Russian empire inXIXv.
Describe the main directions of the internal policy of the Russian Empire in the first half XIXv.
First half of the 19th century - this is the time of the reign of two emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I.
Alexander I (1801-1825)
The first period of Alexander's reign was marked by liberal reforms. At the beginning of his reign, he confirmed the liberal disposition of future reforms: the "Secret Chancellery" was destroyed, freedom was granted to political prisoners and exiles, torture, which became an indispensable part of legal proceedings, was prohibited. The emperor paid particular attention to the issues of abolishing serfdom and limiting autocracy. The solution of these issues and others was discussed by Alexander among his associates who are members of the "Secret Committee" (PA Stroganov, VP Kochubei, NN Novosiltsev, AD Czartoryskiy).
Already in 1802, an administrative reform was carried out, which consisted of replacing the collegia with 8 ministries: military, naval, foreign affairs, justice, internal affairs, finance, commerce, and public education. Simultaneously with the creation of ministries, the Senate reform was carried out. The Senate was proclaimed "the supreme seat of the empire", whose power was limited only by the power of the emperor. Ministers were required to submit annual reports to the Senate, which he could challenge to the sovereign.
But nevertheless, Alexander did not cease to worry about the solution of the peasant question, firstly, he stopped the practice of distributing state peasants to serfs to nobles, and secondly, on February 20, 1803, a decree on free (free) farmers was issued, which established the rules for the release of serfs and the allotment their land, however, he attributed the granting of freedom to the decision of the owners of the estates themselves. This Decree formed a special social category of free farmers who own land under the right of private property, in contrast to the state peasants. As for the practical results of this Decree, they were not great. The total number of serfs freed after its publication was about 50,000.
In 1803, another important reform was carried out - a reform in the field of public education. On January 24, 1803, Alexander approved a new regulation on the structure of educational institutions. The territory of Russia was divided into six educational districts, in which four categories of educational institutions were created: parish, district, provincial schools, as well as gymnasiums and universities. The latter were supposed to represent the highest level of education. If before that time in Russia there was only one university - Moscow, founded in 1755, now many old universities have been restored and new ones created. Although education still remained inaccessible to a significant part of the population, primarily peasants, the new education system met the needs of society for literate, qualified specialists.
A new stage of reforms that began in 1803 demanded new people, these new people were A.A. Arakcheev and M.M. Speransky. The first dealt mainly with issues related to the reorganization of the army, the second - the development of plans for new reforms.
Speransky's reforms.
The reform plan proposed by Speransky represented the thoughts of the emperor himself.
First, he proposed reforming the public administration system through the implementation of the separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial.
Secondly, in terms of reforms, the issue of civil rights was considered, which was supposed to endow the entire population of the country, including serfs. Among such rights, he attributed the impossibility of punishing someone without a court decision. The right to participate in the elections was supposed to endow only the first two estates of the state - the nobility and the merchants.
The implementation of Speransky's plan was to turn Russia into a constitutional monarch, where the monarch's power would be limited by a bicameral legislature of the parliamentary type.
The implementation of Speransky's plan began in 1809 - 1810. On January 1, 1810, the State Council (legislative body) was created, which was supposed to coordinate the activities of all three branches of government. The implementation of the next stages of the reform was delayed, in the summer of 1810 the transformation of the ministries began: the Ministry of Commerce was liquidated, the Ministries of Police and Railways were created, as well as a number of new Main Directorates. The State Duma was never created. Speransky's proposal for the reorganization of the Senate, the essence of which was to divide it into two - government and judicial, was rejected by members of the State Council. After a series of setbacks, Speransky asked for his resignation.
Reasons for the failure of new reforms:
the very personality of Speransky, who rose from the lower classes, aroused envy and anger in court circles.
secondly, Speransky's reforms infringed on the long-established and very convenient order for the nobility and bureaucracy.
Arakcheev's reforms.
The reforms of Arakcheev - became a transition from liberalism to reaction, the hallmark of which was the implementation of the military reform, which consisted in the creation of military settlements. Realizing that any attempt to abolish serfdom would cause discontent on the part of the landowners, Alexander decided to make the army his main support. However, the army itself was largely dependent on the nobility: half of the recruits were taken from serfs, most of the food supplies also came from noble estates. The first priority was to create a self-sufficient army. Hence the idea of military settlements arose. In military settlements, military training was combined with productive work. It was expected that: 1) the army would become economically and financially self-sufficient; 2) the soldiers will be provided with land and livelihoods; 3) military settlements will relieve the population of the need to pay taxes for the upkeep of the army.
However, there were not many successful military settlements, mostly the soldiers did not approve of this idea, since here they faced new oppression from the administration, which led to a series of uprisings, brutally suppressed by Arakcheev's assistants.
By the end of his reign, Alexander completely forgot about the reforms, pursuing a reactionary policy and acting to please the landowners. The activity of Masonic lodges was prohibited, the landowners were allowed to exile the guilty peasants to settle in Siberia.
All historians say that the reason for the failure of ongoing and planned reforms was Alexander's weakness in front of the nobility, who did not want to change the foundations that were convenient for them. In addition, the inconsistency in the ongoing reforms is noted: "the emperor and his employees decided to introduce new state institutions before suitable civil relations were created, they wanted to build a liberal constitution in a society half of which was in slavery."
Nicholas I (1825-1855)
Nicholas I was the complete opposite of his brother; there was not even a shadow of liberalism in his actions. Already with the first measures, he confirmed the reactionary mood of his policy: the press was limited, the universities were placed under strict control, the Special Third Department of the Imperial Chancellery, an organ of the secret police, was created.
The beginning of Nikolai's reign was marked by a historically significant event - the uprising of the Decembrists, who proposed reform projects that contributed to the strengthening of Russia. The ideas of the Decembrists did not disappear without a trace, but were adopted by Nicholas, who adhered to them in his actions. Nikolai takes a number of measures to restrict serfdom. The Decembrists drew attention to the need to abolish serfdom. The purpose of the laws being issued was reduced to the idea of regulating the exploitation of peasant labor by landowners. However, they had no practical value.
A series of peasant unrest swept across Russia, during which there was a demand for the return of communal self-government. To meet this requirement, a trusteeship reform was carried out. Its essence consisted in the division of provinces into districts, and those in turn were divided into volosts and rural communities. The administration of the districts was entrusted to the district chiefs of their nobles. And in volosts and rural societies, peasant self-government was introduced. This reform contributed to the improvement of the welfare of the state peasants.
Another evil pointed out by the Decembrists was financial disorder. This became the basis for financial reform, under the leadership of Finance Minister Kankrin. As a result, the gold reserve of Russia was increased, at the expense of it a new course was maintained, according to which the stabilized paper money introduced in 1839 was 3.5 times more expensive than the previous one. The silver ruble was introduced as the "main coin", and credit notes were issued, which were freely exchanged for silver.
Kankrin was the initiator of another reform, which, according to his plan, contributed to the creation of a deficit-free budget. This is a trade, or guild, reform, which limited the opportunities for monopolization of trade by merchants of the first guild and expanded the rights of the middle merchants, which contributed to the emergence of another source of replenishment of the budget.
The destinies of Alexander I and Nicholas I are similar in the sense that the one hundred and first, and the second tried to carry out the reforms necessary for society, but were powerless in the face of insurmountable difficulties associated with conservative public opinion, the absence in society of those political forces that could support the reform efforts the emperor.
Analyze the development of the financial and monetary system in Russia during the reign of Alexander Iand NikolayI... What is the role of the Ministry of Finance and its head E.F. Kankrin in creating a deficit-free budget?
In 1802, the Ministry of Finance was created, which performed national functions - drawing up the budget, determining the sources of replenishing the treasury, developing economic policy and customs tariffs.
Since the share of Russia in the first half of the nineteenth century. many trials fell - Russia participated in a number of international conflicts, its territory was invaded by the armies of Napoleon, the devastating Crimean War took place in the middle of the century - the national debt grew year after year, creating a budget deficit.
The activities of the first finance ministers (A.I. Vasiliev, F.A.Golubtsov) did not in the least improve the situation, on the contrary, during their time, the financial situation deteriorated sharply: the issue of paper money - banknotes increased, which caused a drop in their exchange rate, even increased taxes, the introduction of supplements to taxes and duties did not improve the situation.
In 1810, the Ministry of Finance was headed by D.A. Guryev, his appointment was promoted by M.M. Speransky. Guryev did not support Speransky's financial projects, but acted on his own. In 1810, he introduced a monetary system based on the principle of monetary monometallism, without reducing the issue of banknotes. Guriev achieved a manifesto introducing a uniform circulation of bank notes. All payments, primarily taxes and duties, were allowed to be paid in banknotes at the rate of the day they were made. This led to almost complete disarray in the country.
