New Russian Empire. Russian Empire Territory of the Russian Empire

The coming years in Russia are years of national achievements. The majority of citizens who are ready to continue to share its historical path with their Motherland are united by traditions that form conservative values. Conservatism is loyalty to oneself, one’s historical and spiritual path, the ability, while maintaining openness, not to succumb to other people’s influences. The Future is a newly realized and improved Past. The movement of society towards conservatism is the key to the success of the Russian breakthrough into the future. Conservatism is always national: national conservatism is, first of all, love for the historical appearance and recognition of the creative power of one’s people.

The most important principles - imperatives - of national conservatism, which will ensure the revival of Russia, are as follows:

1. Russia plays a key role in world history. The state, which has ensured a fair world order for centuries, has its own independent geopolitical project: this is the Eastern Christian civilization. Fitting Russia into the framework of other geopolitical entities is unacceptable.

2. The Russian nation is responsible for the fate of the Russian state. By the will of history, it turned out to be divided. Population decline poses a threat to statehood. Based on this, demographic growth is the norm of social life, and overcoming the division (gathering) of the Russian nation is the most pressing task.

3. The Russian people, who created and defended Russian statehood over the centuries, therefore have primacy of honor in the family of fraternal peoples of Russia, where manifestations of xenophobia, chauvinism, and racism are unacceptable.

4. The Orthodox Church is the focus of Russian history, the center of the spiritual and social life of the nation. Traditional Russian confessions are not an alternative to Orthodoxy. It is Orthodoxy that ensures the continuity of the various periods of Russian statehood - from St. Vladimir to the present day.

5. The People's Welfare and the People's Will are two inextricably linked sacred principles. The development of a people is sustainable only when it proceeds independently and freely, when every idea that has the opportunity to come to life passes through the consciousness and will of the people.

6. The Russian State is a socially representative state with a strong and successive Supreme Power. Power is sacred to everyone and is entirely responsible for everyone. Power is not a privilege or a tool for enrichment. This service is not out of fear, but out of conscience.

7. The army and navy are Russia’s main allies in the world around it. Propaganda campaigns that undermine the security of the country are unacceptable.

Russian conservatism today is the only ideology capable of preserving the country's sovereignty. Russians are a people of sacred history. The Russian man did not appear out of nowhere and will not disappear into nowhere: he lives in history and in tradition with its borders and hierarchy.

The state as a social phenomenon

Growing out of the identification of the sovereign with the state, state science has gone over the centuries from an understanding of the state as an abstract embodiment of a specific sovereign, to class and general social interpretations of the political organization of society. In Ancient Rome, patriarchal communalism was replaced by the transfer of supreme power to the sovereign; with the emergence of Christianity, the sovereign became the representative of God on earth; with the development of feudal relations, the sovereign was transformed into a universal overlord, the real owner of the property of his vassals, which they owned only on the right of use. Bourgeois revolutions separated the state from the person of the sovereign, and socialist revolutions proclaimed the need for the destruction (withering away) of states.

The problem of the nature of the state, its functions and its relationship to man can have a methodological solution only by understanding the ethical and social aspects of the essence of the state. Plato, proposing his model of the state, constructed a certain paradigm, that is, he outlined what, according to Plato, constitutes the essence of the state. Believing the essence to be truly existing, but located in the divine celestial region and visible only by the mind - the helmsman of the soul - Plato noted the passage of states through various forms of government, the emergence and death of states and people united in states. Using the value approach to the essence of the state, Plato emphasized that a state that wants to preserve itself and be happy to the best of its ability must, of necessity, correctly distinguish between values.

Plato’s hierarchy of values ​​was not in doubt: “The most valuable rightfully are the goods that relate first of all to the soul, if it has prudence, then the excellent qualities of the body and, thirdly, the so-called goods related to property and prosperity. If any legislator or any state goes beyond these limits, valuing wealth most highly or placing, in the sense of value, the lower before the higher, he will commit an act that is both non-state and wicked.” And G.W.F. Hegel viewed the state system as a developed and realized rationality (the interpenetrating unity of universality and individuality), and the state as such - as a mediation of satisfying the subjective goals of citizens. B.N. Chicherin, developing Hegel's definition of the state as the implementation of a moral idea, saw the nature of the state, its internal goal, which the state realizes in its structure, in the moral idea, representing the highest combination of freedom with reasonable order.

Highlighting ethical principles, Plato attributed the beautiful and the good to various kinds of essences, and was convinced that “with the same necessity with which these essences exist, our soul also exists before we are born.”

Moving away from a mechanical consideration of the concept of “state” as narrower than the concept of “society”, one should agree with L.I. Spiridonov is that the opposition between society and the state is possible only within certain limits. “In general, the state is the highest form of organization of society. From the fact that this or that state is a state, it only follows that the society formalized by the state is the same state,” wrote this outstanding domestic jurist.

