The reigns of Russian emperors in the 18th century. Deaths of Russian emperors of the 18th century in art

For almost 400 years of the existence of this title, it was worn completely different people- from adventurers and liberals to tyrants and conservatives.

Rurikovich

Over the years, Russia (from Rurik to Putin) has changed many times political system. At first, the rulers bore the title of prince. When after the period political fragmentation A new Russian state emerged around Moscow, and the owners of the Kremlin began to think about accepting the royal title.

This was accomplished under Ivan the Terrible (1547-1584). This one decided to marry into the kingdom. And this decision was not accidental. So the Moscow monarch emphasized that he was the legal successor. It was they who bestowed Orthodoxy on Russia. In the 16th century, Byzantium no longer existed (it fell under the onslaught of the Ottomans), so Ivan the Terrible rightly believed that his act would have serious symbolic significance.

Such historical figures as rendered great influence for the development of the entire country. In addition to changing his title, Ivan the Terrible also captured the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, beginning Russian expansion to the East.

Ivan's son Fedor (1584-1598) was distinguished weak character and health. Nevertheless, under him the state continued to develop. The patriarchate was established. Rulers have always paid a lot of attention to the issue of succession to the throne. This time he became especially acute. Fedor had no children. When he died, the Rurik dynasty on the Moscow throne came to an end.

Time of Troubles

After Fyodor's death, Boris Godunov (1598-1605), his brother-in-law, came to power. He did not belong to the reigning family, and many considered him a usurper. With him because of natural disasters a colossal famine began. The tsars and presidents of Russia have always tried to maintain calm in the provinces. Due to the tense situation, Godunov was unable to do this. Several peasant uprisings took place in the country.

In addition, the adventurer Grishka Otrepyev called himself one of the sons of Ivan the Terrible and began a military campaign against Moscow. He actually managed to capture the capital and become king. Boris Godunov did not live to see this moment - he died from health complications. His son Feodor II was captured by the comrades of False Dmitry and killed.

The impostor ruled for only a year, after which he was overthrown during the Moscow uprising, inspired by disgruntled Russian boyars who did not like the fact that False Dmitry surrounded himself with Catholic Poles. decided to transfer the crown to Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610). IN Troubled times The rulers of Russia changed frequently.

The princes, tsars and presidents of Russia had to carefully guard their power. Shuisky could not restrain her and was overthrown by the Polish interventionists.

The first Romanovs

When Moscow was liberated from foreign invaders in 1613, the question arose of who should be made sovereign. This text presents all the kings of Russia in order (with portraits). Now the time has come to talk about the rise to the throne of the Romanov dynasty.

The first sovereign from this family - Mikhail (1613-1645) - was just a youth when he was put in charge huge country. His main goal began the struggle with Poland for the lands it captured during the Time of Troubles.

These were the biographies of the rulers and the dates of reign before mid-17th century century. After Mikhail, his son Alexei (1645-1676) ruled. He annexed to Russia left bank Ukraine and Kyiv. So, after several centuries of fragmentation and Lithuanian rule fraternal peoples finally began to live in the same country.

Alexei had many sons. The eldest of them Feodor III(1676-1682), died in at a young age. After him came the simultaneous reign of two children - Ivan and Peter.

Peter the Great

Ivan Alekseevich was unable to govern the country. Therefore, in 1689, the sole reign of Peter the Great began. He completely rebuilt the country in a European manner. Russia - from Rurik to Putin (in chronological order consider all the rulers) - knows few examples of an era so saturated with changes.

A new army and navy appeared. For this, Peter started a war against Sweden. The Northern War lasted 21 years. During it, the Swedish army was defeated, and the kingdom agreed to cede its southern Baltic lands. St. Petersburg was founded in this region in 1703 - new capital Russia. Peter's successes made him think about changing his title. In 1721 he became emperor. However, this change did not abolish the royal title - in everyday speech, monarchs continued to be called kings.

The era of palace coups

Peter's death was followed by long period instability of power. Monarchs replaced each other with enviable regularity, which was facilitated by the Guard or certain courtiers, as a rule, at the head of these changes. This era was ruled by Catherine I (1725-1727), Peter II (1727-1730), Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740), Ivan VI (1740-1741), Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1761) and Peter III (1761-1762) ).

The last of them was German by birth. Under Peter III's predecessor, Elizabeth, Russia waged a victorious war against Prussia. The new monarch renounced all his conquests, returned Berlin to the king and concluded a peace treaty. With this act he signed his own death warrant. The Guard organized another palace coup, after which Peter's wife Catherine II found herself on the throne.

Catherine II and Paul I

Catherine II (1762-1796) had a deep state mind. On the throne, she began to pursue a policy of enlightened absolutism. The Empress organized the work of the famous laid down commission, the purpose of which was to prepare a comprehensive project of reforms in Russia. She also wrote the Order. This document contained many considerations about the transformations necessary for the country. The reforms were curtailed when the Volga region broke out in the 1770s. peasant revolt under the leadership of Pugachev.

