The design of absolutism under Peter 1 is brief. The establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia under Peter I the Great. And also other works that may interest you

Absolutism - a form of the feudal state, in which the monarch belonged to unlimited supreme power, and the feudal statehood reached the highest degree of centralization. Under absolutism, the head of state was viewed from a legal point of view as the only source of legislative and executive power. The latter was carried out by officials dependent on him.

essential features of absolutism in Russia:

1) if the absolute monarchy in Europe took shape under the conditions of the development of capitalist relations and the abolition of old feudal institutions (especially serfdom), then absolutism in Russia coincided with the development of serfdom;

2) if the social base of Western European absolutism was the union of the nobility with cities (free, imperial), then Russian absolutism relied almost exclusively on the serf nobility, the service class.

The establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia was accompanied by a broad expansion of the state, its invasion into all spheres of public, corporate and private life. Expansionary aspirations were expressed primarily in the desire to expand their territory and access to the seas. Another direction of expansion was the policy of further enslavement: this process took the most cruel forms in the 18th century. Finally, the strengthening of the role of the state manifested itself in the 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 formed the estate of the nobility.

The system of government that was established in the era of absolutism is characterized by fairly frequent palace coups carried out by the noble aristocracy and the palace guard. Did this mean weakening and crisis of the system of absolute monarchy? Apparently the opposite. The ease with which the change of monarchs took place testifies to the fact that in the established and consolidated system of the absolutist monarchy, the personality of the monarch no longer had much importance. Everything was decided by the mechanism of power itself, in which each member of society and the state represented only a detail, a "screw".

The political ideology of absolutism is characterized by a striving for a clear classification of social groups and individuals: the personality dissolves in such concepts as "soldier", "prisoner", "official", etc. The state, with the help of legal norms, strives to regulate the activities of each subject. Therefore, absolutism is characterized by one more feature: the abundance of written legal acts adopted on each occasion. The state apparatus as a whole, its individual parts operate according to the prescription of special regulations, the hierarchy of which is closed by the General Regulations.

The ruling class remained nobility. In the course of the formation of the absolute monarchy, the consolidation of this class took place. The special position of the feudal aristocracy (boyars) already at the end of the 17th century. is sharply limited, and then eliminated. An important step in this direction was made by the act on the abolition of parochialism (1682). Aristocratic origin loses the value of a criterion for appointment to leading government posts. It is replaced by the principles of seniority, qualifications and personal loyalty to the sovereign and the system. Later, these principles will be formalized in the Table of Ranks (1722), the function of the public service unites the nobility (at first Peter I wanted to call this estate "gentry") into a politically and legally consolidated group. The economic consolidation was completed by the Decree on single inheritance (1714), which eliminated the legal distinctions between the patrimony and the estate and united them into a single legal concept of "real estate".

The nobility becomes the only service class, and service becomes the main sphere of application of strength and energy. In 1724, legislative measures were taken to limit the promotion of non-nobles. The Table of Ranks reversed the old idea of \u200b\u200bparochialism: title and rank were transformed from a reason for obtaining a position to a result of promotion. Having reached a certain rank, one could turn from a non-nobleman to a nobleman, i.e. receive personal or hereditary nobility. By the end of the 20s of the XVIII century. the number of those who rose to the rank of nobility was one third of the total nobility.

In the interests of the nobility, the process of further enslavement of the peasants continued. In 1722-1725. a census was carried out, which provided the basis for the enslavement of the categories of the peasantry, which had previously had a different status. In 1729, bonded (personally dependent, but not serfs) and "walking" people were attached. Repeated attempts were made to extend serfdom to Cossacks and one-courtiers, but these groups continued to occupy an intermediate position between state peasants and service people.

Land ownership remained the economic basis for the existence of the nobility. Land tenure, along with the civil service, was its most important social function. However, serious contradictions often arose between these areas of activity: the nobility, who sought to use the service to acquire land and ranks, begins to be weighed down by the obligation of public service, as such.

The table of ranks equated civil service with military service. Moving up the hierarchical ladder of ranks was possible only starting from the lowest rank. Service for a nobleman was a duty and continued until the end of his life. In 1714, a census of noblemen aged from ten to thirty years was made, since 1722 defamation was appointed for failure to appear for service.

Already in 1727, a partial exemption of nobles from military service was introduced. From 1736 the term of public service was limited to twenty-five years. In 1762, the obligation of noble service was canceled, the nobleman was given freedom of choice.

The formation of new social groups took place against the background of the breaking up of the old estate-representative institutions. The last Zemsky Sobor took place in the middle of the 17th century. After that, class meetings were convened, at which various issues were discussed: about the monetary system, prices, parochialism, etc. (60-80s of the 17th century). The liquidation of the estate-representative bodies was due to the strengthening of the positions of the central administration, the reform of the financial system and the armed forces.

The centralization of power, the formation of a professional bureaucracy, on the one hand, and the strengthening of the serf system (i.e., the elimination of the remnants of peasant self-government), on the other, destroyed the system of zemstvo representation. The nobility became the only ruling class, seizing in the center almost all the places in the state apparatus and the army, and in the localities became a full-fledged master over the peasants. The nobility had almost equally strong positions in the cities.

Significant changes in the social structure of society at the end of the 17th century - the beginning of the 18th century emerged during military reforms. At the end of the 17th century. the army was still based on cavalry of the nobility. Increasingly, it begins to be supplemented, and then pushed aside by new formations: rifle units and regiments of the "foreign system" (Reitar and Dragoon). These salary units outnumbered the noble contingent: in 1679 about seventy thousand people served "according to the device", in 1681 - more than eighty thousand. The noble cavalry at the same time numbered no more than six thousand. By 1681, eighty-nine thousand out of one hundred and sixty-four were transferred to the "foreign system".

If the archers were still a semi-regular army (and were tied to their yards and gardening in the villages), then the regiments of the "foreign system" were the embryo of a professional army. The officer corps already at the end of the 17th century. quickly replenished with foreign specialists. This path of military reform allowed the central government to become independent from the nobility in the formation of the armed forces, while simultaneously using the service role of the nobility in the creation of officers.

