Alexander Maksimovich Knyazhevich and his contribution to the abolition of wine purchases

The relevance of the research is determined by the need to study the historical experience of reforming the alcohol market in Russia. The current stage of modernization of this sphere requires referring to the successful practices of the past and gives practical significance to the analysis of the process of cancellation of wine purchases. It is important to take into account that the contribution of Finance Minister A.M. Knyazhevich to the abolition of the tax system remains a little-studied aspect in Russian historiography, which determines the unconditional scientific significance of the work.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the contribution of Finance Minister Alexander Maksimovich Knyazhevich to the replacement of tax payments with an excise tax system for drinking.

Objectives: to analyze the career path of A.M. Knyazhevich and his personal connection with the tax system; to consider the historical context of the transformation in the drinking industry; to study the activities of the Special Committee led by Knyazhevich; to reveal the personal contribution of the Minister of Finance to the abolition of tax payments.

Methodology. The research is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity and consistency, which are complemented by problem-chronological, historical-genetic and comparative historical methods.

Results. On behalf of Emperor Alexander II, Knyazhevich, who was leading the process of preparing the abolition of wine purchases, being a cautious man, was afraid of sudden steps. The Special Committee created under his leadership did not accept the excise tax, but proposed a draft "transitional" system. The Emperor insisted on the complete and unconditional introduction of the excise tax system, and the drinking business was transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the office of the State Council. He launched the mechanism of reform, but its final radical character was determined not by his will, but by the position of other top state dignitaries and the general reform course of the era of Alexander II.

Conclusion. Knyazhevich's contribution to the abolition of wine purchases was more administrative than ideological. His personal position reflected the fears of the old bureaucracy about drastic changes in the country's financial system.

1. Information about drinking fees in Russia. St. Petersburg: V Tip. II-go Otdeleniya sobstvennoi E.I.V. kantselyarii; 1860-1861. (In Russ.)

2. GARF (The State Archive of the Russian Federation). F. 109. Op. 4. D. 2. L. 1-2, 5. (In Russ.)

3. GARF. F. 722. Op. 1. D. 464. L. 313. (In Russ.)

4. The State Chancellery. 1810−1910. St. Petersburg: V Gos. Kantselyarii; 1910. 466 p. (In Russ.)

5. Sudeikin V.T. Alexander Maksimovich Knyazhevich. Russkaya starina = Russian Antiquity. G. 23. 1892;76(10-12):398-432. (In Russ.)

6. Lebedev V. Knyazhevich Alexander Maksimovich. In: Polovtseva A.A. (ed.) Russian biographical dictionary. Vol. 9. St. Petersburg: Tip. Glavnogo upravleniya udelov; 1903. P. 5-10. (In Russ.)

7. Mukhamedina Sh. Excise taxes and monopoly. Finansy i kredit = Finance and Credit. 2009;(37):81-88. (In Russ.)

8. Nadezhdin N.I. The Knyazhevich family. Odessa: Gor. tip., 1842. 102 p. (In Russ.)

9. Grech N.I. Memories of Dmitry Maksimovich Knyazhevich. St. Petersburg: Tip. N. Grecha; 1860. 24 p. (In Russ.)

10. Notes of the old Petersburg official P.I. Golubev. Russkii arkhiv = Russian Archive. 1896;34(2):47-109. (In Russ.)

11. Skal'kovskii K.A. Our government and public figures. St. Petersburg: Tip. A.S. Suvorina; 1891. 586 p. (In Russ.)

12. GARF. F. 1155. Op. 1. D. 221. L. 1-2. (In Russ.)

13. Russian literary anecdote of the late 18th – early 19th century. Moscow: Khudozh. lit.; 1990. 274 p. (In Russ.)

14. From the memoirs of Evgeny Ivanovich Lamansky (1840-1890). Russkaya starina = Russian Antiquity. 1915;161(1-3);367-375. (In Russ.)

15. Dolgorukov P.V. Petersburg essays: Pamphlets of an emigrant. 1860 – 1867. Moscow: Sever; 1934. 474 p. (In Russ.)

16. RGIA (Russian State Historical Archive). F. 940. Op. 1. D. 1. L. 4-8. (In Russ.)

17. GARF. F. 647. Op. 1. D. 203. L. 1-5. (In Russ.)

18. RGIA. F. 574. Op. 1. D. 5. L. 98 ob. (In Russ.)

19. Rech' P.P. Semenova at the celebration of the XXXVII anniversary of the liberation of the peasants. Russkaya starina = Russian Antiquity. 1898;(4):217-223. (In Russ.)

20. Milyutin D.A. Memories. 18601862. Moscow: Rossiiskii Arkhiv; 1999. 559 p. (In Russ.)

21. OR RGB (Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library). Koshelevy. F. 139. Kart. 16. Ed. khr. 2. L. 19-20 ob. (In Russ.)

22. Semenov N.P. The liberation of the peasants during the reign of Emperor Alexander II: a chronicle of the activities of the Commission on Peasant affairs. Vol. 1. The second period of occupation. St. Petersburg: Tip. M.E. Komarova; 1889. 1020 p. (In Russ.)

23. Grot K.Ya., Kolubovskii Ya.N. (eds.) Konstantin Karlovich Groth, as a statesman and public figure. Vol. 1. Petrograd: Popechitel'stvo imp. Marii Aleksandrovny o slepykh; 1915. 446, 84 p. (In Russ.)

24. Memoirs of the life of F.G. Turner. Russkaya starina = Russian Antiquity. G. 41. 1910;141(1):205-233. (In Russ.)