Criticism and bibliography. review

For researchers of a particular country, sources of foreign origin are of particular interest, since for the most part they are, in fact, documentary evidence of the presence of a foreign witness in it. Whether it is a neutral observer or an interested participant in events, such an eyewitness always sees what is happening somewhat differently than a resident of a given country, which is largely due to the discrepancy between the cultural traditions and the value system of a foreigner and the indigenous population of the country of his stay. Thus, sources of foreign origin bring new information that is useful for the historian and often allow us to highlight events from a completely unexpected side.

The above can be fully attributed to Russian sources on the history of Australia in the 19th century. The beginning of contacts between Russia and Australia was laid in 1807, when Sydney was visited by the sloop of the Russian-American company "Neva". During the first third of the 19th century, Russian round-the-world voyages to Australian ports remained the only channel of communication between Russians and Australians. Since the middle of the last century, contacts between Russia and Australia have been significantly expanding. Along with the sailors of the Russian Pacific squadron, whose ships often visited the ports of the fifth continent, Australia is being visited by "overland" travelers, scientists and specialists from Russia. In 1857, Russian non-staff consuls appeared in the Australian resettlement colonies, and in 1894 a full-time Russian consulate was opened in Melbourne. The last quarter of the 19th century can be attributed to the beginning of the development of trade, economic and cultural ties between Russia and the English resettlement colonies.

Russian sources on the history of Australia in the first third of the 19th century, represented mainly by documentary materials about Russian circumnavigations around the world, have already become the subject of special research. 1 This paper attempts to examine Russian sources on the history of Australia in the second half of the 19th century, which have not been analyzed until now, although this period was truly a turning point in Australian history. The discovery of gold on the continent in 1851 and the beginning of the "gold rush" led to a sharp increase in the white population, and became the prologue to the rapid economic development of the English migrant colonies. In 1855, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and in 1859 Queensland were granted full internal self-government. At this time, the federalist movement began to develop, the success of which led to the creation of a new British dominion in 1901 - the Union of Australia. Australians ' foreign policy orientations are becoming more defined. Already in the 70s of the 19th century, migrant colonies made their first attempts to create their own sphere of influence in the South Pacific. Such a dynamic and successful development of Australia made a strong impression on foreigners, including Russians who visited it.

B. N. Komissarov, a well-known Russian Latin Americanist, studying a complex of Russian sources on the history of Brazil , proposed a methodology for their research2, which, with minor changes, can also be used in the analysis of Russian documentary materials on the history of Australia. Taking into account the origin and scientific significance, they can be divided into three groups: materials of voyages of ships of the Russian Fleet, documents of "land"ships.

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travelers and scientists and specialists who visited Australia, reports of Russian consuls.

Visits to Australia by ships of the Russian Pacific squadron in the second half of the 19th century usually took place during the passage from Kronstadt to the Far East and on the way back from Primorye to the Baltic. During the period under review, the Australian ports (Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Brisbane, Albany, Newcastle, Townsville, Launceston, Darwin, Thursdy Island in the Torres Strait) were visited 39 times by 15 Russian ships, which involved about 300 officers and about 4 thousand lower ranks. The ports of the migrant colonies were primarily used as transit points, where it was possible to replenish coal and provisions, repair the ship and provide rest for the crew. Only in one case did the visit of Russian military sailors acquire an openly political orientation: in 1888, the crew of the corvette Rynda took part in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the British colonies on the fifth continent. At the same time, the visits of Russian ships solved the problem of "displaying the flag" and were planned in such a way that it was possible to collect (or update) the information necessary for the Russian Maritime Ministry about the state and fortifications of Australian ports.

The complex and sometimes tense relations between England and Russia that existed at this time caused, of course, a certain wariness of Australians towards visitors from Russia. Nevertheless, at the official level, the Russians were received quite politely and even cordially. Sailors from Russia had the opportunity not only to get acquainted with the life of large port cities, but also to visit gold mines and cattle farms in the Australian outback. Numerous receptions were held in their honor on behalf of local authorities and public organizations. The social circle of Russian navigators was quite wide: high-ranking colonial officials, local military personnel, representatives of the Australian intelligentsia, farmers and gold prospectors. Educated, broad-minded Russian naval officers readily took the opportunity to get acquainted with the life of an unfamiliar country, and Russia's lack of any serious political or economic interests in the South Pacific at that time gave the Russian descriptions of Australia the character of objective evidence of disinterested eyewitnesses.

Documentary materials of the Russian Navy on the history of Australia are an extensive array of diaries, travel essays, letters, memoirs of participants in voyages, as well as official reports, dispatches, service notes, etc., compiled by ship commanders following visits to migrant colonies. Most of these materials are kept in archives, mainly in the Russian State Archive of the Navy (RGA of the Navy). At the same time, as early as the 19th and early 20th centuries, some travel essays, memoirs, and letters of sailors who participated in voyages to Australia were published on the pages of Russian public periodicals in specialized publications - the Marine Collection magazine and the Kronshtadtsky Vestnik newspaper. All these publications reflected the unquenchable interest of the Russian reading public in the country, which surprised not only with its exoticism, but also with its unusually rapid and, as it seemed, conflict-free development. To date, 35 publications of personal and official documents compiled by 28 participants of voyages to Australia in the second half of the XIX century have been found.