IN financial sphere end of the 17th century marked by an intensive transformation of the entire tax and tax system. The plow, which remained the main type of taxation, is supplemented by a long series of additional taxes. The most important of them were: customs duty, tavern (indirect taxes), data (direct taxes), quitrent, yamsk, streltsy, unreported taxes, salt and tobacco excise taxes.

Tax reforms relied on organizational measures designed to streamline, centralize and regulate these activities. At the end of the 17th century. "plow" as a unit of taxation gives way to a new unit - "yard". There is a transfer of fiscal attention from an impersonal territory to a subject, and taxation begins to acquire an increasingly personal character. In 1646, a house-to-house census was conducted, and in 1678 census books were compiled.

For the personal identification of the circle of taxpayers, even zemstvo societies are beginning to be involved in financial management issues (whose activity is reviving for some time). It is characteristic that already at the end of the 17th century. the estate allocation of direct taxes was carried out: the principle of estate was revived under absolutism in a new quality - for the distribution of estate privileges, duties and service.

In 1718 a poll census was carried out and the financial services switched to a per capita taxation of the population. As a result of this action, groups of non-taxable estates (nobility and clergy) were singled out and, in fact, various groups of the peasant population (state, proprietor, possessive, slaves) were equalized in terms of taxes. From a fiscal point of view, different groups of the population differed from each other only in the degree of solvency.

The strengthening of monarchical power inevitably clashed with political interests churches. Sobornoye Ulozhenie became a legal obstacle to the concentration of land ownership of the church and the expansion of its jurisdiction. Already at the end of the 17th century. some financial and tax benefits of church institutions began to be limited - various kinds of taxes began to apply to them: yamskie, polonyannoye, streltsy. Since 1705, special monetary fees began to be imposed on the ministers of the church who did not have a parish; parishes were levied for military and other needs. Since 1722, entry into the clergy began to be strictly regulated: from noble families, only the younger sons who had reached the age of forty could be ordained. For representatives of the tax-paying estates who entered the clergy, the poll tax had to be paid by their relatives. From 1737 part of the clergy began to be subjected to military conscription, from 1722 - to part of the clergy the poll tax was extended (these duties were subject to the unplaced clergy who did not have parishes).

Attempts to secularize church lands, which began at the end of the 16th century, continued at the beginning of the 18th century. The patriarch's estates were secularized, monasteries were subject to significant taxes.

In 1701, the Monastic Order was established, which was in charge of church administration, but almost complete state control over the church was established only after the establishment of the Synod as a body of state branch management of church affairs (1721).

The decisive act of secularization of church lands was the decree of 1764, which deprived the church of all estates and transferred monasteries and dioceses to regular salaries. Peasants who previously belonged to the church were transferred to the position of state ones. The Collegium of Economy, liquidated during the reform, was restored and all these peasants - about eight hundred thousand people - were assigned to it. The monasteries and bishops' houses retained insignificant land plots (somewhat increased in 1797).

In 1778, new parish states were approved, and in 1784 a "debriefing" was carried out, as a result of which all out-of-place priests and children of military service... The right to transfer their spiritual class to any other was granted. The clergy became an open class.

Characteristic of absolutism is the desire to rationally regulate the legal status of each of the existing estates. Such interference could be both political and legal. The legislator sought to determine the legal status of each social group and regulate her social actions.

Legal status nobility was substantially changed by the adoption Decree on single inheritance of 1714 This act had several consequences:

1) the legal merger of such forms of land ownership as estates and estates led to the emergence of a single concept of "immovable property". Consolidation of the estate took place on its basis. The emergence of this concept led to the development of a more accurate legal technique, the development of the powers of the owner, the stabilization of obligations;

2) the establishment of the institution of entitlement (inheritance of real estate by only one eldest son), which is not characteristic of Russian law. Its purpose was to preserve from fragmentation of land noble property. The implementation of the new principle led, however, to the emergence of significant groups of landless nobility, who were forced to take up military or civilian service. This provision of the Decree caused the greatest discontent on the part of the nobles (it was abolished already in 1731);

3) having turned the estate into hereditary land tenure, the Decree at the same time found new way tie the nobility to public service - the limitation of inheritance forced its representatives to serve for a salary. A large bureaucratic apparatus and a professional officer corps began to form very quickly.

The logical continuation of the Decree on single inheritance was Table of Ranks (1722).Its adoption indicated a number of new circumstances:

1) the bureaucratic principle in the formation of the state apparatus undoubtedly won the aristocratic principle (associated with the principle of parochialism). Professional qualities, personal dedication and service become the defining criteria for promotion. A sign of the bureaucracy as a system of management is: the integration of each official into a clear hierarchical structure of power (vertically) and his leadership in his activities by strict and precise prescriptions of the law, regulations, instructions. Professionalism, specialization, and normativity became the positive features of the new bureaucratic apparatus. Negative - its complexity, high cost, self-employed, inflexibility;

2) formulated by the Table of Ranks new system ranks and positions, legally formalized the status of the ruling class. His official qualities were emphasized: any higher rank could be awarded only after passing through the entire chain of lower ranks. The terms of service were established in certain ranks. With the achievement of ranks of the eighth grade, the official was assigned the title of hereditary nobleman and he could pass on the title by inheritance, from the fourteenth to the seventh grade, the official received personal nobility.

The principle of length of service thereby subordinated the aristocratic principle;

3) The table of ranks equated military service with civil service: ranks and ranks were awarded in both areas, the principles of promotion were similar. Practice has developed a way to climb the ladder of official ranks in an accelerated manner (this mainly concerned only nobles): after birth, the children of aristocratic nobles were enrolled in a position and, upon reaching the age of fifteen, had a rather important rank. This legal fiction was undoubtedly due to the remnants of the old principles of service and was based on the actual domination in the apparatus of the noble aristocracy;

4) training for the new state apparatus began to be carried out in special schools and academies in Russia and abroad. The degree of qualifications was determined not only by rank, but also by education, special training... The education of the noble ignoramuses was often carried out in a compulsory manner (penalties were imposed for evading education). The children of nobles were sent to study according to the order; many personal rights depended on their level of training (for example, the right to marry).

