Realizing her idea of ​​enlightenment and continuing to implement Peter’s plan, Catherine II attached paramount importance to the creation of a modern European education system.

She borrowed the school education system from Austria, and he was invited to implement it Jankovic de Mirievo. When he arrived in St. Petersburg in August 1782, he was 40 years old. He lived in Russia for 32 years.

First of all, Yankovic created and headed the Teachers' Seminary in St. Petersburg. Over the years of its existence (1782 – 1804), more than 400 students were trained. For the first time in Russia, there were teachers who had undergone special pedagogical training.

Yankovic prepared and published over 70 textbooks in five years, including 10 of his own: a primer, a handwriting manual, a catechism, a textbook on Russian history, rules for students, etc.

In August 1786, Catherine II approved the most important document of the entire school reform, “The Charter of Public Schools in the Russian Empire.” The drafter of this document was Yankovic. In provincial and district towns, as well as in rural areas, general education schools, public schools, accessible to all, were created.

For the first time, along with special education, general education appears. A unified school education system is being created. According to the charter, two types of public schools were established: main (training period 5 years) and small (2 years). Classes in schools began at 8 a.m. in winter (at 7 a.m. in summer) and lasted until 11 a.m., followed by a break and from 2 to 4 p.m. classes again.

For the first time, teaching was conducted in Russian. It was Yankovic who gave the school the look that it has essentially retained to this day.

Previously, the teacher worked not with the class, but with each student individually, which is why there was a constant buzz in the room: everyone was cramming his own. For the first time, there was one large blackboard in the classroom. For the first time, they began to organize a roll call before classes with the indispensable answer “here.” It was established that whoever wants to ask or answer must raise his left hand. From the 18th century, the class magazine, mandatory exams, and vacations came to us - and all this was invented by Yankovic.

In addition to the state ones, at that time there were also private educational institutions, including foreign ones, opened by the Germans and the French. In 1784, there were 22 foreign private boarding houses and 4 schools in St. Petersburg. The total number of students is 500 people (100 girls). 17 private schools in St. Petersburg were Russian, with 159 students studying there.

Private school teachers were required to have a certificate of knowledge of the sciences they intended to teach. The head of the boarding house or school had to draw up a complete training and education plan.

In addition to general education schools, accessible to all, a network of closed educational institutions was created in St. Petersburg. The initiator of its creation was I.I. Betskoy- one of the most educated people of his time. “The good or bad morals of every person depend on a good or bad upbringing,” he asserted. In his opinion, the family could not give anything good in raising children, so they must be fenced off “from the spoiled environment of their parents” and raised from them into “ideal people” according to the educational model. According to the reports and charters developed by Betsky, the following were opened in St. Petersburg: an educational home for orphans and foundlings; a school at the Academy of Arts for boys of all ranks, excluding serfs, from 5 to 6 years old (1764); the same school at the Academy of Sciences (1765); educational society for noble maidens at the Smolny Monastery (1764); Land Noble Cadet Corps (transformed into a closed school in 1766), etc.

Special attention Catherine II paid attention to the creation of special women's educational institutions. In 1764, by decree of the Empress, the Society of Noble Maidens was created in the Smolny Monastery (Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens). The "Department of Noble Maidens" was supposed to provide society with highly intelligent women; the “philistine department” - to replenish the “third estate” with workers and housewives; it trained teachers and educators (later transformed into the Alexander Institute).

This was an unheard of innovation - a program for creating female citizens, especially if we remember that quite recently these female citizens were locked up in towers and upper rooms. The reforms of Peter and Catherine opened the way for a radical change in the fate of women in all spheres of life. By the end of the century, 1,316 girls were educated at the Institute for Noble Maidens - half “noble”, half “philistine”. We can talk about clear progress in the education of women between the beginning and end of Catherine’s reign, which was expressed in the appearance of “reading” and even “writing” women.

The Smolny Institute was conceived as an educational institution with a very broad perspective. The curriculum for it was developed by D. Diderot. It was assumed that Smolensk students would study at least two languages ​​(besides their native language, German and French; later Italian was included in the plan), as well as physics, mathematics, astronomy, economics, history, geography, poetry, dancing, architecture, drawing , music, sewing, knitting. Studying at the institute was considered an honor. Education lasted for nine years from the age of 5–6 years. During these years, the students were practically never at home.

The principle of isolation was consciously used as the basis for teaching: by this they sought to isolate the pupils from the family, the bearer of old, outdated traditions. Much time was devoted to the moral education of students, which included the acquisition of “secular virtues”: meekness, courtesy, modesty and generosity; physical education - compliance with hygiene standards, walks in the fresh air, healthy food.

On the verge of the 19th century. in Russia there were 550 educational institutions and 62 thousand students. These figures show the rise of literacy in Russia and at the same time its lag in comparison with Western Europe: in England at the end of the 18th century. There were more than 250 thousand students in Sunday schools alone, and in France the number of primary schools in 1794 reached 8 thousand. In Russia, on average, only two people out of a thousand studied. The social composition of students in secondary schools was extremely varied. In public schools, the children of artisans, peasants, artisans, soldiers, sailors, etc. predominated. The age composition of students was also different; in the same classes, both children and 22-year-old men studied.

In Russia in the 18th century there were 3 types of schools: soldiers' schools, closed noble educational institutions, theological seminaries and schools. training of specialists was also carried out through the Academic Universities, established in 1725 under the Academy of Sciences and existing until 1765, Moscow, founded in 1755 at the initiative of Lomonosov, and Vilensky, which was formally opened only in 1803, but actually operated as a university since the 80s of the 18th century.

Under Elizabeth (), military educational institutions were reorganized. In 1744, a decree was issued to expand the network of primary schools. The first gymnasiums were opened: in Moscow (1755) and in Kazan (1758). In 1755, on the initiative of I. I. Shuvalov, Moscow University was founded, and in 1760, the Academy of Arts. In the second half of the 18th century, two trends in education can be traced: the expansion of the network of educational institutions and the strengthening of the principle of class. During the years, school reform was carried out. In 1782, the Charter of public schools was approved. In each city, main schools with 4 classes were established, and in county towns, small public schools with 2 classes. Subject teaching, uniform start and end dates for classes, and a classroom lesson system were introduced; teaching methods and unified curricula were developed. The Serbian teacher F.I. Jankovic de Mirievo played a major role in carrying out this reform. By the end of the century, there were 550 educational institutions with thousands of students. The system of closed educational institutions was developed by Catherine II together with the President of the Academy of Arts and the Chief of the Land Noble Corps I. I. Betsky. Secondary educational institutions at this time included public schools, gentry corps, noble boarding schools and gymnasiums.

Moscow University An outstanding event in the life of the country was the creation in 1755 of the first Moscow University in Russia on the initiative and project of M. V. Lomonosov with the active support of the enlightened favorite of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna I. I. Shuvalov, who became its first curator. On the initiative of I. I. Shuvalov, the Academy of Arts was created in 1757, which before moving to St. Petersburg in 1764 was located at Moscow University. From the day of its foundation, Moscow University seemed to rise above the class school. In accordance with the ideas of the founder of the university, education there was classless (children of serfs could be admitted to the university after receiving their freedom from the landowner). M.V. Lomonosov wrote that “the university was created for general training of commoners.” Lectures at the university were given in Russian. One: from most important tasks University M. V. Lomonosov saw the dissemination of scientific knowledge. The printing house and library of the university, as well as public lectures by its professors, began to play a prominent role in this matter.

Brief biography Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov () - Russian scientist, chemist, physicist, artist, poet. Born in Denisovka, Arkhangelsk province. In Lomonosov’s biography, he managed to learn to read and write as a child. Then, driven by the desire for knowledge, he comes to Moscow on foot, where he enters the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Lomonosov's life there is very difficult and poor. However, thanks to perseverance, he manages to complete the entire 12-year course of study in 5 years. Among the best students he goes to study in Germany. For Lomonosov, the biography of those times was very rich. He studies many sciences, conducts experiments, and gives lectures. Even with such a busy schedule, Lomonosov still has time to write poems. In 1741 he returned to his homeland, from that time on in his biography M. Lomonosov was appointed adjunct of physics at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. After 3 years he became a professor of chemistry. Lomonosov's contribution to such sciences as physics, chemistry, geography, astronomy, mineralogy, soil science, geology, cartography, geodesy, meteorology is very great. Lomonosov's literary work contains works on different languages. This is “Russian History”, the tragedies “Tamara and Selim”, “Demophon”, many poems by Lomonosov. In 1754, he developed a project for Moscow University, which was later named Lomonosov University in his honor. In addition, in the biography of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, the law of conservation of matter was discovered, works on color theory were written, and many optical instruments were built.

Soldiers' schools Soldiers' schools are general education schools for soldiers' children, successors and continuers of digital schools of Peter the Great's time. Soldiers' children made up the bulk of students at Moscow and St. Petersburg universities. National military schools, opened in the second half of the 18th century, also belonged to the soldier type. in the North Caucasus (Kizlyar, Mozdok and Ekaterinograd).

Closed noble educational institutions Closed noble educational institutions are private boarding houses, gentry corps, institutes for noble maidens, etc. in total there are more than 60 educational institutions, where about 4.5 thousand noble children studied. Class educational institutions included noble boarding schools, private and public: the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, the Noble Boarding School at Moscow University, etc. These educational institutions enjoyed the greatest financial support from the government.

Theological seminaries and schools There were 66 of them; people studied in them. These were also estate schools intended for the children of the clergy; commoners were not accepted into them. The main task of these schools was to train priests devoted to the church and the tsar, but seminary students also received general education and often became agents of literacy in their parishes.

Natural sciences M. V. Lomonosov created the Geographical Department in 1739, and under Catherine II he compiled the first land use cadastre. In addition, he proposed ideas about the continuous change in the face of the Earth under the influence of internal and external forces, about the movement of air masses, about the layers of the earth, etc. Geographical science received materials from many expeditions, which made it possible to publish the “Atlas of the Russian Empire” in 1745. Geology. In this area, rich materials have been accumulated about deposits of coal, ore, oil, etc. At the end of the century, the first geological maps of various regions appeared.

Medicine Notable successes can be seen in the development of medicine. If during the time of Peter I there was only one medical school in Russia, then by the end of the century there were three. In addition, a Medical-Surgical Academy was opened in the capital, and a medical faculty was opened at Moscow University. The fight against epidemics of plague and smallpox was particularly acute in Russia. In 1768, Catherine invited an English physician to Russia and was the first to vaccinate against smallpox. Smallpox vaccination at that time (variolation), although it did not eliminate the disease, significantly reduced the number of deaths. The works on the plague by D.S. have received worldwide recognition. Samoilovich, which was the result of studying the epidemic that raged in Russia in the years. His conclusion that the plague is transmitted not by air but by contact was of great practical importance, since it made it possible to outline effective means of combating the epidemic.

