The causes of the February Revolution were the same as those of the First Russian Revolution. However, over the past decade the size of the working class has increased, and the stratification of the peasants in the countryside has intensified. The Stolypin reform accelerated the development of capitalism. The World War caused economic devastation in the country and exacerbated social contradictions.

The main feature of the revolution is that it ended in dual power. It is generally accepted that before the execution of the Petrograd demonstration at the beginning of July 1917, there was a peaceful development of two democracies (bourgeois - in the person of the Provisional Government and socialist - in the person of the Petrograd Soviet).

Bolshevik leader V.I. Lenin, returning from exile in early April 1917, delivered a report in Petrograd "On the Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution" (April theses). It was a concrete program for the implementation of the socialist revolution by the Bolsheviks. However, one of the leaders of the Mensheviks, G.V. Plekhanov believed that the conditions for the transition to socialism did not yet exist in Russia.

Programs of political parties, crises of the Provisional Government, changes in its composition.

The supporters of socialist reorganization had a different approach to socialism. Following M. Bakunin, Russian anarchists understood socialism as a free association of workers and peasant communities. Anarchist P. Kropotkin and legal Marxist M.I. Tugan-Baranovsky considered cooperation as a way to socialism. Many Mensheviks saw the path to socialism in the all-round development of self-government by the working people. From the point of view of G.V. Plekhanov, the socialist revolution in Russia is possible only when the proletariat constitutes the majority of the population. Objecting to him, V.I. Lenin believed that "it is enough for the proletariat to seize state power" and the transition to building socialism would be ensured. Socialism, in his opinion, should be based on public property and direct product exchange, all citizens should become workers and employees of the state syndicate, and the revolutionary vanguard of the workers in the person of the Bolshevik Party will lead this process.

The question of whether there was an alternative to the October armed uprising of the Bolsheviks remains open in historical science. Many scientists believe that there was no such alternative, because. The provisional government continued the war, postponed the elections to the Constituent Assembly, and economic ruin was growing in the country. The Bolsheviks, who were not part of the Provisional Government, supported the demands of the masses, were active in suppressing the speech of Kornilov, who was trying to establish a military dictatorship. They achieved a preponderance in the capital Soviets from 11% (in the spring of 1917) to 31% (by the autumn of 1917). Other socialist parties experienced splits.

Composition of the II Congress of Soviets, its decisions. At the II Congress of Soviets, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) was elected, in which the two-party system was maintained until July 1918 (until the uprising of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries), and in the Council of People's Commissars the block of Bolsheviks with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries remained until March 3, 1918 (the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries left from the Council of People's Commissars in protest against the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany).

The elections to the Constituent Assembly in January 1918 brought the Bolsheviks only 24% of the seats. This showed that the Bolsheviks had little popular support. The defeat of the Constituent Assembly is considered by some historians as a step towards the elimination of the multi-party system. Gradually the dictatorship was strengthened.

As a result of the economic policy of the Bolsheviks, conditions were created for the formation in the future of an economy of a non-market, directive type, with the absence of private ownership of the means of production, with the creation of economic ties not on the basis of commodity-money relations, but on the principle of distributing products from a single administrative center. The Bolsheviks relied on the idea of ​​the poor strata of the population about the need for equal distribution. This policy further contributed to the formation of the totalitarian system of the state.

In the spring of 1918, V.I. Lenin wrote the work “The Immediate Tasks of Soviet Power”, in which he called for organizing “nationwide accounting and control over the production and distribution of products, strengthening labor discipline, raising the cultural and technical level of workers”, and achieving higher labor productivity compared to capitalism.

Discussion in the Soviet leadership and the party on the conclusion of the Brest peace. The point of view of N.N. Bukharin (leader of the "Left Communists"), L.D. Trotsky (People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, who headed the Soviet delegation in Brest). The position of V.I. Lenin on the Brest peace. German demands during negotiations.

The civil war is the greatest tragedy of our people. This struggle gave rise to mutual cruelty, terror. The Bolsheviks believed that they were defending the ideas of socialism. Many Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries supported Soviet Russia, but without the Bolsheviks.

The white camp was heterogeneous, as it was made up of monarchists, liberal republicans, supporters of the Constituent Assembly and supporters of the military dictatorship. White movement program. Military intervention intensified the civil war.

The position of the peasantry depended on the policies of the Reds and Whites. The Reds gave land to the peasants, but then introduced a surplus appropriation for bread, which caused discontent among the peasants. Anarchists (Nestor Makhno) advocated the creation of cooperatives and factory committees independent of the state. At the beginning of 1919, Makhno's detachments provided great support to the Red Army, but at the beginning of 1920, Makhno began to fight against the Bolsheviks, as they transferred part of the land confiscated from the landowners to the collective farms and state farms.

It is customary to distinguish four stages of civil war and military intervention.

The first stage - spring-autumn 1918. A mutiny of Czech prisoners of war broke out. The first foreign military landings appeared in Murmansk and the Far East. In the Volga region, the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks (former members of the Constituent Assembly) created the Committee of the Constituent Assembly. Twice Krasnov's army made campaigns against Tsaritsyn.

In the summer of 1918, the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks raised uprisings in Moscow, Yaroslavl, and Rybinsk. An attempt was made on Lenin, Uritsky was killed. Mutual terror intensified. In September 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a decree proclaiming the Soviet Republic a single military camp. The Red Terror was proclaimed in response to the White Terror. In November 1918, the Council of Workers 'and Peasants' Defense was created, headed by V.I. Lenin. The Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic was headed by L.D. Trotsky.

The second stage of the civil war covers the period from the autumn of 1918 to the spring of 1919. In the autumn of 1918, World War I ended, and a revolution began in Germany. The Soviet leadership annulled the terms of the Brest Treaty, but on the other hand, foreign states got the opportunity to intensify their intervention.

At the third stage (spring 1919-spring 1920), the armies of white generals began to act as the main force. These were the campaigns of A.V. Kolchak (spring-summer 1919), A.I. Denikin (summer 1919 - March 1920). At the same time, the Red Army repulsed two campaigns of General N.N. Yudenich to Petrograd.

The fourth stage lasted from April to November 1920. It was the Soviet-Polish war and the fight against Wrangel.

The policy of "war communism" was carried out during the civil war. Its goal was to mobilize all forces for the victory of the Red Army, but then V.I. Lenin acknowledged that this policy "manifested utopian ideas about the possibility of the rapid introduction of socialism." Therefore, it is important to take into account both the objective foundations of war communism and the need to abandon it in peacetime conditions.

