Russian Empire at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. Territory of the Russian Empire

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Russia took the path of modernization, the formation and development of an industrial society. The main goal of the Russian version of modernization was the desire to catch up with industrial countries in its development, to prevent too much lag in the military-economic field, to join the world economic system and thus defend its national interests.

In terms of its level of development, speed and intensity of industrialization, Russia belonged to agrarian-industrial countries, with a weak-average level of development of capitalism (82% of the population was employed in agriculture). The Russian economy was characterized by:

• “Catching up”, accelerated nature of the development of capitalism.
• The formation of a multi-structure economy (along with capitalist ones, pre-capitalist, feudal and patriarchal structures were also preserved).
• Many initiatives in economic development were initiated not by society, but by the state.
• Unstable, crisis development of society.

In 1891-1900, Russia made a giant leap in its industrial development. Over the decade, industrial production in the country doubled, in particular the production of capital goods tripled. During the industrial boom, the length of railways in Russia tripled (to 60 thousand km), iron smelting increased five times, and coal mining in the Donbass increased 6 times.

Russia produced as many cars as it imported. The country has become the world's leading grain exporter. As a result of the financial reform carried out by S.Yu. Witte, in 1900 Russia’s huge external debt was paid off, inflation was stopped, and the gold equivalent of the ruble was introduced.

In Russia, monopolies are being created (cartels, syndicates, trusts) - large economic associations that have concentrated in their hands a significant part of the production and marketing of goods. Among them: “Prodamet”, “Roof”, “Nail”, “Produgol”, “Prodvagon”, etc.

A characteristic feature of industrial development has been the widespread attraction of foreign investment.

An important feature of the capitalist evolution of Russia was that the autocracy played a significant role in economic life and the formation of the basic elements of new relations. It created state-owned factories (military production), which were withdrawn from the sphere of free competition, controlled railway transport and road construction, etc. The state actively contributed to the development of domestic industry, banking, transport and communications.

Despite the accelerated development of industry, the agricultural sector remained leading in terms of its share in the country's economy. Russia ranked first in the world in terms of production volume: its share was 50% of the world rye harvest, 25% of world grain exports. At the same time, it should be noted that the agricultural sector of the economy was only partially involved in the modernization processes.

New forms of management were introduced on the lands of landowners and wealthy peasants. The vast majority of peasants used old, ineffective forms of farming. In the village, semi-serf and patriarchal remnants remained: a communal system of land ownership and land use. It was the problems of agriculture that became core in the economic, social and political life of the country at the beginning of the century.

Thus, Russia has embarked on the path of modernization, lagging behind Western European countries. Autocracy and the preservation of administrative-feudal methods of management hampered economic development.

The process of formation in Russia of social strata of the population inherent in industrial societies occurred at a rapid pace. As evidenced by the 1897 census, the total number of inhabitants of the empire was 125.5 million people. On January 1, 1915, it reached 182 million 182 thousand 600 people. During this period, the number of those who lived by selling their labor increased one and a half times and amounted to almost 19 million people. The number of entrepreneurs grew even more rapidly. Urban population indicators were closely related to the expansion of capitalist production. Over the same period, the number of city residents increased from 16.8 to 28.5 million people.

Despite these changes, in Russia the basis of the social structure was still made up of fortunes - closed groups of people endowed with certain rights and responsibilities that were hereditary in nature. The ruling class remained the nobility (about 1% of the population).

The nobility was divided into two categories: tribal and personal. The ancestral was hereditary, the personal was not. Although the role of the nobility in the economic life of the country decreased, it still remained a privileged class. The privileged classes included honorary and noble citizens - the elite of the townspeople.

A special state was the clergy and guild merchants. A significant part of the urban population were burghers - shopkeepers, artisans, workers and office workers.

A special military-service class was made up of Cossacks - Don, Kuban, Ural. They had the right to land, served military service, and preserved certain traditions of the Cossack environment.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the bourgeoisie, working class, and intelligentsia were rapidly forming in Russia.

The bourgeoisie becomes a powerful class from an economic point of view. The bourgeoisie was formed from different social strata, owned enterprises, land plots, and concentrated large capital in its hands.

However, in Russia the bourgeoisie, unlike the countries of Western Europe, has not turned into a powerful independent force. This was explained by the fact that the Russian bourgeoisie turned out to be dependent not on the market for raw materials and goods, but on the government, which acted as a monopolist in these markets. High profits in production were associated with the ability to obtain government orders and subsidies for its implementation. These conditions required from the capitalist not the qualities of an entrepreneur, but rather a courtier who knows all the loopholes at court.

As a result, the capitalist valued not freedom, but close relationships with the emperor and the government. This situation contributed to an increase in the share and autonomous functioning of a special social group - the bureaucracy. The economic basis for the growth of the role of this segment of the population was the presence of a widely ramified state capitalist economy: banks, railways, state-owned factories, state lands. Before 1917, there were up to 500 thousand officials of various ranks in the country.

