In order to strengthen absolutism, the central authorities were restructured. Catherine II believed that the Senate had arrogated too much power to itself, and in 1764 reformed it, dividing it into 6 departments (4 in St. Petersburg and 2 in Moscow). At the same time, each department acted as an independent unit with its own range of affairs and its own office, which destroyed the unity of the Senate, weakened it. The role of the personal office of the empress increased unusually. The preparation of legislative acts since 1768 was concentrated in the Council at the royal court; its creation once again clearly demonstrated the stability of the higher councils under the person of the monarch as an institution of Russian absolutism.
The reform of local government primarily solved the problem of strengthening the power of the monarch. Catherine II personally drew up the draft “Institutions for the management of provinces”, which in 1775 received the force of the current law. This law centralized local government, increasing the number of provinces and districts and endowing governors (under the authority of each governor, as a rule, 2-3 provinces were united), directly subordinate to the emperor, with broad sole power. At the same time, the “Institution” of 1775 was based on the ideas of the Enlightenment of the 18th century: the election of the court and its separation from the administration, giving it the character of a class “court of equals”. Along with the three-tiered system of elected court-class institutions (the district court in the district and the upper zemstvo court in the province - for the nobles, the city court and the provincial magistrate - for the townspeople, the lower and upper reprisals - for state peasants) in the provinces a conscientious court was created from representatives of three estates, which performed the functions of a conciliatory or arbitrator. It was to this court that anyone held in prison for more than three days, not informed of the reason for the arrest and not subjected to interrogation, could file a complaint, and if he was not suspected of a serious crime, then he was released on bail (an attempt to borrow the English guarantee of the inviolability of individual rights). The influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment is even more felt in the creation of the provincial order of public charity, which also consisted of elected representatives from nobles, townspeople and state peasants and was obliged to help the population in the construction and maintenance of schools, hospitals, almshouses, orphanages and workhouses.
In an effort to create more realistic guarantees of an "enlightened monarchy", Catherine II began to work on charters to the nobility, cities and state peasants. Letters to the nobility and cities received the force of law in 1785. The charter granted to the nobility secured for each hereditary nobleman freedom from compulsory service, from state taxes, from corporal punishment, the right to own movable and immovable property, the right to sue only “equal” (i.e. . nobles), conduct trade, start "factories, needlework and all sorts of plants." The noble society of each county and each province secured the right to periodically meet, elect class leaders, and have its own treasury. True, the empress did not forget to put the noble assemblies under the control of governors-general (deputies).
According to the letter to the cities, representatives of the “middle class of people” (philistines), like the nobles, received personal and corporate rights - the hereditary inalienability of the estate title, inviolability and free disposal of property, freedom of industrial activity. From the composition of the inhabitants of the cities, merchants stood out, recorded in the guild and received special privileges - to pay off with money from recruitment duty and to be free from government outfits. In addition, merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds, as well as eminent citizens (scientists, artists, bankers, wholesalers, etc.), were exempted from corporal punishment. The city society was considered as a legal entity; it had the right to discuss and satisfy its needs, to elect the mayor. The unifying center of urban self-government was the city "general Duma" of deputies from all categories of urban society. Guided by the general principles of freedom economic life, the legislator allowed the inhabitants of the villages "freely, safely to transport their growth, needlework and goods to the city and take out the necessary for them from the city."
After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna in December 1761, Peter III (1728-1762), the son of the daughter of Peter I - Anna Petrovna and the German duke, became emperor, a mentally undeveloped person, poorly educated
callous, cruel, alien to everything Russian, excessively fond of military affairs.
During his short reign, the most important was the decree "On the Liberty of the Nobility" of February 18, 1762, which abolished compulsory service for the nobles. In addition, the Secret Chancellery, which was in charge of political crimes, was abolished, which instilled fear in the population. However, these measures could not bring Peter III popularity among his subjects. General dissatisfaction was caused by peace with Prussia, which meant the rejection of all Russian conquests in the Seven Years' War; preparations for a war with Denmark in the interests of Holstein, huge Prussian and Holstein influence in the Russian court; disrespect for Orthodox customs; the introduction of German orders in the army, a dismissive attitude towards the Russian guard.
Ascension of Catherine II to the Russian throne In such a situation, a significant part of the Russian nobility pinned their hopes on the wife of Peter III, the future Empress Catherine II (1762-1796), who, although she was German by birth, understood perfectly well that the Russian Empress should think before all about the interests of Russia. Unlike her husband, who continued to consider himself the Duke of Holstein, Catherine renounced all rights to Anhalt-Zerbst after the death of her parents.
The future Russian Empress was born in 1729, she was the daughter of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst - General Prussian army. The princess received a good education at home, in her childhood and adolescence she traveled quite a lot with her family, which helped her broaden her horizons. In 1745, Sophia Augusta Frederica, having adopted Orthodoxy and the name Ekaterina Alekseevna, married the heir to the Russian throne - Peter Fedorovich (before baptism Karl Peter Ulrich), the son of the eldest sister of Empress Elizabeth - Anna Petrovna, who married the Duke of Holstein Karl Friedrich.
Having found herself in Russia at the age of 16, Catherine, having realistically assessed the situation, decided to become “her own”, Russian as soon as possible - to master the language perfectly, to learn Russian customs - and she spared no effort to achieve her goal. She read a lot and educated herself. Catherine showed particular interest in descriptions of travels, works of the classics, history, philosophy, and the works of French encyclopedists.
By nature, Catherine had a sober mind, observation, the ability to suppress her emotions, listen carefully to her interlocutor, and be pleasant in communication. These qualities were very useful to her in the first years of her stay in Russia, since relations with her husband and, most importantly, with Empress Elizabeth Petrovna were quite difficult.
Great ambition, willpower, hard work helped Catherine eventually achieve power. A group of conspirators rallied around the future Catherine II - mostly guards officers. Particularly active were Catherine's favorite - Grigory Orlov (1734-1783) and his brother Alexei (1737-1808). On the night of June 28, 1762, Catherine, together with Alexei Orlov, came from Peterhof to St. Petersburg, where on the same day the Senate proclaimed her empress and declared Peter III deposed. On June 29, he was taken into custody, and in July he was killed under unclear circumstances. In September 1762 Catherine II was crowned in Moscow.
Enlightened absolutism of Catherine II The empress devoted the first years of her reign to strengthening her power, selecting proxies, studying the state of affairs in the state, as well as a more thorough acquaintance with Russia (in 1763-1767 she made three trips to the European part of the country). At this time, a policy of enlightened absolutism began to be pursued in Russia. Considering herself a student of the French philosophers of the 18th century, Catherine II sought, with the help of certain transformations, to eliminate the elements of "barbarism" from the life of the country, to make Russian society more "enlightened", close to Western European, but at the same time to keep intact the autocracy and its social base - the nobility .
The need for change was largely determined by the socio-economic situation prevailing at the beginning of the reign of Catherine II. Throughout the eighteenth century. elements of capitalist relations developed in Russia, the ideas of entrepreneurship gradually penetrated into various sectors of society - the nobility, merchants, and peasantry. The particular complexity of the internal situation of the country in the early 60s of the eighteenth century. attached to the peasant movement, in which factory and monastery peasants most actively participated. All this, along with the ideas of the Enlightenment, determined the domestic policy of Russia, especially in the first two decades of the reign of Catherine II.
In the 60-70s, it was forbidden to buy peasants for industrial enterprises, freedom to organize industrial business was declared, all kinds of monopolies were abolished, as well as internal customs duties, which contributed to the inclusion in internal trade of new lands annexed to the Russian state during the reign of Catherine II: some regions of Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, the Black Sea, Azov, Kuban steppes, Crimea.
Considerable attention under Catherine II was paid to the development of the education system: educational houses, institutes for girls, and cadet corps were created. In the 80s. when organizing provincial and district public schools, the principle of classless education was proclaimed.
EMPRESS CATHERINE II THE GREAT After the death of Peter III, Catherine became empress. She glorified her name with high-profile conquests and wise state orders. To draw up new laws, she herself wrote the "Instruction" under the title "Instruction of the commission on the drafting of a new code." Under her rule, in 1783, the Russian Academy was established and in the same year the annexation of Crimea to Russia. The management of the Crimea was entrusted to Potemkin.
From 1787-1791 The second Turkish war, which ended in peace in Iasi (in 1791). The main hero of this war was Suvorov, who won victories over the Turks at Kinburn and in 1789 at Focsani and Rymnik. According to this peace, Turkey forever abandoned the Crimea and ceded to Russia the lands between the Bug and the Dniester with the city of Ochakov (Illustrated chronology... P. 116).
Strengthening of serfdom However, along with similar progressive measures, which objectively contributed to the development of bourgeois relations, in Russia there is a strengthening of serfdom. Already in the manifesto of July 6, 1762, which explained the reasons for the coup, one of the main goals of Catherine II's domestic policy was defined - to support the landlords in every possible way and keep the peasants in subjection. In the 60s, when the empress still verbally supported the idea of freeing the peasants, the serfs were forbidden to complain about the master, the landowners were allowed to send their peasants to hard labor. In order to destroy explosive centers in the south, self-government was liquidated and the Cossack districts were reorganized - here at the end of the 18th century. was distributed serfdom. Later, during the reign of Catherine II, there was an increase in the exploitation of the peasants: serfs accounted for about 50% of their total number, more than half of them were on corvee, which in the whole country by the 80s. increased to five days a week instead of three days in the 60s; especially in the second half of the 18th century. trade in serfs spread. The situation of the state peasants also worsened - the duties imposed on them were increased, their distribution to the landowners was actively carried out.
