Peter the Great - a successful reformer of Russia

The reforms of Peter the Great are a topic of extreme importance today. Peter is a symbol of the urgent social need for change, and for cardinal, fast and at the same time successful change. Such a need, even a need, still exists today. And the experience of the transformations of those years can be invaluable for today's reformers in Russia. They can avoid those excesses that Peter allowed, trying to raise the country from its knees.

We present to your attention the table of reforms of Peter 1. This includes the main transformations of the emperor, the approximate time of their implementation, a brief essence and results.

Public Administration Reform

1699-1721

Creation of the Near Office (or Council of Ministers) in 1699. It was transformed in 1711 into the Governing Senate. Establishment of 12 collegiums with a specific scope of activity and powers.
The system of state administration has become more perfect. The activities of most state bodies became regulated, the collegiums had a clearly defined area of ​​activity. Supervisory bodies were created.

Regional (provincial) reform

1708-1715 and 1719-1720.

At the first stage of the reform, Peter 1 divided Russia into 8 provinces: Moscow, Kiev, Kazan, Ingermandland (later St. Petersburg), Arkhangelsk, Smolensk, Azov, Siberia. They were ruled by governors who were in charge of the troops located on the territory of the province, and also possessed full administrative and judicial power. At the second stage of the reform, the provinces were divided into 50 provinces ruled by governors, and those were divided into districts led by zemstvo commissars. The governors were stripped of their administrative power and were in charge of judicial and military matters.
There was a centralization of power. Local governments have almost completely lost influence.

Judicial reform

1697, 1719, 1722

Peter 1 formed new judicial bodies: the Senate, the Justic College, the Hofgerichts, and the lower courts. Judicial functions were also performed by all colleagues, except for Foreign. The judges were separated from the administration. The court of kissers (an analogue of the jury trial) was canceled, the principle of the inviolability of an unconvicted person was lost.
A large number of judicial bodies and persons who carried out judicial activities (the emperor himself, governors, governors, etc.) brought confusion and confusion to the proceedings, the introduction of the possibility of "knocking out" testimony under torture created grounds for abuse and bias. At the same time, the adversarial nature of the process was established and the need for the verdict to be based on specific articles of the law corresponding to the case under consideration.

Military reforms

from 1699

The introduction of recruitment, the creation of the navy, the establishment of the Military Collegium, which was in charge of all military affairs. Introduction with the help of the "Table of Ranks" of military ranks, uniform for all of Russia. Creation of military-industrial enterprises, as well as military educational institutions. Introduction of army discipline and military regulations.
With his reforms, Peter 1 created a formidable regular army, numbering up to 212 thousand people by 1725, and a strong navy. Subdivisions were created in the army: regiments, brigades and divisions, in the navy - squadrons. Many military victories were won. These reforms (although ambiguously assessed by different historians) created a springboard for the further success of Russian weapons.

Church reform

1700-1701; 1721.

After the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700, the institution of the patriarchate was actually liquidated. In 1701, the management of church and monastery lands was reformed. Peter 1 restored the Monastic order, which controlled church revenues and the trial of the monastery peasants. In 1721, the Spiritual Regulations were adopted, which actually deprived the church of independence. To replace the patriarchate, the Holy Synod was created, whose members were subordinate to Peter 1, by whom they were appointed. Church property was often taken away and spent on the needs of the emperor.
The church reforms of Peter 1 led to the almost complete subordination of the clergy to secular power. In addition to the elimination of the patriarchate, many bishops and ordinary clergy were persecuted. The church could no longer pursue an independent spiritual policy and partly lost its authority in society.

Financial reforms

Almost the entire reign of Peter 1

The introduction of many new (including indirect) taxes, the monopolization of the sale of tar, alcohol, salt and other goods. Damage (reduction in weight) of the coin. The penny becomes the main coin. Transition to the poll tax.
Increase in revenues of the treasury several times. But firstly, it was achieved due to the impoverishment of the bulk of the population, and secondly, most of these incomes were embezzled.

Peter the Great is one of the most odious figures in Russian history. Having ascended the throne at a young age, he most severely changed the entire further course of the historical significance of the Russian state. Some historians call him a "great reformer", others call him a revolutionary.

The king, who later became emperor, is, without a doubt, a talented and outstanding person. He was a typical choleric, unrestrained and rude, completely subjugated to power. All the transformations of Peter the 1st were forcibly and cruelly planted throughout the territory of the Russian State, most of them were never completed.

The reforms, or the so-called transformations of Peter the Great, include an impressive list, these are:

• military;
• economic;
• church;
• political;
• administrative;
• cultural;
• social.

To put them into practice, the Russian Empire laid on the altar one third of its population. But let's not be so categorical, let's try to look deeper.

The transformations of Peter the Great in the military reform lie in the fact that he managed to create a combat-ready, well-armed army, able to successfully fight both external and internal enemies. He is also the initiator of the creation of the Russian fleet, although historians state the fact that most of the ships safely rotted in the shipyards, and the guns did not always hit the target.

Economic transformations of Peter the Great

Huge funds and manpower were required to conduct the Northern War, so manufactories, steel and copper smelters, and blast-furnace enterprises began to be intensively built. The unrestrained transformations of Peter the Great also began, which significantly affected the Russian economy, this is, first of all, the development of the Urals, since this made it possible to be less dependent on foreign imports. Such serious economic changes, of course, gave the country a boost in industrial production, but due to the use of forced labor and slave labor, these enterprises were unproductive. The economic reforms of Peter the Great made poor people poor and turned them into virtual slaves.

State administrative reforms

This process marks the complete subordination of the supreme power, which occurred after the reorganization of the administrative apparatus.

The reforms of Peter the Great hit the Russian Orthodox Church very painfully. Thanks to his reforming activities, she was forced to completely come under the control of the state, which led to He abolished the patriarchy and replaced it with the Holy Synod, which lasted until 1917

The cultural transformations of Peter the Great manifested themselves in urban planning and architecture and were completely borrowed from Western examples. During the construction of St. Petersburg, only foreign architects took part, for whom the “a la russe” style was wild and not worthy of attention. Along with this, we must pay tribute to Peter for opening navigation, engineering and medical schools, in which noble children received a decent education. In 1719 the Kunstkamera opened its doors. Until that moment, Russian people did not know museums. The cultural transformations of Peter the Great contributed to the more powerful development of book printing. True, the translations of Western publications left much to be desired.

Under this ruler, Russia switched to a new chronology from Until this moment, our ancestors led him from the Creation of the world. The introduction of the civil alphabet and the creation of libraries were of great importance. In general, this period can be characterized as a time of incredible progress.

Reforms of Peter I

Reforms of Peter I- transformations in state and public life carried out during the reign of Peter I in Russia. All state activity of Peter I can be conditionally divided into two periods: -1715 and -.

A feature of the first stage was haste and not always thoughtful nature, which was explained by the conduct of the Northern War. The reforms were aimed primarily at raising funds for warfare, were carried out by force and often did not lead to the desired result. In addition to state reforms, extensive reforms were carried out at the first stage in order to modernize the way of life. In the second period, the reforms were more systematic.

Decisions in the Senate were taken collectively, at a general meeting and supported by the signatures of all members of the highest state body. If one of the 9 senators refused 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 placed personal responsibility on its members.

Simultaneously with the Senate, the post of fiscals appeared. The duty of the Chief Fiscal in the Senate and the Fiscals in the provinces was to secretly supervise the activities of institutions: they identified cases of violation of decrees and abuses and reported to the Senate and the Tsar. Since 1715, the work of the Senate was monitored by the auditor general, who was renamed the chief secretary. Since 1722, the control over the Senate has been carried out by the Prosecutor General and the Chief Prosecutor, 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 reported directly to the sovereign.

The Senate, as a government, could make decisions, but their implementation required an administrative apparatus. In -1721, a reform of the executive bodies of government was carried out, as a result of which, in parallel with the system of orders with their vague functions, 12 colleges were created according to the Swedish model - the predecessors of future ministries. In contrast to orders, the functions and spheres of activity of each collegium were strictly delimited, and relations within the collegium itself were based on the principle of collective decisions. Were introduced:

• Collegium of Foreign (Foreign) Affairs - replaced the Posolsky Prikaz, that is, it was in charge of foreign policy.
• Military Collegium (Military) - acquisition, armament, equipment and training of the land army.
• Admiralty Board - naval affairs, fleet.
• The patrimonial collegium - replaced the Local Order, that is, it was in charge of noble land ownership (land litigation, transactions for the purchase and sale of land and peasants, and the investigation of fugitives were considered). Founded in 1721.
• Chamber College - collection of state revenues.
• State-offices-collegium - was in charge of the state's expenses,
• Revision Board - control of the collection and spending of public funds.
• Commerce College - issues of shipping, customs and foreign trade.
• Berg College - mining and metallurgical business (mining and plant industry).
• Manufactory College - light industry (manufactories, that is, enterprises based on the division of manual labor).
• The College of Justice was in charge of civil proceedings (the Serf Office operated under it: it registered various acts - bills of sale, on the sale of estates, spiritual wills, debt obligations). Worked in civil and criminal litigation.
• Theological College or the Holy Governing Synod - managed church affairs, replaced the patriarch. Founded in 1721. This collegium/Synod included representatives of the higher clergy. Since their appointment was carried out by the tsar, and the decisions were approved by him, we can say that the Russian emperor became the de facto head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The actions of the Synod on behalf of the highest secular power were controlled by the chief prosecutor - a civil official appointed by the tsar. By a special decree, Peter I (Peter I) ordered the priests to carry out an enlightening mission among the peasants: to read sermons and instructions to them, to teach children prayers, to instill in them reverence for the tsar and the church.
• The Little Russian Collegium - exercised control over the actions of the hetman, who owned power in Ukraine, because there was a special regime of local government. After the death in 1722 of hetman I. I. Skoropadsky, new elections of hetman were prohibited, and the hetman was appointed for the first time by tsar's decree. The collegium was headed by a tsarist officer.

