What was Novorossiya like a century ago? In 1910, a 14-volume publication edited by V.P. Semenov-Tien-Shansky “Russia. Complete geographical description our society." We have collected unique facts from the volume “Crimea and Novorossiya”, the re-release of which we are preparing.

"New Byzantium"

1. Lands liberated from the Turks and Crimean Tatars in the 18th century, it was decided to call it Novorossiya, by analogy with Little Russia and Great Russia. The annexation of these lands during the era of Catherine was part of the “Greek Project”: the advance to the south and the revival of Byzantium with its center in New Rome (Constantinople).

2. On turn of XIX-XX centuries, New Russia included modern Moldova, Stavropol, Donbass, Rostov, Odessa, Kherson, Nikolaev, Kirovograd and Dnepropetrovsk regions.

3. A lot of cities in New Russia bore Greek names - Stavropol, Simferopol, Sevastpol, Nikopol, Olviopol, Kherson, Balaklava, Alexandria, Tiraspol, etc. This indirectly reflected the “Byzantine idea” of Russian rulers.

Novorossiya and Novorossiysk

4. The modern city of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar region, despite its name, was located slightly south of the provinces, which at the end of the 19th century were commonly associated with Novorossiya.

5. From 1796 to 1802, Novorossiysk was called Dnepropetrovsk, a city on the Dnieper with a rich history. In 1776, the city of Yekaterinoslav (as it was called in 1776-1796 and 1802-1926) became the center of Novorossiya - the then Azov province.

It was planned in 1784 to make it the “third capital” of the Russian Empire, after Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city changed many names, even managing to be Samara (or rather Samar, a Cossack town on the Samara River, which flows into the Dnieper).

Living conditions

6. At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, about 12.5 million people lived in Novorossiya:

32% - Great Russians, 42% - Little Russians (lived mainly on the right bank of the Dnieper and Konka);

91% Christians (84.7% Orthodox), 6% Jews, 2% Mohammedans.

7. Novorossiya was a multinational territory. Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Germans, Serbs, Bulgarians, Moldovans, Crimean Tatars, Rusyns, Great and Little Russians lived here. In the Stavropol region there are Kalmyks, Nogais and Turkmens.

8. The warmest winters are in Crimea, where the temperature is above zero. The least hot summer by the sea is in Taganrog and Mariupol.

9. The population was mainly rural (more than 80%). The fewest peasants are in the Kherson and Bessarabia provinces, the most townspeople are in the Kherson and Tauride provinces.

10. The largest number of schools and students was observed in Crimea and the southwestern regions.

11. Half of the land was in private hands. The most expensive land was in the Bessarabian province - 90 rubles per hectare.

12. Kherson province surpassed many others in terms of productivity, provision of bread and arable land

13. Novorossiya was not only a new agricultural, but also an industrial region of Russia. The main labor market was located in Kakhovka, a city in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. Women, teenagers and children worked in industry.

14. The number of teenagers in the sleeve production was about 80% and about 13% children. Children were widely involved in the tobacco industry, and teenagers in the rope and tin industry.

River routes and land roads

15. Before the end of the 15th century, there were no permanent land roads. Temporary steppe roads, portages between rivers and horse trails are known.

16. Some of the most ancient routes of New Russia were: the caravan route from Kyiv to Kafa (Feodosia) (XV century), the Muravsky Way (from Perekop through the Konka and Samara rivers to Orel and Tula), the Mikitinsky, Kizekermen and Kryukovsky Ways (along the Dnieper) , Black Way (from Ochakov into the depths of Poland).

17. Under Nicholas I, the first highway was built - from Simferopol to Sevastopol.

18. First Railway in Novorossiya it was supposed to replace the never-built Volga-Don Canal and went from the Volga settlement of Dubovka to the Kachalinskaya village on the Don.

19. The most important Russian rivers were located in Novorossiya - the Dniester, the Dnieper and the Don. At the same time, river navigation was poorly developed.

20. Shipping was best developed on the Don, but shallow waters prevented the widespread use of the river fleet. The Don fleet was one of the most expensive.

21. The Dnieper was torn into two parts by rapids, which were extremely difficult to overcome dangerous business. Attempts to deepen the bottom in these areas did not bring any serious effect.

22. The Dniester suffered from shallow water and slight rapids and riffles. In addition, cargo traffic along it fell by the end of the 19th century.

Cities of Novorossiya

23. Stavropol, but not Kharkov, belonged to Novorossiya.

24. The largest city in Novorossiya was Odessa. Rostov and Ekaterinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk) competed for second and third place at the turn of the century. Krivoy Rog, one of the largest modern cities Ukraine, was a small town at a post station.

25. Odessa and Rostov were the main trading cities that enjoyed a certain freedom. Where there is trade, there are scammers. That is why the cities became the most famous “thieves’ capitals.” Since those times there has been a saying “Odessa is mother, Rostov is father.”

26. Only Warsaw, St. Petersburg and Moscow were larger than Odessa in the Russian Empire. Rostov is already in 14th place, and Ekaterinoslav is in 17th place (1,2 and 3rd place in Novorossiya, respectively).

27. Odessa was the largest seaport and railway junction. The convenient location on the Black Sea and between the mouths of two major European rivers (Dnieper and Dniester) ensured the wealth of the city. It was closer to the European capitals (Vienna and Rome) than to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

28. The Armenians founded several cities in Novorossiya - Nakhichevan-on-Don (now the Rostov region), Grigoriopol (on the banks of the Dniester) and the Holy Cross (modern Budennovsk in Stavropol). Contemporaries noted that Nakhichevan, thanks to its gardens, was superior in beauty to neighboring Rostov. By the end of the 19th century they had merged into a single city.

29. The most important cities of the Greeks were Balaklava (in Crimea) and Mariupol (formerly called Kalmius in Greek). Near Mariupol on the Kalka River (modern Kalmius or Kalchik flowing into it) a tragic battle of troops took place ancient Russian princes with the Mongol conquerors.

30.Bendery is not only a colloquial name for Ukrainian radical nationalists, but also the oldest city in Transnistria. The name most likely comes from the Persian “harbour, port”. The Moldavian rulers called the city Tyagyankyachya, Tigina or Tungata. The Turks renamed it Bendery.

31. The modern city of Zaporozhye did not arise on empty space. Numerous Dnieper rapids ended here. Even before the appearance of the Zaporozhye Sich, a Scythian town existed on the island of Khortitsa (the largest on the Dnieper). The island is mentioned in ancient Russian chronicles as a place of battles and gatherings of princes; the “capital” of the chronicle fords, Protolcha, a trade and craft settlement named after the famous ford, may have been located here.

32. In 1552, the Volyn prince Dmitry Vishnevetsky built the first Cossack town here, in 1756 the Zaporozhye shipyard was founded here, and later the Alexander Fortress. Aleksandrovsk became the most important transport hub of Novorossia.

Excursion into history

33. The ancient Greek names of the Don, Dnieper, Southern Bug and Dniester are Tanais, Borysthenes, Hypanis and Tiras.

34. The Scythians roamed the steppe and along the lower reaches of the great rivers; the Tauri, after whom the peninsula was named, lived in the Crimea from ancient times, as well as the remnants of the Cimmerians. To the west of Borysthenes lived farmers - the Allazons and Callipids, beyond the Tanais - the Sarmatians. The Allazons and Callipids were involved in trade with the ancient Greeks, who had a rich colony at the mouth of the Borysthenes - Olbia. The Greeks called them Helleno-Scythians.

35. In Bessarabia lived the Thracian tribes - Getae and Dacians, from whom, together with the Roman colonists, the Romanians and Moldavians trace their origins.

36. There are still many ancient ramparts left in Novorossiya, the origin of which is still a matter of debate. Obviously only them ancient origin. These are the Serpentine Shafts, the Trajan Shafts and the Perekop Shaft.

37. On the territory of New Russia were located: the Scythian kingdom, Bosporan Kingdom, colonies of Greeks, Italians, Byzantine lands, Empire of the Huns, state of the Goths Oium, Avar Khanate, Great Bulgaria, Khazar Khaganate, Kievan Rus, Golden Horde, Crimean Khanate, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, lands Ottoman Empire, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Zaporozhye Army (Hetmanate).

38. South part Bessarabia - the interfluve of the lower Dniester and Prut rivers was called the Angle. From it came the name of the Slavic tribe of the Streets.

39. The word Bessarabia comes from the name of the Wallachian prince Basarab I (1319 - 1352).

40. “List of Russian cities near and far” (beginning of the 15th century) mentions old Russian cities in Bessarabia: Belgorod, Yassky Torg on the Prut, Khoten on the Dniester, and Peresechen (according to another version, it was located on the Dnieper near modern Dnepropetrovsk).

41. The coastal cities of Novorossiya also have a long history. On the site of Odessa there was a city of Istrian sailors - Istrion (VI century AD). Nearby there was a whole constellation of ancient Greek colonies: Odessos, Olvia, Thira, Nikonion, Isakion, Skopelos, Alectos.

42. New Russia was chosen by the Greeks and Scythians even before our era. Large trading cities were located here. In place of Azov - Tanais, Taganrog - Kremny, Kerch - Mirmekiy, Tiritaka and Panticapaeum, Theodosia retained the name, in place of Sevastopol - Chersonesos, Evpatoria - Kerkintis, Simferopol - Scythian Naples, the ancient capital of the Scythian kingdom.

