Years | |||
1552- 1557 | Military campaigns | Accession Kazan Khanate (1552), Astrakhan Khanate (1556); The peoples of the Volga and Urals regions became part of Russia- Udmurts, Mari, Mordovians, Bashkirs, Chuvash. | The liquidation of these khanates removed the threat to Russia from the East. Now the entire Volga route belonged to Russia, and crafts and trade began to actively develop here. After the liquidation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, nothing restrained Russia's advance to the east. |
1581-1598 | Conquests of Siberia (The campaign of Ermolai Timofeevich) | Annexed to Russia Western Siberia | The beginning of a systematic Russian offensive in the Trans-Urals was laid. The peoples of Siberia became part of Russia,Russian settlers began to develop the region. Peasants, Cossacks, and townspeople rushed there. The Siberian Khanate was of great interest to Russian feudal lords (new lands, obtaining expensive furs). |
At the beginning of the 16th century, the process of unification of Russian lands was completed, the Russian centralized state was formed, the Great Russian nationality was formed on the basis of the East Slavic peoples living on the territory of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality and the Novgorod-Pskov land. Russia also included other nationalities: Finno-Ugric, Karelians, Komi, Permyaks, Nenets, Khanty, Mansi. The Russian state was formed as a multinational one.
In the 16th century, our state was called differently in official documents: Rus', Russia, the Russian State, the Muscovite Kingdom.The creation of a single state led to the expansion of its territory. Ivan III in 1462 inherited a territory of 430 thousand km, and a hundred years later the territory of the Russian state increased more than 10 times.
XVII century
Years | Under what conditions did the annexation of new territories take place? | Territories that became part of the Russian Empire | The significance of Russia's acquisition of new territories |
1653 1654 1654-1667 1686 | The fight against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for the return of Russian lands The decision of the Zemsky Sobor to include Little Russia into Russia and declare war on Poland. Taking the oath of allegiance to the Russian Tsar by the Ukrainian Rada Russian-Polish War (Andrusovo Truce) "Eternal Peace" with Poland | They went to Russia Left bank Ukraine and Kyiv on the right bank. Returned Smolensk, Chernigov-Seversky lands. | Having reunited with Russia, Ukraine retained broad autonomy: it had an elected ataman, local government bodies, a local court, class rights of the nobility and Cossack elders, the right of foreign relations with all countries except Poland and Turkey, a Cossack register of 60 thousand was established. The return of Smolensk was necessary to ensure the security of the country from the north. Thus, the unification of the former lands of Kievan Rus began. The security of Ukraine was strengthened; it was easier to fight against Turkey in a single state.Russia's southern borders have become more secure. |
2nd floor XVII century | Expeditions of Russian explorers V. Poyarkova (1643-1646) S. Dezhneva (1648-1649) E Khabarova (1649-1651) V. Atlasova (1696-1699) | Annexation of territoriesEastern Siberia and Far East (Amur region) | Moscow established its own fairly strong power in Siberia. Siberia, according to the famous historian A.A. Zimin. , was a kind of valve into which the forces of an unreconciled and rebellious people went. Not only merchants and service people flocked here, but also runaway slaves, peasants, and townspeople. There were no landowners or serfdom here, and tax oppression was milder than in the Center of Russia. The development of Siberian ores began. Gold, salt mining. Income from furs amounted to in the 17th century. ¼ of all government revenues. Russian explorers and sailors made a great contribution to geographical discoveries in the East. The colonization of Siberia doubled the territory of Russia. |
1695-1696 | Azov campaigns (Peace of Constantinople) | The Turkish fortress of Azov at the mouth of the Danube was taken | The construction of a fortress and harbor for the future navy began. Russia managed (but not for long) to gain a foothold on the Azov shores. |
FORMATION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN XVIII century
Years | Under what conditions did the annexation of new territories take place? | Territories that became part of the Russian Empire | The significance of Russia's acquisition of new territories |
1711 | Prut campaign | The war is lostAzov returned to Turkey. | |
1722-1723 | Persian campaign | Joined western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea. | The annexation of these territories meant the assertion of Russian influence in Transcaucasia, with subsequent plans for the development of trade with India. |
1700-1721 | North War (Nystadt Peace) | Accession Estland, Livonia, Ingermanland, part of Karelia and Finland with Vyborg. | The long struggle for the sea coast is over. Russia received a reliableaccess to the Baltic Sea, became a maritime power.Conditions were created for the further economic and cultural development of the country. Establishing control over the Baltic Sea ensured not only trade interests, but also the security of the northwestern borders of the state. |
