800, he was moving towards rapprochement with France, while becoming an enemy of England, since her troops captured the "road" for the Russian autocrat, the island of Malta.

Violating international rules, Paul ordered the arrest of all English merchant ships.

In December 1800, without fodder, without the necessary maps, without knowledge of the terrain, Paul I sent 40 regiments of Don Cossacks (22,500 people) to conquer British India, dooming them to death.

The unpredictable controversial policy of Paul I, the uncertainty of the highest dignitaries and the environment for their future led to the emergence of hidden opposition and the formation of a political conspiracy. The heir to the throne, Alexander, was also informed about the conspiracy. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, the conspirators entered the residence of Paul I - Mikhailovsky Castle - and killed the emperor.

On March 12, 1801, a manifesto was published on the death of Paul I and the accession to the throne of Alexander I.

In the 70-80s pp. XVIII Art. Russia was inferior in terms of development to the advanced European states, but new production relations were already forming in the country's feudal economy. Agriculture remained the main branch of the economy, which expanded during this period, primarily due to the development of land in the south, in the Middle and Lower Volga regions, Siberia, the southern part of the black earth center, Sloboda and Southern Ukraine, Ciscaucasia. The basis of agriculture, as before, was Trypillia. The agrotechnical level was low and routine. More than 90% of the country's population were peasants, mostly landlords.

In the 18th century noble landownership grew: 800 thousand so-called revision souls were distributed to the landowners, serfdom was strengthened and duties increased. However, capitalist relations of production gradually penetrated into agriculture: the peasants were transferred to a cash quitrent, vіdhіdnitstvo, there were manufactories belonging to the peasants.

The main brake on the development of agriculture was the dominance of serf relations.

In industry, manufactories were formed by expanding small commodity production and subordinating small commodity producers to buyers. Depending on the form of ownership, there were noble, merchant and peasant manufactories.

at the end of the century, Russia took the first place in Europe in the production and export of metallurgy products. Shipbuilding was an important industry. Shipyards operated in St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Voronezh, Kazan. Moscow and St. Petersburg were the centers of light industry. Some branches of light industry were formed in areas with a sufficient amount of raw materials: linen and sailing manufactories were created in Yaroslavl, near Kaluga, Kostroma, Voronezh, Kazan, Putivl, and the Vladimir province became the center of textile weaving. At the end of the century, there were more than 2,000 manufactories in Russia.

The total volume of foreign trade grew 5 times, while exports exceeded imports. Russia traded in grain, iron, wood, furs, and bought sugar, silk, paints, etc.

In the second half of the XVIII century. in all spheres of the economic life of Russia, not only quantitative, but also qualitative changes took place associated with the decomposition of serfdom and the formation of capitalist production relations, the development of commodity-money relations and the destruction of natural economy.

Despite the rather dynamic development of the Russian economy, its position was not brilliant. The inefficient economic system, the increasing extravagance of the imperial court, the embezzlement of officials, the excessive costs of maintaining the army, the constant unrest of peasants and workers, and other factors led to the financial bankruptcy of Russia. The state treasury was empty, and foreign creditors refused new loans. This was one of the reasons for the palace coup of 1762.

Emperor Peter ///(1728-1762) (Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, grandson of Peter I and Charles XII) was a peculiar person and pursued a controversial domestic and foreign policy. In 1742, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna officially proclaimed him the heir to the Russian throne, and from the age of 14, Karl Ulrich (real name of Peter III) lived in Russia under the supervision of the Empress and his tutor, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences J. Shtellin. However, they failed to educate him in the spirit of respect for Russia, its customs and traditions. Peter III remained a lifelong adherent of his idol - the Prussian king Frederick the Great and his system of government.

Empress Elizabeth did not like Peter III and tried to prevent him from governing the state. Peter III also did not have a relationship with his wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna. The disregard of the future emperor for everything Russian even forced Elizabeth to develop a plan for the transfer of the Russian throne to her grandson, Paul. However, after the death of the empress in December 1761, the Russian crown automatically passed to Peter III.

The short period of the reign of Peter III was marked by a number of important reforms in domestic policy, which to a certain extent can be considered an attempt to modernize Russia and a radical revolution in foreign policy. First of all, the emperor issued decrees in which a certain influence of legislative acts introduced in Prussia was traced. In January 1762, a decree on religious tolerance was issued. Representatives of various religious denominations, primarily schismatics, were no longer persecuted by the government, they were allowed to compactly settle in Siberia and engage in agriculture.

In February 1762, a royal decree was issued on the liquidation of the Secret Chancellery and a manifesto on the freedom of the nobility. From now on, the nobles were exempted from compulsory military and civil service. The manifesto was intended to involve the nobility in economic activities in their estates. In March, the emperor initiated a decree on the secularization of church and monastery estates.

However, these generally progressive measures of the emperor ran into dissatisfaction with the upper strata of Russian society. The decree on religious tolerance and the secularization of church estates was considered anti-Orthodox. The manifesto on the freedom of the nobility hurt the interests of the aristocrats, the middle and petty nobility. The first saw in the public service a source of enrichment and sought only their own immunity and the prohibition of the confiscation of their property. For the impoverished nobility, military service was the only source of livelihood and an opportunity to make a career. In addition, Peter III reorganized the army according to the Prussian model, introduced drill and strict discipline, disbanded the privileged part of the guard, which further set the nobility against himself.

However, most of all, Russian society was outraged by the pro-German foreign policy of Peter III. Russia participated in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), the Russian army achieved significant success in the fight against the Prussian army of Frederick the Great: in 1760, together with the Austrians, they entered Berlin. East Prussia was declared a Russian possession, and its population began to take an oath of allegiance to the Russian crown. Immediately after taking the throne, the new emperor ordered the troops of the corps of General Chernyshev to go over to the side of Frederick and turn their weapons against their former allies - the Austrians. Soon negotiations began with the king for peace, and the Russian emperor invited Frederick to draw up the terms of this agreement himself. It was signed on April 24, 1762. Russia returned to Prussia all the conquered territories and pledged to sign a defensive alliance. Peter III was preparing for war with Denmark in order to wrest the Duchy of Schleswig from it and annex it to his homeland, the Duchy of Holstein (Holstein). In Pomerania, even the Russian corps of General P. Rumyantsev was sent. The foreign policy of Russia was actually led by the ambassador of the Prussian king, Baron Goltz.

On June 28, 1762, the guards officers carried out a palace coup and elevated the wife of Peter III, Ekaterina Alekseevna, to the Russian throne, who ruled under the name of Catherine II (1762 - 1796).

