Merchants and the economy in the second half of the 18th century. Russia in the second half of the 18th century

25.09.2019

During the reign of Catherine II, she became a theorist, legislator and basically implemented the urgent reforms, and for the first time in Russian history, the monarch created a philosophical concept of the functioning of power and substantiated the need for its reform. The basis of the concept was the idea of enlightenment, adapted through Catherine II’s own understanding. This policy was called "enlightened absolutism." European politicians of the period viewed Catherine II as an enlightened head of state and nation who cared for his subjects based on the laws he established.

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

One of the first undertakings of Catherine II was the reform of the Senate. On December 15, 1763, a decree appeared, according to which the powers and structure of the Senate changed. He was deprived of legislative powers, retaining only the functions of control and the highest judicial body. Structurally, the Senate was divided into six departments with strictly defined competence, which made it possible to increase the efficiency of this central government body.

The main historical document outlining the political doctrine of Catherine II was the “Order of the Commission on the Drafting of a New Code,” written by the empress herself in 1764–1766. and representing the talented processing of the works of Sh.L. Montesquieu and other philosophers and jurists. There was a lot of discussion in it about the nature of the laws that should comply historical features people. And the Russian people, according to Catherine II, belonged to the European community.

The Nakaz stated that the enormous extent of Russia’s territories requires only an autocratic form of government; anyone else could lead the country to destruction. It was noted that the goal of autocracy is the benefit of all subjects. The monarch rules in accordance with the laws established by him. All citizens are equal before the law. Laws must permeate all spheres of life of society and the state. Therefore, many chapters and sections (in total there were 22 chapters and 655 articles in the Nakaz) are devoted to trade, industry, population, raising children, individual classes (nobility, merchants, artisans, entrepreneurs), investigation, legal proceedings, the punishment system, etc.

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

However, it soon became clear that the deputies of the Legislative Commission were poorly prepared to carry out legislative work. But the main thing that was the reason for the failure of the commission’s activities was the emergence of contradictions among representatives of various social, regional and national groups, which were not overcome during the work. Time passed, but there was no final result. In December 1768, the Empress issued a decree dissolving the Statutory Commission under the pretext of the outbreak of another war with Turkey. As a result, having received an idea of the mood in society and the basis for legislative work, Catherine II independently took up law-making activities and continued to govern the state with the help of personal decrees and manifestos, replacing in this sense the entire Statutory Commission.

Another important transformative element of Catherine II’s policy was the secularization reform of 1764. Even before she ascended the throne, Peter III began secularization. The lands taken from the church were transferred to the jurisdiction of a specially created Board of Economy. Having come to power, in order to strengthen her position, for demagogic reasons in August 1762 she returned movable and immovable possessions to the church. However, that same fall, a special commission was created that began to organize spiritual property. In February 1764, the empress issued a decree that continued church reform. Monastic lands with a population of almost two million, which accounted for 15% of the population of Russia, were confiscated from the church and again subordinated to the College of Economy. Now the peasants in their own way legal status became state-owned and paid taxes no longer to the church, but to the state. They got rid of the monastic corvee. The land holdings of peasants increased, and it became easier for them to engage in crafts and trade. The reform entailed the abolition of more than half of the monasteries that existed in Russia (out of 881, 385 were left), since they were maintained at the expense of the state treasury. As a result of this reform, spiritual power was finally transferred to the maintenance of secular power, and the clergy turned, in essence, into civil servants.

Catherine 11, in accordance with the management philosophy she professed, finally eliminated the remaining elements of liberties and privileges national territories that were part of Russia. Governance bodies and administrative-territorial divisions were unified and brought into compliance with Russian laws Novgorod land, Smolensk, Livonia (Russian Baltic possessions).

The empress was strongly dissatisfied with the autonomous status of Ukraine. Since 1654, Ukraine was governed by an elected hetman, the territory was divided into regiments and hundreds, and the townspeople had significant liberties and rights. Ukrainian peasants retained the right to move from one landowner to another, which made it difficult to collect all-Russian taxes from them. In 1764, the last Ukrainian hetman K.G. resigned. Razumovsky, and instead of him P.A. was appointed as Governor General. Rumyantsev. Gradually, the remnants of autonomy and the former Cossack freemen were eliminated. In 1783, Catherine II issued a decree banning the migration of Ukrainian peasants, which finally consolidated serfdom here.

