Educational and methodological material on the topic: the formation of the territory of the Russian Empire in the 16th - 19th centuries. Composition of the Russian Empire

Catherine II ruled the Russian Empire from 1762 to 1796. During this time, many territories were annexed to Russia. Some of them are still part of the Russian state, while for some of them their fate turned out differently.

In March 1770, Ingushetia became part of the empire. On March 17-19, near the village of Angusht on a flat area called Barta Bose, which is translated from Ingush as the Slope of Concord, an agreement was signed on the voluntary entry of Ingushetia into Russia. This event was attended by 24 elders who represented 24 great settlements.

And on July 12, 1770, the agreement on the entry of Ingushetia into the empire, signed by the Ingush elders, was approved by the College of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

2 Kabarda

By the time Catherine ascended the throne, Greater and Lesser Kabarda were in the status of a buffer principality between the Russian and Ottoman empires. Kabarda received this status after the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739, as a result of the signing of the Belgrade Peace Treaty in September 1739.

In 1763, the Russian Empire began to build the important strategic fortress of Mozdok in Greater Kabarda. This displeased the Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate, but even more affected the interests of the Kabardian princes. In 1764, the Kabardian nobility sent a mission to St. Petersburg with the goal of achieving the demolition of the Mozdok fortifications. The Russian government rejected their demands. The struggle around Mozdok became one of the reasons for the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774.

The war, which ended in 1774, finally changed the balance of power in the region in favor of Russia. Big Kabarda became part of Russian Empire under the terms of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace treaty, signed in June 1774.

3 Chukotka

Even before Catherine’s accession to the throne, from the very early XVIII centuries, the Russian Empire tried to conquer the population of Chukotka. Military campaigns were launched against the local population, and battles took place. The tsarist troops were very cruel to the Chukchi. The Chukchi, despite the fact that they could only counter muskets and sabers with arrows and spears with bone tips, offered fierce resistance to the Russian troops.

At the beginning of 1763, a new commandant, Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Plenisner, arrived in Anadyr. Having familiarized himself with the state of affairs, he came to the conclusion that it was necessary to withdraw the troops from here. A lot of money is spent, but there is no result. He addressed his proposal to the Siberian governor Fedor Soimonov. As a result, in 1765, the withdrawal of troops began from Anadyr and civilian population, and in 1771 the fortifications were destroyed.

The appearance of English and French expeditions off the coast of Chukotka forced the authorities of the Russian Empire to think again about the security of this region. In 1776, Catherine II indicated that every effort should be made to accept the Chukchi as citizenship. Using persuasion and bribery, the Russians achieved much more. In March 1778, through the efforts of the commandant of the Gizhiga fortress, Captain Timofey Shmalev, an agreement was concluded on the Chukchi accepting Russian citizenship.

The Chukchi were granted broad rights, they were exempt from yasak for 10 years and retained complete independence during internal affairs. In the code of laws of the Russian Empire, the Chukchi were classified as peoples “not completely conquered” who “pay yasak in the quantity and quality they themselves wish.” However, with the help of barter trade, entrepreneurs learned to extort much more from the Chukchi than with the help of taxes.

4 Kuril Islands

Before the arrival of the Russians and Japanese, the Kuril Islands were inhabited by the Ainu. The Russians first entered the Kuril land in 1711. Then Ivan Kozyrevsky visited two northern islands: Shumshu and Paramushir. In 1719, Peter I sent an expedition to Kamchatka, which reached the island of Simushir in the south. In 1738-1739, Martyn Shpanberg walked along the entire ridge, plotting the islands he encountered on the map.

In 1766, centurion Ivan Cherny from Kamchatka was sent to the southern islands. He was ordered to attract the Ainu into citizenship without the use of violence or threats. However, he did not follow this decree; he aggressive behavior led to a revolt of the local population.

The Siberian nobleman Antipov achieved great success with the Irkutsk townsman Shabalin. Having won the favor of the Kurils, in 1778-1779 they brought more than 1,500 people from Iturup, Kunashir and even Matsumaya (now Japanese Hokkaido) into Russian citizenship. In 1779, Catherine II, by her decree, freed those who accepted Russian citizenship from all taxes.

