Introduction. Historical conditions and preconditions for Peter's reforms

Kadatskaya Victoria Vladimirovna, student of JURIU RANEPA

Reasons, features, consequences and cost of Peter's transformations.

The figure of Peter I and his era, perhaps the most mythologized in national history... Disputes about the results of his transformations began during his lifetime and continue to this day.

Opening any standard textbook on history, we will immediately see the following reasons for the Peter's reforms:

1. A noticeable lag in Russia in terms of its socio-economic, military and cultural development from the advanced European states.
2. Awareness of the need for reforms using European experience.
3. Active volitional activity of Peter 1, orientation towards transformation and change value orientations of people. [7, p. 180]

After that, the multifaceted activities of Peter 1 for the good of the Fatherland begin to be covered: a regular army and navy was created, victory in the Northern War, Europe was forced to reckon with Russia, the industry grew several times, the volume of production increased, new capital and new cities, the Academy of Sciences was founded, schools, printing houses, the publication of the newspaper "Vedomosti", the transition to a new chronology, etc. were opened.

I note the merits of the emperor, his cruel methods are also casually mentioned, but "the time was like that", "Peter is the son of his time", "it was impossible to act otherwise."

After that, the question immediately arises: "Why then disputes about Peter's activities have been going on for such an extended amount of time?" My task is to analyze the activities of Peter I, and most importantly, to sum up the consequences of this activity.

This requires:

1. The reasons for the Peter's transformations.
2. Peculiarities of Peter's transformations.
3. Consequences of the implementation of Peter's reforms with some statistics.
4. The "price" of Peter's transformations

The reasons for the Peter's transformations

To do this, in order to properly illuminate the activities of Peter, we will consider the reasons that were given above. For this, we believe that it is very important to consider what the state of the country was like before the accession to the throne of Peter I.

Historians still write little about the seven-year reign of Sophia, considering it a "dark period" before the brilliant era of Peter. But the facts prove the opposite. Despite her tough masculine character, Sophia ruled with feminine gentleness and discretion. Even Prince Boris Kurakin, who often criticized her, admitted in his memoirs: wise government v The Russian state was not. ”[4]

The princess stepped up the fight against bribes and arbitrariness of officials, as well as denunciation, which became a real scourge in Russia. She forbade accepting anonymous denunciations, and ordered the scourges who filled the court presences to be whipped. changes in some articles in the legislation towards softening: the death penalty for pronouncing "obscene and intricate" words was replaced by whipping and exile, women who killed their husbands were no longer punished with a terrible death by "entrenching", which meant burying the guilty person alive in the grave, but punished without torture - by cutting off their heads. [ nine ]

The new decree forbade creditors to take debtor husbands without their wives to work off the debt, it was also forbidden to collect debts from widows and orphans if after the death of their husbands and fathers there was no estate left. Continuing her father's policy, Sophia actively invited foreign specialists to Russia. The domestic education system also developed - in 1687 the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, conceived by the teacher of the princess Simeon of Polotsk, was opened. There is information that the princess even thought to open a school for girls.

The careful diplomacy of Sophia and Golitsyn brought success in foreign policy... Poland agreed to " Eternal peace", Which legalized the annexation of Ukrainian lands to Russia. The Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed with China, which recognized the interests of Russians on the distant shores of the Amur. Envoys of the French, Austrian and Turkish courts appeared in Moscow. One of them, de Neuville, wrote about Sophia: "How wide, short and rough her stature is, so her mind is subtle, sharp and political." Almost all contemporaries agreed with this.

According to contemporaries, Prince V. Golitsyn had many reform plans. So, the prince considered it necessary to send nobles to Europe to study military affairs, dreamed of creating a regular army consisting of the nobility. He was going to free the peasants from serfdom (this happened only in 1861), and to impose the state quitrent on the land plots that became their property. Unfortunately, V. Golitsyn did not manage to not only implement all these grandiose plans, but even to take any initial steps. All these good wishes remained only on paper.

As we can see from the last paragraph, most of the transformations carried out by Peter 1 were proposed by Prince V. Golitsyn. Other transformations in which Peter 1 is attributed to the pioneers are generally false:

1. Creation of the first institutions. In fact, the first institute was built under Sophia - Slavyano - Greek-Latin Academy.
2. Creation of a regular army. On this score, the opinions of historians differ, some believe that the creation of a regular army took place under Mikhail Romanov. Creation of regiments of "foreign (new) order" - soldier (foot), reitar (horse) and dragoon (both on foot and in horse ranks). For service in the regiments, volunteers were recruited from among the free people and the Cossacks. They received state monetary salaries, firearms and edged weapons, horses, uniforms. Experienced foreigners were usually appointed commanders of these regiments.

