The abolition of the collegia. Establishment of Collegia and Senate in Russia

The state management system in Russia required updates. As a result, a centralized noble-bureaucratic apparatus was formed. Gradually, the Boyar Duma began to lose its significance until it completely ceased to exist, and then all legislative, judicial and executive powers passed to Peter 1. Fundamentally new systems of government were introduced by special royal decrees - the establishment of the Senate and Collegia took place. This article will talk about their purpose, structure and coordination.

Creation of the Senate

On February 22, 1711, Peter 1, by his decree, established a state body of a new type - the Government Senate. Initially, it included 8 people from the inner circle of the king. These were the greatest political figures of that era. Senators were appointed and removed according to the personal decrees of Peter. This supreme governing body had to act constantly and never interrupt its work.

The Senate is a collegial council that was involved in the administration of justice, solving financial and other issues related to various sectors of the economy. It was an institution of a deliberative, judicial and managerial nature. Its members submitted to the monarch various questions concerning the legislative process.

Those normative acts that were issued by the Senate had no legal force. At the meetings, the bills were only discussed and interpreted. The Senate was at the head of the system, and all the collegia were subordinate to it, which submitted monthly statements of all outgoing and incoming cases.

In 1711, a certain officer Johann Friedrich Bliger drew up his project for the further development of mining in Russia and submitted it to Peter I for consideration. The author called his paper collegium. The following year, another German officer interested the king with his proposal. It concerned the organization of commercial and audit collegiums. Peter appreciated these propositions and the establishment of the first colleges began. The date of the signal decree was February 12, 1712. It concerned the creation of the Commerce Collegium, which dealt with issues of customs, shipping, and foreign trade.

According to the tsarist decree, a commission was drawn up, which included three foreign and several Moscow merchants, as well as six suburban residents. They were instructed to work out basic rules and clauses for the college of commerce. This commission worked for almost two years and drew up a trade document. After that, she took up the customs regulations. Unfortunately, no information has been preserved about her further work.

Since that time, the creation of colleges, charters and a whole series of other transformations began, after which they gradually began to replace the already outdated system of orders. It was at this time that the name and nature of the future institutions of the new system of government became clear.

Further development

It must be said that the establishment of the collegia by Peter I and the replacement of orders by them proceeded very slowly and sluggishly. But when in 1715 the tsar became clear about the outcome of hostilities with Sweden, he began to take an active interest in the internal affairs of the state. It is known that in his notebook under the date of January 14 of the same year a note was made about three colleges, and by March 23 there were already six. It is assumed that Peter was prompted to do this by reading a project on the reorganization of the state administrative apparatus of a now unknown author.

The document proposed to introduce the establishment of collegia in Russia, which would concentrate all matters related to the arrangement of the country. The project mentioned seven departments dealing with justice, trade, foreign affairs, mining, army, taxes and government spending. The management of the structures was supposed to be handed over to individual senators. The author of this project cited Sweden as an example, where this system already existed, which was considered the best in Europe.

Peter's commission

In April 1715, he gave an order to Prince V. Dolgorukov, then Russian ambassador to Denmark, to somehow get the written or printed statutes of the colleges there. The following year, the tsar recruits a certain Fick, who is well versed in justice, economics and police affairs. In addition, he knew civil and state law very well. It was him who was sent abroad by Peter 1, so that he would thoroughly study the entire control device on the spot.

Another tsarist order was received by the Viennese resident Abram Veselovsky. He had to find abroad and invite to serve in Russia commanding people with knowledge of languages. I must say that Peter 1 did not skimp and paid foreign officials decent remuneration in exchange for valuable information about their institutions. He valued such knowledge more than books.

Training

In the next two years, the tsar spent abroad, and it seemed that without him the establishment of the collegiums had ceased altogether. But that was not the case. Preparations for the organization of the new system were in full swing. Everyone who was involved in this work worked tirelessly, including Peter himself, who was sometimes present in the Danish colleges, reviewing cases and rewriting the rules of office work.

At the beginning of 1717 Fick came to Amsterdam to inform the tsar that he had finished studying the Swedish state structure. Peter sends him to Bruce so that he can announce through the provincial leadership and the Senate that Swedish prisoners who know the civil service can enter, if they want, for Russian positions in the college. The life of the prisoners in Russia was hard, so many accepted the invitation, besides, they were promised a decent reward.

Collegium register

All the developments regarding the transformation of the state structure were collected by Fick and transferred to Bruce. Shafirov and Yaguzhinsky also took an active part in this matter. In October, Peter I himself returned to Russia and the next stage of work began - the direct establishment of collegia. The year 1717 became decisive, since on the basis of all the materials collected, a register was finally drawn up, as well as the staff of all divisions, which the king approved on December 1 of the same year. Already on the 15th, Peter 1 signed a decree on the appointment of presidents and their deputies.

How many colleges were there under Peter 1? First 9. Admiral Apraksin, Chancellor Golovkin and Field Marshal Menshikov remained in charge of their offices, which from that moment began to be called in a new way. The first of them remained at the head of the Admiralty, the second - foreign affairs, and the third - the military collegiums. From the former local, zemstvo and detective court orders, the Justitz Collegium was formed, the management of which was entrusted to A. Matveev. Prince D. Golitsyn became the president of the Chamber Collegium, I. Musin-Pushkin of the State Collegium, Y. Dolgoruky, the Commerce Collegium, P. Tolstoy, and the Manufactory and Berg Collegiums, Y. Bryusov. All these units had to be settled and formed anew.

But this did not end the establishment of the collegia. The date of January 18, 1722 was marked by the release of a new decree on the creation of the 10th in a row, a patrimony, which was in charge of land management and all other related issues.

Structure

The new subdivisions were to consist not only of domestic but also of foreign members. The Russians were given the posts of presidents and their deputies - vice presidents, as well as 4 positions of advisers and assessors, one each - secretary, notary, actuary, registrar, translator and clerk of three articles. Foreigners, on the other hand, were assigned one place of assessor or adviser and secretary.

The institutions of the collegiums were to begin their work only in 1719, and before that time all the necessary documents, rules, etc. were drawn up. In addition, it was necessary to find personnel. In the royal decree, which was passed on to the presidents, it was said that they could not accept either their relatives or friends in office. To do this, it was proposed to choose 2 or 3 candidates per seat and present them to the collegiums, and then choose one of them by ballot.

Device difficulties

Peter gave his subordinates, put at the head of the collegia, only a year to form the units entrusted to them, but for now all the departments worked in the old regime. The establishment of the colleges proceeded very sluggishly while the tsar was away. When he returned, he realized that some presidents had done very little, while others had not started their work at all. Peter was very angry and even threatened them with a club. Seeing this turn of events, Bruce soon gave up on new organs. Fick replaced him.

Beginning of work

In 1718 the staff of the lower ranks of the colleges was practically completed. Most of them were taken from old orders. A year later, we finished with the composition and approval of all positions and regulations of most of the collegia. Finally, in 1720, work on the device was completed. The general regulations saw the light of day, in which the general rules of the collegiums were spelled out.

With the creation of the new body, that gap in state institutions was filled, thanks to which the Senate was exempted from considering small cases coming from private individuals and was concerned only with legislative issues and emergency public affairs that could not be delayed.

Establishment of ministries

Over time, the collegiums began to hinder the development of the state, since the bureaucracy in them reached its climax. Finally, on September 8, 1802, on the initiative of Alexander I, the Manifesto "On the Establishment of Ministries" was issued. In total, 8 such units were created, each of which was responsible for its own sphere of activity: the naval forces, the military land forces, internal affairs, justice, finance, commerce, foreign affairs and public education.

All ministries had their own structural divisions, which were lined up according to the functional principle. They were originally called expeditions and later renamed departments. For their well-coordinated activities, special meetings were convened, called the "Committee of Ministers", where the emperor himself was quite often present.

Rights and responsibilities of managers

The establishment of ministries instead of collegia laid the foundation for sole authority and the same responsibility. This meant that a high-ranking official himself managed the department entrusted to him with the help of the office and institutions under his direct subordination. In addition, for all the mistakes made in his ministry, he was also personally responsible.

In addition, the "Indispensable Council" was created to discuss matters of state importance, which included 12 members of the government. It replaced the temporary and occasional meetings held during the reigns of Catherine II and Paul I.

9 years after the establishment of the ministries, their rights and operating procedures were established. Each head of his department had from one to several deputies (comrades) who were members of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers. Also among their duties was the obligatory presence in the Senate. Each profile office work was carried out in the ministerial offices. This order was maintained until the completion of the October Revolution of 1917. Under Soviet rule, people's commissariats were created on the basis of imperial ministries.

All state activities of Peter I can be conditionally divided into two periods: 1695-1715 and 1715-1725.

The peculiarity of the first stage was haste and not always well thought out character, which was explained by the conduct of the Northern War. The reforms were aimed primarily at raising funds for the war, were carried out by force and often did not lead to the desired result. In addition to state reforms, at the first stage, extensive reforms were carried out with the aim of modernizing the way of life.

In the second period, the reforms were more lightning-fast and ill-considered and aimed at the internal arrangement of the state.

In general, Peter's reforms were aimed at strengthening the Russian state and introducing the ruling stratum to Western European culture, while strengthening the absolute monarchy. By the end of the reign of Peter the Great, a powerful Russian Empire was created, at the head of which was the emperor, who had absolute power. In the course of the reforms, the technical and economic lag of Russia from a number of other European states was overcome, access to the Baltic Sea was conquered, and transformations were carried out in all spheres of the life of Russian society. At the same time, the popular forces were extremely exhausted, the bureaucratic apparatus grew, the prerequisites (Decree on succession) were created for the crisis of the supreme power, which led to the era of "palace coups".

Public administration reforms

At first, Peter I did not have a clear program of reforms in the sphere of government. The emergence of a new state institution or a change in the administrative-territorial administration of the country was dictated by the conduct of wars, which required significant financial resources and the mobilization of the population. The system of power inherited by Peter I did not allow collecting enough funds for reorganizing and increasing the army, building a fleet, building fortresses and St. Petersburg.

From the first years of Peter's reign, there was a tendency towards a decrease in the role of the ineffective Boyar Duma in government administration. In 1699, under the tsar, the Near Chancellery was organized, or Consilium (Council) of Ministers, which consisted of 8 proxies who managed individual orders. It was the prototype of the future Governing Senate, formed on February 22, 1711. The last mentions of the Boyar Duma date back to 1704. A certain mode of work was established in the Consilia: each minister had special powers, reports and minutes of meetings appear. In 1711, instead of the Boyar Duma and the Consilia, which replaced it, the Senate was established. Peter formulated the main task of the Senate as follows: “ Look around the entire state of the costs, and unnecessary, and especially vain, set aside. Money, as possible, to collect, before money is the essence of the artery of war.»

Created by Peter for the current management of the state during the absence of the tsar (at that time the tsar went on the Prut campaign), the Senate, consisting of 9 people, turned from a temporary into a permanently operating higher government institution, which was fixed by the Decree of 1722. He controlled justice, was in charge of trade, fees and expenditures of the state, oversaw the serviceability of the nobles serving military service, he was transferred to the functions of the Discharge and Ambassadorial orders.

Decisions in the Senate were made collectively, at a general meeting and were supported by the signatures of all members of the highest state body. If one of the 9 senators refuses to sign the decision, then the decision was considered invalid. Thus, Peter I delegated part of his powers to the Senate, but at the same time assigned personal responsibility to its members.

Simultaneously with the Senate, the fiscal position appeared. The duty of the Ober-fiscal under the Senate and fiscal in the provinces was to secretly supervise the activities of institutions: they revealed cases of violation of decrees and abuses and reported to the Senate and the tsar. Since 1715, the work of the Senate was supervised by the auditor general, from 1718 renamed the chief secretary. Since 1722, control over the Senate has been exercised by the Attorney General and the Chief Attorney, to whom the prosecutors of all other institutions were subordinate. No decision of the Senate was valid without the consent and signature of the Attorney General. The Prosecutor General and his Deputy Chief Prosecutor were directly subordinate to the sovereign.