The central place in the management system was occupied by the secret police: the Preobrazhensky Prikaz (in charge of cases of state crimes) and the Secret Chancellery. These institutions were under the jurisdiction of the emperor himself.

In addition, there were the Salt Office, the Copper Department, and the Land Survey Office.

Control over the activities of civil servants

To control the execution of decisions on the ground and reduce rampant corruption, since 1711, the position of fiscals was established, who were supposed to “secretly visit, inform and expose” all abuses, both higher and lower officials, pursue embezzlement, bribery, and accept denunciations from private individuals . At the head of the fiscals was the chief fiscal, appointed by the king and subordinate to him. The Chief Fiscal was a member of the Senate and maintained contact with subordinate fiscals through the fiscal desk of the Senate Chancellery. Denunciations were considered and monthly reported to the Senate by the Punishment Chamber - a special judicial presence of four judges and two senators (existed in 1712-1719).

In 1719-1723. the fiscals were subordinate to the College of Justice, with the establishment in January 1722 of the post of prosecutor general were supervised by him. Since 1723, the chief fiscal was the general fiscal, appointed by the sovereign, his assistant was the chief fiscal, appointed by the Senate. In this regard, the fiscal service withdrew from the subordination of the College of Justice and regained departmental independence. The vertical of fiscal control was brought to the city level.

Ordinary archers in 1674. Lithograph from a 19th century book.

Reforms of the army and navy

The reform of the army: in particular, the introduction of regiments of a new order, reformed according to a foreign model, was begun long before Peter I, even under Alexei I. However, the combat effectiveness of this army was low. Reforming the army and creating a fleet became necessary conditions for victory in the Northern War -1721. Preparing for the war with Sweden, Peter ordered in 1699 to make a general recruitment and start training soldiers according to the model established by the Preobrazhenians 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. Subsequently, recruits began to be taken from a certain number of male souls among the peasants. Recruitment to the fleet, as well as to the army, was carried out from recruits.

Private army infantry. regiment in 1720-32. Lithograph from a 19th century book.

If at first among the officers there were mainly foreign specialists, then after the start of the navigation, artillery, engineering schools, the growth of the army was satisfied by Russian officers from the nobility. In 1715, the Naval Academy was opened in St. Petersburg. In 1716, the Military Charter was 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 2600 in the guard, 41 560 in the cavalry, 75 thousand in the infantry, 14 thousand in the garrisons) and up to 110 thousand irregular troops. The fleet consisted of 48 battleships; 787 galleys and other vessels; there were almost 30 thousand people on all the ships.

Church reform

Religious politics

The age 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 double taxes. Complete freedom of belief was granted to foreigners who came to Russia, restrictions were lifted on the communication of Orthodox Christians with Christians of other faiths (in particular, interfaith marriages were allowed).

financial reform

Some historians characterize Peter's policy in trade as a policy of protectionism, which consists in supporting domestic production and imposing higher duties on imported products (this corresponded to the idea of ​​mercantilism). So, in 1724, a protective customs tariff was introduced - high duties on foreign goods that could be manufactured or already produced by domestic enterprises.

The number of factories and factories at the end of the reign of Peter extended up to , including about 90 were large manufactories.

autocracy reform

Before Peter, the order of succession to the throne in Russia was in no way regulated by law, and was entirely determined by tradition. Peter in 1722 issued a decree on the order of succession to the throne, according to which the reigning monarch during his lifetime appoints himself a successor, and the emperor can make anyone his heir (it was assumed that the king would appoint “the most worthy” as his successor). This law was in effect until the reign of Paul I. Peter himself did not use the law of succession to the throne, since he died without indicating a successor.

estate policy

The main goal pursued by Peter I in social policy is the legal registration of class rights and obligations of each category of the population of Russia. As a result, a new structure of society developed, in which the class 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 strengthened.

Nobility

Key milestones:

1. Decree on education of 1706: Boyar children must receive either primary school or home education without fail.
2. Decree on estates of 1704: noble and boyar estates are not divided and are equated to each other.
3. Decree of Uniform Succession of 1714: a landowner with sons could bequeath all his real estate to only one of them of his choice. The rest were required to serve. The decree marked the final merger of the noble estate and the boyar estate, thereby finally erasing the difference between the two estates of feudal lords.
4. "Table of Ranks" () of the year: 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.

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 service mixed the representatives of the former tribal nobility with people raised by the service. Peter's legislative measures, without significantly expanding the class rights of the nobility, significantly changed his duties. Military affairs, which in Moscow times was the duty of a narrow class of service people, is now becoming the duty of all sections of the population. The nobleman of the time of Peter the Great still has the exclusive right to land ownership, but as a result of the decrees on uniform inheritance and revision, he is responsible to the state for the tax service of his peasants. The nobility is obliged to study in order to prepare for the service. Peter destroyed the former isolation of the service class, opening, through the length of service through the Table of Ranks, access to the environment of the gentry to people of other classes. On the other hand, by the law of single inheritance, he opened the exit from the nobility to merchants and the clergy to those who wanted it. The nobility of Russia becomes a military-bureaucratic estate, whose rights are created and hereditarily determined by public service, and not by birth.

Peasantry

Peter's reforms changed the position of the peasants. From different categories of peasants who were not in serfdom from the landlords or the church (black-eared peasants of the north, non-Russian nationalities, etc.), a new single category of state peasants was formed - personally free, but paying dues 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 were not considered free in the pre-Petrine period - they were attached to the land (Council Code of 1649) and could be granted by the tsar to private individuals and the church as fortresses. State. peasants in the 18th century had the rights of personally free people (they could own property, act as one of the parties in court, elect representatives to estate bodies, etc.), but were limited in movement and could be (until the beginning of the 19th century, when this category is finally approved as free people) were transferred by the monarch to the category of serfs. Legislative acts relating to the serfs proper were contradictory. Thus, the intervention 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 keep them on the right for the debts of the owner. The rule was also confirmed on the transfer of the estates of the landowners who ruined their peasants to custody, and the serfs were given the opportunity to enroll in soldiers, which freed them from serfdom (by decree of Empress Elizabeth on July 2, 1742, the serfs lost this opportunity). By the decree of 1699 and the verdict of the Town Hall in 1700, peasants engaged in trade or craft were granted the right to move into the settlements, freeing themselves from serfdom (if the peasant was in one). At the same time, measures against fugitive peasants were significantly tightened, large masses of palace peasants were distributed to private individuals, and landowners were allowed to recruit serfs. A decree on 7 April 1690 was allowed to yield, for the unpaid debts of "local" serfs, which was effectively a form of serf trading. The taxation of serfs (that is, personal servants without land) with a poll tax led to the merging of serfs with serfs. The church peasants were subordinated to the monastic order and removed from the power 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 possessive. By decree of 1721, nobles and merchants-manufacturers were allowed to buy peasants to manufactories 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 manufactory. Posessional peasants received a fixed salary and performed a fixed amount of work.

Urban population

The urban population in the era of Peter I was very small: about 3% of the country's population. The only major city was Moscow, which was the capital until the reign of Peter the Great. Although in terms of the level of development of cities and industry, Russia was much inferior to Western Europe, but during the 17th century. there was a gradual increase. The social policy of Peter the Great, concerning the urban population, pursued the provision of the payment of the poll tax. To do this, the population was divided into two categories: regular (industrialists, merchants, artisans of workshops) and irregular citizens (everyone else). The difference between the urban regular inhabitant of the end of the reign of Peter and the irregular one was that the regular citizen participated in city government by electing members of the magistrate, was enrolled in the guild and workshop, or carried a monetary duty in the share that fell on him according to the social layout.

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”. The year 7208 of the Byzantine era became the year 1700 from the Nativity of Christ, and the New Year began to be celebrated on January 1. In addition, the uniform application of the Julian calendar was introduced under Peter.