3. Creation of self-government bodies. But before Peter there were many self-governing bodies - Zemsky Cathedrals, veche liberties, vassal-retinue relations. Let's not forget that Peter 1 liquidated the Boyar Duma-institute, which represented the interests of a part of the top of society, as he liquidated in 1702 another body of self-government - laborers and zemstvo elders.

Special attention should be paid to Peter's transformations, which brought us closer to the developed countries of Europe. When there is a conversation about Europe, many textbooks are full of similar theses: often being abroad, he tried to adopt all the best for implementation in Russia.

However, let's remember what the head of state studied: building ships, turning, he was a good carpenter, a blacksmith, a watchmaker, a skilled pathologist - Peter knew all 14 crafts. And at this stage you don't have a question: “Why should the head of state be a good carpenter or a blacksmith? Wouldn't it be more useful for the emperor, especially during his stay in Europe, to learn how to govern the state, develop industry, etc., and not climb the masts of ships? " From the XVI-XVIII centuries. v developed countries the process of returning to society some of its functions, once taken from it by the state, is observed and is gaining momentum. For example, in the 80s, the 17th century in Sweden, Charles IV canceled serfdom... In Russia, such transformations did not take place. On the contrary, all the reforms were aimed at strengthening the autocratic power: he removed all the liberties of the nobility - the decree "On single inheritance" of 1714, forced to shave beards, dress in European dresses; full control over the activities of artisans - the organization of workshops; merchants were organized into kumpanstvo.

From all of the above, I would like to conclude that the reasons given above are not literate enough, since Peter 1 was not engaged in the transformation of Russia like the European developed states, some transformations, where Peter 1 is credited with primacy, were laid before him.

Peculiarities of Peter's transformations.

Speaking about the peculiarities of Peter's transformations, historians note their inner contradiction and cruelty. He did not understand that the violence with which the reforms were carried out gave immediate results. Example: the economy of the 18th century in Russia was based on manual labor, and we were able to. for a short period of time, catch up with Europe in its development. But in Europe, at this time, machine labor was already developing, which we manual labor was no longer real. The peculiarity of his reforms was that they gave results only when Peter was alive, after his death people were not so afraid of his heirs. How they were afraid of him, so the reforms ceased to bear fruit.

Consequences of the implementation of Peter's reforms

1. The population of the country, according to the researcher P. N. Milyukov, decreased by 14.6%, i.e. one seventh. The bulk of the losses were those who died during the construction of St. Petersburg and other cities, who died of hunger and ruin as a result of unbearable taxes. According to researchers Ya.E. Vodarsky, E.V. Anisimov and others, the data of P.N. Milyukov is a little overstated. But in any case, this is a huge number of victims, negating all the positive achievements of Peter.
2. Direct and indirect taxes have increased 5.5 times, according to E.V. Anisimova.
3. The ruin of the wealthiest part of the Russian merchant class, the "living room of a hundred," the destruction of loan and usurious capital.
4. The process of displacing free hired free labor by slave unproductive labor of serfs (Decrees of January 18, 1721 (on permission to buy peasants and serfs to factories), of May 28, 1723 (regulating the procedure for hiring people), and others). This determined the future economic lag of Russia.
5. In a disastrous way on spiritual development society reflected church reform... Replacing the patriarchate with the Synod, Peter I abolished the autonomy, the partial independence of the church. He made extensive use of the institutions of the church to conduct police policy. The subjects, on pain of heavy fines, were obliged to attend church and repent of their sins in confession to the priest. The priest, according to the law, was obliged to inform the authorities about everything illegal, which became known hectares of confession. The secret of confession has ceased to be a secret. This significantly undermined the authority of the church.
6. As a result of Peter's reforms, there was a significant increase in the split between "masters and servants", which weakened our country and slowed down its development.
7. The system created by Peter government controlled controlled and regulated all spheres of society, suppressing all social activity.
8. Theft and corruption have taken on unprecedented proportions. Many textbooks give a textbook example that Peter, listening to reports on embezzlement in the Senate, lost his temper and ordered the publication of a decree stating that if someone steals from the treasury only enough to buy a rope, he will be hanged on it. The answer of the Prosecutor General of the Senate PI Yaguzhinsky is also known: “Do you, your Majesty, want to remain the emperor alone, without subjects? We all steal, only one is bigger and more noticeable than the other. "

