VALUEV, Pyotr Alexandrovich (1815–1890), count, in 1861–1868. Minister of the Interior, 1872–1879 Minister of State Property, 1879–1881 Chairman of the Committee of Ministers 11 The multiplicity of forms constitutes the essence of administrative activity in our country and ensures

CHIKHACHEV PETER ALEXANDROVICH

One of the founding members of the Russian Geographical Society. Honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society.

Chikhachev published about a hundred brochures, articles and books, among which the eight-volume “Asia Minor” gained worldwide fame. Published work “Travel to Eastern Altai” in 1825, illustrated by artists E.E. Mayer and I.K. Aivazovsky, became a monument of Russian and world geographical literature dedicated to Southern Siberia of the first half of the 19th century. His path passed through Altai, Tuva, Kazakhstan and through our region, at that time the Tomsk province, through the villages of Zenkovo, Afonino, Itat, Tisul and many others.

Chikhachev established the presence of coal seams in various regions of Southern Siberia. He conducted geological research for the first time and proved that here, on Kuznetsk land, there is a powerful coal basin. He determined its dimensions, compiled the first geological map of the entire basin, and named it Kuznetsk.

Thus,Pyotr Aleksandrovich Chikhachev gave us the name KUZBASS

Based on various fossils, he also determined that Kuzbass coal was not of lake origin, but of marine origin.

In recognition of the services of P.A. Chikhachev, before the country and science, his name was given to: one of the greatest ridges of Altai - the Chikhachev Ridge, a bay in the Sea of ​​Japan, a coal deposit in Tuva, and streets in the cities of the Kemerovo region: Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Leninsk-Kuznetsk.

BIOGRAPHY:

Pyotr Aleksandrovich Chikhachev was born on August 16 (28), 1808 in the Great Gatchina Palace - the summer residence of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. His father, Alexander Petrovich Chikhachev, a retired colonel of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, was appointed director of the city of Gatchina in 1804, where he headed the “city settlement” and exercised “main supervision over the palace and its accessories.” Transferring to the civil service, Alexander Petrovich received the rank of full state councilor.

Chikhachev's mother, Anna Fedorovna, nee Bestuzheva-Ryumina (cousin of the future Decembrist), a woman of high culture, energetic and very knowledgeable in court etiquette, devoted a lot of time to raising her sons (Peter's brother Platon was born in 1812).

In childhood and adolescence, Peter received an extremely thorough and comprehensive education at home. At the age of twelve he was fluent in German and French, and then in Tsarskoye Selo he studied Greek and Latin.

Soon the Chikhachev family moved to Tsarskoye Selo, where they bought a house near the lyceum. However, Peter's parents decided to continue their home education with an invitation from the lyceum professors.

In 1823, Peter became a student at the State College of Foreign Affairs.

On November 18, 1827, his father died. The Chikhachev brothers sold the estates that belonged to the Chikhachevs in the Tambov and Saratov provinces, as well as a house in Tsarskoe Selo and moved to St. Petersburg. An independent period of life began for both brothers.

In March 1829, Pyotr Alexandrovich’s internship at the College of Foreign Affairs ended, and in March of the following year he entered the university as a free student, “where he listened for 10 months, with commendable behavior, to the science of the Faculty of Law.”

Natural sciences fascinated Pyotr Alexandrovich so much that in 1829-1830 he repeatedly traveled to Western European countries to listen to lectures by leading scientists.

Returning to St. Petersburg to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pyotr Aleksandrovich quickly began to move up the career ladder. On April 5, 1830, actuary Pyotr Chikhachev was “granted a translator at the State Collegium of Foreign Affairs” and on April 30 he was sent to the Asian Department. A year later he was promoted to the rank of chamber cadet, and in September 1832 to the rank of collegiate assessor.

In the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chikhachev dealt primarily with the Eastern issue. Wanting to personally get acquainted with the countries of the Near and Middle East, as well as North Africa, he visited Egypt, traveled through Palestine, the Libyan Desert, Sinai and the Syrian Desert, and visited Constantinople.

The capital of the Ottoman Empire so captivated Chikhachev with its oriental flavor, the enchanting beauty of the straits and complex international military-political contradictions that he decided to secure a position at the Russian embassy.

In Constantinople, Pyotr Alexandrovich, along with his official duties as assistant secretary at the Russian embassy, ​​studied the history and ethnography of the peoples inhabiting Asia Minor, improved his knowledge of the modern Greek language, and began to study Turkish and Spanish. Here fate brought him together with the famous translator Mikhail Vronchenko, “an excellent surveyor who was studying the geography of Asia Minor at that time and subsequently published valuable books about his journey through this country.”

In 1835, while the artist Bryullov was in Constantinople, Chikhachev accompanied him on trips to the most picturesque places of the Bosphorus and the Sea of ​​Marmara. Bryullov painted Chikhachev in an oriental costume, in which the latter usually traveled on various official assignments throughout Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and other countries of North Africa.

In 1834-1836 he visited not only various cities of the vast Ottoman Empire, but also Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and other European states.

Yielding to his calling, Platon Aleksandrovich began to study physical and historical-economic geography. In 1836, he left the service and decided to devote himself entirely to scientific research.

In 1839, Pyotr Alexandrovich, on the recommendation of Alexander Humboldt, began studying the natural resources, and, above all, the geology of the Apennine Peninsula. “It is impossible without recreating the historical past,” he wrote, “to understand the appearance of the present, for the distant past and the modern are connected by a continuous thread.”

At the end of February 1839, Pyotr Chikhachev arrived on the largest island of the Tyrrhenian Sea - Sicily and headed towards the Nebrodi mountains. Having passed the northern coast of Sicily from Palermo to Messina, he moved to Reggio Calabria, already on the Apennine Peninsula.

