Russian Empire in the second half of the 18th century. Russian Empire in the 18th century

1. The state apparatus of the absolute monarchy in Russia in the first quarter of the VIII century.

The establishment of absolutism in Russia. Bureaucratic apparatus. Changes in the state system in the first quarter of the 18th century. were prepared by all the previous development of the country: the growth of productive forces in the Agriculture and handicrafts, the formation of a single all-Russian market, the emergence of manufactory production, etc.

Nevertheless, due to unfavorable foreign policy conditions (constant struggle with external enemies, lack of access to the open seas) in the 17th century. the backwardness of the Russian state in comparison with the most developed states of Western Europe, which had embarked on the path of capitalist development (England, Holland, and partly France), became especially noticeable.

A monarchy with a Boyar Duma, a loose order apparatus and a voivode could not solve complex domestic and foreign policy problems. It was necessary to strengthen the state system by transforming the higher, central and local apparatus and army, transforming the head of state - the autocratic tsar - into the bearer of absolute (unlimited) power.

Certain features of absolutism in Russia appeared with mid XVII century, but only since the reign of Peter 1 (1689-1725) the autocratic monarchy acquired the character of an absolute when " supreme power belongs wholly and inseparably (unlimitedly) to the king. "

The power of the monarch was consolidated in the laws of the first quarter of the 18th century. “His Majesty,” noted in the “interpretation” to Article 20 of the Military Regulations of 1716, “is an autocratic monarch who should not give an answer to anyone in the world in his affairs; governs by his own will and benevolence. "

The expansion and bureaucratization of the state apparatus required new command personnel regular army and the bureaucracy of the civilian apparatus. The legislation of Peter I introduced compulsory military or civilian service for the nobles. The church and numerous clergy were involved in the service of the state.

The influx of new bureaucratic forces caused the creation of a bureaucratic hierarchy of service ranks established by the "Table of Ranks" on January 24, 1722. In replacing posts in the army, the navy and in the state apparatus, the "Table" took into account not only nobility, but also personal merits, abilities, experience ...

As a result of reforms in the field of management, a system of bureaucratic government agencies: Senate, Synod, Cabinet and collegia - in the center, governors, voivode, commissars and other bodies - in the field. The main cadres of officials in this apparatus were occupied by the noble landowners. It was a "bureaucratic-noble monarchy".

The ideology of the feudal monarchy was religion, but absolutism also needed other ideological foundations. In order to strengthen their positions, individual Russian monarchs of the 18th century. supported their policy, following the example of a number of Western European monarchs, with references to advanced bourgeois philosophy (natural law, enlightenment), sought to present themselves in the eyes of the foreign, as well as the arisen in Russia, noble society as "enlightened monarchs." The secondary state function of guiding science, education, charity and education acquired great importance. The monarchy of Peter I bore the character of "enlightened absolutism". Relying on the philosophy of natural law, Peter I justified all his actions with "national benefit and needs." educational institutions; Peter I prepared the opening of the Academy of Sciences (opened in December 1725)

The "enlightened absolutism" of Peter I was combined with the strengthening of the punitive apparatus. The absolute monarchy was a "regular" police state. Police regulations permeated all aspects of the activity of the bureaucratic apparatus. "General Regulations" February 28, 1720 established the order of activity and office work of state institutions in Russia. All the collegia had "regulations". The cruelty of punishments was closely related to police regulations. The Military Articles of 1716 added thirteen more to the 1649 "Code" that existed by the death penalty in sixty cases (among them there was "resistance to the authorities"). To the old types of the death penalty were added: execution, execution by lot; to self-injurious punishments pulling out nostrils, tongue and stigma; sending to galleys (hard labor) was a new type of link.

In the first quarter of the 18th century. characteristic was the application of military criminal laws to civilians. In the conditions of the long Northern War (1700-1721), popular unrest and uprisings, the state administration and court apparatus in the country bore a military-police character.

Peter the Great, who received the title of Emperor on October 22, 1721, was an outstanding and energetic statesman. By far not complete calculations, 3314 decrees, regulations and statutes were issued to his board; in the compilation and editing of many of them, Peter 1 was personally involved. With his participation, the most extensive "General Regulations" was drawn up - the law that determined the activities of the collegia, the decree on the position of the Prosecutor General of 1722; he personally wrote the Naval Regulations of 1720. In many decrees, Peter 1 emphasized his unlimited power, justifying it.

Higher state institutions. Boyar Duma to late XVII in has lost its former meaning. In 9C 1, the Duma was still meeting, but the tsar resolved the main issues of domestic and foreign policy on his own, fixing them in "nominal" decrees.

The composition of the Duma has more than halved over the last decade of the century. Usually at its meetings in 1700-1701. 30-40 members attended.

In 1699 at Boyar Duma the Near Chancellery for financial control over the receipt and expenditure of funds of all orders was established. Soon the competence of this office increased. It became a meeting place for members of the Boyar Duma. Since 1704, the chiefs of orders began to gather here. Since 1708, these permanent meetings have been called the Consilia (or Konzilia) of ministers (as the heads of orders were sometimes called), where various issues of state administration were discussed. In the absence of the king, Consilia of ministers ruled the state. The Boyar Duma stopped meeting.

With the establishment of the Senate, the Consilia of Ministers ceased to exist. Limited by the function of financial control, the Near Chancellery existed until the establishment of the Revision Board.

The frequent departures of Peter I prompted him to create a supreme state body with broader powers than the Near Chancellery and the Consilia of Ministers. On February 22, 1711, on the eve of the departure to the Prut campaign, a decree was approved establishing the Government Senate, which, apparently, at first it was assumed by the tsar as a temporary body ("for our absences"), but soon it turned into a permanently operating higher government institution.

The Senate was a collegial body whose members were appointed by the king. Of the nine members of the Senate, only three were representatives of the ancient titled nobility (Prince Dolgoruky, Prince G.I. Volkonsky, Prince P.A. (T.N. Streshnev, I.A.Musin-Pushkin), to recognized businessmen (G.A.Plemyannikov) or nobles (M.V. Samarin, Z.G. Apukhtin, N.P. Melnitsky). Only three of the senators (Musin-Pushkin, Streshnev and Nephews) were members of the Boyar Duma in the past. Under the Senate, an office was established, headed by the chief secretary. Additional decrees on March 2 and 5, 1711 determined the functions and procedure for the activity of the Senate, which was supposed to take care of the observance of justice, about government revenues and expenses, about the appearance of nobles in the service, etc. in the early years of its existence, the functions of the Senate were varied, and the competence was unusually broad. However, already during this period, the tsar did not share his power with the Senate. The Senate was a legislative institution, with the exception of a few extraordinary cases when, in the absence of the king, it played the role of a legislative body.

The Senate was an oversight body for the government apparatus and officials. This supervision was carried out initially created in March 1711 fiscal, whose task was to secretly eavesdrop, visit and report all crimes that harm the state, violations of laws, bribery, embezzlement, etc. The fiscal was not punished for unfair denunciations, and for correct ones he received rewards equal to half of the judicial fine from the official he had caught. The Fiscals were led by the Senate Ober-Fiscal, who maintained contact with them through the fiscal desk of the Senate Chancellery. Denunciations were considered and reported to the Senate on a monthly basis by the Disciplinary Chamber - a special judicial presence of four judges and two senators (existed in 1712-1719)

In contrast to the Boyar Duma, the Senate already in the first years became a bureaucratic institution with appointed officials, clerks and subordinate institutions.

With the creation of colleges, their presidents from 1718 became members of the Senate. However, in a decree of January 12, 1722, Peter 1 was forced to recognize the presence of presidents in the Senate as undesirable and incorrect, since it made it difficult to supervise the collegia and distract the presidents from their immediate affairs. After this decree, only four collegiums remained in the Senate: the Foreign, Military, Admiralty, and temporarily Berg collegia.

After finishing the war with Sweden, Peter could pay more attention to management issues. Soon after he assumed the title of emperor, the Senate was prohibited from issuing national laws in its own name. In 1722, the Prosecutor General was put at the head of the Senate. The closest assistant to the governor-general was the chief prosecutor. Prosecutors were appointed in the collegiums and court courts.

The Prosecutor General received enormous rights, enshrined in law by his "Position" on April 27, 1722. He was entrusted with overseeing the entire routine of the Senate: he summoned senators, watched over the correctness of their attendance at meetings; the general-fiscal and the office of the Senate were subordinate to him. The "proposals" of the Attorney General had a decisive influence on the Senate sentences: he even had the right to initiate legislation.

The complex bureaucratic state apparatus created at the end of the reign of Peter I required elementary supervision, the body of which became the Senate. The main role in the implementation of this supervision was played by the Prosecutor General, who, acting through the prosecutors and fiscal subordinates to him, acted as "the Tsarevo's eye and solicitors about state affairs."

During the first 14 years of its existence, the Senate from supreme body management of the state has become the supreme body of supervision over government in the state.

The largest feudal landowner of the Russian state remained the church, which by the end of the 17th century. still retained some political independence, which was incompatible with the unlimited power of the monarch.

When Patriarch Andrian died in 1700, Peter I decided to "wait" with the election of a new patriarch. The Ryazan Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky was temporarily appointed at the head of the clergy.

A highly educated church figure, an admirer of the transformations of Peter I, Bishop Feofan Prokopovich of Pskov, on the instructions and with the help of the tsar, compiled the "Spiritual Regulations" and the scientific treatise "The Truth of the Monarch's Will", in which he gave a theoretical basis for absolutism. On January 25, 1721, Peter I approved the "Spiritual Regulations", according to which the Spiritual Collegium was established, which was soon transformed (on February 14) into the Holy Governing Synod. On May 11, 1722, Peter I appointed a chief prosecutor to supervise the activities of the Synod.

Central government agencies. In 1699 - 1701 reform was carried out central administration, which consisted in the unification of a number of orders, which either completely merged, or were united under the command of one person, while maintaining the apparatus of each order separately. In connection with the new needs of the country (especially with the beginning of the Northern War), several new orders arose. By the fall of 1699, there were 44 orders, but a significant part of them operated together, making up 25 independent institutions.

Orders at the beginning of the 18th century. represented a motley and discordant system of institutions with fuzzy functions and parallelism in activities, imperfect office work, red tape and gross arbitrariness of officials. Separate branches of management (management of the urban estate, finance, manufactories, mining, trade, etc.) were divided among several orders.All this hindered the implementation of the tasks of the state in new historical conditions, pushed the search for other organizational forms of the central state apparatus.

Reform of 1718 - 1720 abolished most of the orders and introduced collegia. A total of 12 collegia were created. The most important, "state" were considered the first three: Foreign (foreign) affairs, Military (Military), Admiralteyskaya; Kamer-, State-offices-, Revisions were in charge of the financial system of the state; Berg-, Manufactur-, Commerce-collegiums were in charge of industry and trade; The Justitz Collegium dealt with the judicial system, Votchinnaya - the affairs of the ruling nobility and the Chief Magistrate - the management of cities and the affairs of the nascent bourgeoisie.

Initially, each collegium was guided by its own regulations, but on February 28, 1720, an extensive (of 56 chapters) "General Regulations" was issued, which determined the uniformity of the organizational structure, the order of activities and office work. Throughout the XVIII century. all government agencies of Russia were guided by this law.

Colleges differed from orders by collegial (joint) discussion and solution of cases, uniformity of the organizational structure, office work and clearer competence.

The colleges were central institutions subordinate to the king and the Senate; the local apparatus was subordinate to collegia for various branches of management.

Each collegium consisted of a presence (general meeting of members) and an office. The presence had 10 - II members and consisted of a president, a vice president, four to five advisers and four assessors. The president of the college was appointed by the king. The vice president and members were appointed by the Senate and confirmed by the king.

In case of negligence of the members, the president had to remind them of their duties with "polite words", and in case of their disobedience, inform the Senate; he could also initiate before the Senate the question of replacing that member of the collegium who is "not very sensible" In 1722, to supervise the activities of the collegiums, a prosecutor was appointed to each of them, subordinate to the prosecutor general of the Senate. Fiscals also existed under the collegia.

The "General Regulations" laid down the exact timetable for the meetings of the collegiums; on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; on Thursday, the presidents sat in the Senate. The main form of the collegium's activity was meetings of its general presence. Cases were resolved "by the greatest number of votes" (that is, by the majority); in case of equality of votes, the preponderance was given by the opinion for which the president spoke. Since 1722, each college had its own office in Moscow.

Local government offices. Under the new historical conditions, the old system of local institutions and officials with a lack of uniformity in territorial division and government bodies, departmental variegation, and uncertainty of functions ceased to satisfy. The apparatus of the governor and the laborer could not quickly and decisively fight various manifestations of popular discontent, collect taxes, enlist in the army, and carry out reforms prescribed from the center.

In 1699, the posad population was separated from the power of the governor. The merchants, artisans and small traders of the cities received the right to choose from their midst the bailiffs, united in burmister (zemstvo) huts.

By the decree of December 18, 1708, "for the benefit of the whole people", 8 provinces were created: Moscow, Ingermanland (from 1710 Petersburg), Smolensk, Kiev, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberia. In 1713, the Riga province was created, with the abolition of the Smolensk province, and in 1714 - the Nizhny Novgorod and Astrakhan province. These were the most extensive administrative-territorial units, unequal in territory and population. There were 39 cities in Moscow province, 77 in Azov, 17 in Smolensk, etc. The huge Siberian province (centered in Tobolsk) included Perm and Vyatka. At the head of the St. Petersburg and Azov provinces were governors-general A. D. Menshikov and F. M. Apraksin. The rest of the provinces were ruled by governors appointed from among the most prominent statesmen.

The governors received extraordinary powers: each of them not only had administrative, police, financial and judicial functions, but also was the commander of all the troops located in the province under his jurisdiction. The governor ruled the province with the help of the provincial chancellery, where clerks and clerks were located (the latter soon became known as secretaries). The closest assistants to the governor were the lieutenant governor and the landrichter. Landrichter was supposed to be in charge of judicial affairs under the leadership of the governor, but in practice he was often entrusted with financial, land-surveying and search cases. food master.

Each province included the established in the XVII century. counties, headed by commandants from 1710 instead of voivods. Governors, commandants and other officials corrected their office without a term; a clearer division of affairs and bureaucratic subordination existed between these officials.

Wishing to put the activities of the governors under the control of the local nobility, the government, by a decree of 1713, established 8-12 landrats (advisers) for each governor, elected by the nobles. It was practically impossible to create the Landrat collegia under the governors. The Landrats appointed by the Senate became officials who carried out certain orders of the governors.

The first reform of the local apparatus 1708 - 1715 somewhat streamlined the government apparatus, destroying the departmental diversity and the principles of territorial division and administration. Caused by the introduction of the poll tax, the reform of 1719-1720. was a continuation of the first administrative reform. In May 1719, the territory of each province (there were 11 provinces in total by that time) was divided into several provinces; in the Petersburg province there were II, in the Moscow province - 9, in the Kiev province - 4, etc. A total of 45 provinces were established, and soon their number increased to fifty. As an administrative-territorial unit, the province continued to exist; in the Senate and collegiums, all statements, lists and various information were compiled by provinces, but the governor's power extended only to the province of the provincial city. The province became the main unit of territorial division. The most important provinces were headed by governors-general, governors and vice-governors, and the rest were headed by governors.