The peasantry, as before, made up the majority of the country's population. However, the penetration of commodity-money relations into the village contributed to its stratification. One part of the peasants joined the ranks of the proletariat, the other expanded their farms, gradually ousting the landowners from the agricultural market and buying up their lands.

The peculiarities of the “reformation” of social strata of the population in Russia caused serious contradictions both within a certain segment of the population and between individual strata (nobility - bourgeoisie, nobility - peasantry, bourgeoisie - workers, government - people, intelligentsia - people, intelligentsia - government, etc. .). The immaturity of the middle strata, the gap between the “tops” and the “bottoms” determined the unstable, unstable position of Russian society.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia remained an autocratic monarchy. Representative bodies of power were not formed. All legislative, administrative and judicial power was concentrated in the hands of the emperor. Most subjects considered autocratic power familiar and stable. Proximity to the monarch created for many real opportunities to influence the political and economic life of the country.

The highest state institutions “State Council” and “Senate” served as advisory bodies. By 1905, Russia did not have a unified government. Each minister reported directly to the emperor on the affairs of his ministry.

The judicial system as a whole is based on the judicial reform of the 60s of the 19th century. The Police Department was responsible for protecting state security. The army was an important state institution. The country had universal conscription, although at the same time there was a developed system of benefits and deferments from conscription.

Local self-government - zemstvos - played a significant role in organizing the life of the country. Zemstvos were elected by representatives of peasants, landowners and townspeople. Their areas of activity covered almost all issues of local life.

The events of the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907 forced the authorities to transform the existing political system. The Manifesto of October 17, 1905 “On Improving the Fundamentals of Public Administration” gave the population freedom of conscience, speech, assembly, and unions. Soon the law on elections to the State Duma was adopted.

The Duma participated in the development of bills, considered the state budget, discussed the issue of building railways and founding joint-stock companies. Later the State Council was reformed, becoming the upper legislative chamber. She received the right to approve or reject laws approved by the Duma.

Despite the preservation of legislative power, a step was taken towards liberalization of society. The new political system was characterized by the fact that legislative power belonged to the emperor and the bicameral parliament, the highest executive power belonged to the emperor and the ministers responsible to him, and the highest judicial and supervisory power belonged to the Senate.

deadline

Lecture 2. The Russian Empire at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

The first general census of the Russian Empire in 1897

Nationalities of Russia (1907-1917) IPE P.P. Kamensky

Class structure of society

Class structure of society

Important:

Main problems of national policy

Turn of the XIX-XX centuries.

10. Features of economic development of Russia

11. Features of economic development of Russia

12. Reforms S.Yu. Witte

13. Turn of the XIX-XX centuries.

14.

15.

16. Reforms P.A. Stolypin

17. Reform projects P.A. Stolypin

18. Public administration of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century (before 1905).

19. Autocracy and social life at the beginning of the 20th century.

20. Autocracy and social life at the beginning of the 20th century.

21. Liberal movement

22. Political parties of Russia in the present day. XX century

23. "Bloody Sunday"

24. Repin I.E. October 17, 1905. (1907)

25. “Manifesto of October 17, 1905”

26. Electoral law 12/11/1905

27.

28. Opening of the State Duma and State Council on April 27, 1906

29. State Duma of the Russian Empire

30. State Duma of the Russian Empire

31.

32. Literature

The history of mankind is a continuous struggle for territorial dominance. Great empires either appeared on the political map of the world or disappeared from it. Some of them were destined to leave an indelible mark behind them.

Persian Empire (Achaemenid Empire, 550 – 330 BC)

Cyrus II is considered the founder of the Persian Empire. He began his conquests in 550 BC. e. with the subjugation of Media, after which Armenia, Parthia, Cappadocia and the Lydian kingdom were conquered. Did not become an obstacle to the expansion of the empire of Cyrus and Babylon, whose powerful walls fell in 539 BC. e.

While conquering neighboring territories, the Persians tried not to destroy the conquered cities, but, if possible, to preserve them. Cyrus restored captured Jerusalem, like many Phoenician cities, facilitating the return of Jews from Babylonian captivity.

The Persian Empire under Cyrus extended its possessions from Central Asia to the Aegean Sea. Only Egypt remained unconquered. The country of the pharaohs submitted to the heir of Cyrus, Cambyses II. However, the empire reached its peak under Darius I, who switched from conquests to internal politics. In particular, the king divided the empire into 20 satrapies, which completely coincided with the territories of the captured states.
In 330 BC. e. The weakening Persian Empire fell under the onslaught of the troops of Alexander the Great.