Speransky's reforms were more consistent and largely contributed to the stabilization of the financial sector. Speransky drew up a "Plan of Finance", the purpose of which was to eliminate the budget deficit, this was supposed to be achieved by increasing taxes, including on noble estates, introducing new customs tariffs (protectionist policy), and cutting government spending. Some of the measures envisaged by Speransky were implemented: a new customs tariff was introduced, new taxes on distilling were introduced, the noble estates expanded the scope of credit. However, Speransky's proposal to raise taxes largely contributed to his removal from business, since it gave rise to massive dissatisfaction with this measure.
Guryev held out in the chair of the Minister of Finance until 1823, and was replaced by E.F. Kankrin. Unlike his predecessors, he had a professional education and extensive practical management experience. Like its predecessors, Kankrin tried to ensure a deficit-free budget. For this, a trade, or guild reform was carried out, which limited the possibilities of monopolization of trade by merchants of the first guild and expanded the rights of the average merchant. The reform provided another source of replenishment of the budget, since payments were introduced for traders, artisans and peasants, who had not previously made guild payments to the treasury.
An important stage in achieving this goal was the monetary reform at the turn of the 30s and 40s, the need for this reform was ripening for a long time, since the joint circulation of metal and paper rubles led to the fact that the paper ruble became 3.5 - 4 times cheaper than the metal one. The first step in preparing the monetary reform was to increase Russia's gold reserves. The next stage was the release in 1831-1839. treasury notes (auxiliary means in monetary circulation). They combined the character of a term loan and a state banknote. In 1839, the Ministry of Finance established depository offices that issued deposit notes backed by silver rubles for rubles.
The manifesto of Nicholas I of July 1, 1839 declared the silver ruble to be the main legal monetary unit of Russia, and bank notes were allowed as a secondary sign - the transition from bank notes to credit circulation began. By 1843, the process of withdrawing banknotes from circulation and exchanging their non-credit notes was going well. At the end of Kankrin's activities, Russia had a deficit-free budget. However, the Crimean War once again plunged Russian finances into a deep crisis, the overcoming of which lasted for the second half of the 19th century.
Show the relationship between the peasant reform of 1861 and the liberal reforms of the 1860s-1870s.
The Peasant Reform of 1861 was the largest socioeconomic and political transformation in Russian history, leading to other liberal reforms. The connection of this reform with subsequent ones is emphasized in view of the fact that the granting of personal freedom to the peasants required the creation of conditions for its implementation in the social, cultural and economic spheres. These conditions were provided by the ongoing liberal reforms, the implementation of which was facilitated by the change in the nature of the Russian state.
At the heart of the interdependence of the peasant reform with the reforms of the 60-70s. lies in the fact that they were carried out in a single channel of liberal sentiments, the need for which was ripe after the domination of the political regime of Nicholas I. Liberalism tends to emphasize the absence of class, group and national prejudices, individualism, the self-worth of the individual. Therefore, all reforms were aimed at overcoming class discrimination in relation to the peasantry.
The Zemsky Reform of 1864 created the first truly local self-government for all classes that had existed since pre-Petrine times. The peasants were given political rights: the right to vote implied the participation of peasants in the election of members of the zemstvo assemblies (those elected by the peasants were part of the third curia). The first curia consisted of landowners, and the second - urban voters. The bodies of local self-government created in the provinces (provincial assemblies and provincial governments) and counties (uyezd assemblies and uyezd governments) were supposed to exercise control over schools, hospitals, post offices, communications, trade, insurance, statistics, etc.
The urban reform of 1870 presupposed the implementation of measures similar in spirit to the Zemstvo reform, aimed at improving urban governance. Voters were also divided into three curiae.
The role of zemstvos in the second half of the 19th century great. The development of the peasant economy was supported and stimulated by zemstvo savings and loan associations and various forms of cooperation.
Judicial reform of 1864, which was headed by S.I. Zarudny, was aimed at improving the judicial procedure. In the course of it, the crown and magistrate courts were created. Volost courts were created especially for the peasants. Although the judicial reform retained some features of the estate, it helped the peasants acquire the right to a fair judge, since earlier the court over the peasants was carried out by the landowners themselves, following their interests, and not the letter of the law.
The military reform of 1874 introduced universal military service. This law was deeply democratic in spirit, since until that time the recruiting duty introduced by Peter I was borne only by the tax-paying estates (peasants, bourgeois, etc.). class differences in the army and especially in the navy persisted, although any soldier could become an officer according to his merits.
Financial reform, led by the Minister of Finance, liberal M.Kh. Reitern, during which the following measures were taken:
abolished wine buyouts, buyouts for salt, sugar, oil, introduced an excise system;
the principles of transparency, legality and control over the administration were proclaimed;
increased taxes and reduced costs;
1859 - the system of state tickets was eliminated;
an extensive network of credit institutions was created, consisting of the State Bank (1860) and private commercial banks.
As a result of these actions in the 70s. a financial and industrial boom began in Russia. The railway network connected the southern and northern regions of the country and grew 11 times. The further development of fallow lands in the south of Russia received an impetus, and the land shortage of the peasantry decreased.
The reform of public education provided universities with broad autonomy: they could decide on their own scientific, educational, and administrative-financial issues. Peasants who received personal freedom should have enjoyed the right to receive an education, but financial difficulties did not allow them to do so. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Education allocated special funds to the gymnasiums for teaching gifted children at public expense. Since all reforms were carried out with the aim of providing all citizens with equal rights, it was necessary to provide women with the opportunity to receive education, which began in the 70s.
The results of liberal reforms in the 60s and 70s:
the reforms marked the course of the state towards the creation of the third estate - the estate of small owners.
the formation of civil society and the rule of law in Russia.
Describe the activities of the finance ministers N.Kh. Bunge and I.A. Vyshnegradskiy.
N.Kh. Bunge (1881-1886)
Appointment to the post of Minister of Finance N.Kh. Bunge initiated the preparation of a new monetary reform and changes in the tax system. Bunge carried out the following transformations in the tax system: he introduced taxation on non-taxable estates, excise duties on alcoholic beverages, and taxed income from rent and wages.
To overcome the budget deficit, Bunge began accumulating currency from customs duties, pursuing a policy of protectionism. As a result, in 1887 the gold reserve in the State Bank amounted to 84.3 million rubles. In 1887 Bunge abolished the poll tax.
Nikolai Khristoforovich paid much attention to the expansion of the domestic market, contributed to the increase in funding for industry.
Of no small importance in the activities of Bunge was the peasant question, the solution of which he tried to eliminate the negative consequences of the peasant reform of 1861. He was engaged in the resettlement of land-poor peasants.
The last measure Bunge advocated was the introduction of an income tax, but he failed and became one of the reasons for his resignation.
I.A. Vyshnegradsky (1887-1892)
The activities of the new Minister of Finance were aimed at revitalizing the balance of payments. His career began by forcing the grain trade with the West. The export of wheat from 1887 to 1895 increased by 1.5 times. To encourage the grain trade, the state blinded its railway tariff system and raised duties. Vyshnegradskiy was accused of putting forward the slogan: "We will not finish eating, but we will take out!" In the lean years of 1891 and 1892, the grain provinces were struck by famine, and state funds were thrown into the fight against which the social forces were also lacking. In fruitful years, Vyshnegradskiy managed to draw up deficit-free budgets. He carried out a bold operation to convert old loans (lowering the interest rate or changing the maturity).
In 1887, due to the complication of relations between the Petersburg and Berlin cabinets, German Chancellor Bismarck tried to cause the financial collapse of the Russian Empire, which placed its state loans on the Berlin stock exchange, in order to avoid this, the Russian Ministry of Finance agreed with representatives of French banks to buy Russian securities. In 1888-1890. several large loans were placed on the Paris money market and the old ones were converted. As a result of the activities of Vyshnegradskiy during the 80s. long treasury to the State Bank decreased by 300 million, and in 1901 the treasury had no debt. At the same time, the amount of government debt increased as a result of the conversion in chalk and the interest on debt remained high.
Analyze the essence, implementation mechanism and results of the peasant reform of 1861.
The need to abolish serfdom was ripe for a long time, the political regime that existed under Nicholas I further confirmed the need to implement this measure, since its main drawback was the institution of serfdom: there was a deep decline in agriculture, and the export indicators of basic agricultural crops decreased.
