The Modernisation of Russia, 1676-1825

286 Pages·1999·5.649 MB·English

by  Simon Dixon

The Modernisation of
Russia 1676–1825
Simon Dixon
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Modernisation of Russia 1676–1825
ThisimportantnewadditiontotheNewApproachestoEuropeanHistory
series is the first book to place Russia’s ‘long’ eighteenth century
squarelyinitsEuropeancontext.Theconceptualframeworkissetout
in an opening critique of modernisation theory which, while rejecting
itslinear implications,maintainsitsfocusontherelationshipbetween
government, economy, and society. Following a chronological intro-
duction, a series of thematic chapters emphasise the ways in which
Russia’sinternationalambitionsasanemerginggreatpowerprovoked
administrative and fiscal reforms with wide-ranging (and often un-
anticipated) social consequences. Russia’s kinship-dominated peasant
communities were not the casual detritus of government-inspired
reform, but rather its direct consequence: the more the tsars tried to
modernise their state, the more backward their empire became.
Though social and political history are naturally crucial to such a
study, the thematic treatment adopted here also permits an unusually
full discussion of the intellectual developments that helped to give
educated Russians a sense of cultural autonomy even as their minds
were opened to an unprecedented range of Western influences. In
order to help the reader further, a chronology and a critical biblio-
graphyarealsoprovidedtoallowstudentstodiscovermoreaboutthis
colourfulperiodofRussianhistory.
Simon Dixon isSenior Lecturer in ModernHistory at theUniver-
sity of Glasgow. He has written a number of articles on the Russian
OrthodoxchurchandonRussiannationalism, andiseditorofBritain
andRussiaintheAgeofPetertheGreat:HistoricalDocuments(1998).
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NEWAPPROACHES TO EUROPEAN HISTORY
Serieseditors
WILLIAM BEIK EmoryUniversity
T. C. W. BLANNING SidneySussexCollege,Cambridge
New Approaches to European History is an important new textbook
initiative, intended to provide concise but authoritative surveys of
majorthemesandproblemsinEuropeanhistorysincetheRenaissance.
Written at a level and length accessible to advanced school students
and undergraduates, each book in the series will address topics or
themes that students of European history encounter daily: the series
willembracebothsomeofthemore‘traditional’subjectsofstudy,and
thoseculturalandsocialissuestowhichincreasingnumbersofschool
and college courses are devoted. A particular effort will be made to
consider the wider international implications of the subject under
scrutiny.
Toaidthestudentreaderscholarlyapparatusandannotationwillbe
light, but each work will have full supplementary bibliographies and
notes for further reading: where appropriate chronologies, maps,
diagramsandotherillustrativematerialwillalsobeprovided.
Foralistoftitlespublishedintheseries,pleaseseeendofbook.
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The Modernisation of
Russia 1676–1825
Simon Dixon
PUBLISHED BY CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS (VIRTUAL PUBLISHING)
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
CAMBRIDGE
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 IRP
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia

http://www.cambridge.org

© Cambridge University Press 1999
This edition © Cambridge University Press (Virtual Publishing) 2003

First published in printed format 1999

A catalogue record for the original printed book is available
from the British Library and from the Library of Congress
Original ISBN 0 521 37100 7 hardback
Original ISBN 0 521 37961 X paperback

ISBN 0 511 01905 X virtual (netLibrary Edition)
Contents
Listofmaps page ix
Preface xi
Chronology xiii
Listofabbreviations xvii
1 ModernisationtheoryandRussianhistory 1
Modernisationtheory 1
Russianhistory,1676–1825 7
2 Imperialgreatpower 27
Ambitionsandachievements 27
Militaryandnavalreform 34
Theprimacyofforeignpolicy 42
Theconsequencesofimperialexpansion 50
3 Financeandtaxation 57
Muscovitetaxation 57
Warandfinancialmodernisation,1700–1762 61
Warandfinancialmodernisation,1762–1825 67
Theburdenoftaxation 74
Thepoliticalandsocialimpactoftaxation 76
4 Society 80
Socialpolicy 80
Socialidentities:thepeasantry 84
Socialidentities:thenobility 93
Socialmobility 96
Socialconflict 105
5 Governmentandjustice 118
Thecourt 118
Centralandlocalgovernment 126
Patrons,clients,andbureaucrats 132
vii
viii Contents
Thechurchingovernment 139
Justice 141
6 Culture 152
Educationandliteracy 152
Hierarchiesofculture 157
Cosmopolitanismandnationalconsciousness 160
Centreandperiphery 170
Scienceandsuperstition 175
Religionandsecularisation 180
Privateandpublic,amateurandprofessional 182
7 Ideology 189
Tsarandstate 189
Stateandnation 198
Churchandstate 209
8 Theeconomy 221
Economicideasandeconomicpolicy 222
Populationandnaturalresources 230
Transportandtechnology 239
Tradeandcommerce 243
Agricultureandindustry,townandcountry 248
Economicgrowth 249
Conclusion 256
Index 258
Maps
1 TheexpansionofRussia,lateseventeenthtoearly page 31
nineteenthcenturies
2 TheRusso-Polishborderlandsto1795.Source:
HughSeton-Watson,TheRussianEmpire1801–1917,
OxfordUniversityPress,1967,p.772. 47
ix