Shocked to the core by a gigantic social explosion, the noble empire of Catherine II almost immediately began a kind of repair of its state machine.
First of all, its weakest link was reorganized - local authorities. Wise from the experience of the peasant war, the serf owners subjected local government to a radical restructuring. Catherine II herself played a very active role in this. In a letter to Voltaire at the end of 1775, she reported: “I have just given my empire the “Institution on the Provinces,” which contains 215 printed pages. This is the fruit of five months’ work, accomplished by me alone.” Of course, Ekaterina did not develop this project alone. 19 projects were submitted, drawn up by prominent dignitaries and government officials.
According to the project, all of Russia was now divided into 50 provinces instead of the previous 23. From now on, the main figure in the province was the governor, who stood at the head of the “provincial government.” The functions of the provincial government were quite extensive, but the main one was the widespread announcement of the law of government orders, supervision of their implementation and, finally, the right to bring violators of the law to justice. All local courts and police were subordinate to the provincial government. The treasury chamber was in charge of all expenses and income in the province, its industry, and tax collection. She also took on some of the functions of the central boards. A completely new institution was the “order of public charity.” Behind such a serene name, sounding like a charitable institution, were hidden rather prosaic functions - maintaining “order” in the interests of the rule of the nobles. The order of public charity was an assistant to the provincial police, although it was in charge of public education, the protection of public health, public charity, and restraining houses. Finally, the province had a provincial prosecutor and a whole system of judicial institutions with prosecutors attached to it. The highest of the courts were two chambers: the chamber of civil cases and the chamber of criminal cases, which had the right to review cases of provincial and district courts. The provincial courts themselves were class-based, i.e. the nobles had their own court (it was called the “upper zemstvo court”), and the merchants and townspeople had their own (“provincial magistrate”). And finally, there was a provincial court for “free” (state) peasants (“upper punishment”). Each of these courts had two departments with two chairmen (for criminal and civil cases). criminal cases from all courts were sent to the Chamber of Criminal Cases for approval. But the chamber of civil cases received only those cases in which the claim was worth no less than 100 rubles, moreover, if the litigant also contributed 100 rubles as a deposit. To file an appeal to the Senate, the claim had to be at least 500 rubles, and the deposit - 200 rubles. This is where the class character of the court comes out, since the right of appeal could be exercised practically only by representatives of the propertied class.
Let's now go down a step, to the district. Each province now had an average of 10-15 districts. The main executive body here was the so-called “lower zemstvo court”. He is together with the one standing at his head. The police captain had full power in the district. Monitoring the implementation of laws, carrying out orders of provincial authorities, executing court decisions, searching for runaway peasants - these are just the most important functions of this institution. The police captain now had enormous power, taking any measures to restore order in the district. The police captain and two or three assessors of the lower zemstvo court were elected only by nobles and only from local landowners.
The courts in the proper sense of the word in the district were the “district court” (for nobles) and the “lower justice” (for state peasants). The nobles practically dominated not only in their court, but also in the “lower justice”. She took care of noble widows and orphans now “noble guardianship.” To elect candidates for numerous positions, district and provincial noble assemblies gathered, led by the district leader of the nobility and the provincial leader.
According to the reform of 1775, the city became an independent administrative unit. The main institutions in the city were: the city magistrate, the conscientious court and the town hall in the suburbs. The competence of the city magistrate, headed by the city mayor, was similar to the competence of the district court, and the composition of the city magistrate was chosen by the local merchants and philistines. The merchants and philistines now had their own guardianship in the manner of noble guardianship - the city orphan's court. Thus, at first glance, the city created its own class-based, full-fledged system of elected institutions. A poet only at first glance. If the nobles in the district elected a police captain and he had full power, then at the head of the city was the mayor, who also had enormous power, but. The mayor was appointed by the Senate from among the nobles.
The “court of conscience” became a completely unusual institution. He was subordinate to the Governor-General, and his functions included only reconciliation of the parties and control over arrests.
All these transformations, accelerated by the Peasant War, were brewing even before it. But, meeting the interests of the landowners halfway, by carrying out the provincial reform, Catherine II at the same time significantly strengthened state power in the localities. In 1789, city police departments were introduced and received the touching but deceitful name of “deanery boards.” These councils in Moscow and St. Petersburg were headed by police chiefs, and in other cities - by mayors. The councils included two bailiffs (for criminal and civil cases) and two advisers (ratmans). Each city was divided into sections of 200-700 houses, and each section into blocks of 50-100 houses. At the head of the sections was a private bailiff, and at the head of the blocks - a quarterly bailiff. Every house, every citizen was now under the watchful surveillance of the police.
While decentralizing administration, the queen retained at the same time powerful and effective control of the central government over the provinces. Over every 2-3 provinces, Catherine II appointed a governor or governor-general with unlimited powers.
The system of local provincial institutions turned out to be so strong that it existed basically until the reform of 1861, and in some details until 1917.
The document that determined the direction of the new provincial reform was “Institutions for governing the provinces of the All-Russian Empire“ (1775).
On the eve of the reform, the territory of Russia was divided into twenty-three provinces, sixty-six provinces and about one hundred and eighty districts. The reform being carried out planned to carry out the disaggregation of the provinces; their number was doubled; twenty years after its start, the number of provinces reached fifty.
The division into provinces and districts was carried out on a strictly administrative principle, without taking into account geographical, national and economic characteristics. The main purpose of the division was to adapt the new administrative apparatus to fiscal and police affairs.
The division was based on the purely quantitative criterion of population size. About four hundred thousand souls lived on the territory of the province, about thirty thousand souls lived on the territory of the district.
The old territorial bodies, after a series of transformations (changes in the status of governors were carried out in 1728, 1730 and 1760), were liquidated. Provinces were abolished as territorial units.