Catherine II Alekseevna (Sophia-Frederick-Augusta) (1729 - 1796) - Russian Empress, wife of Emperor Peter III; after the coup of 1762. autocratic rules. During her reign, the absolute monarchy was strengthened, the estate privileges of the nobility were formed, the oppression of the peasant masses intensified (the Pugachev uprising of 1773-1775pp.), An active foreign policy was pursued aimed at protecting Russia from Turkish-Crimean aggression and the threat of Sweden in the Baltic, neutralizing Austria and Prussia for due to forced concessions in resolving the issue of Poland, active opposition to England (frank support was provided for the American Revolution and the new state - the United States). As a result of the Russian-Turkish wars (1768-1774,1787-1791) and the three divisions of the Commonwealth (1772, 1793,1795), the Russian Empire captured most of the Ukrainian lands (except Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia). Catherine II pursued a policy aimed at the final elimination of the autonomy of Ukraine: in 1764, the hetmanship was abolished, in 1765. the Cossack regiments in Slobozhanshchina were disbanded, in 1775. The Zaporozhian Sich was finally destroyed, in 1782. in the Hetmanate, the regimental and hundred administration was liquidated and division into 3 viceroys was introduced, in 1788 the Cossack regiments on the Left Bank were disbanded and serfdom was legally introduced. In 1785, Catherine II legally formalized the rights and privileges of the Russian nobility and equated the Ukrainian Cossack sergeant-major to him, assigning her land holdings. There was an intensive development of the economy (industry, trade). In the field of culture and education, the reign of Catherine II was reflected in an attempt to create an education system, the development of literature, art and architecture, followed by the Russification of the non-Russian outskirts of the empire.

On June 29, Peter III abdicated the throne and was exiled to n. Ropsha, near Petersburg. A few days later, the former emperor was killed. The new empress came to power with the help of the nobility, and therefore all her domestic and foreign policy was aimed at satisfying their interests.

Second half of the 18th century. characterized by the further development of absolutism in the Russian Empire. The internal policy of the Russian autocracy of this period was called the policy of enlightened absolutism.

Relying on the nobility, Catherine II took care of strengthening the autocracy and maintaining the inviolability of the feudal-serf system. The pinnacle of noble privileges was the manifesto "On the granting of liberties and freedom to all Russian nobility." The nobility was exempted from compulsory public service, the inviolability of their property was legally fixed. This manifesto extended the title of nobility to the German barons of the Baltic states, the Ukrainian Cossack elders, and others.

Catherine II also issued a decree dividing the Senate into six departments with different functions, which weakened its influence as a state body, and created a personal office - "Her Majesty's Cabinet", concentrating all executive power in her hands. A reform of local government bodies was carried out (all local power was concentrated with the governor), in Central Russia and Left-Bank Ukraine - the secularization of monastic lands. The most striking embodiment of the policy of enlightened absolutism was the convening of the Legislative Commission (a meeting of representatives of the estates), one of the tasks of which was to replace the obsolete Code of 1649.

In response to the empress's call to take part in the creation of new legislation, the deputies brought with them thousands of orders from their constituents, during the discussion of which sharp contradictions between the estates were revealed. The nobles demanded the expansion of their privileges, an increase in landownership at the expense of peasant allotments, tougher punishment for peasants for misconduct, and the like. The merchants sought freedom of entrepreneurial activity, protection from the state against competition from foreign producers, permission to buy serfs for factories, and the like. Peasant deputies asked to reduce burdensome duties and introduce a single poll tax, to allow them to engage in crafts, trade and entrepreneurial activities. Some deputies raised the issue of the need to eliminate serfdom, which forced Catherine II to stop the work of the Commission and complete the formation of the estate system in Russia.

First of all, the peasants finally lost their personal freedom and fell into complete dependence on the landlords, became their private property. The empress spread serfdom in two ways: she gave the peasants to the nobles for faithful service (during her reign, she distributed 400 thousand state peasants) and by legislative acts. By a decree of 1763, peasants were forbidden to leave their landowners without special permission. In the same year, a new legislative act was issued, according to which, for disobedience to the landowners, the peasants were subjected to corporal punishment and were to cover the losses caused by them to the landowners. U1765r. the landlords received the right to exile recalcitrant peasants to hard labor in Siberia without trial. Two years later, a new imperial decree forbade the peasants to file complaints against the landowners with government bodies. In this way the landowners gradually changed from landowners to owners of the people and police stewards of their peasants.

In the 18th century The Peasants' War of 1773-1775 broke out. headed by Emelyan Pugachev. It began as a protest against the strengthening of serfdom and the restriction (among the Cossacks) of freedoms.

Emelyan Pugachev (1744-1775) - Don Cossack, leader of the Peasants' War of 1773-1775, in which he acted under the name of Emperor Peter III. Member of the Seven Years' War, campaigns under the command of A. Suvorov in Poland, the Russian-Turkish war of 1768 - 1774rr. For courage he received the first Cossack officer rank of cornet. In 1771 he was elected ataman of the Terek Cossack army. He was repeatedly arrested for participating in anti-government protests. U1773r. organized a Cossack uprising that grew into a Peasant War.

The war covered a huge territory - the Southern and Middle Urals, Western Siberia, Bashkir), the Perm Territory, the Kama region, the Volga region and the Don. Peasants, Cossacks, philistines, "working people" (workers of private and state-owned manufactories and factories) took an active part in it. During the war, thousands of peasants and nobles died, the economy of these regions was ruined and paralyzed.

The war began in the Urals from the actions of the Yaїtsky Cossacks. Since the beginning of the XVIII century. they were in the public service and defended the southern and eastern borders of Russia, were on state financial support and enjoyed the right to elect their atamans and foremen. The basis of their economic activity was fishing, hunting and cattle breeding. However, gradually the foreman and atamans took possession of the best fishing plots, hayfields and pastures, disposed of cash payments and forced the Cossacks to work on their farms.

The abuses of the Cossack foreman, the government decree on the participation of the Cossacks in the war with Turkey caused Cossack unrest, which was suppressed by government troops. In 1772, regular army units occupied the Yaitsky town and arrested 86 of the most active and recalcitrant Cossacks, while others took refuge in distant farms.

At the end of 1772, V. Pugachev arrived on Yaik. He declared himself Emperor Peter III, who did not die and was able to escape, and enlisted the support of the Cossacks in the struggle for their rights. In 1773, the "tsar-father" addressed the people with a manifesto in which he promised the peasants land and freedom, and the Cossacks money and food allowance. Pugachev's detachments were constantly growing. In autumn, the rebels defeated small army units and surrounded the fortress of Orenburg. At the end of the year, the entire Orenburg Territory, the Southern Urals and the Trans-Urals were engulfed in an uprising. The Bashkirs, led by Salavat Yulaev, rose to revolt. their detachments captured several fortresses and approached metro Ufa. Peasants and workers of the Ural factories joined Pugachev. At the beginning of 1774, the rebel army numbered almost 30 thousand people and 100 guns. It was divided into main units. The general leadership of the uprising was carried out by the Military Collegium headed by A. Pugachev.

A regular army under the command of General A. Bibikov was sent against the rebels, which defeated the rebels near Orenburg, forcing them to lift the siege of the fortress. Soon the rebel detachments near Ufa and in the battle near the Sakmarsky town were also defeated. Here, the troops of General D. Golitsyn captured 1,500 people, among whom were the leaders of the rebels. Pugachev with a detachment of 500 people was forced to flee to the Urals.