All institutions created under the new administrative reform had to start working no later than January 1, 1720. In fact, they began to operate only in 1721.

Almost simultaneously with the local reform in 1719, a judicial reform was carried out (1720), according to which an attempt was made to separate the court from the administration by creating two independent courts; lower (provincial and city) and court courts. The provincial court consisted of an Oberlandrichter and several assessors and tried the rural population, and the city court tried the urban population that was not part of the posad community. Court courts were created in the provinces: in five provinces - one court each, in three - (in St. Petersburg, Riga and Siberian) - two each: in the Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan provinces there were no courts. Court courts had a collegial structure and were the second instance in criminal and civil cases. The third instance was the Justitz Collegium, and the highest was the Senate. However, this order of the courts was often not followed.

Despite the creation of local bodies of separate collegia and the proclaimed separation of the court from the administration, the governors and voivods actively intervened in the activities of local bodies of departments and courts. In 1722. provincial courts were abolished, and their cases again came under the jurisdiction of the governors, as well as assessors from retired officers. Court courts were abolished in 1727

The increasing complexity of the tasks of administrative bodies and institutions in the new and old capitals of the state - in St. Petersburg and Moscow - caused the creation of independent police bodies: in 1718 - the chief of police in St. Petersburg, and in 1722 - the chief police chief. in Moscow. They had the corresponding offices of police affairs. The police bodies of the capitals were entrusted with the maintenance of order, peace and safety, catching the runaways, food activities, issues of urban improvement, etc. In their activities, these bodies relied on the elders of the streets and ten. In other cities and provinces, the police have not yet separated from the administration and police tasks were carried out by local administrators (governors, voivods, commissars, etc.) and their respective institutions.

In 1723-1724. the reform of the city estate administration was completed. The regulations of the Chief Magistrate divided the townspeople into "regular" and irregular ("vile"). The "regular" ones were subdivided into guilds and workshops. Guilds were originally built on a professional basis. The first guild, along with wealthy merchants, included city doctors and pharmacists, painters, skippers of merchant ships and representatives of some other professions (including bankers that did not exist in Russia), and the second - small traders and artisans. Soon, the guilds turned into merchant corporate associations in terms of their property status.

For all artisans, it was obligatory to register in the workshops. Guilds and guilds had their own elders, who were in charge of both estate affairs, and the implementation of some functions of state administration in the police and financial fees (accounting for the draft population, collecting taxes, recruiting, etc.).

In 1723-1724. city ​​magistrates were created, replacing the burmister huts. Magistrates were collegiate institutions that consisted of the president, 2 - 4 bailiffs and 2-8 ratmans (depending on the significance and size of the city). These officials were not chosen from the entire settlement population, but only from "citizens of the first rank, kind, prosperous and smart." The most important judicial decisions of the magistrates were submitted to the court courts for approval. Guilds and guilds were subordinate to magistrates. V small towns town halls with a simpler structure and narrower competence were established.

In the first quarter of the XVIII century. the autocratic monarchy with the Boyar Duma and the boyar bureaucracy turned into an absolute monarchy headed by the emperor. Orders and governors were replaced by a Senate-led system of bureaucratic institutions - collegia, and locally by governors and other officials. The Russian state became the Russian Empire.

2. Development of the state system in the second quarter of the 18th century.

In the second quarter of the 18th century. v state system the country has undergone a number of changes. The struggle for the throne lasted the entire second quarter of the 18th century. It is no coincidence that this period of the Russian history of V.O. Klyuchevsky called it "the era of palace coups."

After the death of Peter I, the role of the Senate as the supreme governing body begins to decline. In February 1726, under Catherine I (1725-1727), the Supreme Privy Council was established, which took away a number of powers from the Senate. The Empress herself was considered the chairman of the Council, and among its seven members there were two favorites: Alexander Menshigov and Pyotr Tolstoy. Prince D.M. Golitsyn, a representative of the noble aristocracy, was also included in the Council. The Supreme Privy Council began to consider complaints about the actions of the Senate and select candidates for senators. With such a neighborhood, the Senate turned into one of the collegia, and the Supreme Privy Council became higher institution in the state, the first three colleges (Military, Admiralty and Foreign Affairs), as well as the Senate were subordinate to him. The latter lost the title of ruling and began to be called high. The Supreme Privy Council acquires legislative powers, laws are signed either by the Empress (Catherine I) or by the Supreme Privy Council. By organizing the Supreme Privy Council and introducing a representative of the aristocracy into it, Catherine tried, on the one hand, to reduce Menshikov's personal influence, and on the other, to soften the contradictions that existed between the new and old nobility.

Bodies of local government Catherine I tried to reduce the cost and simplify. The decree of March 15, 1727 read: "court courts, as well as all superfluous stewards and offices and their offices, chamberlains and zemstvo commissars and others like that, should be completely set aside, and from the governors an appeal to the Justitz Collegium, so that the subjects could be shown relief and instead of many different chanceries and judges they knew only one chancellery. "

After the death of Catherine I in 1727, according to her will, the grandson of Peter I, Peter II, was proclaimed emperor, and the functions of the regent were transferred to the Supreme Privy Council.

Under Peter II (1727-1730), the Supreme Privy Council was enlarged to 8 members, and the collegia were transferred to its subordination. The Supreme Privy Council became a representation of the old nobility. Menshikov's attempt to become regent failed, in 1727 he was 6 arrested, exiled to Siberia, where he died in 1729.

The fall of Menshikov actually meant a palace coup. First, the composition of the Supreme Privy Council has changed, in which only Osterman remained of the nobles of Peter's time, and the majority was acquired by representatives of the aristocratic families Golitsyn and Dolgoruky. Secondly, the position of the Supreme Privy Council has changed. 12-year-old Peter II soon declared himself a full-fledged ruler, this put an end to the regency of the Supreme Council. After the death of Peter II in 1730, the Council gives the throne to Anna Ioannovna, the widow of the Duke of Courland, who accepts the conditions drawn up by Prince Dmitry Golitsyn limiting her power and leaving all government in the hands of the Supreme Privy Council. Taking advantage of the schism among the nobility, Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740) abolished this body in 1730 and adopted "autocracy".

In 1731, at her court "for the best and most decent administration of all state affairs", a Cabinet was established, which consisted of three ministers: A. Osterman (1686-1747), Prince Cherkassky, Chancellor G.I. Golovkin (1660-1734), but the actual power belonged to the favorite of the Empress E. Biron (1690-1772) and those close to the Baltic Germans BMinih (1707-1788), and others.

Assessing this body, V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote: “The cabinet is not the personal office of the empress, or a parody of the Supreme Privy Council: he discussed the most important legislative matters, and also wrote hares for the court and looked through the invoices for lace for the empress. appearance, the Cabinet confused the competence and clerical work of government agencies, reflecting the behind-the-scenes mind of its creator and the nature of the dark reign. "

Since 1735, the Cabinet has been vested with legislative powers, a full set of signatures of ministers (three) replaces the signature of the Empress in her absence. The Cabinet of Ministers actually headed the executive branch in the country, concentrating all state administration. The Senate, which by this time consisted of five departments, cooperated with the Cabinet, implementing its decisions

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the influence of foreigners reached unprecedented proportions. The tone at court was set by the Empress's ignorant favorite, the Courland German Biron, who enjoys her boundless confidence. Foreigners were given preferential treatment in positions of gain and promotion. This provoked a protest from the Russian nobility.

The empress's successor was the son of her niece's daughter, and the regent of the infant was not the mother, but Biron. The coup on November 8, 1740, deprived Biron of the rights of regent, which he enjoyed for only three weeks. For a while, Minich, the president of the military collegium, became an influential person in the country. Ich because of the intrigues of Osterman, competing with him in the struggle for power, Minich was forced to resign.

Feuds between the Germans hastened the decline of their influence at court. During the next coup, carried out on November 25, 1741 in favor of the daughter of Peter I - Elizabeth (1709-1761), the little emperor and his parents, as well as Minich, Ostermann and other influential Germans were arrested.

In the personal decree of Empress Elizabeth of December 12, 1741, it was announced that in the previous reigns "there was a lot of neglect of state affairs" due to the abolition of the order instituted by Peter I. The decree restored the significance of the Senate as the highest state body and liquidated the Cabinet of Ministers that stood above it. Instead of the latter, simply the Cabinet was created as a personal imperial chancellery, devoid of power. The Senate was under the control of the Empress.

"A quantitative analysis of the documents of the highest state institutions confirms the opinion about the significant dependence of the Senate on the imperial power. In November-December 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna gave 51 decrees to the Senate ... and received 14 reports from him for" the highest approval. "In 1742, these the figures were 183 and 113, in 1743 - 129 and 54, in 1744 - 164 and 38, etc. "

State and Church. Elizabeth's religious policy was determined by her adherence to Orthodoxy and was far from religious tolerance. In December 1742 she issued a decree on the expulsion from Russia of persons of the Jewish faith. The Senate sent a report to the Empress that this measure would have a bad effect on trade. Elizabeth imposed a resolution on this document: "I do not want an interesting profit from the enemies of Christ." Elizabeth departed from the same Peter I course on the secularization of church and monastery lands and returned the monasteries the right to full control over estates.

The empress won the grateful memory of posterity on May 17, 1744, which actually canceled death penalty in P ^ sii. This decree was the fulfillment of a vow made by Elizabeth before the coup of 1741 - "not to execute anyone by death." During her reign, not a single person was executed.

In 1743, a Conference was created at the imperial court, which received the functions of the abolished Cabinet. The conference was attended by the heads of the military and diplomatic departments, as well as persons specially invited by the empress. The Senate continued to play an important role. The Chief Magistrate was restored, as well as the Manufacturing and Berg Collegia, previously merged with the Commerce Collegium under the pretext that "one thing is acquired in different hands."

In 1744, Elizabeth abolished the College of Economics, which managed real estate belonging to monasteries and dioceses and dealt with spiritual affairs under the supervision of the Senate. The functions of this secular College were transferred to the Spiritual Chancellery, directly subordinate to the Synod. Of the rest of the collegia, some retained only nominal power, such as the Collegium of Foreign Affairs after the rise of Bestuzhev.

Carrying out a holistic program aimed at uniting different parts empire, Peter I abolished the autonomous government of Little Russia and the hetman's power. Since the death of the last hetman, the Apostle (1734), this area was governed by a temporary collegium (the board of the hetman district), which consisted of six members, half - great Russians, half - Little Russians. In 1744 the Empress visited Kiev and received an embassy asking for the restoration of the Hetmanate. On the appointed day - February 22, 1750 in Glukhov, Kirill Razumovsky (1728-1803) - was unanimously elected to the hetmans. However, in 1761 Kiev was torn away from Little Russia by the Senate and turned into the main city of the district, which was directly under its control. This meant a complete and final return to the program of Peter I.

In the east, the government of Elizabeth faced another huge task: the arrangement and settlement of vast expanses stretching from the Urals to the shores of the ocean. In March 1744, the Orenburg province was created by a special decree.

Summing up the results of Elizabeth's reign, the historian S.F. Platonov (1860-1933) wrote that "Elizabeth's ideas (national and humane) are generally higher than her activities." He describes the empress as follows:

"Peter the Great knew how to unite his employees, personally leading them. Elizabeth could not do this: she was least of all suited to be a leader and unifier ... There was no unifier among her assistants ..."

Under Peter I, Russia became an empire, and Peter I became its first emperor; in Russia, absolutism was finally established.

The modernization in the field of management, carried out by the great reformer of Russia Peter I, led to a significant expansion of the role of the state and the strengthening of its control functions. Under Peter I, the replacement of orders by collegia contributed to the strict distribution of the spheres of government. Then the functions of the central and local administrations were delimited, the division of three branches of power was carried out: legislative, executive and judicial. Under Peter I, the church was separated from the state; it lost the rights of political autonomy in 1721, when the patriarchate was abolished and the Synod was established. The new imperial status of Russia led to the creation of a regular army, manned by recruiting. In the military and civilian departments, Peter I introduced the uniformity of the nationwide ranks of the bureaucratic hierarchy, which made it possible to attract qualified and educated people to state administration.

Under the successors of Peter I, in the conditions of palace coups and the struggle for power, state interests were relegated to the background by the monarchs. The priority measures were to strengthen their autocratic power, therefore, deviations from the innovations of Peter I were allowed. Under Catherine I, the Supreme Privy Council was established with legislative powers, which deprived some of the FUNCTIONS of the Senate. Under Peter II, the Supreme Privy Council was expanded in composition. In 1730 this body was abolished, and Anna Ioannovna assumed the "autocracy", who entrusted the executive power to the Cabinet / consisting of three ministers close to the empress.

The daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth, who ascended the throne in 1741, restored the significance of the Senate as the highest state body, liquidating the Cabinet of Ministers that stood above it; restored the Chief Magistrate, as well as the Manufactory and Berg Collegiums. However, despite the deeds of Peter I, Elizabeth departed from the course of secularizing church and monastic lands, and returned to the monasteries the right to completely dispose of their estates.

Despite these attempts, in general, the reforms of Peter I outlived his time. The last recruitment took place in 1874, i.e. 170 years after the first (1705). The Senate existed from 1711 to 1917, i.e. 206 years, the synodal structure of the Orthodox Church remained unchanged from 1721 to 1918, i.e. for 197 years.

The civilizational uniqueness of imperial Russia. The imperial civilization, the formation of which was initiated by the active foreign policy activity of Peter I, was one of the largest civilizations in terms of territory, formed in the territories of Eastern Europe and North Asia, the originality of which is due to the interaction of specific geographic, ethnic, political and historical factors.

Huge spaces, limited in many respects by natural boundaries, are characterized by a variety of landscapes. At the same time, the vital activity of a significant part of the population of the empire was carried out in an unfavorable continental zone, in harsh natural and climatic conditions. The economy, the entire way of life of Russia was significantly influenced by the fact that about 75% of the country's territory was in the zone of risky agriculture, that at colossal distances the main natural resources were concentrated where there was almost no population, access to convenient oceanic zones with their cheap transport arteries. Hence the constant desire of imperial Russia to expand its borders in order to join the centers of world trade, to develop more favorable agricultural regions.

New territories were also needed for the application of entrepreneurial forces, the development of market relations. In this regard, some Western features are visible in Russia's territorial acquisitions. So, in 1721, according to the Western model, Russia was proclaimed by Peter I as an empire. She was actively involved in European politics, participated in various unions. Its authority in world politics was constantly growing. Already during the Northern War (1700 - 1721), Russia declared the right to participate in world affairs on an equal footing with the leading European powers. In the last quarter of the 18th century. she became one of the great powers and confirmed this position during the Napoleonic wars. If earlier the geopolitical interests of Russia did not go beyond the adjacent territory, now broader great-power claims to the spheres of control and responsibility have taken shape: the Balkans, the Black Sea straits region, the Slavic territories of Europe, Asia and the Baltic region.