At the head of the province was governor, appointed and removed by the monarch. In his activities he relied on provincial government, which included the provincial prosecutor and the centurion. Resolved financial and fiscal issues in the province treasury chamber In charge of health and education issues order of public charity.
Supervision of legality in the province was carried out by provincial prosecutor And two provincial attorneys. In the district I solved the same problems county solicitor. At the head of the district administration (and the number of districts under the reform also doubled) was zemstvo police officer, elected by the district nobility, like a collegial governing body - lower zemstvo court (in which, in addition to the police officer, there were two assessors).
The Zemsky Court directed the Zemstvo police and monitored the implementation of laws and decisions of provincial boards.
A position was established in the cities mayor.
The leadership of several provinces was entrusted general to the governor. Governors were subordinate to him, he was recognized as the commander-in-chief on his territory, if the monarch was absent there at the moment, he could introduce emergency measures, and directly report to the emperor.
The provincial reform of 1775 strengthened the power of governors and, by disaggregating territories, strengthened the position of the local administrative apparatus. For the same purpose, special police and punitive bodies were created and the judicial system was transformed.
Attempts to separate the court from the administration (at the provincial level) were made back in the work of the established commission (1769), at one of the meetings it was stated: “It would be better to completely separate the court and punishment from state affairs.”
It was supposed to create a four-tier system of courts: district court orders - provincial court orders - provincial, appellate courts or execution chambers - Senate (appellate instance).
The deputies proposed making the trial public and open, but they advocated the creation of a definite class ships. This desire to preserve the class system and the principles of legal proceedings ultimately prevented the separation of the judicial function from the administrative one: it was possible to protect the special status and privileges of the noble class only by increasing administrative intervention. However, many of the proposals made during the work of the laid down commission entered into practice and served as the basis for reformist changes in 1775 (in territorial division, judicial reform) and 1784-1786. (reform of colleges).
Back in 1769, a bill was prepared "About judicial places", which regulated the principles of judicial law of “enlightened absolutism”.
It was planned to install several types of vessels: spiritual (on matters of faith, law and internal church affairs); criminal, civil, police (in matters of deanery); trade, (for merchants and brokerages); military: courtier (in criminal cases of court officials); special(for customs matters).
Criminal, civil and police courts were supposed to be created on a territorial basis - zemstvo and city. In cities, in addition, it was necessary to create guild courts.
All courts were part of a single system according to a three-tier subordination: district - province - province.
The judiciary was to be given the right to evaluate the decrees of the central administration from the point of view of state interest. Zemstvo and city courts were supposed to be elected, and the trial was public.
All the proposals developed by the commission were of great importance for the judicial reform of 1775.
In the process of this reform, the class judicial system.
1. For nobles in each district a district court was created, the members of which (a district judge and two assessors) were elected by the nobility for three years.
The appellate authority for county courts became upper zemstvo court, consisting of two departments: criminal and civil cases. The Upper Zemstvo Court was created alone for the province. He had the right to audit and control the activities of district courts.
The Upper Zemsky Court consisted of ten assessors appointed by the emperor, a chairman and a vice-chairman, and ten assessors elected for three years by the nobility.
2. For citizens became the lowest court city magistrates, whose members were elected for three years.
The court of appeal for the city magistrates was provincial magistrates, consisting of two chairmen and assessors elected from the townspeople (provincial city).
3. State peasants sued in the district lower spread, in which criminal and civil cases were considered by government-appointed officials.
The court of appeal for the lower punishment was upper spread, cases in which they were deposited on cash bail within a week.
4. In the provinces established conscientious courts, consisting of class representatives (a chairman and two assessors): nobles - on noble affairs, townspeople - on the affairs of townspeople, peasants - on peasant affairs.
The court had the character of a conciliation court, considered civil claims, as well as the character of a special court - in cases of crimes of minors, the insane and cases of witchcraft.
5. The appellate and revision authority in the province became court chambers (in civil and criminal cases).
The competence of the chambers included the review of cases considered in the upper zemstvo court, provincial magistrate or upper justice.
The appeal was accompanied by a substantial cash deposit.
6. Senate remained the highest judicial body for the courts of the entire system.
The reform of 1775 attempted to separate the court from the administration. The attempt failed: governors had the right to suspend the execution of sentences, some sentences (death penalty and deprivation of honor) were approved by the governor.
The chairmen of all courts were appointed by the government (representatives of the estates could only elect assessors).
A number of cases were considered by the city police authorities. Patrimonial justice continued to exist and operate.
The system of police administration was also discussed during the work of the established commission and the project was completed by 1771. It was intended to create police bodies in cities as an apparatus for protecting “decency, peace and good morals.”
The sphere of police influence covered various illegal actions and forms of city life: disruption of order during worship, religious processions, excessive luxury, debauchery, fast driving, fist fights.
The police censored books and controlled public entertainment, the cleanliness of the city, rivers, water, food products, monitored the order of trade, sanitary conditions, etc.
The duties of the police also included organizing the city watch, fighting vagrants and robbers, fires, troublemakers and secret gatherings.
The police took measures to provide the city with food, to comply with the rules of trade in markets, compliance with weights and measures, rules for maintaining taverns and hired servants.
Finally, the police were entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the architectural planning of the city, the organization of holidays and taxation.
The materials developed in the commission formed the basis of the “Charter of the Deanery” of 1782. The “Establishment of the Province” of 1775 provided for the creation of special police administration bodies: lower zemstvo courts, led by zemstvo police officers.
WITH 1779 work on the project begins “Charter on Deanery“, which was completed in 1781. In 1782 the Charter was published. It was divided into fourteen chapters, two hundred and seventy-four articles.
The charter regulated the structure of police agencies, their system and main areas of activity, and the list of acts punishable by the police.
