Lectures on Russian history:
1. The scientific challenge of studying local history. Historical process. History of Culture or Civilization. Historical sociology. Two points of view in Historical study are cultural-historical and sociological. Methodological convenience and didactic expediency of the second of them in the Study of local history. Scheme of the socio-historical process. The significance of local and temporary combinations of social elements in historical study. Methodological conveniences of studying Russian history from this point of view.
2. Course plan. Colonization of the country as the main fact of Russian history. Periods of Russian history as the main moments of colonization. The dominant facts of each period. Visible incompleteness of the plan. Historical Facts and so-called ideas. Different origins and interactions of both. When does an idea become a historical fact? The essence and methodological significance of political and economic facts. The practical purpose of studying Russian history.
3. Surface shape of European Russia. Climate. Geological origin of the Plain. The soil. Botanical belts. Relief of the plain. Soil water and atmospheric precipitation. River basins.
4. The influence of the nature of a country on the history of its people. Scheme of man's relationship to Nature. The significance of soil and botanical strips and the river network of the Russian Plain. The significance of the Oka-Volga interfluve as a colonization, economic and political node. Forest, steppe and rivers: their meaning in Russian History and the attitude of Russian people towards them. Is it possible to judge from modern impressions the effect of the country’s nature on the mood of ancient man? Some threatening phenomena in the nature of the plain.
5. The initial chronicle as the main source for studying the first period of our History. Chronicle writing in ancient Rus'; primary chronicles and chronicle collections. The most ancient lists of the initial chronicle. Traces of the ancient Kyiv chronicler in the Primary Chronicle. Who is this chronicler? The main components of the Initial Chronicle. How they are connected into a solid vault. Chronological plan of the Code. Nestor and Sylvester.
6. Historical and critical analysis of the initial chronicle. Its significance for further Russian chronicles, the fallacy of the chronological basis of the code and the origin of the Error. Processing of the components of the arch by its compiler. Incompleteness of the most ancient Lists of the initial chronicle. The idea of Slavic unity, which is its basis. Attitude to the chronicle of the student. Chronicles of the 12th century. Historical views of the Chronicler.
7. The main facts of the first period of Russian history. Two looks at its beginning. Peoples who lived in southern Russia before the Eastern Slavs, and their relationship to Russian history. What facts can be recognized as initial in the history of the people? The legend of the initial Chronicle about the settlement of the Slavs from the Danube. Jordan on the placement of the Slavs in the 6th century. Military alliance of the Eastern Slavs in the Carpathians. The settlement of the Eastern Slavs across the Russian Plain, its time and signs. Separation of the Eastern Slavs as a Consequence of Settlement.
9. Political consequences of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs across the Russian plain. Pechenegs in the southern Russian steppes. Russian trading cities are arming themselves. Varangians; The question is about their origin and time of appearance in Rus'. Formation of urban Regions and their relationship to tribes. Varangian principalities. The Legend of the Calling of Princes; its historical basis. Behavior of the Scandinavian Vikings in the 9th century. In Western Europe. Formation of the Grand Duchy of Kyiv as the first form of the Russian state. The importance of Kyiv in the formation of the state. Review of what has been learned.
10. Activities of the first Kyiv princes. Unification of the Eastern Slavic tribes under the rule of the Kyiv prince. Control device. Taxes; carts and polyudya. Relationship between management and trade turnover. External activities of the Kyiv princes. Treaties and trade relations between Rus' and Byzantium. The significance of these agreements and relations in the history of Russian law. External difficulties and dangers of Russian Trade. Defense of the steppe borders. Russian land in the half of the 11th century. Population and Limits. The meaning of the Grand Duke of Kyiv. The princely squad: its political and economic proximity to the merchants of large cities. The Varangian element within this merchant class. Slavery as the original basis of class division. Varangian element in the squad. Different meanings of the word Rus. Transformation of tribes into estates.
11. The order of princely possession of Russian land after Yaroslav. Uncertainty of the order before Yaroslav. Division of land between the sons of Yaroslav and its foundation. Further Changes in the allocation of allotments. The order of seniority in possession as the basis of Order. His diagram. The origin of the next order. Its practical action. The conditions that upset him: the ranks and strife of the princes; the thought of fatherhood; singling out the rogue Princes; personal virtues of princes; intervention of volost cities. Meaning of the Next Order.
12. A consequence of the next order and conditions that counteracted it. Political fragmentation of the Russian land in the 12th century. Strengthening the older volost Cities; their meeting and rows with the princes. Elements of zemstvo unity of Rus' in the 12th century. The effect of princely relations on public mood and consciousness; general zemstvo Meaning of princely squads; the importance of Kyiv for princes and people; generalization of everyday Forms and interests, the political system of the Russian land in the 12th century. The awakening of a sense of national unity is the final fact of the period.