Roman Empire (27 BC – 476)

Ancient Rome was the first state in which the ruler received the title of emperor. Beginning with Octavian Augustus, the 500-year history of the Roman Empire had a direct impact on European civilization and also left a cultural mark on the countries of North Africa and the Middle East.
The uniqueness of Ancient Rome is that it was the only state whose possessions included the entire Mediterranean coast.

At the height of the Roman Empire, its territories extended from the British Isles to the Persian Gulf. According to historians, by 117 the population of the empire reached 88 million people, which was approximately 25% of the total number of inhabitants of the planet.

Architecture, construction, art, law, economics, military affairs, the principles of government of Ancient Rome - this is what the foundation of the entire European civilization is based on. It was in imperial Rome that Christianity assumed the status of state religion and began its spread throughout the world.

Byzantine Empire (395 – 1453)

The Byzantine Empire has no equal in the length of its history. Originating at the end of antiquity, it existed until the end of the European Middle Ages. For more than a thousand years, Byzantium was a kind of connecting link between the civilizations of the East and West, influencing both the states of Europe and Asia Minor.

But if Western European and Middle Eastern countries inherited the rich material culture of Byzantium, then the Old Russian state turned out to be the successor to its spirituality. Constantinople fell, but the Orthodox world found its new capital in Moscow.

Located at the crossroads of trade routes, rich Byzantium was a coveted land for neighboring states. Having reached its maximum borders in the first centuries after the collapse of the Roman Empire, then it was forced to defend its possessions. In 1453, Byzantium could not resist a more powerful enemy - the Ottoman Empire. With the capture of Constantinople, the road to Europe was opened for the Turks.

Arab Caliphate (632-1258)

As a result of Muslim conquests in the 7th–9th centuries, the theocratic Islamic state of the Arab Caliphate arose in the entire Middle Eastern region, as well as in certain regions of Transcaucasia, Central Asia, North Africa and Spain. The period of the Caliphate went down in history as the “Golden Age of Islam”, as the time of the highest flowering of Islamic science and culture.
One of the caliphs of the Arab state, Umar I, purposefully secured the character of a militant church for the Caliphate, encouraging religious zeal in his subordinates and prohibiting them from owning land property in the conquered countries. Umar motivated this by the fact that “the interests of the landowner attract him more to peaceful activities than to war.”

In 1036, the invasion of the Seljuk Turks was disastrous for the Caliphate, but the defeat of the Islamic state was completed by the Mongols.

Caliph An-Nasir, wanting to expand his possessions, turned to Genghis Khan for help, and unknowingly opened the way for the destruction of the Muslim East by the Mongol horde of thousands.

Mongol Empire (1206–1368)

The Mongol Empire is the largest state formation in history by territory.

During the period of its power, towards the end of the 13th century, the empire extended from the Sea of ​​Japan to the banks of the Danube. The total area of ​​the Mongols' possessions reached 38 million square meters. km.

Given the enormous size of the empire, managing it from the capital, Karakorum, was almost impossible. It is no coincidence that after the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, the process of gradual division of the conquered territories into separate uluses began, the most significant of which became the Golden Horde.

The economic policy of the Mongols in the occupied lands was primitive: its essence boiled down to the imposition of tribute on the conquered peoples. Everything collected went to support the needs of a huge army, according to some sources, reaching half a million people. The Mongol cavalry was the most deadly weapon of the Genghisids, which not many armies could resist.
Inter-dynastic strife destroyed the empire - it was they who stopped the expansion of the Mongols to the West. This was soon followed by the loss of the conquered territories and the capture of Karakorum by Ming dynasty troops.

Holy Roman Empire (962-1806)

The Holy Roman Empire is an interstate entity that existed in Europe from 962 to 1806. The core of the empire was Germany, which was joined by the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, as well as some regions of France during the period of the highest prosperity of the state.
Almost the entire period of the empire's existence, its structure had the character of a theocratic feudal state, in which the emperors laid claim to supreme power in the Christian world. However, the struggle with the papal throne and the desire to possess Italy significantly weakened the central power of the empire.
In the 17th century, Austria and Prussia moved to leading positions in the Holy Roman Empire. But very soon the antagonism of two influential members of the empire, which resulted in a policy of conquest, threatened the integrity of their common home. The end of the empire in 1806 was marked by the strengthening France led by Napoleon.

Ottoman Empire (1299–1922)

In 1299, Osman I created a Turkic state in the Middle East, which was destined to exist for more than 600 years and radically influence the fate of the countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 marked the date when the Ottoman Empire finally gained a foothold in Europe.

The period of the greatest power of the Ottoman Empire occurred in the 16th-17th centuries, but the state achieved its greatest conquests under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

The borders of the empire of Suleiman I extended from Eritrea in the south to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the north, from Algeria in the west to the Caspian Sea in the east.