The main sources of the Charter were: “The Institution on the Province”, materials of the established commission and foreign police regulations, and legal treatises.
The body of police administration in the city became the deanery, a collegial body which included: police chief, chief commandant or mayor, bailiffs of civil and criminal cases, elected by citizens Ratman-advisers.
The city was divided into parts And neighborhoods by number of buildings. In the unit the head of the police department was private bailiff, in the quarter - quarterly overseer. All police ranks fit into the “Table of Ranks” system.
The management of the police was entrusted to the provincial authorities: provincial government resolved all issues regarding the appointment and removal of police positions. Senate controlled the police department in the capitals.
The main task of the police was defined as maintaining order, decency and good morals. The police monitored the implementation of laws and decisions of local authorities, monitored the observance of church orders and the preservation of public peace. She observed morals and entertainment, took measures to preserve “people's health,” urban economy, trade and “people's food.”
The police suppressed minor criminal cases, making their own decisions on them, carried out preliminary investigations and searched for criminals.
The charter introduced the position private broker, who controlled the hiring of labor, the conditions of employment, and registered the hiring. A similar position was established to control the circulation of real estate.
In minor criminal cases, the police carried out court proceedings. In certain parts of the city they created verbal courts for resolving oral complaints in civil cases and for conciliatory decisions.
The "Charter of Deanery" listed a number of offenses and sanctions relating to the jurisdiction of police authorities.
These offenses included:
1) actions related to disobedience to laws or decisions of police authorities;
2) actions directed against the Orthodox faith and worship;
3) actions that violate public order protected by the police;
4) actions that violate the norms of decency (drunkenness, gambling, swearing, indecent behavior, unauthorized construction, unauthorized performances);
5) actions that violate the order of administration or court (bribery);
6) crimes against person, property, order, etc.
The police could apply sanctions only for some offenses from the listed areas: conducting disputes against Orthodoxy, non-observance of Sundays and holidays, traveling without a passport, violating the rules of brokerage, unauthorized carrying of weapons, violation of customs rules and some property crimes.
In most other cases, the police limited themselves to conducting preliminary investigations and transferring material to the courts. The police did not conduct investigations into political crimes; this was the competence of other authorities.
The punishments applied by the police were as follows: fine, prohibition of certain activities, censure, arrest for several days, imprisonment in a workhouse.
The "Charter of Deanery" actually formed a new branch of law - police law.
Chapter 27
Related information.
The document that determined the direction of the new provincial reform was “Institutions for governing the provinces of the All-Russian Empire“ (1775).
On the eve of the reform, the territory of Russia was divided into twenty-three provinces, sixty-six provinces and about one hundred and eighty districts. The reform being carried out planned to carry out the disaggregation of the provinces; their number was doubled; twenty years after its start, the number of provinces reached fifty.
The division into provinces and districts was carried out on a strictly administrative principle, without taking into account geographical, national and economic characteristics. The main purpose of the division was to adapt the new administrative apparatus to fiscal and police affairs.
The division was based on the purely quantitative criterion of population size. About four hundred thousand souls lived on the territory of the province, about thirty thousand souls lived on the territory of the district.
The old territorial bodies, after a series of transformations (changes in the status of governors were carried out in 1728, 1730 and 1760), were liquidated. Provinces were abolished as territorial units.
At the head of the province was governor, appointed and removed by the monarch. In his activities he relied on provincial government, which included the provincial prosecutor and the centurion. Resolved financial and fiscal issues in the province treasury chamber In charge of health and education issues order of public charity.
Supervision of legality in the province was carried out by provincial prosecutor And two provincial attorneys. In the district I solved the same problems county solicitor. At the head of the district administration (and the number of districts under the reform also doubled) was zemstvo police officer, elected by the district nobility, like a collegial governing body - lower zemstvo court (in which, in addition to the police officer, there were two assessors).
The Zemsky Court directed the Zemstvo police and monitored the implementation of laws and decisions of provincial boards.
A position was established in the cities mayor.
The leadership of several provinces was entrusted general to the governor. Governors were subordinate to him, he was recognized as the commander-in-chief on his territory, if the monarch was absent there at the moment, he could introduce emergency measures, and directly report to the emperor.
The provincial reform of 1775 strengthened the power of governors and, by disaggregating territories, strengthened the position of the local administrative apparatus. For the same purpose, special police and punitive bodies were created and the judicial system was transformed.
Attempts to separate the court from the administration (at the provincial level) were made back in the work of the established commission (1769), at one of the meetings it was stated: “It would be better to completely separate the court and punishment from state affairs.”
It was supposed to create a four-tier system of courts: district court orders - provincial court orders - provincial, appellate courts or execution chambers - Senate (appellate instance).
The deputies proposed making the trial public and open, but they advocated the creation of a definite class ships. This desire to preserve the class system and the principles of legal proceedings ultimately prevented the separation of the judicial function from the administrative one: it was possible to protect the special status and privileges of the noble class only by increasing administrative intervention. However, many of the proposals made during the work of the laid down commission entered into practice and served as the basis for reformist changes in 1775 (in territorial division, judicial reform) and 1784-1786. (reform of colleges).
Back in 1769, a bill was prepared "About judicial places", which regulated the principles of judicial law of “enlightened absolutism”.
It was planned to install several types of vessels: spiritual (on matters of faith, law and internal church affairs); criminal, civil, police (in matters of deanery); trade, (for merchants and brokerages); military: courtier (in criminal cases of court officials); special(for customs matters).
Criminal, civil and police courts were supposed to be created on a territorial basis - zemstvo and city. In cities, in addition, it was necessary to create guild courts.
All courts were part of a single system according to a three-tier subordination: district - province - province.
The judiciary was to be given the right to evaluate the decrees of the central administration from the point of view of state interest. Zemstvo and city courts were supposed to be elected, and the trial was public.