43. Another oldest city of the Scythians was located near the modern city of Zaporozhye (until 1921 - Alexandrovsk).

44. From the Greek colonies and settlers we got the word “estuary” (translated as harbor, bay).

45. The cities of Crimea and the Black Sea coast, lost by Byzantium, were quickly reclaimed by the Italians (Venetians and Genoese), Turks and Crimean Tatars. The Crimean Khanate and Gazaria (Genoese colonies) owned the cities of Crimea. The chronicle Surozh (Pike perch) became the Italian Soldaya, Balaklava was called in Italian Chembalo, Yalta - Dzhialita, Alushta - Alusta, Feodosia - Kaffa. Ak-mosque, Akkerman, Achi-Kale are Turkish cities on the site of Simferopol, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky and Ochakov.

46. ​​In Crimea, descendants of the Goths are still found among the Greeks and Crimean Tatars. These are mostly people with blue eyes and blond hair, who have completely switched to a foreign language. However, according to the surviving descriptions of medieval historians, the Crimean Gothic language existed until late XVIII century.

47. In the Southern Crimea there was the legendary Gothia, which later became the Orthodox principality of Theodoro with a Greek-Gothic-Alanian population and was captured by the Turks in 1475. The capital of Theodoro - Mangup, was deserted and completely disappeared as a settlement today.

48. The city of Old Crimea has changed about 22 names throughout its history. The most famous: Taz, Kareya, Trakana, Solkhat, Levkopol.

49. The Perekop Isthmus, separating Crimea from the mainland, has been the most important place since ancient times, the “gateway” to the mainland. According to Ptolemy and Pliny the Elder, there was even a canal here for some time connecting the Azov and Black Seas. On the site of Perekop there was an ancient Greek trading city called Taphros. Here is the Perekop shaft, which is about 2 thousand years old.

50. Russian cities existed in New Russia back in the 10th century (Belgorod at the mouth of the Dniester and Oleshye at the mouth of the Dnieper). With the weakening of the Golden Horde, new cities appear. They belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in which, as is known, official language and the language of the majority of the population was Russian.

After the death of Vytautas in 1430, a list of castles was given: Sokolets (now Voznesensk, Nikolaev region), Black City (Ochakov, Nikolaev region), Kachuklenov (Odessa).

Cossacks and border guards

51. Border Serbs (Austrian “Cossacks”) asked the Russian government to settle them in Russia. This is how a whole region was born - New Serbia on the territory of modern Kirovograd region. Its capital became the city of Novomirgorod. More than ten years later, New Serbia became part of the Novorossiysk province.

52. Another area where Serbs and other Balkan settlers lived was Slavyanoserbia (in the territory of Lugansk and Donetsk regions), the center of which was the city of Bakhmut (modern Artyomovsk).

53. Cossacks in New Russia included for the most part in the Don Army and the Zaporozhye Army. The Cossacks settled “beyond the rapids” in the lower reaches of the Dnieper on numerous islands and capes. History remembers successive battles: Khortitsa (on Khortitsa Island), Tokmakovskaya (on Tokmakovka Island), Nikitinskaya (at the Nikitinsky Horn), Chertomlykskaya (along the river), Bazavalukskaya (on Bazavluk Island), Pidpilnyanskaya, Kamenskaya and Aleshkovskaya ( by the name of the rivers that fell).

54. Don Cossacks had towns along the Don and Medveditsa. The most famous are Cherkasy, Monastyrsky, Tsimlyansky.

Photographer Sergei Karpov and correspondent Sergei Prostakov asked the participants of the Russian March their opinion about Novorossiya.

“Russian March” is the largest action of nationalists, which has been held annually on November 4, National Unity Day, since 2005. The event changed its location in Moscow and the composition of participants. Deputies of the State Duma, Eurasians of Alexander Dugin, and National Bolsheviks of Eduard Limonov took part in the nationalist procession. In 2011, Alexei Navalny actively encouraged people to attend the Russian March. By 2013, the “Russian March” had finally turned into a subcultural phenomenon of Russian nationalists, who were united by anti-Caucasian and anti-migrant slogans.

But in 2014, the fragile “anti-immigrant” consensus came to an end. The entry of Crimea into Russia, the war in Donbass, and the formation of Novorossiya split the camp of Russian nationalists. Some of them supported the actions Russian authorities and Donetsk separatists, others sharply condemned them. As a result, on November 4, 2014, two “Russian Marches” took place in Moscow, one of which was directly called “For Novorossiya.”

But there was also no unity among those who attended the “classic” march in the Moscow district of Lyublino: slogans against the war with Ukraine and in support of Novorossiya were simultaneously heard in the crowd. The numbers speak even more eloquently about the crisis among Russian nationalists: in previous years, the “Russian March” in Lyublino gathered at least 10 thousand participants, and in 2014 no more than three thousand came to the action.

Photographer Sergei Karpov and correspondent Sergei Prostakov asked ordinary participants in the ninth “Russian March” in Moscow: what is “Novorossiya”? Its supporters are confident that there is now a war of independence going on in Donbass; opponents believe that Novorossiya does not exist.

(Total 13 photos)

1. Sergey, 27 years old, forwarder(left): “Novorossiya” should be a white country with Russian orders, so today I only partially support this education.”
Dmitry, 33 years old, entrepreneur(right): “Novorossiya” is a new territorial-administrative unit, which I categorically support.”

2. Ilya, 55 years old, unemployed(left): “I have no idea what Novorossiya is, so I don’t support it.”
Andrey, 32 years old, programmer(right): “Novorossiya” is still a mythical unification, which, I hope, will take place as a state.”

3. Yaroslav, 26 years old, engineer(left): “Novorossiya” is a Kremlin project that Russian nationalists cannot support.”
Nikita, 16 years old, Russian nationalist(right): “I cannot explain what Novorossiya is, but I support the idea itself.”

4. Alexander, 54 years old, journalist(left): “Novorossiya” today is an invented something that has nothing to do with Novorossiya, which existed under Catherine II. There's a war going on there now, so I can't support the loss of life. And you can’t support Novorossiya with the media that gives information from there.”
Tamara, 70 years old, women’s movement “Slavyanka”, Union of Native Muscovites(right): “Novorossiya” is part of historical Russia.”

5. Dmitry, 49 years old, freelance artist(left): “I have enough complicated attitude to Novorossiya - the more the Kremlin supports it, the less I support it.”
Vera, 54 years old, fitness club worker from Voronezh(right): “Novorossiya” is a part of Russia that wants to go back. I have relatives living there. IN Voronezh region, where I come from, there are a lot of refugees now. Therefore, I know what is going on there first-hand. This is why I support Novorossiya.

6. Lyubov, 33 years old, entrepreneur(left): “I hate Novorossiya.” This is part of the global struggle against the Russians."
Konstantin, 50 years old, auto electrician(right): “Novorossiya” is fighting against fascism today.”

7. Andrey, 48 years old, unemployed(left): “Novorossiya” consists of bandits and scoundrels.”
Alexander, 55 years old, unemployed(right): “Novorossiya” is a remake. This is the new Rus'. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus - this is all one Rus'. I support the Russian Empire until 1917. Ukraine needs to be fully returned to the empire, and not plucked off little by little. Besides, we don’t need to fight - the Ukrainians and I should be together.”

8. Vyacheslav, 25 years old, worker(left): “In Russia, it is difficult to be objective about Novorossiya, because the lying media talk about it. I try not to talk about it.”
Dmitry, 32 years old, salesman(right): “Novorossiya” is the LPR and DPR. I support their fight."

9. Vitaly, 16 years old, schoolboy(left): Novorossiya is led by bandits. No one recognizes her on the world stage. This formation does not have long to exist.”
Mikhail, 17 years old, schoolboy(right): “Novorossiya” is a part of Russia that is now fighting for independence from Ukraine.”

10. Natalya, 19 years old, works in production(left): “I have no idea what Novorossiya is.” What is this anyway? How can you support “nothing”?”
Sergey, 57 years old, artist(right): “After the referendum, Novorossiya is an independent state. I support this initiative."

11. Oleg, 25 years old, leader of the Russian United National Alliance(left): “Novorossiya” is a foreign entity for any Russian person. Just some wolf in sheep's clothing."
Alexander, 28 years old, worker(right): “Now Novorossiya is a separate state. These territories never belonged to Ukraine. In addition, there is now a fascist junta in Kyiv.”

12. Denis, 39 years old, unemployed(left): “Novorossiya” is a fiction. I would support it if it were an independent project. It is necessary to maintain the territorial integrity of Ukraine, although I agree that Crimea was returned.”
Mikhail, 26 years old, member of the Central Committee of the National Democratic Party(right): “Novorossiya” today is the Russian regions of Ukraine that decided to declare their independence and exercise the right of nations to self-determination.”

13. Vasily, unemployed(left): “I can’t say that I support Novorossiya because I don’t know who really runs it.”
Dometius, 34 years old, member of the National Democratic Party(right): “Until 1917, southern Russia was called Novorossiya. In the early 1920s, the Bolsheviks reported that Novorossiya was destroyed because they gave it to Ukraine. Today, this is a movement that arose in the early 2000s, when pro-Russian forces in Ukraine realized that it would no longer be possible to revive the USSR, but that it was necessary to unite with modern Russia. Today’s “Novorossiya” is pro-Russian circles in Ukraine that share different ideologies, vaguely imagine life in modern Russia, but desire Russian unity.”

December 10th, 2012

"Primarily Russian" Novorossiya in figures and facts.

Many large states are characterized by very significant regional differences, in other words, they consist of a number of historical and cultural regions that have their own specifics. Ukraine is often conventionally divided into 3 large regions, which in turn include a number of smaller regions. This is the so-called Western Ukraine, Central Ukraine and South-Eastern Ukraine.

The difference between South-Eastern Ukraine and the first two regions is visible to the naked eye: here they speak differently and vote differently. Many even wonder if this region did not become part of Ukraine by mistake, and others are even sure that this land was “gifted” to the Ukrainians by the Soviet Union, and in general they (the lands) have nothing to do with Ukraine.