The Senate as a government could make decisions, but an administrative apparatus was required for their implementation. In 1717-1721, a reform of the executive governing bodies was carried out, as a result of which the system of orders with their vague functions was replaced by 11 colleges, the predecessors of future ministries, according to the Swedish model. In contrast to orders, the functions and spheres of activity of each collegium were strictly delineated, and relations within the collegium were based on the principle of collegial decisions. Were introduced:

• Collegium of Foreign (Foreign) Affairs.
• Military Collegium - recruiting, arming, equipping and training the ground army.
• Admiralty Board - naval affairs, navy.
• Camor-collegium - collection of state revenues.
• State office board - in charge of government spending,
• Revision board - control over the collection and spending of state funds.
• Commerce Board - issues of shipping, customs and foreign trade.
• Berg collegium - mining and metallurgical business.
• Manufacturing collegium - light industry.
• The Justitz Collegium was in charge of civil legal proceedings (a Serf office operated under it: it registered various acts - deeds of sale, on the sale of estates, spiritual wills, promissory notes).
• The Spiritual College - administered church affairs (later the Holy Governing Synod).

In 1721, the Patrimony Collegium was formed - it was in charge of noble land tenure (land litigations, transactions for the purchase and sale of land and peasants, and the search for fugitives were considered).
In 1720, as a collegium, the Chief Magistrate was formed, who ruled the city population.
In 1721, the Spiritual College or Synod was established - the affairs of the church were considered.
On February 28, 1720, the General Regulations introduced a single system of office work in the state apparatus for the whole country. According to the regulations, the board consisted of the president, 4-5 advisers and 4 assessors.
In addition, the Preobrazhensky Prikaz (political investigation), the Salt Office, the Copper Department, and the Land Survey Office operated.
Military, Admiralty and Foreign Affairs were called the "first" colleges.
The collegiums had two institutions: the Synod and the Chief Magistrate.
The collegiums were subordinate to the Senate, and to them - the provincial, provincial and district administration.

Regional reform

In 1708-1715, a regional reform was carried out with the aim of strengthening the vertical of power on the ground and better providing the army with supplies and recruits. In 1708, the country was divided into 8 provinces, headed by governors, endowed with full judicial and administrative power: Moscow, Ingermandland (later St. Petersburg), Kiev, Smolensk, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberia. The Moscow province gave more than a third of the receipts to the treasury, followed by the Kazan province.

The governors were also in charge of the troops located in the province. In 1710, new administrative units appeared - shares that united 5536 households. The first regional reform did not solve the assigned tasks, but only significantly increased the number of civil servants and the costs of their maintenance.

In 1719-1720, the second regional reform was carried out, eliminating shares. Provinces began to be divided into 50 provinces headed by governors, and provinces into districts headed by zemstvo commissars appointed by the Chamber Collegium. Only military and court cases remained in the jurisdiction of the governor.

As a result of public administration reforms, the formation of an absolute monarchy ended, as well as the bureaucratic system on which the emperor relied.

Control over the activities of civil servants

To control the implementation of decisions on the ground and reduce rampant corruption, since 1711, the office of fiscal officials was established, who were supposed to "secretly visit, inform and expose" all abuses, both high and low officials, prosecute embezzlement, bribery, and accept denunciations from private individuals ... At the head of the fiscal was the ober-fiscal, appointed by the king and subordinate to him. Ober-fiscal was a member of the Senate and kept in touch with subordinate fiscal 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 1719-1723 fiscal subordinate to the Justitz Collegium, with the establishment in January 1722 of the position of the Prosecutor General were supervised by him. Since 1723, the main fiscal is the general-fiscal, appointed by the sovereign, and his assistant - the chief fiscal, appointed by the Senate. In this regard, the fiscal service left the jurisdiction of the Justitz Collegium and regained departmental independence. The vertical of fiscal control was brought to the city level.

Army and navy reforms

Upon accession to the kingdom, Peter received a permanent streltsy army at his disposal, prone to anarchy and rebellion, unable to fight the Western armies. The Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments, which grew out of the children's fun of the young tsar, became the first regiments of the new Russian army, built with the help of foreigners on the European model. Reforming the army and creating a navy became necessary conditions for victory in the Northern War of 1700-1721.

Preparing for war with Sweden, Peter ordered in 1699 to make a general recruitment and begin training soldiers according to the model established by the Transfiguration and Semyonovites. This first recruitment gave 29 infantry regiments and two dragoons. In 1705, every 20 households had to put up one recruit for life service, a single guy aged 15 to 20. Subsequently, recruits began to be taken from a certain number of male souls among the peasants. Recruitment into the navy, as well as into the army, was carried out from recruits.

If at first there were mainly foreign specialists among the officers, then after the start of the navigation, artillery, engineering schools, the growth of the army was satisfied with Russian officers from the nobility. In 1715, the Maritime Academy was opened in St. Petersburg. In 1716, the Military Regulations were issued, which strictly defined the service, rights and duties of the military.

As a result of the transformations, a strong regular army and a powerful navy were created, which Russia simply did not have before. By the end of Peter's reign, the number of regular ground troops reached 210 thousand (of which there were 2,600 in the guards, 41,550 in the cavalry, 75 thousand in the infantry, 74 thousand in the garrisons) and up to 110 thousand irregular troops. The fleet consisted of 48 ships of the line; galleys and other ships 787; there were almost 30 thousand people on all ships.

Church reform

One of the transformations of Peter I was the reform of church government, which he carried out, aimed at eliminating the church jurisdiction autonomous from the state and subordinating the Russian hierarchy to the Emperor. In 1700, after the death of Patriarch Adrian, instead of convening a council for the election of a new patriarch, Peter I temporarily appointed Metropolitan of Ryazan Stefan Yavorsky, who received a new title of Guardian of the Patriarchal Throne or "Exarch", at the head of the clergy.

To manage the property of the patriarchal and hierarchical houses, as well as monasteries, including the peasants belonging to them (about 795 thousand), the Monastic Order was restored, headed by I.A.Musin-Pushkin, which again began to be in charge of the court over the monastic peasants and control income from church and monastery land holdings.

In 1701, a series of decrees was issued to reform the administration of church and monastic possessions and the organization of monastic life. The most important were the decrees of January 24 and 31, 1701.

In 1721, Peter approved the Spiritual Regulations, the compilation of which was entrusted to the Bishop of Pskov, a close associate of the tsar, Little Russia Feofan Prokopovich. As a result, a radical reform of the church took place, eliminating the autonomy of the clergy and completely subordinating it to the state.

In Russia, the patriarchate was abolished and the Spiritual College was established, which was soon renamed the Holy Synod, which was recognized by the eastern patriarchs as equal to the patriarch. All members of the Synod were appointed by the Emperor and took an oath of allegiance to him upon assuming office.

The war stimulated the withdrawal of valuables from monastic depositories. Peter did not go to the full secularization of church and monastic possessions, which was carried out much later, at the beginning of the reign of Catherine II.

Religious policy

The era of Peter was marked by a trend towards greater religious tolerance. Peter terminated the "12 Articles" adopted by Sophia, according to which the Old Believers who refused to renounce the "schism" were to be burned at the stake. The "schismatics" were allowed to practice their faith, subject to the recognition of the existing state order and the payment of taxes doubled. Complete freedom of faith was granted to foreigners who came to Russia, restrictions on communication between Orthodox Christians and Christians of other confessions were lifted (in particular, interfaith marriages are allowed).

Financial reform

The Azov campaigns, and then the Northern War of 1700-1721, demanded huge funds, to collect which financial reforms were directed.

At the first stage, it all boiled down to finding new sources of funds. To the traditional customs and tavern levies were added fees and benefits from monopolization of the sale of certain goods (salt, alcohol, tar, bristles, etc.), indirect taxes (bath, fish, horse taxes, tax on oak coffins, etc.) , obligatory use of stamp paper, minting of coins of less weight (damage).

In 1704, Peter carried out a monetary reform, as a result of which the main monetary unit was not money, but a penny. From now on, it began to equal not ½ money, but 2 money, and this word first appeared on coins. At the same time, the irredeemable ruble was abolished, which had been a conventional monetary unit since the 15th century, equated to 68 grams of pure silver and was used as a standard in exchange transactions. The most important measure in the course of the financial reform was the introduction of the poll tax instead of the household taxation that existed before. In 1710, a “household” census was conducted, which showed a decrease in the number of households. One of the reasons for this decrease was that in order to reduce taxes, several households were surrounded by one fence, and one gate was made (this was considered one yard in the census). Due to these shortcomings, it was decided to switch to the poll tax. In 1718-1724, a repeated population census was carried out in parallel with the revision of the population (revision of the census), which began in 1722. According to this revision of persons of taxable status, there were 5,967,313 people.

Based on the data obtained, the government divided by the population the amount of money needed to maintain the army and navy.

As a result, the size of the per capita tax was determined: the serfs of the landowners paid the state 74 kopecks, the state peasants - 1 ruble 14 kopecks (since they did not pay the quitrent), the urban population - 1 ruble 20 kopecks. Only men, regardless of age, were taxed. The nobility, clergy, as well as soldiers and Cossacks were exempted from the poll tax. The soul was countable - between revisions the dead were not excluded from the tax lists, newborns were not included, as a result, the tax burden was distributed unevenly.

As a result of the tax reform, the size of the treasury was significantly increased due to the spread of the tax burden not only on the peasantry, but also on their landlords. If in 1710 incomes extended to 3,134,000 rubles; then in 1725 there were 10,186,707 rubles. (according to foreign sources - up to 7 859 833 rubles).

Industrial and commercial transformation

Realizing during the Grand Embassy Russia's technical lagging behind, Peter could not ignore the problem of reforming Russian industry. One of the main problems was the lack of qualified craftsmen. The tsar solved this problem by attracting foreigners to the Russian service on favorable terms, by sending Russian nobles to study in Western Europe. Manufacturers received great privileges: they were released with children and craftsmen from military service, were subject only to the court of the Manufacturing Collegium, got rid of taxes and internal duties, could bring the tools and materials they needed from abroad duty-free, their houses were exempted from military posts.

The first silver smelting plant in Russia was built near Nerchinsk in Siberia in 1704. The next year he gave the first silver.

Significant measures were taken in the exploration of mineral resources in Russia. Previously, the Russian state in terms of raw materials was completely dependent on foreign states, first of all, Sweden (iron was transported from there), but after the discovery of deposits of iron ore and other minerals in the Urals, the need for iron purchases disappeared. In the Urals in 1723 the largest iron-making plant in Russia was founded, from which the city of Yekaterinburg developed. Under Peter, Nevyansk, Kamensk-Uralsky, Nizhny Tagil were founded. Arms factories (cannon yards, arsenals) appear in the Olonets Territory, Sestroretsk and Tula, gunpowder factories - in St. Petersburg and near Moscow, leather and textile industries are developing - in Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kazan and the Left Bank Ukraine, which was due to the need to produce equipment and uniforms for the Russian troops, silk spinning, the production of paper, cement, a sugar factory and a tapestry factory appeared.

In 1719, the "Berg Privilege" was published, according to which everyone was given the right to search, melt, brew and refine metals and minerals everywhere, subject to payment of the "mining tax" in 1/10 of the cost of mining and 32 shares in favor of the owner of that land where ore deposits were found. For the concealment of ore and an attempt to impede mining, the owner was threatened with confiscation of land, corporal punishment and even the death penalty "through the fault of looking."

The main problem at Russian factories at that time was the lack of labor. The problem was solved by violent measures: whole villages and villages were attributed to manufactories, whose peasants worked out their taxes to the state in manufactories (such peasants would be called attributed), criminals and beggars were sent to factories. In 1721, a decree followed, which allowed "merchant people" to buy villages, whose peasants could be resettled to manufactories (such peasants would be called possessory).