1735-1739 1768-1774 1787 1791 | Russo-Turkish wars (Belgrade Peace) (Kuchuk-Kainardzhiysky world) (Peace of Jassy 1791) | Azov is returned. The lands betweenDnieper and Yu. Bug. The lands betweenYu.Bug and Dniester. Annexation of Crimea (1783) | Russia received the right to sail merchant ships in the Azov and Black Seas, the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles; Russia became a Black Sea power. The development of new southern regions began, cities were built - Kherson, Nikolaev, Odessa, Sevastopol (base of the Black Sea Fleet), Stavropol, Rostov-on-Don. |
1741-1743 | Russo-Swedish War (Abo Peace) | Russia received a number of fortressesin Southern Finland. | Contributed to ensuring border security from the North. The Russian-Swedish border along the river was established. Kyumene. |
1772 1793 1795 | Sections of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth First Second Third | Joining: Eastern Belarus Central Belarus and Right Bank Ukraine Western Belarus, Lithuania, Courland, part of Volyn. | The economic integration of Ukraine and Belarus into the Russian economy began, manufactories were built, cities grew, and trade developed. The Ukrainian and Belarusian nations began to take shape. Serfdom was introduced in Ukraine. |
1784 | Discovered by Russian explorers | Territory Alaska and parts of the Aleutian Islands | The first Russian settlements appeared on the American continent. The Russian-American company, created in 1799, received the right to monopoly use of fields and minerals. |
FORMATION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN 19th century
Years | Under what conditions did the annexation of new territories take place? | Territories that became part of the Russian Empire | The significance of Russia's acquisition of new territories |
1801 | “Manifesto” of Alexander I on the deprivation of the Georgian dynasty of the throne and the transfer of control of Georgia to the Russian governor. Which was a response to the request of the Georgian Tsar George XII to accept Georgia under the protection of Russia. | Georgia | The Georgian reigning dynasty of the Bagrations passed into Russian citizenship. The annexation of Georgia brought Russia into conflict with Persia (Iran) and the Ottoman Empire. |
1804-1813 | Russian-Iranian war. (Gulistan Peace Treaty) | All connectedNorthern Azerbaijan, khanates: Gandji, Karabakh, Tekin, Shirvan, Derbent, Kubin, Baku, Talysh, later transformed into the Baku and Elizavetpol provinces. | Russia has strengthened its position in the Transcaucasus |
1806-1812 | Russo-Turkish War (Peace of Bucharest) | Accession Bessarabia and a number of regions of Transcaucasia. | |
1808-1809 | War with Sweden (Peace of Friedrichham) | All connectedterritory of Finland and the Åland Islands. | As part of the Russian EmpireFinland received a special status -Grand Duchy of Finland; The Russian Emperor became the Grand Duke. The representative of the supreme power in Finland was the governor-general, appointed by the emperor. In the Grand Duchy of Finland there was an elected representative body - the Sejm; without its consent, the emperor could not issue a new law or repeal an old one, or introduce taxes. |
1814-1815 | Congress of Vienna. | went to Russia central part of Poland, together with Warsaw (the territory of the former Duchy of Warsaw). All Polish lands within Russia were subsequently called the Kingdom of Poland. | Russia's position as the strongest European power has been strengthened.Russia's influence on politics in Europe has become prevalent. In November 1815, Alexander 1 approved the constitution of the Kingdom of Poland.The Russian Emperor simultaneously became the Polish Tsar. Management was transferred to the royal governor. The Kingdom of Poland had its own government. The highest legislative power belonged to Sejm . Only Poles were appointed to government positions; all documents were drawn up in Polish.The Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland was one of the most liberal in Europe. |
1817-1864 | Caucasian War | annexed to Russia Caucasus A number of peoples (Kabarda, Ossetia) accepted Russian citizenship voluntarily. The peoples of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ossetia, and Adygea met Russia's colonial expansion with stubborn resistance. | Mountain peoples became part of Russia. Mass emigration of mountaineers from the Caucasus began, and at the same time there was an active settlement of the Caucasus by Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. Civil wars stopped, slavery was abolished, and trade grew. Commodity-money relations began to develop The Caucasus has become a springboard for Russia to carry out its Eastern policy. The war turned out to be a tragedy for both the Russian and mountain peoples (the losses of the Russian army and the civilian population of the Caucasus, according to historians, amounted to more than 70 million people) |
1826-1828 | War with Iran (Turkmanchay world) | The Erivan and Nakhchivan khanates went to Russia(Eastern Armenia) | A strong blow was dealt to England's positions in Transcaucasia. |
1828-1829 | War with Turkey (Treaty of Andrianopole) | annexed to RussiaSouthern part of Bessarabia, Black Sea coast of the Caucasuswith the fortresses of Anapa and Poti, as well as the Akhaltsikhe pashalyk. | Russia received very strategically important territories Russia's position in the Balkans has strengthened. Türkiye became diplomatically dependent on Russia. |
