RUSSIAN FEDERATION

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

FEDERAL AGENCY FOR EDUCATION

STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

"TYUMEN STATE UNIVERSITY"

INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

SPECIALTY "Management of the organization"

TEST

Subject: Domestic history

On the topic: Features of Russian absolutism under Peter I

Option number 1

Completed:

1st year student

1 semester

Mironov Artem Yurievich

Tashkent, 2008

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………..2

CHAPTER 1. The emergence of an absolute monarchy……………………………………...3

CHAPTER 2. Ongoing reforms……………………………………………………….…4

CHAPTER 3. Development of education………………………………………………………...9

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………..10

References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Introduction

Having studied a large number of sociological surveys concerning the history of Russia, one can identify a trend towards clear changes in the historical sympathies of society. The "rating" of Lenin, Stalin, Stolypin has fallen sharply, and steadily, year by year, the "rating" of Peter the Great is growing.

In a 1997 poll, people were asked, "Which period in Russian history makes you most proud?" 54.3% of respondents answered: "The era of Peter the Great." Only 6.4% of respondents consider the era of Lenin and the revolution to be the best time in the history of Russia. The fact that Peter the Great with his era of reforms has now come to the fore in the polls seems to me highly remarkable. This means that the people recognize the very need for precisely peaceful transformations - reforms, thereby affirming the uselessness of revolutions, civil war and repression.

The object of research within control work is the reign of the XVII-XVIII centuries. The main task to be solved in the control work is to understand the features of absolutism during the reign of Peter I. The main sources of literature for the disclosure of the topic were chosen:

O.A. Omelchenko. The formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia

Journal Questions of History, Y.E. Volodarsky

Rise of absolute monarchy

Many scientists traditionally attribute the emergence of absolute monarchy in Russia to the second half of the 17th century, since from that time Zemsky Sobors ceased to be convened, which to a certain extent limited the power of the tsar. The economic and political role of the boyars weakened, the significance of the Boyar Duma decreased. There was an intensive process of subordination of the church to the state. It seems that for the formation of absolutism in Russia, the whole set of historical, economic, social, internal and external political reasons is necessary. Within two centuries, when absolutism was being prepared, two stages can be distinguished: the 16th century. - the threshold and XVII - the beginning of the "new period of Russian history". 1 Both stages were marked by peasant wars - the first delayed the development of absolutism, and the second was a factor in its creation. The uprising of 1648 in Moscow acquired a great resonance - a wave of protest swept many cities of the country. So, in 1650, uprisings took place in Pskov and Novgorod, the reason for which was a sharp increase in the price of bread. Another uprising in Moscow in 1662, known as the Copper Riot, was associated with the protracted Russo-Polish War, which caused serious financial losses.

difficulties. The copper riot was another evidence of the crisis

state of the country. Peasant war under

led by S. T. Razin. 2 The middle of the 17th century is the period of the beginning of the formation of bourgeois society, the period of absolutism. But still, it must be rightly admitted that absolutism finally took shape in Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century. under Peter I.

The establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia was also facilitated by the foreign policy situation associated with the need to fight for access to the shores of the Baltic Sea and join the circle of developed European powers as an equal partner.

Ongoing reforms

The military reform was one of Peter's first reforms. The reform had a profound effect both on the structure of society and on the further course of events. The random and random recruitment of soldiers has been replaced by periodic general recruiting. The first of them was produced in 1705. All tax-paying population had to supply one recruit from a certain number of souls. A fleet was created, a transition was made to the state maintenance of the armed forces, which greatly increased the cost of maintaining the army and navy. According to the estimate of 1725, the expenditure for these needs was 5 million rubles of that time, approximately 2/3 of all income. In fact, under Peter, a powerful regular army was created. Simultaneously with the military reform, a number of laws were prepared that formed the basis of the "Military Charter": 1700 - "A Brief Ordinary Teaching", 1702 - "The Code, or the right of military behavior for generals, middle and lower ranks and ordinary soldiers", 1706 - Menshikov's "Short Article". In 1719, the Military Regulations were published along with the Military Article and other military laws. The "military article" contained mainly the norms of criminal law and was intended for military personnel. Military articles were used "not only in military courts and in relation to one military man, but also in civil courts in relation to all other categories of inhabitants." 3

Important in ordering the service of every kind of Table of Ranks. According to the law of January 24, 1722, the entire public service was divided into military, civilian and court, each of which consisted of 14 ranks. Rank gave a certain privilege and honor. All those who rose to the 8th rank in civilian service received the dignity hereditary nobleman. In military service, all officer ranks gave such dignity. Peter did not destroy the advantages of birth, but above them he placed the dignity of public service. This document literally opened the doors to the nobility for people of non-noble origin.

The nobility under Peter was already the highest social class, indebted to the state for personal, primarily military service, for which they enjoyed the right of personal land ownership. But as a military class, the nobility did not satisfy the demands of the time, and Peter decided to give a better organization to the service of the nobility. They had to serve in the army and navy indefinitely, as long as they had enough strength. The nobleman began his service as a soldier of the guard or even the army, served along with people from the lower classes. And already from his personal abilities and zeal it depended to break out into officers. The former noble ranks were destroyed, instead of them there was a ladder of service ranks.

Under Peter, the law no longer distinguishes between local and patrimonial possession. Peter looked at them as estates that existed in the interests of the state, and for the benefit of the latter it was not allowed to split them up when passed on to offspring, which was enshrined in a decree on single inheritance, which allowed land to be transferred only to one of the heirs, without dividing it into parts.

Representatives of ancient noble families, who proved that their family had been nobility for less than a hundred years, received noble coats of arms. The herald master had to keep lists of nobles by name and rank and include their children in these lists, which gave rise to genealogical books about heraldry. However, the tsar reserved the right both to grant non-nobles for serving as nobility, and to deprive nobles of this rank for a crime.

All leading positions in the state apparatus were occupied by noblemen. At the same time, the nobleman was obliged to give his sons an education. Fines were imposed on parents for not teaching children.

Service for the nobility under Peter I was mandatory and lifelong.

