How railways redrew the country’s map: a new episode of the project "8 Steps Across the Map of Russia"

A new episode of the educational video project named "8 Steps Across the Map of Russia" is now available on the website of the National Centre RUSSIA. The seventh episode — "The First Railway as an Artery of the Empire" — tells the story of how the development of the railway network transformed the country's economy, industry and social life. The experts featured in the episode are Vladimir Kalutskov, Doctor of Geographical Sciences and Professor at the Department of Regional Studies, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Regional Studies, Moscow State University, and Dmitry Nesterenko, Candidate of Geographical Sciences and Vice-Rector of Murmansk Arctic University. The episode can be viewed via the link on the National Centre RUSSIA website.

Viewers will learn why defeat in the Crimean War became a catalyst for large-scale modernisation of the Russian Empire, how the first railway evolved not only into a transport artery but also into a cultural space where concerts and social events were held, and why the construction of the Nikolaevskaya Railway required vast quantities of metal and coal, giving a powerful boost to geological exploration and industry. The episode also reveals some unexpected consequences of railway construction: why Veliky Novgorod found itself bypassed by the country's main line, while Suzdal, by contrast, preserved its historic character.

The authors also pay special attention to how railways influenced the exploration of Siberia, the development of geological science and the formation of a new working class. Viewers will discover how the first geological expeditions followed the tracks across the country, why the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway dramatically increased the flow of settlers beyond the Urals, and how industrial development changed not only the economy but also society.

The project "8 Steps Across the Map of Russia" continues to tell the story of the country through the spaces, routes and events that shaped its development. The new episode demonstrates that railways were not just an engineering achievement, but a force that redrew the map of Russia, accelerated the development.