However, in an effort to maintain her reputation as an "enlightened monarch", Catherine II could not allow the complete transformation of serfs into slaves: they continued to be considered a taxable estate, could go to court and be witnesses in it, could, although with the consent of the landowner, register as merchants, engage in ransoms, etc.
Departure from the policy of enlightened absolutism In the last years of her reign, under the influence of the peasant war led by E. Pugachev (1773-1775), and especially the Great French Revolution (1789-1794), Catherine II gradually moves away from enlightened absolutism. This mainly concerns the ideological sphere - there is a pursuit of advanced ideas that can lead to a change in the existing order, which the Empress seeks to avoid at any cost. In particular, A.N. Radishchev, the author of the anti-serfdom Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, was called by Catherine a rebel worse than Pugachev, and in 1790 he was exiled to Siberia; famous Russian educator, publisher
N.I. Novikov, in 1792 was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress. However, the foundations of the life of society, laid down by the policy of enlightened absolutism, remain practically unchanged until the death of Catherine II.
Central administration apparatus One of the characteristic, essential features of the policy of enlightened absolutism of Catherine II was the streamlining of the government controlled. The idea of the need for this was already expressed in the manifesto of July 6, 1762, its implementation began with the transformation of the Senate.
Immediately after the accession of Catherine II to the throne, N.I. Panin (1718-1783), a well-known diplomat, adviser to the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, presented to the empress a draft of changes in the central administration. He proposed the creation of a permanent imperial council, consisting of four secretaries (foreign and internal affairs, military and naval departments) and two advisers. All major issues were to be considered by the Council in the presence of the Empress, who made the final decisions. In addition, it was proposed to divide the Senate into six departments.
Project N.I. Panin, as limiting the autocratic power of the empress, was rejected by her, however, in order to speed up and streamline office work, the idea of dividing the Senate was put into practice in 1763. Six departments were created, four of which were in St. Petersburg: the first dealt with the most important internal and political affairs , the second - judicial, the third was in charge of the affairs of the western outskirts of the state, communications, higher education, the police; the fourth - military and naval affairs. Two Moscow departments corresponded to the first and second St. Petersburg ones.
Catherine II resolved many important issues without the participation of the Senate. She maintained relations with him through Prosecutor General A.L. Vyazemsky (1727-1793), who received a secret instruction to impede the legislative activities of the Senate. As a result, the significance of the Senate decreased, from the highest body of state administration, as it was under Elizabeth Petrovna, it turned into a central administrative and judicial institution. In the 70-80s of the XVIII century. there was a further weakening of the central government. After the provincial reform of 1775, activity
The Senate is limited to judicial functions, the affairs of most colleges are transferred to new provincial institutions.
By the 90s. most of the collegiums ceased to exist: in 1779 - the Manufactory College (industry), in 1780 - the State Office College (public expenditures), in 1783 - the Berg College (mining industry), in 1784 - The Chamber College (state revenues), in 1786 - the College of Justice (judicial) and the Estates College (issues of land tenure), in 1788 - the Revision College (control of public expenditures). Only those collegiums were left, the affairs of which could not be transferred to local authorities: the Foreign, Military, Naval and Commerce collegium.
Thus, during the reign of Catherine II, the role of the central authorities was gradually reduced to general leadership and supervision, the main management issues began to be resolved locally. However, even before the reform of the system of local government, the empress made an attempt to give Russia new legislation that would meet the spirit of the times.
An Attempt to Create New Legislation Beginning with Peter I, all the rulers of Russia understood the need to create a new set of Russian laws. However, unlike her predecessors, Catherine II did not seek to systematize the old laws, but to create new ones. Planning to assemble a “Commission to draw up a new code” instead of the outdated Code of 1649, already in 1765 she began to draw up a special instruction for her - “Instruction”, which reflected the ideas of educational philosophy. Considering Russia a European country, Catherine sought to give her the appropriate laws, and the main sources for her were the works “On the Spirit of Laws” by the famous French enlightener Charles Louis Montesquieu (1689-1755) and “On Crimes and Punishments” by Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794), Italian educator and lawyer.
The "Instruction" quite fully covers the most important issues of legislation: its tasks, the features of state government, legal proceedings, the system of punishments, the status of estates, etc. The original version of the "Instruction", shown to some close associates of the Empress, caused many objections on their part as too free-thinking and not in accordance with Russian customs. As a result, the "Nakaz" was significantly reduced mainly due to liberal provisions, for example, articles on improving the situation of the peasants, on the separation of the legislative power from the judiciary, etc. The articles related to legal proceedings and education remained closest to the educational ideology. In general, the "Order" was a statement general principles by which the Legislative Commission should be guided in its work.
In December 1766, a manifesto was issued to convene a "Commission to draw up a new code." The Commission was to be represented by elected deputies from all estates.
A total of 564 deputies were elected: 161 - from the nobility, 208 - from the cities, 167 - from the rural population, 28 - from the central institutions (Senate, Synod, collegiums and other government offices). Each deputy received from his voters a mandate that reflected their wishes. In total, 1465 orders were submitted, and most of them (1066) were from the rural population. During the work of the Legislative Commission, deputies were paid salaries from the treasury: nobles - 400 rubles, townspeople - 120 rubles, peasants - 37 rubles. Deputies were forever exempted from the death penalty, corporal punishment, confiscation of property.
On July 30, 1767, the Legislative Commission began its work in Moscow. General A.I. was elected its chairman, on the recommendation of Catherine II. Bibikov (1729-1774), he had the right to appoint meetings, submit and put proposals to the vote.
Paperwork in the Legislative Commission was quite complicated: each issue went through different commissions (there were about 20 of them) several times, in addition, the areas of activity of special commissions and the general meeting of deputies were not sufficiently delineated, which made work difficult. The commission moved from one issue to another, without having solved the previous one, for a year and a half the deputies could not even read all the orders.
In general, the activities of the Legislative Commission from the very beginning were doomed to failure due to the lack of preliminary preparation, as well as the huge volume and complexity of work: in order to create new laws, the deputies had to understand the old legislation, which included more than 10 thousand heterogeneous provisions, to study deputy mandates , remove the contradictions, often irreconcilable, between the wishes of various estates and, finally, draw up a new legislative code based on the principles set forth in Catherine's "Instruction", which often contradict deputy orders. In December 1768, due to the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war and the fact that a significant part of the deputies-nobles had to go to the troops, the Legislative Commission was dissolved for an indefinite period, but later the deputies no longer met.
Despite the fact that the attempt to create new legislation ended in failure, the work of the Legislative Commission had a significant impact on the subsequent activities of Catherine II. The orders of the deputies showed the position of the various classes of Russian society, their wishes and largely determined the direction of further reforms.
Reforming local government The system of local government included the administration of provinces and districts, as well as cities and individual estates. In November 1775, the “Institution for the Administration of Provinces” was published. Russian Empire". In the introduction to this document, the shortcomings that caused the need for reform were indicated: the vastness of the provinces, the insufficient number of government bodies, and the mixing of various cases in them.
As a result of the reform, the former administrative division (province, province, county) was changed: the provinces were abolished, the number of provinces increased to 40 (by the end of the reign of Catherine II, 51 provinces already existed due to the annexation of new territories to Russia). Previously, the regional division was carried out randomly, and the provinces with very different populations had approximately the same staff of officials. Now it was established that the provinces should be approximately the same in terms of the number of inhabitants - from 300 to 400 thousand people, for the county the population was determined at 20-30 thousand. Since the new administrative division was more fractional, about 200 large villages were transformed into county cities.
With the change in administrative boundaries within the framework of the provincial reform, local government was also changed: administrative, financial and judicial affairs were separated. Subsequently, the unification of local government throughout the country led to the abolition of the autonomy of some suburbs: in Ukraine, this finally happened in 1781, and since 1783, the nationwide system administration extended to the Baltics.
Provincial administration One or several provinces received the status of a governor-general and submitted to a governor-general appointed by the Senate, whose activities were controlled directly by the empress. The governor-general had broad powers to oversee all local government and the courts in the territory entrusted to him.
The management of a separate province was entrusted to the governor appointed by the Senate, who headed the provincial board - the main administrative body. In addition to the governor, it included two provincial advisers and a provincial prosecutor. The board dealt with various administrative issues, supervised the administration of the province, and together with the vice-governor, was in charge of all the police institutions of the province and county.
The vice-governor (or lieutenant of the ruler, i.e. the governor) was appointed by the Senate, if necessary, could replace the governor, and was also the chairman of the treasury chamber - the highest financial body of the province, which disposed of state property. She was in charge of tax collection, government contracts and buildings, provincial and county treasuries, economic peasants of former church estates.
In addition to administrative, financial and special judicial institutions, a new body was created in each provincial city - the order of public charity, which was in charge of schools, hospitals, almshouses and shelters. In contrast to the provincial government and the state chamber, the order of public charity had an elected composition.
County administration The county executive body was the lower zemstvo court, headed by a police captain (as a rule, from retired officers). He was considered the head of the county, was in charge of the county administration and the police, monitored trade, and conducted preliminary investigations into court cases. He was elected by the nobles for a period of three years at the district meeting, and two assessors were also selected from the nobles to help him.
The head of the administrative and police authorities in the county town was the mayor, who was appointed by the Senate.
Judicial system Since 1775, estate legal proceedings were introduced in the provinces. The provincial court for the nobles was the Supreme Zemstvo Court, for the urban population - the provincial magistrate, for personally free peasants - the upper massacre. These judicial bodies consisted of assessors - elected from the corresponding class, headed by specially appointed officials. At each upper zemstvo court, a noble guardianship was established, which dealt with the affairs of widows and minor orphans of the nobles. In addition, special conscientious courts were established in the provincial cities to deal with criminal cases related to the insanity of a criminal, and civil cases decided by a settlement agreement.