All the tsars and presidents of Russia (we have listed all the royal persons in chronological order) made sure that the country looked decent in the external arena. She was no exception. She conducted several successful military campaigns against Turkey. As a result, Russia was Crimea annexed and other important Black Sea regions. At the end of Catherine's reign, three divisions of Poland occurred. Thus, the Russian Empire received important acquisitions in the west.

After death great empress Her son Paul I (1796-1801) came to power. This quarrelsome man was not liked by many in the St. Petersburg elite.

First half of the 19th century

In 1801, the next and last palace coup took place. A group of conspirators dealt with Pavel. His son Alexander I (1801-1825) was on the throne. His reign occurred during the Patriotic War and Napoleon's invasion. Rulers Russian state For two centuries they have not faced such a serious enemy intervention. Despite the capture of Moscow, Bonaparte was defeated. Alexander became the most popular and famous monarch of the Old World. He was also called the "liberator of Europe."

Within his country, Alexander in his youth tried to implement liberal reforms. Historical figures often change their policies as they age. So Alexander soon abandoned his ideas. He died in Taganrog in 1825 under mysterious circumstances.

At the beginning of the reign of his brother Nicholas I (1825-1855), the Decembrist uprising occurred. Because of this, conservative orders triumphed in the country for thirty years.

Second half of the 19th century

All the kings of Russia are presented here in order, with portraits. Next we will talk about the main reformer of Russian statehood - Alexander II (1855-1881). He initiated the manifesto for the liberation of the peasants. The destruction of serfdom allowed the Russian market and capitalism to develop. The country has begun economic growth. The reforms also affected the judiciary, local government, administrative and conscription systems. The monarch tried to get the country back on its feet and learn the lessons that the lost beginnings under Nicholas I taught him.

But Alexander's reforms were not enough for the radicals. Terrorists made several attempts on his life. In 1881 they achieved success. Alexander II died from a bomb explosion. The news came as a shock to the whole world.

Because of what happened, the son of the deceased monarch, Alexander III (1881-1894), forever became a tough reactionary and conservative. But most of all he is known as a peacemaker. During his reign, Russia did not wage a single war.

The last king

In 1894, Alexander III died. Power passed into the hands of Nicholas II (1894-1917) - his son and the last Russian monarch. By that time, the old world order with the absolute power of kings and kings had already outlived its usefulness. Russia - from Rurik to Putin - has known a lot of upheavals, but it was under Nicholas that more than ever happened.

In 1904-1905 The country experienced a humiliating war with Japan. It was followed by the first revolution. Although the unrest was suppressed, the king had to make concessions public opinion. He agreed to establish a constitutional monarchy and parliament.

Tsars and presidents of Russia at all times faced a certain opposition within the state. Now people could elect deputies who expressed these sentiments.

In 1914 the First world war. No one then suspected that it would end with the fall of several empires at once, including the Russian one. In 1917 it broke out February Revolution, and the last king had to abdicate the throne. Nicholas II and his family were shot by the Bolsheviks in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.

The 18th century in the history of Russia is a cruel, even merciless century, which decided in short terms change, the time of Streltsy riots and palace coups, the reign of Catherine the Great, peasant wars and the strengthening of serfdom.

But at the same time, this period is characterized by the development of enlightenment, the discovery of new educational institutions, including Moscow University, Academy of Arts. In 1756, the first theater appeared in the capital.

The end of the 18th century was the heyday of the creativity of artists Dmitry Grigoryevich Levitsky, Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov, and sculptor Fedot Shubin.

Now let's look in more detail at the main events of the 18th century and historical characters of that time. At the end of the 17th century, in 1676, he died and his son Fyodor Alekseevich ascended the throne. Peter Alekseevich, who later became emperor, will become king in 1682.

In 1689, Peter, at the encouragement of his mother, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, married Evdokia Lopukhina, which means he reached adulthood, as was believed at that time.

Sophia, who wanted to remain on the throne, raised the archers against Peter, but the rebellion was suppressed, after which Sophia was imprisoned, and the throne passed to Peter, although until 1696 Peter’s formal co-ruler was his brother Ivan Alekseevich.

He had a rather remarkable appearance. His height was 2m 10 cm, he was narrow in the shoulders, had long arms and an unusual gait, so that his entourage had to not just follow him, but run.

From the age of 6, Peter began to learn to read and write and received an encyclopedic education at that time. Left without a father, Peter was engaged in self-education. With the permission of Princess Sophia, he creates a personal amusing guard, and later it was these two amusing regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky who played a big role when Peter came to power. In addition, the young tsar’s favorite pastime was shooting boyars with steamed turnips.

Gradually, the king also had “favorite” close associates, and these were different people. Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, or simply Aleksashka, the son of the palace groom, who from the position of the Tsar’s orderly became His Serene Highness, richest man; "German" (Dutch), who became the king's main adviser after his accession to the throne.

It was he who advised Peter to establish foreign trade, but the problem lay in one of Russia's two famous ills - roads; Russia needed access to the sea through Sweden and Turkey. Peter I undertakes, the second of which was successful and ended with the founding of the Taganrog fortress (on Cape Tagany Rog).