As a result of active foreign policy, expansion of borders and inclusion of new territories into Russia in the second half of the 18th century. A significant part of the Jewish population found itself within the empire. Having no prejudice against the Jewish population itself, Catherine II, apparently under pressure from the Orthodox clergy and the Russian merchants, who feared competition with Jewish traders, in 1791 established the Pale of Settlement, which limited the right of Jews to settle in certain territories.

What was new in the national policy of the state was the invitation to Russia of German colonists, mostly ordinary peasants. In the mid-1760s. more than 30 thousand migrants began to develop the territories of the Lower Volga region, the Urals, and subsequently the Crimea and North Caucasus. They were provided with large plots of land, credit and tax benefits, freedom of religion is ensured.

IN general structure Catherine's reforms occupied an extremely important place with the reform of the local government system (diagram 121).

The fact is that under the successors of Peter I, local government was reduced to the primitive pre-Petrine voivodeship government. This nature of power at the local level, when the governor embodied an administrator, judge and financier in one person, contradicted the educational concept of Catherine II and seemed to her archaic, weakly controlled from the center and giving rise to savage morals. Therefore, the Empress decided to continue Peter’s construction of a regular police state with all its attributes. During the management reform, problems of social policy aimed at supporting the interests of the nobility and the formation of classes were simultaneously resolved.

The reform was carried out on the basis of four legislative acts:

1) “Institutions for the administration of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire” (November 7, 1775);
2) “Charter of Deanery” (April 8, 1782);
3) “Certificates for the right of liberty and advantages of the noble Russian nobility” – Charter granted to the nobility (April 21, 1785);
4) "Certificates of rights and benefits to cities Russian Empire" – Letter of grant to cities (April 21, 1785).

Scheme 121

As a result of the provincial reform, local government acquired a clearer and more organized structure. A new administrative-territorial structure was introduced, according to which the country was divided into 41 provinces. Later, in 1783, the Tauride region was added, and after the second (1793) and third (1795) partitions of Poland, eight more provinces were added, and their total number increased to 50. The province was a territory with a population of 300–400 thousand people, which was divided into counties, each with a population of 20–30 thousand people.

The executive power in the province was headed by a governor, or viceroy, appointed by the empress and reporting directly to her. Under the governor, all current affairs were in charge of the provincial government. Financial matters was handled by the provincial treasury chamber. Orders of public charity were also created to direct education, medicine, and public charity. In the districts, the executive authorities were headed by a captain-police officer, elected by the local nobility. IN county towns power belonged to the appointed mayor.

The provincial reform for the first time separated the judiciary from the executive, which was a progressive initiative in implementing the principle of separation of powers.

Moreover, for the first time in Russian legal practice, criminal proceedings were separated from civil ones. At the same time, the governor retained the right to interfere in the activities of the court and the right to suspend its decisions, so the separation of powers was incomplete.

In general, the provincial reform strengthened local authorities, the center of administrative activity was moved here, which made it possible to gradually abolish the manufacturing and chamber colleges, the patrimonial and justice colleges, the berg college, and the chief magistrate.

The idea of Peter’s regular state was developed by the “Charter of the Deanery, or the Policeman,” introduced in 1782. According to this document, police departments were created in the cities, called “deanery boards,” headed by the mayor (in the capitals, chief of police), to whom private bailiffs and quarterly supervisors were subordinate. They exercised control over trade, improvement, sanitation, capture of fugitives, etc. At the same time, police departments were supposed to perform the functions of education in the spirit of Orthodox morality on the basis of the “Mirror of the Deanery Board” included in the Charter.

And finally, the management reform was completed by the adoption of two most important documents - Letters of Grant to the nobility and cities, signed on the same day - April 21, 1785, the birthday of Catherine II - and which became fundamental legal acts in the sphere of the empress's class policy.

The charter granted to the nobility legislated for it all the rights and privileges as the main class of society. According to this legislative act, the right of nobles to choose or refuse service was confirmed, and special rights were retained in matters of land ownership, court, taxation, and corporal punishment. The criteria for inclusion in the nobility were strictly defined, and the compilation of genealogical books placed all nobles in their places. The corporatism of the nobles was strengthened through the legal registration of noble assemblies and the election of provincial and district leaders. Only one issue concerning the right and ownership of serf souls was not covered in the Charter. The Empress seemed to leave this problem open.