13. Russian civil society of the 11th and 12th centuries. Russian truth as its reflection. Two views of this monument. Features of Russian truth, indicating its Origin. The need for a revised code of local legal customs For the ecclesiastical judge of the 11th and 12th centuries. The meaning of codification among the main forms of Law. Byzantine codification and its influence on Russian. Church-judicial Origin of truth. The monetary account of the truth and the time of its compilation. Sources of Truth. Russian law. Princely legislation. Judicial verdicts of princes. Legislative projects of the clergy. Benefits. Which they used.
14. Upcoming questions about the composition of Russian truth. Traces of partial codification in Old Russian legal writing. Compilation and processing of partially compiled articles. Compilation and composition of Russian truth; mutual relationship of its main editions. The relationship of truth to existing law. Civil Order according to Russian truth. A preliminary note on the significance of legal monuments for the historical study of civil society. The dividing line between Criminal and civil law according to Russian truth. Punishment system. The Ancient Foundation of Truth and Later Layers. Comparative assessment of a Person's property and personality. Double division of society. Property transactions and obligations. Russian truth is the code of capital.
15. Church statutes of the first Christian princes of Rus'. Church department according to the Charter of Saint Vladimir. The space of the church court and the joint church-secular court according to the charter of Yaroslav. Changes in the concept of crime, in the area of imputation and in the system of punishment. Cash account of the Yaroslav Charter: the time of its compilation. The original basis of the charter. Legislative powers of the Church. The progress of church codification. Traces of her techniques are in Yaroslav's charter. The attitude of the Charter to Russian truth. The influence of the church on the political order. Public Warehouse and civil life. The structure of the Christian family.
16. The main phenomena of the 2nd period of Russian history. Conditions upset the public order and welfare of Kievan Rus. Life of high society. Advances in citizenship and education. The position of the lower classes; successes of Slavery and enslavement. Polovtsian attacks. Signs of desolation of Dnieper Rus'. There is a two-way outflow of population from there. Signs of low tide to the west. A look at the future fate of southwestern Rus' and the question of the origin of the Little Russian tribe. Signs of population flow to the northeast. The meaning of this Ebb and the fundamental fact of the period.
17. Ethnographic consequences of Russian colonization of the upper Volga region. Question about the Origin of the Great Russian tribe. Disappeared foreigners of the Oka-Volga Mesopotamia and their traces. The attitude of Russian settlers towards Finnish natives shows traces of Finnish influence on the anthropological type of Great Russian. On the formation of the dialects of the Great Russian dialect, on the popular beliefs of Great Russia and on the composition of the Great Russian society. The influence of the nature of the upper Volga region on the national economy of Great Russia and on the tribal character of the Great Russians.
18. Political consequences of Russian colonization of the upper Volga region. Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky and his attitude towards Kievan Rus: an attempt to transform the patriarchal Power of the Grand Duke into state power. Andrei's mode of action in the Rostov Land: his relationship to his closest relatives. To the older cities and the older squad. Princely and social strife in Rostov land after the death of Prince Andrei. The judgment of the Vladimir chronicler about this strife. The predominance of Upper Volga Rus' over the Dnieper under Vsevolod 3. The effect of the political successes of princes Andrei and Vsevolod on the mood of Suzdal society. List of studied Facts.
19. A look at the situation of the Russian land in the 13th and 14th centuries. Specific order of the Princely possession in the descendants of Vsevolod III. Princely inheritance. The main features of the Specific order. Its origin. The idea of separate hereditary ownership among the southern princes. Transformation of Russian regional princes into service princes under Lithuanian rule. The power of family tradition among the Yaroslavich senior lines: Relations between the Verkhneoksky and Ryazan princes at the end of the 15th century. The main features of the Specific Order, the reasons for its successful development in the offspring of Vsevolod III. There are no obstacles to this order in the Suzdal region.
20 . A note on the significance of specific centuries in Russian history. Consequences of the appanage Order of princely possession. Questions to come when studying them. Progress of specific crushing. Impoverishment of appanage princes. Their mutual alienation. The meaning of the appanage Prince. His legal attitude towards private fiefdoms is his destiny. Comparison of appanage relations with feudal ones. The composition of society in the appanage Principality. Decline of zemstvo consciousness and civic feeling among appanage Princes. Conclusions.
21 . Moscow begins to collect appanage Rus'. The first news about the city of Moscow. The original space of the Moscow Kremlin. Economic benefits of the geographical location of the city of Moscow. The city of Moscow is a junction point of diverse routes. Traces of the early population of the Moscow region. Moscow is the ethnographic center of Great Russia. The Moscow River is a transit route. Political consequences of the geographical position of the city of Moscow. Moscow is the youngest destiny. The influence of this on the external relations and internal activities of the Moscow princes, the political and national successes of the Moscow princes until the half of the 15th century. I. Expansion of the territory of the principality. II. Purchase of the Grand Duke's table. III. The consequences of this success: the suspension of the Tatar invasions; Moscow Union of Princes. IV. The transfer of the metropolitan see to Moscow is the significance of this change for the Moscow princes. Conclusions.
