Scientific discoveries of the first half of the 19th century table. Education and science in the first half of the 19th century

The beginning of the 19th century was a time of cultural and spiritual upsurge in Russia. Patriotic War 1812 accelerated to an unprecedented degree the growth of national self-awareness of the Russian people, its consolidation (rally). There was a rapprochement with the Russian people of other peoples of Russia. The cultural upsurge was also facilitated by the policy of “enlightened absolutism”, which Alexander I adhered to at the beginning of his reign.
Universities, gymnasiums, schools. According to a decree adopted in 1803, the country was divided into 6 educational districts, in each of which it was planned to found a university. But in 1804, only Kazan University was opened. In 1819, the St. Petersburg one began to operate. Under Nicholas I, not a single university was opened. At the largest university, Moscow, in 1811 there were only 215 students, in 1831 there were 814. Nicholas I forbade the admission of children of serfs to universities. A level of knowledge close to university level was provided by lyceums - Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg and Demidovsky in Yaroslavl. The lyceums generally retained their class-noble character. In 1815, the famous Armenian Lazarev family founded the Institute of Oriental Languages in Moscow and maintained it at their own expense for a hundred years. The Lazarev Institute has done a lot to introduce Russia to the culture of the East and to train Russian diplomats sent to eastern countries.K early XIX V. in Russia there was only one higher educational institution of a technical profile - the Mining Institute in St. Petersburg. Under Alexander I, the Forestry Institute was opened. Nicholas I patronized engineering, technical and military education. Under him, the St. Petersburg Technological Institute and the Moscow Technical School, as well as the Academy of the General Staff, were opened. Engineering Academy and Artillery Academy. Secondary educational institutions (gymnasiums) according to the decree of 1803 were supposed to be opened in every provincial city. This was not done immediately. In 1824, only 24 gymnasiums operated in Russia. There was only one gymnasium in all of Siberia (in Tobolsk). After 30 years, the number of gymnasiums was increased to 43. Three gymnasiums began to operate in Siberia (in Tobolsk, Tomsk and Irkutsk). Many noble children were raised in private boarding schools or by home teachers. The tutors, usually French or German, were not very educated. After the end of the Patriotic War, captured French officers returned home, and the soldiers of the “Great Army” became tutors and raised a whole generation of Russian nobles.
In the first half of the 19th century. The development of the female education system, the foundations of which were laid under Catherine II, continued. New institutions for noble daughters were opened in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Astrakhan, Saratov, Irkutsk and other cities. The goal of these institutions was to educate “good wives, caring mothers, exemplary mentors for children, housewives.” The development of primary public education lagged far behind. The Church, some landowners, and certain departments (for example, the Ministry of State Property) opened schools here and there for children from the people. But common system primary education did not have. A significant part of the urban population was literate (although illiterate people were found even among the merchant class). Among peasants, literacy was about 5%. Nevertheless, among the Russian scientists there were also people from the common people. Mostly young men from noble families, the clergy, merchants, and also from the hereditary intelligentsia went into science.
Science in Russia. Russian science achieved great success in those years. Kazan University professor Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky (1792-) constructed a new, non-Euclidean geometric system. Another outstanding Russian scientist Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin (1812-) also worked at Kazan University in those years. He managed to synthesize aniline, an organic dye for the textile industry. Before Zinin's discovery, this dye was extracted from indigo, which grows in southern countries. Zinin obtained it from coal tar. This was one of the first major successes in the development of organic chemistry. In the field of physics important discoveries made by V.V. Petrov and B.S. Jacobi. Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov (1761-) investigated the electric arc and electric discharge in rarefied gas and showed the possibility of using them for lighting and melting metals. Boris Semenovich Jacobi (1801-) conducted research in the field of electrochemistry. He discovered the method of galvanoplasty. In the Ural city of Zlatoust, the outstanding Russian metallurgist Pavel Petrovich Anosov (1799-) revealed the secret of ancient damask steel, created steel blades with which it was possible to crumble the hardest chisels and cut through scarves thrown up from the thinnest fabric. Anosov's works formed the basis of the science of high-quality steels.
In 1839, the construction of the Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg was completed. The building's design included three rotating towers for the main telescopes. There are known high reviews from foreign scientists about the remarkable design of the observatory building and the accuracy of its instruments. An outstanding astronomer of the 19th century worked at the Pulkovo Observatory. Vasily Yakovlevich Struve (1793-). It was he who discovered the concentration of stars in the main plane of the Milky Way.
The name of the remarkable surgeon Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov (1810-) became known to the general Russian public in connection with his dedicated work in besieged Sevastopol. It was not easy for him to observe the suffering of the wounded - he knew how he could help them, but he could not always do it. Back in 1847, at the Academy of Sciences, he gave a report on operations under ether anesthesia. But in Sevastopol, sometimes there was a shortage of not only ether, but also ordinary bandages. And yet, thousands of wounded were saved thanks to the skillful hands of Pirogov. The first half of the 19th century was the time of the further development of national historical science. The growth of national self-awareness of the Russian people was impossible without illuminating its past. Meanwhile, there were no systematic publicly available works on the history of Russia at that time. Responding to public requests, Alexander I commissioned Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766-) to write a history of Russia. Karamzin, a sentimentalist writer and publicist, was not a professional historian. But he took the assignment seriously and, over the course of several years of hard work, managed to achieve great success. The first 8 volumes of his “History of the Russian State” were published in 1816, the last, 12th volume - in 1829. The author managed to bring events to 1611. Karamzin believed that the history of mankind is the history of the struggle of reason against error, enlightenment - with ignorance. He assigned a decisive role in history to great people. For him, psychological analysis of their actions was the main method of explaining historical events. “History of the Russian State” N. M. Karamzina had great success from the public and has been reprinted several times.