Trade was further developed. With the construction of St. Petersburg, the role of the country's main port passed from Arkhangelsk to the future capital. River channels were built.

In general, Peter's policy in trade can be characterized as a policy of protectionism, which consists in supporting domestic production and imposing increased duties on imported products (this was consistent with the idea of \u200b\u200bmercantilism). In 1724, a protective customs tariff was introduced - high duties on foreign goods that could be produced or were already produced by domestic enterprises.

Thus, under Peter the Great, the foundation of Russian industry was laid, as a result of which, in the middle of the 18th century, Russia came out on top in the world in metal production. The number of factories and plants at the end of Peter's reign extended to 233.

Social politics

The main goal pursued by Peter I in social policy is the legal registration of the estate rights and obligations of each category of the population of Russia. As a result, a new structure of society was formed, in which the estate character was more clearly formed. The rights and duties of the nobility were expanded, and, at the same time, the serfdom of the peasants was intensified.

Nobility

Major milestones:

1. Education decree 1706: boyar children must receive either primary school or home education.
2. The decree on estates of 1704: the noble and boyar estates are not divided and are equated to each other.
3. The decree on single inheritance of 1714: a landowner with sons could bequeath all his immovable property to only one of them of his choice. The rest were obliged to serve. The decree marked the final merger of the noble estate and the boyar patrimony, thereby finally erasing the difference between the two estates of feudal lords.
4. "Table of Ranks" 1721 (1722): division of military, civil and court service into 14 ranks. Upon reaching the eighth grade, any official or military man could receive the status of hereditary nobility. Thus, a person's career depended primarily not on his origin, but on achievements in public service.
5. Decree on succession to the throne on February 5, 1722: due to the absence of an heir, Peter I decides to issue an order on succession to the throne, in which he reserves the right to appoint an heir (the coronation ceremony of Peter's wife Ekaterina Alekseevna)

The place of the former boyars was taken by the "generals", consisting of the ranks of the first four classes of the "Table of Ranks". Personal length of service mixed the representatives of the former clan nobility with people raised by the service.

The legislative measures of Peter, without significantly expanding the estate rights of the nobility, significantly changed his duties. Military affairs, which in Moscow times were the duty of a narrow class of service people, is now becoming the duty of all strata of the population. The nobleman of Peter the Great still has the exclusive right to land tenure, but as a result of decrees on inheritance and revision, he is responsible to the state for the taxable serviceability of his peasants. The nobility is obliged to study in preparation for the service.

Peter destroyed the former isolation of the service class, opening by way of length of service through the Table of Ranks access to the nobility environment for people of other classes. On the other hand, by the law on single inheritance, he opened the exit from the nobility to merchants and clergy to those who wanted it. The nobility of Russia becomes a military-bureaucratic estate, the rights of which are created and hereditarily determined by public service, and not birth.

Peasantry

Peter's reforms changed the position of the peasants. From different categories of peasants who were not in serf dependence on the landlords or the church (black-nosed peasants of the north, non-Russian nationalities, etc.), a new single category of state peasants was formed - personally free, but paid the quitrent to the state. The opinion that this measure "destroyed the remnants of the free peasantry" is incorrect, since the population groups that made up the state peasants in the pre-Petrine period were not considered free - they were attached to the land (Cathedral Code of 1649) and could be granted by the tsar to private individuals and churches as serfs.

State peasants in the 18th century had the rights of personally free people (they could own property, act in court as one of the parties, elect representatives to the estate bodies, etc.), but they were limited in movement and could be (until the beginning of the 19th century, when this category is finally approved as free people) transferred by the monarch to the category of serfs.

Legislative acts concerning the serf peasantry proper were contradictory. Thus, the interference of landowners in the marriage of serfs was limited (decree of 1724), it was forbidden to put serfs in their place as defendants in court and to keep them on the right for the owner's debts. Also, the norm on the transfer of the estates of landowners who ruined their peasants to the guardianship was confirmed, and the peasants were given the opportunity to enroll in soldiers, which freed them from serfdom (by decree of Empress Elizabeth on July 2, 1742, the peasants were deprived of this opportunity).

At the same time, measures against fugitive peasants were significantly tightened, large masses of palace peasants were distributed to private individuals, landlords were allowed to give up serfs as recruits. The imposition of a poll tax on slaves (that is, personal servants without land) led to the merger of slaves with serfs. The church peasants were subordinated to the monastic order and removed from the rule of the monasteries.

Under Peter, a new category of dependent farmers was created - peasants assigned to manufactories. These peasants in the 18th century were called possessory. By a decree of 1721, noblemen and merchant-manufacturers were allowed to buy peasants for factories to work for them. The peasants bought to the factory were not considered the property of its owners, but were attached to production, so that the owner of the factory could neither sell nor mortgage the peasants separately from the manufacture. Possessional peasants received a fixed salary and performed a fixed amount of work.

An important measure for the peasantry of Peter was the decree of May 11, 1721, which introduced the Lithuanian scythe into the practice of harvesting grain, instead of the sickle traditionally used in Russia. To disseminate this innovation to the provinces, samples of "Lithuanians" were sent, together with instructors from German and Latvian peasants. Since the scythe gave tenfold savings in labor during the harvest, this innovation in a short time became widespread, and became part of an ordinary peasant economy. Peter's other measures to develop agriculture included the distribution of new breeds of livestock among landowners - Dutch cows, merino sheep from Spain, the creation of horse farms. On the southern outskirts of the country, measures were taken to plant vineyards and plantations of mulberry trees.

Urban population

The social policy of Peter the Great regarding the urban population pursued the provision of the payment of the poll tax. For this, the population was divided into two categories: regular (industrialists, merchants, artisans of workshops) and irregular citizens (all the rest). The difference between the urban regular inhabitant of the end of Peter's reign from the irregular was that the regular citizen participated in the city administration by electing members of the magistrate, was enrolled in the guild and the workshop, or bore a monetary obligation in the share that fell on him according to the social layout.

In 1722, craft workshops appeared on the Western European model. The main purpose of their creation was to unite disparate artisans to produce products needed by the army. However, the guild structure did not take root in Russia.

During the reign of Peter, the city management system changed. The governors appointed by the king were replaced by elected City magistrates, subordinate to the Chief Magistrate. These measures meant the emergence of city government.

Transformations in the field of culture

Peter I changed the beginning of the chronology from the so-called Byzantine era ("from the creation of Adam") to "from the Nativity of Christ." 7208 by the Byzantine era was the year 1700 A.D. However, this reform did not affect the Julian calendar as such - only the year numbers changed.

After returning from the Grand Embassy, \u200b\u200bPeter I fought against the outward manifestations of an outdated way of life (the ban on beards is best known), but no less drew attention to the introduction of the nobility to education and secular Europeanized culture. Secular educational institutions began to appear, the first Russian newspaper was founded, and many books were translated into Russian. Success in the service Peter made for the nobility dependent on education.

Under Peter the Great in 1703, the first book in Russian with Arabic numerals appeared. Until that date, they were designated by letters with titles (wavy lines). In 1710, Peter approved a new alphabet with a simplified outline of letters (the Church Slavonic script remained for printing church literature), the two letters "xi" and "psi" were excluded. Peter created new printing houses, in which 1312 titles of books were printed in 1700-1725 (twice as many as in the entire previous history of Russian typography). Thanks to the rise of book printing, paper consumption has grown from 4,000-8,000 sheets at the end of the 17th century to 50,000 sheets in 1719. There have been changes in the Russian language, which includes 4.5 thousand new words borrowed from European languages.

In 1724 Peter approved the charter of the organized Academy of Sciences (opened in 1725 after his death).

Of particular importance was the construction of stone Petersburg, in which foreign architects took part and which was carried out according to the plan developed by the tsar. He created a new urban environment with previously unknown forms of life and pastime (theater, masquerades). The interior decoration of houses, the way of life, the composition of food, etc. have changed.

By a special decree of the tsar in 1718, assemblies were introduced, representing a new form of communication between people for Russia. At the assemblies, the nobles danced and communicated freely, in contrast to previous feasts and feasts. Thus, noble women were able to join the cultural leisure and social life for the first time.

The reforms carried out by Peter I affected not only politics, economics, but also art. Peter invited foreign artists to Russia and at the same time sent talented young people to study "arts" abroad, mainly to Holland and Italy. In the second quarter of the 18th century. "Peter's pensioners" began to return to Russia, bringing with them new artistic experience and acquired skills.

Gradually, a different system of values, worldview, and aesthetic ideas took shape in the ruling environment.

Education

Peter was clearly aware of the need for enlightenment, and took a number of decisive measures to this end.

On January 14, 1700, a school of mathematical and navigational sciences was opened in Moscow. In 1701-1721, an artillery, engineering and medical school were opened in Moscow, an engineering school and a maritime academy in St. Petersburg, mining schools at the Olonets and Ural factories. The first gymnasium in Russia was opened in 1705. The goals of mass education were supposed to serve the digital schools created by the decree of 1714 in provincial cities, called “ children of all ranks to teach literacy, numbers and geometry". It was supposed to create two such schools in each province, where education was to be free. Garrison schools were opened for soldiers' children; a network of theological schools was created in 1721 to train priests.

According to the Hanoverian Weber, during the reign of Peter, several thousand Russians were sent to study abroad.

By decrees of Peter, compulsory training of nobles and clergy was introduced, but a similar measure for the urban population met with fierce resistance and was canceled. Peter's attempt to create an all-estates elementary school failed (the creation of a network of schools after his death ceased, most of the digital schools under his successors were re-profiled into estate schools for training clergy), but nevertheless, in his reign, the foundations were laid for the spread of education in Russia.

The complication of the tasks of the state in the second half of the 18th century. reflected on the level of competence and organizational structure of central government institutions. It took shape by the end of the first quarter of the 18th century. collegial management system, which implied the consideration and decision of cases by the general meeting of its members (presence), by the 1760s. was going through a well-known crisis. Colleges were overgrown with many structural parts - expeditions, departments, offices, chancelleries turned into institutions that slowed down the activities of the state apparatus, especially in conditions when one-man management was increasing in governing the country, a ministerial type of leadership was taking shape, and the role of an individual official increased.

The total number of colleges in 1725-1775 it decreased, then increased. At the same time, the position of the three collegia - Military, Admiralty and Foreign Affairs, as well as collegia related to the protection of justice and landlord property - the Justitz Collegium and the Patrimony Collegium, remained stable.

The Collegium of Foreign Affairs (established in 1717), like its predecessor, the Posolsky Prikaz, was the main and most prestigious state institution in Russia in the 18th century. By this time, diplomatic relations were established with most of the European states, where Russian missions were opened. The collegium was in charge of organizing relations with foreign states, issuing foreign passports, postal affairs and managing Ukraine. Highly qualified and highly educated personnel were required to solve these problems. The officials of the collegium, who received a secular education and for the most part graduated from an academic gymnasium or Moscow University, were strikingly different from other employees, were a model of government officials

CHAPTER 1. History of the development of the collegial management system in Russia

In the Middle Ages, during the reign of Ivan III in Russia (1462 - 1505), there was a transition from appanage reign, which was of a private economic nature, to state administration. Orders were created, including financial ones: of the Big Court, the Big Treasury, the Big Parish, the Account. Service orders were subordinate to the tsar and the Boyar Duma, having, in turn, subordinate to the local government.

In 1512, the Treasury Prikaz (Court) was created. And in 1558, the first state economic institution was formed - the Treasury, the post of treasurer appeared - the keeper of the grand ducal treasury and archive. At the same time, the systemic organization of public finance did not exist before Peter I1.

In the 17th century, the protection of the financial interests of the state, its Treasury was regulated by the Cathedral Code of 1649. The first known national budget was the list of income and expenses for 1679-1680 in the amount of 1220.4 thousand rubles.

