The birth of a world power.
The foreign policy of Peter I, like all his activities, was subordinated to achieving the main goal - to turn Russia into a powerful world power. To do this, it was necessary to gain access to sea trade routes.
Being cut off from the seas, Russia could not develop economic relations with European countries and have a serious impact on world politics. At the end of the 17th century, Russia had only one seaport - Arkhangelsk on the White Sea. But due to his remoteness, he could not solve the problems facing the country. Dominated the Baltic Sea Swedish Empire, which was at the peak of its power. Sweden, having achieved the position of the strongest country Northern Europe, did not intend to tolerate the arrival of a long-time enemy - Russia - into its possessions. The Black Sea was also inaccessible - it was under full control powerful Ottoman Empire. The Pacific coast, due to its undeveloped nature and remoteness, was not even considered by Peter I as a factor in foreign policy. In this situation, there was nothing left to do but force a way out to the sea. And the first test of strength of young Peter I took place in the southern direction, in the war with the Ottoman Empire.
Azov campaigns of Peter I.
Campaigns against the Ottoman Empire took place in 1695 and 1696. In essence, this was a continuation of the war started by Princess Sophia, Peter’s sister and his predecessor on the Russian throne. The only difference was that, unlike the campaigns of the Russian army in 1687 and 1689, the campaigns of Peter I were aimed not at the Crimean Khanate, but at capturing a strategically important Turkish fortress Azov at the mouth of the Don. The first campaign failed to achieve its goal - as a result of two unsuccessful assaults, the siege of the fortress had to be lifted. But the next year, the Russian army still managed to capture the Azov fortress. Russia's exit to Sea of Azov had a very important political and military significance. But it was still necessary to gain a foothold at sea in order to develop the success achieved. And this meant intensifying the war with Turkey. For this, Russia needed to get support European countries waging war against Turkey. To do this, a diplomatic mission was sent to Europe in 1697, headed by the king, called the “Grand Embassy”.Grand Embassy.
Diplomatic visit of Peter I to Europe in 1697-1698. It was a consequence of the Azov campaigns and had several goals:- receive diplomatic and military support European countries in the war with Turkey. In case of victory over Turkey, he will secure the consent of the European allies to obtain the northern Black Sea region.
- use foreign policy factor victory in the Azov campaign, raise the prestige of Russia.
- search for allies for the war with Sweden.
- Peter I's acquaintance with European countries.
And, although Peter I was part of the embassy under the name of Peter Mikhailov, a sergeant of the Preobrazhensky regiment, he actually personally headed the embassy.
Over the course of two years, the embassy visited Livonia, Riga, Königsberg, Holland, England and Austria.
The result of the Great Embassy for the foreign policy of Peter I was a change in its course. The war for access to the Black Sea ceased to be relevant for him, and in 1700 he signed the Treaty of Constantinople with the Ottoman Empire. This agreement consolidated the existing situation - Azov remained with Russia, and part of the Dnieper region was returned to Turkey. Thus, Russia actually abandoned its presence in the Black Sea. This was caused by Peter I’s desire to gain access to the Baltic sea, which was strategically important for Russia. For this, war with Sweden was inevitable. During his visit to Europe, Peter found an ally in this war - the King of Saxony and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Augustus II, with whom he concluded an agreement against Sweden. In 1699 this agreement resulted in Northern Union with the participation of Denmark. In 1700, the war for the Baltic Sea began, which lasted 21 years and was called the “Northern War”.
North War.
The war began for Russia with a devastating defeat near Narva in 1700. But this did not stop Peter in his quest to conquer the Baltic. Having reorganized the army, he resumed military operations and in 1702 achieved his first success - the Swedish fortress of Noteburg (renamed Shlisselburg by Peter the Great) was captured. And in 1703, with the capture Nyenschanz fortress at the mouth of the Neva it was possible to reach the Baltic Sea. At the same time, in 1703, St. Petersburg was founded - the future brilliant capital of the Russian Empire. And the Kronstadt fortress on Kotlin Island became the first base of the Russian Baltic Fleet. But there was more to come long years wars - The Northern War ended only in 1721 with the complete victory of Russia. In 1721, Russia concluded the Treaty of Nystadt with Sweden. The main result of the war for Russia was its consolidation in the Baltic Sea.War with Turkey.
In 1710, the war with Turkey resumed as a consequence of the Azov campaigns. In 1711, Peter I undertook a campaign called Prut. It turned out extremely unsuccessfully for the Russian army - in July it found itself surrounded at the Prut River (38 thousand Russians were opposed by 120 thousand Turks and 70 thousand Crimean Tatars). In order to save the army and avoid capture himself, Peter entered into negotiations, their result was the Treaty of Prut, according to which Russia undertook to return Azov to Turkey. In 1713, the Treaty of Andrianople was signed, confirming the Treaty of Prut. As a result of defeat in this war, Russia was deprived of all the conquests of the Azov campaign of 1696 and, as a consequence, lost access to the Black Sea.Caspian campaign.
At the end of the Northern War, in 1722, Peter made an attempt to expand the territories of the then Russian Empire at the expense of Transcaucasia, which belonged to Persia. Having gained control of this territory, he hoped to restore trade route from India via Central Asia to Russia and Europe. In 1722-1723, Russia conquered the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea with the cities of Derbent, Baku and Rasht. But they had to abandon campaigns deep into Transcaucasia in order to avoid a new war with Turkey, which invaded Georgia and Armenia in 1723. As a result, in 1724, Russia and Turkey signed the Treaty of Constantinople, in which the parties recognized each other’s territorial acquisitions.The result of Peter I's foreign policy was a significant expansion of Russia's territory, its consolidation on the Baltic Sea, the establishment of close diplomatic and trade ties with European countries, and integration into the course of world politics. But most importantly, Peter I turned his foreign policy Moscow kingdom V Russian Empire.
