In the second half of the XVIII century. Russia's foreign policy was focused on solving problems in two main directions: southern and western (Scheme 123).

First of all, this concerned the southern direction, where with Ottoman Empire there was a sharp struggle for the Northern Black Sea region and it was necessary to ensure the security of the southern borders of Russia.

The implementation of the policy in the western direction was to strengthen the position of Russia in Europe and was associated with participation in the partitions of Poland, as well as with the opposition of France, in which in 1789-1794. a bourgeois revolution took place and whose revolutionary influence was feared by the European monarchical states, and above all by the Russian Empire.

Scheme 123

The solution of foreign policy tasks related to the southern direction was complicated as a result of clashes with the Ottoman Empire, which led to two Russian-Turkish wars (Scheme 124).

Scheme 124

Russo-Turkish War 1768–1774 The reason for the war was the intervention of Russia in the affairs of Poland, which caused discontent in Turkey. Catherine II supported the Polish king Stanislaw Poniatowski in the fight against the opposition (members of the so-called Bar Confederation). Pursuing one of the detachments of the Confederates, the Russian Cossacks invaded Turkish territory and occupied locality located at the right tributary of the Southern Bug. In response, on September 25, 1768, Turkey declared war on Russia.

The fighting began in the winter of 1769, when the Crimean Khan, an ally of Turkey, invaded Ukraine, but his attack was repelled by Russian troops under the command of P.A. Rumyantsev.

Military operations were conducted on the territory of Moldova, Wallachia and at sea. The decisive year in the war was 1770, in which brilliant victories were won by the Russian army.

The fleet under the command of Admiral G.A. Spiridov and Count A.G. Orlov rounded Europe, entered the Mediterranean Sea and in the Chesme Bay off the coast of Asia Minor on June 24-26, 1770 completely destroyed the Turkish squadron.

On land, a number of victories were won by the Russian army led by P.A. Rumyantsev. He used a new infantry combat formation - a mobile square. The troops "bristled" on all four sides with bayonets, which made it possible to successfully resist the numerous Turkish cavalry. In the summer of 1770, he won victories on the tributaries of the Prut - the Larga and Kagul rivers, which made it possible for Russia to reach the Danube.

In 1771, Russian troops under the command of Prince V.M. Dolgorukov took the Crimea. In 1772–1773 an armistice was concluded between the warring parties and peace negotiations began. However, they ended up with nothing. The war has resumed. The Russians crossed the Danube, in this campaign brilliant victories in the summer of 1774 were won by the corps of A.V. Suvorov. Turkey started talking about making peace. On July 10, 1774, a peace treaty was signed at the headquarters of the Russian command, in the town of Kyuchuk-Kainarzhi.

Russian-Turkish war 1787–1791 The confrontation between Russia and the Ottoman Empire continued. Turkish Sultan Selim III began to demand the return of the Crimea, the recognition of Georgia as his vassal and the inspection of Russian merchant ships passing through the Bosporus and Dardanelles. On August 13, 1787, having received a refusal, he declared war on Russia, which acted in alliance with Austria.

Military operations began with the repulse of an attack by Turkish troops on the fortress of Kinburn (not far from Ochakov). The general leadership of the Russian army was carried out by the head of the Military Collegium, Prince G.A. Potemkin. In December 1788, Russian troops, after a long siege, took Turkish fortress Ochakov. In 1789 A.V. Suvorov, with lesser forces, twice achieved victory in the battles of Focsani and on the river. Rym - nike. For this victory, he received the title of count and became known as Count Suvorov-Rymniksky. In December 1790, the troops under his command managed to achieve the capture of the fortress of Izmail, the citadel of Ottoman rule on the Danube, which was the main victory in the war.

In 1791, the Turks lost the Anapa fortress in the Caucasus, and then lost the naval battle at Cape Kaliakria (near the Bulgarian city of Varna) in the Black Sea to the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral F.F. Ushakov. All this forced Turkey to conclude a peace treaty, which was signed in Iasi in December 1791.

Strengthening the position of Russia in Europe in the second half of the XVIII century. was associated with the weakening of the Polish state and its division among the leading European powers (Scheme 125).