In the Southern Urals, new detachments of rebels joined Pugachev, and in May 1774 they numbered 5 thousand people. In May - June, the peasant army captured the strong fortresses of Troitskaya and Osa and went to Kazan. It grew to 20 thousand people, but was poorly armed. On July 12, Pugachev captured Kazan, which was burned during the assault. Soon the rebels were defeated by government troops and O. Pugachev with the remnants of his army went to Nizhny Novgorod. However, as the rebel army moved away from Bashkira, the Bashkir cavalry left, and the remoteness of the Ural factories deprived it of guns. In the end, in the summer of 1774, Russia signed peace with Turkey and a large regular army (eight infantry regiments, eight cavalry regiments, five Cossack regiments, etc.) was equipped against the rebels, led by A. Suvorov.

On the right bank of the Volga, Pugachev decided to go to Moscow not through the well-fortified Nizhny Novgorod, but through Saratov. On August 6, the rebels captured the city and brutally cracked down on its defenders - dozens of nobles were drowned in the Volga. Pursued by government troops, the rebel army went to Tsaritsyn. Pugachev hoped that when he captured the city, he would enlist the support of the Don Cossacks, spend the winter in the Kuban and make a new campaign against Moscow in the spring. On August 24, near Tsaritsyn, the decisive battle of the rebels with government troops took place, in which Pugachev suffered a final defeat. He lost 2 thousand people killed, and 6 thousand rebels were captured. With a detachment of 160 Cossacks, Pugachev tried to break through to the Caspian Sea, but the Cossacks conspired and handed him over to government officials. On January 10, 1775, Pugachev was executed in Moscow on Bolotnaya Square.

The consequence of the war was the centralization of state administration and the strengthening of the nobility - the pillars of the autocracy. In 1775, an administrative reform was carried out, according to which Russia was divided into 50 provinces, which in turn were divided into counties. In the provinces, power belonged to the governor, and in the counties and county towns - to the captain and governor. Financial management was centralized, class courts were created. In 1785, the so-called Letters of Complaint to the nobility and cities were issued. The nobles were allowed to create their own corporate bodies (assemblies of the nobility), according to which the peasants with their real estate were legally fixed. The nobles were exempted from taxes, duties, corporal punishment, the obligation to perform military and public service, and so on. City councils and police and economic bodies were created in the cities, and the townspeople were divided into six categories according to the property qualification. New imperial decrees further strengthened serfdom: in 1783, the peasants of the Left-Bank Ukraine were finally banned from unauthorized transfer to other places of residence. In 1792, the government restored the right to sell landless peasants at auction for landlord debts.

The internal policy of tsarism at the end of the 18th century. characterized by a desire to strengthen the dominance of the nobility and the top of the merchant class. Frightened by the fall of absolutism in France and peasant uprisings, the new Russian autocrat Paul I (1796-1801) made attempts to overcome internal political contradictions with the help of a military-bureaucratic dictatorship. During the four years of his reign, more than 2,000 legislative acts were issued, most of which were aimed at strengthening the absolute power of the monarch and the state apparatus. The nobility lost their liberties, guaranteed by the acts of Catherine II; the right of self-government was taken away from the cities; censorship was introduced and private printing houses were closed; subjects of the Russian Empire were forbidden to travel abroad and import foreign books; the Russian army was reorganized, in which new regulations were introduced and the command and control system was modernized. At the same time, the position of the Orthodox clergy improved; state peasants received self-government in the country, freedom of religion was introduced; the compulsory work of a serf for a landowner was limited to three days a week, and the landowner could be punished for cruel treatment of peasants and the like. The metropolitan nobility, corrupted by privileges during the reign of Catherine II, came out against the despotism of Paul I. It made a new coup d'état and Pavel I was killed. His son Alexander became the new emperor of Russia.

Foreign policy and unprecedented military activity of Russia in the second half of the 18th century. breathed in the desire of the nobility to seize new territories and markets - to seize the Crimea, go to the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov and the Caucasus Range, annex Right-Bank Ukraine and Belarus to Russia. This inevitably led to a clash with the Ottoman Empire and Poland, so it was necessary to find powerful allies. In 1764, Russia signed an allied treaty with Prussia. Both countries guaranteed the inviolability of the Polish constitution and the return of so-called religious dissidents (that is, those who did not belong to the Catholic denomination) of their rights. Austria, dissatisfied with the interference of Russia and Prussia in Polish affairs, decided to split the Russian-Prussian alliance and began to push Turkey to war with Russia.

In the Right-Bank Ukraine, the Haidamak uprising broke out - Koliyivshchyna. The Gaidamaks hoped for the support of the Russian government, which sent regular troops to Ukraine. To fight against the Haidamaks and Russians, the Polish gentry created in 1768 the Confederation of Bars, which turned to Turkey for help. The Government of the Porte was in no hurry to commit itself to 8 Poles. At the same time, the Haidamak detachments attacked the border town of Balta on Turkish territory. This was the reason for Turkey to put forward a demand to Russia to punish the Gaidamaks and compensate for the losses. Russian troops suppressed the Haidamak uprising, but this did not satisfy Turkey. In October 1768, the Russian ambassador was arrested in Istanbul and both countries began to prepare for war.

The main theater of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. became the territory between the rivers Bug and Dniester. The Russian army approached the Turkish fortress Khotyn, where they defeated the 80-thousandth Turkish army, besieged the fortress and captured it by storm in September. The Turkish army left Moldova, part of Wallachia and retreated to the Danube. The following year, the 1st Russian Army under the command of General A. Rumyantsev set out from Khotyn to the south and in the summer defeated the Turkish-Tatar troops in the Ryabaya Mogila tract, on the Larga River. The main forces of the Turkish army (150 thousand people) took a position on the city of Cahul. On July 21, 1770, the Russian army of A. Rumyantsev defeated the Turks, who lost 20 thousand people. The Russian fleet made the transition from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean and on June 26 destroyed the Turkish squadrons in the Chesme Bay.

Russia and Turkey began negotiations and soon signed a truce. However, after the intervention of Austria, Prussia and France "preoccupied with Russian victories, hostilities resumed. In the campaign of 1773, Russian troops inflicted several defeats on the Turkish army. 1774 became decisive. Battle of Kozludzhi Turkey sued for peace.

According to the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace of 1774, Russia received a large territory in the Lower Dnieper and the Bug region, the Crimea and Kuban became independent from Turkey. The port was forced to pay Russia 4.5 million rubles as compensation for military losses.

In April 1783, Catherine II issued a manifesto in which she declared that the Crimea, the Taman Peninsula and "the entire Kuban side were taken under the power of the All-Russian." In the summer of the same year, the construction of the Sevastopol metro station, the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, began in Crimea. In order to strengthen the situation in Transcaucasia, which was subjected to constant attacks from Turkey and Persia, in 1783 Russia signed the Treaty of Georgievsk with Eastern Georgia. The Georgian king Erekle II, like the Crimean khan, recognized himself as a vassal of Russia.