The state as a social phenomenon is multidimensional. In addition to political and legal ones, it is also characterized by certain systemic features: integrity, structure, management, connections, self-organization, goals. Consideration of the state as a management system brings to the fore the issues of structure, competence and procedure for the activities of the bodies of the state apparatus (separation of powers), legal registration of the order of operation of the components of the government machine, public control over it, etc.

The state has always acted and acts as a political, structural and territorial organization of class society, its system. Systematicity in the sense of the integral unity of elements that are in mutual connection includes a certain order and patterns of their preservation and development. Striving to understand the state as a territorial system, we inevitably face the need to apply methods of political and legal systems engineering, including when modeling the organization of the state.

The state as a system belongs to a special class of material living systems - social systems. The state arises due to the action of natural historical laws, lives according to social laws, is a material reflection of the level of development of civilization and is embodied in one or another territorial structure of the state, one or another political system.

The formation of the Russian Empire took place on October 22, 1721 according to the old style, or November 2. It was on this day that the last Russian Tsar, Peter 1 the Great, declared himself Emperor of Russia. This happened as one of the consequences of the Northern War, after which the Senate asked Peter 1 to accept the title of Emperor of the country. The state received the name “Russian Empire”. Its capital became the city of St. Petersburg. During all this time, the capital was moved to Moscow for only 2 years (from 1728 to 1730).

Territory of the Russian Empire

When considering the history of Russia of that era, it is necessary to remember that at the time of the formation of the empire, large territories were annexed to the country. This became possible thanks to the successful foreign policy of the country, which was led by Peter 1. He created a new history, a history that returned Russia to the number of world leaders and powers whose opinions are worth taking into account.

The territory of the Russian Empire was 21.8 million km2. It was the second largest country in the world. In first place was the British Empire with its numerous colonies. Most of them have retained their status to this day. The country's first laws divided its territory into 8 provinces, each of which was governed by a governor. He had full local power, including judicial power. Subsequently, Catherine 2 increased the number of provinces to 50. Of course, this was done not through the annexation of new lands, but through fragmentation. This greatly increased the state apparatus and quite significantly reduced the efficiency of local government in the country. We will talk about this in more detail in the corresponding article. It should be noted that at the time of the collapse of the Russian Empire, its territory consisted of 78 provinces. The largest cities in the country were:

1. Saint Petersburg.
2. Moscow.
3. Warsaw.
4. Odessa.
5. Lodz.
6. Riga.
7. Kyiv.
8. Kharkiv.
9. Tiflis.
10. Tashkent.

The history of the Russian Empire is full of both bright and negative moments. This time period, which lasted less than two centuries, included a huge number of fateful moments in the fate of our country. It was during the period of the Russian Empire that the Patriotic War, campaigns in the Caucasus, campaigns in India, and European campaigns took place. The country developed dynamically. The reforms affected absolutely all aspects of life. It was the history of the Russian Empire that gave our country great commanders, whose names are on the lips to this day not only in Russia, but throughout Europe - Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov and Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. These famous generals forever inscribed their names in the history of our country and covered Russian weapons with eternal glory.

Map

We present a map of the Russian Empire, a brief history of which we are considering, which shows the European part of the country with all the changes that occurred in terms of territories over the years of the existence of the state.

Population

By the end of the 18th century, the Russian Empire was the largest country in the world by area. Its scale was such that the messenger, who was sent to all corners of the country to report the death of Catherine 2, arrived in Kamchatka 3 months later! And this despite the fact that the messenger rode almost 200 km every day.

Russia was also the most populous country. In 1800, about 40 million people lived in the Russian Empire, most of them in the European part of the country. Just under 3 million lived beyond the Urals. The national composition of the country was motley:

• East Slavs. Russians (Great Russians), Ukrainians (Little Russians), Belarusians. For a long time, almost until the very end of the Empire, it was considered a single people.
• Estonians, Latvians, Latvians and Germans lived in the Baltic states.
• Finno-Ugric (Mordovians, Karelians, Udmurts, etc.), Altai (Kalmyks) and Turkic (Bashkirs, Tatars, etc.) peoples.
• Peoples of Siberia and the Far East (Yakuts, Evens, Buryats, Chukchi, etc.).

As the country developed, some of the Kazakhs and Jews who lived on the territory of Poland became its subjects, but after its collapse they went to Russia.

The main class in the country were peasants (about 90%). Other classes: philistinism (4%), merchants (1%), and the remaining 5% of the population were distributed among the Cossacks, clergy and nobility. This is the classic structure of an agrarian society. And indeed, the main occupation of the Russian Empire was agriculture. It is no coincidence that all the indicators that fans of the tsarist regime love to be so proud of today are related to agriculture (we are talking about the import of grain and butter).

By the end of the 19th century, 128.9 million people lived in Russia, of which 16 million lived in cities, and the rest in villages.

Political system

The Russian Empire was autocratic in its form of government, where all power was concentrated in the hands of one person - the emperor, who was often called, in the old manner, the tsar. Peter 1 laid down in the laws of Russia precisely the unlimited power of the monarch, which ensured autocracy. Simultaneously with the state, the autocrat actually ruled the church.