Here I will allow myself to quote the words of one author, which well illustrate the view of the Southeast as “original Russian lands.” Here it is:

"Meanwhile, for normal person Terms such as Novorossiya are unifying for Russia and Ukraine. These lands were inhabited by people who spoke Russian and only Russian.[…] What is Novorossiya? This territory of the Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Nikolaev and Odessa regions, colonized by Empress Catherine the Great and called Novorossiya, was annexed to Ukraine by the Bolshevik regime in a voluntaristic way.[...] In the 1920s, the Bolsheviks carried out the first forced Ukrainization, which became the genocide of the Russian majority of these territories."

I propose to figure out who actually populated Novorossiya, what language they spoke and what the majority was here.

Novorossiya - general information and a brief background

When we are dealing with historical-geographical regions, we need to understand two things: any zoning is conditional, historical-geographical regions in different time could have different boundaries.

Localization

Let's start with localization - where Novorossiya is located, what it includes, and how it relates to other regions, in particular to the modern Southeast.

The southeast of Ukraine, on the one hand, is its entire territory below the so-called. Voeikov axis, in other words - the steppe zone and Crimea. This is based, as it were, on the physical-geographical situation. And with reference to a modern administrative map, these are: Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkov, Lugansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

What is Novorossiya? Its territorial boundaries are different according to different authors. In a broad sense, it includes the southern lands of Ukraine and southwestern Russia, which were secured by the Russian Empire at the end of the 18th century. In a narrow sense, and it is he who interests us, since Russian lands we are not interested, this is the territory of the Yekaterinoslav and Kherson provinces (sometimes the northern (mainland) part of the Tavria province is also included in it). In general, Novorossia, neither in a narrow nor in a broad sense, does not completely coincide with the modern region of South-Eastern Ukraine, since in a broad sense it includes Russian territories, and also does not include the northern parts of the South-East (Kharkov, the northern part of Lugansk regions - this is historical Slobozhanshchina, the far north of Dnepropetrovsk.)

So, in our article, Novorossiya is territorially the Ekaterinoslav and Kherson provinces. (the map below shows the borders of Novorossiya in this sense).

Background of settlement

If you believe Maria Gimbutas with her kurgan hypothesis, then the southeast of Ukraine is part of the ancestral homeland of the Proto-Indo-Europeans. Proto-Indo-Europeans are speakers of a language from which almost all modern languages Europe, and many Asian languages ​​(they are spoken by 2.5 billion people). The Indo-European population (Scythians, Sarmatians) lived here before the Great Migration. Then the Turks come here. Various Turkic peoples replaced each other (Huns, Avars, Khazars, Pechenegs, Cumans, Mongol-Tatars). For a thousand years, no one has passed through these lands, which are the outskirts of the large Eurasian steppes. However, the Indo-Europeans (“already a part” of the Slavs) did not simply cede these lands to the Turkic world and periodically populated these territories. During the times of Rus', for example, Tivertsy and Ulichi settled the right bank Dnieper steppes. Already in the 14th-15th centuries, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania decided to take away the steppes from the Turks, and not without success. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the almost uninhabited steppe was periodically visited by “khodniks”, who were attracted by the wealth of these lands. By the 16th century, the Zaporozhye Cossacks formed here. It was the Cossacks who mastered the northern lands of the future Novorossiya; the main role was played by the territory of the modern Dnepropetrovsk region, on the territory of which most of the sections were located. Below is a map of the lands of the Zaporozhian Army at the beginning of the 18th century.

As we see, a significant part of Novorossiya, long before Catherine, was already part of Russia and was inhabited by Zaporozhye Cossacks. Under Catherine, Russia was included in the results Russian-Turkish wars, in which the Cossacks took an active part, the remaining lands were included. Catherine thanked the Cossacks for their faithful service - they liquidated them, and the Cossacks and newly annexed lands began to be gradually developed.

And now we will actually figure out who populated and developed Novorossiysk lands and what language they spoke.

National composition of New Russia 1719-1897

We will not reinvent the wheel, National composition population according to documents of the Russian Empire has long been studied in detail by historians, and we can only briefly acquaint the reader with the results.

We will present the results compactly - in tablets, and then comment on them. We will take the tablets directly from the original source - the monograph by V. M. Kabuzan.(“Settlement of Novorossiya (Ekaterinoslav and Kherson provinces) in the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries (1719-1858)”, 1976 (doctoral dissertation)).

For reference:

Vladimir Kabuzan

born 1932 Doctor of Historical Sciences. Chief researcher at the Institute of Russian History. Author of 15 monographs, including: “Russians in the World” (1996); “The population of the North Caucasus in the 19th-20th centuries.” (1996); “The serf population of Russia in the XVIII - 50s years XIX century" (2003)

So, the share of the Ukrainian population of Novorossiya 1719-1850:

National composition by county:

As can be seen from the tables presented above, the population of Novorossiya in the 19th century was multinational. Ukrainians, Russians, Greeks, Jews, Germans, Moldovans and others lived here. However, the region as a whole has always been dominated by Ukrainians. Moreover, in such a multinational region there were territories almost entirely inhabited by Ukrainians. Before active settlement region, there were no one except Ukrainians as settlers in most of the territory of the region. But even by the middle of the 19th century, when the region was already very densely populated, and the total population reached a million, there were territories with an almost monoethnic Ukrainian composition, so in the 1850s Ukrainians made up 94.77% of the population of Novomoskovsk, 91.07% Alexandria and 98.85% of Verkhnedneprovsky district.

Think about the number 98.85%! Even the modern Ternopil region would envy such a percentage. And what’s interesting is that there were no Russians (Great Russians) here at all in 1857, not a single person.

Thus, in Novorossiya of the 18th and 19th centuries there were lands that were almost entirely or completely populated only by Ukrainians. The majority of the population (>50%) has always been Ukrainians in the region as a whole, and in specific counties almost always. As can be seen from the table, in 1779 Ukrainians did not constitute a majority in 3 districts: Rostov, Aleksandrovsk and Slavyanoserbsk. In the Rostov district (this is now Russia), the Armenians took first place, in the Alexandria district the Greeks who moved from Crimea came in first place, in the Slavyanoserbsky district the Ukrainians came in first place, but there were more Russians along with the Moldovans. However, this was a temporary phenomenon; after a few years the situation changed. In the first half of the 19th century, Ukrainians made up more than 50% in all counties. The 1897 census also recorded the predominance of Ukrainians in almost all counties. They no longer constituted the majority in Odessa, where Russians came in first place, and Jews came in second.

The Russians played an important, but in comparison with the Ukrainians, a very modest role in the settlement of New Russia. Their share in the 18th century was significant in the extreme eastern Bakhmut and Slavyanoserbian districts, in the rest they either did not exist at all or were very few, for example, in the territory of the future Kherson province there were about 8% of them - this is the third place after the Ukrainians and Moldovans . Subsequently, the share of Russians grew, but even in 1857 the share of Russians in the Ekaterinoslav province was only 8%.

Thus, Ukrainians in Novorossiya:

1)They began to develop these lands before the Russians (Great Russians)

2)They have always constituted the majority in the region as a whole, and in all, with rare exceptions, counties in particular. They had the maximum share of the entire population of the region in 1745 - 96.86%, the minimum from 1719 to 1858 - in 1779 (64.76%).

Russians in Novorossiya:

1)They began to develop these lands later than the Ukrainians

2) They never constituted a majority (>50%) in any district (in Odessa in 1897 they were the most numerous ethnic group, but did not make up 50%)

3)In many districts they were not even the 2nd largest ethnic group, for example in the mid-19th century in the Tiraspol district they occupied only 5th place, in Aleksandrovsky - third.

4)Absent in some counties altogether!

Following the Russian Empire, the name Novorossiya sank into history for a long time. Now this name is again on everyone’s lips; it is now known not only in Russia and neighboring countries, but throughout the world. Let's try to delve into history and consider what this region was like, how it was developed, what names are associated with it.

These places were, of course, inhabited many centuries ago, but they began to be actively developed after the time of Peter the Great. There are exits to the Black and Azov Seas, which means the development of trade with European and maybe other countries. Once upon a time, in the 13th - 16th centuries, the Crimean Tatars ruled here. In the steppe for many miles there was not a single tree or village. All that was needed were robbers from among the Tatars.

There were few infertile soils and they were located closer to the sea. The most abundant rivers were the Dnieper, Dniester and Bug, while other small rivers disappeared during frequent droughts. There was an abundance of fish in the rivers, and on land there were deer, fallow deer, saigas, wild boars and horses, foxes, badgers, and many species of birds. “Wild horses were found here in herds of 50-60 heads, and it was extremely difficult to tame them; they were hunted, and horse meat was sold on a par with beef.” The climate of the region is warmer than in many other places in Russia. All this together created favorable conditions to attract Russian settlers.

However, the paths of history are not simple. Life in the steppe was associated with many inconveniences, and for a person of the 17th century. was extremely difficult. Yes, because of the dry continental climate winters were harsh, with winds and blizzards, and droughts often occurred in the summer. The steppes were open to the action of winds on all sides, the northern wind brought with it cold, and the eastern wind brought terrible dryness and heat. The insufficient amount of river water and the rapid absorption of evaporation by the atmosphere due to dry winds led to the fact that in the summer all the rich vegetation dried out.

Springs and wells in the southeastern part of the Novorossiysk Territory were located only along the banks of rivers, and there were none in the steppe on the mountain, so roads were laid near rivers. In addition to drought, swarms of locusts, as well as clouds of midges and mosquitoes, were a real scourge. All this represented a serious obstacle to the full-fledged pursuit of cattle breeding and agriculture, not to mention the constant danger of attack by the Tatars. Thus, the first colonists were forced to fight both nature and the Crimean Tatars, performing a defensive function.