After returning from the Great Embassy, ​​Peter I led the fight against the outward manifestations of the "outdated" way of life (the most famous ban on beards), but no less paid 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, translations of many books into Russian appeared. Success in the service of Peter made the nobles dependent on education.

There have been changes in the Russian language, which included 4.5 thousand new words borrowed from European languages.

Peter tried to change the position of women in Russian society. He by special decrees (1700, 1702 and 1724) forbade forced marriage and marriage. It was prescribed that there should be at least six weeks between the betrothal and the wedding, "so that the bride and groom could recognize each other." If during this time, the decree said, “the bridegroom does not want to take the bride, or the bride does not want to marry the groom,” no matter how the parents insisted, “there is freedom.” Since 1702, the bride herself (and not just her relatives) was given the formal right to terminate the betrothal and upset the arranged marriage, and neither side had the right to “beat with a forehead for a penalty”. Legislative prescriptions 1696-1704 about public festivities introduced the obligation to participate in the celebrations and festivities of all Russians, including "female".

Gradually, among the nobility, a different system of values, worldview, aesthetic ideas took shape, which was fundamentally different from the values ​​and worldview of most representatives of other estates.

Peter I in 1709. Drawing of the middle of the 19th century.

Education

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

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

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

Introduction

“This monarch compared our fatherland with others, taught us to recognize that we are people; in a word, whatever you look at in Russia, everything has its beginning, and no matter what is done in the future, they will draw from this source.

I. I. Neplyuev

The personality of Peter I (1672 - 1725) rightfully belongs to the galaxy of outstanding historical figures of world scale. Many studies and works of art are devoted to the transformations associated with his name. Historians and writers differently, sometimes directly opposite, assessed the personality of Peter I and the significance of his reforms. Already the contemporaries of Peter I were divided into two camps: supporters and opponents of his reforms. The dispute continued later. In the XVIII century. M. V. Lomonosov praised Peter, admired his activities. A little later, the historian Karamzin accused Peter of betraying the "truly Russian" principles of life, and called his reforms a "brilliant mistake."

At the end of the 17th century, when the young Tsar Peter I came to the Russian throne, our country was going through a turning point in its history. In Russia, unlike the main Western European countries, there were almost no large industrial enterprises capable of providing the country with weapons, fabrics, and agricultural implements. She had no access to the seas - neither the Black nor the Baltic, through which she could develop foreign trade. Therefore, Russia did not have its own military fleet, which would guard its borders. The land army was built according to outdated principles and consisted mainly of noble militia. The nobles were reluctant to leave their estates for military campaigns, their weapons and military training lagged behind the advanced European armies. There was a fierce struggle for power between the old, well-born boyars and the nobles serving people. There were continuous uprisings of peasants and urban lower classes in the country, who fought both against the nobles and against the boyars, since they were all feudal serfs. Russia attracted the greedy eyes of neighboring states - Sweden, the Commonwealth, which were not averse to seizing and subjugating Russian lands. It was necessary to reorganize the army, build a navy, take possession of the sea coast, create a domestic industry, and rebuild the system of government. To radically break the old way of life, Russia needed an intelligent and talented leader, an outstanding person. This is how Peter I turned out to be. Peter not only comprehended the dictates of the time, but also gave all his outstanding talent, the obsessed stubbornness, the patience inherent in a Russian person and the ability to give the case a state scale to serve this decree. Peter imperiously invaded all spheres of the life of the country and greatly accelerated the development of the principles inherited.

The history of Russia before Peter the Great and after him knew many reforms. The main difference between the Petrine reforms and the reforms of the previous and subsequent times was that the Petrine reforms were comprehensive in nature, covering all aspects of the life of the people, while others introduced innovations that concerned only certain areas of society and the state. We, the people of the late 20th century, do not we can fully appreciate the explosive effect of the Petrine reforms in Russia. People of the past, the 19th century, perceived them sharper, deeper. Here is what a contemporary of A.S. wrote about the significance of Peter. Pushkin, historian M.N. Pogodin in 1841, that is, almost a century and a half after the great reforms of the first quarter of the 18th century: “In the hands of (Peter) the ends of all our threads are connected in one knot. a figure that casts a long shadow over our entire past and even obscures ancient history for us, which at the present moment still seems to hold its hand over us, and which, it seems, we will never lose sight of, no matter how far we go. we're into the future."

Created in Russia by Peter, the generation of M.N. Pogodin, and next generations. For example, the last recruitment took place in 1874, that is, 170 years after the first (1705). The Senate lasted from 1711 to December 1917, that is, 206 years; the synodal structure of the Orthodox Church remained unchanged from 1721 to 1918, that is, for 197 years, the poll tax system was abolished only in 1887, that is, 163 years after its introduction in 1724. In other words, in the history of Russia we we will find few institutions consciously created by man that would last so long, having such a strong impact on all aspects of social life. Moreover, some principles and stereotypes of political consciousness, developed or finally fixed under Peter, are still alive, sometimes in new verbal clothes they exist as traditional elements of our thinking and social behavior.

1. Historical conditions and prerequisites for the reforms of Peter I

The country was on the eve of great transformations. What were the prerequisites for Peter's reforms?

Russia was a backward country. This backwardness was a serious danger to the independence of the Russian people.

Industry in its structure was serf-owning, and in terms of output it was significantly inferior to the industry of Western European countries.

The Russian army for the most part consisted of a backward noble militia and archers, poorly armed and trained. The complex and clumsy ordering state apparatus, headed by the boyar aristocracy, did not meet the needs of the country. Russia also lagged behind in the field of spiritual culture. Enlightenment hardly penetrated the masses of the people, and even in the ruling circles there were many uneducated and completely illiterate people.

Russia of the 17th century, by the very course of historical development, was faced with the need for radical reforms, since only in this way could it secure a worthy place among the states of the West and East. It should be noted that by this time in the history of our country there had already been significant changes in its development. The first industrial enterprises of the manufactory type arose, handicrafts and crafts grew, trade in agricultural products developed. The social and geographical division of labor - the basis of the established and developing all-Russian market - was constantly growing. The city was separated from the village. Trade and agricultural areas were distinguished. Domestic and foreign trade developed. In the second half of the 17th century, the nature of the state system in Russia began to change, and absolutism began to take shape more and more clearly. Russian culture and sciences were further developed: mathematics and mechanics, physics and chemistry, geography and botany, astronomy and "mining". Cossack explorers discovered a number of new lands in Siberia.

The 17th century was the time when Russia established constant communication with Western Europe, established closer trade and diplomatic ties with it, used its technology and science, perceived its culture and enlightenment. By learning and borrowing, Russia developed independently, taking only what it needed, and only when it was needed. It was a time of accumulation of the forces of the Russian people, which made it possible to carry out the grandiose reforms of Peter the Great prepared by the very course of Russia's historical development.

The reforms of Peter was prepared by the entire previous history of the people, "required by the people." Already before Peter the Great, a fairly cohesive program of transformation had been outlined, which in many respects coincided with Peter's reforms, and in other ways went even further than them. A transformation in general was being prepared, which, in the peaceful course of affairs, could stretch over a number of generations. The reform, as it was carried out by Peter, was his personal affair, an unparalleledly violent affair, and yet involuntary and necessary. The external dangers of the state outstripped the natural growth of the people, who had become stagnant in their development. The renewal of Russia could not be left to the quiet, gradual work of time, not forced by force. The reforms affected literally all aspects of the life of the Russian state and the Russian people. It should be noted that the main driving force behind Peter's reforms was the war.

2. Military reforms

Military reforms occupy a special place among the Petrine reforms. The essence of the military reform was the elimination of the noble militias and the organization of a combat-ready standing army with a uniform structure, weapons, uniforms, discipline, charters.

The tasks of creating a modern, efficient army and navy occupied the young king even before he became a sovereign sovereign. It is possible to count only a few (according to different historians - in different ways) peaceful years during the 36-year reign of Peter. The army and navy have always been the main concern of the emperor. However, military reforms are important not only in themselves, but also because they had a very large, often decisive, impact on other aspects of the life of the state. The course of the military reform itself was determined by the war.

"Playing with soldiers", to which young Peter devoted all his time, from the end of the 1680s. becomes more and more serious. In 1689, Peter built on Lake Pleshcheyevo, near Pereslavl-Zalessky, several small ships under the guidance of Dutch craftsmen. In the spring of 1690, the famous "amusing regiments" - Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky - were created. Peter begins to conduct real military maneuvers, the "capital city of Preshburg" is being built on the Yauza.

The Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments became the core of the future permanent (regular) army and proved themselves during the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696. Peter I pays great attention to the fleet, the first baptism of fire of which also falls at this time. The treasury did not have the necessary funds, and the construction of the fleet was entrusted to the so-called "kumpans" (companies) - associations of secular and spiritual landowners. With the outbreak of the Northern War, the focus shifts to the Baltic, and with the founding of St. Petersburg, shipbuilding is carried out almost exclusively there. By the end of Peter's reign, Russia became one of the strongest maritime powers in the world, having 48 linear and 788 galley and other ships.