22 . Mutual relations of Moscow princes. - Order of inheritance. - Apparent legal indifference of movable property and appanages. The relationship of the Moscow princely order of inheritance to the legal custom of ancient Rus'. - Attitude of the Moscow princes according to kinship and possession. - Strengthening the eldest heir. - Form of subordination of junior appanage princes to him. - The influence of the Tatar yoke on princely relations. - Establishment of the succession of Moscow grand-ducal power in a direct descending line. - A meeting of the family aspirations of the Moscow princes with the people's needs of Great Russia. - The significance of the Moscow strife under Vasily the Dark. - The character of the Moscow princes
23 . Free urban communities. - Novgorod the Great. - Its location; sides and ends. Novgorod region; Pyatina and volosts. - Conditions and development of Novgorod liberty. - Contractual relations between Novgorod and the princes. - Management. - The Veche and its attitude towards the princes. - Posadnik and thousand. - Court. - Council of gentlemen. - Regional administration. - Suburbs and their relationship to the main city. - Conclusion.
24 . Classes of Novgorod society. - Novgorod boyars and its origin. - Living people. - Merchants and black people. - Serfs, smerds and ladles. - Zemtsy; origin and significance of this class. - The foundation of the class division of Novgorod society. - Political life of Novgorod. - The origin and struggle of the princely and social parties. The nature and significance of the Novgorod strife. - Features of the Pskov political system and life. - The different nature of the Pskov and Novgorod political order. - Disadvantages of Novgorod political life. - The general reason for the decline of freedom in Novgorod. - Predictions
25 . The main phenomena of the third period of Russian history. - The situation of the Russian land in the half of the 15th century. - Borders of the Moscow Principality. A change in the further course of the gathering of Rus' by Moscow. - Territorial acquisitions of Ivan III and his successor. - The political unification of Great Russia is the main fact of the III period. - The immediate consequences of this fact. - Changes in the external position of the Moscow Principality and in the foreign policy of its grand dukes. The idea of a Russian people's state and its expression in the foreign policy of Ivan III
26 . Internal consequences of the main fact of the III period. - The growth of the political self-awareness of the Moscow sovereign. - Sofia Paleolog and her significance in Moscow. - New titles. - New genealogy and legend about the coronation of Vladimir Monomakh. - Patrimony and state. - Fluctuations between both forms of government. - Order of succession to the throne. - Expansion of the power of the Grand Duke. - Belatedness and harm of appanage ownership. - The hesitant attitude towards him of Ivan III and his successors. - Composition of the supreme power of the Moscow sovereign. - A change in the view of Moscow society towards its sovereign. - Conclusions
27 . Moscow boyars. - Changes in its composition since the middle of the 15th century. - Conditions and rules for the order of boyar families. - The political mood of the boyars in its new composition. - Definition of the Moscow boyars as a class. - Localism. - Local fatherland. - The local account is simple and complex. - Legislative restrictions on localism. - The idea of localism. -When it formed into a system. Its significance as a political guarantee for the boyars. - Its disadvantages in this regard
28 . The attitude of the boyars in their new composition to their sovereign. - The attitude of Moscow boyars to the Grand Duke in the appanage centuries. - Change in these relations with Ivan III. - Collisions. - Uncertainty of the cause of the discord. - Conversations between Bersen and Maxim the Greek. - Boyar rule. - Correspondence between Tsar Ivan and Prince Kurbsky. Judgments of Prince Kurbsky. - The king's objections. - Nature of correspondence. - Dynastic origin of discord.
29 . Circumstances that prepared the establishment of the oprichnina. - The unusual departure of the Tsar from Moscow and his message to the capital. - Return of the king. - Decree on oprichnina. - The life of the Tsar in Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. - The attitude of the oprichnina to the zemshchina. - Purpose of the oprichnina. - Contradictions in the structure of the Moscow state. - The idea of replacing the boyars with the nobility. - The aimlessness of the oprichnina. - Judgment of her contemporaries
30 . Characteristics of Tsar Ivan the Terrible
31 . The composition of the appanage society. - Composition of the Moscow service class. - Service elements. - Non-service elements; townspeople-landowners, clerks, civil servants. - Foreigners. - Quantitative ratio of constituent elements by tribal origin. - Ladder of ranks. The size of the military service class. - External situation of the state. - Wars in the northwest. - The fight against Crimea and Nogai. - Defense of the northeastern borders. - Coastal service. - Lines of defensive fortifications. - Guard and village service. - The severity of the struggle. - The question of the economic and military structure of the service class and the local system
32 . Local farming. - Opinions on the origin of local law. - The origin of local land tenure. - Local system. - Her rules. - Local and cash salaries. - Local layout. - Belongings.
33 . The immediate consequences of the local system. - I. The influence of the local principle on patrimonial land ownership. Mobilization of estates in the 16th century. - II. The local system as a means of artificial development of private land ownership. - III. Formation of district noble societies. - IV. The emergence of the service agricultural proletariat. - V. Unfavorable influence of local land ownership on cities. - VI. The influence of the local system on the fate of peasants.