Academic expeditions The study of natural resources countries. Systematic scientific research natural conditions country, organized by the state, began already under Peter I. For this purpose, the practice of organizing complex expeditions that explored various regions of Russia was resumed. There was exploration of the riches of the European center of the country, the Pechora basin, Yakutia and other areas. A total of 5 expeditions were sent, united by a common goal and plan. Among them is an expedition led by a soldier’s son, Academician I.I. Lepekhin. Its route ran from Moscow to Astrakhan, and from there through Guryev and Orenburg to the mining factories of the Urals and the shores of the White Sea. Rich material was collected by Professor N.Ya. Ozeretskovsky, who traveled around the north of the country and the region of Lake Ladoga. The published reports of expedition leaders contain a wealth of material about flora and fauna, rivers and lakes, relief, descriptions of cities and towns with their attractions, economic characteristics of areas and industrial enterprises. Ethnographic material, including those related to the peoples of the North, Siberia, the Caucasus and other regions: information about clothing, homes, rituals, tools, etc., is of enormous scientific value. Academic expeditions are complemented by expeditions of industrial people who set off to explore the islands Pacific Ocean, as well as the shores of America. Along with the economic development of new lands and the restoration of the local population to Russian citizenship, the expeditions compiled more advanced maps of the islands and a detailed description of their flora and fauna. Among researchers, G.I. Shelikhov occupies an outstanding place, who compiled in the 80s. 18th century description of the Aleutian Islands and organized the development of Russian America (Alaska).

The development of education in Russia in the second half of the 18th century was influenced by the enlightened absolutism of Catherine II, which determined not only the growth of the network of educational institutions, but also the priority of the class principle in their recruitment. Catherine II carefully studied the experience of organizing education in the leading countries of Western Europe and the most important pedagogical ideas of her time. It was based on the humanitarian ideal that originated in the Renaissance: it proceeded “from respect for the rights and freedom of the individual” and eliminated “from pedagogy everything that is in the nature of violence or coercion” (P.N. Milyukov). On the other hand, Catherine’s educational concept required maximum isolation of children from the family and transfer of them into the hands of a teacher. However, already in the 80s. the focus was again shifted from education to learning. The Prussian and Austrian education systems were taken as a basis. It was supposed to establish three types of secondary schools - small, medium and main. They taught general education subjects: reading, writing, knowledge of numbers, catechism, sacred history, and the rudiments of Russian grammar (small school). In the middle, an explanation of the Gospel, Russian grammar with spelling exercises, general and Russian history, and a brief geography of Russia were added. The main one contains a detailed course in geography and history, mathematical geography, grammar with exercises on business letter, foundations of geometry, mechanics, physics, natural history and civil architecture.

Comenius's class-lesson system was introduced, attempts were made to use visual aids, and in high school it was even recommended to encourage independent thought in students. But basically didactics came down to memorizing texts from the textbook. The relationship between the teacher and the students was built in accordance with the views of Catherine: for example, any punishment was strictly prohibited.

In 1764, in Moscow, on Solyanka, the state-owned “Educational Home for Foundlings and Street Children” was opened - the first Moscow specialized institution for orphans. This institution was supposed to receive the bulk of its funds from charitable collections. The Empress herself donated 100 thousand rubles for the foundation of the building and allocated 50 thousand annual income from her funds, calling on her subjects to follow her example. Education took place according to the method of the famous teacher I.I. Betsky, who sought to create a “new breed of people” - educated and hardworking - through closed educational institutions. The level of the educational process in the Orphanage was high; The institution was popular in the city, so it is no coincidence that it was under it that “French classes” were opened to train future governesses.

In 1764, a decree was issued on the founding of the Educational Society of Noble Maidens for 200 people at the Smolny Convent in St. Petersburg - the Institute of Noble Maidens.

Girls from the age of 4-6 were taken from home for 15 years. Education was mainly humanitarian, but mathematics and physics were also taught; pupils were intensively taught foreign languages, music, home economics, and handicrafts. The graduates of the institute turned out to be educated teachers, wives and ladies-in-waiting. In 1765, the first public school for women in Russia, the Smolny Institute, was opened in St. Petersburg. Before this, girls were raised in families, monasteries or private boarding schools.

In 1779, with the money of Prokopiy Akinfievich Demidov, the Moscow Commercial School was opened for the children of merchants and commoners.

In 1786, the Charter on public schools was issued, according to which two levels of public schools were established in each provincial city. The first stage was represented by “small schools” with a two-year period of study, the second by “main” schools, consisting of four classes. In the “small” schools literacy, reading, arithmetic and the Law of God were taught. “The main schools were intended to train teaching staff for “small” schools. The first “main” public school was opened in Moscow on October 5, 1786. Teachers had to be trained for the secondary school system. For this purpose, in 1783, the Main Public School was opened in St. Petersburg, from which three years later a teacher’s seminary, the prototype of the pedagogical institute, was separated. Until the end of the 18th century, there were no pedagogical educational institutions in Russia. Only at the end of the century, in 1786, the Main Public Schools were established in provincial cities, in which teachers for district schools were trained. Catherine's reform was not completed, but, nevertheless, it played a significant role in the development of Russian education. The school reform of the 1780s was the first attempt to create a state system of public education. The new school was based on the principles of universal class and free education. But there were not enough necessary funds to create an education system and, most importantly, there was still no need for education among the general population.

Development of pedagogical thought in Russia in the second half of the 19th century (N.A. Korf, Bunakov, Tikhomirov)

The most significant development of pedagogical thought in modern Russia occurred in the second half of the 19th century. The government is seriously engaged in restructuring the school system. Pedagogical journalism is being formed, scientific pedagogical societies and pedagogical journals are being created.

In November 1855, new rules for admission and study at universities were adopted, where restrictions on the number of applicants to universities were abolished. However, they did not suit students and teachers. Students insisted on the right to create independent corporations. In 1856, the Academic Committee was restored, which began preparing new school charters. The work of the committee was influenced by the activities of N.I. Pirogov and K.D. Ushinsky. In June 1863, a new university charter was approved. Universities received greater autonomy, and university management was transferred to the Councils of Professors. The charter rejected class and estate discrimination in education. The determining condition for admission to gymnasiums is financial status. Students were required to pay tuition fees.

Children of low-income parents were exempt from fees. In Russia at the end of the 1850s. Sunday schools, schools for children from the people, schools based on new pedagogical ideas and principles appeared. D.A. Tolstoy Minister of Education from 1866 to 1880 was the head of the Holy Synod. He curtailed the autonomy of universities, seeking to establish tight government control over universities and other educational institutions. There have been changes that have given impetus to development female education in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Kazan. In the second half of the 19th century, both in Russia and a number of Western countries, there is an intensive development of pedagogical thought.

In Russia, with the abolition of serfdom, various laws were issued on free education for peasants and social elements of the lower class. In addition, the rules for teaching in schools and universities are being developed, regarding the rights of pupils, students and teachers. A number of laws are also being adopted regarding the power of management of educational institutions. A number of improvements in the education system allow us to judge the high level of development of leading teachers who developed these improvements.

N.F. Bunakov is a teacher who shared the principles of an organic connection between school work and folk life, attention to the student and trust in the personality and work of the people's teacher. The characteristic, “indisputable motive of the life of a modern person is his national peculiarity: to recognize himself as a citizen of a famous country and to strive for the benefit of his fatherland as a personal benefit is one of those venerable qualities that no one will dispute. “The school... must maintain a sense of nationality in its students,” the scientist formulated, emphasizing the importance of teaching native nature, national geography, history, native language and literature in nurturing the national feeling. It is possible to influence the souls of children with an ideal, and there is nothing bad or unreasonable in this, the educator believes. Student and teacher in a public school. These problems interested N.F. Bunakova. From the very first days of admitting students, school should be made a “serious,” “interesting, entertaining” affair for them. The student not only works, absorbing new experience, but works independently. Reflecting on the existence of a student and a teacher at school, N.F. Bunakov comes to the view of the public school, already noted in domestic pedagogy, as something holistic and moral - living at the same time. The condition for maintaining a moral “warehouse” school life“is the teacher’s knowledge of the life of each of his students. Let us conclude by addressing the legacy of N.F. Bunakov with his thought about the unnecessary or even harmful use of “punishments and rewards” in school. Punishments and rewards have a bad effect on both the student and the teacher. With the “sublime” and “beneficent” ideal (fatherland, goodness, conscience, work, people, and this is the whole human universe) the comprehension and development of children’s spirituality, the cultivation of a sense of conciliarity in the human soul (conciliarity, preserving the right of the individual to question and answer God with his will ), presenting life to children as a serious, independent spiritual action-feat (teaching as an analogue of such life), trusting and following the child’s soul in its desire to joyfully, with interest, peer into the world created by God; the existence of the school as a living communal spirituality (teachers and children), which follows the rules, but obeys only the heart - the teacher and the child; a view of the teacher as a living phenomenon of Russian culture (and science, in particular); understanding a student’s education through the prism of absolute values ​​- these ideas were introduced into domestic pedagogy by N.F. Bunakov.

The education system in Western Europe during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Jesuit education system

In the 16th century In Western and Central Europe, a broad social movement of the Reformation unfolded, which took the form of a struggle against the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation formulated its understanding of the nature and ways of human education, which differed from the views of Renaissance humanists and Catholic orthodoxy. The religious anthropologism of the reformist teachings ran counter to the secular humanism of Renaissance pedagogy. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, which professed truth as an unchanging reflection of divine providence, the Reformation intended to complement truths that were divine in origin.

The Reformation proclaimed the principle of individuality, the “self” of a person bearing personal responsibility before God. The critical and humanistic spirit of the Reformation had important consequences for school and pedagogy. In essence, the Reformation merged with the Renaissance in its desire to move the human personality to the center of education, to introduce it to the national culture, language, literature, and to encourage secular education.

The Reformation movement featured moderate and radical currents. The leader of the latter, Thomas Münzer (1490 - 1525), advocated the destruction of the old school, which impeded the people's access to education. The Catechism in English was declared the main teaching aid for the public school. German. Luther himself translated the Catechism. Education in educational institutions of elementary education took place within the framework of religious dogmas (Roman Catholic or Protestant). Clericalism was a significant obstacle to the development of school education.

There was no hint of physical education in schools. The children were constantly being hit. They flogged everyone without exception. Verbal mnemonic teaching reigned in elementary schools.

Teaching aids, designed specifically for children, actually did not exist until the 16th century. The spread of elementary education was slow and difficult. Elementary education could only be obtained in cities. Ignorance reigned in the countryside. Complete primary education was available only to the top of society. A significant part of the children did not even receive the rudiments of education. Educational institutions of advanced general education of the 15th - first third of the 17th centuries. genetically, in one way or another, were connected with previous city and church schools.