The period from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century was marked by bloody military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Territorial disputes between the two states mainly revolved around Crimea and Transcaucasia. They were put to an end by the First World War, as a result of which the Ottoman Empire, divided between the Entente countries, ceased to exist.

British Empire (1497¬–1949)

The British Empire is the largest colonial power both in terms of territory and population.

The empire reached its greatest scale by the 30s of the 20th century: the land area of ​​the United Kingdom, including its colonies, totaled 34 million 650 thousand square meters. km., which accounted for approximately 22% of the earth's land. The total population of the empire reached 480 million people - every fourth inhabitant of the Earth was a subject of the British Crown.

The success of British colonial policy was facilitated by many factors: a strong army and navy, developed industry, and the art of diplomacy. The expansion of the empire significantly influenced global geopolitics. First of all, this is the spread of British technology, trade, language, and forms of government throughout the world.
The decolonization of Britain occurred after the end of the Second World War. Although the country was among the victorious states, it found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. It was only thanks to an American loan of $3.5 billion that Great Britain was able to overcome the crisis, but at the same time lost world dominance and all its colonies.

Russian Empire (1721–1917)

The history of the Russian Empire dates back to October 22, 1721, after Peter I accepted the title of All-Russian Emperor. From that time until 1905, the monarch who became the head of the state was endowed with absolute power.

In terms of area, the Russian Empire was second only to the Mongol and British empires - 21,799,825 square meters. km, and was the second (after British) in terms of population - about 178 million people.

Constant expansion of territory is a characteristic feature of the Russian Empire. But if the advance to the east was mostly peaceful, then in the west and south Russia had to prove its territorial claims through numerous wars - with Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and the British Empire.

The growth of the Russian Empire has always been viewed with particular caution by the West. The negative perception of Russia was facilitated by the appearance of the so-called “Testament of Peter the Great,” a document fabricated in 1812 by French political circles. “The Russian state must establish power over all of Europe” is one of the key phrases of the Testament, which will haunt the minds of Europeans for a long time.

1. Socio-economic and political development of Russia under Alexander 1.

2. Domestic and foreign policy of Nicholas 1.

3. Reforms of Alexander 2 and their significance.

4. The main features of the country’s development in the post-reform period.

By the early 19th century, Russia was a major world power, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, from the Arctic to the Caucasus and the Black Sea. The population increased sharply and amounted to 43.5 million people. Approximately 1% of the population was nobility; there were also a small number of Orthodox clergy, merchants, philistines, and Cossacks. 90% of the population were state, landowner and appanage (former palace) peasants. During the period under study, a new trend is becoming more and more clearly evident in the social system of the country - the class system is gradually becoming obsolete, and strict differentiation of classes is becoming a thing of the past. New features also appeared in the economic sphere - serfdom hampers the development of the landlord economy, the formation of the labor market, the growth of manufactories, trade, and cities, which indicated a crisis in the feudal-serf system. Russia was in dire need of reform.

Upon his accession to the throne, Alexander 1 ((1801-1825) announced the revival of Catherine’s traditions of rule and restored the validity of the Letters of Grant to the nobility and cities that had been canceled by his father, returned about 12 thousand repressed persons from disgrace from exile, opened the borders for the departure of nobles, allowed subscription to foreign publication, abolished the Secret Expedition, declared freedom of trade, announced the end of grants from state-owned peasants to private hands. Back in the 90s, a circle of young like-minded people formed, who immediately after his accession became part of the Secret Committee, which became the de facto government of the country. In 1803, he signed a decree on “free cultivators”, according to which landowners could set their serfs free with land for ransom by entire villages or individual families, although the practical results of this reform were small (0.5% d.m.). , its main ideas formed the basis of the peasant reform of 1861. In 1804, peasant reform was launched in the Baltic states: payments and the amount of duties of peasants were clearly defined, and the principle of inheritance of land by peasants was introduced. The emperor paid special attention to the reform of central government bodies; in 1801 he created the Permanent Council, which was replaced in 1810 by the State Council. In 1802-1811 the collegial system was replaced by 8 ministries: military, maritime, justice, finance, foreign affairs, internal affairs, commerce and public education. Under Alexander 1, the Senate acquired the status of the highest court and exercised control over local authorities. The reform projects put forward in 1809-1810 were of great importance. Secretary of State, Deputy Minister of Justice M.M. Speransky. Speransky's state reforms assumed a clear separation of powers into legislative (State Duma), executive (ministries) and judicial (Senate), the introduction of the principle of the presumption of innocence, the recognition of voting rights for nobles, merchants and state peasants, and the possibility of the lower classes moving into the higher ones. Speransky's economic reforms included a reduction in government spending, the introduction of a special tax on landowners and appanage estates, the cessation of the issuance of unsecured bonds, etc. The implementation of these reforms would lead to the limitation of autocracy and the abolition of serfdom. Therefore, the reforms displeased the nobles and were criticized. Alexander 1 dismissed Speransky and exiled him first to Nizhny and then to Perm.