Reforms of the highest authorities and administration that took place in the first quarter of the 18th century. it is customary to subdivide into three stages:

1) 1699-1710 This stage is characterized by only partial transformations in the system of higher government agencies, in the structure of local government, military reform;

2) 1710-1719 Liquidation of the former central authorities and administration, creation of a new capital, the Senate, implementation of the first regional reform;

3) 1719-1725 new bodies of sectoral management for the collegiums are being formed, a second regional reform, a reform of church governance, a financial and tax reform, is being created legal basis for all institutions and the new order of service.

14. Causes of the Patriotic War of 1812 Preparation of the parties for war

Causes of the war

At the beginning of the XIX century. the international situation was difficult. France strove for dominance in Europe. Russia was in a state of war with England, which position went to Alexander [inherited from his father Pavel I. This situation did not suit Russian nobles and merchants. At first, Anglo-Russian trade suffered, secondly, both states were legitimate monarchies, thirdly, England was on good terms with the feudal monarchies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden and Spain. France was a bourgeois country, and Napoleon was a usurper. Therefore, Alexander I had to restore relations with England, which was done by 1803.

The subsequent steps of Napoleon (execution of the Duke of Enghien, interference in the affairs of the German states) pushed Russia to join the 3rd anti-French coalition. The result of the outbreak of war in 1805 was the defeat of Austria, Prussia and the defeat of the Russian army at Friedland. On July 14, 1807, in Tilsit, Russia and France signed an alliance treaty, according to which Russia recognized all the conquests of Napoleon, pledged to break off all relations with England and joined the Continental blockade.

The Treaty of Tilsit was painful and humiliating for Russia. The conditions of the Continental Blockade were impracticable for Russia, since its economy could not develop without the English market. Therefore, soon relations between Russia and France began to deteriorate every year, so we can say that the conflict between them over the Continental Blockade gave rise to the war of 1812.

At the outbreak of the war, Napoleon considered Russia the main obstacle to world domination. Perhaps this was an exaggeration, since the main rival of France, England, was not broken. It was also restless in France itself: the dictatorship of Napoleon aroused dissatisfaction not only among political opponents (from royalists to Jacobins), but also among the common people, since the empire did not get out of wars. Trade faded, provinces were impoverished, endless wars demanded new victims. Start in such conditions new war was extremely risky, but the main "fix idea" of Napoleon - the Continental blockade - made this war inevitable. Of course, the emperor understood what difficulties awaited him in the upcoming campaign, and therefore prepared especially carefully for it.

Russian and French armies

The Russian army of that era was only slightly inferior in size to the Napoleonic army, but its troops were scattered over a vast territory, so that on the western border of the empire, the invasion could only be resisted

about 300 thousand people The rest of the troops were located on the borders with Iran and Turkey, with which Russia was at war since 1805 and 1806, respectively, as well as in the Crimea, the Urals and Siberia.

At the beginning of the XIX century. the Russian army remained a typical army of a feudal-serf state. This was manifested in the system of its recruitment, training and management. Frequent recruitment (this is how the army was recruited) led to a decrease in its combat effectiveness. The service life was set at 25 years. Drill and stick discipline flourished in the Russian army. But, despite the hardships of the army service, the fighting qualities of the Russian soldier were high. He was distinguished by stamina, courage and endurance. Almost no enemy could resist the bayonet strike of the Russian soldier.

The command staff of the Russian army was recruited not according to ability, but according to the class basis - the overwhelming majority of the officers came from the nobility. The 1st and 2nd Cadet Corps, the Shklov Cadet Corps, and the Imperial Military Orphanage were involved in the training of officers. There were many foreigners among the officers, especially in the staff service, in the artillery and engineering troops. Every third general had a foreign surname.

However, for all the disadvantages russian army in its moral and fighting qualities it was not inferior to the Napoleonic army, and the high level of patriotism made it invincible. In courage and resilience, the Russian army did not know any equal. Thanks to the efforts of General A.A. Arakcheev, the Russian artillery reached a very high level, although its rank and file were significantly inferior in quality to the officer.

Having information about the approach of Napoleon's Great Army to the borders of the empire, the Russian command, nevertheless, had no information about where the enemy was going to strike the main blow. The troops covering the western border were initially divided into the 1st and 2nd Western armies of generals M.B. Barclay de Tolly and P.I. Bagration, and when it became known that the Austrian Empire would be forced to join the war on the side of Napoleon, the 3rd Reserve Observation Army of General A.P. was urgently formed on the border with it. Tormasov.

Before the start of the war, Russian troops were positioned as follows.

1st army, numbering 120 210 people. and 500 guns, under the command of the Minister of War, General of Infantry M.B. Barclay de Tolly was concentrated in the Vilno area and covered the St. Petersburg direction. It consisted of five infantry, guards, three cavalry corps and Cossack regiments of ataman M.I. Platova.

2nd Army, which had 49,423 people. and 180 guns, consisted of two infantry and one cavalry corps and a Cossack detachment of N.I. Ilovaisky 5th. She was in the Bialystok-Volkovysk region and covered the Moscow direction.

3rd army, numbering 44 180 people. with 168 guns under the command of cavalry general A.P. Tormasova was located in the Lutsk area and covered the Kiev direction. It consisted of two infantry, one cavalry corps and a Cossack detachment.

The gap between the 1st and 2nd armies reached 100 km, and between the 2nd and 3rd armies - 200 km.

In addition, a separate corps of Lieutenant General I.N. Essen with 38 thousand people, Toropets has a reserve corps of Lieutenant General E.I. Meller-Zakomelsky in 27.5 thousand people, at Mozyr - the corps of Lieutenant General F.F. Ertel, numbering 37.5 gys. people

After the war with Turkey ended (May 1812), in order to protect the southern borders, Russia was forced to keep the Danube army of Admiral P.V. Chichagov (57.5 thousand people), and on the border with Finland - the corps of Lieutenant General Baron F.F. Steingel (19 thousand people). These troops were inactive at the beginning of the war, and came into motion only in August-September 1812.