As the highest judicial instances in all cases decided in the provincial class courts, the chamber of the civil court and the chamber of the criminal court were established. In the event of any complaints, they had the right to make the final decision.
In each county for the nobles there was a county court, subordinate to the supreme zemstvo court, for the urban population - a city magistrate, which was under the jurisdiction of the provincial magistrate. In counties where more than 10,000 personally free peasants lived, there was a lower reprisal, subordinate to the upper reprisal. In county judicial institutions, judges and assessors were elected from representatives of the estate, whose affairs were in charge, the government appointed only the chairman of the lower massacre. An orphan's court was established under each city magistrate, dealing with the cases of widows and minor orphans of the townspeople.
The role of supervisory bodies in each province was performed by provincial prosecutors and their assistants - criminal and civil solicitors. The prosecutors at the upper zemstvo court, the provincial magistrate and the upper massacre, as well as the district attorney, who served as the prosecutor in the district, were subordinate to the provincial prosecutor.
Noble self-government In its domestic politics Catherine II focused primarily on the nobility, and already in the first years of her reign, the foundations of self-government of this estate were laid. In preparation for the convening of the Legislative Commission in 1766, the nobles of each county were ordered to elect a county marshal for two years to lead the election of deputies to the Commission and in case of any other demands from the supreme authority.
The reform of 1775 increased the influence of the nobility on local government, gave it a class organization, granting rights legal entity county nobility assembly. The charter granted to the nobility in 1785 strengthened the position of this class. It fixed the pre-existing rights and benefits of the nobility: freedom from taxes and corporal punishment, from public service, the right to full ownership of land and serfs, the right to be judged only by equals, etc. The charter granted the nobility also gave some new privileges, in particular, the confiscation of the estates of nobles for criminal offenses was prohibited, it was facilitated to obtain the nobility, etc. In addition, in 1785 the provincial nobility, as before the county nobility, as a whole, was granted the rights of a legal entity.
Ultimately, the system of nobility administration, which developed during the reign of Catherine II, had the following form. Once every three years, at county and provincial meetings, the nobles elected, respectively, county and provincial noble leaders and other officials. Only that nobleman could be elected, whose income from the estate was not less than 100 rubles. in year. Nobles who had reached the age of 25 and had an officer rank could participate in the elections. In addition to the election of officials, the meetings of the nobility resolved issues raised by the government, as well as problems related to class discipline. In addition, the assemblies had the right to submit their wishes to the governor or governor-general, and a specially elected deputation headed by the marshal of the nobility could apply to the empress.
City self-government In 1785, a Letter of Rights and Benefits to the Cities of the Russian Empire was also published, which later became known as the Charter to Cities. During its development, some wishes from the city mandates of the Legislative Commission, as well as the charters that determined the structure of the Baltic cities, in particular, Riga, were taken into account. These statutes were based on Magdeburg (by the name of the city in Germany), or German, law, which developed in the Middle Ages on the basis of the right to self-government won by the townspeople, as well as on the basis of acts regulating craft and trade.
From now on, a coat of arms becomes obligatory for each city, which should be "used in all city affairs." It was established that the coat of arms of the county town should also include the emblem of the provincial town. All coats of arms, already existing or new, were approved by the Empress herself.
In accordance with the Charter of Letters, the population of each city was divided into six categories. The first included "real city dwellers", i.e. all, without distinction of origin, rank and occupation, having a house or land in the city. The second category consisted of merchants, divided into three guilds depending on the amount of capital: the 1st guild - from 10 to 50 thousand rubles, the 2nd - from 5 to 10 thousand rubles, the 3rd - from 1 to 5 thousand roubles. The third category included urban guild artisans, the fourth - out-of-town and foreign guests who permanently resided in this city. The fifth category consisted of "eminent citizens" - elected officials, scientists and artists (painters, sculptors, architects, composers) with academic certificates or university diplomas, persons owning a capital of 50 thousand rubles, bankers with a capital of 100 to 200 thousand rubles, wholesalers, shipowners. The sixth category included "townspeople" - townspeople who were engaged in crafts, crafts, etc., and not included in other categories. Citizens of the third and sixth categories received the general name "petty bourgeois". The entire population of the city, in accordance with their category, was entered in the City Philistine Book.
Citizens of all ranks from the age of 25 had the right once every three years to choose from their midst the mayor and vowels (representatives from ranks) to the general city duma. Nobles were not widely represented in the city duma, as they had the right to refuse to perform city posts. The General City Council met every three years or, if necessary, it was in charge of the city's economy, and was obliged to report to the governor on all income and expenses. In addition, the General Duma elected six representatives (one from each category) to the six-member Duma, whose meetings were held every week under the chairmanship of the mayor. The six-member Duma was in charge of collecting taxes, fulfilling state duties, beautifying the city, its expenses and incomes, i.e. was the executive body of the city government. Supervision of city self-government was carried out by the governor, to whom the six-member Duma could turn for help.
The rights of the city as a whole were protected by the city magistrate, who interceded for the city before the highest authorities, made sure that no new taxes or duties were imposed on it without the government's order.
Introduction. 3
Local government under Catherine II. 4
Conclusion. 12
References: 14
Introduction
The regional government was for Catherine a convenient ground on which she could sow political ideas borrowed from the liberal teachings of European publicists. Moreover, special considerations prompted her to pay priority attention to the reorganization of the regional administration.
The Pugachev uprising, which horrified noble Russia, had important consequences for determining the further domestic policy of Catherine II. First of all, the empress was convinced of the deep conservatism of the lower strata of the population of the empire. Secondly, it became clear that, at all costs, only the nobility could be the true support of the throne. Finally, thirdly, the uprising clearly demonstrated the deep crisis of society and, consequently, the impossibility of further postponing reforms that should have been carried out gradually, step by step, through slow everyday work. The first fruit of the reform was one of the most significant legislative acts of Catherine's reign - "Institution for the administration of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire."
The publication and introduction of the Institutions marked the beginning of the provincial reform, the main content of which was associated with the reorganization of the local government system. The need for such a reform was dictated by the very logic of the development of an autocratic state, which required the creation of a strictly centralized and unified system, in which every cell of a vast territory and every inhabitant of it would be under the vigilant control of the government. These requirements had to be linked with the class interests that manifested themselves in the activities of the Legislative Commission, and above all with the interests of the nobility. At the same time, Catherine did not forget about her plans for education in the state of the third estate.
Local government under Catherine II.
In November 1775, the "Institution for the Administration of the Provinces of the Russian Empire" was published. In the introductory part of this document, it was noted that the need for a new reform is due to the fact that the existing provinces are very large in size, and the structure of provincial government is imperfect.
Under Catherine II, the number of provinces was increased to 51. The capital provinces and large regions (they included two provinces each) were now headed by major dignitaries and governors responsible to the queen. They were endowed, as a rule, with emergency powers. The provinces were governed by governors appointed by the Senate and provincial boards (the latter, like landrats, were actually subordinate to the governors). All officials and institutions of the regions (provinces) were divided into three groups:
1. The first - administrative and police - included the governor, the provincial government and the Order of public charity (this body consisted of assessors from the provincial class courts and managed schools, medical and charitable institutions, "working" and "strait" houses).
2. The second group of provincial institutions were financial and economic. The main one was the Treasury, whose functions included tax affairs, financial control, management of state property, contracts, supervision of private trade and industry, conducting accounting and statistical work on audits - population censuses. As a rule, the vice-governor headed the treasury chamber.
3. The third group of provincial institutions included the judiciary - the chambers of the criminal and the chamber of the civil court. In the provinces of that time, the upper zemstvo court functioned for the nobles, the provincial magistrate - for the townspeople, the upper reprisal - for state, palace peasants, coachmen. In the provinces there also existed a prosecutorial service headed by the provincial prosecutor.
Of particular interest is another document - "Charter for the rights and benefits of the cities of the Russian Empire", adopted by Catherine II in 1785.
The 1785 “Charter on Rights and Benefits to the Cities of the Russian Empire” established the rights and privileges of cities. It secured the city’s ownership of “lands, gardens, fields, pastures, meadows, rivers, fishing, forests, groves, bushes, empty places, water or windmills that belonged to it ...”. Cities got the opportunity to have schools, mills, taverns, taverns, gerbergs, taverns, organize fairs, set places and times for trade. The townspeople were obliged to bear the established "burdens", i.e. duties and fees, which local authorities could not increase without the permission of the government. Nobles, military and civil officials were completely exempted from taxes and services. Each city had to have its own coat of arms.
The rights of the population were protected by the city magistrate, who ensured that it was not subject to new duties and fees without approval. The magistrate interceded about the needs of the city before higher institutions.
The urban population was divided into 6 categories or electoral curia, entered in the city philistine book:
1. The category of "real city dwellers" included persons who owned real estate within the city.
2. Owners of capital of a certain amount belonged to the category of guild merchants.
3. Belonging to the category of guild artisans was determined by the record in any guild.
4. The definition for the category of out-of-town and foreign guests followed from its very name.
5. The grounds for belonging to one of the 7 divisions of the category of "eminent citizens" were: two-time appointment of an elected position in the city, a university or academic diploma for the title of a scientist or artist issued by Russian main schools (not foreign ones), capital of a certain amount, employment in a wholesale ( not shop) trade, the possession of sea ships.
6. To the 6th category "townspeople" belonged to persons engaged in any kind of fishing.
Elections to the General City Duma were held once every three years. The mayor presided over the General City Duma. When voting, vowels from each category had only one vote, so it did not matter that the number of vowels from different categories was different.