The beginning of the Northern War was the impetus for the final creation of a regular army. Before Peter the Great, the army consisted of two main parts - the noble militia and various semi-regular formations (archers, Cossacks, regiments of a foreign system). The cardinal change was that Peter introduced a new principle of manning the army - periodic convocations of the militia were replaced by systematic recruiting sets. The basis of the recruiting system was based on the estate-serf principle. Recruitment kits were extended to the population that paid taxes and carried state duties. In 1699, the first recruitment was made, since 1705, the sets were legalized by the relevant decree and became annual. From 20 yards they took one person, a single person aged 15 to 20 years (however, during the Northern War, these terms were constantly changing due to a shortage of soldiers and sailors). The Russian village suffered most of all from recruiting sets. The service life of a recruit was practically unlimited. The officers of the Russian army were replenished at the expense of the nobles who studied in the guards noble regiments or in specially organized schools (Pushkar, artillery, navigation, fortification, Naval Academy, etc.). In 1716, the Military Charter was adopted, and in 1720 - the Naval Charter, a large-scale rearmament of the army was carried out. By the end of the Northern War, Peter had a huge strong army - 200 thousand people (not counting 100 thousand Cossacks), which allowed Russia to win a grueling war that stretched for almost a quarter of a century.

The main results of the military reforms of Peter the Great are as follows:

the creation of a combat-ready regular army, one of the strongest in the world, which gave Russia the opportunity to fight and defeat its main opponents;

the emergence of a galaxy of talented commanders (Alexander Menshikov, Boris Sheremetev, Fyodor Apraksin, Yakov Bruce, etc.);

the creation of a powerful navy;

a gigantic increase in military expenditures and covering them through the most severe squeezing of funds from the people.

3. Public administration reform

In the first quarter of the XVIII century. the transition to absolutism was accelerated by the Northern War and was completed. It was during the reign of Peter the Great that the regular army and the bureaucratic apparatus of state administration were created, and both the actual and legal formalization of absolutism took place.

An absolute monarchy is characterized by the highest degree of centralization, a developed bureaucracy completely dependent on the monarch, and a strong regular army. These signs were also inherent in Russian absolutism.

The army, in addition to its main internal function of suppressing popular unrest and uprisings, also performed other functions. Since the time of Peter the Great, it has been widely used in public administration as a coercive force. The practice of sending military teams to the places to compel the administration to better carry out government orders and instructions has become widespread. But sometimes the central institutions were put in the same position, for example, even the activities of the Senate in the first years of its creation were under the control of guards officers. Officers and soldiers were also involved in the census, collecting taxes and arrears. Along with the army, to suppress its political opponents, absolutism also used punitive bodies specially created for this purpose - the Preobrazhensky order, the Secret Chancellery.

In the first quarter of the XVIII century. there is also a second pillar of the absolute monarchy - the bureaucratic apparatus of state administration.

The central authorities inherited from the past (Boyar Duma, orders) are liquidated, a new system of state institutions appears.

The peculiarity of Russian absolutism was that it coincided with the development of serfdom, while in most European countries absolute monarchy took shape in the conditions of the development of capitalist relations and the abolition of serfdom.

The old form of government: the tsar with the Boyar Duma - orders - local administration in the districts, did not meet the new tasks either in providing military needs with material resources or in collecting monetary taxes from the population. Orders often duplicated each other's functions, creating confusion in management and slowness in decision-making. The uyezds varied in size, from dwarf uyezds to giant uyezds, which made it impossible to use their administration effectively to levy taxes. The Boyar Duma, with its traditions of unhurried discussion of affairs, representation of the noble nobility, not always competent in state affairs, also did not meet the requirements of Peter.

The establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia was accompanied by a wide expansion of the state, its intrusion into all spheres of public, corporate and private life. Peter I pursued a policy of further enslavement of the peasants, which took the most severe forms at the end of the 18th century. Finally, the strengthening of the role of the state was manifested in a detailed, thorough regulation of the rights and obligations of individual estates and social groups. Along with this, there was a legal consolidation of the ruling class, from different feudal strata, the estate of the nobility was formed.

The state that was formed at the beginning of the 18th century is called a police state, not only because it was during this period that a professional police was created, but also because the state sought to interfere in all aspects of life, regulating them.

The transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg also contributed to administrative changes. The king wanted to have at hand the necessary control levers, which he often created anew, guided by momentary needs. As in all his other undertakings, during the reform of state power, Peter did not take into account Russian traditions and widely transferred to Russian soil the structures and methods of management known to him from Western European voyages. Lacking a clear plan for administrative reforms, the tsar probably still represented the desired image of the state apparatus. This is a strictly centralized and bureaucratic apparatus, clearly and quickly executing the decrees of the sovereign, within its competence, showing a reasonable initiative. This is something very similar to an army, where each officer, executing the general order of the commander in chief, independently solves his private and specific tasks. As we will see, the Petrine state machine was far from such an ideal, which was seen only as a trend, although clearly expressed.

In the first quarter of the XVIII century. a whole range of reforms was carried out related to the restructuring of central and local authorities and administration, areas of culture and life, and a radical reorganization of the armed forces is taking place. Almost all of these changes took place during the reign of Peter I and were of great progressive significance.

Consider the reforms of the highest authorities and administration that took place in the first quarter of the 18th century, which are usually divided into three stages:

Stage I - 1699 - 1710 - partial transformations;

Stage II - 1710 - 1719 - the liquidation of the former central authorities and administration, the creation of the Senate, the emergence of a new capital;

Stage III - 1719 - 1725 - the formation of new bodies of sectoral administration, the implementation of the second regional reform, the reform of church administration and financial and tax.

3.1. Central government reform

The last mention of the last meeting of the Boyar Duma dates back to 1704. The Near Office, which arose in 1699 (an institution that exercised administrative and financial control in the state), acquired paramount importance. The real power was held by the Council of Ministers, which sat in the building of the Near Chancellery - the council of heads of the most important departments under the tsar, which managed orders and offices, provided the army and navy with everything necessary, was in charge of finances and construction (after the formation of the Senate, the Near Chancellery (1719) and the Council of Ministers (1711) cease its existence).

The next step in the reform of the central authorities was the creation of the Senate. The formal reason was the departure of Peter to the war with Turkey. On February 22, 1711, Peter personally wrote a decree on the composition of the Senate, which began with the phrase: "Determined to be for Our absences the Governing Senate to govern." The content of this phrase has given rise to historians still arguing about what kind of institution the Senate seemed to Peter: temporary or permanent. On March 2, 1711, the tsar issued several decrees: on the competence of the Senate and justice, on the organization of state revenues, trade and other branches of the state economy. The Senate was instructed:

"To have a court that is not hypocritical, and to punish unjust judges with the deprivation of honor and all property, then let it be followed by the tell-tales";

"Look throughout the state of spending, and leave unnecessary, and especially vain";

"Money, how possible, to collect, because money is the artery of war."

The members of the Senate were appointed by the king. Initially, it consisted of only nine people who decided matters collectively. The staffing of the Senate was based not on the principle of nobility, but on competence, length of service and closeness to the tsar.

From 1718 to 1722 The Senate became an assembly of presidents of the colleges. In 1722 it was reformed by three decrees of the emperor. The composition has been changed, including both the presidents of the colleges and senators, alien to the colleges. The Decree "On the Position of the Senate" gave the Senate the right to issue its own decrees.

The range of issues that were in his charge was quite wide: issues of justice, treasury expenses and taxes, trade, control over the administration of various levels. Immediately, the newly created institution received an office with numerous departments - "tables" where clerks worked. The reform of 1722 turned the Senate into the highest body of central government, which stood above the entire state apparatus.

The originality of the era of Peter's reforms consisted in strengthening the organs and means of state control. And to oversee the activities of the administration under the Senate, the position of chief fiscal was established, to which the provincial fiscals should be subordinate (1711). Insufficient reliability of the fiscal system led, in turn, to the emergence in 1715 under the Senate of the post of auditor general, or overseer of decrees. The main task of the auditor is "so that everything is done." In 1720, stronger pressure was placed on the Senate: it was ordered to watch that "everything was done decently, and there was no vain talk, shouting and other things." When this did not help, after a year of duty and the Attorney General and
the chief secretary was assigned to the military: one of the army headquarters officers was on duty in the Senate every month to monitor order, and "whoever from the senators scolded or acted impolitely, the officer on duty arrested him and took him to the fortress, letting the sovereign know, of course."

Finally, in 1722, these functions were assigned to a specially appointed prosecutor general, who "had to watch firmly that the Senate, in his rank, act righteously and without hypocrisy," have supervision over prosecutors and fiscals, and in general be "the sovereign's eye" and "solicitor in business state".

Thus, the reformer tsar was forced to constantly expand the special system of organized distrust and denunciation he had created, supplementing the existing control bodies with new ones.