Although the need for this reform was ripe for a long time and even concrete steps were taken to implement it, it was carried out under Alexander II. The implementation of this reform was largely facilitated by the awareness of its need even by conservatives and the readiness of Alexander II to sacrifice the interests of the feudal landlords. However, one more obstacle to the implementation of the peasant reform remained, it was the inability of state bodies to carry it out. In January 1857, the Secret Committee for Peasant Reform was created, later renamed the Main Committee for Peasant Affairs; it consisted of several high-ranking officials who, fearing decisive actions, impeded the work. In November 1857, rescripts were signed addressed to the Vilna and St. Petersburg governors general on the creation of provincial committees from local landowners "to improve the life of landowners' peasants"; this decisive step made a retreat from the reform impossible. In 1858, such committees were created in 46 provinces. Alexander, in a speech to the Moscow nobility, noted: "It is better for the reform to take place from above than to expect serfdom to be abolished from below."
It took three years to develop a general reform plan and clarify the state of the provinces for its implementation. The activities of the provincial committees were checked by the editorial commissions established in 1859, which were headed by Yakov Rostovtsev, a liberal-minded dignitary who played an important role in the reform. Also, N.A. Milyutin, Yu.F. Samarin, M.Kh. Reitern et al.
The result of the activities of the organizations created was the "Statute on the Peasantry" and "Manifesto" signed by the emperor on February 19, 1861, announcing the emancipation of the peasantry.
Basic principles of the reform:
the servants were to be released within two years without ransom, but they received nothing but freedom;
serfs received not only personal freedom, but also plots of land, which accounted for about half of what was left to the owner. when determining the norm of the allotment, both natural and economic conditions, and the land that remained with the landowner, were taken into account. The law provided for slaughtering or cutting off plots of land from the peasant allotment in case of deviation from the norm. As a rule, the “sections” included meadows, pastures, watering places, without which it was difficult to manage the economy;
under the terms of the release, the land did not become the private property of the peasants, but was considered as the property of the landowner, to whom they had to pay for the use of the land. The states decided to help speed up the process of land redemption from the landowner by providing additional loans for the land redemption. Land payments were made on the basis of long-term commitments. The amount that the government paid for the land of the peasant, the latter had to pay within 49 years. But even after the land was bought out by the government, the peasants did not teach it to be private property, since it went into the common property of a peasant association or village with collective responsibility for the redemption payments of its members.
The results of the peasant reform:
the peasants lost more land than they gained;
an interest loan provided by the government for the purchase of peasant lands, the payment of which stretched out for 49 years, forced the loan to be paid three times;
two types of farming appeared in the countryside - landlord and allotment peasant. This led to the possibility of agricultural development in two ways - landlord economy on the basis of noble land tenure and small-scale peasant production;
peasant reform provided an opportunity for a whole series of liberal reforms.
Give a brief description of the three main directions in the socio-political thought of Russia in the second half XIXcentury: protection, liberalism and revolutionary democracy.
Guardianship is the official ideology of autocracy, expressed in the formula "Orthodoxy - autocracy - nationality" and designed to substantiate and defend the foundations of the autocratic system. This ideology began to be developed by the Minister of Education S.S. Uvarov in the 40s. XIX century. as opposed to revolutionary ideology in society.
In the 60-80s. the ideology of protection is being developed more deeply thanks to such thinkers as K.N. Leontiev, N. Ya. Danilevsky, K.P. Pobedonostsev. They were united by the conviction that Europeanization and the politicization of the people were destructive for Russia. In particular, Pobedonostsev considered it a crime to incite political passions in the peasantry, which led to greed, self-interest, and the emergence of dark instincts. He was a staunch opponent of democracy in Russia, believing that the Russian peasantry was not ready for self-government. the ideal form of government, in his opinion, is the monarchy, where the monarch is the unity of reasonable will.
Supporters of the ideology of protection were against the revolution leading to spiritual and inevitably following material destruction. Their main goal was to preserve the most important national foundations - the Orthodox faith, an original political and socio-economic system. Representatives expressed interesting ideas about the development of events in the 20th century. So Leont'ev created his own historiosophical concept, according to which the development of liberal and socialist ideas will cause the emergence of "slavery in a new form", in the form of the most severe subordination of individuals to small and large communities, and communities to the state, his prophecy came true.
Liberalism, which developed in the first half of the 19th century, at the end of the 50s. entered a new stage, which lasted until the 90s. During this time, the liberals found unity in their desire to exert real influence on domestic politics, in particular, liberal-minded politicians led the "great reforms" of the 60s and 70s. Their practical activities have revealed an important pattern of liberal politics - gradual economic and social transformations should significantly outstrip the transformations of the political system.
A new generation of liberals took part in the development and implementation of reforms: N.A. and D.A. Milyutins, A.V. Golovnin, M.Kh. Reitern, N.Kh. Bunge. As a result of their transformations, they came to the conclusion that Russia must choose the path of constant and careful transformations in order to prevent a revolutionary explosion in the country, which they considered to be an absolute evil. The implementation of the zemstvo, city and judicial reforms in Russia led to the spread of the ideals of liberalism in the provinces. On their basis, a broad Zemstvo-liberal movement arose.
By the beginning of the 90s. new trends are emerging in the liberal movement. Among Russian liberals, two trends stand out: radical (constitutional) and moderate. The liberals of the late 19th - early 20th century opposed Russian absolutism and condemned the arbitrariness and violence that flourished in the country, they strove to introduce bourgeois-democratic freedoms in Russia, expand the functions of local self-government, involve the bourgeois public in resolving issues of a national plan, etc.
Revolutionary democracy. The first representatives of revolutionary democracy in Russia were the Decembrists, who created a revolutionary organization and opposed the autocratic-serf system. The second period of this movement began in 1861, and was greatly influenced by N. G. Chernyshevsky. By 1861, two centers of the revolutionary movement emerged: one in London, the other in Russia. Populists of the 1870s adopted the democratic, anti-liberal traditions of the revolutionary democrats of the 60s.
Populism 60-80-ies. rejection of bourgeoisness was characteristic; the desire to protect the interests of the peasantry, in particular, the main theoretician of revolutionary populism in the 70s. M.A. Bakunin considered the main goal of the movement to be the conquest of freedom (economic, political, spiritual), that is, the liberation of the people in all areas; unwillingness to recognize the existence of capitalism in Russia. The means to achieve this goal was the revolution, the main driving force of which should be the people. Other prominent representatives of populism were P.L. Lavrov, P.N. Tkachev, N.K. Mikhailovsky. After several unsuccessful attempts to rouse the people to revolt, there is a kind of return to the tactics of the Decembrists: a revolution by the forces of a small group of revolutionaries united in a revolutionary organization. In 1876, the secret revolutionary society "Land and Freedom" was created. In 1879, in connection with the appearance of disagreements, two organizations "Black Redistribution" and "Narodnaya Volya" appeared. After the defeat of Narodnaya Volya, as a result of the unification of the Narodnaya Volya organizations operating abroad and in Russia, the Northern Union of Socialist Revolutionaries, the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries, and others were formed. XIX century. revolutionary populism is transformed into a liberal one, which does not set itself the goal of organizing the revolutionary struggle.
What system of state authorities was formed under Alexander I?
As a result of the administrative reform carried out under the leadership of M.M. Speransky, under Alexander, a system of state authorities was formed, based on the principles of separation of powers into legislative (State Council), executive (ministries) and judicial (Senate). All branches of government closed themselves to the sovereign.
What is the significance of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the foreign campaigns of the Russian army for Russian history?
The Russian Empire, having achieved a brilliant victory over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812, became the leading power in the world.
The Patriotic War of 1812 largely contributed to the emergence in society of ideas about the abolition of serfdom as a necessary condition for the further development of Russia. This was facilitated by the peasant unrest that began at the very beginning of the war. If Napoleon in such a situation announced the abolition of serfdom, the resistance of the peasantry, outraged by the arbitrariness and robberies of the Napoleonic army, would have been suppressed, Russia would have been conquered. But peasant resistance was not only not eliminated, on the contrary, the war of 1812 is a rare example when all estates acted as a united front against the enemy. "... this powerful national impulse ... meant much more than decades of peaceful everyday existence ... Without a national principle, there is neither the year of 1812, nor the entire subsequent spiritual life of Russian society ..."
In addition, trips abroad are a source of Decembrism. The Decembrist movement is a manifestation of an antifeudal, bourgeois struggle. The future Decembrists learned these ideas during their foreign campaigns, making sure that serfdom is not a universal phenomenon, and its abolition improves the position of the peasantry and contributes to the development of the country as a whole.
What do you know about the causes and consequences of the Decembrist uprising?