The charter granted to cities as a legal act was multifaceted in nature. On the one hand, it completed the reform of local government, and on the other, it was aimed at forming a “third estate” in Russia.

A new body of city self-government was created - the city duma, headed by the city mayor. City residents were elected and could be elected to it, divided into six categories depending on property and social differences. Thus, an elected representative institution of government appeared in Russian cities. The charter provided city dwellers (burghers) with a structure of rights and privileges close to that of the nobility. The burghers were defined as a special class, and this title, like the nobility, was hereditary. The right to ownership of property and its inheritance, and the right to engage in industrial and commercial activities were guaranteed. The merchants of the first and second guilds, as the most significant part of the townspeople, were exempt from corporal punishment, as well as from poll tax and conscription. In return, they paid a tax of 1% on capital and contributed 360 rubles per recruit. Naturally, the scope of rights depended on belonging to a particular guild, taking into account the material wealth of the merchant. Essentially, in the Charter to the cities, for the first time an attempt was made to give the heterogeneous population of the posad the legal status of an estate (Diagram 122).

Historical documents indicate that Catherine II also prepared a Charter in relation to peasants, but not all, but only state-owned ones. In the project they were called “free rural residents” and were endowed with rights similar to the rights of city residents. But this document was not approved and made public.

Scheme 122

Catherine II spoke out against the extremes of serfdom, repeatedly condemning them in her works. But objectively, during her reign, there was an increase in serfdom in the country (the final spread of serfdom in Ukraine, the tightening in 1765 of Elizabeth’s decree on the right of landowners to exile serfs without trial to Siberia for settlement and hard labor, the ban on peasants filing complaints against the nobles), which became one of the main reasons for the intensification of popular uprisings, which resulted in the largest in the 18th century. Cossack-peasant war.

2.1 Life and customs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2.2 Education and science

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2.3 Literature

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

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

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

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

2.4 Art

2.4.1 Visual arts

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

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

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

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

At the end of the 18th century. Catherine II's purchase of a number of private art collections in Europe laid the foundation for one of the largest and most significant museums in the world - the Hermitage.

Development of culture in the second half of the 18th century

The development of Russian culture in the second half of the 18th century was influenced by Peter's reforms at the beginning of the century. The following prevailed trends.

Strengthening Western influence. Imitation of Western culture.

Reducing the sphere of cultural influence of the church. Culture became increasingly secular in nature. Her further secularization took place.

Deepening the rationalism of the worldview.

The beginning of the formation of the Russian intelligentsia, to which in the 18th century. could include officers, government officials, professional teachers, scientists, actors.

Preservation of traditionalism of folk culture.

Ideological factors that influenced the development of the culture of this period.

The ideology of “enlightenment” with its preaching of natural human rights, freedom and equality.

Freemasonry with its search for ways of moral improvement.

Freemasons (from French - free masons) are an international religious and philosophical movement that set itself the goal of “morally ennobling people, uniting them on the principles of brotherly love, equality and mutual assistance.” In the Masonic movement of the 18th century. Many outstanding Western educators took part.

The first information about Freemasonry in Russia dates back to 1730-1740. Famous figures of his time, Count R.I., were Freemasons. Vorontsov, princes Golitsyn, Trubetskoy, Meshchersky, prince M.M. Shcherbatov, poet A.P. Sumarokov, writer and historian I.P. Elagin, director and then curator of Moscow University M.M. Kheraskov, educator N.I. Novikov et al. In the 18th century Freemasonry was extremely narrow and limited in the number of participants social phenomenon and could not significantly affect the situation in the country.

The growing needs of the state for qualified specialists have led to transformations in field of education. In 1731, the Cadet Corps for nobles was established - military school closed type. He trained future officers of the Russian army and civilian officials. In 1764, the “Educational Society for Noble Maidens” (Smolny Institute) was opened in St. Petersburg, which became the first secular institution for girls from noble families. Closed educational institutions were also created for children of other classes. For example, in 1779 a Commercial School was opened in Moscow for the children of merchants and townspeople. Children of the clergy studied in theological seminaries and theological academies. Recruit children are in soldiers' schools. The nobles received their education with the help of private teachers, and studying abroad also became common. Education was class-based. For the majority of the population it remained inaccessible.