The beginning of the settlement of the Novorossiysk steppes in the first half. 18th century

The first settlers of the Novorossiysk steppes were the Zaporozhye Cossacks, who founded their Sich beyond the Dnieper rapids on the island of Khortitsa in the second half of the 16th century. From that time on, the places of the Sich changed - now on Tomakovka Island, now on Mikitin Rog, now on Chertomlytsky Rechishche, now on the river. Kamenka, then in the Oleshki tract, then above the Podpolnaya river. Relocation from one place to another was due to many reasons, big role natural conditions played.

In the first time of its historical existence in the XVI - beginning. XVII centuries The Zaporozhye Sich was a military brotherhood hiding from the Tatars on the Dnieper islands, which, of necessity, abandoned many forms of proper civil life - family, personal property, agriculture, etc. The second goal of the brotherhood was the colonization of the steppe. Over time, the borders of Zaporozhye expanded more and more to include the Wild Field and the Tatar steppe. In the 18th century The Zaporozhye Sich was a small “fenced city, containing one church, 38 so-called kurens and up to 500 kuren Cossack, trading and craftsman’s houses.”

It was the capital of the army, destroyed in 1775. The Zaporozhye lands occupied the territory on which the Ekaterinoslav and Kherson provinces were subsequently formed, with the exception of the Ochakov region, that is, the area lying between the Bug and the Dniester. They stretched mainly along the river. Dnieper.

Zaporozhye villages were scattered over a vast area, the population was engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture and other peaceful crafts. Exact data on the number of inhabitants is unknown. “According to the official statement compiled by Tevelius at the time of the destruction of the Zaporozhye Sich, there were (except for the Sich in the narrow sense of the word) 45 villages and 1601 winter houses, all inhabitants were 59637 of both sexes.” The historian of the Novorossiysk region Skalkovsky counted 12,250 people based on authentic documents from the Sich archive. The land of the Zaporozhian Army, which makes up most of Novorossiya, became part of Russia in 1686 under the “eternal peace” with Poland.

Russian state colonization of Novorossiya in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Atlas of the Russian Empire. 1800 Sheet 38. Novorossiysk province of 12 districts

At the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, in 1770, the so-called Dnieper line was built, which was the result of victories in the Turkish war (the capture of Azov and Taganrog). This line was supposed to separate the entire Novorossiysk province, together with the Zaporozhye lands, from the Tatar possessions; from the Dnieper it went to the Sea of ​​Azov, passing along the Berda and Konskie Vody rivers, and crossed the entire Crimean steppe. Her last fortress is St. Petra was located right by the sea near modern Berdyansk. There were a total of 8 fortresses in this line.

In 1774, Prince Potemkin was appointed governor-general of the Novorossiysk region, who remained in this position until his death in 1791. He dreamed of turning wild steppes into fertile fields, building cities, plants, factories, and creating a fleet on the Black and Azov Seas. The Zaporozhye Sich prevented the full implementation of the plans. After the Russian-Turkish wars, it found itself inside Russian possessions, and the Cossacks no longer had anyone to fight with. However, they owned a vast territory and were unfriendly to new settlers.

Then Potemkin decided to destroy the Sich. In 1775, General Tekeli was ordered to occupy the Sich and destroy the Zaporozhye army. When the general approached the Zaporozhye capital, at the insistence of the archimandrite, the Koshevoy ataman surrendered, and Russian troops occupied the Sich without a fight. Most of the Cossacks went to Turkey, others scattered throughout the cities of Little Russia and New Russia. Thus ended the history of one city and began the history of many.

The lands of the Cossacks began to be distributed to private individuals, who took upon themselves the obligation to populate them with free or serf people. These lands could be received by officials, headquarters and chief officers and foreigners; Only single-lords, peasants and landowners were excluded. Thus, large landholdings were artificially created in that region, which until now had almost no landowner and serf element. The minimum plot was 1,500 acres of convenient land. The conditions for obtaining land were very favorable: an exemption from all duties was given for 10 years; During this time, the owners had to populate their plots in such a way that for every 1,500 acres there would be 13 households. The size of the plots ranged from 1,500 to 12 thousand dessiatines, but there were individuals who managed to obtain several tens of thousands of dessiatines.

These lands, after 10 years, could become the property of these persons. After the destruction of the Sich, its entire military and senior treasury was confiscated and the so-called city capital (more than 120 thousand rubles) was formed from it to issue loans to residents of Novorossiysk province.

The annexation of Crimea in 1783 had a huge impact on the successful settlement of the Black Sea steppes. Together with the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas, Russia gained access to the sea, and the value of the Novorossiysk region increased significantly. Thus, from the 2nd half. 18th century active colonization of the region begins, which is divided into two types: state and foreign.

On Potemkin’s initiative, all military fortified lines were built, except for the last one, the Dniester. His main merit lies in the construction of new cities: Kherson, Ekaterinoslav and Nikolaev.

Construction of cities in the Novorossiysk region

Kherson. The first city built on the initiative of Prince Potemkin was Kherson. The Empress's decree on its construction dates back to 1778 and was caused by the desire to have a new harbor and shipyard closer to the Black Sea, since the previous ones, for example Taganrog, presented significant inconvenience due to shallow water. In 1778, the Empress ordered the final location for the harbor and shipyard on the Dnieper to be chosen and named Kherson. Potemkin chose the Alexander-Shantz tract.

The production of the work was entrusted to the descendant of the famous black man and godson of Peter V. Hannibal, and 12 companies of craftsmen were given to him. A fairly large territory was allocated for the future city, and 220 guns were sent to the fortress. The leadership of this matter was entrusted to Potemkin, who wanted to make the city as prosperous and famous as the ancient Tauride Chersonese. He hoped to set up an admiralty and warehouse in it - as Peter I did in St. Petersburg. Construction did not cause any difficulties: the quarry was located almost in the city itself, timber, iron and all the necessary materials were brought along the Dnieper. Potemkin distributed the lands lying around the city for the construction of country houses, gardens, etc. Two years later, ships with cargo under the Russian flag were already arriving in Kherson.

Industrialists rushed here from all directions. Foreigners opened commercial houses and offices in Kherson: French trading firms (Baron Antoine and others), as well as Polish (Zablotsky), Austrian (Fabry), Russian (merchant Maslyannikov). Baron Antoine played a very important role in expanding trade relations between the city of Kherson and France. He sent Russian grain bread to Corsica, to various ports of Provence, to Nice, Genoa and Barcelona.

Also Baron Antoine composed historical essay trade and maritime relations of the ports of the Black and Mediterranean seas. Many Marseille and Kherson merchants began to compete with Baron Antoine in trade with southern Russia and Poland via the Black Sea: during the year 20 ships arrived from Kherson to Marseille. Trade was carried out with Smyrna, Livorno, Messina, Marseille and Alexandria.

Faleev was an energetic collaborator of Potemkin. He offered the prince own funds clear the Dnieper bed at the rapids in order to make the river route from the internal regions of the state to Kherson convenient. The goal was not achieved, but, according to Samoilov, already in 1783, barges with iron and cast iron passed directly to Kherson from Bryansk, and ships with provisions also passed safely. For this, Faleev received a gold medal and a diploma for noble dignity.

Many soldiers worked in Kherson, and shipbuilding also attracted many free workers, so the city grew rapidly. Food supplies were brought from Polish and Sloboda Ukraine. At the same time, foreign trade began in Kherson. In 1787, Empress Catherine II, together with the Austrian Emperor and Polish king visited Kherson and was pleased with the newly acquired region. They carefully prepared for her arrival: they laid new roads, built palaces and even entire villages.

The city was built very quickly, since Potemkin did not lack material resources. He was granted extraordinary powers, and the prince managed large sums almost without control. In 1784, by imperial order, an extraordinary sum for that time in the amount of 1,533,000 rubles was released for the Kherson Admiralty. in excess of the amount that was issued earlier and was released by the state annually.

In 9 years, Potemkin achieved a lot, but the hopes placed on new town, still did not come true: with the capture of Ochakov and the construction of Nikolaev, the importance of Kherson as a fortress and admiralty fell, and meanwhile enormous sums were spent on the construction of its fortifications and shipyard. The former Admiralty buildings, made of wood, were sold for demolition. The location turned out to be not very successful, trade developed poorly, and soon Kherson lost in this regard to Taganrog and Ochakov. The hope of making the Dnieper navigable at the rapids also did not materialize, and the plague, which broke out at the beginning of the settlement of the city, almost ruined the whole thing: immigrants from the central provinces of Russia were sick from the unusual climate and swamp air.

Ekaterinoslav(now Dnepropetrovsk). Initially, Ekaterinoslav was built in 1777 on the left bank of the Dnieper, but in 1786 Potemkin issued an order to move the city upstream, since same place it often suffered from floods. It was renamed Novomoskovsk, and the new provincial city of Yekaterinoslav was founded on the right bank of the Dnieper on the site of the Zaporozhye village of Polovitsy. According to Potemkin's project, the new city was supposed to serve the glory of the empress, and its size was supposed to be significant. So, the prince decided to build a magnificent temple, similar to the temple of St. Peter in Rome, and dedicate it to the Transfiguration of the Lord, as a sign of how this region was transformed from barren steppes into a favorable human abode.

The project also included government buildings, a university with a music academy and an art academy, and a court, made in the Roman style. Large sums (340 thousand rubles) were allocated for the establishment of a state-owned factory with cloth and hosiery departments. But of all these grandiose projects very little came true. The cathedral, university and academies were never built, and the factory was soon closed.
Paul I, by decree of July 20, 1797, ordered the rename of Ekaterinoslav to Novorossiysk. In 1802 the city was returned to its previous name.