Alexander's foreign policy was unusually active and fruitful. Under him, Georgia was included in Russia (as a result of the active expansion of Turkey and Iran in Georgia, the latter turned to Russia for protection), Northern Azerbaijan (as a result of the Russian-Iranian war of 1804-1813), Bessarabia (as a result of the Russian-Turkish war 1806-1812), Finland (as a result of the Russian-Swedish war of 1809). The main direction of foreign policy at the beginning of the 19th century. there was a struggle with Napoleonic France. By this time, a significant part of Europe had already been occupied by French troops; in 1807, after a series of defeats, Russia signed the humiliating Treaty of Tilsit. With the beginning of the Patriotic War in June 1812. the emperor was part of the active army. In the Patriotic War of 1812, several stages can be distinguished:

June 1.12 - August 4-5, 1812 - the French army crosses the Neman (220-160) and moves towards Smolensk, where a bloody battle took place between Napoleon’s army and the united armies of Barclay de Tolly and Bagration. The French army lost 20 thousand soldiers and after a 2-day assault entered the destroyed and burned Smolensk.

1.13 August 5 -August 26 - Napoleon's attack on Moscow and the Battle of Borodino, after which Kutuzov leaves Moscow.

1.14 September - early October 1812 - Napoleon robs and burns Moscow, Kutuzov’s troops are replenished and rest in the Tarutino camp.

1.15 beginning of October 1812 - December 25, 1812 - through the efforts of Kutuzov’s army (battle of Maloyaroslavets on October 12) and partisans, the movement of Napoleon’s army to the south was stopped, he returned along the devastated Smolensk road; Most of his army dies, Napoleon himself secretly flees to Paris. On December 25, 1812, Alexander published a special manifesto on the expulsion of the enemy from Russia and the end of the Patriotic War.

However, the expulsion of Napoleon from Russia did not guarantee the security of the country, so on January 1, 1813, the Russian army crossed the border and began pursuing the enemy; by the spring, a significant part of Poland, Berlin, was liberated, and in October 1813. After the creation of an anti-Napoleonic coalition consisting of Russia, England, Prussia, Austria and Sweden, Napoleon’s army was defeated in the famous “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig. In March 1814, the allied troops (Russian army led by Alexander 1) entered Paris. At the Congress of Vienna in 1814. the territory of France was restored to its pre-revolutionary borders, and a significant part of Poland, along with Warsaw, became part of Russia. In addition, Russia, Prussia and Austria created the Holy Alliance to jointly fight the revolutionary movement in Europe.

Alexander's post-war policy changed significantly. Fearing the revolutionary impact on Russian society of the ideas of the FR, a more progressive political system established in the West, the emperor banned secret societies in Russia (1822), created military settlements 91812), secret police in the army (1821), and increased ideological pressure on the university community. However, even during this period he did not depart from the ideas of reforming Russia - he signed the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland (1815), and declared his intention to introduce a constitutional system throughout Russia. On his instructions, N.I. Novosiltsev developed the State Charter, which contained the remaining elements of constitutionalism. With his knowledge A.A. Arakcheev prepared special projects for the gradual liberation of serfs. However, all this did not change the general nature of the political course pursued by Alexander1. In September 1825, during a trip to Crimea, he fell ill and died in Taganrog. With his death, a dynastic crisis arose, caused by the secret resignation (during the life of Alexander 1) of the duties of heir to the throne of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. The Decembrists, a social movement that arose after the war of 1812, took advantage of this situation. and proclaimed as the main idea the priority of a person’s personality and his freedoms over everything else.

On December 14, 1825, the day of the oath to Nicholas 1, the Decembrists raised an uprising, which was brutally suppressed. This fact largely predetermined the essence of the policy of Nicholas 1, the main direction of which was the fight against free thought. It is no coincidence that the period of his reign - 1825-1855 - is called the apogee of autocracy. In 1826, the 3rd Department of His Imperial Majesty's own chancellery was founded, which became the main instrument for controlling attitudes and fighting against dissidents. Under Nicholas, an official government ideological doctrine took shape - the “theory of official nationality”, the essence of which its author, Count Uvarov, expressed in the formula - Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality. The reactionary policy of Nicholas 1 was most manifested in the field of education and the press, which was most clearly manifested in the Charter of educational institutions of 1828, the University Charter of 1835, the censorship charter of 1826, and numerous bans on the publication of magazines. Among the most important events of Nicholas’s reign:

1. reform of state peasant management P.D. Kiselyov, which consisted of the introduction of self-government, the founding of schools, hospitals, the allocation of the best lands for “public plowing” in the villages of state peasants;

2. inventory reform - in 1844, committees were created in the western provinces to develop “inventory”, i.e. descriptions of landowners' estates with precise recording of peasant plots and duties in favor of the landowner, which could not be changed in the future;

3. codification of laws M.M. Speransky - in 1833, “PSZ RI” and “Code of Current Laws” were published in 15 volumes;

4. financial reform E.F. Kankrin, the main directions of which were the transformation of the silver ruble into the main means of payment, the issuance of credit notes freely exchangeable for silver;

5. commissioning of the first railways in Russia.