The war with Turkey, which began in 1697, showed that Russia needed loans, allies and weapons. For this purpose, the Grand Embassy was sent to Europe, in which Peter I was listed as a simple person - constable Pyotr Alekseevich. He was the first Russian Tsar to visit Europe.

Returning from the trip and plunging back into life in Russia, Peter hated it, decided to completely remake it and, as you know, he succeeds.

The reforms of Peter I, with which he began his transformations, were as follows:

• army, created a mercenary army, which he dresses in almost European uniform and puts foreign officers in charge.
• He transferred the country to a new chronology, from the Nativity of Christ, the old one was carried out from the creation of the world. January 1, 1700 in Russia began to celebrate New Year.
• He obliged every 10 thousand households to build 1 ship, as a result Russia received large fleet.
• - self-government was introduced in the cities, and mayors were placed at the head of the cities. Although this was the end of the “Europeanization” of cities.

In 1700, Peter I decided to start a war with Sweden, which ended in 1721. It started unsuccessfully, Peter was defeated near Narva, fled from the battlefield even before the battle began, but repented of it and decided to rebuild his army. Transformations were made based on the needs of the troops. For the war, guns were needed, as a result, the bells of Russian churches are cast on them, then metallurgical enterprises are built.

By the middle of the century, there were 75 metallurgical enterprises operating in the country, which fully met the country's needs for cast iron; almost half of the production was exported. It was necessary to arm the army, so weapons factories were built. In addition, Peter I orders the construction linen mills. Shipbuilding, rope, leather and glass industries are developing. Galleys are built at shipyards, which played a decisive role in the defeat.

Peter introduces military service - conscription - from 20 households, 1 person went to serve for 25 years; He also introduces compulsory service to the nobility for 25 years. These measures made it possible to quickly create new army- 20 thousand sailors and 35 thousand. ground forces.

Peter I understands that Russia needs knowledge and money. To do this, he forced hundreds of young nobles and boyars to go abroad to study, and fiscal officials were assigned to monitor them; created a series technical universities(Higher Artillery School), where the teachers were Western professors.

In order to encourage not only nobles to study, but also ordinary people Peter issues a decree according to which everyone who graduates from high school and knows foreign languages ​​will receive nobility.

To boost the economy, the king in 1718-1724. introduces a capitation tax (a male soul). The tax was heavy and exceeded the people's ability to pay. This provoked an increase in arrears.

To stop thefts, because... Everyone was actively stealing, and the first thief was Menshikov; the Tsar orders not only the suspect, but also his entire family to be hanged on the rack. A number of additional fees were introduced - a beard fee, a fee for wearing Russian dress, and those who did not drink coffee were fined.

To avoid wasting money on hired labor, Peter I introduces serf labor. Villages were assigned to factories, and artisans to cities. By decree of 1736, factory workers were assigned to manufactories forever and received the name “eternally given.” This form of labor hampered the development of Russia; they got rid of it only in the 19th century.

In addition, Peter I strives to develop trade. They impose customs duties on imported goods that are much higher than on exported ones. In the end, towards the end Northern War Russia had a developed economy, but it was a serfdom.

The reign of Peter was a time of transformation in Russia, a time of reform. In addition to those listed above, Peter carried out administrative reforms, social, it was also changed judicial system.

1. Peter divides the country into provinces, at the head of the provinces was the governor-general, the only form whose punishment was death penalty;
2. Peter in 1711-1721. abolished the order system, created collegiums-prototypes of ministries. The head of the board was appointed by the tsar “according to intelligence, and not according to the nobility of the family,” i.e. needed for service good education;
3. Supreme government agency in 1711 the Senate became, which in the absence of the tsar performed his functions;
4. At the head of everything state power was Emperor Peter I. This title was approved by Peter himself in 1721 after the end of the war with Sweden.

In 1722, the “Table of Ranks” was introduced, according to which all service people were divided into 14 ranks, the lowest rank being warrant officer. Anyone who reached the 8th rank received nobility. The judicial system was changed - “they judged not with words, but with pens,” i.e. all court cases were formalized in writing and judged on the basis of written laws, which made it possible for judges to take new bribes.
In 1703, St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia, which was built on the bones of serfs. Peter I forcibly resettles about 1000 nobles to St. Petersburg.

In 1725, along with the death of Peter I, it began. During the years of his reign, from 1725 to 1727, and from 1727 to 1730, Menshikov performed the functions of emperor. During the reign, from 1730 to 1740, and Ioan Antonovich, from 1740 to 1741, were in power various kinds German adventurers.

When she ascended the throne in November 1741, the Razumovskys played a prominent role - the favorites of the empress. He became Elizabeth's heir. He pursued a policy that was not acceptable Russian nobility. As a result, in 1762, after another coup, his wife, Catherine II, 33 years old, ascended the throne. It was announced that her husband Peter was killed "by accident."

34 years of reign went down in history as the “golden age of the nobility”, because. she pursued a pro-noble policy. Following her husband, Peter III, she allowed the nobles not to serve, held a General Land Survey in 1765, i.e. divided the land among the nobles. The opportunity arose to buy and sell collateral, which did not give the treasury a penny, but all the nobility was on Catherine’s side.