1853-1856 | Crimean War | Russia lost southern Bessarabia with the mouth of the Danube | Russia's defeat in the war led to a change in the balance of political forces in Europe; Russia's positions were undermined. The southern borders of Russia remained unprotected. The results of the war influenced the internal development of Russia and became one of the main prerequisites for the Great Reforms. |
1877-1878 | Russo-Turkish War (Treaty of San Stefano) | Russia returned southern Bessarabia, acquired a number of fortresses in Transcaucasia: Kars, Ardahan, Bayazet, Batun. | Turkey's dominance in the Balkans has been undermined. Victory in the war contributed to the growth of Russia's authority in the Slavic world. |
1864-1885 |
| As a result of a series of military operations towards RussiaKazakhstan annexed And significant part of Central Asia: Kokand Khanate (1876), Turkmenistan (1885). The Emirate of Bukhara and the Khanate of Khiva (1868-1873) came under Russian protectorate. | For the first time in its practice, Russia applied the friendship treaties that were concluded with Bukhara. The “conquest” of Central Asia proceeded relatively peacefully The annexation of Central Asia strengthened Russia economically (new markets and raw materials) and politically, however, it was very costly for Russia: for example, in the first twelve years after accession, government costs were three times higher than revenues. Through Central Asia it became possible to expand and strengthen trade with Iran, Afghanistan, India, and China. It was possible to resettle Russians to these territories, which became especially important after the reforms of 1861. In addition, penetration into this region of England was limited. The road from Krasnovodsk to Samarkand, built in the 80s, significantly contributed to the integration of the region into Russia. |
1858, 1860 | Agreements with China Beijing Treaty Aigun Treaty | Russia acquiredUssuri region. | Russia's position in the Far East has strengthened, which gradually complicated Russian-Japanese relations. Economic development of these territories began. |
1875 | Treaty with Japan | Fr. went to Russia. Sakhalin | |
1867 | Russia decides to cede its American possessions to the United States. | Sale by Russia to USAAlaska and the Aleutian Islands. |
In the 19th century, the territory of the Russian Empire was more than 18 million km .
By the end of the century, the process of formation of the Russian Empire was completed. Its territory has reached its natural limits: in the east - the Pacific Ocean, in the west - the countries of Europe, in the north - the Arctic Ocean, in the south - the countries of Asia, mainly divided between the colonial powers. Further, the Russian Empire could expand only through major wars.
The RSFSR was officially proclaimed with the adoption of its first constitution on July 10, 1918. At that time, it included all territories subject to the Council of People's Commissars in Moscow. Its boundaries were formed under the influence of the situation, during the civil war and the establishment of new Soviet republics by the Bolsheviks. Some clear, fixed boundaries began to be established only in the early 1920s.
Stalin held the post of People's Commissar for Nationalities since the formation of the Soviet government. Therefore, the determination of the borders of the RSFSR from 1917 to 1953 invariably took place under his leadership.
Russian-Ukrainian border in 1918-1925
In the spring and summer of 1918, German troops occupied cities that now lie on the territory of the Russian Federation: Unechu, Rylsk, Belgorod, Valuiki, Rossosh. The territories west of the line formed by these cities were included in Ukraine. After Soviet troops launched an offensive against Ukraine in the winter of 1918/19, the northern districts of the former Chernigov province (now part of the Bryansk region) and all the above-mentioned cities were included in the RSFSR.
In 1920, the former region of the Don Army was divided between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR. But in 1925, the Taganrog region and the eastern part of Donbass with the city of Kamensk were annexed to the RSFSR. These lands are now part of the Rostov region.
Russian-Kazakh border
Initially, all of Central Asia, with the exception of the former Khiva Khanate and the Bukhara Emirate (since 1920 - the Khorezm and Bukhara People's Soviet Republics), was part of the RSFSR, and in 1920 two autonomous Soviet socialist republics (ASSR) were established there - the Turkestan and Kyrgyz. But since the Kirghiz ASSR subsequently became the Kazakh SSR, the establishment of its borders in the 1920s. was also the establishment of the future borders of Russia.
Orenburg became the first capital of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Republic. When its borders were determined in 1921, the entire Orenburg province was included in the republic. It is noteworthy that at the same time Orenburg was also the capital of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, being located on the borderland of two autonomies.
In June 1925, the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was renamed the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and its capital moved to Ak-Mosque, which has since been called Kzyl-Orda. The Orenburg province was included directly in the RSFSR.
