Russia 1696-1796

Flag of Russia

---

EuroDocs > History of Russia: Primary Documents > 1696-1796

---

• Ossetian-Russian Relations

Related documents.

(8th century - 1831; Russian facsimiles)

• Fundamental Electronic Library: Russian Literature and Folklore 18th Century

Collection of Russian Literature.

(Russian)

• The Collection of Manuscripts of Prof. A. D. Grigorʼev

68 manuscripts found in North Russia, including ecclesiastical, prayer, correspondent and informative literature

More information in English HERE

(17-19th century; Russian facsimiles with Czech interface)

• Adjudant: Military History and Memoirs

Adjudant highlights Russian military history with documents and first-hand accounts.

Search the site.

Read more about the project here.

Includes:

Materials such as eyewitness accounts from wars, memoirs, and military rule books.

Library with memoirs.

(17th-20th century; Russian transcriptions)

• Russian ratification treaties

(11 December 1689-29 June 1699)

• Yevdokiya Lapukhina

Discusses life of Peter I's first wife.

(1689-1731; images, Russian documents fragments and transcription)

• Peter I

Includes quotes from orders and letters of Peter I.

(images, facsimiles, Russian)

• Сorrespondence of Shein with Peter I

Discusses Azov campaign.

(1696; image, Old Russian in modern Russian spelling)

• P.A. Tolstoy's account of travel through Russia

(1697; Russian transcription)

• The Foundation of St. Petersburg

Peter I's orders for construction of St. Petersburg, including pictures and maps.

(early 18th century; maps, images, facsimiles in Russian)

• Documents of the 18th century

Documents from reigns of Peter I, Anna Ioanovna, and Katherine II and discuss the relationships the Russian Empire had with Armenia, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine as well as wars and rebellions.

(18th century; Russian translation)

• Documents of the 18th century

Personal letters and journals from wars and rebellions as well as military and official records.

(18th century; Russian translation)

• History of Kolskiy Peninsula in the 18th century

Documents from relations between lands of Kolskiy Peninsula and Russia.

(18th century; maps, images, and Russian facsimiles)

• 18th Century Russia

Decrees, political documents, and literary excerpts.

(18th century; English translation)

• Foreigners on 18th century Russia

Journals, letters, and memoirs.

(18th century; modern Russian commentaries and transcription)

• Orders of Peter I about transferring the date of new year from September to January

(1700; facsimile, Russian)

• Proclamation on the Introduction of the New Calendar

How Russians Celebrated the Year 1700

(ca 1700; English translations)

• Orders of Peter I about organization of the School of Navigation and Mathematics

Orders to Senate to organize new schools, noting their potential in preparing a future reformed army.

(1701-1719; image, Russian)

• Ferrand's account of travels through Crimea to Circassia, lands of the Nogai Tatars

(1702; Russian transcription)

• Decree on the Establishment of the Provinces

Decree, issued by Peter I, divided Russia into eight provinces: Moscow, Ingermanland (in 1710 became Saint Petersburg), Arkhangelogorodskaya, Kiev, Smolensk, Kazan, Azov, and Siberia.

Transcription also available here.

(18 December 1708; Old Russian transcription, Modern Russian translation)

• Correspondence between Governor Tolstoy, Chancellor Golovkin, and Khan of Crimea about Nekrasovsky Cossacks

(1709; Russian transcription)

• Poltava battle

Letter from Peter I to his wife, Katherine I, about victory of Russian troops.

(1709; Russian facsimile)

• History of Russian Alphabet

Article discusses Peter's reform of Russian alphabet.

(1710; Russian)

• Peter I's decree naming senate members

Peter I originally intended to create the senate temporarily as he departed for the Pruth River Campaign. However, the Senate, with its administrative and judicial functions, remained in some aspects until the beginning of the 19th century, and the rest until 1917.

Document names members of Peter I's original senate.

Ability to search text of transcription.

Transcription also available here.

(22 February 1711; Old Russian facsimile, modern Russian transcription)

• Kabardino-Russian relations

Related documents.

(4 March 1711 - post-1791; Russian transcriptions)

• Count Bassevich's account of Peter the Great

Extracts from Count Bassevich's memoir that include first-hand accounts about policies of Peter the Great.

(1713-1725; Old Russian transcription)

• Order about the deliverance of inheritance

Rules about deliverance of possessions to heirs.

English translation here

(23 March 1714; Russian transcription)

• Battle at Gangut

Image of first big victory of new Russian Navy.