By the beginning of 1812 the French army numbered more than 1 million people. It was also dispersed literally throughout western Europe, but, nevertheless, with the help of contingents of allied and vassal states, Napoleon managed to gather against Russia a "Great Army" of more than 600 thousand people.

The French army was recruited by conscription, and Napoleon could annually recruit the number of recruits he needed. Valid service life was 6 years. The army did not know drill and corporal punishment, but it was distinguished by good combat training and discipline. A quarter of the officer corps consisted of families of peasants, artisans, workers and the bourgeoisie. The officers had experience in several campaigns. But on the whole, the "Great Army" put up against Russia had a number of shortcomings, for more than half of its number were representatives of the "twelve pagans", that is, various European states, many of which did not want to shed blood for the interests of the great conqueror alien to them. And this despite the fact that Napoleonic propaganda worked hard to "brainwash them", presenting their campaign as a necessary measure to protect "civilized" Europe from aggressive "barbaric" Russia.

Thus, by the beginning of the war, Russia was able to oppose the Napoleonic Great Army (448 thousand people) only 317 thousand people.

§3. Preparing the parties for war

Since 1810, both empires have held a colossal preparatory work to a decisive collision. Both powers have carried out a huge range of military, political and economic measures; new units and formations were formed, troops were concentrated to the borders, operational lines were created, and the rear was prepared.

Napoleon did not prepare for a single military campaign as long and carefully as for the Russian campaign. An operational line was prepared in Germany, stocks of food, fodder, ammunition, ammunition and weapons were created, garrisons in Prussian and Polish fortresses were strengthened. Danzig became the main warehouse and stronghold of the Great Army. Napoleon studied maps of Russia, collected materials for him about its western provinces.

The formation of the formations of the Grand Army began in fact in February 1811, and in March 1812 Napoleon finally determined the composition of its corps, which were united into three groups under the command of the emperor himself, his stepson, the Viceroy of Italy, Eugene Beauharnais and his younger brother Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. The French made up only half of the strength of the Grand Army, while the other half was manned by Italians, Poles, Swiss, Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch and other European peoples. This diversity and diversity of personnel was the weak side of the Great Army.

Napoleon considered its political isolation an important condition for the victory over the Russian Empire. He hoped that Russia had to fight simultaneously on three fronts against 5 states: in the north - against Sweden, in the west - against France, Austria and Prussia, in the south - against Turkey, with which she had fought since 1806 Sweden could not reconcile with the loss of Finland, taken away from it in 1809, besides, since 1810, the French Marshal J.B. Bernadotte.

In the years 1810-1811. more than half of the budget in Russia went to military needs. After Tilsit, by order of Alexander I, Minister of War A.A. Arakcheev (1808-1810) reorganizes and re-equips the army. The experience of the wars with France in 1805 and 1806-1807. revealed the expediency of transition to homogeneous higher formations such as infantry and cavalry corps. Since 1806, along with the corps, the formation of divisions began in the army

Since 1810, the War Ministry began to be engaged in preparations for the war, headed by General of Infantry M.B. Barclay de Tolly. Measures were taken to provide the army with food supplies, fodder, ammunition, ammunition, and weapons. During this period, the reform of the armed forces took place. The army received a clear organizational structure.

Several types of troops: infantry, cavalry, artillery, pioneer units (sappers). Organizationally, the Russian infantry was divided into corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, and companies. The infantry corps consisted of two divisions, a division of three brigades, and a brigade of two regiments. The regiment had up to 2000 people. with 61 officers. The regiments were divided into battalions (3), battalions into companies (4). Each company consisted of 230 privates, 24 non-commissioned officers and 4 officers. According to the staff, the battalion was supposed to have 1016 soldiers, non-commissioned and chief officers.

The infantry was armed with guns of two calibers. The line infantry had smooth-bore flintlocks with bayonets. The range of their shots was 300 steps. The huntsmen were armed with fittings. Dragoons - rifles with bayonets.

The cavalry was also organized into corps, which consisted of 5-6 regiments. The brigades consisted of two regiments and a horse artillery horn. Cuirassier and dragoon regiments had 5 squadrons (10 companies), hussars - 10 squadrons (2 battalions). Cuirassiers were armed with broadswords, carbines, pistols; draeni - with rifles with bayonets; lancers - with lances; hussars - with light carbines, blunderbuss, pistols, as well as sabers and pikes.

The artillery was consolidated into artillery brigades, which were attached to the infantry divisions. The brigades were divided into one battery and two light artillery companies. The companies had 12 guns (6 and 12 pound guns) and unicorns. Each gun relied on 120 charges. As charges - grenades, cannonballs, buckshot and brandkugels.

The pioneers were destined for road, bridge and field fortification works.

The irregular troops consisted of Cossack cavalry (about 80 thousand people) and national formations: Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Crimean Tatars.

Russia found itself in a quandary. But Russian diplomats managed to neutralize two opponents just before the clash. In April 1812, Alexander 1 was able to convince Bernadotte of the need to conclude a union treaty between Russia and Sweden. On the other hand, the Danube army under the command of M.I. Kutuzova on October 14 defeated the Turkish army at Slobodzia. Kutuzov was able to convince the Sultan to conclude the Bucharest Peace Treaty with Russia. Thus, Russia was able to secure its flanks.

Of the many proposed plans for waging war, Alexander I accepted the plan of the Prussian general Fuhl, who almost killed the army. The essence of this plan was as follows. Russian troops located on the western border were divided into two unequal 1st and 2nd Western armies, when the main forces of Napoleon attacked the 1st army, it had to retreat to the Drissa camp, and the 2nd army had to strike to the flank and rear of the advancing enemy. This newly erected camp was located between the roads to St. Petersburg and Moscow, but was built at the rear of the river. Western Dvina, which turned him into a mousetrap. Just before the war, the 3rd Reserve Observation Army was formed. Thus, the three Russian armies were stretched out on the front for more than 600 km.