In a vast area extending to the northeast and northwest of Rocca Imperiale, Chikhachev during July 1840 studied mainly alluvial rocks formed here from “gradual destruction under the influence of the flowing waters of the Apennine mountain system.”

Chikhachev climbs to the peaks of Monte Vulture itself and a number of adjacent mountains, explores groups of freshwater lakes located in the upper regions of the region. The history of the formation of Lake Lesine, located in the northwestern part of Monte Gargano, deserves special attention.

In March 1840, Pyotr Alexandrovich descended along the valley of the Garigliano River to the vast volcanic zone of the Naples region. For four months he studied the surroundings of Naples, especially the Rocca Monfine area, the Phlegrenian fields, the volcano Vesuvius, the islands of Ischia, Capri, etc.

In August 1840, he completed his journey through the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Naples. In 1842, Pyotr Aleksandrovich was sent by the headquarters of the corps of mining engineers to Altai and the Sayans, then little explored. At the head of a large detachment, he went on a journey.

Soon the expedition reached the Katun - the most beautiful river in Altai. It is crossed by the only path leading from Biysk to the Chuya River. Chikhachev describes in detail the difficult crossing of such a huge caravan, numbering more than 50 horses, many of which were loaded to capacity. These semi-wild horses “with wandering eyes, with swollen nostrils, with their manes raised on end, shy away from the stormy waves.”

The immediate task of the expedition after crossing the Katun was to reach the mouth of the Chui River, and then along the Chui Valley to reach its sources. Over the course of two weeks, starting on May 21, the caravan barely made it this way. Traveling along the lower reaches of the Chui was very dangerous, since there were no roads here, and in some places the mountains “crowded” the river so much that travel in the valley itself was impossible. Then it was necessary to climb the mountain slopes at great risk.

On June 2 (14), Chikhachev crossed the Seilyugen mountain range. Some of its peaks were covered with "eternal" snow. Moving along the massif in the direction of the stream, on June 4 (16) the expedition reached the source of the Chui - “... the Builogom stream turned into a thin stream of water seeping through the swamps and snow bordering the northwestern edge of Burultaiga, and finally we saw that the stream was completely "disappeared under the damp spongy bark covering the soil. This served us as definite proof," writes Chikhachev, "that we were at the source of the Chui."

The next task of the expedition was to reach and explore the sources of the Chulyshman River. For this purpose, Chikhachev headed to Lake Dzhulukul through a rather swampy place that stretched between the sources of the Chui and Chulyshman. “When I looked at the surface, trembling with every movement of our horses, the following comparison occurred to me: it seemed that we were moving through a huge bubble filled with compressed water, which, at the slightest pressure, threatened to break through the shell holding it and swallow the body resting on at her."

Rising up the Chulcha River, Chikhachev reached the lake of the same name on July 1, near which he discovered the source of the Bolshoi Abakan, one of the largest tributaries of the Yenisei. In order to study the source of Abakan, Chikhachev headed along the western shore of the lake. “I was fully rewarded,” writes Chikhachev, “for all the fatigue and toil I endured, when the old Kazakh hunter who accompanied me pointed his finger at the source of Abakan, which is one of the main objects of the difficult task that was entrusted to me... Trying to exhaustively complete my difficult journey by exploring the sources of this beautiful river, the modest cradle of which I had just discovered, I now had to complete my plan - to study its gradual development, moving along 350 km to its mouth in the Yenisei.

Beyond the source of the river, Chikhachev saw the southwestern part of the Abakan ridge, which “hides Lake Teletskoye from view,” and in the north he discovered the sources of the Small Abakan, separated from the Big Abakan by the short Karlygan ridge. So Chikhachev became the first scientific explorer of the Western Sayan.

Dreaming of tracing the course of the Abakan to the Yenisei, Chikhachev walked from the headwaters of the Chulcha River east through hilly and swampy terrain with many lakes and reached the Alash River (Yenisei system). He penetrated into the Uriankhai region (Tuva) and carried out his first research. Having given the people and horses a five-day rest and replenishing food supplies, Chikhachev turned north and unexpectedly discovered the mountain lake Kara-Khol, “hidden in the masses of huge mountains.” Continuing to move north, he reached the upper reaches of the Ona (a tributary of the Abakan). On the night of July 17, heavy rain broke out, turning into thick snow. In the morning, Chikhachev saw that “the branches of the coniferous trees were bent under the weight of the snow masses...”

Chikhachev descended into the valley of the Kantegir flowing to the northeast (the left tributary of the Yenisei). From the pass he saw “a whole ocean of mountains with slightly rounded contours, covered with forest” and gradually descending. Having crossed this mountain range, he reached the Abakan River along the valley of a small river.

So Chikhachev crossed the Western Sayan. He collected not only important geographical materials, but also the first geological data about this entire mountainous country, which had not been previously visited by any naturalist.

Chikhachev also left a number of interesting observations. When the expedition reached Russian houses, the Kyrgyz accompanying it were amazed.

“Some time passed before my mountaineers,” writes Chikhachev, “became familiar with so many objects, which were completely unfamiliar to them until now, and understood the way of their use and purpose. For example, they were explained in detail that houses are the same yurts, but motionless and built of wood. However, they found that the entrance to these houses was very inconvenient, since they imagined that the windows served this purpose; they began to crawl through them and tumble heavily into the rooms... The stoves seemed to them a completely unusual structure. to examine them thoroughly, they stuck their heads into the mouth of the furnace and came out with their faces smeared with soot and ash, which always caused a fit of cheerful laughter among the spectators.”

Based on the materials from his trip, Chikhachev compiled for the first time orographic and geological maps of Altai and Western Sayan and significantly advanced the study of the hydrography of these mountainous countries. From 1848 to 1863, Pyotr Chikhachev conducted eight scientific expeditions in Asia Minor, Armenia, Kurdistan and partly in Eastern Thrace.