Nikolaev. Back in 1784, it was ordered to build a fortress at the confluence of the Ingul and the Bug. In 1787, the Turks of the Ochakov garrison, according to legend, ruined the village located on the river. Bug not far from the confluence of the river. Ingul the dacha of the foreigner Fabri. He asked the treasury to reward him for the losses. To calculate the amount of losses, an officer was sent, who reported that there was a place near Fabri's dacha that was convenient for a shipyard. In 1788, by order of Potemkin, barracks and a hospital were built in the small village of Vitovka, and on the river. A shipyard has been opened in Ingula.

The very foundation of the city of Nikolaev dates back to August 27, 1789, since it was this date that Potemkin’s order in the name of Faleev was dated. The city got its name from the first ship of St. Nicholas, built at the shipyard. In 1790, the Imperial Order was issued to establish an admiralty and shipyard in Nikolaev. The Kherson shipyard, despite its convenience, was shallow for ships of high rank, and gradually the reign black sea fleet was transferred to Nikolaev.

Odessa. The Empress's decree on the construction of a military and merchant harbor and the city of Khadzhibey dates back to 1794, after Potemkin's death. The construction was entrusted to de Ribas. More than 30 thousand were allocated for the new city. dessiatines of land, about 2 million rubles were allocated for the construction of the port, admiralty, barracks, etc. An important point in the original history of Odessa there was a settlement of Greek immigrants both in the city itself and in its environs.

In 1796, there were 2,349 inhabitants in Odessa. On September 1, 1798, the city was given a coat of arms. Foreign trade in Odessa was encouraged, and soon the city received the status of a free port - a duty-free port. It did not exist for long and was destroyed by decree of December 21, 1799. By decree of December 26, 1796, Paul I ordered “We command that the Commission for the Construction of Southern Fortresses and the Odessa Port, located in the former Voznesensk province, be abolished; stop the very buildings.” After this decree at the beginning. 1797, the founder of Odessa and the main producer of the southern fortresses, Vice Admiral de Ribas left the city, and handed over his leadership to Rear Admiral Pavel Pustoshkin, former commander Nikolaev port.

In 1800, construction was allowed to continue. To rebuild the harbor, the monarch ordered a loan of 250 thousand rubles to be given to Odessa, sent a special engineer, and gave the city a exemption from duties and a drink sale for 14 years. As a result, trade in Odessa greatly revived. In 1800, trade turnover barely amounted to 1 million rubles, and in 1802 – already 2,254,000 rubles. .

With the accession of Alexander I, the residents of Odessa received many important privileges. By decree of January 24, 1802, Odessa was granted tax relief for 25 years, freedom from troop billets, a large amount of land was allocated for distribution to residents for gardens and even agricultural dachas, and finally, for the completion of the harbor and other useful institutions, ceded to the city is the 10th part of its customs duties. From now on, Odessa becomes an important trade market and the main port for the sale of works from the southwestern part of the empire.

In 1802, in Odessa there were already more than 9 thousand people, 39 factories, factories and mills, 171 shops, 43 cellars. Further progress in population and trade in Odessa is associated with the activities of de Richelieu, who took the post of mayor here in 1803. He established a port, quarantine, customs, theater, hospital, completed the construction of churches that had begun, established an educational institution, and increased the population of the city up to 25 thousand people. Also, thanks to de Richelieu, trade turnover increased significantly. Being a passionate lover of gardening and tree growing in general, he patronized the owners of dachas and gardens in every possible way, and was the first to order from Italy the seeds of white acacia, which grew luxuriously on Odessa soil. Under Richelieu, Odessa became the center of trade relations between the Novorossiysk region and European coastal cities: its trade turnover in 1814 amounted to more than 20 million rubles. The main item of the holiday trade was wheat.

Further settlement of Novorossiya

In addition to Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Nikolaev and Odessa, several other important cities in the Novorossiysk region can be mentioned, which also arose through colonization: these are Mariupol (1780), Rostov, Taganrog, Dubossary. Taganrog (formerly the Trinity Fortress) was built under Peter I, but was abandoned for a long time and was restored only in 1769. In the early 80s. it had a harbor, customs, stock exchange, and fortress. Although its harbor had many inconveniences, foreign trade still flourished there. With the emergence of Odessa, Taganrog lost its former significance as the most important trading point. An important role in economic growth cities of the Novorossiysk Territory played a role in the benefits provided by the government to the population.

In addition to the construction of fortified lines and cities, the colonization activities of the Russian state and people were also expressed in the founding of a number of different settlements - hamlets, hamlets, settlements, towns, and hamlets. Their inhabitants belonged to the Little Russian and Russian people (not counting foreigners). Little Russian colonization is divided into three elements - Zaporozhye settlers, immigrants from the Trans-Dnieper (right bank) Little Russia and settlers from the left bank and partly suburban Ukraine.

Russian villages were mixed with Little Russian ones. All lands intended for settlement were also divided into state lands, or state lands, and private lands, or landowners' lands. Therefore, the entire Russian population of the Novorossiysk Territory can be divided into two large groups - free peasants who lived on state lands, and proprietary, landowner peasants who settled on the lands of private individuals and became dependent on them. Many people from the Hetmanate came to the villages founded by the former Cossacks.

As for the Russian colonists, these were state-owned and economic peasants, peasants, Cossacks, retired soldiers, sailors, sextons and schismatics. State-owned peasants who knew any skill were called from the Yaroslavl, Kostroma, and Vladimir provinces. At the beginning of the 19th century. state settlements were already quite numerous and very crowded.

By decree of 1781, it was ordered to resettle up to 20 thousand economic peasants to Novorossiya and select up to 24 thousand voluntary migrants from among them. However, the first place among Russian settlers was occupied by schismatics. They began to settle in Novorossiya during the reign of Anna Ioannovna and even earlier in the Kherson province, near the later Ananyev and Novomirgorod, but their number was small. Much more schismatics appeared in the 50s of the 18th century, when the government itself summoned them from Poland and Moldova with manifestos. They were given land in the fortress of St. Elisaveta (Elisavetgrad) and its environs, where they founded a number of villages that were notable for their populousness and prosperity.

A special and extremely numerous group among the colonists were fugitives, both Russians and Little Russians. In order to quickly populate the Novorossiysk region, the government, one might say, sanctioned the right of asylum here. The local authorities did not disdain criminals. Prisoners from the Moscow, Kazan, Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod provinces were sent to Taganrog for settlement.

After the war with Turkey 1787-1791. Russia received the Ochakov region between the Bug and the Dniester, which later became the Kherson province. It also needed to be fenced with a line of border fortifications. In the Ochakov region, before joining Russia, there were 4 cities - Ochakov, Adzhider (later Ovidiopol), Hadzhibey (Odessa) and Dubossary, about 150 villages inhabited by Tatars and Moldovans and Khan settlements inhabited by fugitive Little Russians. According to a map drawn up around 1790, there were about 20 thousand males there.

The first measures taken by the government to populate the Ochakov region, newly acquired from Turkey, were as follows. First of all, Catherine II instructed Governor Kakhovsky to inspect the new territory, divide it into districts, designate places for cities and present a plan for all this. Then he had to distribute the lands both for state-owned settlements and for landowners, with the obligation to populate these lands and ensure that state-owned settlements did not mix with landowners.

When establishing new fortresses in the Novorossiysk region, the government had to take care of contingents in case of hostilities. For this purpose, it used ethnographically diverse elements - Russians and foreigners; These were the Cossack regiments located along the fortresses of the Dnieper line, the descendants of the Cossacks - the Black Sea Cossack troops, the Serbs who formed the hussar regiments and other foreign colonists. In the middle of the 18th century. Significant measures were taken to defend the region, but gradually they lost their significance, especially after the annexation of Crimea.

Foreign colonization in the XVIII-XIX centuries.

A characteristic feature of the settlement of the Novorossiysk region was the use of foreign colonists, who played an extremely important role. Since in Russia itself at that time the population was not very large, it was decided to resort to the help of foreigners to populate the Novorossiysk region. This decision also relied on the fact that among the foreigners there might be people who had knowledge and skills that the Russian settlers did not have. Apparently that’s why Odessa is so popular german holiday BEER, and there are plenty of Odessa cities in the world.

The resettlement began with a decree of December 24, 1751, then a number of decrees were issued on the placement of foreigners in the “Trans-Dnieper places” and on the creation of New Serbia there. Two regiments under the command of Horvat and Pandurski were stationed on the territory of New Serbia. In 1753, Slavic-Serbia was formed next to this settlement, between the Bakhmut and Lugan rivers, where colonists settled under the command of Šević and Preradovich. Among them were not only Serbs, but also Moldovans and Croats. By that time, Tatar raids had almost ceased.

Anna Ioannovna also built a whole series of fortresses on the northern borders of New Russia, the so-called Ukrainian Line, where since 1731 almost only soldiers and Cossacks lived. The central points of the new settlements were Novomirgorod and the fortress of St. Elizabeth in Novoserbia, Bakhmut and the Belevskaya fortress in Slavyanoserbia. New settlers were given comfortable lands for eternal and hereditary possession, were assigned a monetary salary and were provided with duty-free trades and trade. However, the Serbian settlements did not live up to the hopes placed on them for the colonization of the region.

“Over 10 years, about 2.5 million rubles of government money were spent on the Serbs, and for food they had to take everything they needed from other residents. Serbian settlements were poorly organized, and almost daily quarrels and fights occurred between the Serbs themselves, and knives were often used. The Serbs immediately began to have bad relations with their Cossack neighbors.”