There is a misconception that the current northern regions of Kazakhstan were transferred from the RSFSR to the Kazakh SSR by Nikita Khrushchev during the development of virgin lands in 1954. This is wrong. The border between Kazakhstan and the regions of the RSFSR of central subordination everywhere, with the exception of the Orenburg section, was finally established in 1921-1924. and didn't change anymore. Cities such as Guryev, Uralsk, Petropavlovsk, Semipalatinsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk have been in the Kirghiz (Kazakh) Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic since 1920, that is, since its creation.
Accessions in Siberia and the Far East
In 1920, the Bolsheviks initiated the creation of the Far Eastern Republic (FER) in the territory east of Lake Baikal, most of which they did not control at the time. After the troops of the Far Eastern Republic entered Vladivostok, on November 15, 1922, it was included in the RSFSR.
After the end of the intervention in most of the Russian Far East, the two island territories remained under foreign control. In May 1925, Japanese troops were withdrawn from the part of Sakhalin Island lying north of the 50th parallel. They previously tried to annex the polar island of Wrangel to Canada, and this was an adventure of enthusiasts. When in August 1924 a Soviet naval expedition established the sovereignty of the RSFSR over Wrangel Island, it literally saved the unlucky Canadian colonists from death.
The next annexations to the Asian part of the RSFSR were made by Stalin during the Second World War. In August 1944, the Tannu-Tuva People's Republic applied for admission to the USSR. In October 1944, the Tuva Autonomous Region was formed as part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory (only since 1961 - the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic directly within Russia).
In September 1945, after the end of the war with Japan, Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were annexed to the RSFSR.
Accessions in the Baltics and the North
After the end of the war with Finland in 1940, the southern part of the Karelian Isthmus was included in the Leningrad region. In 1944, the northern part of the isthmus, right up to the border with Finland, along with the city of Vyborg, was transferred to it from the Karelo-Finnish SSR.
In 1944, after occupying Estonia and Latvia, Stalin revised their borders with the RSFSR, established by the 1920 treaties with the bourgeois governments of these countries. Ivangorod, Pechory and Izborsk were ceded from Estonia to the RSFSR, and the area of the Pytalovo station (in present-day Leningrad and Pskov regions) was transferred from Latvia.
In 1945, based on the decisions of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the Kaliningrad region was formed as part of the RSFSR on the lands of the former German East Prussia.
In 1947, under a peace treaty with Finland, the region of the city of Pechenga became part of the USSR. It was included in the Murmansk region of the RSFSR.
Exemptions from the RSFSR
Under Stalin, the territory of the RSFSR not only received increments, but was also subject to seizures. First of all, as a result of the formation of new union republics. Thus, in October 1924, part of the territories of the Kirghiz and Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics was transferred to the newly formed Uzbek and Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republics. In 1936, the former Russian autonomies were transformed into the Kazakh and Kyrgyz union republics.
In 1925-1928. when establishing the borders between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR, the latter received additions in the Sumy, Kharkov and Lugansk regions. In 1940, Stalin separated the Karelian ASSR from the RSFSR into the union Karelo-Finnish Republic (again the ASSR in 1956, under Khrushchev). In 1944, after the liquidation of a number of autonomies in the North Caucasus, part of the former Checheno-Ingushetia and Karachay-Cherkessia was transferred to the Georgian SSR (returned to the RSFSR in 1957 with the restoration of these autonomies).
Belarus received the most significant land gift from the RSFSR under Stalin. In 1924-1926. it was given the territories that now comprise almost the entire Vitebsk, Mogilev and Gomel regions. Thus, the territory of the BSSR was increased three times.
In the 1720s. the delimitation of Russian and Chinese possessions continued under the Burinsky and Kyakhta treaties of 1727. In the areas adjacent to, as a result of the Persian campaign of Peter I (1722-1723), the border of Russian possessions temporarily covered even all the western and Caspian territories of Persia. In 1732 and 1735 In connection with the aggravation of Russian-Turkish relations, the Russian government, interested in an alliance with Persia, gradually returned the Caspian lands to it.
In 1731, the nomadic Kyrgyz-Kaisaks (Kazakhs) of the Younger Zhuz voluntarily accepted Russian citizenship, and in the same 1731 and 1740. - Middle Zhuz. As a result, the empire included the territories of the entire eastern Caspian region, the Aral region, the Ishim region and the Irtysh region. In 1734, the Zaporozhye Sich was again accepted into Russian citizenship.
In the second quarter of the 18th century. continued the struggle for access to Chernoy, and. As a result of the wars from 1735-1739. Russia returned the Azov region, but agreed to recognize it and Kabarda as neutral (“barrier”) lands, and secured Zaporozhye (including part of the Right Bank). After the war with (1741-1743), Russia, according to the Abo Peace of 1743, received part of the territory (Kyumenegorsk province and part of Savolak with the city of Neyshlot).