(27 July 1714; image)

• Articles of Peter I about arrangement of the army

(26 April 1715; facsimile, Russian transcription)

• Military Statutes

Responsibilities of military ranks.

(30 March 1716; Russian transcription)

• Documents of Aleksy’s case

Letters and political documents regarding Aleksy's plans against Peter I.

(1718; image, Old Russian transcription)

• Map of the North Caucasus in 1719

(1719; Russian facsimile)

• Regulations for general officials of legislative and executive branches of the government

Responsibilities of legislative and executive officials.

(28 February 1720; transcription in Russian)

• Order to buy villages to support factories

Allows merchants to buy villages to support factories and prohibits merchants from selling the villages without factories.

(18 January 1721; Russian transcription)

• Peter I's decree defining legal status of Russian Orthodox Church

Establishes Synod's place within Peter I's government.

Ability to search text of Modern Russian translation.

(9 February 1721; Old Russian fascimile, Modern Russian translation)

• Treaty of Nystad between Russia and Sweden

Peace treaty ending the Great Northern War. The treaty discusses administrative and territorial conditions between Russia and Sweden.

Ability to search text of modern Russian translation.

Modern Russian translations also available here.

(30 August 1721; Old Russian transcription, modern Russian translation)

Treaty of Peace Between Russia and Sweden

Between Friedrich the 1st and Peter the 1st

(9 September 1721, German facsimile with Swedish and Russian transcriptions)

• Treaty of Nystad and relating documents

Site contains documents relating to treaty.

Also available in Swedish and Finnish.

(Russian; 1718-1721)

• Transcription from stones found at Bulgar ruins

Age of stones is unknown.

(1722; Russian transcription)

• Table of Ranks

Formal list of military, government, and court positions and ranks in Imperial Russia.

Modern Russian translation available here, with ability to search text.

(24 January 1722; Russian facsimile and transcription)

• Order about inheritance of the throne

(5 February 1722; Russian transcription)

• Order about the responsibilities of the Senate

Legislative and executive responsibilities of Senate members.

(27 April 1722; Russian transcription)

• Draft of decree establishing Academy of Sciences and Arts in St. Petersburg

Ability to search text of modern Russian translation.

(28 January 1724; Old Russian facsimile, Modern Russian translation)

• Customs Tariff

(1724; Russian transcription)

• Order about the taxes and military provision

(26 June 1724; Russian transcription)

• Katherine I

Discusses reign of Katherine I.

(1725-1727; images, Russian document fragments and transcription)

• Peter II

History of Peter II's reign.

(1727-1730; Russian document fragments and transcription)

• Court during the reign of Peter II

Documents from Vienna archives.

(1727-1730; Russian transcription)

• Portrait of Biron

(mid 18th century; image)

• Memoirs of Field Marshal Münnich

Book, written by General-Field Marshal Münnich, discusses reigns of Katherine I, Peter II, Anna Ioanovna, Anna Leopoldovna, Elizaveta, and Peter III.

(mid 18th century; images, Old Russian)

• The Memoirs of Catherine the Great

Catherine presents her eyewitness account of history, from her whirlwind entry into the Russian court in 1744 at age fourteen as the intended bride of Empress Elizabeth I’s nephew, the eccentric drunkard and future Peter III, to her unhappy marriage; from her two children, several miscarriages, and her and Peter’s numerous affairs to the political maneuvering that enabled Catherine to seize the throne from him in 1762.

Limited selection of excerpts from the book.

(1729-1796; English translation)

• Memoirs of Princess Natalya Dolgorukova

Book, written by Princess Sheremetyeva-Dolgorukova, discusses destiny of Prince Dolgorukov during the reign of Anna Ioanovna.

(1730-1738; images, Old Russian)

• Memoirs of count Münnich the son of field marshal Münnich

Memoirs about reigns of Anna Ioanovna and Anna Leopoldovna.

(1730-1741; image, reprint in Old Russian)

• Memoirs of Prince Shakhovskoy

Memoir of Prince Shakhovskoy, a high officer during the reigns of Anna Ioanovna, Anna Leopoldovna, Elizaveta, Peter III, and the beginning of Katherine II.

(1730-1762; Old Russian)

• "Conditions" of 1730 for Empress Anna Ivanovna

Conditions for Empress Anna Ivanovna in her reign, signed before she took the throne. Though the conditions were broken, this document is the first attempt to limit autocratic power in Russia.

Ability to search text of modern Russian translation.