The struggle for the unity of faith increased interest in school as an apparatus for educating the masses not only in the Protestant reform movement, but also in the Catholic one that replaced it, from the late 50s of the 16th century. The Counter-Reformation emerged as a force opposing Lutheranism. The Catholic reaction was directed not only against reformation religious movements, but also against secular humanistic culture. The founder of the Jesuit order, a well-educated Spanish religious figure, former officer Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), based on the practice already existing in history, believed that success in the cause he championed could be achieved through comprehensive educational activities. The Counter-Reformation began to create European countries public free primary schools. And in order to attract the ruling classes, she launched active activities in the direction of secondary and higher schools. The Jesuit education system, having gained great popularity, lasted for quite some time. long time. Many of its elements are preserved in schools in Western countries today. Of interest in their system of education and upbringing were such methods as inter- and intra-class competition, competitions, theatrical performances, school self-government and much more. The Jesuits combined all this with a sophisticated system of lying down and playing on human passions, authoritarianism and formalism. Developing fanatical devotion to the Roman Catholic religion, the Jesuit education system, despite certain achievements in the field of education, turned out to be essentially reactionary, leading a person away from the ideal of a self-developing creative personality.

In its own way, only the Renaissance became the most unique of eras, raising man to unprecedented heights. In its own way, interpreting the ancient view of human development and education, Renaissance humanism had a significant influence on determining the type of education in modern times. Within the same historical period, the Renaissance and the Reformation defined the relationship between the individual and society in different ways. If humanism preached the harmonious development of a free personality, through which it sought to transform society, which the Age of Enlightenment later inherited from it, then the Reformation was based on the ideal of a community subjugating the individual. And if the humanists sought to dominate the minds of people through education, then the reformers of the church managed to dominate the people themselves with the help of education. By the end of the 16th century. The humanistic worldview was almost completely pushed aside by the ideology of the Reformation and was revived only during the Enlightenment.

The Jesuit Order (“Society of Jesus”) became the fighting body of the Counter-Reformation. This order was founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540. Jesuits, unlike monks of other orders, lived in the world, often being politicians, diplomats, courtiers, educators and teachers, and doctors.
The fight against the Reformation in Spain was led by King Philip II himself.

Peter I and his reforms expanded the horizon widely Russian life. During the reign of Catherine II, this process accelerated. Russia moved further and further away from its medieval culture, largely isolated from the rest of the world, and turned into an enlightened European state.

The ideas of European enlighteners and the state practice of enlightened monarchs became the property not only of the imperial court and the enlightened elite of Russia. They penetrated into wide circles of the population - the nobility, the growing middle class and even the peasantry. And if the previous major turns in the history of European civilization - the Renaissance and Reformation - largely passed Russia by, then the Age of Enlightenment became its own era. The attitude towards man, his place in the system of society and nature, and the goals and objectives of society has changed.

But feudalism reigned in Russia, absolutism reached its peak, serfdom, class privileges and restrictions formed the unshakable basis of human relations. This led to acute contradictions between the old world, still powerful in Russia, and new phenomena in culture. And yet the new stubbornly made its way.

One of the features of the development of Russian culture at this time was the interpenetration of the achievements of Russian culture of the 17th century. and new cultural trends.

The Christian worldview remained fundamental for the Russian people. Both Peter I and Catherine II were deeply religious people, but showed complete indifference to church rituals, traditions, and rules. Freed from this constant church influence and pressure, Russian culture in all its manifestations became increasingly secular.

Culture contributed to the formation of Russian society, it brought people together as a nation, and awakened national self-awareness.

Members of this society and this nation were the empress, and nobles, and provincial nobles, and city residents, and the Cossacks, and the peasantry, including the serf intelligentsia (actors, musicians, painters). Of course, there was an insurmountable gulf between the upper strata of society and its lower classes, but culture imperceptibly threw bridges across this gulf. Only the k|nost peasantry found itself rejected in this new coming world.

The emergence of new cultural values ​​acquired an international character in the conditions of multinational Russia. New cultural values ​​and educational ideas were superimposed on the cultural traditions and achievements of the three peoples of Russia and made them involved in the destinies of the country. They began to feel like Russians, residents of a colossal and multinational power.

The bearers of new scientific and cultural traditions were primarily the nobility. But this did not mean that Russian culture was purely noble. The nobility created and nurtured a universal human culture in Russia.

The creators of Russian science and culture of the 18th century. people also came from abroad. Throughout the century, foreigners had a strong influence on the formation of Russian civilization. They participated in the creation of the education system, stood at the origins of the organization of the Academy of Sciences, and made a huge contribution to the development of Russian architecture, sculpture, painting, theater, and music. For the most part, these were talented and passionate people who brought a lot of benefit to Russia, passing on their experience and their skills to the Russian people. But domestic talents gradually gained strength and influence.

Education and enlightenment of the people

Education and enlightenment of the people by the end of the 18th century. has achieved significant success.

Education was mainly class-based. This meant that each class had its own education system, closed from others. And the higher and more privileged the class was, the higher the level of education.

In the 1730s. The Land Noble Corps opened, and in the 1750s the Marine Noble Corps opened. Thus, the army and navy were replenished with highly qualified personnel, and at the same time, noble children were given the opportunity to begin serving as an officer immediately after training, and not, as under Peter I, pull the burden of a soldier. This was the privilege of the nobility.

Other closed educational institutions were the Artillery and Engineering gentry corps.

Many private noble boarding houses appeared in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. Noble children lived and studied in such boarding houses. At the same time, homeschooling became fashionable.

However, education in boarding schools and at home needed to improve its professional and general humanitarian level. This could only be provided by higher educational institutions of a civilian type. Due to the lack of modern higher educational institutions in Russia, a completely natural step by the authorities was to open two universities in Russia at once.

One, at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, trained domestic scientists. This goal limited the influx into the university of those who wanted to get a university degree, i.e. universal, general education. In addition, entering the university was preceded by studying at an academic gymnasium.

With the opening of Moscow University in 1755, the situation changed significantly. At first there were three faculties - philosophy, law and medicine. At the Faculty of Philosophy they studied mathematics, mechanics, physics, geography, and philology. On Faculty of Medicine significant place was given to the study of chemistry and biology.

Moscow University became the first and only one in Europe in the 18th century. a university that did not have a theological faculty and did not teach theological sciences. The new educational institution in Russia was based entirely on secular principles of education.

It is not for nothing that Moscow University bears the name of the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov (1711 - 1765). He was the initiator of its creation, developed a project for the university, and insisted that teaching there be conducted in Russian, which was also unusual at a time when Latin was widely used in teaching. M.V. Lomonos tried to transform the university into a public, that is, inaccessible, educational institution.

It is no coincidence that within the walls of the university in the 18th century. studied by people from families of commoners. The teaching staff was formed from them. The university charter prohibited corporal punishment of students. The university was an autonomous, self-governing organization and did not depend on local authorities. He was subordinate to the Senate.

There was a gymnasium at the university. One of its networks was intended for the children of nobles, the other for the children of commoners. A huge role in the creation of the university I.I. Shuvalov played the favorite of Elizabeth Petrovna - I. I. Shuvalov (1727-1797). It was with his active support that M.V. Lomonosov realized his plans.

Along with educational institutions for the nobility, the network of religious educational institutions expanded in the country.

A network of secondary schools gradually developed. In the 1780s. For the first time in the history of the country, a public education system was introduced. In the St. Petersburg province, and later in another 25 provinces of the country, two-class and four-class public schools were opened. At first, children were taught reading, writing, penmanship, drawing, and the Law of God. Secondly, teaching of grammar, arithmetic, geometry, mechanics, physics, geography, history, natural science and architecture was added.

Catherine II sought to bring the education system to the European level. She wanted broad-minded, humane, enlightened people to appear in the country. And not only among the nobles, but also among other classes. For this purpose, it was planned to create closed educational institutions - separately for nobles, merchants, and other ordinary people. Education there was supposed to be carried out on the basis of the principles of education - through persuasion, without punishment or coercion.

Closed educational institutions appeared primarily in St. Petersburg. In 1767, the Institute of Noble Maidens (Smolny Institute) was opened. Girls from the bourgeois class studied there in separate groups.

The science

The Academy of Sciences with its three departments - philosophical, physical and historical - remained at the center of Russian science. At first, only scientists invited from abroad were members of the Academy. After the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna and the end of German dominance in many spheres of the country's public life, the situation at the Academy began to change. Scientific research has moved forward, and Russian scientists have appeared among scientists. In the 1740-1750s. The leading role in the Academy belonged to Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov.

For Russian science, Lomonosov became a whole era. It seems that there was no branch of knowledge into which he would not have penetrated and where he would not have left his remarkable mark. He created the first chemical laboratory in Russian history. It was during the series chemical experiments he came to the discovery of the law of conservation of matter and motion. He is responsible for the development of the atomic-molecular theory of the structure of matter. He also explained the phenomenon of heating bodies: it is not the mythical caloric, as previously thought, but the movement of body particles that causes this process. Astronomers call Lomonosov the father of their science. It is he who holds the honor of discovering the atmosphere on the planet Venus. Lomonosov did a lot in the field of geology, mineralogy, mining, and geography. He substantiated the great importance for Russia of the Northern sea ​​route, along which ships sail to the northeastern ports of the country to this day.

M.V. Lomonosov was never an armchair scientist. He achieved amazing results in many applied sciences and made a number of discoveries that were of practical importance. Thus, he came up with the idea of ​​lightning rods that protect people from atmospheric electricity and lightning. He became the founder of domestic scientific meteorology. He worked a lot in the production sector - in the development of new varieties of porcelain, glass, paints, creating mosaics from which he made magnificent paintings.

M.V. Lomonosov was a genius not only in the field of natural sciences, but also an outstanding humanitarian. He made a great contribution to the formation of the Russian literary language and became the author of Russian grammar. His poetic works, in particular odes in honor of Elizabeth

11strovny, victories of Russian weapons, were a model for many writers of the 18th century. Finally, M.V. Lomonosov proved himself to be a brilliant historian. His Ancient Russian History is a work filled with pride in the history of the Slavic world.

In the second half of the 18th century. Technical thought also stepped forward. Heating engineer I. I. Polzunov (1728-1766) developed a project for a universal steam engine. Self-taught mechanic I.P. Kulibin (1735-1818) invented many different mechanisms, among them the amazing I.P. Kulibin clock. He proposed a project for a single-arch bridge across the Neva with a length of almost 300 m.

An important part scientific activity became research expeditions. If the 17th century was the century of great Russian discoveries in the east, then the 18th century. became the time of their research and development. They were interested in everything - communication routes, climate, subsoil, sea currents, geographical outlines of the Eurasian continent, its population.

From 1733 to 1741, with the support of the Senate, the Admiralty, and the Academy of Sciences, the Second Kamchatka Expedition of V. Bering and A. I. Chirikov took place, during which the strait separating America from Asia was discovered and named after the discoverer - the Bering Strait. The expedition opened Northwestern America to the world. Members of the expedition explored and described the shores of Kamchatka, the Kuril and Aleutian Islands, and Northern Japan.

Expeditions were also sent to Southern Siberia, the Lower Volga region, the Urals and the Urals, Bashkiria, the North Caucasus, the Crimea, and Lake Baikal.