The specificity of the formation of its ethnic composition also stems from the geographical features of the development of the imperial civilization. The basic feature of the Russian empire is that its core, the integrating principle, is the Russian people, which, in turn, was generated on a multi-ethnic basis. This is one of the largest, developed and rich in culture ethnic groups in the world. Thanks to such objective factors, as well as such integration features as self-restraint, selflessness, tolerance, inclination towards justice, mutual enrichment of cultures, etc., the Russian people became the unifier of other ethnic groups of the empire. To him during the XVIII - the first half of the XIX centuries joined voluntarily or as a result of wars, but mainly through peaceful colonization, many European and Asian ethnic groups living in their ancestral lands. So, non-Slavic lands were annexed, as a rule, with a rich historical past, most of which were part of other states before joining Russia. The annexation of these territories turned Russia into the Russian Empire. We indicate these lands, based on the geographical position, starting from the northwestern border: Finland (1809), the Baltic States (1721), Poland (1815), Bessarabia (1812), Crimea (1783) , The Caucasus (first half of the 19th century), Kazakhstan and Central Asia (the accession was completed in the second half of the 19th century). In Russia, unlike the European empires, which had vast overseas territories, the Russian population lived side by side with the peoples annexed to the empire. Joint life objectively contributed to the rapprochement of peoples. And the Russian government spent a lot of effort and money on the development of the annexed lands. In fact, this annexation formed the main territory of the imperial civilization.

The Eurasian character of the emerging Russian sociocultural community is an important feature of the Russian imperial civilization, which is not reducible to the mechanical sum of its European and Asian components, but expressed in new qualities and features. The commonality of historical destinies, geopolitical interests, the predominance of centripetal principles over centrifugal ones gave rise to common stable social, material and spiritual characteristics, all-Russian self-awareness, including all-Russian patriotism, the similarity of spiritual preferences, which is reflected in the specifics of self-identification - a necessary element of civilizational difference. Russian identity manifests itself in paradoxical phrases ("Russian German", "Russian Jew", etc.) At the same time, the heterogeneity of the components of the Russian imperial civilization, their presence at different stages of evolution makes it somewhat blurred (especially on the outskirts), gives rise to a special need in the mechanisms of civilizational and political integration.

Geographic, natural and climatic diversity (from subtropics to tundra), specific historical conditions of life contributed to the formation of ethnic groups with different physical appearance, with different mentality and culture. In contrast to the colonialist policy of Western civilization, which led to the disappearance of a number of ethnic groups on different continents and, accordingly, to the disappearance of their cultures, in imperial Russia there were preserved peoples who had lived here since ancient times. The colonization of the outlying territories by Russians, their settlement next to indigenous peoples, the introduction of a higher reproductive culture with respectful interaction with them led to the mixing of different ethnic groups and their mutual cultural adaptation, to the formation of an original civilizational space with various, specific cultures of many peoples in close interaction within the framework of a single Russian multinational culture.

The territorial and socio-cultural features of the formation of Russian civilization give rise to the specific features of its political system.

An important role in the functioning of the Russian imperial civilization belongs to the state. This is due to both natural and socio-psychological realities, and the need to neutralize disintegration factors. Paternalistic traditions of communality, huge, often sparsely populated spaces, the presence of dozens of ethnic groups with a distinctive culture, the absence of stable economic market ties and legal relations, insufficient development of roads and vehicles - all this gives rise to the need for a strong centralized state capable of holding together sharply different regions, to ensure the survival of the weakest and poorest of them, while suppressing the policy of ethno-national separatism. In contrast to the Western tradition in Russia, it is not society that produces a certain type of state, but to a large extent the state forms the structures of society: let us recall, for example, the reforms of Peter I, Catherine II.

Such factors give rise to statist convictions among the peoples of Russia, belief in the need for an authoritarian ruler - a single ruler of the fate of the Fatherland, a strong central government, the habit of taking her decisions as inevitable, due. The history of Eurasian Russia in the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries. with its strong paternalistic orientations and authoritarian methods of leadership shows that much depends on the personality, actions, general culture of the first persons in the state, starting with Peter I and ending with Nicholas I.

A distinctive feature of Russian civilization in general and during the period under review in particular was multi-confessionalism. The Russian Orthodox Church plays a special role in the formation and development of Russian civilization. She had a significant impact on the way of life of the Russian people, its history, literature, fine arts, philosophy, morality, psychology, and the entire culture. Favorable opportunities for patriotic, spiritual and cultural activities of the Russian Orthodox Church were created, starting with the Baptism of Rus, by the interweaving of religious and state principles, the significant role of the church in collecting and protecting Russian lands, in educational activities (especially significant when the secular centers were still weak culture), the slow spread of secularization processes. At the same time, it should be noted that since the 18th century. serious changes are taking place in the relationship between spiritual and secular power. On the one hand, the Russian Orthodox Church, weakened by the schism, is increasingly acquiring the features of a state institution and, after the decrees of Peter I and Catherine II, finally loses its political and economic independence, on the other hand, Orthodoxy continues to act as one of the civilizational foundations of a huge confessional polyethnic community, bringing the culture closer together. everyday life, helping to feel the solidarity of these peoples with each other. Similar functions are performed by other traditional religions of Russia, primarily Islam (the majority of believers of the Tatars, Bashkirs, representatives of the North Caucasian peoples are Muslims) and Buddhism (Kalmyks, Buryats, Tuvinians). Other religions that exist here - Judaism, Lutheranism, etc., have also become part of Russian culture.

The common cultural area of ​​imperial Russia includes different, but equally autochthonous ethno-confessional communities that live in their historical territory mostly compactly, and partly in dispersion throughout Russia. This is the specificity of the poly-confessional nature of the Russian civilization, characterized by the “stripedness” of places in varying degrees of compact traditional residence of large ethno-confessional communities. Their interaction, joint creation and protection by them of common values ​​and state structures - all this forms in the multi-ethnic and multi-confessional population a sense of belonging to the destinies of Russia, a number of common ones that have become deep for the psychology and consciousness of Russian ethno-confessional communities, ideas, preferences, and orientations. Such all-Russian preferences are inconceivable without a purposeful policy, which sets as its task the consolidation in the public consciousness and the state-legal sphere of the concept of a single Russian people, composed of all its equal ethno-confessional communities. Various discriminatory actions - ignoring the peculiarities of life in a particular region, infringement of feelings, self-awareness of ethnic groups - invariably damaged the stability of the entire Russian imperial society - the Caucasian War (1817-1864), the uprising in Poland (1830-1831), etc. .d. The center-region dichotomy, the confrontation between unitary and centrifugal tendencies, and the weakening of territorial ties are the eternal problem of Russian society, sharply exacerbated during the crisis periods of its history.

At the same time, the stability of the Russian imperial civilization supports the adherence of the majority of the population to preserving their concept of being, their traditional value concepts. This contributes to a certain social cohesion, which largely neutralizes the existing contradictions. A certain role is also played here by the prevailing forms of joint existence, traditionality, historically formed as an adaptation mechanism in conditions of difficulties (climatic, natural, etc.) of management. Specific for Russia in general and the period under study in particular, is that arrogance never prevailed in the hierarchy of spiritual values ​​of the Russian people, and profit and money-grubbing were not a measure of the social success of an individual. In contrast to the Western individualistic and pragmatic tradition described by M. Weber, Russian thinkers, characterizing the traits of their people, emphasized that they were not inclined to elevate transitory earthly values ​​(for example, private property) to the rank of sacred (F.M.Dostoevsky), they were not inclined to worship "The golden calf" (N.A. Berdyaev).

The concept of the existence of the Russian people, taking shape over the centuries, was characterized by the priority of the ideas of collective salvation, public interests over personal ones (without rejecting the interests of the individual), disposition to spiritual values. Commitment to human solidarity, compassion to common man, patriotism, moral and humanistic concepts is reflected in fiction, various arts, oral folk art, for whom good, truth, conscience, justice are significant. It is in the spiritual characteristics of the culture of the people (secular and religious) that the originality of Russian civilization is clearly manifested. And first of all, it is for such features that Russian culture is distinguished and appreciated in the world community.

Thus, the Russian imperial civilization, like any civilization, is developing, modernizing, giving rise to splits in the consciousness, behavior, interests of various social and national communities, stimulating contradictory integration and disintegration processes, new demographic phenomena.

During the period under review, a huge multinational state was formed, in which elements of different civilizational orientations coexisted. The Russian empire was both a European and an Asian power. It was associated with Europe by culture, religion, language, and the nature of the economy. But Asia also influenced the country. From here, samples of despotic government were often taken.

Historically, Russian society has been influenced by two different worlds, as a result of which it has developed as pluralistic in spiritual values, social organization, traditions, culture and way of life. Moreover, with the exception of European enclaves, it was dominated by communities with a corporate structure and inseparability of the spiritual and secular spheres of life, the colossal influence of religion on public consciousness and the daily life of people.

Russian modernization in the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries. Modernization in the history of Russia has gone through several stages. We will talk about the period of the XVIII - the first half of the XIX centuries. At this stage, the dominant modernization set by Peter I retained its relevance until the middle of the 19th century.

Peter's modernization is associated with the use of a variant that can be conditionally called Asian. It presupposes a gradual organizational and technological transition from manufacturing to factory production, the introduction of elements of market relations while maintaining the social system of the eastern type. This option was implemented over a century and a half - until the bourgeois reforms of Alexander II.

It was supposed, through modernization, to accelerate development and eliminate the defined and growing gap between Russia and the countries of European civilization in the socio-economic, scientific and technical, military and other areas. A distinctive feature of the designated type of modernization was key role state and bureaucracy in all areas public life country.

For a century and a half, the modernization of traditional Russian society has solved several interrelated problems: in the social sphere - individualization of society, clear specialization of people, public and state institutions by type of activity; in the economy - the transition from manufactory to factory, industrial production, gradual, state-controlled, expansion of private property; in politics - the transition to a secular state, the introduction of the separation of powers, the inclusion of part of the population in the political process; in the cultural and spiritual fields - the rationalization of consciousness, the development of secular education and rational science, the spread of literacy, freedom of thought and creativity, religious tolerance.

Political modernization. Under Peter I, absolutism was finally established in Russia, Peter was proclaimed emperor, which meant the strengthening of the power of the tsar himself, he became an autocratic and unlimited monarch.

In Russia, a reform of the state apparatus was carried out - instead of the Boyar Duma, Senate, which consisted of nine dignitaries closest to Peter I. The Senate was the legislative body, controlled the country's finances and the activities of the administration. At the head of the Senate was the Attorney General.

Public administration reform affected and the system of orders they were replaced collegia, the number of which reached 12. Each collegium was in charge of a certain branch of management: foreign relations were managed by the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, the Admiralty fleet, the collection of revenues - the Chamber Collegium, noble land tenure - Votchinnaya, etc. The cities were in charge of the Chief Magistrate.

During this period, the struggle continued between the supreme and secular authorities and the church. In 1721 the Spiritual College, or Synod, which testified to the subordination of the church to the state. In Russia, the patriarchate was abolished, the supervision of the church was entrusted to the chief prosecutor of the Synod.

The system of local government was reorganized, the country was divided in 1708 into eight provinces(Moscow, Petersburg, Kiev, Arkhangelsk, Smolensk, Kazan, Azov and Siberian), headed by the governors, who were in charge of the troops. Since the territories of the provinces were huge, they were subdivided into 50 provinces. In turn, the provinces were divided into counties.

These measures testified to the creation in Russia of a unified administrative and bureaucratic management system - an indispensable attribute of an absolutist state.

An important result and legislative consolidation of all of Peter's reform activities was Table of ranks(1722), which was a law on the order of public service. The adoption of this law meant a break with the previous patriarchal tradition of government, embodied in parochialism. Having established the order of rank production in the military and civil service, not according to nobility, but according to personal abilities and merits, the Table of Ranks contributed to the consolidation of the nobility and the expansion of its composition at the expense of persons loyal to the king from different strata of the population.

The time from the death of Peter I to the accession to the throne of Catherine II in historical literature is usually called the era of palace coups. Never before has the supreme power passed along such a broken line as in 1725-1762. The reasons for this were, firstly, the decree of Peter I on succession to the throne, secondly, the attitude towards the next contender for the throne of the “nestlings of Petrov’s nest”, and thirdly, the active participation of the guards regiments in the struggle for power waged by the palace groupings. A huge role under all the rulers of this time was played by favorites and temporary workers. During this period, state policy was aimed at further absolutizing power, increasing the role of the nobility in state life those. kept the direction set by Peter I.

Having ascended the throne after another palace coup (1762), Catherine II had to develop a policy that would meet the conditions of the new era, moving society forward along the European path. This policy was called "enlightened absolutism". The policy of enlightened absolutism was expressed in the transformation of the most outdated state institutions and state bodies in the name of strengthening the absolute monarchy and adapting it to the realities of the eighteenth century, the century of the Enlightenment. The monarchs relied on the principles of rationalism, believed in the omnipotence of laws, encouraged science and education, showed religious tolerance.

The empress began her transformative activities with the reform of the Senate (1763), which streamlined the work of the highest authority in the empire, but deprived it of legislative functions, which were concentrated in the hands of the empress, i.e. merged with the executive branch.

The next step of the empress was the completion of Peter I's measures to make the church completely dependent on the secular authorities. The secularization of church lands (1764) undermined the basis of the well-being of the clergy, turning them into a detachment of peculiar officials. The defeat of the church in the fight against the state machine was another step towards the nationalization of the life of a Russian citizen.

The largest event of the reign of Catherine II was the convening in 1767 of the Commission on the compilation of a draft of a new code (Legislative Commission).

The commissioned commission began meetings in the Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin in the summer of 1767. The work of this Commission did not affect the subsequent Russian reality, but there was plenty of noise and loud phraseology around this action of the Empress. According to Klyuchevsky, the commission worked for a year and a half, held 203 meetings, limited itself to discussing the peasant issue and legislation, but because of the outbreak of the war with Turkey, it was disbanded and no longer gathered in full.

The new code of laws under Catherine was not drawn up. The work of the Commission turned out to be fruitless, the extensive office work retained only the significance of a monument to the social and historical thought of Russia in the era of Catherine II.

In November 1775, the Empress adopted the "Institutions for the administration of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire." The goal of the provincial reform is to create an orderly system of local government. The reform included four main provisions.

First, the country was divided only into provinces and counties. Secondly, in each province, uniform governing bodies and courts were created. Thirdly, in the county, the Lower Zemstvo Court, headed by a captain-police officer and two assessors, became the body of executive power; all of them were chosen by the noblemen of the district. In the county towns, power belonged to the mayor appointed from the nobility. Fourth, Catherine II completely rebuilt the judicial system, separated the judicial authorities from the executive. The highest judicial body in the country was the Senate, and in the provinces - the judicial chambers.

Thus, the reform of 1775 at the local level introduced the elective principle, forgotten in Russia since the time of the Zemsky Councils, and an attempt was made to divide the powers. However, in practice, the provincial government constantly intervened in court cases. The governor approved court decisions and appointed or removed judges. The predominant role in local government and courts belonged to the nobles.