In accordance with the disposition of the Russian armies, Napoleon built his strategic plan. It was simple: to wedge the entire mass of troops between the 1st Western armies, prevent them from connecting, encircle them and defeat them. The main task of Napoleon was to achieve a decisive battle as close as possible to the western border. By the summer of 1812, a huge invasion army was concentrated on the western border. Russian Empire... The fate of the peoples of Europe, and not only of Russia, now depended on the outcome of the struggle between the two powers.

Many features of absolutism were inherent in power in Russia even during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, but under him his power was limited by the boyar duma and spiritual power.

Peter I at the beginning of the 18th century strove for absolutism.

He dissolved the Boyar Duma and created a Senate instead, which was later called the Government Senate. He performed legislative functions. The Senate is staffed at the direction of Peter I and from persons close to him. Later, the Senate begins to perform judicial functions. In the Senate, there are opera prosecutors who reported to Peter what was going on in the Senate.

After the patriarch died, Peter did not elect a new one. Instead of the patriarchate, he created a holy synod. The Synod was in the position of a simple department in the government of Peter.

Peter carried out military reform:

Created a land army based on recruitment kits;

Created a navy;

Created a military command and control system. It included: a military collegium, an admiralty collegium, a command headquarters, a clear structure of troops (regiment, brigade, division).

Created military science. The military regulations of 1716 were adopted, which he wrote almost all himself. A naval charter was also created.

Created an officer corps in the army.

Peter I introduced compulsory service for nobles.

Created a guard.

Peter I considered the military organization the best, exemplary for the life of the whole society. Therefore, he translated the entire system of state administration into a military fashion. All officials introduced ranks and ranks ("table of ranks"), introduced a single uniform only without shoulder straps, introduced statutes and regulations to all administrative institutions. All institutions were saturated with the military. He divided the entire territory of the state into Provinces - Provinces - Counties. At the head of each province he appointed a Governor-General. Eliminated the order system. Instead, he created 11 colleges. 2 out of 11 - military (power and admiralty), at the head of the board was the president (general) - all this allowed Peter to carry out economic reforms, primarily in relation to the army. At the same time, elements of capitalism are emerging. All this will make it possible to carry out a "cultural" revolution ("open a window to Europe"). Shaved off his beard, introduced wigs, suffered the new year, a tree, coffee, tobacco.

1721 - Peter I adopted the decree “On succession to the throne”. In this decree, he wrote that he will determine who he wants after himself.

Thus, complete absolutism was established in Russia. A military-police state has developed in Russia.

17. Palace coups and the expansion of the privileges of the nobility.

December 1724 - the strongest flood in St. Petersburg.

January 1725 - Peter I dies of pneumonia, leaving no heir or successor. Since that time, the period of "Palace coups" begins (Klyuchesvsky's term). During this time, 6 monarchs visited the throne and 3 coups d'etat were carried out.

The second person under Peter was Menshikov. With his support, Catherine I, the wife of Peter, was elevated to the throne. For the entire time of her life together, Catherine gave birth to 11 children, of which only 2 girls survived - Anna and Elizabeth. Catherine and Peter were married, and Catherine officially became empress.

During 1725-1762. all palace coups were "guided" by the nobility's guards barracks.

In 1727, Catherine dies. According to her will, the grandson of Peter I, Peter II, was elevated to the throne at the age of 12. Menshikov was arrested and exiled to Siberia.

Under him there was a Supreme Privy Council. In 1730, Peter II dies of a cold, the Supreme Privy Council decides to invite Anna Ioannovna (Daughter of Ivan V) from Courland.

Anna Ioannovna was supported by the Guard and in 1730 ascended the throne and was named the Great Empress. She eliminated the Supreme Privy Council, created the Cabinet of Ministers in 1731. At this time, Biron appears - Anna's lover. He indirectly began to rule the Russian state - a terrible time for Russia. Anna Ioannovna appointed herself a successor - the son of her niece Anna Leopoldovna - Ivan Antonovich at the age of 1.5 years at the time of appointment. Biron was appointed regent.

In 1740 Anna Ioannovna dies. Biron was "removed" from the post of regent and power was transferred to Anna Leopoldovna, she became the regent of Ivan Antonovich.

In 1741, relying on the guards, Elizaveta Petrovna ascended the throne. Anna and Ivan Antonovich were sent to the fortress, and then killed.

Elizaveta Petrovna is a "bright spot" in the board. She restored the Senate as the supreme body of the state; liquidated the cabinet of ministers; restored the personal imperial chancellery, thus increasing the role of the monarch in the system of absolutism. Elizaveta Petrovna showed special concern for science (on January 25, 1755, a decree was signed on the creation of Moscow State University). She took measures to develop manufactories.

Elizabeth dies in 1761. According to the will, the nephew, grandson of Peter I - Peter III was elevated to the throne. Peter III married the future Empress Catherine II.

In 1762, Peter III was deposed as a result of a palace coup, was strangled in the Mikhailovsky Palace, power was usurped by Catherine II. Thus, the period of palace coups was completed.

1. there is a tendency to strengthen absolutism. The personality of the monarch plays an important role;

2. the rigid centralization of the entire life of society continues;

3. centralization and bureaucratization of the public administration system;

4. the state became legally a policeman (a professionally trained police appeared).

From the first days of his reign, Peter strove to concentrate power in his hands. Absolute monarchy is the last form of the feudal state that arises during the period of the emergence 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 liquidated 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 Prosecutor of the Synod. This meant the victory of secular power over spiritual.

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

In 1711 the Senate was created - the supreme governing body of the country, the supreme administrative body for judicial, financial, military and foreign affairs. The members of the Senate were appointed by the autocrat. To control and oversee the execution of state laws and orders. He monitored the activities of all government agencies and reported abuses by 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.

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

In order to strengthen local authority, a reform of the local self-government system was carried out. In 1718 the country was divided into eight provinces. At the head of the provinces were governors, endowed with all the completeness of the administrative-police and judiciary... The provinces were divided into provinces, and the provinces 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 boundaries. On other issues, decisions were made by the collegiums and the Senate.

Urban administration was concentrated in the hands of the city leaders. In 1702, the Chief Magistrate was created, who supervised the affairs of city magistrates. They were elected by the propertied population to conduct intra-city affairs - tax collection and legal proceedings in litigation between townspeople.