With the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, it opens new era in the history of foreign colonization of the Novorossiysk region. In the manifesto of 1763, she called on foreigners to settle mainly to develop our industries and trade. The most important benefits provided to new settlers were the following:

• they could receive money for travel expenses from Russian residents abroad and then settle in Russia or in cities, or in separate colonies;
• they were granted freedom of religion;
• they were freed from all taxes and duties for a certain number of years;
• they were given free apartments for six months;
• an interest-free loan was issued with repayment after 10 years within 3 years;
• those who settled were given their own jurisdiction by the colonies;
• Everyone pray to bring your property with you duty-free and for 300 rubles. goods;
• everyone was exempt from military and civil service, and if anyone wished to become a soldier, he had to receive 30 rubles in addition to the usual salary;
• if someone started a factory that did not exist in Russia before, he could sell the goods he produced duty-free for 10 years;
• Duty-free fairs and trades could be established in the colonies.

Lands for settlement were indicated in Tobolsk, Astrakhan, Orenburg and Belgorod provinces. Although this decree does not say anything about Novorossiya, on its basis foreigners settled there until the beginning of the reign of Emperor Alexander I.

After Catherine's death in 1796, Pavel Petrovich ascended the throne. This is an important era in the history of the Novorossiysk region, a time important events in all parts of management. By decree of November 14, Emperor Paul I ordered the Novorossiysk province to be divided into 12 districts:

1. Ekaterinoslavsky district was established from the former Ekaterinoslavsky district and part of Alexandrovsky district.
2. Elisavetgradsky - from Elisavetgradsky and part of Novomirgorod and Alexandria districts.
3. Olviopolsky - from parts of Voznesensky, Novomirgorodsky and the region of Bogopolsky district, which was located on the Ochakovo steppe.
4. Tiraspol - from Tiraspol and part of Elensky (located on the Ochakov steppe) districts.
5. Kherskonsky - from part of Kherson and Voznesensky.
6. Perekopsky - from Perekopsky and Dnieper (i.e., the northern part of Crimea) counties.
7. Simferopol - from Simferopol, Evpatoria and Feodosia.
8. Mariupol - from parts of Mariupol, Pavlograd, Novomoskovsk and Melitopol districts.
9. Rostov - from Rostov district and land Black Sea Army.
10. Pavlogradsky - from Pavlogradsky and parts of Novomoskovsky and Slavyansky.
11. Konstantinogradsky - from Konstantinogradsky and parts of Aleksopolsky and Slavyansky.
12. Bakhmutsky - from parts of Donetsk, Bakhmutsky and Pavlograd districts

The decree of October 8, 1802 put an end to the Novorossiysk province, again dividing it into three: Nikolaev, Ekaterinoslav and Tauride. This decree also stated that port cities Odessa, Kherson, Feodosia and Taganrog will be provided with special advantages for the benefit of trade and, moreover, in each of them, for the patronage of traders, a special boss from senior government officials who will depend only on The highest power and the ministers of justice and internal affairs.

Under Alexander I, foreign colonization within the Novorossiysk region began to be carried out under different conditions. Decree of February 4, 1803: “Military officers who do not have a fortune and wish to establish property in the empty lands of the Novorossiysk steppe will be given into eternal possession: to headquarters officers 1000, and chief officers 500 acres of land.” The location of the main Novorossiysk commander was moved from Nikolaev to Kherson, and the Nikolaev province itself was renamed Kherson.

In the manifesto dated February 20. 1804 it is said that only such foreigners should be accepted for resettlement who, by their occupations, can serve as a good example for the peasants. Special lands must be allocated for them - state-owned or purchased from landowners; these should be family and wealthy owners engaged in agriculture, grape or silkworm breeding, cattle breeding and rural crafts (shoemaking, blacksmithing, weaving, tailoring, etc.); do not accept other artisans.

The immigrants were given freedom of religion and exemption from all taxes and duties for 10 years; after this period, they will be required to bear the same duties as Russian subjects, with the exception of permanent service, military and civil service, from which they were exempted forever. All colonists are allocated 60 acres of land per family without any money. On these grounds, it was proposed to settle foreigners in different places in New Russia and in Crimea. First of all, they decided to give them lands near harbors and ports so that they would be able to sell their products abroad.

At the beginning of 1804, they began to actively organize the life of the nomadic Nogai hordes. By decree of April 16, 1804, Alexander I ordered the organization of hordes and the establishment of a special administration among the Nogais, with the removal of Bayazet Bey. Soon a special department was established, called the Expedition Nogai hordes. In place of Bayazet Bey, Rosenberg appointed Colonel Trevogin as head of the Nogai hordes.

By decree of February 25, 1804, Sevastopol was designated the main military port on the Black Sea and the residence of the main part of the fleet. For this purpose, customs was removed from the city and merchant ships could no longer trade in this port. To facilitate overland trade with Western Europe, especially with Austria and other German manufacturing states, transit trade was established in Odessa (decree of March 3, 1804).

Thanks to the strong support of the Russian government, the German colonies managed to gain a foothold on new and not always favorable soil. In 1845, all German settlers in Novorossiya numbered 95,700 people. Roman colonization was very small: one village of Swiss, a few Italians and a few French merchants. Much more important were the Greek settlements. After Crimea gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, in 1779 many Greek and Armenian families (20 thousand Greeks) moved out of it.

On the basis of a charter, they were allocated land for settlement in the Azov province, along the coast of the Azov Sea. Certificate of Complaint provided them with significant benefits - the exclusive right to fish, state-owned houses, freedom from military service. Some of them died on the way from illness and hardship, and the rest founded the city of Mariupol and 20 villages in its vicinity. In Odessa, the Greeks also enjoyed significant benefits and were in charge of local trade. Albanians settled in Taganrog, Krechi and Yenikol, who were also distinguished by their prosperity.

Together with the Greeks, Armenians began to move to Novorossiya, and in 1780 they founded the city of Nakhichevan. The beginning of the resettlement of Moldovans dates back to the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna; they're in large quantities became part of Novoserbia. Another party of Moldovans in the end. XVIII - beginning XIX centuries founded cities and villages along the river. Dniester - Ovidiopol, New Dubossary, Tiraspol, etc. 75,092 rubles were spent on transferring Greeks and Armenians from Crimea. and, in addition, 100 thousand rubles. received in the form of compensation “for the loss of subjects” Crimean Khan, his brothers, beys and murzas.

During 1779 - 1780 144 horses, 33 cows, 612 pairs of oxen, 483 carts, 102 plows, 1570 quarters of bread were distributed to the Greek and Armenian settlers and 5294 houses and barns were built. In total, 24,501 people out of a total of 30,156 migrants were dependent on the state.

In 1769, the resettlement of Talmudic Jews from western Russia and Poland to the Novorossiysk region began on the basis of formal permission from the following conditions: they had to build their own homes and schools, but had the right to keep distilleries; benefits from billets and other duties were given to them for only a year, they were allowed to hire Russian workers, freely practice their faith, etc. Despite minor benefits, their resettlement in the cities was successful.

The situation was completely different with the establishment of Jewish agricultural colonies. They began only in 1807, when the first batch of Jewish settlers formed colonies in the Kherson district. The government spent huge sums on their improvement, but the results were disastrous: agriculture among the Jews developed very poorly, and they themselves gravitated to the cities and wanted to engage in small trade, crafts, and brokerage. Due to the unusual climate and bad water, they divorced epidemic diseases. Finally, the gypsies completed the picture of the population of New Russia. In 1768, the total number of inhabitants in Novorossiya was 100 thousand people, and in 1823 - 1.5 million people.

Thus, in 1776-1782. were observed exclusively high rates population growth in Novorossiya. Over a short period (about 7 years), the population of the region (within the borders) early XIX c.) almost doubled (increased by 79.82%). The main role in this was played by immigrants from neighboring Left Bank Ukraine. The influx of new settlers from Right Bank Ukraine and the Central Black Earth region of Russia was not great. Relocations from abroad were important only for certain local territories (Alexandrovsky, Rostov and Kherson districts).

In the 70s, the northern and central regions of Novorossiya were still predominantly populated, and from 1777 the privately owned resettlement movement came to the fore. Royal authorities during the specified period did not undertake effective measures to be transferred to Novorossiya large groups migrants from abroad and other parts of the country. They distributed huge tracts of land into the hands of private owners, giving them the right to take care of their settlement themselves. This right was widely used by the landowners of Novorossiya. By hook or by crook, they lured peasants from neighboring Left-Bank and Right-Bank Ukraine to their lands.

By the manifesto of June 24, 1811, 4 customs districts were created in the Novorossiysk region: Odessa, Dubossary, Feodosia and Taganrog. In 1812, the region consisted of Kherson, Ekaterinoslav and Tauride provinces, Odessa, Feodosia and Taganrog city authorities. He also owned the Bug and Black Sea Cossack troops and the Odessa and Balaklava Greek battalions.

Settlement of the developed areas of the country in the 30s of the 19th century. was carried out on the basis of a decree of March 22, 1824. Only on April 8, 1843 were new rules on relocations approved. Legitimate reason Before the resettlement of peasants, land shortage was recognized when a peasant family had less than 5 acres of convenient land per revision head. For settlement, provinces and districts were designated, where there were more than 8 dessiatines per revision per capita, and 15 dessiatines per revision per capita in the steppe zone.

The rules somewhat simplified, in comparison with the provisions of 1824, the conditions for the resettlement of settlers. In new places, food was prepared for them for the first time, part of the fields were sown, hay was accumulated to feed livestock in the first winter, tools and draft animals were prepared. For all these purposes, 20 rubles were allocated for each family. The settlers were exempt from paying money for transportation across rivers and from other similar fees.