(25 January 1730; Old Russian facsimile, Modern Russian translation)

• Documents of the Crimea and Cossacks affair

Letters and reports of Cossack situation in Crimea by general-governors.

(1732-1733; Russian and Ukrainian transcription)

• Anna Ioanovna and the Summer Palace

Includes quotes from related documents and images of the palace.

(1732-1740; images, Russian)

• Notes about Crimean and Turkish campaigns

Discusses wars, written by an anonymous author.

(1736-1739; image, Russian transcription)

• Letters of New Zaporozhska Sich

Letters from atamans to general-governors and from Elizaveta to Cossacks.

(1740-1753; Russian and Ukrainian transcription)

• Manifesto declaring Empress Elizabeth's accession to the throne

Elizabeth ruled from 1741-1761.

Ability to search text of modern Russian translation.

(24 November 1741; Old Russian facsimile, modern Russian translation)

• Map of Kabardia 1744

Compiled by Stepan Chichagov.

(1744; Russian facsimile)

• Order of Elizaveta Petrovna about selling church paraphanelia

(2 August 1745; image, Old and modern Russian)

• Travel of Elizaveta Petrovna in Revel

(1746; Russian transcription)

• Cossacks attempt to save rights for their possessions

Cossack letters and petitions to protect their rights for possessions.

(1755-1767; Russian and Ukrainian transcription)

• Documents of the Seven Year’s War

Letters, memoirs, and orders written by high military officers about conditions and situations of the war.

(1756-1761; images, Russian facsimiles and transcription)

• Austria and Russia, 1759-1887

Various decrees, letters, accounts, and other documents relating to Austria-Russia union.

(1759-1887; Russian translations and transcriptions)

• Journal of Mizere

Describes life of Peter III, written by his counselor.

(1761-1762; transcription in Russian)

• Modern History Sourcebook: Catherine the Great

Excerpt from a letter, decree, and a proposal of Catherine the Great.

(1762-1767; English translations)

• Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility

Peter III's manifesto exempting nobles from military and state service.

Transcription also available here.

(18 February 1762; Old Russian facsimile and modern Russian translation)

• Manifesto written by Peter III about abolishing the Secret Department

Orders rescission of Secret Department, which investigated political crimes, revolts, and conspiracies.

(1762; image, Russian transcription)

• Manifest declaring Katherine II's accession to the throne

(28 May 1762; Old Russian facsimile, modern Russian transcription)

• Portrait of Katherine the Great

(18th century; image)

• First five years of Katherine the Great's reign

(1762-1767; Russian transcription)

• Manifesto of Katherine the Great about permission for foreigners to settle in the Russian Empire

(4 December 1762; Russian transcription)

• Sources for Catherine the Great

Letters, law proposals and decrees of empress who expanded Russian power in the 18th century.

(1762-1796; English translations)

• Proposal of Melissino to Katherine II about conditions for the religious dissidents

Proposals for changing policy towards Orthodox Church dissidents.

(1763; commentaries, French facsimile, modern Russian translation)

• Manifesto of Katherine the Great about the rights for foreigners who settle in the Russian Empire

(22 July 1763; German image, Russian transcription)

• Instruction of Katherine the Great

Image of title page.

(1766, image, facsimile in Russian)

• Order of Katherine the Great creating Department of Foreign Guardianship in the Russian Empire

Order creates department of guardianship for foreigners in the Russian empire.

(30 April 1766; Russian transcription)

• Catherine II's guidelines for drafting a new code

(30 July 1767; Old Russian transcription, modern Russian translation)

• Katherine the Great hands her chairperson mandate of the new code

(1767; image)

• Execution of Pugachov

(18th century; image)

• Orders and medals of the Russian Empire

(18th century; images, Russian)

• Legislative documents regulating monetary system of Russian Empire

(1762-1825; Russian translation)

• Situation in Zaporizhska Sich before complete destruction

Letters of atamans and officers of Novorossiysk.

(1770's; Russian and Ukrainian transcription)

• Description of the Plague Riot in Moscow in 1771

First-hand account of Protopriest Pyotr Alexeyevich Alexeyev.

(1771; Russian transcription)

• Convention between Russia and Prussia for the division of Poland Part I

Conditions and agreements between Russia and Prussia for dividing Poland.

(4 January 1772; Russian transcription)

• Convention between Russia and Austria for the division of Poland Part II

Conditions and agreements between Russia and Austria for dividing Poland.