Education And the science 19 century

Education And the science 19 century. The beginning of the 19th century was a time of cultural and spiritual upsurge in Russia. The Patriotic War of 1812 accelerated to an unprecedented degree the growth of the national self-awareness of the Russian people, its consolidation (rally).

Literature and painting in Russia in 19 century. In the 19th century Literature is becoming the leading area of Russian culture, which was facilitated primarily by E. Education And the science in Russia in the 18th century.

general characteristics culture of Zolotoy century(second half). Education And the science.
Charter of gymnasiums and pro-gymnasiums, approved 19 November 1864, divided secondary educational institutions - gymnasiums - into classical and real with a 7-year term of study.

Education And the science. Literature. Theater. Cinema.
Russian culture of the end XIX– beginning of the 20th century called silver century(term by N.A. Berdyaev).

The first half of the 19th century is characterized by rapid growth and spread of culture. The general trend of this period is the growing democratization of culture, the coverage of ever wider sections of the people by education. The common strata of society not only become familiar with the culture developed by the Russian nobility, but also become creators of Russian culture, setting its new motives and trends. The Church, subordinate to the state and having adopted the forms of Western learning, provides examples of asceticism that affirms the Orthodox tradition. Having fully settled within the confines of European education, Russian culture is intensely searching for an image of national and cultural identity, developing national forms of existence in modern civilization. The ideas of citizenship and nationality become an arena for the struggle of ideologies. A single trend is realized in different ways during the period of two reigns. The reign of Alexander 1 was a noble period of culture. The cultural initiative of the Russian aristocracy is freely manifested in various fields public life, the cultural alienation of an educated society from the people becomes a subject of public self-awareness. During the reign of Nicholas II, the cultural initiative of commoners gained increasing weight. The difference between previously declared cultural strategies is formalized in ideology and acquires political significance. The state pursues a protective policy; the content of its cultural strategy is determined by the formula “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality.”

Education

In 1802, the Ministry of Public Education was created, in 1804 the Charter of educational institutions was adopted, in which the leading role in the organization of education is given to universities and the creation of state system successively related educational institutions, according to the territorial principle, united into educational districts with a center at the university: Moscow (since 1755), Kazan (1804), Dorpat, Kharkov, (1802-05), Warsaw (1816), Universities (except Dorpat and Warsaw) did not have theological faculties. Since 1819, academic degrees of master's and doctor of sciences have been established, and the defense of dissertations is required to occupy positions at universities. State network(parish schools, district schools, provincial gymnasiums, universities), developed slowly, the school got on its feet by the 40s, when there were 20 gymnasiums in Moscow, the network of parish public schools was poorly developed. The reforms were carried out by the Synodal “Commission of Theological Schools” (1808). The network is divided into districts, led by the Academy. The Academy is an educational and scientific center of theology of a new type: it is an educational institution, a scientific corporation and an administrative center: Moscow (1814), Kiev (1819), Kazan (1842). Technical institutes were opened, the Main Pedagogical Institute was reopened (1828), in Moscow - Higher Technical School (1830).

