Russian Empire Research Articles

In search of a predictable past

The article is a reflection on reading the book by Academician A.V. Torkunov and Professor V.V. Degoev “Russian History: State. Civilization, External World” (Moscow: Aspect Press, 2024) in connection with the problems raised in it in the spheres of economy, state and society structure in Russia, up to the problems of its foreign policy. In their voluminous work, involving the methodology of historical sciences and related disciplines, the authors paid attention to the issues of human relations with society and the state in Russia, which, as elsewhere, were not always friendly and have never been simple. Reading the monograph encourages reflection on the patterns of development of Russian statehood over a huge period of time from the second half of the 9th century to the beginning of the 20th century, — from the formation of the Kyiv state to the First World War, - including the periods of Ancient Rus’, medieval Muscovy and the Russian Empire.

ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЙ НАДЗОР ЗА ВЛАДИВОСТОКСКОЙ КРЕПОСТЬЮИ СИБИРСКОЙ ФЛОТИЛИЕЙ (1905–1917 гг.)

The article describes the implementation of political surveillance over the Russian Imperial Army and Navy in the period from 1905 to 1917 using the case of the largest operational units in the Amur Military District – the Vladivostok Fortress and the Siberian Flotilla. Their military personnel were the main force of the revolutionary uprisings of 1905–1907 in the region, which made clear the need to control them. The author examines the issue of the making of political surveillance consistently – from the establishment of political investigation body in Primorye in 1906 to its abolition in 1917, highlighting two stages in thisprocess.

Liberals and the «historical state power» at the dawn of the great upheavals

The article is devoted to the analysis of the first scientific edition of V.A. Maklakov's memoirs. The author examines the problems of the relationship between the autocracy and the social movement in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Police Oversight of Legality in Railway Freight Transport in Russian Empire During World War I

This article analyzes the activities of the gendarmerie railway police in ensuring compliance by freight carriers with prohibitions and restrictions on the export of certain raw materials and goods during World War I. Based on documentary materials, it reveals the content of the state policy of the Russian Empire regarding measures to halt the supply of essential resources to the Central Powers’ armies. The study of the administrative documentation of the railway police indicates that particular attention was paid to monitoring freight transport at border stations. The issue of police support for the stable functioning of railways under wartime conditions is explored. Gendarmerie officers facilitated the prioritization of military cargo movement along steel corridors. A critical responsibility of the gendarmerie was uncovering collusion among railway employees and shippers to manipulate train speeds for illicit speculative profit amid commodity shortages. The study concludes that the gendarmerie railway police played a significant role in overseeing the legality of freight transport during World War I. However, amid the disorganization of state mechanisms and deepening crises in Russian society, ensuring uninterrupted and effective railway operations proved impossible.

Autocracy and the Great Reforms in the memoirs of V. A. Maklakov

The article is devoted to the analysis of the first scientific edition of V.A. Maklakov's memoirs. The author examines the problems of the relationship between the autocracy and the social movement in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century.

State power and society of Late Imperial Russia in the assessments of V. A. Maklakov

The article describes the publication of part of the memoirs of a prominent political and public figure in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century, one of the leaders of the Kadet Party, the famous lawyer Vasily Alekseevich Maklakov. The excellent style and content of the memoirs are noted, reflecting the development of the social movement in Russia, the relationship between government and society, the fate of the Kadet Party, and vivid portraits of contemporaries through a biographical context. This publication is very important for the study of the social movement and Russian liberalism of the early twentieth century.

Offices and subdistricts of magistrates in pre-revolutionary Siberia

In the late Russian Empire, the world court stood out from the institutions of justice by the simplicity of procedures and territorial proximity to the submitted. The article is devoted to its introduction, organization, and activities in the Siberian situation. Which forced to pay special attention to the spatial factors of justice, to find ways to optimally localize the offices of justices of the peace and delimit their subdistricts. In the conditions of the region, the implementation of this caused extreme difficulties, since it required simultaneously considering numerous circumstances of a geographical, social and economic nature that distinguished Siberia from other regions of the country.