As a result of many years of expeditions to these countries, Chikhachev repeatedly crossed the main mountain ranges and ridges, climbed the tops of mountains, among which there were such as Erciyes and Bingel, on which no man had set foot before him. He explored and described numerous rivers, lakes, bays, and measured the depths of the Marmara and Aegean Seas, as well as the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. Chikhachev published interesting materials about water currents in the straits and the Sea of ​​Marmara. He published over 20 works on the geology and paleontology of Asia Minor.

Chikhachev was the first to collect numerous fossils of flora and fauna, which made it possible for the first time to publish a monumental work on the paleontology of Asia Minor. “The entire number of organic fossils given in my “Palaeontology of Asia Minor,” he wrote, “contains no less than 575 species, of which 57 are completely new.” A whole series of paleontological fossils, as well as minerals, first discovered and described by Chikhachev, were given his name.

Having studied the botanical treasures of Asia Minor, Chikhachev noted their extraordinary diversity of species, which was a natural consequence of the extremely diverse topography, climatic and soil conditions.

In the Chikhachev herbarium there were up to 3,500 plant species of Asia Minor. To imagine the real significance of this figure, it is enough to note that it is greater than that which in the time of Linnaeus represented the number of known plants on the entire globe, and amounted to two-thirds of the total number of species of all Europe known at that time.

On September 25, 1877, Chikhachev set off from Paris on a new journey to explore North Africa.

He first visited Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and other places in North Africa back in 1835, while working at the Russian embassy in Constantinople. His new journey began in Spain. From the port city of Cartagena, he set off by steamship to the shores of North Africa.

On November 17, 1877, Chikhachev landed at the Mediterranean port of Oran, and on December 1, he arrived in the vast port city of Algiers. He traveled around Algeria for seven months, after which on May 25, 1878, he went by ship to Tunisia.

Arriving in Tunisia, Chikhachev was afraid that he would not be allowed to conduct any research on the area, and perhaps even be arrested, as had happened more than once in previous trips to the countries of the East. This fear was justified by the fact that during this period there was a Russian-Turkish war.

After a 10-day acquaintance with the city of Tunisia, Chikhachev began exploring its surroundings. First of all, he went to the Zaghouan region, located 40 kilometers south of Tunisia. A magnificent aqueduct has been preserved here, built 18 centuries ago by Emperor Hadrian in order to bring water to Carthage from springs gushing from the Zaghuan massif, located 130 kilometers from the city.

On June 4, Chikhachev visited the healing springs of Hammam El-Ener, flowing from the Jebel Bou Qurnein mountain range. The next day, the scientist began exploring the area where the ancient city of Carthage once stood.

“The almost complete disappearance of Carthage from the face of the Earth,” he wrote, “represents a unique phenomenon of its kind, for none of the cities glorified in antiquity, such as Nineveh, Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, disappeared as completely as Carthage..." Archaeological data says almost nothing about the Phoenician, Greek and Roman eras that made this ancient city so famous.

Chikhachev gives a detailed description of the history of ancient cities - Jerusalem, Rome and especially Carthage. Moreover, this description is based partly on the manuscripts of ancient authors and is therefore of great scientific value.

On June 9, 1878, after almost a year's stay in North Africa, Chikhachev set sail from Tunisia to Naples, and from there returned to Florence a few days later.

Chikhachev is the founder of field research by Russian scientists, mainly in the geology and botany of this part of Africa. He has priority in geological research and in identifying many plant species in a number of areas in North Africa, including the Jur-Jur, Aures, and Zaghuan mountain ranges. He was the first to describe North Africa in popular form, showing both man and nature in their most diverse manifestations.

CHIKHACHEV P. A.

PREFACE

The collection “Great Powers and the Eastern Question” presented to the attention of readers includes only a small part of the literary heritage of the talented Russian orientalist Pyotr Aleksandrovich Chikhachev, who traveled throughout the Ottoman Empire for more than 20 years.

Not only in the 19th century, but, perhaps, in the entire history of the study of Ottoman Turkey and especially Asia Minor, it is difficult to find a person who traveled so much through this country, which was then unsafe for European, and even more so Russian, scientists and made such a great contribution to the study nature, ethnography, geographical, socio-economic, historical and political problems of this important region of the world.

P. A. Chikhachev was born in 1808 in Gatchina into a military family. He received his initial education at home from lyceum professors in Tsarskoe Selo, where he spent his childhood. In 1823, he was appointed a student in the department of the State Collegium of Foreign Affairs, and in 1828, having completed his diplomatic training, he was promoted to collegiate registrar. Two years later he was promoted to translator and assigned to the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1832, Chikhachev received the court rank of chamber cadet, and in April 1833, the rank of titular councilor.

Simultaneously with his service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pyotr Alexandrovich attended lectures at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University for ten months (1829-1830).

In the Asian Department, P. A. Chikhachev dealt primarily with the Eastern issue and from 1834 to 1836 he lived in the capital of the Ottoman Empire - Constantinople, working as an assistant secretary at the Russian mission.

In 1837, Chikhachev was sent to Dresden. In Germany, he met with A. Humboldt, G. Rose and other outstanding scientists of that time. In 1839-1841 on the recommendation of A. Humboldt, he traveled to southern France and Italy, trying his hand at exploring a number of “geologically and botanically mysterious regions of the European continent.”

As a result of this expedition, in 1842 in Berlin, his first scientific work was published in French - “A Look at the Geological Structure of the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom of Naples...”

In November 1841, P. A. Chikhachev changed his service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work in the Ministry of Finance. In January 1842, the headquarters of the corps of mining engineers, signed by Infantry General Kankrin, sent a request to Emperor Nicholas I to send on a scientific expedition to the Altai Mountain District “newly enlisted for special assignments under the Ministry of Finance, court adviser to the chamber cadet Chikhachev, who had already traveled before this in many countries, and whose abilities and knowledge are testified with special praise by several European scientists, and especially Baron Humboldt.”