A special research expedition sailed to Alaska. The materials of these expeditions were widely published in Russia and abroad.

Literature and art

Literature of the second half of the 18th century. becomes more and more secular, leaving the influence of the Church. Russian is being formed literary language, freed from the old church speech. The Church Slavonic language remained only in religious texts and in worship. First, M.V. had a great influence on the language reform. Lomonosov, and later the writer and historian N.M. Karamzin (1766-1826), whose Peter I. He creates prose and poetic works, translates ancient and modern European classics into Russian. Among the works of classicism are the odes of M.V. Lomonosov and V.K. Trediakovsky (1706-1768), as well as the tragedies and comedies of A.P. Sumarokov (1717-1777), the father of Russian drama, according to contemporaries.

Russian literature developed quickly. And before classicism had time to bloom, it was replaced by a new style - sentimentalism, with its interest in the inner world, the experiences not of an outstanding hero, but of ordinary townspeople and peasants. A prominent representative of this trend was N. M. Karamzin, whose story “Poor Liza about the love experiences of a modest girl that ended in tragedy” was read throughout literate Russia.

XVIII century does not end yet, and the principles of realism, under the sign of which the literature of the entire 19th century existed, are imperiously intruding into Russian literature.

Realistic motifs are felt in the poetic works of G.R. Derzhavin (1743-1816), in the plays of D.I. Fonvizin (1745-1792). His comedy “The Minor” brings to the stage that part of the nobility that did not want any innovations, any progress and firmly clung to serfdom and its privileges.

Folk art was an integral part of Russian culture. In folklore of the second half of the 18th century. events and national heroes of those years were reflected - Emelyan Pugachev and Salavat Yulaev, heroes of past glorious events, for example Bogdap Khmelnitsky and Maxim Krivonos. The famous “Lament of the Serfs,” created among the people, spoke of the hatred of ordinary people for serfdom.

Many wonderful architectural monuments, authentic decoration Russian cities, were created in the 18th century. What are St. Petersburg, Tsarskoe Selo, Pavlovsk, Peterhof worth, which have become the pride of Russia and world architectural masterpieces!

The name of V.V. Rastrelli (1700-1771), an Italian sculptor who worked in Russia, is associated with the appearance of the Baroque style in our country. In this style he created the famous Winter Palace, the no less famous Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, the complex of buildings of the Smolny Monastery, the Stroganov Palace and other buildings in St. Petersburg.

Following Baroque, classicism came to Russian architecture with its strict proportions, slender colonnades, monumentality, and harmony. A prominent exponent of this style was the court architect of Catherine II, the Scot Charles Cameron (1730s - 1812). He is the author of the ensemble of the palace and park buildings in Pavlovsk near St. Petersburg, the gallery in Tsarskoe Selo, and other buildings.

The famous Italian architect G. Quarenghi (1744-1817) left a noticeable mark on the capital's architecture. It was he who created the Hermitage, the Smolny Institute, the Exchange building, the magnificent palaces in Peterhof (Grand Palace) and in Tsarskoe Selo (Alexander Palace). Everyone who has been to Moscow has seen the towering monumental and airy Pashkov House (the current State Library) opposite the Kremlin on a hill ). This is the creation of the wonderful Russian architect V.I. Bazhenov (1738-1799). He owns the projects of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow and the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, the imperial palace in the village of Tsaritsyn near Moscow, and other buildings. IN AND. Bazhenov was elected professor of the Roman Academy and a full member of the Bologna and Florence academies.

M. F. Kazakov (1738-1812) left a rich architectural heritage. His main works are the building of Moscow University on Mokhovaya, the building of the Golitsyn Hospital in Moscow (now the 1st City Hospital), the House of the Noble Assembly in Moscow (now the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions), other buildings in Moscow, Tver and other cities.

The pride of Russian architecture of the 18th century. became the work of I. E. Starov (1745-1808). His best creations are the Tauride Palace of G. A. Potemkin and the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.

IN last decades century, powerful estate construction began in Russia. Wooden architecture also continued to develop. A striking example of it was the Sheremetev Palace in Ostankino, built by Russian masters P. I. Argunov, G. E. Dikushin and A. F. Mironov.

Russian painting also flourished. This flourishing was expressed in an increasing transition from the conventions of icon painting to realistic canvases. In the 18th century Portraiture developed. The soldier's son A.P. Antropov, serf artists I.P. Argunov and F.S. Rokotov, immigrants from Ukraine D.G. Levitsky and V.L. Borovikovsky created a brilliant gallery of portraits of Russian monarchs, nobles, statesmen, and generals.

Historical painting with biblical and ancient Russian themes, as well as genre painting, appeared. The peasant theme has become a phenomenon of the times here. The artist I. A. Eremeev in his canvases showed the life of the common people, peasants. Everyday paintings on a peasant theme were created by the serf artist M. Shibanov.

Part general development Russian art became sculpture and music. It was in the second half of the 18th century. in Russia there is a transition from applied, ornamental sculpture to monumental and portrait sculpture. An example of the first is the famous Bronze Horseman - a monument to Peter I, built on the instructions of Catherine II by the French sculptor E. M. Falconet (1716-1791) in 1775, as well as the monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow, the author of which was the sculptor I. P. Martos (1754-1835).

Another direction in sculpture was demonstrated by F. I. Shubin (1740-1805). He came from Pomeranian peasants and was a friend of M.V. Lomonosov. His chisel belongs to the busts of Catherine II, Paul I, Lomonosov, Rumyantsev, Suvorov, Potemkin.

Among the remarkable cultural figures of the second half of the 18th century. There is also an amazing figure of the founder of the Russian theater F.G. Volkov (1729-1763). The son of a Yaroslavl merchant, he became the first Russian actor and the founder of the Russian national theater. At first he worked in Yaroslavl, then moved to St. Petersburg and founded the first professional theater here.

The musical arts were still dominated by visiting opera and ballet troupes, but the time had already come for the approval of original Russian talents. The composer I. E. Khandoshkin (1747-1804) wrote his music for folk instruments, whose works are still performed. The creator of amazing church chorales was D. S. Bortnyansky (1751-1825).

Russian life

The most dramatic changes in the life of the population occurred in St. Petersburg, Moscow and some other large cities of the country. Petersburg, on Palace Embankment, Nevsky Prospekt, along the canals and rivers flowing into the Neva, nobles built luxurious palaces for themselves. The banks of the Neva were dressed with granite embankments. This was done on the instructions of Catherine I. The idea of ​​​​building the famous lattice of the Summer Garden belonged to her.

The palaces were rich and elegant. Aristocrats tried to make them look like imperial ones. There were large halls, living rooms furnished with European furniture, and comfortable rooms. Tiled stoves radiated even, dry heat throughout the room in winter. Candles in chandeliers and candelabra perfectly illuminated the rooms, corridors and passages.

In these palaces balls thundered and high society receptions were held. What was the cost of the famous ball given by G. A. Potemkin in his Tauride Palace in honor of the Empress! Three thousand guests, a performance by a choir, ballet, pantomime, a reception in a hall turned into a garden with a fountain and a booth of flowering trees, with the singing of live nightingales and a temple with a statue of Catherine. Dinner until 2 am, dancing until the morning. 140 thousand lamps and 20 thousand candles illuminated this action.

By the end of the 18th century. In St. Petersburg it became fashionable to maintain aristocratic salons. French speech was heard here, and debates about politics, literature, and art raged. Russian literary celebrities began to shine in such salons.

Dapper carriages drove past luxurious mansions along Nevsky Prospekt, guards officers and smartly dressed townsfolk strolled.

Moscow also changed. Although there was not such wealth and splendor here as in St. Petersburg, the Moscow nobility did not want to lag behind the demands of the time. The evidence was aligned. The chaotic development of the city has stopped, although it is dying out.

Rich nobles and merchants built, as a rule, two- and three-story manor-type houses. Such a house was separate from the street with a garden, lawns, and paths. It stood in the depths of the space, fenced off from the street by a cast-iron or iron lattice; only the wings of the outbuilding faced the street. Such manor houses of the 18th century. There are still many preserved in Moscow.

Next to them stood the houses of other rich people - stone, elegant buildings with columns. There were up to 7-8 rooms - living rooms, a sofa room, a bedroom, an office, a children's room, a dining room, and a dance hall. Here, too, there were furniture sets that came into fashion at that time, sofas and sofas. Gone are the benches and rough-hewn tables. Chairs, armchairs, elegant tables with curved legs, and shelves for books appeared. The walls were covered with wallpaper.

In the evenings, many Russian cities were illuminated by lanterns in which hemp oil burned. In the centers of cities, cobblestone, and more often wooden, pavements were laid, as in St. Petersburg.

City hospitals appeared. Medical personnel were trained in hospital schools and medical-surgical schools. By the end of the century, a unified system of medical institutions for the population was created. Each provincial town had to have one doctor in service, and in district towns - one doctor. Pharmacies have opened. Of course, this was insignificant and small for a vast and multimillion-dollar country. Hospitals were also built using private funds. After some time, rich people gave them to the city.

Small Russian cities were more like large villages. Apart from two or three stone buildings, the rest of the houses were wooden. Unpaved streets overgrown with grass, puddles after rains, and dirt in autumn and spring became an integral part of such cities.

On the outskirts there were workers' barracks, where newcomers from local factories and various artisans lived. These were cramped, dirty, stuffy rooms with bunks instead of beds. In such a barracks, sometimes several dozen people lived in a common room. Families also lived here. Only later did the interiors of the barracks begin to be separated by partitions.

Cities and city ​​life with its innovations, of course, were of great importance for the overall civilizational development of the country. Here, like nowhere else, the latest European achievements in architecture, education, enlightenment, lifestyle, clothing, nutrition, recreation, and entertainment took root. Combined with Old Russian traditions, customs and habits, they determined the main directions of life of the Russian population in the 18th century.

But this did not mean that innovations were taking over the entire country. On the contrary, they only emphasized the general stagnation, traditionalism, and poverty of Russian life.

A huge area of ​​Russian life remained outside of urban civilization - the village, the village, the rural population. Here, as in the cities, there were big differences in living conditions and everyday life. On the one hand, part of the rural population was the nobility. After the decree on the freedom of the nobility and the Charter of the nobility, which freed the nobles from compulsory state and military service, a significant part of the nobles settled on their estates, took up farming, and began to organize their rural life.

Of course, there were great differences between representatives of the rural nobility. Rich landowners, owners of tens of thousands of serf souls, are one thing. These rich people had luxurious estates with magnificent ice houses, built according to the designs of famous architects. Another thing was the small-scale Lebanese people, who owned one and a half dozen serfs.

And yet, the bulk of the nobility were middle-class landowners, owners of rural estates. Such Chnoryans were not separated from peasant life by an insurmountable wall. They constantly communicated with the peasants; courtyard people and servants from those peasants lived in their estates. Masters and servants spent years side by side, came into contact with the origins of the same folk culture, traditions, customs, beliefs, were treated by the same healers, drank the same infusions and steamed in the bathhouse with the same birch brooms. In addition, a significant part of the nobility, like Fonvizin’s Mrs. Prostakova, was illiterate or semi-literate. The rural estates of such nobles were an integral part of Russian rural life.