In addition, she gave gifts to the nobles for their service; 600 thousand serfs, for example, went to several thousand people. In the interests of the nobility, it deprives the peasants of their last rights - under pain of hard labor, it was forbidden to complain about the landowner, it was allowed to sell serfs “at retail”, i.e. Families were mercilessly split up.

Thus, if for the nobility the end of the 18th century was the golden period of history, then for the peasants it was the most terrible period of slavery. During her reign, Catherine II relied on the personal devotion of her favorites, raised a whole galaxy of Russian politicians, suppressed revolutions by all means, was sick with the ideas of the philosopher Voltaire, read the books of Rousseau and Montesquieu, but perceived the Enlightenment in her own, original way.

She believed that education should affect only the upper strata of society; she did not give freedom to the peasants, because this would lead to a riot. Catherine II (1773-1775) was especially frightened, in which serfs, Cossacks, working people, Bashkirs, Kalmyks took part. Peasants' War was defeated, but Catherine extracted from her main lesson- freedom cannot be given to peasants, and serfdom was not abolished.

Transformations of Catherine the Great

1. Abolished state monopolies on tobacco and some other activities, which contributed to their development.
2. Created a number of educational educational institutions, for example, Free Economic Society, Institute of Noble Maidens. Yes, in Volny economic society studied and introduced agriculture, technical innovations (prizes were given for each invention), through the efforts of this society potatoes were introduced (initiated by Andrei Bolotov).
3. Under Catherine, the construction of manufactories expanded, new industries appeared, such as hosiery, the number of manufactories doubled, and they were not only serfs, but also hired ones, i.e. the first peasant workers appear (the right to otkhodnichestvo), foreign investments.
3. Development of new lands. In order to develop new territories in the south of the country (Crimea, Kuban, Southern Ukraine), she donates them to the nobles. After a couple of years, he realizes that this is ineffective and invites “foreigners” - the Greeks founded Mariupol, the Armenians founded the village of Chaltyr, the Bulgarians brought viticulture. In addition, Catherine announces that those peasants who escape and settle in new lands will be free.
4. Catherine II did not sell Alaska to America, but leased it for 100 years so that the Americans could develop it.

After the death of Catherine II, her son became emperor (1796-1801). With him domestic politics was also pro-noble and pro-serfdom. Serfdom gets everything widespread. However, relations between the emperor and the nobility become extremely tense after the next innovations of Paul I.

Paul banned noble meetings in the provinces; at his whim, he could exile some nobles and elevate others. In addition, the severance of relations with England hit the income of landowners, because Agricultural products were exported there. The result of this policy was a conspiracy; Paul was killed in 1801 and his son Alexander ascended the throne. This is how the 18th century ended in Russia.

Thus, the 18th century in the history of Russia was characterized by the following:

1. Since the reign of Peter I, a tradition has been established that all reforms are carried out by the state.
2. Modernization of Russia is carried out according to the catch-up option, and we take from the West what we like.
3. Modernization is carried out due to own people, i.e. Russia is a self-colony.
4. Any modernization is accompanied by bureaucratization.

The 18th century in the history of Russia is a cruel, even merciless century of the reign of Peter I, who decided to change Russia in a short time.

This is the time of Streltsy riots and palace coups, the reign of Catherine the Great, peasant wars and the strengthening of serfdom. But at the same time, this period of Russian history is characterized by the development of education, the opening of new educational institutions, including Moscow University and the Academy of Arts.

In 1756 in the capital Russian Empire the first theater appeared. The end of the 18th century was the heyday of the creativity of artists Dmitry Grigorievich Levitsky, Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky, and sculptor Fedot Shubin.

Now let's take a closer look at the main events of the 18th century and historical characters of that time:

At the end of the 17th century, in 1676, Alexei Mikhailovich died, and his son Fyodor Alekseevich ascended the throne. Peter Alekseevich, who later became Emperor Peter I, will become king in 1682. In 1689, Peter, at the encouragement of his mother, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, married Evdokia Lopukhina, which means he reached adulthood, as was believed at that time.

Sophia, who wanted to remain on the throne, raised the archers against Peter, but the rebellion was suppressed, after which Sophia was imprisoned in a monastery, and the throne passed to Peter, although until 1696 Peter’s formal co-ruler was his brother, Ivan Alekseevich.

Peter I had a rather remarkable appearance. His height was 2m 10 cm, he was narrow in the shoulders, had long arms and an unusual gait, so that his entourage had to not just follow him, but run.

From the age of 6, Peter began to learn to read and write and received an encyclopedic education at that time. Left without a father, Peter was engaged in self-education. With the permission of Princess Sophia, he creates a personal amusing guard, and later it was these two amusing regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky who played a big role when Peter came to power.

In addition, the young tsar’s favorite pastime was shooting boyars with steamed turnips.