The provincial reform led to the liquidation of colleges, with the exception of the Foreign, Military, Admiralty. The functions of the collegiums were transferred to the provincial bodies. Finally, the special order of administration in the Cossack regions was abolished; the usual system of provincial institutions was introduced. In 1775 the Zaporizhzhya Sich was liquidated.

Ten years after the provincial reform, in April 1785, Letters of Charity were issued to the nobility and cities at the same time, in which the rights and obligations of the two estates - the noble and the city were legally enshrined and clearly defined.

The letter of grant to the nobility was the last step in the rise of the ruling noble class. The diploma to the cities was a continuation of the policy of Peter I, aimed at the development of industry and trade, increasing the role of cities in the socio-economic life of the country.

The short reign of Paul I (1796-1801) was marked by the desire to oppose the “pernicious” policies of the mother, which, in his opinion, weakened the autocracy, a firm line on strengthening the absolutist power and strengthening discipline in the army and state. The strictest censorship of the press was introduced, private printing houses were closed, travel abroad and the import of foreign books were prohibited. The validity of the Charter to the nobility was limited. Prussian orders were implanted in the army.

In 1797, Paul I published the "Institution of the Imperial Family", according to which Peter's decree on succession to the throne was canceled. From now on, the throne was to pass strictly along the male line from father to son, and in the absence of sons to the eldest of the brothers. The law determined the order of internal relations in the imperial family. To maintain the imperial court, a special department of appanages was formed, which administered the lands belonging to the imperial family, and the appanage peasants who lived on these lands. The 1797 law was in effect until the fall of the monarchy.

In the first quarter of the XIX century. Russia was at the crossroads between the autocratic-serf system and the search for new forms of organization of socio-economic and political life... This controversial and difficult period of Russian history is associated with the reign of Alexander I(1777-1825). Emperor Alexander I, who came to the throne after the assassination of Paul I in 1801, inherited the difficult internal and external state of the country.

A plan of liberal reforms in the country was drawn up, in the development of which an unspoken committee of P.A. Stroganov (1772-1817), V.P. Kochubei (1768-1834), N.N. Novosiltseva (1768-1834), A. Czartoryskiy(1700-1861). The first attempts to restructure public administration and public relations suffered from incompleteness, and the international situation and Russia's participation in coalitions against France in 1805 and 1806-1807. forced Alexander I to temporarily move away from internal political problems.

Replaced Unspoken committee MM. Speransky(1772-1839), an educated person with colossal working capacity, later appointed Secretary of State (1821), developed a broad program of state reforms. The program outlined in the "Introduction to the packing state laws", Provided for the creation of representative bodies in the country from top to bottom, equalization of all estates before the law, approval of the principle of separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. The essence of Speransky's transformation program was to create a bourgeois monarchy in Russia, to establish a rule of law. However, in in full Speransky's program was not and could not be implemented due to the lack of objective conditions in Russian reality and the fear of Alexander I of the nobility and the aggressiveness of the conservative forces. This predetermined the collapse of M.M.'s attempts. Speransky to transform Russia.

And yet, some of the provisions of his program were successfully implemented. On January 1, 1810, the reformed State Council- an advisory body, the members of which were appointed by the emperor. Ministries were transformed (their number reached 11), the structure, functions of ministries and the responsibility of ministers were determined.

Alexander I also carried out reforms in the field of education. Six educational districts were established headed by a trustee, county schools, provincial gymnasiums and universities were formed. These events contributed to the creation of a public education system, the emergence of a layer of European educated nobility and the penetration of liberal ideas into its environment. Revolutionary liberalism was born in Russia.

The reforms carried out by Alexander I at the beginning of his reign did not lead to significant changes in the political system of Russian society. Moreover, they contributed to the further strengthening of the autocratic system and, in fact, were aimed at creating a liberal image of Russia in Europe. This explains the more radical nature of the reforms in the western part of the country - the Baltic States and Finland. MM. Speransky in 1812 was exiled to Nizhny Novgorod, and then even further to Perm.

The reign of Emperor Nicholas I was a time of harsh suppression of free thought, democracy and the liberation movement both within the country and in Europe. At the same time, this time is the golden age of Russian literature, the flourishing of young Russian science, theater, art and the rise of social thought.

Nicholas I strove to preserve the existing order, not to introduce a new one in the country, but only to maintain the established state and social system for centuries, which did not contribute to the growth of Russia's international influence and the solution of internal problems.

In an effort to preserve and strengthen the existing socio-political system, Nicholas I carried out the task of codifying Russian legislation. As a result, carried out under the guidance, returned from exile, M.M. Speransky's work, there was a collection of " Complete collection laws of the Russian Empire ", which included all the decrees, starting with the Cathedral Code of 1649 and ending with the last decree of Alexander I, and the fifteen-volume collection" Code of Laws ", which included existing laws. The Code of Laws contained the most important principle of the reign of Nicholas I - not to introduce anything new and only to repair and put in order the old. The legislative basis of Russian society has remained the same, only the central government mechanism has become more complex. Under him, the system of the Russian bureaucracy and military clique - the mainstay of the autocracy - was finally established. If at the beginning of the XIX century. the army of officials was 16 thousand people, then in the middle of the XIX century. - 100 thousand. The activities of the apparatus were not controlled by society, impunity and mutual responsibility in the sphere of bureaucracy testified to the crisis of the state apparatus.

Changes in the field of economics. An important feature of the economic development of Russia in the first half of the 18th century. consisted in the decisive role of the autocratic state in the economy, its active and deep penetration into all spheres of economic life. The Berg-, Manufactur-, Commerz-Collegiums- and the Chief Magistrate, founded by Peter I, were the institutions of state regulation of the national economy, bodies for the implementation of the trade and industrial policy of the autocracy.

In the second half of the 18th century. Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine II continued the policy pursued by Peter I of encouraging the development of domestic industry and Russian trade.

In the middle of the 18th century. the first cotton factories appeared in Russia, which belonged to merchants, and somewhat later to rich peasants. By the end of the century, their number had reached 200. Moscow was gradually becoming a major center of the textile industry. Of great importance for the development of domestic industrial production was the publication in 1775 of Catherine II's manifesto on the free establishment of industrial enterprises by representatives of all strata of the then society. The manifesto removed many restrictions on the creation of industrial enterprises and allowed "everyone and everyone to start all kinds of camps." In modern terms, freedom of entrepreneurship was introduced in Russia. In addition, Catherine II canceled fees in a number of industries from small industries. The adoption of the manifesto was a form of encouraging the nobility and adapting it to new economic conditions. At the same time, these measures reflected the growth of the capitalist structure in the country.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the development of industry, despite the general growth in the number of enterprises, was low. Peasant handicrafts were of great importance. The number of enterprises, where mainly hired labor was used, increased. By 1825, more than half the number of workers in capitalist industry were civilians. The merchants expanded their rights. All this contributed to the development of capitalist relations, but the rates of development of industry and agriculture were low.

Satisfying the needs of the nobility oriented to the European market, the government of Alexander I in 1802 allowed duty-free trade through the port of Odessa. At the same time, a regulation on duty-free import of machines and mechanisms for Russian industry and agriculture was approved. In 1801, a decree was adopted, according to which all persons in a free position (merchants, state peasants) were given the right to buy land. This decree first began the destruction of the nobility's monopoly on land. In 1803, a decree on free farmers followed, according to which the nobles, at their discretion, could release the serfs for a significant ransom at will. But under Alexander I, only 47 thousand serf souls were released.

Despite the positive developments in the economic development of the country (the volume of industrial production doubled, the number of enterprises increased to 14 thousand, free-hired labor became predominant in manufactories, and the industrial revolution began in the 1930s), general state of the national economy in the second quarter of the XIX century. testified to the inhibiting effect of serf relations and foreshadowed the aggravation of the crisis of the serf system. The discontent of the peasantry increased. Peasant unrest is becoming more widespread. The government understood the need to resolve the main issue of Russian society - peasant society. The chief of the gendarmes convinced Emperor Nicholas I that the serfdom of the peasants "is a powder magazine under the state." There were 11 secret commissions to draw up a law for the emancipation of the peasantry. The result of the activities of the committees was the creation of a management system for state peasants, subordinate to a new ministry, the ministry of state property, headed by P.D. Kiselev(1788 1872). In 1837-1841. he carried out an administrative reform, according to which the state peasants became legally free farmers with communal management. This reform allowed by 1858 270 thousand peasants to buy more than 1 million acres of land, cease to be a burden on the state budget and somewhat raise their welfare. Although the problem of abolishing serfdom was never resolved.

In 1839-1843. finance minister E.F. Kankrin(1774-1845) a monetary reform was carried out, which contributed to the strengthening of the country's financial system. However, innovations in domestic political life could not destroy the conservatism of the tsarist policy. The crisis of the serf system manifested itself in all spheres of social life.

Social modernization. In the field of social policy, the legislation of Peter I followed, in principle, the general trend that was outlined in the 18th century. The main task of the emperor was to put all the estates in the service of the state, to increase the role of the service class in the life of the empire.

The attachment of peasants to the land, fixed by the Code of 1649, not only did not change at that time, but also received further development. This is evidenced by the introduction new system registration of the population and taxation, carried out in order to increase the efficiency of control over the collection of taxes from the population. The state, seeking to identify each individual taxpayer, introduced a new taxation principle - the poll tax. Taxes began to be collected - now not from the yard, but from the auditor's soul.

Another major initiative in the field of state regulation of social relations was the attempt of Peter I to stabilize the ruling class economically and politically. In this regard, an important role was played by the Decree on the order of inheritance of movable and immovable property of March 23, 1714, known as the decree on the entitlement. According to the new law, all land holdings of a nobleman were to be inherited only to one eldest son or daughter, and in their absence - to one of the family members. In a long historical perspective, Peter's decree would have kept large land holdings indivisible, would have prevented their fragmentation.

In the second half of the 18th century. the line on strengthening the role of the nobility in the life of the country and strengthening serfdom was continued by the Russian government.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna provided the nobles with benefits and privileges that increased the stability of the serf economy. Four actions in this direction were taken by her government in 1754: a decree declaring distillation a noble monopoly, the organization of the Noble Bank, the transfer of state-owned factories of the Urals to the nobles and general surveying. Only in the 18th century. general land surveying added more than 50 million acres of land to the nobility.

Another source

Third Rome on the eve of reforms

Muscovite Rus is a state with its capital in Moscow, which existed before the reforms of Peter the Great and disappeared in the course of his transformations.

From the middle of the XIII century, the historical destinies of the north-east and south-west of Russia completely parted, and already at the beginning of the next century Moscow became one of the centers of the political life of the reviving country.

The significance of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia has been the subject of close attention of several generations of historians and is still controversial. Most agree that having inflicted a crushing blow on the country's economic life, the yoke significantly slowed down its development. Other scholars argue that both the scale of the ruin and the burden of the yoke itself are greatly exaggerated.

It cannot be denied that the country was economically devastated after the Mongol invasion. One of the most important consequences of it was the violation of those still weak economic ties that existed between the individual Russian lands. Another consequence of the Mongol invasion is political. The international importance of Russia fell, for a long time it was excluded from world politics. Even greater was the impact of the Mongol yoke on the development of socio-political institutions in Russia.

The enslavement of the peasants is characteristic of any medieval society, but in Russia this process began with a significant delay and coincided not with an increase in the immunity rights of landowners, but with their reduction. The denial of the boyars' right to movement, the emergence of a layer of service people obliged to the state service and tied to their estates, the consolidation of relations of citizenship in Russia in the upper layer guaranteed their repetition in all social strata.

Old Russian traditions died out gradually and remained for a long time in the habits and customs of the creators of the new country. However, their morals, as well as the newly emerging political traditions, could not but be influenced by the influence of the Horde models of a centralized state with a strictly hierarchical militarized society with a despotic regime and a developed infrastructure of suppression and control of the population.

The Mongol conquerors did not encroach on the religious foundations of Russian society. Religious unity was the most important condition, the ideological basis for the creation of a new statehood. With the apparent decline of Byzantium, ending with the final fall of Constantinople in 1453, the feeling of spiritual loneliness intensified. Together with him, the consciousness of the exclusive role of the Russian people - the guardian of the true Christian faith, the realization that Moscow was the direct heir of Byzantium, the Third Rome, grew stronger.

The date of the final liberation of Russia from the Horde yoke is considered to be 1480. By this time, Russia had already turned into an integral state with a single political center, with a single real government.

For 60 years from the time of the accession to the throne of Ivan III in 1462 and until the death of his son Basil III in 1533, the country's territory increased 6.5 times, reaching 2,800 thousand square kilometers. however in ethnically the country was still largely homogeneous. The situation changed in the 50s of the 16th century, when Ivan the Terrible conquered the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, and then Siberia. Expanding the borders of the state required improving the methods and apparatus of administration.

The highest social stratum of Russian society was formed from various sources: members of a grand-ducal family, service princes, old Moscow boyar families, "emigrants" from the Horde, Lithuania and other countries. The place of these people at the court of the Moscow prince was determined not by origin, but by rank, i.e. the rank to which they were raised by the sovereign. In the system of concepts: nobility, wealth, high rank (rank), high position - the last was the most important - position, place in the management system, the receipt of which depended on the tsar and tradition and was regulated by the institution of localism.

During the reign of Grozny, the authorities got rid of many remnants of the past, dating back to specific times. The most important was the redistribution of land - first through political and administrative reforms, and then outright terror against the subjects, known in the literature as "oprichnina". At this time, in the 50s of the XVI century, a number of documents of state importance were created, as if consolidating and substantiating the existing system.

By the middle of the 16th century, the tsar's entourage - Moscow service people of various ranks - formed the Tsar's court - a specific socio-political institution of an official-estate character, in which ranks were inherited.

At the same time, the formation of the state administration apparatus began. In the middle of the century, the feedings were finished. Grozny carried out a zemstvo reform and established in the localities elective positions of the laborer (from the local boyar children) and the labial kisser (from the peasants). The competence of local authorities under Grozny is sharply limited, and the solution of the most important issues is transferred to the center.

Under Grozny, orders began to appear in Moscow - special bodies of central government that combined the functions of branch, estate and territorial administration.

Embarking on a program of extensive reforms, the young tsar decided to oppose the boyars with the opinion of other social strata. This is how the first Zemsky Sobor appeared, i.e. a meeting of representatives of different ranks, with whom the tsar consulted on the most important political issues. On the one hand, zemstvo councils played an essential role in Russian history, for they were legitimate and elected tsars. On the other hand, they have never been a permanent body. The composition of the cathedrals, their functions and rights were not legally enshrined in any way.

The features of the socio-political system were in close connection with the features of spiritual and everyday culture, a significant imprint on which was imposed by the feeling of spiritual loneliness. In this situation, the whole world outside the Orthodox was perceived as hostile, and salvation was seen in self-isolation. Culture, science, education in Russia lagged far behind European countries. The level of development of the economy and trade was much lower. In the 17th century, the typically patriarchal, traditional society of Russia entered a period of acute crisis.

