1Table of contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...31. The essence of absolutism and the peculiarities of its formation in Russia….……81.1. The concept absolutism and its place in the system of state authorities in Western Europe and Russia………………………………………………….81.2. Causes and prerequisites for the emergence of Russian absolutism………………………… …………………………………………………...112.The establishment and development of autocracy in the XVIII-XIX centuries…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………152.1.The formation of absolutism under Peter I………… ……………….................152.2. Post-Petrine period in the development of absolutism (until the 19th century) ............... ....222.3.The development of absolutism in the 19th century…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..303.The overthrow of the absolute monarchy in Russia… …………………………….353.1.Crisis of autocracy in Russia by the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries……………353.2.The fall of the monarchy in Russia and the fate of Nicholas II and his family members……………… ………………………………………………................................38Conclusion………… ………………………………………………………………….43 List of sources and literature used………………………….......45
2Introduction History, like no other science, testifies that it is impossible to create a new world bypassing the past. A comprehensive study of the historical process, especially significant, critical periods, makes it possible to explain the present day, to understand the present more clearly and to accumulate material for predicting the future. The 18th century was such a turning point in the history of Russia. It was then that a new form of state power was established in Russia - an absolute monarchy, that is, an unlimited monarchy, in which all legislative, executive and judicial power belongs to the ruler. The end of the 17th - 18th centuries. - a time of rapid changes in Russian society, which still cause ambiguous assessments. The main subject of controversy is precisely the problem of absolutism: the time of its occurrence, essence, social nature, periods of development. Therefore, in my opinion, this topic is relevant today. The 18th century in the history of Russia was truly fateful. It was a time of fundamental changes caused by Peter's reforms. With his transformations, Peter I turned Russia sharply to the West. This turn and its consequences for the development of Russia and Russian culture became the subject of a heated debate between scientists and thinkers, which flared up with particular force in the 19th century and continues to this day. Noble historians stood on the positions of the original autocracy in Russia. V.N. Tatishchev and N.M. Karamzin saw him already in the Kievan state, and, of course, since the formation of the Muscovite state. IN. Klyuchevsky found autocracy in the Muscovite state under Ivan the Terrible and even under his grandfather Ivan III1. In Soviet historiography, the transition to autocracy is associated with various periods. Some authors attribute its beginning to the time of Ivan III, who called himself an autocrat. Others associate the establishment of 1Klyuchevsky, V.O. Works. T. II. / V.O. Klyuchevsky. - M.: Nauka, 1988. - S. 125-126.
3autocracy with the name of Ivan the Terrible2. Some researchers have been leading absolutism since the reforms of Peter I, from the beginning of the 18th century3. Based on the relevance, it is necessary to determine the goals and objectives of the work. So, the purpose of this term paper is a comprehensive study of the institution of absolutism in Russia: the time of its occurrence and its characteristic features. characterize the period of its approval and subsequent development and strengthening in the 18th - 19th centuries; to determine the reasons for his overthrow in the twentieth century. When writing this work, an extensive range of literature was considered and studied. In particular, the monographs of O. G. Ageeva “The Imperial Court of Russia, 1700-1796”4 and S. L. Anokhin “Reforms in Russia in the 18th – 20th centuries”5. They characterize the main reforms carried out by the Russian monarchs, and pay special attention to the reforms of Peter the Great, which contributed to the establishment of absolutism in Russia. In the course of writing the term paper, the works of Henschel N. “The myth of absolutism. Changes and continuity in the development of the Western European monarchy of the early modern times”6 and Kareeva N.I. “Western European absolute monarchy of the 16th – 18th centuries”7, in which 2 Alshits D.N. The beginning of autocracy in Russia: the State of Ivan the Terrible. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2006. - P. 174-175.3 Omelchenko O. A. Formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia. – M.: TK Velby. Prospekt Publishing House, 2008. - P. 53.4 Ageeva O. G. Imperial Court of Russia, 1700-1796. – M.: Nauka, 2008. – 380 p. 5 Anokhina S. L. Reforms in Russia XVIII - XX centuries. – M.: Nauka, 2009. – 494 p.6 Henschel N. Malakhova Yu. 7 Kareev N. I. Western European absolute monarchy of the XVI-XVIII centuries. - M.: State Public Historical Library of Russia, 2009. - 464 p.
4 Western European absolute monarchies are analyzed, their inherent features are given, which subsequently helped to determine the differences between Russian absolutism and Western European absolutism, to identify its features. When writing the work, materials characterizing the establishment and development of autocracy in the era of palace coups were also studied. These include: “Palace coups” by Eremenko M.A.8 and an article by Petrukhintsev N.V. “Invisible epoch”9. The article provides a fairly complete assessment of the activities of the rulers of that time. The works of historians devoted to the personalities of the period under review were studied. For example, Obolensky G.'s monograph “The Age of Catherine the Great. The Time of Heroes and Heroic Deeds”10, which analyzes the activities of Empress Catherine, nicknamed the Great, and characterizes the absolutism of the Catherine period, that is, enlightened absolutism. The work of A. V. Skorobogatov “Tsesarevich Pavel Petrovich”11 is dedicated to the ideology of Russian absolutism in the second half of the 18th century. On a specific example, the ideological construct is studied from its origins to implementation. Based on the analysis of a wide range of diverse sources, the author examines the problem of the formation of the political doctrine of Emperor Paul I and its development before accession to the throne, reveals the influence on this process of education and training of Paul as the heir to the throne, his teachers, those around him, the circle of reading and other factors. Particular attention is paid to the theoretical development in the doctrine of the pressing problems of the era, its close connection with the needs of Russia in the second half of the 18th century. The author traces how the approbation of Pavel Petrovich's ideas was consistently carried out, despite the limited 8 Eremenko MA Palace coups. – M.: Mir knigi, 2007. – 256 p. 9 Petrukhintsev N. V. Invisible epoch // Motherland / 2009. No. 2. – 66 p. 10 Obolensky G. N. Age of Catherine the Great. The time of heroes and heroic deeds. - M.: Russian Word, 2001. - 346 p.11 Skorobogatov A.V. Tsesarevich Pavel Petrovich. - M.: RGTU, 2005. - 348 p.
5degree of his participation in the political life of the country. Here it is necessary to note "Alexander I" Sakharov A.N.12. In this book, the author seeks to show Alexander I as one of the first reformers on the throne of modern times in Russia, as a liberal autocrat who, like some of his associates, in particular M.M. Speransky, ahead of Russian time, which became, along with participation in the murder of his father - Paul I, his personal and social drama. The famous historian A.N. Bokhanov in his work “Nicholas I”13 restores the historical truth about the personality and reign of Nikolai Pavlovich, whose reign fell on the most difficult years of the 19th century for Russia. In the course of writing this work, an article by Lavrov V. M. “God rest with the saints…”14 was also considered, in which one can trace the fate of the ruling dynasty after the February Revolution of 1917. About what caused the overthrow of the monarchy in Russia, about the crisis of autocracy at the beginning of the 20th century. narrated in the “Book for Reading on the History of the Fatherland, the Beginning of the 20th Century”15 Shatsillo K.F. “100 Great Events of the 20th Century”16 Nepomnyashchiy N.N. In those used in writing the term paper “History of Russia. 1861-1917" Fedorov V. A. and "History of Russia, XX century: 1894 - 1939" Zubova A. B. traces the development of Russian absolutism after the "great" reforms of Alexander the Liberator. as Cathedral Code 164917 and a collection of documents edited by Lebedev18. Collection of documents on Petrine reforms under 12 Sakharov A. N. Alexander I. - M .: Nauka, 2008. - 288 p. 13 Bokhanov A. N. Nikolai I. - M .: Veche, 2008. - 464 p. 14 Lavrov V. M. Rest in peace with the saints ... / / Ogonyok / 2008. No. 28. - 46 p.15 Shatsillo K. F. A book for reading on the history of the Fatherland, the beginning of the 20th century. - M .: Education, 2003. - 256 p. 16 Nepomniachtchi N.N. 100 Great Events of the 20th Century. – M.: Veche, 2010. – 480 p. 17 Cathedral Code of 1649 / ed. Epifanova P. P., Tikhomirova M. N. - M .: Publishing House of Moscow. un-ta, 1961. - 678 p.18 Lebedev V.I. Reforms of Peter I. Collection of documents. – M.: Nauka, 1997. – 378 p.
6 edited by Lebedev contains the main documents characterizing the policy of Peter I and the state of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 18th century, the collection also uses legislative material, journalism of the Petrine era and notes of a number of Peter's figures. The Cathedral Code of 1649 is the fundamental legislative act of pre-Petrine Russia. The memoir of A. N. Bokhanov “Nicholas II”19 was studied. This is a story about the Russian tsar and the royal house in the last decades of its existence. The diary of Nicholas II20, studied by me, served as a source for writing a term paper. Also, in the course of writing the term paper, volume 2 of the Great Russian Encyclopedia21 was considered, which contains information about the Russian Empire during the First World War, the encyclopedia provides complete characteristic Russia of this time and its subsequent development. The course work consists of an introduction, which indicates the relevance of the research topic, sets the goal and objectives of the work, three chapters, a conclusion and a list of sources and literature used. The first chapter reveals the essence of absolutism, and examines the reasons and prerequisites for its establishment in Russia. The second chapter is devoted to the study of the formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia, its development in the era of palace coups and in the nineteenth century. Particular attention in this part of the course work is given to the reforms of Peter I, which contributed to the establishment of absolutism in Russia. The third chapter is the final one, and it explores issues related to the fall of the monarchy in Russia. And finally, in the conclusion, the main conclusions obtained as a result of studying this topic are given.19 Bokhanov A.N. Nicholas II. - M .: AST - Press, 2002. - 208 p. 20 Diary of Nicholas II [electronic resource] // Library.ru: information and reference portal. M., 2005-2007. URL: http://www.rus sky.com/history/library/diaris/.htm ed. Kravts S. L. - M .: Nauka, 2005. - 766 p.
71.The essence of absolutism and the features of its formation in Russia 1.1.The concept of absolutism and its place in the organ systemgovernment of Western Europe and Russia Absolutism is a form of government in which the supreme power in the state belongs entirely and undividedly to the monarch. Power reaches the highest degree of centralization. The absolute monarch rules, relying on the bureaucratic apparatus, the standing army and the police, and the church as an ideological force also obeys him. The heyday of absolutism in the countries of Western Europe falls on the XVII-XVIII centuries. Absolutism existed in Russia in the 18th and early 20th centuries. From a formal legal point of view, under absolutism, all the fullness of legislative and executive power is concentrated in the hands of the head of state - the monarch, he independently establishes taxes and manages state finances. The social support of absolutism is the nobility. The rationale for absolutism was the thesis of the divine origin of supreme power. The exaltation of the person of the sovereign was served by magnificent and sophisticated palace etiquette. At the first stage, absolutism was progressive: it fought against the separatism of the feudal nobility, subordinated the church to the state, and feudal fragmentation introduced unified laws. The absolute monarchy is characterized by a policy of protectionism and mercantilism, which contributed to the development of the national economy, trade and 22 BB Kafengauz, LV Cherepnin. Absolutism in Russia: Sat. – M.: uchpedgiz, 1964. – P. 10.