Evidence of Russia's increased influence in the world was its participation in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) in alliance with and against Prussia. During this war, East Prussia was occupied by Russian troops in 1758, and Berlin was captured in 1760. However, already in 1762, an admirer of the Prussian king, Peter III, ceded all Russian conquests to Prussia during the Seven Years' War.
By this time, Russia was still faced with the task of reaching. After a series of brilliant victories of the Russian army during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. according to the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace treaty with Turkey, Russia received the Azov region to the Kuban, Kinburn with the territory from the Dnieper to the Southern Bug, fortresses and Yenikale in. Kabarda became part of Russia. North Ossetia was accepted into citizenship. The Crimean Khanate became independent from Turkey, and in 1783 it was annexed to Russia.
In 1787, Turkey again declared war on Russia, but, having suffered a number of defeats, in 1791, under the Treaty of Jassy, it recognized the annexation of the former Crimean Khanate to Russia. In addition, Russia received the territory between the Southern Bug and the Dniester.
In 1783, the Treaty of Georgievsk was concluded with the kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (Eastern) on voluntary recognition of the Russian protectorate over it.
In the west of the country, the main territorial acquisitions were associated with three sections (1772, 1793, 1795). The intervention of Prussia and Austria in the internal affairs of Poland led in 1772 to its division, in which Russia was forced to take part, acting to protect the interests of the Orthodox population of Western Ukraine and Belarus. Part of Eastern Belarus (along the Dnieper-Western Dvina line) and part of Livonia went to Russia. In 1792, Russian troops again entered the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the call of the Targowica Confederation. As a result of the second partition of Poland in 1793, Right Bank Ukraine and part of Belarus (with Minsk) went to Russia. The third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795) led to the elimination of the independence of the Polish state. Courland, Lithuania, part of Western Belarus and Volyn went to Russia.
In the southeast of Western Siberia in the 18th century. there was a gradual advance to the south: to the upper reaches of the Irtysh and Ob with its tributaries (Altai and Kuznetsk Basin). Along the Yenisei, Russian possessions also covered the upper reaches of the Yenisei, excluding the sources themselves. Further east, the borders of Russia in the 18th century. were determined by the border with the Chinese Empire.
In the middle and second half of the century, Russia's possessions, by right of discovery, covered southern Alaska, discovered in 1741 by the expedition of V. I. Bering and A. I. Chirikov, and the Aleutian Islands, annexed in 1786.
Thus, during the 18th century, the territory of Russia increased to 17 million km2, and the population from 15.5 million people. in 1719 to 37 million people in 1795
All these changes in territory, as well as the development of the state structure of the Russian Empire, were accompanied (and in some cases preceded) by intensive research - first and foremost topographical and general geographical.
In the 19th century, just like in the previous century, the state territory of our fatherland continued to change, mainly in the direction of expansion. The territory of the country increased especially dramatically in the first fifteen years of the 19th century. as a result of wars with Turkey (1806-1812), (1804-1813), Sweden (1808-1809), France (1805-1815).
The beginning of the century was marked by the expansion of the Russian Empire's possessions in the Caucasus. In 1801, the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom (Eastern Georgia), which had previously been under Russian protectorate since 1783, voluntarily joined Russia.
The unification of Eastern Georgia with Russia contributed to the subsequent voluntary entry into Russia of the Western Georgian principalities: Megrelia (1803), Imereti and Guria (1804). In 1810, Abkhazia and Ingushetia voluntarily joined Russia. However, the coastal fortresses of Abkhazia and Georgia (Sukhum, Anaklia, Redut-Kale, Poti) were held by Turkey.
The Treaty of Bucharest with Turkey in 1812 ended the Russian-Turkish war. Russia retained in its hands all the regions of Transcaucasia up to the river. Arpachay, Adjara Mountains and. Only Anapa was returned to Turkey. On the other side of the Black River she received Bessarabia with the cities of Khotin, Bendery, Akkerman, Kilia and Izmail. The border of the Russian Empire was established along the Prut to the Danube, and then along the Chilia channel of the Danube to the Black Sea.
As a result of the war with Iran, the North Azerbaijani khanates joined Russia: Ganja (1804), Karabakh, Shirvan, Sheki (1805), Kuba, Baku, Derbent (1806), Talysh (1813), and in 1813 the Gulistan Peace Treaty was signed, according to which Iran recognized the annexation of Northern Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Eastern Georgia, Imereti, Guria, Megrelia and Abkhazia to Russia.