The first manifestation of this crisis was the Troubles at the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries - a civil war caused, along with other reasons, and the peculiarities of the country's social structure, since an important place in it was occupied by the struggle of the Cossacks with the nobility. In 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elevated Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the Russian throne. In June 1619, the father of the young tsar, Filaret, who had been forcibly tonsured into monasticism during the reign of Tsar Boris Godunov, who had returned from Polish captivity, became the Patriarch of Moscow. At the same time, he received the title of great sovereign and formally turned into a co-ruler of his son, in fact, having concentrated all state power in his hands.

The main meaning of Filaret's policy, continued after his death in 1633, was to strengthen the state and royal power.

After the Troubles, Russia's international position changed. If even under Ivan the Terrible the western direction became decisive in foreign policy, now its priority was determined by the need to fight for the liberation of the Russian lands held by Poland. The creation of a full-fledged and well-equipped regular army became an urgent need of the state.

The ecclesiastical schism of the middle of the century, which was formally caused by the reform of some church rituals carried out by Patriarch Nikon in 1652, was of decisive importance for the transformation of the culture and spiritual life of the Russian people of the 17th century, but in essence it was a manifestation of the crisis of traditionalism.

The internal crisis of the Russian state of the 17th century could be resolved only through radical transformations that became a vital necessity and which alone could turn a reproducing society into a changing society. The goal of the reform was to be precisely modernization aimed at eliminating backwardness, on the one hand, and turning Russia into a great world power, on the other.

Peter the Great became the executor of this reform ...

The birth of a reformer

Immediately after the death of Tsar Fyodor in 1682, supporters of the Naryshkins proclaimed Peter Tsar. On May 15, 1682, the riot of the archers began. At their request, Tsarevich Ivan was placed on the throne next to Peter as "the first tsar", and the elder sister, Princess Sophia, became the ruler until they came of age. The Sophia government managed to stabilize the internal political situation, tried to combat arbitrary rule on the ground, promoted the development of industry and trade, and took measures to reorganize and re-equip the army. But although the steps they were taking calmed the country, they could not resolve the internal crisis. All efforts were aimed at staying in power by all means.

At this time, Peter's family and his court, excluded from participation in solving political issues, actually left the Kremlin and divided their time between various residences near Moscow. But the older Peter became, the more aggravated the relationship between his court and the court of Sophia. By coincidence, in 1689, the confrontation became open. As a result, Peter came to power, Sophia was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent.

In the first years of Peter's independent reign, nothing outwardly changed in his way of life. He still devoted a lot of time to the amusing troops. In the summer of 1693, the tsar went to Arkhangelsk. From that time on, the sea and shipbuilding became his passion for life.

By the end of the 90s, a circle of people had formed around Peter, whom historians later called his associates, and A. Pushkin "chicks of Petrov's nest." These were people very different in education, ability, and age.

In early 1694, Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna died. From that time, Peter's independent reign began in the full sense of the word.

In 1695, Peter's attempt to capture Azov ended in failure. The tsar did not lose heart, but returned to Moscow with a plan for a new campaign, organized on different principles. As a result, in next year Azov was taken. This was the first important victory of the young tsar, which should have significantly strengthened his political authority. Less than three weeks after the solemn entry into Moscow, Peter gathered the Boyar Duma in Preobrazhensky. The boyars were assigned two major tasks: to restore and preserve Azov and the adjacent territories for Russia, and to build a sailing fleet capable of continuing the war.

On December 6, 1696, a decree was announced on the departure to Europe of a "great embassy" headed by three ambassadors - Lefort, Golovin and Voznitsyn. This was the first trip of the tsar abroad in the history of Russia. the main objective the trip was in the study of foreigners in what they overtook the Russians. The Grand Embassy unsuccessfully tried to persuade Western countries to intensify actions against Turkey. These attempts indicated that the Russian government knew little about the state of affairs in Europe.

After receiving news of the next riot of the archers, the tsar interrupts his trip and urgently returns to Moscow. Peter brutally dealt with the participants in the riot, forcing him to take part in the torture and executions of his closest associates, thereby showing that, having brought new ideas and plans for habits from abroad, he himself remained completely Russian.

In 1699, the tsar signed a series of decrees that marked the beginning of a reform of government. A number of decrees were also issued regulating the appearance of people. The year 1696 ended with a calendar reform. Peter ordered to keep chronology from the Nativity of Christ, and not from the creation of the world, and on January 1 to celebrate the new year 1700. The tsar's decrees also contained instructions for celebrating the New Year.

Already the very first transformations of Peter I were distinguished by features characteristic of his subsequent reforms: the scale, the spread of innovations to the most different areas life and, on the other hand, the lack of system, the absence of any plan, ideas about the necessary sequence of actions. The main thing for Peter during the entire first half of 1700 was the preparation for war and the expectation of news of the signing of peace with Turkey, after which military operations against Sweden could be launched. In the same year, the Great Northern War broke out, which began with the defeat of the Russian army near Narva.

The beginning of an empire

At the end of 1698, Tsar Peter established the first Russian order - the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The choice of St. Andrew emphasized, on the one hand, the tsar's adherence to Orthodoxy, on the other, the unity of Russia with the entire Christian world and its claim to one of the leading roles in the world. The defeat at Narva showed that the cherished goal was much further than it seemed. It became another frontier in the formation of Peter the reformer. From that time on, his actions became more conscious, for Narva pointed out the weakest point - the army. From now on, the army and war become the main concerns of Peter, dragging behind them transformations in other spheres.

In November 1700, the tsar gave orders for the formation of new regiments and the casting of new cannons. Since 1701, under the tsar, the Near Chancellery begins to function - a central government body that coordinates and controls the activities of orders. At the same time, the king decisively takes up the task of educating the subjects, taking upon himself the care of all aspects of their life, including faith. State regulation of the way of life also affected the clergy. For all that, the tsar clearly shared the faith and institution of the church, intending to make the latter his instrument and in no way encroaching on the former. In 1704, several decrees were adopted increasing the social rights of citizens.

While Charles XII leads military operations in Poland, the Russians begin to win victories over the Swedes. The Russian army captures Noteburg and Nyenskans. Now the entire Neva, from source to mouth, was in the hands of the Russians. To gain a foothold in this place, it was decided to build a fortress. It was laid down on May 16 and named St. Petersburg. It was destined to become the new capital of a new country. From the very beginning, the city was conceived not only as a fortress and capital, but also as a trading gateway to Europe. But St. Petersburg was also a symbol of Russia's foreign policy ambitions, evidence of the transformation of the old doctrine "Moscow - the Third Rome" from a purely ideological to a political one.

The opening of the "window to Europe" was not limited to the construction of St. Petersburg. Back in April 1702, the "Manifesto on the Summons of Foreigners to Russia" appeared, in which the program of the reign was developed and the methods of its implementation were outlined. The appearance of the manifesto is unconditional evidence that already at that time Peter was more or less clearly aware of the goals of his policy, but one can hardly speak of the manifesto as a program of reforms.

The 1703-1705s were marked by a number of military victories, but both the domestic and foreign policy situation of the country was extremely difficult. Military concerns were pushed into the background, simultaneously subjugating, but also stimulating, the process of internal transformations. The Boyar Duma was replaced by the Consilia of Ministers, which united the heads of the main government agencies. The government continued to look for new sources of income, the process of regulating the life of its subjects continued. In 1705, new principles of manning the army were introduced.

The construction of St. Petersburg, to which tens of thousands of people who lived and died there in inhuman conditions were forcibly driven, the introduction of recruitment, the constant increase in the tax burden and all kinds of labor duties, the forcible imposition of foreign orders, unusual and alien features of life and culture - all this could not but cause discontent, fermentation in the widest sections of the population. But in the conditions of the crisis of traditionalism, with the collapse of the old organization of service people, completed by the administrative and military reforms of Peter, there was simply no organized political force in the country that could resist the reformer in his most radical designs. All attempts at resistance were brutally suppressed.

At this time, Peter is making desperate efforts to achieve the conclusion of peace, this he does not succeed - the hostilities continue.

The outcome of the war was decided by the Battle of Poltava, after which the invincible Swedish army ceased to exist. After Poltava, Russia becomes a significant figure in the political life of Europe. But in 1711 the Russian army was almost defeated during the war with Turkey. According to the Peace of Prut, Russia pledged to return Azov and destroy the fortresses of Taganrog and Kamenny Zaton founded by Peter.

To ensure uninterrupted government of the country during his absence, the tsar issued a decree establishing the Governing Senate, a collegial body of nine members.

From about 1713, Peter launched a merciless struggle against embezzlers by issuing a series of decrees, including those encouraging denunciation of criminals. Simultaneously with the Senate, the institution of fiscal was created, whose duties included control over the activities of officials, up to the highest. To combat the reluctance of the boyars to serve, in March 1714 the famous decree "On the order of inheritance in movable and immovable property", better known as the "Decree on succession", was issued. Peter constantly takes care of opening new educational institutions, sending students abroad, and printing a variety of useful books. In 1716, already from abroad, the tsar sent the "Military Regulations", which determined the structure and organization of the army, the duties of military personnel, the basics of combat and field service, as well as military criminal reforms. In 1712, a decree was issued on the creation of the Collegium for foreign trade.

In the second half of the 1710s, the industrial policy of the government changed. The transfer of state-owned enterprises to private hands begins with the provision of various trade benefits. But the dependence of industrialists on the state remained, which, on the one hand, ensured the stability of production, but, on the other hand, made competition unnecessary and, consequently, deprived them of incentives to improve production. The same was the case in trade, which also developed under the strict control of the state. The most important feature of industrialization in Russia was the extreme limitation of the legal market for free labor. The peculiarities of the social structure of Russian society, embodied in serfdom, thus became a brake on the path of modernization in the economy.

From the end of 1717, Peter began to reform the central administration: by a series of decrees, a system of collegia was formed - institutions with clearly defined functions of sectoral administration, with a collegial structure and regulation of the duties of all officials. The same years became the time of the beginning of another grandiose reform of Peter - taxation.

In order to further streamline the service of the nobles, the Table of Ranks appeared in 1722, introducing a new hierarchy of military, state and court ranks from 14 classes. As a result of Peter's reforms, the degree of lack of freedom of the Russian nobility, as well as of other social strata of Russian society, increased sharply.

Peter the Great died on January 28, 1725. It is difficult to say whether the emperor's death was unexpected for his entourage, but the significance of what happened was felt by everyone, and, as contemporaries testify, no one could resist tears these days.

"The era of palace coups"

From 1725 to 1726, eight coups took place in the country, each of which elevated a new sovereign to the throne, after which, as a rule, there was a change in the personal composition of the ruling elite. Each time the change of power was accompanied by troubles, unrest, arrests, and exile.

In 1722, Peter issued a decree, according to which the sovereign received the right to the Sami to appoint a successor to himself. It was he who violated the existing system of succession to the throne in Russia and served as the reason for subsequent events.

On February 8, 1725, on behalf of the Senate, the accession to the Russian throne of Empress Catherine I was officially announced.

In 1725, the poll tax was reduced by the government of Catherine. This measure was necessary and justified, since the main payer of taxes - the peasantry - was ruined. At the beginning of 1726, the Supreme Privy Council was formed, which became the highest institution of the empire, deciding critical issues government and actually worked out a political line.

On May 7, 1727, the day after Catherine's death, Prince Menshikov introduced the new emperor Peter II to the guards. In a short period of his reign, power was in the hands of people who had influence on him: first with Menshikov, then with Osterman and the Dolgoruky princes. At this time, we can talk about the continuation of correcting the accomplishments of Peter I. The Arkhangelsk port was reopened, a number of goods that had previously been farmed were transferred to free trade, a number of restrictive duties were canceled and more favorable conditions were created for foreign merchants. The reorganization of local government continued.

After the death of Peter II in 1730, the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ioannovna, ascended the throne. At first, Anna was obliged to sign the conditions limiting autocratic power, but after a month she publicly breaks them, and the limited monarchy in Russia, having existed for just over a month, was liquidated.

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the final transition from old to new Russia took place. This stage of Russian history was a picture of a bizarre interweaving of seemingly incompatible phenomena.

The wheel of police terror was spinning more and more. Already in 1731, the Secret Chancellery was restored, in charge of which were transferred all cases that could be interpreted as treason, conspiracy, attempt on the life and honor of the sovereign. The name of Anna's favorite Ernst Biron is associated with the concept of "Bironovism", which is understood as the rampant police terror, and cancer called "the dominance of foreigners."

The Empress destroyed the Supreme Privy Council and restored the importance of the Senate. In 1731, on the site of the liquidated council, the Cabinet of Her Imperial Majesty appeared, which was actually entrusted with the functions of direct control of the country both in the field of domestic and foreign policy. An important feature of the domestic policy of this time was the open satisfaction of the interests of the nobility.

Acting in foreign policy in the same directions as Peter I, and guided by openly imperial goals, the government of Anna Ioannovna largely laid the strategic foundations of this policy for the next decades: an alliance with Austria in the fight against the Porte and in turning Poland into a simple puppet, confrontation with France for influence in Europe, in particular in the German states, for their readiness to dispose of the fate of Crimea at their own discretion.

After the death of Anna Ioannovna, Ivan Antonovich, the newly born son of her niece Anna Leopoldovna and Duke Anton Ulrich, was proclaimed emperor. After the regent of the new emperor Biron was sent into exile, power in the country passed to the parents of Ivan Antonovich. But the government's unwillingness to seriously engage in governing the country caused more and more discontent. On the night of November 24-25, 1741, a new coup d'état put an end to the reign of Ivan Antonovich. Empress Elizabeth ascended to the Russian throne.

The era of Elizabeth Petrovna

During the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the empire transitioned from the first half of the century to the second, from the time of youth and maturation to the time of courageous maturity.

The coup d'etat had a number of features. It was accomplished with the help of the guardsmen, who were full-fledged actors in it. Representatives of the ruling elite practically did not participate in the conspiracy, and, on the contrary, foreign diplomats participated, who tried to solve the problems of their countries in this way. “Patriotic coloration” is another important feature of the coup.

Two main ideas of Elizabeth's reign: "the political canonization of Peter the Great", the proclamation of a course of continuity in relation to his legacy and a negative assessment of the time from the death of Catherine I to the accession of Elizabeth.

The purely feminine qualities of the character of Elizabeth the Empress had a twofold effect on the peculiarities of her reign. She tried never to let go of the reins of government and to distribute power functions evenly among her ministers. Elizabeth, adoring entertainment, was by nature very lazy, this determined her indecision, slowness in considering important issues. Another feature of the empress's personality - deep religiosity combined with a lack of religious tolerance - also largely determined the nature of her policy.

Elizabeth's favorites also influenced her political decisions. So the position of Alexei Razumovsky for some time changed Russia's policy towards Ukraine. Shuvalov's influence influenced the development of science and culture in Russia, as well as the fashion for everything French; his special role at court ensured a dominant position for his cousins, with whom the most important domestic political events and reforms of the Elizabethan reign are associated.