During the reign of Peter I (1682 - 1725), the old Orders (Appendix 1) did not conflict with the requirements of his reforms. But by that time they had become dilapidated, the system was complex and confusing, there were no uniform rules for making estimates, the final budget balance was not summed up, and there was no control over execution. Therefore, Peter I gave preference to the collegial principle in management, which he observed in neighboring European states.

He dissolved the Boyar Duma and formed the first collegial organization in Russia - the Senate - of 9 people, which included smart and loyal people. The Senate was confirmed on February 22, 1711.

In 1717 - 1718 instead of the previous Orders, 12 collegia were created, half of which were of a financial and economic nature. From a financial point of view, the most important of these were three: the chamber collegium in charge of state revenues and property; the state office-board in charge of government spending; and the audit board, which monitored the execution of estimates for income and expenses. The Senate became the supreme body of financial management in the country.

In 1722, the post of Attorney General was approved, who became the representative of the supreme power and state before the Senate. The renewal of central offices led to a new reorganization of territorial bodies. They took the Swedish management structure as a model, which they tried to combine with Russian customs. As a result of this reorganization, the whole country was divided into 11 provinces. Those, in turn, were divided into 45 provinces, at the head of which were governors.

Local governors exercised control over the receipt of income, but direct control was vested in the overseers of the collection, or chamberlains, under the command of the Chamber Collegium. At the same time, the position of the rentmaster, or treasurer, is approved under the jurisdiction of the State Office Board. The treasurer accepted the incoming fees, kept them in a special zemstvo treasury and issued them according to appropriations. The treasury, or "rentary", was attached to the provincial chancellery, and in the capital the money went to the main Treasury chamber, from where the expenses for the central administration were made. The reform, thus, instead of the previous order system, introduced a new - collegial management system.

The orders were transformed because they impeded the implementation of the tasks of the state in the context of the beginning of the transition from feudalism to capitalism (unclear functions, parallelism in work, imperfect office work, red tape, arbitrariness of administrations, etc.). Colleges were created on the model of those that existed in Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden. The collegial way of dealing with cases was more progressive. Rather than an order, the case was more clearly organized in them, issues were resolved much faster.

Board structure: presence, president (chaired the meeting), vice president, 4-5 advisers, 4 assessors. There was an office of the college, which included a secretary, a notary, a registrar, an archivist, a translator, and scribes. The collegium was subordinate only to the tsar and the Senate, and to her - the local apparatus. Since 1720, a single "General Regulations" (156 chapters) was introduced for the collegia.

A number of collegia have developed a system of sectoral local government bodies. The apparatus of local bodies was at the disposal of the Berg-Collegium and the Manufacturing Collegium (which had commissariats); Justice Collegium (court courts); Chamber collegium (Chamber and zemstvo commissars); Military Collegium (governors); staff office (rentmasters).

Unlike orders, the collegiums (with rare exceptions) were built according to the functional principle and were endowed with competence in accordance with the functions assigned to them. Each collegium had its own circle of departments. Other collegiums were prohibited from interfering in matters not subject to their jurisdiction. Governors, vice-governors, voivods, and chancelleries were subordinate to the collegia. Decrees were sent to the lower institutions of the collegium, and they entered the Senate with "reports." The collegia were given the right to inform the tsar about what they "saw the state benefit". The collegium consisted of a fiscal, and later a prosecutor supervising their activities (Appendix 2).

1.2 The system of collegia as the final process of centralization and bureaucratization of the state apparatus

The bureaucratization of the state apparatus took place at different levels over a long period. Objectively, it coincided with the process of further centralization of power structures. Already in the second half of the 7th century, the remnants of feudal privileges and the last privately owned cities disappeared. Central governing bodies, such as the Boyar Duma and Prikazy, have undergone significant evolution before transforming into new structures. The Boyar Duma, from an establishing body, turns into a control body overseeing the activities of executive bodies (orders) and local government bodies.

A difficult path has been covered by the system of central branch management bodies - orders. In 1677, there were 60, in 1682 - 53, in 1684 - 38 orders. With a decrease in the number of central orders, the number of order offices of local bodies of order management increased - by 1682 it reached 300. At the end of the 18th century, branch and territorial orders were consolidated / combined. Each of them was headed by one of the important boyars or aristocrats, which strengthened the authority and influence of the organ. At the same time, special orders were created to exercise control over a large group of other orders (for example, Sytny order), subordinating them to a single direction of state activity, which undoubtedly contributed to the further centralization of management. In the course of this process, the number of orders decreased, but the total number of state officials increased: if in the 40s the order apparatus was approximately 1600 people, then already in the 90s it increased to 4600 people.

At the same time, the number of junior officials increased significantly, which was associated with further specialization in the activities of orders and their departmental delimitation.

The restructuring of the order management system took place in 1718-1720. Most of the orders were eliminated, and in their place new central bodies of sectoral management - collegia - were established.

Reforms of the highest bodies of power and administration, which took place in the first quarter of the 18th century, are usually divided into 3 stages:

1.1699-1710 - only partial transformations in the system of higher state bodies, in the structure of local self-government, military reform are characteristic.

2.1710-1719 - the elimination of the former central authorities and administration, the creation of a new capital. Senate, carrying out the first regional reforms.

3.1719-1725 - the formation of new bodies of sectoral management for the collegia, the implementation of the second regional reform, the reform of central administration, financial and tax reform, the creation of a legal basis for all institutions and a new order of service.

The Senate was formed in 1711 as an emergency body while Peter was on a military campaign. The reform of 1722 turned the Senate into the supreme body of central government, which rose above the entire state apparatus (collegia and chancelleries) 1.

In 1689, a special Preobrazhensky Prikaz was created, which did not fit into the system of other orders.

At the end of 1717, a system of collegia began to take shape: presidents and vice presidents were appointed by the Senate, states and operating procedures were determined.

In addition to the leaders, the collegiums included four advisers, four assessors (assessors), a secretary, an actuary, a registrar, a translator and a clerk. By a special decree it was ordered from 1720 to start the production of cases with a new order. Already in December 1718, the register of the collegia was adopted:

1. Foreign affairs.

2. Government fees.

3. Justice.

4. Revision (budget).

5. Military.

6. Admiralty.

7. Commerce (trade).

8. State office (government spending).

9. Berg-collegiums and manufactories of the collegium (industrial and mining).

In 1721, the Patrimony Collegium was established, replacing the Local Order; in 1722, from the unified Berg Collegium and the Collegium manufactures, the Manufacture Collegium emerged, which, in addition to the functions of managing industry, was entrusted with the tasks of economic policy and financing. The berg collegium retained the functions of mining and mining.

The activities of the collegiums were determined by the General Regulations (1720), which united a large number of norms and rules that detailed the procedure for the institution's work.

Thus, the creation of the collegium system completed the process of centralization and bureaucratization of the state apparatus. A clear distribution of departmental functions, the delimitation of the spheres of government and competence, uniform standards of activity, the concentration of financial management in a single institution - all this significantly distinguished the new apparatus from the order system.

1.3 Commerce Board as a type of collegial management

Approval of absolutism in the first quarter of the 18th century. accompanied by the creation of a new centralized system of public administration1. In its central link, several collegia were organized, in whose jurisdiction the management of the country's economic life was concentrated. Even in the earliest plans for the creation of colleges in Russia, there is invariably the idea of \u200b\u200bthe need to organize a specialized in the field of trade, mainly external, central institution. Subsequently, with all the structural restructuring of government, the merger and even liquidation of some of the economic departments, the Commerce Collegium invariably continued its activities. This indicates a special role assigned to it in the implementation of the government's economic policy throughout the 18th century. imbued with ideas of mercantilism. One of the instruments for the implementation of these ideas was the Commerce Collegium (1717-1802).

The Commerce Collegium, like other collegia, was an administrative and executive management body in the area designated for it, which determined the main place in its activities of the organizational and management function. As evidenced by the minutes of the meetings of the Commerce Collegium, the supervision of foreign trade involved the regular collection of statements about the goods of Russian and foreign merchants, the number of incoming and outgoing ships, and the amount of duties. The board of commerce was interested in information about the influence of the next customs tariff on the volume of trade turnover and the amount of duties. The collegium paid particular attention to the work of port and border customs, the organization of the collection of foreign trade duties as an important source of treasury receipts. This area of \u200b\u200bactivity included the appointment of customs officers, the development of instructions for them, the organization of the rejection of goods, the determination of the berthing places for barges with goods, the order of their unloading and loading, the construction of guest courts and other commercial structures, warehouses, marinas and harbors. The task of finding means to increase government fees and profits was directly formulated in the regulations of the Commerce Collegium in 1724. This left a strong imprint on the nature of the entire activity of the collegium, defining a purely fiscal approach to assessing its activities. The workload and orientation of the entire work of the Commerce Collegium, as, indeed, of other central institutions, on current affairs, the focus on a clearly delineated but limited range of issues, fiscal preoccupation and the bureaucratic nature of its activities made it unsuitable for preparing major issues of trade policy.

The development of many economic measures, as well as general legal provisions, was carried out in various commissions specially created for this. They had an important place in the state structure of Russia in the 18th century. For example, in the 30s alone, almost 40 commissions were created (31 central and 8 provincial). They existed along with the established collegial management system. One of them - the Commission on Commerce - dealt with issues of trade and the position of the merchants. Throughout the XVIII century. there were three Commerce Commissions. The first was established in 1727 and was active in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The second did not last long - from 1760 to 1762. Finally, from December 1763 to 1796, the third Commission on Commerce operated.

If in the 20s of the XVIII century. the authors of the proposal to create the Commission on Commerce were members of the Supreme Privy Council (A.D. Menshikov, A.I. Osterman, etc.), which was in charge of the internal and foreign policy of the state, and at the end of the 50s the question of its establishment was nominated by Senator P.I. Shuvalov, who determined the internal policy of absolutism in the middle of the century, then the State Secretary of Catherine II G. Teplov, who enjoyed special influence in the government, was engaged in the development of draft instructions for the third Commission on Commerce. Already these facts testify to the invariability of the exceptional place that was assigned to commerce, and primarily to foreign trade, in the development of the economic course of government policy.

The composition of the commission on commerce was representative, including prominent statesmen. Among them: A.I. Osterman, A.M. Cherkassky, I.G. Chernyshev, Ya.P. Shakhovskoy, E. Minikh, G.N. Teplov, A.R. Vorontsov and others. The commission of 1760 - 1762, in addition to officials of various institutions, included representatives of the commercial and industrial world, who made up almost half of the members of its presence (Moscow merchants and manufacturers B. Strugovshchikov and M. Sitnikov, Tula-L Luginin, Yaroslavsky - I. Zatrapezny, Tobolsky - G. Shevyrin). This was not the only case. The work of the Commission on Mint (1730-1731), the Commission on Duties (1754 - 1760), the Legislative Commission of the 1750s - 1760s was based on the combination of government officials and merchants.

The unification of high-ranking officials in the composition of the commissions on commerce (especially the first and third) allowed them to play an active role in determining the objectives of trade policy. The third commission, established not under the Senate, as the second, or under the Commerce Collegium, as the first commission, but under the imperial court had the greatest weight, which removed it from the direct control of the Senate. At the same time, all such commissions were advisory bodies, and their recommendations were not binding on the government.

As an advisory body, the commission on commerce directly participated in the government's lawmaking, preparing a legislative solution to this or that issue, often taking the initiative in its formulation. Moreover, these issues themselves covered the spheres of activity of various economic colleges (Commerce and Manufacturing, Chamber Collegia, the Chief Magistrate).

When developing normative acts of the commission on commerce, firstly, they turned to the previous legislation on this issue; secondly, they attracted foreign samples similar to the document being developed (statutes, regulations, etc.); thirdly, they called upon Russian and foreign merchants with noble trades to discuss the draft being prepared. Their circle was outlined by the top of the Moscow and St. Petersburg merchants, it also included nonresident merchants, closely associated with the supply of goods to St. Petersburg and their overseas holidays.