In addition to expanding landownership rights, the nobility under Peter received more rights in relation to the peasantry. Peasants and serfs were reduced to one taxable and dependent class on landowners. This confusion did not occur on the basis of the law, but as a result of the tax reform: before Peter, direct taxes were levied either from cultivated land or from the yard. Instead of a land or household tax, Peter introduced a poll tax, and every “revision soul” was subject to the same tax and the responsibility for its proper performance was assigned to the landowner.

The "higher" urban class before Peter was a very small and poor class. Only some northern cities were populous and prosperous. The rest were, according to Peter, "scattered temple" and had only one military-administrative value. Only in 1649 did the law separate the townspeople from the rest of the tax-paying people into a special estate. In 1720, the chief magistrate was established, to whom Peter entrusted the care of the urban estate throughout the state and gave the "regulation" that determined the general order of the urban structure and government.

To the “lower” urban class, Peter left not only all the old benefits, but also gave new ones. Although regular citizens retained the character of a taxable class, they were exempted from the obligation of recruitment and finally received the right to own serfs and land on an equal footing with the nobility if they were manufacturers and breeders.

These were the class reforms. Externally, the forms of social relations have changed, but the social system has remained the same. The same characterizes the administrative reforms.

In the sphere of state administration, Peter changed the stable tradition of centralization, as it became more and more obvious that instead of the district route through the Moscow orders, where they were greatly thawed, it was more profitable to send local finances to the regional administration with a proper expansion of the competence of local rulers who took the title of governors, although the districts were not yet called provinces. The provincial reform began in 1708 by Peter's decree of December 18, 1707. 9 provinces were created. It remained only to spread out the content of the military forces according to them, calculate the amount of military expenditure and calculate what share of it each province could take on: this was the main goal of the reform. Provincial institutions were created to squeeze taxes out of payers; least of all they thought about the well-being of the population.

The formation of the Senate in 1711 is connected with the provincial reform, first as a temporary commission, and then as a new department. The disappearance of the central government gave rise to the need for a higher government institution with a permanent staff. The most important task of the Senate was the supreme command and supervision of the entire administration, the selection of an oberfiskal and the creation of a fiscal system. Subsequently, this network became more complex. The denunciation became a state institution, free from any risk. Fiscals had to secretly visit, inform and denounce all the abuses of officials, higher and lower; supervise the execution of laws, prosecute bribery and embezzlement. At the head of the fiscals was the fiscal general, who was appointed by the king. A special position in the Senate was occupied by the Prosecutor General with his assistant Chief Prosecutor. This position was established in 1722 for the public supervision of the activities of all institutions, including the Senate. The prosecutor-general, responsible only to the tsar, was subordinate to the prosecutors established at the collegiums and courts. He was, as Peter said, "the eye of the state" and "caretaker" of state affairs, headed the Senate office. All the cases that came to the Senate were reported to the Senate by him. He also convened meetings of the Senate and presided over them, possessed the legislative initiative.

The creation and functioning of the Senate was the next level of bureaucratization of the top management. The permanent composition of senators, elements of collegiality, personal oath, a program of work for a long period, a strict hierarchy of management - all this testified to the growing importance of bureaucratic principles, without which Peter could not imagine either effective government or autocracy as a political regime of personal power. 4

The reform of the central government led to the simplification of the state apparatus. Instead of a large number of orders, several colleges were created, their competence extended to the entire territory of the state.

By 1718, they drew up a plan for the collegiate structure, established the official composition of each college, and appointed presidents and vice-presidents. 12 colleges were established. The collegiate division differed from the clerk's: 1) the departmental distribution of cases; 2) the space of action of institutions; 3) the order of business. For the first time, state bodies appeared that were engaged in the development of industry and trade, which contributed to the economic progress of the country.

The church was finally subordinated to the state: after the death of the next patriarch, Peter does not appoint a new one, but abolishes the patriarchate, creating a special collegium - the Synod - to manage the church. He appointed bishops, exercised financial control, was in charge of his estates and exercised judicial functions in relation to such crimes as heresy, blasphemy, schism, etc. Particularly important decisions were made by the general meeting - the conference. The competence of the Synod was limited to secular power. "The system of higher bodies as a whole received a more perfect organization, there was a gradual bureaucratization of the composition of higher bodies." 5 The transformed state apparatus was designed to strengthen the rule of the nobility and autocratic power, contributed to the development of new production relations, the growth of industry and trade

But in the 70s and 80s 18th century most of the colleges were abolished, only four continued their work: Military, Admiralty, Foreign Affairs and Medical. In 1796, the collegiums were again restored with the introduction of one-man management.

Development of education

For rapidly growing industry, regular army and navy, reorganization government controlled required a large number of specialists of various profiles. Their training was to be decided by a whole system of vocational schools, created at the very beginning of the 18th century, in which students were given both general literacy and various professional training. There were also organized comprehensive schools initial type. Digital schools were created for the children of nobles, officials and merchants, in addition to them - garrison schools in which soldiers' children were trained, and diocesan schools for the education of children of the clergy.

For capable noble children, institutions of secondary and higher education. For this purpose, gymnasiums were created at the Academy of Sciences, founded in 1724. Under Peter, higher educational institutions for special professions were created: the Naval Academy, Engineering companies, a university under the Academy of Sciences. In total, in the first quarter of the XVIII century. in Russia, more than 150 schools of various types were created, thereby laying the foundations of the state education system, and sending abroad to study was also widely practiced.

CONCLUSION

Two obvious conclusions can be drawn: firstly, on the eve of Peter's reforms, as it were, the "wind of history" was already blowing in the direction of transformations, a crisis appeared in all spheres of the life of Russian society, which required its resolution. Secondly, of all the possible options for reform, Peter chose the option that was the toughest, most uncompromising, and most painful for Russian society. Undoubtedly, much of what arose or intensified under Peter the Great, in the course of his reforms, existed before him. This is the autocracy, which was protected by all the rulers, and serfdom, this is the absence of private property in Russia for centuries. Indeed, in Russia the sovereign owned everything, at any moment he could deprive the property, freedom and life of any of his subjects. As they said then, "to unsubscribe to yourself without turning."