Foreign policy of Peter 1.
The main goal of Peter I's foreign policy was access to the Baltic Sea, which would provide Russia with connections with Western Europe. In 1699, Russia, having entered into an alliance with Poland and Denmark, declared war on Sweden. The outcome of the Northern War, which lasted 21 years, was influenced by the Russian victory in Battle of Poltava June 27, 1709 and victory over the Swedish fleet at Gangut on July 27, 1714.
On August 30, 1721, the Treaty of Nystadt was signed, according to which Russia retained the conquered lands of Livonia, Estonia, Ingria, part of Karelia and all the islands of the Gulf of Finland and Riga. Access to the Baltic Sea was secured.
To commemorate the achievements in the Northern War, the Senate and Synod on October 20, 1721 awarded the Tsar the title of Father of the Fatherland, Peter the Great and Emperor of All Russia.
In 1723, after a month and a half of hostilities with Persia, Peter I acquired the western shore of the Caspian Sea.
Simultaneously with the conduct of military operations, the vigorous activity of Peter I was aimed at carrying out numerous reforms, the purpose of which was to bring the country closer to European civilization, increase the education of the Russian people, strengthen the power and international position of Russia.
Domestic policy Peter I
Industrial development - Founding factories, laying shipyards, building canals, organizing manufactories.
Military reforms - creation of a navy, weapons, introduction of conscription, construction of fortresses, drawing up new military regulations, change in war tactics, horse artillery.
Education and culture - Calendar reform, Navigation school, Alphabet reform, Artillery school, Military engineering school, Founding of the Academy of Sciences and a university within the Academy.
Financial reforms- introduction of direct (“salary”) and indirect taxes (“dragoon money”; “ship money”), emergency fees (“request”, “non-salary”); state monopoly on a number of goods (salt, tobacco)
Government reforms- Founding of the Governing Senate, Decree on Single Inheritance, Creation of Collegiums of Central Bodies of Industry Management, Table of Ranks.
Church reform.
9. Russia during the period of “palace coups”: causes and consequences.
After the death of Peter I in January 1725, Russia entered an era of palace coups. Over the course of 37 years (1725–1762), there were 6 reigning persons on the throne. Of the 37 years, women reigned for 32 years.
Reasons for palace coups:
1) Peter I’s decree of 1722 on the succession to the throne, allowing the emperor to appoint his heir himself;
2) a large number of direct and indirect heirs;
3) personal interests of the aristocracy and nobility.
The initiators of the coups were court groups, relying on the nobles from the guard. Thus, as a result of each coup, the nobility only strengthened its position.
Catherine I (1725–1727), enthroned after the death of Peter I, actually transferred all power to the Supreme Privy Council, which included Peter’s closest associates.
Peter II (1727–1730), grandson of Peter I, son of Alexei Petrovich, entered into Catherine's will at the age of 13. In fact, the princes Golitsyn and Dolgoruky ruled. He died of smallpox in Moscow without leaving a will.
Anna Ioannovna (1730–1740), daughter of Peter I's brother Ivan Alekseevich, Duchess of Courland. Ascended to the throne as a result of being elected Supreme privy council. The condition for accession was the signing of conditions (conditions) limiting power in favor of the Council. Upon accession to the throne, she rejected the conditions, the members of the council were arrested and exiled. During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, there was a departure from Peter's reforms. A special council of the most trusted persons arises between the monarch and the Senate, expenses for the army and bureaucracy are reduced, and the power of the governor is limited in favor of local government. IN central office German dominance is taking place.
John VI Antonovich (1740–1741) - great-grandson of Ivan Alekseevich and nephew of Anna Ioannovna, ascended the throne at the age of 6 months under the regency of Anna's favorite Duke Biron. Overthrown by Elizabeth I Petrovna and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Elizabeth I Petrovna (1741–1761) daughter of Peter I, came to power as a result palace coup November 25, 1741. During the coup, Elizabeth relied on anti-German sentiment in society, among industrialists, diplomats and in the guard. The driving force behind the coup was the Preobrazhensky Regiment. During Elizabeth's reign, the role and influence of the nobility increased. In fact, there was a transfer of administrative and police functions of the state to the nobility. Elizabeth tried to restore some order and government agencies, created by Peter I. She abolished the Cabinet of Ministers (created by Anna) and expanded the functions of the Senate, Germans were removed from the administration and Russians were introduced. I tried to systematize the laws, but to no avail. The years of Elizabeth's reign were marked by the growth of patriotism in society, the flourishing of science and education (Moscow University was opened), conditions were created for favorable development Russia and the brilliant reign of Catherine II.
IN social policy Serfdom was strengthened: peasants were forbidden to independently open fishing activities; when the monarch changed, the oath of allegiance to the throne was sworn for the peasants by the landowner. Canceled under Elizabeth the death penalty. The nobles are allowed to engage in manufacturing and trade, the Noble Bank was opened for financial support, and the nobles are allowed to exile offending peasants to Siberia without trial. At the same time, Elizabeth made it difficult for non-nobles to enter the nobility through length of service, increasing the qualifications in the Table of Ranks.