Preparing for the inevitable war with Turkey, Russia entered into an alliance with Austria, agreeing to the seizure of the Danube lands up to the Adriatic Sea, Vakhaliya, Serbia, Bosnia, etc.

In August 1787, Turkey delivered an ultimatum to Russia: return the Crimea, renounce the treaty with Georgia and the previous Russian-Turkish treaties. On August 12, Turkey declared war on Rosa. The international situation for Russia was unfavorable - its relations with Sweden worsened (the next year it began hostilities against Russia), Prussia and England took an anti-Russian position.

The beginning of the war was unsuccessful for Russia. In September 1787, during a strong storm near Cape Kaliyakri, the Russian Black Sea squadron was killed. The following year, the army of Field Marshal G. Potemkin surrounded the Ochakov fortress and was able to capture it only at the end of the year. In 1789 the Russian army acted jointly with the Austrians. From the very beginning, the Turks had the initiative. In July they attempted to split the Allied armies near Focsana, but failed. In autumn, the Russian troops of 0. Suvorov and the Austrian army of Prince Coburg defeated the main Turkish forces in the battle on the Rimnik river. In 1790, Russia's ally Austria withdrew from the war and, through the mediation of England and Prussia, began peace negotiations with Turkey. However, even under such conditions, Russian troops captured the Turkish fortresses of Kiliya, Tulcha and Isakcha in the lower reaches of the Danube and surrounded the fortress of Izmail. The Russian Black Sea squadron of Admiral F. Ushakov defeated the Turkish fleet in the Kerch Strait and near Tendra Island. The position of Turkey became hopeless after the Russian troops under the command of A. Suvorov stormed the fortress of Izmail on December 11, 1790.

After the Peace of Jassy in 1791, the entire northern coast of the Black Sea was assigned to Russia. The new border between Russia and Turkey was supposed to pass in the southwest along the river. Dniester. Turkey renounced claims to the Crimea and Georgia.

Relations between Russia and Sweden were tense throughout the 18th century. The Swedish king Gustav III dreamed of returning the territories lost at the beginning of the century during the Northern War (1700-1725) in the Baltic states. Russia has repeatedly joined the opponents of Sweden. So, in 1764, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry G. Panin came up with the idea of ​​an alliance of Prussia, Russia and Denmark against Austria and France. As a "passive" member of the union, it was planned to involve Sweden. This political combination was seen in Stockholm as an attempt by Russia to increase its influence in northern Europe. The successes of the Russians in the fight against the Turkish Empire worried the monarchs of Europe, and England and Prussia began to push Sweden to war with Russia.

Sweden delivered an ultimatum to Russia demanding the return of all territories that belonged to Sweden before the Northern War, abandon the Crimean Peninsula, and disarm the Russian fleet in the Baltic. This led to the Russo-Swedish War of 1788-1790. On June 21, 1788, Swedish troops numbering up to 40 thousand people crossed the Russian border and began shelling the Russian garrison of the Neishlot fortress in Finland. The main forces of the Russian army fought in the South against the Turkish army, so only a 20,000-strong corps was put up against the Swedes. However, the main events of the war unfolded at sea.

The first battle of the naval squadrons of the warring states took place in July 1788 near the island of Gogland. Having lost one ship, the Swedes were forced to retreat to the bay of Sveaborg. In August of the following year, the Russian rowing flotilla in the Gulf of Finland defeated the Swedish fleet. Sea communications, which provided the Swedish land army, were blocked. The Russian army drove the Swedes out of Finland. In the summer of 1790, the Swedes finally managed to defeat the Russian fleet, but this did not change the general balance of forces in the theater of war, which was unfavorable for Sweden. Since August 1790, the Treaty of Verelsky was signed in Finland, which restored the pre-war borders between the two states.

In the second half of the XVIII century. Russia actively intervened in the partitions of Poland, whose internal political situation was extremely difficult. Various noble political factions competed for power. Royal power was limited to the gentry Sejm, where each gentry, using the right of "liberum veto" (I do not allow), could block the adoption of a decision that was unfavorable for him. The weakening of centralized power and the struggle of political groups decided to take advantage of the neighboring states - Austria, Prussia and Russia. The reason for interference in the internal affairs of Poland was the situation of religious dissidents (Orthodox, Protestants, etc.). Catholicism in Poland was the state religion, and representatives of other religious denominations were persecuted by the Catholic Church: churches were closed and priests were forbidden to perform religious rites, forced Catholicization took place. Russian and Prussian attempts to alleviate religious oppression were resisted by the magnates and gentry, who formed a wide variety of confederations and resorted to aggressive actions against dissidents.

Confederation - a meeting of representatives of the gentry and the government, who were endowed with full power. Unlike the Diet, decisions were made by majority vote.

In 1763, the Polish king August III died and a struggle began between noble groups that tried to elevate their pretenders to the throne. The foreign policy factor played an important role in the choice of the Polish king: if the son of Augustus PI of the Saxon elector was elected king, Poland fell into the sphere of influence of Austria, which did not suit Russia and Prussia. The best candidate for Catherine II was Stanislav Poniatowski, who was nominated by the party led by the princes Czartoryski. Having supported its pretender, Russia planned to seize part of the Polish lands and move the Russian border to the Western Dvina. The Prussian king Frederick the Great hoped to seize part of the northern Polish lands.

Having coordinated its actions with Prussia, Russia sent troops to the territory of Poland and helped S. Poniatowski get the throne. In 1768, a Russian-Polish treaty was signed, which strengthened Russian influence in Poland and guaranteed political and religious rights to dissidents. Dissatisfied with this situation, the gentry created an anti-Russian confederation in the city of Bar. Russian troops were brought into Poland under the command of A. Suvorov, who inflicted defeat on the troops of the Confederates. Fearing that Russia would be able to finally capture the Polish lands, in 1770 Prussia captured Pomerania, and Austria - Galicia. In 1772, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Austria and Prussia signed an agreement on the division of Poland. Russia captured Eastern Belarus and the Polish part of the Baltic states (Dvinsk and Daugavpils), Prussia - Pomerania and Poznan, Austria - Galicia. Poland has lost more than 200 thousand square meters. km of territory.

Foreign intervention led to a patriotic upsurge in Poland, which forced the king to change his attitude towards an alliance with Russia. Poland entered into a new alliance with Prussia, hoping with her help to carry out reforms and strengthen public administration. Taking advantage of the fact that Russia was at war with Turkey, the Polish patriots developed a new constitution and in May 1791 adopted it at the Sejm.