Both archival and published materials contain interesting information about the most diverse aspects of life in the Australian migrant colonies. The most diverse information about the development of the Australian economy. The documents on Russian ships ' visits to the fifth continent contain data on the size of industrial and agricultural production, on the import and export of Australian colonies, and on the movement of prices for various goods and services. Extensive information of this kind was compiled by the commander of a detachment of Pacific Ocean vessels that visited Australia in 1881-1882, Rear Admiral A. B. Aslanbegov and the commander of one of the cruisers of this detachment, Lieutenant Commander E. I. Alekseev3 . The Russians were also interested in the expansion of Australia's transport network, the construction of telegraph lines, the development of ship repair and shipbuilding industries, the equipping of Australian ports, and military and naval construction in migrant colonies .4 Collecting this kind of data was one of the official duties of ship commanders. The necessary information was obtained either by visual observation (such as information about Australian shipyards, ports and military fortifications), or from ofi-

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The information collected by the Russian sailors was distinguished by the undoubted accuracy and accuracy of various Australian sources - reference books, statistical collections, etc.

The Russians paid close attention to the development of the gold-mining areas and the state of the Australian gold industry. Reports of this can be found in both official reports and private documents5 . Sailors from Russia did not idealize the consequences of the "gold rush" for the migrant colonies. In their opinion, the constant mass population movements associated with the development of new gold mining areas only lead to disorderly price jumps and general destabilization of the country's economic life. Navigators who visited Australia in the 1890s give their impressions of the famous economic crisis, which was hard and painful for Australians at that time. Information about this is contained in the materials of voyages to the fifth continent of the cruisers "Robber" (1893) and "Cruiser" (1894) 6 .

Describing the political component of Russian naval sources on the history of Australia, it is necessary to highlight unique documents about the manifestation of anti-Russian sentiments in the migrant colonies. In 1881-1882, during the stay in Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne and a number of other Australian cities of the squadron under the command of A. B. Aslanbegov, a hype was raised in the Australian press about the allegedly hostile intentions of Russian sailors. The basis for this kind of insinuations were the statements of the" repentant Russian agent " G. Bryant about his contacts with A. B. Aslanbegov and about the presence of the Russian admiral's plans to bomb the Australian coast7 . Documents about the voyage of the squadron, as well as the clipper ship Vestnik (1886) to Australian waters, allow not only to restore the vicissitudes of the anti-Russian campaign, but also to refute the accusations made against the Russian sailors in a reasoned manner .8

Of particular interest for covering such a significant event in Australian history as the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the English colonization of the fifth continent are the reports of the commander of the corvette "Rynda", Captain 1st rank F. K. Avelan, who in a military manner clearly, but too dryly and briefly tells in his report about the holiday itself and about the participation of there are 9 Russian sailors in it . However, due to the very nature of the stay of Russian sailors in Australia, the political problems of the migrant colonies remained out of their field of view and did not receive sufficient coverage in the documents of the Russian Navy.

Unlike the documents of Russian circumnavigators who visited the fifth continent in the first half of the last century, the materials of the second half of the 19th century contain almost no valuable information about the situation of the indigenous population of Australia. Russian sailors simply did not have the opportunity to communicate with the aborigines, who by the middle of the XIX century were pushed back to the hinterlands. Only members of the crew of the cruiser Robber saw them in 1893 in the vicinity of Darwin. On the instructions of the cruiser's commander, Captain 2nd rank P. P. Ukhtomsky, midshipmen V. K. Pilkin and V. P. Zotov observed the daily life of indigenous Australians for several days and compiled a fairly detailed essay on their appearance, lifestyle, nutrition and rituals. These observations, however ,are too superficial and secondary, and in their conclusions the midshipmen blindly repeat the racist views that prevailed at that time among the white colonists. 10

Much more significant for the historian are extremely detailed and colorful descriptions of Australian cities, the way of life of their population, and the cultural achievements of the young Australian nation. Both ship commanders wrote about this with pleasure in official reports (A. A. Popov, A. B. Aslanbegov, P. P. Ukhtomsky), and ordinary officers in their diaries, letters and memoirs (A. M. Linden, P. S. Mukhanov, I. A. Boratynsky, V. M. Linden, V. F. Rudnev, F. A. Timofeevsky) 11 . An interesting source can be found in photographs with views of Sydney and Melbourne, taken, apparently, personally by Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, who visited Australia in 1888 as a midshipman of the corvette Rynda. 12

Russians unanimously noted the extraordinary dynamism characteristic of the life of Australian cities, their improvement and architectural perfection. Along with purely tourist impressions, these descriptions often contain more substantial information. Thus, military medical seamen provide data on the demographic and environmental situation in the coastal cities of the fifth continent, report information on the spread of drunkenness, prostitution, and criminal13 .

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The situation of the convicts was of particular interest to the Russians, as it was always a sensitive issue for Russia. Navy officers, as a rule, did not miss the opportunity to visit Australian prisons as tourists, in order to find out the features of the penal system of the migrant colonies. Seafarers ' reports, especially those originally intended for publication, provide unusually detailed information about the structure of prisons and the regime under which prisoners are held, about their good food, clean cells and, as they thought, the humane treatment of those serving sentences by the guards. "Everything is so neat and cozy that it seems... I would also like to live in this cell," writes Lieutenant A. M. Linden, a participant in the voyage on the Bogatyr corvette, about the famous Pentridge prison in Melbourne .14 Such a conclusion, of course, looks legitimate only when comparing the Australian penitentiary system with the terrible conditions in which convicts were held in Russian prisons, in hard labor and in Siberian exile.