Peter III (1761–1762), grandson of Peter I and nephew of Elizabeth, ascended the throne by will. At the age of 14 he was brought from Germany and was distinguished by sickness and weak character. The idol of his life was the Prussian king Frederick the Great. He deeply hated everything Russian. Until the age of 30, he was away from the courtyard in Orienbaum. Having ascended the throne, he refused to defeat Prussia during Seven Years' War, returned all the occupied territories and paid indemnity, which immediately turned the guards and society against him. The “Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility” freed nobles from mandatory civil service, allowed the free travel of nobles abroad. By another decree he deprived the Church of it land holdings, monastery peasants became economic state peasants. Conducted an amnesty for those close to Anna exiled by Elizabeth (Minich, Biron, Osterman). In the field of religion, he stopped the persecution of Old Believers and allowed freedom of faith for Protestants. In the administration of the empire, leading roles again began to be occupied by people of German descent. Peter III was overthrown as a result of a palace coup by his wife Catherine II, imprisoned in the Shlisserburg fortress where he was killed by Catherine's favorite Count Grigory Orlov.
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1. HISTORICAL CONDITIONS AND PREREQUISITES OF PETER'S REFORMS
1. MILITARY REFORM.
2. REFORM OF GOVERNMENT AND MANAGEMENT BODIES.
3. REFORM IN INDUSTRY AND TRADE.
4. REFORM OF THE CLASS ORDER OF RUSSIAN SOCIETY.
5. CHURCH REFORM.
6. REFORM IN THE FIELD OF CULTURE AND LIFE.
Chapter 2. RESULTS OF REFORM
CONCLUSION
LIST OF REFERENCES USED
INTRODUCTION
In the period we are considering, there was a fierce struggle for power between the old, noble boyars and the serving people - the nobles. There were continuous uprisings of peasants and urban lower classes in the country, who fought both against the nobles and against the boyars, because they were all feudal lords - serf owners. Russia attracted the greedy gaze of neighboring states such as Sweden, which were not averse to seizing and subjugating Russian lands.
It was necessary to reorganize the army, build a fleet, take possession of the sea coast, create a domestic industry, and rebuild the system of government of the country.
To radically break the old way of life, Russia needed an intelligent and talented leader, an extraordinary person. This is how Peter I turned out.
Peter's reforms were comprehensive in nature, covering all aspects of the life of the people, while others introduced innovations that concerned only certain spheres of life of society and the state.
Relevance of the topic“The internal policy of Peter 1” is that in the history of Russia we will find few institutions deliberately created by man that would have existed for so long, having such a strong impact on all aspects of public life. Moreover, some principles and stereotypes of political consciousness, developed or finally consolidated under Peter, are still tenacious; sometimes in new verbal clothes they exist as traditional elements of our thinking and social behavior.
Goal of the work– study the internal policies of Peter 1. To do this, you must complete the following tasks:
Explore the historical conditions and prerequisites for Peter’s reforms, which became a distinctive feature of his domestic policy and become familiar with the reforms themselves;
Identify the results of reforms and distinctive features politicians.
Chapter 1. Historical conditions and prerequisites for Peter's reforms
The country was on the eve of great transformations. What were the prerequisites for Peter's reforms?
Russia was a backward country. This backwardness posed a serious danger to the independence of the Russian people.
Industry was feudal in structure, and in terms of production volume it was significantly inferior to the industry of Western European countries.
The Russian army largely consisted of backward noble militia and archers, poorly armed and trained. The complex and clumsy state apparatus, headed by the boyar aristocracy, did not meet the needs of the country.
Rus' also lagged behind in the field of spiritual culture. Education hardly penetrated the masses, and even in the ruling circles there were many uneducated and completely illiterate people.
Russia in the 17th century, by the very course of historical development, was faced with the need for radical reforms, since only in this way could it secure its worthy place among the states of the West and the East.
It should be noted that by this time in the history of our country, significant shifts in its development had already occurred.
The first industrial enterprises of the manufacturing type arose, handicrafts and crafts grew, and trade in agricultural products developed. The social and geographical division of labor has continuously increased - the basis of the established and developing all-Russian market. The city was separated from the village. Fishing and agricultural areas were identified. Domestic and foreign trade developed.
In the second half of the 17th century, the character began to change political system in Rus', absolutism takes shape more and more clearly.
Russian culture and sciences received further development: mathematics and mechanics, physics and chemistry, geography and botany, astronomy and mining. Cossack explorers discovered a number of new lands in Siberia.
The 17th century was a time when Russia established constant communication with Western Europe, established closer trade and diplomatic ties with it, used its technology and science, and embraced its culture and enlightenment. Studying and borrowing, Russia developed independently, taking only what it needed, and only when it was necessary. This was a time of accumulation of strength of the Russian people, which made it possible to implement the grandiose reforms of Peter, prepared by the very course of the historical development of Russia.
Peter's reforms were prepared by the entire previous history of the people, "demanded by the people." Already before Peter, a fairly integral reform program had been drawn up, which in many ways coincided with Peter’s reforms, in others going even further than them. A general transformation was being prepared, which, in the peaceful course of affairs, could spread over a number of generations. The reform, as it was carried out by Peter, was his personal matter, an unparalleled violent matter and, however, involuntary and necessary. The external dangers of the state outpaced the natural growth of the people, who were ossified in their development. The renewal of Russia could not be left to the gradual quiet work of time, not pushed by force.