Gradually, the king also had “favorite” close associates, and these were different people. Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, or simply Aleksashka, the son of the palace groom, who from the position of the royal orderly became the most illustrious prince, the richest man; “German” (Dutch) Franz Lefort, who became the tsar’s main adviser after his accession to the throne.

• It was Lefort who advised Peter to establish foreign trade, but the problem lay in one of the two well-known Russian problems - roads.

Russia needed access to the sea through Sweden and Turkey. Peter I undertakes two campaigns against Azov, the second of which was successful and ended with the founding of the Taganrog fortress (on Cape Tagany Rog). The war with Turkey, which began in 1697, showed that Russia needed loans, allies and weapons.

For this purpose, the Grand Embassy was sent to Europe, in which Peter I was listed as a simple person - constable Pyotr Alekseevich. He was the first Russian Tsar to visit Europe.

Formally, Peter followed incognito, but he noticeable appearance gave it away easily. And the tsar himself, during his travels, often preferred to personally lead negotiations with foreign rulers. Perhaps this behavior is explained by the desire to simplify the conventions associated with diplomatic etiquette.

Returning from the trip and plunging back into life in Russia, Peter hated it, decided to completely remake it and, as you know, he succeeds.

Reforms of Peter I, with which he began his transformations:

1. Disbanded Streltsy army, created a mercenary army, which he dresses in almost European uniforms and puts at the head of foreign officers.
2. He transferred the country to a new chronology, from the Nativity of Christ, the old one was carried out from the creation of the world. On January 1, 1700, Russia began to celebrate the New Year.
3. He obliged every 10 thousand households to build 1 ship, as a result Russia received a large fleet.
4. He carried out urban reform - self-government was introduced in cities, and mayors were placed at the head of cities. Although this was the end of the “Europeanization” of cities.

In 1700, Peter I decides to start a war with Sweden, which ended in 1721 G.

The Northern War began unsuccessfully, Peter was defeated near Narva, fled from the battlefield even before the battle began, but repented of this and decided to rebuild his army.

Transformations were made based on the needs of the troops. For the war, guns were needed, as a result, the bells of Russian churches are cast on them, then metallurgical enterprises are built. By the middle of the century, there were 75 metallurgical enterprises operating in the country, which fully met the country's needs for cast iron; almost half of the production was exported. It was necessary to arm the army, so weapons factories were built. In addition, Peter I orders the construction of linen factories. Shipbuilding, rope, leather and glass production are developing.

The shipyards build galleys, which played a decisive role in the defeat of the Swedes at Gangut.

Peter introduced military service - conscription - from 20 households, 1 person went to serve for 25 years; He also introduces compulsory service to the nobility for 25 years. These measures made it possible to quickly create a new army - 20 thousand sailors and 35 thousand ground troops.

Peter I understands that Russia needs knowledge and money.

To do this, he forced hundreds of young nobles and boyars to go abroad to study, and fiscal officials were assigned to monitor them; created a number of technical universities (Higher Artillery School), where Western professors were teachers. In order to encourage not only nobles, but also ordinary people to study, Peter issues a decree according to which everyone who graduates from high school and knows foreign languages ​​will receive nobility.

To boost the economy, the king in 1718-1724. introduces a capitation tax (a male soul). The tax was heavy and exceeded the solvency of the people of the Russian Empire. This provoked an increase in arrears.

To stop thefts, because... Everyone was actively stealing, and the first thief was Menshikov; the Tsar orders not only the suspect, but also his entire family to be hanged on the rack.

A number of additional fees were introduced - a beard fee, a fee for wearing Russian dress, and those who did not drink coffee were fined.

In order not to spend money on hired labor, Peter I introduced serf labor. Villages were assigned to factories, and artisans to cities.

By decree of 1736, factory workers were assigned to manufactories forever and received the name “eternally given.” This form of labor hampered the development of Russia; they got rid of it only in the 19th century.

In addition, Peter I strives to develop trade. They introduce customs duties much more for imported goods than for exported goods. As a result, by the end of the Northern War, Russia had a developed economy, but it was a serfdom.
The reign of Peter was a time of transformation in Russia, a time of reform. In addition to those listed above, Peter carried out administrative and social reforms, and he also changed the judicial system.

Administrative reforms of Peter I:

1. Peter divides the country into provinces; at the head of the provinces was a governor-general, whose only form of punishment was the death penalty.
2. Peter in 1711-1721 abolished the order system, created collegiums-prototypes of ministries. The head of the board was appointed by the king “according to his intelligence, and not according to the nobility of the family,” i.e. good education was required for service
3. In 1711, the Senate became the highest state body, which, in the absence of the Tsar, performed his functions
4. At the head of all state power was Emperor Peter I. This title was approved by Peter himself in 1721 after the end of the war with Sweden.

Social policy of Peter I.

In 1722, the “Table of Ranks” was introduced, according to which all service people were divided into 14 categories, the lowest rank being ensign. Anyone who reached the 8th rank received nobility. The judicial system was changed - “they judged not by word, but by pen,” i.e. all court cases were formalized in writing and judged on the basis of written laws, which made it possible for judges to take new bribes.

In 1703, St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia, which was built on the bones of serfs.