Scheme 125

Prussia initiated this process. Her king Frederick II offered Catherine II to divide the Commonwealth between her neighbors, especially since Austria had already begun the division, since her troops were located directly on the territory of this state. As a result, the St. Petersburg Convention of July 25, 1772 was concluded, which sanctioned the first partition of Poland. Russia received the eastern part of Belarus and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia. In 1793, the second partition of Poland took place. Russia took possession of Central Belarus with the cities of Minsk, Slutsk, Pinsk and Right-Bank Ukraine, including Zhytomyr and Kamenets-Podolsky. This caused in 1794 an uprising of Polish patriots led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. It was brutally suppressed by Russian troops under the command of A.V. Suvorov. The defeat of the rebels predetermined the third and final division of the Commonwealth. The lands of Courland, Lithuania, and Western Belarus were ceded to Russia. As a result, Russia captured more than half of all Polish lands. Poland lost its statehood for more than a hundred years.

The most important result of the divisions of Poland for Russia was not only the acquisition of vast territories, but also the transfer of the state border far to the west to the center of the continent, which significantly increased its influence in Europe. The reunification of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples with Russia freed them from the religious oppression of Catholicism and created opportunities for the further development of peoples within the framework of the Eastern Slavic socio-cultural community.

And finally, in late XVIII in. the main task of Russia's foreign policy was the struggle against revolutionary France (see Diagram 125). After the execution of King Louis XVI, Catherine II broke off diplomatic and trade relations with France, actively helped the counter-revolutionaries, and, together with England, tried to put economic pressure on France. Only the Polish national liberation uprising in 1794 prevented Russia from openly organizing an intervention.

Foreign policy Russia in the second half of the 18th century. was active and expansionist in nature, which made it possible to include new lands in the state and strengthen its position in Europe.

"," Boyar Duma Ancient Russia”, on the history of serfdom, estates, finance, historiography.

The human personality, human society, the nature of the country - these are the three main historical forces "which build the human community ...".

There were few events in Klyuchevsky's life. One of the aphorisms of the historian: “The main biographical facts are books, major events- thoughts".

He studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University. CM. Solovyov was his supervisor. Klyuchevsky was the best lecturer for the entire period of history education in Russia.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, Klyuchevsky gradually retired from teaching and devoted all his strength to the creation of his main work, which put his name on a par with the names of Karamzin and Solovyov. The "Course of Russian History" was the result of all his scientific and teaching activities. The author set himself the task of covering the gigantic period from ancient times to the eve of the reform of 1861.

This essay presents the view of Klyuchevsky V.O. on one of the key periods of Russian history - the period of the reign of Catherine II.

1. Position of Catherine II on the throne

The century of our history, begun by the tsar-carpenter, ended with the empress-writer. Catherine had to smooth out the impression of the coup by which she ascended the throne, to justify the misappropriation of power.

Catherine made a double capture: she took away power from her husband and did not transfer it to her son, the natural heir of her father. In the guards, rumors, disturbing for Catherine, were circulating about the enthronement of Ivanushka, as the former emperor Ivan VI was called, and also about why Tsarevich Pavel was not crowned. It was even said in society that Catherine, in order to strengthen herself on the throne, would not hurt to marry the former emperor. Catherine saw him shortly after her accession and ordered him to be persuaded to be tonsured a monk. Circles were formed in the guard, "parties", however, which did not have time to form a conspiracy (not everyone, even the participants in the coup, were satisfied with it, as they were not sufficiently awarded). Catherine was especially alarmed in 1764 by the half-witted attempt of the army lieutenant Mirovich to free Ivanushka from the Shlisselburg fortress and proclaim him emperor - an attempt that ended in the murder of a prisoner mad in confinement, a terrible victim of lawlessness, the nursery of which was the Russian throne after the death of Peter I.

Catherine was not so much the culprit as the instrument of the coup: weak, young, alone in a foreign land, on the eve of divorce and imprisonment, she gave herself into the hands of people who wanted to save her, and after the coup she still could not control anything. These people, now surrounding Catherine, with five of the Orlov brothers granted to the earl, were in a hurry to reap the fruits of the “great incident,” as they called the June affair. They were struck by the lack of education. They were not satisfied with the awards they received, with the fact that Catherine gave them up to 18 thousand souls of peasants and up to 200 thousand rubles (at least 1 million with our money) of one-time dachas, not counting life pensions. They besieged the empress, imposed their opinions and interests on her, sometimes directly asked for money. Catherine had to get along with these people. It was unpleasant and untidy, but not particularly tricky. She used her usual means, an inimitable ability to patiently listen and respond affectionately, to find herself in a difficult case, Catherine needs a little time and patience so that her supporters have time to come to their senses and become in a proper relationship with her. It was much more difficult to justify the new government in the eyes of the people. Far from the capital, the deep masses of the people did not experience the personal charm of the empress, being content with dark rumors and a simple fact that could be understood from popular manifestos: there was Emperor Peter III, but his wife, the empress, overthrew him and put him in prison, where he soon died.