All the proposals developed by the commission were of great importance for the judicial reform of 1775.
In the process of this reform, the class judicial system.
1. For nobles in each district a district court was created, the members of which (a district judge and two assessors) were elected by the nobility for three years.
The appellate authority for county courts became upper zemstvo court, consisting of two departments: criminal and civil cases. The Upper Zemstvo Court was created alone for the province. He had the right to audit and control the activities of district courts.
The Upper Zemsky Court consisted of ten assessors appointed by the emperor, a chairman and a vice-chairman, and ten assessors elected for three years by the nobility.
2. For citizens became the lowest court city magistrates, whose members were elected for three years.
The court of appeal for the city magistrates was provincial magistrates, consisting of two chairmen and assessors elected from the townspeople (provincial city).
3. State peasants sued in the district lower spread, in which criminal and civil cases were considered by government-appointed officials.
The court of appeal for the lower punishment was upper spread, cases in which they were deposited on cash bail within a week.
4. In the provinces established conscientious courts, consisting of class representatives (a chairman and two assessors): nobles - on noble affairs, townspeople - on the affairs of townspeople, peasants - on peasant affairs.
The court had the character of a conciliation court, considered civil claims, as well as the character of a special court - in cases of crimes of minors, the insane and cases of witchcraft.
5. The appellate and revision authority in the province became court chambers (in civil and criminal cases).
The competence of the chambers included the review of cases considered in the upper zemstvo court, provincial magistrate or upper justice.
The appeal was accompanied by a substantial cash deposit.
6. Senate remained the highest judicial body for the courts of the entire system.
The reform of 1775 attempted to separate the court from the administration. The attempt failed: governors had the right to suspend the execution of sentences, some sentences (death penalty and deprivation of honor) were approved by the governor.
The chairmen of all courts were appointed by the government (representatives of the estates could only elect assessors).
A number of cases were considered by the city police authorities. Patrimonial justice continued to exist and operate.
The system of police administration was also discussed during the work of the established commission and the project was completed by 1771. It was intended to create police bodies in cities as an apparatus for protecting “decency, peace and good morals.”
The sphere of police influence covered various illegal actions and forms of city life: disruption of order during worship, religious processions, excessive luxury, debauchery, fast driving, fist fights.
The police censored books and controlled public entertainment, the cleanliness of the city, rivers, water, food products, monitored the order of trade, sanitary conditions, etc.
The duties of the police also included organizing the city watch, fighting vagrants and robbers, fires, troublemakers and secret gatherings.
The police took measures to provide the city with food, to comply with the rules of trade in markets, compliance with weights and measures, rules for maintaining taverns and hired servants.
Finally, the police were entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the architectural planning of the city, the organization of holidays and taxation.
The materials developed in the commission formed the basis of the “Charter of the Deanery” of 1782. The “Establishment of the Province” of 1775 provided for the creation of special police administration bodies: lower zemstvo courts, led by zemstvo police officers.
WITH 1779 work on the project begins “Charter on Deanery“, which was completed in 1781. In 1782 the Charter was published. It was divided into fourteen chapters, two hundred and seventy-four articles.
The charter regulated the structure of police agencies, their system and main areas of activity, and the list of acts punishable by the police.
The main sources of the Charter were: “The Institution on the Province”, materials of the established commission and foreign police regulations, and legal treatises.
The body of police administration in the city became the deanery, a collegial body which included: police chief, chief commandant or mayor, bailiffs of civil and criminal cases, elected by citizens Ratman-advisers.
The city was divided into parts And neighborhoods by number of buildings. In the unit the head of the police department was private bailiff, in the quarter - quarterly overseer. All police ranks fit into the “Table of Ranks” system.
The management of the police was entrusted to the provincial authorities: provincial government resolved all issues regarding the appointment and removal of police positions. Senate controlled the police department in the capitals.
The main task of the police was defined as maintaining order, decency and good morals. The police monitored the implementation of laws and decisions of local authorities, monitored the observance of church orders and the preservation of public peace. She observed morals and entertainment, took measures to preserve “people's health,” urban economy, trade and “people's food.”
The police suppressed minor criminal cases, making their own decisions on them, carried out preliminary investigations and searched for criminals.
The charter introduced the position private broker, who controlled the hiring of labor, the conditions of employment, and registered the hiring. A similar position was established to control the circulation of real estate.
In minor criminal cases, the police carried out court proceedings. In certain parts of the city they created verbal courts for resolving oral complaints in civil cases and for conciliatory decisions.
The "Charter of Deanery" listed a number of offenses and sanctions relating to the jurisdiction of police authorities.
These offenses included:
1) actions related to disobedience to laws or decisions of police authorities;
2) actions directed against the Orthodox faith and worship;
3) actions that violate public order protected by the police;
4) actions that violate the norms of decency (drunkenness, gambling, swearing, indecent behavior, unauthorized construction, unauthorized performances);
5) actions that violate the order of administration or court (bribery);
6) crimes against person, property, order, etc.
The police could apply sanctions only for some offenses from the listed areas: conducting disputes against Orthodoxy, non-observance of Sundays and holidays, traveling without a passport, violating the rules of brokerage, unauthorized carrying of weapons, violation of customs rules and some property crimes.
In most other cases, the police limited themselves to conducting preliminary investigations and transferring material to the courts. The police did not conduct investigations into political crimes; this was the competence of other authorities.
The punishments applied by the police were as follows: fine, prohibition of certain activities, censure, arrest for several days, imprisonment in a workhouse.
The "Charter of Deanery" actually formed a new branch of law - police law.
Chapter 27
Class system of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries.