Peter I forcibly resettled about 1,000 nobles to St. Petersburg, but after Peter’s death, the Russian tsars preferred Moscow (until 1918, when St. Petersburg again became the capital).

• In 1725, with the death of Peter I, the era of palace coups.

During the reigns of Catherine I, from 1725 to 1727, and Peter II, from 1727 to 1730, Menshikov performed the functions of emperor.

To the board Anna Ioanovna, with 1730 to 1740, and Ioan Antonovich, from 1740 to 1741, various kinds of German adventurers were in power.

Under Elizaveta Petrovna, who ascended the throne in November 1741, the Shuvalovs and Razumovskys, the empress’s favorites, played a prominent role. Peter became Elizabeth's heir III Fedorovich. He pursued a policy that the Russian nobility did not accept. As a result, in 1762, after another coup, the wife of Peter III, Catherine II, ascended the throne at 33 years old.

It was announced that her husband Peter was killed “by accident.” The 34 years of Catherine II's reign went down in history as "golden age of nobility" , because she pursued a pro-noble policy. Following her husband, Peter III, she allowed the nobles not to serve, and held a General Land Survey in 1765, i.e. divided the land among the nobles. The opportunity arose to buy and sell collateral, which did not give the treasury a penny, but all the nobility was on Catherine’s side.

• surveying- this is a set of works aimed at determining and securing the boundaries of a certain land plot on the ground.

In addition, she gave the nobles 600 thousand serfs for their service, for example, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov received several thousand people. In the interests of the nobility, it deprives the peasants of their last rights - under pain of hard labor, it was forbidden to complain about the landowner, it was allowed to sell serfs “at retail”, i.e. Families were mercilessly split up.

Thus, if for the nobility the end of the 18th century was the golden period of history, then for the peasants it was the most terrible period of slavery.

During her reign, Catherine II relied on the personal devotion of her favorites, raised a whole galaxy of Russian politicians, suppressed revolutions by all means, was sick with the ideas of the philosopher Voltaire, read the books of Rousseau and Montesquieu, but perceived the Enlightenment in her own, original way. So she believed that enlightenment should affect only the upper strata of society; she did not give freedom to the peasants, because this would lead to a riot.

Catherine II was especially frightened by the Pugachev rebellion (1773-1775), in which serfs, Cossacks, working people, Bashkirs, and Kalmyks took part. The Peasants' War was defeated, but Catherine learned the main lesson from it - the peasants should not be given freedom, and did not abolish serfdom.

Transformations of Catherine the Great:

1. Abolished state monopolies on tobacco and some other activities, which contributed to their development.
2. She created a number of educational institutions, for example, the Free Economic Society, the Institute of Noble Maidens. Thus, in the Free Economic Society, agriculture and technical innovations were studied and introduced (prizes were given for each invention); through the efforts of this society, potatoes were introduced (initiated by Andrei Bolotov).
3. Under Catherine, the construction of manufactories expanded, new industries appeared, such as hosiery, the number of manufactories doubled, and they were not only serfs, but also hired ones, i.e. the first peasant workers appear (the right to otkhodnichestvo), foreign investments.
4. Development of new lands. In order to develop new territories in the south of the country (Crimea, Kuban, Southern Ukraine), she donates them to the nobles. After a couple of years, he realizes that this is ineffective and invites “foreigners” - the Greeks founded Mariupol, the Armenians founded the village of Chaltyr, the Bulgarians brought viticulture. In addition, Catherine announces that those peasants who escape and settle in new lands will be free.
5. Catherine II did not sell Alaska to America, but leased it for 100 years so that the Americans could develop it.

After the death of Catherine II, her son Paul I (1796-1801) became emperor.

Under him, domestic policy was also pro-noble and pro-serfdom. Serfdom is becoming increasingly widespread. However, relations between the emperor and the nobility become extremely tense after the next innovations of Paul I.

Paul banned noble meetings in the provinces; at his whim, he could exile some nobles and elevate others. In addition, the severance of relations with England hit the income of landowners, because Agricultural products were exported there. The result of this policy was a conspiracy; Paul was killed in 1801 and his son Alexander ascended the throne. This is how the 18th century ended in Russia.

Thus, the 18th century in the history of Russia was characterized by the following:

• Since the reign of Peter I, a tradition has been established that all reforms are carried out by the state.
• Russia's modernization is being carried out according to a catch-up scenario, and we take from the West what we like.
• Modernization is carried out at the expense of its own people, i.e. Russia is a self-colony.
• Any modernization is accompanied by bureaucratization. Although it can be said that this is characteristic not only of Russia in the 18th century, this state of affairs has persisted to this day.

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Alexander II is one of the most prominent Russian monarchs. Alexander Nikolaevich was popularly nicknamed Alexander the Liberator.

People really have a reason to call Alexander II that way. The emperor carried out a number of important life reforms. The course of his policy was distinguished by a liberal tint.

Alexander II initiated many liberal initiatives in Russia. The paradox of it historical figure the fact that the monarch, who gave the people unprecedented freedom before the village, was killed by revolutionaries.