However, the creation of the Senate could not complete the management reforms, since there was no intermediate link between the Senate and the provinces, many orders continued to operate. In 1717 - 1722. to replace 44 orders of the end of the 17th century. colleges came. Unlike orders, the collegiate system (1717-1719) provided for the systematic division of the administration into a certain number of departments, which in itself created a higher level of centralization.

The Senate appointed presidents and vice presidents, determined states and procedures. In addition to the leaders, the boards included four advisers, four assessors (assessors), a secretary, an actuary, a registrar, a translator and clerks. Special decrees were ordered from 1720 to begin the proceedings in a new order.

In 1721, the Estate Board was created, replacing the Local Order, which was in charge of the noble land ownership. On the rights of colleges were the Chief Magistrate, who ruled the city estate, and the Holy Governing Synod. His appearance testified to the elimination of the autonomy of the Church.

In 1699, in order to improve the flow of direct taxes to the treasury, the Burmister Chamber, or Town Hall, was established. By 1708, it had become the central treasury, replacing the Great Treasury Order. It included twelve old financial orders. In 1722, the Manufactory College was separated from the unified Berg Manufactory College, 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 coinage.

Unlike orders that acted on the basis of custom and precedent, collegiums had to be guided by clear legal norms and job descriptions. The most general legislative act in this area was the General Regulations (1720), which was a charter for the activities of state collegiums, offices and offices and determined the composition of their members, competence, functions, and procedures. The subsequent development of the principle of bureaucratic, bureaucratic length of service was reflected in Peter's "Table of Ranks" (1722). The new law divided the service into civil and military. It defined 14 classes, or ranks, of officials. Anyone who received the rank of 8th class became a hereditary nobleman. The ranks from the 14th to the 9th also gave the nobility, but only personal.

The adoption of the "Table of Ranks" testified that the bureaucratic principle in the formation of the state apparatus undoubtedly defeated the aristocratic principle. Professional qualities, personal devotion and length of service become decisive for promotion. A sign of bureaucracy as a management system is the inclusion of each official in a clear hierarchical power structure (vertically) and his guidance in his activities by strict and precise prescriptions of the law, regulations, instructions. The positive features of the new bureaucratic apparatus were professionalism, specialization, normativity, while the negative features were its complexity, high cost, self-employment, and inflexibility.

3.2. Local government reform

At the beginning of his reign, Peter I tried to use the former system of local government, gradually introducing elected elements of government instead of zemstvo ones. So, the decree of March 10, 1702 prescribed participation in the administration with the main traditional administrators (voivodes) of elected representatives of the nobility. In 1705, this order became mandatory and universal, which was supposed to strengthen control over the old administration.

December 18, 1708 was issued a decree "On the establishment of the provinces and the painting of cities to them." It was a reform that completely changed the system of local government. The main goal of this reform was to provide the army with everything necessary: ​​with the regiments of the army, distributed among the provinces, a direct connection was established between the provinces through a specially created institute of krieg commissars. According to this decree, the entire territory of the country was divided into eight provinces:

Moscow included 39 cities,

Ingrian (later St. Petersburg) - 29 cities (two more cities of this province - Yamburg and Koporye were given into the possession of Prince Menshikov),

56 cities were assigned to the Kiev province,

To Smolensk - 17 cities,

To Arkhangelsk (later Arkhangelsk) - 20 cities,

To Kazanskaya - 71 urban and rural settlements,

In addition to 52 cities, 25 cities assigned to ship affairs were assigned to the Azov province

26 cities were assigned to the Siberian province, "and 4 suburbs to Vyatka".

In 1711, a group of cities in the Azov province, assigned to ship affairs in Voronezh, became the Voronezh province. There were 9 provinces. In 1713-1714. The number of provinces increased to 11.

Thus began the reform of the regional administration. In its final form, it was formed only by 1719, on the eve of the second regional reform.

According to the second reform, eleven provinces were divided into 45 provinces, at the head of which were placed governors, vice-governors or voivodes. The provinces were divided into districts - districts. The administration of the provinces reported directly to the colleges. Four collegiums (Cameras, State Office, Justice and Votchinnaya) had their own apparatus in the field of chamberists, commandants and treasurers. In 1713, a collegiate principle was introduced into the regional administration: colleges of landrats were established under the governors (from 8 to 12 people per province), elected by the local nobility.

The regional reform, while responding to the most pressing needs of autocratic power, was at the same time a consequence of the development of a bureaucratic trend, already characteristic of the previous period. It was with the help of strengthening the bureaucratic element in the government that Peter intended to solve all state issues. The reform led not only to the concentration of financial and administrative powers in the hands of several governors - representatives of the central government, but also to the creation of an extensive hierarchical network of bureaucratic institutions with a large staff of officials on the ground. The former "order-county" system was doubled: "order (or office) - province - province - county".

The governor had four direct subordinates:

chief commandant - was responsible for military affairs;

chief commissar - for fees;

Ober-praviantmeister - for grain fees;

landrichter - for court cases.

The province was usually headed by a voivode, in the county the financial and police administration was entrusted to the zemstvo commissars, partly elected by the county nobles, partly appointed from above.

Some of the functions of orders (especially territorial orders) were transferred to the governors, their number was reduced.

The decree on the establishment of provinces completed the first stage of the reform of local government. Provincial administration was carried out by governors and vice-governors, who performed mainly military and financial management functions. However, this division turned out to be too large and did not allow the management of the provinces to be carried out in practice, especially with the communications that existed at that time. Therefore, in each province there were large cities in which the former city administration exercised control.

3.3. City government reform

Around the newly formed industrial enterprises, manufactories, mines, mines and shipyards, new urban-type settlements appeared, in which self-government bodies began to form. Already in 1699, Peter I, wishing to provide the urban estate with complete self-government in the style of the West, ordered the establishment of a burmister chamber. Self-government bodies began to form in the cities: town councils, magistrates. The urban estate began to take shape legally. In 1720, the Chief Magistrate was established in St. Petersburg, who was instructed to "be in charge of all the urban class in Russia."

According to the regulations of the Chief Magistrate in 1721, it began to be divided into regular citizens and "mean" people. Regular citizens, in turn, were divided into two guilds:

The first guild - bankers, merchants, doctors, pharmacists, skippers of merchant ships, painters, icon painters and silversmiths.

The second guild - artisans, carpenters, tailors, shoemakers, small traders.

Guilds were controlled by guild meetings and foremen. The lowest stratum of the urban population ("those who are hired, in menial jobs, and the like") chose their elders and tenths, who could report to the magistrate about their needs and ask them for satisfaction.

According to the European model, guild organizations were created, which included masters, apprentices and apprentices, led by foremen. All other townspeople were not included in the guild and were subject to a general check in order to identify fugitive peasants among them and return them to their former places of residence.

The division into guilds turned out to be the purest formality, since the military auditors who carried it out, primarily concerned about increasing the number of poll tax payers, arbitrarily included in the members of the guilds and persons not related to them. The emergence of guilds and guilds meant that the corporate principles were opposed to the feudal principles of economic organization.

3.4. Results of public administration reform

As a result of Peter's reforms, by the end of the first quarter
18th century the following system of authorities and administration was formed.

All the fullness of legislative, executive, and judicial power was concentrated in the hands of Peter, who, after the end of the Northern War, received the title of emperor. In 1711 A new supreme body of executive and judicial power was created - the Senate, which also had significant legislative functions. It was fundamentally different from its predecessor, the Boyar Duma.

Council members were appointed by the emperor. In the exercise of executive power, the Senate issued decrees that had the force of law. In 1722, the Prosecutor General was placed at the head of the Senate, who was entrusted with control over the activities of all government agencies. The Prosecutor General was supposed to perform the functions of "the eye of the state." He exercised this control through prosecutors appointed to all government offices. In the first quarter of the XVIII century. the system of prosecutors was added to the system of fiscals, headed by the chief fiscal. The duties of the fiscals included reporting on all abuses of institutions and officials that violated the "public interest".

The order system that had developed under the Boyar Duma did not correspond in any way to the new conditions and tasks. The orders that arose at different times differed greatly in their nature and functions. Orders and decrees of orders often contradicted each other, creating unimaginable confusion and delaying the resolution of urgent issues for a long time.

Instead of the outdated system of orders in 1717 - 1718. 12 boards were created.

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

Foreign lawyers were involved in the development of regulations, and the experience of state institutions in Sweden and Denmark was taken into account.

The subsequent development of the principle of bureaucratic, bureaucratic length of service was reflected in Peter's "Table of Ranks" (1722).

The adoption of the "Table of Ranks" testified that the bureaucratic principle in the formation of the state apparatus undoubtedly defeated the aristocratic principle. Professional qualities, personal devotion and length of service become decisive for promotion. A sign of bureaucracy as a management system is the inclusion of each official in a clear hierarchical power structure (vertically) and his guidance in his activities by strict and precise prescriptions of the law, regulations, instructions. The positive features of the new bureaucratic apparatus were professionalism, specialization, normativity, while the negative features were its complexity, high cost, self-employment, and inflexibility.