In government policy, there was a return to the Peter's order. The significance of the Senate was restored and the Cabinet of Ministers was liquidated, the Berg and Manufacturing Collegiums, the Chief Magistrate and a number of other institutions and posts eliminated by Peter's successors were re-established. The spirit of petty regulation of the daily life of subjects was revived.

A reform of customs taxation was carried out, the result of which was the elimination of internal customs at the end of 1753 with an increase in import duties.

The search for means of enrichment led, on the initiative of P. And Shuvalov, to the emergence of borrowed banks.

In 1754, a special Legislative Commission was formed, which drew up a draft of the Legislative Code of three parts. The first two of them were devoted to judicial and criminal law, and the third - "On the state of subjects in general" - was to become the basis of the estate system of the Russian state. The document was of a purely pro-noble character. It listed the estate rights and privileges of the nobility, which were primarily of a property nature.

Age of Catherine the Great

The reign of the new emperor Peter III was the shortest in Russian history - only six months.

In February 1762, the emperor signed three most important decrees at once - on the liquidation of the Secret Chancellery, on the liberty of the nobility and on the secularization of church lands.

The Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility became a new milestone in the development of the Russian nobility as an estate. His most important position was associated with the release of the nobles from compulsory service to the state. The nobility finally freed itself from the fetters of serfdom and became personally free. With the publication of the manifesto, the long-existing connection between the service of a nobleman to the state and the service of the serf peasantry to him was severed.

The secularization of church lands meant another step towards undermining the power of the Russian Orthodox Church, into turning it into one of the state institutions, because from now on the church was deprived of its main source of income, which allowed it to maintain a certain independence from the state. In turn, the state received new and very significant sources of income.

On June 28, 1762, a coup d'état took place, which enthroned Peter's wife Ekaterina Alekseevna, who was proclaimed Empress Catherine II. The reign of Catherine lasted 34 years and was the most prosperous in the history of Russia.

By the time of her accession to the throne, Catherine was well acquainted with the latest achievements of European philosophical, political and economic thought, on the basis of which she developed a certain idea of ​​what needs to be done for the state to flourish. The empress's theoretical views were based on the ideas of rationalist philosophers and enlighteners about a regular state with an estate system based on fundamental laws equally obligatory for the subjects and for the monarch. One of the most important principles for her was the principle of gradualism in the implementation of transformations. Catherine II formulated her "rules of management":

"Five items":

1. It is necessary to educate the nation, which must be governed.

2. It is necessary to introduce good order in the state, to support society and force it to comply with the laws.

3. It is necessary to establish a good and accurate police force in the state.

4. It is necessary to promote the flourishing of the state and make it abundant.

5. It is necessary to make the state formidable in itself and inspiring respect for its neighbors.

To resolve pressing issues, Catherine created a number of commissions of high dignitaries, who were entrusted, having studied the relevant problems, to present their proposals to the empress.

The Senate reform of 1763 provided for the division of the Senate into six departments with strictly defined functions of each in a certain area of ​​public administration. The Senate lost its legislative function, but still retained the functions of control and the highest judicial body.

In 1764, Catherine signed a decree according to which all the monastic lands with the peasants who lived on them were transferred to the jurisdiction of a specially established College of Economics. The former monastery peasants were now called economic peasants, and their legal status was approximately the same as that of state peasants.

Under Catherine, a new Legislative Commission was created, which had legislative functions and consisted of representatives of various social groups and regions of the country. For the deputies of the commission, she wrote her own Order, in which she outlined her ideas about the content and nature of laws. Published in July 1767, the Order began with a discussion of the necessary nature of laws, which must comply with historical features the people for whom they are created. The development of laws on individual estates was put forward as one of the most important tasks of the commission. Therefore, special chapters of the Order are devoted to the nobility and the "middle race of people." A large section of the document, based on the ideas of the Italian lawyer C. Beccaria, was devoted to crime, investigation, trial and punishment.

Disappointed in the activities of the Legislative Commission, in 1768 the Empress signed a decree suspending its activities. Thus ended the first stage of Catherine's reforms, a characteristic feature of which was the empress's desire to carry out reforms together with representatives of various social groups. The most important conclusion made by Catherine was the conclusion about the deep conservatism of broad strata of her subjects, and, consequently, about the impossibility of too radical reforms.

The first half of the 70s was the most disturbing during the reign of Catherine II. First, the country was shocked by the news of the plague riot in Moscow in 1771, and then the uprising led by E. I. Pugachev in 1773-1774. This had important consequences for determining the further domestic policy of Catherine II. First of all, the empress was convinced of the deep conservatism of the lower strata of the population. Second, it became clear that at all costs, only the nobility could be the true pillar of the throne. Third, these events clearly demonstrated the deep crisis of society and, consequently, the impossibility of further postponing reforms, which should have been carried out gradually, step by step, through slow daily work.

One of the most significant legislative acts of Catherine's time - "Institutions for the administration of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire." The publication and implementation of the "Institutions" in 1775 marked the beginning of the provincial reform, the main content of which was associated with the reorganization of the local government system. In the course of the reform, a new administrative-territorial division was introduced, the judicial authorities were separated from the executive authorities. Local "institutions" created orders of public charity - the first institutions in Russia with special social functions. A number of posts in the new bodies were transferred to the hands of elected representatives of the local nobility.

The empress took a number of measures to develop industry and trade. Already in the 1760s, monopolies in some industries were liquidated, and large factories, which in the last years of the Elizabethan reign fell into private hands as a result of the generosity of the Copper Bank, again passed to the state. In 1780, private ownership of factories and plants was secured. In 1763, the ban on the sale of bread abroad was lifted. Significant changes have also taken place in the country's financial policy.

The denial of serfdom, as an inhuman phenomenon, contrary to the basic principles of the Enlightenment and harmful from an economic point of view, was combined by Catherine with the conviction, on the one hand, of the spiritual underdevelopment of the people and the need to educate them, and on the other, of the rather generally benevolent relationship between the peasants and their owners. ... During her reign, two decrees appeared, marking the peak of the development of serfdom. First of all, this is the decree of 1765, according to which the landowner was allowed to give the guilty peasants to hard labor. The second decree prohibits the peasants from filing complaints against the landowners directly into the hands of the sovereign.

In 1782, the empress published the "Charter of the Deanery, or Policeman", which developed the idea of ​​a Peter's regular state.

On April 21, 1875, Catherine issued two extensive documents - Letters of Charter to the Nobility and Cities. The first of these documents absorbed virtually everything that the nobility sought for over a century, completing the long process of legislative registration of its rights and privileges, which finally separated it from all other strata of society, maintaining its dominant position.

The letters of commendation to cities were of a completely different nature. It was not addressed to the estate, but to the cities and considered not only the personal and estate rights of the urban population, but also the organization and activities of merchant guilds, craft workshops and city government bodies.

Documents testify that the Letter of Merit was prepared for the peasants, but it did not see the light of day.

Education was one of the most important areas of reform. In 1764, the Empress approved the “General institution for the education of both sexes of youth” developed by I. I. Betsky, which was based on the then popular idea of ​​“educating a new breed of people. By the end of the 70s, it became clear that the Betsky system did not give the expected results. In 1782, Catherine created a Commission on the Establishment of Schools, which developed a plan for the creation of two-year schools in the counties and four-year schools in the provincial cities.

The era of Catherine II - the heyday of Russian architecture, painting, music, literature, theater. At this time, the formation of the main currents of Russian social and political thought continued. The era of Catherine was also a time of spiritual flourishing, the formation of national identity, the formation of concepts of honor and dignity in society.

Empire is coming

In the field of foreign policy, Catherine was a worthy successor to the cause of Peter the Great.

The imperial outlook changed the attitude towards the newly annexed peoples and territories. With the creation of the empire, they lost their autonomy status and became its provinces.

The international position of the Russian Empire at the time of Catherine II's accession to the throne was far from simple. The diplomatic successes of the previous reign were actually nullified by Peter III. The old foreign policy doctrine was destroyed, and the new one was useless. The financial situation was also difficult. The main problems of Russian foreign policy of that time were Turkish and Polish.

Catherine began her foreign policy activities with the fact that she returned Russian troops from abroad, confirmed peace with Prussia, but rejected the military alliance concluded with her by Peter III. The Empress saw her goal in the annexation of Courland to Russia, in this regard, in 1762 her protege, Biron, was placed on the ducal throne.

In 1764, a new allied treaty was signed with Prussia, and after the introduction of Russian troops into Poland in August of the same year, the creature of Catherine Stanislav Ponyatovsky again became the king of Poland. Since that time, Russia has been bogged down in Polish problems for a long time. During the reign of Catherine, the partition of Poland took place several times, as a result of which the territory of the Russian state increased significantly.

Meanwhile, the active actions of Russia in Poland began to worry more and more Austria and France, which, as a result of a complex intrigue in the fall of 1768, managed to induce Turkey to declare war on Russia. The Russian army fought a series of brilliant battles, but the state of affairs within the state and on the world stage was rather difficult. In 1774, after long negotiations, it was possible to conclude a peace with Turkey. According to the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhiyskiy treaty, Russia received the right to free passage of its ships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, the fortresses of Kerch and Yenikale, and a significant contribution.

In March 1778, a peace congress was opened in Teschen, connected with the outbreak of the war between Austria and Prussia, at which Russia acted as one of the mediators along with France. In May, the congress ended with the signing of the Teshen Peace Treaty, according to which Russia became not only a mediator, but also a guarantor of peace, which made it possible to freely interfere in German affairs. In 1780 Russia came up with the initiative of the Declaration of Armed Neutrality, which was joined by Sweden, Denmark, Holland and Prussia.

At the same time, the idea of ​​a "Greek project" was born in government circles, the essence of which was to restore the Greek Empire with the capital in Constantinople and with Catherine's second grandson Constantine as emperor.

As a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791. Turkey finally recognized the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and a new border between the two countries was determined along the Dniester.

With the death of Catherine II, a whole epoch of Russian history ended, as if absorbing all the most important things that happened to the country in the 18th century, which was the beginning of the Peter's reforms. The Empress achieved impressive foreign policy results, expressed in significant territorial acquisitions and the final consolidation of one of the leading roles in world politics for Russia.

The time of Paul I

In November 1796, Emperor Paul I ascended the English throne.

His very first steps demonstrated his intention to act in spite of his mother in everything. In the internal policy of Paul, several interrelated directions stand out - the reform of public administration, class policy and military reform... At first glance, the reform of public administration carried out by Paul had the same direction as the policy of Catherine - the further centralization of power, but this task was solved differently, although some of his activities continued the plans of the empress.

From the very first days of Pavlov's reign, an attack on the privileges of the nobility began. In his policy, there was a clear desire to turn the nobility into a knightly estate, disciplined, organized, serving and devoted to their sovereign.

Under Paul, a number of legislative acts appeared that objectively contributed to the weakening of serfdom.

The emperor decided to transfer the Prussian military order to the army, but at the same time he did not take into account any new achievements of Russian military thought.

Paul issued a decree on succession to the throne, establishing the transfer of the throne by inheritance strictly along the male line.

In all of Paul's measures, one can clearly see the desire to limit the personal freedom of his subjects, the unification of all spheres of life, the fight against a variety of opinions, judgments, with the right to choose a way of life, style of behavior, and clothing. His policy caused the discontent of many segments of the population, which led to a conspiracy. On March 11, 1811, Paul was killed. Alexander I was proclaimed the All-Russian Emperor.



1.Russia during the reign of Peter I.

2. Palace coups in Russia.

3. Foreign policy during the period of palace coups.

4. The culture of Russia in the first half of the 18th century.

1.Russia during the reign of Peter I.

During the Great Embassy of Peter I to Europe, the anti-Swedish Northern Union (Russia, Denmark, Poland, Saxony) was formed. In 1700, the Great Northern War with Sweden began. The Russian army was defeated near Narva. In 1703, Peter I went to the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of the Neva and founded St. Petersburg (the capital since 1712). The Swedish king Charles XII defeated the allies of Russia and in 1708 entered the Russian borders in Ukraine. The hetman of Ukraine Mazepa joined the Swedes. Near the village of Lesnoy in 1708, and then in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, the Swedes were defeated, and a turning point took place in the Northern War. In 1711, Peter I carried out an unsuccessful Prut campaign against Turkey: he had to leave Azov and destroy Taganrog. In 1714 the Russian fleet defeated the Swedes at Cape Gangut, in 1720 at the Grengam Island. In 1721, the Treaty of Nystadt was signed with Sweden. Russia received territories in the Baltic States: Livonia, Estonia, Neva lands, part of Karelia (Ingermanlandia). Russia is proclaimed an empire.

The victory in the Northern War was due to the transformations aimed at modernizing the country. To provide the army and navy with everything necessary, more than 100 manufactories, mostly private, were created. Economic regions emerged: Ural, Petersburg, Karelia. Ships were built at the shipyards. In trade, a policy of protecting the domestic market (protectionism) was pursued. In the field of fiscal policy, a poll tax has been introduced instead of the household tax. All power was concentrated in the hands of the emperor. In 1711, the supreme legislative body, the Governing Senate, was created. Orders were replaced by 12 collegia - governing bodies by industry (1718-1720). Peter I abolished the patriarchate and completely subjugated the church to secular power in the person of the Holy Synod (a state body for the management of church affairs). As a result of the provincial reform, the country was divided into 8 provinces. Since 1722, the "Table of Ranks" began to operate, establishing the procedure for the passage of service for military and civilians. Promotion in the service henceforth depended not on nobility, but on merit. Peter I was able to pick up capable assistants, among which were AD. Menshikov, G.I. Golovkin, P.11. Shafirov, F. Lefort and others. The reform activities and active foreign policy of Peter I required large financial resources, which fell heavily on the masses. There were uprisings: an uprising in Bashkiria (1705-1711), in Astrakhan (1705-1706), an uprising led by Kondraty Bulavin on the Don (1707-1708).

2. Palace coups in Russia

Peter I left no direct male heir. After his death, the period of palace coups begins (1725-1762). The closest associate of Peter I A.D. Menshikov elevated Catherine I to the throne, and he himself headed the Supreme Privy Council, which actually ruled the state. Under Peter II (1727–1730), the teenage grandson of Peter the Great, the Dolgoruky princes gained great influence. Menshikov was exiled. But Peter II, before he reached the age of 15, died of smallpox. The members of the Supreme Privy Council invited the niece of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740), to the throne. The conditions for the invitation to the throne were conditions that limited the imperial power. Anna Ioannovna initially agreed to these conditions, and then, relying on the guard, rejected them. The period of her reign is characterized by the dominance of the Germans, led by the favorite of the tsarina Biron ("Bironovschina"). A.I. Osterman and B.Kh. Minich. Childless Anna Ioannovna appointed the infant Ivan VI Antonovich (1740–1741), the son of her niece Anna Leopoldovna (under Biron's regency), as her heir. As a result of another coup, the throne passes to Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1761), daughter of Peter I, who sought to restore her father's order and expanded the privileges of the nobility.