They say that the draft constitution and convocation State Duma, literally was on the emperor’s table, but he sudden death put an end to many of his endeavors.

Alexander II was born in April 1818. He was also the son of Alexandra Feodorovna. Alexander Nikolaevich was purposefully prepared for accession to the throne.

The future Emperor received a very decent education. The prince's teachers were the smartest people of its time.

Among the teachers were Zhukovsky, Merder, Kankrin, Brunov. As you can see, science was taught to the future emperor by the ministers of the Russian Empire themselves.

Alexander Nikolaevich was a gifted person, he had equal abilities, and was a good-natured and sympathetic person.

Nicholas I was the third son of his wife, Maria Fedorovna. As soon as Nikolai Pavlovich was born (06/25/1796), his parents enrolled him in military service. He became the chief of the Life Guards cavalry regiment, with the rank of colonel. Three years later, the prince put on the uniform of his regiment for the first time. In May 1800, Nicholas I became the chief of the Izmailovsky regiment. In 1801, as a result palace coup, his father, Paul I, was killed.

Military affairs became Nicholas I's real passion. The passion for military affairs was apparently passed on from his father, and at the genetic level. Soldiers and cannons were the Grand Duke’s favorite toys, with which he and his brother Mikhail spent a lot of time. Unlike his brother, he did not gravitate toward science.

On July 13, 1817, the marriage of Nicholas I and the Prussian Princess Charlotte took place. In Orthodoxy, Charlotte was named Alexandra Fedorovna. By the way, the marriage took place on the wife’s birthday. Living together The royal couple was happy. After the wedding, he became inspector general in charge of engineering affairs.

Alexander I was the eldest son, born on December 12. 1777, during the reign of . Since the relationship between father and grandmother did not work out, the empress took her grandson from his parents.

Catherine II immediately became inflamed great love to her grandson and decided that she would make an ideal emperor out of the newborn.

Alexander was raised by the Swiss Laharpe, whom many considered a staunch republican. The prince received a good Western-style education.

Alexander believed in the possibility of creating an ideal, humane society, he sympathized french revolution, felt sorry for the Poles deprived of statehood, and was skeptical about the Russian autocracy. Time, however, dispelled his faith in such ideals...

Alexander I became Emperor of Russia after the death of Paul I as a result of a palace coup. The events that occurred on the night of the 11th to 12th of March affected the life of Alexander Pavlovich. He was very worried about his father's death, and a feeling of guilt haunted him all his life.

Paul I was the son of and. Born September 20, 1754. WITH early years he was taught to read and write various sciences: history, mathematics, foreign languages and geography.

According to the recollections of his teachers, Pavel was a man of lively mind, beautifully gifted by nature. His childhood was difficult; he lost his father early. Moreover, he lost it, as he himself believed, through the fault of his mother. Pavel loved Peter Fedorovich very much and could not forgive his mother for his death.

At the age of 17, Catherine II married her son to Princess Wilhelmina, who was named Natalya Alekseevna at baptism. Natalya died during childbirth.

In 1776 he married for the second time. The wife of the heir to the Russian throne was Sophia-Dorothe, who at baptism took the name Maria Feodorovna. Maria Feodorovna was related to the Prussian king. Apparently under the influence of his wife, he began to like many German customs.

Russia for Russians, and in Russian (Emperor Alexander III)

Alexander III is a significant figure in. During his reign, Russian blood was not shed in Europe. Alexander III provided for many years peace for Russia. For his peace-loving policy, he went down in Russian history as the “peacemaker tsar.”

He was the second child in the family of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna Romanov. According to the rules of succession, Alexander was not prepared for the role of ruler. The throne was to be taken by the elder brother, Nicholas.

Alexander did not envy his brother at all, did not experience the slightest jealousy as he watched Nicholas being prepared for the throne. Nikolai was a diligent student, and Alexander was overcome by boredom in class.

Teachers Alexandra III there were such distinguished people as historians Soloviev, Grott, the wonderful military tactician Dragomirov, and Konstantin Pobedonostsev. It was the latter who had a great influence on Alexander III, largely determining the priorities of domestic and foreign policy Russian Emperor.

When Peter turned three years old, the Tsar Father gave him a children's sabre. At the end of 1676, Alexei Mikhailovich died. Peter's half-brother Fyodor ascends the throne. Fyodor was concerned that Peter was not being taught to read and write, and asked Naryshkina to devote more time to this component of training.

White Chief

Late XVIII century. San Ildefonso is a town somewhere on the outskirts of the Great North American Prairie. Here the sun always shines brightly, the meadows are green, the rivers are silver. All the girls here are completely beauties, because even the local plain girls have refined taste and understand a lot about beautiful dresses.

The garrison officers match them - their chests are like wheels, their eyes are burning, their mustaches are bristling, with a carelessness worthy of emperors, they drag long sabers along the ground, jingling their spurs. The careless San Ildefonso became angry and let loose. Here they flirt, play cards, and sometimes go on rampages.