In the second half of the 18th century. a system began to take shape secondary school. In 1786, the Charter of public schools was approved, according to which main four-year schools were created in provincial cities, and small two-year schools in district cities. The schools taught reading, writing, sacred history, and the basics of arithmetic and grammar. For the first time, unified curricula and a class-lesson system were introduced, and teaching methods were developed.

In the 18th century the beginning of the formation of university education in Russia was laid. IN 1755 Empress Elizaveta Petrovna approved the presented I.I. Shuvalov organization project Moscow University. the main role in the development of the plan for the creation of the university belonged M.V. Lomonosov. In accordance with Lomonosov's ideas, education there was classless. The university was under the patronage of the empress,

subordinated only to the Senate, and was exempt from all kinds of taxes and other fees. In 1757, the Academy of Arts was opened at the university.

Middle, second half of the 18th century. were a time of geographical discoveries, successes in the development of scientific and technical thought.

In 1733-1741 The Second Kamchatka Expedition took place under the leadership IN AND. Bering(1681-1741), during which the strait between Chukotka and Alaska (Bering Strait) was opened. Explorer of Siberia and Kamchatka S.P. Krasheninnikov(1711-1755) compiled “Description of the Land of Kamchatka.” The names of brave Russian polar explorers are inscribed in the history of geographical discoveries. S.I. Chelyuskina(c.1704-1764), after whom the northernmost point of the Eurasian continent is named - Cape Chelyuskin, cousins D.Ya. and H.P. Laptev, after whom one of the seas of the Arctic Ocean is named - the Laptev Sea.

Made an invaluable contribution to the development of world and domestic science M.V. Lomonosov(1711-1765) - the first Russian academician, a person with encyclopedic knowledge. His genius manifested itself in all branches of knowledge of that time: chemistry, physics, astronomy, mineralogy, geology and soil science, geography, cartography. Along with the natural sciences, he also studied the humanities: grammar, stylistics of the Russian language, history. By the middle of the 18th century. historical knowledge has become a science, which was greatly facilitated by the works V.N. Tatishcheva(1686-1750). M.V. Lomonosov in his works on history focused on ancient period Russian history and the time of Peter I. He was the first to oppose the Norman theory of the origin of the Old Russian state.

Important technical inventions were made I.I. Polzunov(1728-1766) and I.P. Kulibin(1735-1818). I.I. Polzunov was the first in the world to develop a design for a universal steam engine. However, the steam engine he created in the conditions of serfdom turned out to be unnecessary and forgotten. Self-taught mechanic inventor I.P. Kulibin invented many original devices and instruments, improved the grinding of glass for optical instruments, created a semaphore telegraph, and a “lifting chair” - an elevator. Kulibin's most fundamental work was the design of a single-arch 300-meter bridge across the Neva. But his inventions also did not find application. Truly they say that there are no prophets in their own country.

Architecture received further development. Until the 1760s the prevailing style remained baroque, the greatest master of which was F.B. Rastrelli. The Winter Palace and the Smolny Monastery, the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo and the Grand Palace in Peterhof were built in this style.

Baroque has replaced classicism. The distinctive features of classicism are clarity and simplicity of forms while maintaining monumentality. The style was based on an appeal to laws classical architecture Greece and Rome. Classicism provided for symmetry of the layout, highlighting the main parts of the building, and clarity of lines. The founders of classicism in Russia are IN AND. Bazhenov(1737-1799) – Pashkov’s house in Moscow, Engineering Castle in St. Petersburg, I.E. Starov(1745-1808) – building of the Tauride Palace, Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. With the name of Bazhenov’s student F.M. Kazakov(1738-1812) associated creation large quantity buildings and mansions in Moscow. This is the Senate building in the Kremlin, the old building of Moscow University, the Golitsin hospital, the house of the Dolgoruky princes, transferred to the noble assembly, etc. A prominent representative of Russian classicism was D. Quarenghi(1744-1817), who worked in Russia since 1780, - the building of the Academy of Sciences, the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, the Smolny Institute, etc. Wonderful Russian architect Yu.M. Felten(c.1730-1801) together with P.E. Egorov(1771-1784) designed the Neva embankment and the lattice of the Summer Garden.