A little about the price of Peter's transformations

The majority thoughtlessly states: Peter 1 created an army. But few people think about the cost at which he did it. This is how one of the documents of the Military Collegium (September 1719) describes the recruitment of recruits: “... 1) when a recruit is recruited in the provinces, they are first led out of their houses, shackled, and brought to the cities, kept in great cramped prisons and prisoners for a long time, and thus, having exhausted themselves on the spot, they will be sent, without reasoning according to the number of people and the distance of the path, with one, and that unfit, officer or nobleman, with insufficient food; besides, they will lead, missing a convenient time, a cruel muddy road, from which many illnesses happen on the road and die prematurely, and worst of all, many without repentance, while others, not enduring such a great need, flee and stick to thieves' companies, from which is the worst ruin for the state, because from such a bad routine neither the peasants nor the soldiers, but the destroyers of the state become ... fear comes. " [10, c 446]

Not everything was so simple in the field of education. Many are touched by the success in spreading knowledge, opening schools and colleges. First, at that time there were 96% of merchants who knew how to write and read, and 65% of the nobility. There were many literate people among the orderly people and townspeople. Secondly, in this area, Peter used his traditional methods of violence and administration.

It is widely known that the tsar sent the sons of Russian aristocrats to study abroad. However, few people know the details of this plot. In 1697, 61 people were sent for training, of which 23 bore the princely title: 39 people - to Italy, 22 - to England and Holland. This is how the Austrian agent describes this departure in his report to the Caesar dated July 8, 1697: “Every day young people leave here (from Moscow - author's note), who, on pain of losing land and property, are ordered to go on their own account, and no one can return without a certificate of services rendered ". Not a desire to broaden their horizons, but fear drove most young people out of the house. V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote that the Peter's school, "transforming the education of youth into the training of animals, could only repel from itself."

As soon as the emperor closed his eyes, his closest associates started talking about the possible death of the state. The Prosecutor General of the Senate P.I. Yaguzhinsky gave Catherine 1 Note. This document spoke about long-term crop failures, about the fact that the people, ruined by the poll tax, became impoverished and dying of hunger, about the mass exodus to Poland, to the Don and even to the Bashkirs. The Note ends with a warning that if the previous policy is continued, the state may come "to final death and flight."

The experience of Peter the Great's reforms confirmed the global practice - without delegating part of the powers to a society that is at least partially structured (parliament, self-government, political parties etc.), without civilized forms feedback between the state and society, even a well-functioning state apparatus is doomed to conduct ineffective policies: strategic and tactical miscalculations with long-term negative consequences, solving problems at the cost of such costs and losses that fully or partially devalue the results achieved.

List of sources used

1. Alekseeva E.V. Using the European experience of government under Peter I // Questions of history. 2006 # 2
2. Anisimov E.V. "Peter I: the birth of an empire".
3. Ansimov E.V. Tax reform of Peter I. M., 1987
4. Bogdanov A.P. “Princess Sophia and Peter. Drama of Sophia "/ A.P. Bogdanov- M .: Veche- 2008. -380 s.
5. Bogoslovsky M.M. "Peter I. Materials for biography" / Ed. IN AND. Lebedev. T. 1.M.,
6. Danilov A.G. "Russia at the crossroads of the history of the XIV-XIX centuries." / A.G. Danilov- SPb .: Aleteya, 2017. -440p.
7. Kirillov V.V. "History of Russia, textbook for bachelors". Tutorial/ V.V. Kirillov - 4th ed., Revised. and add. - M .: Education Yurayt, 2012 .-- 661 p. - Series: Bachelor.
8. Klyuchevsky V.O. Russian history course. Part IV.
9. Sklyarenko V., Syadko V., Rudycheva I., “Mysteries of History. The Romanov Dynasty "/ V. Sklyarenko, V. Syadko, I. Rudychev. - Publ .: Folio, 2013 - 520 p.
10. Soloviev S.M. "History of Russia since ancient times" Book. VIII, vol. 16.
11. Shilnik L. “Black holes Russian empire"/ L. Shilnik- M.: NTs ENAS, 2007. -192s.
12. Eidelman N.Ya. "Revolution from above" in Russia. M., 1989