8 industrial bourgeoisie. New economic resources were used by absolutism to strengthen the military power of the state and wage wars of conquest. To one degree or another, the features of absolute monarchy, or the desire for it, appeared in all European states, but they found the most complete embodiment in France, where absolutism manifests itself already at the beginning XVI century, and experienced its heyday during the reign of kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV of the Bourbons (1610-1715)23. In England, the peak of absolutism fell on the reign of Elizabeth I Tudor (1558-1603), but in the British Isles it never reached its the classical form: the parliament was preserved, there was no standing army, there was no powerful local bureaucracy. Strong royal power was established in Spain, but the weak development of the local economy did not allow the entrepreneurial class to form, and Spanish absolutism degenerated into despotism. In Germany, absolute monarchies did not take shape on a national scale, but within the framework of individual principalities. The features of absolutism in various countries were determined by the balance of power between the nobility and the bourgeoisie. In France, and especially in England, the influence of bourgeois elements on politics was much greater than in Germany, Austria and Russia. A characteristic phenomenon for Europe in the second half of the 18th century was enlightened absolutism, closely associated with the ideas and practices of the Enlightenment. In general, the absolutist system of government strengthened the feeling of a state community among representatives of various estates and social groups, thereby contributing to the formation of a nation. As capitalism developed and strengthened in European countries, the principles of the existence of an absolute monarchy, which conserved 23 Henschel N . The myth of absolutism. Changes and continuity in the development of the Western European monarchy of the early modern period / transl. from English. Palamarchuk A. A. with the participation of Tsaruk L. L. and Malakhova Yu. A. - St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2003. - S. 160-162.
Archaic feudal orders and class partitions began to come into conflict with the needs of a changed society. The rigid framework of protectionism and mercantilism limited the economic freedom of entrepreneurs, who were forced to produce only goods that were beneficial to the royal treasury. Dramatic changes are taking place within the estates. An economically powerful, educated, enterprising class of capitalists is growing out of the depths of the third estate, having its own idea of the role and tasks of state power. In the Netherlands, England and France, these contradictions were resolved in a revolutionary way, in other countries there was a gradual transformation of the absolute monarchy into a limited, constitutional one. The formation of an absolute monarchy was associated with the policy of mercantilism in the economy and trade, which was pursued by Peter I, with the formation of a new ideology and culture, with the expansion of the ethno-territorial limits of the Russian state, with the strengthening and expansion of serfdom. All this required the concentration of all power in the hands of the monarch25. It should be noted that the process of formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia differed significantly from similar processes in European states. If the social support of Western European absolutism was the bourgeoisie (“third estate”) and part of the feudal lords, then the absolute monarchy in Russia mainly reflected the interests of the nobility. Therefore, it is not accidental that, having received absolute power, the Russian monarchs not only did not abolish the most archaic feudal institutions, but, on the contrary, significantly increased the enslavement of the bulk of the population. Also, the establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia was accompanied by 24 Kareev NI Western European absolute monarchy of the 16th-18th centuries. - M.: State Public Historical Library of Russia, 2009. - P. 265-267.25 Kafengauz B. B., Cherepnin L. V. Absolutism in Russia: Sat. - M.: uchpedgiz, 1964. - S. 18.
The formation of a police state, which sought to control and regulate in detail all manifestations of public and private life. Thus, the transition to an absolute monarchy was largely explained by the need to concentrate all forces and resources to ensure economic and military security. But as its power strengthened, the absolutist state itself turned into a real threat to neighboring peoples, demonstrating aspirations to expand its territory. The Russian rulers sought in each case to find their own approach for integrating new subjects into Russian society.1.2. Causes and prerequisites for the emergence of the Russianabsolutism Throughout the 17th century Great changes have taken place in the history of Russia. They touched every aspect of her life. By this time, the territory of the Russian state had noticeably expanded. Lost at the beginning of the 17th century. as a result of the intervention and seizure of the territory, they were almost completely returned, with the exception of the Baltic and Karelian lands, which remained under the rule of Sweden. Russia included Left-Bank Ukraine with Kiev and the Zaporozhye region, there was an advance to Siberia, where the Russians reached the coast Pacific Ocean. In general, in the XVII century. the borders of Russia came close to Crimean Khanate, North Caucasus and Kazakhstan. Due to the movement to the north, where there was no landownership, and there were "black" volost peasant "worlds", there was an increase in the population in Primorye and along the basins of the northern rivers. Along the banks of the Don River back in the 16th century. there appeared settlements of free people who had left the center - the Cossacks. As a result of the mass distribution of land by the Russian government, the landownership of the nobility increased. New feudal nobility 26 Alshits D.N. From legends to facts: searches and studies of new sources on the history of pre-Petrine Russia [sat. tr. D. N. Alshits on the occasion of his 90th birthday]. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2009. - P. 234.
11concentrated huge patrimonial wealth in her hands. The noble lands increased especially significantly under the rule of the first Romanovs, and mainly at the expense of peasant communities. In the 17th century. in Russia there is a strengthening of the feudal-serfdom system , in essence, a nationwide system of serfdom is being formalized. The Council Code of 1649, which formalized the system of serfdom and completed the development of the serf legislation of the Russian state, assigned privately owned peasants to landowners, boyars, monasteries, and increased local dependence of peasants on feudal lords and on the state. For the same The cathedral code established the inheritance of serfdom and the right of the landowner to dispose of the property of the serf27. Granting broad serf rights to landowners, the tsarist government at the same time made them responsible for the performance of state duties by their peasants. By creating a state system of serfdom, the government sought to mobilize the people's forces to strengthen the state, raise its economy, strengthen its military forces and solve other internal and external problems. Under these conditions, the development of trade in the broadest sense of the word is of particular importance. In Russia, several large shopping centers were formed, among which Moscow stood out. Merchants were the leaders and masters of this process. But the development of the merchant class in Russia was greatly hampered by the lack of access to the seas, the dominance of foreign capital in the country: English, French, Dutch merchant capital in these years sought to capture Russia's domestic markets. Meanwhile, in the same years, uprisings broke out in the country every now and then, in particular, the rather powerful Moscow uprising of 1662. The largest uprising was the uprising of Stepan Razin. After this, 27 Cathedral Code of 1649 / ed. Epifanova P. P., Tikhomirova M. N. - M .: Publishing House of Moscow. un-ta, 1961. - S. 274.
During the Peasant War, a number of important state measures were carried out in Russia, including the transition to a system of household taxation, transformation in the army, etc. As a result of a long process of state centralization, which took a long period of time in the history of Russia, the country reached in the 17th century. such a stage of development that made it possible to move on to absolutism. political role. Serf relations continue to dominate in all spheres of the socio-political and economic life of society. At the same time, the changes that took place in all areas of the country's life outgrew in the first quarter of the 18th century. into a new quality form. From the second half of the XVII century. the political system of the country evolved to absolutism, which was expressed in the fall of the role of institutions characteristic of a class-representative monarchy. Absolutism in Russia was formed on the basis of the undivided domination of the feudal-serf system . The autocracy had to maneuver between the groupings of the ruling class. During the years of exacerbation of social contradictions between the antagonistic classes of feudal society, all strata of the ruling class rallied around the tsar, which contributed to the strengthening of autocracy and the centralization of government. The foreign policy of the government was carried out in the same direction. The most striking evidence of the strengthening of the autocracy was the decline in the significance of Zemsky Sobors. The Zemsky Sobor of 1653, which adopted a resolution on the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, is considered the last council to meet in full force. This was due to the fact that the strengthened autocracy no longer needed the support of the estate-representative 28 Alshits D.N. . From legends to facts: search and research of new sources on the history of pre-Petrine Russia [sat. tr. D. N. Alshits on the occasion of his 90th birthday]. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2009. - P. 145.
13 organs. He was pushed back by government agencies - orders, as well as the Boyar Duma. Several orders were subordinated to one person. Changes were also made to the local control system. In order to centralize power, neighboring counties were united into "ranks" - a kind of prototype of the Petrine provinces. Governors were sent to the places, vested with full power. In 1682, localism was abolished (occupation of positions depending on the nobility of origin and the official position of the ancestors). "Bit books", which recorded the genealogy and appointments, were solemnly burned; the principle of service compliance began to be put forward. In the second half of the 17th century. scattered attempts were made to reorganize the army. The so-called regiments of the “new system” were created from free, “eager” people: soldiers (infantry), reiters (cavalry) and dragoons (mixed system). They also recruited "subject" people. One hundred peasant households gave one soldier for lifelong service. These regiments were assembled only for the duration of the war, and after it ended, they disbanded. Foreign officers began to be invited into the army. A serious obstacle to the transition to absolutism was created by the church, which still claimed great power. The actions of Patriarch Nikon in many ways ran counter to the emerging absolutism. Moscow Patriarch Nikon put forward and fiercely defended the idea of independence and the leading role of the church in the state. He argued that the "priesthood" (church) is higher than the "kingdom" and that the king receives the crown from the hands of the patriarch - the representative of God on earth. Having a huge personal influence on the tsar, Nikon managed to achieve the title of "great sovereign", which put him almost on an equal footing with Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The court of the Moscow patriarch was not much inferior in luxury and splendor to the royal chambers. It took the secular authorities 8 years to formalize the deposition of Nikon. church cathedral In 1666, he made a decision pleasing to the tsar: Patriarch Nikon was exiled as a simple monk to a monastery.
14 Thus, the processes that took place in the socio-political development of Russia in the second half of the 17th century testify that attempts at transformation took place before the reforms of Peter the Great, and they contributed to the further formation of absolutism. Despite the aggravation of socio-political, economic relations in the country, the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. was a turning point in the history of feudal Russia. 2. The establishment and development of autocracy in the XVIII-XIX centuries.2.1. Formation of absolutism under Peter I The 17th century in the history of Russia is considered to be the last century of the Muscovite kingdom, the century of transition to the Russian Empire. It was in the second half of the 17th century. absolute monarchy begins to take shape in Russia, but its final approval and formalization dates back to the first quarter of the 18th century. The transformations that have taken place in Russia have covered almost all aspects of the country's life: the economy, politics, science, everyday life, foreign policy, political system. They affected the position of the working masses, church affairs, and so on. In many ways, these transformations are associated with the activities of Peter I (1689-1725). His merit consisted in the fact that he correctly understood and realized the complexity of the tasks that faced the country, and purposefully began to implement them. The reforms carried out by Peter the Great played an important role in the history of Russia and contributed to the development of absolutism in Russia. This is understandable, since the old clerk's apparatus, inherited by Peter, was not able to cope with the increasingly complex management tasks. Therefore, new orders and offices began to be created. 29 Marasinova EN Power and Personality: Essays on Russian History of the 18th Century. - M.: Nauka, 2008. - S. 86-87.