The subjectivism of the views of Russian sailors can also be noted in their assessment of social relations in migrant colonies. This is where the differences between the traditions, life experiences, and value systems of the Tsarist Empire's subjects and the Australians, who have long had successful institutions of democracy, were most pronounced. Most of the descriptions left by Russians show genuine surprise at the high standard of living of the white population of Australia and the lack of sharp social differentiation characteristic of Russia. Emotionally and analytically, the social homogeneity of Australian society evoked mixed reactions among Russians: from ironic smiles about the fact that butcher shop owners can be ministers in Australia (V. F. Rudnev), and playful remarks about the excessive emancipation of Australian girls (V. M. Linden), to understanding the fact that equality of all before the law is not enough. According to the law, the state's protection of its citizens leads to a "prudent and firm civil structure" (ps. Mukhanov), and concern for the material well-being of the working classes "makes the working people alien to any kind of strikes and displeasure towards their masters" (F. A. Timofeevsky) 15 .

The stories of Russian sailors about the social structure of the Australian migrant colonies became one of the essential elements in the formation of the image of Australia in Russia as a happy country, a kind of social laboratory of humanity. There is no doubt that Russian attention to such aspects of Australian life reflected the growing tensions in Russian society. In this regard, the materials of Russian sailors about visiting the fifth continent can be considered not only as one of the sources on the social history of Australia, but also as an indicator of the socio-political views of the Russian naval officers.

Unlike the sailors of the Navy, most Russian travelers and specialists who visited Australia in the second half of the 19th century did not pursue any special goals of collecting socio-economic or political information. These included mining engineers sent to migrant colonies, whose official duties included studying the technical aspects of the gold mining industry, as well as travelers who came to Australia, according to S. V. Vitkovskaya, who visited it in 1896, "solely for their own pleasure, without a specific goal, without a plan, without preparation" 16 . Almost all of them were typical representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, who tended towards moderate liberalism in their views.

Along with the traditional description of the natural beauty of Australia, the appearance of its cities and the peculiarities of the life of white residents, Russian travelers pay attention to the democratic social structure of the migrant colonies, emphasize the friendly attitude of Australians towards each other, regardless of a person's place on the social ladder, note the religious tolerance of Australians, their respect for work. "Even among the fashionable nobility, White hands are rarely found," writes the Russian journalist E. R. Zimmerman, who in 1881-1882 made a trip around the world and published a series of essays based on its results in Otechestvennye Zapiski .17

Russian mining engineers M. A. Shostak, L. A. Perret, V. S. Reutovsky, and S. M. Koenigsberg also note the propensity of Australians to mitigate possible social contradictions and the willingness of representatives of the local bourgeoisie to take into account the material interests of workers in their reports (both published and stored in archives) .18 Among the reasons for successful and

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In many respects, they point to the conflict-free development of the Australian gold mining industry, not only to the high technical equipment of the gold mines (which, of course, most of their reports are devoted to), but also to the ability of gold producers to establish cooperation with their workers. L. A. Perret, who visited the gold mines of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania in 1892, writes about this. V. S. Reutovsky, who visited Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia in 1897, pays special attention to the situation of workers in the gold mining industry of Australia: "Workers in Australia are not a special world a human race, a cross between a real person and an animal, and a citizen, like everyone else living in this beautiful country. " 19 The close attention of Russian travelers and specialists to social issues, as well as in the case of Russian military sailors, clearly reflects the desire to acquaint the Russian public with the Australian experience of solving the problems that have become more and more threatening in Russia .20

The documentary heritage of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay stands somewhat apart in the complex of materials of Russian travelers and specialists about Australia. The great Russian traveler and scientist lived here for a total of more than five years (1878 - 1879, 1880 - 1882, 1883 - 1886, 1887). Being engaged in intensive scientific activity, he systematized the rich ethnographic material collected during his travels in New Guinea, studied the aborigines and fauna of the continent. The social and political activity of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay was no less intense. He vigorously defended the indigenous people of New Guinea and the islands of Oceania, and fought against the colonial division of their lands between England and Germany. The scientist dreamed of creating a Russian sphere of influence in the South Pacific and made a number of energetic efforts to implement his plan to create a Russian resettlement colony in this area .21

By the time of his arrival in Australia, N. N. Miklukho-Maklay already had a certain reputation and authority in the scientific circles of Sydney and Melbourne. His reputation as a European-level academic has allowed him to establish the necessary connections not only among specialists, but also in government areas in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. He met a prominent Australian scientist and political figure, W. W. Smith. Mcleam, was received in the home of the Australian politician, who repeatedly served as the Prime Minister of New South Wales, J. R. R. Tolkien. Robertson (who became the father-in-law of N. N. Miklukho-Maclay). The Russian scientist enjoyed the favor of the Acting Premier of Queensland, A. Palmer. An extensive circle of acquaintances not only facilitated the organization of scientific research, but also caused N. N. Miklukho - Maclay to be well informed on many issues of political life in the Australian migrant colonies. The scientific and epistolary heritage of the scientist identified so far, without any notes or exceptions, was included in the new collection of his works in six volumes, the publication of which was completed by the Russian Academy of Sciences 22.

