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Exhibit description

Mainline construction history State acquisition of private railways and construction of the Great Siberian Route

State acquisition of private railways and construction of the Great Siberian Route

In the second half of the 19th century, the railway network developed mainly in the European part of the country, which was relatively densely populated and economically developed.

However, this period also saw the first projects for rail routes connecting central Russia with the Urals and Siberia, as well as for isolated lines in eastern Russia.

Historical context

A quarter of a century after construction began, the railway crossed all of Eurasia and linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. St. Petersburg became the starting point of the rail route, and Vladivostok its terminus.

The main line linked the vast territories of the Russian Empire, promoted the economic development of Siberia and the Far East, and supported resettlement policy. Railways permanently changed the country's appearance and the way of life of its urban and rural population. Railway construction and operation became the main driver of Russia's industrial development.

The Great Siberian Route became the largest transport construction project in the entire history of Russian statehood.

“Having now ordered the construction of a continuous railway across all of Siberia, intended to connect the Siberian regions rich in natural gifts with the network of internal rail communications, I entrust you with announcing this will of mine… I charge you with laying in Vladivostok the foundation of the Ussuri section of the Great Siberian Route, authorised for construction at treasury expense and under the direct administration of the Government.”

Thus begins construction of the world's longest railway. Work proceeds simultaneously from two ends: Chelyabinsk and Vladivostok. Given the importance and role of the future main line, its creation is declared a “great national undertaking”, and a special Administration for the Construction of Siberian Railways is established.

The vast main line is divided into sections named the West Siberian, Central Siberian, Trans-Baikal and Ussuri railways.

During the same period, the government changes its railway policy and begins gradually purchasing private railways for the state treasury.

History

Chronology

  1. 1858 1858 — Count N.N. Muravyov-Amursky first declares the need for a railway main line in the Far East, from the Amur River to De-Kastri Bay, but receives no government support.
  2. 1866 1866 — Colonel E.V. Bogdanovich sends the Minister of the Interior a telegram about the need to build the Siberian-Ural Railway. In 1869, he publishes a project for this main line.
  3. 1868 1868 — Alexander II permits surveys and the preparation of a railway project from the village of Yershovka via Yekaterinburg to Tyumen; this is completed in the same year.
  4. 1874 November 1874 — A.P. Khrushchov, Governor-General of Western Siberia, argues for the construction of the Siberian Railway along a southern route: Nizhny Novgorod–Kazan, then via Yekaterinburg to Tyumen.
  5. 1878 1878 — The isolated Ural Mining Railway is laid, connecting Perm and Yekaterinburg. The main line is 466.7 versts, or 498 km, long.
  6. 1880s In the 1880s, Russia's influence in Central Asia grows, and a real threat of war emerges with its principal geopolitical rival, Great Britain. The country's leadership recognises the extreme military vulnerability of the Russian Far East. Only a railway can secure the defence of the eastern part of the state, but a financial crisis prevents immediate implementation of this task.
  7. 1880 1880 — The General Statute of Russian Railways is approved to regulate railway affairs and establish strict government control.
  8. 1881–1885 1881–1885 — The Yekaterinburg–Tyumen main line is built as an extension of the Ural Mining Railway. During the same years, construction of the Samara–Zlatoust main line proceeds on the already operating Orenburg Railway. The section to Ufa opens in 1888, and the section to Zlatoust in 1890. The easternmost section, Zlatoust–Chelyabinsk, opens in 1892.
  9. 1889 1889 — The Department of Railway Affairs is established within the Ministry of Finance, headed by S.Yu. Witte. Among its functions, the department financially supervises all private railways. A tariff reform is introduced in the same year, turning railway tariffs into an instrument of state economic and social policy. Flexible tariffs accelerate the development of regions and individual sectors of the economy. Awareness of the military and strategic importance of railway transport grows each year.
  10. 1891 March 17, 1891 — Alexander III issues a rescript ordering construction of the Great Siberian Route at the expense of the state treasury. The document is addressed to the future Emperor Nicholas II:
  11. 1903 1903 — With the commissioning of the Chinese Eastern Railway, through traffic begins along the Great Siberian Route.
  12. 1916 1916 — The opening of the bridge across the Amur River establishes continuous railway communication from St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea to Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan.
  13. 1920s Completion and development of the Great Siberian Route continued into the 1920s. Lines were built in the European part of the country to serve as approaches to sections in the Urals and Siberia: St. Petersburg–Vologda, Vologda–Vyatka and Kotlas–Vyatka–Perm. The Circum-Baikal and Amur railways were also built.

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