But someone must fight evil under the sun, even on the edge of the world. The legend of the White Leader is one of the pearls of adventure literature. The talent of Mine Reid, a subtle and fascinating storyteller, is revealed in this book from the first lines and is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent.

The plot of the novel revolves around the relationship between the emperor, empress and their best friend, Alexander Menshikov. Will the heroes be able to preserve their feelings and create a worthy empire?

Some of them are worthy of posthumous greatness, others, alas, ended their path ingloriously. The reader will learn how Charlemagne tried to unite all of Europe, and Philip II turned to religion, how Hitler bribed his people, how Stalin built socialism. Over 600 illustrations clearly reflect the stages of each of the 100 presented rulers.politicians No data

Most Russian autocrats had the core of their reign - their own Russian idea. Ivan the Terrible was obsessed with the task of centralizing power, seizing and conquering all the lands and tribes surrounding the Moscow kingdom. Alexei Mikhailovich, not for nothing nicknamed the Quietest, tried to calm down domestic and foreign political challenges: he provoked and pacified the schism of the Church, enslaved the peasants, annexed Ukraine, and suppressed the Razin uprising.

Peter I Europeanized Russia using Asian methods. Catherine the Great tried to turn the country into a majestic world power. Paul the First, with regrettable extravagance, tried to impose discipline and justice in the country... By the grace of God, the Emperor of All-Russia Nicholas I (1796-1855) also had his own Russian idea.

There is an apocryphal quote - words that he allegedly wrote once in the margins of a geography textbook: “Russia is not an agricultural, industrial or commercial power, Russia is a military power and its purpose is to be a threat to the rest of the world.” The entire reign of Nicholas I became the embodiment of these words.

He sought - and achieved it. And like anyone who bet everything on one card, in the end he lost. For a man of one idea becomes a man of one goal - and ultimately dooms himself to loneliness. There are timeless lessons from history. After Crimean War reforms began that led to the abolition of serfdom.

Has Russia become weaker after Nicholas I? No. This was proven by the final conquest of the Caucasus and the annexation Central Asia, and Skobelev’s victories in the Balkans. And who knows, perhaps Nikolai would not have been disappointed in such a Russia: strong not only militarily, but also agriculturally, industrially, and commercially.

All-Russian Emperor Nicholas I is one of key figures national history, a tsar who did no less for the greatness and power of the Russian Empire than his great predecessors - Peter I and Catherine II. He became the embodiment of a ruler of a new type and a new - in every sense of the iron - XIX century.

The modern reader will see the entire dramatic, but surprisingly consistent path of power of this extraordinary ruler: from not yet quite confident in himself, but already forced to make fateful decisions young man, who, by chance, received the reins of royal rule, - until mature statesman, confident and with an iron hand holding the reins of government of a huge country.

Electronic publication includes full text paper book and a selected part of illustrative documentary material. And for true connoisseurs of gift editions, we offer a classic book. Like all publications in the “Great Rulers” series, the book is equipped with detailed historical and biographical comments.

The book contains an excellent selection of illustrative material: the text is accompanied by more than 250 rare illustrations from domestic and foreign sources, with many of whom modern reader meet for the first time. Elegant design, beautiful printing, and the best offset paper make this series a wonderful gift and decoration for the library of the most discerning reader.

1812. Hour of pride and glory

1812 A huge army that has conquered half of Europe is advancing. The invincible emperor leads his army to the last frontier. What prevented Napoleon from conquering Russia? Weather and roads? Insurmountable distances? Tactical miscalculations? Or he first encountered a worthy opponent and was crushed by the power of the resistance that Russian army, led by outstanding commanders? In this book, the events of the Patriotic War of 1812 come to life in portraits and biographies of famous generals and marshals, descriptions and maps of the main battles, drawings of military weapons, and in these details the words “great era” take on a new meaning.

Lyricist: Sergey Nechaev, famous historian, writer and translator French. The Corpus publishing house published his books “Three d'Artagnans” and “Venice of Casanova”. The project consultant is Mikhail Chereisky. Page by page, the book describes the most important events, relating to the period immediately preceding Patriotic War 1812, the course of military operations themselves with the participation of the Russian and French armies.

The central episode of the book will be Battle of Borodino. The most notable military leaders and tactics are presented in detail - Russian generals and French marshals. IN the most interesting details and with high degree historical authenticity describes the organization of Russian and French armies, types and types of troops, weapons, uniforms, insignia, awards, etc.

Coronation Day (collection)

Do you dream of the revival of the Russian Empire? Then this book is for you! Empire, that is, order, honor, strength, faith, dynamic development and prosperity - all this will definitely happen. On Earth and in the vastness of the Galaxy. But so that the majestic Russian Empire 2.

0 has become a reality, first we need to restore the monarchy. Who will be the candidate? From what environment, by what criteria should we select the worthy? Russian throne? Of course, cruel and calculating enemy will try to prevent this from happening. Conspiracies, sabotage, assassination attempts on pretenders, battles in cyberspace, intrigues of the special services are coming.

Blood will be shed at the steps of the temple. But the coronation day will definitely take place. The Emperor is coming to us!