Thus, the special place of the Commerce Collegium in a number of state institutions that carried out the economic policy of absolutism, the duration of existence and the repeated re-creation of commissions on commerce testify to the desire of the state power to actively influence the development of trade, to the invariability of the foreign trade orientation of the economic policy of the government during the 18 at.

CHAPTER 2. Formation and development of the absolute monarchy in Russia (late XVII - XVIII)

2.1 The transition to absolutism in Russia

It was a time of rapid changes in Russian society, the state, and the legal system, which aroused conflicting feelings both among the participants in the events and among historians. The transition to absolutism is, of course, not a one-time phenomenon. This is a specific process that takes a certain period of time.

The problem of its essence is connected with the question of the time of the emergence of absolutism. In literature, there is an opposition of autocracy to absolutism. Autocracy is understood as the external independence of the monarch, for example from the Horde, his sovereignty, and absolutism is reduced to internal absolute power, to domination over his subjects. L.V. Cherepnin Decree. Op. P. 177 V.I. Lenin considered the terms "absolutism", "autocracy", "unlimited monarchy" as synonyms V.I. Full Coll. Op. T. 4.S. 251 ..

Lenin really distinguished between autocracy in one century or another. Distinguishing autocracy at different stages of its development, V.I. Lenin did not distinguish between autocracy and absolutism.

The emergence of absolutism is a natural phenomenon that has its own objective prerequisites. Of course, the transition to absolutism is primarily determined by socio - economic reasons. However, the question of the level and nature of economic development, socio - economic contradictions that cause this phenomenon is controversial. It seems that the decisive role in the process of the formation of absolutism in Russia was played not by the intra-class struggle, and not even by the struggle between the exploiting classes. The most important precondition for the formation of the autocracy was the class resistance of the finally enslaved peasants, the need for the feudal lords to create a strong government capable of keeping the rebellious peasantry in check. The great importance of the peasant movement as a prerequisite for the establishment of absolutism is not a unique feature of Russia. This factor played a significant role, for example, during the transition to absolutism in England and Germany1. The factor that accelerated the process of transition to absolutism was also the military threat from neighboring states. Russia has not yet solved some important historical tasks: not all Ukrainian lands have been reunited, it was necessary to break through to the seas, etc. It is characteristic that out of 35 years of the reign of Peter I, only about a year the state of complete peace remained.

In the second half of the 17th century. not only the need arose, but also the possibility of establishing an absolute monarchy. Instead of the headstrong noble militia, a standing army was created.

The tsar received independent sources of income in the form of yasak and a wine monopoly. The development of the order system prepared the army of the bureaucracy. The need for estate-representative bodies disappeared, and they were discarded. This meant that the monarch was freed from all fetters, that his power became unlimited, absolute.

2.2 State mechanism

Under Peter I, the Senate was established, which performed the functions of the highest legislative, administrative and judicial body, sometimes replacing the person of the emperor. However, under Catherine I, the position of the Senate changed. In February 1726, the Supreme Privy Council was created, ousted the Senate. If under Peter he was directly subordinate to the emperor, now the Supreme Privy Council stood between the Senate and the Empress. The Senate refused to subordinate to the position. Degradation of the value of the Senate was already predetermined in the decree on the creation of the Supreme Privy Council. The decree ordered that especially important matters be transferred from the Senate not to the Empress, but to the Council. The Military and Naval Collegiums were removed from his subordination. It was decided henceforth to call him not the Governor, but the High. The composition of the Senate changed accordingly. Its members - confidants of the Empress, representatives of the new Petrine nobility, who entered the Supreme Privy Council, left the Senate and were replaced by less significant persons. On February 12, 1726, a decree sent from the Supreme Privy Council was announced to the Senate, which stated that the Senate should write reports to the Council, and the Council would send decrees to the Senate.

The document established new restrictions on the rights of the Senate. The result that secured the new position of the Senate was the decree on March 7, 1726. , On the position of the Senate "". This decree was the first historical step that changed the meaning of the Senate.

Under Peter I, central government bodies were significantly transformed. The complex and confusing system of orders has been replaced by a new, clear system of collegia. They became the first sectoral governing bodies. Each of the collegiums had to be in charge of a clearly defined branch of government: foreign affairs, maritime affairs, state revenues, etc. Together with the central government bodies, the system of local government underwent changes. Having changed the administrative-territorial division, Peter I put new administrative units and new officials at the head. Governors were placed at the head of the provinces.

They had a very wide range of rights and were directly subordinate to the Senate and colleges. The Governor had a Landrat Collegium as an advisory body.

With the transition to absolutism, important reforms are being carried out in the field of urban governance. In 1699, Peter I established new bodies - the Burmistra Chamber, or the Town Hall, in Moscow, and in other cities - zemstvo huts. The reform meant that, for the first time in the history of the Russian state, city government was separated from general local government, and the bureaucratic principle was combined with the principle of self-government.

The city administration received broader functions with the publication in 1719 of the Regulations of the Commerce Collegium and especially the Charter of the Chief Magistrate of 1721, as well as instructions by the city magistrate of 1724.

The new conditions of the economy, the aggravation of the class struggle also required a corresponding adaptation of the judicial authorities. Important changes are taking place in their structure. First of all, it should be noted that during this period, the separation of the court from the administration was born and developed.

Having created bodies that specifically dealt with judicial affairs, Peter nevertheless retained some judicial functions for the administrative bodies. For example, the court on land matters belongs to the patrimony collegium, crimes against the financial rights of the state were considered by the chamber collegium. The court and lower courts established by Peter operated under the supervision of governors and voivods, i.e. obeyed the administration.

Catherine II, more consistently than Peter, carried out the separation of the court from the administration. At the same time, the judicial bodies established by her were organized according to the emphatically estate principle: separate courts for the nobles, separate for the townspeople, and separate for the state peasants. As for the landlord peasants, they are subject to patrimonial jurisdiction, like purchases in the days of Russian Pravda.

Each of the estate courts established by Catherine had two levels. For the nobles, a county court was established as a court of first instance and an upper zemstvo court - a court of the second level, it was one for the whole province. For the bourgeois - the city and provincial magistrates, respectively. For free peasants - lower punishment in the district and upper - in the province. In addition to these courts, Catherine II established one more conscientious court in each province. It goes without saying that the jurisdiction of these courts included only minor criminal and civil cases.

Ekaterina made two chambers the highest instance for all judicial bodies of the province - the civil and criminal courts. And the Senate became the highest judicial body. During this period, special bodies for combating political crimes are also developing. The most famous of them is the Petrovsky Preobrazhensky Prikaz. Later, its functions were performed by the Secret Chancellery.

Under Peter I, the prosecutor's office was also created. He established the post of attorney general at the Senate and prosecutors at the collegiums and court courts.

The enormous size of peasant unrest in the 18th century. required a significant military force to suppress them. At the same time, the active foreign policy of the Russian emperors also forced to strengthen the armed forces. For this purpose, reforms of the military structure of the state are being carried out. The main feature of the military reform carried out by Peter I was the creation of a regular army. Standing troops existed before Peter. They were in the form of rifle regiments and mercenaries. However, these troops were far from perfect.

Peter I first introduced a new principle of the formation of troops - recruitment. In Western Europe, this principle was introduced only a hundred years later. The soldiers were completely cut off from peaceful life and devoted themselves entirely to military service.

The military might of Russia also determined its diplomatic successes and the implementation of its external function by peaceful means. Under Peter I, the organization of external relations was significantly improved. For the first time, Russia is establishing permanent diplomatic missions in European states, and not only in neighboring ones. For the first time, the Russian tsar personally signs international treaties.

The development of the state apparatus under absolutism, numerous wars demanded huge funds. Due to this, the methods of squeezing money out of the population are being improved. An important point was the replacement of the household tax with a capitation tax. As a result of this reform, the tax pressure on the peasantry intensified.

Under Peter I, the Spiritual Collegium was also created, later called the Synod and subordinate to the Senate. She became the state governing body of the church. Under the successors of Peter the Great, the status and economic position of the church repeatedly changed in one direction or another, but under Catherine II, the church was completely placed under state control, became, in essence, a state body, and its property was taken away in favor of the treasury. All church hierarchs were placed on a state salary, which was paid from the income from the former church property. About a third of the income was spent on this, and more than half of them simply went to the treasury. The Board of Economics was created to manage the church lands and peasants, and the peasants were called economic. Catherine II and Paul I did not hesitate to distribute part of the former church lands to their entourage. At the end of the 18th century. Simultaneously with the provincial reform, the composition of the dioceses was revised, while the territory of the diocese began to coincide with the provincial one.

Conclusion

From the middle of the 17th century. estate-representative monarchy develops into an absolute one, this reflects the entry of feudalism into a new stage. In the era of late feudalism, the class division of society takes shape as a class division. The estate system acquires the features of isolation and conservatism.

The transition to absolutism is characterized by noticeable changes in the state mechanism. Estates-representative bodies die off and are abolished, a complex, ramified, expensive system of bodies filled with officials - nobles is created.

The creation of ministries as central government bodies, which replaced the collegia introduced by Peter I in 1717, became the next stage in the development of Russian statehood.

It should be noted that already under the successors of Peter I, there were attempts to introduce a management system with personal rather than collegial responsibility. So, under Catherine I (1725-1727) and Peter II (1727-1730) there was the Supreme Privy Council, and under Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740) - the Cabinet of Ministers, in which leadership in certain areas of state life was concentrated in one person. At the end of the 18th century, under Paul I, attempts were also made to introduce greater centralization and personal responsibility in the public administration system. But all these changes, deviations from the collegial management system were of an accidental, temporary nature, without affecting the leadership of the police. When the collegiums were introduced, Peter I, despite the recommendations, refused to create a special police collegium. By the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, the management of the police was in the competence of the governors. There was no central authority for the police.

The accession to the throne of Emperor Alexander I in March 1801 was perceived by most of his contemporaries as a hopeful event for the better. His predecessor Paul I pointedly emphasized that he was above all laws and free, not even reckoning with the rights of the nobility. He canceled many provisions of the Charter of Charity to the Russian nobility, including the well-known clause 15 of this charter, which prohibited corporal punishment of nobles.

Therefore, Alexander I, in the first days of his reign, announced the restoration and observance of all class rights and privileges and declared his respect for legality. The young emperor Alexander I and his closest friends, according to contemporaries, were full of hopes for the possibility of profound changes in the state and legal sphere. The creation of ministries was seen as part of future reforms.

On September 8, 1802, 8 ministries were formed: the Army, the Navy, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Commerce, Finance, Public Education and the Ministry of the Interior.

The Manifesto on the Establishment of Ministries emphasized the personal responsibility of the minister for the state of affairs in the department entrusted to him. "The minister must have uninterrupted communication with all the places under the direction of his constituents, be knowledgeable of all the affairs that are carried out in them."

The basis for the creation of ministries was the previously existing collegia, which, in whole or in part, became part of the new central government bodies. Each ministry received a so-called Order, which defined its tasks. The largest and most multifunctional was the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

By the beginning of the 19th century. the collegial management system introduced by Peter the Great was in a state of complete collapse and needed urgent reform. Therefore, in 1802, instead of the previous 12 colleges, 8 ministries were created. However, the reform was unsuccessful as the functions and structure of the ministries were not defined. Therefore, in 1810-1811. the principles underlying it have been revised. From that time on, a minister specially appointed and personally responsible to the emperor was in charge of the affairs of each ministry. All major branches of government were separated into independent ministries with a uniform internal and structure and principles of doing business, in addition, the relationship of ministries with other authorities was determined.

The highest administrative body of the country was the Cabinet of Ministers, which emerged in 1802, which actually represented the meeting place of the emperor with the most trusted senior officials. The Cabinet of Ministers did not become a body uniting and coordinating the activities of ministries. These functions were retained by the emperor as the head of the executive, legislative and judicial powers in the country.