The era of Peter the Great can be called the time of the full flowering of protectionism and mercantilism in Europe. It should be noted imitation, or better to say alignment with the European method of carrying out various reforms, which Peter considered exemplary. But quickly found solutions were accompanied by slow execution.

internal order and the external security of the state - this is the primary duty and duty of the king, which Peter was the first of the kings to deeply assimilate and which guided him in his activities. To live for the benefit and glory of the state and fatherland, not to spare health and life itself for the common good was not clear to the Russian people of that time. With such an idea of ​​the vocation and appointment of power, Peter I carried out reforms in the internal life of the country.

Bibliography

E.V. Anisimov - Petrine reforms and their historical consequences for Russia

History of the USSR from ancient times to the present day, 1967

L.V. Cherepnin "On the question of the formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia in the 16th-17th centuries.

L.A. Steshenko, K.A. Sofronenko "State system of Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century."

Journal Questions of History, Ya.E. Volodarsky, Peter I, M., 1993

O.A. Omelchenko. The formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia: Textbook M .: VYUZI, 1986

N.Ya.Danilevsky "Russia and Europe", Book, M., 1991.

1 L.V. Cherepnin “On the question of the formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia in the 16th-17th centuries.”

2 V.V. Moskovkin "National History"

3 Legislation of the period of formation of absolutism, v.4 p.318

4 V.V. Moskovkin "National History"

5 L.A. Steshenko, K.A. Sofronenko "The state system of Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century."

First domestic policy Abstract >> History

Civil service. Decor Russian absolutism happened at unswerving policy of mercantilism, ... Peculiarities Russian absolutism largely formed under the influence of the personal qualities of the rulers. Personality matters a lot Petra ...

Politics of state mercantilism at Petre I

Coursework >> Economics

Figures, acted as a staunch supporter absolutism. Like many European... market economic relations and peculiarities that replaced it with the classical political ... norm Russian silver penny during the 17th century and at Petre steadily...

Formation absolutism in Russia

Abstract >> State and law

Relations at the emergence of new forms of the nascent bourgeois state is one of the main features Russian absolutism... bureaucratic institutions. We can talk about creating at Petre a genuine cult of an institution, an administrative instance...

He strove to concentrate power in his own hands. Absolute monarchy is the last form of the feudal state that arises during the period of the birth of capitalist relations. Its main feature is that the head of state is the source of legislative and executive power. Absolutism is a form of government in which power belongs to the monarch.

The young tsar considered the clergy to be his main opponent. In 1721, he abolished the patriarchate and introduced the Synod, placing the affairs of religion under the control of secular officials. From 1722, the Synod was supervised by the Chief Procurator of the Synod. This meant the victory of secular power over the spiritual.

Peter began to form a flexible centralized apparatus, which was strictly controlled by the central authorities.

In 1711, the Senate was created - the supreme governing body of the country, the highest administrative body for judicial, financial, military and foreign affairs. Members of the Senate were appointed by the autocrat. To control and supervise the execution of state laws and orders in 1722, the position of Prosecutor General was introduced at the head of the Senate (P.I. Yaguzhinsky was appointed). He exercised control over the activities of all government agencies and reported on the abuses of officials of the central and local apparatus.

In 1718, instead of orders, 12 colleges were created, which were in charge of political, industrial and financial affairs. Collegiums differed from orders in structure and functions (president, vice president, advisers, assessors, secretaries) and were formed from representatives of the nobility.

The procedure for considering cases in the boards was developed by the General Regulations, on the basis of which the entire internal routine of the institution was built. The boards were subordinate to the provincial, provincial and county administrations.

In order to strengthen local power, a reform of the local self-government system was carried out. In 1718 the country was divided into eight provinces: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Arkhangelsk, Azov, Kazan, Smolensk, Siberia. The governors were at the head of the provinces, endowed with full administrative-police and judicial power. The provinces were divided into provinces, and the provinces were divided into counties, headed by local nobles. In 1719 the provinces were divided into 50 provinces. In the power of the governors remained the functions of managing the city and commanding the troops stationed within its borders. On other issues, decisions were made by the boards and the Senate.

City government was concentrated in the hands of the city leaders. In 1702, the Chief Magistrate was created, which controlled the affairs of the city magistrates. They were elected by the propertied population to conduct intracity affairs - tax collection and judicial office work in litigation between citizens.

In 1722, a decree on succession to the throne was issued, according to which the emperor himself appointed a successor.

Under Peter the 1st, a numerous noble-bureaucratic apparatus was formed. Contributed to the consolidation of the bureaucratic nobility that arose. The document divided civil and court ranks into 14 degrees: from field marshal and general of the army (in the army and navy) and chancellor (in the civil service) to the lowest, 14th rank of ensign and collegiate registrar. The table of ranks put in the first place not nobleness, but the abilities, education and business qualities of a nobleman. The law eliminated the division of the ruling class into estates. He contributed to the separation from the environment of the unborn nobility of large statesmen: General F.M. Apraksin, diplomats P.A. Tolstoy, I.I. Neplyuev and others.

Since 1721, Peter the 1st began to be called the emperor, and Russia turned into an empire. These titles completed the design of Russian absolutism.