(25 July 1772; Russian transcription)

• Peter III's declaration reacting to the Pugachev Rebellion

Peter III denounces the rebellion and insubordination to his rule.

(7 December 1773; modern Russian translation)

• Pugachev's first and last declarations from the rebellion

English translations of declarations the Cossack leader who led the Pugachev rebellion.

(September 1773, June 1774; English translations)

• Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca

Treaty ending the Russo-Turkish war. Also available in Russian.

Old Russian transcription and modern Russian translation available here.

(July 21, 1774; Turkish)

• Kavakskaya convention

History of agreement between Russia and Turkey about sea and land borders and rights.

(21 July 1774; map, modern Russian translation)

• Materials of Secret expedition to Senate about Zaporizhska Sich

Discusses relations between Cossacks and Southern Ukraine's other peoples.

(1774; Russian and Ukrainian transcription)

• Documents about Black Sea Cossack Troops

Includes letters, reports, and orders of Katherine II and her generals concerning protection of southern borders and using Cossacks there.

(1776-1792; Russian and Ukrainian transcription)

• Unification of Crimea to the Russian Empire

Documents lead up to unification of Crimea with Russian Empire.

(1775-1782; Russian facsimile)

• Events Occurring During the Reign of Shahin Khan Girai

History of Crimea situation among Tatars, Turks, and Russians.

(1768 - 1783; Russian translation from Hebrew)

• Decree about Christians taken from Crimea

Administrative, legislative, and economic laws for those who came from Crimea to live in the Azov area.

(21 May 1779; image, Russian transcription)

• Imperial Russian Newspapers

Open-access newspapers from Peter the Great to the fall of the Romanovs (mainly from St. Petersburg and Moscow).

A joint project of the Center for Research Libraries and East View Press.

(1782-1918; Russian facsimiles)

• Order of Katherine the Great to abolishing Department of Foreign Guardianship in the Russian Empire

(20 April 1782; Russian transcription)

• Granted letter to nobles

Letter grants benefits to Russian nobles.

(21 April 1785; image, Russian transcription)

• Catherine's Charter on the rights and benefits of the cities of the Russian Empire

Charter establishes legal rights of urban inhabitants.

Modern Russian transcription also available here.

(21 April 1785; Old Russian facsimile, modern Russian transcription)

• Construction of the fortresses in Crimea

Report of Potyomkin to Katherine the Great of fortress construction in Crimea.

(21 August 1785; image, Russian transcription)

• Lithograph of the Russian Battles of the 18th century

Battle in Kagula (1770), Siege of Ochakov (1788), assault of Izmail (1790).

(18th century; images)

• Visit of the Russian ambassador to Crimean Khan

(late 18th century; map, modern Russian language)

• History of Wars in second half of the 18th century

Battle plans, discussion of troops and weapons, personal letters from generals to empress.

(1784-1800; modern Russian translation)

• Iași Peace Treaty

Treaty ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–92, which was signed in Iași, Romania.

Modern Russian translation also found here.

(9 January 1792; Old Russian transcription, modern Russian translation)

• Joseph II. und Graf Ludwig Cobenzl: Ihr Briefwechsel

(Correspondence between Emperor Joseph II and Count Ludwig Cobenzl)

Cobenzl was a Habsburg diplomat and politician assigned to the embassy in St. Petersburg

Vol. 54 of Fontes Rerum Austriacarum

(1785-1790; French and German transcriptions)

• Defensive union treaty between Russian Catherine II and Austrian Emperor

Signed in St. Petersburg.

(3-14 July 1792)

• The Russian Church and Native Alaskans

Documents related to the Russian Church and Native Alaskans]

(1784-1915; Old Russian facsimiles)

• Agreement dividing Poland between Russia, Austria, and Prussia

Agreement gave Russia "Duchy of Courland and Semigallia to Mitau and Libau (modern South Latvia), Lithuania to Vilna and Grodno, western Black Rus, Western Polesie with Brest and Western Volyn Lutsk." Austria and Prussia divided up Polish lands.

(23 December 1794 (Gregorian: 3 January 1795); French and Old Russian transcription, modern Russian translation)

• Manifesto of Katherine the Great about joining Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Russia

(19 December 1795; Russian transcription)

---

EuroDocs > History of Russia: Primary Documents > 1696-1796

---

EuroDocs Creator: Richard Hacken, European Studies Librarian,
Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
Feel free to get in touch: Hacken @ byu.edu
With special thanks to Natalya Georgiyeva for her help with this webpage.