The policy of war communism assumed:

1) the introduction of a food dictatorship (in May 1918);

2) accelerating the pace of nationalization of industry;

3) transition to food distribution for bread (in accordance with the decree adopted in January 1919);

4) introduction of universal labor service;

5) the establishment of an emergency tax for the bourgeoisie;

6) egalitarian distribution of products among workers;

7) strengthening the centralized management of the economy through the Supreme Economic Council.

Foreign policy of the Soviet state in the early 1920s. The beginning of the breakthrough of the economic blockade of the Soviet state was the signing of trade agreements with the leading capitalist countries in 1921-1922.

Chronological framework of the NEP. The internal situation in the country after the end of the civil war. The first step towards the NEP is the replacement of the food appropriation with a food tax.

The Bolsheviks, in their first party program in 1903, recognized the right of nations to self-determination. The national policy of the Soviet government played a big role in a country where Russians made up less than half of the population. In 1917 V.I. Lenin formulated the principle of a federation of free republics. Then, in January 1918, this principle was enshrined in the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People", which spoke of the right of peoples to independently decide questions about joining the federation. In December 1917, the Soviet leadership recognized the independence of Finland, and in August 1918, Poland.

IN AND. Lenin criticized Stalin's "autonomization project". According to the Constitution of 1924, the USSR was represented by a union of equal sovereign republics, which had the right to freely secede from the federation. In the Constitution, the Soviets were the highest body of state power, but in fact power was concentrated in the hands of the Communist Party. The USSR acquired the character of a unitary state.

Reasons and goals of industrialization. Party struggle on the development of the USSR in the mid-20s, decisions of the XIV Congress of the CPSU (b), which at the end of 1925 took a course towards industrialization. Fulfillment of tasks I and II of the five-year plans, the struggle to increase labor productivity, forms of socialist competition. In the first five-year plan, 1,500 large industrial enterprises were built, and in the second five-year plan, 4,500. The "industrial leap" was carried out at a great cost, there was a "mass transfer of funds from the countryside to the city." By the end of the Second Five-Year Plan, the Soviet leadership proclaimed the transformation of the USSR into an industrial power. Now historians believe that this was a premature conclusion, because. The rural population significantly outnumbered the urban population.

In the course of collectivization in the USSR, in a short period of time (1929-1937), large collective farms were created, which were entrusted with the task of solving the food problem in the country and restoring the export of agricultural products.

Proposals of agricultural economists A.V. Chayanova, N.D. Kondratiev and others who proposed to develop different types of cooperations. In 1927, a grain procurement crisis arose, as the peasants did not hand over grain to the state at low prices. Collectivization was accompanied by "dispossession". Collective farms were state-owned, mandatory grain deliveries to the state were introduced.

In the 20s. A struggle for power unfolded in the Bolshevik Party and the state apparatus. As a result, the winner in the fight with L.D. Trotsky, L.B. Kamenev and G.E. Zinoviev came out I.V. Stalin. In the 30s. in the USSR, a rigid vertical of power was established, which forced people to talk about the administrative-command system of government and the totalitarian state, as well as about the personality cult of I.V. Stalin. Show trials were held in the country over people who had different points of view on its development from the leadership of the state. There was a practice of mass repressions. The Gulag was created - a system of concentration camps.

In the field of culture in the 20-30s. an active campaign against illiteracy was carried out. In 1919, a decree was adopted on the elimination of illiteracy, and in 1923, the society "Down with illiteracy!" In the early 30s. universal primary education was introduced. In the 20s. the construction of a Soviet higher school began. To prepare young people for universities, workers' faculties were created. The Russian Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the All-Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, creative unions and organizations of workers of art and literature arose. The achievements of Russian culture before 1917 were completely rejected. Many cultural figures were subjected to unjustified repressions.

In the second half of the 20s. a new confrontation was outlined between the USSR and the leading capitalist countries. The Soviet leadership sent military specialists to China (at the request of the Chinese government). The leaders of the USSR hoped for a world revolution, led the activities of the Comintern. In the early 1930s, Western countries successfully overcame the economic crisis and proved that capitalism has a sufficient margin of safety. Zinoviev and Kamenev were expelled from the Comintern for calling for a world revolution.

After Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, a dangerous hotbed of tension arose in Europe. The USSR pursued a policy aimed at creating a system of collective security in order to stop the aggressor with a united front. The USSR proposed to conclude agreements on mutual assistance in case of war. Japan became another military center, which attacked Soviet territory in the Far East near Lake Khasan in 1938 and attacked Mongolia, an ally of the USSR, in the area of ​​the Khalkhin Gol River in 1939.

On the eve of the war, a rather significant military and economic potential was created in the USSR, but its capabilities were not effectively used, which was one of the most important reasons for the retreat of the Red Army at the beginning of the war.

Features of the development of the USSR in the 3rd five-year plan. On the eve of the war, new models of military equipment were successfully tested, but their mass production was not organized and the rearmament of the Red Army was not completed by the beginning of the war.

Periodization of World War II.

The beginning of the Second World War is the period from September 1, 1939 to June 22, 1941. The war began with the German attack on Poland. Treaties between the USSR and Germany in 1939. The defeat of Poland and a temporary alliance with Stalin provided Hitler with the opportunity to carry out a blitzkrieg on the Western European front.

The second period of the World War (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942). The beginning of the Patriotic War of the Soviet people. Nazi Germany, on the basis of the Barbarossa plan, attacked the USSR, violating the non-aggression pact. It was a defensive stage, which included the battle for Moscow, the Luban operation, the first defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad.

The third period of the Second World War (November 19, 1942 - December 1943) is characterized by a radical turning point in the war as a result of the defeat of the Nazi troops near Stalingrad and on the Kursk Bulge. The result was the liberation of the left-bank Ukraine and the forcing of the Dnieper.

The fourth period of the Second World War (beginning of 1944 - May 1945). Liberation of the territory of the USSR and European countries. Victory over fascism and Europe.

Fifth period (May 9, 1945 - September 2, 1945) - the defeat of Japan. (Entry of the USSR into the war against Japan on August 8, 1945).

The restructuring of the economy on a war footing was basically completed in the middle of 1942. New wartime buildings in the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, the production of the first military equipment. During the war years, a movement of women and adolescents for mastering male specialties, a movement of speed workers for the introduction of mass production methods in production, and a movement of front-line brigades unfolded. Overtime work was introduced, holidays were canceled, the working day was extended to 11 hours.

The creation of the anti-Hitler coalition played a huge role in the defeat of Germany. Joint agreements of the USSR with Great Britain, the USA, France. An increase in the composition of the anti-Hitler coalition (in January 1942 - 26 states, in 1943 - 35 states).

During the winter-spring of 1944, Soviet troops carried out operations to lift the Leningrad blockade, liberate the right-bank Ukraine, Crimea, and from the summer of 1944 launched operations to liberate the northern territories. As a result, in 1944 the entire territory of the USSR was liberated from occupation. The Soviet Army began military operations on the territory of the allies of fascist Germany and the countries occupied by it.