XVII century - the time of study of Russia at Western Europe"German settlement" "German settlement" - settlement of foreign specialists in Moscow (in Kukui) "German settlement" "German settlement" "German settlement" - settlement of foreign specialists in Moscow (in Kukui) "German settlement" in fashion foreign languages, dances, clothes the Dutch build factories and ships failed to return the coast of the Gulf of Finland, reforms are needed to stop the raids of the Krymchaks

Reforms of Fedor Alekseevich (): Abolition of parochialism 1682; An increase in the regiments of the "new order"; Strengthening the power of the governors on the ground; Abolished orders that duplicated each other's activities.

Basilian monk, spiritual writer, theologian, poet, playwright, translator. He was a mentor to the children of Alexei Mikhailovich from Miloslavskaya: Alexei, Sophia and Fedor. Basilian monk, spiritual writer, theologian, poet, playwright, translator. He was a mentor to the children of Alexei Mikhailovich from Miloslavskaya: Alexei, Sophia and Fedor.

Ordin-Nashchokin Afanasy Lavrentievich (near, Pskov), Russian statesman and military leader, diplomat and economist of the middle and second half of the 17th century. Born into the family of a Pskov nobleman, grew up in Opochka, received a good education(studied foreign languages, mathematics, rhetoric). 1622 to military service in Pskov, from the beginning of the 40s. involved in the diplomatic service. During the Russian-Swedish war, he took part in the storming of Vitebsk, a campaign against Dinaburg, and led the storming of Drissa. In 1656 he signed a treaty of friendship and alliance with Courland and established relations with Brandenburg. In 1658 he conducted successful negotiations with the Swedes, culminating in the signing of an armistice

Yuri Krizhanich (Croatian Juraj Križanić; circa September 1683) Croatian theologian, philosopher, writer, polyglot linguist, historian, ethnographer, publicist and encyclopedist, missionary priest, advocated the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches and for the unity of the Slavic peoples. Horv September 1683 Croatian theologian, philosopher, writer, linguist, polyglot, historian, ethnographer, publicist, encyclopedia of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Arrived in Moscow in 1661, was accused of supporting the Uniates and sent into exile in Tobolsk, where he spent 16 years. In Tobolsk, Krizhanich wrote his main works: "Politics", "On Divine Providence", "Interpretation of Historical Prophecies", "On Holy Baptism", "A Grammatical Study of the Russian Language (the Idea of ​​the All-Slavic Language)". After the death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, on March 5, 1676, Krizhanich received the royal pardon and permission to return to Moscow, and then leave Russia.

At the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries, possessing a huge territory (from the East European Plain to the vastness of Siberia) and having a significant supply of natural resources Russia, nevertheless, lagged seriously behind the leading European powers.

The backwardness was manifested in the underdevelopment of capitalist relations (as evidenced by the small number of manufactories, where the labor of serfs was mainly used), and in the lack of prospecting and extraction of minerals (which led to the need to import products from them from abroad), and in the weak development trade with other countries due to the impossibility of access to the Baltic and Black Seas, and in frequent military failures in the second half of the 17th century. (due to the lack of a regular army and navy), and in the low level of science and education.

The technical and economic backwardness of Russia was the result of hard trials that fell to its lot. The development of the state slowed down the Mongol-Tatar yoke for a long time. Constantly had to "look back" to the East, so the country was cut off from natural communication with Europe for centuries. The situation was aggravated by feudal-serf relations.

However, already in the second half of the 17th century. preconditions for transformations and major reforms are emerging in Russia (Figure 106). First of all, these include the objective need for the development of industry and foreign trade, science and education, as well as the desire not only to protect their lands from the encroachments of Sweden, the Commonwealth, Turkey, but also to establish themselves in the rank of a strong European power.

The implementation of these ideas is associated with the reform activities of Tsar Peter I (1672-1725).

