Book chapter
Die Reformpolitik Katharinas II. in Staat und Gesellschaft Russlands
The chapter discusses different aspects of the enlightened reforms in Russia during Catherine II's reign. The authors emphasize controversies in the implementation of the reforms and restrictions of the enlightened policy.
In book
Dans les "Mélanges philosophiques" pour Catherine II, Diderot, reprenant un projet de l’impératrice, insiste sur la nécessité de confectionner un petit catéchisme moral. Il avance quelques propositions dans ce sens et revient sur ce sujet dans les lettres écrites à Ivan Betskoï et à Catherine II en 1774, pendant son second séjour à La Haye. Des découvertes récentes dans les archives de Moscou permettent de préciser certaines circonstances de son intervention, mais soulèvent de nouvelles questions sur ce que fut son rôle dans cet épisode, qui comporte plusieurs points obscurs.
Dans les "Mélanges philosophiques" pour Catherine II, Diderot, reprenant un projet de l’impératrice, insiste sur la nécessité de confectionner un petit catéchisme moral. Il avance quelques propositions dans ce sens et revient sur ce sujet dans les lettres écrites à Ivan Betskoï et à Catherine II en 1774, pendant son second séjour à La Haye. Des découvertes récentes dans les archives de Moscou permettent de préciser certaines circonstances de son intervention, mais soulèvent de nouvelles questions sur ce que fut son rôle dans cet épisode, qui comporte plusieurs points obscurs.
This article deals with the process of the establishment of Russian-Spanish relations in the 18th century and the role of one of the most distinguished Russian diplomats at the court of Catherine II Stepan Zinoviev who spent in Madrid around 20 years (1772-1794). The study is based largely on manuscripts (diplomatic and other correspondence) from the Archives of the External Policy of Russian Empire in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and fills a gap in the investigation of Russian foreign policy of the 18th century and the Russian-Spanish relations. Catherine’s foreign interests were focused toward the major states of Northern Europe, but she also tried to strengthen the position of Russian Empire in Europe, to embed the country in the European 'Balance of Power' by establishing diplomatic relations with all European countries. In this sense, the Iberian Peninsula was not wholly without significance for Russia. The political unions of Russia with the outlying countries, as Spain, depended not only on the international situation in Europe in the second half of the 18th century but on the image of the country that was created by Russians who visited Spain at that time. The position of diplomats was particularly important they were almost the only ones, except for merchants and sailors, who visited that country and it is on the basis of their reports Russia's foreign policy in relation to Spain was built in the 18th century. Based on the reports of Zinoviev we can reconstruct the images of such important political figures as the Spanish King Charles III, Secretary of State Count of Floridablanca and the other ministers of the Spanish government. The biography of the outstanding Russian diplomat Stepan Zinoviev is presented in this article for the first time.
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The article suggests that the Great Divergence of the 19th century between “the West” and “the East” was preceded by the Great Divergence in the 18th century between the Global North and the Global South. This may be attributed to a new, much higher level of state efficiency in the Global North. The eastern and western regions of the Global North frequently used different methods to make their state apparatuses more efficient, but achieved strikingly similar results during the 18th century. The Great Divergence of the 19th century, remarkably, occurred within the Global North.
Aleksei Fedorovich Malinovskii, a prominent Russian archeographer and historian, had an outstanding life trajectory. His success was based, among other factors, on the protection by his patrons. Malinovskii's handwritten work “Biographies of the Officials Who Managed Foreign Affairs in Russia” was a tribute to his patronNikolai Petrovich Rumiantsev, State Chancellor in 1807/8–1814. Having studied the drafts of this work I identified its sources. First, they were the lists of the chiefs of Posol’sky Prikaz and of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs (since 1709), and that of the state chancellors and vice-chancellors that were compiled in the 1780s in the Archive of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs in Moscow where Malinovskii was a petty official since 1780, and that he headed in 1814. The second source of the “Biographies” were draft biographies written partly in the late 18th century by his brother Vasilii Malinovsky, a Collegium’s official. In the letters written by Nikolai Karamzin to Aleksei Malinovskii one can trace the way of the “Biographies” to the emperor who favoured Malinovskii with an award; they also shed light on the concept of this compiling work and the place of “Biographies” in the political context of the late 18th – early 19th century.