The nobles received privileges: the decree "On single inheritance" was canceled, the nobles could enroll children in the army from birth, and then they immediately received ranks. Opened Shlyakhetsky cadet corps for the nobles. The service life was reduced to 25 years. Under Elizaveta Petrovna, the nobles received a monopoly on distilling, and a Noble Loan Bank was created. Internal customs duties were abolished.

3. Foreign policy during the period of palace coups.

War with Sweden (1741-1743), as a result of which Sweden confirmed the results of the Northern War. During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the territories of Kazakhstan - the Junior and Middle Zhuzes were annexed to Russia. In the 40s, the Russian diplomatic department, headed by Chancellor A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, seeks through a chain of complex efforts to strengthen the foreign policy significance of Russia by expanding allied ties with states that were in hostile relations with Prussia. There was a rapprochement with Austria and England. However, the changed balance of power between the allied powers in the middle of the XVIII century. led to unexpected rearrangements between them. In January 1756, the Westminster Agreement between England and Prussia was signed in London. In parallel, there was a rapprochement between France and Austria, which led to the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles in May 1756. It was from this alignment of forces and interests in Europe that the "strange" for Russia Seven Years' War (1756-1762) was born. On August 30, 1757, near the village of Gross-Jegersdorf, the Russian army under the command of Apraksin inflicted a serious defeat on the Prussian army. But then the seemingly inexplicable begins. Instead of building on his success, Apraksin behaves extremely indecisively. Elizabeth appoints a new commander - Fermor. In August 1758, the second major battle of the war was fought at Zorndorf. This battle ended in a draw. Fermor also lost his post. On August 1, 1759, near the village of Kunersdorf, near Frankfurt an der Oder, the Prussian troops were utterly defeated by the Russians under the command of Saltykov, the last and most talented commander in this war. In 1760 the Russian corps entered the streets of Berlin. In December 1761 General P.A. Rumyantsev managed to take the well-fortified Kolberg fortress. It should be borne in mind that all the riddles of this war are solved if we take into account the alignment of forces at court. Elizabeth was ready to fight the war to the bitter end, or, as she herself said, until the time when she had to sell her last dress. But there was also the "young" court of Peter Fedorovich, which was known for its Prussophile sentiments. Naturally, all the commanders-in-chief of the Russian army, mostly experienced politicians, closely followed what was happening in St. Petersburg. Hence their indecision.

The war almost ended in tragicomedy. After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter concludes a separate peace with Prussia. According to this, the treaty of 1762, all the territories occupied by the Russian army were returned to Prussia, and the Russian army was almost sent on a campaign against the allied Russia of Denmark, with which Peter had personal scores.

4. The culture of Russia in the first half of the 18th century.

The culture of the first quarter of the century is associated with the transformations of Peter I. Literature. The transformations were supported by Feofan Prokopovich, a political church figure, ideologist of church reforms. He wrote "Spiritual regulations" on the reorganization of the church, "The truth about the will of monarchs" and others. Prokopovich took care of the development of culture and enlightenment, headed the "Scientific squad", which included A. Kantimir, V. Tatishchev. Publicist Ivan Pososhkov spoke about the need to develop industry, trade, and search for minerals in his book On Poverty and Wealth. Science, education. V. Bering's expedition around the eastern tip of Asia took place. S.L. Krasheninnikov compiled the first Description of the Land of Kamchatka. The names of S. Chelyuskin, brothers D. and X. Laptev remained forever on the maps of the world. V.N. Tatishchev wrote "Russian History from the Most Ancient Times." Schools of Navigation, Artillery, Engineering and other architecture were opened. Baroque became the dominant style of architecture. D. Trezzini built the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the building of the Twelve Collegia in St. Petersburg, the Summer Palace of Peter I. In Moscow, the Menshikov Tower (the Temple of the Archangel Gabriel), the Arsenal in the Kremlin, the Lefortovo Palace, etc. were erected. A 22-domed wooden Transfiguration Church was built in Kizhi. Painting. In the visual arts, the appearance of engraving (A.F. Zubov) and a portrait. I.N. Nikitin painted a portrait of Peter I, a painting "The Floor Hetman", A.M. Matveev - "Self-portrait with his wife", etc.

Self-study questions

1.Russian Orthodox Church during the reign of Peter I.

2. Social and political life of the Peter the Great empire.

3.Persilian campaigns of Peter I.

Literature

Training

1. Munchaev Sh.M., Ustinov V.M. Russian history. Textbook for universities. - 5th ed., Rev. and add. - M .: Publishing house NORMA, 2009 .-- 768 p.

2. Orlov A.S., Georgiev V.A., Georgieva N.G., Sivokhina T.A. Russian history. Ed. 4th, rev. and add. M., 2011.- 528 p.

3. Skvortsova E.M., Markova A.N. The history of homeland. Ed. 2nd
stereotype. M .: Unity-Dana, 2008 .-- 848 p.

Additional

1. Anisimov E.V. State transformations and the autocracy of Peter the Great in the first quarter of the 18th century. SPb., 1997.

2. Anderson M. Peter the Great / Per. from English Rostov n / a, 1997.

3. Anisimov E.V. Anna Ioannovna // Questions of history. 1993. No. 4.

4. Anisimov E.V. Time of Peter's reforms. L., 1989.

5. Anisimov E.V. State transformations and the autocracy of Peter the Great in the first quarter of the 18th century. SPb., 1997.

6. Anisimov E.V. Women on the Russian throne. SPb., 1998.

7. Anisimov E.V. Women in power in the 18th century as a problem // Bulletin of history, literature, art. M., 2005. URL: http: //ec-dejavu.net/w/Women_in_Power.html

8. Anisimov E.V. Peter II // Questions of history. 1994. No. 8.

9. Anisimov E.V. Russia without Peter: 1725-1740. SPb., 1994

At this time, the territory of the Russian Empire expanded significantly. It included Belarus and Right-Bank Ukraine, Crimea and the Azov region, part of the Northern Black Sea region and Lithuania. For 1747-1796. the population has doubled: from 18 to 36 million people. If by the end of the reign of Peter I there were 336 cities in the country, then by early XIX v. - 634. And yet Russia remained an agrarian country - only 4.1% of the population lived in cities. Most of it was made up of peasants. 54% of the peasants belonged to the landowners, 40% to the treasury, the rest to the palace department.

Agriculture developed mainly extensively - through the development of newly annexed sparsely populated lands in the south - in Novorossiya. To attract the population here, the government allocated land plots of 60 dess. everyone, with the exception of serfs: retired soldiers, state peasants, foreign colonists. Under the conditions of the existence of serfdom, the country lacked free people who could settle in a fertile empty land. True, Potemkin, who was in charge of the development of the Black Sea lands, achieved a decree not to hand over to the landowners the fugitive serfs who were in the Novorossiysk and Azov provinces. And yet the decisive role in the settlement of Novorossiya was played by landlord colonization. For those landowners who pledged to resettle their peasants in the Black Sea region, the government allocated land with an area of ​​1.5 thousand to 12 thousand dessiatins. Already by late XVIII v. Novorossiya began to supply grain to the market and even sell it abroad through the Black Sea ports. Later it turned into one of the most important granaries of Russia.

There was, albeit slowly, the agricultural development of the eastern regions of the country: the South Urals and Siberia, where the indigenous population, under the influence of Russian settlers, passed from nomadic cattle breeding to the cultivation of arable land.

Agriculture

Under the influence of the growth of cities, industry, foreign trade, the landlord economy was increasingly drawn into market relations. In the south of the country, where the production of grain for sale became a profitable business, the landowners sought to expand the landlord plowing by reducing the peasant holdings. At the same time, the time spent by the peasant in the corvee increased. As a rule, peasants worked in corvee 3-4 days a week, but sometimes all 6 days. In some cases, the landowner completely deprived the serf of the land allotment and forced him to work all week in his field, providing him and his family with a month's allowance. Therefore, this form of addiction began to be called a month. Serfdom in Russia was often called slavery. The month really turned the serf into a slave, completely depriving him of his property.

In the Non-Black Earth Region, the organization of its own large-scale agricultural economy did not bring significant benefits to the landowners. Therefore, quitrent predominated here, which was collected mainly in monetary form... The size of the rent increased in the 1760-90s. from 1-2 rubles. up to 5-10 rubles with a revision of the "soul". The peasants earned money for the payment of the quitrent by engaging in trades, going to work: in carpentry artels, in barge haulers, in cabs, in factories. Thus, the dependence of the worker on the land, inherent in serf farming, was violated. Serfdom found itself in conflict with the needs of the country's economic development.

The sharp increase in the interest of the nobles in their economy (after 1762), the desire to increase the income of their estate did not hesitate to affect the intensification of the exploitation of the peasants.

First of all, the landowners, where grain farming was profitable, sought to expand their part of the arable land. This led to the expansion of the landowners' plots and the reduction of peasant allotments to 1.5 dess. on a man's soul or less.

In addition to reducing the burden on the corvée peasants, the work in the landowner's field was a very heavy burden. These jobs, as a rule, reached three days a week. In some areas, corvée reached in the middle of the 18th century. monstrous size-5-6 days a week. Particularly large plots were planted by the nobles in the fertile regions of the Black Earth Center. At the same time, the landowners increasingly focused on the production of bread for sale. However, cutting the peasant allotment, the landowner chopped off the branch on which he was sitting. The degradation of the peasant economy was a manifestation of the crisis of the feudal-serf system of economy. In the XVIII century. manifestations of these crisis features are observed mainly in the non-black earth zone, in areas where grain is profitable. But in the 18th century. these crisis phenomena end without consequence. This is due to a number of circumstances.

By the middle of the 18th century, a period of more or less harmonious combination in the exploitation of peasants by landowners of all three types of feudal rent: labor, natural and monetary rent is coming to an end. The landowners of the non-chernozem zone of Russia are gradually switching to a quitrent. The role of extortions in kind becomes secondary.

Corvée form of exploitation in the 18th century became predominant in the zone of the most fertile lands. These are areas of Tula, Ryazan, Tambov, Oryol, Kursk, Voronezh, Penza and other provinces. In these areas, the nobility starts large land plots of 1000, 2000 and even 3000 dessiatines. However, such large plots in the 18th century. are still relatively rare. Most often, their value reaches 100 - 300 dessiatines, but this bread of small and medium-sized landowners also went to the market.

So, from the middle of the 18th century, the areas of the black earth provinces have become the focus of the corvee economy of landowners with the orientation of grain production to the market. This leads to a sharp increase in the exploitation of the peasants. It was in this era that an impetus was given to the process that, in the middle of the 19th century, led to the collapse of the feudal-serf system.

The main factor in the deepening and development of the domestic market was the growth of the non-agricultural population engaged in commercial and industrial activities. This growth was mainly due to the industrial peasantry. External export of grain in the 18th century. accounted for only 3% to 7% of the entire grain balance. At the same time, the landlords were not suppliers of marketable grain. The bulk of it was given by the peasants, more and more drawn into the system of commodity-money relations.

In the course of the historical process, the social division of labor develops. Due to this, there is a gradual specialization of production, the relationship between the sectors of which is carried out through the market. In agriculture, these specialization processes occur extremely slowly and much later than in industry. However, in the 18th century. the peasant economy gradually ceases to be an absolutely closed economy. Peasants now buy both their tools and some household items. The transition of the state to collecting cash, rather than taxes in kind, increases the peasant's need for money, makes him bring the products of his labor to the market, and draws him into the system of commodity-money relations. This process was gradual and lengthy. At the time we are describing, he, as in the 17th century. was somewhere within its initial stage. The basis of the peasant's economy was still natural.

The specific nature of the climatic conditions in Russia provided the local population with very unfavorable conditions for agriculture. The Russian peasant was engaged in agriculture not from February to November, as in Western Europe, but only from April-May to August-September, for the rest of the time belonged either to cold weather with frosts, or to a harsh winter. Due to this, the farmer could plow more or less normally and plow through a very small piece of land, and the choice of crops was not great: rye, most often winter, which was sown in the fall, wintered in the form of seedlings under the snow and matured by July-August of the next summer, and oats, which were sown in April-May and ripened in August-September. These two crops occupied up to 80% of arable land, for they were the most important and at the same time unpretentious and hardy crops. But the inhabitant of the East European Plain most often had a meager podzolic soil. The yield on such lands was mostly self-3 and only occasionally self-4. With a harvest of 3 himself, the peasant could hardly make ends meet, and with a harvest 4 himself could sell about 17 poods of grain. However, the crop itself-3 was also not always, and there were frequent crop failures, and then the peasant could not collect the new grain even for seeds. Prince M.M. Shcherbatov, making a similar calculation, came to the conclusion that the country was almost constantly on the verge of starvation. The weather and work helped her out.

Three-field crop rotation posed a barrier to marketability and changes in the profile of the peasant economy. After all, the winter field was occupied by rye. Up to 50% of the spring field was occupied by oats, and the rest of the plot of land was divided by barley, flax, peas, lentils, buckwheat, millet, hemp, etc. it is impossible to live on oats, although he might have sold flax at a profit. The market in the 18th century was not sufficiently developed to satisfy the needs of the peasants themselves for one or another agricultural product. It satisfied the needs of only a small non-agricultural population and, above all, the urban population. Thus, the specialization of the peasant economy proceeded very slowly, retaining its natural basis.

However, the most serious problem in the development of Russian agriculture was an acute shortage of time and the small size of the land, the harvest from which was barely enough for its own maintenance. At the same time, the objective needs of the developing Russian state demanded a much larger gross agricultural product.

So gradually the task arose of increasing the labor load of the peasant, and increasing this load in the short agricultural season that Nature endowed Russia with. From this stemmed and characteristic of the XVIII century. processes of a sharp increase in the exploitation of the forced Russian peasantry.

Nevertheless, the specialization gradually developed. The peasantry of Central Russia has long paid attention to the sowing of flax, expanding them in the spring field and crowding out other crops. The areas around Pskov and Yaroslavl were famous for their excellent flax. Buyers collected small lots of flax in villages and villages, and merchants sent them in huge quantities abroad or to weaving factories in Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vladimir, Moscow and other cities.

An equally important crop, which early became an object of trade and raw material for industry, was hemp, which can be sown in the same field for many decades in a row with abundant fertilization of the land. The peasantry of the districts of Kaluga, Bryansk, Orel, Kursk and others set up special fields for hemp and received abundant harvests of this crop. Huge consignments of hemp hemp went, like flax, both for export and for the needs of the sail-linen industry in the country.

Finally, one more important point in the development of agricultural marketability in the country in the 18th century. We are talking about the development of the process of development of vast sparsely populated, but fertile territories to the south and southeast of the center of the country. In the XVIII century. the advance of the peasantry to the fertile southern lands intensified. The Russian population was already significant in the Trans-Volga region, the lower reaches of the Don, the regions of the Ciscaucasia, Bashkiria, etc. The territory where Tatars, Chuvash, Mari, Bashkirs lived, in the described time already had a large stratum of the Russian population. Russian peasants lived peacefully side by side with the Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvash and other peoples and even entered into family ties with them. Conflicts arose, as a rule, when, after peasant colonization, Russian feudal lords appeared in these lands, land seizures began, etc.