An important point is that after the reign of Paul 1, autocracy in Russia could no longer be called absolute. This happened due to the fact that Paul 1 issued a decree according to which the system of transfer of the throne established by Peter 1 was abolished. Peter Alekseevich Romanov, let me remind you, decreed that the ruler himself determines his successor. Some historians today talk about the negative aspects of this document, but this is precisely the essence of autocracy - the ruler makes all decisions, including about his successor. After Paul 1, the system returned in which the son inherits the throne from his father.

Rulers of the country

Below is a list of all the rulers of the Russian Empire during the period of its existence (1721-1917).

All the rulers were from the Romanov dynasty, and after the overthrow of Nicholas 2 and the murder of himself and his family by the Bolsheviks, the dynasty was interrupted and the Russian Empire ceased to exist, changing the form of statehood to the USSR.

Key dates

During its existence, which is almost 200 years, the Russian Empire experienced many important moments and events that had an impact on the state and people.

• 1722 – Table of Ranks
• 1799 – Suvorov’s foreign campaigns in Italy and Switzerland
• 1809 – Annexation of Finland
• 1812 – Patriotic War
• 1817-1864 – Caucasian War
• 1825 (December 14) – Decembrist uprising
• 1867 – Sale of Alaska
• 1881 (March 1) assassination of Alexander 2
• 1905 (January 9) – Bloody Sunday
• 1914-1918 – First World War
• 1917 – February and October revolutions

Completion of the Empire

The history of the Russian Empire ended on September 1, 1917, old style. It was on this day that the Republic was proclaimed. This was proclaimed by Kerensky, who by law did not have the right to do this, so declaring Russia a Republic can safely be called illegal. Only the Constituent Assembly had the authority to make such a proclamation. The fall of the Russian Empire is closely connected with the history of its last emperor, Nicholas 2. This emperor had all the qualities of a worthy person, but had an indecisive character. It was because of this that the unrest occurred in the country that cost Nicholas himself 2 his life, and the Russian Empire its existence. Nicholas 2 failed to strictly suppress the revolutionary and terrorist activities of the Bolsheviks in the country. There were indeed objective reasons for this. The main one is the First World War, in which the Russian Empire was involved and exhausted in it. The Russian Empire was replaced by a new type of government system in the country - the USSR.

Along with the collapse of the Russian Empire, the majority of the population chose to create independent national states. Many of them were never destined to remain sovereign, and they became part of the USSR. Others were incorporated into the Soviet state later. What was the Russian Empire like at the beginning? XXcenturies?

By the end of the 19th century, the territory of the Russian Empire was 22.4 million km 2. According to the 1897 census, the population was 128.2 million people, including the population of European Russia - 93.4 million people; Kingdom of Poland - 9.5 million, - 2.6 million, Caucasus Territory - 9.3 million, Siberia - 5.8 million, Central Asia - 7.7 million people. Over 100 peoples lived; 57% of the population were non-Russian peoples. The territory of the Russian Empire in 1914 was divided into 81 provinces and 20 regions; there were 931 cities. Some provinces and regions were united into governorates-general (Warsaw, Irkutsk, Kiev, Moscow, Amur, Stepnoe, Turkestan and Finland).

By 1914, the length of the territory of the Russian Empire was 4383.2 versts (4675.9 km) from north to south and 10,060 versts (10,732.3 km) from east to west. The total length of the land and sea borders is 64,909.5 versts (69,245 km), of which the land borders accounted for 18,639.5 versts (19,941.5 km), and the sea borders accounted for about 46,270 versts (49,360 .4 km).

The entire population was considered subjects of the Russian Empire, the male population (from 20 years old) swore allegiance to the emperor. The subjects of the Russian Empire were divided into four estates (“states”): nobility, clergy, urban and rural inhabitants. The local population of Kazakhstan, Siberia and a number of other regions were distinguished into an independent “state” (foreigners). The coat of arms of the Russian Empire was a double-headed eagle with royal regalia; the state flag is a cloth with white, blue and red horizontal stripes; The national anthem is “God Save the Tsar.” National language - Russian.

Administratively, the Russian Empire by 1914 was divided into 78 provinces, 21 regions and 2 independent districts. The provinces and regions were divided into 777 counties and districts and in Finland - into 51 parishes. Counties, districts and parishes, in turn, were divided into camps, departments and sections (2523 in total), as well as 274 landmanships in Finland.

Territories that were important in military-political terms (metropolitan and border) were united into viceroyalties and general governorships. Some cities were allocated into special administrative units - city governments.

Even before the transformation of the Grand Duchy of Moscow into the Russian Kingdom in 1547, at the beginning of the 16th century, Russian expansion began to expand beyond its ethnic territory and began to absorb the following territories (the table does not include lands lost before the beginning of the 19th century):