As a source on the history of Australia, the documentary materials of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay are of interest in a number of areas. First of all, they shed light on the state of affairs in the young Australian science. The history of its formation, according to the Australian researchers themselves, is largely connected with the activities of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay 23 . In this respect, the correspondence of the Russian traveler with the administration of the Australian Museum and documents concerning the establishment of a biological station in Sydney and the organization of natural science and anthropological research in Queensland are of undoubted significance .24

Another vast body of information valuable to the historian is contained in the epistolary legacy of the scientist, which reflects the vicissitudes of the struggle of the Australian migrant colonies for the inclusion of the eastern half of the island of New Guinea in the British Empire in 1883-1885 and the aggravation of Anglo - Russian relations in 1884-1885, which influenced the political and military situation in Australia and Oceania. All these questions constitute the content of N. N. Miklukho-Maclay's correspondence with the British High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, A. Gordon, and the head of the Australian Naval Station of the British Fleet, Commodore J. McCarthy. Wilson, Major General P. Scratchley, British Colonial Secretary Lord Derby. The Russian addressees of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay were Emperor Alexander III, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia N. K. Gire, the manager of the Maritime Ministry A. I. She-

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stakov, Admiral-General of the Russian Fleet Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovich, commander of the Russian detachment of ships in the Pacific, Rear Admiral N. V. Kopytov and other state and military figures of Russia. Most of this correspondence was conducted on the initiative of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay himself and was explained by his desire to prevent the colonial division of New Guinea, to ensure the protection of Russian interests on the islands of Oceania. However, some correspondence, primarily with the Minister of Foreign Affairs N. K. Geers, was caused by the desire of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to use N. N. Miklukho-Maklay as an informant on the military and political situation in the South Pacific basin. 25

N. N. Miklouho-Maklay provides detailed information about the slave trade on the coast of New Guinea, during which Papuans captured on the island were sold as labor on Queensland plantations, 26 reports on the outrages of Australian gold miners in the interior of the island, describes the reaction of Australian public opinion and the ruling circles of the resettlement colonies in connection with the plans to annex eastern half of New Guinea to Germany. However, it should be noted that N. N. Miklukho-Maklay often exaggerates his influence on the course of resolving the New Guinea issue. Thus, the attempt of the Queensland government in April 1883 to annex the eastern part of New Guinea to the possessions of the British Empire, the Russian traveler connects with the fears of the Australians regarding the intentions of Russia in connection with his visit to the island in March 1883 on the corvette "Skobelev" 27 . In fact, the Queensland action was an attempt by the Australians to pre-empt the German takeover of the island, which the influential German newspaper Allgemeine Zeitung insisted on in November of the same year28 .

Of particular importance as a source are three reports by N. N. Miklukho-Maklay to N. K. Girsu: from June 9 and September 26, 1885 and April 14, 1886 (hereinafter referred to as the dates - to the present day) 29, which were based on materials from Australian newspapers and personal impressions of the traveler himself. N. Miklukho-Maklay describes in detail the specific facts of the manifestation of anti-Russian sentiments in connection with the aggravation of Anglo-Russian relations due to the colonial contradictions of the two great powers in Central Asia and Afghanistan. The scientist provides data on the armed forces of the migrant colonies and on the formation of volunteer detachments to protect them from a possible Russian naval landing, reports on the conversion of civilian ships into warships, on the storage of coal reserves, and reveals the main provisions of the plan of the head of the Australian Naval Station, Rear Admiral J. R. R. Tolkien. Tryon, aimed at strengthening the defenses of the fifth continent.

When analyzing the domestic political situation in Australia, N. N. Miklukho-Maclay dwells in detail on the development of the federalist movement in the resettlement colonies, describing the meeting of the Federal Council in Hobart in January 1885. The scientist provides a comparative description of the business qualities and style of political behavior of the Governor of New South Wales, Lord Loftus, and Lord Carrington, who succeeded him in this post, and reports on the reaction of Australian public opinion to the participation of Australian troops in the British military operation in the Sudan to suppress the Mahdi uprising.

While appreciating the informative content of N. N. Miklukho-Maclay's letters and reports on the internal political development of Australia, it should be noted that the quality and reliability of the fragmentary and, as he himself admits, often unverified data on military subjects (for example, on the names and number of civilian units converted to military equipment) are not limited to the following: ships, about the location of coal depots) identify an amateur in it. It should also be borne in mind that his information, in particular about the growth of anti - Russian sentiment in Australia, was chosen with a certain degree of bias and exaggerated, since it pursued a very clear goal-to encourage the Russian government to step up its policy in the South Pacific and start creating a Russian sphere of influence in this region.

Another array of very valuable and informative sources on the history of migrant colonies in the second half of the XIX century are the documents of the Russian consuls in Australia. Most of them are kept in the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (AVPRI) in two funds: N 184 (Embassy in London) and N 256 (Consulate General in London). At the same time, some of the consuls 'reports or copies of them were forwarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to those government departments of Russia whose "profile" had a special status.

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directly related to the content of the received documents. That is why today a number of messages from consuls are stored in the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA): reports on the problems of economic development, trade and finance of Australia - in the fund No. 20 (Department of Trade and Manufactories of the Ministry of Finance), on the development of the transport network - in the Fund No. 95 (Department of Merchant Shipping and Merchant Ships). Russian government agencies often published excerpts from the consuls 'reports in their departmental publications - on the pages of the "Bulletin of Finance, Industry and Trade" and in the "Collection of Consular Reports", published respectively by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs .30

The rapid socio-economic and political changes that took place in Australia during the period under review aroused the close interest of the leading world powers in the development of the internal political situation in the English migrant colonies. Consulates of foreign countries appeared in their capitals, and by 1890, 27 and 21 countries had consulates in Melbourne and Sydney, the capitals of the most developed colonies of Victoria and New South Wales, respectively .31 For a long time, Russia was represented in Melbourne and Sydney by freelance consuls (until 1875 - vice - consuls), whose positions were filled by local merchants J. R. R. Tolkien. Damion and E. M. Pohl, who were not just loyal, but with undoubted sympathy for Russia. J. Damion, an Englishman by birth, spoke and even wrote quite well in Russian, because before settling in Australia, he conducted trade in Russia and lived there for several years.