The development of fertile black soil was another important factor in bringing the peasant economy into the orbit of commodity-money relations, in overcoming its former isolation. Despite the fact that the areas of chernozems often suffered from drought, their fertility was so high that the harvest year not only covered the meager harvests with poor harvests, but also provided surplus grain products. The yields of rye sometimes reached 10 itself, 15 itself, wheat - 5 itself, 8 itself, millet - 20 itself, 30 itself - 30 and more. Freer maneuvering of the sown area than with the usual three-field made it possible to allocate large tracts of land for wheat, millet, buckwheat, etc.

Industry and craft

In Russian industry in the second half of the 18th century. happened Big changes... If in the middle of the century there were 600 manufactories in Russia, then at the end of the century there were 1200. The production of pig iron has increased sharply. By the middle of the 18th century. Russia came out on top in the world in iron smelting. Sailing linen and woolen manufactories developed successfully. The rapid growth of production was due to the growing demand from the treasury and great opportunities for export: Russian sailing cloth and iron were willingly bought by European countries, especially England.

In metallurgy, the Ural factories reigned supreme. Olonets and Tula-Kashira metallurgical regions fell into decay. The Urals took the first place in metallurgical production. The Lipetsk factories also grew rapidly. V light industry the formation of new centers to the north and west of the traditional center - Moscow, in Voronezh province, in Little Russia took place. Cloth-making developed in the south, where sheep were traditionally bred, linen factories were built in flax-growing regions: near Smolensk, Pskov and Novgorod.

The textile industry has developed significantly. True, in the cloth industry, the most privileged, there were constant interruptions. The products of these manufactories were all used for deliveries to the treasury. However, the terms of purchases were unfavorable and the cloth manufactories were hireli. In sharp contrast were the free-selling silk establishments. Their number grew steadily. The main centers of the silk industry were Moscow and the Moscow region.

The sailing and linen industry also developed. Russian sailcloth was in great demand in England and other maritime powers. New enterprises in this industry emerged in cities such as Yaroslavl, Vologda, Kaluga, Borovsk. Serpukhov became a major center of linen production.

The production of paper, leather, glass, chemical, etc. is developing. By the middle of the 18th century. there were 15 paper-making, 10 glass, 9 chemical factories, etc.

If at the beginning of the XVIII century. manufactories belonged primarily to the treasury, then later, an increasing number of owners of factories and plants came from merchants, as well as peasants and nobles. Another area of ​​forced labor - landlord estates enterprises In Russia there was a state wine monopoly and the supply of wine (ie vodka) to the treasury was a very profitable business. This was soon realized by the owners of such estates, which were located in fertile, but distant from the markets of sales areas: the south of the Tambov province, Voronezh, Kursk, Penza provinces, Slobodskaya Ukraine, etc. Large distilleries with the use of the labor of their own serfs emerge very quickly here.

Another branch of industry, where entrepreneurship of the nobility manifested itself, is the cloth and, in part, the sail-linen industry. Organized on the basis of serf labor, the noble cloth industry became widespread mainly in the southern regions of the country: Voronezh, Kursk, and partly Tambov provinces. and others. There were, as a rule, small enterprises for 2-3 dozen mills. But there were also large ones. By the end of the 60s. the total number of cloth factories in the country reaches 73 units.

Possessional and state-owned manufactures prevailed in metallurgy. But at the same time, the peasant-merchant manufactory (especially in the textile industry), based on hired labor, began to develop successfully. This was largely the result of government policy. Striving at the beginning of the reign to enlist the support of the ruling class - the nobility, Catherine II in 1762. satisfied the most important requirement of the landlords: it forbade all non-nobles to acquire peasants to work in manufactories. The Ural industrialists got out of the situation: they already had tens of thousands of serfs who could be used in newly built factories. And the manufacturers, who opened new silk, glass, paper and other enterprises, had to recruit workers on free hiring. Thus, in factories founded after 1762, only hired labor was used.

It hardly occurred to anyone at that moment that the beginning of the decline of forced labor in industry had begun. On the contrary, the owners of manufactories insisted on the restoration of the right to purchase workers, which had been taken away from them. But later it turned out that hired workers work better, more productively, the competitiveness of enterprises using hired labor is incomparably higher. After several decades, the estates' manufactories began to decline, unable to withstand the competition. The number of hired workers increased from 220 thousand at the beginning of the 1760s. up to 420 thousand by the end of the 18th century.

Who, then, worked in manufactories for free employment? Most of them were otkhodniki peasants who earned a quitrent. The peculiarity of the Russian worker was that he was a freelancer only in relation to the breeder, while remaining at the same time servile in relation to his master.

In its economic policy Catherine II proceeded from the theory of natural rights, which included the right of private property. Government intervention in economic life, restrictions and regulations economic activity were, from her point of view, a violation of natural rights. On the contrary, unrestricted freedom of competition was in accordance with natural law.

Encouraging entrepreneurship promised the Russian treasury a significant income boost from tax revenues. In 1767, repurchases and monopolies were abolished. In 1775, the tsarist manifesto allowed "everyone and everyone to start all kinds of camps and produce all kinds of handicrafts on them." Thus, the right of peasants to engage in trades was recognized.

For a long time, the peasants of the Non-Black Earth Region, receiving little profit from agriculture, used their free time for extra work. The peasants were sophisticated, "thinking", that is, inventing ways of their more or less bearable existence. Hence the side occupations of the peasantry were called “trades”. Large masses of the peasantry were involved in industrial activities.

In addition to local crafts, the peasants were engaged in latrine trades, i.e. went to work in cities or other areas. A powerful consumer of peasants-migrants was r. Volga and Volga cities Tver, Rybnaya Sloboda, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan, etc. Tens of thousands of peasants worked as barge haulers, were employed in the fisheries of Astrakhan and Guryev. Thousands of peasants went to work in St. Petersburg. A lot of working people demanded pilotage of ships from the Volga to the Neva. Finally, Moscow and its industry were a serious consumer of labor.

In addition to industrial waste, agricultural waste developed in Russia. From the Tula, Ryazan, Tambov villages, as well as from the non-black earth regions, thousands of peasants rushed to summer work in the southern black earth regions. The corvée peasantry of the Non-Chernozem center of the country used the autumn-winter period to go to work. And now the landowners, not content with corvee, began to supplement it with monetary dues. Moreover, in view of the prospects of peasant trades, many landowners began to transfer peasants from corvée to monetary quitrent.

However, the exploitation of the peasants by means of monetary quitrent very soon also ceased to meet the "standards" of a typical feudal economy. The landowner already receives increased amounts of quitrent only due to the personal serf dependence of the peasant, land relations here have lost their former significance.

The growth rates of peasant crafts are accompanied by the rapid growth rates of the monetary quitrent. So, in the 60s. XVIII century landowners took on average 1–2 rubles. from a male soul a year, in the 70s. - 2-3 rubles, in the 80s -4-5 rubles, and in the 90s. in some areas of the center of the country the quitrent reached 8-10 rubles. with a male soul.

One of the most striking features of Russia's economic development was the emergence of industrial centers not so much in the city as in the countryside. So, from the end of the 17th-beginning of the 18th centuries, dozens of commercial and industrial settlements appeared, where the population focused not on agriculture, but on “crafts”. These are the Vladimir villages of Dunilovo, Kokhma, Palekh, Mstera, Kholui, the Nizhny Novgorod villages of Pavlovo, Vorsma, Bezvodnoe, Lyskovo, Bogorodskoe, Gorodets, Rabotki, many Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Tver, etc. villages and villages. By the middle of the 18th century. many of them were larger in terms of population than any other city. In with. Pavlova, for example, by the middle of the century the population was over 4 thousand people. In other words, the process of social division of labor has developed in such a way that in each specific village the specialization of predominantly one type of production developed. In such a village, everyone or almost were either shoemakers, or coopers, or weavers.

This was a typical small-scale production. Sometimes small commodity producers hired 1-2 additional workers. Over time, the practice of using hired labor expanded. In the process of competitive struggle, two groups inevitably stand out: one of them consists of those forced to live only by selling their labor; the second group is very small, but it is made up of commodity producers who use hired labor. Over time, larger ones stand out from them. Thus, from the depths of small-scale commodity production, manufacturing gradually grows, and capitalist manufactures appear. However, due to the seasonality of production and short-term hiring of workers, the enlargement process was very slow and the number of large-scale industries remained small.

A similar process of development of capitalism is observed in other regions. A large place in the Moscow region is received by the so-called. a scattered manufactory, whose workers work in their homes, in light houses.

The enlargement of small-scale production, the growing use of hired labor in the 18th century can be observed in other branches of production - in metallurgy and metalworking, tanning, chemical industry etc. There are capitalist enterprises in the largest cities of Russia (Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, etc.). The capitalist structure is gradually taking shape in the country.

Trade

Strengthening the specialization of various regions of the country, the growth of industrial production, and seasonal work required the further development of trade. Grain and animal products came to the non-black earth zone from the south, textiles, metal products, dishes, etc. were brought to the black earth region. Fairs were large centers of domestic trade. The most important among them were: Makaryevskaya, Irbitskaya, Orenburgskaya, Nezhinskaya, Korennaya (near Kursk), Arkhangelsk, Svenskaya (near Bryansk) and a number of others. In 1788 in Russia (excluding the Baltic states) there were 1100 fairs and marketplaces, of which 565 were in the Left-Bank Ukraine. There were also numerous local fairs and marketplaces. The development of trade was greatly facilitated by the abolition in 1754 of all internal customs and duties. By the end of the century, the domestic market was mainly formed.

Foreign trade turnover has increased significantly. If in 1763 - 1765. Russian exports amounted to 12 million rubles, and imports - 9.3 million rubles, then in 1781 - 1785. - 23.7 and 17.9 million rubles, respectively. Exported mainly agricultural raw materials: flax, hemp, tow. But the export of industrial products also grew: linen fabrics, sailcloth, and especially iron. Russia was also becoming a major exporter of grain (previously, almost no grain was exported abroad). Sugar, woolen and cotton fabrics, metals, luxury goods were imported. customs tariff 1767 completely banned the import of goods whose production within the country could satisfy the sport, on the contrary, raw materials for industry were subject to a minimum duty, and the import of those products that were sharply lacking was completely duty-free. However, in 1782, Catherine, carried away by the ideas of Adam Smith, actually abandoned protectionism, ceasing to patronize trade and industry. This, however, did not mean giving up the patronage of their development. So, to reduce the cost of credit, Catherine, instead of estate banks, opened one State Loan Bank, which issued loans at only 5% per annum.

Up to 60% of all sea trade went through St. Petersburg. With the approval of Russia in the Black Sea region, Taganrog, Odessa, Kherson, and, in part, Sevastopol play the role of commercial seaports. Trade with the countries of the East was conducted through Astrakhan, Orenburg, Kyakhta.

Numerous wars and the growth of the bureaucratic apparatus required huge expenses. In order to make ends meet, the government was forced to increase taxes. During the 34 years of Catherine's reign, tax revenues quadrupled. And yet there was not enough money. I had to borrow from foreign bankers (by the end of Catherine's reign, a hefty external debt had accumulated).

The lack of funds forced the government to resort to issuing paper money - banknotes (for which a special Assignation Bank was created). Initially (in 1768) it was planned to issue them for 1 million rubles, but by 1774 there were 20 million rubles in circulation. banknotes, and by 1796 - 157 million rubles. The exchange rate of banknotes fell to 70 kopecks. silver. Since that time, there have been two monetary units in Russia - the ruble in silver and the ruble in banknotes. Money circulation became more and more frustrated. However, in that era, there was still no clear consciousness anywhere in the world. that paper money in itself has no value and must be backed by goods and treasury obligations.

Russian nobility and problems of social and economic development of the country

In July 1762, Catherine II, with her manifesto, announced the so-called. "General surveying", which strengthened the agricultural rights of the nobles. At the same time, she presented (allegedly as a reward for the rapid and indisputable establishment of the boundaries of their possessions) to the nobles a huge fund of state lands, arbitrarily seized by landowners in the post-Peter period. Peasant rights. Thus, the laws mitigated the punishment of the nobles for torturing and murdering their serfs, and under Catherine II, only church penances became the punishment of the nobles. The practice of selling serfs wholesale and retail was legalized. The children of recruited peasants were now left in the property of the landowner.

All R. XVIII century There were clear signs of the dismantling of the traditional policy of feudal regulation in the field of economics. Moreover, the gradual nature of the changes and their obvious contradictions testify to the purely pragmatic nature of this policy, i.e. about the absence of any theoretical concepts in its basis.

Following the proclamation of the rejection of the system of monopolies in industry and trade on March 28, 1762. in July of the same year, the freedom of production of chintz was announced throughout the country, except for Moscow and St. Petersburg. A little earlier, the export of grain abroad was allowed. And from 1766 to 1772. duty-free export of wheat and wheat flour from almost all ports of the empire was introduced. In 1763. the principle of freedom of industrial activity was again proclaimed. In April 1767. a very laconic decree was issued declaring complete freedom for "handicrafts and handicrafts" in the cities of Russia. And on September 10, 1769. there was a personal decree on the freedom to start weaving mills with only one condition: payment of a fee of 1 rubles. per camp.

In the 70s. the government of Catherine II goes to even more drastic decisions. By decree of March 17, 1775. freedom of establishment of industrial enterprises for all branches of industry was declared, all taxes from small trades were abolished. In 1777, levies from household camps belonging to factories were abolished, i.e. The conditions for the operation of the scattered manufactories were dramatically improved. In 1784 there was again a personal decree on the encouragement of the local light industry.

Thus, the strengthening of serfdom and the encouragement of crafts practically took place at the same time.

There is a very real opportunity to give the most convincing assessment of such a policy as an integral phenomenon. To do this, it is necessary to once again realize the cardinal feature of the history of the Russian state, which consists in the fact that natural and climatic conditions have created in the country from century to century an extremely unfavorable environment for the development of the basis of the foundations of its existence - agriculture.

Russian society until the twentieth century developed as a society with a relatively low volume of aggregate surplus product, which, in principle, would forever doom it to the fate of a primitive agricultural society.

Therefore, the historical necessity already in the Middle Ages led in Russia to the formation of a special type of statehood, unusual for Europe, with very rigid levers of the state mechanism, because the main function of the Russian state was the concentration and redistribution of the relative minimum of the surplus product in the interests of the development of society itself and its ruling class. Therefore, the centuries-old tradition of centralized, autocratic, essentially despotic power in the east of Europe was far from accidental. The unusually harsh regime of serfdom was not accidental either. For many centuries, this regime was designed to ensure the progressive development of both society and the state. This development was carried out mainly through the use of the super-hard labor of the peasantry, whose economic situation was on the verge of losing its own reproduction.

The vast expanses of the Russian Non-Black Earth Region have been the arena of practically unprofitable agriculture for centuries. In the second half of the 18th century. in the Vladimir province, only one county out of 12 (Pokrovsky) had a certain surplus of grain. Four counties only had enough grain for 6-8 months a year.

wiki.304.ru / History of Russia. Dmitry Alkhazashvili.