The scientific journey through Altai and Northwestern China, made in 1842, was the pinnacle of P. A. Chikhachev’s research activities in the first half of the 19th century. Along with the discovery of the Kuznetsk coal basin, the compilation of the first geological and orographic map of Altai, the study of the sources of Chuya and Chulyshman and the description of the paleontological and zoological treasures of this region, special attention was drawn to his colorful descriptions of the socio-economic life of the peoples of Altai and deeply poetic pictures of nature.

From 1848 to 1863, P. A. Chikhachev conducted eight scientific expeditions across Asia Minor. “Asia Minor,” wrote P. A. Chikhachev, “is a country that served either as a cradle or as a cemetery for peoples, for science and for art. She is one of a kind in her gigantic past, so that one could even assume for a moment that this past leaves no more room for either the present or the future. Therefore, researchers focused almost exclusively on her tombs, which are truly more magnificent than modern royal dwellings. The marvelous creations of man have made us forget the creations of nature and ignore that, along with the eloquent ruins of the past, here are monuments incomparably more grandiose, having their own language and waiting for their researchers to speak this language.”

P. A. Chikhachev published about a hundred works on Asia Minor, among which his classic multi-volume work “Asia Minor” received special value and world fame. P. A. Chikhachev did especially a lot in the field of geological, paleontological and botanical research of this country.

In 1861-1862 P. A. Chikhachev again traveled around Italy. This time his attention was attracted not by paleontology and physical-geographical issues, but by the economy and socio-political living conditions of its population. Even before the trip, he published several works dedicated to the liberation movement of the Italian people, towards which he treated with great sympathy.

The last expedition that this tireless traveler and explorer undertook at the end of his life - in 1877 and 1878, was a trip to North Africa, through Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Libya, Chikhachev first visited it back in 1835. , when he served at the Russian mission in Constantinople. The second time he was here in 1846. However, then the French governor-general did not allow him to travel to study these places, arguing, as Chikhachev wrote, that “the appearance of a Russian wearing semi-oriental clothes (I just returned from Central Asia) and talking to Arabs easily in their language, very mysterious and suspicious.” Both after the first and after the second trip, no special work appeared. The result of the third trip was the great work “Spain, Algerie and Tunisia” (“Espagne, Algerie et Tunisie”), published in Paris in 1880. Later, a number of works by Chikhachev were published, where significant attention was paid to the geography of Africa. In 1888, the most interesting work of this amazingly versatile researcher, devoted to the problems of oil, was published. In particular, he suggested that large oil reserves were hidden in the ancient geological strata of Turkmenistan and the Volga region.

The literary legacy of P. A. Chikhachev, who died in 1890, is enormous. Important events in the socio-political life of the West and East of that time, growing social contradictions, the acute ideological struggle of the scientific materialist worldview against religious fictions - all this was widely reflected in his works.

The scientific value of his works, which in many respects have not lost their significance to this day, can hardly be overestimated. Already during his lifetime, his merits received worldwide recognition: he was an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Geographical Society, the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists, and the St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society; Corresponding member of the academies: Paris, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Philadelphia, etc.; member of geographical societies: Royal London, Berlin, Rome, etc.

A materialist and humanist, a versatile educated person, a tireless traveler with an outstanding literary gift, researcher P. A. Chikhachev rightfully deserved to have his name among those who are the national pride of Russian science. Progressive people of Russia highly valued P. A. Chikhachev’s services to his homeland. V. G. Belinsky in the article “Russian Literature”, touching on “books by scientists, educational and generally practical... which should please the patriotic feelings of the Russian,” also mentions the works of P. A. Chikhachev. N. G. Chernyshevsky wrote: “The “Review of Antiquities in Asia Minor” compiled by the scientist, our traveler P. A. Chikhachev, is important. He classifies P. A. Chikhachev as one of the travelers “through whose works our geographical and ethnographic information has been so widely disseminated.”

Soviet scientists - academicians I. A. Orbeli, V. V. Struve, V. A. - also gave a deservedly high assessment of the work of P. A. Chikhachev. Obruchev and others. “One of the great Russian naturalists, Pyotr Aleksandrovich Chikhachev,” emphasized P. M. Zhukovsky, “belongs to those giants who will forever remain in the history of science.”

The name of P. A. Chikhachev is immortalized in the name of one of the Altai ridges, where in 1842 Pyotr Aleksandrovich conducted his research.

Direct observations of the life of the countries of the East, acquaintance with the philosophical and social ideas of Western Europe aroused in P. A. Chikhachev a deep interest in the economy, state and political structure, life and literature of many countries and peoples. Several political and historical-political works reflecting this direction of his multifaceted activities are collected in this collection. Each of the articles covers one or another aspect of the so-called Eastern Question, i.e. the position of the Ottoman Empire and the struggle of major European powers - Russia, England, France and Austria for dominance in the Middle East on the eve, during and after the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

The Eastern Question is inextricably linked with the national liberation movement of various Muslim and Christian peoples, who for centuries experienced oppression by the Sultan's authorities. It directly affected the fate of the Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, Albanians, Moldovans, Arabs, Kurds and other peoples.

The Eastern question is covered in some detail in Russian, Soviet and foreign literature. It was studied by classics of Marxism-Leninism, historians and diplomats, sociologists and philosophers, geographers and military specialists from many countries.