Freelance consuls performed the usual consular duties to protect the interests of Russian subjects, and also collected and sent to the Russian Consulate General in London economic and statistical data on the development of migrant colonies, information on changes in customs legislation, rules of navigation in Australian waters, and other materials of this kind. Such information is also filled out in short (one or two pages) letters - reports of J. R. R. Tolkien. Damion and E. M. Paul. The status of Russian consuls in Australia - subjects of the British Empire-exempted them from the obligation to collect and analyze information of a political nature. Nevertheless, in his dispatches, J. R. R. Tolkien Damion often included material about Victoria's political life that he thought might be of interest to the Russian government. So, in 1863-1864, he repeatedly reported on the activities of the Australian committee of solidarity with the uprising in Poland in Melbourne, whose political actions were anti-Russian, and in 1864 he transmitted to Russia data on the formation of volunteer detachments in Victoria, as well as a defense scheme for this colony, approved by its government .32

The desire of the Russian Foreign Ministry to obtain more detailed and complete information about the political processes that took place in the resettlement colonies led to the fact that the Russian consulate in Melbourne received the status of a full-time representative office in 1894. The first full - time consul of Russia in Melbourne was a 39-year-old professional diplomat, a man of deeply conservative views, a devout monarchist, who is no stranger to the traditions of Russian great power, A.D. Putyata. After serving only 11 months in this position until his sudden death in December 1894, he managed to establish good relations with most of Victoria's leading political figures, most notably with its Governor, Lord Hopetown, and Prime Minister, J. R. R. Tolkien. By Paterson. All this made it easier for A.D. Putyata to get the information he needed about the most diverse aspects of Victoria's domestic political life. The diplomat presented the collected information in detailed and regular consular reports (33 in total), from which the Russian Embassy in London and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg could form a clear picture of the situation in Australia .33

A. D. Putyata quite rightly considered the question of creating a federation to be the main issue of the political life of the migrant colonies and in a number of reports dwelt in detail on various aspects of the unification process. He pointed out that the Victorian Government, which received most of its revenue from customs duties in the course of intercolonial trade, did not want to abolish them, and therefore Victoria was more interested in the confederation of the colonies than in their complete unification into a single union. New South Wales, which has a free-trade policy, on the contrary, strives for the closest possible unification, "not much different from a full union." Disagreements between the two leading migrant colonies

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Australia will, according to A. D. Putyata, slow down the creation of the federation for a long time. Having correctly grasped the difficulties of the unification process, the Russian consul at the same time clearly underestimated the centripetal trends in Australian society and the prospects for the continent's political future as an independent state. With undisguised irritation, he writes about the existence of independent goals and even independent views among representatives of the ruling circles of Australia on the issue of the colonial division of Oceania. He dismissively refers to those who support the creation of an Australian sphere of influence in the South Pacific as "people who want to be under illusions" and often writes about the "colonial conceit" of Australians.

From a conservative point of view, A. D. Putyata describes the failure of the attempts of the government of J. P. Blavatsky. Patterson's campaign to pull the country out of the economic crisis, explaining it as excessive flirting of the cabinet with public opinion. But populism, according to the consul, is inevitable in Australia in the conditions of the existing "extreme democracy" and the characteristic " proximity of the government to the people, or rather, the people to the government." He writes with disapproval of the" enormous role "played by the press in Australia, the "impressive power" and influence of the labor movement, and the attempts of the Victorian Parliament to grant political rights to women. And even the successful industrial development of Victoria against the background of other migrant colonies causes a negative attitude in the Russian diplomat, because he believes that the development of industry at the expense of agriculture prevents the removal of "the industrial-working crowd that now fills them with cities, which represents an increasingly dangerous political element in democratic-type countries." In this connection, A.D. Putyata, with undisguised concern, reported in September 1894 on the victory of the leader of the opposition Liberal Party, J. R. R. Tolkien, in the early parliamentary elections in Victoria. Turner, who relied on the votes of the workers in the struggle for power: "The new government, as favorable to the Workers' Party, is unlikely to be able to deter the workers" from new demonstrations, which they will start by "seeking employment and demanding government support under the threat of riots."

The rich, detailed factual material about the domestic political situation in Victoria, presented by an attentive professional observer, allows us to highly assess the significance of A. D. Putyata's reports as a historical source. However, when dealing with the consul's communications, one should, of course, take into account the extreme conservatism of his views and the great-power leniency towards the country of his stay.

The next full-time Russian consul in Victoria was R. R. Ungern-Sternberg. From November 1896, his consular district included not only Victoria, but also South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. This appointment was the first in the diplomatic career of the 60-year-old Estonian nobleman, who for many years served flawlessly in the army, and then in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In Melbourne, R. R. Ungern-Sternberg proved to be an intelligent, energetic and purposeful diplomat. The documents compiled by him are distinguished by clarity and clarity of presentation, pedantry in presenting facts and at the same time a clear dislike for abstract reasoning. During his consulship (1895-1898), R. R. Ungern - Sternberg compiled and forwarded 93 reports to the Russian Imperial Embassy in London, of which 83 have been found to date .34

Unlike A.D. Putyata, R. R. Ungern-Sternberg did not seek to cover exhaustively all the domestic political problems of Australia, touching only on the most important ones (for example, the state of the labor question in Victoria or the role of governors in the political life of this colony). His main focus was on those aspects of the political field that the Russian government might be primarily interested in: the completion of the process of creating the Australian federation, as well as the growth of anti-Japanese sentiment in Australia. The English immigrant colonies were in sharp opposition to the emerging Anglo-Japanese rapprochement. Fearing Japanese industrial competition, the Australians refused to extend certain provisions of the Anglo - Japanese trade treaty of 1894 to the territory of their states.Legislative obstacles were created on the way to Australia for Japanese emigration. Naturally, the tensions within the British Empire, which objectively lead to a weakening of its position in the Pacific basin, and the possible emergence of the Australian Union as a new anti-Japanese political force, could not but arouse close interest in Russian diplomacy.