15A regional reform was carried out, with the help of which Peter hoped to provide the army with everything necessary. The reform, while meeting the most pressing needs of autocratic power, was at the same time a consequence of the development of the bureaucratic trend. It was with the help of strengthening the bureaucratic element in management that Peter intended to solve all state issues. The reform led not only to the concentration of financial and administrative powers in the hands of a few governors - representatives of the central government, but also to the creation of an extensive hierarchical network of bureaucratic institutions with a large staff of officials on the ground. The former system "order - county" was doubled: "order (or office) - province - province - county". A similar scheme was laid down in the idea of organizing the Senate. Autocracy, which sharply increased in the second half of the 17th century, did not need institutions of representation and self-government. At the beginning of the XVIII century. the activities of the Boyar Duma are actually terminated, the control of the central and local apparatus is transferred to the so-called "council of ministers" - a temporary council of heads of the most important government departments30. The creation and functioning of the Senate was the next level of bureaucratization of 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 increasing importance of bureaucratic principles, without which Peter could not imagine either effective government or autocracy as a political regime of personal power. Peter attached great importance I adopted legislation. He believed that a "government" law, issued on time and consistently enforced, could do almost anything. That is why the legislation of the Petrine era was distinguished by pronounced 30 Cherkasov PP, Chernyshevsky DV History of Imperial Russia from Peter I to Nicholas II. - M .: International relations, 2004. - S. 268-270.
16 trends towards comprehensive regulation, unceremonious interference in the sphere of private and personal life. The formulation of the idea of reforming the state apparatus and its implementation date back to the end of 1710-1720. During this period, Peter I in many areas of domestic policy begins to move away from the principles of direct violence to the regulation of social phenomena with the help of a bureaucratic machine. Peter chose the state system of Sweden as a model for the state reform he conceived. Summarizing the experience of the Swedes, taking into account some specific aspects of Russian reality, he created the so-called General Regulations of 1719-1724, which had no analogues in Europe at that time, containing the most general principles of the apparatus31. Thus, a new system of central institutions was created along with a system of higher authorities and local government. Particularly important was the reform of the Senate, which occupied a key position in the state system of Peter. The Senate was entrusted with judicial, administrative and legislative functions. He was also in charge of the collegiums and provinces, the appointment and approval of officials. Under Peter I, the Russian army and navy became one of the strongest in Europe. Peter I even tried to introduce military principles into the civil sphere. This was manifested in the extension of military legislation to the system of state institutions, as well as in giving the laws governing the work of institutions the significance and force of military regulations. In 1716, the basic military law - the Military Regulations - was adopted by Peter's direct decree as a fundamental legislative act, mandatory in institutions of all levels. The extension of military law to the civil sphere led to the application of the same penalties to civil servants that were subject to war crimes against the oath. Neither before nor after Peter in the history of Russia has such a huge number been published. 31 Lebedev VI Reforms of Peter I. Collection of documents. – M.: Nauka, 2007. – P. 148.
17 decrees promising the death penalty for crimes in office. The regular army nurtured by Peter I, in all the diversity of its institutions and uniformity of principles, took a large place in the life of Russian society, becoming its most important element. Many believe that the army was not attached to the state, but, on the contrary, the state was attached to the army. It is no coincidence that the 18th century became the "century of palace coups" largely due to the hypertrophied importance of the military element, primarily the guard, in public life empire. Peter's state reform, as well as the transformation of the army, undoubtedly led to a fairly clear separation of military and civil services. And another measure related to the use of the military in general civil affairs was carried out by Peter I. During the per capita census, a new procedure for the maintenance and deployment of troops was established. The regiments were settled on the lands of those peasants, from the "capita number" of which was collected to pay for the needs of this regiment. The laws on the settlement of regiments issued in 1724 were supposed to regulate the relationship of the population with the troops. The military command not only monitored the collection of the poll tax in the area where the regiment was deployed, but also performed the functions of the "zemstvo police": they stopped the escapes of the peasants, suppressed resistance, and also carried out, according to the passport system introduced at the same time, general political supervision over the movement of the population. Peter, there was a collapse of the once single class of "service people". The top of the service class - the servants "in the fatherland", that is, by origin, became nobles, and the lower classes of the service class "in the fatherland" - the so-called "odnodvortsy". The formation of the class of nobles, who enjoyed exclusive rights, was the result not only of the process of differentiation of the service class, the deepening of the differences between its upper and lower classes, but also the result of the conscious activity of the authorities. The essence of the changes in the position of the top of the service class was the introduction of a new criterion for evaluating their service. Instead of
According to the principle, according to which noble servicemen immediately occupied a high position in society, the army and in the service as a result of their origin, the principle of personal service was introduced, the conditions of which were determined by legislation32. The new principle, reflected in the Table of Ranks of 1722, strengthened the nobility for account of the influx of immigrants from other classes. But this was not the ultimate goal of this transformation. With the help of the principle of personal service, strictly stipulated conditions for promotion through the ranks, Peter turned the mass of servicemen into a military-bureaucratic corps, completely subordinate to him and dependent only on him. At the same time, Peter sought to connect the very concept of "nobleman" as closely as possible with a mandatory permanent service that required knowledge and practical skills. The property of the nobles, as well as the service, was regulated by law: in 1714, in order to force the nobles to think about the service as the main source of well-being, they introduced a major - it was forbidden to sell and mortgage land holdings, including tribal ones. Noble estates could be confiscated at any time in case of violation of laws, which was often carried out in practice. The reform was also significant in relation to city residents, Peter decided to unify the social structure of the city by introducing Western European institutions into it: magistrates, workshops and guilds. These institutions, which had deep roots in the history of the development of a Western European medieval city, were brought into Russian reality by force, by administrative means. The posad population was divided into two guilds: the first guild was made up of the "primary" guild, which included the tops of the posad, rich merchants, artisans, citizens of intelligent professions, and the second guild included small shopkeepers and artisans, who, in addition, were united in workshops according to professional sign. All other townspeople who were not included in the guilds were subject to verification in order to identify runaway peasants among them and return them to their former places. – M.: Nauka, 2009. – S. 194-197.
Peter left unchanged the old system of distributing taxes according to the "belly", when the most wealthy city dwellers were forced to pay for tens and hundreds of their poor fellow citizens. By this, medieval social structures and institutions were consolidated, which, in turn, sharply hampered the process of maturation and development of capitalist relations in cities. The system of city administration became just as formal, headed by Peter the Chief Magistrate, who led the magistrates of other cities subordinate to him. But these magistrates, whose main rights were only legal proceedings, collecting taxes and maintaining order in the city, neither in essence nor in a number of formal signs had anything in common with the magistrates of Western European cities - effective self-government bodies. As a result of the city reform, a bureaucratic management mechanism was created, and the representatives of the township, who were part of the magistrates, were considered as officials centralized system management of cities, and their positions were even included in the Table of Ranks. The social transformations carried out by Peter I also affected the serfs: the serfs and serfs merged into a single estate. Serfdom is an institution similar in its features to domestic slavery, which had a thousand-year history and developed law. The general trend in the development of serfdom was towards the spread of many norms of servile law to the serfs, which was a common platform for their subsequent merger. Serfdom was established in Russia long before the birth of Peter. It has permeated all the foundations of the life of the country, the consciousness of the people. Unlike Western Europe, serfdom in Russia played a special, comprehensive role. The destruction of the legal structures of serfdom would undermine the basis of autocratic power. Peter I understood all this well, and therefore strengthened this system with all the means available to him. By the beginning of the 20s. It was
An important social event was carried out: the fight against the runaways of the peasants, who were returned to their former owners, was intensified. The legislation introduced by Peter I was characterized by a more precise regulation of the rights and obligations of each class and, accordingly, a more stringent system of prohibitions. Tax reform was of great importance in this process. The introduction of the poll tax, which was preceded by a census of male souls, meant the establishment of a procedure for the rigid attachment of each payer to the tax in the place of residence where he was registered for the payment of the poll tax. The time of Peter the Great was characterized by large-scale police actions of a long-term nature. The most serious of them should be recognized as the placement in 1724-1725. army regiments to permanent apartments in places, counties, provinces where the poll tax was collected for them, and the police functions of army commanders related to this. Another police action carried out under Peter was the introduction of the passport system. Without a passport established by law, not a single peasant or city dweller had the right to leave his place of residence. Violation of the passport regime automatically meant the transformation of a person into a criminal subject to arrest and sent to his former place of residence. Significant changes also affected the church. Peter I carried out a reform, expressed in the creation of a collegial (synodal) administration of the Russian Church. The destruction of the patriarchate reflected the aspirations of Peter. I liquidate the "princely" system of church power, unthinkable under the then autocracy. By declaring himself the de facto head of the church, Peter destroyed its autonomy. Moreover, he made extensive use of the institutions of the church to carry out his policies. Citizens, under fear of large fines, were obliged to attend church and confess their sins to a priest, the same, according to the law, was obliged to report everything illegal that became known at confession to the authorities. Thus, the reforms implemented by Peter I had a great
21significance for the historical fate of Russia. The institutions of power he created lasted for hundreds of years. For example, the Senate operated from 1711 to December 1917, i.e. 206 years, synodal structure Orthodox Church remained unchanged from 1721 to 1918, i.e., a little less than 200 years; the poll tax system was abolished only in 1887, that is, 163 years after its introduction in 1724. An equally long fate was prepared for many other reforms of Peter the Great. In the history of Russia, there are few such or other institutions of state power, created either before or after Peter I, that would have existed for so long and would have had such a strong impact on all aspects of public life33. Peter's reforms led to the formation of a military-bureaucratic state with a strong centralized autocratic power based on a feudal economy and a strong army. 2.2. Post-Petrine period in the development of absolutism (until the 19th century) The reforms of Peter I had a serious impact on the socio-economic development of the country. In the XVIII century. in Russia there is observed (albeit in the initial stage) the process of disintegration of serfdom and the formation of capitalist relations. The socio-economic development of Russia was extremely difficult and contradictory. Serf relations, which entered the stage of their decomposition, not only remained dominant, but also spread to new territories. A large-scale industry is being formed in the country, in which capitalist, semi-serf and serf relations are bizarrely intertwined. The development of commodity-money relations draws into its orbit a significant part of the landowners and a certain part of the peasant farms. Destroying the natural character of agriculture, this process gradually created the prerequisites for the penetration of capitalist relations into it. However, in the XVIII century. these prerequisites could not be fully realized. The emerging Russian bourgeoisie in the 18th century. has not yet turned into an independent class, but 33 P. P. Cherkasov, D. V. Chernyshevsky. Decree Op. pp.275-280.
