The firm “F. Schwabe” in the context of Russian industrialization in the second half of the XIX - early XX century

Introduction. The relevance of the stated topic is due to the significance of the problem of the formation of entrepreneurship as an important social component of industrial and post-industrial society. Many modern contradictory processes of post-industrial globalized society have analogs in the modernization of the second half of the XIX - early XX century. Materials and Methods. The modernization paradigm was chosen as the main strategy of the study, and this choice contributed to the identification of socio-political, socio-economic and socio-cultural influences on the formation of entrepreneurship in Russia. The history of the formation of the Schwabe company - from a small shop selling imported optics to a large enterprise - was considered in the context of the processes of industrialization in the optical industry as a whole. The technique of combining macro and micro-historical research was used. Results. The history of the formation of the company F. Schwabe reflected the peculiarities of the development of industrial society in Russia: the uneven course of the industrial revolution, dependence on imports, and technological backwardness were combined with high rates of development, the use of various mechanisms for expanding influence in the industry: publishing catalogs, opening new stores and branches throughout the Russian Empire, attracting capital from shareholders and investments from foreign banks, cooperation with educational institutions, the Boundary Office as consumers of optical devices, free packaging and delivery of goods to consumers, participation in Russian and international industrial exhibitions. Discussion and Conclusions. The Russian bourgeoisie has become an important socio-organizing factor in the development of the optical industry. Its vital activity played a significant role in the formation of industrial society. It is safe to say that the firm F. Schwabe was at the forefront of Russia’s modernization at the turn of the century. Working in a new promising sector of the economy - the production and sale of optical devices - the owners of the company actively conquered the market. The history of the Schwabe company is presented in the study not only as the evolution of production capacities and technologies, but also as the history of entrepreneurial experience, socio-cultural activities of the bourgeoisie, the continuity of entrepreneurial traditions and bourgeois values.