Аннотация:Modernization theory is the discourse which is currently being discussed in social and humanitarian studies. However, its categorical apparatus is not sufficiently developed. For instance, such terms as “the modernization mechanism” and “the factor of modernization” are not clearly defined. The article is aimed at the consideration of modern interpretations given to the above mentioned terms and development of ideas about their nature and main features in order to analyze modernization processes in Russia during the 18th - the beginning of the 20th centuries. The paper is focused on modernization theory as the main approach to the problem. Despite many ideas about its nature, the authors agree with the classical interpretation of modernization as the transition from the traditional (agrarian) society to the modern (industrial) one giving arguments in favour of such an approach to the history of the Russian state during the Imperial period. Like many other researchers the authors believe that modernization in Russia was characterized by the process of catching up with other countries.