Agricultural engineering in the Middle Volga region in the late XIX - early XX century

Introduction. Observed in the late XIX - early XX centuries intensification of state participation in the development of the engineering industry was primarily due to the need to solve military-strategic problems against the background of militarization unfolding throughout the world. The support for certain areas of the so-called civil engineering was considered as one of the tools of overall economic growth and a way to increase the well-being of the people. One of these priority areas was agricultural engineering. This article will attempt to consider the development of the production of agricultural machinery and implements in the provinces of the Middle Volga region against the background of the development of this industry segment in Russia as a whole. Materials and Methods. In solving the research problems, archival materials, published data of official statistics, and also scientific literature were used. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was made by the methods of socio-economic history. The study was conducted on the basis of the principles of historicism, objectivity and systematic. The need for quantitative data processing led to the use of the statistical method. The use of modernization theory made it possible to include the development processes of the production of agricultural machinery and implements in the trend of industrial modernization. Results. Based on the study of archival and published sources, as well as the available scientific literature, the conditions, factors and basic parameters of the development of agricultural engineering in the provinces of the Middle Volga region in the late XIX - early XX centuries were examined in the context of general trends in the development of this industry on a national scale. The study showed that the first decade of the XX century is characterized by a rather dynamic development of domestic agricultural engineering, including in the Middle Volga. Several factors contributed to this: the trend of technical re-equipment of agriculture, improvement of market and transport infrastructure, the success of metallurgy in the region, customs protection, stimulation of producers through soft loans and bonuses, etc. Discussion and Conclusion. Despite the individual, mainly local successes in the development of agricultural engineering in the Middle Volga region, its role in the industrial and industrial structure of the region is hardly worth recognizing. Difficulties in the development of this area of engineering in the Middle Volga region were associated with increased competition from enterprises of industrially developed regions of Russia, foreign manufacturers, as well as handicraft production. The unfolding processes of monopolization had a double effect on agricultural engineering. On the one hand, they increased pressure on manufacturers, primarily from large metallurgical syndicates. On the other hand, the consolidation of agricultural machinery manufacturers at the beginning of the 20th century within the framework of the created monopolistic union contributed to the development of the industry as a whole and the creation of the most favorable conditions for industrial entrepreneurship in this area, including with the participation of the state.