In the post-war seven years, the country focused on restoring the destroyed economy in the western regions. The victory in the war convinced I.V. Stalin that the economic and socio-political model chosen back in the 1930s does not require its replacement or modernization. This led to continued reliance on the development of heavy industry, and in agriculture, on the growth of the collective-farm and state-farm system of management.

In the political sphere in the late 40s. repressions resumed, which primarily affected young wartime nominees. Freethinking was not encouraged in culture, much attention was paid to the rise of national self-consciousness, which at times grew into nationalism. In the field of foreign policy, the main line has become a confrontation with the West and, above all, with the United States. The world has entered a period of cold war.

Mid 50's - first half of 60's. it is customary to call it a “thaw”, because democratization processes have begun; processes of "restoration of socialist legality". There was a rehabilitation of victims of repressions.

In agriculture, grain problems were solved; in 1954, the development of virgin and fallow lands began. It was the period of economic reforms by N.S. Khrushchev. The Soviet leadership determined the main tasks for strengthening the material and technical base of socialism.

It should be noted that in the mid-1960s The Soviet leadership recognized the need for fundamental changes in the planning of the country's economy, in material incentives for commodity producers. Decisions of the March and September (1965) Plenums of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the further improvement of methods of managing and managing the country's economy. Reasons for the inefficiency of reforms negative phenomena in the life of Soviet society in the 70s - the first half of the 80s, called the "period of stagnation".

A radical restructuring of the country's economic and political life in the second half of the 1980s. 20th century The restraining role of the administrative-command control system in the development of the country's productive forces. The beginning of economic and political reform. The problem of the democratization of Soviet society. Repeal of Art. 6 of the Constitution of the USSR on the leading role of the CPSU, the creation of a multi-party system.

Results: The main thing was the establishment of the power of the Bolsheviks, headed by Lenin (the rule of the Bolsheviks lasted 74 years). In 1932, Stalin will introduce a holiday: November 7 is the day of the Great October Socialist Revolution.

January 5, 1918 - opening of the Constituent Assembly. Overclocking On January 10, the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets opened. Russia-RSFSR. Head of state - V. I. Lenin (1917 -1924) The highest governing bodies of the country The first Soviet Constitution July 1918

Soviet modernization: industrialization, collectivization, cultural revolution 1925-1937 First 5-year plan (1928-1933) second 5-year plan (1933-1937)

World War II (1.09.39 -2.09.45) and the Great Patriotic War (22.06.41 -9.05.45)

Country in 1945 -1953 General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Stalin I. V. Domestic policy: Restoration Strengthening the Stalinist regime Struggle against cosmopolitanism 1946 "Leningrad case" 1948 -1950 Doctors' case 1952 -1953 March 5, 1953 Stalin's death Foreign policy: "cold war" 1946 -1989 Atomic bomb in the USSR 1949 War in Korea 1950 -1953 Development of the socialist camp Truman Doctrine - containment of the USSR Kurchatov I.V.

USSR in 1953 -1964 "Thaw" Head of state and head of the party Khrushchev N. S. (1953 -1964) Domestic policy "de-Stalinization" "period of collective leadership" (Khrushchev, Beria, Malenkov) "Beria case" June-December 1953 20th congress CPSU-1956, February Tselina 1954-1960, "corn epic", "Khrushchev" Yu. A. Gagarin's flight into space on April 12, 1961 Khrushchev's resignation October 1964 Events in Novocherkassk 1962 Foreign policy Creation of the Department of Internal Affairs 1955-1991 Suppression of the Hungarian revolution by Soviet troops October-November 1956 - events in Hungary Berlin crisis of 1959-1960 - construction of the Berlin Wall Caribbean (Cuban, October) crisis October 1962. Nuclear confrontation between the USSR and the USA Berlin Wall

USSR in 1964 -1985 "Stagnation" General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU L. I. Brezhnev (1964 -1982) General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yu. V. Andropov (November 1982 - February 1984) General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU K. U. Chernenko (February 1984 -March 1985) Domestic policy Foreign policy Kosygin's economic reforms of 1965 (self-financing) Stagnation in the economy deficit, queues, blat Neo-Stalinism "tape revolution", "samizdat", "tamizdat" Pro-protection movement Constitution 1977 - the constitution of developed socialism Arms race, SALT- 1, SALT-2, SOI "Prague Spring" 1968, the entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia The aggravation of relations with China, the events on about. Damansky 1969 Afghanistan 1979 -1089

USSR in 1985 - December 1991 "Perestroika" General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU MS Gorbachev Domestic policy Anti-alcohol campaign Acceleration strategy - increase in PT. 1988 - law on enterprise activities Democratization Politics of Glasnost 1986 March 1990 Gorbachev - President Putsch August 1991 - GKChP Disintegration of the USSR December 1991 Foreign policy The concept of foreign policy "new political thinking" Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan February 15, 1989 Treaty between the USSR and the USA on strategic arms reduction July 1991

Russia 1991 -2010 Period of Democracy: President of Russia Boris Yeltsin (1991 -2000) President of Russia Putin VV (2000 -2008) President of Russia Medvedev (b. September 14, 1965) Some features of development? 1992 Y. Gaidar's "shock therapy" (liberalization, privatization) Motley palette of political parties Political crisis October 1993 December 12, 1993 -new Russian Constitution Chechen war December 1994-1996, second war-September 1999 -2003 Putin's reforms

Books enlighten the soul, uplift and strengthen a person, awaken the best aspirations in him, sharpen his mind and soften his heart.

William Thackeray, English satirist

The book is a great power.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Soviet revolutionary

Without books, we now can neither live, nor fight, nor suffer, nor rejoice and win, nor confidently move towards that reasonable and wonderful future in which we unshakably believe.

Many thousands of years ago, in the hands of the best representatives of mankind, the book became one of the main weapons of their struggle for truth and justice, and it was this weapon that gave these people terrible strength.

Nikolai Rubakin, Russian bibliologist, bibliographer.

The book is a tool. But not only. It introduces people to the life and struggle of other people, makes it possible to understand their experiences, their thoughts, their aspirations; it makes it possible to compare, understand the environment and transform it.

Stanislav Strumilin, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences

There is no better remedy for refreshing the mind than reading the ancient classics; as soon as you take one of them in your hands, even if for half an hour, you immediately feel refreshed, lightened and cleansed, uplifted and strengthened, as if refreshed by bathing in a pure spring.

Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher

Those who were not familiar with the creations of the ancients lived without knowing beauty.

Georg Hegel, German philosopher

No failures of history and deaf spaces of time are able to destroy human thought, fixed in hundreds, thousands and millions of manuscripts and books.

Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian Soviet writer

The book is magic. The book changed the world. It contains the memory of the human race, it is the mouthpiece of human thought. A world without a book is a world of savages.

Nikolai Morozov, creator of modern scientific chronology

Books are the spiritual testament of one generation to another, the advice of a dying old man to a young man who begins to live, an order transmitted by sentries going on vacation to sentries who take his place.

Without books, human life is empty. The book is not only our friend, but also our constant, eternal companion.

Demyan Bedny, Russian Soviet writer, poet, publicist

The book is a powerful tool of communication, labor, struggle. It equips man with the experience of the life and struggle of mankind, expands his horizon, gives him knowledge with which he can make the forces of nature serve him.

Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary, Soviet party, public and cultural figure.

Reading good books is a conversation with the best people of the past, and, moreover, such a conversation when they tell us only their best thoughts.

René Descartes, French philosopher, mathematician, physicist and physiologist

Reading is one of the sources of thinking and mental development.

Vasily Sukhomlinsky, an outstanding Soviet teacher and innovator.

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

Joseph Addison, English poet and satirist

A good book is like a conversation with an intelligent person. The reader receives from her knowledge and generalization of reality, the ability to understand life.

Alexei Tolstoy, Russian Soviet writer and public figure

Don't forget that the most colossal tool of all-round education is reading.

Alexander Herzen, Russian publicist, writer, philosopher

Without reading there is no real education, there is not and cannot be any taste, or a word, or a multilateral breadth of understanding; Goethe and Shakespeare are equal to the whole university. Reading man survives centuries.

Alexander Herzen, Russian publicist, writer, philosopher

Here you will find audiobooks by Russian, Soviet, Russian and foreign writers on various topics! We have collected for you masterpieces of literature from and. Also on the site there are audio books with poems and poets, lovers of detectives and action movies, audio books will find interesting audio books for themselves. We can offer women, and for women, we will periodically offer fairy tales and audio books from the school curriculum. Children will also be interested in audio books about. We also have something to offer for lovers: audiobooks of the Stalker, Metro 2033 ... series, and much more from. Who wants to tickle his nerves: go to the section

The Soviet period is a complex and contradictory phenomenon in the development of not only our history, but also culture. The 20th century gave the fatherland brilliant scientists and researchers, talented artists, writers, musicians, directors. It became the date of birth of numerous creative communities, art schools, trends, trends, styles. However, it was in the 20th century that a totalized socio-cultural mythology was created in Russia, accompanied by dogmatization, manipulation of consciousness, the destruction of dissent, the primitivization of artistic assessments and the physical destruction of the color of the Russian scientific and artistic intelligentsia. In a word, the culture of the Soviet period was never essentially monolithic. It is contradictory both in its individual manifestations and in general. And in this vein, it must be analyzed.

At the beginning of the 20th century, V.I. Lenin formulated the most important principles of the attitude of the Communist Party to artistic and creative activity, which formed the basis of the cultural policy of the Soviet state. In the work “Party organization and party literature” (1905) V.I. Lenin clearly showed how untenable, in his opinion, is the desire of some creative people (we are talking about the turbulent era on the eve of the Russian revolution) to be “outside” and “above” the class struggle, since “... to live in society and be free from society it is forbidden". Therefore, the main goal of culture, according to V. I. Lenin, is not to serve “... a jaded heroine, not bored and obese “upper ten thousand”, but to millions and tens of millions of workers who make up the color of the country, its strength, her future." Thus, culture and, in particular, such a sphere of it as art, must become “part of the common proletarian cause”, express the interests of this class, and hence of society. Lenin's understanding of the class principle in any manifestations of culture became the starting point for further theoretical development in Soviet social science. The philosophical category “class bias” (or “class conditioning”) was an essential moment in the perception of any cultural phenomenon.

The socialist society, ideally, was conceived as a society where a new culture was to be formed. Perfect economic and socio-political relations, according to the classics of Marxism-Leninism, would contribute to the growth of the spiritual culture of the broad masses of the people and at the same time would increase the level of education of the main part of the population, which in total would contribute to the solution of the key task - the formation of a comprehensively developed personality. The October Revolution, according to its authors, was supposed to radically change the situation in the sphere of spiritual culture. For the first time, culture had to have the opportunity to belong to the people in the full and true sense, to serve as a spokesman for their interests and spiritual needs. However, the leaders of the revolution, considering it to be proletarian in essence, concluded that the new culture that the new revolutionary society would build must also be proletarian. The leaders of the revolution, in principle, refused to recognize cultural evolution, the continuity of cultural development.

The first post-October decade demanded the creation of a purely "proletarian culture" opposed to the entire artistic culture of the past. In the theoretical developments of the twenties there were many dead ends and contradictions. For example, many cultural concepts of that period are characterized by a class approach in the selection and evaluation of artistic means in the work of cultural figures. In the absolutization of the class aspect in artistic culture, two creative organizations stood out in particular - Proletkult and RAPP. Proletkult is a cultural, educational, literary and artistic organization that arose on the eve of the October Revolution and ceased to exist in 1932. The theorists of Proletcult A. A. Bogdanov, V. F. Pletnev, F. I. Kalinin argued that proletarian culture can only be created by representatives of the working class. In the proletarian concepts, the classical cultural heritage was denied, with the exception, perhaps, of those works of art in which a connection with the national liberation movement was found. The activities of the Proletkult were sharply criticized even by the leadership of the Bolshevik Party. We are talking about the famous letter of V.I. Lenin in the Central Committee of the RCP (b) "On proletarian culture" in 1920. Another very influential creative group was RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers). Organizationally, the association took shape at the First All-Russian Congress of Proletarian Writers in Moscow in October 1920. Over the years, the leading role in the association was played by L. Averbakh, F.V. Gladkov, A.S. Serafimovich, F.I. Panferov and others. Calling for a struggle for high artistic skill, arguing with the theories of Proletkult, the RAPP, at the same time, remained on the point of view of proletarian culture. In 1932, the RAPP was dissolved. In the 1920s, most cultural organizations and the press flaunted approximately the phrase that in order to arrive at their own culture, the proletariat would have to eradicate to the end the fetishistic cult of the artistic past and rely on the advanced experience of the present. And the main task of proletarian art will not be a stylization of the past, but the creation of the future. The class ideas of the twenties were continued in the “vulgar” sociology of art of the thirties and, with relapses, reached the beginning of perestroika. However, a number of prominent artists and, above all, writers and poets actively opposed this. In this row are the names of A. Platonov, E. Zamyatin, M. Bulgakov, M. Tsvetaeva, O. Mandelstam. The unconditional priority of the universal humanistic principle over the particular (including the narrow class) was for them an immutable law of creativity.