International events related to the Eastern Question still arouse great interest today. Over the past decades, several dozen books dedicated to one or another aspect of the problem have been published in our country alone. The Crimean War, the culmination of Eastern policy in the mid-19th century, is of particular interest. Some bourgeois historians deliberately distort the international relations of that period, trying to present the reasons that gave rise to the Crimean War as only “the aggressive aspirations of Russian tsarism.” There is no doubt that tsarism, expressing the interests of the ruling classes of Russia, pursued aggressive goals. The tsarist government, in the interests of the Russian merchants and bourgeoisie, helped the Slavs of the Balkan provinces of Turkey, who were fighting for liberation from Ottoman oppression, and thereby tried to strengthen its influence in the area and ensure a favorable regime for the Black Sea straits. At the same time, the Western European powers not only sought to infringe on Russia’s interests in the Balkans, but also wanted to subjugate Turkey. England was especially active, which, masking its aggressive policy with the desire to allegedly maintain the status quo in the area and resist Russia, hoped to seize the straits and turn the entire territory of the Ottoman Empire into a colony. The use by researchers of the works of P. A. Chikhachev, an eyewitness to many events of the 19th century, can largely contribute to the further development of controversial issues of this period of history.

Of course, Chikhachev is a son of his time and his class. According to his political beliefs, he can be classified as a representative of the left wing of the liberal bourgeoisie, although on a number of issues his statements reflect the views of revolutionary democrats. All this, naturally, predetermines P. A. Chikhachev’s interpretation of contemporary political events. The Soviet reader, of course, will easily detect naivety in the author’s reasoning when he, like most of his contemporaries, saw the main reason for the national liberation struggle of the Balkan peoples in the incompatibility of the “immutable foundations of the Christian and Muslim religions.” The modern reader will not be satisfied with the conclusions that Chikhachev draws in a number of other cases. However, such shortcomings cannot reduce interest in his works, the main value of which is that they are the evidence of an honest and observant eyewitness, the reflections of a scientist and highly educated Russian patriot and humanist. Moreover, Chikhachev’s materialistic views, so clearly presented in his natural science works, could not but influence his historical and socio-political works. This is especially clear when, unlike his contemporaries, he tries to look for socio-economic roots in the policies of a particular power.

The first political brochure by P. A. Chikhachev, dedicated to the Crimean War - “On Anglo-French policy in the Eastern Question 1 was published at the beginning of 1854. Turkey and Russia at that time were already at war. The Anglo-French fleet entered the Black Sea 2 , although England and France had not yet officially entered the war. Analyzing the internal situation of Russia, Turkey, England and France, Chikhachev considers their foreign policy in direct dependence on the socio-economic conditions in these countries. He comes to the conclusion that neither Russia, nor Turkey, nor even France needed to start the Crimean War 3 , which was contrary to the interests of these countries.

P. A. Chikhachev shows that England and France, acting as mediators who allegedly sought to regulate Russian-Turkish relations, actually tried to incite hostilities. In 1853, when there were real opportunities to prevent the conflict from escalating, “England and France did everything to push the Turks into military action, letting them know that if necessary, they would be provided with military assistance.”

The entry of the Anglo-French fleet into the Black Sea was nothing more than a demonstration against Russia. Behavior of diplomats of England and France at the meeting in the Divan 4 also indicates that these countries “took a position that contributed to the outbreak of war between Russia and Turkey rather than preventing it...”.

The consequences of the Crimean War are devoted to the second political brochure by P. A. Chikhachev - “Is the Peace of Paris Durable?” (La paix de Paris est-elle une paix solide?), which was published a few days after the conclusion of the Paris Peace Treaty 5 . Chikhachev proves here that the Crimean War and the Treaty of Paris did not resolve the Eastern Question. He believes that the peace treaty is temporary and Russia, after it reorganizes its social system and restores its power, will begin to correct the terms of the treaty. It is difficult to predict exactly the time when such a denouement will occur, but it is quite obvious, the author emphasized, that Russia will find a favorable moment to destroy the fragile edifice erected by the Paris Congress.

Of interest is P. A. Chikhachev’s bold and realistic assessment of the impact of the Crimean War on the situation in Russia. “Of all the European states,” he notes, “Russia undoubtedly feels the consequences of the Eastern crisis more than others. These consequences affect not only its foreign policy relations, but also, and even to a greater extent, its internal structure.” P. A. Chikhachev revealed the rottenness and depravity of the regime of Nicholas I. He compared Nicholas I with the Pope and believed that both of them were “an anachronism of our modern Europe.” P. A. Chikhachev showed the disdainful attitude of Nicholas I towards the people, his hostility to educational activities and personal development, revealed the system of bribery and bribery, which “corroded and destroyed, like cancer, the entire social organism.”

In the political brochure “Italie and Turkey” (“Italie et Turquie”), published later in Brussels and Paris, P. A. Chikhachev connected the results of the Crimean War with the need to reconstruct the internal system of Russia, outlined the paths of transformation and even tried to predict their results. He believed that in Russia “almost everything needs to be rebuilt”, that the Crimean War put on the agenda the resolution of a number of problems, among which the problem of the liberation of peasants occupies a special place 6 . Even before the peasant reform, P. A. Chikhachev, analyzing the social system of Russia, came to the conclusion that c. As a result of the reform, the political rights of the nobility will expand, and the government will implement it without undermining the foundations of private property. This “peaceful revolution” will have the consequence, Chikhachev hoped, of a transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one.

In 1860, another of Chikhachev’s brochures was published, “Russia and the Eastern Question” (“La Russie et la question d’Orient”), in which he wrote: The Crimean War “was for us that thunderclap that shook the decrepit building to the foundation and awakened its inhabitants from deep slumber." "Every thinking person in Russia has only one idea, one goal, namely, to carry out internal reforms. Everyone understands that we are on the eve of a revolution, a grandiose revolution...”