These masses, which had long been in a state of ferment, could only be appeased by measures of justice and common good that were tangible for all.

2. The program of Catherine II

The popular activity of the new government was to simultaneously follow the direction of the national, liberal and class-noble. But this triple task suffered from an internal contradiction. After the law of February 18, the nobility became contrary to all popular interests and even the reforming needs of the state. Whether for reasons of flexible thought or for the guidance of experience and observation, Catherine found a way out of the inconveniences of her program. She divided the tasks and each one was carried out in a special area of ​​​​government activity.

National interests and feelings gained wide scope in foreign policy, which was given full swing. A broad reform of the regional administration and court was undertaken according to the plans of the then advanced publicists Western Europe, but mainly with the native goal to occupy the idle nobility and strengthen its position in the state and society. The liberal ideas of the century were assigned their own area. The triple task developed into such a practical program: a strictly national, boldly patriotic foreign policy, complacently liberal, perhaps humane methods of government, complex and harmonious regional institutions with the participation of the three estates, salon, literary and pedagogical propaganda of the enlightening ideas of the time, and cautiously but consistently conservative legislation with special attention to the interests of one estate.

The main idea of ​​the program can be expressed as follows: the permissive dissemination of the ideas of the century and the legislative consolidation of the facts of the place.

3. Foreign policy of Catherine II

Foreign policy is the most brilliant side of Catherine's state activity, which made the strongest impression on contemporaries and immediate offspring. When they want to say the best that can be said about this reign, they talk about the victorious wars with Turkey, about the Polish divisions, about the imperative voice of Catherine in the international relations of Europe.

After the Treaty of Nystadt, when Russia took a firm footing on the Baltic Sea, two issues of foreign policy remained in the queue, one territorial, the other national. The first was to push the southern border of the state to its natural limits, to the northern coastline of the Black Sea with the Crimea and the Sea of ​​Azov, and to the Caucasus Range. This is eastern question in its then historical setting. Then it was necessary to complete the political unification of the Russian people, reuniting with Russia the western part. This is Western Russian question .

Count Panin N.I. and his system

They were waiting for the imminent death of the Polish king Augustus III. For Russia, it was all the same who would be king, but Catherine had a candidate whom she wanted to hold, no matter what. It was Stanislav Poniatowski, a veil born for the boudoir, not for any throne. This candidacy brought with it a string of temptations and difficulties... Finally, the whole course of foreign policy had to be reversed. Until then, Russia had maintained an alliance with Austria, which France had joined in the Seven Years' War.

At first, upon accession, still poorly understanding matters, Catherine asked the opinions of her advisers about the peace with Prussia concluded under Peter III. The advisers did not recognize this peace as useful for Russia and spoke in favor of resuming the alliance with Austria. A.P. also stood for this. Bestuzhev - Ryumin, whose opinion she then especially appreciated. But a diplomat younger than him, a student and opponent of his system, Count N.I., became near him. Panin, tutor of Grand Duke Paul.

He was not only for peace, but directly for an alliance with Frederick, proving that nothing could be achieved in Poland without his assistance. Catherine for some time strengthened herself: she did not want to be an ally of the king, whom she publicly called the villain of Russia in the July manifesto, but Panin overcame and for a long time became Catherine's closest collaborator in foreign policy. The treaty of alliance with Prussia was signed on March 31, 1764, when in Poland, after the death of King August III, there was an election campaign. But this union only entered integral part into a complex system international relations. After Panin's death, Ekaterina complained that she had suffered quite a lot with him, as with a lazy person, for the first time. Turkish war. It was a diplomat - a white hand, a diplomat - an idyllic. Panin became the conductor of an international combination unprecedented in Europe. According to his project, the northern non-Catholic states, however, with the inclusion of Catholic Poland, united for mutual support, to protect the weak by the strong. Its "active" members are Russia, Prussia and England. "Passive" - ​​Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Saxony and other small states that had a desire to join the union. The combat purpose of the union is direct opposition to the southern union (Austria-Franco-Spanish). All that was required of the "passive" states was that, in the event of clashes between the two alliances, they should not stick to the southern one, but remain neutral. This was the northern system, which was sensational in its time. It is easy to see her inconvenience. It was difficult to act together and amicably for states so diversely structured as autocratic Russia, constitutionally aristocratic England, soldier-monarchist Prussia and republican-anarchist Poland. In addition, the members of the union had too few common interests and the northern system was not clothed in any international act.