In the “Extensive Land Description of the Russian State...” of 1787, a list of the 21 Kuril Islands belonging to Russia was given. It included islands up to Matsumaya (Hokkaido), the status of which was not clearly defined, since in its southern part there was Japanese city.

5 Jever

Jever is a German city located in the state of Lower Saxony. It was in the possession of the Dukes of Anhalt-Zerbst until the last duke in the family, Friedrich August, died in 1793. After his death, the Duchy of Zerbst ceased to exist. Jever was legally inherited by his sister, nee Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, Empress Catherine II of Russia.

Numerous relatives divided the remaining territory of the duchy into small parts and thought that Catherine would give Jever to one of them. But the Russian empress decided to keep the town for herself, and in addition to everything else, Sovereign Eversky appeared in the official title of the Russian emperors. It was inconvenient to govern the city from St. Petersburg, and Catherine the Second appointed a regent, who became the wife of the late Frederick Augustus, Sophia of Anhalt-Bernburg.

After the death of Catherine, Jever was ruled first by Paul I and then by Alexander I, until the city was occupied by Napoleon's troops in October 1806. In 1813, during foreign trip Russian army Russian Cossack units under the command of Baron Wintzingerode entered Jever. The city returned to Russian jurisdiction. And only in 1818 something happened that had been awaited for 25 years in the German principalities: Russian Emperor Alexander I gave Jever to his Oldenburg relatives.

6 Crimea

On November 1, 1772, in the city of Karasubazar (now Belogorsk), the Karasubazar Treaty was signed - an agreement between the Russian Empire and the Crimean Khanate, according to which Crimea was declared a khanate independent from the Ottoman Empire under the patronage of Russia. The Black Sea ports of Kerch, Kinburn and Yenikale passed to Russia. On January 29, 1773, the treaty was ratified by Empress Catherine II. Two years later, in 1774, these provisions were recognized by the Ottoman Empire in the Küçük-Kaynardzhi Treaty.

Having achieved the declaration of independence of Crimea, Catherine II did not abandon the idea of ​​annexing it to Russia. Crimea had a large military-political and economic importance for the Russian state. Without Crimea it was impossible to have free access to the Black Sea. But Türkiye, in turn, did not think of giving up the Crimean Peninsula. She resorted to various tricks to restore her influence and dominance in Crimea.

In November 1776, taking advantage of the fact that Turkish troops did not leave Crimea, but remained in Kaffa, the Russian corps of Lieutenant General Alexander Prozorovsky entered Crimea and, without encountering resistance, fortified itself in Perekop. At the same time, a new Russian protege from the Girey family, Shahin Giray, who became the Khan of Kuban, established himself on the Taman Peninsula.

Devlet-Girey concentrated his troops at Karasubazar and on the Indol River. He was opposed by Lieutenant General Alexander Suvorov, who arrived in Crimea on December 17, 1776 with the regiments of his Moscow division. At the beginning of March 1777, detachments of Suvorov's troops approached Karasubazar and Indol. At this time, Shahin Giray landed in Yenikal. Most of the local Tatar nobility came over to his side. March 20 Ryazhsky infantry regiment occupied Kaffa. Devlet-Girey with the Turkish landing went to Istanbul. Shahin Giray was elected Crimean Khan. At his request, Russian troops remained in Crimea.

In November 1777, a revolt began after Şahin Giray's attempt to create a European-style army. In December, Khan Selim Giray III, appointed in Istanbul, landed in Crimea, which led to an uprising that swept the entire peninsula. It was suppressed by Russian troops. In March 1778, Prince Prozorovsky was replaced as commander of the troops of Crimea and Kuban by Suvorov. He managed to force all Turkish military ships remaining off the Crimean coast to leave Crimea.