34 . Question about monastic estates. - Spread of monasteries. - Monasteries in northeastern Russia. - Desert monasteries. - Colonial monasteries. - Colonization activities of the Trinity Sergius Monastery. - The meaning of desert monasteries. - Old Russian month book. - Old Russian hagiography. - Composition and character of ancient Russian life. - Mir monasteries. - Founders of desert monasteries. - Wandering and settlement of a hermit in the desert. - Deserted monastery
35 . Methods of land enrichment for monasteries. - Granted lands. - Contributions to your liking and for tonsure. - Purchases and other transactions. - Harmful consequences of monastic land ownership for monasticism itself. - Monastery feed. - Decline of monastic discipline. - Inconveniences of monastic land ownership for service people and the state. - Question about monastery estates. - Nil Sorsky and Joseph Volotsky. - Council of 1503 - Literary controversy on the issue. - Legislative attempts to curb the land enrichment of monasteries
36 . The connection between monastic land ownership and serfdom. - Peasants in the 15th and 16th centuries. - Types of rural settlements. The ratio of residential arable land to emptiness. Classes of landowners. - Relations of peasants: 1) to landowners, 2) to the state. - Social structure of peasants. - Question about the rural community. - A peasant in his agricultural holding. - Help, loans, benefits. - Peasant plots. - Duties. - Conclusion.
37 . Opinion about the attachment of peasants at the end of the 16th century. - Law of 1597 on fugitive peasants and the proposed decree on the general attachment of peasants. - Orders of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. - Economic conditions that prepared the serfdom of the peasants. - Land assignment of black and palace peasants. - Increasing loans and increasing personal dependence of landowner peasants. - Peasant transports and escapes and legislative measures against them. - The situation of the landowner peasantry at the beginning of the 17th century. - Conclusions
38 . Review of what has been covered. - Administration in the Moscow state of the XV-XVI centuries. - Unfavorable conditions for its construction. A general look at its structure and character. - Administration of the appanage principality. - The led boyars and the boyar duma. - Governors and volostels. - The meaning of feedings. - Changes in the central administration of the Moscow state from the half of the 15th century. - Orders and the Boyar Duma. - The nature of their activities
39 . Changes in regional government. - Rationing of feedings. - Report and men of judgment. - Lip control. - Its composition. - Department and process. - Character and meaning. - Two questions. - The attitude of the lip administration to the feeders. - Zemstvo reform. - Her reasons. - Introduction of zemstvo institutions. - Department and responsibility of earthly authorities. Correct management. - The nature and significance of the reform
40 . Management and society. - Fragmentation and class character of local self-government. Failure of the all-class beginning. - The need to unite local institutions. - Zemsky Sobors. - The legend of the cathedral of 1550 - Analysis of the legend. Composition of the cathedrals of 1566 and 1598 - Service and commercial and industrial people in their composition. - Zemsky Sobor and land. The meaning of a conciliar representative. - The order of council meetings. - The meaning of the kiss of the cross. - Connection of cathedrals with local worlds. - The origin and significance of zemstvo cathedrals. - Thought about the All-Earth Council. - Moscow state at the end of the 16th century
41 . A look at the IV period of Russian history. - Main facts of the period. - Mutual contradictions in the relationship between these facts. - The influence of foreign policy on the internal life of the state. - The course of affairs in the IV period in connection with this influence. - State and political consciousness of society. - The beginning of the Troubles. - End of the dynasty. Tsar Feodor and Boris Godunov. - Reasons for the Troubles. Imposture
42 . Consistent entry into the Troubles of all classes of society. - Tsar Boris and the boyars. - False Dmitry I and the boyars. - Tsar Vasily and the great boyars. - Tsar Vasily’s cross-record and its meaning. - Middle boyars and metropolitan nobility. - Treaty of February 4, 1610 and Moscow Treaty of August 17, 1610 - Comparison of them. - Provincial nobility and the zemstvo verdict on June 30, 1611 - Participation of the lower classes in the Time of Troubles
43 . Causes of the Troubles. - Its dynastic reason: patrimonial-dynastic view of the state. - A look at the elected king. - The reason is socio-political: the tax system of the state. - Social discord. - The meaning of imposture during the Time of Troubles. - Conclusions. - The second militia and the cleansing of Moscow from the Poles. - Election of Michael. - Reasons for his success
44 . The immediate consequences of the Troubles. - New political concepts. - Their manifestations in the Time of Troubles. - Change in the composition of the government class. - Disorder of localism. - New arrangement of supreme power. - The Tsar and the Boyars. - Boyar Duma and Zemsky Sobor. - Simplification of supreme power. - Boyar attempt in 1681. Change in the composition and significance of the Zemsky Sobor. - Ruin. - The mood of society after the turmoil.