Thus, the political superstructure of Russia in the pre-reform period remained feudal, adapted to defend the foundations of feudal society, protecting and defending the interests of the ruling class of feudal lords from any threat to its existence and domination.

In the course of the coursework done, the aspects of the development of collegial management, its relevance, as well as the stages of the reforms being carried out by the supreme authorities and the formation of the collegium system by them were studied. The main types of collegial management were identified and studied, and on the example of the commercial collegium, the principle and structure were considered in detail as the most important and common type of management. The process of transition to absolutism in Russia was considered as a time of rapid changes in public administration and legal system. The reform of the state structure carried out by Peter I and Catherine II was studied in great detail. these reforms characterize the most important changes in the process of management and development of the state system.

1.1 Preconditions for the emergence and development of collegial management

In the Middle Ages, during the reign of Ivan III in Russia (1462 - 1505), there was a transition from appanage reign, which was of a private economic nature, to state administration. Orders were created, including financial ones: of the Big Court, the Big Treasury, the Big Parish, the Account. Service orders were subordinate to the tsar and the Boyar Duma, having, in turn, subordinate to the local government.

In 1512, the Treasury Prikaz (Court) was created. And in 1558 the first state economic institution was formed - the Treasury, the post of treasurer - keeper of the great

In comparison with the Northern War, the Caspian campaign was just a short episode in the history of the country and the life of Peter. After the conclusion of the Nystadt peace, the king could devote himself to internal affairs. They - we observed this in the previous chapters - the tsar was engaged in fits and starts during all the years of study in the "three-time" school, but military concerns prevented him from giving these studies a systematic character. Peter took up the "pen" in 1715, but he had to be put aside - need called abroad. In the absence of the king, the organization of the collegia practically stopped.

It is worth pondering over this fact, it says a lot: both about what role Peter's personal participation played in the transformations, and about the importance of the impulses emanating from him, so that the undertakings did not die out in the bud. But the noted fact speaks about something else: we saw that Peter was surrounded by a galaxy of gifted people who were highly valued by him, but none of the tsar's associates could compete with him either in breadth of views, or in ability to penetrate the depth of the phenomenon and determine the main thing, grasping for which it was possible to bring the business started to a safe end.

Being exceptionally gifted, Peter was by no means guided by the advice that was given to Ivan the Terrible: do not keep advisers smarter than yourself. On the contrary, he looked everywhere for smart people, but, to his great chagrin, he found very few of them. Peter believed that among his collaborators there were no or almost no figures capable of carrying out his plans - for this they lacked neither knowledge, nor experience, nor the ability to take into account the traditions and peculiarities of Russian society. Precisely on the basis of the premise of the weak political and legal training of his immediate associates, Peter treated them like schoolchildren, warned about the inadmissibility of blindly copying Swedish charters and regulations: "which items in the Swedish regulations are inconvenient, or are dissimilar to the situation of this state, and according to your reasoning. " He demands that they familiarize themselves with the treatise of the popular 17th century jurist Samuel Pufendorf, the translation of which, according to a contemporary, he praised wherever the opportunity presented itself: "at meetings of senators, and in their own chambers, and at assemblies in senatorial houses" ... The "three-time" school was primarily a school for mastering naval knowledge. Now the turn has come to master the knowledge and experience of state building and management.

The point, however, was not only the insufficient preparedness of his comrades-in-arms, but also the character of the tsar - his habit of getting himself into all the little things, as a result of which the initiative of his closest assistants was suppressed. Personal management turned into lack of initiative - the comrades-in-arms waited for instructions and orders on every occasion. Pushkin expressed this feature of Peter's rule in the words: "Everything trembled, everything silently obeyed."

Peter 1 established a new system of central institutions

Peter announced his intention to come to grips with civil affairs in 1718. In a decree drawn up by him, he wrote that despite "his unbearable labors in this difficult war," he found time to train people in military affairs and draw up the "Military Regulations." The army has been brought into "good order", the fruits of this good order are known to everyone - the Russian army crushed one of the best in Europe. "Now, having ruled this, I have not neglected the zemstvo government, but he is working to bring this in the same order as the military matter."

One of the means to achieve "good order" was rationally organized government institutions. Peter took the first practical steps in this direction, as noted above, at the beginning of 1712, issuing a decree on the organization of a college for trade, "so that it can be brought into a better state." The tsar gave the new institution a foreign name, but it did not introduce anything new into the principles of organizing the central apparatus. It took several more years for the idea of \u200b\u200breplacing old orders by colleges to take on a clear form. The state mechanism was likened to the mechanism of a watch. It was just such a comparison that the famous mathematician and philosopher Leibniz suggested to the tsar: “Experience has sufficiently shown that the state can be brought into a flourishing state only through the establishment of good colleges, for just as in a clock one wheel is set in motion by another, so in a great state machine one collegium must set into the movement of another, and if everything is arranged with exact proportionality and harmony, then the arrow of life will certainly show the country happy hours. "

The construction of the new "clock" by Peter was preceded by many years of preliminary work, which began with studying the experience of state building in other countries. On June 30, 1712, the tsar ordered the Senate to organize the translation of "the rights of other states." The tsar's notebook of 1715 contains a note with the names of six colleges. In the same year, Peter instructed him to hire abroad "scholars and skilled people in the right to conduct business in the colleges." General Pavel Ivanovich Yaguzhinsky, who was in Copenhagen, was ordered by the tsar to "look for a person in every collegium," while preference should be given to older people, "so that they could teach the language." The tsar instructed him to collect information about the structure of the central apparatus of Denmark: the number of colleges, states, "for we hear," argued Peter, "that the Swedes took from them too." Since Sweden was at war with Russia, there was no way to legally study the Swedish regulations. The tsar instructs the ambassador to Denmark Dolgoruky to equip a secret agent in Sweden for this purpose, providing him with a passport from the Danish court. The task is to find lawyers from among people "who know the
Slovenian ", receives the ambassador to Austria Veselovsky. Signing the decree to the ambassador, Peter added his own handwritten addition to it:" This is much to try, we need much more. "

Peter saw the advantages of the new system of central institutions in the fact that the presidents of the collegiums "do not have as much ability as the old judges did what they wanted." The old judges meant the leaders of the orders, who individually decided all the issues. In the collegiums, the tsar argued, "the president cannot do anything without the permission of his comrades." Later, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe advantages of the collegiums was further developed. It was emphasized that the "truth" is easier to establish when discussing it by many people, and not by one, because "what one does not comprehend, the other will comprehend". Such decisions will also have more credibility. Finally, "the sole ruler of the wrath of the mighty is afraid," while the college is freed from such fears.

Peter had high hopes for the college. They were introduced "for the sake of decent management" of state affairs, "the improvement of useful justice and police", "the maintenance of their naval and land forces in good condition", for the "multiplication and growth of commerce, mines and manufactories." The king was deeply convinced that the new institutions would usher in a new era in the country's history.

Creation of colleges by Peter 1

We cannot share such beliefs, just as we cannot deny the significance of the new institutions. It seemed to Peter that their main advantage was to limit the power of the president. In fact, the main positive result of the introduction of collegia was achieved by the fact that the collegial system was based on a clear delineation of the spheres of management and a high degree of centralization. This, mainly, consisted of their advantage over the cumbersome order institutions.

At first, there were nine colleges. Three of them were called "the first", because they were in charge of the most important branches of government: diplomacy, army and navy.

Russia's entry into the international arena was accompanied by the reorganization of the diplomatic service. If in the previous centuries, relations with foreign states were carried out periodically by embassies sent abroad, now in the most important states of Western Europe permanent diplomatic missions were created, and in some of them - consulates to protect the interests of Russian merchants. In turn, the Western European states had ambassadors and residents at the Russian court. The Collegium of Foreign Affairs, which replaced the Ambassadorial Prikaz, was in charge of receiving foreign ambassadors and supervising the work of its representatives abroad. The Western European diplomatic protocol was introduced. In many cases, Russian diplomats continued to adhere to the old notions of "sovereign honor" and resorted to various tricks so as not to drop it. Even Peter, who reckoned with etiquette least of all, did not completely free himself from ancient traditions. For example, he received foreign ambassadors standing and without a headdress in order not to take off his hat and not get up when the title of a foreign sovereign was pronounced. In order not to leave space for the foreign ambassador near him, he stood on the edge of the platform under a canopy.

The Collegium of Foreign Affairs was headed by an experienced diplomat, Chancellor Golovkin, and Petr appointed Shafirov as Vice-Chancellor.

The military collegium was engaged in manning, arming, equipping and training the army. Garrison regiments were also in charge. By the end of Peter's reign, the regular ground army numbered over 210 thousand people. In addition, the irregular army (Ukrainian and Cossack regiments) has 109 thousand people. Peter appointed Field Marshal Menshikov to the post of President of the Military Collegium.

A new institution that had no predecessors in the 17th century was the Admiralty College. The need for this body was associated with the transformation of Russia into a naval power and the creation of the navy. She was in charge of shipyards, naval fortresses, she was also engaged in manning and training ship crews. Admiral-General Apraksin was the head of the Admiralty Board.

Three colleges were also in charge of finance. The most important of them - the Chamber Collegium - supervised the collection of taxes, monitored the fulfillment of in-kind duties, and concluded contracts for the supply of wine, food, etc.

Population census in Peter's times

At the end of the 17th century and in the first two decades of the 18th century, the court was the unit of taxation. Feeling a great need for money and counting on population growth, Peter in 1710 decided to conduct a new census. The result disappointed him, because, according to the census, the number of households turned out to be much smaller than it was three decades ago. This was explained by the fact that the landowners united several families of relatives, and sometimes strangers to each other, into one yard. The trick did not go unnoticed. Ober-fiscal Nesterov turned to Peter with a report, in which he recommended switching to the "population", making the unit of taxation not the yard, but the man's soul. In this case, he wrote, there would be no desire to bring several courtyards into one, "as it was before," as well as to partition off courtyards and destroy gates.

Peter took the advice and undertook a general population census. This grandiose measure was carried out for many years. The census began in 1718, and the landlords themselves had to submit the lists of peasants. Several years passed, but the landowners did not submit information. Those of the nobles who introduced them, it turned out, did not show them all the peasants they owned. Threats with the death penalty and confiscation of hidden souls did not have the expected impact. In 1721, the "last decree" was published - "so that those who fell by this concealment into sin could correct everything," and report the concealment until September 1. The landlords did not want to take advantage of the delay and amnesty. Then Peter instructs specially created chanceries, staffed by officers, to check the statements submitted to the landowners. The revision - since that time this name has been confirmed for the censuses - discovered the concealment of one million male souls.

A more or less exact figure for the per capita census became known in the spring of 1724 - 5.4 million male souls were registered among the rural population. The tax collected from them was intended for the maintenance of the land army. Every male soul, be it a nursing baby or a very old man, was obliged to pay annually in the amount of 74 kopecks.

Captive filing

Why is such an unrounded sum, say, not 70 or 75 kopecks, but 74? The answer must be sought in the way it was calculated: it was established that the maintenance of the army would require 4 million rubles a year. This amount was divided by the number of payers (5.4 million souls) and, as a result, received 74 kopecks per person. However, a filing in this amount was never charged, since Catherine I, in connection with her accession to the throne in January 1725, reduced its size by four kopecks.

The poll tax was supposed to replace all the old taxes. The decree promised in excess of 74 kopecks "no cash and grain taxes and no carts."

The tax reform, according to the general opinion of historians, significantly increased the tax on peasants in favor of the state. However, the lack of comparable data does not allow us to establish to what extent or by how many times the poll taxation was heavier than the household taxation. The revenue side of the state budget in 1724 increased three times compared to 1680. But this does not mean that the tax burden on the peasants in 1724 was three times stronger than in 1680.