Noteworthy is the author's attempt to analyze in this brochure the attitude towards issues of war and peace of various segments of the population. He wrote that if there are people in Russia who are in favor of war, it is that part of the aristocracy that is trying to distract the broad masses from internal reforms through war. Having examined the positions of the nobility, merchants, clergy and military, P. A. Chikhachev paid special attention to the attitude of the broad working masses to the war. “What remains is the people - this admirable, hardworking, intelligent people who have not been corrupted by three centuries of slavery. The people in whom the strength and future of Russia rests. It is he who pays almost all state taxes; thanks to him, the government exists, the nobility lives in luxury, and he himself, as a reward, drags out a miserable existence full of deprivation and poverty. War has no other meaning for him than the hated recruitment, which he despises with every fiber of his soul. In addition, war means for the people an increase in taxes with which they are so heavily burdened. As for the people's thoughts, they are all connected with the thirst for emancipation, or, as they say, freedom, which the people have been waiting in vain for three whole years. Could it be that such feelings could incline him to war?.. Russians are not inclined to be so inspired by war that they forget their own affairs for the sake of it. If it comes to defending their homeland, they are ready for any sacrifice, but in general they remain indifferent to conquests, and now even more so than before.”

A special place in the historical and political works of P. A. Chikhachev is given to the question of the internal situation of the Ottoman Empire. In his works, especially in “Letters on Turkey” (“Lettres sur la Turquie.” 7 , he convincingly showed the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which after the Crimean War not only did not stop, but, on the contrary, even intensified.

P. A. Chikhachev clearly depicted the picture of the economic decline of the Ottoman Empire, which was clearly manifested in its financial insolvency and was expressed in the rapid growth of the budget deficit and the formation of a colossal public debt. Meanwhile, “20 years ago it was, perhaps, the only country in the world that could boast of a complete absence of debt and the presence of only specie in circulation.”

P. A. Chikhachev showed that other sectors of the Turkish economy were also in a deplorable state: internal trade, where expensive transportation was carried out by pack transport; foreign trade, the development of which was hampered by high duties; agriculture, where “work is done ... with barbaric agricultural tools.” Speaking about stagnation in industry, P. A. Chikhachev points out that “the current decline in the national Turkish industry is not explained by the inability of the population, but rather by the criminal negligence of the government, which failed to stimulate labor in industry.”

From the materials of P. A. Chikhachev, in particular the brochure “New Stage of the Eastern Question” (“Nouvelle phase de la question d’Orient”), published in Paris in 1860, it is clear that decomposition and corruption covered literally all spheres of public life and political life of the Ottoman Empire.This was especially evident in the provinces, where the robberies of civilians by warlike tribes - Kurds, Avshars and others - became widespread.

Much attention is paid to the history, culture and life of the Kurds in the works of P. A. Chikhachev. (True, while painting vivid pictures of the life of the Kurds - one of the most ancient peoples of South-West Asia, showing their relationships with the Turks and other peoples of the country, he does not pay attention to class differences among the Kurds: the feudal-tribal nobility who organized raids on Armenians and Greeks, identified by him with the entire Kurdish population. However, along with this, he rightly points out that, despite the numerical superiority of Turkish troops in the areas where these raids were carried out, the Turkish authorities not only did not interfere, but, on the contrary, condoned them in every possible way, using national discord to maintain its dominance.

In the brochure “The New Stage of the Eastern Question”, as well as in “Letters about Turkey”, P. A. Chikhachev paid a lot of attention to the reforms known as “Tanzimat”. He wrote: “Having traced in our “Letters...” step by step the life of the Turkish Empire, starting from 1838, when we were attachés at the Russian imperial embassy in Constantinople, and until 1858, when, as a naturalist, we made our last scientific journey to Asia Minor, we have drawn from this careful and conscientious research the following conclusions: if for 20 years, despite the demands of the most decisive events, despite the most solemn promises, the Turkish government has not taken a single step towards resolving the great questions of civilization and social order , then this is not so much because it “didn’t want”, but because it didn’t “could”, and never will be able...

Since 1858 we have tried to sensitize public opinion to the threat facing the Christian subjects of the Turkish Empire. We hastened to visit it immediately after the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris in order to see with our own eyes to what extent the fears that this agreement inspired in us were justified. These fears, however, were so motivated that even the most skeptical mind could not have rejected them, even without resorting to the test to which we considered it necessary to subject them.

In this brochure, as well as in his other works: “Russia and the Eastern Question” (“La Russie et la question d" Orient” - 1860), “Chances of Peace and War” (“Chances de paix et de guerre " - 1875), "Treaty of Berlin" 8 (“Le traite de Berlin” - 1879), P. A. Chikhachev gradually formulates his proposals on ways to resolve the Eastern Question. He opposed both leaving the Ottoman Empire to its own devices, i.e., against the principle of maintaining the status quo, and against the division of Turkey between the great powers. Chikhachev saw the solution to the Eastern Question “in the broad and reasonable application of the national principle, that is, in the emancipation of the peoples inhabiting the Turkish Empire.” However, this emancipation should occur, in his opinion, “not with weapons in hands,” but by a unanimous ultimatum presented by all countries on the basis of “progress and civilization.”

His small brochure “Turkey as depicted by Mires” (“La Turquie - Mires”), which was published in January 1861 in Paris, should also be considered in direct connection with these proposals. The brochure was a response to the appearance in December 1860 in major French newspapers of a series of articles by the French businessman M. Mire, who claimed to be an expert on the administrative, financial and political situation of Turkey. Revealing the inconsistency of M. Mire's statements about prosperity in the Christian regions of Turkey, P. A. Chikhachev cited very interesting material on the state budget of the Ottoman Empire and assessed the loans to which the Sultanate was forced to systematically resort. P. A. Chikhachev exposed M. Mire and similar European businessmen who extracted income from the taxation system that had developed in the Ottoman Empire.

In the brochure “Berlin Treaty”, published in Paris about a year after the conclusion of the Berlin Treaty, P. A. Chikhachev characterized this international document. He believed that the very fact of the creation of new Slavic autonomous states - Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and others, as well as the return to Russia of Ardahan, Kars, Batumi and other areas indicate that “the existence of Turkey within the borders that were determined for it is based on stronger guarantees.”