45 . The external situation of the Moscow state after the Time of Troubles. - Objectives of foreign policy under the new dynasty. - Western Rus' since the union of Lithuania with Poland. - Changes in management and class relations. - Cities and Magdeburg law. - Union of Lublin. - Its consequences. - Settlement of steppe Ukraine. - Origin of the Cossacks. - Little Russian Cossacks. - Zaporozhye
46 . The moral character of the Little Russian Cossacks. - Cossacks stand for faith and nationality. - Discord among the Cossacks. - Little Russian question. - Baltic and Eastern issues. - European relations of the Moscow state. - The importance of Moscow’s foreign policy in the 17th century
47 . Fluctuations in the internal life of the Moscow state in the 17th century. - Two series of innovations. - Direction of legislation and the need for a new set of laws. - Moscow rebellion of 1648 and its relation to the Code. - The verdict on July 16, 1648 on the drawing up of the Code and the execution of the sentence. - Written sources of the Code. - Participation of council electors in its preparation. - Composition techniques. The meaning of the Code. - New ideas. - Newly listed articles
48 . Government difficulties. - Centralization of local government; governors and provincial elders. - The fate of zemstvo institutions. - District ranks. Concentration of central control. District ranks. - Concentration of central control. - Orders of Accounting and Secret Affairs. - Community focus. - Basic and transitional classes. - Formation of classes. - Service people. - Posad population; return of pawnbrokers to the townsman's tax
49 . Peasants on the lands of private owners. - Conditions of their position. - Serfdom in ancient Rus'. - The origin of indentured servitude. - April Decree 1597 - Backyard people. - The emergence of serf peasant records. - Her origin. - Her conditions. - Serfs according to the Code of 1649 - Peasant bellies. - Tax liability for serfs. - The difference between the serf peasantry and servitude in the era of the Code
50 . Lords and serfs. - Serfdom and the Zemsky Sobor. - Social composition of the Zemsky Sobor in the 17th century. - Its numerical composition. - Elections. - Progress of affairs at the councils. - The political nature of councils. - Conditions for their fragility. - The thought of the Zemsky Sobor in the trading classes. - Disintegration of the cathedral representation. What did the Zemsky Sobor of the 17th century do? - Review of what was said
51 . Connection of phenomena. - Troops and finances. - Salary taxes: indirect; direct - money data and frivolous, yamsky, polonyanichny, streltsy. - Scribe books. - Non-salary fees. - Experiments and reforms. - Salt duty and tobacco monopoly. - Copper credit notes and the Moscow riot of 1662 - Living quarter. - Underwater tax and census books. - Class allocation of direct taxes. - Finance and zemstvo. - Extension of taxes to people living in the backyard. Distribution of people's labor between state forces. - Extraordinary taxes. - List of income and expenses 1680
52 . Dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the state. - His reasons. - Its manifestations. Popular uprisings. - Reflection of discontent in written monuments. - Book I.A. Khvorostinin. - Patriarch Nikon. - Grig. Kotoshikhin. - Yuri Krizhanich.
53 . Western influence. - Its beginning. - Why did it start in the 17th century? - The meeting of two foreign influences and their differences. - Two directions in the mental life of Russian society. - Graduality of Western influence. - Regiments of foreign formation. - Factories. - Thoughts about the fleet. - Thought about the national economy. - New German settlement. - European comfort. - Theater. - Thought about scientific knowledge. - His first guides. - Scientific works of Kyiv scientists in Moscow. The beginnings of school education. - S. Polotsky
54 . The beginning of a reaction to Western influence. - Protest against new science. - Church schism. - The story of its beginning. - How both sides explain its origin. - The power of religious rituals and texts. - Its psychological basis. - Rus' and Byzantium. - Eclipse of the idea of the universal church. - Tradition and science. National-church conceit. - State innovations. - Patriarch Nikon
55 . The position of the Russian Church upon Nikon’s accession to the patriarchal throne. - His idea of a universal church. - His innovations. - How did Nikon contribute to the church schism? - Latinophobia. - Confessions of the first Old Believers. - Review of what was said. - Folk psychological composition of the Old Believers. - Schism and enlightenment. - Promoting division to Western influence
56 . Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. - F.M. Rtishchev
57 . A.L. Ordin-Nashchokin
58 . Prince V.V. Golitsyn. - Preparation and reform program
59 . The life of Peter the Great before the start of the Northern War. - Infancy. - Court teacher. - Teaching. - Events of 1682 - Peter in Preobrazhenskoye. - Funny. - Secondary school. - Moral growth of Peter. - The reign of Queen Natalia. - Peter's company. - The meaning of fun. Trip abroad. - Return
60 . Peter the Great, his appearance, habits, way of life and thoughts, character
61 . Foreign policy and reform of Peter the Great. - Foreign policy objectives. - International relations in Europe. - Beginning of the Northern War. - Progress of the war. - Its influence on the reform. - Progress and connection of reforms. - Study order. - Military reform. - Formation of a regular army. - Baltic Fleet. - Military budget
62 . The importance of military reform. - The position of the nobility. - The nobility of the capital. - The triple meaning of the nobility before the reform. - Noble reviews and analyses. - The lack of success of these measures. - Compulsory training for the nobility. - Procedure for serving. - Service division. - Changes in the genealogical composition of the nobility. - The significance of the changes outlined above. The rapprochement of estates and estates. - Decree on unified inheritance. - Effect of the decree
63 . Peasants and the first revision. - Composition of the company according to the Code. Recruitment and recruitment. - Capitation census. - Quartering of regiments. - Simplification of social composition. - Capitation census and serfdom. - National economic significance of the capitation census
64 . Industry and trade. - Plan and methods of Peter’s activities in this area. - I. Calling foreign craftsmen and manufacturers. - II. Sending Russian people abroad. - III. Legislative propaganda. - IV. Industrial companies, benefits, loans and subsidies. - Hobbies, failures and successes. - Trade and communications
65 . Finance. - Difficulties. - Measures to eliminate them. - New taxes; informers and profit-makers. - Arrived. - Monastic order. - Monopolies. Capitation tax. - Its meaning. Budget 1724 - Results of financial reform. Obstacles to reform.