On March 21, 1779, Russia and Türkiye signed the Ainaly-Kavak Convention, according to which Russia was supposed to withdraw its troops from the Crimean Peninsula “within three months.” Russian troops, leaving a garrison of six thousand in Kerch and Yenikal, in mid-June 1779 they left the Crimea and Kuban.

In the fall of 1781, another uprising took place in Crimea, provoked by Turkey, which was led by the khan’s older brothers - Batyr Giray and Arslan Giray. Only at the end of May 1782, alarming news about the events taking place in Crimea reached Potemkin. On August 3, the Empress, in a letter to Shahin Giray, promised to send troops to help him to pacify the rebels and ensure his safety. In the fall, Russian troops appeared in Crimea, the rebels were pacified.

Potemkin, seeing complexity and instability political situation in Crimea, came to the final conclusion about the need to annex it to Russia. In December 1782, having returned from Kherson, he addressed Catherine II with a memorandum in which he expressed his point of view in detail, especially pointing out the favorable foreign policy situation for this. On December 25, 1782, the Empress sent Potemkin a “most secret” rescript, in which she announced to him her will “to appropriate the peninsula and to annex it to the Russian Empire.” In the spring of 1783, it was decided that Potemkin would go south and personally supervise the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to Russia. While still on the road, Potemkin received unexpected news about Shahin Giray's abdication of the Khanate.

On April 19, 1783, Catherine signed the manifesto “On the acceptance of the Crimean peninsula, Taman Island and the entire Kuban side under the Russian state.” This document was kept secret until the annexation of the Khanate became a fait accompli.

On July 9, 1783, the manifesto of Catherine II was made public during the solemn oath of the Crimean nobility, which was personally taken by Prince Potemkin on the flat top of the Ak-Kaya rock near Karasubazar. First, the Murzas, beys, and clergy swore allegiance, and then the common population. The celebrations were accompanied by refreshments, games, horse races and a cannon salute. The annexation of Kuban took place just as peacefully and solemnly. The two largest Nogai hordes - Yedisan and Dzhambulutsk - also swore allegiance to Russia.

Confession Ottoman Empire the annexation of Crimea to Russia followed only more than eight months later. On December 28, 1783 (January 8, 1784), Russia and Turkey signed the “Act of Peace, Trade and Borders of Both States,” which abolished the article of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty on the independence of the Crimean Khanate.

7 Baltics

As a result of the First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772, the Inflyantsky Voivodeship, which included Dinaburg (Daugavpils), Rositten (Rezekne), Lucin (Ludza), Marienhausen (Wilaka), was transferred to the Russian Empire. Now all these cities are located on the territory of Latvia.

And after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which occurred in 1795, Russia included the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia with the cities of Mitava and Libau (modern Latvian Jelgava and Liepaja), the Zhmud eldership with its center in the city of Raseiniai (Lithuania), the Troki Voivodeship with the cities of Troki , Ponevezh and Kovno (modern Lithuanian Trakai, Panevezys and Kaunas), as well as the Vilna Voivodeship with its center in Vilna (Vilnius, Lithuania).

8 Belarus

After all the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the territory of all modern Belarus became part of the Russian Empire. In 1772, the Mstislav Voivodeship with its center in Mstislavl, the Polotsk Voivodeship with its center in Polotsk, and the Vitebsk Voivodeship with the cities of Vitebsk, Orsha, and Mogilev were annexed.

In 1793, Russia included the Minsk Voivodeship (Minsk, Bobruisk, Rechitsa), part of the Novogrudok Voivodeship (Nesvizh, Slutsk) and eastern part Beresteysky Voivodeship (Pinsk).

In 1795, the Braslav Voivodeship (Braslav), the Grodno Voivodeship (Grodno), the Novogrudok Voivodeship (Novogrudok, Slonim) and the Berestey Voivodeship (Brest) were transferred to the Russian Empire.

9 Ukraine

After the Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1793, the Kiev Voivodeship became part of the Russian Empire. Despite the name, Kyiv itself was no longer part of the voivodeship at that time; it became part of Russia back in 1667. The center of the Kyiv Voivodeship was Zhitomir. Also in 1793 to To the Russian state Bratslav Voivodeship (Bratslav) and Podolsk Voivodeship (Kamianets-Podolsky) joined.