The latest innovations in everyday life bypassed peasant life. Only a small part of the peasants became people. They built good, clean huts in the villages with Dutch ovens, used new household items (dishes and furniture), bought good-quality clothes and shoes, and diversified their food.

The strengthening of the economic and military power of Russia during the period of Peter I, the military victories of Russia during the reign of Catherine II, led to the growth of the national self-awareness of the Russian people and, as a consequence, to the rise of Russian culture in the second half of the 18th century. The dominant trend in Russian culture in the second half of the 18th century. - early 19th century becomes classicism . Its ideological basis was the struggle for powerful national statehood and national culture.
Education. In the second half of the 18th century. Catherine II carried out reforms in the sphere of management, economics, class organization, and education. But Catherine II attached special importance to educational reform, since she understood that the success of social transformations depended on the level of enlightenment of the people, on their ability and desire to perceive new things.
Catherine II entrusted I.I. with carrying out reforms in the field of education. Betsky, his personal secretary and president of the Academy of Arts. In 1763, he presented Catherine II with a plan for school reform - “The General Institution for the Education of Both Sexes of Youth”, which was based on the idea, popular in Europe, of “raising a new breed of people”, free from vices, who would then, through the family, spread the principles of the new education to the whole society. According to the author’s plan, a network of closed schools should be created in Russia, where Russian youth from 4-6 to 18-28 years old would be educated in complete isolation from the bad influence of society. Schools had to be class-based. For all new educational institutions I.I. Betskoy developed special regulations, according to which it was forbidden to beat and scold children, and the development of their natural qualities and inclinations, interest in learning was supposed to be encouraged.
Back in 1752, the Marine Noble Corps was opened for the children of nobles. In 1759, the Corps of Pages was opened, preparing nobles for court service. In 1764, the “Educational Society of Noble Maidens” was opened in St. Petersburg at the Smolny Monastery (Smolny Institute) for 200 girls. This was the first women's educational institution in Russia for girls from noble families. The Smolny Institute enjoyed the special patronage of Catherine II and I.I. Betsky, high society nobles. In 1766, the reformed Land Noble Corps was opened for noble children.
For children of other classes, vocational schools with a secondary special educational course were created. In 1772, in Moscow, at the Orphanage, a Commercial School was opened for the children of merchants and townspeople at the expense of P.A. Demidova. The Catherine Institute was opened in Moscow for girls from families of merchants and townspeople. Pedagogical schools were opened at the Smolny Institute (1765) and the Land Noble Corps (1766). Orphanages were opened for orphans in Moscow (1764), St. Petersburg (1770) and other cities. A special educational program was developed to transform orphans into people who absorbed the best ideas of the Enlightenment.
In the second half of the 18th century. The opening of vocational art schools continues. In 1757, the Academy of Arts was founded in St. Petersburg. The Academy became the first higher art institution in Russia, within whose walls highly professional architects, sculptors, painters and graphic artists grew up. In 1773, a Ballet School was opened at the Moscow Orphanage.
The opening in 1755 of the country's first higher civil educational institution, Moscow University, was of great importance for the spread of education in Russia. Its curator was the influential nobleman I.I. Shuvalov, but M.V. played a huge role in the opening of the university. Lomonosov. He developed a project for organizing the university; he sought to ensure that the university was a classless and secular educational institution. In the first year of its opening, Moscow University admitted students to three faculties: philosophy, law and medicine. The first students were predominantly from the common community. A special gymnasium with two departments was created at the university - one for the children of nobles, the other for the children of merchants and commoners. Four years later, the same gymnasium was opened in Kazan.
A qualitatively new fact in the development of education in Russia was the emergence of a comprehensive school. Separately created educational institutions have not yet formed a system of public education. In 1772, by decree of Catherine II, a Commission was created on the establishment of schools, which included prominent teachers from Europe specially invited to Russia. The commission developed a plan for the creation of four-year schools in provincial cities and two-year schools in district towns. The training programs included mathematics, history, geography, physics, architecture, Russian and foreign languages. As a result, a comprehensive school system began to take shape in Russia. In 25 provincial cities, main four-year schools were opened, similar in type to high school. Small two-year schools were opened in district towns. For the first time, unified curricula and a class-lesson system were introduced in schools, and teaching methods and disciplines were developed. Continuity in education was achieved by the commonality of the curricula of small schools and the first two classes of main schools.
By the end of the 18th century. there were 550 educational institutions in the country with a student population of 60-70 thousand people. So, in the second half of the 18th century. A system of public education was created in Russia.
The appearance of new textbooks was important for the development of education. Professors from Moscow University and scientists from the Academy of Sciences took an active part in their writing. In 1757, “Russian Grammar” was published by M.V. Lomonosov, which replaced the already outdated grammar of M. Smotritsky as the main textbook on the Russian language. The great Russian scientist also wrote a textbook on mining, “The First Foundations of Metallurgy, or Mining.” In the 60s A student at Moscow University, D. Anichkov, compiled a textbook on mathematics, which remained the main textbook on mathematics in schools until the end of the 18th century. In 1776, professor at Moscow University H.A. Chebotarev wrote a textbook on geography. For a long time, all schools and gymnasiums used the book “On the Positions of Man and Citizen,” compiled by Catherine II and I.I., as a textbook. Betsky. The book popularly outlined the views of Western European enlighteners on such concepts as “soul,” “virtue,” and man’s duties towards God, society, the state, and his neighbors.