The formation of the domestic class structure is characteristic of the era of “enlightened absolutism,” which aimed to preserve the order in which each class fulfills its purpose and function. The elimination of privileges and equalization of rights, from this point of view, were understood as “general confusion”, which should not be allowed.
The process of legal consolidation of the nobility began in the era of Peter the Great. The “Decree on Single Inheritance” prepared the unity of the property base of this class and specifically emphasized its service function, which became mandatory (nobles were forced to serve).
The Manifesto of Peter III "On the Liberty of the Nobility", confirming the special position of the noble class in society, abolished the mandatory service that burdened the nobility. It outlined new areas of application of the noble initiative (except for state and military service) - trade and industry.
The most important act that carried out the legal consolidation of the nobility was “Letter of grant to the nobility“ (1785).
Back in 1771, as a result of the work of the commission, a draft was prepared, which later became the basis for the “Charter of Grant to the Nobility.” In the project, the entire population was divided into three classes, the first of which is called “noble”. The project developed the provisions of Catherine’s “Order” on the special status and purpose of the nobility.
The privileges of the nobility were defined quite broadly: first of all, the provisions of the Manifesto of 1762 “On the Liberty of the Nobility” were consolidated, on the freedom of nobles to serve, leave service, travel to other states, and renounce citizenship.
Political corporate rights of the nobility were established: the right to convene and participate in provincial congresses, the right to elect judges by the nobility.
The “Charter Granted to the Nobility” (the full title is “Charter Granting the Rights and Benefits of the Noble Russian Nobility”) consisted of an introductory manifesto and four sections (ninety-two articles).
It established the principles of organizing local noble self-government, the personal rights of nobles, and the procedure for compiling genealogical books of nobles.
Noble dignity was defined as a special state of qualities that served as the basis for acquiring the title of nobility. The title of nobility was considered as inalienable, hereditary and hereditary. It applied to all members of the nobleman's family.
Reasons for deprivation of the title of nobility could only become criminal offenses in which the moral decline of the criminal and dishonesty were manifested. The list of these crimes was exhaustive.
Personal rights nobles included: the right to noble dignity, the right to protection of honor, personality and life, exemption from corporal punishment, from compulsory public service, etc.
Property rights nobility: full and unlimited right of ownership to acquire, use and inherit any type of property. The exclusive right of the nobles to buy villages and own land and peasants was established; the nobles had the right to open industrial enterprises on their estates, wholesale the products of their lands, purchase houses in cities and conduct maritime trade.
Special judicial rights The nobility included the following class privileges: the personal and property rights of the nobility could be limited or liquidated only by court decision: a nobleman could only be judged by his peers in the class court, the decisions of other courts did not matter to him.
Estate self-government nobility, regulated by the "Charter of Grant" looked as follows: the nobles created the society or Meeting, endowed with the rights of a legal entity (having its own finances, property, institutions and employees).
The assembly was endowed with certain political rights: it could make representations to local authorities, central institutions and the emperor on issues of “public benefit”.
The Assembly included all nobles who had estates in a given province. From the number district leaders of the nobility The Assembly elected candidates every three years. provincial leaders of the nobility. The latter's candidacy was approved by the governor or the monarch's representative in the province.
Nobles who did not have land and had not reached the age of twenty-five were excluded from elections. During elections, the rights of nobles who did not serve and did not have officer ranks were limited. Nobles defamed by the court were expelled from the Assembly.
The meeting also elected assessors to the estate courts of the province and police officials zemstvo police.
Noble assemblies and district leaders compiled noble genealogical books and decided on the admissibility of certain persons to the number of nobles (there were about twenty legal grounds for inclusion in the nobility).
The charter preserved the difference between the rights of personal nobility and the rights of hereditary nobility. All hereditary nobility had equal rights (personal, property and judicial) regardless of the difference in titles and the antiquity of the family. The legal consolidation of the nobility as a class was completed. The rights assigned to the nobility were defined as “eternal and unchangeable.” At the same time, noble corporations were directly dependent on state power (registration of nobles in genealogical books was carried out according to the rules established by the state, government officials approved the candidacies of elected noble leaders, noble elected bodies acted under the auspices of government officials and institutions).
Legal status urban population as a special class began to be defined at the end of the 17th century. Then the creation of organs of city self-government under Peter I (town halls, magistrates) and the establishment of certain benefits for the top of the urban population strengthened this process. The further development of the industry of trade and finance (as special functions of the city) required the publication of new legal acts regulating these areas of activity.
In 1769, a draft regulation “On the neuter gender of people” or legal status was developed philistinism. This class included: persons engaged in science and in service (white clergy, scientists, officials, artists); persons engaged in trade (merchants, manufacturers, factory owners, ship owners and seafarers); other persons (artisans, tradesmen, working people). The “middle class” of people had full state rights, the right to life, security and property. Judicial rights, rights to personal integrity until the end of the trial, and defense in court were provided for. The bourgeoisie were freed from public works and were forbidden to be transferred to serfdom. They had the right to free resettlement, movement and travel to other states, the right to their own intra-class court, to acquire houses, and the right to appoint a replacement in their place for recruitment.
The bourgeoisie had the right to own city and country houses, had an unlimited right of ownership of their property, and an unlimited right of inheritance.
They received the right to own industrial establishments (with restrictions on their size and the number of employees), organize banks, offices, etc.
In preparation "Charter of Letters to Cities" (which began in 1780) in addition to the materials of the established commission, other sources were used: the Guild Charter (1722), the Deanery Charter (1782) and the Institution for the Administration of the Province (1775), the Swedish Guild Charter and the Regulations on the Broker (1669), Prussian Crafts Charter (1733), legislation of the cities of Livonia and Estland.
“Charter Granted to the Cities” (full title: “Charter Granting Rights and Benefits to the Cities of the Russian Empire”) was published simultaneously with the “Charter Granted to the Nobility” in April 1785. It consisted of a manifesto, sixteen sections and one hundred and seventy-eight articles.