The concept of legal dualism and its overcoming in contemporary studies of the Russian Empire

The productive interdisciplinary exchange with legal anthropology and the “law and society” paradigm has significantly contributed to the formation of the “legal turn” in historical studies of empires. This “turn” has intensified the study of legal pluralism, the competition and mutual influence among various types of imperial jurisdictions (state, corporate, confessional, ethnic, estate-based, regional, communal, etc.), and the significance of law and judicial institutions in managing diversity and integrating imperial spaces. Additionally, it explores the role of judicial and legal institutions in reinforcing the status and identity of imperial communities and in shaping their interactions with the state. This article, in light of the new interdisciplinary synthesis, discusses one of the oldest and most enduring concepts in the legal-historical sphere of the Russian Empire — the model of “legal dualism”. Formed in the 19th century, this concept remains influential in historiography. It posits the coexistence and sharp distinction between two legal realms: on one hand, a unified realm of modern statutory law and corresponding institutions that regulate the lives of the empire's elite; and on the other hand, an ethnically and locally variable realm of particularistic “customary law” and associated conflict resolution practices prevalent among the heterogeneous population of the imperial center and periphery. According to this concept, the establishment of new courts modeled on European systems during the post-reform period exacerbated the legal and behavioral divide, disrupting pre-existing elements of pre-reform particularistic inclusion of ethnic and class communities. However, recent research has critiqued and revised the “legal dualism” concept in both the pre-reform and post-reform periods. Analyzing this historiographical dynamic has enabled the identification of the most promising avenues for further research on the legal-historical aspects of Russia from the 18th to the early 20th centuries, developing a more realistic depiction of the interaction between the state and various local, regional, class-based, ethnic, and confessional communities within the empire.

The First Women in Justice of the Republic of Latvia (1918–1940)

Until the founding of the Republic of Latvia, women were practically excluded from law studies and work in the justice system. The territory of Latvia was part of the Russian Empire and thus subject to the 1864 judicial reform and its laws, which required a law degree and experience to be eligible for working in the justice system and prohibited women from these positions. Following the founding of the Republic of Latvia in 1918 and, more specifically, the establishment of the University of Latvia which had a stronger focus on gender equality in 1919, Latvian women finally had the opportunity to earn the necessary degrees and pursue careers in the judiciary. However, to gain the required experience and be admitted to practice in the court, Bar association, or notaria, women initially needed someone to employ them. In this regard, specific well-known men with liberal worldviews played a significant role.

Government authority and the idea of public representation in 1905

The article is devoted to the development of projects for popular representation by the Russian bureaucracy and the public in 1905. Particular attention is paid to four concepts - the reform of the State Council, the convening of the Zemsky Sobor, the “bulyginskaya duma” and the parliament. The article shows that the choice that was ultimately made in favor of the State Duma meant the government’s conscious refusal of the models of representation born in the 19th century, and finally determined the transformation of the political system of the Russian Empire.

Образ самарского предпринимателя М. Д. Челышова

The process of formation and development of entrepreneurship affected all spheres of economic and socio-cultural sphere of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries, which contributed to the formation of a new layer of business community, actively involved in the activities of local government and the first Russian parliament. In the present article an attempt to reconstruct the biography of one of the prominent entrepreneurs of Samara province M. D. Chelyshov, who in addition to economic activity, participating in the work of the city Duma, city head and deputy of the III State Duma was engaged in solving urban, regional and national problems, which allowed to determine the characteristic features of his personality.

The Religious Component in Contemporary Russian Imperialism

Ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, various voices in the Russian public sphere have been trying to make sense of Russia’s new place in the world, its geopolitical horizons, and the identity of its people. One of the dominant trends that have emerged is Orthodox imperialism, which combines religious symbols and narratives with a geopolitical vision of Russian expansion and “reunification”. This article provides an overview of the Russian Orthodox imperialist voices, analysing the political norms and identities they have enabled. Our investigation shows that by advancing a programme that combines geopolitical restoration and eschatological religious mission, Orthodox imperialism offers an ideological solution to the problem of Russia’s lost great-power status. This solution, however, does not envisage a bright future for Russia or the world. On the contrary, it remains firmly fixated on the past, foretelling of an apocalyptic disaster if Moscow does not regain its former imperial glory and exercise its divine role as a “restrainer” to any global domination.