Book business. In connection with the spread of education in the second half of the 18th century. Interest in books is growing in society. To satisfy the demand for printed products, in 1783 Catherine II issued a decree “On Free Printing Houses,” which for the first time granted everyone the right to open printing houses. Private printing houses were opened not only in the capitals, but also in provincial cities, however, during the period of the struggle of Catherine II and Paul I against the penetration of the ideas of the French Revolution into Russia, all private printing houses were closed.
The topics of books changed, and the number of original scientific and artistic publications increased. In 1768, in St. Petersburg, on the initiative of Catherine II, the “Meeting for the Translation of Foreign Books” was created. It was engaged in the translation and publication of works of ancient classics and French enlighteners and operated until 1783. In 1773, the famous educator N.I. Novikov organized a “Society Trying to Print Books” in St. Petersburg, but its activity was short-lived, since N.I. Novikov faced great difficulties, primarily with the weak development of the book trade, especially in the provinces.
The main centers for publishing books and journals were the Academy of Sciences and Moscow University. The academic printing house printed mainly educational and scientific literature. On the initiative of M.V. Lomonosov began publishing the first Russian literary and scientific journal, “Monthly Works for the Benefit and Entertainment of Employees” (1755). The first private magazine “Hardworking Bee” (1759), published by A.P., was also published in the academic printing house. Sumarokov.
In the second half of the 18th century. Periodicals are appearing not only in capital cities, but also in provincial cities. In 1786, the magazine “Solitary Poshekhonets” began to be published in Yaroslavl, and in 1788 in Tambov, the weekly provincial newspaper “Tambov News”. Since 1789, the magazine “The Irtysh Turning into Ippokrena” was published in Tobolsk.
A special role in the publication and distribution of books belonged to the outstanding Russian educator and public figure N.I. Novikov (1744–1818). N.I. Novikov, like other Russian educators, considered education to be the basis of social change, so he saw the spread of education as a service to society. From 1779 to 1789 he rented the printing house of Moscow University, in which he published about a third of all books published in Russia at that time (approximately 1000 titles). These were textbooks, magazines, political and philosophical treatises of Western European thinkers, collected works of Russian writers, works of folk art, and Masonic literature.
N.I. Novikov contributed to the development of the book trade, especially in the provinces. At the end of the 18th century. There were about 40 bookstores in Moscow and St. Petersburg, bookstores already existed in 17 provincial cities.
In the second half of the 18th century. The number of libraries at universities, gymnasiums, and closed educational institutions is growing. The library of the Academy of Sciences continued to operate. In 1758, the library of the Academy of Arts was opened, in which not only students of the Academy, but also anyone could work.
In the 80s - 90s. XVIII century The first public libraries appeared in some provincial cities (Tula, Kaluga, Irkutsk). Paid libraries appeared at bookstores in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The science. In the second half of the 18th century. The largest scientific centers in Russia were the Academy of Sciences and Moscow University. The brilliant professors S.E. taught at Moscow University. Desnitsky, D.S. Anichkov, N.N. Popovsky, A.A. Barsov and many others.
The spread of education in Russia and the rapid development of world natural science contributed to the formation and development of Russian science. But in those years the Academy of Sciences was dominated by invited Germans. German scientists prevented the promotion of Russian scientists, so Russians were practically absent from the Academy of Sciences.
The first Russian scientist to become a full Russian professor at the Academy of Sciences was M.V. Lomonosov. He was born in 1711 in a distant Pomeranian village near Kholmogory. Already as an adult young man, in 1730 Mikhail Lomonosov, having obtained an annual passport, set off with one of the fish trains to distant Moscow. There he, hiding his origin, entered the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Having successfully graduated from the Academy, Lomonosov, along with 11 other graduates, was sent in 1736 to take a course in science at the St. Petersburg Academy. Soon he was sent to Germany, to Marburg, to Professor Wolf, and then to Freiburg to the famous metallurgist, Professor Henkel. The five years spent abroad were years of serious independent study for Lomonosov. In June 1741 M.V. Lomonosov returns to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and becomes an adjunct professor of physics Kraft. In 1745 he was confirmed as a professor of chemistry and became a full member of the Academy. In 1748, overcoming the resistance of German scientists, he achieved the creation of a chemical laboratory. Range of interests of M.V. Lomonosov as a scientist was enormous. He conducted research in physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy and other sciences. M.V. Lomonosov was the creator of the atomic-molecular theory of the structure of matter, which served as a solid basis for the further development of fundamental natural sciences in the 18th century. In 1748, in a letter to L. Euler, for the first time in the world, he formulated the general law of conservation of matter and motion, which is of great importance for understanding the entire process of the universe. In 1756, he carried out classical experiments that experimentally substantiated the law of conservation of matter, and formulated an assumption explaining the phenomenon of heating of bodies as a consequence of the movement of particles. This brilliant guess was far ahead of its era. The great Russian scientist worked a lot on issues related to the mysteries of the origin of the Universe; he was responsible for the discovery of the atmosphere on Venus and a number of other important observations in the field of astronomy. He was a brilliant experimenter and inventor, an innovator in many fields of technology, mining, metallurgy, porcelain and glass production, salts and paints, construction equipment. His multifaceted talent also manifested itself in the humanities. He was an outstanding poet and theorist in matters of versification. His contribution to the formation of the Russian literary language is enormous. M.V. Lomonosov was interested in both the art of mosaics and the study of the history of his homeland. The result of his works on history were the “Brief Russian Chronicler” and “Ancient Russian History” created by him. M.V. Lomonosov contributed to the promotion of national personnel in Russian science. The first professors of Moscow University N.N. Popovsky and A.A. Barsov were his students.
Great importance for the development of natural science there were academic expeditions in the 60s-70s. XVIII century. Academician P.S. Pallas undertook expeditions to the regions of the Volga region, the Urals, and Crimea. Academician I.I. Lepekhin explored the Urals region and the White Sea coast. Academician Falk studied the regions of Eastern Russia and the North Caucasus. Berdanes explored the Kyrgyz steppe, I.S. Georgi - Ural, Bashkiria, Altai, Baikal. Academician S.G. Gmelin studied the Don basin, the lower Volga, and the shores of the Caspian Sea. Scientist N.Ya. Ozertsovsky explored the north-west of Russia, V.F. Zuev - Black Sea region and Crimea. The rich materials on zoology, botany, ethnography and archeology collected during these expeditions contributed to the scientific study of the nature and culture of the peoples of Russia. In 1745, the Atlas of the Russian Empire was published; this became a scientific event of world significance, since by the middle of the 18th century. Only France had such an atlas. By the end of the century, the promotion of geographical knowledge increased significantly. In the 70s "Geographical Lexicon" was published Russian state", the first geographical dictionary in Russia. Geography has become a compulsory subject in all educational institutions.
The development of manufacturing production contributed to the development of technical thought. In 1760, R. Glinkov invented a mechanical engine for spinning machines, which replaced the labor of 9 people. I.I. Polzunov(1728-1766) - a genius, master of the Kolyvanovo-Voznesensky plant in Altai - first put forward the idea of ​​​​using steam power as an engine. In 1765, he designed the world's first universal steam engine. A few days before its launch, I.I. Polzunov died. The machine worked for several months, and only as a result of a minor breakdown it failed. Another self-taught mechanic - I.P. Kulibin(1735-1818) was an unrivaled watchmaker. He created a clock that showed the seasons, months, hours, minutes, seconds, phases of the moon, the time of sunrise and sunset in St. Petersburg and Moscow. He also invented many original devices and instruments, improved the grinding of glass for optical instruments, and created a semaphore telegraph. But these inventions, like the inventions of I.I. Kulibin, also did not have wide practical application.
Of the humanities, the greatest development occurred in the 18th century. received history. The main achievements of historical thought of that time are associated with the activities of M.V. Lomonosov and V.N. Tatishcheva. M.V. Lomonosov first raised the question of the origin of the Slavs and highly appreciated them ancient culture. His "Brief Russian Chronicle" was the main history textbook. Labor V.N. Tatishchev's "Russian History" was the first attempt at scientific coverage of Russian history. An important fact of Russian historiography of the 18th century. became the historical works of M.M. Shcherbatov (1733-1790) and I.N. Boltin (1735-1792), in which an attempt was also made to give a general concept of Russian history. Increased attention to history was expressed in the dissemination of historical literature, the revival of interest in folk legends and songs, and the emergence of historical themes in literature and art. This was a significant moment in the formation of national identity.
Journalism. The emergence of journalism is associated with Moscow University. Assessor of Moscow University, poet M.M. Kheraskov began publishing the first magazine in Russia, “Useful Amusement.” At the same time, university history professor I. Reichel published the magazine “Collected Best Works,” in which teenage years collaborated with the talented playwright D.I. Fonvizin.
In the 60-70s of the 18th century. In journalism, the satirical direction became widespread, to which Catherine II also made her contribution. In 1769, the Empress founded the satirical magazine "All Things", the official editor of which was her Secretary of State G.V. Kozlovsky. She needed this publication in order to express her point of view on socially significant problems. She published several articles in the magazine in which she explained in an allegorical form the reason for the failures of the Statutory Commission. She also needed the magazine to ridicule various vices in the spirit of the ideas of the Enlightenment. This gave rise to a lively debate in society about the role of satire in society - whether it should fight abstract vices or their specific carriers. The main opponent of the empress was N.I. Novikov. During these same years, he published his satirical publications "Drone" (1769-1770) and, especially, "Painter" (1772-1773). In his satirical sketches N.I. Novikov began to develop the peasant theme in Russian artistic culture, which turned out to be deep and fruitful. The pages of the magazines were full of sincere sympathy for the difficult and powerless existence of the Russian peasant breadwinner. Even the epigraph to the magazine "Drone" - "They work, and you eat their work" - immediately attracted the attention of his contemporaries. From now on, compassion for the poverty and misfortune of ordinary “villagers” will become the “eternal theme” of Russian journalism, as well as the entire culture.
Socio-political thought. Second half of the 18th century. characterized by the growth of Russian national consciousness. There is a growing interest in society in the historical past of Russia, in the role and place of the Russian people in world history. Gradually, the main currents of Russian social and political thought began to take shape, finally taking shape in the 19th century.
Catherine II expressed an optimistic view of Russian history. On this issue, one of her main opponents was Prince M.M. Shcherbatov is a statesman and historian, the author of the multi-volume “Russian History” and a number of journalistic works. He expressed his attitude to the surrounding reality in the pamphlet “On the Damage to Morals in Russia,” which was first published only in the middle of the 19th century. "Free Russian Printing House" A.I. Herzen in London. For Shcherbatov of the 18th century. - a time of general decline in morals, to which he contrasted the ideals of pre-Petrine Rus'. Essentially, M.M. Shcherbatov became the forerunner of the Slavophiles.
Another direction of Russian social thought of the second half of the 18th century. became Freemasonry- a religious and ethical movement that arose in England at the beginning of the 18th century. In Russia, the first Masonic lodges appeared in the 1730s. Freemasonry became most widespread in Russia in the middle of the 18th century, when the most prominent statesmen became members of Freemasonry - the Chernyshev brothers, the Panin brothers, R.I. Vorontsov and others. The poets A.P. were also Freemasons. Sumarokov, M.M. Kheraskov, V.I. Maikov, architect V.I. Bazhenov and many others. The Masons proclaimed the construction of a society of free people through self-purification and self-improvement, liberation from all class and national boundaries. In Russia, the practical activities of the Freemasons were aimed at educating the people, which attracted famous people of that time to the ranks of the Freemasons.
At first, Catherine II treated Freemasonry as a fashionable eccentricity that quickly passed away. But in the 70s. Freemasons become disillusioned with the ideas of enlightenment; mystical knowledge begins to dominate in their spiritual quests; they believed that by discovering some mystical secret of the universe they would be able to accomplish what they could not do with the help of reason. These new ideas, combined with mysterious rituals, attracted quite a lot of people to Freemasonry. big number supporters. And then it became dangerous from the point of view of the authorities - after all, it was almost about a new ideology with a religious connotation. After this, Catherine II decided to ban Masonic organizations in Russia.
The fate of N.I. became an example for others. Novikov, who for many years rented it since the late 70s. The printing house of Moscow University, in addition to books of an educational nature, published many Masonic publications. When hundreds of copies of prohibited Masonic works were discovered in his warehouses in 1792, N.I. Novikov was arrested and put on trial. Until Paul's accession to the throne, he will be imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress.
Another direction of Russian social thought of this time is associated with the name A. N. Radishcheva(1749–1802). It is generally accepted that the formation of revolutionary ideology in Russia began with his socio-political views. Having received an education abroad and becoming a fan of the ideas of the Enlightenment, Radishchev gave them a radical character. Such views formed a decisive rejection of the existing order in the country and, above all, serfdom. In general, a critical attitude to reality, generated by the ideas of the Enlightenment, developed in Europe, but there the bourgeoisie, fighting for its rights, became the bearer of revolutionary ideology. Radishchev did not see any differences in the historical development and position of Russia and Europe. It seemed to him that a revolutionary coup could solve all the problems of society and bring true freedom to the people. These ideas were expressed by Radishchev in his “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow,” published in “1790 (Radishchev printed the book in 600 copies, only 25 copies went on sale). The book aroused “great curiosity of the public.” Catherine II , having familiarized herself with this work, wrote in its margins: “...A rebel, worse than Pugachev." The Empress was outraged not by the criticism of serfdom as such (she herself was thinking about abolishing it), but rather by the rebellion against her superiors, against her power. Radishchev argued that that things were bad in the state, that the people were living much worse than she thought. Catherine was convinced that this was a lie and slander and, no matter how bad serfdom was, her subjects simply could not be unhappy. By order of the empress, the book was printed was confiscated, and its author was exiled to the Ilimsk prison (completely amnestied only in 1801 by Alexander I).
Thus, A.N. Radishchev was the first in Russia to connect the problem of the abolition of serfdom with the need to eliminate the autocracy.
Literature. Russian literature of the second half of the 18th century. was predominantly aristocratic. Due to the specific nature of working conditions, folk art was oral; it included such genres as songs, tales, satirical tales, and humoresques. The satirical genre of folk art was extremely rich and varied. The stories “The Tale of Princess Kiselikha”, “The Tale of the Pakhrinskaya Village of Kamkina”, the soldier’s satire A Sorrowful Tale”, “The Petition of the Crimean Soldiers”, etc. became widely popular among the people.
Noble literature developed in the genre of classicism. During this period, a new fiction emerged with a developed system of genres (ode, elegy, fable, tragedy, comedy, story, novel). Essential elements of this literature were new system versification and literary language. For the first time principles syllabic-tonic versification formulated by the outstanding literary critic, historian, founder of Russian philology V.K. Trediakovsky (1703-1768). This system, which replaced syllabic verse, is based on the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line. It lies at the basis of Russian poetry to this day.
“The name of the founder and father of Russian literature,” according to V.G. Belinsky, rightfully belongs to M.V. Lomonosov. Poetic creativity occupied a large place in the spiritual world of the great Russian scientist. As a result of studying ancient, New Latin, German and French lyrics, M.V. Lomonosov established in Russian poetry the poetic genres of European literature of that time: religious and philosophical ode, solemn ode, etc.; epic poem, epistle, idyll, epigram, etc., as well as various poetic meters. He created the theory of the “three calms”. M.V. Lomonosov taught Russian poets that “calm” can be “high, medium, low.” He must write speeches, odes, and poems of heroic content in a high style. A high syllable should be distinguished by pathos. Tragedies, satires, and elegies are written in “medium calm.” In these genres M.V. Lomonosov allowed "sayings" in Russian language common. Using such words, one should still “be careful not to descend into meanness.” And, finally, in the works of “low calm” - comedy, song, epigram, fable - “common people’s low words” could be used “by consideration”. The original composition of the poem “Conversation with Anacreon” (from the 50s to the early 60s of the 18th century) formulated the main features of Lomonosov’s poetry: citizenship, patriotism, recognition of Russia’s peaceful mission in modern politics, the poet's high self-esteem. Written in the spirit of the classic Roman tragedy Seneca, Lomonosov's plays "Tamira and Selim" and "Demophon" were an attempt to create a Russian tragedy. Lomonosov developed iambic tetrameter and hexameter, the classic ten-line odic stanza, and precise and figurative language, which have remained in Russian poetry for a long time. Personality M.V. Lomonosov, his scientific and literary activities played a primary role in the development of the consciousness of Russian society and left a deep mark on the history of Russian culture.
The founder of the new Russian dramaturgy was A.P. Sumarokov (1717 ―1777), poet and playwright. He came from an old noble family, studied at the Land Noble Corps, where he began to write poetry, imitating V.K. Trediakovsky. Poems by A.P. Sumarokov bear a strong stamp of M.V. Lomonosov, but soon the poet chose a different genre, which brought him popularity - love songs. From the songs of A.P. Sumarokov moved on to love tragedies in verse. Before his first tragedies - "Khorev" (1747), "Hamlet" (1748), "Sinav and Truvor" (1750) - Russian drama lived in the traditions of the so-called. school drama of the 17th century. with its allegorical plots and conventionally mythological characters. A.P. For the first time in the history of Russian theater, Sumarokov connected love themes with social and philosophical issues. The appearance of tragedies served as an incentive for the emergence of the Russian Theater, whose director A.P. Sumarkov was in 1756-1761. In the late 50s - early 60s. Sumarokov writes fables directed against bureaucratic tyranny, bribery, and inhumane treatment of serfs by landowners. In the 70s he writes his best comedies - “Cuckold by Imagination”, “Mother - Daughter’s Companion”, “Crazy Woman” (all 1772), and tragedies “Dmitry the Pretender” (1771), “Mstislav” (1774). Sumarokov's works contributed to the education of human dignity, humanism, high morality and honor. Being a supporter of serfdom, he criticized its extremes.
Creativity D.I. Fonvizin (1745–1792) marked the beginning of the accusatory-realistic direction of Russian literature. In his works he criticized certain shortcomings of serfdom. In 1764 he composed his first poetic comedy, Corion. The action in it takes place in a village near Moscow and consists of a presentation of the sentimental story of lovers Corion and Xenovia, separated by a misunderstanding and happily united in the finale. In the 1760s D.I. Fonvizin came up with the idea of ​​an original Russian satirical comedy. The first example of this kind was his comedy "The Brigadier" (1766-69), in which ignorance, bribery, and servility to all foreign "noble class" were ridiculed. Fonvizin gained fame and universal recognition from the comedy “The Minor” (1779–1781). This is a “comedy of manners”, depicting the domestic life of a wild and dark family of provincial landowners. At the center of the comedy is the image of Mrs. Prostakova, a tyrant and despot in her own family and among her peasants. Her cruelty in dealing with others is compensated by her unreasonable and ardent tenderness for her son Mitrofanushka, who, thanks to such maternal upbringing, grows up spoiled, rude, ignorant and completely unfit for any business. Prostakova is confident that she can do whatever she wants, because a decree on “noble freedom” has been given for this. Opposed to her and her relatives, Starodum, Pravdin, Sophia and Milon believe that the freedom of a nobleman lies in the right to study, and then serve society with his mind and knowledge, which justifies the nobility of the noble title. In the finale, retribution comes: Prostakova is cut off from her estate and abandoned by her own son.
The largest poet of the late 18th century. was G.R. Derzhavin(1743–1816). He created his own poetic style, which found its most vivid expression in the poems “Ode on the Death of Prince Meshchersky” (1779), “Ode to Felitsa” (1782), “God” (1784), “Autumn during the Siege of Ochakov” (1788) , “Vision of Murza” (1789), “Waterfall” (1791–94), etc. The first “Ode to Felitsa,” which established Derzhavin’s poetic fame, aroused rave reviews from many contemporaries. It brilliantly reflected some important features characterizing the reign of Catherine II: the growth of Russian statehood, the heroism of military victories, national patriotism. Derzhavin's poetic innovation manifested itself in the destruction of the purity of the classic genre: he combined elements of ode and satire in one poem. The combination of the themes of ode and satire within one work led to a combination of “high” and “low” “calm”. Derzhavin introduced elements of living colloquial speech into poetic language. He angrily condemned social vices and denounced high-ranking officials (“To Rulers and Judges,” 1780–87, “Nobleman,” 1774–94). IN last years life, Derzhavin also turned to drama. Beginning in 1804, he wrote a number of tragedies and other plays ("Dobrynya", "Pozharsky", "Herod and Miriamne", "Eupraxia", etc.). Since 1811, Derzhavin was a member of the literary society "Conversation of Lovers of the Russian Word." Here he “noticed” young A.S. Pushkin.
At the turn of the XVIII - XIX centuries. in Russian literature is formed sentimentalism , marked by emotional perception of the surrounding world, increased interest in to a specific person and his feelings. The hero of works of art is a simple man. The flourishing of sentimentalism is associated with the work of N.M. Karamzin (1766-1826) - Russian thinker, historian, poet. In 1792, his story “Poor Liza” was published, which became one of the first works of Russian sentimental literature of the 18th century. The love story of the poor girl Lisa and the nobleman Erast found a wide response in the hearts of readers. For the first time in Russian literature N.M. Karamzin showed a living person with his natural feelings and experiences. The expression “even peasant women know how to love” was perceived by the reader as the discovery of their own world of feelings and experiences, the ability to love and suffer.
Enlightenment literature of the 18th century at its core carried a humanistic and satirical beginning. But at the same time, meeting the requirements of the era, the literature of Russian classicism created the image of a new man - a patriot and citizen. She contributed to the establishment of the extra-class value of man and resolutely fought against the cruelties of serfdom.
Theater. Mid-18th century - an important stage in the development of the national theater. In 1756, the first Russian dramatic professional theater was created in St. Petersburg, the basis of which was a troupe of Yaroslavl actors led by F.G. Volkov(1729–1763). F.G. Volkov was born into a wealthy merchant family in Yaroslavl. The hopes of his relatives to introduce him to the merchant business were not justified, since from a young age he lived with the idea of ​​theater. In 1750 F.G. In Yaroslavl, Volkov organized an amateur drama troupe. The troupe's performances were so successful that rumors of its success reached the capital. In 1752, Yaroslavl residents were called to St. Petersburg to organize a Russian public theater. In 1756, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna issued a decree on the creation of the Russian Public Theater, which included a significant part of F.G.’s troupe. Volkova. In this theater F.G. Volkov occupied the position of the first tragedian. The first director of this theater was the famous poet and playwright A.P. Sumarokov. Inspired play by F.G. Volkova captivated the audience, but his life was short-lived: having caught a cold in the bitter February frost during a masquerade procession on the occasion of the coronation of Catherine II, he died in 1763 at the age of 34 years.
In the second half of the 18th century. Free, amateur and serf theaters operated in St. Petersburg. Widely known were the imperial theater, the theater of the “small court” (Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich), the school theater at the Land Noble Corps, the theaters of the Academy of Arts, and the Institute of Noble Maidens. In 1779, a private theater arose on Tsaritsyn Meadow (Field of Mars), directed by the poet I.A. Dmitrievsky. The plays of D.I. were staged for the first time on the stage of this theater. Fonvizina. The theater did not last long: in 1783 it was closed by decree of Catherine II. Italian, German and French troupes continued to flourish in the northern capital.
In Moscow, regular theatrical performances were performed at the university by the Italian troupe D. Locatelli. The theater was under the authority of the director of Moscow University M. M. Kheraskov, who himself wrote plays for it. Russian actors were also invited to the theater; among them were university students. It was in this theater that the later famous playwright and writer D.I. began his career as an actor (they were recruited from students to play in Russian plays). Fonvizin. In 1780, the Petrovsky Theater was opened, whose repertoire included drama, opera and ballet performances. Theater troupes existed in capitals and some provincial cities.
A peculiar phenomenon of Russian culture of the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. was serf theater. Drama and opera performances were successfully staged in the serf theaters of A.L. Naryshkina, N.S. Titova, G.A. Potemkin, the Yusupovs, the Shuvalovs. Some of the serf theaters, for example Count N.P. Sheremetev in Ostankino, Prince N.B. Yusupov in Arkhangelsk, were widely known among theater lovers. Many talented actors and musicians performed on the fortress stage; at the Sheremetev Theater she was famous for her magnificent performance by P.I. Kovalev-Zhemchugova (1768-1803).
Music. In the second half of the 18th century. The musical life of Russia has changed dramatically. While maintaining its original appearance, it became more European. Choral partes singing is in decline. This was due to the appearance of highly educated Italian musicians in Russia, who brought the genre of secular music to Russia.
At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Folk song has taken a strong place in Russian song culture, with adherents in all levels of society. About this time the poet G.R. Derzhavin said: “It was an age of songs.” In everyday life, songs were sung “folk”, “bookish”, Russian, gypsy, peasant, urban, amateur and professional, “Russian” and imported from the West.
At the end of the 18th century. a genre has appeared chamber lyrical song (romance), the text of which was usually borrowed from Russian poetry. The flourishing of this genre is associated with the work of two wonderful Russian musicians - F.M. Dubyansky and O.A. Kozlovsky. F.M. Dubyansky went down in the history of Russian art as the author of only six romances, but which are the pinnacles of this genre. His romances are a world of intimate experiences, combining sophistication and open emotionality, which was then highly valued by song lovers. F.M. Dubyansky “woke up famous” after the sentimental romance he composed “The Gray Dove Moans” to the verses of I.I. Dmitrieva:
The blue dove moans;
He groans day and night;
His dear little friend
Flew away for a long time.
He doesn't coo anymore
And he doesn’t bite the wheat;
Everything is sad and sad
And quietly sheds tears.
“The Gray Dove” is sung in Russia to this day.
O.A. Kozlovsky was the author of symphonic, theatrical, chamber and march music. A Pole by nationality, he came to Russia as a young man, and in Russia his talent as a musician was fully revealed. The composer participated in Russian-Turkish war 1787–1791 and rose to the rank of prime minister. Great glory to O.A. Kozlovsky was brought a polonaise “Thunder of Victory, Ring Out!” based on poems by G.R. Derzhavin, dedicated to the capture of the Turkish fortress Izmail by Russian troops in 1789. Before the appearance of the official Russian national anthem "God Save the Tsar!" in 1833 the polonaise was sung as the national anthem. The composer also wrote music based on poems by famous poets of that time - A.P. Sumarokova, Yu.A. Neleditsky-Meletsky, G.R. Derzhavina. The exaggerated pathos and excessive sentimentality of his music were in great demand at that time.
Opera becomes the leading musical genre. The theatrical repertoire was dominated by comic opera - a special genre, opera with dialogue, where vocal numbers alternate with conversations of the characters. The operas featured serfs offended by their landowners, evil and good nobles, cunning millers, naive and beautiful girls. The most beloved musical comedy of the 18th century. became the opera by M.M. Sokolovsky to the text of the writer A.O. Ablesimov “The Miller is a sorcerer, a deceiver and a matchmaker” (posted in 1779 in Moscow, then in St. Petersburg). The plot of "The Miller..." is entertaining and simple. The characters of the play are the smart and cunning miller Thaddeus, the naive girl Anyuta, the always quarreling peasant couple Ankudin and Fetinya, and the handsome village guy Filimon. The Miller, the main character of the opera, was truly a rogue. He pretended to be an all-powerful sorcerer and completely fooled his simple-minded neighbors. But it all ends with the cheerful wedding of Anyuta and her fiancé Filimon. The music of the opera was composed by M. M. Sokolovsky from Russian songs; it is assumed that since 1792 the opera was performed with music by E. I. Fomin. Also popular was the opera by V.A. Pashkevich to the words of M.A. Matinsky "St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor, or As you live, so you will be known" (1792).
In the last third XVIII century The Russian school of composition was born: Russian musicians created an independent professional tradition, which became an integral part of European artistic culture. Its formation is associated with the names of M.S. Berezovsky, V.A. Pashkevich and I.E. Khandoshkina.
During the time of Catherine II, Russian choral music began to develop in a secular direction. The origins of the new style of choral music were M.S. Berezovsky(1745–1777). The pinnacle of his creative quest was the still famous concert “Do not reject me in my old age,” created in the second half of the 70s. The work was based on the text of the 70th Psalm of David from the Old Testament “Psalter”: “Do not reject me in times of passion; when my strength fails, do not forsake me... Let those who are hostile to my soul be ashamed and disappear; let those who seek be covered with shame and dishonor I'm angry." The pathos of this psalm is timeless. The pathos of prayer found perfect embodiment in the four movements of Berezovsky's concert. The main feature of the concert is that in all four parts of the concert the general thought is “do not reject me..”, a request - a prayer calling on the Almighty. And this was the enormous emotional power of this work. With the creation of this work M.S. Berezovsky reached the pinnacle of perfection, knew success and glory. Among his other famous choral concerts are “The Lord reigns!”, “In the beginning are you, Lord!”, May God rise again!”, etc.
V.A. Pashkevich(1742–1797) - one of the first Russian opera composers. His first Russian opera "Misfortune from the Coach" based on the text by Ya.B. Princess. The plot of the opera had an anti-serfdom meaning: in order to buy a fashionable carriage, the landowner wanted to sell his serf as a recruit. Composers of comic operas have always faced the problem of which lines of the libretto to set to music and which to save for the spoken dialogue of the characters. V.A. Pashkevich found a simple but effective principle of the relationship between music and conversational genres. With this opera the national musical theater was born. The best work of Pashkevich is considered to be the opera “St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor” (another name is “As you live, so you will be known”, 1792) based on the comedy by M.M. Matinsky. This is the first opera to show the life of a merchant. The morals of this environment did not evoke much sympathy from Matinsky, who described such vices as greed, a tendency to deceive and cheat, malice and betrayal. The essence of the plot is as follows: the merchant Skvalygin gives his daughter Khavronya in marriage to the official Kryuchkodey. Together with his future son-in-law, he embarks on all sorts of frauds - forges business papers, deceives people. Negative characters are contrasted with positive ones: merchant Khvalimov, officer Pryamikov. In the end, the tricks of Skvaligin and Kryuchkodey are exposed, justice triumphs. V.A. Pashkevich was also at the origins of the development of Russian national symphonic music. He was one of the first to try to embody the original sound of Russian folk instruments - horns, pipes, balalaikas, gusli - in the orchestral music of his operas.
I.E. Khandoshkin(1747 - 1804) - "Russian Paganini" - known as a violinist with unique technical abilities, as an outstanding composer and teacher, as a conductor and collector of folk songs. His creative heritage includes dozens of works. His father was a serf, but, having been freed, in 1740 he settled in St. Petersburg. At the age of 13, he was enrolled in the Oranienbaum orchestra as a student violinist, then transferred to the court troupe of musicians. Since 1762 I.E. Khandoshkin is appointed director of the court ballet orchestra. 70-80s ― the period of the most intense performing activity. All his life he was devoted to one instrument - the violin. During these same years he wrote his first compositions. His performing technique was very high; there was no violinist equal to him at that time. I.E. Khandoshkin managed to introduce into his performance elements of technique coming from national instrumental traditions. He writes a grandiose cycle of 40 variations on the theme of the folk "Kalinushka", during the performance of which he shows a wide variety of performing techniques. In his music, for the first time, there was an organic fusion of European instrumental language and Russian folklore.
Another major composer of the late 18th - first quarter of the 19th centuries. was D.S. Bortnyansky(1751–1825). The development of church music is associated with his name. He was born in the city of Glukhov, from where the court chapel drew young recruits. At the age of 7 he came to St. Petersburg and was sent to be raised in the Court Singing Chapel. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself drew attention to the talented boy, and at the age of 17 he went as a pensioner to Italy, where he stayed for 10 years. He wrote operas, sonatas, cantatas. Upon arrival in Russia, he was appointed conductor of the court choir. 80s - a genuine creative takeoff. During the reign of Emperor Pavel Petrovich, in 1796, B. was made director of the court singing chapel. The main achievements of D.S. Bortnyansky are associated with choral polyphonic church music. He followed the path of musical classicism. The court chapel was staffed by the best voices of Russia, the choral performance was conducted by D.S. Bortnyansky was brought to perfection of execution. The main thing is D.S. Bortnyansky energetically opposed the licentiousness of singing that reigned in Orthodox churches, when arias from Italian operas were introduced into church singing. He established order in church singing. His music does not contain those spectacular and artificial techniques that could entertain the worshiper.
The composer's musical heritage includes 35 concerts for a four-voice choir and 10 concerts for two choirs. The composer's works amaze with the variety of feelings and moods. There are solemn, festive, majestic and epic concerts. The most poetic is concert No. 25 “We will never be silent”, concert No. 32 “Tell me, Lord, my death”, No. 7 “Cherubimskaya”. He also writes the opera "The Feast of the Senor" to the libretto of Count G.I. Chernyshev, "Falcon" to the libretto by Lafermière, his best opera "The Rival Son, or the New Stratonic" to the text by Lafermière. His song “Singer in the Camp of Russian Warriors” to the words of V.A. became widely known. Zhukovsky.
Music by D.S. Bortnyansky had a huge influence on the formation of the Russian music school, on the work of composers throughout the 19th century.
One of the main features of Russian musical life was public concerts. They have been held regularly in St. Petersburg since the 70s, and in the 80s the real heyday of concert life began. Virtuosos with European famous names performed on the stage - Abbot Vogler, pianist I.V. Gesler, singer L.R. Toddy, harpsichordist I.G.V. Palschau and many other famous musicians.
And yet, the main source of shaping the musical tastes of Russians was playing music at home. They played music a lot and willingly in country estates, in St. Petersburg high society salons, and in modest city apartments.