Despite the tough government course of Nicholas 1, it was during his reign that a broad social movement took shape in Russia, in which three main directions can be distinguished - conservative (led by Uvarov, Shevyrev, Pogodin, Grech, Bulgarin), revolutionary-democratic (Herzen, Ogarev, Petrashevsky), Westerners and Slavophiles (Kavelin, Granovsky, the Aksakov brothers, Samarin, etc.).

In the field of foreign policy, Nicholas 1 considered the main tasks of his reign to be the expansion of Russia's influence on the state of affairs in Europe and the world, as well as the fight against the revolutionary movement. To this end, in 1833, together with the monarchs of Prussia and Austria, he formalized a political union (Sacred), which for several years determined the balance of power in Europe in favor of Russia. In 1848, he broke relations with revolutionary France, and in 1849, he ordered the Russian army to suppress the Hungarian revolution. In addition, under Nicholas 1, a significant part of the budget (up to 40%) was spent on military needs. The main direction in Nicholas’s foreign policy was the “Eastern Question,” which led Russia to wars with Iran and Turkey (1826-1829) and international isolation in the early 50s, ending with the Crimean War (1853-1856). For Russia, resolving the eastern issue meant ensuring the security of its southern borders, establishing control over the Black Sea straits, and strengthening political influence in the Balkan and Middle Eastern regions. The reason for the war was a dispute between the Catholic (France) and Orthodox (Russia) clergy over “Palestinian shrines.” In reality, it was about strengthening the positions of these countries in the Middle East. England and Austria, on whose support Russia was counting in this war, went over to the side of France. On October 16, 1853, after Russia sent troops into Moldavia and Wallachia under the pretext of protecting the Orthodox population of the OI, the Turkish Sultan declared war on Russia. England and France became allies of the Olympic Games. (November 18, 1853, the last major battle of the era of the sailing fleet - Sinop, October 54 - August 55 - siege of Sevastopol) Due to military-technical backwardness and the mediocrity of the military command, Russia lost this war and in March 1856 a peace treaty was signed in Paris an agreement under which Russia lost the islands in the Danube Delta and Southern Bessarabia, returned Kars to Turkey, and in exchange received Sevastopol and Yevpatoria, and was deprived of the right to have a navy, fortresses and arsenals on the Black Sea. The Crimean War showed the backwardness of serf Russia and significantly reduced the country's international prestige.

After the death of Nicholas in 1855. his eldest son Alexander 2 (1855-1881) ascended the throne. He immediately granted amnesty to the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-31. and announced the beginning of an era of reform. In 1856, he personally headed the Special Secret Committee for the abolition of serfdom, and later gave instructions on the establishment of provincial committees to prepare local reform projects. On February 19, 1861, Alexander 2 signed the “Regulations on Reform” and the “Manifesto on the Abolition of Serfdom.” Main provisions of the reform:

1. serfs received personal freedom and independence from the landowner (they could not be given, sold, bought, resettled, or mortgaged, but their civil rights were incomplete - they continued to pay the poll tax, carried out conscription duties, and corporal punishment;

2. elected peasant self-government was introduced;

3. the landowner remained the owner of the land on the estate; peasants received a set land allotment for a ransom, which was equal to the annual quitrent amount, increased by an average of 17 times. The state paid the landowner 80% of the amount, 20% was paid by the peasants. For 49 years, peasants had to repay the debt to the state with %. Before the land was redeemed, the peasants were considered temporarily obligated to the landowner and bore the old duties. The owner of the land was the community, from which the peasant could not leave until the ransom was paid.

The abolition of serfdom made reforms in other areas of Russian society inevitable. Among them:

1. Zemstvo reform (1864) - the creation of classless elected bodies of local self-government - zemstvos. In the provinces and districts, administrative bodies were created - zemstvo assemblies and executive bodies - zemstvo councils. Elections to district zemstvo assemblies were held once every 3 years at 3 electoral congresses. Voters were divided into three curia: landowners, townspeople and elected from rural societies. Zemstvos solved local problems - they were in charge of opening schools, hospitals, building and repairing roads, providing assistance to the population in lean years, etc.

2. City reform (1870) - the creation of city councils and city councils that resolve economic issues of cities. These institutions were headed by the city mayor. The right to vote and be elected was limited by property qualifications.