Dissatisfied with the reorientation of Poland's foreign policy, Russia supported the Polish party of supporters of the old state system, headed by Count F. Potocki, and put forward a demand to the Polish government to abolish the Constitution of 1791, threatening to break off diplomatic relations. In May 1792, a 100,000-strong Russian army entered Poland. Polish troops under the command of General T. Kosciuszko tried to stop them, but were defeated. Russian troops captured Warsaw, and the Prussian army captured the cities of Poznan, Torun and Danzig.

Tadeusz Kosciuszko (Kosciuszko) (1746-1817) - leader of the uprising of 1794 in Poland, an outstanding politician, general, organizer of the struggle of the Polish people for independence. He studied at the Warsaw Cadet School, studied engineering in Germany, Italy and France. Member of the War of Independence in North America (1775-1783). Brigadier General of the American Army. Author of the Pananet Universal 1794. on the liberation of Polish peasants from serfdom. The wounded was captured by the tsarist troops and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. Released in 1796. Died in Switzerland.

In May 1793, Russia and Prussia announced the second division of Poland. Right-bank Ukraine went to Russia. At the beginning of 1794, Polish patriots led by T. Kosciuszk rebelled against the Russians in Krakow. The rebels defeated the troops of A. Tormasov and expelled the Russians from Warsaw, the uprising became nationwide. T. Kosciuszko's universals about the reduction of corvee and the abolition of serfdom contributed to the involvement of the peasants in the liberation war. However, in the fall, the poorly armed rebels were defeated by the Russian troops of A. Suvorov, who again captured Warsaw. T. Kosciuszko was captured and imprisoned in St. Petersburg. King S. Poniatowski renounced the Polish throne.

As a result of the third partition of Poland in 1795, its independence was finally eliminated. Russia received Western Belarus,

Western Volyn, Lithuania and Courland, Austria - Krakow, Sandomierz and Lublin regions, and Prussia - the rest of the land with Warsaw. As a result of the divisions of Poland, the territory of Russia expanded significantly - it became the largest empire in Europe.

In addition to the struggle for influence in Central Europe, the desire to resolve the Middle East issue, one of the important principles of the foreign policy of tsarist Russia was the security-monarchist principle. Russia severed diplomatic and economic ties with revolutionary France, organized a landing of troops in Italy, and contributed to the Italian and Swiss campaigns led by A. Suvorov against revolutionary France.

1762-1796 - The reign of Catherine II.

The reign of Catherine II is usually called the era of "enlightened absolutism" - this is a special political course associated with the use of the ideas of French, English and Italian thinkers - the ideologists of the Enlightenment (C. Montesquieu, Voltaire, C. Beccaria); the main goal of the policy was to adapt the old absolutist regime to the new conditions, the emerging bourgeois relations. "Enlightened absolutism" as a special stage of state-political development was associated with the search for new forms of relationships between the dominant social stratum and the state organization.

1762 - Palace coup, the beginning of the reign of Catherine II.

The German princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, in Orthodoxy Ekaterina Alekseevna, the wife of Peter III, with the support of the guards, overthrew her husband, unpopular in the political elite.

1764 - Issuance of a decree on the secularization of church lands.

This replenished the treasury and made it possible to stop the unrest of the monastery peasants. The clergy lost their property independence and found themselves at the expense of the state. Catherine's policy towards the church included: firstly, the influence of the anti-clerical (secular, anti-church) positions of the ideologists of the Enlightenment; secondly, the continuation of the process begun by Peter of turning the clergy into a special detachment of officials.

1767-1768 - The work of the Legislative Commission.

In Russia, the Council Code of 1649 was still in force. It was necessary to create a new code of laws, selecting the actual provisions. The commission included representatives of all estates, except for serfs. Russia has not seen such a representative assembly for almost a century.

The commission did not justify the hopes of the empress: each class defended its corporate privileges, often contradicting each other. Realizing that the Legislative Commission could not fulfill the tasks assigned to it, Catherine dissolved it under the pretext of starting a war with Turkey in 1769. The commission was finally abolished in 1774.

1768-1774 - The first Russian-Turkish war.

A factor in the deterioration of relations with the Ottoman Empire was the growth of Russian influence in Poland, the introduction of Russian troops into the territory of Poland (the Commonwealth). In 1770, a battle took place on the Larga River (a tributary of the Prut, the territory of Moldova), where the Russian army under the command of Peter Rumyantsev put Turkish troops and the Crimean cavalry to flight. The second famous battle, in which Rumyantsev distinguished himself, took place on the Cahul River. Here they managed to defeat the enemy, who was 5 times larger than the Russian forces. The actions of the Russian fleet were successful. The Baltic Fleet under the command of Admiral Grigory Spiridov circled Europe and in the Mediterranean Sea attacked the Turkish fleet in the Chesme Bay, near the Chios Strait. The Turkish squadron was destroyed. According to the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty, Russia received a strip of the Black Sea coast between the mouths of the Dnieper and the Southern Bug, Kerch and Yenikale in the Crimea, Kuban and Kabarda; Crimea became independent from the Ottoman Empire; Moldavia and Wallachia came under Russian patronage; Turkey paid Russia an indemnity.

1772, 1793, 1795 - Russia's participation in the divisions of the Commonwealth.

The decline of the power of the Commonwealth, torn by internal contradictions, during the 18th century predetermined the division of its territory by Russia, Austria and Prussia. As a result of the third, final partition, Austria took possession of Lesser Poland with Lublin; most of the Polish lands with Warsaw went to Prussia; Russia received Lithuania, Western Belarus, Volyn (Ukrainian lands).

1773-1775 - Peasant war under the leadership of E. Pugachev.

A large-scale Cossack-peasant uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev, who declared himself Peter III, began on Yaik (Urals), and gained such scope that historians call it a peasant war. The bitterness and mass nature of the uprising showed the ruling circles that the situation in the country required changes. The result of the war was new reforms, which led to the strengthening of the system against which the popular indignation was directed.

1775 - Regional (provincial) reform.

The number of provinces increased from 23 to 50, the provinces were liquidated, and the provinces were divided into counties. Each province was headed by a governor, and a group of 2-3 provinces (viceroyship) was headed by a vicegerent or governor-general. The provincial government consisted of the Treasury Chamber, which was in charge of industry, income and expenses, and the Order of Public Charity, which was responsible for the maintenance of schools and hospitals (charitable institutions). An attempt was made to separate the judiciary from the administrative. The judicial system was built according to the class principle: for each class - its own elected court.

The provincial reform led to the liquidation of many boards (except for Foreign, Military, Admiralty), since their functions were transferred to local provincial bodies. Thus, an attempt was made to decentralize power. The provincial reform led to an increase in the number of cities, since all the centers of provinces and counties were declared to be cities.

1783 - Accession of Crimea to Russia; the signing of the Treaty of Georgievsky on the protectorate of Russia over Eastern Georgia.

