Gardens of Empire: Imperial Practices and the Construction of a New Imperial Space

The Empire, as one of the political forms of state systems, existed at all times and on all continents. Its main feature has been the unification of numerous ethnic groups with different cultural, political and economic characteristics under a Center. Usually this unification led to the establishment of domination over the subjugated peoples with the help of imperial practices. One of these is the botanical garden. The imperial garden idea expressed many concepts of Empire: ideological, political, cultural, educational, etc. This institution was primarily intended to underline the Empire greatness through metaphors of center, paradise, prosperity, unity of different parties, etc. This was evident in the Modern history Empires, which arose because of the West's special interest in plant resources or their accompanying commodities: spices, sugar, silk, cotton, and others. The imperial garden in this time was designed to serve the Metropolis interests and at the same time for the colony development, which was carried out in accordance with the Center interests. The formation of this institution in Russia took place simultaneously in the Center and on the Frontier. The Astrakhan case shows well how this institution was formed in the region in the 18th century according to national trends. While some regions made progress during this period, the Center exhibited the opposite trend. After the breakthrough in the Petrine era, the development of this institution was not in line with the Empire objectives. In the 19th century, a tendency to realize the importance of this institution appeared again.