Development of sciences

The growth and development of scientific research is due to the extensive activities of the state with active public initiative, expressed in the creation of numerous scientific societies. Natural science is developing in line with the activities of the Russian Academy of Sciences (founded in 1747), university faculties (according to the charter of 1804 - physics and mathematics faculties, from 1834 - natural and physics and mathematics departments) and at technical educational institutions, laboratories are being created (observatories, physical chemistry, botanical gardens) are developing Scientific research. Scientific societies emerge Moscow Society explorers of nature, (1805), Moscow Agricultural Society (1820), Rus. Geographical Society (1845). New academic scientific institutions were organized at the RAS: the Asian Museum (1818), Botanical (1823) museums. Scientific and administrative bodies are created under the ministries: Military (military topographic depot), scientific committees under the mining and agricultural departments. Scientific schools are being formed in the main scientific centers - Moscow and St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg University and Academy of Sciences: mathematics (P.L. Chebyshev), surgery and anatomy (N.I. Pirogov). Moscow: climatology (M.F. Spassky), therapy (M.Ya. Mudrov). Kazan– geometry (N.I. Lobachevsky), astronomy (M.A. Kovalsky). Geographical research is developing rapidly: about 40 circumnavigations have been completed. Antarctica was discovered (1820), islands in the oceans, materials and collections on oceanography, ethnography, and biology were collected. Siberia (A.F. Middendorf, 1842-45), the Far East (G.I. Nevelskoy, 1848-55), the Arctic and Alaska, Altai (P.A. Chikhachev, 1842), the Aral and Caspian Seas are explored. Detailed maps of the Empire were created (1801-1804, 1839 - Western Russia). A lot of geological research has been carried out in the Caucasus. Urals, Transbaikalia. Geological maps of the European part of Russia have been compiled. There is a deep interest in the fundamental ideological problems of natural science, natural-scientific materialism and evolutionary philosophy arise and develop (C.F. Roulier)

Education

Socio-economic development of Russian society in the first half of the 19th century. urgently demanded radical changes in the field of public education. During the reign of Alexander I, an education system was created that included parish one-class schools and two-class district schools at the initial stage, followed by four-class gymnasiums and, finally, higher education training was required at universities and a few technical schools. The central links of this system were Russian universities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Dorpat, etc.). Along with them, there were class noble educational institutions - lyceums, the most famous of which was the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. The children of nobles received military education in cadet corps. During these years, education in Russia took a significant step forward. If in the 18th century it remained a privilege of the highest noble circles, then already in the first quarter of the 19th century. became widespread among the nobility, and later among the merchants, philistines, and artisans. The number of libraries in the country has increased significantly, among which many private ones have appeared. Newspapers and magazines began to arouse increasing interest among the reading public, the publication of which has noticeably expanded ("Northern Bee", "Gubernskie Gazette", "Bulletin of Europe", "Son of the Fatherland", etc.).

Science and technology

In the first half of the 19th century. Russian science has achieved significant success. Russian history was successfully studied. For the first time, an educated reader received an extensive, 12-volume “History of the Russian State,” written in literary language, created in 1816-1829. N.M. Karamzin. A notable contribution to Russian medieval studies was made by T.N. Granovsky, whose lectures at Moscow University had a great public resonance. Russian philologists achieved significant success, A.Kh. Vostokov became the founder of Russian paleography, Russian and Czech Slavic scholars worked in close collaboration. In the first half of the 19th century. Russian sailors made about 40 trips around the world, which began with the expeditions of I.F. Kruzenshtern and Yu.F. Lisyansky on the sailing ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva" (1803-1806). Undertaken in 1819-1821. F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev's expedition to the South Pole on the sloops "Vostok" and "Mirny" discovered Antarctica. In 1845, the Russian Geographical Society began to work. In 1839, thanks to the efforts of V.Ya. Struve, the famous exemplary astronomical observatory was opened in Pulkovo (near St. Petersburg), equipped with the largest telescope.

