GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF RUSSIAN SEAPORTS IN THE LATE XIX-EARLY XX CENTURIES

Zuev Andrey Vyacheslavovich

In the second half of the 19th century, the replacement of the sailing fleet with a steam fleet, on the one hand, and the development of the country's railway network, on the other, changed the nature of the requirements for coastal commercial ports. The first port construction program, presented to Emperor Alexander III by the Minister of Railways, Adjutant General Posyet in 1883, became a response to the demands of the time. New ports were built in Feodosia, Yalta, Mariupol, Poti, Batumi, and Novorossiysk. The ports of Libau, Odessa, Riga, and Petersburg, among many others, were expanded and improved. By the time the work outlined in the program was completed, the country's economic life had already made great strides forward. In 1908, the Ministry of Trade and Industry raised the issue of a radical reorganization and improvement of the country's commercial ports, which was proposed to be resolved according to a single plan. The need for major work to bring seaports to a state that would meet the needs of trade and shipping was recognized by all institutions responsible for the country's port business, and was repeatedly noted by the State Duma and the State Council when considering the estimates of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for merchant shipping and ports. The main problem in the development of Russian ports in the late 19th and early 20th centuries remained a lack of funding.

Keywords:Ministry of Trade and Industry, merchant shipping, seaports, railway network, merchant marine, steam fleet, sea vessels, state budget