Russian-Swedish War 1808-1809 ended with the annexation of Finland to Russia, which was announced by the manifesto of Alexander I in 1808 and approved by the Friedrichsham Peace Treaty of 1809. The territory of Finland up to the river went to Russia. Kemi, including the Åland Islands, Finnish and part of the province of Västerbotten to the river. Torneo. Further, the border was established along the Torneo and Munio rivers, then north along the Munioniski-Enonteki-Kilpisyarvi line to the border with. Within these borders, the territory of Finland, which received the status of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, remained until 1917.
According to the Tilsit Peace Treaty with France in 1807, Russia received the Bialystok District. The Treaty of Schönbrunn in 1809 between Austria and France led to Austria transferring the Tarnopol region to Russia. And finally, the Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815, which ended the war of the coalition of European powers with Napoleonic France, consolidated the division between Russia, Prussia and Austria of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, most of which, receiving the status of the Kingdom of Poland, became part of Russia. At the same time, the Tarnopol region was returned to Austria.
In the 18th century There is a significant expansion of the territory of Russia, its advance both to the west and to the east and south. As a result of the Northern War (1700-1721), Livonia (Latvia), Estland (Estonia), Ingria (the mouth of the Neva), part of Karelia (former Novgorod lands) and part of Finland were annexed to Russia. From the end of the 17th century. The final reunification of Eastern and Western Rus' began. Right Bank Ukraine, all of Belarus, Southwestern Russia, Lithuania and Courland during the 18th century. mainly as a result of the successful foreign policy of Catherine II, they became part of the Russian Empire.
At first, all new territories were granted very broad autonomy; they retained the previous governing bodies and laws. But by the end of the 18th century. and at the beginning of the 19th century. they are subject to general imperial regulations (with the exception of Finland and the Baltic states (Baltic Sea region), where the previous local self-government was retained).
In the 18th century As a result of the brilliant victories of Russian weapons under Catherine II, Russia, after a series of Russian-Turkish wars (1735-1739, 1768-1774, 1787-1791), established itself on the shores of the Black Sea. The result of Russia's victory in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774.
was the annexation of Kabarda to the Russian Empire. The elders of North Ossetia took the oath of allegiance to the Russian Empress Catherine II. According to the Kuchuk-Kaynajir Treaty of 1774, Turkey recognized the independence of the Crimean Khanate, and the Black Sea coast with the fortresses of Kerch, Yenikale, and Kinburn came under Russian rule. Moldova and Wallachia received autonomy from Turkey and Russian protection over the Orthodox population of these territories.
In 1781, the elders of several Chechen communities turned to the Russian authorities with a request to accept Russian citizenship. In 1783, after the abdication of Khan Shagin, Crimea was annexed to Russia. On April 8, 1783, Catherine issued a manifesto according to which Crimea, Taman and Kuban became Russian regions.
The Treaty of Yassi in 1791 with Turkey confirmed the annexation of the territory of the Crimean Khanate and Kuban to Russia, establishing a new border in the southwest along the Dniester River; the Turkish government renounced its claims to Georgia.
The movement to the south was important not so much because of the fertile territories of the Black Earth and Black Sea region, but because of the international position of the empire. Russia's access to the Black Sea allowed it to defend the Slavic nations and promote their state revival. Russia gained the opportunity to directly influence the Balkan states and participate in the Mediterranean affairs of European states.
The borders of the Russian Empire also expanded in the Caucasus. In 1782, the Kartli and Kakheti king Irakli II, trying to protect his country from the threat of national and religious enslavement from Iran (Persia) and Turkey, turned to Catherine II with a request to accept Georgia under the supreme authority of Russia. In 1783, the Treaty of Georgievsk was concluded, according to which Eastern Georgia came under the protection of Russia. Georgia received full internal autonomy. However, Russia had not yet succeeded in ensuring a stable presence in Transcaucasia.
During this period, advancement began in the Central Asian direction. In 1731 the khans of the Small Zhuz, and in 1740-1742. and the Middle Zhuz voluntarily accepted Russian citizenship. Thus, in the 18th century. Russia included a significant part of the territories of modern Kazakhstan.
In the 18th century steps were taken to legally consolidate Russian possessions in Siberia and the Far East. In 1727, Russia and China signed the Kyakhta Treaty on delimitation and trade. The borders of the territories of both states ran along the line of actually existing Russian and Chinese guards, and where they did not exist, mainly along natural boundaries (rivers, mountain ranges).