Reasons for the uprising of the Decembrists:
feudal serf system in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. was a brake on the development of productive forces, the historical progress of the country. The best minds in Russia understood that the preservation of serfdom and autocracy was disastrous for the future fate of Russia;
internal reaction aimed at instilling cane discipline in the army and brutally suppressing any manifestations of free-thinking, and a reactionary foreign policy (the creation of the "Holy Alliance", the purpose of which was to unite the reactionary monarchist powers to fight the revolutionary and national liberation movements);
a general deterioration in the situation of the masses, which intensified after the war of 1812: many villages were ruined, the nobles intensified their oppression, trying to improve the financial situation at the expense of the peasants;
the formation of a revolutionary outlook was greatly facilitated by foreign campaigns. The future Decembrists, having been abroad during them, became convinced that serfdom is not a widespread phenomenon and only disgraces Russia;
in addition to domestic reasons, there were also factors of international importance. The beginning of the 19th century marked by the growth of the revolutionary movement in many countries of the world, which contributed to the breakdown of the feudal-absolutist institutions and orders.
The consequences of the Decembrist uprising:
For a long period of time Russia has lost outstanding people, brilliant minds, ruined in exile. For many years the social life of the country was frozen;
the authorities, frightened by the bold speech of the Decembrists, were extremely suspicious of any proposals for modernization and changes;
The reaction of the authorities to the Decembrist uprising convinced the educated Russian society that the people were indifferent to the Western ideals of freedom and the political movement in general. Revolutionary action cannot lead Russia to freedom;
another consequence of the uprising can be called the fact that it hastened the implementation of reforms in Russia, his speech emphasizing their need. Consideration of the ways of development of political life in Russia began in the 30s. and only in the 60s. liberal reforms began to be implemented.
What do you know about the Crimean War? How did its results affect the domestic policy of Russia?
CRIMEAN WAR (1853 - 1856)
Causes of the war:
aggravation of contradictions between Russia and Turkey and Western European countries. Russia, dissatisfied with the political guarantee of the Black Sea Straits regime, enshrined in the London Conventions, has returned to a policy of "free hands" in the Middle East. This circumstance became the source of the conflict between tsarism, Turkey and Western European countries;
Russia strove to multiply its conquests in the Ottoman Empire;
Western European countries (England, France), which were on the side of Turkey, hatched a plan of war against Russia in order to reduce it to a minor power.
The reason for the start of the war was the mission of Prince A.S. Menshikov in Constantinople, during which he demanded to restore the rights of the Orthodox Church in Palestine and to confirm them with a special convention, the prince's defiant behavior closed the way for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Great Britain played an important provocative role in unleashing the war, whose ambassador did everything to unleash the war.
Crimean War, during which there are two stages. The first (November 1853 - April 1854) is the actual Russian-Turkish campaign. The second (April 1854 - February 1856) was associated with the Anglo-French intervention in the Crimea and extensive military operations on the Caucasian front.
Results of the war:
Russia was defeated in the Crimean War;
the main task of England and France, which consisted in undermining Russian military power in the Black Sea basin, was achieved;
On March 18, the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty took place, which marked the formation of the Crimean system, based on the principle of neutralizing the Black Sea. Russia was deprived of the right to have a navy in the Black Sea, Russia also lost the southern part of Bessarabia, but she managed to defend the rights of the Moldavian, Wallachian and Serbian peoples, the Danube principalities did not fall under the Austrian yoke.
The Crimean War had an exceptional impact on the internal situation in the country. She contributed to the development of mass peasant uprisings, and therefore accelerated the formation of the first revolutionary situation in Russia.
What do you know about the activities of the populist organizations "Land and Freedom" and "Narodnaya Volya"?
The first large revolutionary-democratic secret organization "Land and Freedom" was created in 1861. Its ideological leader was N.G. Chernyshevsky. The landowners considered their program document to be Ogarev's article "What the people need", which warned the people against premature, unprepared statements.
The landowners launched an active illegal publishing activity in their printing house. They conducted widespread oral propaganda and agitation, explaining the need to eliminate the autocracy, a just solution to the agrarian question and the establishment of democratic freedoms in Russia.
Focusing on the rise of the peasant and national liberation movement in Russia, the landowners hoped to start a revolution. However, in 1863 the peasant movement began to decline, and many revolutionaries, including Chernyshevsky, were arrested. As a result, by the spring of 1864, "Land and Freedom" ceased to exist. The activities of this organization were of great historical importance: it was the center of rallying the most active democratically forces and had a serious impact on the subsequent development of the liberation movement, the formation of revolutionary democratic ideology in Russia.
In 1876, the organization "Land and Freedom" was revived first in the form of the organization of the "Northern Revolutionary Populist Group". It consisted of the participants of the “going to the people”, headed by A.D. Mikhailov, G.V. Plekhanov, S.M. Kravchinsky, N.A. Morozov, V.N. Finger and others.
The "Land and Freedom" program provided for the implementation of a socialist revolution by transferring all land to the peasants and organizing "secular self-government" with reliance on peasant communities. They considered riots, strikes and demonstrations to be the main means to achieve their goals. Land and Freedom had close ties with student organizations. The practice of rural settlements and agitation of land tenants did not bring the expected results. It was not possible to raise a popular uprising. Disappointed with the methods chosen, which did not bring significant results, some landowners began to lean towards the tactics of terror. As a result of the controversy over the choice of tactics in the organization, a split occurred. "Land and Freedom" was divided into "Black Redistribution" and "Narodnaya Volya".
Narodnaya Volya (1879 - 1881) was headed by A.D. Mikhailov, S.L. Perovskaya, V.N. Finger and others. Narodnaya Volya believed that the people were crushed and brought to slavery by the government. Their goal is to make a political coup and establish a democratic system in the country, transfer the land to the peasants, and the factories to the workers. To achieve their goals, the People's Will attracted all the dissatisfied. Much attention was paid to terror and the preparation of regicide. They managed to carry out their plan - on March 1, 1881, Alexander II was killed, but this did not cause an uprising as expected. Under Alexander III, who intensified the repression, almost all the members of the Executive Committee of the "Narodnaya Volya" were arrested.
What were the prerequisites and results of S.Yu. Witte?
Preconditions for the gold reform:
the activities of the previous finance ministers Bunge and Vyshnegradskiy, who took all possible measures to create a deficit-free budget;
The Crimean War significantly worsened the financial development of Russia, in order to get the country out of the situation of constant budget deficit, it was necessary to "put our currency on a solid foundation";
it was necessary to improve the state of the country's state economy, especially to ensure the possibility of industrial development.
The results of the gold reform:
The monetary reform has strengthened the external and internal exchange rates of the ruble;
the monetary economy was placed on a par with the economy of Western European states;
the gold reform improved the state economy in general and gave a significant impetus to the development of industry in Russia;
stabilization of the ruble exchange rate contributed to the expansion of foreign trade relations of Russia;
the monetary reform gave Rossi the opportunity to endure the Japanese war relatively safely.
Dates
When was the "Decree on Free Farmers" issued?
When did the battle of Borodino take place?
When was the State Bank of the Russian Empire established?
June 1860
When was poll tax in Russia canceled?
When did the abolition of serfdom in Russia take place?
The Manifesto was published in 1861, but the actual liberation of the peasants began in 1863.
When did the spread of Marxism in Russia begin?
During the 80s. the spread of Marxism in Russia began.
Personalities
What is the historical significance of M.M. Speransky?
Speransky, being a liberal-minded reformer, contributed to the formation of the foundations of a constitutional monarchy in Russia, introducing the principle of separation of powers, civil rights for all segments of the population. Speransky's activities became a harbinger of liberal reforms in the 60s and 70s.
Whom do you know of the Westernizers and Slavophiles?
Westerners: T.N. Granovsky, V.P. Botkin, K. D. Kavelin, N.V. Stankevich, M.A. Bakunin, S.M. Soloviev, V.G. Belinsky, P.V. Annenkov, I.I. Panaev, young A.I. Herzen and N.P. Ogarev.
Slavophiles: A.S. Khomyakov, brothers Aksakov, brothers Kireevsky, Yu.F. Samarin, A.I. Koshelev, Prince V.A. Cherkassky.
Who do you know of the liberal leaders who prepared and carried out the reforms of the 60-70s? XIX century?
S.S. Lanskoy, Ya. I. Rostovtsev, the Milyutin brothers, M.Kh. Reitern, N.Kh. Bunge, A.V. Golovnin.
What do you know about the political activities of M.T. Loris-Melikova?
M.T. Loris-Melikov - Minister of Internal Affairs, hero of the Russian-Turkish war, governor-general of Kharkov.
The name of this finance minister is associated with the creation of a "constitution". Its main idea was that the revolutionary activities of the intelligentsia cannot be stopped by coercive measures alone. In his opinion, the revolutionaries enjoyed the moral support of the moderate classes of society because of their dissatisfaction with the autocracy of the government. He believed that the government should satisfy the moderates by granting a constitution. Loris-Melikov believed that it was necessary to satisfy the desire of representatives of society to participate in public life by attracting elected representatives from zemstvos to work on bills. However, this plan was not implemented due to the assassination of Alexander II.