The General Duma elected from among its members the Six-member Duma, which carried out direct work in managing the current city affairs. The composition of this institution included the mayor and six vowels - one from each category of the "city society". The six-member Duma was not only the executive body of the General Duma. It was subject to the same range of issues as for the General Duma. The only difference was that the latter met to consider more complex issues, and the former - for the daily conduct of current affairs.
The competence of the six-voice Duma included the following areas of life of the "city society":
providing the urban population with food;
prevention of quarrels and lawsuits between the city and neighboring cities and villages;
protection of order;
providing the city with the necessary supplies;
protection of city buildings, construction of squares necessary for the city, piers, barns, shops;
increase in city revenues; resolution of controversial issues that arose in the workshops and guilds.
In addition to the General and Six-voice Dumas, the Regulations of 1785 also established a third body - the meeting of the “city society”. All members of the “grad society” could participate in it, but only those who had reached the age of 25 and possessed capital, the interest on which brought income of at least 50 rubles, had the right to vote and passive suffrage. The scope of this meeting included:
elections of the mayor, burgomasters and ratmans, assessors of the provincial magistrate and conscientious court, elders and deputies for the preparation of the city philistine book;
presentation to the governor of his views on the needs of the city;
issuance of resolutions;
preparation of responses to the proposals of the governor;
exclusion from the "city society" of citizens defamed by the court.
The meeting of the "city society" could only meet with the permission of the governor-general or the governor once every three years in the winter.
However, in the provinces, the implementation of the City Regulations faced many difficulties, and simplified self-government had to be introduced. Instead of three bodies - meetings of the "city society", general and six-voice thoughts - only two turned out: a direct meeting of all citizens and a small elected council of representatives of different groups of the urban population to carry out common affairs.
The most significant reform reforms were carried out in the early 60s of the XIX century, when, shortly after the abolition of serfdom, Alexander II signed a decree to the ruling Senate on the introduction of the Regulations on Zemstvo institutions from January 1, 1864.
The main factor that contributed to the birth of the Zemstvo was the decree of February 19, 1861, according to which more than 20 million serfs received "freedom".
Zemskaya (1864) and city (1870) reforms pursued the goal of decentralizing management and developing the beginnings of local self-government in Russia. The reforms were based on two ideas. The first is the electivity of power: all local self-government bodies were elected and controlled by voters. In addition, these bodies were under the control of representative power, and both branches of power were controlled by the Law. Zemstvos were supporters state power maintained the rule of law and stability in society. The second idea: local self-government had a real financial basis for its activities. In the 19th century up to 60% of all payments collected from the territories remained at the disposal of the zemstvo, i.e. cities and counties, 20% each went to the state treasury and the province.
On January 1, 1864, the “Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions” were established. According to this "Regulation" zemstvos were all-estate bodies. Wishing to make the zemstvos more manageable, with the predominance of the influence of the ruling classes in them, the law provided, for example, for dividing the voters of the uyezds into three curias to elect the uyezd zemstvo assembly.
The first curia included landowners who had at least 200 acres of land or other real estate worth up to 15 thousand rubles; this also included residents who had an annual income of up to 6 thousand rubles.
The second curia included mainly urban residents - homeowners, merchants, manufacturers. held their meetings without interconnection with the congresses of the first and third curiae. However, residents with an annual income of up to 6 thousand rubles could participate in the elections of "vowels". or owning real estate up to 4 thousand rubles (in small towns - up to 500 rubles).
The third curia included peasants, unlike the first two curia, they were multi-stage. From the peasant curia to the zemstvo assembly, not only representatives of the clergy, philistines, but even landlords often fell into the vowels.
According to the data of 1865-1867, in 29 provinces (in those where the Zemstvo was introduced), landowners-nobles and officials among the county "vowels" accounted for about 42%, peasants - more than 38, merchants - over 10, representatives of other classes - about 10 %.
Samara, Penza, Kostroma, Novgorod, Kherson, Pskov, Kursk, Yaroslavl, Poltava, Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg, Ryazan, Voronezh, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod and Tambov.
The zemstvo institutions of the uyezd included the zemstvo assembly and the zemstvo council with the institutions attached to them.
The Zemstvo Assembly consisted of:
Zemsky vowels;
Members ex officio (chairman of the state property department, deputy from the spiritual department, mayor of the county town, representatives of the county department).
The Zemstvo Assembly met annually for one session, no later than October. The session lasted ten days. The governor could extend it. The district marshal of the nobility presided over the district zemstvo assembly.
The duties of the zemstvo were divided into two groups - mandatory and optional:
Mandatory functions included the maintenance of mediators and judges, detention facilities and apartments for police officers, milestone duty, the construction and repair of high roads, the allocation of carts for traveling police, gendarmes and other government officials.
Optional functions were: insurance of agricultural buildings against fires, maintenance of city hospitals and almshouses, repair of roads and bridges, food aid to the population.
the day before February Revolution In 1917, zemstvos existed in 43 provinces of Russia with a total population of about 110 million inhabitants.
The viability of the Zemstvo was ensured by its two main principles: self-government and self-financing.
Zemstvo self-government manifested itself in many aspects: in the election of governing bodies, in the formation of management structures, in determining the main directions of its activities, in the selection and training of specialists, in the formation and distribution of the local budget.
After the October Revolution, the widespread liquidation of zemstvos began (the Bolsheviks considered zemstvo self-government to be a legacy of the bourgeois system), which was completed by the summer of 1918.
The liquidation of the Zemstvo was a completely natural process, because. local self-government provides for the decentralization of power, economic, social, financial and, to a certain extent, political independence, independence, and the ideas of socialism were based on the state of the proletarian dictatorship, that is, the state is centralized by nature.
In the course of the development of local self-government in pre-revolutionary Russia, it is possible to single out the main principles that are a feature of the Russian municipal school:
the principle of the diversity of forms of organization of local self-government, which is associated with the peculiarities of the socio-economic development of the territory of the Russian Empire, with significant differences in cultural, national and religious traditions;
the principle of non-participation (prohibition) of local governments in active political life, tk. it was believed that the main task of local authorities was to meet the priority needs of the population and the state strictly monitored that local governments did not go beyond these boundaries;
the principle of delimitation of subjects of jurisdiction and resources between levels of power (the delimitations were built not on the principle of sufficiency, but on the principle of the highest efficiency of their use by a given level);
the principle of transferring to local governments relatively broad rights in the economic and economic sphere (naturally, while maintaining the power of the center). There were several reasons for this: and the vast territories of the empire; and rapid development in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. urban and zemstvo education, health care, culture.
Unfortunately, the experience of local government accumulated before the revolution, primarily Zemstvo, was actually discarded and forgotten.
Conclusion
In all periods of the formation of Russia as a single and great power, especially in periods of crisis, two trends were clearly manifested: unification based on a strong central government and disunity, sovereignization of the territories that make it up. The reason for this was both objective historical and socio-economic conditions, and the subjective desire of specific owners, or regional elites, in modern political terms, to be all-powerful masters in their limited, but self-sufficient, from their point of view, limits.
Along with the two main trends noted at all stages of the development of statehood, sometimes clearly, sometimes to a less noticeable extent, a third one was also manifested - the formation and development of local self-government. During periods of disunity, self-government was one of the management tools for regional authorities. With the strengthening of the central power, self-government was to a large extent a compromise between the supreme power and the territories that were part of a single state. Recognition of the rights of the territories to self-government smoothed out the sharpness of the confrontation between the center and the regions.
Now, when Russia is again going through a period of formation and development of forms of local self-government, it is interesting to turn to its historical experience, which was done in this work. In conclusion, the following conclusions can be drawn.
Zemstvo reform of 1864 together with other reforms of the 60-70s in Russia, it influenced the change in the power structures of the state and caused new social conflicts in the sphere of management.
The reform of local government was caused by political and administrative-economic necessity. The government's introduction of zemstvos pursued three goals. First, about 23 million former serfs demanded new principles of local government. Secondly, it was a concession to the liberal provincial noble society. And, thirdly, the central government tried to improve the organization of the extremely neglected local self-government.
It is indisputable that zemstvo self-government in Russia since the last quarter of the 19th century. acquired the character of a viable state institution and expressed the interests of broad groups of the population. This is evidenced by the statistical material. By February 1917, zemstvo self-government existed in 43 provinces of Russia, and its competence extended to 110 million inhabitants. At the same time, one should not go to the other extreme, as is often the case in recent publications, and idealize zemstvo self-government in pre-revolutionary Russia as a kind of conflict-free model of relations between the power elite and local governments.
Bibliography:
1. E. V. Anisimov, A. B. Kamensky. "Russia in the 18th - the first half of the 19th century". M. : Miros, 1994
2. A. N. Sakharov “History of Russia from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th century”. M.: AST, 1996
3. Reader on the history of Russia M. 1999
4. Isaev I.A. History of the state and law of Russia. M.: Lawyer, 1999.
5. Vladimirsky-Budanov M. F. Overview of the history of Russian law. Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1995.
6. Russian legislation of the X-XX centuries. T. 7. - M., 1994.
abstract
Topic: The system of state administration during the reign of CatherineII
Introduction
1 Catherine II - features to the portrait
2 The system of public administration during the reign of Catherine II. The policy of "enlightened absolutism" and a new stage in the rationalization of public administration in the second half of the 18th century
3 "Instruction" of Catherine and the activities of the Legislative Commission
4 Estate and administrative reforms of Catherine II
5 State and church in the second half of the 18th century
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
The time of enlightened absolutism is usually called several decades of European history before the French Revolution of 1789.