Studying and Collecting Coins of the Golden Horde in the Russian Empire in the Late 17th – Early 19th Centuries

Introduction. The purpose of the article is to find out the state of Jochi numismatics in the Russian Empire by the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. The novelty of the research. For the first time in one work, the currently known information about the origin of the study of the coins of the Golden Horde in the 18th century is presented. The beginning of systematic coin collecting in Russia was laid by Peter I, who himself was one of the first Russian collectors and collected coins, including “Tatar” (i.e. Golden Horde) coins in his collection. Methods and materials. Numismatics is based on information from a number of human sciences: paleography, chronology, etc. Numismatics is characterized by a complex study of coins and attention to their role in historical processes. The materials for writing the article were mainly publications of the late 17th century – early 19th century, containing information about the coins of the Golden Horde. Analysis. In 1714, the Cabinet of Curiosities – the Kunstkamera – was founded in St. Petersburg. Before the emergence of the Hermitage, it was the Kunstkamera, which had its own Mintskabinet, that was the main numismatic treasury of Russia; coins from its collection later entered the Hermitage. There is evidence that Golden Horde coins were also stored in the Kunstkamera of the 18th century. The origin of private coin collecting in Russia, including Juchid coins (collections of Y.V. Bruce, A.P. Volynsky, P.I. Musin-Pushkin, etc.), belongs to the first half of the 18th century. Readings of inscriptions on coins (and, accordingly, definitions) were often erroneous. Rather, the exception is the activity of the orientalist Georg Jacob Kehr (1692–1740), who was in many ways ahead of the level of science of his time and who, judging by the surviving prints, made many correct definitions. Results. There was no systematic fixation of coin finds in the 18th century; only fragmentary information about the places of coin finds (Bolgar and Selitrennoe settlements, etc.) was preserved. At the same time, the base created in the 18th century (the development of private coin collecting, the Mintskabinet in the Kunstkamera, the activities of G.J. Kehr, etc.) contributed to bringing research to a qualitatively new level in the first half of the 19th century.

Transformation of the Model of State-Confessional Relations in Belarus at the End of the 19th Century – 1917

Introduction. The article describes the process of transformation of state-confessional relations in the Belarusian lands as part of the Russian Empire from the end of the 19th century to 1917. Methods and materials. To obtain verified results, the study is based on the analysis of administrative and regulatory materials, office documents of the Mogilev diocese, and domestic and foreign historiography. The study was conducted using an interdisciplinary methodology: historical-typological and historical-comparative methods, formal-legal, and the method of interpretation of legal norms were used. In addition, to identify the features of the socio-political discourse on the issue of changes in state-church relations, discourse analysis was used. Analysis. The historically established model of a religious state with the dominance of the Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire was established in the 19th century on Belarusian lands with a different confessional structure and traditions of state-church relations. The author noted a tendency to transition from the model of a religious state to the model of a secular state – in the period March – October 1917, the Provisional Government tried to establish an identification model of a secular state. This model corresponded to the religious system of Belarusian society with the dominance of the Orthodox Church and the expectations of socio-political actors and also ensured the implementation of religious rights and freedoms of adherents of other religions but was not fully implemented due to the transfer of power to the Bolshevik Party in October 1917. Results. Transformational processes in state-confessional relations in the Belarusian provinces took place in the direction from the model of a religious state to the model of a secular state as accompanying changes in the political system of the Russian Empire. Internal factors in the development of the state-confessional system of the Russian Empire, as well as the peculiarities of the confessional environment of the Belarusian provinces (diversification of the religious structure of Belarusian society, limitation of the rights of traditional actors rooted in the Belarusian religious environment, confessional dualism “Orthodoxy-Catholicism”), did not play a significant role in the transformation processes.