P. A. Chikhachev noted that British diplomacy under the Treaty of Berlin achieved barbaric disfigurement of the borders of Bulgaria, which gained independence under the Treaty of San Stefano 9 , “paralyzing the development of a talented people before whom the future was opening, and thereby imposing an unreasonable and fragile cause on the Berlin Congress.”

P. A. Chikhachev also showed in this work that England, under the pretext of the so-called “Russian threat,” actually occupied the island of Cyprus, which is important for it as a support base in the fight against French claims.

In a short preface it is impossible to recount all the problems that P. A. Chikhachev touched upon in his works. However, in order to appreciate the breadth of his interests, this is not necessary. It is enough, for example, to give a list of issues raised in such a brochure as “Russia and the Eastern Question” (England’s expansion in India, China and other countries, the national liberation movement in the countries of the East, the class struggle in the Russian village, peasant reform in Russia, its connection with the social structure and political system, etc.) to get an idea of ​​the huge range of knowledge of a remarkable scientist.

It was said above how P. A. Chikhachev sharply denounced the rottenness of the military-bureaucratic absolute monarchy, which fettered the potential strength of the Russian people, how he felt the aggravation of the class struggle in Russia, although he spoke out against the violent overthrow of the autocracy. P. A. Chikhachev realized the need for the progressive development of Russia, but this could be achieved, in his opinion, by establishing a constitutional monarchy in the country.

The growth of the influence of the ideas of socialism in Europe did not pass by Chikhachev’s attention, although, as a representative of the liberal bourgeoisie, he naturally considered the spread of the ideas of socialism “a very dangerous threat to the entire social order.” Back in 1854, he wrote: “The principles of socialism and the right to work have already begun to conquer the English working class...”, “a significant part of the French people are still stuffed with socialist principles, which were secretly spreading under Louis Philippe 10 and were openly preached during the republic.”

It is important to note another political problem that P. A. Chikhachev dealt with - the national liberation struggle of the peoples of the East against colonialism. P. A. Chikhachev denounced the colonial system, shameful for humanity, from the position of a humanist and foresaw its inevitable death. He noted that “the state of deep unrest in which the Muslims of Asia and Africa find themselves, as well as the peoples of other countries, who have long been subjected to European conquests - humiliated Morocco, conquered Algeria, the entire African coast awaiting a similar fate, China , attacked on its soil, India, eager to throw off the hated yoke, Persia, whose existence is under constant threat... Considering the unrest among the Muslim peoples, two hundred million Hindus and four hundred and fifteen million Chinese, it cannot be denied that something is happening in the East unusual..." Chikhachev is confident that all these “peoples, enslaved and exploited by a handful of merchants, will one day probably gain freedom. But, given their national character and the degree of their cultural development, the day of their liberation will come, perhaps not as quickly as it did with the peoples of the English colonies in North America; nevertheless, such a day will inevitably come.”

I would especially like to note the desire for objectivity characteristic of this honest humanist researcher. If in his earlier works there is still a clear desire to contrast the “selfish and aggressive” policy of England with the more sympathetic policy of France (which is natural for the then Russian diplomat who lived a lot of time in Paris), then later, after personal acquaintance with French colonialism, he changes your attitude towards him. “England,” he wrote in 1854, “created colonies everywhere, captured important military-strategic and trade-economic centers, subordinated international law to its interests and constantly interfered in the internal affairs of sovereign states,” while France’s policy “was is not aggressive by nature... its industry and trade do not pursue monopoly and dominance in foreign markets.” In his works of that time, he still pinned his hopes on the “humanism” of French politics. However, later, especially after Chikhachev became thoroughly acquainted with the situation in North Africa, he described with undisguised indignation the terrible pictures of the barbarity of the French colonialists during their capture of North Africa. Thus, in his work “Spain, Algeria and Tunisia,” he, describing the oasis of Zadja, once inhabited by Arabs, noted: “All that remains of the village of Zadzha these days are dilapidated walls, monuments to the heroic struggle between the Arabs of Zadja and the French in 1849. Troops the latter, numbering about 8 thousand, besieged this unfortunate village for two months, bombarding its miserable clay houses with 15 cannons. The village was defended by approximately 2 thousand poorly armed Arabs. True, the number of Arabs was constantly replenished by residents from neighboring oases, rushing to the aid of their valiant compatriots. The enemy occupied Zaja only when all its defenders died brave deaths on the battlefield, when their houses were completely destroyed.”

P. A. Chikhachev talked about the struggle of the Arabs against the French invaders. In particular, he described the burning of crops and forests that Algerians committed in protest against the seizure of their lands by the French, and painted pictures of the oppression and lawlessness that reigned in Algeria after its occupation by the French colonialists. He noted that the French did not take into account any legal obligations and used any excuse to declare the lands of the Arabs their property. P. A. Chikhachev wrote that in 1871 the French captured 370 thousand. ha better land, and the rebel tribes were obliged to pay an indemnity in the amount of 36 million francs. It also happened that tribes bought their own land from the French. “Speaking of the Arabs as untamed savages is too often forgotten. - wrote P. A. Chikhachev, - that we are talking about one of the most capable races on the globe, more susceptible to civilization than others. They have completely forgotten that the peoples of Europe needed precisely the beneficial influence of the Arabs in order to embark on the path of civilization.”

P. A. Chikhachev was perhaps the first of those who wrote about Turkey to note the activity of Americans in this country. In the brochure “Is the Peace of Paris Lasting?” he wrote: “Whoever has carefully studied the East directly on the spot, and not in his library, is amazed at the activity that the missionaries of the American Foreign Missions Office developed there over the course of five years.”