The reforms affected literally all aspects of the life of the Russian state and the Russian people, but the main ones include the following reforms: military, government and administration, class structure of Russian society, taxation, church, as well as in the field of culture and everyday life.
It should be noted that the main driving force behind Peter's reforms was war.
1. MILITARY REFORM.
During this period, a radical reorganization of the armed forces took place. A powerful regular army is being created in Russia and, in connection with this, the local noble militia and the Streltsy army are being eliminated. The basis of the army began to consist of regular infantry and cavalry regiments with a uniform staff, uniforms, and weapons, which carried out combat training in accordance with general army regulations.
Military reforms are taking special place among Peter's reforms. They had the most pronounced class character. The essence of the military reform was the elimination of noble militias and the organization of a permanent combat-ready army with a uniform structure, weapons, uniforms, discipline, and regulations.
In 1689, Peter built several small ships under the guidance of Dutch craftsmen on Lake Pleshcheyevo, near Pereslavl-Zalessky. In the spring of 1690, the famous “amusing regiments” - Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky - were created. Peter begins to conduct real military maneuvers, the “capital city of Preshburg” is built on the Yauza.
Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments became the core of the future standing army and showed themselves during the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696.
Peter I paid great attention to the fleet, the first baptism of fire of which also occurred at this time. The treasury did not have the necessary funds, and the construction of the fleet was entrusted to the so-called “companies” (companies) - associations of secular and spiritual landowners. With the outbreak of the Northern War, the focus shifts to the Baltic, and with the founding of St. Petersburg, shipbuilding is carried out almost exclusively there. By the end of Peter's reign, Russia became one of the strongest sea powers world, having 48 linear and 788 galley and other ships.
The revolutionary change was that Peter introduced a new principle of recruiting the army - periodic convocations of the militia were replaced by systematic conscription. The recruitment system was based on the class-serf principle. Recruitment sets extended to the population who paid taxes and carried out state duties. In 1699, the first recruitment was carried out; from 1705, recruitment was legalized by a corresponding decree and became annual. From 20 households they took one person, single, aged 15 to 20 years. The Russian village suffered the most from the recruitment drives. The recruit's service life was practically unlimited. The officer corps of the Russian army was replenished by nobles who studied in the guards noble regiments or in specially organized schools (pushkar, artillery, navigation, fortification, Marine Academy etc.). In 1716 the Military Code was adopted, and in 1720 - Maritime regulations, large-scale rearmament of the army was carried out. By the end of the Northern War, Peter had a huge, strong army - 200 thousand people (not counting 100 thousand Cossacks), which allowed Russia to win a grueling war that lasted almost a quarter of a century.
The main results of Peter the Great's military reforms are as follows:
The creation of a combat-ready regular army, one of the strongest in the world, which gave Russia the opportunity to fight its main opponents and defeat them;
The emergence of a whole galaxy of talented commanders (Alexander Menshikov, Boris Sheremetev, Fyodor Apraksin, Yakov Bruce, etc.);
Creation of a powerful navy;
A gigantic increase in military spending and covering it through the most brutal squeezing of funds from the people.
The development of metallurgy contributed to a significant increase in the production of artillery pieces; outdated artillery of different calibers was replaced by new types of guns.
For the first time in the army, a combination of bladed weapons and firearms was made - a bayonet was attached to the gun, which significantly increased the fire and striking power of the army.
At the beginning of the 18th century. For the first time in the history of Russia, a navy was created on the Don and Baltic, which was not inferior in importance to the creation of a regular army. The construction of the fleet was carried out at an unprecedentedly fast pace at the level of the best examples of military shipbuilding of that time.
2. REFORM OF GOVERNMENT AND MANAGEMENT BODIES.
Of all Peter's reforms, the central place is occupied by the reform of public administration, the reorganization of all its links.
In the first quarter of the 18th century. a whole set of reforms was carried out related to the restructuring of central and local authorities and management. Their essence was the formation of a noble-bureaucratic centralized apparatus of absolutism.
To replace the outdated system of orders, 12 boards were created, each of which was in charge of a specific industry or area of management and was subordinate to the Senate. The collegiums received the right to issue decrees on those issues that were within their jurisdiction. In addition to the boards, a certain number of offices, offices, departments, orders were created, the functions of which were also clearly delineated.
In 1708 - 1709 The restructuring of local authorities and administration began. The country was divided into 8 provinces, differing in territory and population.
At the head of the province was a governor appointed by the tsar, who concentrated executive and service power in his hands. Under the governor there was a provincial office. But the situation was complicated by the fact that the governor was subordinate not only to the emperor and the Senate, but also to all collegiums, whose orders and decrees often contradicted each other.
The provinces in 1719 were divided into provinces, the number of which was 50. The province was headed by a governor with a provincial office under him. The provinces, in turn, were divided into districts (counties) with a governor and a district office. After the introduction of the poll tax, regimental divisions were created. The military units stationed there supervised the collection of taxes and suppressed manifestations of discontent and anti-feudal protests.
This entire complex system of government and administration had a clearly pro-noble character and consolidated the active participation of the nobility in the implementation of their dictatorship at the local level. But at the same time she further expanded the scope and forms of service of the nobles, which caused their discontent.
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Estate (social) reforms of Peter I - chronological table
1714 - Decree of March 23, 1714 “On single inheritance”: a ban on the fragmentation of noble estates; they must be transferred entirely to one heir. The same decree eliminates the difference between estates and fiefdoms, which are now inherited equally. Decrees on compulsory education for children of nobles, clerks and clerks. A ban on promoting nobles who did not serve as privates in the guard as officers.
