Mining Entrepreneurship in Russia in the Context of Industrial Reforms of the Late 18th — Early 20th Centuries

The article examines the dynamics of relations between the Russian state, represented by the mining department and factory owners, influenced the preparation and content of systemic transformations that took the form of industrial reforms of varying formats in the late 18th–19th centuries. It is shown that significant changes in the organization of the mining and metallurgical industry began in the 1780s–1790s, without a general approved plan. In the 1800s, they were codified and continued in accordance with a detailed reform project that covered all aspects of the industry. In the 1860s, two comprehensive plans for further reform of the industry were developed, one of which was implemented, being divided into parts and stretched out in time until the beginning of the 20th century. The participation of factory owners in the preparation of reforms is traced and the consequences of this are determined, which affected both their relationship with the mining department and the content and course of reforms. It is shown that in the late 18th — first half of the 19th century, the stake was mainly on the development of large-scale operating entrepreneurship under increased state control in order to stabilize production and treasury revenues, which led to a slowdown in the pace of development of the industry. This, in turn, adjusted the position of the state, which in the second half of the 19th century tried not only to ease the conditions for the existing, but also to create favorable conditions for new entrepreneurship while maintaining the departmental supervision necessary in such a situation, which generally contributed to the acceleration of the development of the domestic mining industry.