Russia continued to develop the Pacific coast of the continent and America. Since the 30s of the 18th century. On the initiative of the Russian government and the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, regular exploration of newly discovered territories began. At the same time, their economic development was underway. In 1783, the first permanent Russian settlement arose on Kodiak Island. By the mid-1790s, an inventory of all the Aleutian Islands was completed, more than 60 maps and plans of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, Chukotka and the coast of North America (this territory was called Russian America) were compiled. This cemented Russia's priority on open territories. In 1799, by decree of Paul I, the Russian American Company was created with the right to monopoly use of fisheries and minerals in Russian possessions on the American continent.
Along with the collapse of the Russian Empire, the majority of the population chose to create independent national states. Many of them were never destined to remain sovereign, and they became part of the USSR. Others were incorporated into the Soviet state later. What was the Russian Empire like at the beginning? XXcentury?
By the end of the 19th century, the territory of the Russian Empire was 22.4 million km 2. According to the 1897 census, the population was 128.2 million people, including the population of European Russia - 93.4 million people; Kingdom of Poland - 9.5 million, - 2.6 million, Caucasus Territory - 9.3 million, Siberia - 5.8 million, Central Asia - 7.7 million people. Over 100 peoples lived; 57% of the population were non-Russian peoples. The territory of the Russian Empire in 1914 was divided into 81 provinces and 20 regions; there were 931 cities. Some provinces and regions were united into governorates-general (Warsaw, Irkutsk, Kiev, Moscow, Amur, Stepnoe, Turkestan and Finland).
By 1914, the length of the territory of the Russian Empire was 4383.2 versts (4675.9 km) from north to south and 10,060 versts (10,732.3 km) from east to west. The total length of the land and sea borders is 64,909.5 versts (69,245 km), of which the land borders accounted for 18,639.5 versts (19,941.5 km), and the sea borders accounted for about 46,270 versts (49,360 .4 km).
The entire population was considered subjects of the Russian Empire, the male population (from 20 years old) swore allegiance to the emperor. The subjects of the Russian Empire were divided into four estates (“states”): nobility, clergy, urban and rural inhabitants. The local population of Kazakhstan, Siberia and a number of other regions were distinguished into an independent “state” (foreigners). The coat of arms of the Russian Empire was a double-headed eagle with royal regalia; the state flag is a cloth with white, blue and red horizontal stripes; The national anthem is “God Save the Tsar.” National language - Russian.
Administratively, the Russian Empire by 1914 was divided into 78 provinces, 21 regions and 2 independent districts. The provinces and regions were divided into 777 counties and districts and in Finland - into 51 parishes. Counties, districts and parishes, in turn, were divided into camps, departments and sections (2523 in total), as well as 274 landmanships in Finland.
Territories that were important in military-political terms (metropolitan and border) were united into viceroyalties and general governorships. Some cities were allocated into special administrative units - city governments.
Even before the transformation of the Grand Duchy of Moscow into the Russian Kingdom in 1547, at the beginning of the 16th century, Russian expansion began to expand beyond its ethnic territory and began to absorb the following territories (the table does not include lands lost before the beginning of the 19th century):
|
Territory |
Date (year) of accession to the Russian Empire |
Data |
|
Western Armenia (Asia Minor) |
The territory was ceded in 1917-1918 |
|
|
Eastern Galicia, Bukovina (Eastern Europe) |
ceded in 1915, partially recaptured in 1916, lost in 1917 |
|
|
Uriankhai region (Southern Siberia) |
Currently part of the Republic of Tuva |
|
|
Franz Josef Land, Emperor Nicholas II Land, New Siberian Islands (Arctic) |
The archipelagos of the Arctic Ocean are designated as Russian territory by a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
|
|
Northern Iran (Middle East) |
Lost as a result of revolutionary events and the Russian Civil War. Currently owned by the State of Iran |
|
|
Concession in Tianjin |
Lost in 1920. Currently a city directly under the People's Republic of China |
|
|
Kwantung Peninsula (Far East) |
Lost as a result of defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Currently Liaoning Province, China |
|
|
Badakhshan (Central Asia) |
Currently, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Okrug of Tajikistan |
|
|
Concession in Hankou (Wuhan, East Asia) |
Currently Hubei Province, China |
|
|
Transcaspian region (Central Asia) |
Currently belongs to Turkmenistan |
|
|
Adjarian and Kars-Childyr sanjaks (Transcaucasia) |