The works of domestic mathematicians: V.Ya. Bunyakovsky, M.V. Ostrogradsky have become world famous. A significant contribution to the development of mathematics was the creation by N.I. Lobachevsky of the so-called non-Euclidean geometry. Russian physicists worked successfully in the field of electricity. V.V. Petrov discovered the electric arc (1802), which was of great practical importance, and worked on the problems of electrolysis. The works of E.H. Lenz were devoted to the issues of converting thermal energy into electrical energy; P.L. Schilling was the creator of the electromagnetic telegraph (1828-1832). Subsequently, in 1839, another Russian physicist B.S. Jacobi connected the capital with Tsarskoye Selo with an underground cable. Jacobi also worked hard and successfully on the creation of an electric engine; a boat with such an engine was tested on the Neva. Jacobi's workshop used another of his discoveries - electroplating - and produced sculptures and copper bas-reliefs, which, in particular, were used to decorate St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Metallurgist P.P. Anosov worked on studying the structure of metals, chemist N.N. Zinin managed to obtain aniline dyes from benzene, biologists K. Baer and C. Roulier enjoyed world fame. Russian doctors began to use anesthesia during operations (N.I. Pirogov used painkillers and antiseptics in the field), and worked in the field of blood transfusion (A.M. Filomafitsky). There were also significant achievements in the field of technology. Its development contributed to the industrial revolution in Russia. In 1834, at the Vyisky plant (Ural), serf mechanics father and son E.A. and M.E. Cherepanovs built one of the world's first railways, and already in 1837 the first trains went along railway Petersburg - Tsarskoe Selo. The first steamships on the Neva appeared in 1815, and in 1817-1821. they began to sail along the Kama and Volga.

Literature and art in the first half of the 19th century

Literature

Russian literature first half of the 19th century V. - one of the most striking phenomena in the history of world culture. At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. classicism with its rhetoric and “high style” was gradually supplanted by a new literary movement - sentimentalism. The founder of this trend in Russian literature was N.M. Karamzin. His works, revealing the world of human feelings to his contemporaries, enjoyed enormous success. The work of N.M. Karamzin played a big role in the development of the Russian literary language. It was N.M. Karamzin, in the words of V.G. Belinsky, who transformed the Russian language, removing it from the stilts of the Latin structure and heavy Slavism and bringing it closer to living, natural, colloquial Russian speech." The Patriotic War of 1812, the rise of nationalism generated by it self-awareness gave rise to such a literary movement as romanticism. One of its most prominent representatives in Russian literature was V.A. Zhukovsky. In his works, V.A. Zhukovsky often turned to subjects inspired by folk art, transposing legends and fairy tales into poetry. translation activities V.A. Zhukovsky introduced Russian society to the masterpieces of world literature - the works of Homer, Ferdowsi, Schiller, Byron and others. The revolutionary romanticism of the Decembrist poets K.F. Ryleev, V.K. Kuchelbecker was permeated with high civic pathos. Russian literature of the first half of the 19th century. is unusually rich in bright names. The greatest manifestation of the people's genius was the poetry and prose of A.S. Pushkin. “...through the era of Derzhavin, and then Zhukovsky,” wrote one of the outstanding representatives of Russian philosophical thought, V.V. Zenkovsky, “Pushkin comes, in which Russian creativity took its own path - not alienating the West... but having already bound itself in freedom and inspiration with the very depths of the Russian spirit, with the Russian element." In the 30s of the XIX century. The talent of A.S. Pushkin’s younger contemporary, M.Yu. Lermontov, flourished in full bloom. Having embodied the national grief over the death of A.S. Pushkin in his poem “On the Death of a Poet,” M.Yu. Lermontov soon shared his tragic fate. The establishment of the realistic trend in Russian literature is associated with the work of A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov. This trend found its vivid embodiment in the works of N.V. Gogol. His work left a huge imprint on the further development of Russian literature. Those who began their literary career in the 40s of the 19th century experienced a strong influence from N.V. Gogol. F.M. Dostoevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, N.A. Nekrasov, I.S. Turgenev, I.A. Goncharov, whose names are the pride of domestic and world culture. A major event in the literary life of the late 30s and early 40s was the short creative activity of A.V. Koltsov, whose poetry went back to folk songs. The philosophical and romantic lyrics of the outstanding poet-thinker F.I. Tyutchev were saturated with a deep feeling for the Motherland. The elegies of E.A. Baratynsky became masterpieces of the Russian national genius.