Catherine II spent a very energetic foreign policy. Her government dealt with several major foreign policy tasks.

The first one was to go to the shores of the Black Sea and gain a foothold there, secure the southern borders of the state from Turkey and the Crimea.

The second task required continuing reunification of Ukrainian and Belarusian lands.

Nowhere did the interests of Russia clash so sharply with the position of Britain and France as in the Turkish question. In September 1768, spurred on by France and Austria, Turkey declared war on Russia. Attempts by the Turkish army to break through deep into Russia were paralyzed by troops under the command of P.A. Rumyantsev. The campaign of 1768-1769 ended in failure for the Turks, but did not bring much success to the Russian army either. The turning point came only in 1770, when hostilities unfolded on the lower Danube. P.A. Rumyantsev, with a difference of several days, won two brilliant victories over the numerically superior enemy forces at Larga and Cahul (in the summer of 1770). Success was also achieved in the Caucasus: the Turks were thrown back to the Black Sea coast.

In the summer of 1770, the Russian fleet under the command of Alexei Orlov inflicted a crushing defeat on the Turks in the Chesme Bay. In 1771, Russian troops occupied the Crimea.

An attempt by Catherine II to conclude peace in 1772 was unsuccessful (the conditions of Turkey did not suit).

In 1773, during the hostilities, Turkey capitulated. In 1774, a peace treaty was signed in Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi, according to which the lands between the Bug and the Dnieper, including the sea coast, fortresses in the Crimea, were ceded to Russia, and the Crimean Khanate was declared independent. On the Black Sea, freedom of navigation was established for Russian merchant ships with the right to enter the Mediterranean Sea. Kabarda was annexed to Russia.

The liberated army was transferred to suppress the Pugachev uprising.

The question of Crimea remained controversial. The diplomatic struggle around him did not stop. Turkey, in an ultimatum form, demanded to return Crimea to it, to recognize Georgia as a vassal possession and to grant the right to inspect Russian merchant ships.

Russian-Turkish war 1787-1791 years began with an attempt by Turkey to land troops on the Kinburn Spit, but the attack was repulsed by troops under the command A.V. Suvorova. Then, in 1788, he takes the powerful fortress of Ochakov, after which the Russian army launched an offensive in the Danube direction, which resulted in two victories, at Rymnik and Focsany. The capture of the impregnable fortress of Izmail by Suvorov in 1790 significantly brought the conclusion of peace closer.

The Swedes intervened in the Russian-Turkish conflict. started Russian-Swedish war 1788-1790 As a result of this war, Sweden was forced to conclude the Varlevsky peace.

At the same time, the Russian fleet under the command of F.F. Ushakov inflicted several defeats on the Turks at Cape Kaliakria. The Turkish fleet was forced to capitulate.

In December 1791, a peace treaty was signed in Iasi, which established the border between Russia and Turkey along the Dniester. Russia received Ochakov and Crimea, but withdrew its troops from Georgia.

The second foreign policy task is annexation of Ukrainian and Belarusian lands to Russia- was decided by the government of Catherine II through the so-called partitions of Poland, which were carried out jointly with Prussia and Austria.

The Prussian king Frederick II, who dreamed of increasing his lands at the expense of his neighbors, turned to Catherine II with a proposal for a joint division of Poland between Prussia, Austria and Russia. Since the forces of Russia were busy in the south in the war against Turkey, to refuse the proposal of Frederick II meant to transfer the initiative into the hands of Prussia. Therefore, in August 1772, the first agreement on the division of Poland between the three states was signed in St. Petersburg. Part of the Belarusian and Ukrainian lands went to Russia, to Austria - Galicia with a large trading city of Lvov, to Prussia - Pomerania and part of Greater Poland.

Second Partition of Poland preceded by an increase in connection with the revolution in France, revolutionary sentiment in Europe and, in particular, in Poland. In 1791, a constitution was introduced there, which, despite a number of shortcomings, was progressive, strengthened the Polish statehood, which was contrary to the interests of Russia, Prussia and Austria. In 1793, Russia and Prussia made a second partition: Russia received the central part of Belarus and the Right-Bank Ukraine; Prussia - the indigenous Polish lands of Gdansk, Torun, Poznan. Austria did not receive its share under the second title. The constitution of 1791 was repealed. The second partition practically made the country completely dependent on Prussia and Russia. The patriotic forces of society in March 1794 revolted.