The growth in government revenues was partly due to natural population growth. In addition, labor productivity has increased to some extent over the course of more than four decades. This rise was most noticeable in handicrafts, but especially in the manufacturing industry. Labor productivity also increased in agriculture due to the cultivation of industrial crops and the introduction of iron tools in the economy. Finally, the increase in income was a consequence of the inclusion in the number of taxpayers of new categories of the population who had not paid state taxes before (courtyards, walking people, etc.).

The conducted population census had not only fiscal, but also social significance. It included in the sphere of feudal exploitation a huge mass of the rural population, which had not previously been subjected to this exploitation. These included the black-haired peasants of the North of Russia, the plowed people of Siberia, the yasash people of the Middle Volga region (Chuvash, Mordovians, Cheremis, etc.). Previously, only the state tax was collected from them. The tax reform united all these categories of the population into a single category of state peasants, from whom, on an equal basis with the landlord and monastic peasants, they began to exact feudal duty.

The poll tax from the urban population was charged at the rate of 1 ruble 20 kopecks per man's soul.

Tax reform most clearly reveals the content and direction of Peter's social policy. It, in addition, gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe sources of material resources, due to which the transformations were made: the maintenance of the expanded regular army and navy, as well as the administrative apparatus, the construction of palaces and monumental government buildings, the organization of cultural, educational and scientific institutions, the creation of state industries demanded money. The financial support of the reforms was carried out by peasants and townspeople.

Another financial collegium - the State Office-Collegium - was in charge of state expenditures, determined the amount for the maintenance of the state apparatus, army and navy, for diplomacy, education, etc. It was headed by one of Peter's closest associates, Count Musip-Pushkin.

Control over the spending of funds was carried out by the Revision Board, headed by Prince Dolgoruky.

The light industry was supervised by the Manufactures Collegium, mining - by the Berg Collegium, and foreign trade - by the Commerce Collegium. All three commercial and industrial colleges had practically no predecessors in the order system. Peter appointed Tolstoy as President of the Commerce Collegium, Manufactur-
the collegium - Novosiltsev, the Berg collegium - the Russified Scotsman Bruce. This was the only exception when the collegium was headed not by a Russian nobleman, but by a foreigner. In all other cases, foreign specialists were appointed either by vice presidents or advisers to the collegia. Yakov Villimovich Bruce proved himself to be an experienced artilleryman, an expert in mining, and was especially respected by Peter.

A number of other central institutions adjoined the collegia. Among them, the Synod occupied a special place.

Back in 1700, Patriarch Adrian died. The far-sighted profit-maker Kurbatov then advised Peter to “wait until the time” with the election of a new patriarch, since, in his opinion, there would be no good from the patriarchate. The Tsar did not have to convince him of this for long. He was well aware of the history of Patriarch Nikon's struggle with his father, he also knew the views of Patriarch Adrian regarding the role of the church in the state: "the kingdom has power only on earth, between people ... the priesthood has power both on earth and in heaven." Peter, finally, was aware of the rumors spread among the clergy that he, Peter, was not a real tsar, that the real tsar had been replaced by a foreigner in his infancy.

Instead of the patriarch, Peter called on Metropolitan Stephen Yavorsky, who had been declared locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, to lead church affairs. In the person of Yavorsky, Peter did not find an active supporter of transformations, but Yavorsky did not show decisive resistance to them. On the other hand, other representatives of the clergy, if not explicitly, then secretly treated Peter with hostility, which he also knew well. "If it were not for a nun, not a monk and not Kikin, Alexei would not have dared to commit such an unheard-of evil. Oh, bearded men, the root of much evil is the elders and priests. My father was dealing with one bearded man, and I was with thousands."

Creation of the Synod in 1721

In 1721, the church finally received its supreme body - the Synod.

As the President of the Synod, Peter left the aged locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Stephen Yavorsky, who was no longer able to influence the work of the institution; moreover, he died a year later. The actual head of the Synod was its vice-president Feofan Prokopovich, the right hand of the tsar in church reforms. Prokopovich composed the rules of procedure for the Synod - the Spiritual Regulations, and also participated in the drafting of the most important decrees related to church and monastic affairs.

The spiritual regulations equated members of the Synod with officials of other secular institutions. They, like all officials, took an oath of allegiance to the sovereign and pledged to unconditionally fulfill all his instructions. Church hierarchs were instructed "not to enter into worldly affairs and rituals for anything." The Church was thus completely subordinated to secular authority. For the sake of "state interest" the secret of confession was violated. The Synodal decree of 1722, in accordance with the oral command of Peter, obliged all priests who found out the intention of a confessing to commit "treason or revolt" to immediately inform the authorities about it.

Initially, all the presidents of the collegiums were simultaneously senators. It turned out that the Senate consisted of the presidents of the collegia, whose activities he was supposed to direct and control. On the other hand, the performance of the duties of a senator by the president of the collegium distracted him from his immediate concerns about collegium affairs. In 1722, Peter admitted that "this was not done first," and corrected the mistake, leaving only the presidents of the three "first" colleges as senators. However, the tsar failed to implement his own decree. It turned out that there was no one to fill the vacancies in the Senate, and after a few months he returned to the previous order: two days less per week. " Here Peter faced the same difficulties that he had to overcome at the initial stage of the Northern War: then there was a lack of military specialists, now he lacked assistants in civil affairs.

Control over the work of state institutions under Peter 1

Since ancient times, Peter has been occupied with the idea of \u200b\u200bmonitoring the work of state institutions. The search for forms of control has been going on for many years. We have seen how at first the king used the services of the fiscal. But the fiscal authorities acted only as registrars of violations of decrees. They operated outside the walls of institutions and, therefore, could not influence their work. Peter faced the task of supplementing the tacit control with explicit, bureaucratic control. In 1715, the Senate received a decree: "Vasily Zotov is declared the rank of general auditor, or overseer of decrees." Its main task is to monitor the timely execution of Senate decrees. Later, this duty was carried out by the chief secretary of the Senate and the guards officers acting on behalf of the king.

Foreign observers unanimously noted the broad powers of such officers, who awe not only representatives of the regional administration, but also senators. The officers stimulated the energy and serviceability of the governor by keeping them in chains and in glands for a considerable time. According to the French resident, "the tsar repeatedly expressed exceptional confidence in the guards officers and entrusted the commissions of them with the most important state affairs. It is surprising to see that the members of the Senate rise from their seats before the lieutenant and treat him with servility." The resident was not exaggerating at all. In Peter's decree to the guards officers who were on duty in the Senate, we read: “If they don’t fix it, then they will remind it three times. And if someone doesn’t fix it, they will immediately come to us or write”. And further: "And if someone becomes a scandal or behaves impolitely, arrest him and take him to the fortress, and then let us know."

Such control bore extraordinary features and could not be effective, for the chief secretary was subordinate to the Senate, and the guards officers, although they enjoyed great powers, could not give their positions the necessary authority due to their turnover after a month. Practice and the study of foreign experience suggested that such duties could be performed only by an official endowed with great power and independent of the controlled institutions. As a result, in 1722, the institute of the prosecutor's office was created, headed by the prosecutor general of the Senate, under which the prosecutors of the central institutions were to be subordinate. Peter appointed Pavel Ivanovich Yaguzhinsky as the first Prosecutor General of the Senate.

Peter met the eighteen-year-old son of a Lithuanian organist who had moved to Moscow in 1701. He immediately drew attention to Yaguzhinsky's lively mind and his ability to clearly and clearly express his thoughts. Yaguzhinsky was enrolled in the guard, and then became the orderly of the tsar and since then has constantly accompanied him on all campaigns and trips, repeatedly carried out various diplomatic assignments. Before being appointed Prosecutor General of the Senate, Yaguzhinsky had a general's rank and extensive experience in administrative activities.

Six editions of the instructions for the Prosecutor General have survived, four of them with traces of Peter's corrections and additions. The Prosecutor General, as stated in the decree on his position, was the "sovereign's eye", who was instructed to "watch firmly that the Senate zealously dispatched its position." The Prosecutor General was subordinate to the Senate Chancellery, and he himself was independent from the Senate and could only be tried by the emperor. The task of the Prosecutor General was not so much to register violations of the law, but to prevent them. Therefore, the prosecutor general and the prosecutors of the collegia were given the right to interfere in the discussion of a particular issue, to point out the illegality of the decision and the need to revise it. He was even given the right to suspend the decision of the Senate. Thus, the Prosecutor General occupied the highest level in the bureaucratic hierarchy. Endowed with tremendous power, he had to enjoy the complete personal confidence of the king. Yaguzhinsky was such a prosecutor general, a very energetic and domineering person who knew how to give this position a high prestige. Peter highly appreciated Yaguzhinsky's abilities, his directness, wit and cheerful disposition. They say that the tsar once ordered Yaguzhinsky to write a decree: if someone steals so much that a rope can be bought for this amount, he will be hanged. The Attorney General objected: "We steal everything, only one is more and more noticeable than the other." Peter burst out laughing and canceled the order.

Organizing new institutions is only half the battle. The collegiums had to be armed with statutes, regulations, instructions that determined every step of an official of any rank. Peter takes an active part in their compilation. He composed some of them himself, others carefully edited, made additions, or abbreviated the text. At times he did this work for 14 hours a day.

Creation of military and naval regulations in Russia

Peter began work on military and naval regulations back in 1715. He finished the "military regulations" in 1716, and then there was a two-year break in his studies on drawing up regulations and regulations. The resumption of work on the Naval Regulations in 1718 is noted in the notebook. Peter made a note for himself who to entrust the grouping of the clauses of the statutes of foreign countries, and on April 4 of the same year a decree was issued. Konon Zotov had to make extracts "about each matter" from foreign statutes. The basis was to be based on the English regulations, supplemented by the texts of the relevant clauses from the French, Danish, Swedish and Dutch regulations. Preserved rough sketches of the plan of the Naval Regulations, drawn up by Peter. In January 1720, the charter was ready. In the preface to it, Peter wrote that it was composed "of five maritime regulations and to that they added what was needed", and all this, the king said, "was done and accomplished through our own labor."

Having finished drawing up the Naval Regulations, Peter outlined a program for drawing up the Admiralty Regulations, requesting materials from the institutions involved in the contracts, for the procurement of equipment for the Admiralty, for the remuneration of workers, etc. In January. - In February 1721 he was present in the Senate "both before noon and noon", where the Naval Regulations and the Admiralty Regulations were discussed. The following year, Peter devoted two long periods of time to the Admiralty Regulations - the entire second half of February and then in October, when he devoted four days a week to this work. With good reason, Peter wrote about his participation in the drafting of the Admiralty Regulations that he was perpetrated "not only by command, but by the very labor, where not only in the mornings, but in the evenings, twice a day, this was done at different times."

Each collegium received a regulation listing the rights and obligations in relation to the branch of management under its jurisdiction. The regulations of the Berg Collegium and the Manufacturing Collegium, in addition, established privileges for industrialists, thereby facilitating the development of large-scale production. The General Regulations occupied a special place among the regulations. He determined the rights and duties of officials of all central institutions, from the president of the college to the stoker and the minister who sat in the hallway, and when "the bell rings", he had to "go in and accept the command."

The importance that Peter attached to the General Regulations is evidenced by its careful editing. 12 editions of the document have survived, six of them belong to Peter. He adjusted the style, made additions, included new articles. Especially many additions were made by Peter's hand to the articles of the General Regulations, where the penalty for misconduct of officials is determined.

Adjacent to the regulations is the Table of Ranks of 1722, a decree reflecting the tsar's rationalistic views on the fitness of a nobleman. In pre-Petrine times, the breed, origin was the criterion of serviceability. The path to higher ranks was opened primarily to the descendants of the aristocracy, which gave the ranks an almost hereditary character. Only a few representatives of artistic families managed to overcome this custom.

The table of ranks introduced a hierarchical ladder of 14 ranks, the steps of which an official had to climb, depending on his abilities, knowledge and diligence.