Scheme 106

As Peter grew up and could already claim real power, the relationship between him and Sophia became tense and even hostile. Sophia's supporters tried to enlist the support of the archers in order to prevent the transfer of power to Peter. On the night of August 7-8, 1689, Peter received a message about the gathering of archers in the Kremlin and allegedly about their intention to "exterminate" him. Frightened, Peter hastily leaves the village of Preobrazhenskoye for the Trinity-Sergius Monastery in the hope of finding protection there. At his call, his mother, Tsarina Natalya, the boyars, "amusing" regiments, foreign servicemen and part of the archers, arrive there. The preponderance of forces was clearly on the side of Peter. Sophia, realizing her powerlessness, stopped the struggle for power. She was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent. Power again passed to the supporters of the Naryshkins, but Peter did not immediately begin to rule the state, because he had his own intentions, the implementation of which he took up (shipbuilding, the Azov campaigns in 1695-1696 and travel abroad in 1697-1698).

Northern war and military reforms

The Northern War of 1700-1721 became a significant catalyst for the overdue transformations. For the development of foreign trade, Russia desperately needed access to the Baltic Sea. Peter decided to go to war against Sweden, concluding the so-called Northern Alliance with Denmark, Poland and Saxony. The first serious military clash between Russian and Swedish troops took place in November 1700 near Narva. The Russian army suffered a severe defeat. Swedish king Charles XII, a young and energetic commander, after the Narva victory, faced a choice: either to go deep into Russia, with a Saxon army behind him, much more combat-ready than the Russian one, or to oppose August II, who was both the Saxon elector and the Polish king. He chose the second path and "got stuck" for quite a long time in Poland. Only in 1706 Charles XII was able to compel Augustus II to peace and secession from the alliance with Russia (Table 11).

Meanwhile, Peter very successfully used this respite to reform the army and continue the reforms.

The local system as the main type of military labor provision had lost its significance by that time. Therefore, Peter began to take measures to form a regular army. The reason for this was the dissolution of the rifle regiments in 1699 after the suppression of the revolt.

Initially, two methods were used to create regular regiments: the admission of everyone ("volunteers") to the "freemen", except for the peasants who paid state taxes; a set of "grants", i.e. peasants, whom the landowner was obliged to supply in accordance with the established proportions.

In 1705, the government of Peter took the next step: the admission to the "freemen" was stopped and the recruitment of the so-called "recruits" was announced directly from the peasant population. This created a stable system that provided the armed forces with people, which lasted until 1874.

The reason for the stability of the recruiting system was that it fully corresponded to the peculiarities of the country's social and economic structure. Recruitment and serfdom are two sides of the same coin. In total, from 1699 to 1725, 53 recruits were recruited. They gave more than 284 thousand people to the army and navy (Scheme 107).

New military regulations have also appeared. The "Teachings and Cunning of the Military System", which operated under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was replaced by Peter's "Military Regulations", "Field Position", "Establishment for Battle". A new uniform army uniform, orders and medals, and promotions were introduced. The first officers' schools were organized to train command personnel.

Table 11

Northern War (1700-1721)

Causes of the war: ü the imperial policy of Sweden and the desire for domination in the Baltic; ü the need for Russia to gain access to Europe through the Baltic Sea and Baltic territories; ü geopolitical contradictions between Sweden and other European powers
The main	The course of hostilities
	Sweden's attack on Denmark and its withdrawal from the war and the Northern Alliance. The defeat of the Russian army at Narva (1700)
Polish (1701-1706)	Military operations of Sweden in Europe in Saxony and Poland. Defeat of the Saxon Elector Augustus II, renunciation of the Polish crown and withdrawal from the Northern Alliance
	Deployment of hostilities in Russia after the return of the Swedish army from of Eastern Europe... Russian army victories: - near the village. Forest (September 1708); - near Poltava (June 27, 1709). Retreat of the remnants of the Swedish army led by King Charles XII into Turkish possessions
Turkish	Turkish campaign of the Russian army led by Peter I (1710-1711). Defeat of Russia. Renewal of hostilities in the Baltics. The capture of Riga, Vyborg and Revel by Russian troops (1710). Transfer of hostilities to the territory of Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea
Norwegian-Swedish	Victories of the Russian fleet at Cape Gangut (1714) and about. Grengam (1720).
The main terms of the peace treaty: ü Russia received the territories of the Baltic States (Livonia, Estland, Ingermanland), part of Karelia and access to the Baltic Sea; ü Russia pledged to pay Sweden monetary compensation and return Finland

Scheme 107

Peter paid special attention to the creation of the fleet. He continued the work of his father - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, under whom the first Russian ship "Eagle" was launched in Demidov on the Oka. The construction of the Peter's fleet began in Voronezh in 1695–1696. Here, after the failure of the first Azov campaign, ship craftsmen from Holland, England and Venice, Russian carpenters and workers were assembled, who were able to build a large number of ships in a short time.

