russia’s territorial size as a concept for domestic politics: territory, military strength and form of government in 18th century russian political thought

The actual article deals with the issue of Russia’s territorial size as an argument in 18th century political debate on domestic affairs. The early 18th century authors, like Feofan or V. N. Tatishchev, were arguing that Russia’s monarchical form of government, military strength, and control over vast territory are interconnected, and that such beneficial interconnection could be proved with the historical examples. Such attitude first appeared as a rhetorical borrowing from the Western tradition, yet it soon was tested in an actual debate following the political crisis of 1730. After that, the territorial arguments in favor of Russian monarchy became a cornerstone of a wide intellectual tradition. Therefore, to challenge the monarchical form of government in Russia, radical thinkers and writers had to deal mainly with historical arguments on military power and territorial control.