Tyragetia (Dec 2020)
Representatives of Bessarabia at commodity exhibitions in the Russian Empire and in Western Europe (1829-1869)
Abstract
In this study we analyze the participation of the representatives of Bessarabia in the commodity exhibitions within the Russian Empire and in Europe during the period 1829-1869. As the problem of the 19th century exhibitions is addressed in Russian historiography from the perspective of the economic policies of the Tsarist government, we insisted primarily on a brief analysis of the instruments Russian officials appealed to, especially in the field of agriculture, which targeted Bessarabia in a greater extent than in the field of industry. From the chronological point of view, the period chosen in this study has been determined on one hand by the organization of the first national industrial exhibition in 1829 and on the other hand, the first international exhibition organized in the Russian Empire in 1869. Also, the period in question practically coincides with the period from the implementation of the Regulation on the Administration of Bessarabia of February 29, 1828 and until the extension in the province of the Zemstvo reform according to the law of October 28, 1868. Our conclusions indicate that commodity exhibitions were an important instrument in the economic policies of the Tsarist authorities for promoting the products of Russian industry and agriculture within the Empire and abroad, and helping them to stand the competition of imported goods. Direct involvement of the Russian state in the organization of internal exhibitions and the selection of delegations for exhibitions abroad also aimed at stimulating domestic producers to adapt to market requirements. Even though the beneficial effects of the commodity exhibitions on the economic development cannot be denied, they still had a rather limited character, a fact acknowledged even by the Russian imperial authorities in the official reports. Thus, the participation in agricultural exhibitions of a very small number of representatives of social categories other than that of the state peasants, especially in Bessarabia, eloquently demonstrates this. Only in the 1860s did the situation begin to change gradually, and the exhibitions become a real platform for the dissemination of innovations in the sphere of agricultural production in the region.