It is generally accepted that an absolute monarchy is such a form of government when the monarch legally owns all the fullness of state power in the country. His power is not limited, he is not responsible to anyone and is not controlled by anyone in his activities. The basis for such a conclusion, of course, is the analysis of Russian autocracy, which is somewhat different from European absolutism. Absolutism in the European way is a form of centralized political power of the monarch, legally and actually recognized throughout the territory of the respective state, and it does not cancel, but, on the contrary, welcomes the cooperation of class-representative bodies. Under an absolutist form of government, the personality of the monarch plays the most important role.
Many scientists traditionally attribute the emergence of absolute monarchy in Russia to the second half of the 17th century, since from that time Zemsky Sobors ceased to be convened, which to a certain extent limited the power of the tsar. The economic and political role of the boyars weakened, the significance of the Boyar Duma decreased. There was an intensive process of subordination of the church to the state. Nevertheless, representatives of this tradition are rightly forced to admit that absolutism finally took shape in Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century. under Peter I.
The establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia was also facilitated by the foreign policy situation associated with the need to fight for access to the shores of the Baltic Sea and join the circle of developed European powers as an equal partner.
Peter at first continued the same policy as his predecessors, trying to capture the northern coast of the Black Sea in the fight against the Turks. But after visiting Holland and England in 1697-1698, Peter takes a different decision, recognizing the need to return the Baltic coast, lost during the Time of Troubles, as a matter of paramount importance for Russia.
As a result of secret negotiations held in the fall of 1699 in Preobrazhensky, Peter undertook to enter the war, subject to the start of hostilities after the conclusion of peace with the Turks. On August 18, 1700, the signing of this peace was celebrated in Moscow, on August 19 war was declared on the Swedes, and on the 22nd Peter already marched with troops to Narva. The war was poorly prepared, moreover, for its successful conduct inside the country, a deep administrative reform had to be carried out. However, the first defeats (near Narva) were quickly replaced by victories, the most glorious of which took place near Poltava in 1709. The war ended in 1721 with the signing of the Treaty of Nishtad between Russia and Sweden, according to which Livonia, Estonia, Ingria and part of Karelia with Vybogr passed Russia. The Baltic problem was solved.
The military reform was one of Peter's first reforms. The reform had a profound effect both on the structure of society and on the further course of events. The random and random recruitment of soldiers has been replaced by periodic general recruiting. The first of them was produced in 1705. The entire taxable population had to supply one recruit from a certain number of souls. A fleet was created, a transition was made to the state maintenance of the armed forces, which greatly increased the cost of maintaining the army and navy. According to the estimate of 1725, the expenditure for these needs was 5 million rubles of that time, approximately 2/3 of all income. In fact, under Peter, a powerful regular army was created.
The Table of Ranks played an important role in streamlining the service of any kind. According to the law of January 24, 1722, the entire public service was divided into military, civilian and court, each of which consisted of 14 ranks. Rank gave a certain privilege and honor. All who rose to the 8th rank in civilian service received the dignity of a hereditary nobleman. In military service, all officer ranks gave such dignity. Peter did not destroy the advantages of birth, but above them he placed the dignity of public service. This document literally opened the doors to the nobility for people of non-noble origin. An ordinary non-nobleman who rose to the rank of chief officer received hereditary nobility. The old bureaucratic hierarchy of boyars, courtiers, stewards, solicitors, based on breed, lost its meaning along with the breed itself, and by that time there was neither a court nor a Duma in the Kremlin, instead of which the Senate was established.
The nobility under Peter was already the highest social class, indebted to the state for personal, primarily military service, for which they enjoyed the right of personal land ownership. But as a military class, the nobility did not satisfy the demands of the time, and Peter decided to give a better organization to the service of the nobility. They had to serve in the army and navy indefinitely, as long as they had enough strength. The nobleman began his service as a soldier of the guard or even the army, served along with people from the lower classes. It depended on his personal abilities and diligence to break out into officers. The former noble ranks (Moscow nobles, policemen, boyar children) were destroyed, instead of them a ladder of official ranks was formed.
Under Peter, the law no longer distinguishes between local and patrimonial possession. Peter looked at them as estates that existed in the interests of the state, and for the benefit of the latter it was not allowed to split them up when passing them on to offspring. which was enshrined in a decree on single inheritance, which allowed land to be transferred only to one of the heirs, without dividing it into parts.
Representatives of ancient noble families, who proved that their family had been nobility for at least a hundred years, received noble coats of arms. The herald master had to keep lists of nobles by name and rank and include their children in these lists, which gave rise to genealogical books about heraldry. However, the tsar reserved the right both to grant non-nobles for serving as nobility, and to deprive nobles of this rank for a crime.
All leading positions in the state apparatus were occupied by noblemen. At the same time, the nobleman was obliged to give his sons an education. Fines were imposed on parents for not teaching children. For example, without studying the principles of geometry, a nobleman was forbidden to marry.
Service for the nobility under Peter I was mandatory and lifelong.
In addition to expanding landownership rights, the nobility under Peter received more rights in relation to the peasantry. Peasants and serfs were reduced to one taxable and dependent class on landowners. This confusion did not occur on the basis of the law, but as a result of the tax reform: before Peter, direct taxes were levied either from cultivated land or from the yard. Instead of a land or household tax, Peter introduced a poll tax, and every “revision soul” was subject to the same tax and the responsibility for its proper performance was assigned to the landowner.
The "higher" urban class ("townspeople", "trading people") before Peter was a very small and poor class. Only some northern cities were populous and prosperous. The rest were, according to Peter, "scattered temple" and had only one military-administrative value. Only in 1649 did the law separate the townspeople from the rest of the tax-paying people into a special estate. Meanwhile, Peter saw rich and lively cities abroad; I observed the cheerful and cultural life of the urban commercial and industrial people; knew that urban bargaining and fishing was considered throughout the West the main source of national wealth (the era of Peter the Great was the time of the full flowering of protectionism and mercantilism in Europe.). Comparing a European city with a Russian one, Peter was struck by their contrast and wanted to put together the “scattered temple” by all means and create an economically strong and active urban class in Rus'. To this end, he freed the townspeople from the so-called "loyal" (sworn) services at state-owned warehouses and commercial and industrial operations and expanded city government. In 1720, the chief magistrate was established, to whom Peter entrusted the care of the urban estate throughout the state and gave a “regulation” (instruction) that determined the general order of the urban structure and government.