1718 – Abolition of servitude and the state of free walking people through the extension of taxation and conscription to both of these states.
1721 – Permission for “merchant people” to acquire populated estates for factories. Decree on the receipt of hereditary nobility by non-nobles who have served in the army to the rank of chief officer.
1722 – Compilation of revision tales with equal inclusion in them of serfs, slaves and persons of “intermediate” free status: all of them are now equalized in social status as a single class. The “Table of Ranks” puts the bureaucratic hierarchy, the principle of merit and length of service in place of the aristocratic hierarchy of the breed.
Peter I. Portrait by J. M. Nattier, 1717
Administrative reforms of Peter I - chronological table
1699 – Introduction of city self-government: establishment of city town halls consisting of elected mayors and the central Burmister Chamber in Moscow.
1703 – Founding of St. Petersburg.
1708 – Division of Russia into eight provinces.
1711 - Establishment of the Senate - the new highest administrative body of Russia. The establishment of a fiscal system headed by the chief fiscal to control all branches of administration. Beginning of connecting counties in the province.
1713 – Introduction of landrats (noble councils under governors, the governor is only their chairman).
1714 – Transfer of the Russian capital to St. Petersburg.
1718 - Establishment (instead of the old Moscow orders) of collegiums (1718-1719) - new highest administrative bodies in branches of affairs.
The building of the Twelve Collegiums in St. Petersburg. Unknown artist third quarter of the 18th century. Based on an engraving by E. G. Vnukov from a drawing by M. I. Makhaev
1719 – Introduction of a new regional division (11 provinces, divided into provinces, counties and districts), which included lands conquered from Sweden. Abolition of Landrats, transfer of noble self-government from the province to the district. Establishment of district zemstvo offices and elected zemstvo commissars under them.
1720 – Transformation of city government: establishment of city magistrates and the Chief Magistrate. Magistrates receive broader rights compared to the previous town halls, but are elected less democratically: only from the “first-class” citizens.
Financial reforms of Peter I - chronological table
1699 – Introduction of stamp paper (with a special tax on it).
1701 – New taxes: “dragoon” and “ship” money (for the maintenance of cavalry and fleet). The first widespread re-minting of coins with a decrease in the content of precious metal.
1704 – Introduction of a tax on baths. Establishment of state monopolies on salt and oak coffins.
1705 – Introduction of the “beard” tax.
1718 – Destruction of most state-owned monopolies. Decree on the census (first audit) of the population in order to prepare for the introduction of the poll tax.
1722 – Completion of the first audit and the introduction of the poll tax based on its results.
Economic reforms of Peter I - chronological table
1699 – Establishment of state-owned ironworks in Verkhoturye district in the Urals, which were later given into the possession of Tula resident N. Demidov.
1701 – Work begins on establishing a water connection between the Don and Oka across the Upa River.
1702 – Construction of a canal that established water communication between the upper reaches of the Volga and Neva (1702-1706).
1703 – Construction of an iron smelting and ironworks plant on Lake Onega, from which the city of Petrozavodsk then grew.
1717 – Abolition of forced recruitment of workers for the construction of St. Petersburg.
1718 – Construction of the Ladoga Canal begins.
1723 – Founding of Yekaterinburg, a city to administer the vast Ural mining district.
Military reforms of Peter I - chronological table
1683-1685 – Recruitment for Tsarevich Peter of “amusing soldiers”, from which the first two regular guards regiments were later formed: Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky.
1694 – “Kozhukhov campaigns” of the amusing soldiers of Peter I.
1697 - Decree on the construction of fifty ships for the Azov campaign by the “kumpanstvos”, led by large secular and spiritual landowners (the first attempt to create a strong Russian fleet).
1698 – Destruction of the Streltsy army after the suppression of the third Streltsy revolt.
1699 – Decree on recruitment the first three recruiting divisions.
1703 – The shipyard in Lodeynoye Pole launches 6 frigates: the first Russian squadron on the Baltic Sea.
1708 – Introduction of a new order of service for the Cossacks after the suppression of the Bulavin uprising: the establishment of mandatory military service Russia instead of the previous contractual relations.
1712 – Listing of the contents of regiments by province.
1715 – Establishment of a constant rate of conscription.
Church reforms of Peter I - chronological table
1700 – Death of Patriarch Adrian and the ban on choosing his successor.
1701 – Restoration of the Monastic Order - transfer of church estates to the management of the secular administration.
1714 – Permission for Old Believers to openly practice their faith on condition of payment of double salary.
1720 – Closing of the Monastic Order and return of real estate to the clergy.
1721 – Establishment (in place of the previous sole Patriarchate) of the Holy Synod - the body for collegial management of church affairs, which, moreover, depends closely on secular power .