66 . Transformation of management. - Study order. - Boyar Duma and orders. - Reform of 1699 - Voivodship comrades. - Moscow City Hall and Kurbatov. - Preparation of provincial reform. - Provincial division of 1708 - Governance of the province. - Failure of provincial reform. - Establishment of the Senate. - Origin and significance of the Senate. - Fiscals. - Collegiums
67 . Transformation of the Senate. - Senate and Prosecutor General. - New changes in local government. - Commissioners from the land. - Magistrates. - Start of new institutions. - The difference between the foundations of central and regional management. - Regulations. New management in action. - Robberies
69 . Russian society at the moment of the death of Peter the Great. - International position of Russia. - The impression of Peter’s death among the people. - The attitude of the people towards Peter. - The legend of the impostor king. - The legend of the Antichrist king. - The significance of both legends for the reform. - Change in the composition of the upper classes. - Their educational means. Study abroad. - Newspaper. - Theater. - Public education. - Schools and teaching. - Gluck Gymnasium. - Primary schools. - Books; assemblies; textbook of secular manners. - The ruling class and its attitude to reform
70 . Era 1725-1762 - Succession to the throne after Peter I. - Accession of Catherine I. - Accession of Peter II. - Further changes on the throne. - Guard and nobility. - Political mood of the upper class - the Supreme Privy Council. - Prince D.M. Golitsyn. - Supreme Commanders 1730
71 . Unrest among the nobility caused by the election of Duchess Anne to the throne. - Gentry projects. - New plan of Prince D. Golitsyn. - Crash. - His reasons. - Case connection. 1730 with the past. - Empress Anna and her court. - Foreign policy. - Movement against the Germans
72 . The significance of the era of palace coups. - The attitude of governments after Peter I to his reform. - The powerlessness of these governments. - Peasant question. - Chief Prosecutor Anisim Maslov. - Nobility and serfdom. - Service benefits of the nobility: educational qualifications and service life. - Strengthening noble land ownership: abolition of single inheritance; noble loan bank; decree on fugitives; expansion of serfdom; class cleansing of noble land ownership. - Abolition of compulsory service for the nobility. - The third formation of serfdom. - Practice of law
75 . Basic fact of the era. - Empress Catherine the Second. - Her origin. - Elizabeth's courtyard. - Catherine's position at court. - Catherine's course of action. - Her classes. - Trials and successes. - Count A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. - Catherine under Emperor Peter III the Third. - Character
79 . The fate of the central administration after the death of Peter 1. - Transformation of regional administration. - Provinces. - Provincial institutions, administrative and financial. - Provincial judicial institutions. - Contradictions in the structure of provincial institutions. - Letters granted to the nobility and cities. - The importance of provincial institutions in 1775
81 . The influence of serfdom on the mental and moral life of Russian society. - Cultural needs of noble society. - Noble education program. - Academy of Sciences and University. - State and private educational institutions. - Home education. - Morals of noble society. - Influence of French literature. - Guides to French literature. - Results of the influence of educational literature. - Typical representatives of an educated noble society. - The significance of the reign of Empress Catherine II. - Increase in material resources. Increasing social discord. - Nobility and society
85 . Reign of Nicholas 1. Objectives. - The beginning of the reign of Nicholas 1 the First. - Codification. - Own office. - Provincial Department. - Growth of bureaucracy. Peasant question. - The structure of state peasants. - Legislation on peasants. - Its meaning
86 . Essay on the most important reforms of Alexander 2 the Second. - Serf population. - Landowner farming. - The mood of the peasants. - Accession to the throne of Alexander 2. - Preparation of peasant reform. - Secret Committee on Peasant Affairs. - Provincial committees. - Reform projects. - Editorial commissions. - Main features of the Regulations of February 19, 1861. - Land structure of peasants. - Peasant duties and land redemption. - Loan. - Redemption payments. - Zemstvo reform. - Conclusion
These lectures are a general course on the history of Russia, in which V. O. Klyuchevsky outlined his concept of the historical development of Russia.