To the “lower” urban class (regular and irregular citizens), Peter left not only all the old benefits, but also gave new ones. Although regular citizens retained the character of a taxable class, they were exempted from the obligation of recruitment and finally received the right to own serfs and land on an equal footing with the nobility if they were manufacturers and breeders.
These were the class reforms. Externally, the forms of social relations have changed, but the social system has remained the same. The same characterizes the administrative reforms.
In the sphere of state administration, Peter changed the stable tradition of centralization, as it became more and more obvious that instead of the district route through the Moscow orders, where they were greatly thawed, it was more profitable to send local finances to the regional administration with a proper expansion of the competence of local rulers who took the title of governors, although the districts were not yet called provinces. The provincial reform began in 1708 by Peter's decree of December 18, 1707. 9 provinces were created. It remained only to spread out the content of the military forces according to them, calculate the amount of military expenditure and calculate what share of it each province could take on: this was the main goal of the reform. Provincial institutions were created to squeeze taxes out of payers; least of all they thought about the well-being of the population. The needs of the treasury grew, and the governors did not keep up with them.
The formation of the Senate in 1711 is connected with the provincial reform, first as a temporary commission, and then as a new department. The disappearance of the central government gave rise to the need for a higher government institution with a permanent staff. The most important task of the Senate was the supreme command and supervision of the entire administration, the choice of an ober-fiscal and the creation of a fiscal system (each city had one or two detectives). Subsequently, this network became more complex. The denunciation became a state institution, free from any risk. Fiscals had to secretly visit, inform and denounce all the abuses of officials, higher and lower; supervise the execution of laws, prosecute bribery and embezzlement. At the head of the fiscals was the fiscal general, who was appointed by the king. A special position in the Senate was occupied by the Prosecutor General with his assistant Chief Prosecutor. This position was established in 1722 for the public supervision of the activities of all institutions, including the Senate. The prosecutor-general, responsible only to the tsar, was subordinate to the prosecutors established at the collegiums and courts. He was, as Peter said, "the eye of the state" and "caretaker" of state affairs, headed the Senate office. All the cases that came to the Senate were reported to the Senate by him. He also convened meetings of the Senate and presided over them, possessed the legislative initiative.
The Senate played a big role, its competences were very extensive. He held in his hands the management of central and local institutions, resolving issues of the current internal and foreign policy. In the absence of the tsar, the Senate issued decrees of national importance in its own name, and was the highest court of appeal. His decisions were not subject to appeal. From 1711, the Senate received the right to annually send one of the senators to the provinces and provinces with an audit.
The reform of the central government led to the simplification of the state apparatus. Instead of a large number of orders, several colleges were created, their competence extended to the entire territory of the state.
Acquainted with the Swedish colleges, which were then considered exemplary in Europe, Peter in 1715. decided to take them as a model in the organization of their central institutions. But this time too, a quick decision was accompanied by a slow execution.
By 1718, they drew up a plan for the collegiate structure, established the official composition of each college, and appointed presidents and vice-presidents. 12 colleges were established. The collegiate division differed from the clerk's: 1) the departmental distribution of cases; 2) the space of action of institutions; 3) the order of business. For the first time, state bodies appeared that were engaged in the development of industry and trade, which contributed to the economic progress of the country.
The church was finally subordinated to the state: after the death of the next patriarch, Peter does not appoint a new one, but abolishes the patriarchate, creating a special board - the Synod - to manage the church.
But in the 70s and 80s 18th century most of the colleges were abolished, only four continued their work: Military, Admiralty, Foreign Affairs and Medical. In 1796, the collegiums were again restored with the introduction of one-man management.
The consolidation of the nobility into a single estate, the strengthening of the bureaucratic state apparatus, the creation of a regular army led to the strengthening of the absolute monarchy in Russia, which received its legislative consolidation in the interpretation of article 20 of the Military Regulations of 1716, which says: “... his majesty is autocratic The monarch should not give an answer to anyone in the world about his affairs, but power has its own States and lands, like a Christian sovereign, to rule by his own will and piety.
For the rapidly growing industry, the regular army and navy, the reorganization of state administration required a large number of specialists in various fields. Their training was to be decided by a whole system of vocational schools, created at the very beginning of the 18th century, in which students were given both general literacy and various professional training. Secondary primary schools were also organized. Digital schools were created for the children of nobles, officials and merchants, in addition to them - garrison schools, in which soldiers' children were trained, and diocesan schools for the education of children of the clergy.
For capable noble children, institutions of secondary and higher education were created. For this purpose, gymnasiums were created at the Academy of Sciences, founded in 1724. Under Peter, higher educational institutions for special professions were created: the Naval Academy, Engineering companies, a university under the Academy of Sciences. In total, in the first quarter of the XVIII century. in Russia, more than 150 schools of various types were created, thereby laying the foundations for the state system of secular education, and sending abroad for study was also widely practiced.
Peter the Great was a completely new face on Russian throne, with a completely new view of his royal power, hitherto unseen, putting the welfare of the fatherland at the forefront. The internal order and external security of the state - this is the primary duty and duty of the king, which Peter was the first of the kings to deeply assimilate and which guided him in his activities. To live for the benefit and glory of the state and fatherland, not to spare health and life itself for the common good was not clear to the Russian people of that time. People perceived service to the state and society as a duty or a means for arranging personal and family well-being. He understood the common good as something that did not coincide with his private interest. But Peter did not understand precisely the particular interest that did not coincide with the general one.
With such an idea of ​​the vocation and appointment of power, Peter I carried out reforms in the internal life of the country.