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

Under Peter I, a large aristocratic bureaucratic apparatus was formed. The consolidation of the emerging bureaucratic nobility was facilitated by the "Table of Ranks".

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

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

FEDERAL EDUCATION AGENCY

STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

"TYUMEN STATE UNIVERSITY"

INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

SPECIALTY "Organization management"

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. Reforms underway ………………………………………………….… 4

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

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

References ……………………………………………………………………… 11

Introduction

Having studied a large number of opinion polls concerning the history of Russia, one can reveal a tendency towards obvious changes in the historical sympathies of society. The "rating" of Lenin, Stalin, Stolypin dropped sharply and the "rating" of Peter the Great is steadily growing from year to year.

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

The object of research in the framework of the control work is the period of the rule 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 selected:

O.A. Omelchenko. Formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia

E.V. Anisimov - Peter's reforms and their historical consequences for Russia

Journal Voprosy istorii, Ya.E. Volodarsky

The emergence of an absolute monarchy

Many scholars traditionally attribute the emergence of an absolute monarchy in Russia to the second half of the 17th century, since from that time on, Zemsky Sobors ceased to be convened, which to a certain extent limited the tsar's power. The economic and political role of the boyars weakened, the importance of the Boyar Duma decreased. An intensive process of subordination of the church to the state took place. It seems that for the formation of absolutism in Russia, the whole set of historical, economic, social, domestic and foreign political reasons is necessary. Within two centuries, when absolutism was being prepared, two stages can be distinguished: the 16th century. - the threshold and the 17th - the beginning of the "new period of Russian history." 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 gained a great resonance - a wave of protest swept through 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 Russian-Polish war, which caused serious financial

difficulties. The copper riot was further evidence of the crisis

state of the country. The peak of his expression was the peasant war under

led by S. T. Razin. The middle of the 17th century is the period of the beginning of the formation of bourgeois society, the period of absolutism. But nevertheless, it must be fairly 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 reaching the shores of the Baltic Sea and joining the circle of developed European powers as an equal partner.

Ongoing reforms

The military reform was one of the first reforms of Peter. The reform had a profound effect on the makeup of society and on the further course of events. The random and disorderly recruitment of soldiers was replaced by periodic general recruiting. The first of them was produced in 1705. All taxable population had to supply one recruit from a certain number of souls. The fleet was created, the transition to state maintenance of the armed forces was carried out, which greatly increased the cost of maintaining the army and navy. According to an estimate of 1725, the expenditure for these needs amounted to 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 implementation of the military reform, a number of laws were prepared that formed the basis of the "Military Charter": 1700 - "Brief Ordinary Doctrine", 1702 - "Code, or the Right of Military Conduct for Generals, Middle and Lower Ranks and Ordinary Soldiers", 1706 - Menshikov's “Short Article”. In 1719, the "Military Charter" was published together with the "Military Article" and other military laws. The "Military article" mainly contained the norms of criminal law and was intended for military personnel. Military articles were applied "not only in military courts and in relation to some military personnel, but also in civil courts in relation to all other categories of residents."

Important in ordering the service of all kinds of Table of Ranks. According to the law of January 24, 1722, the entire state service was divided into military, state and court, each of which consisted of 14 ranks. The rank conferred a certain privilege and honor. All those who rose to the 8th rank in the civil service received the dignity of a hereditary nobleman. In military service, all officers' ranks were given such dignity. Peter did not destroy the advantages of being born, but placed above them 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 upper social class, obliged to the state for personal, mainly military service, for which they enjoyed the right of personal land ownership. But as a military class, the nobility did not meet the demands of the time, and Peter decided to give better organization to the service of the nobles. They were to serve in the army and navy indefinitely, as long as they had enough strength. A nobleman began his service as a soldier of the guard or even the army, served along with people from the lower classes. And already on his personal abilities and diligence depended to break out into officers. The former noble ranks were destroyed, instead of them a ladder of official ranks was formed.

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

Representatives of the old noble families, who proved that their family enjoyed the nobility for less than a hundred years, received noble coat of arms. The herald-meister was supposed to keep lists of nobles by name and rank and to add their children to these lists, which gave rise to genealogical books about heraldry. However, the tsar reserved the right both to grant not noblemen for service by the nobility, and to deprive nobles of this title for a crime.

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

Service for nobles under Peter I was obligatory and lifelong.

In addition to expanding landowning rights, the nobility under Peter received more rights over the peasantry. The peasants and slaves were brought together into one tax-paying class dependent on the landowners. This confusion did not take place on the basis of the law, but as a consequence of the tax reform: before Peter, direct taxes were levied either from the cultivated land or from the household. Peter, instead of the land or household tax, introduced the poll tax, and every “revisionist soul” was subject to the same tax and the responsibility for its proper receipt was assigned to the landowner.

The "upper" urban class before Peter was a very small and poor class. Only a few northern cities were distinguished by their populousness and prosperity. The rest were, according to Peter, "a scattered temple" and had only one military-administrative significance. Only in 1649 did the law separate the townspeople from the rest of the tax-paying people into a special class. In 1720, the chief magistrate was established, to whom Peter entrusted the care of the urban estate throughout the state and gave "regulations" that determined the general order of urban structure and administration.

To the "lower" city class, Peter left not only all the old benefits, but also gave new ones. Regular citizens, although they retained the character of the tax class, were freed from the duty of recruiting and finally received the right to own serfs and land on an equal basis with the nobility, if they were manufacturers and breeders.

These were the estate reforms. Outwardly, the forms of social relations have changed, but the social system has remained the same. The same applies to administrative reforms.