The scientist believes that the purpose of studying local history is the same as the purpose of studying human history in general. The subject of universal history is the process of human coexistence. This community is made up of the interaction of various social elements, forces that build human society. These forces are: nature and people, person and social union, power and law, labor and capital, knowledge and art, etc. These forces are present in every society, but the society created by them is not the same in its character and in its forms at different times and in different places. This happens because the listed social forces do not come in the same combinations in different places and different times. The more diverse combinations of elements we study, the more we recognize new properties in social elements, the more fully we understand the nature of each of them.
Through historical study we learn not only the nature of social elements, but also their mechanism, we learn when a certain social force moved humanity forward and when it retarded its movement, when, for example, capital destroyed free labor without increasing its productivity, and when, on the contrary, this capital helped labor become more productive without enslaving it. Thus, in the course of the history of Russia, V. O. Klyuchevsky is primarily interested in the following questions: what peculiar local combinations does this history of an individual people represent, how these peculiar combinations arose, what new properties were revealed by the elements operating in it. In his presentation he confines himself to the facts of economic and political life and divides history into periods corresponding to changes in the relations between the main social elements.
The first part includes three periods. The first period lasts from the 8th to the end of the 12th century, when the mass of the Russian population was concentrated on the middle and upper Dnieper with its tributaries and its historical water continuation of the Lovati-Volkhov region. The second period is the time of the Upper Volga appanage Rus' from the end of the 12th to the half of the 15th century. The third period begins with the accession of John III to the princely table in 1462 and continues until 1613, when a new dynasty appears on the Moscow throne
The second part includes the fourth period - from 1613, when the Zemsky Sobor elected Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich to the Moscow throne until 1762 - changes in the state position of the nobility, landownership and service.
The third part includes two sections. The first is dedicated to the 18th century. The second includes the end of the 18th century and the 19th century - the reign of Alexander II (the appendix talks about Alexander III).
Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky (January 16 (28), 1841, Voskresenovka village, Penza province - May 12 (25), 1911, Moscow) - Russian historian, ordinary professor at Moscow University; ordinary academician of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (extra staff) in Russian history and antiquities (1900), chairman of the Imperial Society of Russian History and Antiquities at Moscow University, Privy Councilor.
After the death of his father, the village priest Osip Vasilyevich Klyuchevsky (1815-1850), the Klyuchevsky family moved to Penza, where Vasily studied at the parish and district theological schools, then in 1856 he entered the Penza Theological Seminary, however, he did not graduate from it, in 1861 went to Moscow, where he entered the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University.
Among Klyuchevsky’s teachers were professors S.V. Eshevsky (general history), S. M. Solovyov (Russian history), F. I. Buslaev (history of ancient Russian literature). Candidate's dissertation: “Tales of foreigners about the Moscow State”; master's thesis: “Ancient Russian Lives of Saints as a Historical Source” (1871), doctoral thesis: “The Boyar Duma of Ancient Rus'” (1882).
After the death of S. M. Solovyov (1879), he began teaching a course in Russian history at Moscow University. Since 1882 - professor at Moscow University. In parallel with his main place of work, he lectured at the Moscow Theological Academy and the Moscow Women's Courses, organized by his friend V. I. Gerye. In the period 1887-1889 he was dean of the Faculty of History and Philology and vice-rector of the university.
In 1889 he was elected a corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in the category of historical and political sciences.
In 1893-1895, on behalf of Emperor Alexander III, he taught a course in Russian history to Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich. Among his students was also A.S. Khakhanov.
In 1899, a “Brief Guide to Russian History” was published, and since 1904 the full course has been published. A total of 4 volumes were published - until the reign of Catherine II.
In 1900 he was elected an ordinary academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences (extra staff) in Russian history and antiquities.
In 1905, Klyuchevsky received an official assignment to participate in the work of the Commission for the revision of laws on the press and in meetings on the project for the establishment of the State Duma and its powers.
In 1906, in Paris, he was accepted into the Lodge of the Scottish Rite “Cosmos” together with historians Professor A. S. Trachevsky, E. V. Anichkov and a number of other famous Russian public figures, mainly belonging to the Cadet Party.
On April 10, 1906, he was elected a member of the State Council from the Academy of Sciences and universities, but on April 11 he refused the title because he did not find participation in the council “independent enough for free... discussion of emerging issues of state life.”