What is the significance of M.Kh. Reitern as finance minister?
During the activity of Reitern as Minister of Finance, the first State Bank was created, the network of credit institutions was expanded, which significantly contributed to the development of trade. Measures were taken to liquidate the system of state tickets.
As a result of Reitern's activities in the mid-70s. financial and industrial growth began in Russia, the foundations of financial and
economic policy.
Who do you know of the first Russian Marxists?
G.V. Plekhanov and V.I. Zasulich, V.N. Ignatov.
Terms:
Guarding
This is the official ideology of autocracy, expressed in the formula "Orthodoxy - autocracy - nationality" and designed to substantiate and defend the foundations of the autocratic system. This ideology began to be developed by the Minister of Education S.S. Uvarov in the 40s. XIX century. as opposed to revolutionary ideology in society. Representatives: K.N. Leontiev, N. Ya. Danilevsky, K.P. Pobedonostsev.
Liberalism
- firstly, a way of thinking and acting, a state of mind, which are characterized by independence in relation to traditions, dogmas, and secondly, a set of ideological and political teachings, political and economic programs aimed at eliminating or mitigating various forms of state or social coercion by relation to personality.
Radicalism
- a revolutionary movement, the main idea of which is the revolt and destruction of old Russia.
Monometallism
- a monetary system in which one metal (gold or silver) acts as a universal equivalent and the basis of monetary circulation. For example, such a system was created under the Minister of Finance D.A. Guryev.
Raznochintsy
- these are the children of peasants and merchants who have received primary or higher education; fly from among the clergy who refused to be priests; children of minor officials who did not want to follow the example of their fathers; and children of impoverished nobles. The commoners quickly formed a new social class - the intelligentsia, which included many nobles.
Allotment land tenure
- This is a type of land ownership, in accordance with which, after the abolition of serfdom, plots of land (allotments) were in household or communal property, the community had to bear the obligation to obtain this land.
Bibliography
For the preparation of this work were used materials from the site sergeev-sergey.narod.ru/start/glava.html
foreign,
Ministry of Internal Affairs (first minister - Kochubei) - how the new ministry led:
local police structures;
military land affairs,
obeyed
Libraries
Academy of Sciences
Printing houses, etc.
estates of the nobility and townspeople,
charities,
management of foreign settlers,
medical college,
finance,
commerce,
public education:
The location of each ministry was not clearly defined; it was supposed to be determined later.
Since 1803, the process of abolishing the collegia begins. Colleges become different divisions of ministries - departments and offices.
In 1811 - the continuation of the ministerial reform; the normative legal act “General institution of ministries” was adopted, which defined in more detail the issues that were not initially defined by the ministerial act.
Further transformations are associated with the name of Speransky. In 1809 - Speransky's draft "Introduction to the Code of State Laws", which provides for the main goal - "the preservation of autocracy with giving it a legal form."
Speransky proposes to reorganize the state apparatus:
To give the Russian autocracy the external forms of the Russian monarchy
Adhering to the principle of separation of powers, Speransky believes that legislative, executive and judicial are a manifestation of a single sovereign power. But legislative power must be exercised by an elected State Duma; executive - by ministries; judicial - by the Senate. Above the three powers - the State Council, chaired by the emperor. Speransky was far from the classical theory of Montesquieu. Speransky emphasizes that the king is the supreme principle; Therefore, the theory of separation of powers is relative. Speransky's idea was realized only in 1906. During his lifetime, his idea seemed extremely revolutionary and bold.
The implementation of the project was supposed to accelerate the bourgeois development of Russia; to adapt the state construction to the changes that took place in the economy and social sphere. Speransky entrusted the implementation of the projects to the tsar; but Alexander I responded indignantly enough. The tsar imposed a resolution on the tsar's draft: "I see that he is undermining the autocracy, which I must completely pass on to my children." Catherine's idea that, by limiting the monarchy, would lead to the elimination of the monarchy as such, took root in the mentality of both Alexander and subsequent rulers.
Secret and overt enemies of Speransky rejoiced: in March 1812, on the eve of the war with France, Speransky was exiled from St. Petersburg to Perm; Speransky's role at court fell considerably. The reasons for the failure of the reforms - the formal limitation of the power of the monarch did not become a requirement of Russian society. The nobility was mostly conservative. Speransky entrusted the implementation of the projects to the tsar; but Alexander responded indignantly enough.
On January 1, 1810, the State Council was created; existed until 1918. That is, part of Speransky's program was implemented. However, according to Speransky, after the creation of the Council, the State Duma was to be created. Speransky attached great importance to the State Council.
All other ideas were not implemented + Speransky's principles and ideas were distorted. The creation of the State Council was compared by many to the "facade of an unfinished building" - that is, partial implementation of Speransky's idea.
Speransky believed that the creation of the State Duma and the State Council would bring Russia closer to European states. Thus, partial implementation suggests that Speransky's main idea - the transfer of the state apparatus to a bourgeois track - was not implemented.
State Council - legislative body; consisted of representatives of the nobility. Decisions were taken by a majority; the decision was presented to the emperor. Council members who had a dissenting opinion documented it and applied it to the majority opinion. In fact, however, the specific opinions did not matter. But there are interesting examples when the tsar was sympathetic to the views of the minority, which he approved.
All decisions of the State Council began with "Heeding the opinion of the State Council ...", which indicated that the opinion of the members of the State Council was important in addition to the opinion of the tsar. But later the decisions did not contain such wording.
In 1811, when discussing the reform of the Senate, Alexander I twice approved the opinion of the minority.
Minimum program for the State Council: legislative body; the maximum program: the creation of both the State Council and the State Duma, which will limit the power of the tsar. In reality, the preliminary discussion of the laws took place not so much in the State Council as in a meeting with the emperor, in the committee of ministers. The bills were discussed at various meetings. So the monopoly of the State Council was lost from the first days of its creation.
The State Council consisted of departments of economics, trade, science and departments of civil, military and spiritual affairs. The post of State Secretary of the State Council (Secretary of State) was introduced. The ministries were subordinate to the State Council, as Speransky wanted.
Committee of Ministers - created in 1802. In 1812, the normative act "Establishment of the Committee of Ministers" was adopted. Ministerial reform did not stand still; the next 104 years, the reform of the ministries went on continuously. The committee included ministers, the governor of St. Petersburg and chairmen of departments of the State Council. The Committee of Ministers was created with the aim of uniting and guiding the activities of all ministries. In fact, it is the supreme body of the executive central government. But in practice, the committee of ministers turned into a body where the king held meetings with the most trusted officials.
An important institution - Institute for the Most Substantial Report , bypassing the committee of ministers. This deformed the ministerial system and, despite the reform carried out, there was a mixing of the functions of various state institutions in the Russian state apparatus.
The committee of ministers sometimes considered draft laws bypassing the State Council. Along with this, judicial issues were also considered. That is, they intervened in both the judicial and legislative branches. But this practice had no legal regulation.
By decree on January 27, 1805, the Senate was divided into 9 departments. From 2 to 9, the departments were formally the highest appeal courts for civil and criminal cases. In fact, they did not, since their decisions were not final. Since, if during the consideration of the appeal there were contradictions, doubts on the part of the senators, then the case was submitted to the general meeting of all departments, and then this decision was approved by the emperor.
In 1812, the State Council became the supreme authority in relation to the general meeting of the Senate. The most significant - 1 department, which had broad administrative functions; in particular, the conduct of Senate audits. The provinces and governors were also subject to inspection. That is, one department actually controlled the entire state machine of Russia. Often, audits ended with courts, removal from office.
1 department also determined officials in positions. Supervised the conduct of recruitment. Revision of serf souls. In 1802, the Attorney General of the Senate becomes Minister of Justice: it turns out that the highest judicial institution - the Senate - becomes subordinate to the Ministry of Justice.
Governors appointed exclusively by personal decrees of the emperor, but on the other hand, the governor was an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, subordinate to the Minister of Internal Affairs.
At the head of the state machine was emperor ... In the code of laws of 1835, the legal status of the emperor was fixed: “the emperor of Russia is an autocratic and unlimited monarch; to obey his sovereignty not only for fear, but also for conscience God himself commands. " This means that the exclusive prerogatives of the monarch remained: legislative, judicial, financial. The tsar was in fact in command of the army and navy; foreign policy function. It is pointed out that, indeed, emphasizing the status of the emperor, the idea is not only of divine origin; but also the idea of legitimacy is being pursued.
The judicial system in the early 19th century ... There were courts created in 1775 by Catherine II. Abolished in part by Paul I. That is, from the system of Catherine remained the district court, the city magistrate (court from the townspeople); lower punishment (for state peasants). All institutions began to report directly to the provincial court chambers. The upper zemstvo court, the provincial magistrate, the upper reprisal were liquidated; and all district courts were immediately subordinate to the provincial chambers. Catherine created judicial offices in the county and the provincial city. The disadvantage is the too low level of knowledge and education of officials.