Peter I entered the history of Russia as a reformer tsar due to cardinal transformations in various spheres of public life, including public administration, economy, and culture. One of the main results of his reforms was the formation of absolutism in Russia, i.e. a form of government in which the supreme power belongs entirely and indivisibly to the king.
The political regime under absolutism in Russia is determined by the following features: general and petty regulation of the life and activities of the population; rough, direct coercion to the execution of various regulations; lack of political rights and freedoms, public initiative of subjects; strict control, surveillance of them by state bodies, extremely wide powers of these bodies, especially the police, the right of their unlimited interference in people's lives.
One of the most important signs of the formation of unlimited power by Peter I was the withering away of the Zemsky Sobors. The end of the practice of convening them meant that the king no longer needed the approval or disapproval of his actions - he had gained sufficient independence.
At the end of 1717, the reform of the state apparatus began. All state administration was concentrated in the hands of 9 colleges, which were formed in accordance with their functions. So the Collegium of Foreign Affairs was created; Chamber College (in charge of state fees); Justice College; The Revision Board (keeping account of state revenues and expenditures), etc. In 1721, the Spiritual Board - the Synod - was formed. The boards became the basis of the central management system. Constantly faced with the famous "Moscow red tape" in orders, Peter introduced detailed regulation of the activities of all institutions and officials for the efficiency of the state apparatus. At the same time, officials were punished for violating the regulations in the same way as the military for violating the charter.
The Senate, established in 1711, became the highest government institution. It concentrated judicial, administrative and legislative functions, was in charge of the provinces, and most importantly, the colleges. The regulations for the work of the Senate were clearly outlined. The Senate replaced the Boyar Duma, in contrast to which it could act in the absence of the tsar. People were appointed to the Senate, not necessarily noble, but certainly possessing business qualities and sincerely devoted to the sovereign.
Later, the most important control body of the autocratic state, the Prosecutor's Office, was created under the Senate, and the Senate was headed by the Prosecutor General. In order to protect his system from malfeasance, Peter considered it necessary to introduce the institution of secret supervision (fiscal officials). Both institutions, the prosecutor's office and the fiscal department, were firmly connected - the fiscal officers reported cases to the prosecutors.
The creation of a new full-fledged state apparatus would have been impossible if the reform had not touched the lowest level of government - the local apparatus.
Peter divided the whole state into 8 large areas named provinces. Then, in 1719, a new regional division was introduced, which included the lands conquered from Sweden. Russia was divided into 11 provinces, which were subdivided into provinces, and the provinces into counties.
The management of the urban population was in charge of the town hall, composed of elected mayors. The town hall was in charge of the life of the city, court, reprisal, collection of taxes and other taxes.
Peter's desire to organize the state according to military models strengthened the role of the military in society and the state. The participation of professional military personnel in state administration was widely practiced.
Thus, local, central and higher state institutions were a structure similar to a pyramid, at the top of which was an autocrat who exercised supreme unlimited power.
A special place in the formation of the bureaucracy belongs to the Table of Ranks (1722), which brought into the system and unified all the ranks of the empire in the public service. Were 14 ranks introduced that determine the promotion of officials in any branch of service? land, naval and civil. Of great importance was the right of access to the nobility and persons of "vile origin" according to their business qualities. Having reached the 8th rank, such people received hereditary nobility and all the privileges arising from this.
REFORM IN THE ARMY. Simultaneously with the reorganization of the state apparatus, military reform aimed at creating a regular standing army. Streltsy troops after the rebellions against Peter were destroyed. The amusing regiments Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky were transformed into regular regiments of the guards. The former method of recruitment - "recruitment of hunters" - has been replaced by a general recruiting set. A new armed force was created - the fleet (48 battleships, 800 galleys and 28 thousand crew members). Maintenance of all land and naval forces accounted for 2/3 of all government spending.
New order recruitment of troops by privates made it necessary to reconsider the issue of officer training. Until the beginning of the XVIII century. nobles came to episodic reviews and participated in campaigns. Now they were required to carry out lifelong military service. After the reviews, the nobles were recorded in the regiments, and then, after they had served their term of military service, they were promoted to officers. Special schools were opened for the training of artillery and engineering personnel. Non-commissioned officers prepared garrison schools.
The government sought to strengthen the class basis of the army. The rank and file was recruited from peasants and townspeople, while the command staff was recruited from nobles. However, the huge need for command personnel forced the government to allow the production of officers from other classes who showed themselves during the war. Such officers were equalized in rights with the nobles and received hereditary nobility together with their families.
The government paid considerable attention to armaments. The old matchlock guns were replaced by more advanced guns with a bayonet and a flintlock, grenades, three-pound guns appeared. The cavalry was armed with shortened rifles, pistols and broadswords. The weapon systems developed by Russian designers were not inferior to the best examples of Europe.
Russia emerged from the Northern War as a strong maritime power. Her fleet had everything modern views weapons, their charter, the command corps and already combat experience. Having withstood all the tests of naval military operations with honor, he won the right to be considered one of the most powerful in Europe.
The reform of church administration was one of the most important reforms of Peter I in terms of its consequences. The tsar had been moving towards it for a long time, because he heard and knew the echoes of the struggle waged by his father Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon. In the course of this struggle, the question was decided - who has more influence on the people - secular or religious power.
At the beginning of the reforms, Peter took advantage of the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700. They did not choose a new patriarch, but appointed a guardian of the patriarchal throne, and the person was not an ecclesiastical, but a secular one. Then they returned the law, according to which the wealth of the church was placed under the control of the state and could be used for the needs of the army, navy and foreign policy. During the reform, the former system of patriarchal administration was broken. A system of collegial management was introduced - the Synod, which was equalized in rights with the Senate. Since 1712, almost two hundred years of the history of the management of the Russian Orthodox Church Synod. Not only spiritual ministers were elected to the Synod, but also secular people, officers “so that there was order and discipline”, the Chief Prosecutor with a subordinate staff of spiritual fiscals was always included in the Synod. Ultimately, the Synod became a state institution, and the tsar thereby became the head of the church.
In parallel with the formation of the Synod, the internal structure of the church was reorganized: church ranks were distributed according to the hierarchy, for the first time a census of the states of clergy was carried out, their ranks were cleaned of unwanted and random people. The states of churchmen were determined on the basis of 100-150 households of parishioners - one priest, all the extra ones became bonded to those landlords on whose lands there was a church. Many lower ranks of the clergy were deprived of their former privileges.