Theater

A significant phenomenon in the cultural life of Russia in the first half of the 19th century. became a theater. The popularity of performing arts grew. The serf theater was replaced by “free” theater - state and private. However, state theaters appeared in capital cities back in the 18th century. In particular, in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 19th century. There were several of them - the palace theater in the Hermitage, the Bolshoi and Maly theaters. In 1827, a circus opened in the capital, where not only circus performances were staged, but also dramatic performances. In 1832, in St. Petersburg, according to the design of K.I. Rossi, a drama theater building was built, equipped with the latest theater technology. In honor of the wife of Nicholas I, Alexandra Fedorovna, it became known as the Alexandrian Theater (now the A.S. Pushkin Theater). In 1833, the construction of the Mikhailovsky Theater (now the Maly Theater of Opera and Ballet) was completed. It received its name in honor of Nicholas I’s brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. The Maly Theater opened in Moscow in 1806, and in 1825 the construction of the Bolshoi Theater was completed. Such dramatic works as “Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboedov, “The Inspector General” by N.V. Gogol and others were performed on stage with great success. In the early 50s of the 19th century. the first plays by A.N. Ostrovsky appeared. In the 20-40s, the outstanding Russian actor M.S. Shchepkin, a friend of A.I. Herzen and N.V. Gogol, demonstrated his multifaceted talent in Moscow. Other remarkable artists also enjoyed great success with the public - V.A. Karatygin - the premier of the capital's stage, P.S. Mochalov, who reigned on the stage of the Moscow Drama Theater, etc.

Significant successes in the first half of the 19th century. achieved by the ballet theater, whose history at that time was largely connected with the names of the famous French directors Didelot and Perrault. In 1815, the wonderful Russian dancer A.I. Istomina made her debut on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg.

Music

First half of the 19th century became the time of formation of the national music school in Russia. During the same period, the Russian national opera was created. The creativity of M.I. Glinka made a huge contribution to the development of musical art. The operas he created “A Life for the Tsar” (in our country, for obvious reasons, it was called “Ivan Susanin” for a long time), “Ruslan and Lyudmila” put M.I. Glinka on a par with the largest composers in the world. In his operatic and symphonic works, M.I. Glinka was the founder of Russian classical music. Among the most talented composers of the first half of the 19th century. included A.A. Alyabyev - author of more than 200 romances and songs, A.N. Verstovsky. A major phenomenon in the history of Russian musical art was the work of A.S. Dargomyzhsky. His vocal works, especially romances, were a great success. Based on songs and rituals, his opera “Rusalka” was created - a lyrical musical drama. The treasury of Russian musical art includes A.S. Dargomyzhsky’s opera “The Stone Guest,” written to a text by A.S. Pushkin.

History of Russia from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th century / L.V. Milov, P.N. Zyryanov, A.N. Bokhanov; resp. ed. A.N. Sakharov. - M.: LLC Publishing House AST-LTD, 1998. - 544 p., ill.

Section III.

Russia in the 19th century

Chapter 19.