Historians consider the birthday of the Russian fleet on May 3, 1696, when Peter I sailed away from Voronezh at the Principium gallery at the head of a detachment of eight galleys. In total, 28 ships, 23 galleys and many small ships were built at the Voronezh shipyards before 1702.

The ongoing military reforms very quickly gave positive results: from the end of 1701 the Russian army began to gain victories in battles with the Swedes. In 1702 Peter took the Oreshek fortress by storm and renamed it Shlisselburg.

In 1703 St. Petersburg was founded, and in next year the Russians captured Narva and Dorpat (Yuriev).

Meanwhile, the army of Charles XII returned to Russia. The fighting continued in Ukraine, but already unsuccessfully for the Swedes. September 28, 1708 a detachment under the command of Peter I in the area of ​​the village. Lesnoy attacked and defeated the 16-thousandth corps of the Swedish general A. Levengaupt, who was marching from Livonia to join Charles XII. The Swedes lost all their artillery and baggage. Peter I called this victory "the mother of the Poltava battle."

In October 1708, the hetman of Ukraine I.S. Mazepa. Peter I regarded this as a betrayal of the Russian throne. Ukraine and its hetman found themselves hostages of the geopolitical confrontation between Sweden and Russia. Russian troops burned down the "nest of treason" - the city of Baturin, and Mazepa himself was excommunicated from the hetmanship and excommunicated from the church. Later, after the defeat of Charles XII at Poltava, he fled with him to the Turkish possessions, where he died in 1709 in Bendery.

In the spring of 1709, the Swedish army approached Poltava. At the disposal of Charles XII was a 30,000-strong army, it was weakened, but its combat effectiveness was still preserved. The Poltava garrison heroically withstood more than two months of siege, which made it possible to approach the main forces of the Russian army led by Peter I. It was decided to give a general battle on June 27, 1709. The plan of the Swedish king was that the infantry captured the Russian redoubts, and the cavalry completed the matter ... She was to, moving between the redoubts, crush the Russian cavalry and capture the cannons. But the plans of Charles XII were never realized. Having launched the offensive, the Swedes captured part of the Russian fortifications, but they could not advance further, since our artillery met them with fire. Having retreated into the forest and regrouped the forces, the enemy was again on a short time went on the offensive. The troops met in a fierce battle. After two and a half hours of a fierce battle, the Swedish army, having lost more than 9 thousand people, was defeated, and the Swedish king with the remnants of his forces was forced to hide in Turkish possessions. In the Northern War, a turning point comes in the direction of Russia.

In 1710, Russian troops occupied the cities of Vyborg, Riga and Revel, which meant the annexation of Estonia and Livonia to Russia.

The Turkish government, fearing the further strengthening of Russia, in the fall of 1710 declared war on it. The Russian army entered the territory of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, oppressed by Turkey, but the general uprising of Christians, as Peter counted, did not happen, and Russian army soon found herself in a quandary. On the river Prut in the summer of 1711, the Russians entered into negotiations, a peace was concluded, according to which Russia pledged to return the Azov Sea to the Turks.

Having suffered a heavy defeat in the south, Peter continued the war with Sweden with renewed vigor. In 1712-1714. Russian troops fought in Finland and northern Germany. The fleet built by Peter was also active (on June 27, 1714, the Russians captured 10 Swedish ships at Cape Gangut). In 1718-1719. on the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea, peace negotiations took place between Russia and Sweden. In December 1718, Charles XII was killed in Norway, and the negotiations ended. But offensive fighting Russian army at sea and on land forced Sweden to resume negotiations for peace. As a result, on August 30, 1721, a peace treaty was signed in the Finnish city of Nishtadt, according to which Estonia, Livonia, Ingermanlandia, part of Karelia, as well as a number of islands in the Baltic Sea were transferred to Russia. All this not only created the necessary conditions for the accelerated development of the country, but also contributed to the strengthening of its position in the international arena (see Table 11).

1. A noticeable lag of Russia in terms of its socio - economic, military and cultural development from the advanced European states.

2. Awareness of the need for reforms using European experience.

3. The active will of Peter to transform the country.

4. Some traditional foundations Russian life: the autocratic power of the tsar, the degraded position of the church in the state and the universal enslavement of all classes of society, which became the main levers in carrying out reforms.