In 1852, there was one American missionary in 150 cities and villages of the Muslim state. There were also a certain number of converts to Christianity, whose behavior and principles of tolerance were so well compatible with the requirements imposed on good and loyal subjects of the Sultan that the local authorities treated them with respect and sincere sympathy. The American mission, dedicated to the Armenians of Asia Minor, maintains more or less large establishments in Constantinople, Smyrna, Mersin, Van, Tranesund, Aintab, Erzurum and other cities, and everywhere has many branches for men and women in all localities of the provinces where they are located. these cities. Only in one small town of Aintab, with a very small population, did the missionaries manage to create a church, which in 1852. accommodated 700 people, and by the end of the year it could no longer accommodate everyone. The parishioners immediately collected 5 thousand francs, to which the missionaries added the necessary amount to expand the church. In Izmid, the Protestant church has 400 parishioners and the school has 100 students; In this ancient Nicomedia, approximately 4 thousand people live today.

In all regions of Turkey where American Protestant missionaries have settled, their wives help them, and they are very active in this.”

And finally, to complete the picture, it should be pointed out that in matters of political economy and the influence of economic factors on politics, P. A. Chikhachev adhered to the views that were advanced for his time, although, of course, he was still far from the Marxist understanding of these issues. Chikhachev understood quite clearly, for example, the influence of competition on workers’ wages, crises of overproduction, etc. Referring to the growth of competition in foreign markets and the situation of English industry, he wrote: “In order to withstand the ever-increasing competition and maintain their superiority, English industrialists are making efforts all efforts to reduce production costs in order to suppress their rivals with cheap goods. And this is achieved mainly only at the expense of the wages of workers, whose fate, due to rising prices for basic necessities, is becoming more and more unenviable.”

All these qualities of a brilliant orientalist, and above all the fact that his works are always based on a solid knowledge of facts and are imbued with the ideas of a broad comprehensive knowledge of nature and society, allow us to hope that the works of P. A. Chikhachev have not lost scientific significance in our time that they will be met with interest not only by specialists, but also by a wide circle of readers.

As shown above, P. A. Chikhachev lived most of his life abroad and published his works there in foreign languages ​​(mainly French). On the one hand, this allowed him to more freely express his opinion (especially regarding the policies of the tsarist regime), on the other hand, this led to the fact that the Russian reader is relatively little familiar with his works, at least less than they deserve. All articles in this collection, with the exception of “Letters about Turkey,” are published in Russian for the first time.

The compiler dedicates this collection to the 200th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding German naturalist and traveler A. Humboldt (1769-1859).

Chikhachev Petr Alexandrovich

H Ikhachev (Petr Aleksandrovich, 1808 - 1890) - geographer, traveler and geologist, known for his studies of Altai and Asia Minor. Having received his home education in Tsarskoe Selo, under the guidance of lyceum professors, Chikhachev graduated abroad, listening to lectures by Nauman, Breithaupt, Liebig, L. von Buch, G. Rose and other famous geologists and mineralogists of that time, and then worked in Paris with Elie de Beaumont. Without preparing for a scientific career and not being a professional scientist, Chikhachev, having good money and brilliant scientific training, could completely surrender to the attraction that was discovered early in him for scientific travel and research, which yielded very important scientific results, thanks to the observation of their author and excellent careful processing scientific material collected during his travels, to which Chikhachev had the opportunity to attract outstanding specialists in various fields of knowledge. Having received a scientific education abroad, publishing all his scientific works in French or German and spending most of his life abroad (mainly in Paris), Chikhachev cannot be considered a Russian scientist, but Russian science owes him very important work on geology and geography Altai, which has not lost its significance to this day, although more than half a century has passed since its appearance. Chikhachev's independent scientific activity began in 1841, when he published a geological description of the Monte Gargano mountain in Southern Italy and the outskirts of the city of Nice. In 1842 he published a geological description of the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Naples and in the same year he undertook a long trip to Altai. Already in 1845, he published a voluminous work about Altai, entitled: “Voyage scientifique dans l"Altai Oriental et les parties adjiointes de la frontiere de Chine" and presenting a report on the trip and the results of the development of the collected material, in which Elie de Beaumont took part , Verneuil, Geppert, which gave the work special value. Having completed this enormous work, Chikhachev soon began a comprehensive study of Asia Minor, to which he devoted the next 20 years of his life. Having received the position of attaché of the Russian embassy in Constantinople after the Altai trip, he took advantage of a 2-year stay there to study the Turkish language, and then, leaving his service, he undertook a series of trips throughout Asia Minor during 1847 - 1863, during which he made versatile scientific observations and collected rich collections: geological, botanical, zoological, paleontological and archaeological. The results of the trip were published by Chikhachev in a huge 8-volume work: "Asie Mineur", published from 1853 to 1869. This work, covering the geography, geology, climatology, zoology, botany and paleontology of Asia Minor, represents a classic work performed by Chikhachev with the collaboration of numerous specialists in various branches of natural science. After finishing this work, Chikhachev did not undertake large trips, having already reached the limits of old age, but did not stop his scientific studies. Back in 1878, at the age of 71, he visited Interior Algeria and Tunisia and in 1880 published a description of his trip under the title: “Espagne, Algerie et Tunisie.” In 1890, a collection of his popular scientific articles of various contents was published in Paris, under the title: “Etudes de Geographie et d"Histoire naturelle". These articles represent excerpts from the major scientific work conceived by Chikhachev, "On the Deserts of the Globe", which he did not managed to finish, dying of pneumonia in 1890. In addition to geographical and natural history works, Chikhachev published a number of political articles on the Eastern question. To encourage travelers in Asia, Chikhachev left, in his will, a capital of 100 thousand francs to the Paris Academy of Sciences. Biography Chikhachev, compiled by Stebnitsky, and a list of his scientific works are placed in the XXVII volume of “News of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society.” B.P.

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