For a long time in Soviet social science the point of view dominated, according to which the 30-40s of our century were declared years of mass labor heroism in economic development and in the socio-political life of society. Much has been said and written about the scale of the development of public education, unprecedented in history. There are two decisive points here:

• 1) Decree of the XVI Congress of the CPSU (b) "On the introduction of universal compulsory primary education for all children in the USSR" (1930).
• 2) The idea put forward by I. Stalin in the thirties of the renewal of “economic cadres” at all levels, which entailed the creation of industrial academies and engineering universities throughout the country, as well as the introduction of conditions that stimulate working people to receive education in the evening and correspondence departments of universities “without out of production."

The first construction projects of the five-year plan, the collectivization of agriculture, the Stakhanov movement, the historical achievements of Soviet science and technology were perceived, experienced and reflected in the public consciousness in the unity of its rational and emotional structures. Therefore, artistic culture could not but play an exceptionally important role in the spiritual development of socialist society. Never in the past and nowhere in the world have works of art had such a wide, such a massive, truly popular audience as in our country. This is eloquently evidenced by the attendance rates of theaters, concert halls, art museums and exhibitions, the development of the cinema network, book publishing and the use of library funds. The official art of the 1930s and 1940s was upbeat and affirmative, even euphoric. The major type of art that Plato recommended for his ideal "State" was embodied in the real Soviet totalitarian society. Here one should keep in mind the tragic inconsistency that developed in the country in the pre-war period. In the public consciousness of the 1930s, faith in socialist ideals, the enormous prestige of the party, began to be combined with "leaderism." Social cowardice, the fear of breaking out of the general ranks, has spread in broad sections of society. The essence of the class approach to social phenomena was reinforced by Stalin's personality cult. The principles of the class struggle were also reflected in the artistic life of the country. In 1932, following the decision of the XVI Congress of the CPSU (b), a number of creative associations were dissolved in the country - Proletkult, RAPP, VOAPP. And in April 1934, the First All-Union Congress of Soviet Writers opened. At the congress, the secretary of the Central Committee for ideology, A. A. Zhdanov, made a report, outlining the Bolshevik vision of artistic culture in a socialist society. "Socialist realism" was recommended as the "basic creative method" of Soviet culture.

On the eve of the war in February 1937, the 100th anniversary of the death of A.S. Pushkin, in May 1938 the country no less solemnly celebrated the 750th anniversary of the creation of the national shrine "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", and in March 1940 the last part of M. Sholokhov's novel "Quiet Flows the Don" was published in the USSR. From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet art devoted itself entirely to the cause of saving the Fatherland. Cultural figures fought with weapons in their hands on the fronts of the war, worked in the front-line press and propaganda teams. Soviet poetry and song reached an extraordinary sound during this period. The song "Holy War" by V. Lebedev-Kumach and A. Aleksandrov became the true anthem of the people's war. Military lyrics by M. Isakovsky, S. Shchipachev, A. Tvardovsky, A. Akhmatova, A. Surkov, N. Tikhonov, O. Berggolts, B. Pasternak, K. Simonov were created in the form of an oath, crying, cursing, direct appeal. During the war years, one of the greatest works of the 20th century, D. Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, was created. At one time, L. Beethoven liked to repeat the idea that music should strike fire from a courageous human heart. It was these thoughts that were embodied by D. Shostakovich in his most significant work. D. Shostakovich began to write the Seventh Symphony a month after the start of the Great Patriotic War and continued his work in Leningrad besieged by the Nazis. Together with professors and students of the Leningrad Conservatory, he went out to dig trenches and, as a firefighter, lived in a barracks position in the building of the conservatory. On the original score of the symphony, the composer's notes “VT” are visible - meaning “air raid”. When she advanced, D. Shostakovich interrupted work on the symphony and went to drop incendiary bombs from the roof of the conservatory.

In the post-war period, domestic culture continued the artistic development of the military theme. On a documentary basis, A. Fadeev's novel "The Young Guard" and "The Tale of a Real Man" by B. Polevoy are being created. In the Soviet humanities of this period, new approaches to the study of social consciousness began to be developed. This is due to the fact that the Soviet people are beginning to get acquainted with the culture of other countries and to establish spiritual contacts with all continents.

The artistic process of the 1960s and 1970s was distinguished by the intensity and dynamism of its development. He was closely connected with the well-known socio-political processes taking place in the country. No wonder this time is called the political and cultural “thaw”. The rapid development of scientific and technological progress, which determined many socio-economic processes of this period, also had a strong influence on the formation of the “thaw” culture. Ecological changes in nature, the migration of a large number of the population from the countryside to the city, the complication of life and life in modern cities have led to serious changes in the consciousness and morality of people, which has become the subject of depiction in artistic culture. In the prose of V. Shukshin, Y. Trifonov, V. Rasputin, Ch. Aitmatov, in the dramaturgy of A. Vampilov, V. Rozov, A. Volodin, in the poetry of V. Vysotsky, one can trace the desire to see the complex problems of time in everyday plots. The birth of the so-called “village prose” during the period of the “thaw” became a genuine phenomenon of Soviet culture. Its manifestation does not at all mean that the peasantry had special artistic needs, which differed significantly from the needs of other strata of Soviet society. The content of most of the works of V. Astafiev, V. Belov, F. Abramov, V. Rasputin and other “village people” did not leave anyone indifferent, because they dealt with universal human problems. Village writers not only recorded profound changes in consciousness; morality of a village person, but also showed the more dramatic side of these shifts, which affected the change in the connection between generations, the transfer of the spiritual experience of older generations to younger ones. Violation of the continuity of traditions led to the extinction of the old Russian villages with their centuries-old way of life, language, morality. A new way of rural life, close to the urban one, is coming to replace it. As a result, the fundamental concept of village life is changing - the concept of "home", in which since ancient times Russian people have invested the concept of "fatherland", "native land", "family". Through the understanding of the concept of “home”, a deep connection between generations was also carried out. F. Abramov wrote about this with pain in his novel “The House”, and V. Rasputin’s stories “Farewell to Mother” and “Fire” are also devoted to this problem.

communist lenin culture artistic

At the end of 1917, the formation of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) was proclaimed in most of the territory of the Russian Empire, the capital of which was moved to Moscow. Later, as a result of the military successes of the Soviet Red Army, Soviet socialist republics were proclaimed in the Ukraine, Belarus, and Transcaucasia. In 1922, these four republics united into a single state - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In the 1920s administrative reforms were carried out in the USSR, as a result of which the republics of Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Tajik separated from the RSFSR, and the Transcaucasian Republic was divided into Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijan.