Ballet. By the middle of the 18th century. ballet gained great fame in Europe. The ballet troupe of the French royal court was famous, and the royal courts of Europe and the European aristocracy sought to have ballet troupes. Numerous dancers and dance teachers easily found work. The women's ballet costume became much lighter and freer, and the lines of the body could be seen underneath. The dancers abandoned high-heeled shoes, replacing them with light heelless shoes. Became less cumbersome men's suit: tight trousers to the knees and stockings also made it possible to see the dancer’s figure. Each innovation made dancing more meaningful and dance technique higher. By the middle of the 18th century. In Europe, ballet gradually separated from opera and became an independent art. In Europe, the French ballet school was famous for its grace and plasticity, but it was characterized by a certain coldness and formality of performance. Therefore, choreographers and artists were looking for new means of expression.
In Russia, from the first half of the 18th century. ballet was introduced by choreographers and dance teachers from Austria, Italy and France. In 1759-1764. Famous choreographers, the Austrian F. Hilferding (1710–1768) and the Italian G. Angiolini (1731–1803), worked in Russia. They staged ballets based on mythological themes. In particular, in 1772 the ballet “Semira” was staged based on the tragedy of the Russian writer A.P. Sumarokov. Possessing its rich dance folklore, Russia turned out to be very fertile ground for the development of ballet theater. Comprehending the science taught by foreigners, the Russians, in turn, introduced their own intonations into the foreign dance. Interest in ballet was constantly growing. The first ballet school in Russia was opened in St. Petersburg in 1738. In 1773, a ballet department was opened in the Moscow Orphanage - the forerunner and foundation of the Moscow Choreographic School. One of his first teachers and choreographers was the Austrian L. Paradise. It should be noted that the Moscow troupe, created as a public troupe, was distinguished by greater democracy and independence than the official St. Petersburg troupe. Since then, two schools of ballet art have begun to emerge in our country: Petersburg- imperial, strict, academic, and Moscow- more democratic, poetic, committed to comedy and genre ballets. These differences exist to this day. The St. Petersburg ballet is distinguished by classical rigor and academicism, while the Moscow ballet is distinguished by bravura, powerful jumps, and athleticism. In 1776, an opera and ballet enterprise (Petrovsky Theater) of Prince P. V. Urusov and his English companion M. G. Medox was opened in Moscow, which later became the basis for the creation of the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe . In St. Petersburg, the first public Bolshoi Theater (Kamenny), in the future the Imperial Mariinsky Theater, opened in 1783. In 1803, his ballet troupe separated from the opera company, occupying a privileged position among other genres of theater.