Spiritual life of Russia in the first half of the 19th century

§ 1. Education and science

Beginning of the 19th century - a time of cultural and spiritual upsurge in Russia. The Patriotic War of 1812 accelerated the growth of the national self-awareness of the Russian people and its consolidation. There was a rapprochement with the Russian people of other peoples of Russia. The cultural upsurge was also facilitated by the policy of “enlightened absolutism”, which Alexander I adhered to at the beginning of his reign.
In the 18th century Only one university was opened in Russia - Moscow. According to the decree of 1803, the country was divided into 6 educational districts, in each of which it was planned to found a university. Kazan University was opened in 1804, and Kharkov University in 1805. In 1819, St. Petersburg University began to operate, and in 1834, Kiev University. At the largest university. Moscow, in 1811 there were only 215 students, in 1831 there were 814. Nicholas I forbade the admission of children of serfs to universities. A level of knowledge close to university level was provided by lyceums - Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg and Demidovsky in Yaroslavl. But they retained mainly their class-noble character.
By the beginning of the 19th century. in Russia there was only one higher educational institution of a technical profile - the Mining Institute in St. Petersburg. Under Alexander I, the Forestry Institute was opened. Nicholas I patronized engineering, technical and military education. Under him, the St. Petersburg Technological Institute and the Moscow Technical School were opened, as well as the Academy of the General Staff, the Engineering Academy and the Artillery Academy.
According to the decree of 1803, secondary educational institutions (gymnasiums) were supposed to be opened in every provincial city. But this was not done immediately. In 1824, there were 49 gymnasiums in Russia. There was only one gymnasium in all of Siberia - in Tobolsk. After 30 years, the number of gymnasiums was increased to 77. Three gymnasiums began to operate in Siberia (in Tobolsk, Tomsk and Irkutsk). Many noble children were raised in private boarding schools or by home teachers and tutors. Among the latter, the French and Germans predominated.
In the first half of the 19th century. The development of women's education, the foundations of which were laid under Catherine II, continued. New institutions for noble daughters were opened in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Astrakhan, Saratov, Irkutsk and other cities.
The development of primary public education lagged far behind. The Church, some landowners, and certain departments (for example, the Ministry of State Property) opened schools here and there for children from the people. But there was no general system of primary education. A significant part of the urban population was literate (although illiterate people were found even among the merchant class). Among peasants, literacy was about 5%. Nevertheless, among the Russian scientists there were people from the common people. Mostly young men from the nobility, clergy, merchants, and hereditary intelligentsia went into science.
Russian science achieved great success in those years. Professor of Kazan University N.I. Lobachevsky (1792-1856) built a new, non-Euclidean geometric system. Another prominent Russian scientist, N.N., worked at Kazan University in the same years. Zinin (1812-1880). He managed to synthesize aniline, an organic dye for the textile industry. Before

Zinin's discoveries, this dye was extracted from indigo, which grows in southern countries. Zinin obtained it from coal tar. This was one of the first major successes in the development of organic chemistry.
In the field of physics, important discoveries were made by V.V. Petrov and B.S. Jacobi. The first of them investigated the electric arc and electric discharge in rarefied gas and showed the possibility of using them for lighting and melting metals. The second conducted research in the field of electrochemistry and discovered the method of galvanoplasty.
In 1839, the construction of the Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg was completed. The building's design included three rotating towers for the main telescopes. There are known high reviews from foreign scientists about the design of the observatory building and the accuracy of its instruments. An outstanding astronomer of the 19th century worked at the Pulkovo Observatory. V.Ya. Struve (1793-1864). It was he who discovered the concentration of stars in the main plane milky way.
The name of the remarkable surgeon Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov (1810-1881) became known to the general Russian public in connection with his dedicated work in besieged Sevastopol. It was not easy for him to watch the suffering of the wounded
- he knew how he could help them, but he could not always do it. Back in 1847, at the Academy of Sciences, he gave a report on operations under ether anesthesia. But in Sevastopol there was a shortage not only of ether, but also of ordinary bandages. And yet thousands of wounded were saved thanks to his skillful hands.
The first half of the 19th century was the time of the formation of Russian historical science. The growth of a people's national self-awareness is impossible without illuminating its past. Meanwhile, there were no systematic works on the history of Russia at that time. Responding to public requests, Alexander I commissioned Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766-1826) to write the history of Russia. Karamzin, a writer and publicist, was not a professional historian. But he took the assignment as his patriotic duty and, over the course of several years of hard work, managed to achieve major successes. The first 8 volumes of his “History of the Russian State” were published in 1816-1817, the last, volume 12, in 1829. The author managed to bring events to 1611. Karamzin believed that the history of mankind is the history of the struggle of reason against error, enlightenment - with ignorance. He assigned a decisive role in history to great people. For him, psychological analysis of their actions was the main method of explaining historical events. “The History of the Russian State” was a huge success with the public and was reprinted several times.