During the Second World War and following its results (1939-1947), the USSR first included Bessarabia (on the territory of which the Moldavian SSR was formed), the Baltic states (Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian SSR), Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, as well as southeastern part of Finland (Vyborg and environs), and then Tuva. After the war, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands became part of the USSR, the Kaliningrad region and the northeastern part of Finland (Pechenga) became part of the RSFSR, and Transcarpathia became part of the Ukrainian SSR. After that, there were only changes in the borders between individual union republics, the most significant of which was the transfer of Crimea from the RSFSR to Ukraine in 1954. At the end of the period, the area of ​​the state amounted to 22.4 million square meters. km.

Seventh - the modern period of the country's development (since 1992)

At the end of 1991, the USSR disintegrated into 15 newly independent states, the largest of which was the Russian Federation. At the same time, the territory and borders of the country actually returned to the turn of the 17th-18th centuries.

But this confirms the fact that modern Russia is not an empire that forcibly subjugated many surrounding territories, but a historically formed polyethnic and polyconfessional state that has prospects for its further socio-economic and cultural development.

At the same time, initially many neighboring states had territorial claims against the Russian Federation, the presence of which in itself speaks of the instability and illegality of the inclusion of certain territories in the country. The most serious were the claims from China and Japan, which could not be resolved during the Soviet era. Disagreements with China over the past 10 years have been completely resolved, and today the entire Russian-Chinese border is confirmed by interstate agreements and delimited - for the first time in several centuries of political relations between Russia and China. Differences between Russia and Japan over the southern Kuril Islands remain unresolved, which hinders the development of economic, social and other ties between our countries.

The claims of the newly independent states were quite different. During the existence of the USSR, the borders between the RSFSR and other republics were purely administrative. More than 85% of the borders were not demarcated. Even in the documented periods of the country's development, these borders changed repeatedly in one direction or another and often without observing the necessary legal formalities.

Thus, the claims of Estonia and Latvia to part of the territories of the Leningrad and Pskov regions are substantiated by agreements of the 1920s. But before that, Estonia and Latvia as independent states never existed. And also in the XII century. the territories of modern Estonia and Latvia were subordinate to the Russian principalities. This, from a historical point of view, allows Russia to claim the entire territory of Estonia and Latvia.

Since the end of the 18th century Western and Northern Kazakhstan were part of the Russian state. And until the end of the 1920s. Kazakhstan and Central Asia were part of the RSFSR. Naturally, under such conditions, Russia has more historical grounds for annexing part of the territory of Central Asia than Kazakhstan has for annexing part of the territory of Russia. Moreover, in the northern part of Kazakhstan, the majority of the population is made up of Russians and other peoples close to them in culture, and not Kazakhs.

The situation is similar with the borders in the Caucasus, where they often changed depending on specific historical conditions. As a result, today the population of some parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan (Abkhazia, etc.) wants to join Russia, while these states, in turn, make territorial claims against the Russian Federation and support the separatists on the territory of our country.

The most difficult is the establishment of the border between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, where in many cases ties were cut not only between regions and enterprises, but also between individual families, whose representatives turned out to be living on opposite sides of the new state borders. However, by the beginning of the XXI century. most of the territorial claims against Russia at the state level were withdrawn. And today they are put forward only by extremist-minded politicians of a nationalist persuasion.

The geographical position of any country consists of a physical-geographical and economic-geographical position. The internal administrative-territorial division of the country is also important.

Russia occupies 17,075 thousand square meters. km, or 1/8 of the land. Our country is the largest state in the world by area. The length of the territory of Russia from west to east (from Kaliningrad to Chukotka) is almost 10 thousand km, and from north to south - from 2.5 to 4 thousand km. 11 time zones pass through the country: when it is 9 pm in the Kaliningrad region, in the Kamchatka region, Koryak and Chukotka autonomous regions it is already 7 am the next day. The vastness of the territory predetermines the richness of natural resources and the diversity of natural conditions. The extreme western point of Russia is located on the Baltic Spit near Kaliningrad (19°38"E), the extreme eastern point is on Ratmanov Island in the Bering Strait (169°01"W). The extreme northern point of Russia is Cape Fligeli on Rudolf Island in the Franz Josef Land archipelago (81 ° 5 N), and on the mainland - Cape Chelyuskin on the Taimyr Peninsula (77 ° 43 "N). The extreme southern point located near Mount Bazarduzu of the Caucasus Range (41 ° 11 "N). Thus, Russia occupies a high-latitude position on the Eurasian continent, most of the territory is located between the 50th parallel and the Arctic Circle.

As a result, Russia is one of the northernmost states in the world. About 2/3 of the country's territory belongs to the planetary zone of the North. It is here that most of the country's natural resources are concentrated (more than 3/4 of energy resources, almost 70% of forest resources, over 80% of fresh water resources, etc.). But these are actually undeveloped and uninhabited territories (the population density is less than 1 person per 1 sq. km), the natural conditions of which impede the development of almost all types of economic activity (transport, industrial, agricultural, construction, etc.). The unfavorable influence of the physical and geographical position is especially pronounced in the low agro-climatic and natural-recreational potential of most of the territory of Russia. This determines the low competitiveness of Russia in the international markets of agriculture and recreation, dependence on imports of many types of agricultural products and tourism services.

Ultimately, the negative impact of the physical and geographical position of Russia is manifested in high costs for the production of all types of products and services compared to other countries. At the same time, not only harsh natural conditions have a negative effect (costs for heating, lighting, growing plants, etc. increase), but also the huge size of the country itself (transport costs increase sharply). In terms of its physical and geographical position, Russia is comparable among independent states only with Canada. But there, almost all socio-economic activity is concentrated in the southernmost parts of the country, similar in natural conditions to the Russian North Caucasus, the Lower Volga region and the south of the Far East. In Russia, such a territorial concentration is hindered both by the historical features of the country's development and most of the modern socio-economic factors that determine the territorial organization of the population and economy.

The main part of the territory of Russia is located in the mainland part of Eurasia, and the smaller part falls on the island part, which complicates the implementation of socio-economic ties. The largest islands of Russia: archipelago

Novaya Zemlya (82.6 thousand sq. km), Sakhalin Island (76.4 thousand sq. km), Novosibirsk archipelago (38 thousand sq. km). But the entire vast area of ​​the North is considered by the locals to be an "island", cut off from the rest of the territory ("mainland") due to the lack of reliable transport communications and harsh natural conditions.

Most of the northern and eastern borders of Russia are maritime. The territory of the country is washed by the seas of the Arctic Ocean (Barents, White, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi), Pacific (Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese) and Atlantic Oceans (Baltic, Black, Azov). But most of these seas are cold, their water areas are covered with ice for a significant part of the year. Therefore, the coastal position of the country is poorly realized for the convenience of relations with other countries. The most beneficial for the Russian economy are sea access to the non-freezing areas of the Barents, Baltic, Black and Japan seas.