22remained a medieval class of merchants. The bourgeoisie was closely connected with the serfdom and all the attributes that flowed from it. This largely explains the complexity and inconsistency of the socio-economic and political development Russia of the XVIII century. On January 28, 1725, after a long illness, Peter I died without having time to appoint a successor. The dispute over the successor was decided by the Guards regiments. Noble in their composition, since that time they have become the main tool in the struggle for power between rival factions. Representatives of the new nobility, who advanced under Peter I, enlisted the support of the guards regiments, elevated Catherine I to the throne, but practically the power was in the hands of Prince A.D. Menshikov, an associate of Peter I. In 1726, the Supreme Privy Council was created - a new supreme body of power, which pushed the Senate into second place. Under these conditions, the continuation of major reforms became impossible. After the death in 1727 of Catherine I, according to her will, the grandson of Peter I, Peter II, was proclaimed emperor, and the functions of regent were transferred to the Supreme Privy Council, in fact, to Menshikov. Menshikov's policy caused discontent even among his recent allies. In September 1727, Menshikov was arrested, exiled to distant Berezov, where he soon died. In January 1730, the young emperor caught a cold during another hunt and died suddenly. During the discussion of possible candidates for the throne, the choice fell on the Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, the daughter of Peter I's brother, Ivan Alekseevich. In deep secrecy, conditions were drawn up, that is, the conditions for Anna Ioannovna's accession to the throne. Conditions limited the autocracy, but not in the interests of the entire nobility, but in favor of its aristocratic elite, which sat in the Supreme Privy Council. According to the convention, the right to conclude peace, establish new taxes, promote promotion, command the army, choose the successor of the sovereign, and much more passed into the hands of the Supreme
23 of the secret council34. Anna Ioannovna, who signed the conditions, turned into an uncomplaining puppet. However, these plans did not find support from either the nobles or the guards. Taking advantage of this, Anna Ioannovna proclaimed herself an autocratic empress, abolished the Supreme Privy Council, and sent its most active members to Siberia35. In the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the influence of foreigners reached unprecedented proportions. The tone at court was set by the favorite of the Empress, the Duke of Courland, Biron, who enjoyed her boundless confidence and occupied a dominant position at court. During the years of the Bironovshchina, it was mostly foreigners who were nominated for lucrative positions. This provoked a protest from the Russian nobility. Instead of the Supreme Privy Council, the Senate was restored, which a year later was pushed into the background by the Cabinet, composed by the queen. In the context of general dissatisfaction with Biron, Field Marshal Munnich easily managed to carry out another palace coup, which in November 1740 deprived Biron of the rights of regent. The mother of the young Ivan VI, Anna Leopoldovna, was proclaimed regent. The coup could not satisfy the interests of wide circles of the Russian nobility, since the Germans still held the leading position in the state. During the next coup, committed on November 25, 1741 in favor of the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth, who reigned for 20 years (1741-1761), the representatives of the Brunswick family who reigned on the throne were arrested. The participants in the coup received generous rewards, and those who did not have a noble rank were elevated to the nobility. Speaking of palace coups in the second quarter of the 18th century, it should be noted that they took place relatively easily, without any special complications. Their success was largely due to the open dissatisfaction of the Russian nobility, 34 Petrukhintsev N.V. Invisible Epoch // Motherland / 2009. No. 2. – P. 28. 35 Eremenko M. A. Palace coups. – M.: Mir knigi, 2007. – S. 61-63.
In addition, the open dissatisfaction of the nobles was caused by compulsory service, established at one time by Peter I. Satisfying the requirements of the nobility, the government in 1732 established a corps of cadets. Noble children after the end of this educational institution received officer ranks. Somewhat later, in 1736, the demands of the nobles for the abolition of indefinite service were satisfied. One of the sons of a noble family was released from service to manage the estate. The main content of the policy of absolutism during this period was the desire of the government to help the nobility adapt their economy to the developing commodity-money relations, to overcome the impact on the serf estate of the emerging capitalist way of life. However, it was already impossible to stop this process. Elizabeth Petrovna was replaced by her nephew Peter III (1761-1762), poorly educated, unable to lead the state. Peter III in July 1762, his wife Catherine II succeeded him on the throne, reigning for 34 years (1762-1796). Unlike her predecessors, she was an intelligent statesman, a cunning and clever politician, a subtle diplomat who left a noticeable mark on the history of Russia. The second half of the eighteenth century in Russian historiography is called the period of enlightened absolutism. Enlightened absolutism is such a period in the history of an autocratic state when tendencies towards bourgeois development are clearly manifested in its policy, when it is characterized by the acceptance and open proclamation by the ruling circles of principles French Enlightenment, ideas set forth in the works of Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu, Rousseau and others. Enlightened absolutism was characteristic of a number of European countries: Austria, Prussia, Spain, Denmark, Sweden. In Russia, this period is inextricably linked with the name of Catherine II.
The main idea of the entire reign of Catherine II was to strengthen the authority of the supreme power, improve the state apparatus, aimed at making it more flexible, obedient, and centralized. Having become empress as a result of the coup in 1762, Catherine declared in her manifesto that autocratic power not based on good philanthropic principles is evil. Laws were solemnly promised that would indicate to all state institutions the limits of their activities. Attempts to correct the Code of 1649 were made throughout the century, commissions for this work were convened, for example, in 1754 and 1761. On December 14, 1766, Catherine issued a manifesto on the convocation of deputies to the Commission to draft a new code. Deputies were elected from estates: nobles, townspeople, peasants, and from higher institutions: collegiums, the Senate, the Synod. An important new moment was the orders that the voters were supposed to provide the deputies with. The main order was written by Catherine herself, it spoke about laws, court, trade, education, criminal and civil laws36. During the reign of Catherine II, a number of major events were carried out, both in domestic and foreign policy, but they were carried out largely by feudal methods. Catherine II began her reign with the fact that she confirmed the position of the Manifesto on the freedom of the nobility and generously endowed the participants in the palace coup. In February 1764, secularization was carried out (the conversion by the state of church property, mainly land, into secular property) of church land ownership. As a result, more than a million souls of peasants were taken away from the church, and a special collegium, the Collegium of Economics, was created to manage them. The corvee for the peasants was replaced by a cash quitrent. Most of the land passed to them, on which they carried the corvée in favor of 36 GN Obolensky Century of Catherine the Great. The time of heroes and heroic deeds. - M .: Russian Word, 2001. - S. 246.
26monasteries. At the same time, in 1765, a decree was issued in favor of the feudal lords, providing for the assignment to the nobles of all the lands they seized from various categories of peasants. In August 1767, Catherine II issued the most cruel decree in the history of serfdom. By this decree, any complaint of a peasant against a landowner was declared the gravest state crime. At the same time, it is no coincidence that the period of Catherine's reign went down in history as the age of "enlightened absolutism." The Empress makes extensive use of the tacking policy. To disguise her pro-nobility policy, she uses the political, economic and philosophical concepts of the Western European enlighteners, widely publicizing her correspondence with the most prominent enlightenment scientists of that time. This created an opinion about her as an enlightened and humane monarch. A series of decrees of the 60s. crowned by feudal legislation, which turned the serfs into people who were completely unprotected from the arbitrariness of the landlords and were obliged to meekly obey their will. By decree of January 17, 1765, the landowner could send the peasant not only into exile, but also to hard labor. Legally, the landowners were deprived of only one right - the right to deprive their serfs of their lives. In the "enlightened age" of Catherine, peasant trade reached enormous proportions. The decrees adopted in these years testified to the development of serfdom in depth. But serfdom also developed in breadth, including new categories of the population in its sphere of influence. The decree of the tsarist government of May 3, 1783 forbade the peasants of the Left-Bank Ukraine from transferring from one owner to another. Thus, serfdom was legally formalized in the Left-Bank and Sloboda Ukraine37. The second half of the 18th century. is distinguished by a sharp increase in the socio-political activity of the population: the owner, monastic and ascribed peasants, working people of manufactories, the peoples of the Volga region, the Yaik people 37 Ageeva OG The Imperial Court of Russia, 1700-1796. – M.: Nauka, 2008. – S. 343-345.
27 Cossacks. This activity reached its apogee in the peasant war under the leadership of E. I. Pugachev in 1773-1775. Meanwhile, the tsarist government continues to carry out reforms begun before the Pugachev uprising. In 1775, the government embarked on reforms that marked the beginning of the socio-economic and political development of the country in the aspect of enlightened absolutism. An extensive network of provincial and district authorities was created, which made it possible to strengthen supervision over the population. The exercise of this supervision was transferred to the hands of the nobility. Thus, the long-standing dream of the nobles to create their own corporations and estate institutions was realized. The implementation of the reform of local authorities in practice significantly increased the staff of officials. Certain benefits from the reform were also urban population, especially the top of the merchant class. Citizens received their elected bodies of power in the form of city dumas. In parallel with them, the city was ruled by a mayor appointed by the government. The government also carried out a number of measures in favor of the merchant class. So, the Manifesto of 1775 declared freedom of entrepreneurship. The process of registration of the privileges of nobles and merchants is completed by two letters: "Diploma on the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble Russian nobility" and "Charter to cities". Their simultaneous publication (April 21, 1785) testifies to the desire of the autocracy to consolidate the forces on which it relied - the nobility and the elite of the urban population, mainly merchant merchants. Both letters brought together the privileges granted to nobles and merchants at different times, and at the same time expanded their rights. The history of Russia at the end of the 18th century. significantly different from the previous period. In the actions of Paul I (1796-1801), who succeeded Catherine on the throne, in many cases there was no continuity. The government measures of that time corresponded to the personality of the emperor, a capricious, despotic man, changeable in his decisions, easily
28who gave in to unbridled anger and just as easily turned anger into mercy. Some historians call the period of his reign "unenlightened absolutism", others - "military-police dictatorship", others consider Paul "Russian Hamlet", others - "romantic emperor". However, even those historians who find positive features in Paul's reign admit that he equated autocracy and personal despotism. holidays in the regiments. Those who did not appear were dismissed from the army. The peasants did not go unnoticed either. By decree of April 5, 1797, the peasant had to work for himself for three days, and for the master for three. The decree did not establish a norm, but a recommendation. Under Paul I, decrees were also issued, to some extent taking into account the interests of the peasants. Since 1797, it was forbidden to sell house serfs and landless peasants under the hammer, and a year later a ban was imposed on the sale of Ukrainian peasants without land. fear of the emperor's outbursts of anger, which gave rise to uncertainty in tomorrow; the nobles, who were under the constant threat of disgrace, felt just as insecure; wide circles of the nobility, whose economy was connected with the market, did not delight in breaking with England: after all, English merchants were the traditional buyers of agricultural surpluses. Finally, members of his own family were hostile to the emperor, especially his wife and eldest son Alexander, whom he suspected of intending to take the crown from him. It is not surprising that as early as 1800 a conspiracy arose. At first, it was headed by Vice-Chancellor N.P. Panin, and after his exile, the leadership passed to the St. Petersburg military governor Palen. Conspirators on the night of March 12
291800, they entered the Mikhailovsky Castle and killed Pavel38. Thus ended the 18th century, which became a turning point in the history of Russia. At the beginning of this century, a new form of government was established in Russia - absolutism, our country becomes the Russian Empire and is among the leading countries in the world. 2.3. The development of absolutism in the 19th century The 19th century occupies a special place in Russian history. Russia confidently declared itself as a world power, experienced the rise of the victory over Napoleon and the defeat in the Crimean War, an unprecedented expansion of its borders and the inclusion of peoples whose level of development of civil society after joining the Russian Empire could not but suffer from the arbitrariness of unlimited Russian autocracy. Russia retained its traditional way of life, different from Western Europe. Absolutism and social system serfdom hindered the development of the economy and hindered the modernization of the country. The beginning of the 19th century is associated with the accession to the throne on March 12, 1801 of Alexander I, whose reign was marked by the spread of liberal ideas in Russia. His tutor in childhood was the famous Swiss politician, an adherent of the ideas of the Enlightenment, F. S. La Harpe. It was he who tried to bring liberal ideas to the consciousness of the future monarch. The ideas of constitutionalism laid down by La Harpe played their role. Even before his accession to the throne, in 1796, a friendly circle of young aristocrats formed around Alexander. Since 1801, the main work on the preparation of reforms in the liberal direction took place in the Private Committee they created, a kind of advisory body under the emperor. Their main result was to be the restriction of autocracy, with which the monarch himself seemed to agree. - M.: RGTU, 2005. - S. 181-183.