In the sphere of state administration, Peter changed the stable tradition of centralization, since it became more and more obvious that local finances, instead of the district route through the Moscow orders, where they were greatly dwindling, would be more profitable to send to the regional administration with a proper expansion of the competence of local rulers who took the title of governor, although their 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 only remained to break down the content of military forces by 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 from payers; least of all they thought about the welfare 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 composition. The most important task of the Senate was the supreme order and supervision of the entire administration, the choice of the oberfiscal and the creation of the fiscal system. Subsequently, this network became more complex. Denunciation has become a government agency, free from any risk. The fiscals were supposed to secretly visit, inform and expose all the abuses of officials, higher and lower; supervise the implementation of laws, prosecute bribery and embezzlement. At the head of the fiscal was a fiscal general who was appointed by the king. A special position in the Senate was held by the Attorney General with his assistant Chief Attorney. This position was established in 1722 to oversee the activities of all institutions, including the Senate. The prosecutor general, responsible only to the tsar, was subordinate to the prosecutors established at the collegia and court courts. He was, as Peter said, "the eye of the state" and "caretaker" about state affairs, headed the Senate chancellery. All cases submitted to the Senate were reported to the Senate by them. He also convened and presided over meetings of the Senate, had 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, a 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 management or autocracy as a political regime of personal power.

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

By 1718, a plan of the collegiate structure was drawn up, the official composition of each collegium was established, presidents and vice presidents were appointed. 12 collegia were established. The collegiate division differed from the order division: 1) the departmental distribution of affairs; 2) the area of \u200b\u200baction of institutions; 3) the order of business. For the first time, state bodies were involved 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 did not appoint a new one, but abolished the patriarchate, creating a special collegium for the management of the church - the Synod. He appointed bishops, exercised financial control, administered his estates, and exercised judicial functions in relation to crimes such as heresy, blasphemy, schism, etc. Particularly important decisions were made by the general meeting - conference. The competence of the Synod was limited to secular authority. "The system of higher bodies as a whole received a more perfect organization, there was a gradual bureaucratization of the composition of higher bodies." The transformed state apparatus was intended 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 70-80s. XVIII century. most of the collegia were abolished, only four continued their work: Military, Admiralty, Foreign Affairs and Medical. In 1796 the collegia were again restored with the introduction of one-man management.

Development of education

The rapidly growing industry, the regular army and navy, and the reorganization of state administration required a large number of specialists in various fields. Their training was to be solved 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 vocational training. Were also organized and comprehensive schools initial type. For the children of noblemen, officials and merchants, digital schools were created, in addition to them - garrison schools in which soldiers' children studied, and diocesan schools for training clergy children.

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 in special professions were created: the Maritime Academy, Engineering Companies, the University of the Academy of Sciences. In total, in the first quarter of the 18th century. in Russia, more than 150 schools of various types were created, thereby laying the foundations of the state education system, and sending for study abroad was also widely practiced.

CONCLUSION

Two obvious conclusions can be drawn: firstly, on the eve of Peter's reforms, a kind of “wind of history” was 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 reform options, Peter chose the most severe, 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 everything was owned by the sovereign, at any moment he could deprive the property, freedom and life of any of his subjects. As they said back then, "write 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 the imitation, or better to say alignment with the European method of carrying out various reforms, which Peter considered exemplary. But solutions found quickly were followed by slow execution.

The internal order and external security of the state are the primary duty and duty of the tsar, which Peter was the first of the tsars to deeply assimilate and who was guided in his activities. To live for the benefit and glory of the state and fatherland, not to spare health and life for the common good was not clear to the Russian people of that time. With such an idea of \u200b\u200bthe vocation and appointment of power, Peter I carried out the reform of the internal life of the country.

List of references

1. E.V. Anisimov - Peter's reforms and their historical consequences for Russia

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

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

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

5. Journal Voprosy istorii, Ya.E. Volodarsky, Peter I, M., 1993

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

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

L. V. Cherepnin "On the question of the formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia XVI-XVII centuries."

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

V.V. Moskovkin "Patriotic History"