The charter consolidated a single class status for the entire population of cities, regardless of professional occupation and type of activity.
This was entirely consistent with the idea of creating a “middle class of people.” The unified legal status of the urban population was based on the recognition of the city as a special organized territory with a special administrative system of management and types of occupation of the population.
Belonging to the philistine class, according to the legislator, is based on hard work and good morals, is hereditary, and is associated with the benefits that philistinism brings to the fatherland (belonging to the philistinism is not a natural phenomenon, like belonging to the nobility). Deprivation of petty-bourgeois rights and class privileges could be carried out on the same grounds as the deprivation of class rights of a nobleman (a full list of acts was also given).
Personal rights The burghers included: the right to protection of honor and dignity, personality and life, the right to travel and travel abroad.
To property rights The philistinism included: the right of ownership of owned property (acquisition, use, inheritance), the right of ownership of industrial enterprises, crafts, and the right to conduct trade.
The entire urban population was divided into six categories:
1) “real city dwellers” who have a house and other real estate in the city;
2) merchants registered in the guild (I guild - with capital from ten to fifty thousand rubles, II - from five to ten thousand rubles, III - from one to five thousand rubles);
3) artisans who were in the workshops;
4) out-of-town and foreign merchants;
5) eminent citizens (capitalists and bankers with capital of at least fifty thousand rubles, wholesale traders, shipowners, members of the city administration, scientists, artists, musicians);
6) other townspeople.
Merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds enjoyed additional personal rights, were exempt from corporal punishment, and could own large industrial and commercial enterprises. Eminent citizens were also exempted from corporal punishment.
The rights and obligations of artisans were regulated by internal shop rules and the “Charter on Shops”.
City residents, like the nobility, were granted the right to corporate organization. The townspeople were "urban society" and could gather for meetings with the approval of the administration.
The townspeople elected burgomasters, assessors-ratmans (for three years), prefects And verbal court judges (for a year).
The assembly could make representations to local authorities and monitor compliance with the laws. The right of a legal entity was recognized for the city society. Participation in the society was limited by a property qualification (payment of an annual tax of at least fifty rubles) and an age limit (not younger than twenty-five years).
The city created general city council, which included the chosen ones mayor And vowels (one from each of the six categories of citizens and in proportion to parts of the city).
The General City Duma formed its own executive body - six-vote city duma from among the public, in the meetings of which one representative from each category participated. The mayor presided.
The competence of the city duma included: ensuring silence, harmony and order in the city, resolving intra-class disputes, and monitoring city construction. Unlike town halls and magistrates, court cases were not the responsibility of the city council - they were decided by the judiciary.
In 1785, a draft of another class charter was developed - “ Rural situation “ . The document concerned only the situation of state peasants. He asserted their inalienable class rights: the right to a free title, the right of ownership of movable property, the right to acquire real estate (excluding villages, factories, factories and peasants), the right to refuse to pay illegal taxes, fees and duties, the right to engage in agriculture, crafts and trade.
Rural society received the rights of a corporation. Rural “inhabitants” could elect executive bodies of self-government in communities, elected an estate court and made representations to the local administration. Deprivation of class rights could only be carried out in court.
It was supposed to divide the entire rural population, by analogy with the urban one, into six categories, taking into account declared capital, according to property qualifications. The first two categories (with a capital of more than one thousand rubles) were exempt from corporal punishment.
The project did not become law, but state and legal policy regarding the peasantry was quite clearly defined.
Peasant population was divided into “state villagers “ , belonged to the state and owned lands received from the government; free peasants, renting land from nobles or the government and not being serfs;
serfs, belonged to the nobles or the emperor.
All categories of peasants had the right to hire workers, recruit recruits in their place, educate their children (serfs could only do this with the permission of the landowner), and engage in small trade and handicrafts.
The rights of inheritance, disposal of property, and entering into obligations for peasants were limited.
State peasants and free peasants had the right to protection in court, and to full ownership, but not disposal of the lands provided, to full ownership of movable property.
Serfs were completely subject to the court of landowners, and in criminal cases - to the state court. Their property rights were limited by the need to obtain permission from the landowner (in the area of disposal and inheritance of movable property). The landowner, in turn, was prohibited from selling peasants at retail.
They were declared free people Cossacks They could not be reduced to serfdom, had the right to judicial protection, could own small trading establishments, rent them out, engage in trades, employ free people (but could not own serfs), and trade in goods of their own production. Cossack elders were freed from corporal punishment, and their houses were freed from standing.
A uniform and special military-administrative management of the Cossack troops was established: a military chancellery, the leadership of which was appointed by the government, and the members were elected by the Cossacks.
Development noble property rights took place in line with the legal consolidation of this class. Even in the “Manifesto of Noble Liberty,” the concept of real estate, first introduced into circulation by the “Decree of Single Inheritance,” was expanded. Real estate included courtyards, factories and factories.
The state monopoly on mineral resources and forests, established in 1719, was abolished in 1782 - landowners received ownership rights to forest lands.
Back in 1755, a landowner monopoly on distillation was established; since 1787, nobles were allowed widespread free trade in bread. In this area, no one could compete with the landowners.
The differentiation of legal forms of noble land ownership is simplified: all estates began to be divided into two types - generic And well-acquired.
The procedure for inheriting landowners' estates was simplified, and the freedom of the testator was expanded. In 1791, childless landowners received complete freedom to inherit property to any persons, even those not related to members of the testator's family.
The “charter granted to the nobility” secured the rights of the nobles to engage in industrial and commercial activities, opening up new prospects for activity for the class.
