XI International Conference of the Study Group on Eighteenth-Century Russia
10th-14th July 2023
Ulrich Hofmeister, LMU Munich, “Beyond St. Petersburg: Urban Planning in Imperial Russia as Seen from the Periphery"
The eighteenth century marks a turning point in Russia’s history of urban planning. The introduction of European ideas and technologies constituted the famous “Petrine revolution in Architecture” (Cracraft), which was spurred by the construction of the new capital St. Petersburg. Research has so far concentrated on the planning and building history of St. Petersburg, which is conventionally seen as the main gateway for innovation in urban planning in Russia. According to this view, European practices were first tried in the new capital and then spread further to the provinces, most notably when Catherine II launched a comprehensive program to rebuild Russia’s historical towns and cities. In my talk, I question this alleged one-way street of innovation, leading from Europe to St. Petersburg and further to Russia’s periphery. Using the example of towns like Taganrog and Orenburg, I demonstrate that European methods in urban planning were applied in the steppe earlier and more comprehensively than in the new capital. Moreover, I argue that it falls short to discuss Catherine’s program of urban reconstruction just as an expression of the Europeanization of the Tsarist Empire. It was rather a very specific Russian endeavor with its roots at the steppe frontier of the Empire. My talk, therefore, argues that more attention needs to be paid attention to the steppe as an area of innovation for the Tsarist Empire.