A characteristic feature of Peter’s reforms was the lack of a clear general plan replacing the old Moscow system with a new one. Peter, who had not received a systematic education, rather had an idea of what he wanted to get away from, rather than consciously implementing some new ideology. It must be remembered that a powerful catalyst for reform was foreign policy - Azov campaigns and, especially, the Northern War, which quickly became protracted and turned out to be very difficult and unprofitable. Under such conditions, the sovereign could not think about any long-term reform plans. His main concern was to ensure that the Russian army could continue the fight against the Swedes. Under the pressure of military needs, Peter, wholly occupied with events in the theater of military operations, hastily made a series of innovations that destroyed the old Moscow order in parts, but did not yet create any new system. On the contrary, a certain chaos reigned in the administration of the state, and the further it went, the more it made itself felt. It would not be an exaggeration to say that only the iron will of the tsar prevented the state machine from crumbling in the first years of the Northern War. Therefore, after the Poltava victory and the Prut campaign, when military operations became less intense, and Peter’s mood was more confident and calm, he began to put in order everything that he had previously done hastily and piecemeal. It was only at this time, in the last decade of Peter’s life (1715-1725), that some harmony of the new system was achieved and a new system of management was established.
It should be noted that Peter did not set out to carry out a radical restructuring of Russia in a European manner, or to borrow European political and legal norms. The supreme autocratic power under Peter only became stronger compared to the 17th century. The position of the estates in the state was essentially not changed: they did not receive new rights and were left with the old responsibilities. Management was still bureaucratic. In a word, the type of state created before Peter was not changed by him, and in this regard he did not carry out any “revolution from above.” All his changes were aimed only at improving the old system, with the goal of making Russia competitive in the international arena. The only reform that meant a sharp break with the past can be considered the abolition of the patriarchate, after which church life was completely subordinated to the state.
Major reforms
Position of the estates
The service class in Muscovite Rus' consisted of “Moscow nobles” and “police nobles.” The first served in the highest court positions, constituted the government class and considered themselves nobility. The second - city nobles and boyar children - were “ordinary” people, without pedigree: they served in the city mounted militias, making up the main field army of the Moscow state. All service people were provided with estates from the state and received cash benefits from time to time, and sometimes an annual salary. The minority had their own hereditary estates, which, however, did not prevent them from looking for estates in addition to the estate. Garrison people were also counted among the service people: service Cossacks, archers, gunners, etc. While guarding a city, these people lived in settlements under the walls of their city and around the same city they had common arable land and lands. IN XVII century, like the garrison people, regular regiments were set up in the settlements. These new troops of the “foreign system” were replenished by recruitment or “incorporation” into the service of “walking people”.
Peter the Great saw all this at the beginning of his reign. The fight against the Swedes required the creation of a large regular army, staffed by trained officers. Accordingly, it was necessary to force the nobles to serve constantly and, in addition, to study.
Peter gradually transferred all nobles and service people into regular service. Every service person - from a noble Moscow nobleman to the last gunner - equally enrolled in the service and went as a soldier in a regular regiment or as a sailor in the navy. Realizing that in wartime conditions many nobles, understanding the inevitability of service in principle, would try to stay in the rear, Peter allowed no more than one third of the members of each noble family to be sent to civil service.
In an effort to quickly force the nobles to switch to regular service, Peter limited their landowning rights and benefits. Thus, they were no longer given estates from the treasury upon entering the service, but instead were given a cash salary. The same estates and estates that the nobles already owned were prohibited from being split up when transferred to sons by the law on single inheritance (1714), which stated that a nobleman could transfer his land to one of his sons by will; if there is no will, then the eldest son inherits from the father (this law is sometimes called the decree “on primogeniture”). Thus, all the other sons had no choice but to seek happiness and money in the sovereign service.
Since the service for all service people became the same (they served without exception and indefinitely, from the lower ranks), all the previous categories of service people were united by Peter together into one class, which was given the new name of nobility. The serving nobility, by law, ceased to differ in the service from “ordinary people”: all lower ranks - both noble and ignorant, both from service families and from the common people - could equally be promoted to the highest ranks and occupy the highest positions. The order of such length of service was precisely determined by the “table of ranks” (1722). In this report card all officer, clerical and higher government positions were divided into 14 classes, or “ranks,” according to their seniority and honor. Everyone who reached the lowest position, 14th class, received the dignity of nobility and could hope, to the extent of ability and diligence, to occupy a higher position and move to the highest class. Thus, the psychology of “localism” was finally put to an end, and personal merits to the tsar and the empire triumphed over the “breed.”
Finally, in order for the nobles to necessarily learn to read and write, numbers and geometry, Peter deprived the untrained of the right to marry (!) and receive a first officer rank, and therefore, to make a further career.
Peter's measures regarding the nobility, although they did not abolish the privileged position of this class, nevertheless greatly aggravated its existence. It is clear that the nobility grumbled and tried in every possible way to alleviate their hardships. Peter cruelly punished any attempts of the nobles to evade service; but he made one significant concession to the people of the upper old nobility. He allowed noble youth, “father’s children,” to enroll primarily in his favorite “guards” regiments, Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky, which were stationed in the new capital - St. Petersburg. At the end of Peter's reign, both of these regiments became entirely noble in composition and hundreds of soldiers in them bore princely surnames. It turned out that the old “Moscow nobles” seemed to turn into a new “guard.” Having allowed such an aristocratic selection of people in the guard, Peter was able to take advantage of it: he assigned various, sometimes very important, assignments for government affairs to well-born and wealthy officers and even ordinary soldiers of the guard, and thus created convenient, responsible officials from them.
The urban class (“townspeople”, “trading people”) before Peter was a very small and poor class. City life with its commercial and industrial revival almost did not exist in the Moscow state. Only a few northern cities were populous and prosperous. The rest had only military and administrative significance. Only in 1649 the law separated the townspeople from the rest of the tax-paying people into a special class.