In the second half of the 18th century. Russian ballet developed in the general mainstream of the theater of classicism. The ideal of the aesthetics of classicism was “ennobled nature,” and the norm work of art- strict proportionality, expressed in the form of three unities - place, time and action. Within the framework of these normative requirements, the center of action became a person, his fate, his actions and experiences, dedicated to one goal, marked by a single all-consuming passion. The genre of heroic-tragedy ballet corresponded to the basic principles of classicism. In the second half of the 18th century. In St. Petersburg, ballets were staged by the Austrian F. Hilferding and the Italians G. Canziani and G. Angiolini. These performances with their acute conflicts and the unfolding action was
new on the Russian stage. But the most famous choreographer was the Italian G. Solomonini, who worked in Vienna with J. Nover himself, an innovative French choreographer who replaced the “divertissement” with an “effective” ballet with a clearly defined plot, with specially written music, and a harmonious composition of dances. . On the Russian stage, Solomonini promoted Novera's ballets. In particular, in 1800, at the Petrovsky Theater, he staged Novera’s ballet Medea and Jason. In the same year, he staged his own production of "Vain Precaution" in the choreography of J. Dauberval (it was called "The Deceived Old Woman", 1800).
By the end of the 18th century. serf troupes appeared in the estates of the counts Sheremetev (Kuskovo, Ostankino), Yusupov (Arkhangelskoye) and others near Moscow. By that time, St. Petersburg and Moscow had court and public theaters. Major foreign composers, choreographers (Italians F. Morelli, P. Pinucci, J. Solomoni, etc.) and foreign performers worked in them. But there were already wonderful Russian dancers - A. S. Sergeeva, V. M. Mikhailova, T. S. Bublikov, G. I. Raikov, N. P. Berilova.