The war of 1812
The war of 1812
Ksenia Bokhanovskaya
School №2086
NE
9.12.16
I really love history. And I'm especially interested in history of Russia of the 19th century. The War of 1812 is one of the greatest wars of our country about which a lot of books were written. Moreover, I think that it's a big shame not to know as much as possible about such important event. Also, I study French, thet's why I'm interested in this war-the war between French people and Russians. Preparing for this essay I expected to learn about the development of Russian society in after war period. I think that discovering all the necessary information about this war will help me to broaden my knoledge of history.
The war between Russia and France was the result of international situation in Europe of the 19th centure. The main reason for all the conflicts was the confrontation between such powerful states as England and France. Napoleon wanted to weaken England and make it obey his orders with the help of trade blockade. According to Tilsit Peace Treaty with France (in 1807), Russia had to stop trading with England which was its biggest economic partner. This restrictions influenced negatively Russian economy. The actual reason for the war of 1812 was the frequent breach of the Tilsit treaty obligations by Russia. In fact, Russia neglected the economic blockade of England and traded with this country under the neutral flag. Besides, Russia demanded to withdraw French troops from Prussia because they threatend Polish Kingdom which was a part of Russian Empire of that time.
Economy
Russia in after war period can be described as devasted and ruined country. Previously prospering Russian provinces now stayed in misirable conditions. Productive forces were greatly damaged. The population decreased by 10per cent. The war had very bad impact on all types of industries. To cover all the war expences 1/4 billion rubles were emitted. That's why the exchange rate of ruble dropped down to 20 kopecks. In the sphere of taxes not much changed. Peasauts had to pay quitrent (оброк). There were other taxes like "quild tax", inheritance tax, stamp duty and some others. The only positive thing about economics that can be mentioned about this period is the fact that recovery of the country went very quickly.
Politics
Although the economy of Russia was in a completely ruined condition, the political sphere of life was developing rapidly. A lot of political changes were taking place at that time but not all of them were completely positive. In Russia the strictest police control was imposed everywhere. The necessity of freeing peasants from serfdom was understood by many noble liberals, all the plans to abolish serfdom remained unfulfilled. This resulted in the Decemblist revolt in 1825. However, a lot of positive changes in polities took place after the war. First of all, other countries began to respect and fear Russia. Moreover, during the time of Alexander 1 they started creating the State Document of Regulations which was some kind of a constitution. This document was sent to the Polish Kingdom in order to varify whether it would work properly. But in Russia that document wasn't implemented. Among the positive changes was a new system of goverment. They created the State Council, which consisted of some ministers and Duma, the members of which were elected from ordinary people. The State Council represented legislative power. Executive power belonged to different ministers. The Senate and Courts were in charge of judicial power.
Social life
In my opinion, the social life of Russian people in after war period went through only positive changes. After the soldiers had reached Paris, they saw "a new life". It was another type of exictance very different from life in Russia. Russian soldiers were impressed with French type of social relationships between people. After that people got a new way of thinking and Russian social culture went through great changes. Besides, after seeing a new life, Russian people started creating new secret societies.
Conclusion
I think that the changes after the War of 1812 were mostly negative because the economy suffered a lot. The country profited only in the sphere of social life and in some aspects of political life. I personally learnt a big number of interesting facts. For instance, I didn't know how distructive this war was. However, I was very surprised that war also brought about some advantages to our country.
Sources:
1) internet:
a. http://www.notabene.ru/history/1812.html
b. http://istoriarusi.ru/imper/otechestvennaya-vojna-1812.html
c. https://foxford.ru/wiki/istoriya/sotsialno-ekonomicheskoe-razvitie-rossii-posle-otechestvennoy-voyny-1812-g
d. https://www.gazeta.ru/science/2012/12/27_a_4908554.shtml
2) books
3) knowledge of my friends and parents.