Speransky fought to ensure that every rank presupposes education; therefore, in 1809, a law was adopted, which contained the most important idea of Speransky: “the obligation of education for career advancement, incl. and legal education ". On the initiative of Speransky, a school of jurisprudence was created to train prosecutors. 25 years later - in 1834 - due to objective reasons: there is a law, and officials occupy offices without education, the law was canceled.
The second reason for the problem of the judicial system is the lack of legal personnel (annual graduation from schools - 400 people a year; required - 3000). It testified that the law cannot operate, since I had to hire people without legal education.
Thus, despite the reforms carried out, the state apparatus of Russia has retained a number of negative features:
combination of functions and duplication of functions of various government agencies;
the gap between laws and enforcement;
lack of control over the implementation of orders, decrees, regulations
low professional level of officials; prosperity of bribery, corruption, etc. “wherever interest is involved, whoever could have robbed; who did not dare - he stole. "
All progressive people understood that the autocracy must be transformed. However, the efforts were only partially realized.
Nikolay I comes to the throne in extremely difficult political conditions: unexpectedly, from kidney disease at the age of 48, Alexander I dies. According to the law of Paul I on April 5, 1797, women's rule was abolished forever, so the power had to go to Konstantin Pavlovich, who did not want to reign. Also, Constantine's personal life was an obstacle to accession to the throne: in 1803 he divorced his wife and married a Polish woman; their children were deprived of the right to the throne.
Therefore, the next brother, Nikolai Pavlovich, is a real contender. But Nikolai did not know about Alexander's official decision to transfer power to him, since Alexander received an official refusal from Constantine during his lifetime. Nicholas swore allegiance to Constantine and made the troops swear allegiance; Konstantin responded with a private letter without publishing the manifesto publicly. The correspondence dragged on for 2 weeks; Nicholas asked to publicly officially renounce; then Nicholas decided to independently inform the population that he was assuming the throne. A manifesto was drawn up by Speransky and Karamzin.
On December 14, 1825, the manifesto was printed; on the same day there was an uprising of the Decembrists on Senate Square.
Nicholas, when his father, Paul I, was killed, was brought up by his mother. Receives a private education, unlike his brother - Alexander I. Many noted his shortcomings: rudeness, bad manners. His mentor also used frequent corporal punishment. Marries Charlotte - in Orthodoxy Alexandra Feodorovna.
Nicholas did not prepare to rule the country; having ascended the throne, he had no information about the state of the empire. He had no experience, management skills. But, as the researchers note, perseverance and perseverance compensated for the lack of knowledge and education. With excellent health, Nikolai for 30 years got up at 6 in the morning; slept little; engaged in state affairs all day. The first year of his reign, 1826, was devoted to the investigation of the case of the Decembrists and their trial.
On July 13, 1826, the investigation ended; followed by a manifesto on the commission of the trial of the participants in the conspiracy on December 25. The manifesto announced the cleansing of the state from “the consequences of an infection that had lurked among it for so many years; the intent, composed by a handful of fiends, is not in the properties, not in the customs of the Russians. " The indication was not that the uprising did not correspond to the national characteristics, the mores of Russian society. A program of action for the government in the future was outlined: there was a call to unite in confidence in the government. The manifesto announced reforms from above; the sphere of cooperation between society and government was determined. The manifesto subtly caught the note that was to follow the events; the stake was placed on the fact that the tsar and society are a single whole; must cooperate.
The fact of the appeal of Nicholas I to the materials of the investigation in the case of the Decembrists. I instructed the head of the commission, Borodkov, to compile a summary of the testimony of the Decembrists on the internal state of the country. All criticism has been consolidated into a summary of testimony. Interestingly, the summary of testimonies during all the years of his reign was on the emperor's table. Pestel, Bestuzhev, etc. were mainly used. These remarks seemed the most interesting.
Nikolai accepted the bold criticisms of the Decembrists.
Disadvantages for the Decembrists:
Ambiguity and uncertainty of laws
Excessive complexity of legal proceedings
Extensive power of governors, etc.
Thus, Poliedkov writes that the ideas of the Decembrists are a kind of convoy, not always filled with a pattern, of the reign of Nicholas.
On December 6, 1826, a special Committee under the chairmanship of Kochubei "to review public administration." Speransky also entered, who after the death of Alexander I was returned from exile. Competence: analysis of the archives of Alexander I in order to search for ideas; revision of the foundations of public administration. The committee had a specific task - revision of the state apparatus of the country in order to strengthen the stability of the country.
If you compare this special committee with a secret committee; then the task before the unspoken committee is reforms; before a special committee - the peasant question. 10 commissions were created to develop the peasant reform. The main task that worried the king was to study the situation of the peasants. Committee conclusions:
1) the growth of the peasant population in the country;
2) an increase in the number of household peasants. Yard peasants are peasants who have been alienated from their land. They lived at the courtyard of a landowner; could not support themselves. About 1 million household landless peasants;
3) an increase in the indebtedness of landowners to the state (by 1843, by 1843, all the estates of landowners were pledged by the state, in the safe treasuries - credit institutions that issued loans to landowners for real estate). The phenomenon indicated that the landlord system of economy was becoming obsolete; objectively serfdom becomes burdensome. If the soul of a peasant is conventionally estimated at 100 rubles; then 69% were already state-owned. Of course, the landlord's economy did not generate income.
Therefore, some of the landowners spoke out in relation to the abolition of serfdom on one condition: the landowners will continue to be the owners of the land. The government of Nicholas I tried to legally combat the growth of household peasants: in 1827 a law was passed that prohibits the sale of peasants without land. Earlier, a law was passed that prohibited the sale of land without peasants. The following norm was established: at the estates there should be at least 4.5 dessiatines of land per peasant. If the landowner breaks the law and sells more land than the law, then his estate can be confiscated to the treasury. As a result of the activities of various committees, commissions, Nikolai became convinced of the need to strengthen the regime of personal power, strengthen the personal security of the state, strengthen political security in the state and the need to systematize legislation.
Reform of the tsarist office. The reform of his own imperial grandeur of the RFEICC office led to the creation of a secret police in Russia: the most important cases were separated from the competence of ordinary state institutions and transferred to the SEICC. The personal office has existed since the end of the 18th century. Under Nicholas, the tsarist office took place, it was placed above other spheres and allowed to manage spheres of public life.
Section 2 was created to systematize legislation. Also in 1826, the 3rd department was created for the purpose of political investigation and the fight against revolutionaries. The 4th department was in charge of charitable, educational and medical institutions. 5th department - in 1836 - was created to transform the management of state peasants. Finally, in 1842-45 there was a 6th department to develop a new form of governing the Caucasus.
Particularly famous is the 3rd department, which was created according to the project of Benckendorff, who was a personal friend of Alexander I. Benckendorff is a man who "combines the manners of a clever diplomat and a police inquisitor."
Benckendorff proposed to create a political police on the principles of strict centralization, covering the entire empire: to create an administrative body in the center and its executive bodies on the ground. It is, in contrast to the general police, about the creation of a secret police with the aim of overseeing all secret societies.
TASS-DOSSIER. On May 7, 2018, the inauguration of the elected President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin took place. In connection with his inauguration, the government of the Russian Federation, headed by Dmitry Medvedev, resigns its powers, in accordance with the requirement of Russian legislation.
On June 12, 1990, the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the Russian Republic. On June 15, 1990, at the first session of the Supreme Council (VS) of the RSFSR (a permanent parliament, formed at the Congress of People's Deputies), the procedure for appointing the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the republic was approved. The prime minister was elected by the deputies of the Supreme Council, and then his candidacy was approved by the supreme body of power of the RSFSR - the Congress of People's Deputies.
On the same day, the speaker of the Supreme Soviet, Boris Yeltsin, proposed three candidates for the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers: Mikhail Bocharov, secretary of the USSR Supreme Soviet Committee on Construction and Architecture; Yuri Ryzhov, Chairman of the USSR Armed Forces Committee on Science, Public Education, Culture and Upbringing; Ivan Silaev, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. However, even before the elections began, Ryzhov withdrew his candidacy. As a result of voting on June 15, none of the two remaining candidates received the support of the majority of the deputies.
In a repeat vote, Silaev was elected Prime Minister, supported by Yeltsin. 163 out of 252 parliamentarians voted for Silaev. On June 18, 1990, the I Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR (according to the constitution, the highest authority in the country) approved the candidacy of the new Prime Minister by its resolution.