By the administration, ministries are created instead of collegiums. A Committee of Ministers is also approved to discuss general issues of governing the country39. During the reign of Alexander I, the undertakings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky played an important role. At the end of 1808, the emperor instructed Speransky to draw up a general plan for state reforms. Speransky's project provided for the introduction of political and civil liberties (with inequality of estates) and some limitation of the autocratic power of the emperor. The core of the project was the reform of state bodies based on the principle of separation of powers. The supreme legislative body was to be the elected State Duma, which, as it were, crowned the pyramid of volost, district and provincial dumas. Speransky's project meant the transformation of an autocratic monarchy into a constitutional one. The emperor approved this project, but did not dare to accept it as a whole. Despite the fact that Speransky did not touch upon social problems and did not touch upon the foundations of the serfdom, his project had progressive meaning, as it contributed to the beginning of the constitutional process in Russia and the convergence of its political system with Western European political systems. However, this was not destined to come true. All feudal Russia opposed the liberal reforms. The only result of the planned reforms was the establishment in 1810 of State Council, which was given advisory functions in the development of the most important laws40. One of the most characteristic features post-war period the reign of Alexander became a growing social movement, for the first time in the history of Russia acquired organized forms. The ideological basis of these secret societies was liberalism, the slogans were the abolition of serfdom. op. S. 575.
31 rights and limitation of autocracy, up to the transition to a republican form of government in Russia. In the autumn of 1825, Alexander I suddenly fell ill and died. The death of Alexander became that milestone in the history of Russia, which was followed by the oblivion of many reform initiatives, and not only a new reign began, but also a whole era of “stabilization” of the political regime. Nicholas I came to power. However, he had to take the throne in exceptional circumstances. After the death of Alexander, under the Decree of succession to the throne, Constantine was to become the next king, but back in 1822 he renounced the throne. Nicholas began his reign by suppressing the Decembrist uprising. The impression that it made on Nicholas, who ascended the throne, determined the anti-liberal nature of his entire reign and forced him to take steps to strengthen the autocratic system. The era of Nicholas I is a period when the autocrat comes to the fore in all areas of life. At that time, everything was covered by the rigid framework of a strict bureaucratic hierarchy, outwardly giving the impression of unity and order. Centralization of power became the most important direction of domestic policy. To carry out the tasks of political investigation in July 1826, a permanent body was created - the Third Department of the Personal Office - a secret service with significant powers, the head of which (since 1827) was also the chief of the gendarmes. Assuming the throne, Nicholas I announced his intention to ensure the country's rule of law . To this end, work was carried out on the codification (streamlining) of Russian legislation. M. M. Speransky, returned from exile, headed the activities of the II department of the office. As a result, the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire appeared in 45 volumes and the Code of Acting Laws in 15 volumes.
Not trusting the public, Nicholas I saw his main support in the army and bureaucracy. In the reign of Nicholas there was a further growth of the bureaucratic apparatus. New ministries and departments appeared, striving to create their own bodies on the ground. A variety of industries became objects of bureaucratic regulation. human activity, including religion, art, literature, science. The number of officials grew rapidly. In general, the policy of Nicholas I was conservative throughout his reign. The main areas of activity were: strengthening autocratic power; further bureaucratization and centralization of the country; work aimed at creating a police state. The key problem remained the peasant question. Understanding the need to abolish serfdom, Nicholas did not set himself the task of eliminating it. In 1841, a law was passed prohibiting the sale of peasants singly and without land (thereby eliminating the possibility of the destruction of peasant families); in 1843 - landless nobles were deprived of the right to acquire serfs (it was finished with the use of peasants as domestic slaves); in 1842, a law on "obligated peasants" was issued, which developed the decree on "free cultivators" of Alexander I of 180342. It must be admitted that this improved the position of certain categories of peasants, and some prerequisites were created for the future liberal reforms of Alexander II. The reign of Emperor Alexander II (1855-1881) was a period of radical transformations in Russian society. The interests of the political and historical development countries demanded a radical change in the basic ideological guidelines of the autocratic system. After Crimean War the clash of traditional orders and new requirements confronted Russia with the necessity and inevitability of reforming 42 Bokhanov AN Decree. op. S. 245.
33state system. But reforms under the conditions of the Russian absolute monarchy could only be carried out with the active participation of the tsar. Excellently educated, Alexander II understood the need for change and accepted the coming changes. The abolition of serfdom became the central event of the reign of Alexander II the Liberator. This was followed by reforms of local government, the judicial system, the reorganization of the army, the reform of finance, public education, censorship, etc. Political reforms were of great historical importance for the fate of Russia. They became an important step towards building civil society and the rule of law. They were conceptually homogeneous and aimed at introducing legal principles into the activities of government bodies, based, first of all, exclusively on the will of the first person in the state - the emperor. The reforms changed the very social atmosphere, gave rise to the expectation of the imminent introduction of a constitutional order. However, the reforms caused great concern among conservatives, who were alarmed by the scale and direction of the changes. They sought to limit the scale of reforms, and the assassination of the reformer tsar strengthened their position and led to the rejection of reforms. Came to power as a result of the tragic death of his reformer father, Alexander III, nicknamed the Peacemaker, could not be a supporter of reforms. He adhered to the opinion widespread in the Russian elite of that time that the rejection of the principles of autocracy and the strong power of the emperor leads to social upheavals and a crisis of power. Therefore, his domestic policy was quite different from the era of "great reforms", the emperor embarked on the path of "counter-reforms". The empire thus returned to the traditional paths of development that 35 years later would lead Russia to the collapse of the monarchy.
343. The overthrow of the absolute monarchy in Russia3.1. The crisis of autocracy in Russia towards the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. At the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. Russia continued to be an absolute monarchy, in which all power belonged to the emperor and was not limited by any laws. Moreover, the law itself stated that "the Emperor of All Russia is an autocratic and unlimited monarch." The greater or lesser costs of such a system of power depended solely on who exactly was the emperor. In the autumn of 1894, Emperor Nicholas II ascended the Russian throne. Nicholas II considered autocratic power to be a purely family affair and was sincerely convinced that he should pass it on to his son in its entirety. Already in January 1895, speaking to deputies from the nobility, zemstvos and cities, the young emperor, having made a reservation, called the hopes that spread in society for the liberalization of the regime "meaningless dreams". The monarchical form of government ceased to satisfy the needs of public administration of that time. In most European countries, development political system For a long time it has been moving along the line of folding the parliamentary system on the basis of elections. By the beginning of the 20th century, the attitude towards the monarch had changed, and his authority was falling. Enormous harm was done to the authority of the monarchy by the "activities" at the royal court of numerous holy fools, seers and blessed ones. But the influence of the "holy elder" Grigory Rasputin (G.E. Novykh), who became a symbol of the decay of the Russian autocracy in the last years of the reign of Nicholas II, turned out to be the most destructive. Having first appeared at court in 1905, the former horse thief gradually began to enjoy the unlimited confidence of the royal couple. The beginning of the 20th century. for Russia it was stormy and difficult. In the context of the impending revolution, the government sought to preserve the existing system without any significant political change. The main socio-political support of the autocracy remained
The nobility, the army, the Cossacks, the police, an extensive bureaucratic apparatus, the Church. As before, the government used the age-old illusions of the masses of the people about the king, their religiosity, political obscurity. But there were also innovations. The government camp was heterogeneous: the rightists sought to block all attempts at reform, defended unlimited autocracy, advocated the suppression of revolutionary uprisings, and the liberal democrats understood the need to expand and strengthen the socio-political base of the monarchy, the alliance of the nobility with the top of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie. At the beginning of the 20th century. formed the liberal camp. Its formation proceeded slowly, since the representatives of the bourgeoisie firmly stood on loyal positions, defiantly avoiding political activity. 1905 was a turning point, but even at that time the Russian bourgeoisie was not particularly radical. The liberals stepped up their activities on the eve of the revolution of 1905. They saw their goal in replacing the autocracy with a legal bourgeois state in the form of a constitutional monarchy based on the division of power between the nobles, the bourgeoisie and the masses, and they relied on non-violent methods of struggle. However, both the workers and peasant movement. At the same time, the scale of the labor movement and its direction from economic strikes to anti-government demonstrations, from economic demands to political actions, as well as the struggle of the peasants against landlessness, landownership, and tax oppression, were clearly visible. In 1900-1904. for the first time in history, the political actions of the proletariat and the peasantry coincided in time. In turn, the revolutionary movement (Social Democrats, Socialist-Revolutionaries) put forward a demand for the overthrow of the autocracy, the creation of a republic, the introduction of democratic freedoms, and the convening of a Constituent Assembly. Socio-political tension in society grew rapidly under the influence of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Most
Far-sighted representatives of the Russian bureaucracy (S.Yu. Witte, P.D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky) understood the need and inevitability of change, but could not convince the tsar to take a course on reforms that could prevent the revolution. The confrontation between the authorities and the people intensified. The critical point that opened the way for the revolution was the events in St. Petersburg on January 9, 1905, which entered the history of Russia under the name “Bloody Sunday”, that is, the execution by tsarism of a peaceful procession of the masses with a petition to the tsar. The revolution of 1905-1907. was indeed universal. It solved the problems of the bourgeois-democratic revolution and proceeded under the slogans of the realization of bourgeois freedoms. In its development, the revolution brought the autocracy to a critical point three times: the all-Russian October strike of 1905; Moscow armed uprising in December 1905 as the culminating point of the revolution; the June political crisis of 1906. These events were a serious shock to tsarism, putting it before a choice: either to follow the path of terror for the sake of preserving autocracy, or to make concessions towards the constitution and thereby stop the growing strength of the revolution43. Manifesto of October 17, 1905 improvement public order"allowing the creation of the State Duma became an important constitutional document that had a great impact on the political life of the country. But he did not solve the problem of transforming an autocratic monarchy into a constitutional bourgeois monarchy. The Duma, as the first representative legislative institution in Russia, similar to the European Parliament, began its activity in 1906. In total, it lasted 12 years and had four convocations. – M.: Veche, 2010. – p. 23 - 3244 Bokhanov A. N. Nicholas II. - M.: AST - Press, 2002. - S. 105.