In 1777, as a result of the invasion of Russian troops into the Crimea, the Russian protege Shagin-Giray was elected to the khan's throne, but to strengthen the position in the Crimea, Catherine sent Grigory Potemkin. After negotiations, the Crimean Khan abdicated and handed over the Crimea to Russia. For the diplomatic victory, Potemkin received the title "prince of Tauride" (Crimea - Taurida in antiquity). In 1783, Eastern Georgia declared its desire to come under the protection of Russia, which was recorded by the Treaty of Georgievsk. The Georgian king Erekle II sought to secure the country from Muslim Turkey and Persia.

1785 - Publication of the Charter to the nobility and the Charter to the cities.

Trying to implement the fundamental principle of the philosophy of the Enlightenment - the rule of law and the law, Catherine takes steps to regulate the legal status of the estates. Nobles are granted freedom from corporal punishment, poll tax, compulsory service; the right of unlimited ownership of estates, including land with its subsoil, the right of commercial and industrial activities; deprivation of noble dignity could be carried out only by decision of the Senate with the approval of the head of state; the estates of convicted nobles were not subject to confiscation; the powers of the class institutions of the nobility expanded. In essence, the nobility received self-government: noble assemblies headed by provincial and district marshals.

It is no coincidence that the reign of Catherine is often called the "golden age of the nobility." The charter granted to the cities confirmed the exemption granted to the wealthy merchants from the poll tax, recruitment duty. Eminent citizens and merchants of the first two guilds were exempted from corporal punishment. The urban population was divided into six categories that made up the "city society": merchants, philistines (small merchants, artisans), clergy, nobles and officials. The townspeople elected the mayor, members of the magistrate and vowels (deputies) of the general city duma.

1787-1791 - The second Russian-Turkish war.

Reasons for the war: 1 - the desire to return the Crimea; 2 - the conclusion of the Russian-Austrian alliance. Russia and Austria planned to dismember Turkey and create a “Greek Empire” on its territories with an Orthodox population, headed by a representative of the Romanov dynasty. An outstanding victory was achieved by the troops under the leadership of Suvorov near the river. Rymnik. The commander used the tactics of surprise, which helped to put to flight the 80,000-strong Turkish army. The victories of the land army were picked up at sea. In 1790, the fleet under the command of F. Ushakov won the battle near the island of Tendra, the Turks lost 4 battleships. In the summer of 1791 F.F. Ushakov defeated the Turkish fleet at Cape Kaliakria. In December, the Treaty of Jassy was signed. He confirmed the transfer of Crimea to Russia and Russian patronage of Georgia; Bessarabia, Moldavia, Wallachia had to be returned to Turkey so as not to aggravate relations with the European powers, dissatisfied with the strengthening of Russian positions on the Danube.

1788 - Capture of the Turkish fortress Ochakov.

The fortress of Ochakov was considered the key to the Black Sea.

1790 - The capture of the Turkish fortress Izmail by troops under the leadership of A. Suvorov; publication of A. Radishchev's book "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow".

The main event of the Russian-Turkish war was the capture of the Izmail fortress in December 1790. Suvorov organized an assault on the fortress, which was considered impregnable. According to legend, the commandant of Ishmael, in response to Suvorov's ultimatum, said: "Rather the Danube will flow back than the walls of Ishmael will fall."

In the book Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, Radishchev first defined serfdom as a terrible and unconditional evil. Radishchev's work went beyond the educational ideology with its ideas about a peaceful, evolutionary path of development. Catherine II called Radishchev "a rebel, worse than Pugachev."

1796-1801 - The reign of Paul /.

Pavel revised many of the reforms of Catherine II: he streamlined and tightened the service of the nobility, in particular, long-term holidays; canceled the release of the nobles from corporal punishment by court, liquidated the meetings of the nobility. The order of succession to the throne was changed: the throne was transferred through the male line to the eldest son of the reigning emperor or the brother next in seniority, which led to the stabilization of the situation in this matter.

1797 - Manifesto on the three-day corvée.

The manifesto established a three-day corvee, and also forbade landowners to force peasants to work on weekends and holidays. With this manifesto, Paul I “laid the first restriction on the power of the landowners” (S.F. Platonov).

1798-1799 - Participation of Russia in anti-French coalitions, Italian and Swiss campaigns of A. Suvorov.

Russia became a member of an anti-French alliance with England and Austria (1795), and then in 1798-1799 an anti-French coalition together with England, Austria, Turkey and Naples. The purpose of the coalition was to expel the French from Northern Italy, conquered by General Bonaparte during a campaign in 1797. The Russian-Turkish squadron led by F. Ushakov expelled the French from the Ionian Islands as a result of the capture of the fortress of Corfu.

In the same year, the offensive of the Russian-Austrian army under the command of A. Suvorov began in Northern Italy (Italian campaign). Having defeated the French, the troops liberated Milan and Turin. Suvorov was preparing to enter France, but Austria insisted that Suvorov's troops be sent to Switzerland to join the Russian corps of A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Russian soldiers made a unique transition through the snow-covered Alps, captured the Saint Gotthard Pass. But Rimsky-Korsakov's corps and the Austrians were defeated by the French, and Suvorov and his army found themselves surrounded, from which he escaped with difficulty. Paul I recalled the Russian army to his homeland, as he regarded the behavior of the British and Austrians as a betrayal.

Economic development. In the second half of the 18th century, Russia continued to be an agrarian country, but its economy gradually evolved towards the capitalist model. During this period, serious contradictions emerged between the new methods of management in industry and trade, and the state system of serfdom, which hampered the economic development of the country.

Agricultural production remained the leading branch of the economy. It has changed little compared to the previous century, it continued to develop in an extensive way - due to the inclusion of new territories in the crop rotation. In the second half of the XVIII century. increased exploitation of the peasants. In the Non-Black Earth region for 50 years, quitrent has increased by 3-5 times, corvee in some parts of the country was 6 days a week. Taxes in favor of the state increased by 4.3 times. There was a gradual transition from corvée to cash dues.

New developments in agriculture are otkhodnichestvo and month. Otkhodnichestvo is the departure of peasants to the city to earn money with the permission of the landowner. As a rule, such peasants were employed by the owners of manufactories or in craft workshops. The month appeared in the 80s. XVIII century: the landowner took away his land allotment from the peasant, and he worked for a monthly allowance (usually a small one).

The expansion of the sphere of commodity-money relations led to the destruction of the natural isolation of the landlord and peasant economy. Produced products were increasingly exported for sale.

Industry developed much more intensively than agriculture. For the second half of the XVIII century. the number of manufactories doubled. On the one hand, this was due to the military needs of the country, and on the other hand, the interest of foreign consumers in cheap Russian goods.

The vast majority of manufactories used serf peasant labor. At the same time, the number of manufactories that used freelance labor also grew. In the second half of the XVIII century. the number of civilian workers doubled, and they prevailed in the cotton, leather, haberdashery and glass industries.

The impetus for the development of handicrafts and industry was given by a decree of 1775, which allowed the opening of enterprises without the consent of the authorities. This led to an increase in the number of breeders from wealthy peasants and merchants. Metallurgy developed especially rapidly. Iron smelting has increased 5 times in 50 years. The main base of Russian metallurgy was the Urals. The manufacturing industry experienced a rise, working not only for the domestic, but also for the foreign market.