On May 24, 1991, amendments were made to the basic law of the RSFSR, according to which the president of the RSFSR began to appoint the prime minister with the consent of the Supreme Council. The procedure for approving the head of government by the Congress of People's Deputies has remained unchanged.
On July 10, 1991, after the inauguration of the President of the RSFSR, Boris Yeltsin, who was elected on June 12, 1991, the Council of Ministers resigned in accordance with the constitution. On July 12, 1991, the head of state re-appointed Silaev as chairman of the Council of Ministers. On the same day, his candidacy was approved by the Supreme Council, and on July 13 - by the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR.
After the August 1991 putsch between Silaev and Yeltsin, the contradictions on the issue of preserving the USSR intensified. The prime minister opposed the president's policy aimed at seceding from the Soviet Union and proclaiming full sovereignty of the RSFSR. On September 26, 1991, Silaev resigned from the post of Russian Prime Minister and went to work in the USSR government. In total, in 1990-1991, he headed the government of the RSFSR for 468 days. After Silaev's resignation, his first deputy, Oleg Lobov, became interim prime minister. The government was disbanded on November 15, 1991.
On November 1, 1991, Yeltsin received from the V (extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR extraordinary powers for a period of one year to carry out economic reforms. By the resolution of the Congress, it was established that the president, prior to the adoption of a new law on the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, "independently decides on the reorganization of the structure of the highest executive bodies." On November 6, Yeltsin signed a decree on the reorganization of the government, according to which "for the period of economic reform" the cabinet of ministers was headed by the president.
Part of the prime minister's powers were transferred to First Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Burbulis. After his resignation in April 1992, the leadership of the cabinet was entrusted to another first deputy prime minister, Yegor Gaidar, who oversaw the implementation of economic reforms. On June 15, 1992, he was officially appointed and. O. Prime Minister. Yeltsin was the head of the cabinet for 222 days, Gaidar held the position and. O. premiered 182 days, until December 14, 1992.
Viktor Chernomyrdin (1992-1998)
In November 1992, the term of the emergency powers previously granted to the President by the Congress ended. On December 1, 1992, the VII Congress of People's Deputies began its work, which was supposed to approve the new prime minister. The parliamentarians assessed the work of the Gaidar government as unsatisfactory. On December 9, 1992, the Congress refused to approve his candidacy for the post of prime minister. 486 deputies voted against, 467 for, five abstained (out of a total of 1040 people's deputies who had powers at that time).
On December 14, Yeltsin put forward five candidates for the post of head of government to a rating vote. As a result, Yuri Skokov, Secretary of the RF Security Council, received 637 votes; Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Viktor Chernomyrdin - 621; Yegor Gaidar - 400; General Director of AvtoVAZ Vladimir Kadannikov - 399; Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Shumeiko - 283. On the same day, at the suggestion of the President, the Congress approved Chernomyrdin as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation (in favor - 721, against - 172, abstained - 48). On the same day, a presidential decree was signed on his appointment.
The first government of Chernomyrdin was the only one in modern Russian history to which the parliament passed a partial vote of no confidence (it was initiated by Sergei Glazyev, who represented the faction of the Democratic Party of Russia). This happened after the terrorist attack of Chechen separatists led by Shamil Basayev on June 14-20, 1995 in Budennovsk (Stavropol Territory). On June 21, 1995, the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the 1st convocation laid the blame for the unpunished actions of terrorists on the ministers of the power bloc.
241 deputies voted for the resignation of the government (with 226 necessary), against - 72, abstained - 20. Yeltsin did not agree with the opinion of the parliamentarians and refused to dissolve the cabinet. On June 22, 1995, Chernomyrdin put before parliament a counter question of confidence in the government. In a repeat vote on July 1, supporters of the cabinet’s resignation failed to collect the required number of votes (117 deputies in favor, 193 against, 48 abstained). However, following negotiations with the deputies, the head of state dismissed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Nationalities Nikolai Yegorov, Interior Minister Viktor Erin, FSB Director Sergei Stepashin, and others.
On August 9, 1996, the first government of Chernomyrdin resigned in connection with the inauguration of President Yeltsin (elected for a second term in the second round of elections on July 3). The head of state submitted to the State Duma Chernomyrdin's candidacy for the post of prime minister. On August 10, 1996, 314 out of 449 deputies agreed to his appointment, 85 parliamentarians voted against, three abstained. On the same day, the head of state issued a decree appointing the head of the cabinet, who held office until March 23, 1998.
In total, Chernomyrdin served as chairman of the government for 1 thousand 925 days.
On March 23, 1998, Yeltsin signed a decree on the resignation of Chernomyrdin's cabinet of ministers. The president named the official reason for the desire to form a more energetic and efficient team to ensure economic recovery and solve social problems. At the same time, he assumed the duties of prime minister upon himself. However, such a decision was legally incompetent, since according to the law on the government of December 17, 1997, only one of the deputy prime ministers of the outgoing government could act as head of the cabinet.
To resolve the legal conflict that arose, the President signed two new decrees. The first of them canceled the clause on the performance of the prime minister's duties by the head of state. By the second document, the Minister of Fuel and Energy of the Russian Federation, Sergei Kiriyenko, was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister and and. O. Prime Minister. On April 10, 1998, the State Duma rejected Kiriyenko's candidacy submitted by the president: out of 445 deputies, 186 voted against, 143 for, and five abstained. On April 17, during the second vote, the deputies again opposed the appointment of Kiriyenko (115 - in favor, 271 - against, 11 - abstained).
However, the President submitted the same candidacy for the third time. According to the RF Constitution, in this case the refusal of parliamentarians to approve the candidacy of the prime minister would entail the dissolution of the State Duma. Therefore, under pressure from the president on April 24, the deputies agreed to the appointment of Kiriyenko as chairman of the government (251 - for, 25 - against, 39 - abstained). On the same day, the head of state issued a corresponding decree.
On August 23, 1998, the head of state announced the resignation of Sergei Kiriyenko along with the entire composition of the government. This decision was made after the Cabinet of Ministers and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced on August 17 a technical default on their debt obligations and ceased to support the exchange rate of the national currency. The fulfillment of the duties of the chairman of the cabinet of ministers, in violation of the law on the government, was entrusted not to one of the deputy prime ministers, but to ex-premier Chernomyrdin, who at that time headed the movement "Our Home - Russia".
The President argued his decision by the fact that “political heavyweights” are needed to resolve the crisis. The State Duma twice refused to approve Chernomyrdin as head of government: on August 31, out of 444 deputies, 253 voted against, 94 for; On September 7, 273 were against, 138 were in favor, one abstained. On September 10, 1998, Yeltsin submitted to the Duma for the third vote the candidacy of a new candidate - Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov. On September 11, the lower house gave its consent to his appointment (for - 317, against - 63, abstained - 15). On the same day, the head of state signed a corresponding decree.
Sergey Stepashin (1999)
On May 12, 1999, the president dismissed the Primakov government. In his televised address to the citizens of the country, Yeltsin explained his decision by the need to correct the crisis situation in the economy and social sphere. The head of state entrusted the temporary fulfillment of the duties of the head of the cabinet to First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Affairs Sergei Stepashin.
On May 19, his candidacy was approved by the majority of the deputies on the first try (for - 301 out of 440 parliamentarians, against - 55, abstained - 14). On the same day, Yeltsin signed a decree appointing Stepashin as chairman of the government. The new prime minister held his duties for 82 days, until August 9, 1999.
Vladimir Putin (1999-2000)
On August 9, 1999, in his televised address, Yeltsin announced that he had made a decision to resign the Stepashin government, and appealed to the State Duma with a proposal to approve the director of the Federal Security Service, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, as head of the cabinet. Yeltsin said that he sees him as his successor and hopes that Putin will be able to "consolidate society." On the same day, the director of the FSB was appointed first deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation and at the same time acting head of the cabinet of ministers.
On August 16, the president appointed Putin prime minister after the State Duma approved his candidacy (233 out of 439 deputies in favor, 84 against, 17 abstained). On December 31, 1999, Yeltsin prematurely resigned from the presidency, entrusting Putin as head of state. In this regard, from January 10, 2000, the first deputy prime minister was directly in charge of the activities of the cabinet of ministers. According to Putin, the decision was not related "to an assessment of the performance of the previous government," and was "dictated by the desire to once again define their position on the country's development course" after the next presidential elections, scheduled for March 14, 2004.
On March 1, the head of state submitted to the Duma the candidacy of Mikhail Fradkov, the plenipotentiary representative of the Russian Federation to the European Communities in Brussels, to be appointed prime minister. On March 5, parliamentarians supported this decision: for - 352 out of 447 deputies, against - 58, abstained - 24. On the same day, by decree of the head of state, Fradkov was appointed chairman of the government.