The policy of absolutism in a number European countries in the second half of the 18th century, expressed itself in the destruction "from above" and in the transformation of the most obsolete feudal institutions (the abolition of certain class privileges, the subordination of the church to the state, reforms - peasant, judicial, schooling, softening censorship, etc.). Representatives of enlightened absolutism - Joseph II in Austria, Frederick II in Prussia, Catherine II in Russia (until the beginning of the 70s of the 18th century), etc., using the popularity of the ideas of the French Enlightenment, portrayed their activities as a "union of philosophers and sovereigns" . Enlightened absolutism was aimed at asserting the dominance of the nobility, although some reforms contributed to the development of the capitalist way of life. An important feature of the policy of enlightened absolutism was the desire of the monarchs to ease the sharpness of social contradictions by improving the political superstructure. This policy of enlightened sovereigns was a rationalization innovation in the field of government, without fundamentally changing its foundations.
Among the autocrats of the Russian Empire there were many strong, strong-willed individuals whose political and legislative activities had a huge impact on the growth not only of Russia as a whole (in terms of economy, foreign policy relations), but also of individual social strata, the life and culture of society. The gradual modernization of life in Russia, the main impetus of which was given by the "European policy" of Peter I, was continued by other monarchs, whose era played an equally important role in the formation of a powerful Russian Empire. The Russian Empress Catherine II was an imperious legislator; in her government, she strove for reforms and made an invaluable contribution to the development and strengthening of Russia. The era of her reign (the second half of the 18th century) is distinguished by historians as a separate stage in the development of the empire, since it was Catherine II who carried out a course of reforms in the socio-political life of Russia, aimed at modernizing it and strengthening state power in the country. This legislative activity of the empress corresponded to the spirit of the time, new European trends and ideas that the Enlightenment brought with it in the 18th century.
The policy of enlightened absolutism of Catherine II, as the main reflection of the principles of the Enlightenment in Russia, is interesting not only for its innovations, but also for the combination of Western trends with the originality of Russia.
The purpose of our essay is to analyze the contribution made by Catherine the Great to the development of the Russian state in the second half of the 18th century.
Work tasks:
1. Give brief description character traits of Catherine II;
2. Describe the system of state administration under Catherine II;
3. To characterize Catherine's "Instruction" as an attempt to plan reforms in Russia;
4. Consider social reforms of the empress;
5. Show the relationship between the state and the church in the second half of the 18th century.
The work is based on documents from the era of Catherine, namely her memoirs, correspondence with Voltaire and the text of the “Instruction” compiled by her.
1 CatherineII- traits for a portrait
Catherine II the Great (Ekaterina Alekseevna; at the birth of Sophia Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, born April 21 (May 2), 1729, Stettin, Prussia - d. November 6 (17), 1796, Winter Palace, St. Petersburg) - Empress of All Russia (1762- 1796). The period of her reign is often considered the golden age of the Russian Empire.
Sophia Frederick Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was born on April 21 (May 2), 1729 in the German Pomeranian city of Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland). Father, Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, came from the Zerbst-Dornburg line of the Anhalt house and was in the service of the Prussian king, was a regimental commander, commandant, then governor of the city of Stettin, where the future empress was born, ran for the Dukes of Courland, but unsuccessfully , finished his service as a Prussian field marshal. Mother - Johanna Elizabeth, from the family of Holstein-Gottorp, was the cousin of the future Peter III. Maternal uncle Adolf Friedrich (Adolf Fredrik) was the king of Sweden from 1751 (elected heir in 1743). The family tree of the mother of Catherine II goes back to Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and the founder of the Oldenburg dynasty.
The family of the Duke of Zerbst was not rich, Catherine was educated at home. She studied German and French, dances, music, the basics of history, geography, theology. I was brought up in strictness. She grew up a frisky, inquisitive, playful and even troubled girl, she loved to play pranks and flaunt her courage in front of the boys, with whom she easily played on the streets of Stettin. Her parents did not burden her with their upbringing and did not particularly stand on ceremony when expressing their displeasure. Her mother called her as a child Fikchen (German: Figchen - comes from the name Frederica, that is, "little Frederica").
In 1744, the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, together with her mother, was invited to Russia for the subsequent marriage with the heir to the throne, Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the future Emperor Peter III and her second cousin. Immediately after her arrival in Russia, she began to study the Russian language, history, Orthodoxy, Russian traditions, as she sought to get to know Russia as fully as possible, which she perceived as a new homeland. Among her teachers are the famous preacher Simon Todorsky (Orthodoxy teacher), the author of the first Russian grammar Vasily Adadurov (Russian language teacher) and choreographer Lange (dance teacher). She soon fell ill with pneumonia, and her condition was so severe that her mother offered to bring a Lutheran pastor. Sophia, however, refused and sent for Simon Todorsky. This circumstance added to her popularity at the Russian court. June 28 (July 9), 1744 Sophia Frederick Augusta converted from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy and received the name Catherine Alekseevna (the same name and patronymic as Elizabeth's mother, Catherine I), and the next day she was betrothed to the future emperor.
On August 21 (September 1), 1745, at the age of sixteen, Catherine was married to Peter Fedorovich, who was 17 years old and was her second cousin. For the first years of his life, Peter was not at all interested in his wife, and there was no marital relationship between them. Catherine will write about this later in her memoirs.
Ekaterina continues to educate herself. She reads books on history, philosophy, jurisprudence, the works of Voltaire, Montesquieu, Tacitus, Bayle, and a large amount of other literature. The main entertainment for her was hunting, horseback riding, dancing and masquerades. The absence of marital relations with the Grand Duke contributed to the appearance of Catherine's lovers. Meanwhile, Empress Elizabeth expressed dissatisfaction with the absence of children from the spouses.
Finally, after two unsuccessful pregnancies, on September 20 (October 1), 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, who was immediately taken away from her by the will of the reigning Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, they call him Paul (future Emperor Paul I) and deprive him of the opportunity to educate, allowing only occasionally to see. A number of sources, including the memoirs of Catherine herself, claim that the true father of Paul was Catherine's lover S. V. Saltykov. Others - that such rumors are unfounded, and that Peter underwent an operation that eliminated a defect that made conception impossible. The issue of paternity aroused public interest as well.
After the birth of Pavel, relations with Peter and Elizaveta Petrovna finally deteriorated. Peter called his wife “reserve madam” and openly made mistresses, however, without preventing Catherine from doing this, who during this period had a relationship with Stanislav Poniatowski, the future king of Poland, which arose thanks to the efforts of the English ambassador Sir Charles Henbury Williams. On December 9 (20), 1758, Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Anna, which caused Peter's strong displeasure.
At this time, the condition of Elizabeth Petrovna worsened. All this made the prospect of expelling Catherine from Russia or concluding her in a monastery real. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Catherine's secret correspondence with the disgraced Field Marshal Apraksin and the British Ambassador Williams, dedicated to political issues, was revealed. Her former favorites were removed, but a circle of new ones began to form: Grigory Orlov and Dashkova.
The death of Elizabeth Petrovna (December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762)) and the accession to the throne of Peter Fedorovich under the name of Peter III further alienated the spouses. Peter III began to openly live with his mistress Elizaveta Vorontsova, settling his wife at the other end Winter Palace. When Catherine became pregnant from Orlov, this could no longer be explained by accidental conception from her husband, since communication between the spouses had completely ceased by that time. Ekaterina hid her pregnancy, and when the time came to give birth, her devoted valet Vasily Grigoryevich Shkurin set fire to his house. A lover of such spectacles, Peter with the court left the palace to look at the fire; at this time, Catherine gave birth safely. So the first in Russia, Count Bobrinsky, the founder of a famous family, was born.
Having ascended the throne, Peter III carried out a number of actions that caused a negative attitude of the officer corps towards him. So, he concluded an unfavorable treaty for Russia with Prussia (while the Russian troops took Berlin) and returned the lands occupied by the Russians to her. At the same time, he intended, in alliance with Prussia, to oppose Denmark (an ally of Russia), in order to return Schleswig, which she had taken from Holstein, and he himself intended to go on a campaign at the head of the guard. Supporters of the coup accused Peter III of ignorance, dementia, dislike of Russia, complete inability to rule. Against his background, Catherine looked favorably - a smart, well-read, pious and benevolent wife, who was persecuted by her husband.
After relations with her husband finally deteriorated, and dissatisfaction with the emperor on the part of the guard intensified, Catherine decided to participate in the coup. Her comrades-in-arms, the main of whom were the Orlov brothers, Potemkin and Khitrovo, engaged in agitation in the guards units and won them over to their side. The immediate cause of the coup was the rumors about the arrest of Catherine and the disclosure and arrest of one of the participants in the conspiracy - Lieutenant Passek.
In the early morning of June 28 (July 9), 1762, while Peter III was in Oranienbaum, Catherine, accompanied by Alexei and Grigory Orlov, arrived from Peterhof to St. Petersburg, where the guards swore allegiance to her. Peter III, seeing the hopelessness of resistance, abdicated the next day, was taken into custody and died in the first days of July under unclear circumstances.
On September 22 (October 3), 1762, Ekaterina Alekseevna was crowned in Moscow and became the All-Russian Empress with the name Catherine.
Catherine belonged to a small number of monarchs who communicated so intensively and directly with their subjects through the drafting of manifestos, instructions, laws, polemical articles and indirectly in the form of satirical writings, historical dramas and pedagogical opuses. In her memoirs, she confessed: "I cannot see a clean pen without feeling the desire to immediately dip it in ink."
She had an extraordinary talent as a writer, leaving behind a large collection of works - notes, translations, librettos, fables, fairy tales, comedies "Oh, time!", "Mrs. "The Invisible Bride" (1771-1772), essays, etc., participated in the weekly satirical magazine "Vsyakaya Zyachina", published since 1769. The Empress turned to journalism in order to influence public opinion, so the main idea of the magazine was to criticize human vices and weaknesses. Other subjects of irony were the superstitions of the population. Catherine herself called the magazine: "Satire in a smiling spirit."