The First World War sharply aggravated the situation in the country. The war, during which there was a broad mobilization of the able-bodied male population, horses and a massive requisition of livestock and agricultural products, had a detrimental effect on the economy, especially in the countryside. In the environment of the politicized Petrograd society, the authorities turned out to be discredited by scandals (in particular, those related to the influence of G. E. Rasputin and his proteges - “dark forces”) and suspicions of treason; Nicholas' declarative adherence to the idea of "autocratic" power came into sharp conflict with the liberal and leftist aspirations of a significant part of the Duma members and society. The revolutionary movement intensified, and the “crisis of the upper classes” deepened. The crisis of the autocracy was also manifested in the opposition moods of the bourgeoisie. Throughout 1916 and the beginning of 1917, a stubborn struggle was going on in the political circles of Russia between supporters of a separate peace with Germany and supporters of Russia's participation in the war on the side of the Entente. In times of crisis, authority royal power fell rapidly. In cold workshops, in frozen trenches, in endless lines, hatred for the tsarist government accumulated and matured. Thus, the revolutionary situation in the country, the growth of opposition not only to the emperor, but also to the monarchy as a whole - all this testified to a deep political crisis autocracy. Under the prevailing conditions, the autocratic regime could not get along even with its possible partner, the liberal bourgeoisie. This required reforms. 3.2. The fall of the monarchy in Russia and the fate of Nicholas II and his membersfamilies In February - March 1917, the great power, the Russian Empire, ceased to exist. As a result of a well-organized and planned coup d'etat, during the most difficult war, with the complicity of some representatives of the highest generals, and even some members of the ruling dynasty, the liberal Duma
The conspirators forcibly deprived the throne and arrested the Sovereign Emperor and Supreme Commander Nicholas II. Armed uprising of workers and soldiers in Petrograd on February 27, 1917. overthrew the imperial government. The reasons why the conspirators went to carry out the coup in February 1917 are understandable. The liberal opposition was well aware that the coming spring offensive of the Russian army would inevitably be successful, and then the opposition would have no chance of seizing power. For the same reasons, the opposition was supported by ruling circles countries of the Entente. The governments of these countries, according to a secret treaty, which was to be made public in the spring of 1917, confirmed Russia's rights to the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles, Constantinople, Mediterranean Thrace and a protectorate over the Holy Land. Of course, the Allies were ready to do anything to fail to fulfill their own obligations45. Despite the fact that tsarism resisted and tried to maintain the existing system, it did not succeed. After the start of unrest in the capital, the tsar on the morning of February 26, 1917 ordered General S. S. Khabalov "to stop the unrest, unacceptable in the difficult time of the war." Having sent General N. I. Ivanov to Petrograd on February 27 to restore calm, Nicholas II departed for Tsarskoe Selo on the evening of February 28, but could not break through and, having lost contact with Headquarters, arrived in Pskov on March 1, where the headquarters of the armies of the Northern Front of General N V. Russky. Under pressure from the highest military command, on March 2, at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, he decided to abdicate in favor of his son under the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, but in the evening of the same day he told A. I. Guchkov and V. V. Shulgin about decision to abdicate for his son as well. On the night of March 2-3, 1917, Nicholas II, in the presence of several close associates, signed and handed over to Guchkov and Shulgin the Manifesto of Abdication, in which he wrote 45 Great Russian Encyclopedia, Vol. 2 / rev. ed. Kravts S. L. - M .: Nauka, 2005. - P. 23.46 Zubov A. B. History of Russia, XX century: 1894-1939. - M., Astrel-AST, 2010. - S. 381.
39 “We command our brother to manage the affairs of the state in complete and indestructible unity with the representatives of the people.” On the afternoon of March 3, in the presence of members of the bourgeois Provisional Government, the events in Petrograd, Grand Duke Mikhail renounced his claims to the throne. Mikhail Alexandrovich was exiled to Perm, where on the night of June 13, 1918 he was killed by local Bolshevik authorities47. The autocracy discredited itself in the eyes of the people to such an extent that the restoration of the monarchy in any form could cause an explosion of indignation among the working people and lead to a further deepening of the revolution what the bourgeoisie was afraid of. Therefore, she had to abandon the idea of \u200b\u200bputting a new tsar on the throne and, under pressure from the masses, to adopt a decree on the arrest of Nicholas. From March 9 to August 14, 1917, Nikolai Romanov and his family live under arrest in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo. The revolutionary movement intensifies in Petrograd, and the Provisional Government, fearing for the life of the royal prisoners, decides to transfer them deep into Russia. After a long debate, Tobolsk is determined as the city of their settlement. The Romanov family is being transported there. They are allowed to take the necessary furniture, personal belongings from the palace, and also offer the attendants, if they wish, to voluntarily accompany them to the place of new accommodation and further service. On August 14 at 6:10 am, a train with members of the imperial family and servants under the sign "Japanese Mission of the Red Cross "departed from Tsarskoye Selo. In the second composition, there was a guard of 337 soldiers and 7 officers. Trains are running at maximum speed, the junction stations are cordoned off by troops, the public has been removed. On August 17, the trains arrive in Tyumen, and on three ships the arrested are transported to Tobolsk. The Romanov family is accommodated in the governor's house specially renovated for their arrival. The family was allowed to walk across the street and the boulevard to worship in the church 47 Shatsillo KF Reading book on the History of the Fatherland, early 20th century. - M .: Education, 2003. - S. 238 - 241.
40Annunciation. The security regime here was much lighter than in Tsarskoye Selo. The family leads a calm, measured life. In April 1918, permission was received from the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the fourth convocation to transfer the Romanovs to Moscow in order to conduct a trial against them. April 22, 1918 a column of 150 people with machine guns set out from Tobolsk to Tyumen. On April 30, the train from Tyumen arrived in Yekaterinburg. To accommodate the Romanovs, a house belonging to the mining engineer N. I. Ipatiev was temporarily requisitioned. Here, with the Romanov family, 5 service people lived: Dr. Botkin, footman Trupp, room girl Demidova, cook Kharitonov and cook Sednev. families. The execution of the entire family was authorized by the Council of People's Commissars and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. In accordance with this decision, the Ural Council, at its meeting on July 12, adopted a resolution on execution, as well as on methods for destroying corpses, and on July 16 transmitted a message about this by direct wire to Petrograd - Zinoviev. The Romanovs and the servants went to bed, as usual, at 22:30 min. July 16. At 23 hours 30 min. two special representatives from the Ural Council came to the mansion. They handed the decision of the executive committee to the commander of the security detachment, Ermakov, and the commandant of the house, Yurovsky, and offered to immediately begin the execution of the sentence. . Seven members of the family - Nikolai Alexandrovich, Alexandra Fedorovna, daughters Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia, and son Alexei, three voluntarily remaining servants and a doctor descended from the second floor of the house and moved into the corner basement room. After the announcement of the verdict by the SNK Yurovsky, the royal family was shot: a member of the collegium of the Ural Central Committee - M. A. Medvedev, commandant of the house
41L. M. Yurovsky, his assistant G. A. Nikulin, guard commander P. Z. Ermakov and other ordinary guard soldiers48. This was the fate of the ruling dynasty, in such a tragic way they ended the “remnants” of the monarchy in Russia. That monarchy, the establishment of which at one time made it possible to turn Russia into a world power, but one that had exhausted its margin of safety by the beginning of the 20th century, and a search began for new forms of government that already corresponded to the needs of the time. 48 Lavrov V. M. Rest in peace with the saints...//Spark. 2008. No. 28. S. 16-18.
42Conclusion The end of the 17th - the first half of the 18th centuries is a time that is an important facet in the history of feudal Russia. During this period, various transformations were carried out, which left a deep mark, primarily by the fact that they covered the most diverse areas of the country's life: the economy and science, life and foreign policy, the political system and the position of the working masses, church affairs and art. The implementation of the transformations is connected with the activities of Peter I. He carried out a series of reforms that affected literally all aspects of the life of the Russian state and the Russian people. The main result of the reforms of Peter I was the establishment of absolutism in Russia. The reform of the state apparatus in the first quarter of the 18th century completed the process of the formation of absolutism, which began in the 17th century - the unlimited power of the tsar, based on the nobility and the growing class of the trading and manufacturing bourgeoisie, with the complete lack of rights of the people. In this period, the multinationality of Russia is intensifying. In general, relations of unitarism are developing in the Russian Empire, fixed by the reforms of the administrative-territorial structure carried out under Peter I and Catherine II. The transition to absolutism is characterized by noticeable changes in the state mechanism. Class-representative bodies die off and are abolished, a complex, ramified, expensive system of bodies filled with officials-nobles is created. Also, the transition to an absolute monarchy was largely due to the need to concentrate all forces and resources to ensure economic and military security. The course of Russian history in this period shows that it was the absolute monarchy at a certain historical stage that helped to defend the independence and sovereignty of the country. But as its power strengthened, the absolutist state itself turned into a real threat to neighboring peoples, demonstrating aspirations to expand its
43territories. The Russian rulers sought in each case to find their own approach for integrating new subjects into Russian society. On the whole, however, it must be admitted that the tsarist government in its policy failed to adequately take into account the multinational character of the state. Therefore, national contradictions were added to deep social contradictions, which became feature Russian absolutism. But the February Revolution of 1917 overthrew the more than 300-year-old monarchy in Russia, marking the beginning of a new stage in the development of our country. At the same time, it should be emphasized that the process of formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia differed significantly from similar processes in European states. Thus, the following features of absolutism in Russia can be distinguished: , then in Russia it coincided with the flourishing of feudalism, with the strengthening of serfdom. 3. Absolutism penetrated into all aspects of the life of the country, strove for regulation, control of everyone and everything. Characterized by the maximum concentration of power in the hands of one person, both secular and spiritual. The establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia was accompanied by the formation of a police state, which sought to control and regulate in detail all manifestations of public and private life. List of used sources and literature
44Sources: 1. Cathedral Code of 1649 / ed. Epifanova P. P., Tikhomirova M. N. - M .: Publishing House of Moscow. un-ta, 1961. - 678 p. 2. Lebedev V. I. Reforms of Peter I. Collection of documents. – M.: Nauka, 1997. – 378 p. 3. The Great Russian Encyclopedia, Vol. 2 / otv. ed. Kravts S. L. - M .: Nauka, 2005. - 766 p. 4. Diary of Nicholas II [electronic resource] // Library.ru: information and reference portal. M., 2005-2007. URL: http://www.russky.com/history/library/diaris/.htm Literature: 1. Ageeva O.G. Imperial Court of Russia, 1700-1796 M.: Nauka, 2008. - 380 p. 2. Alshits D. N. The beginning of autocracy in Russia: the State of Ivan the Terrible. - SPb.: Nauka, 2006. - 244 p. tr. D. N. Alshits on the occasion of his 90th birthday]. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2009. - 498 p. 4. Anokhin S. L. Reforms in Russia in the XVIII - XX centuries. – M.: Nauka, 2009. – 494 p. 5. Bokhanov A.N. Nicholas I. - M .: Veche, 2008. - 464 p. 6. Bokhanov A.N. Nicholas II. - M.: AST - Press, 2002. - 208 p. 7. Bokhanov A.N. Heart secrets of the Romanov dynasty. – M.: Veche, 2008. – 413 p. 8. Zubov A. B. History of Russia, XX century: 1894-1939. - M., Astrel-AST, 2010. - 1022 p. 9. Eremenko M. A. Palace coups. – M.: Mir knigi, 2007. – 256 p.