The training of personnel for the new state apparatus began to be carried out in special schools and academies in Russia and abroad. The degree of qualification was determined not only by rank, but also by education and special training.

In 1708 - 1709. restructuring of local authorities and administrations began. The country was divided into 8 provinces, differing in territory and population. At the head of the province was a governor appointed by the tsar, who concentrated executive and judicial power in his hands. Under the governor there was a provincial office. But the situation was complicated by the fact that the governor was subordinate not only to the emperor and the Senate, but also to all colleges, whose orders and decrees often contradicted each other.

The provinces in 1719 were divided into provinces, the number of which was 50. At the head of the province was a governor with an office attached to him. The provinces, in turn, were divided into districts (counties) with a voivode and a county office. Some time during the reign of Peter the county administration was replaced by an elected zemstvo commissar from local nobles or retired officers. Its functions were limited to collecting the poll tax, monitoring the performance of state duties, and detaining fugitive peasants. The zemstvo commissar of the provincial office was subordinate. In 1713, the local nobility was given the choice of 8-12 landrats (advisers from the nobles of the county) to help the governor, and after the introduction of the poll tax, regimental districts were created. The military units stationed in them observed the collection of taxes and suppressed manifestations of discontent and anti-feudal actions.

As a result of administrative reforms in Russia, the formation of an absolute monarchy was completed. The king got the opportunity to unlimitedly and uncontrollably govern the country with the help of officials completely dependent on him. The unlimited power of the monarch found legislative expression in the 20th article of the Military Regulations and the Spiritual Regulations: the power of monarchs is autocratic, which God himself commands to obey.

The external expression of the absolutism established in Russia is the adoption
in 1721 by Peter I the title of emperor and the title "Great".

The most important features of absolutism include the bureaucratization of the administrative apparatus and its centralization. The new state machine as a whole worked much more efficiently than the old one. But it was planted with a "time bomb" - domestic bureaucracy. E.V. Anisimov in the book "The Time of Peter the Great" writes: "The bureaucracy is a necessary element of the structure of the state of the new time. However, in the conditions of the Russian autocracy, when the monarch's will is the only source of law, when the official is not responsible to anyone except his boss , the creation of the bureaucratic machine became a kind of "bureaucratic revolution", during which the perpetual motion machine of the bureaucracy was launched.

The reforms of central and local government created an outwardly orderly hierarchy of institutions from the Senate in the center to the voivodship office in the counties.

4. Reform of the estate device

4.1. Service class

The fight against the Swedes required the establishment of a regular army, and Peter gradually transferred all the nobles and service people to the regular service. The service for all service people became the same, they served without exception, indefinitely and began their service from the lower ranks.

All the former categories of service people were united together, into one estate - the gentry. All the lower ranks (both noble and from the "common people") could equally rise to the highest ranks. The order of such length of service was precisely determined by the "Table of Ranks" (1722). In the "Table" all the ranks were divided into 14 ranks or "ranks" according to their seniority. Anyone who reached the lowest rank 14 could hope for the highest position and take the highest rank. The "Table of Ranks" replaced the principle of generosity with the principle of length of service and serviceability. But Peter made one concession to people from the upper old nobility. He allowed noble youth to enter predominantly in his favorite guards regiments Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky.

Peter demanded that the nobles must learn to read and write and mathematics, and deprived the untrained nobles of the right to marry and receive an officer's rank. Peter limited the landowning rights of the nobles. He stopped giving them estates from the treasury when they entered the service, but provided them with a monetary salary. Noble patrimonies and estates forbade splitting when transferred to sons (the law "On Majorate", 1714). Peter's measures regarding the nobility aggravated the position of this estate, but did not change its attitude towards the state. The nobility both before and now had to pay for the right to land ownership by service. But now the service has become harder, and land ownership more constrained. The nobility grumbled and tried to alleviate their hardships. Peter severely punished attempts to evade service.

4.2. Urban estate (townspeople and city people)

Before Peter, the urban estate was a very small and poor class. Peter wanted to create an economically strong and active urban class in Russia, similar to what he saw in Western Europe. Peter expanded the city self-government. In 1720, the chief magistrate was created, who was supposed to take care of the urban estate. All cities were divided according to the number of inhabitants into classes. Residents of cities were divided into "regular" and "irregular" ("mean") citizens. Regular citizens made up two "guilds": the first included representatives of the capital and the intelligentsia, the second - small merchants and artisans. Craftsmen were divided into "workshops" according to crafts. Irregular people or "mean" were called laborers. The city was governed by a magistrate of burgomasters, elected by all regular citizens. In addition, city affairs were discussed at town meetings or councils of regular citizens. Each city was subordinated to the main magistrate, bypassing any other local authorities.

Despite all the transformations, Russian cities have remained in the same miserable situation as they were before. The reason for this is the far from the commercial and industrial system of Russian life and difficult wars.

4.3. Peasantry

In the first quarter of the century, it became clear that the household principle of taxation did not bring the expected increase in the receipt of taxes.

In order to increase their incomes, the landowners settled several peasant families in one yard. As a result, during the census in 1710, it turned out that the number of households had decreased by 20% since 1678. Therefore, a new principle of taxation was introduced. In 1718 - 1724. a census of the entire taxable male population is carried out, regardless of age and ability to work. All persons included in these lists ("revision tales") had to pay a poll tax. In the event of the death of the recorded person, the tax continued to be paid until the next revision, the family of the deceased or the community in which he was a member. In addition, all tax-paying estates, with the exception of the landlord peasants, paid the state 40 kopecks of quitrent, which was supposed to balance their duties with those of the landlord peasants.

The transition to per capita taxation increased the figure of direct taxes from 1.8 to 4.6 million, accounting for more than half of the budget receipts (8.5 million). The tax was extended to a number of categories of the population that had not paid it before: serfs, "walking people", residents of the same palace, the black-haired peasantry of the North and Siberia, the non-Russian peoples of the Volga region, the Urals, and others. All these categories made up the estate of state peasants, and the poll tax for them it was a feudal rent that they paid to the state.

The introduction of the poll tax increased the power of the landlords over the peasants, since the submission of revision tales and the collection of taxes were entrusted to the landowners.

Finally, in addition to the poll tax, the peasant paid a huge amount of all kinds of taxes and fees, designed to replenish the treasury, which was empty as a result of wars, the creation of a cumbersome and expensive apparatus of power and administration, a regular army and navy, the construction of the capital and other expenses. In addition, the state peasants carried duties: road - for the construction and maintenance of roads, pit - for the transportation of mail, government cargo and officials, etc.

5. Church reform

An important role in the establishment of absolutism was played by the church reform of Peter I. In the second half of the 17th century. the positions of the Russian Orthodox Church were very strong, it retained administrative, financial and judicial autonomy in relation to the royal power. The last patriarchs Joachim (1675-1690) and Adrian (1690-1700) pursued a policy aimed at strengthening these positions.

Peter's church policy, as well as his policy in other areas of public life, was aimed, first of all, at the most efficient use of the church for the needs of the state, and more specifically, at squeezing money from the church for state programs, primarily for the construction of the fleet. After Peter's journey as part of the Great Embassy, ​​he is also occupied with the problem of the complete subordination of the church to his authority.

The turn to the new policy took place after the death of Patriarch Hadrian. Peter orders to conduct an audit for the census of the property of the Patriarchal House. Taking advantage of information about revealed abuses, Peter cancels the election of a new patriarch, at the same time entrusting Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky of Ryazan with the post of "locum tenens of the patriarchal throne." In 1701, the Monastic order was formed - a secular institution - to manage the affairs of the church. The church begins to lose its independence from the state, the right to dispose of its property.

Peter, guided by the enlightening idea of ​​the public good, which requires the productive work of all members of society, launches an offensive against monks and monasteries. In 1701, the royal decree limited the number of monks: now one had to apply to the Monastic order for permission to be tonsured. Subsequently, the king had the idea to use the monasteries as shelters for retired soldiers and beggars. In the decree of 1724, the number of monks in the monastery is directly dependent on the number of people they look after.

The existing relationship between the church and the authorities required a new legal formalization. In 1721, Feofan Prokopovich, a prominent figure in the Petrine era, drew up the Spiritual Regulations, which provided for the destruction of the institution of the patriarchate and the formation of a new body - the Spiritual College, which was soon renamed the "Holy Government Synod", officially equalized in rights with the Senate. Stefan Yavorsky became president, Feodosy Yanovsky and Feofan Prokopovich became vice-presidents. The creation of the Synod was the beginning of the absolutist period of Russian history, since now all power, including church power, was concentrated in the hands of Peter. A contemporary reports that when Russian church leaders tried to protest, Peter pointed them to the Spiritual Regulations and said: "Here's a spiritual patriarch for you, and if you don't like him, then here's a damask patriarch (throwing a dagger on the table)."

The adoption of the Spiritual Regulations actually turned the Russian clergy into government officials, especially since a secular person, the chief prosecutor, was appointed to supervise the Synod.