The movement spearheaded T. Kosciuszko. After several victories won by the rebels, a significant part of the Russian troops left Poland.

In the autumn of 1794, Russian troops led by A.V. Suvorov stormed Prague (a suburb of Warsaw). In November 1794, the uprising was crushed. The consequence of these events was third partition of Poland in October 1795. Western Belarus, Lithuania, Volhynia and Courland went to Russia. To Prussia - the central part with Warsaw, Austria captured southern part Poland. The Commonwealth ceased to exist as an independent state.

Socio-economic situation in Russia in the first half of the 19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century, the population was 68 million people. More than 90% - peasants, 0.9 million - the nobility, 0.5 million people - the clergy.

In Russia, the industrial revolution was slowly proceeding. The main reason for the backwardness was that Western countries demonstrated the success of economic development based on free enterprise and private initiative, while the Russian autocracy retained serfdom, the dominance of which created an insurmountable obstacle to the development of new trends in the economy.

In autocratic-feudal Russia, the main regulator of economic life was the interests of the state, and not the demands of the market. The industry, which worked under state control, practically did not know free competition.

But the all-Russian agrarian market gradually strengthened, and domestic trade increased. There were industrial enterprises whose products were intended for mass consumption - cotton and metalworking manufactories.

Serf relations closed the channels for the formation in Russia of a layer of small and medium-sized owners.

Domestic policy of the Russian autocracy

The policy of Paul I was controversial. On April 5, 1797, he issued a new decree on the succession to the throne, according to which the throne was to pass only through the male line from father to son, and in the absence of sons to the eldest of the brothers.

After becoming emperor, Paul tried to strengthen the regime by strengthening discipline and power in order to exclude all manifestations of liberalism and free thinking. Characteristic features of the reign of Paul I were harshness, imbalance and irascibility. He believed that everything in the country should be subject to the orders established by the monarch; I prioritized efficiency and accuracy.

Paul I tightened the order of service of the nobles, limited the effect of the letter of commendation to the nobility. Prussian orders were planted in the army.

Laws concerning the position of the peasants were passed. In 1767 a decree was issued. Prohibiting the sale of peasants and courtyards at the auction. The prohibition to split up peasant families. It was forbidden to sell serfs without land. State peasants received a 15-tithe mental allotment and a special class administration. The decree of 1796 finally prohibited the independent transition of peasants (from place to place). The distribution of the state peasants to the nobles continued.

In 1797, the Manifesto on the three-day corvee was published. He forbade landlords to use peasants for field work on Sundays, recommending that corvée be limited to three days a week.

The attack on noble privileges turned the nobility against Paul I. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, the emperor was killed by conspirators. The preparation of the conspiracy was led by the military governor of St. Petersburg P.A. Palen. The eldest son of Pavel, Alexander, was also aware of the plans of the conspirators.

Alexander 1 tried to implement a series of broad reforms worked out in a circle of close friends ( The secret committee).

AT In 1802, he carried out a ministerial reform: instead of Peter's colleges on the principle of autocracy, ministries are created, headed by a minister, responsible to the tsar. All ministers united in Cabinet of Ministers.

Carried out education reform. The country was divided into educational districts. The university was at the head of the district.

Alexander tried to implement the program serfdom restrictions. He stopped the distribution of state-owned peasants into private ownership. Decree of 1803 "On free cultivators" peasants were allowed to buy land from the landowner. However, the decree was overgrown with many subordinate bureaucratic conditions that it became impossible to apply it in life. In total, according to this decree, about 50 thousand families came out of serfdom (0.5% of the total number of serfs). Another decree from 1801, non-nobles were allowed to buy uninhabited land. Thus, the noble monopoly on land ownership was violated.

In 1808, Alexander draws closer to himself MM. Speransky. Speransky advocated the separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. According to the project of Speransky, under the chairmanship of the emperor, a State Council from ministers and Thought elected from the people. The Duma and the State Council had legislative power. The executive power belonged to the ministries, and the judiciary - to the Senate and the courts. From the project, Alexander limited himself only to the creation of the State Council with legislative power.