With decisiveness and rudeness, the state took into its own hands the concern for the spread of Christianity (Orthodoxy) among the Gentiles and pagans, especially on the outskirts of the state. Peter was not at all satisfied with the long and painstaking work of Orthodox missionaries. He pinned his hopes on decisive, quick and radical measures with the help of administrative influence, violence against entire strata of society, tribes and peoples. In order to encourage non-Christians and pagans to convert to Orthodoxy, the newly baptized were given exemptions in tax payments, they were rewarded with land and peasants, and police measures were taken for disobedience.
Thus, the transformation of the church into an office for matters of faith, the subordination of all its values ​​to the needs of the autocracy, in many respects, meant the destruction for the people of a spiritual alternative to the regime and ideas coming from the state. The Church has become an obedient instrument of power and thus has largely lost the respect of the people as the guardian of the spiritual principle. It is no coincidence that these people subsequently looked so indifferently at the death of the church and at the destruction of temples.
REFORM IN THE SERVICE ECONOMY. During the reign of Peter the Great, a fundamental reform was carried out in the field of economy, which had far-reaching consequences.
Industrial construction began to develop at an unprecedented pace. For 1695–1725 at least 200 manufactories of various profiles arose, 10 times more than there were by the end of the 17th century. in the country. Feature economic boom in Russia was the leading role of the autocratic state in the economy, its active and deep penetration into all spheres of economic life. The unsuccessful start of the Northern War (the defeat near Narva in 1700) forced to re-create efficient army. Numerous manufactories, mainly of defensive importance, began to be built taking into account the need to provide the army with weapons, ammunition, and uniforms. Thus, the industrial boom in the economy was dictated by military and foreign policy interests. The state, possessing huge financial and material resources, the right to unlimited use of land and its wealth, took upon itself everything connected with production, from the location of enterprises to orders for the necessary products. The treasury has invested huge amounts of money in expanding the production of iron, guns, and weapons. The Urals played a special role, where a whole metallurgical complex was built in an extremely short time. On the basis of a powerful metallurgical base, the metalworking industry began to develop. In parallel, light industry manufactories were created, because. ship gear, clothing, footwear, sawmill materials, mills were needed - in a word, everything that could support a modern army. A huge number of manufactories arose in Moscow, Lipetsk, Kazan, Voronezh, St. Petersburg (textile production, linen, glass, mirror, silicate, leather and other enterprises). In fact, industrialization was carried out in the style of Peter the Great. In the organization of industry, the state made full use of its advantages. The location area, the scale of production, and the methods of supply were determined promptly and rationally. The construction of factories required huge funds that no private entrepreneur had at his disposal. The construction used cheap labor of the local population. Experienced specialists from Russians and foreigners were attracted to organize production.
At the end of the Northern War, visible changes took place in the economic policy of the autocracy, as private entrepreneurship began to be encouraged, and attempts were made to "indulge" merchants and industrialists. But the state had no intention of withdrawing from the economy. It leased factories and manufactories to private individuals; exercised constant control over domestic industry; regulated the production and marketing of products. Thus, the feudal orientation in the field of economics did not allow the formation of the Russian bourgeoisie, and the forced labor of the peasant did not turn him into a proletarian. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, moved into the nobility and completely dissolved in it.
So, industrial construction under Peter led to two results: the creation of a powerful economic base and, at the same time, a significant slowdown in the capitalist development of the country.
The state combined the creation of its own industry with the organization of its own trade. The goal was this: to make a profit from popular goods within the country and by exporting goods abroad, which would give money to buy ships, weapons, raw materials for industry. The state seized trade in the simplest way - by introducing a monopoly on the procurement and sale of certain goods. So a monopoly was introduced on salt, which gave 100% of the profit, on tobacco - 800% of the profit. A monopoly was also introduced on the sale of many Russian goods abroad. State intervention in trade hampered the development of private entrepreneurship based on market conditions. The Petrine era became the most difficult time for the merchants, not only because of the monopoly on goods, but also because of the tax system. They paid direct and indirect taxes, all kinds of duties, which contributed little to the growth of merchant capital.
Thus, state monopolies, taxes and duties were means of force used by the Petrine state to obtain the largest possible sums of money to solve its problems.
At the same time, the government policy, called "mercantilism", also contributed to the accelerated development of industry. It provided for a system of measures to encourage the development of the economy, primarily industry and trade, especially foreign trade, according to the principle - buy cheaper, sell more expensive. This was expressed in the provision of economic benefits to the owners of manufactories, in the protection of domestic production from foreign competition, and, finally, in the regulation of production itself. Thus, the customs tariff of 1724 protected the young domestic industry from the competition of Western European manufactories. The import of industrial goods was regulated by various rates of duty.
economic reform country a heavy burden fell on the shoulders of the peasantry, the common people. “I know that they consider me a tyrant,” Peter said to foreigners, “that I command slaves. It is not true. I command subjects who obey my decrees; these decrees contain benefit, not harm to the state.
On the other hand, the reform proceeded in the midst of a deaf and stubborn internal struggle: participants in four terrible rebellions and three conspiracies opposed innovations, for the preservation of antiquity, its concepts and prejudices. Peter's hostile attitude towards national antiquity, towards the people's life, was even expressed in the fact that the ancient Russian beard was for him not a physical “detail of a male physiognomy”, but an exhibition of political mood, a sign of a state rebel along with a long-length dress. Peter "went against the wind" and with his own accelerated movement strengthened the oncoming resistance.
CONCLUSION. In socio-economic and political development Russia of the time under consideration, two lines can be traced. One of them is connected with the strengthening of feudal ownership of land, the expansion of landownership, the intensification of the exploitation of the peasants, the strengthening of noble privileges, and the formation of an absolute monarchy. Another line was manifested in the birth of a new mode of production. It was in close connection with the development of large-scale industry and the beginning of the formation of classes in capitalist society - the pre-proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Merchant's capital begins to penetrate into production, and industry develops rapidly. In the first quarter of the XVIII century. in Russia there was a struggle between these two tendencies. The victory turned out to be on the side of the feudal order, strong enough to deform the shoots of the new capitalist mode of production.
Nevertheless, three most important consequences of the transformations that provided our country with a new qualitative state can be noted: first, the backlog of the economic and cultural life of Russia from the countries of Europe has significantly reduced; secondly, Russia has become a powerful state with a modern land army and a mighty Baltic fleet; thirdly, Russia became one of the great powers, and henceforth not a single issue of interstate relations in Europe could be resolved without its participation.