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R. R. Ungern-Sternberg informs the Russian Embassy in London in detail about the progress of building a federal state (8 reports), highlighting both the internal political reasons that still hinder the unification of colonies (issues of competence of the federal and state governments, budget formation, etc.), and the contradictions that exist between the British government and the governments of resettled colonies (for example in matters of the subordination of the Australian Army and the competence of the future federal Government in relation to the use of its own armed forces, as well as the place and role of the future federation within the British Empire). In other dispatches (3), he explains the origins of anti-Japanese sentiment in Australia and details the painful reaction of Australians to the Anglo-Japanese trade treaty and to Japanese demands for freedom of immigration.

Ungern-Sternberg considered the promotion of trade and economic relations between Russia and Australia to be his most important task as Consul. That is why his reports contain a huge array of information about the state and prospects for the development of the Australian economy: facts and statistics on the development of Australia's traditional gold mining and sheep breeding; on new sectors of its economy, whose products may eventually compete with Russian industry and trade; on the development of silver mining and winemaking in Australia; on the growth of export of butter; on the beginning of trade in Australian bread and lard; on the organization of export of frozen meat to Europe. The Consul reports on technical innovations in industry and public utilities in Australia. One of his reports focuses on the improvement of Australian cities, the other tells in detail about the drilling of artesian wells and their importance for the economic development of the country. He also reports on the development of Russian-Australian relations, in particular the growing number of Russian (Finnish) merchant ships entering Australian ports and the development of Russian-Australian trade. In Russia, R. R.'s economic reports Ungern-Sternberg willingly published on the pages of the "Bulletin of Finance, Industry and Trade".

Information on the Australian economy and the development of trade between this country and Russia forms a significant part of the documentary heritage of the next Russian Consul in Melbourne, N. P. Passek (1900-1902) 35 . Like his predecessors, he regularly reported to the Russian Foreign Ministry about all changes in the political life of Australia, the most important of which was the creation and solemn proclamation of the Union of Australia on January 1, 1901. The union of the Australian colonies received the status of a dominion within the British Empire. N. P. Passek, however, was inclined to consider the federation as a new state, if not yet completely independent, then undoubtedly capable of becoming completely independent in the future. It is from such positions that he covers various aspects of the Australian reality in his reports, noting at the same time that the process of formation of the Australian federation is still far from complete. The old contradictions, mainly of a commercial and economic nature, which existed between the Australian colonies in the past, in the new federal state, as the consul believed, will find their expression in intense competition between the states. N. P. Passek's report of April 3, 1901 about the celebrations on the occasion of the proclamation of the Union of Australia, in which he took part as a representative of Russia, compares favorably with similar Australian documents in the absence of any pomposity and official rhetoric.

Thus, the complex of Russian sources on the history of Australia in the second half of the XIX century contains information about all aspects of the life of Australian migrant colonies. It complements our understanding of Australia's economic development, changes in its domestic and foreign policy, social relations in society, and the development of its culture and ideology. The effect of detachment, combined with a natural curiosity about aspects of Australian life that were strikingly different from Russian realities, increases the significance of these materials. The peculiarity of the Russian view allows us to more fully highlight the peculiarities of the lifestyle of Australians. The evidence of Russians provides an opportunity to better understand the socio-economic and political evolution of the migrant colonies, which in the second half of the last century made a difficult path from the overseas possessions of England to the creation of a national Australian state.

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notes

Barratt G. R. V. 1 Russian Naval Sources for the History of Earlier Colonial Australia to 1825 // Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society. 1981. Vol. 67. Pt. 2. P. 159-175; Massov A. Ya. Andreevsky flag under the Southern Cross. From the history of Russian-Australian relations in the first third of the 19th century. St. Petersburg, 1995.

Komissarov B. N. 2 Russkie istochniki po istorii Brasilei pervoi treti XIX v. [Russian sources on the history of Brazil in the first third of the 19th century].

3 RGA OF the Navy. f. 410. Op. 2. D. 4063. L. 591, 604-606ob.; F. 32. Op. 1. D. 512. L. 128-129ob., 146 - 146ob.

4 See: Butikov I. I. Report of the commander of the frigate "Svetlana", Captain 2nd rank Butakov. Spithead raid, May 4, 1862 / / Marine collection. 1862. N 6. Official articles. p. 224; RGA VMF. F. 410. Op. 2. D. 2603. L. 310-314 (partially published: Popov A. A. Extract from the reports of the Chief of the Pacific Ocean squadron of the retinue of E. V. Rear Admiral Popov // Marine collection. 1863. N 9. Part of the official pages 34-40); F. 410. Op. 2. D. 4063. L. 588-589; F. 417. Op. 1. D. 205. L. 2; F. 417. Op. 1. D. 360. L. 22ob. - 24ob. etc.

5 See, for example: RGA VMF. F. 417. Op. 1. D. 1110. L. 96a (partially published by: Nebogatoe N. I. Cruiser of the II rank "Cruiser". Extract from the report of the commander, Captain 2 rank Nebogatov. April 8, 1894-Marine Collection. 1894. N 9. News about the voyage of our ships abroad, pp. 1-10). The most impressive picture of the "gold rush" was recreated by the midshipman of the Bogatyr corvette P. S. Mukhanov, who visited Australia in 1863, in an unpublished essay " Australia. Description of the voyage to Australia with a historical sketch of it" (Department of Manuscripts of the Russian National Library. f. 608. Op. 1. d. 3031. l. 65-71).