The order of promotion established by the Table of Ranks ensured that representatives of the unborn nobility quickly received high ranks. In fact, the Table of Ranks made the already existing practice a law. In addition, it opened up opportunities for infiltration into the ranks of the nobility of people from the "vile estates". Everyone who received the first officer's rank in the military or naval service became hereditary nobles. In the civil service, hereditary nobility was provided from the eighth grade (collegiate assessor).

Peter's legislative work is not limited to the drawing up of statutes and regulations. He wrote or dictated all the most important decrees, and he rewrote the text of some of them many times. Personal participation in lawmaking is also a feature of Peter as a statesman. His successors limited themselves only to the authorization of one or another decree prepared by officials. Peter himself worked on their compilation with the same zeal and dedication with which he besieged fortresses or supervised the construction and launch of a ship. As an example, let us cite the decree of Peter of April 17, 1722, stating that "no one should dare in any other way to do any business and arrange it not against the regulations."

The decree began like this: "Nothing needs to be eaten so much for the management of the state as a strong preservation of the rights of civilians, it is in vain to write laws when they are not kept, or to play them like cards, tidying up suit to suit." Laws were declared "the fortification of truth", and all those who violated them were faced with the death penalty: "and so that no one would hope for any of his own merits if he fell into this guilt."

Peter worked on this decree for four days - from April 14, when he made the first draft, to April 17, when the final version, the sixth, was signed. The original draft had three points, in the third edition there were five, and in the final seven. The tsar attached great importance to the decree and ordered it in all institutions, including the Senate, "to have on the table, like a mirror, before the eyes of the judges."

The abundance of executive decrees is due to Peter's faith in the omnipotence of state power to arrange and rebuild everything at his own discretion. This purpose of Peter's legislation is clearly seen already in the early decrees. But then there were comparatively few of them, for, as Peter said, "they had an untimely time during the current war." Now, when Peter had great opportunities, the decrees, which took the lives of his subjects under the watchful eye, flowed in a continuous stream. The pages of notebooks testify to the tsar's intense legislative creativity.

"Those who themselves do not know are highly instructed to be."

The idea expressed in these words, Peter repeated many times in the form of a laconic command to officials to observe the statutes "as the first and most important thing", then in the form of lengthy discourses on the meaning of legislation in the life of the state. Addressing the officials, the tsar wrote: "The head of everything, so that his office and our decrees are remembered and not postponed until tomorrow, because how can the state be governed, when the decrees are not valid, before the contempt of the decrees is at odds with treason."

Peter continuously instructed not only officials, but the entire population of the country, believing that every step of the subject should be under the watchful supervision of the government. "Our people," wrote Peter, "are like children, for the sake of ignorance, who will never take up the alphabet when they are not forced to be from a master (that is, a mentor)."

The subjects, "like children," were to be instructed in everything, from their exercises in the household to the satisfaction of spiritual needs, from birth to death.

Decrees of Peter 1

In our place, we saw that at the very beginning of the 18th century, the tsar was concerned about the appearance of his subject: the tsar's decrees ordered to shave beards, dress not in long-length Russian dress, but in short European caftans, and wear shoes. Now the time has come for the government to intervene in the economic life of a subject: in 1715, a decree was issued prohibiting the use of tar on leather on the grounds that shoes made from such leather let water through and creep in rainy weather. Yuft had to be processed with torn lard, the decree established a two-year period for mastering the new technology.In the autumn months of the same year, another royal decree was read from the pulpits of all churches in the country many times: instead of narrow canvases, peasants were obliged to weave wide linens, which were in great demand among foreign buyers.

The restrictions also affected the merchants: the king ordered them to be content with a profit not exceeding 10 percent. Inhabitants of the North, who hunted sea animals, were ordered to acquire modern vessels within two years, which were to replace traditional kochis.

The whole country was reaping bread with sickles. Peter found that the farmer would achieve higher labor productivity if he harvested the grain in scythes, and issued a special decree to this effect. When processing hemp, it was also ordered to abandon traditional methods and be guided by the instructions of state authorities.

Peter did not leave the subject without guidance even in the case when he needed to acquire housing. He ordered the capital nobles, who owned more than 500 serfs, to build only two-story mansions on Vasilyevsky Island.

The tsar ordered the villagers to build houses no closer than 30 fathoms from each other. In the entryway, the ceilings had to be coated with clay, as in the living quarters. In Moscow, it is ordered to cover roofs with tiles or shingles. It's time to start laying the stove. Here, too, there is a categorical requirement: "So that the stoves are made from a foundation, and not on floors, so that the pipes are wide, so that a person can climb through."

The tsar's attention was drawn to the hygiene of the subject, the sanitary condition of the capital city. Baths were allowed to be heated "once a week". The residents of St. Petersburg had to keep the streets clean. The decree was not limited to this general requirement, it also set the time for cleaning the streets: "early in the morning, while people will not walk along the street, or in the evening." Residents of the capital "do not walk the streets at unspecified hours, and when there is a need, then they have a fire in their lanterns with them."

Young people have reached the age when it was necessary to marry or get married. The decrees here, too, did not leave subjects without instruction: parents were not allowed to force their children "to a marriage without their spontaneous desire." At the same time, it was forbidden to marry ignorant noblemen who "are not suitable for any science or service" and from "whom it is impossible to hope for a good legacy for the benefit of the state."

A sick subject, too, could not do without, according to Peter, his instructions. While still in Pyrmont, the tsar ordered the Senate to look for healing springs in Russia. Ferrous water was found near the Petrovsky factories. Peter was impatient to try it on himself, and in January 1719 he and his wife went to the first resort in Russia. And in March, a decree appears listing the healing properties of the source. Its waters "expel various cruel diseases, namely scurvy, hypochondria, bile, indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea" and a dozen more ailments. Delighted that the domestic Karlsbad and Pyrmont appeared, Peter popularized the Marcial waters, but at the same time ordered the doctors to draw up "regulations" on how to use them, "so that dishonest use of them would not be a health problem for anyone." In other cases, the king did not stop before compulsory treatment. He wrote to Admiral Apraksin: "The doctor ordered the French galley master to go to the waters at Olonets, but he does not really want to; if you please send him involuntarily."

The spiritual life of the subjects was also supervised by the royal decrees. The tsar learned that many parishioners do not regularly attend church, and some of them do not confess. A decree was immediately issued obliging everyone to go to church on Sunday and holidays. Special decrees regulated the behavior of parishioners in the church: they had to stand "in silence" during the service and listen to sermons "with all reverence." Prohibited in the church "ranting" and filing petitions to officials.

Finally, the time has come for the subject to go to a better world. Tsarist decrees were not indifferent to the fate of the deceased either. Where to bury him? This question was answered by the decree: "Do not bury inside the cities." An exception was allowed only for "noble persons". What to bury in? It was forbidden in coffins hollowed out of thick pine trees, just as it was forbidden to hammer coffins from oak boards. The building material for the coffins was determined by decrees: it was allowed to use boards and tree trunks of less valuable species.

Peter's legislation was distinguished not only by its regulatory nature, but also by its journalistic orientation. Each decree drawn up by the king was not limited to the establishment of any norm, he necessarily convinced the subject of the expediency, reasonableness of its introduction.

Peter once wrote down an aphorism arising from his rationalistic views: "Above all virtues, reasoning, for all virtue without reason is empty." The tsar, referring to the mind of the subject, considered it necessary to resort to "reasoning", motivating the expediency of this or that measure with practical benefits. Favorite word, most often found in the motivating part of Peter's decrees, were the words "before" and "for that." By the presence of these words, one can almost infallibly establish that the author of the decree was Peter.

Why did the bread have to be removed with scythes instead of sickles? Peter explains: "it is more profitable to harvest using a new method -" an average worker will work for ten people. " Why shingles should be made from logs and not from boards? “For that,” explains the king, that from a log 20 - 30 gontins are obtained, and from a board only four or five. What need forced the construction of the Ladoga bypass canal? Here, too, Peter did not miss the opportunity to give an explanation: "Everyone knows beforehand what a national loss this new place (that is, Petersburg) from Lake Ladoga is."

Peter, however, did not rely on the magical power of his explanations. Moreover, the tsar did not believe that the reason of his subject was enough to assimilate the expediency of this or that measure. The lack of reason had to compensate for the fear. Every new norm was accompanied by coercion, and in Russia, in Peter's opinion, it was all the more necessary because it lagged behind the advanced countries of Western Europe: coercion is resorted to even in such a "fancy" state as Holland, the more it is necessary for us, "like new people have everything." "You know yourself," Peter shared his thoughts with one of the dignitaries, "although what is good and needed, but a new deed, our people will not do without compulsion." Therefore, almost every decree, regulation, instruction ends with the threat of punishment.

Reasons for the formation of colleges

The evolution of the collegium system

Collegial management took place until 1802, when “ The Manifesto on the Establishment of MinistriesA more progressive, ministerial system was laid.

General regulations

The activities of the collegiums were determined by the General Regulations approved by Peter I on February 28, 1720 (lost its meaning with the publication of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire).

The full name of this regulation: "The general regulations or charter, according to which the state collegia, as well as all the clerks belonging to them, not only in external and internal institutions, but also in the administration of their rank, have to act in a subject".

The General Regulations introduced a system of office work, called "collegiate" after the name of a new type of institution - collegia. The dominant importance in these institutions has received collegial decision making the presence of the board. Peter I paid special attention to this form of decision-making, noting that “ all the best dispensation through advice happens"(Chapter 2 of the General Regulations" On the advantage of collegia ").

The work of the collegia

The Senate participated in the appointment of presidents and vice-presidents of the collegia (when appointing the president, the opinion of the tsar (emperor) was taken into account). In addition to them, the new bodies included: four advisers, four assessors (assessors), a secretary, an actuary (a clerical officer who registers acts or their component), a registrar, a translator, and a clerk.

The president was the first person in the collegium, but he could not decide anything without the consent of the members of the collegium. Vice President replaced the president during his absence; usually assisted him in the performance of his duties as chairman of the board.

Meetings of the collegiums were held daily, except for Sundays and holidays. They started at 6 or 8 am, depending on the season, and lasted 5 hours.

Materials for the collegiums were prepared in College Chanceriesfrom where they were transmitted to General presence of the boardwhere were discussed and adopted the majority votes. Issues on which the collegium failed to make a decision were transferred to the Senate - the only institution to which the collegiums were subordinate.

Each collegium had a prosecutor, whose duty was to monitor the correct and haphazard decision of cases in the collegium and the execution of decrees by both the collegium and its subordinate structures.

The central figure of the chancellery is secretary... He was responsible for organizing the office work of the collegium, preparing cases for hearing, reporting cases at a meeting of the collegium, conducting reference work on cases, drawing up decisions and monitoring their implementation, keeping the seal of the collegium.

The value of the colleges

The creation of the collegium system completed the process of centralization and bureaucratization of the state apparatus. A clear distribution of departmental functions, uniform standards of activity (according to the General Regulations) - all this significantly distinguished the new apparatus from the order system.

In addition, the creation of colleges dealt the final blow to the system of parochialism, abolished back in 1682, but which took place unofficially.

Cons of collegiums

The grandiose plan of Peter I to delimit departmental functions and give each official a clear plan of action was not fully implemented. Often, the collegiums substituted for each other (as once orders). So, for example, the Berg, Manufacturing and Commerce Collegia could perform the same function.

For a long time, the most important functions remained outside the sphere of control of the collegiums - police, education, medicine, post office. Gradually, however, the collegium system was supplemented by new sectoral bodies. So, the Pharmaceutical Order, which was already in force in the new capital - Petersburg, was transformed into the Medical College in 1721, and in 1725 - into the Medical Chancellery.

Links

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

Literature

• Isaev I.A.
• Ed. Titova Yu. P. History of the state and law of Russia. - M., 2006.

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