And as a result of the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Volyn Voivodeship with its centers in the city of Lutsk became part of the Russian Empire.

I remember how in high school In history class, I was surprised to learn that previously Russia also included Finland and Poland. To my question: “Why don’t we have them now?”, the teacher replied that they were military acquisitions of the 19th century, which had to be sacrificed revolutionary Russia when becoming young Soviet state. Now these countries already belong to the category of non-CIS countries.

European territorial "acquisitions" of Russia in the 19th century

Height European territory at the beginning of the nineteenth century happened mainly due to the forced expansion of the Russian state into Europe and the subsequent distribution of “trophies” between the states of the anti-Napoleonic coalition. So the significant acquisitions of that time were:

• Kingdom of Poland - Tarnopol district received as a result of Patriotic War in 1815
• Finland - its Swedish part was received upon completion Russian-Swedish war in 1809
• Bessarabia - was recaptured from the Turkish Sultan in 1812.

Thus, these territories were annexed as a result of pan-European military events.

Caucasus and Central Asia

Russia has always believed Caucasian territories zone of its increased presence. The war, which lasted in the Caucasus for more than 40 years, led to the annexation in 1864 of the territories now occupied by Ingushetia, Dagestan, Chechnya and Adygea to the Russian Empire.

In addition, on adjacent territory Eastern Turkestan, also long considered a protectorate of the Russian Tsar, in nearby areas imperial China A Uighur-Dungan uprising broke out, which was suppressed by the Russians. In gratitude, China ceded part of the Ussuri region and the left bank of the Amur in 1860.

Far Eastern Russia

The acquisition of land in these territories was characterized mainly by a peaceful process and took place on the basis of diplomatic relations. For example, the far-sighted policy of non-intervention of Alexander II led to the recognition Chinese dynasty Qin possessions of Russia in Primorye. And with Imperial Japan managed to change the Kuril Islands to Sakhalin Island.

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 people's commissars in Moscow. Its boundaries were formed under the influence of the situation, during civil war and the establishment by the Bolsheviks of new Soviet republics. Some clear, fixed boundaries began to be established only from the beginning of the 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 the winter of 1918/19 Soviet troops launched an attack on Ukraine, the northern districts of the former Chernigov province were included in the RSFSR (now included in Bryansk region) and all the above cities.

In 1920, the former region of the Don Army was divided between the RSFSR and 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 Central Asia, with the exception of the former Khanate of Khiva 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 - Turkestan and Kyrgyzstan. 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.

The first capital of Kyrgyzstan autonomous republic became Orenburg. 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 then. 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 a 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, Tannu-Tuvinskaya people's republic applied for admission to the USSR. In October 1944, the Tuvinskaya autonomous region as part of Krasnoyarsk Territory(only since 1961 - the ASSR is directly part of 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 Leningrad region was included southern part Karelian Isthmus. 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 Conference, 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 Murmansk region 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 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 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. WITH late XVII V. the final reunification of Eastern and Western Rus'. Right Bank Ukraine, all of Belarus, Southwestern Russia, Lithuania and Courland in during the XVIII V. 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 in early XIX V. they are subject to general imperial rules (with the exception of Finland and the Baltic states (Baltic Sea region), where the previous local self-government was preserved).

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 Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774

was the annexation of Kabarda to the Russian Empire. Oath of allegiance Russian Empress The elders of North Ossetia brought it to Catherine II. According to the Kuchuk-Kaynajir Treaty of 1774, Turkey recognized the independence of the Crimean Khanate, which came under Russian rule. Black Sea coast with the fortresses of Kerch, Yenikale, Kinburn. 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 regions, but because international situation empires. 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 supreme power Russia. In 1783 it was concluded Treaty of Georgievsk, 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.

IN this period advancement begins 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 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 Russian government and the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences began regular research of newly discovered territories. 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 were compiled North America(this territory was called Russian America). This consolidated Russia's priority on open areas. 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.