3. Judicial reform (1864) - the class-based, secret court, dependent on the administration and police, was replaced by a classless, public adversarial, independent court with the election of some judicial bodies. The guilt or innocence of the defendant was determined by 12 jurors selected from all classes. The punishment was determined by a government-appointed judge and 2 members of the court, and only the Senate or a military court could impose the death penalty. Two systems of courts were established - magistrates' courts (created in counties and cities, minor criminal and civil cases) and general - district courts, created within the provinces, and judicial chambers, uniting several judicial districts. (political affairs, malfeasance)

4. Military reform (1861-1874) - recruitment was canceled and universal conscription was introduced (from 20 years old - all men), service life was reduced to 6 years in the infantry and 7 years in the navy and depended on the degree of education of the serviceman. The military administration system was also reformed: 15 military districts were introduced in Russia, the management of which was subordinate only to the Minister of War. In addition, military educational institutions were reformed, rearmament was carried out, corporal punishment was abolished, etc. As a result, the Russian military forces turned into a modern mass army.

In general, the liberal reforms of A2, for which he was nicknamed the Tsar Liberator, were progressive in nature and were of great importance for Russia - they contributed to the development of market relations in the economy, the growth of the standard of living and education of the country's population, and an increase in the country's defense capability.

During the reign of A 2, a social movement reached a large scale, in which 3 main directions can be distinguished:

1. conservative (Katkov), who advocated political stability and reflected the interests of the nobility;

2. liberal (Kavelin, Chicherin) with demands for various freedoms (freedom from serfdom, freedom of conscience, public opinion, printing, teaching, openness of the court). The weakness of the liberals was that they did not put forward the main liberal principle - the introduction of a constitution.

3. revolutionary (Herzen, Chernyshevsky), the main slogans of which were the introduction of a constitution, freedom of the press, the transfer of all land to the peasants and the call of the people to active action. Revolutionaries in 1861 created a secret illegal organization “Land and Freedom”, which in 1879 split into two organizations: the propaganda “Black Redistribution” and the terrorist “People's Will”. The ideas of Herzen and Chernyshevsky became the basis of populism (Lavrov, Bakunin, Tkachev), but the campaigns they organized among the people (1874 and 1877) were unsuccessful.

Thus, a feature of the social movement of the 60-80s. there was a weakness of the liberal center and strong extreme groups.

Foreign policy. As a result of the continuation of the Caucasian War (1817-1864), which began under Alexander I, the Caucasus was annexed to Russia. In 1865-1881 Turkestan became part of Russia, and the borders of Russia and China along the Amur River were fixed. And 2 continued his father’s attempts to solve the “Eastern Question” in 1877-1878. waged war with Turkey. In matters of foreign policy, he focused on Germany; in 1873 he concluded the “Union of Three Emperors” with Germany and Austria. March 1, 1881 A2. He was mortally wounded on the embankment of the Catherine Canal by a bomb from Narodnaya Volya member I.I. Grinevitsky.

During the post-reform period, serious changes took place in the social structure of Russian society and the country's economy. The process of stratification of the peasantry is intensifying, the bourgeoisie and working class are being formed, the number of intelligentsia is growing, i.e. Class barriers are erased and communities are formed along economic and class lines. By the beginning of the 80s. The industrial revolution is coming to an end in Russia; the creation of a powerful economic base has begun; industry is being modernized and organized on capitalist principles.

A3, upon ascending the throne in 1881 (1881-1894), immediately announced his abandonment of reformist ideas, but his first measures continued the same course: compulsory redemption was introduced, redemption payments were destroyed, plans for convening the Zemsky Sobor were developed, the Peasant Bank was established, The poll tax was abolished (1882), benefits were provided to Old Believers (1883). At the same time, A3 defeated Narodnaya Volya. With Tolstoy coming to leadership of the government (1882), there was a change in the internal political course, which began to be based on the “revival of the inviolability of autocracy.” For this purpose, control over the press was strengthened, special rights were granted to the nobility in obtaining higher education, the Noble Bank was established, and measures were taken to preserve the peasant community. In 1892, with the appointment of S.Yu. as Minister of Finance. Witte, whose program included a strict tax policy, protectionism, widespread attraction of foreign capital, the introduction of the gold ruble, and the introduction of a state monopoly on the production and sale of vodka, the “golden decade of Russian industry” begins.

Under A3, serious changes take place in the social movement: conservatism is strengthening (Katkov, Pobedonostsev), after the defeat of the “people's will”, reformist liberal populism began to play a significant role, Marxism is spreading (Plekhanov, Ulyanov). Russian Marxists created the “Emancipation of Labor” group in Geneva in 1883, in 1895 Ulyanov organized the “Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class” in St. Petersburg, and in 1898 the RSDLP was founded in Minsk.

