Einleitung: Die Stadt und das Russländische Imperium im 18. Jahrhundert

Abstract

The eighteenth century witnessed a boom of city foundations in the European part of the Russian Empire. These cities were integral parts of European urbanity but differed from their Western siblings, for example, in legal terms. Instead of merely pointing out the deficits of urban development in Russia, the editors and contributors of this special issue propose to take a different perspective on Russian cities: They were nodes in Russia’s imperial statehood, simultaneously benefiting from St Petersburg’s administrative and financial support (or suffering from the lack of it) and trying to take their destiny into their own hands. While traditional historiography treats Russia’s towns and cities as passive recipients of plans and policies of the imperial center, the contributions to this special issue emphasize local dynamics and the agency of the urban population. The tension between central policies and their local implementation contributed to the dynamic development of Russian cities throughout the eighteenth century when the Russian Empire underwent enormous political, economic, social, and cultural changes.