Advances in industry contributed to the development of domestic and foreign trade. In 1754, internal customs duties were abolished, which contributed to the revival of trade relations between individual parts of the country. The number of rural auctions and fairs has increased. The exchange of goods between town and country increased. Stationary shops and shops appeared in the cities.

Foreign trade was still in the hands of foreign merchants. The largest Russian exports were iron, grain, hemp, linen and linen fabrics. In trade with the East, Russia exported the products of its manufactories, while in trade with the West it imported higher quality European industrial products.

The chronic budget deficit, caused by the constant conduct of hostilities, was covered by the entry into circulation from 1769 of paper money - banknotes. For the first time under Catherine II in 1769, Russia took an external loan from Holland.

These processes gradually led to the ruin of a significant part of the nobility, the emergence of merchants-industrialists, and stratification among the peasantry. New phenomena in the economy were the loss of the isolation of the feudal economy, noble entrepreneurship in industry and agriculture, and the creation of a market for hired labor.

Catherine's domestic policy II . The reign of Catherine II can be divided into three periods:

1762 - 1775 - from the beginning of the reign to the peasant war of E. Pugacheva - the period of Catherine's passion for the ideas of the Enlightenment, the era of reforms in caring for the "public good";

1775 - 1789 - from the peasant war to the French Revolution - a period of continuation of internal reforms, but with a different goal: to strengthen state control over all spheres of society, protect the existing order and maintain "silence" in the state;

1789 - 1796 - from the Great French Revolution to the end of the reign - a period of strict censorship, the use of punitive measures against "freethinking", the confiscation of French literature and the persecution of Russian enlighteners.

Catherine II developed a special policy, which in history received the name "enlightened absolutism". One of the largest projects of Catherine in the spirit of "enlightenment" was the convening of the Legislative Commission of 1767-1768. The commission included deputies from all walks of life (except the serfs). The purpose of the commission is to develop a code of laws, clarify the mood of society and discuss the mandates of deputies. Unexpectedly for Catherine, heated debates unfolded during the discussion of the peasant question. The question of the abolition of serfdom was also raised here. However, the work of the commission soon began to weigh on Catherine. The established commission was dissolved under the pretext of starting a war with Turkey, having worked for a year and a half.

One of Catherine's first reforms was secularization church and monastery lands - their transfer to state ownership. Secularization was carried out in 1763-1764.

The reign of Catherine II is called the "golden age" of the Russian nobility. In the interests of the nobility, she signed a number of important decrees:

1763 - the cost of suppressing peasant riots was assigned to the peasants themselves;

1765 - it is allowed to exile peasants to Siberia for hard labor without trial or investigation;

1783 - the introduction of serfdom in Ukraine;

1785 - "Charter to the nobility", which brought together and confirmed all the privileges given to the nobility after the death of Peter I. In addition, it was allowed to create noble societies in provinces and counties.

After the uprising of E. Pugachev, the domestic policy of Catherine II became tougher. The Peasant War revealed the weakness of local authorities, unable to prevent or extinguish peasant uprisings. In 1775, a provincial (regional) reform was carried out, according to which the country was divided into 50 provinces, which, in turn, were divided into counties. The head of the regional administration was appointed governor or governor. The provincial government became the executive, administrative and police body in the province. At the county level, the organ of provincial government was the Nizhny Zemsky Court, chaired by a police officer or captain. Thus, the centralization of power was strengthened, and a clear structure was given to provincial and district institutions.

In 1775, the Zaporizhian Sich and the remnants of self-government in Ukraine were liquidated.

In 1785, a city reform was carried out - "Charter to the cities." The city society was divided into 6 categories: depending on the property qualification, the rights and privileges of each category were determined. City self-government was introduced. Elected city bodies were in charge of the current city administration, supply, city repairs and landscaping.

In 1782-1786. education reform took place. A network of public schools was created - as a system of general education schools with uniform start and end dates, lessons in the classroom, a single methodology for teaching disciplines and general educational literature.

The results of the reforms were: a clearer definition of the boundaries of the estates, their privileges and position in relation to the state; a more harmonious system of state administration that lasted for about a century.

During the reign of Catherine II, the largest peasant war in the history of Russia took place under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev (1773 - 1775). Posing as a survivor of the assassination attempt by Peter III, he outlined his program in "charming letters." Here Pugachev promised to make all participants in his movement free Cossacks, to give them land and exempt them from taxes, as well as to execute landlords and bribe-taking judges. Pugachev hoped to overthrow Catherine II and become his own "muzhik" tsar for the people. Such a program of action attracted numerous supporters to him. The war covered vast territories from the Volga region to the Urals, and regular troops had to be called in to suppress it. January 10, 1775 Pugachev, along with his closest associates, was executed on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. The rest of the participants in the uprising were also brutally dealt with. Thousands of people were executed without trial or investigation.

The Peasant War of E. Pugachev and the Great French Revolution, during which Louis XVI was executed, forced Catherine II to abandon the policy of "enlightened absolutism." In an effort to prevent the penetration of revolutionary ideas into the country, the government introduced strict censorship, control over literature coming from abroad, and confiscated publications of French enlighteners. In 1790, A. N. Radishchev, the author of the book Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, was arrested and exiled to Siberia for "seditious ideas". And in 1792, a well-known publisher and writer, a longtime opponent of Catherine - N. I. Novikov was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress for 15 years.

The end of the 34-year reign of Catherine II was marked by a breakdown in finances, disorder in management affairs, bureaucratic arbitrariness, and the flourishing of bribery. The aging empress could not control the conduct of state affairs, delegating them to her favorites.

Catherine also faced the problem of her predecessors - to whom to transfer the throne? The relations between the Empress and her son were hostile. She decided to transfer the throne to her eldest grandson, Alexander, and announce this on November 24, 1796. But on November 6, Catherine died, and her son, Paul, became emperor.

Russia during the reign of Paul I (1796-1801) . The purpose of the reforms of Paul I was to strengthen the foundations of the socio-economic life and political system of Russia.

To prevent palace coups and increase the stability of power, on the day of his coronation - April 5, 1797, Paul issued the "Institution on the Imperial Family." Here a strict procedure was established for the transfer of the throne from father to eldest son, and in the absence of sons - to the elder brother.

Paul sought to maximize the centralization of power. The emperor developed a plan for the establishment of 7 ministries and the State Treasury. However, this plan was implemented after his death. 50 Catherine's provinces were transformed into 41. The restructuring of local self-government was accompanied by the restriction of noble self-government. Administrative and police functions were withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the noble assemblies, and in 1799 the provincial noble assemblies were abolished.