In the second half of the 18th century. in painting a system of genres is emerging: portrait, monumental and decorative painting, landscape, history painting. The first Russian historical painter was A.P. Losenko(1737-1773). One of his most famous paintings is “Vladimir in front of Rogneda”. Worked in the historical genre G.I. Ugryumov(1764-1823) - “The election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom”, “The Capture of Kazan”. However greatest development received a portrait in painting. A gallery of beautiful portraits has been created A.P. Antropov (1716-1795), I.P. Argunov(1729-1802), F.S. Rokotov(c.1735-1808), D.G. Levitsky (1735-1822), V.L. Borovikovsky(1757-1825), etc.

During the period under review, the foundations of secularism were laid sculptures. F.I. Shubin(1740-1805) - a fellow countryman of Lomonosov, who came from among Pomeranian peasants - created a gallery of sculptural portraits - M.V. Lomonosov, A.M. Golitsyna, G.A. Potemkina and others.

The monument to Peter I is rightfully included among the masterpieces of world sculpture (“ Bronze Horseman") the work of a French master EM. Falcone In Petersburg. M.I.Kozlovsky(1753-1802) glorified himself with a monument to A.V. Suvorov on the Champ de Mars in St. Petersburg. He is also the author of the main statue of the Peterhof cascade of fountains - “Samson tearing apart the mouth of a lion.”

Mid-18th century - an important milestone in theatrical Russian culture. In 1750, the first professional theater arose in Yaroslavl. It was initiated by a merchant F.G. Volkov(1728-1763). Rumors about him reached St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl residents were summoned to the capital. In 1756 it was converted into a public theater “for the presentation of tragedies and comedies.”

Culture of Russia in the 18th century. prepared the extraordinary rise of Russian culture for the first time half of the 19th century V..

Issues for discussion

1. What are the reasons for Peter’s modernization and what did it consist of?

contradictory consequences?

2. Why were the palace coups of 1725-1762? could not change the beings of the system?

3. Could Catherine II have abolished serfdom in Russia?

4. What was the significance of the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 1783?

5. What were the features of territorial acquisitions

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

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

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

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

In 1764, the “Educational Society of Noble Maidens” was founded in St. Petersburg at the Smolny Monastery (Smolny Institute) with a department for girls from the bourgeois class.

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

From the second half of the 18th century. vocational art schools appeared in Russia ( Dance school in St. Petersburg, 1738; Ballet school at the Moscow Orphanage, 1773).

The Academy of Arts, founded in 1757, became the first state center art education in the field of painting, sculpture and architecture. Music classes The Academy of Arts played famous role in development in Russia music education and education. All these educational institutions were closed; Children of serfs were prohibited from studying there.

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

The opening of Moscow University, as well as the Academy of Sciences, was the most important social and cultural event. The University in Moscow has become a national center of education and culture, and it embodied democratic principles development of education and science, proclaimed and persistently pursued by M.V. Lomonosov.

Already in the 18th century. Moscow University became the center of national education. The printing house, opened under him in 1756, was, in essence, the first civilian printing house in Moscow. Textbooks and dictionaries, scientific, artistic, domestic and translated literature were published here.

The university printing house was the first to publish many works of Western European educators, and the first magazine for children began to be published (“ Children's reading for the heart and mind"), the first natural science magazine in Russia ("Store natural history, physics, chemistry"), magazine "Musical Entertainment". Moscow University began publishing the first non-governmental newspaper in Russia, Moskovskie Vedomosti, which existed until 1917.

The undoubted merit of the university was the publication of the alphabet books of the peoples of Russia - Georgian and Tatar.

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

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

Continuity in education was achieved by community curricula small schools and the first two classes of main schools.

The main public schools opened in 25 provincial cities, small schools, along with estate schools, a university and gymnasiums in Moscow and Kazan, thus constituted the structure of the education system in Russia by the end of the 18th century. In the country, according to data available in the literature, there were 550 educational institutions with a student population of 60-70 thousand. About one person out of one and a half thousand residents studied at the school. Statistics, however, did not take into account various shapes private education (home education in noble families, education in literacy schools, in peasant families, etc.), as well as foreigners educated abroad or who came to Russia. The actual number of literate people in Russia was obviously significantly higher.

One-year parish (church) schools were established at each church parish. They accepted children of “any condition” without distinction of “gender and age.” The charter proclaimed a continuity between schools of different levels.