They were to be released from their old places of residence at a convenient time of year. The rules prohibited the return of settlers back from their route or place of new settlement. To build houses, peasants received wood in new places (100 roots per yard). In addition, they were given 25 rubles per family irrevocably, and in the absence of forests - 35 rubles. New settlers received a number of benefits: 6 years from military registration, 8 years from paying taxes and other duties (instead of the previous 3 years), and 3 years from conscription.

Simultaneously with these benefits, the regulation of 1843 abolished the right of the peasants themselves, which existed before that year, to choose suitable places for settlement. On the basis of these rules, the development of all regions of Russia was carried out in the 40s and 50s of the 19th century. Until the reform of 1861, the government tried to introduce Jews to agriculture and spent a lot of money on this.

In the second half of the 30-40s of the XIX century. Kherson province lost its position as the leading populated region of Russia. The bulk of the settlers were foreign settlers, Jews and urban tax-paying classes. The role of the landowner resettlement movement is sharply reduced. Moved in, as in more early periods, mainly southern counties: Tiraspol (with Odessa separated from it) and Kherson.

In the second half of the 30s and 40s of the 19th century. the pace of settlement of the Ekaterinoslav province is increasing (due to the sparsely populated Aleksandrovsky district) and it is significantly ahead of the Kherson province. Thus, the Ekaterinoslav province is temporarily turning into the leading populated region of Novorossiya, although the importance of the latter as the main populated territory of Russia is falling. The settlement of the province is carried out, as before, mainly by legal immigrants. Mainly state peasants and non-taxable categories of the population arrive in the province. The importance of landowner resettlement of peasants is decreasing. Mostly Alexandrovsky district was populated, where in 1841 -1845. More than 20 thousand male souls arrived.

Odessa remained the largest city in Russia, second only to St. Petersburg and Moscow in terms of the number of inhabitants. Among other Russian cities, only Riga had approximately the same population (60 thousand inhabitants). Large city the country was also Nikolaev. In addition to the cities mentioned above, it was second in population only to Kyiv, Saratov, Voronezh, Astrakhan, Kazan and Tula.

In the second half of the 30s and 40s of the 19th century. The pace of economic development of Novorossiya increased, but the inhabitants of this region were under the influence of the forces of nature. Profitable years alternated with lean ones, drought alternated with locust attacks. The number of livestock either increased or sharply decreased as a result of lack of food or epidemics. The population of the region in these years was mainly engaged in cattle breeding.

Thus, in the 40s, both agriculture and livestock farming in New Russia were on the rise, but in 1848-1849. they suffered a heavy blow. Farmers were unable to collect even the sown seeds, and livestock farmers suffered greatly from extremely disastrous livestock deaths. And yet, the economy of the region developed, overcoming the influences of climate. Industry in the 1830-1840s had not yet developed, so agriculture remained the main occupation of the region's population.
In the 50s of the XIX century. The resettlement of the peasantry was carried out on the basis of the provisions of April 8, 1843.

In 1850, an audit was carried out in Russia, which counted 916,353 souls in Novorossiya (435,798 souls in Ekaterinoslav and 462,555 in Kherson province).

Thus, throughout its history, the Novorossiysk region has been distinguished by the unique policy that the Russian government pursued towards it. It can be summarized as follows:
1. These areas were not covered serfdom. The fugitive serfs did not return from there.
2. Freedom of religion.
3. Liberation of the indigenous population from military service.
4. Tatar Murzas were equated with Russian nobility(“Certificate of Commitment to the Nobility”). Thus, Russia did not interfere in the conflict between the local aristocracy and common people.
5. The right to buy and sell land.
6. Benefits for the clergy.
7. Freedom of movement.
8. Foreign immigrants did not pay taxes for 5 years.
9. A city construction program was planned, the population was transferred to a sedentary lifestyle.
10. Russian political elite and the nobility were given lands with a period of development.
11. Resettlement of Old Believers.
The Novorossiysk-Bessarabian General Government was disbanded in 1873, and the term no longer corresponded to any territorial unit. After the revolution of 1917, Ukraine laid claim to Novorossiya. During the Civil War, certain regions of Novorossiya more than once passed from white to red, and Nestor Makhno’s troops operated here. When the Ukrainian SSR was created, most of Novorossiya became part of it.

The term “Novorossiya” was officially enshrined in the legal acts of the Russian Empire in the spring of 1764. Considering the project of Nikita and Peter Panin for the further development of the province of New Serbia, located in the Zaporozhye lands (between the Dnieper and Sinyukha rivers), the young Empress Catherine II personally changed the name of the newly created province from Catherine to Novorossiysk.

Catherine the Great

What guided the ruler of Russia when choosing this name is not yet known for certain. Perhaps this is a tribute to the administrative fashion of that era, when such provinces of European metropolises as New England, New Holland and New Spain were popular. It is possible that the Novorossiysk region was considered Catherine II as the “alter ego” of the Russian Empire - a territory that, being connected with the rest of the country, will simultaneously become a platform for working out socio-political and economic transformation. In any case, this majestic name obliged a lot. A province with such a name simply did not have the right to remain a sparsely populated and economically backward backwater of the empire.

Before joining Russia, the region of the Northern Black Sea region - the future Novorossiya - was often called the Wild Field. Back in the beginning In the 18th century, the lands from the southern suburbs of Poltava and Kharkov to Perekop itself were one continuous steppe. It was untouched virgin soil with black soil more than one meter deep. The sparse population of the region consisted mainly of Crimean Tatars and Cossacks. Tatar hordes wandered with their herds and herds along the Black Sea coast, regularly raiding the lands of Russia and Poland.

Trade in slaves captured during raids remained an important source of income for the Crimean Khanate. Cossacks settled along the banks of rivers, engaged in hunting, fishing, farming and various crafts. They were at enmity with the nomads, attacked Tatar troops, and stole herds. Often the Cossacks undertook expeditions to the Crimean coast, ravaging Tatar villages and freeing Christian slaves there.

The permanent steppe war went on for centuries. Serious changes in the appearance of the Black Sea region began to occur only in the middle. XVIII century, when, by decision of the empress Elizaveta Petrovna in the Russian part of the Black Sea steppes, the Novoserbsk and Slavyanoserbsk colonies were established. The Russian authorities tried to organize a mass resettlement of immigrants from the Balkan Peninsula to the created provinces: Serbs, Bulgarians, Moldovans, Volokhs and others. Colonists were attracted by the generous distribution of land, payment of “lifting” benefits, compensation for moving expenses, and benefits on taxes and duties. Main responsibility settlers performed military service to guard the border Russian state.

Russian settlers from Poland (especially Old Believers) were attracted to New Serbia. In the newly built fortress of St. Elizabeth (near which the city of Elisavetgrad, now Kirovograd, later arose), a large community of Old Believers merchants was formed, who were allowed to freely perform religious services and conduct very profitable internal trade. A special decree prohibited local authorities from forcibly shaving beards and preventing the Old Believers from wearing traditional clothing.

The resettlement campaign of the 50s of the 18th century contributed to the formation of a multinational composition of the population of the Novorossiysk region. The control of the Russian authorities over the Zaporozhye Sich increased, and the economic development of the region received a tangible impetus. Balkan colonists developed animal husbandry, gardening, and viticulture. Among the desert steppes, more than 200 new villages grew in a short time, strong points and fortresses that strengthened the defense of the southwestern borders of the Russian Empire.

At the same time, this stage of development of the Northern Black Sea region showed that it was impossible to solve the problem of settlement and economic development of a vast region only at the expense of immigrants. Attracting foreign immigrants was too expensive (it took an astronomical sum of almost 700 thousand rubles for the development of the provinces over 13 years). Many people from the Balkan Peninsula were unprepared for the hardships of life in an undeveloped region and returned to their homeland.

Catherine II noticeably intensified the process of development of the Black Sea steppes. In the apt expression of one of the first researchers of the history of the Novorossiysk region Apollo Skalkovsky, “34 years of Catherine’s reign is the essence of 34 years of Novorossiysk History.”

The fragmentation and lack of control in the actions of local civil and military authorities was eliminated. For this purpose, the position of Novorossiysk governor (chief commander) was introduced. In the summer of 1764, in addition to the Novoserbsk province, which had lost its autonomous status, he was subordinated to Slavic-Serbia (the region on the southern bank of the Northern Donets), the Ukrainian fortified line and Bakhmutsky Cossack regiment. To ensure better control of the province, it was divided into 3 provinces: Elisabeth, Catherine and Bakhmut. In September 1764, within the boundaries of Novorossiya, at the request of local residents included the Little Russian town of Kremenchug. The provincial office later moved here.

Lieutenant General became the first governor of Novorossiya Alexander Melgunov. It was under his leadership that land management work began in the province. The entire land of the former New Serbia (1,421 thousand dessiatinas) was divided into sections of 26 dessiatinas (on land with forest) and 30 dessiatinas (on treeless land). “People of any rank” could receive land as hereditary possession, provided they entered military service or were enrolled in the peasant class. The land plots were assigned to eight local regiments: the Black and Yellow Hussars, the Elisavetgrad Pikemen (on the right bank of the Dnieper), the Bakhmut and Samara Hussars, as well as the Dnieper, Lugansk, Donetsk Pikemen Regiments (on the left bank of the Dnieper). Later, on the basis of this regimental division, a district structure was introduced.

In the 60s of the 18th century, the settlement of the Novorossiysk province began at the expense of internal Russian settlers. This was greatly helped by the permission for residents of Little Russia to move to the new province (previously, the resettlement of Little Russians to New Serbia was not welcomed). The migration of peasants from the central provinces of Russia was facilitated by the distribution of land to military and civil officials - nobles. To develop their new possessions, they began to transport their serfs to the south.