4510.Kareev N.I. Western European absolute monarchy of the 16th-18th centuries. - M.: State Public Historical Library of Russia, 2009. - 464 p. 11. Kafengauz B. B., Cherepnin L. V. Absolutism in Russia: Sat. - M .: uchpedgiz, 1964. - 520 p. 12. Klyuchevsky, V.O. Works. T. II. / V.O. Klyuchevsky. - M .: Nauka, 1988.13. Lavrov V. M. Rest in peace with the saints ... // Ogonyok / 2008. No. 28. - 46 p. 14. Marasinova E. N. Power and personality: essays on Russian history of the 18th century. - M .: Nauka, 2008. - 460 p. 15. Nepomnyashchy N. N. 100 great events of the 20th century. – M.: Veche, 2010. – 480 p. 16. Obolensky G. N. Age of Catherine the Great. The time of heroes and heroic deeds. – M.: Russkoe slovo, 2001. – 346 p.17. Omelchenko OA Formation of absolute monarchy in Russia. – M.: TK Velby. Prospekt Publishing House, 2008. - 464 p.18. Petrukhintsev N.V. Invisible epoch // Motherland / 2009. No. 2. – 66 p. 19. Sakharov A. N. Alexander I. - M .: Nauka, 2008. - 288 p. 20. Skorobogatov A. V. Tsesarevich Pavel Petrovich. Political discourse and social practice. - M.: RGTU, 2005. - 348 p. 21. Fedorov V. A. History of Russia. 1861-1917. - M.: Higher school, 2002. - 346 p. 22. Henschel N . The myth of absolutism. Changes and continuity in the development of the Western European monarchy of the early modern period / transl. from English. Palamarchuk A. A. with the participation of Tsaruk L. L. and Malakhova Yu. A. - St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2003. - 272 p. 23. Cherkasov P. P., Chernyshevsky D. V. History of Imperial Russia from Peter I to Nicholas II. – M.: International relations, 2004.–768p. - M .: Education, 2003. - 256 p.
"Russian absolutism" was not much different from the absolute monarchies of the countries of Western Europe (England, Spain, France). After all, the absolute monarchy in Russia went through the same stages of development as the feudal monarchies of these countries: from the early feudal and estate-representative monarchy to absolute monarchy, which is characterized by formally unlimited power of the monarch. “The absolute monarchy is characterized by: the presence of a strong, ramified professional bureaucratic apparatus, a strong standing army, the elimination of class-representative bodies and institutions.”1 All these signs were also inherent in Russian absolutism. However, it had its own significant features. If the absolute monarchy in Europe took shape in the conditions of the development of capitalist relations and the abolition of the old feudal institutions (especially serfdom), then absolutism in Russia coincided with the development of serfdom; if the social base of Western European absolutism was the union of the nobility with cities (free, imperial), then Russian absolutism relied mainly on the feudal nobility, the service class. The time of the emergence of absolute monarchy in Russia is the second half of the 16th century, and its final design is the first quarter of the 18th century. Historical and legal literature does not give an unambiguous understanding of absolutism. Such controversial issues include the following: the class essence of absolutism, its social base, the reasons for the formation of absolutism, the relationship between the concepts of absolutism and autocracy, the time of the emergence of absolutism and the stages of its development, the historical role of absolutism in Russia. As mentioned above, the Russian state had both common with other states and specific reasons for the emergence of absolutism, which developed due to territorial, domestic and foreign policy features. For example, A.N. Sakharov notes that “the historical factor - the confrontation between the peasantry and the feudal class during the period of the emergence of bourgeois relations in the country is not the main one in the development of Russian absolutism in the second half of the 17th century. One of the essential factors in the formation of absolutism in Russia is the foreign policy factor”2. N.I. Pavlenko wrote: “The peculiarity of Russian absolutism was that it arose on the basis of a confrontation of forces within one class of estate, that is, between the nobility and the boyars.” , social, domestic and foreign policy reasons. An important reason for the emergence of absolutism in Russia was the economic development of the country in the XVI- XVII centuries. During this period, agriculture was extensified through the expansion of sown areas and the strengthening of serfdom; regions specialize in the production of certain agricultural products. The local form of land tenure contributes to the decomposition of subsistence farming - instead of agricultural products sold on the markets, landlords bought products from Western European manufactories and luxury goods. However, far from all estates were covered by this kind of market relations: only large landowners had the opportunity to create a diversified economy, organize crafts and sell surpluses of goods not only in the domestic but also in the foreign market. That is, in Russia the process of initial accumulation of capital begins, although, unlike England, it proceeded in a feudal form - wealth was accumulated by large landowners. One of the important prerequisites for the formation of absolutism was the social sphere. Actually, economic changes in the life of society do not predetermine the development of forms of statehood, economic changes correspond to changes in the social structure of society, and above all in the appearance of the ruling class - the class of feudal lords. The approval of the local form of land tenure in the 15th-16th centuries promoted the nobility, and in the 17th century the positions of the merchants were strengthened. WITH mid-seventeenth centuries have undergone changes in the rights of feudal lords to land: the Code of 1649 secured the convergence of estates with estates in terms of the rights to exchange estates; in 1674-1676, the sale of estates was recognized for retired servicemen, heirs of the landowners. Against the backdrop of economic changes, a process of class consolidation of feudal lords (boyars and landed nobility) took place. With unconditional disagreements between “well-born” and “vile people”, tangible boundaries were erased in their political position, property and personal rights. All categories of privately owned peasants merged into the bulk of the serf dependent peasantry. The most important social prerequisites for absolutism in Russia were expressed in the growth of feudal landownership, in the involvement of townspeople merchants as clerks in the clothing treasury, in the various privileges of Russian merchants in the country's domestic markets. Domestic trade is turning into a sphere for the application of merchant capital. The main class support in the formation of absolutism in Russia, despite the interest in it of the upper strata of the townspeople, were the noblemen-feudal lords. At the end of the 17th century, the land holdings of the nobility increased significantly, which by this time began to own most of the enslaved peasantry. But speaking about the formation of absolutism in Russia, one cannot fail to notice one feature: if in Europe the strengthening of the positions of absolute monarchy led to the liberation of the peasantry from oppression, then in Russia reverse processes were observed. Cherepnin L.V. Analyzing the formation of absolutism in Russia, he noted some features of the formation of this form of government: · Weakness of class representative institutions; · Financial independence of the autocracy in Russia; · Availability of large material and human resources of the monarchs, their independence in the administration of power; · Creation of a new legal system; · Formation of the institution of unlimited private property; · Continuous warfare; · Restriction of privileges even for the ruling classes; · The special role of the personality of Peter I. - Northern War "Peter's reforms were prepared by their previous history of the people, they were required by the people." Already before Peter the Great, a rather coherent program of transformation was outlined, which in many respects coincided with Peter's reforms, and in other ways went even further than them. A transformation in general was being prepared, which, in the peaceful course of affairs, could last a long time. The reform, as it was carried out by Peter, was his personal affair, an unprecedentedly violent affair, and yet involuntary and necessary. The external dangers of the state outstripped the natural growth of the people, ossified in their development. The renewal of Russia could not be left to the gradual quiet work of time, not forced by force. Solovyov The reforms touched on literally all aspects of the life of the Russian state and the Russian people, but the main ones include the following reforms: the military, government and administration, the estate structure of Russian society, taxes, church, as well as in the field of culture and life. O.A. Omelchenko identifies three stages in the reforms of Peter I. The first (1699-1709\10) - changes in the system of state institutions and the creation of new ones; changes in the system of local self-government; establishment of a recruiting system. The second (1710\11-1718\19) - the creation of the Senate and the liquidation of the former higher institutions; the first regional reform; new military policy, wide fleet construction; institution of legislation; transfer of state institutions from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The third (1719\20-1725\26) - the beginning of the work of new, already established institutions, the liquidation of old ones; second regional reform; expansion and reorganization of the army, reform of church administration; financial reform; the introduction of a new system of taxation and a new order of public service.3 All the reform activities of Peter I were fixed in the form of statutes, regulations, decrees, which had the same legal force. 2.1. STATUS OF THE RUSSIAN MONARCH. Under Peter I, absolutism was finally established in Russia. On October 22, 1721, Peter I was given the title of Father of the Fatherland, Emperor of All Russia, Peter the Great. The adoption of this title corresponded to the legal formalization of an unlimited monarchy. One of the principles of absolutism is the expansion of the powers of the emperor. The emperors had wider powers than the kings of the period of the estate-representative monarchy. The monarch was not limited in his powers and rights by any higher administrative bodies of power and control. The power of the emperor was so broad and strong that Peter I proceeded to the established customs relating to the person of the monarch. In the interpretation of Article 20 of the Military Regulations of 1716 and the Naval Regulations of 1720, it was proclaimed: “His Majesty is an autocratic monarch who should not give an answer to anyone in his affairs, but has his own states and lands as a Christian sovereign of his own will and piety to govern.”4 The regulations of the spiritual board (1721, January) said: “Monarchic power is autocratic power, which God himself commands for conscience to obey.” 5 The monarch was the head of state, the church, the supreme judge, the supreme commander in chief, in his exclusive competence was the declaration of war, the conclusion of peace, the signing of treaties with foreign states. V legislature only the emperor had the right to make laws. He possessed the highest administrative authority in the country and all organs of state administration were subordinate to him. The emperor was also the head of the judiciary. All sentences and decisions of the courts were passed on his behalf. He owned the highest church authority, which he exercised through a specially created institution - the Synod.
The prerequisites for the formalization of the absolute, unlimited power of the monarch began to take shape as early as the second half of the 17th century, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich (“The Quietest”). The tsar still ruled together with the Boyar Duma, but the composition of the Boyar Duma and its role in the system of state government gradually changed. During the Time of Troubles and after it, the positions of ignoble people strengthened in the Duma, it became not only boyar in its composition. Representatives of such noble families as the Shuiskys, Godunovs, Saburovs left the political arena, and their place was taken by the unknown Streshnevs, Naryshkins, Lopukhins, Tolstoys, etc. Thus, localism was threatened.
The role of the Boyar Duma in solving state affairs was increasingly decreasing. At the same time, the personal power of the tsar increased and the role of the zemstvo sobors weakened. They turned into an obedient tool for fulfilling the will of the king. And after 1653 they ceased to convene altogether.
In the 17th century the development of the system of orders continued, their number increased to 80, including 40 acting constantly. Red tape, bribery continued to flourish in them, orders often duplicated each other and confused matters even more. At the same time, the number of officials in the state grew. They were supposed to strengthen the position of autocratic power. At the same time, orders became the prototype of future boards, and later ministries.
In the 17th century there are changes in local government. The power of governors spread throughout the country, the role of governors increased especially sharply during the Time of Troubles.
An important role in the formation of absolutism was also played by the subordination of the church to secular power, the beginning of which was laid during church schism. In the second half of the XVII century. the role of the church in the state has increased significantly. The church not only became a major owner, but after the introduction of the patriarchate in 1589, it strengthened its political positions in the state.
Under Peter I, the formation of an absolute monarchy continued. The king began to be regarded not only as the bearer of supreme power, but also as the legislator of the state. State interest was expressed in the will of the king. In order to free himself from class-representative institutions that limited the will of the tsar, Peter I stopped convening zemstvo councils. The last Zemsky Sobor took place in 1653. The composition of the Boyar Duma changed significantly: the majority of it was now made up of nobles. In 1701, the functions of the Boyar Duma were transferred to the Secret (Near) Chancellery, which included persons most trusted by the sovereign. With the establishment of the Senate in 1711, the Boyar Duma finally lost its political significance. Absolute monarchy in the first quarter of the 18th century. formalized by law. In the Regulations (charter of the spiritual college) it was written that "Monarchy's power is autocracy, which God himself commands for conscience to obey."