The nobles had unlimited ownership rights to estates of any type (acquired and ancestral). In them they could carry out any activity not prohibited by law. They were given full right to dispose of estates, they had full power over the serfs, at their own discretion they could impose various taxes, quitrents on them and use them in any work.
Legislation on entrepreneurship, the formation of a capitalist economy. In the first half of the 19th century. capitalist relations were being formed in all sectors of the economy. Agriculture was definitely oriented towards the market: its products were produced for the purpose of sale, the share of cash dues in the structure of peasant labor and duties increased, and the size of the lord's plowing increased. In a number of areas, a situation developed: peasants were transferred to pay for food, while their plots were transferred to the lords' plowing.
An increasing number of industrial enterprises and manufactories appeared on the estates, which used the labor of serfs. There was a differentiation of the peasantry; those who became rich invested their capital in industry and trade.
In industry, the use of hired labor increased, the number of handicraft and small enterprises, and peasant crafts increased. In the 30-50s, manufactories turned into capitalist factories based on machine technology (already in 1825, more than half of the workers employed in the manufacturing industry were hired, mainly peasants). The demand for free labor grew rapidly.
Its replenishment could only be carried out from the peasantry, for which it was necessary to carry out certain legal reforms in the position of the peasantry.
In 1803 it was adopted "Decree on free cultivators" according to which the landowners received the right to set their peasants free for a ransom established by the landowners themselves. For almost sixty years of the decree’s action (before the reform of 1861), only about five hundred emancipation agreements were approved, and about one hundred and twelve thousand people became free cultivators. Liberation was carried out with the sanction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, peasants received ownership rights to real estate and participation in obligations.
Published in 1842 “Decree on obligated peasants“, providing for the possibility of landowners transferring land to peasants for rental use, for which the peasants were obliged to fulfill the obligations stipulated by the contract and to submit to the landowner’s court. Only about twenty-seven thousand peasants living on the estates of only six landowners were transferred to the position of “obligated” peasants. Arrears were collected from peasants through the police by “provincial departments.”
Both of these partial reforms did not resolve the issue of changing economic relations in agriculture, although they outlined the mechanism of agrarian reform (redemption, the state of “temporary duty”, work), which was carried out in 1861.
More radical were the legal measures taken in the Estland, Livonia and Courland provinces: in 1816-1819. the peasants of these regions were freed from serfdom without land. The peasants switched to a rental relationship, using the landowner's land, performing duties and submitting to the landowner's court.
A measure aimed at changing serf relations was the organization military settlements, in which, from 1816, state peasants began to be housed. By 1825 their number reached four hundred thousand people. Settlers were required to engage in agriculture (giving half of the harvest to the state) and perform military service. They were forbidden to trade or go to work, their lives were regulated by the Military Regulations. This measure could not provide free labor for the development of industry, but outlined ways for organizing forced labor in agriculture, which would be used by the state much later.
In 1847 it was created Ministry of State Property, who was entrusted with the management of state peasants: quitrent taxation was streamlined, land allotments of peasants were increased; a system of peasant self-government was established: volost meeting - volost administration -village gathering - village headman. This model of self-government will be used for a long time both in the system of communal and future collective farm organization, however, it has become a factor restraining the migration of peasants to the city and the processes of property differentiation of the peasantry.
New economic relations required, however, changes in the legal status of rural inhabitants. Separate steps in this direction were made in the first half of the 19th century. Already in 1801, state peasants were allowed to buy land from landowners.
In 1818, a decree was adopted that allowed all peasants (including landowners) to establish factories and factories.
The need for free hired labor made the use of the labor of possessional peasants in factories ineffective: in 1840, factory owners received the right to release possessional peasants and hire free people and quitrent peasants instead.
In cities in parallel with the class bourgeois And workshop (masters, artisans, apprentices) the social group began to grow “working people“.
On November 7 (18), 1775, Empress Catherine II published the “Institution for the management of the provinces of the Russian Empire,” according to which in 1775-1785. A radical reform of the administrative-territorial division of the Russian Empire was carried out. The goal of the provincial reform of 1775 was to strengthen the power of the nobility locally in order to prevent peasant uprisings.
Until 1775, the provinces of the Russian Empire were divided into provinces, and the provinces into counties. According to the new decree, the provinces began to be divided only into districts. The main goal of the reform was to adapt the new administrative apparatus to fiscal and police affairs.
The division was carried out without taking into account geographical, national and economic characteristics; it was based solely on a quantitative criterion - population size. According to the new decree, from 300 to 400 thousand souls lived on the territory of each province, and about 30 thousand souls lived on the territory of the district.
The province was headed by a governor, appointed and removed by the monarch. In his activities, he relied on the provincial government, which included the provincial prosecutor and two centurions. The Treasury Chamber was in charge of finances and economic affairs. Schools and charitable institutions - Order of public charity, in which elected representatives of the estates sat under the chairmanship of an official. Supervision of legality in the province was carried out by the provincial prosecutor and two provincial solicitors.
The executive authority in the counties was the lower zemstvo court, headed by a police captain elected by the local nobility. In county towns, power belonged to the appointed mayor.
The leadership of several provinces was entrusted to the governor-general, who was under the direct control of the empress and the Senate. The Governor-General controlled the activities of the governors of the provinces and regions under his jurisdiction, exercised general supervision over officials, and monitored the political sentiments of the estates.
In connection with the adoption of the provincial reform of 1775, the judicial system completely changed. It was built on the class principle: each class had its own elected court. Landowners were judged by the Upper Zemstvo Court in the provinces and the district court in the districts, state peasants were judged by the Upper Justice in the province and the Lower Justice in the district, the townspeople were judged by the city magistrate in the district and the provincial magistrate in the province. All these courts were elected, with the exception of the lower courts, which were appointed by the governor. The highest judicial body in the country became the Senate, and in the provinces - the chambers of criminal and civil courts. New for Russia was the classless Conscientious Court, designed to stop strife and reconcile those who were quarreling.