Meanwhile, Peter abroad saw rich and lively cities, the cheerful and cultural life of the urban commercial and industrial people; knew that city trade and fishing was considered throughout the West the main source of national wealth. (The era of Peter was the time of full flowering of protectionism and mercantilism in Europe). Returning to Russia, he was struck by the striking contrast. Peter wanted by all means to create an urban economically strong and active class in Rus'. To this end, he freed citizens from the so-called “faithful” (jury) services at warehouses and commercial and industrial operations and expanded city government. In 1720, a chief magistrate was established, to whom Peter entrusted the care of the urban class throughout the state; and the next year the chief magistrate was given a “regulation” (mandate), which determined general order urban structure and management. All cities were divided into classes according to the number of inhabitants. City residents were divided into “regular” citizens and “irregular” (“mean”) people. Regular citizens made up two “guilds”: the first included representatives of capital and the intelligentsia, the second included small traders and artisans. Craftsmen were divided into “guilds” according to their crafts. Irregular people or "mean" (that is, inferior) were called laborers. Self-government was introduced - the city was governed by a “magistrate” of burgomasters elected by all regular citizens. In addition, city affairs were discussed at town hall meetings or councils of the same regular citizens. Each city was subordinate to the chief magistrate, bypassing any other local authorities.
However, in harsh conditions During the Northern War, when the fiscal interests of the treasury always came first, most of these good undertakings remained on paper. And after Peter, Russian cities never became prosperous and independent.
The peasantry under Peter experienced a very major reform. Since ancient times, direct taxes were paid on real estate in Rus'. First, they took it from the “plowed land,” which was calculated in plows (a special tax unit of several hundred dessiatines of land); in the 17th century, taxes began to be taken from the “yard”, i.e. from a separate peasant farm. In order to ease the tax burden, peasants either reduced ploughing, reducing the area of “arable land”, or, later, brought several peasant farms into one yard. At the height of the Northern War, Peter, noticing a sharp reduction in the number of tax-paying households in the country, decided to take a tax not from property, but from the people themselves. Thus, the household tax was replaced by the poll tax. On November 28, 1718, a decree was issued on the census of all taxes male population. In 1722, a check of the results of that census began - an “audit”. It gave an astonishing result - about 2 million male souls were identified who were not included in the census. Since then, the censuses themselves began to be called audits. When the audit determined the number of payers at 5 million people, the size of the new tax was determined: 74 kopecks per year from privately owned people and slightly more from state-owned peasants. In the revenue side of the budget, the poll tax accounted for 54% of all income.
This tax was considered very heavy by all peasants without exception, but for privately owned peasants it had other important and unfavorable consequences.
Noticing that backyard slaves (servants, servants) were no different from peasants, the government at the end of the 17th century began to take taxes from them, although backyard people were not listed as peasants. During the audit, it was ordered that all slaves be recorded in the audit books and taxed on the same basis as peasants. Over time, this led to a complete mixture of peasants and slaves. This is how the form of serfdom was prepared, which in the 18th century. turned the peasants into complete slaves of the master.
At the end of the reign of Peter the Great, a lot changed in the life of the classes. But the state continued to look at them the same way it did before. It defined their lives as a duty, not a right. Every person and every group of people lived not for themselves, but “for the sovereign’s and the zemstvo’s affairs”; they had to give themselves and their property to the state and be its obedient instrument.
Introduction of recruitment kits
Peter the Great is sometimes credited with creating a regular army in Russia. However, this is not entirely true, since even under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, regular regiments of a foreign system began to appear in Moscow. Peter's amusing regiments in this regard did not represent special news. However, Petrovskaya military reform really very important and great. It consisted of the complete abolition of the old type of troops, increasing the number of regular regiments, which became the only type of field troops. To staff these regiments, “recruit sets” were established from the tax-paying classes. With few exceptions, all noble youth turned to these same regiments. In a word, universal military service was introduced, capitation for nobles, conscription for other classes (recruitment from ~ 20 households). Only the families of the clergy were spared from soldiering. The soldiers were separated from their families and occupations and belonged exclusively to the service.
Finally, Peter made it inalienable integral part Russian army Cossack troops. Previously, it was necessary to negotiate with the Don people on each campaign, or hire them in separate detachments. The Little Russian Cossack regiments were previously completely autonomous allies of Moscow.
The results of Peter's military transformations were amazing: at the end of his reign, he had an army in which there were about 200,000 regular troops and at least 75,000 Cossacks; In addition, the fleet consisted of 28 thousand people, 48 ships and up to 800 small vessels.
Public Administration Reforms
More from early XVIII V. Peter I stopped convening the Boyar Duma, which was in opposition to him, as well as introducing new members to replace those who had died (which was his monopoly). This resulted in the Duma, without ever being officially dissolved, dying a “natural death.” For a long time all the most important matters and laws were discussed by the king in the “office” (i.e. in his own office), with proxies and favorites. These persons, however, did not constitute any institution, so the old legislative advisory Boyar Duma remained without any replacement. It was believed that every law comes directly from the face of the sovereign.
The new highest state body - the Senate was "born" by Peter I, as if impromptu. Going to Prut campaign in February 1711, he promulgated a decree: “The governing Senate has been determined to be for our absences, for governance...”. Its composition was small (9 senators), and it was created, as it were, temporarily. The Senate soon became the highest judicial and administrative body. At first, the Senate was a collegial body of 9 senators with equal votes. Communication between the Senate and the provinces was carried out by provincial commissars.