6 RGA Navy. f. 417. Op. 1. d. 915. l. 156-157ob.; d. 1110.l. 95ob.- 96a ob.

7 See: Massov A. Y. Visit of good will or secret mission? (Stay in Australia of the squadron of Rear Admiral A. B. Aslanbegov in 1881-1882) / / Gangut. Issue 5. St. Petersburg, 1993, pp. 70-76.

8 RGA Navy. f. 41. Op. 1. d. 12. L. 278-287, d. 23. L. 111, 112, 115-116; F. 410. Op. 2. D. 4063. L. 416-416ob., 498-500; F. 417. Op. 1. D. 205. L. 7 (partially published: Lang V. I. Extract from the description of the ports of Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and New Guinea, compiled during the voyage of the clipper ship "Vestnik" in 1886 // Morskoy sbornik, 1887, No. 1. Izvestiya o plavanii nashe sudov za granitseyu [News about the voyage of our ships abroad], pp. 4-17.

9 RGA VMF. F. 417. Op. 1. D. 360. L. 25ob. -26, 37-41 (partially published by: Avelan F. K. Corvette "Rynda". Extract from the report of Commander Captain 1st Rank Avelan. February 4, 1888 / / Marine Collection, 1888, No. 7. Izvestiya o plavanii nashe sudov za granitseyu, pp. 4-9).

10 Ibid. d. 869. l. 53-54ob.

11 Ibid. f. 410. Op. 2. d. 2603. l. 310-312, 314-315; d. 4063. l. 464-466ob. (partially published by: Aslanbegov A. B. Detachment of Pacific Ocean Vessels. Extract from the report of the commander of the detachment, Rear Admiral Aslanbegov // Marine collection. 1882. N 5. Marine chronicle. p. 1-26); F. 417. Op. 1. D. 915. L. 155ob. -160; Linden A.M. Notes on Australia (from notes on swimming in 1863) / / Marine Collection. 1864. N 4. Ed. 3. P. 169-202; Mukhanov P. S. Sidney // Marine collection. 1863. N 11. Ed. 3. pp. 101-121; Boratynsky I. A. Voyage of the corvette "Boyarin" (excerpts from the diary of a naval officer). Moscow, 1886; Linden V. M. In the Pacific Ocean (from the circumnavigation of the "Boyarina")//Bulletin of Europe. 1871. N 7. pp. 121-171; Rudnev V. F. Circumnavigation of the cruiser "Africa" in 1880-1883. St. Petersburg, 1909; Timofeevsky F. A. Melbourne (from memories) // Kronshtadt Bulletin. 22.04.1901.

12 Album of circumnavigation of the world on the corvette "Rynda" by E. I. V. V. K. Alexander Mikhailovich in 1886-1889, Part I-II (Central Naval Museum, sector for storing photographs and photonegatives. Inv. N 032978, 032979).

Mertsalov D. V. 13 Korabelnyj meditsinskij zhurnal, vedennyy na 60-ti pushechnom helovom frigate "Svitlana" srshimi doktorom G. Mertsalov s 13 May 1859 g. po 10 jul'ya 1862 g. [13 Ship medical journal conducted on the 60-gun screw frigate "Svetlana" by senior doctor G. Mertsalov from May 13, 1859 to July 10, 1862]. Meditsinskie povedeniya k morskoy sborniku (hereinafter - MPMS), 1864, Issue 4, pp. 97-172, 1865. 5. P. 124-231; Timrot K. G. Medical journal for the campaign of the corvette "Bogatyr" / / MPMS. 1869. Issue 8. pp. 158-198; Smirnov M. V. Sanitary and medico-topographic review of the navigation of the screw clipper "Plastun" in 1880-1883 // MPMS. 1884. N 9. P. 1-50, N 10. P. 1-49, N 11. P. 1-38, N 12. P. 1-56; Burtsev P. A. Newcastle (from urgent reports from the corvette "Rynda" of the ship's doctor P. A. Burtsev) / / MPMS. 1888. N 11. P. 369-370.

14 See, for example: Linden A.M. Edict. op. p. 181-184; Linden V. M. Edict. op. p. 125.

Rudnev V. F. 15 Decree. op. P. 115; Linden V. M. Decree. op. p. 124; Mukhanov P. S. Australia... L. bbob.; Timofeevsky F. A. Decree. op.

Vitkovskaya S. V. 16 Krugom zemli [16 Circle of the earth]. Travel Memoirs, St. Petersburg, 1915, p. 206.

Zimmerman E. R. 17 Travel to Australia and Oceania // Domestic notes. 1882. N 8. P. 307-336; N 9. P. 87-110; N 12. P. 443-488; 1883. N 7. P. 71-112; N 8. P. 349-384; N 9. P. 219-240. For the quoted statement, see: N 12. p. 461.