Catherine considered herself a "philosopher on the throne" and favorably treated the Enlightenment, was in correspondence with Voltaire, Diderot, "Alamber.
Under her rule, the Hermitage and the Public Library appeared in St. Petersburg. She patronized various areas of art - architecture, music, painting.
It is impossible not to mention the mass settlement of German families initiated by Catherine in various regions. modern Russia, Ukraine, as well as the Baltic countries. The goal was to modernize Russian science and culture.
Catherine was a brunette of medium height. She combined high intelligence, education, statesmanship and commitment to "free love".
Catherine is known for her connections with numerous lovers, the number of which (according to the list of the authoritative Ekaterinologist P. I. Bartenev) reaches 23. The most famous of them were Sergey Saltykov, G. G. Orlov (later count), horse guard lieutenant Vasilchikov, G. A. Potemkin (later prince), hussar Zorich, Lanskoy, the last favorite was the cornet Platon Zubov, who became a count of the Russian Empire and a general. With Potemkin, according to some sources, Catherine was secretly married (1775). After 1762, she planned a marriage with Orlov, but on the advice of those close to her, she abandoned this idea.
It is worth noting that the "debauchery" of Catherine was not such a scandalous phenomenon against the backdrop of the general licentiousness of the mores of the 18th century. Most kings (with the possible exception of Frederick the Great, Louis XVI and Charles XII) had numerous mistresses. Catherine's favorites (with the exception of Potemkin, who had state abilities) did not influence politics. Nevertheless, the institution of favoritism had a negative effect on the higher nobility, who sought benefits through flattery to a new favorite, tried to make “their own man” a lover to the Empress, etc.
Catherine's commitment to the ideas of the Enlightenment determined the nature of her domestic policy and the direction of reforming various institutions of the Russian state. To characterize the domestic policy of Catherine's time, the term " enlightened absolutism". According to Catherine, based on the works of the French philosopher Montesquieu, the vast Russian expanses and the harshness of the climate determine the regularity and necessity of autocracy in Russia. Based on this, under Catherine, the autocracy was strengthened, the bureaucratic apparatus was strengthened, the country was centralized and the system of government was unified.
2 The system of state administration during the reign of CatherineII. The policy of "enlightened absolutism" and a new stage in the rationalization of public administration in the second half of the 18th century
By the time of her accession to the throne, Catherine II was well acquainted with the liberal ideas of European philosophical, political and economic thought. Even in her younger years, she read the works of the French enlighteners - Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, D "Alembert - and considered herself their student. In 1763, Catherine began a correspondence with Voltaire, which lasted until 1777, that is, almost until the death of the famous French educator. Based on the ideas of European educators, Catherine had a certain idea of \u200b\u200bwhat needs to be done for the prosperity of the state. Here are the planned plans for the empress: “Since you are quite keenly interested, it seems to me, in what I am doing, I to this letter perhaps a less bad translation into French of my Manifesto, which I signed last year on December 14th and appeared in the Dutch newspapers in such a cruelly distorted form that one could hardly get at the meaning in it. valuable and successful ... In the month of June, meetings of this great assembly will begin, which will find out for us what is needed, and then it will be transgressed to formulate laws for which, I hope, future mankind will not reward us with censure. In the meantime, before that time, I am going to travel around the various provinces ... ".
In conjunction with the knowledge of Russian reality, these ideas influenced the formation of the political program of the Empress, which she tried to implement in various areas, including in the field of public administration.
How Catherine imagined the tasks of an enlightened monarch, which she sincerely considered herself, can be seen from her draft note: “1. It is necessary to educate the nation, which must govern. 2. It is necessary to introduce good order in the state, to support society and force it to comply with the laws. 3. It is necessary to establish a good and accurate police in the state. 4. It is necessary to promote the flowering of the state and make it abundant. 5. It is necessary to make the state formidable in itself and inspire respect for its neighbors.
The beginning of the reign for Catherine II was difficult, especially in political terms. No matter how unpopular Peter III was in Russia, he was a legitimate (by God's grace) sovereign, besides, the grandson of Peter the Great, albeit insufficient. The role of Catherine II in the murder of her husband was also unclear. First of all, Catherine II hurried with the coronation, which was supposed to legitimize her accession to the throne. The main participants in the coup (40 people) received ranks, land holdings with serfs and large sums of money. The Empress ordered the return from exile of those who "innocently" suffered, including the former Grand Chancellor Count Bestuzhev-Ryumin, the former Prosecutor General Prince Shakhovsky.
Acting cautiously, avoiding dangerous conflicts, Catherine II from the very beginning firmly made it clear that she did not intend to give up autocratic power. She rejected the idea of Count N.I. Panin to establish a Permanent Imperial Council consisting of four secretaries of state, who were to decide all the most important state affairs. In this case, Catherine would have only the right to approve the decisions being made. Panin's project reflected the oligarchic hopes of the aristocracy to limit autocratic power, which did not suit Catherine II at all. At the same time, Panin proposed dividing the ruling Senate into six departments, which led to a weakening of the role of this highest institution in favor of the Permanent Imperial Council. Catherine II skillfully took advantage of Panin's proposal in December 1763 (the reform of the Senate).
Assessing the reign of Catherine II, it must be borne in mind that the empress had to act not according to a pre-planned and planned reform program, but to consistently take on the solution of the tasks that life put forward. Hence the impression of a certain chaotic nature of her reign. Even if this is true, it is not the whims of frequently changing favorites that are the reason. Undoubtedly, such people influenced the policy of the state, but only to the extent that the empress herself allowed it, who never gave up even a particle of her autocratic power.
What was the state of the country, it is clear from the fact that already in the first days after the coup, Catherine had to think about how to stop the rapid rise in bread prices and find money for the most urgent state needs - the Russian army in Prussia had not received a salary for eight months. She allowed the Senate to use her "room money" - those that were considered the property of the sovereign and went exclusively to his personal needs. The members of the Senate were touched by the fact that the Empress considers everything belonging to her to be the property of the state and in the future does not intend to make a distinction between the interests of the state and her own. For Catherine, such a step was completely natural. She saw herself as a servant of the fatherland, called to lead her subjects to this common good.
It was something unprecedented in Russia. The former authorities considered it sufficient to keep the subjects in fear, while Catherine wanted to win their love.
The reduction of duties on salt, the abolition of trade monopolies, a decree against bribery, orphanages, the fight against robberies - these first measures taken by Catherine were dictated not by the desire for transformation, but by the need and desire to win over subjects. However, they became for her an excellent practical school of public administration. Very soon, Catherine realized how little she knew the country in which she had to reign, and tried to study it better. In the first five years of her reign, Catherine made several trips around Russia. This allowed her to find out how her subjects live.
The first years of the reign were almost cloudless. They loved Catherine sincerely, as they love their hopes for a better future. In this upbeat atmosphere, she managed to restore the country's defense capability and carry out some of the measures outlined under Elizabeth and Peter III. First of all, it concerned church property.
Since 1765, Catherine began to write her "Instruction" - the recommendations of the commission for the development of the New Code. (A major attempt in the field of public administration - putting Russian legislation in order). Those historians who see the convocation of the Legislative Commission as a demagogic farce played out by Catherine II are hardly right. One cannot call the Legislative Commission the beginning of Russian parliamentarism. In the specific conditions of Russia in the second half of the 18th century. Catherine II made an attempt to modernize the country, create a legitimate autocratic monarchy.
It must be said that in practical activities, Catherine deviated far from her high ideals. She knew that she owed her power to the Russian nobility, and she understood: The best way to win his love is to distribute estates, money and privileges. In total, during the reign of Catherine, about a million souls were distributed from state and palace estates. In 1765 (while working on the “Instruction”), she allowed the landlords to exile peasants to Siberia without trial “for impudent condition” (confirming Elizabeth’s decree of 1760), and in 1767, while traveling along the Volga, she received about 600 petitions from peasants with complaints on the landowners, ordered them to be returned without consideration; later, a special decree was issued forbidding peasants to file complaints against the landlords to the empress. By the time of Catherine's accession to the throne in Ukraine, the right of free passage of peasants still existed, but already in 1763 she sharply limited it, and 20 years later canceled it altogether.
Two events of the 18th century influenced the curtailment of the policy of enlightened absolutism: the peasant war led by E. Pugachev in Russia and the Great French Revolution in Europe.
In general, under Catherine, absolutism was strengthened by reforming government institutions and a new administrative structure of the state, protecting the monarchy from any encroachment. She carried out socio-economic measures for the further "Europeanization" of the country and the final design and strengthening of the nobility, liberal educational initiatives, care for education, literature and the arts.
But Russian society has demonstrated its unpreparedness not only for the abolition of serfdom, but even for more moderate reforms.
3 "Instruction" of Catherine and the activities of the Legislative Commission
Since 1765, Catherine began to write her "Instruction" - the recommendations of the commission for the development of the New Code. The need for new legislation is long overdue. In 1754, Elizabeth (at the suggestion of Peter Shuvalov) already ordered to compose "clear laws", but the matter did not move forward. Anna Ioannovna made the same attempts, and before her - Peter I. Catherine firmly decided to bring the matter to an end.
In 1767, deputies from all classes (with the exception of serfs and the clergy) gathered in Moscow in order to start developing a New Code. Catherine's "Instruction" became a guide. Catherine borrowed most of his articles from Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws and the treatise of the Italian jurist Beccaria On Crimes and Punishments. "Nakaz" consisted of 22 chapters and was divided into 655 articles. The cornerstone of the state, according to Catherine, remained autocracy: “8. The Russian state's possessions extend over 32 degrees of latitude and 165 degrees of longitude around the globe. 9. The sovereign is autocratic; for no other, as soon as the power united in his person, can act similarly to the space of such a great state ... 11. Any other government would not only be harmful to Russia, but completely ruinous. 12. Another reason is that it is better to obey the laws under one master than to please many.