Crown of the Russian Empire

Nikolay Shelgunov said: “I don’t like Peter at all as a tsar, but I bow to him as a dictator. What was his strength? In the fact that he broke the old forms of Muscovite Rus' and accelerated the natural course of things, at the age of twenty he did what the Muscovite tsars slapped and blurted out for two hundred.

Absolutism (from Latin absolutus - independent, unlimited). Absolute monarchy arises during the period of the disintegration of feudalism and the birth of capitalism. It is characterized by the fact that the monarch (head of state) is the source of legislative and executive power. The executive power carries out its activities by the apparatus created by him and dependent on him.

Features of absolutism

The monarch establishes taxes, disposes of public finances. Under an absolute monarchy, the highest degree of state centralization is achieved, a ramified and numerous bureaucratic apparatus (tax, judicial, etc.), a standing army, and police are created. The social support of the absolute monarchy is the nobility.

At a certain stage in the development of the state, absolutism plays a progressive role: it destroys political fragmentation, promotes economic unity, the development of new relations and the process of formation of nations and nation-states.

The politics of mercantilism , which the absolute monarchy pursues, promotes the process of primitive accumulation, this is in the interests of the nobility. Economic life is revived, and new financial resources are used to strengthen the military power of the state.

Absolute monarchy existed in many European countries, but was most clearly embodied in France, reaching its peak in the 17th century under Richelieu (Louis XIII) and Louis XIV. And in Spain, absolute monarchy grew into despotism.

In the second half of the 18th century, enlightened absolutism was noted in some European countries.

Forms of absolutism in various countries were different, they depended on the ratio of the nobility and the bourgeoisie and their influence on politics.

Symbols of enlightened absolutism

Absolutism in Russia

Absolutism in Russia was established, of course, not immediately and not at the personal desire of the ruler. It was a long process that began in the second half of the 16th century, from the time of Ivan the Terrible, with the elimination of specific fragmentation and ended by force in 1917.

There is no consensus among Russian historians about the nature of Russian absolutism, and in this article we will not consider different points of view on the reasons for Russia's transition to absolutism and other problems of Russian absolutism. Let's talk only about the absolutism of Peter I. And if we proceed from the description of the concept of "absolutism" given above, then the absolutism of Peter fully corresponds to this characteristic.

Absolutism of PeterI

The forced registration of Russian absolutism took place at the end of the XVII - early 18th centuries. Peter I began to pursue a policy of mercantilism in the economy and trade, began to form new ideology and culture, to expand the boundaries of the Russian state, to strengthen and expand the feudal system. All these transformations required the concentration of full power in one hand: in the hands of the monarch.
The rationalism and pragmatism of Peter stemmed from the peculiarities of his biography, from the peculiarities of the time in which he was formed, and from his personal qualities. And these qualities were: a craving for knowledge, susceptibility to everything new, a lively and quick mind. Acquaintance with foreigners and European culture fell on his adolescence, which played an important role in the formation of views and principles. But when Peter actually became king, for some time direct power was in the hands of Peter's relatives, mainly the Naryshkins, who cared little about the interests of the state. According to B.I. Kurakin, this board was “very dishonorable; great bribery and theft of the state. The smart young king understood all this.

Emperor Peter I. Engraving from a painting by Benner

The active state activity of Peter himself began with the first Azov campaign in 1695. Peter realized that the powerful Turkish fortress could not be taken due to the lack of a fleet, so he began energetic preparations for the second campaign: he organized the construction of galleys at the shipyards of Voronezh and already in 1696 took Azov.

Further, Peter creates the "Great Embassy", in which he personally participated under the name of Peter Mikhailov, for a more thorough study of the political situation, economic and cultural achievements of the countries of Western Europe. This trip led to the tsar's decision to reorient Russia's foreign policy and create an anti-Swedish coalition, invite foreign experts to the Russian service, send Russian nobles to study in Europe, purchase weapons, and after the news of the Streltsy revolt in 1698, he firmly decided to carry out fundamental changes in the country , which he, having visited Europe, saw backward and weak.

He realized his position as a monarch as a servant of the state and henceforth subordinated all his activities to this. Often he ignored personal interests for the sake of the state, punished mercilessly for state crimes. He tried "for the common good" and attracted everyone to this. And he saw the benefit for the state in the development of industry, active foreign trade, internal and external security. He thought that in order to achieve these goals, the people must be urged all the time and strictly monitored, because "our people are like children of ignorance for the sake of who will never take up the alphabet when they are not forced by the master ...". This explains his cruelty.

Absolutism is characterized by the fact that it stops the activities of the bodies that exist in the estate-representative monarchy (Zemsky Sobor, Boyar Duma), and state power receives greater independence in relation to society, which Peter does, replacing the Boyar Duma with a team of like-minded people. In 1699, the Near Office was created (administrative and financial control in the state). Her work was supervised by Nikita Zotov, close to Peter I. Meetings of the increasingly shrinking Boyar Duma began to take place in the Middle Office. In 1708, the meetings of the Duma were usually attended by 8 people who controlled various orders. This meeting was called the Council of Ministers, in fact it was the Supreme body of power, which, in the absence of the tsar, ruled not only Moscow, but the entire state. The boyars and the judges of the remaining orders were to come to the Near Office three times a week to resolve cases.

After the formation of the Senate, the Council of Ministers and the Near Office ceased to exist.

Next, Peter changes the order of succession to the throne. By decree of 1722, he asserts the right to appoint a successor, henceforth the succession to the throne is not connected with kinship. Unfortunately, Peter died without appointing a successor, and this marked the beginning of a long struggle for the throne, which is called the era of "palace coups".

J. Veniks "Portrait of Peter I"

In 1717-1722. to replace 44 orders of the end of the 17th century. colleges came. Unlike orders, the system of collegiums provided for the division of the administration into certain departments, this created more high level centralization.

By decrees of December 11, 1717 and December 15, 1717, 9 colleges were created: Foreign Affairs, Chambers, Justits, Revision, Military, Admiralty, Commerce, State Offices, Berg and Manufactories.

Emperor Peter I held legislative and executive power in the state. He was the last and highest authority in solving court cases. He was the supreme commander of the troops and, in fact, the head of the Russian church: in 1721 the Theological College was formed, which was then transformed in 1722 into the Holy Governing Synod, which was equal in rights with the Senate and subordinated directly to the tsar.

Symbols of the Russian Empire

The strengthening of absolutism in Russia continued after Peter I, it was especially vividly embodied in the reign of Catherine II. The term “enlightened absolutism” is used to characterize her time, she was committed to the ideas of the Enlightenment, at least in words.