Under Nicholas I (1825-1855), the era of "enlightened absolutism" ends. An attack begins on the political, and partly on the economic rights of the nobility in order to strengthen the autocracy. Strengthened discipline among officials. The Third Department of the Imperial Chancellery, created under Nicholas I, headed by A. Kh. Benckendorff, and later A. F. Orlov, was engaged in the fight against dissent (as well as supervision of prisons, foreigners, the press, considered peasant complaints against landowners, etc.). Increased censorship. The correspondence was opened. Dissatisfied went into exile, into the army in the Caucasus. After the liberal reign of Alexander I, government oppression caused sharp discontent among the upper strata. Nicholas I, who came to power after the Decembrist uprising, was terribly afraid of the slightest activity in society and therefore crushed it in every possible way. Executive positions were more often appointed to executive positions, rather than capable and enterprising ones.

At the same time, limited reforms were carried out. Legislation was streamlined (codified). In 1830, under the leadership of Speransky, the issue of the Complete Collection of Laws began. Russian Empire, in 1832 - Code of current laws of the state. This facilitated administrative practice. In 1837, under the leadership of P. D. Kiselev, a reform of the management of state peasants began to be carried out. Many of them received more land(often due to resettlement in uninhabited areas), first-aid posts were built in their villages, agrotechnical innovations were introduced. However, this was usually done by force, which caused discontent. Surpluses produced by state peasants were often exported to other regions. This caused unrest. The rights of landlords were limited - peasants could no longer be sent to mining, it was forbidden to sell them at auction for debts.

However, the main question - about serfdom - remained unresolved. Nikolai did not solve it, fearing unrest in society.

Weakening military power The Ottoman Empire made the consolidation of Russia on the Black Sea and the annexation of the Black Sea coast more and more real. The war of 1768 was started by Turkey. On the initial stage The wars fought with varying success - the suddenness of the attacks of the Turks and their superiority affected. However, as the Russian troops were replenished, the situation began to change in their favor. The chances of victory increased even more after the appointment of the illustrious commander, who distinguished himself during the Seven Years' War, P. A. Rumyantsev, as commander-in-chief of the Russian army. In July 1770, the Turks were defeated by Rumyantsev's troops near the Larga River, and a few days later, near the Kagul River, a 17,000-strong Russian detachment defeated the main forces of the Turkish army, numbering 150,000 people. Meanwhile, the es-cadra of the Baltic Fleet under the command of A. G. Orlov and G. A. Spiridov circled Europe and on July 5, 1770, destroyed the Turkish squadron in the Chesme Bay. In 1772, A. V. Suvorov was sent to the Danube army. In 1773, the troops led by him occupied Turtukai with a swift blow and forced the Danube. Having suffered a complete defeat, Turkey was forced to ask for peace. According to the agreement concluded by P. A. Rumyantsev in the town of Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi in 1774, the territory between the Southern Bug and the Dnieper with the fortress of Kinburn, the fortress of Kerch and Yenikale on the Sea of ​​Azov, Kabarda in the North Caucasus was annexed to Russia. Turkey was forced to recognize the independence of the Crimean Khanate and the right of the Russian fleet to unhindered passage through the Black Sea straits to the Mediterranean. However, both parties viewed this treaty as temporary. They were preparing for a new war for the Northern Black Sea region.

The next Russian-Turkish war broke out in 1787-1791. The reason for it was the events in the Crimea, where the coup d'état, who brought to power the protege of Turkey. In response to this, in 1783, Catherine II issued a manifesto on the termination of the existence of the Crimean Khanate and the annexation of its lands to Russia. As a result, the whole of Crimea and part North Caucasus joined the Russian state. In the summer of 1787, Catherine undertook a demonstrative journey to the Crimea (Tavrida), accompanied by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II. All this caused a storm of indignation in Turkey. In July 1787, the Sultan presented an ultimatum to Russia, in which he demanded the return of the Crimea, the restoration of Turkish power in Georgia and the inspection of Russian ships passing through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Russia refused. In August, the Sultan declared war. Russia's military superiority immediately became apparent. In 1788, the Russian army under the command of G. A. Potemkin captured the fortress of Ochakov. In the summer of 1789, decisive battles took place at Focsani and Rymnik, during which Suvorov's troops defeated the Turks, who were numerically superior to them. main event final stage The war was the siege and capture of the Izmail fortress in December 1790. In the summer of 1791, Russian troops finally defeated the Turkish army in the Balkans. Then the young Russian Black Sea Fleet led by F. F. Ushakov defeated Turkish squadrons in the Kerch Strait. Deprived of strength, Turkey asked for peace. According to the Iasi Treaty of 1791, the Dniester River became the border between the two countries. Turkey recognized all the conquests of Russia in the Northern Black Sea region.