The reform of the church was carried out in parallel with the tax reform, the registration and classification of priests were carried out, and their lower strata were transferred to the head salary. According to the consolidated statements of the Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Astrakhan provinces (formed as a result of the division of the Kazan province), only 3044 priests out of 8709 (35%) were exempt from tax. A stormy reaction among the priests was caused by the Resolution of the Synod of May 17, 1722, in which the clergy were charged with the obligation to violate the secrecy of confession if they had the opportunity to communicate any information important to the state.

As a result of the church reform, the church lost a huge part of its influence and turned into a part of the state apparatus, strictly controlled and managed by secular authorities.

6. Economic transformation

During the Petrine era, the Russian economy, and above all industry, made a giant leap. At the same time, the development of the economy in the first quarter of the XVIII century. followed the path outlined by the previous period. In the Muscovite state of the XVI XVII century. there were large industrial enterprises - Cannon Yard, Printing Yard, weapons factories in Tula, a shipyard in Dedinovo. The policy of Peter I in relation to economic life was characterized by a high degree of use of command and protectionist methods.

In agriculture, opportunities for improvement were drawn from the further development of fertile lands, the cultivation of industrial crops that provided raw materials for industry, the development of animal husbandry, the advancement of agriculture to the east and south, as well as the more intensive exploitation of the peasants. The increased needs of the state for raw materials for Russian industry led to the widespread use of crops such as flax and hemp. The decree of 1715 encouraged the cultivation of flax and hemp, as well as tobacco, mulberry trees for silkworms. The decree of 1712 ordered the creation of horse breeding farms in the Kazan, Azov and Kiev provinces, sheep breeding was also encouraged.

In the Petrine era, the country was sharply divided into two zones of feudal economy - the lean North, where the feudal lords transferred their peasants to quitrent, often letting them go to the city and other agricultural areas to earn money, and the fertile South, where the noble landowners sought to expand corvee.

The state duties of the peasants also increased. They built cities (40 thousand peasants worked on the construction of St. Petersburg), manufactories, bridges, roads; annual recruiting was carried out, old fees were increased and new ones were introduced. The main goal of Peter's policy all the time was to obtain the largest possible financial and human resources for state needs.

Two censuses were carried out - in 1710 and 1718. According to the 1718 census, the "soul" of the male sex became the unit of taxation, regardless of age, from which the poll tax was levied in the amount of 70 kopecks per year (from state peasants - 1 ruble 10 kopecks per year). This streamlined the tax policy and sharply raised state revenues (by about 4 times; by the end of Peter's reign, they amounted to 12 million rubles a year).

In industry, there was a sharp reorientation from small peasant and handicraft farms to manufactories. Under Peter, at least 200 new manufactories were founded, he encouraged their creation in every possible way. The policy of the state was also aimed at protecting the young Russian industry from competition from Western Europe by introducing very high customs duties (Customs Charter of 1724)

Russian manufactory, although it had capitalist features, but the use of mainly the labor of peasants - possession, ascribed, quitrent, etc. - made it a serf enterprise. Depending on whose property they were, manufactories were divided into state, merchant and landowner. In 1721, industrialists were granted the right to buy peasants in order to secure them to the enterprise.

State state-owned factories used the labor of state peasants, bonded peasants, recruits and free hired craftsmen. They mainly served heavy industry - metallurgy, shipyards, mines. The merchant manufactories, which produced mainly consumer goods, employed both sessional and quitrent peasants, as well as civilian labor. Landlord enterprises were fully provided by the forces of the serfs of the landowner.

Peter's protectionist policy led to the emergence of manufactories in various industries, often appearing in Russia for the first time. The main ones were those who worked for the army and navy: metallurgical, weapons, shipbuilding, cloth, linen, leather, etc. Entrepreneurial activity was encouraged, favorable conditions were created for people who created new manufactories or rented state ones.

There are manufactories in many industries - glass, gunpowder, paper, canvas, linen, silk weaving, cloth, leather, rope, hat, colorful, sawmill and many others. A huge contribution to the development of the metallurgical industry of the Urals was made by Nikita Demidov, who enjoyed the special favor of the king. The emergence of the foundry industry in Karelia on the basis of the Ural ores, the construction of the Vyshnevolotsk Canal, contributed to the development of metallurgy in new areas and brought Russia to one of the first places in the world in this industry.

By the end of the reign of Peter in Russia there was a developed diversified industry with centers in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and the Urals. The largest enterprises were the Admiralty shipyard, Arsenal, St. Petersburg powder factories, metallurgical plants in the Urals, Khamovny yard in Moscow. There was a strengthening of the all-Russian market, the accumulation of capital thanks to the mercantilist policy of the state. Russia supplied competitive goods to world markets: iron, linen, yuft, potash, furs, caviar.

Thousands of Russians were trained in Europe in various specialties, and, in turn, foreigners - weapons engineers, metallurgists, locksmiths were hired into the Russian service. Thanks to this, Russia was enriched with the most advanced technologies in Europe.

As a result of Peter's policy in the economic field, a powerful industry was created in an extremely short period of time, capable of fully meeting military and state needs and not dependent on imports in anything.

7. Reforms in the field of culture and life

Important changes in the life of the country strongly demanded the training of qualified personnel. The scholastic school, which was in the hands of the church, could not provide this. Secular schools began to open, education began to acquire a secular character. This required the creation of new textbooks to replace the church textbooks.

In 1708, Peter I introduced a new civil script, which replaced the old Cyrillic semi-character. For the printing of secular educational, scientific, political literature and legislative acts, new printing houses were created in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The development of printing was accompanied by the beginning of an organized book trade, as well as the creation and development of a network of libraries. In 1703, the first issue of the Vedomosti newspaper, the first Russian newspaper, was published in Moscow.

The most important stage in the implementation of the reforms was the visit of Peter as part of the Great Embassy of a number of European countries. Upon his return, Peter sent many young nobles to Europe to study various specialties, mainly to master the marine sciences. The tsar also took care of the development of education in Russia. In 1701, in Moscow, in the Sukharev Tower, the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences was opened, headed by the Scotsman Forvarson, professor at the University of Aberdeen. One of the teachers of this school was Leonty Magnitsky - the author of "Arithmetic ...". In 1711 an engineering school appeared in Moscow.

The logical outcome of all the activities in the field of the development of science and education was the foundation in 1724 of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.

Peter sought to overcome as soon as possible the disunity between Russia and Europe that had arisen since the time of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. One of its manifestations was a different chronology, and in 1700 Peter transferred Russia to a new calendar - the year 7208 becomes 1700, and the celebration of the New Year is transferred from September 1 to January 1.

The development of industry and trade was associated with the study and development of the territory and subsoil of the country, which was reflected in the organization of a number of large expeditions.

At this time, major technical innovations and inventions appeared, especially in the development of mining and metallurgy, as well as in the military field.

During this period, a number of important works on history were written, and the Kunstkamera created by Peter laid the foundation for collecting collections of historical and memorial objects and rarities, weapons, materials on the natural sciences, etc. At the same time, they began to collect ancient written sources, make copies of chronicles, letters, decrees and other acts. This was the beginning of the museum business in Russia.

From the first quarter of the 18th century the transition to urban planning and regular planning of cities was carried out. The appearance of the city began to be determined not by religious architecture, but by palaces and mansions, houses of government agencies and aristocracy. In painting, icon painting is replaced by a portrait. By the first quarter of the XVIII century. also include attempts to create a Russian theater, at the same time the first dramatic works were written.

Changes in everyday life affected the mass of the population. The old habitual long-sleeved clothes with long sleeves were forbidden and replaced with new ones. Camisoles, ties and frills, wide-brimmed hats, stockings, shoes, wigs quickly replaced old Russian clothes in the cities. Western European outerwear and dress among women spread the fastest. It was forbidden to wear a beard, which caused discontent, especially among the taxable classes. A special "beard tax" and a mandatory copper sign for its payment were introduced.

From 1718, Peter established assemblies with the obligatory presence of women, which reflected a serious change in their position in society. The establishment of the assemblies marked the beginning of the establishment among the Russian nobility of "rules of good manners" and "noble behavior in society", the use of a foreign, mainly French, language.

It should be noted that all these transformations came exclusively from above, and therefore were quite painful for both the upper and lower strata of society. The violent nature of some of these reforms instilled disgust for them and led to a sharp rejection of the rest, even the most progressive ones, undertakings. Peter aspired to make Russia a European country in every sense of the word and attached great importance to even the smallest details of the process.

The changes in everyday life and culture that took place in the first quarter of the 18th century were of great progressive significance. But they even more emphasized the allocation of the nobility to a privileged estate, turned the use of the benefits and achievements of culture into one of the noble class privileges, and was accompanied by the widespread gallomania, contemptuous attitude towards the Russian language and Russian culture among the nobility.