The peasant question remained the most urgent after the uprising of E. Pugachev. On April 5, 1797, the Manifesto on the three-day corvee was promulgated, which prescribed the use of corvee labor by peasants no more than 3 days a week. In addition, in 1798 it was forbidden to sell yard people and peasants under the hammer, and the grain tax was replaced by a moderate cash tax.

The policy towards the nobility was controversial. On the one hand, the emperor took care of the material well-being of the nobility, providing him with material assistance through the credit and banking system and creating a maximum favorable treatment for the service. But on the other hand, Paul abolished the most important provisions of the Charter to the nobility - freedom from compulsory service and from corporal punishment.

Pavel continued his mother's struggle with "freethinking". It was forbidden to import foreign books and study abroad, Russians were forbidden to leave Russia, and foreigners were forbidden to enter Russia.

A supporter of strict discipline and order, Paul decided to rebuild the army along the Prussian model. The main occupations of the guard were endless divorces, parades and formations. A murmur arose in the guard, which threatened to develop into another palace coup.

The main reason for the last palace coup in the history of Russia was the dissatisfaction of the guards and the nobility with the emperor, who infringed on their interests. The conspiracy was headed by the military governor of St. Petersburg - Count Palen. On the night of March 12, 1801, the conspirators broke into the Mikhailovsky Palace and demanded that Paul abdicate in favor of his son, Alexander. Having been refused, they strangled the emperor. The next day, the manifesto announced the beginning of a new reign - Emperor Alexander I.

Foreign policy of the second half XVIII century. In the second half of the 18th century, three directions can be distinguished in Russian foreign policy:

Southern – expansion of the state border to the Black Sea coast;

Western – annexation of ancient Russian lands - right-bank Ukraine and Belarus;

Fight against the French Revolution.

The most important task was the struggle for access to the Black Sea. Turkey, at the instigation of France and England, was the first to declare war on Russia. The Russian-Turkish war of 1768 - 1774 began . Initially, the battles went on with varying success, but as the Russian troops were replenished, the situation began to change in favor of Russia. Having suffered a complete defeat, Turkey turned to Russia with a request for peace. The Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji in 1774 gave Russia access to the Black Sea, the right to have a Black Sea fleet and cross the Black Sea straits to the Mediterranean Sea. The Ottoman Empire transferred to Russia the territories between the Southern Bug and the Dnieper, Azov and Kerch, the fortress of Kabarda in the North Caucasus. Crimea was declared independent from Turkey, Russia received the right to act as guardian of the rights of the Orthodox population of the Ottoman Empire.

However, both parties viewed this treaty as temporary. They were preparing for a new war that broke out in 1787. The successful actions of the Russian army and Russian navy forced the Turks to sign the Iasi peace treaty in 1791. Turkey handed over the Crimea to Russia and recognized all the Russian conquests in the Northern Black Sea region. The Dniester River became the border between the two powers.

The second important task for Russia was the return of the ancient Russian lands that were part of Poland. In the second half of the 18th century, Poland was a weak state, with many internal problems - national, religious and political. The weakening of Poland took advantage of its neighbors - Prussia, Austria and Russia. In 1772 they attacked Poland and divided part of its territory among themselves. Russia received Eastern Belarus and the Polish part of Livonia (Latvian lands). The second partition, in which Prussia and Russia participated, took place in 1793. In 1795, the third and final partition of Poland took place, according to which the lands of Western Belarus, Western Volhynia and the main part of Lithuania were transferred to Russia.

Catherine II took the revolutionary events in France with extreme concern. After the execution of the royal couple, Russia began to form an anti-French coalition and prepare an invasion of revolutionary France. In 1793, an agreement was concluded between England and Russia on a joint economic blockade of France. In 1795, an alliance was concluded between Russia, England and Austria to jointly fight the revolution in France. In 1796, a military campaign against France was to begin. But this was prevented by the death of Catherine.

The foreign policy of Paul I was distinguished by inconsistency. Initially, according to allied obligations, in 1798 Russia declared war on France. Military operations were successful for Russia. In 1799, the Black Sea Fleet took the Ionian Islands from the French, and the army under the command of the outstanding commander A.V. Suvorov inflicted a number of defeats on France in Northern Italy. At the same time, Suvorov made an unprecedented crossing of the Alps. But disagreements between the allies led to the fact that Paul withdrew the Russian troops and in 1800 signed a peace treaty with France. In the same year, he sent 40 regiments of Don Cossacks to conquer the British colony - India. Only the death of the emperor interrupted this military campaign.

Social thought and culture of the second half XVIII century. Empress Catherine II herself was a prominent publicist. Her writings are permeated with the idea of ​​defending autocracy as the only acceptable form of government for Russia. Catherine also wrote about the special historical mission of the Russian people.

During this period, the ideas of the European Enlightenment had a wide resonance in Russian society. Russian enlighteners - N. I. Novikov, A. Ya. Polenov, S. E. Desnitsky and others considered the constitutional monarchy to be the perfect state system, defended the “legal provision of liberty and property”, and criticized serfdom.

The most radical ideas of this time were expressed in the book by A. N. Radishchev "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" (1790). Radishchev agreed with the enlighteners in many respects, opposing serfdom and recognizing the importance of educating the people. But unlike them, Radishchev believed that the monarch would never voluntarily give up his power. Therefore, the only way to achieve freedom is revolution. “A rebel, worse than Pugachev,” Catherine II assessed his ideas in this way.

In the second half of the XVIII century. there is the emergence of the main currents of Russian socio-political thought, which finally took shape in the next century.

The development of Russian culture continued to be dominated by the trends laid down in the Petrine era. Borrowings from Europe concerned only the upper strata of society.

In the second half of the 18th century, three styles developed in Russian literature: classicism (A. P. Sumarokov), realism (D. I. Fonvizin) and sentimentalism (N. M. Karamzin).

Russian painting during this period reached an unprecedented rise. First of all, he was associated with the work of portrait painters (F. S. Rokotov, V. L. Borovikovsky, D. G. Levitsky), but new genres appeared - landscape, historical canvases, everyday paintings, still lifes.

Among the Russian sculptors, F. Shubin and M. Kozlovsky stood out, representing two trends - realism and classicism.

One of the most rapidly developing sciences in the XVIII century. - geography. Numerous expeditions discovered and described the most remote corners of Siberia, the Urals and the Caucasus.

Medicine has developed greatly. The Medico-Surgical Academy and the Faculty of Medicine were opened at Moscow University.

In Russia, 20 years earlier than in England, I. Polzunov invented a steam engine, but it did not find practical application, and was dismantled.

An important milestone in the development of Russian history was the publication of M. M. Shcherbatov's major historical work, The History of Russia from Ancient Times.

The military science of the strategy and tactics of land and sea combat was developed by commanders - Suvorov and Ushakov.

In architecture, Russian baroque is beginning to be replaced by classicism. It is characterized by strictly proportional and symmetrical buildings, colonnades and porticos, the subordination of secondary architectural elements to the main one. Famous Russian architects - V. Bazhenov, I. Starov, M. Kazakov - worked in the style of classicism.