Thus, Russia not only got access to the Black Sea, but also became a great maritime power. The development of the fertile Black Sea lands began, the creation of ports and cities on them.

Rice. 2. Accession of the Northern Black Sea and Crimea to Russia ()

Russia's allies—Austria and Prussia—repeatedly proposed that Poland should be partitioned. Catherine II did not agree to this, since the Polish king at that time was her protege Stanislav Poniatowski. However, when, after the victory in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. there was a real threat of concluding an alliance between Turkey and Austria for a joint struggle against Russia. Catherine agreed to the partition of Poland. In 1772, Russia, Austria and Prussia attacked Poland and divided part of its territories among themselves. Prussia occupied Pomorye, Austria Galicia, Russia - eastern Belarus and the Polish part of Livonia. The second division, in which Prussia and Russia participated, took place in 1793. The reason for it was the revolutionary events in France. The entire Baltic coast of Poland with Gdansk and Greater Poland with Poznan went to Prussia, and Belarus with Minsk and Right-bank Ukraine went to Russia. Thus, many ancient Russian lands became part of the Russian Empire. Meanwhile, an uprising led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko began in Poland, directed against the division of Polish lands by neighboring states. Taking advantage of the victories of the rebels, Russia, Austria and Prussia again brought their troops into Poland and crushed the uprising. It was decided that the Commonwealth should cease to exist as a source of "revolutionary danger". This meant the third partition of Poland, which took place in 1795. The lands of central Poland with Warsaw went to Prussia. Austria received Lesser Poland with Lublin. The main part of Lithuania, Western Belarus and Western Volhynia were annexed to Russia.

Rice. 3. Participation of Russia in the sections of the Commonwealth ()

The revolutionary events in France from the very beginning alarmed Catherine. She was hostile to the convocation of the Estates-General on May 5, 1789, and especially the taking of the Bastille on July 14. She immediately remembered the events of the Pugachev uprising. Relations with France became even more complicated when Catherine learned of the king's approval of the constitution. Having learned that some of the representatives of the Russian aristocracy trained in Paris took part in the revolutionary events, the empress demanded that all her subjects leave France. On behalf of Catherine, the Russian ambassador in Paris was preparing the escape of Louis XVI and his family. However, this escape failed, and in early 1793 the king and queen of France were executed. Since then, Russia began to form an anti-French coalition of European states and prepare an invasion of revolutionary France. Official diplomatic and trade relations between Russia and France were severed as early as 1792. In 1793, representatives of the French aristocracy, who were in exile, began to gather in St. Petersburg, headed by the brother of the executed king, Count d "Artois. Then the first agreement between England and Russia on intervention in France was concluded.Russia was to field a 60,000-strong army led by Suvorov, and England provided the financial means for waging war.The performance was to begin in 1796. However, on November 7, Empress Catherine passed away.

In 1775, the war for the independence of the English colonies began in North America. England turned to Russia with a request to hire Russian troops to fight the American rebels. However, Catherine II not only refused this, but also recognized the independence of the United States of America. In 1780, Russia adopted a declaration of "armed neutrality", which affected the interests of England and could not but worsen Russian-English relations.

The foreign policy of Catherine the Great led to a significant increase in the territory of the Russian Empire. It included the Right-bank Ukraine and Belarus, the southern Baltic, the Northern Black Sea region, many new territories in the Far East and North America. The population of Russia has increased from 22 million to 36 million people. Another important result of the foreign policy of Catherine II was the beginning of the transformation of Russia into a great world power. Now the Russian fleet plied the expanses not only of the coastal seas, but also mediterranean sea, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. However, the greatness of Russia cost its people a colossal effort and huge material and human losses.

References on the topic "Catherine's foreign policy II":

1. History of the state and peoples of Russia. XVI-XVIII centuries - M .: Bustard, 2003

2. Valishevsky K. Successors of Peter. - M., 1992

3. In the struggle for power: Pages of political history Russia XVIII in. - M., 1998

Homework

1. What were the main directions and objectives of Russia's foreign policy under Catherine II?

2. What was the significance for Russia of the accession of the Northern Black Sea region and Crimea?

3. Why did Russia take part in the divisions of the Commonwealth?

4. How did the Russian government react to the revolutionary events in France?

5. What are the main results of the foreign policy activities of Catherine II?

It falls on the period from 1762 to 1796.