V. O. Klyuchevsky was an honorary member of the Vitebsk Scientific Archival Commission.
Scientific approach
When considering Russian history, he brought political and economic events to the fore. Klyuchevsky had the gift of a publicist, was an excellent lecturer, and infected listeners and readers with his polemical fervor. Unfortunately, carried away by his wild imagination, he sometimes forgot about scientific accuracy, juggled historical facts too freely, and as a result distorted real historical events. He made serious mistakes, ignoring archival sources, and mistaking his guesses and assumptions for scientific discoveries. This misled generations of Russian and foreign historians who relied on his authority and took his statements on faith. When studying the history of Russia according to Klyuchevsky, one should be careful and consult other studies. Despite these problems, Klyuchevsky is certainly one of the largest and most interesting scientists and writers in Russia.
Vasily Klyuchevsky (1841-1911) is the largest and one of the most prominent Russian historians of the second half of the 19th century. He is rightfully considered the founder of bourgeois economism in Russian historiography, since he was the first to pay close attention to the study of people's life and the economic foundations of social life.
Some information about the historian’s youth
Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich, whose brief biography is presented in this section, was born in 1841 in He was the son of a village priest. Both of his grandfathers and great-grandfathers were also clergymen. Therefore, church teaching had a great influence on him. The researcher retained his interest in Orthodox history throughout his life: his first dissertation was devoted to the lives of saints, and in his famous courses on Russian history he invariably turned to the spiritual development of the people and the role of Orthodoxy in the country’s past.
Vasily Klyuchevsky studied at the Penza parish school and the Penza seminary, but decided to devote himself to the secular science of history. He was attracted to the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University, which was the center of socio-political life at the time in question. However, church education had a great influence on him. The historian himself admitted that the study of scholasticism developed in him the ability to think logically.
Years of study and first research
Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky, whose brief biography is continued in this section, studied at Moscow University for four years. This time became decisive in the choice of his profession and research topics. The lectures of the historian F. Buslaev had a great influence on him. At the same time, the future scientist became very interested in folk culture, folklore, sayings, and proverbs.
Vasily Klyuchevsky decided to devote himself to studying the foundations of folk life, as he put it. His first dissertation was devoted to a thorough study of hagiographic literature. Before him, none of the domestic historians dealt with this topic in such detail. Another major study is devoted to the study of the composition. Vasily Klyuchevsky very carefully analyzed those social strata that were part of this advisory body under the Russian princes and tsars. His work opened up new approaches in historiography when studying the social structure of society. His methodology included a detailed analysis of all manifestations of the life and way of life of the common people, which was especially important for Russia in the second half of the 19th century after the abolition of serfdom.
Works on history
Vasily Klyuchevsky, whose biography was briefly presented in the previous sections, is known as the author of the famous course of lectures that he delivered over several decades. Being an excellent speaker, he had an excellent command of the literary language, which made his speeches especially vivid and expressive. Thanks to the apt and witty remarks and conclusions with which he accompanied his scientific reasoning, his lectures gained particular popularity. Vasily Klyuchevsky, whose history of Russia became a real standard not only for his students, but also for many other domestic scientists, also became famous as a thoughtful observer of the life of the Russian people. Before him, researchers, as a rule, paid attention to political events and facts, so his work, without exaggeration, can be called a real breakthrough in historiography.
Scientist's language
A feature of Klyuchevsky’s vocabulary is the expressiveness, accuracy and brightness of his statements. The researcher was able to very clearly express his thoughts on a variety of problems of our time and the past. For example, he made the following statement about the reforms of the first Russian emperor: “A lot of rubbish always remains from a large construction project, and in Peter’s hasty work a lot of good was lost.” The historian often resorted to comparisons and metaphors of this kind, which, while notable for their wit, nevertheless conveyed his thoughts very well.
His statement about Catherine II, whom he called “the last accident on the Russian throne,” is interesting. The scientist quite often resorted to such comparisons, which made it possible to better assimilate the material covered. Many of Klyuchevsky’s expressions have become a kind of sayings in Russian historiography. Often his phrases are referred to in order to give expressiveness to reasoning. Many of his words became aphorisms. Thus, the saying “In Russia, the center is on the periphery” almost immediately became popular among the people: it can often be found in the press, at symposiums, and conferences.
Scholar about history and life
Klyuchevsky’s thoughts are distinguished by originality and originality. So, in his own way, he remade the famous Latin proverb that history teaches life: “History teaches nothing, but only punishes for ignorance of the lessons.” The accuracy, clarity and brightness of the language brought the scientist not only all-Russian, but also world fame: many foreign researchers, studying the history of Russia, refer specifically to his works. Also of interest are the historian’s aphorisms, in which he expressed his attitude not only to history, but also to general philosophical problems in general: “Life is not about living, but about feeling that you are living.”
Some facts from the biography
In conclusion, we should highlight several interesting moments from the life of this outstanding researcher. The future researcher learned to read at the age of four and from early childhood showed an amazing ability to learn. At the same time, he struggled with stuttering and, as a result of great effort, managed to overcome this vice and become a brilliant speaker. He took part in the famous Peterhof meetings to draft the Duma, and also ran as a deputy, but did not pass. So, Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky, whose biography and work became the subject of this study, is one of the leading domestic experts in the study of Russian history.
