Судан и Большой Ближний Восток

168 II. Россия — Восток the same time, this entire range of sentiments has its own understanding of the good of the Fatherland as its internal core”. 1 However, the participation of Russian volunteers in the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902) deserves special discussion. “Russia, like all major countries at the time, harboured imperialist aspi- rations which were mirrored by strong pro-imperialist sentiment at popular level. Many Russian volunteers came to South Africa on the assumption that they needed to gain experience for an inevitable future war with Britain. Such a war was perceived as simply a natural political development”. 2 From the long list of key moments under which Russia developed in the 19th century, it is worth highlighting two: the limitation of autocracy, which was never achieved despite truly colossal efforts, and the abolition of serfdom, which was achieved only during the reign of Alexander II the Liberator. However, we must make a reservation, to the already mentioned milestones we will have to add much of what, in our opinion, led the situation to the tragic end of the Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. By the beginning of the 19th century Russia was one of the largest countries in Europe, the main branch of the economy of which was agriculture, since the vast majority of the population lived in the countryside and was engaged in processing of the land plots. Nevertheless, the land continued to remain the monopoly property of the state, and the land issue was very acute. In the first quarter of the 19th century Russia was in search of new forms of organizing the socio-economic and political life of the 1 Krot M. N., Chernicin S. V., Zavyalova O. O. The Patriotic Enthusiasm during the Crimean War (1853–1856) аs a factor of modernization turn in Russia // Bylye Gody . Vol. 43. Iss. 1. 2017. P. 105. URL: https://www.research- gate.net/publication/316935701_The_Patriotic_Enthusiasm_during_the_ Crimean_War_1853–1856_as_a_Factor_of_Modernization_Turn_in_Russia (accessed: 27.10.2023). 2 Davidson A., Filatova I. The Russians and the Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902. Cape Town — Pretoria — Johannesburg: Human & Rousseau, 1998. P. 63.