The total length of Russia's borders is 58.6 thousand km, of which the length of maritime borders is more than 38 thousand km (65%). Russia has sea borders with 12 countries: the USA, Japan, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, North Korea (North Korea) and in the Caspian Sea - with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The length of the land borders of Russia is 20.1 thousand km (35%). Russia has a land border with 16 countries: with Kazakhstan (about 7200 km), China (4300), Mongolia (3005), Finland (1269), Ukraine (1270), Belarus (990), Estonia (438), Azerbaijan (367) , Lithuania (304), Latvia (250), Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia (about 750 in total), Poland (244), Norway (196), North Korea (17). The vast majority of Russia's land border falls on the CIS countries.

The land borders of Russia in the west pass through the territory of the East European Plain, and in the south - partly along the plains, partly along the mountainous territories. Consequently, there are no serious natural problems for the construction of communications and the development of contacts with most neighboring countries. But almost the entire border with Georgia and Azerbaijan runs through the Caucasus Mountains. Mountains that have a barrier function are also located on a significant part of Russia's borders with Mongolia and China.

Economic and geographical position (EGP) is the relation of an object to external objects of economic importance. Studying the country's EGP helps to find out how the country's environment affects or can influence its economic development. Therefore, the analysis of the EGP of the country consists in its assessment: is the EGP profitable or unprofitable, i.e. favorable or not for the development of the country's economy.

In terms of territorial coverage, three levels of the EGP are distinguished: macro-, meso- and micro-location. macro location countries - the position of the country on the world map: relation to the continents, oceans, world trade routes, main political and economic centers. mesolocation- position on the mainland or inland part of the world. Microposition country is its position in relation to its immediate environment: neighboring states, physical and geographical objects on the border, transport routes crossing it, etc. At the same time, estimates of macro-, meso- and micro-positions can differ significantly from each other (from favorable to extremely unfavorable ) and change over time.

EGP of all levels are integral concepts that consist of private (component-by-component) EGP, the most important of which are:

• transport and geographical position - position in relation to the means of communication;
• industrial and geographical position - in relation to energy sources, manufacturing centers, etc.;
• agro-geographical position - in relation to food bases and centers for the production of agricultural raw materials;
• market and geographical position - relative to the markets for the most important goods and services produced in the country;
• demo-geographical position - relative to areas of concentration of labor resources and scientific and technical personnel;
• recreational-geographical position - relative to recreation areas;
• natural and geographical position - relative to areas with rich natural resources and favorable natural conditions;
• political and geographical (geopolitical) position - relative to political and military centers, areas of potential military conflicts, etc.

In addition, in relation to areas (for example, continents), several types of integral or component-wise EGP of the country can be distinguished: central (continental), peripheral (marginal), deep (internal), border (neighboring).

The macro position of Russia, both integral and in most individual components, is unfavorable for economic development. Our country, occupying the northern subpolar position, is located far from the main economic centers of the world and the most important transport routes. This significantly increases the cost of production of most types of products, which is exacerbated by harsh natural conditions. As a result, already because of one geographic macro-location, many Russian goods turn out to be uncompetitive on the world market.

The mesoposition of Russia on the Eurasian continent is also not very favorable, since the country occupies its northeastern periphery - the least developed and populated, with the most severe natural conditions. But, at the same time, it is on this continent that the majority of the population of the modern world is concentrated, and several important economic centers are located. The presence of a large number of neighboring countries makes it possible to develop various mutually beneficial economic ties. Particularly favorable is the possibility of close cooperation both with highly developed Western European countries and with the states of East Asia, which have a huge and rapidly growing socio-economic potential.

It was precisely because of its meso-location that from the early stages of its development the Russian state had a "dual" socio-cultural character, in which the features of European civilization were combined with "Asiaticism". This combination did not always contribute to the economic development of the country, but allowed the formation of a rich spiritual culture, which has good prospects for its preservation and further development in the modern world, which is rapidly changing and globalizing.

The microposition of Russia is the most significant and dynamic. Thus, the country's political and geographical microlocation is clearly advantageous. The Russian Federation maintains good neighborly relations with all neighboring states. Direct neighboring countries (of the first order), as a rule, do not hinder the development of Russia's relations with the states - neighbors of the second order. In total, Russia has almost 40 neighbors of the first and second orders. Among them are highly developed, representing the main economic centers of the modern world (USA, Japan, Germany, etc.), and having numerous labor resources (China, Uzbekistan, etc.), and possessing rich in natural resources (Kazakhstan, Iran, etc.), and having favorable natural conditions and good recreational areas (Ukraine, Turkey, etc.), and distinguished by large industrial or agricultural production (practically all of the above). It is to the neighboring states that most of the goods of the main Russian specialization industries (fuel industry, metallurgy, etc.) are sold, which makes it possible to reduce transportation costs and increase the incomes of domestic producers.

At the same time, today Russia does not sufficiently use the benefits of its microposition, which is largely due to the transport and geographical component. Even the existing transit land routes between Western Europe and East Asia, passing through the territory of the country, are not fully used, as they do not meet modern technical requirements, making it impossible to ensure the transportation of goods just in time. So it was not possible to master the Northern Sea Route - the shortest sea route between Europe and Japan.

The collapse of the USSR sharply worsened the transport and geographical position of Russia, which, for the most part, did not happen in other components of the EGP. Russia has lost the opportunity to fully use about 90% of the existing railway and port points of international contact in the west: the ports of Ventspils, Tallinn, Klaipeda, Odessa, etc., railway sea ferries to Germany and Bulgaria, oil and gas pipelines through Belarus and Ukraine.

In addition, the collapse of the USSR caused the destruction of the previously unified transport space. Part of the common transport communications ended up on the territory of the new independent states. So, Russia's territorial and transport unity with the enclave Kaliningrad region was broken. Parts of the important South Siberian and Central Siberian railway lines connecting the western and eastern regions of Russia ended up in Kazakhstan. The main railway line Moscow - Rostov-on-Don partially passes through the territory of Ukraine.

To solve the problem of a difficult transport and geographical position, Russia is currently building bypass railways, new pipelines (including along the bottom of the Black Sea, and in the future - along the bottom of the Baltic Sea), new seaports on the Baltic Sea (Ust-Luga, Primorsk and others), and in the future - in the Black Sea-Azov basin, organizes new ferry services (St. Petersburg - Kaliningrad, etc.). But all these projects, like the construction of any modern transport infrastructure, are very expensive and long-term. The effect of their implementation will not appear soon.

At the same time, even the full use of the advantages of a micro position will allow Russia to stand out economically only among neighboring countries, mainly the former republics of the USSR, i.e. establish itself as a regional economic leader. Access to the level of the main economic centers of the world is possible after the improvement of the meso- and macro-position of the country, which is a distant and only probable prospect.