In 1921 they were ceded to Turkey. Currently Adjara Autonomous Okrug of Georgia; silts of Kars and Ardahan in Turkey |
|
|
Bayazit (Dogubayazit) sanjak (Transcaucasia) |
In the same year, 1878, it was ceded to Turkey following the results of the Berlin Congress. |
|
|
Principality of Bulgaria, Eastern Rumelia, Adrianople Sanjak (Balkans) |
Abolished following the results of the Berlin Congress in 1879. Currently Bulgaria, Marmara region of Turkey |
|
|
Khanate of Kokand (Central Asia) |
Currently Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan |
|
|
Khiva (Khorezm) Khanate (Central Asia) |
Currently Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan |
|
|
including Åland Islands |
Currently Finland, the Republic of Karelia, Murmansk, Leningrad regions |
|
|
Tarnopol District of Austria (Eastern Europe) |
Currently, Ternopil region of Ukraine |
|
|
Bialystok District of Prussia (Eastern Europe) |
Currently Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland |
|
|
Ganja (1804), Karabakh (1805), Sheki (1805), Shirvan (1805), Baku (1806), Kuba (1806), Derbent (1806), northern part of the Talysh (1809) Khanate (Transcaucasia) |
Vassal khanates of Persia, capture and voluntary entry. Secured in 1813 by a treaty with Persia following the war. Limited autonomy until the 1840s. Currently Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic |
|
|
Imeretian kingdom (1810), Megrelian (1803) and Gurian (1804) principalities (Transcaucasia) |
Kingdom and principalities of Western Georgia (independent from Turkey since 1774). Protectorates and voluntary entries. Secured in 1812 by a treaty with Turkey and in 1813 by a treaty with Persia. Self-government until the end of the 1860s. Currently Georgia, Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti, Guria, Imereti, Samtskhe-Javakheti |
|
|
Minsk, Kiev, Bratslav, eastern parts of Vilna, Novogrudok, Berestey, Volyn and Podolsk voivodeships of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Eastern Europe) |
Currently, Vitebsk, Minsk, Gomel regions of Belarus; Rivne, Khmelnitsky, Zhytomyr, Vinnitsa, Kiev, Cherkassy, Kirovograd regions of Ukraine |
|
|
Crimea, Edisan, Dzhambayluk, Yedishkul, Little Nogai Horde (Kuban, Taman) (Northern Black Sea region) |
Khanate (independent from Turkey since 1772) and nomadic Nogai tribal unions. Annexation, secured in 1792 by treaty as a result of the war. Currently Rostov region, Krasnodar region, Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol; Zaporozhye, Kherson, Nikolaev, Odessa regions of Ukraine |
|
|
Kuril Islands (Far East) |
Tribal unions of the Ainu, bringing into Russian citizenship, finally by 1782. According to the treaty of 1855, the Southern Kuril Islands are in Japan, according to the treaty of 1875 - all the islands. Currently, the North Kuril, Kuril and South Kuril urban districts of the Sakhalin region |
|
|
Chukotka (Far East) |
Currently Chukotka Autonomous Okrug |
|
|
Tarkov Shamkhaldom (North Caucasus) |
Currently the Republic of Dagestan |
|
|
Ossetia (Caucasus) |
Currently the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania, the Republic of South Ossetia |
|
|
Big and Small Kabarda |
Principalities. In 1552-1570, a military alliance with the Russian state, later vassals of Turkey. In 1739-1774, according to the agreement, it became a buffer principality. Since 1774 in Russian citizenship. Currently Stavropol Territory, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Chechen Republic |
|
|
Inflyantskoe, Mstislavskoe, large parts of Polotsk, Vitebsk voivodeships of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Eastern Europe) |
Currently, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Gomel regions of Belarus, Daugavpils region of Latvia, Pskov, Smolensk regions of Russia |
|
|
Kerch, Yenikale, Kinburn (Northern Black Sea region) |
Fortresses, from the Crimean Khanate by agreement. Recognized by Turkey in 1774 by treaty as a result of war. The Crimean Khanate gained independence from the Ottoman Empire under the patronage of Russia. Currently, the urban district of Kerch of the Republic of Crimea of Russia, Ochakovsky district of the Nikolaev region of Ukraine |
|
|
Ingushetia (North Caucasus) |
Currently the Republic of Ingushetia |
|
|
Altai (Southern Siberia) |
Currently, the Altai Territory, the Altai Republic, the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, and Tomsk regions of Russia, the East Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan |
|
|
Kymenygard and Neyshlot fiefs - Neyshlot, Vilmanstrand and Friedrichsgam (Baltics) |
Flax, from Sweden by treaty as a result of the war. Since 1809 in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland. Currently Leningrad region of Russia, Finland (region of South Karelia) |
|
|
Junior Zhuz (Central Asia) |
Currently, the West Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan |
|
|
(Kyrgyz land, etc.) (Southern Siberia) |
Currently the Republic of Khakassia |
|
|
Novaya Zemlya, Taimyr, Kamchatka, Commander Islands (Arctic, Far East) |
Currently Arkhangelsk region, Kamchatka, Krasnoyarsk territories |