However, in fact, very little was done to spread education and enlightenment among the masses of the people. The treasury did not bear any costs for the maintenance of schools, transferring this either to local city governments, or to landowners, or to the peasants themselves in the state village.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 1773, Novikov organized in St. Petersburg the “Society Trying to Print Books,” something like the first publishing house in Russia. Many people took part in its activities famous writers XVIII century, including A.N. Radishchev. The activity of the “Society” was also short-lived, since it faced great difficulties, primarily with poor development book trade, especially in the provinces.

The main centers for publishing books and journals were the Academy of Sciences and Moscow University. The academic printing house printed mainly scientific, educational literature. On the initiative of M.V. Lomonosov, the first Russian literary and scientific journal “Monthly Works for the Benefit and Entertainment of Employees” began to be published (1755). The academic printing house also published the first private magazine in Russia, “The Hardworking Bee” (1759), whose publisher was A.P. Sumarokov.

In the second half of the 18th century. Periodicals are becoming a noticeable social and cultural phenomenon not only in capital cities, but also in provincial cities. In Yaroslavl in 1786, the first provincial magazine “Solitary Poshekhonets” appeared. In 1788, the weekly provincial newspaper “Tambov News”, founded by G.R., began to be published in Tambov. Derzhavin, at that time the civil governor of the city. The magazine “The Irtysh Turning into Hippokrena” (1789) was published in Tobolsk.

A special role in the publication and distribution of books in the last quarter of the 18th century. belonged to the outstanding Russian educator N.I. Novikov (1744 - 1818). Novikov, like other Russian educators, considered enlightenment to be the basis of social change. Ignorance, in his opinion, was the cause of all the errors of mankind, and knowledge was the source of perfection. Defending the need for education for the people, he founded and maintained the first public school in St. Petersburg. Novikov's publishing activity gained its greatest scope during the period he rented the printing house of Moscow University (1779 - 1789). About a third of all books published in Russia at that time (approximately 1000 titles) came out of his printing houses. He published political and philosophical treatises by Western European thinkers, collected works of Russian writers, and works of folk art. Magazines, textbooks, and Masonic religious and moral literature occupied a large place among his publications. Novikov's publications had a large circulation for that time - 10 thousand copies, which to a certain extent reflected the growing interest in the book.

In the 60s - 70s of the 18th century. Satirical journalism became widespread, on the pages of which works “to correct the morals of employees” were published, and anti-serfdom educational thought was formed. The most important role in this process belonged to Novikov’s publications “Truten” (1769 - 1770) and especially “Painter” (1772 - 1773). This bright and bold satirical magazine by N.I. Novikova contained sharp criticism of serfdom in Russia.

The development of education is associated with an expansion of the circle of readers. In the memoirs of contemporaries there is evidence that “people from the lower classes enthusiastically buy various chronicles, monuments of Russian antiquity, and many rag shops are full of handwritten chronicles.”

Books were copied, sold, and this often provided food for small employees and students. At the Academy of Sciences, some workers received their salaries in books.

N.I. Novikov contributed in every possible way to the development of the book trade, especially in the provinces, considering it as one of the sources of book distribution. At the end of the 18th century. bookstores already existed in 17 provincial cities, about 40 bookstores were in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

During this period, at universities, gymnasiums, closed educational institutions there were libraries. The library of the Academy of Sciences continued to operate. In 1758, the library of the Academy of Arts was opened, the basis of the fund of which was donated by the curator of Moscow University I.I. Shuvalov collection of books on art, a collection of paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck. From the moment of its foundation, it was publicly accessible; in the reading room, books could be used not only by students of the Academy, but also by everyone. IN certain days weeks, halls of other libraries were also opened for “book lovers”.

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

The intelligentsia played a large role in the spiritual life of society. In terms of its social composition, the intelligentsia of the 18th century. was mostly still aristocratic. However, in the second half of this century, many commoners appeared among the artistic and scientific intelligentsia. Commoners studied at Moscow University, the Academy of Arts, and some closed educational institutions intended for non-nobles.

One of the features cultural process Russia at the end of the 18th century. there was the existence of a serf intelligentsia: artists, composers, architects, performers. Many of them were talented, gifted people, they understood the severity of their powerless situation, and their lives often ended tragically.

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

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