But everything else was so new and unusual that this document simply frightened many. But Catherine published the "Instruction" only after a discussion with her close associates, who altered or reduced quite more than half of what was written by the Empress.
What so shocked the Russian people of the second half of the 18th century?
Here are the provisions of the "Order": "34. The equality of all citizens consists in the fact that all are subject to the same laws. 35. This equality requires a good establishment, which would forbid the rich to depress their lesser acquisition of those who have and turn to their own advantage the ranks and titles entrusted to them only as the ruling persons of the state. 36. Public or state liberty does not consist in doing whatever one pleases. 37. In a state, that is, in an assembly of people living in a society where there are laws, liberty cannot consist in anything else than the ability to do what everyone should want, and not to be forced to do what they should not want. ".
Thus, it appeared that all citizens were equal before the law. Catherine, however, had to refuse any mention of the need to free the peasants from serfdom, although she considered slavery to be contrary to the Christian religion and justice. In Nakaz, she was forced to admit that "we should not suddenly and through legitimization make a great number of liberated."
The deputies, who had gathered in Moscow to work on the New Code, showed Catherine that Russia was much further from the latest European ideas than she thought. 564 people, among whom were officials, merchants, Cossacks, "arable soldiers" and foreigners, were not representatives of Russian society, because there was no society in Russia at that time. Each estate cared only about its own interests. They understood the welfare of the people only as their own, state interests - as the interests of the empress. Each class demanded exclusive privileges at the expense of others and did not want to bear any responsibility. The nobles advocated the abolition of torture, but only for their class, the merchants demanded that the nobles and peasants be banned from participating in trade, everyone (with the exception of the nobles who had already received such a privilege) wanted not to serve and not pay taxes, and everyone demanded slaves - they spoke out against serfdom only a few deputies. It is clear that it was not possible to create any Code, and in 1768 the commission for its development was disbanded under the pretext of the outbreak of war with Turkey.
Yet the work of the Commission has not been in vain. The content of local mandates and the opinions of the deputies gave the government rich material for getting acquainted with the needs and wishes of different groups of the population, and it could use these materials in the future in its reform activities.
4 Estate and administrative reforms of CatherineII
December 1763. the empress carried out a reform of the Senate, dividing it into six departments, two of which were to be located in Moscow, and four in St. Petersburg. So the ruling Senate lost its former political role, turning into a bureaucratic-clerical superstructure over the central institutions of the empire. In the second half of the 18th century the territory of Russia has expanded significantly, especially in the southern and western directions. The country included the Northern Black Sea, Azov, Crimea, Right-bank Ukraine, Belarus, Courland, Lithuania, and others. Russia occupied an area of 17.4 million m2. According to the revision of 1795, the population of Russia was 37.4 million people. The majority of the population lived in rural areas. By the end of the century, 10% of the country's population lived in cities. By the beginning of the 19th century. in Russia there were 634 cities, although many of them remained rather administrative and power centers of the rural district. Under Catherine II, a broad administrative reform was carried out. In 1775, the country was divided into 50 provinces instead of the previous 20. The population of the province ranged from 300 to 400 thousand people.
With the “Manifesto on Liberty to the Nobility” (1762) and “Letter of Letters to the Nobility” (1785), Catherine II finally strengthened the privileges of the nobility. The nobles were exempted from taxes and duties. Noble landownership increased markedly. The landowners were given state and palace peasants, as well as uninhabited lands. Agriculture remains the leading branch of the Russian economy. There is an increase in feudal relations. They cover new territories and new categories of the population. On the lands that became part of Russia during this period of time, serf relations either persisted or became widespread (Ukraine, Crimea, Ciscaucasia). Part of the land was distributed to Russian landowners.
The situation of the serfs worsened - in 1765 the landowners received permission to exile their peasants to Siberia for hard labor, without trial or investigation. If the peasants were recognized as the instigators of unrest, then by decree of 1763 they themselves had to pay the costs associated with the suppression of their speeches. In 1767, a decree was issued prohibiting peasants from complaining to the empress against their landlords. The years 1765-1775 were marked by peasant uprisings (Pugachevshchina). Brutally suppressed, it nevertheless became not the last reason that pushed the government to some decrees regarding the position of the peasants.
Of great importance for the development of domestic industrial production was the publication in 1775 of the manifesto of Catherine II on the free opening of industrial enterprises by representatives of all strata of society. In Russia, freedom of enterprise was introduced.
In 1785, a special Craft regulation was issued, which was part of the Letter of Complaint to the cities. Along with urban crafts, handicrafts were widely developed in fishing villages.
The most important feature of the late 18th century. is an increase in civilian labor and capitalist manufactures.
Since 1762, it was forbidden to buy serfs to factories, their assignment to enterprises ceased. Manufactories, founded after that by persons of non-noble origin, used exclusively civilian labor.
In 1775, a decree was issued allowing peasant industry, which stimulated the development of production and influenced the growth in the number of merchants and peasants.
An important incentive for industrial entrepreneurship was the benefits to the merchants: in 1766 - the release of merchants from recruitment duty and replacing it with the payment of a fixed monetary contribution; the proclamation of freedom of enterprise in 1775, which consisted in allowing merchants to start enterprises without coordination with official authorities and abolished the tax on each rank.
Social policy demonstrates the following facts. In 1768, a network of city schools was created, based on the class-lesson system. Schools began to open. Under Catherine began system development women's education, in 1764 the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, the Educational Society for Noble Maidens were opened. The Academy of Sciences has become one of the leading scientific bases in Europe. An observatory, a physics office, an anatomical theater, a botanical garden, instrumental workshops, a printing house, a library, and an archive were founded. The Russian Academy was founded in 1783. In the provinces there were orders of public charity. In Moscow and St. Petersburg - Orphanages for homeless children (currently the building of the Moscow Orphanage is occupied by the Military Academy named after Peter the Great), where they received education and upbringing. To help widows, the Widow's Treasury was created.
Compulsory smallpox vaccination was introduced, and Catherine was the first to make such an inoculation. Under Catherine II, the fight against epidemics in Russia began to take on the character of state events that were directly within the responsibilities of the Imperial Council, the Senate. By decree of Catherine, outposts were created, located not only on the borders, but also on the roads leading to the center of Russia. The "Charter of border and port quarantines" was created.
New areas of medicine for Russia developed: hospitals for the treatment of syphilis, psychiatric hospitals and shelters were opened. A number of fundamental works on questions of medicine have been published.
By the end of the 18th century there was a strengthening of the estate system. Each category of the population (nobility, clergy, various categories of townspeople, peasants, Cossacks, etc.) acquired class isolation, which was determined by the corresponding rights and privileges fixed in laws and decrees. Strengthening the estate system was one of the ways to keep power in the hands of the nobility.
5 State and church in the second half of the 18th century
Wishing to win over the influential Orthodox clergy in Russia, Catherine II, upon her accession to the throne, canceled the decree of Peter III on the seizure of land property and peasants from monasteries. True, having strengthened her position, the empress already in 1764 nevertheless took away 990 thousand peasants from the monasteries in favor of the state. Former monastic peasants (there were about 1 million male souls) began to be called economic, since the College of Economy was created to manage them. The number of monasteries in Russia decreased from 881 to 385.
The monastic lands have long caused concern to the authorities. Even under Elizabeth there were constant disturbances of the monastery peasants. In order to somehow cope with the situation, under Peter III, these lands were transferred to secular management. But then the church authorities were outraged. Catherine reassured them by returning their estates, but this caused even greater indignation among the peasants (the transfer of monastic peasants to the position of state peasants made it possible to freely grant them to anyone). In 1762, there were about 150,000 monastic and landlord peasants “in obvious indignation”, at the same time about 50,000 mining peasants rebelled. Again, the intervention of military detachments and even artillery was needed. Therefore, a year later, Catherine again established a commission on church estates. Metropolitan of Rostov Arseniy Matseevich, who at one time enjoyed the patronage of Elizabeth, sharply opposed her - a quarrelsome and cruel person. He demanded from the Synod to immediately return the selected church possessions. His message was so harsh that the Synod, perceiving it as an insult to Her Majesty, referred the case to Catherine for consideration. She did not show her usual indulgence, and Arseny was defrocked and exiled to a remote monastery. Church possessions were transferred to the jurisdiction of the College of Economy. The same department maintained homes for invalids. A completely secular person, Prince Boris Kurakin, was appointed president of the college.
After the annexation of the lands that were formerly part of the Commonwealth to the Russian Empire, about a million Jews ended up in Russia - a people with a different religion, culture, way of life and way of life. To prevent their resettlement in the central regions of Russia and attachment to their communities for the convenience of collecting state taxes, Catherine II in 1791 established the Pale of Settlement, beyond which Jews had no right to live. The Pale of Settlement was established in the same place where the Jews had lived before that - on those annexed to result of three partitions of Poland lands, as well as in the steppe regions near the Black Sea and sparsely populated territories east of the Dnieper. The conversion of Jews to Orthodoxy removed all restrictions on residence.
In 1762-1764 Catherine published two manifestos. The first - "On allowing all foreigners entering Russia to settle in which provinces they wish and on the rights granted to them" called on foreign citizens to move to Russia, the second determined the list of benefits and privileges for immigrants. Soon the first German settlements arose in the Volga region, allotted for immigrants. The influx of German colonists was so great that already in 1766 it was necessary to temporarily suspend the reception of new settlers until the settlement of those who had already entered. In the future, the German community will play a prominent role in the life of Russia.