The provincial reform led to the liquidation of the collegiums, with the exception of the Foreign, Military and Admiralty. The functions of the boards were transferred to local provincial bodies. In 1775, the Zaporozhye Sich was liquidated, and most of the Cossacks were resettled to Kuban.
During the implementation of the reform of 1775, measures were taken to strengthen the power of the nobility in the center and locally. For the first time in Russian legislation, a document appeared that determined the activities of local government bodies and courts. The system created by this reform survived until 1864, and the administrative-territorial division until 1917.
Lit.: Isaev I. A. History of state and law of Russia. M., 1996. Ch. 26; The same [Electronic resource]. URL:http://www.bibliotekar.ru/istoria-prava-rossii/29.htm ; History of State and Law of the USSR / ed. S. A. Pokrovsky. Part I. M., 1959. Ch. 7; Tarkhov S.A. Changes in the administrative-territorial division of Russia over the past 300 years // Geography. 2001. No. 15.
See also in the Presidential Library:
Administrative-territorial division // Territory of Russia: collection;
.PROVINCIAL REFORM of 1775, the name adopted in historiography for the complex administrative, judicial and social reform carried out in the Russian Empire in the 2nd half of the 1770s - the 1st half of the 1790s. Developed as part of the political program of Empress Catherine II, it took into account the results of the activities of the Legislative Commission of 1767-68, as well as the lessons learned by the authorities from the uprising of E. I. Pugachev (1773-75). Main goals: formation of the class structure of Russian society through consolidating the legal status of individual classes and creating institutions of class self-government; strengthening local power by creating a denser, more extensive and unified system of administrative bodies throughout the empire, based on a combination of crown authorities with self-government bodies and the redistribution of power between central and local authorities in favor of the latter. When preparing the provincial reform, Catherine II used the works of the English jurist W. Blackstone, while relying on Russian traditions and the experience of individual Russian provinces, primarily Novgorod, where a new management system was tested before 1775.
The provincial reform was carried out in several stages. The beginning of the reform was laid by the manifesto of 17 (28). March 1775 and the decree of Empress Catherine II of 25.5 (5. June). in the merchant guild (from 500 rubles); the capitation tax and conscription duty for merchants were replaced by a 1% tax on capital, and city residents who did not have sufficient capital were ordered to be called petty bourgeois. The main provisions of the reform were set out in the “Institutions for the management of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire” dated November 7 (18), 1775. This legislative act (consisted of 28 chapters and 412 articles), drawn up personally by Catherine II, was distinguished by a high level of legal technology and deep detail in the norms of state, administrative, financial, family and other branches of law. “Institutions...” provided for a change in the administrative-territorial division of the province (government): a direct division into counties with a population of 20-30 thousand people was introduced, and the provinces were liquidated. The main administrative-territorial unit became a province with a population of 300-400 thousand people each, headed by a governor (ruler of the governorship). Under him, a provincial government was created (it controlled the activities of all other provincial institutions), whose members were appointed by the Senate. The vice-governor assisted the governor in resolving financial issues, and the provincial prosecutor and solicitors assisted in monitoring compliance with the laws. State chambers were created, which were in charge of collecting taxes and monitoring the activities of district treasurers, as well as orders of public charity, which were entrusted with the organization of schools, orphanages, workhouses and restraining houses, hospitals, almshouses, and insane asylums. Two or three provinces were united into governor generals headed by a viceroy (governor general) and viceroyal rule.
The head of the administrative and police power in the district city (in the absence of a commandant) became the mayor. In the counties, a lower zemstvo court was created - an elected collegial administrative and police body of territorial government headed by an police officer (captain), who was actually the head of the zemstvo police.
“Institutions...” introduced social security bodies for widows and orphans - the so-called noble guardianships under the upper zemstvo courts and city orphans' courts under city magistrates - city government bodies subordinate to the provincial magistrate (consisted of two chairmen and six elected assessors, had judicial functions ).
The judicial reform, carried out in accordance with the “Institutions...”, was expressed in the separation of judicial power from administrative power, in the creation of a system of judicial bodies of different instances for each of the estates: district and upper zemstvo courts for the nobility, lower zemstvo court, lower and upper courts for state and palace peasants. A separation of criminal and civil proceedings was carried out: criminal and civil chambers were established as the highest courts of appeal in the provinces; An all-class conscientious court was formed (it dealt with cases related to witchcraft, superstitions, vagrancy, and juvenile crimes).
The next step in the implementation of the Provincial Reform was the gradual renaming of the provinces into governorships (by the mid-1780s there were 38 governorships, 2 provinces and 1 region with the rights of vicegerency). In parallel, there was a process of liquidation of industry collegiums (Votchinnaya, Chamber Collegium, Manufactory Collegium, etc.), as a result of which the center retained only powers related to finance, defense, foreign policy and general oversight of compliance with laws. The deanery charter of 1782 created the city police. The charter granted to the nobility in 1785 and the charter granted to cities in 1785 strengthened the bodies of class self-government, and the legislative registration of the rights and obligations of city residents was completed.
The most important provisions of the reform and the institutions it created continued to exist until 1918. The formation of city and estate self-government bodies during the Provincial Reform was important for the development of the Russian city and the emergence of elements of civil society in it.
Lit.: Grigoriev V. A. Reform of local government under Catherine I. St. Petersburg, 1910; Jones R. Provincial development in Russia: Catherine II and J. Sievers. New Brunswick, 1984; Omelchenko O.A. "Legitimate Monarchy" of Catherine II. M., 1993; Kamensky A. B. From Peter I to Paul I: Reforms in Russia in the 18th century. M., 1999; Sereda N.V. Reform of management of Catherine the Second. M., 2004.