The need to achieve access to the Black and Baltic Seas for the normal development of the economy (starting point).

→ This required strong army and the navy - this is the basis for military reforms.

→ For the successful conduct of hostilities past the army and navy, weapons and uniforms were needed - this is due to the economic reforms.

→ To wage war required additional sources of income - this is due to monetary and tax reforms.

→ To better collect taxes, it was necessary centralized system management and control system - this is due to administrative reforms.

→ To make management more effective, it was necessary to raise the level of education of officials - this is due to the reforms in the field of culture and education.

The goals of the reforms of Peter I (1682-1725)- the maximum strengthening of the tsar's power, the growth of the country's military power, the territorial expansion of the state and access to the sea. The most prominent associates of Peter I were A. D. Mentikov, G. I. Golovkin, F. M. Apraksin, P. I. Yaguzhinsky, P. P. Shafirov, F. Yu. Romodanovsky, J. Bruce.

Military reform. Recruitment was introduced, new regulations, equipment in the western manner, a fleet was built. However, talking about the creation of a regular army is hardly true, it has existed since the middle of the 17th century, only its personnel changed as a result of the dissolution of the rifle regiments. The replacement of the noble cavalry dragoon led to a decrease in the combat capability of the cavalry.

Public administration reform. Boyar Duma was replaced by the highest government agency- by the senate (1711), called upon to replace the tsar if necessary, orders - by colleges. The "Table of Ranks" was introduced, which provided for a system of ranks and the procedure for their assignment not according to nobility, but in accordance with service indicators. Decree on succession to the throne allowed the king to appoint anyone he liked. The capital was moved to St. Petersburg in 1712. In 1721 Peter assumed the imperial title.

Church reform. In 1721 the patriarchate was liquidated, the church began to be governed by the Holy Synod and was deprived of part of its wealth. The priests were transferred to the state salary, their number was reduced, and some of them passed into the category of landlord serfs.

Changes in the economy. In 1724 was introduced capitation tax, levied from all men of taxable estates, regardless of age, there were a lot of indirect taxes (on coffins, beards, baths, etc.), ship taxes, etc. In general, taxes increased by about Zraza. Up to 180 manufactories were created, which marked the beginning of a large domestic industry. State monopolies were introduced on various goods, which, however, by the end of Peter's reign began to be abolished. Canals and roads are being built, but many projects have not been implemented due to lack of funds.

Reform problems are always topical for Russian reality. Reforms are an indispensable part of the policy of any government. Abrupt transformations are not the best state of life in society, and people are experiencing the full burden of the ideas of the reformers.

Peter's reforms are one of the brightest examples of the Russian type of reforms, which, ultimately, led not to an improvement in the life of society, but to an increase in the power of the state, an increase in the number of officials, taxes, duties, and an increase in imperial appetites. Thanks to the reforms of Peter, Russia was modernized, Europeanized, but its foundations - serfdom and despotic power - remained the same.

Does Russia need reforms, and if so, why should they be carried out through violence?

An important aspect of the problem of reforms is the personality of the reformer himself. Peter the Great was an outstanding man, sincerely wished for the good of Russia, it even seemed to him that he knew how to lead the state to prosperity. In his reform activities, he was a fanatical state romantic and did not spare either himself or Russia. He took the principle “in Russia progress is achieved only by violence and coercion” as a basis for reforming the country and zealously put it into practice.

For two and a half centuries, historians, philosophers and writers have been arguing about the significance of Peter's reforms, but regardless of the point of view of one or another researcher, everyone agrees on one thing - this was one of the most important stages in the history of Russia. In Russian history, it is difficult to find a figure equal to Peter in the scale of interests and the ability to see the main thing in the problem being solved. A concrete historical assessment of the reforms depends on what is considered useful for Russia, what is harmful, what is main, and what is secondary.

The majestic figure of Peter I, his ebullient activity, the scope of his transformations, abusive deeds - everything received a passionate and contradictory assessment of his contemporaries and descendants.