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18 Russian State Historical Archive (hereinafter - RGIA). F. 468. Op. 21. D. 1114; Perret L. A. Gold industry in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. Gorny zhurnal, 1894, No. 10, pp. 1-71; No. 11, pp. 153-216; No. 12, pp. 329-363; ond. Ocherk polozheniya zolotogo dela v Australii [An outline of the position of the gold industry in Australia]. 1893/94. N 2. p. 25-28; N 4. P. 56-59; N 6. P. 81-82; N 8. P. 113-115; N 10. P. 145 - 148; N 14. P. 228-229; N 16. P. 246-247; N 18 P. 286 - 289; N 20. p. 320 - 323; N 22. P. 362 - 365; N 24. P. 408 - 411; Reutovsky V. S. Pis'ma iz zagranitsy [Letters from abroad]. 1898. N 23. P. 575-576; N 24. P. 604-607; 1899. N 1. P. 15-18; N 3. P. 71-72; N 4. P. 97-99; N 5. P. 125-127; N 6. P. 157-160; N 7. P. 189-190; N 8. P. 215-217; N 9. P. 238-239; N 10. P. 258-259; N 11. P. 282-283; RGIA. F. 59. Op. 1. D. 130.

Vestnik zolotopromyshlennosti i gornogo dela obshchego [Bulletin of Gold Industry and Mining in General . 1899. N 7. P. 189.

20 It must be said that these attempts often found a corresponding response. So, after the publication of the report of L. A. Perret on a trip to Australia, reviews of it appeared in the " Government Bulletin "(3.05.1895) and " Bulletin of Finance, Industry and Trade "(1895. N 44. p. 360-361), and on the pages of the "Amur Newspaper "(25.02.1896, 14.04.1896, 21.04.1896) developed even a discussion on "What we can learn from the gold miners of Australia and New Zealand".

21 For more information, see: Volskaya B. A. Miklukho-Maklay's project on the creation of a Russian free colony on the Pacific Islands // Australia and Oceania, Moscow, 1970. pp. 35-52; Massov A. Ya. Miklukho-Maklay N. N. on the creation of a Russian sphere of influence in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean ./ Outstanding traveler and humanist (Proceedings of the international scientific conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay). St. Petersburg, 1996, pp. 24-26.

Miklukho-Maklay N. N. 22 Collected works Vol. 1-6. Moscow, 1990-1999.

23 See: Baron Mikluho-Maclay / / Nature. 22.09.1881. P. 502; Chrism B. Great Bear and Southern Cross: The Russian Presence in Australia // Russia and the Fifth Continent. Aspects of Russian-Australian Relations. Brisbane, 1992. P. 92.

24 See: Miklukho-Maklay N. N. Collected Works Vol. 5. Letters, documents and materials, Moscow, 1996; as well as documents stored in the St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (hereinafter - PFA RAS). f. 143. Op. 1. D. 42.

25 See: Letters of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay to Russian and foreign statesmen and politicians (N. N. Miklukho-Maklay Collected Works Vol. 5); for details, see: Massov A. Ya. Correspondence of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia N. K. Girs on military matters preparations and political situation in Australia and Oceania // Strany i narody Vostoka [Countries and Peoples of the East], St. Petersburg, 1994, vol. XVIII, pp. 204-223.

26 Along with the letters of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay, see his collection of documents on this slave trade (PFA RAS. F. 143. Op. 1. D. 20).

27 See the letter of N. N. Miklukho-Maklay to Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovich dated April 24 (May 6), 1883 (Miklukho-Maklay N. N. Collected Works Vol. 5, pp. 325-328).

28 For the Queensland action, see: British Parliamentary Papers. Further Correspondence Respecting New Guinea. C. 3617. L., 1883. P. 118 - 137.

Miklukho-Maklay N. N. 29 Collected works Vol. 5. P. 409 - 413,420 - 427, 445, 432 - 443. For the originals of these letters and related documents, see: Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (hereinafter-AVPRI). f. 155. Op. 403. D. 104.

30 For a number of similar publications under the same title "From the Russian Consul in Melbourne", see: Vestnik finansov, promyshlennosti i tradatsii (hereinafter referred to as the RFPT). 1896. N 11. pp. 669-670; N 15. pp. 100-101; N 25. pp. 1011-1013; 1897. N 4. P. 203-204; N 7. P. 378-379; N 12. P. 767; N 13. P. 811; N 33. P. 274; N 40. p. 29; N 50. p. 832-833. See also excerpts from the reports of N. P. Passek: People's Census in Australia / / Collection of consular reports (hereinafter-SKD). 1901. Issue 5. pp. 418-422; Agricultural industry in Australia/ / SKD. 1902. Issue. 2. p. 141-158 (same: WFTU. 1902. N 12. pp. 612-616); Sugar industry in Australia / / SKD. 1902. Issue 5. pp. 422-425; Mining industry of the Australian state of Victoria // SKD. 1902.Issue 6. pp. 502-511.

31 The Australian Handbook. L., Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, 1890. P. 148, 224.

32 AVPRI. F. 256. Op. 555a. d. 1264. l. 29, 30-43,46; F. 256. Op. 555a. D. 1279. L. 115, 130 - 143, 148 - 156.

33 For quotations from A. D. Putyata's reports, see: AVPRI. F. 184. Op. 520. D. 692. L. 105ob, 62ob, 35, 17ob, 40, 130-130ob, 84, 170; D. 859. L. 178ob; D. 779. L. 100-101ob.

34 For quotations from the reports of R. R. Ungern-Sternberg, see: AVPRI. F. 184. Op. 520. D. 779, 820, 859. L. 58-59ob; RGIA. F. 426. Op. 1. D. 138.

35 From 1898 to 1899, N. G. Matyunin was listed as the Russian Consul in Melbourne, but he never started working in Australia, continuing to fulfill the duties of his previous position as the Russian Consul General in Korea. For N. P. Passek's reports, see: RGIA. f. 95. Op. 4. D. 110. L. 2ob.; AVPRI. F. 184. Op. 520. D. 1004.

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