By 1786, the country included the Northern Black Sea region, the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, Crimea, Right-bank Ukraine, the lands between the Dniester and the Bug, Belarus, Courland and Lithuania.
The population of Russia in 1747 was 18 million people, by the end of the century - 36 million people.
In general, in Russia under Catherine II, a policy of religious tolerance was pursued. Representatives of all traditional religions did not experience pressure and harassment. So, in 1773, a law was issued on the tolerance of all religions, forbidding the Orthodox clergy to interfere in the affairs of other confessions; secular authorities reserve the right to decide on the establishment of temples of any faith.
Catherine achieved from the government of the Commonwealth the equalization of the rights of religious minorities - Orthodox and Protestants.
Under Catherine II, the persecution of the Old Believers ceased. The Empress initiated the return of the Old Believers, the economically active population, from abroad. They were specially assigned a place on the Irgiz (modern Saratov and Samara regions). They were allowed to have priests.
The free resettlement of Germans in Russia led to a significant increase in the number of Protestants (mainly Lutherans) in Russia. They were also allowed to build churches, schools, freely perform worship. At the end of the 18th century, there were more than 20,000 Lutherans in St. Petersburg alone.
The Jewish religion retained the right to public practice of faith. Religious matters and disputes were left to the Jewish courts. Jews, depending on the capital they had, were assigned to the appropriate estate and could be elected to local governments, become judges and other civil servants.
By decree of Catherine II, in 1787, the printing house of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg for the first time in Russia printed the full Arabic text of the Islamic holy book of the Koran for free distribution to the “Kyrgyz”. The publication significantly differed from the European ones primarily in that it was of a Muslim nature: the text for publication was prepared by Mullah Usman Ibrahim. From 1789 to 1798, 5 editions of the Koran were published in St. Petersburg. In 1788, a manifesto was issued in which the empress ordered the establishment of a spiritual assembly of the Mohammedan law in Ufa. Thus, Catherine began to integrate the Muslim community into the system state structure empire. Muslims were given the right to build and rebuild mosques.
Buddhism also received state support in the regions where it was traditionally practiced. In 1764, Catherine established the post of Habo Lama - the head of the Buddhists of Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia. In 1766, Buryat lamas recognized Catherine as the embodiment of White Tara for her benevolence towards Buddhism and her humane rule.
The long reign of Catherine II 1762-1796 is filled with significant and highly controversial events and processes. The "golden age of the Russian nobility" was at the same time the age of Pugachevism, the "Instruction" and the Legislative Commission coexisted with persecution. And yet it was an integral era, which had its own core, its own logic, its own super-task. It was a time when the imperial government was trying to implement one of the most thoughtful, consistent and successful reform programs in the history of Russia. The ideological basis of the reforms was the philosophy of the European Enlightenment, with which the empress was well acquainted.
Conclusion
The reign of Catherine II fell on the years -1762-1796. Educated and wise, Catherine managed to win over not only those close to her, but also foreign monarchs, diplomats, and scientists. Having come to power as a result of a palace coup, Catherine II was forced to pursue a flexible policy, taking into account public opinion and the interests of the nobles. At the same time, she faced the most difficult task of strengthening the regime of personal power and increasing its authority. For this, the Empress called for service French Enlightenment(the ideas of the philosophers Voltaire, Montesquieu, Diderot).
In this regard, the reign of Catherine is called the period of enlightened absolutism, that is, the period when the supreme power was strengthened through the use of advanced ideas, and, in addition, sought to correct the barbaric remnants feudal system. The Russian version of enlightened absolutism was a special stage of state-political development, associated in socio-economic terms with the disintegration of the feudal system, in political terms - with the search for a compromise with the nobility and aristocracy, which were the main driving force of the previous coup d'état. At the same time, the legal principles of enlightened absolutism were not the principles of the rule of law, since all power (legislative, judicial and administrative) was in the hands of the monarch, in addition, the inviolability of the class division of society was affirmed.
At the same time, Catherine II wanted not so much to drape Russian absolutism with advanced ideas, but to advance the country along the path of European progress. A clear confirmation of this is the "Instruction" of the Legislative Commission, convened under the influence of the ideas of the French enlighteners, to develop reforms that were supposed to ease social tension and strengthen the base of autocracy.
In the "Instruction", written in 1765-1767, the empress expressed her thoughts about the spread of education, the eradication of lawlessness, cruelty, despotism, and the increase of people's welfare. In addition, the document substantiated the “naturalness” of unlimited autocracy in Russia and social inequality. "Nakaz" was to serve as a guide in the work of the commission that met in July 1767 to prepare a new Code.
The established commission was a special temporary form of attracting representatives of the free estates to the government on an administrative-bureaucratic basis and became another step towards the formation of estate representation. The main task of the Legislative Commission (the creation of a new code of laws) was never completed.
Further strengthening of absolutism required the concentration of power in the hands of the empress and the maximum limitation of the powers of the Senate. The fragmentation of the functions of the Senate and filling it with obedient officials significantly weakened its significance. Thus, already at the beginning of the reign, measures were taken to stop any restrictions on autocracy.
During the reign of Catherine II, absolutist tendencies aimed at eliminating differences in administration were most fully revealed, so the government began to abolish the autonomy of the outskirts and adopted a decree on the further secularization of the possessions of churches and monasteries and transferring their peasants to the category of state, under the control of the Collegium of Economy. In the second half of the 18th century serfdom legislation expanded considerably.
In 1775, Catherine II held regional reform, which was based on the principle of taxable population.
Began to be held economic reforms.
The charter to the nobility of 1785 completed the legal formation of the first estate and granted it broad rights.
The charter granted to the cities included the liberation of the top merchants from the poll tax and recruitment duty. She also introduced city self-government.
By the end of the reign of Catherine II, there was a sharp turn to the right in the government course, associated with the reaction to the Great French Revolution and the peasant war led by E. Pugachev. The ideas of the Enlightenment discredited themselves, becoming the ideological base of the Great French Revolution.
The aging empress could no longer control social thought, financial breakdown and bureaucracy. On November 6, 1796, Catherine the Great died, leaving the throne to her son, 42-year-old Pavel Petrovich.
The era of Catherine's reign demonstrated:
1. Imperial measures in foreign and domestic policy.
2. Strengthening absolutism by reforming government institutions and a new administrative structure of the state, protecting the monarchy from any encroachment.
3. Socio-economic measures for the further "Europeanization" of the country and the finalization and strengthening of the nobility.
4. Liberal educational initiatives, care of education, literature and arts.
5. The unpreparedness of Russian society not only for the abolition of serfdom, but even for more moderate reforms.
List of used literature
1. Bushuev S.V., Mironov G.E. History of the Russian state: Historical and biographical essays. Book 2: 16-18 centuries - M .: Bustard, 1994. - 459 p.
2. Derevyanko A.P., Shabelnikova N.A. History of Russia. - M .: TK Velby, Prospekt Publishing House, 2007. - 560 p.
3. Catherine II: Annotated bibliography of publications / Comp.: I.V. Babich, M.V. Babich, T.A. Laptev. M.: ROSSPEN, 2004. - 928 p.
4. Empress Catherine II. About the greatness of Russia.- M .: "EKSMO", 2003.- 856 p. (series "Anthology of Thought").
5. Empire. From Catherine II to Stalin / Ed.-comp. P.G. Deinichenko.- M.: OLMA Media Group, 2008.- 192 p.
6. Klyuchevsky V. O. Course of Russian History. Part V. - M.: State Social and Economic Publishing House, 1937.- 367 p.
8. Pavlenko N.I. Catherine the Great // Rodina.- 1995 (No. 10, 11), 1996 (No. 1, 2).
9. Shikman A. P. Figures national history. Biographical guide. –M.: Nauka, 1997.- 567 p.
Shikman A.P. Figures of national history. Biographical guide. –M.: Nauka, 1997, S.55-56.
Thoughts from a special notebook // Empress Catherine II. About the greatness of Russia. - M .: "EKSMO", 2003, p. 121.
Letter to Voltaire. Moscow, March 15-26 (1767) // Empress Catherine II. About the greatness of Russia. - M .: "EKSMO", 2003, S. 747.
Thoughts from a special notebook // Empress Catherine II. About the greatness of Russia. - M .: "EKSMO", 2003, p.123.
Pavlenko N.I. Catherine the Great // Motherland.- 1995 .-№ 10.- P.56.
Order of the commission on the drafting of a new code. Chapter 2. // Empress Catherine II. About the greatness of Russia. - M .: "EKSMO", 2003, p. 72.
The Imperial Council, which consisted of 8 members in 1769. replaced by the Council at the highest court, which focused its activities on domestic policy and included all the heads of the central government.
The powers of the Senate under Catherine II: the department concentrated the executive functions, the judiciary. Since 1763 The Senate is the highest administrative and judicial institution, consists of 6 departments: 1st - state finance and secret office work, 2nd - court cases (supervision, generalization of practice, personnel selection, review of cases), 3rd provincial affairs ( administration, finance), 4th - military affairs, 5th - local administration, 6th - local courts. In the 70s and 80s of the 18th century. most of the colleges are liquidated or transformed, but in 1796. they again. The centralization and bureaucratization of the state apparatus reaches the limit, it is a closed and self-sufficient system. Under Catherine II, state secretaries appeared directly under the emperor (1763). In 1762 The Office of Secret Investigative Affairs is abolished (its activity caused active dissatisfaction on the part of the nobility) and instead the Secret Expedition of the Senate (which indicated the renewed political activity of the Senate). The secret expedition was subordinate to the governor-general and was under the control of the empress (Catherine II). The secret expedition created special secret investigative commissions to investigate specific cases. These bodies were of an emergency nature and were formed in accordance with the political situation.
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