The war of the Russian Empire against Ukraine: The most dangerous phase of the post-communist transition

AbstractWe believe that the causes of the Russian-Ukrainian war can be understood as part of the post-communist transition. From the perspective of Putin's Russia, compared to the United States and China, the last three decades have been a failure on the economic growth front. Hence Putin's desire to restore as much as possible the Soviet Union, a multi-ethnic confederation of people built on communist ideology. But there is a contradiction here that neither public opinion nor Russian leaders can see. The Russian leadership cannot legitimise its current power and its ambitions to change the status quo by anything other than appealing to Russian national interests. This cannot be done without a communist ideology, because the Slavophile, ethno-nationalist, Pravoslav ideology and Putin's cult of personality are unacceptable to all other ethnic groups in the region.

Propagandistic nature of celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in colonial regions

ABSTRACT The research aims to study the propaganda of the Russian Empire in Central Asia on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. In the work, the method of comparative analysis and civilizational approach was used, which made it possible to assess the impact of propaganda narratives on the development of the region. The study found that the jubilee celebrations were an occasion for the build-up of monarchist propaganda. The practical significance of this research lies in its detailed analysis of the mechanisms of monarchist propaganda during the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in Central Asia.

Hidden pages of Mikhail Lomonosov’s biography

This article сonnects the unknown and hidden pages of M.V. Lomonosov’s biography with the exceptional role that this great polymath played in the development of Russian national science and higher education. Mikhail Lomonosov was born in the northern part of the Russian Empire, which fact had a significant influence on his personality. There, in the absence of serfdom, the “pomors” (“near sea”) — a subethnic group of the Russian people — acquired a freedom-loving mentality. An assumption is made about the genetic and social connection of Lomonosov with the Shuvalov family, who were famous public figures. An analysis of Lomonosov’s scientific ideas is carried out in the historical context of the world’s science in the 18th century.

Shaping Identity

This essay examines the formation of national identity in Azerbaijan during the early twentieth century through an analysis of works by Azerbaijani authors. This period was a crucial time for the country as it faced significant historical changes that challenged its sense of identity. Azerbaijan was situated between the Islamic and Christian worlds and had been under the control of the Russian Empire for many decades, making the search for national identity difficult. The essay analyzes the writings of two prominent Azerbaijani thinkers, Kurban Said and Ahmed bey Aghaoghlu, to reveal the main tendencies in Azerbaijani society during this period. The authors’ suggestions for building a better society serve as insights into the tendencies and atmosphere at that important time. The essay argues that these works may chronicle the formation of the national identity during a historically obscured time when the Soviet regime erased all traces of identity issues. The study draws on Benedict Anderson’s concept of imagined communities, which emphasizes the role of discourse and media in forming and transforming national identities. The essay discusses the importance of understanding national identity in crucial historical periods and how it aids in the process of its formation. Finally, the essay provides historical context on Azerbaijan’s situation at the beginning of the twentieth century, including its short-lived independence, the influence of diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious values, and the challenges of Russian domination, cultural restrictions, and falsification of historical facts.

Historical time series for platinum mining in the Russian Empire, 1824–1917

Historical time series for platinum mining in the Russian Empire, 1824–1917

Chechen Diaspora in the countries of the Middle East: on the issue of generational continuity and socio-political dynamics of communities

The article is concerned with little-studied dynamics of the Chechen and, more broadly, North Caucasian Diaspora in Jordan, Syria and Turkey, starting with the emergence of these communities in the 19th century during the era of the Ottoman Empire. The article traces a slow change in the character of these diasporic communities from the “exodus” from the Russian Empire to the building up of international relations with the Chechen Republic in the 21st century on the basis of “cultural similarity” and the importance of the idea of an ideal ancestral home. The article argues that the Diaspora changed its character from a refugee Diaspora to an imperial Diaspora during the Ottoman Empire, and then became a “cultural Diaspora” with predominant narratives of cultural and geographical proximity with the country of origin a century after the resettlement. The article also argues that cultural and geographical similarity leads to the importance of ethnopolitical factor in international relations and diasporic politics.