At this time, the Seven Years' War was coming to an end in Europe, and Russia was going through a period of rapprochement with Prussia and preparations for the war with Denmark, which was about to unfold. Having come to power, Catherine II managed to maintain neutrality in, stop preparing for war with Denmark, and also weaken and eradicate Russian influence at your yard.

Turkish question

The territories of the Black Sea, the North Caucasus and the Crimea were under the rule of Turkey. In 1768, under a far-fetched pretext (referring to the fact that one of the detachments of the Russian army entered the territory of the Ottoman Empire, pursuing the Poles participating in the uprising of the Bar Confederation), the Sultan of Turkey announced the beginning, which lasted 6 years.

However, Russia won the war, and the territory of the Crimean Khanate formally became independent, but in fact became dependent on Russia. In addition, under the terms of the peace treaty, the northern coast of the Black Sea went to Russia.

In an attempt to return these territories, Turkey unleashed another war (1787 - 1792), which she also lost, and was forced to cede Ochakov and Crimea to Russia. The result of these two wars was a significant expansion of the territory of the Russian Empire: now the border with the Ottoman Empire was moved to the very Dniester. In addition, as a result of skillful manipulations by the empress, who managed to put a pro-Russian ruler on the throne of the Crimean Khanate, the Crimean Khanate also became part of Russia.

Polish question

The formal reason for intervening in the internal affairs of the Commonwealth, which included the Kingdom of Poland, was the demand to equalize the rights of Orthodox and Protestants with Catholics. As a result of pressure from Catherine II, August Poniatowski occupied the Polish throne, which resulted in the discontent of the Polish gentry and the uprising of the Bar Confederation, which was suppressed by Russian troops. Prussia and Austria, realizing that Russian influence in Poland had increased significantly, offered the Russian Empire to divide the Commonwealth.

The first partition took place in 1772, as a result, Russia received part of the Latvian lands and the eastern part of Belarus. The next division occurred after the citizens of the Commonwealth appealed to Russia for help, who opposed the adoption of the Constitution of 1791. As a result of the division approved at the Grodno Seimas in 1793, Russia received the Right-Bank Ukraine and Central Belarus, including Minsk. And, finally, after the uprising of T. Kosciuszko, in 1795, the last, third partition took place, as a result of which the Commonwealth ceased to exist, and Russia expanded its territory by joining Western Belarus, Courland, Lithuania and Volhynia.

Georgian question

King Erekle II of Kartli-Kakheti turned to Russia to protect his state from the encroachments of the Persians and Turks, and the empress agreed, sending a small detachment to Georgia. After that, in 1783, the Russian Empire and the kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed an agreement (“ Georgievsky treatise”), according to which the kingdom became a protectorate of Russia in exchange for military protection.

Swedish question

Sweden, with the support of England, Holland and Prussia, invaded the territory of the Russian Empire, taking advantage of the fact that Russia was at war with Turkey. However, Russia managed to win here too, and as a result, sign the Treaty of Verel with Sweden (1790), according to the terms of which, the borders between the states remained unchanged.

Other countries

The foreign policy of the empress was aimed not only at expanding the territory of the empire, but also at strengthening Russia's position in the international arena. First of all, it normalized relations with Prussia (a union treaty was signed in 1764), which later made it possible to create the so-called Northern System - an alliance of several European states, including Russia and Prussia, against Austria and France.

In October 1782, Russia signed an agreement on cooperation with Denmark. During the Austro-Prussian war (1778 - 1779) Catherine II acted as an intermediary between the parties, essentially dictating her terms of reconciliation, and thereby restoring balance in Europe.

failures

Like almost any politician, Catherine II also had plans that did not materialize. First of all, this is the Greek project - plans to divide the Turkish lands together with Austria, as well as the Persian campaign with the aim of conquering large territories of Persia, and then Constantinople. The latter was not completed due to the death of the empress, although certain steps were taken.

Results and assessment

The territory during the reign of Catherine II expanded significantly due to the annexed and conquered territories, the colonization of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands began. The position of the empire in Europe was also strengthened through the conclusion of numerous cooperation agreements. However, historians are ambivalent about the foreign policy of the empress. Some argue that the destruction of the sovereignty of the Commonwealth was unacceptable.

They were critical of the methods of Catherine II and her successors, and, later,. Nevertheless, the tasks that Catherine II faced as the ruler of one of the most powerful powers, she successfully solved, even if the means she chose were always adequate and far-sighted.