On May 7, 2004, the first Fradkov government resigned in connection with the inauguration of Putin, who was elected on March 14 for a second presidential term. On May 12, the State Duma again gave its consent to the appointment of Fradkov as prime minister. His candidacy was approved by 356 out of 447 deputies, 82 people voted against, 8 abstained. On the same day, the president signed an appointment decree.
In general, Fradkov served as head of government for 1,286 days.
On September 12, 2007, Fradkov announced his voluntary resignation. He explained his decision by the desire to provide the head of state with "freedom in choosing decisions, including personnel decisions" on the eve of the Duma and presidential elections. On the same day, Putin accepted the resignation of the cabinet and submitted the candidacy of Viktor Zubkov to the State Duma for approval as prime minister. On September 14, the lower house approved the appointment. Out of 445 deputies, 381 voted for the new prime minister, 47 were against, 8 abstained. On the same day, the president signed a decree appointing Viktor Zubkov as chairman of the government. He was at the head of the cabinet for 236 days.
Vladimir Putin (2008-2012)
On May 7, 2008, the inauguration of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who was elected on March 2 of the same year, took place. Zubkov's Cabinet of Ministers, in accordance with the law on the government, resigned. On the same day, Medvedev submitted to the State Duma the candidacy of Putin for approval as prime minister. On May 8, the lower house gave its consent: out of 448 deputies, 392 voted for, 56 against. Immediately, a presidential decree was signed on the appointment of a new prime minister.
For the second time, Putin served as head of government for 1,460 days.
Dmitry Medvedev (2012-2018)
On May 7, 2012, Putin was inaugurated (elections were held on March 4 of the same year). On the same day, the cabinet of ministers resigned. In accordance with the agreement reached on September 24, 2011 at the XII Congress of the United Russia party, Putin invited the State Duma to support Medvedev's candidacy for the appointment of prime minister. On May 8, 2012, the lower house gave its consent: out of 450 deputies for - 299, against - 144. On the same day, the president appointed Medvedev chairman of the government.
The President of Russia helped to recall this date indirectly. On Tuesday, September 18, Vladimir Putin met with the ministers of the Russian Government and made a number of serious comments to them. And he offered two to be reprimanded.
Until the relevant orders are prepared in the prime minister's office, until they are published, I think, a day or two will pass. It is quite possible that the punishments will fall on the two heads of departments on the very day when all Russian federal ministers - both former and current, as well as republican, regional, and regional ministers - will have a reason to raise a modest lafitnik.
September 20 will mark 210 years from the moment when, through the efforts of Emperor Alexander I, a new profession appeared in Russia - a minister. Yes, yes, in the early autumn of 1802, the young tsar, full of a desire to reform everything and everyone, transformed the collegia that had existed since the time of Peter the Great into ministries. It should be noted that both the sovereign himself and his inner circle - Stroganov, Czartorysky, Novosiltsev, Kochubey - were known for Anglophiles. Probably for this reason it was the British term that was chosen.
Initially, there were eight ministries. These are the ministries of the interior, foreign affairs, military land, naval, public education, justice, commerce, and finance. Today, by the way, there are 20 ministries. True, there are also federal agencies and federal services, as well as countless government commissions. But this has no direct relation to our date.
What curious and useful in terms of the first ministries did Alexander Pavlovich do? The most unexpected thing lurked not in the structure of executive bodies, not in the selection of candidates for positions, not in the functionality. The most interesting thing was about the ideology of the process. The sovereign decided to put an end to collegial responsibility and introduce individual responsibility. “Personal and personal,” as President Putin noted at the aforementioned meeting in Sochi. The minister was endowed not only with individual responsibility for everything that happened in his department, but also with great personal power. This was spelled out in the imperial "Orders", addressed to the first eight Russian ministers.
It was decided to coordinate the actions of different ministries through a body called the Committee of Ministers. In fact, the prototype of the council of ministers or government in the current sense of the word. True, another organ appeared with a much more mysterious name - Indispensable advice. It included 12 people personally selected by the king. To continue analogies, it was already the presidential administration.
It cannot be said that the ministers found it enough to read the "Orders", to come to the Indispensable Council - and everything worked as it should. In fact, the reform was going on for a long time and slowly.
In 1806, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Count Kochubey, reported to the sovereign that the new system of state administration does not work, to put it mildly, and that it is necessary to strengthen the cadres with like-minded people, strengthen the responsibility of ministers for the assigned direction, and give leaders the right to resolve issues on the merits. Viktor Kochubei suggested a lot of other things then. However, apparently, the faithful friend of the tsar's youth lacked the authority. Or Napoleonic passions, muzzles prevented. But criticism of the ministries continued.
Then the main reformer of Tsar Alexander, Mikhail Speransky, got down to business. It took him about a year to figure out the pain points of the new system of public administration. And in 1809 Speransky explained that one of the main troubles is ... the lack of responsibility of ministers.
In 1811, the tsar signed the final document related to the reform of state administration - the "General Establishment of Ministries."
The normative base for the ministries was summed up. It remains to wait for the practical result.
But it is clear that the minister is such a mysterious profession that they are rarely satisfied with the results. What is above, what is below.
So: if "minister" is a noun, then it means "minister" and ... "priest." And if the verb, then - to serve, help, contribute.
Everything in this world begins with conscience.
Mikhail Bykov
He did not officially hold the post of prime minister and led the cabinet of ministers as President of Russia.
From June 16, 1992 to December 13, 1992, the Government of Russia was headed by Yegor Timurovich Gaidar. Officially, he was not the Prime Minister, but only the acting one. The name of Gaidar is traditionally associated with the economic reforms of the early 90s in Russia. In particular, under the leadership of Gaidar, the liberalization of retail prices was carried out and the privatization process began. The liberalization of prices carried out gave rise to the hyperinflation of 1992-1993. At the same time, the deficit for consumer goods was eliminated.
The day after Gaidar's resignation, December 14, 1992, Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin was appointed to the post of Prime Minister. In March 1998 he was dismissed.
From April 24 to August 23, 1998, the Prime Minister of Russia was Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko. The prime minister of Kiriyenko, considered one of the culprits in the 1998 default, was short-lived. On August 23, his entire government was dismissed.
Since August 24, 1998, Viktor Chernomyrdin has been acting as Prime Minister again, but he has not been approved by the State Duma twice. For the third time, Yeltsin nominated Yevgeny Primakov, whose approval as prime minister ended Chernomyrdin's short-term return to power. Once, while serving as Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin simultaneously acted as President of the Russian Federation for several hours by a special decree.
From September 11, 1998 to May 12, 1999, Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov was the Prime Minister of Russia. One of the most striking events of his premiership was his failed visit to the United States. On March 24, 1999, Primakov was on his way to Washington. When the plane was over the Atlantic, the prime minister was informed that NATO had begun bombing Yugoslavia. Because of this, Primakov decided to cancel the visit, ordered the plane to be turned right over the ocean, and returned to Moscow.
From May 12, 1999 to August 9, 1999, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation was Sergei Vadimovich Stepashin. The composition of the government formed by Stepashin remained unchanged under the next Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (it is interesting that a significant part of the premiership of Mikhail Kasyanov did not change the composition of Stepashin's government either).
From August 9, 1999 to May 7, 2000, the post of Prime Minister was held by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. December 31, 1999 Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned, and Vladimir Putin became the acting President of the Russian Federation. Until May 7, 2000, he formally continued to be Prime Minister, but in fact the cabinet was then headed by his deputy Mikhail Kasyanov.
From May 17, 2000 to February 24, 2004, the post of Prime Minister was held by Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov. He held this post longer than other post-Soviet prime ministers, with the exception of Viktor Chernomyrdin. In February 2004, shortly before the presidential elections, by the decision of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Kasyanov's cabinet was dismissed.
From February 24, 2004 to March 5, 2004, Viktor Borisovich Khristenko was the acting Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.
From March 5, 2004 to September 12, 2007, Mikhail Efimovich Fradkov was the Prime Minister of Russia. The main moments that stuck in the memory of the Fradkov government's work were the monetization of social benefits, which provoked massive protests from the Russian population, as well as the start of the implementation of four national projects.
On September 14, 2007, Viktor Alekseevich Zubkov was approved as the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. May 7, 2008 The Russian Government in front of the Russian President-elect Dmitry Medvedev.
The government of Viktor Zubkov is five times smaller than the previous cabinet of ministers. 237 days of work were remembered by the appearance in the government after a long break of two representatives of the fair sex - Tatyana Golikova and Elvira Nabiullina.
May 8, 2008 State Duma. With the required 226 votes, 392 deputies voted in support of his candidacy, 56 were against, and there were no abstentions. The State Duma voted openly. "This is a record result for parliamentary support for a candidacy for the post of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation," said Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the lower house of parliament, following the voting.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
