ЗАХІДНОЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИЙ ФАКТОР ІНДУСТРІАЛЬНОГО РОЗВИТКУ ЛУГАНЩИНИ НАПРИКІНЦІ XVIII – ПЕРШИЙ ПОЛОВИНІ ХІХ СТ.

Abstract

The article researches the role of foreign specialists – Europeans in the formation of the industrial base of the Luhansk region at the end of the XVIII – the first half of the XIX century. It is noted that despite its political and scientific importance, this topic is practically not researched by representatives of Ukrainian historiography. First of all, are highlighted the activities and results of Charles Gascoigne, who in 1795 created two leading Luhansk enterprises – a coal mine in Lysychansk and a metallurgical plant in Luhansk. Are shown the reasons for the failure of the Gascoigne project, the most important of which is the lack of infrastructure that would allow the supply of industrial products from the Luhansk region to the southern region of modern Ukraine. This problem is tried to overcome with the help of foreign specialists, who proposed the organization of water communication on the Siverskyi Donets River for the transportation of industrial goods. As a result of the conducted research, the authors reached the following conclusions. The development of industry in the Luhansk region, which involved European specialists at the end of the XVIII century failed. The main reason for this failure was the lack of infrastructure to connect the Luhansk region with the southern regions of Ukraine. The proposed projects of European specialists in the organization of the river connection did not bring a positive result. Created by the voluntarist decision of the government of Catherine II, cut off from the places of supply and leading sales markets, the base of heavy industry in the Luhansk region was barely able to support itself in the first half of the XIX century, and could not provide resources and cannons during the war of 1853 – 1856. As is known, the ineffective support of the army became one of the main reasons for the humiliating defeat. The next period of industrial development of the Luhansk region (more successful) began in the 1870s and was associated with the wide involvement of private foreign capital and the active construction of railways. We will consider this aspect in the following scientific articles.