Under A 3, Russia did not wage major wars (Peacemaker), but still significantly expanded its borders in Central Asia. In European politics, A3 continued to focus on an alliance with Germany and Austria, and in 1891. signed an alliance treaty with France.

At the beginning of the 19th century. The initiator of broad reforms in the sphere of state power and social relations was Emperor Alexander I (1801-1825). A characteristic feature of his reign was the struggle between two currents: liberal and conservative-protective, and the emperor maneuvering between them. After ascending the throne, Alexander abolished restrictions on the import and export of goods and books, trips abroad, confirmed the Charter of the nobility, restored relations with England, returned from exile and lifted disgrace from all officers and officials who suffered under Paul.

To discuss state issues in 1801, the Permanent Council was formed under the emperor - an advisory body of 12 people. At the same time, under Alexander I, a Secret Committee was formed - a circle of young friends of the tsar, which included P. Stroganov, N. Novosiltsev, V. Kochubey, A. Czartoryski. They discussed issues of reforming Russia, the abolition of serfdom, and the constitution.

In 1803, a decree “On free cultivators” was issued. In accordance with it, landowners could free serfs with land for a ransom. Decrees of 1804-1805 limited serfdom in the Baltic states. The sale of peasants without land was prohibited.

In 1803, a new regulation “On the structure of educational institutions” appeared. During Alexander's reign, 5 new universities were opened. The university charter of 1804 established the autonomy of universities.

The Manifesto of 1802 established 8 ministries instead of collegiums. In 1808-1812. preparation of projects for the reorganization of the state management system was concentrated in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and was carried out under the leadership of M.M. Speransky. In 1809, he presented a draft reform “Introduction to the Code of State Laws.” The project provided for the separation of powers. The highest legislative body was declared to be the State Duma, which led the network of volost, district and provincial dumas. The highest executive power was vested in the emperor, under whom the State Council was established as an advisory body. The Senate became the highest judicial body.

In 1810, the State Council was established - a legislative advisory body. In 1810, the “General Establishment of Ministries” developed by Speransky was introduced, which determined the composition, limits of power and responsibility of ministries.

The hatred of courtiers and officials was caused by the decree prepared by Speransky in 1809, according to which all persons who had a court rank had to choose some kind of real service, i.e. the court rank turned into only an honorary title and lost the status of a position. Speransky also implemented a number of measures aimed at improving finances. In 1812, Speransky was dismissed from government service and exiled to Nizhny Novgorod, and then to Perm.

Russian foreign policy at the beginning of the 19th century. was determined primarily by the situation that was developing in Europe.

In 1805, Russia again joined the anti-French coalition. The Russian army and its allies were defeated at Austerlitz. In 1806, the battles of Pułtusk and Preussisch-Eylau took place. Battle of Friedland in 1807 ended this war and completed the defeat of the Russian army.

In the summer of 1807, Russia and France signed the Treaty of Tilsit and the treaty of alliance against England. This was the first meeting between Alexander I and Napoleon. Russia agreed to mediate in negotiations between France and Great Britain, and France assumed the role of mediator in concluding peace between Russia and Turkey. Russia pledged to withdraw its troops from Moldova and Wallachia and recognized the sovereignty of France over the Ionian Islands. The parties agreed to conduct joint actions in the war against any European power. It was agreed that if Great Britain did not accept Russian mediation or did not agree to make peace, Russia would have to break off diplomatic and trade relations with it. Napoleon, for his part, took upon himself the obligation to act on the side of Russia against Turkey.

Great Britain refused Alexander I's offer of mediation. Remaining faithful to the newly signed treaty, Russia declared war on England. France, in violation of its treaty obligations in the Balkans, secretly encouraged Turkey to take military action against Russia. The war with England was not in Russia's interests. The cessation of trade and political ties with it had a detrimental effect on the country's economy. The formation of the Duchy of Warsaw was a springboard for France on the Russian border.

In 1804, the Russian-Iranian war began over disputed territories. During the campaign of 1804-1806. Russia occupied the khanates north of the Araks River (Baku, Kuba, Ganja, Derbent, etc.) The transfer of these territories to Russia was enshrined in the Gulistan Peace Treaty of 1813.

During the Russian-Turkish War (1806-1812) in the Dardanelles and Athos naval battles in 1807, the Russian fleet defeated the Turkish squadron. In 1811, General M.I., newly appointed commander-in-chief. Kutuzov won a decisive victory at Rushchuk. In 1812, the Treaty of Bucharest was signed. Türkiye ceded Bessarabia to Russia, and an autonomous Serbian principality was created.

In 1808-1809 was the last Russian-Swedish war in the history of relations between these states. Its result was the signing of the Treaty of Friedrichsham, according to which all of Finland, together with the Åland Islands, became part of the Russian Empire as a grand duchy. The Russian-Swedish border was established along the Gulf of Bothnia and the Torneo and Muonio rivers.