Preconditions for Peter's transformations. The beginning of Russian modernization in the era of Peter I

In the 17th century, Russia was the largest state in the Old World. Its territory stretched from the Arctic Ocean to the Caspian Sea, from the Dnieper to the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, but the population was only 13 million people and was concentrated mainly in the center and north of the European part of Russia. The black earth lands of the Kuban, the North Caucasus and the Black Sea region of Ukraine were not yet part of Russia, and the middle and lower Volga regions were almost undeveloped. TO late XVII century, as a result of the annexation of Siberia, left-bank Ukraine, the country turned into a multinational state. It now included vast Asian lands, inhabited not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by Muslims, Buddhists, and pagans. In Russia, its European and Asian essence, its intermediate position at the junction of two civilizations, was more and more clearly manifested. On the one hand, Russia was striving for Europe, and on the other, it had equally important interests in the East. All this determined the duality in the economic and political development of Russia.

At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, Russia was faced with the need to overcome its socio-economic backwardness in comparison with many Western European countries, which had already achieved noticeable success on the way to a market economy by that time. The Russian economy remained predominantly natural, with a poorly developed industry. The control system was very cumbersome and unwieldy. national economy: while in many European countries the process of abolishing serfdom had already been completed, in Russia, on the contrary, there was a further enslavement of the peasants by feudal lords, monasteries, members of the royal family. The country was characterized by the ghosts of autarchy, that is, economic isolation, isolation from the outside world, rigidly supported by the state. The lack of access to the sea hindered the development of various international relations, although the need for direct external routes was enormous. The journey through the White Sea was long, arduous, and limited for many months of the year. The exit through the Baltic Sea was controlled by Sweden, which owned all the Baltic lands. The exit through the Azov and Black Seas was under the control of Turkey and the Crimean Khanate.

Especially noticeable by the end of the 17th century was the lag behind European level in military affairs. Although the bravery and courage of Russian soldiers were known for a long time, the technical equipment of the army was low. The organizational system of the army was hopelessly behind, the main striking force of which remained the noble cavalry. The troops stationed in separate cities and villages did not carry out regular military service in peacetime; only during the war did the country's army gather, more like the people's militia. Russia also did not have its own navy. Peter reform modernization monarchy

By the end of the 17th century, Russia had already exhausted all the possibilities for the isolated, autarkic development of society outside European civilization. It was necessary to solve numerous problems in the economy, government, education, culture. In addition to problems in the economy, crisis phenomena grew in ideology in the form of a religious struggle between the Orthodox and Old Believer churches. V mid XVII For centuries, the country was shaken by the uprisings of the townspeople in Moscow, Pskov, Novgorod, Kozlov, Tambov, Voronezh, Kursk and other cities. Significant territories in the south of Russia were covered by peasant war 1670-1671 under the leadership of Stepan Razin. All this testified to the shaking of the former foundations of the Moscow state, the weakening of the unity of society. The realities of that time posed an acute dilemma for Russia: either to remain on the outskirts of civilization and carry the burden of ancient traditions that were gradually turning into remnants, or, having embarked on the path of reforms, turn into a great power, which the developed European states would reckon with. Russia, represented by Peter I, chose the second path, especially since all the prerequisites were ripe for this:

1) the economic backwardness of the country posed a serious danger to the national independence of the Russian people;

) Russian industry and agriculture were based on the forced labor of the serf peasantry, and in terms of volume and technical equipment it was noticeably inferior to Western European;

) the Russian army was poorly trained and armed and consisted in large part of the backward noble militia and archers;

) there was a complex state apparatus in the form of a huge bureaucratic order system;

) there was a significant lag in the sphere of spiritual culture associated with the dominance of the church.

The beginning of fundamental transformations in Russia is firmly connected with the name of Tsar Peter the Great. He was born in Moscow on May 30, 1672 from the marriage of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with his second wife, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. For several years, Peter I traveled to many European countries, studying various aspects of the economy and politics of these states, personally mastering many working professions in the construction of ships in Holland and England.

It was then that the idea of ​​progress through violence firmly entered the consciousness of people. Peter himself saw violence as practically the only way to transform the country, while assigning himself the most ungrateful and difficult role of a teacher, a master who suffers with his stupid, unscrupulous and lazy students - the Russian people. The tsar believed that only he alone could know the needs of society and that only he was destined from above to lead Russia on the path of European civilization. He spared no effort for this, constantly showing his subjects how to work. However, the personal example of the king to achieve the "common good" was not enough. Therefore, the entire machine of the state was involved, the whole meaning of the activity of which was reduced to two most important functions: to the publication of numerous and detailed laws, regulations and instructions that determine all aspects of social and privacy subjects, and to detailed and detailed monitoring of the implementation of these laws and regulations with the help of the police and other government agencies. Russia was on the verge of great changes.