In 1763–1764, special laws were issued to regulate the situation of foreign settlers. They received permission to settle in cities or rural areas, individually or in colonies. They were allowed to establish manufactories, factories and factories, for which they could buy serfs. The colonists had the right to open trades and fairs without imposing duties. To all this were added various loans, benefits and other incentives. An office of guardianship of foreigners was specially established.

The “Plan for the distribution of state-owned lands in the Novorossiysk province for their settlement,” approved in 1764, solemnly announced that settlers, regardless of where they came from, would enjoy all the rights of “ancient Russian subjects.”

Nevertheless, during this period the conditions were formed for the predominantly Great Russian-Little Russian colonization of Novorossiya. The result of this policy was rapid growth population in the southern reaches of European Russia. Already in 1768, excluding regular troops stationed in the region on a temporary basis, about 100 thousand people lived in the Novorossiysk Territory (at the time of the formation of the province, the population of Novorossiysk was up to 38 thousand people).

The conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty in 1774 led to a significant expansion of the Novorossiysk region. Its territory was expanded by the Bug-Dnieper interfluve, Azov and Azov lands, as well as the fortresses of Kerch, Yenikale and Kinburn in the Crimea.

Grigory Potemkin

Shortly before the conclusion of peace (by decree of March 31, 1774), he was appointed governor of Novorossiya Grigory Potemkin. In the beginning. In 1775, the staff of Potemkin's office was equal in number to the staff of the Little Russian governor. This indicated an increase in the status of the young province.

In February 1775, the Azov province was separated from it, which included part of the Novorossiysk province (Bakhmut district), new acquisitions under the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty and “all the dwellings” of the Don army, which actually retained its autonomy. However, this administrative division of the region was softened by the appointment of Grigory Potemkin as governor-general of the formed administrative units. At the same time, he became the commander of all troops settled in the Novorossiysk, Azov and Astrakhan provinces.

Russia's advance along the Black Sea coast led to the fact that the Zaporozhye Sich was not on the external borders, but inside Russian territory. Together with the weakening of the Crimean Khanate, this made it possible to abolish the restless Cossack freemen. On June 4, 1775, the Sich was surrounded by troops under the command of Lieutenant General Petra Tekeli, and she surrendered without resistance.

After this, a census of Sich people was carried out in settlements; for those wishing to settle in the Dnieper province (as the Zaporozhye Sich began to be called), places for further residence were assigned. Cash, remaining after the liquidation of the Sich (120,000 rubles), went towards the improvement of the Black Sea provinces.

In 1778, Grigory Alexandrovich presented to Catherine II the “Establishment for the Novorossiysk and Azov provinces.” It consisted of seventeen chapters with approximate staff of provincial institutions.

In the Novorossiysk province it was planned to rebuild the cities of Kherson, Olga, Nikopol, and Vladimir; Novopavlovsk and Novogrigoryevsk fortresses along the Bug. In addition to those mentioned, there remained the provincial city of Slavyansk (Kremenchug), New Sanzhary, Poltava, Dneprograd; Fortress of St. Elizabeth, Ovidiopolskaya. Cities were to appear in the Azov province: Ekaterinoslav, Pavlograd and Mariupol. Among the old ones, the fortresses of Aleksandrovskaya and Belevskaya are mentioned; cities of Tor, Bakhmut and others.

The resettlement policy in the 70–80s of the 18th century is often called the landowner colonization of Novorossiya. At this time, the state not only generously distributed land for estates, but also in every possible way encouraged landowners to populate their estates with tax-paying people.

On July 25, 1781, a decree was issued that ordered the transfer of economic (state) peasants to Novorossiya “voluntarily and at their own request.” The settlers received in their new places “a benefit from taxes for a year and a half, so that during this time the taxes would be paid for them by the residents of their former village,” who in return would receive the land of those leaving. Soon, the period of relief from paying taxes on land was significantly extended. This decree ordered the transfer of up to 24 thousand economic peasants. This measure encouraged migration primarily of middle and wealthy peasants who were able to organize strong farms on the lands being populated.

Long-time Governor-General of Novorossiya Count Mikhail Vorontsov

Along with the legal resettlement sanctioned by the authorities, there was an active people's unauthorized resettlement movement from the central provinces and Little Russia. B O The majority of unauthorized migrants settled on landowners' estates. However, in the conditions of New Russia, serf relations took the form of so-called submission, when peasants living on the land of the landowners retained personal freedom, and their responsibilities to the owners were limited.

In August 1778, the transfer of Christians (Greeks and Armenians) from the Crimean Khanate to the Azov province began. The settlers were exempt from all state taxes and duties for 10 years; all their property was transported at the expense of the treasury; each new settler received 30 acres of land in a new place; the state built houses for poor “villagers” and supplied them with food, seeds for sowing and draft animals; all settlers were forever freed “from military posts” and “dachas for recruiting into the army.” According to the decree of 1783, in “villages under Greek, Armenian and Roman law” it was allowed to have “courts of Greek and Roman law, an Armenian magistrate.”

After Crimea was annexed to the empire in 1783, the military threat to the Black Sea provinces weakened significantly. This made it possible to abandon the military-settlement principle administrative structure and extend the effect of the Institution on Governorates of 1775 to Novorossia.

Since the Novorossiysk and Azov provinces did not have the required population, they were united into the Ekaterinoslav governorship. Grigory Potemkin was appointed its governor-general, and the immediate ruler of the region was Timofey Tutolmin, soon replaced Ivan Sinelnikov. The territory of the governorship was divided into 15 counties. In 1783, 370 thousand people lived within its borders.

Administrative changes contributed to the development of the region's economy. Agriculture spread. A review of the state of the Azov province in 1782 noted the beginning of agricultural work on “a vast expanse of fertile and rich lands, which had previously been neglected by the former Cossacks.” Land and government money were allocated for the creation of manufactories; the creation of enterprises that produced products in demand by the army and navy was especially encouraged: cloth, leather, morocco, candle, rope, silk, dyeing and others. Potemkin initiated the transfer of many factories from the central regions of Russia to Ekaterinoslav and other cities of Novorossiya. In 1787, he personally reported to Catherine II about the need to move part of the state-owned porcelain factory from St. Petersburg to the south, and always with craftsmen.

In the last quarter of the 18th century in the Northern Black Sea region (especially in the Donetsk basin) began active search coal and ores. In 1790, the landowner Alexey Shterich and mining engineer Carl Gascoigne entrusted the search for coal along the Northern Donets and Lugan rivers, where the construction of the Lugansk foundry began in 1795. A village of the same name arose around the plant. To supply this plant with fuel, the first mine in Russia was founded, in which coal was mined on an industrial scale. The first mining settlement in the empire was built at the mine, which laid the foundation for the city of Lisichansk. In 1800, the first blast furnace was launched at the plant, where cast iron was produced using coke for the first time in the Russian Empire.

The construction of the Lugansk foundry was the starting point for the development of South Russian metallurgy, the creation of coal mines and mines in the Donbass. Subsequently, this region will become one of the most important centers of economic development in Russia.

Economic development strengthened trade ties between individual parts of the Northern Black Sea region, as well as between Novorossiya and central regions countries. Even before the annexation of Crimea, the possibilities of transporting goods across the Black Sea were intensively studied. It was assumed that one of the main export items would be bread, which would be grown in large quantities in Ukraine and the Black Sea region.

To stimulate the development of trade, in 1817 the Russian government introduced a “porto-franco” (free trade) regime in the port of Odessa, which at that time was the new administrative center of the Novorossiysk General Government.

Free and duty-free import of foreign goods, including those prohibited for import into Russia, was allowed into Odessa. The export of foreign goods from Odessa into the country was allowed only through outposts according to the rules of the Russian customs tariff with the payment of duties on a general basis. The export of Russian goods through Odessa was carried out in accordance with existing customs regulations. In this case, the duty was collected at the port when loading onto merchant ships. Russian goods imported only to Odessa were not subject to duty.

The city itself received enormous opportunities for its development from such a system. Buying raw materials duty-free, entrepreneurs opened factories within Porto Franco that processed these raw materials. Since finished products produced at such factories were considered manufactured in Russia, they were sold within the country without duties. Often, products made from imported raw materials within the Odessa borders of the free port did not leave the customs posts at all, but were immediately sent abroad.

Quite quickly, the Odessa port turned into one of the main transshipment points for Mediterranean and Black Sea trade. Odessa grew rich and expanded. By the end of the period of porto-franco, the capital of the Novorossiysk General Government became the fourth largest city in the Russian Empire after St. Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw.

The initiator of the experiment to introduce porto-franco was one of the most famous governors-general of Novorossiya - Emmanuel Osipovich de Richelieu. He was the great-great-great-nephew of the French Cardinal Richelieu. It was this official who made the decisive contribution to the mass settlement of the Black Sea region. In 1812, through the efforts of Richelieu, the conditions for resettlement of foreign colonists and internal migrants to the region were finally equalized. Local authorities received the right to issue cash loans to needy settlers from other provinces of the empire “from the amounts for wine farming” and bread for crops and food from bread stores.

In the new places, food was prepared for the settlers for the first time, part of the fields were sown, and tools and draft animals were prepared. To build houses, peasants received building materials in new places. In addition, they were given 25 rubles for each family free of charge.

This approach to resettlement stimulated the migration to Novorossiya of economically active and enterprising peasants, who created a favorable environment for the spread of wage labor and capitalist relations in agriculture.

The Novorossiysk General Government lasted until 1874. During this time, it absorbed the Ochakov region, Taurida and even Bessarabia. Still unique historical path in combination with a number of other factors continues to determine the general mentality of the inhabitants of the Northern Black Sea region. It is based on a synthesis of various national cultures (primarily Russian and Ukrainian), love of freedom, selfless work, economic entrepreneurship, rich military traditions, and the perception of the Russian state as a natural defender of its interests.

Igor IVANENKO