At the beginning of the XVIII century. the church finally submitted to the power of the king. In 1700, instead of the deceased patriarch Adrian, only a guardian of the patriarchal throne was appointed with less rights than the patriarch. Church property was managed by the Monastic order. In 1721, a spiritual board, the Holy Synod, was created to manage the affairs of the church, and a chief procurator was appointed to lead the Synod.
With the advent of the Table of Ranks (1722), the number of officials in the country increased even more, all of them had to fulfill the will of the monarch. To limit the abuses of the bureaucracy, Peter strengthened state control. Having established in 1711 the institution of fiscal officials responsible for monitoring the execution of government orders, Peter introduced such positions in the Senate, colleges, provinces and cities. That is, the absolute power of the monarch was reinforced by a system of control and denunciation, kept on suspicion and fear.
One of the results of the activities of Peter I was the emergence of a bureaucratic machine in Russia. It replaced the system of medieval government based on custom. Bureaucracy has become a necessary element in the structure of modern states. However, under the conditions of the specific Russian autocracy, with the unlimited will of the monarch, when the official was not responsible to anyone except his boss, the power of the bureaucracy became absolute.
The role of the army in the state has also changed. Increasingly, Peter attracted her to perform functions unusual for her. The military collected taxes, conducted a census, and suppressed the discontent of the people. With the creation of a regular army and navy, the power of the monarch was further strengthened. In 1721, Peter received the title of emperor, that is, the head of secular and spiritual authority.
As a result of Peter's transformations, absolutism finally took shape in Russia. It represents the form of government of the period of late feudalism, or the period of transition to capitalism. The power of the monarch during this period becomes unlimited (absolute). Absolutism also existed in Europe, but its Russian version had significant features. In the military regulations, Peter I gave the following definition of this form of government: “His Majesty is an autocratic monarch who should not give an answer to anyone in the world about his affairs, but has his own states and lands, like a Christian sovereign, to rule by his own will and good intentions” . Thus, the sovereign declared his complete independence in decision-making. Only he alone knew how Russia should develop. He protected the people from external and internal dangers, and the population of the country had to unquestioningly fulfill his will. Peter identified the interests of the Russian autocracy with the national interests of Russia. While Western Europe was developing in the direction from absolutism to representative democracy, Russia became even more powerless. Its main population was deprived not only of property, but also of personal freedom. The French utopian socialist G.B. He couldn't do it. The very situation in which the country was, and the traditions of the Russian autocracy, would not allow him to go beyond the limits of autocratic power. Before him there was only one road - its all-round strengthening, which was done by Peter.
The formation of absolutism in Russia had an ideological and political justification. First of all, it was reflected in the writings of Feofan Prokopovich, an active supporter of the Petrine reforms. In justifying the absolute power of the monarch, he proceeded from the idea of "common benefit". In Peter I, he saw the image of an "enlightened monarch", whose activities were aimed at the benefit of the people.
Prominent defenders of absolutism were V.N. Tatishchev, A.D. Kantemir and I.T. Pososhkov. I.T. Pososhkov in the "Book of Poverty and Wealth" gave a program for the socio-economic development of the country. He saw absolute monarchy as a means of achieving civil peace, economic well-being, and the "common good."
So, under Peter I, the absolute power of the monarch finally took shape in Russia. Never before has the head of the Russian state wielded such complete power as now. Absolutism is a pan-European form of government, but in Russia it had distinctive features. First, nowhere in Europe did the monarchs have such unlimited power as it was in Russia. Secondly, in Europe there was a certain autonomy of society from the power of the monarch, since all segments of the population had civil rights and freedoms. In Russia, even the nobles, who were the social base of absolutism, were not free.
Proponents of the materialist approach believe that as a result of Peter the Great's transformations, Russia took a major step forward along the path of progress, albeit within the framework of the feudal-serf system. The historical-liberal direction is characterized by the recognition of the merits of Peter I in the transformation of Russia into an advanced European power. But at the same time, Russia took the path of directly borrowing European achievements, without being internally ready for them. Therefore, Asiatic despotism was established in the country, only outwardly similar to the absolute monarchies of European countries. The price of the reforms of Peter I was prohibitively high.
Within the framework of the modernization direction, the reforms of Peter I are considered as the use of the technological and organizational experience of the advanced European countries of that era - Sweden and Holland. The nature of the modernization was selective and concerned mainly the military sphere. From the point of view of local-historical theory, Peter I took Russia away from the natural path of development and caused irreparable damage to the country's national identity.
Absolutism- the third historical variety of states with monarchical form government, emerging during the period of transition from feudal-class to bourgeois-civil society. An absolute monarchy is characterized by the maximum concentration of power (both secular and spiritual) in the hands of one person.
Signs:
1. The concentration of all legislative, executive and judicial power in the hands of the monarch.
2. Changing the order of succession to the throne: in the conditions of absolutism, the monarch acquires the right to independently determine his heir.
3. The presence of a numerous bureaucratic apparatus of management.
4. Unification of the administrative-territorial division of the country.
5. The presence of a standing army and police.
6. Centralization of the tax and financial system.
7. Rigid legal regulation of all spheres of public life.
8. Activation of rule-making activities.
Features of Russian absolutism:
1. Unlike European countries, where the social basis of absolutism was the union of 2 estates: nobles and townspeople, in Russia, where the urban estate was still absent, the only social support of absolutism was the nobility. This determined the pro-noble character of Russian absolutism, the conditionality of domestic policy by the interests of the nobility.
2. In contrast to European countries, where the formation of absolute monarchy took place during the period of decomposition of serfdom, in Russia the formation of absolutism took place during the period of legal registration of serfdom. This circumstance determined the more stringent legal policy of Russian absolutism.
Signs of Russian absolutism:
1. Police State.
The establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia was accompanied by a wide expansion of the state, its intrusion into all spheres of public, corporate and private life. Expansionist aspirations were expressed primarily in the desire to enrich their territory and access to the seas. Another direction of expansion was the policy of further enslavement - this process took the most severe forms precisely in the 18th century. Finally, the strengthening of the role of the state was manifested in the detailed regulation of the rights and obligations of individual estates and social groups. Along with this, the legal consolidation of the ruling class took place, the estate of the nobility was formed from different feudal strata.
2. "Enlightened" absolutism.
In certain periods of the existence of an absolute monarchy, the ideology of enlightenment became its ideology: legal norms arose that resembled Western European ones, attempts were made to create the legal foundations of statehood, a constitution, and cultural enlightenment. These trends were determined not only by the personality of this or that monarch (Catherine 2, Alexander 1), but also by the socio-economic and political situation. Part of the nobility abandoned traditional and conservative methods management and politics, was looking for more flexible forms. This was facilitated by the cultural and industrial development of the country. "Enlightened" absolutism arose during periods when the old (police and patriarchal) methods of government became ineffective. However, at any moment a return to the old methods could be carried out.
3. Palace revolutions.
The system of power established in the era of absolutism is characterized by fairly frequent palace coups carried out by the noble aristocracy and the palace guards. The ease with which the change of monarchs took place indicates that in the established and strengthened system of the absolutist monarchy, the personality of the monarch no longer mattered, everything was decided by the very mechanism of power.
4. The economy of absolutism.
In the sphere of economic ideology, the philosophy of mercantilism becomes dominant, orienting the economy towards an excess of exports over imports, accumulation, thrift, and state protectionism. A feature of the emergence of capitalist elements (without the manifestation of which the emergence of absolutism is impossible) in Russia were: manufacturing production, waste industries and peasant trade. An all-Russian market is taking shape, and Moscow remains the center of trade relations.
5. The position of the peasants .
Despite the resistance of the nobility and the bureaucracy, the peasantry as an economic factor played a more important role.
Peasant duties were not regulated by law, which increased arbitrariness. The exploitation of unpaved peasants (artisans, otkhodniks) was unprofitable for the landlords, so they prevented the non-agricultural economic activities of the peasants.
The migration of peasants was severely limited: it is characteristic that the fertile southern lands were mastered by landlords and runaway peasants, the farm system did not develop there (this was also prevented by the legal equalization of single-dvorets with state peasants).
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The Essence of Enlightened Absolutism Briefly
In the second half of the eighteenth century, the situation in Europe was rather alarming, since the old order had already exhausted itself, serious reforms were required. This situation influenced the accelerated formation of enlightened absolutism.
But where did these ideas come from and what is the meaning of such enlightenment? Thomas Hobbes is considered the ancestor, and the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu also had a great influence on the formation of enlightened absolutism. They proposed the transformation of obsolete institutions of state power, the reform of education, the judiciary, and so on. Briefly, the main idea of enlightened absolutism can be summarized as follows - the sovereign, the autocrat, must acquire, along with rights, duties to his subjects.
In essence, enlightened absolutism was supposed to destroy the remnants of feudalism, this included reforms to improve the life of the peasants and eliminate serfdom. Also, the reforms were supposed to strengthen centralized power and form a completely secular state, not subject to the voice of religious leaders.
The establishment of the ideas of enlightened absolutism was characteristic of monarchies with a rather unhurried development of capitalist relations. These states included all the countries of Europe, except for France, England, and Poland. In Poland, there was no royal absolutism that needed to be reformed; the gentry ruled everything there. England already had everything that enlightened absolutism aspired to, and France simply did not have leaders who could initiate reforms. Louis XV and his successor were not capable of this, and as a result the system was destroyed by the revolution.
Features and characteristics of enlightened absolutism
The literature of the 18th century, which promoted the ideas of enlightenment, not only criticized the old order, it also spoke of the need for reforms. Moreover, these changes had to be made by the state and in the interests of the country. Therefore, one of the main features of the policy of enlightened absolutism can be called the union of monarchs and philosophers who wanted to subordinate the state structure to pure reason.
Of course, not everything turned out the way the philosophers pictured it to themselves in rosy dreams. For example, enlightened absolutism spoke of the need to improve the lives of the peasants. Some reforms in this direction were indeed carried out, but at the same time the power of the nobility was also strengthened, because it was it that was to become the main support of the autocracy. From this follows the second 
a feature of enlightened absolutism is the thoughtlessness of consequences, despotism in the implementation of reforms and excessive arrogance.
Enlightened absolutism in the Russian Empire
As we know, Russia has its own way. And here she was absolutely special. In Russia, unlike the countries of Europe, enlightened absolutism was more of a fashion trend than a really necessary thing. Therefore, all reforms were carried out exclusively for the benefit of the nobility, not taking into account the interests ordinary people. There was also embarrassment with the church authorities - in Russia since ancient times it did not have a decisive word, as it was in Catholic Europe, therefore church reforms brought only split and confusion, destroying the spiritual values honored by the ancestors. Since then, one can observe the depreciation of spiritual life, moreover, since that time even spiritual leaders often give preference to material values. For all her education, Catherine II was unable to understand the “mysterious Russian soul” and find the right path for the development of the state.