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

Peter I went down in the history of Russia as a tsar-reformer thanks to cardinal transformations in various spheres of public life, including government, 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 wholly and inseparably 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 compulsion to fulfill various regulations; lack of political rights and freedoms, public initiative of citizens; strict control, surveillance of them by state bodies, extremely broad 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 cessation of the practice of their convocation meant that the king no longer needed approval or disapproval of his actions - he 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. Thus the College of Foreign Affairs was formed; Chamber collegium (in charge of state fees); Justitz Collegium; The revision board (keeping account of state receipts and expenditures), etc. In 1721, the Theological Board was formed - the Synod. Colleges became the basis central system management. Constantly facing the famous "Moscow red tape" in orders, Peter introduced detailed regulation of the activities of all institutions and officials for the effectiveness of the work 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 highest government institution was the Senate, established in 1711. It concentrated judicial, administrative and legislative functions, was in charge of provinces, and most importantly, collegia. The rules of procedure for the Senate were clearly laid out. 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 notable, but certainly having business qualities and sincerely loyal to the sovereign.
Later, the most important control body of the autocratic state, the prosecutor's office, was created under the Senate, and the Prosecutor General headed the Senate. To secure 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, were closely linked - the fiscal reported cases to the prosecutor.
The creation of a new full-fledged state apparatus would have been impossible if the reform had not touched the lower level of government - the local apparatus.
Peter divided the entire state into 8 large regions, called provinces. Then in 1719 a new regional division was introduced, which also 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, drawn up by the elected mayors. The Town Hall was in charge of the life of the city, court, reprisals, collection of taxes and other taxes.
Peter's desire to organize the state along military lines strengthened the role of the military in society and the state. The participation of professional military personnel in government 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. Have 14 ranks been introduced that determine the advancement of officials in any branch of the service? land, naval and civil. Of great importance was the right of access to the nobility and persons of "vile origin" in terms of their business qualities. Those who served up to the 8th rank received hereditary nobility and all the privileges arising from this.
REFORM IN THE ARMY. Simultaneously with the reorganization of the state apparatus, a military reform was carried out aimed at creating a regular standing army. The rifle troops were destroyed after the revolts against Peter. The amusing Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments were reorganized into regular guards regiments. The previous method of recruiting - “recruiting hunters” - has been replaced by general recruiting. A new armed force was created - the fleet (48 battleships, 800 galleys and 28 thousand crew). The maintenance of all land and sea forces accounted for 2/3 of all government spending.
New order recruitment of troops by privates forced to reconsider the issue of training officers. Until the beginning of the XVIII century. noblemen attended occasional reviews and took part in campaigns. Now they were required to carry out lifelong military service. After the examinations, the nobles were enrolled in the regiments, and then, after they had served their military service, they were promoted to officers. Special schools were opened to train artillery and engineering personnel. Non-commissioned officers trained garrison schools.
The government sought to strengthen the class base of the army. The rank and file were recruited from peasants and townspeople, while the command staff was from the nobility. However, the huge need for command cadres forced the government to allow the production of officers from other classes who showed themselves during the war. Such officers were equal in rights with the nobles and received hereditary nobility along with their families.
The government paid considerable attention to weapons. Old shotguns with a wick fuse were replaced by more advanced shotguns with a bayonet and a flintlock, grenades and three-pound guns appeared. The cavalry was armed with short 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. Its fleet had to its credit all modern types of weapons, its own charter, command corps and combat experience. Having passed 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 government was one of the most important reforms of Peter I in terms of its consequences. The tsar went to 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 the greatest influence on the people - secular or religious authorities.
At the beginning of the reforms, Peter took advantage of the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700. They did not elect a new patriarch, but appointed a guardian of the patriarchal throne, and a secular, not churchly, person. 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 government was broken. A system of collegial management was introduced - the Synod, which was equal in rights with the Senate. Since 1712, the history of the management of the Russian Orthodox Church by the Synod begins almost two centuries. Not only clergymen were elected to the Synod, but also secular people, officers "so that there was order and discipline," the Synod necessarily included the chief prosecutor with a subordinate staff of spiritual fiscal officials. Ultimately, the Synod became a state institution, and the king thereby became the head of the church.
In parallel with the formation of the Synod, a reorganization of the internal structure of the church was carried out: church ranks were distributed according to the hierarchy, for the first time a census of the staff of clergymen was carried out, and their ranks were purged of unwanted and accidental people. The states of the clergy were determined on the basis of 100-150 parishioners' yards - one priest, all the extra ones became servants of those landowners on whose lands the church was located. Many lower ranks of clergy were deprived of their former privileges.
With determination and rudeness, the state took into its own hands the care of 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 using administrative pressure, violence against an entire layer of society, tribes and peoples. In order to encourage gentiles and pagans to convert to Orthodoxy, the newly baptized were given a privilege in paying taxes, they were awarded land and peasants, and police measures were used for disobedience.
Thus, the transformation of the church into an office for matters of faith, the subordination of all its values \u200b\u200bto the needs of the autocracy in many ways meant the destruction for the people of the 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 this people subsequently looked so indifferently at the destruction of the church and the destruction of churches.
REFORM IN THE CASTLE ECONOMY. During the reign of Peter, a radical reform was carried out in the field of economics, which had far-reaching consequences.
Industrial construction began to develop at an unprecedented pace. For the years 1695-1725. there were at least 200 manufactories of various profiles, 10 times more than there were by the end of the 17th century. in the country. A characteristic feature of the 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 at Narva in 1700) made it necessary to re-create an efficient army. Numerous manufactories, mainly of defense significance, 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 enormous financial and material resources, the right to unlimited use of land and its riches, took upon itself everything related to production, from the location of enterprises to the orders of the necessary products. The treasury has invested enormous funds 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. The metal-working industry began to develop on the basis of a powerful metallurgical base. At the same time, light industry manufactories were created. we needed ship equipment, clothing, shoes, sawmills, mills - in short, everything that could contain 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 Petrine style. In organizing industry, the state made the most of its advantages. The area of \u200b\u200bdeployment, the scale of production, and methods of support were determined promptly and rationally. The construction of factories required huge funds, which were not available to any private entrepreneur. Cheap labor of the local population was used in the construction. Experienced specialists from Russian and foreigners were attracted to organize the production.
At the end of the Northern War, visible changes took place in the economic policy of the autocracy, since private entrepreneurship was encouraged, attempts were made to "relax" merchants and industrialists. But the state was not at all going to withdraw from the economy. It leased factories and manufactures to private individuals; exercised constant control over the 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, went over to the nobility and completely dissolved in it.
Thus, industrial construction under Peter the Great led to two results: the creation of a powerful economic base and, at the same time, a significant slowdown in the country's capitalist development.
The state combined the creation of its own industry with the organization of its own trade. The goal was as follows: to make a profit from marketable goods within the country and by exporting goods abroad, which would give money for the purchase of 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 the monopoly on salt was introduced, 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. Government interference in trade hampered the development of private entrepreneurship based on market conditions. The Peter's era became the hardest 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 the means of force used by the Peter's 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 encouraging 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 manufactured goods was regulated by different rates of duty.
The economic reform of the country has laid a heavy burden on the shoulders of the peasantry, the common people. “I know that I am considered a tyrant,” Peter said to foreigners, “that I command slaves. It is not true. I command subjects who obey my decrees; these decrees contain benefits, not harm to the state. "
On the other hand, the reform took place amid a dull and stubborn internal struggle: the participants in four terrible rebellions and three conspiracies opposed innovations, for the preservation of antiquity, its concepts and prejudices. Peter's hostile attitude to Russian antiquity, to folk life was expressed even in the fact that the old Russian beard was for him not a physical "detail of a man's physiognomy", but an exhibition of political mood, a sign of a state rebel along with a long-length dress. Peter "walked against the wind" and by his own accelerated movement increased the oncoming resistance.
OUTPUT. Two lines can be traced in the socio-economic and political development of Russia in the period under consideration. One of them is associated with the strengthening of feudal ownership of land, the expansion of landlord ownership, increased exploitation of the peasants, the strengthening of noble privileges, the formation of an absolute monarchy. Another line manifested itself in the birth of a new mode of production. It was closely connected 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 capital begins to penetrate into production, industry develops rapidly. In the first quarter of the 18th century. in Russia there was a struggle between these two tendencies. Victory was on the side of a serf system strong enough to deform the seeds of a new capitalist mode of production.
Nevertheless, three major consequences of the transformations that have provided our country with a new qualitative state can be noted: first, the lag of the economic and cultural life of Russia from the countries of Europe has been 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.