The state structure of Russia has consistently changed in the course of its historical development. Until the beginning of the 20th century. it was an absolute (autocratic) monarchy. After the revolution of 1905, the features of a constitutional monarchy appeared (the State Duma was elected - a body of representative power, although with very limited powers, etc.). After the February Revolution of 1917, Russia became a democratic republic. At the same time, after the October Revolution of 1917, the formation of autonomies within the state (subsequently union republics) was proclaimed, but in fact a unitary socialist republic was formed. Russia became a real federal state after the collapse of the USSR at the end of 1991. Currently, according to the Constitution, Russia (Russian Federation) is a federal democratic republic. The head of the executive power in the country is the President, on the proposal of which the Head of Government is approved. The body of representative power is the Federal Assembly, which consists of the upper house (the Federation Council) and the lower house (the State Duma). The highest body of judicial power in the country is the Constitutional Court.

The Old Russian state was administratively divided into appanages (principalities), which at first actually, and then only formally, were subordinate to the Grand Duke, who headed (was "on the throne") the principality with the main city of the state. Some parts of the country were ruled not by princes, but by assemblies of citizens ("veche") of their main city (Novgorod, Pskov, Vyatka lands), having the character of "veche" republics. As the principalities and lands were annexed to the Muscovite state, governors were appointed to manage them. And the Grand Duke of Moscow (later - the king of all Rus') received the title of prince of the annexed territory. Such annexed territories, as a rule, were called "cities" (Perm cities, Ryazan cities, etc.) and were divided into counties, which, in turn, were divided into volosts. As a rule, the volost included a village (a large settlement with a church) and surrounding villages.

Close to the European administrative-territorial division of the country originates from the establishment by Peter I in 1708 of eight provinces, the number of which later gradually increased. The provinces of Peter I were close in size to modern federal districts. In particular, the entire Asian part of Russia was part of the Siberian province, the center of which was the city of Tobolsk. Provinces were introduced to improve and unify public administration throughout the country. But their large size did not allow for the operational management of the territory. For example, orders within the borders of the Siberian province with the means of transport of that time could reach their addressees within several months. Therefore, under Catherine II, a new administrative-territorial reform was carried out, designed to improve the quality of the state administration of the country. The provinces became much larger, and each was divided into about 10 counties, the administrative center of which was the city. As a result, the new division of the country led to the emergence of many new cities, into which the former villages were transformed, which turned out to be the largest settlements on the territory of the former counties. Provincial centers, as a rule, were the former capitals of medieval principalities. But in the territories newly annexed to the state, regions that were mainly inhabited by Cossacks received the same status as the provinces, and Cossack fortresses became their administrative centers (regions of the Cossack troops of the Don, Siberian, etc.).

Initially, when allocating new provinces, they strove for their approximate equality in terms of population, but then local features increasingly violated this principle. By the time of the October Revolution, the number of provinces on the territory of modern Russia approached 80 (including regions formed on the outskirts of the state). In pre-revolutionary Russia, there was also the practice of uniting several provinces and regions into governorates-general, for example, Turkestan, Caucasian, and others, which was dictated by the need to control the outlying territories, as a rule, national ones. The lower administrative units in relation to the provinces were counties, which in turn were divided into volosts. Volosts turned out to be the most stable link in the administrative system of the country. Many of them had the same borders as in the Middle Ages.

After the revolutions of 1917, along with the provinces (which were later transformed into territories and regions), national autonomies began to form - union republics, autonomous republics, regions and districts. The largest peoples who lived along the borders of the state (at that time - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the USSR) had the opportunity to form union republics - the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR), the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (AzSSR), the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR ) and etc.

Large peoples living inside Russia (at that time - the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic or RSFSR) received autonomous republics - the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (TatASSR), the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (BashASSR) and other peoples, smaller in number , could form autonomous regions within the territories - the Adygei Autonomous Region in the Krasnodar Territory, the Khakass Autonomous Region in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, etc. Small peoples, who make up the majority of the population in their native territory, received autonomous (national) districts that are part of the regions - the Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the Arkhangelsk Region, the Komi-Permyatsky Autonomous Okrug in the Perm Region, etc. The largest cities of the country are Moscow and Leningrad (modern Petersburg) received the status of separate administrative units at the level of territories, regions and autonomous republics.

Thus, until 1991, the Russian Federation (RSFSR), as the largest republic of the USSR, was divided into autonomous republics, territories, regions, cities, as well as autonomous regions and autonomous (national) districts as part of territories and regions. The configuration and structure of this division has repeatedly changed, depending on political or economic circumstances, for example, the deportation of peoples in 1941–1944, accompanied by the liquidation of their national autonomies, subsequently restored, with the exception of the Republic of Volga Germans. In the 1930s there were regions whose borders were linked with the economic zoning of the country. In the 1940s there was the Karelian-Finnish SSR, which later became part of the RSFSR as the Karelian ASSR.

Modern Russia includes 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation (regions), including 21 republics, 9 territories, 46 regions, 2 federal cities - Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as 1 autonomous region and 4 autonomous districts. They are very different in size, population, economic potential. The incompleteness of the process of the administrative structure of Russia is also indicated by the presence within some regions of autonomous okrugs with equal rights under the Constitution of the Russian Federation (except for the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, which is not included in other subjects). The Federal Assembly has repeatedly expressed the idea of ​​the expediency of amalgamating the regions and reducing their number by one and a half or two times.

The establishment in 2000 of seven federal districts, although it does not affect the existing administrative-territorial division of Russia, is objectively aimed at managing not regions-subjects, but macro-regions, which are a convenient form of strengthening state power in the country. Meanwhile, the idea of ​​uniting the regions-subjects of the Russian Federation is also gaining more and more support, primarily where some subjects (sparsely populated autonomous okrugs with a weak economic potential) are historically part of others (large territories or regions). As a result, at the beginning of the XXI century. The Perm Region and the Komi-Permyatsky Autonomous Okrug merged into the Perm Territory, the Kamchatka Region and the Koryaksky Autonomous Okrug merged into the Kamchatka Territory, the Chita Region and the Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug merged into the Trans-Baikal Territory, the Evenk and Dolgano-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs became part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and Aginsky Ust-Orda Autonomous Okrug became part of the Irkutsk region.

The micro-level of the administrative division of Russia as of the beginning of 2013 is about 1500 municipal districts, 1097 cities (517 of them are urban districts), 1235 urban-type settlements (PGT) and about 20 thousand rural administrations (rural settlements, uluses, etc.). ). The units of the lowest level - intra-city districts or districts, small cities (of district subordination), urban settlements and rural administrations - according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, are no longer part of the system of state power, but are the basis for the formation of local self-government. But in practice, full-fledged self-government has not yet developed.