Conclusion

The main result of the totality of Peter's reforms was the establishment of an absolutist regime in Russia, the crowning achievement of which was the change in 1721 of the title of the Russian monarch - Peter declared himself emperor, and the country began to be called the Russian Empire. Thus, what Peter was going for all the years of his reign was formalized - the creation of a state with a coherent system of government, a strong army and navy, a powerful economy that had an impact on international politics. As a result of Peter's reforms, the state was not bound by anything and could use any means to achieve its goals. As a result, Peter came to his ideal state structure - a warship, where everything and everything is subject to the will of one person - the captain, and managed to bring this ship out of the swamp into the stormy waters of the ocean, bypassing all the reefs and shoals.

Russia became an autocratic, military-bureaucratic state, the central role in which belonged to the nobility. At the same time, Russia's backwardness was not completely overcome, and the reforms were carried out mainly through the most severe exploitation and coercion.

The complexity and inconsistency of Russia's development during this period also determined the inconsistency of Peter's activities and the reforms he carried out. On the one hand, they had great historical significance, since they contributed to the progress of the country and were aimed at eliminating its backwardness. On the other hand, they were carried out by the feudal lords, using feudal methods, and were aimed at strengthening their dominance. Therefore, the progressive transformations of the time of Peter the Great from the very beginning carried conservative features, which, in the course of the further development of the country, became stronger and could not ensure the elimination of socio-economic backwardness. As a result of Peter the Great's transformations, Russia quickly caught up with those European countries where the dominance of feudal-serf relations was preserved, but it could not catch up with those countries that embarked on the capitalist path of development.

The transformative activity of Peter was distinguished by indomitable energy, unprecedented scope and purposefulness, courage in breaking obsolete institutions, laws, foundations and way of life and way of life.

The role of Peter the Great in the history of Russia can hardly be overestimated. No matter how one relates to the methods and style of carrying out transformations, one cannot but admit that Peter the Great is one of the most prominent figures in world history.

In conclusion, I would like to quote the words of a contemporary of Peter - Nartov: "... and although Peter the Great is no longer with us, his spirit lives in our souls, and we, who had the happiness of being with this monarch, will die faithful to him and our ardent love for the earthly Let us bury God with us. Without fear, we proclaim about our father in order that we learned noble fearlessness and truth from him.

Bibliography

1. Anisimov E.V. Time of Peter's reforms. - L .: Lenizdat, 1989.

2. Anisimov E.V., Kamensky A.B. Russia in the 18th - the first half of the 19th century: History. Historian. Document. - M.: MIROS, 1994.

3. Buganov V.I. Peter the Great and his time. - M.: Nauka, 1989.

4. History of public administration in Russia: Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. A.N. Markova. - M.: Law and Law, UNITI, 1997.

5. History of the USSR from ancient times to the end of the XVIII century. / Ed. B.A. Rybakova. - M.: Higher school, 1983.

6. Malkov V.V. A manual on the history of the USSR for applicants to universities. - M.: Higher school, 1985.

7. Pavlenko N.I. Peter the Great. - M.: Thought, 1990.

8. Soloviev S.M. On the history of the new Russia. - M.: Enlightenment, 1993.

9. Solovyov S.M. Readings and stories on the history of Russia. - M.: Pravda, 1989.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

KOMI REPUBLICAN ACADEMY OF STATE SERVICE

AND DEPARTMENT UNDER THE HEAD OF THE KOMI REPUBLIC

Faculty of State and Municipal Administration

Department of Public Administration and Public Service

Test

REFORMS OF PETER I.

RUSSIA IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE 18TH CENTURY

Executor:

Motorkin Andrey Yurievich,

group 112

Teacher:

Art. teacher I.I. Lastunov

Syktyvkar

Introduction 1

1. Historical conditions and prerequisites for the reforms of Peter I 3

2. Military reforms 4

3. Public administration reform 6

3.1. Central government reform 8

3.2. Local government reform 11

3.3. City government reform 13

3.4. Results of public administration reform 14

4. Reform of the estate structure 16

4.1. Service class 16

4.2. Urban estate (townspeople and city people) 17

4.3. Peasantry 17

5. Church Reform 18

6. Economic transformation 20

7. Reforms in the field of culture and life 22

Conclusion 24

References 26

During the reign of Peter I, the state and social structure of Russia underwent changes. Since 1698, the tsar carried out a number of reforms aimed at strengthening his power and raising the level of development of the country. We suggest briefly familiarizing yourself with them by reading our article.

Features of Peter's reforms

The value of the activities of Peter the Great for history causes as much controversy as his personality itself. Some believe that the tsar's domestic policy was innovative. Others argue that he only continued the natural processes of state change. It is only certain that Peter I carried out large-scale transformations that Russia so needed.

Reform measures cannot be called soft. Rather, they were forced and hasty. Let's find out what the reasons for poorly thought out changes are:

• The primary goal of the reforms of Peter the Great was the creation of a combat-ready army to gain access to the sea (Northern War), in order to bring Russia to a new economic level. There was a need to protect the integrity of the country. Convinced that success could not be achieved with the available troops, the tsar began an urgent reorganization of all areas that could bring funds for waging war and providing for the army;
• Peter the Great was a fan of the European way of life. After traveling through Western Europe (Great Embassy), he sought to quickly root foreign traditions in his state.

So the transformation affected not only politics, but society as a whole.

During the trip, Peter the Great in the Netherlands worked as a volunteer at the shipyard. He took part in the creation of the new frigate "Peter and Pavel".

Rice. 1. The trip of Peter Ι to Europe.

Major transformations in the table

The table "Reforms of Peter the Great" shows the main activities:

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Reform Group	Scope of reform Content and main dates
State administrative	State administration Formation of the Senate - the highest state body (1711); Creation of 13 Colleges - central authorities (1717-1721); The introduction of the post of fiscal to control civil servants (1711).
	Local government Division of the state into 8 provinces (1708-1711); Division of provinces into provinces, and them into discrites (1719-1720); Creation of the Chief Magistrate in St. Petersburg to control the city magistrates (1720).
Judicial	The rights of the supreme court passed to the Senate and the College of Justice; The trial became not deliberative, but investigative (1697); Adoption of legislative acts defining the concept and conduct of the trial (1716).
	Liquidation of old-style troops (1698); First set of recruits (1699); Permanent recruit duty (since 1705); The Military Charter (1716) and the Marine Charter (1720) were developed; The Admiralty Board (1717) and the Military Board (1718) were created; Opening of military schools (1698-1721); Creation of military industries - shipyards, factories (1701-1721); Approval of the Table of Ranks (1722).
Church	Cancellation of the election of a new Patriarch (1700); Issue of decrees on monastic life and management of church property (1701); The Spiritual Regulations were approved and the Holy Synod was created to manage church life (1721); There was a partial seizure of church property in favor of the state.
Economic	Money Reduced weight of coins (1694); Minting new coins (1700-1704) using a screw press.
tax	New fees introduced; A census of households paying taxes was carried out (1710); Conducting a head census (1718-1724); The main tax was the poll tax instead of the household tax (1724).
Industry and trade	Decree on the work of foreign specialists in Russia (1702); Decree on attributing peasants to manufactories (1703); Statement of the Berg-privilege on the extraction of resources (1719); Permission for the purchase of serfs by manufactories (1721); Introduction of a customs tariff on the import of foreign products (1724).
Social	Class Decree on single inheritance for nobles (1714); The table of ranks also distributed civil ranks (1722); Creation of a new category of state peasants; Limitation of interference of landowners in the private life of serfs (1724).
culture	Permission to smoke and sell tobacco (1697); Restriction on wearing beards (1698); Introduction of a new calendar, chronology, dress codes (1700); Creation of the museum of rarities (1714).
Science and education	Decree on Primary Education for Nobles (1706); Opening of the first gymnasium (1705); Creation of digital schools at monasteries (1714); Establishment of garrison schools for soldiers' children (1721); The Academy of Sciences was created (1724).
The medicine	Opening of new pharmacies (1701); The Moscow hospital was created (1706); A place was allocated for growing medicinal herbs (1714).

Rice. 2. Session of the Senate under Peter Ι.

results

Consider the changes associated with the reforms of Peter the Great (not all of them are positive):

• Building a clear chain of state government, concentrating the highest power in the hands of the emperor and his entourage;
• Replacement of the house-to-house tax, which has become ineffective, with a more profitable poll tax;
• Creation, improvement and provision of a permanent army and navy through the introduction of compulsory military service;
• Development of education and science;
• The development of national industries using not only hired workers, but also serfs;
• Spread of foreign traditions to the detriment of national culture.

In 1724, Peter I issued a decree on the establishment of the Academy of Sciences, which served as the beginning for the improvement of the system of accumulation of scientific knowledge.

Rice. 3. Academy of Sciences under Peter I.

What have we learned?

Having carefully studied the table of the Reforms of Peter 1 (Grade 10), we got acquainted with the list of changes, learned their features. Determine which areas they cover. We can evaluate all the pros and cons of the transformations carried out.

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