Participation of Professor Olga Volosyuk in the 47th Cervantes Readings

On April 15 and 16, Professor Olga Volosyuk, Academic Supervisor of the School of Regional Studies, presented a paper at the 47th Cervantes Readings. This event is traditionally organized by the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and Saint Petersburg State University, with the participation of the RAS Scientific Council on the History of World Culture.

Her report, titled "How to Rebuild Russia: Agustín de Betancourt's 1820 Project for the Modernization of the Russian Empire", focused on the work of Spanish engineer Agustín de Betancourt. Invited to Russia by Alexander I, Betancourt was tasked with overseeing urban development in Saint Petersburg and organizing the Empire's transportation networks. In 1820, after an inspection tour along the Volga, the Caucasus, and Crimea, he submitted a report on December 15 addressing the improvement of navigation in the Volga and Kama basins, the connection of the Volga and Don rivers, the construction of the Georgian Military Road, the expansion of Black Sea ports, and the development of Caucasian mineral springs.

Betancourt's 1820 proposals served as a blueprint for transforming Russia from an "infant" economic state into a leading European power through engineering sovereignty. He argued that the country's prosperity depended not on natural gifts, but on the government's resolve to invest in technology and infrastructure. He maintained that such investments would pay off manifold, turning stagnant borderlands into the engine of the national economy, with a particular emphasis on Russia's southern regions, including Crimean roads and cities, Odessa, Kherson, and Mykolaiv.