The Senate itself could not issue laws, it only promulgated the laws and decrees given to it by the sovereign; monitored the correctness and legality of the administration's actions and decided those cases, administrative and judicial, that made it difficult for the lower administration or reached the Senate on complaints. In 1718 - 1722 The Senate was reformed. In particular, all presidents of the colleges became its members. The position of prosecutor general was introduced. With its appearance, it began to act a whole army prosecutors in all central and provincial institutions to oversee the legality of the administration's actions. Its boss, the Prosecutor General, had control over the Senate itself, was the “sovereign's eye” in the Senate and served as an intermediary between the sovereign and the Senate. Subordinate to the Prosecutor General were chief prosecutors and prosecutors who were assigned to supervise other institutions in the capital and provinces. The Prosecutor General and the Chief Prosecutor of the Senate were subordinate only to the sovereign. He could protest and suspend the decisions of the Senate. The main function of prosecutorial control is to ensure compliance with law and order. The first prosecutor general was Pavel I. Yaguzhinsky. In 1718 to resolve cases political investigation was founded in St. Petersburg Secret Chancery led by Peter A. Tolstoy.
Almost simultaneously with the Senate, Peter I founded a new control and audit institution of the so-called fiscals for secret supervision of officials. It was a whole army officials. acting in a secret manner and revealing all unjust actions that caused damage to the state. At the head of the fiscals was the chief fiscal of the Senate. All fiscal officials were subordinate to the Prosecutor General. Fiscals did not receive a salary, and as a reward for their work, in the first years they were entitled to half, and then a third of the confiscated property. Over the Senate itself since 1715. supervised by a special Senate Auditor General, and from 1721. control was carried out monthly by guard headquarters officers.
Instead of the old orders, this form gradually made its way government controlled, as a collegium. The first (commercial college) appeared already in 1715. The next three (Military, Admiralty and Foreign) - in 1718. A total of 11 colleges were established. In each college, matters were discussed and decided by the presence (of the president, vice-president, collegiate advisers and assessors), and were carried out by the office under the command of collegiate secretaries). This composition and type of institutions was borrowed from abroad. Peter tried to establish collegial institutions everywhere, since he firmly believed that the collegial way of doing things was the best. Thus the foundation was laid for the unification and bureaucratization of public administration.
The reform of the central authorities was a huge step forward compared to the old order-voivodeship system of state power. The new governing bodies were collegial in nature. Moreover, all members of the board - from the president to the assessor - were hired officials who received a state salary. This situation, in turn, implied the professionalism of each official. This radically distinguished the new system of governance of the absolute monarchy from the old one. feudal system. From now on, attempts to use power, position, rank for personal gain were already an offense.
In 1708, Peter for the first time introduced division into provinces in his state. First, 8 provinces were formed, far from equal in size (Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Smolensk, Moscow, Kazan, Kiev, Azov and Siberian) and then their number began to grow. At the head of the province was a governor (or governor-general), subordinate to the Senate, at the head of provinces and districts were voivodes (in a new way - commandants). The provinces were initially divided into districts with a commandant (voivode) at their head. However, the provincial chancellery clearly could not cope with many districts, and therefore a new, sort of intermediate unit was soon introduced - a province headed by the chief commandant. In 1713-1714 3 more provinces appeared (Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan and Riga). Since 1715, the provinces began to be divided into provinces (50 in number). and the provinces were no longer divided into counties, but into “shares” headed by a landrat (each share had 5,536 households). Landrat was an elected official from the nobles, although he was entirely subordinate to the higher authorities and helped them in governance. However, the construction of the new bureaucratic machine did not go smoothly. First provincial reform very soon revealed its ineffectiveness. Three-level management turned out to be unnecessarily complex. Therefore, already in 1719, the second provincial reform began to be carried out. The provinces were retained, but the province became the main administrative unit. The provinces created by the reform of 1719 became the predecessors of Catherine's provinces. The governors of all 11 provinces had real power only in the provincial city and the province of the same name.
At first, cities and city magistrates were subordinate to the governors. But since 1720, the magistrates were subordinate only to the chief master and urban population was excluded from the jurisdiction of the governor.
It must be said that Peter I failed to establish a uniform order in the administration of the provinces and completely implement the proposed system; therefore, both under him and after his death, some chaos reigned in the local government of Russia.
The most important element of administrative reforms was the creation of a judicial system. At the top of this system were the Senate and the College of Justice. It was supposed to create a court independent of the executive branch. But in practice nothing came of this. Very soon the voivode gained the right to control the courts in the province.
At the beginning of Peter’s reforms, there were attempts to introduce the estate-elective principle into the system of public administration (with the election of mayors and fellow governors. However, in the end, only the city magistrates retained the principles of electing mayors and ratmans. The main trend was the strengthening of the rigid structure of power, headed by an autocratic monarch. And Of all the functions of the new public administration system, the most widely represented were fiscal, defensive and punitive-protective.
Thus, both before Peter and under him, the state was equally governed at the top by officials, and at the bottom by elected authorities. Self-government was subordinate to the bureaucracy, helped it manage, and itself had a narrow-class character. Only under Peter was the old unity of subordination broken. The Senate governs the collegiums separately, the provinces separately, and the cities separately. In a word, the matter of management has become significantly more complicated and has not been worked out equally in all parts.
Church administration
Peter's behavior, his dislike for Moscow antiquity and the “German” nature of his reforms armed all the zealots of antiquity against him. All such people looked for support in the patriarch and expected that it would be he who would take upon himself the duty of standing against the “heresies” of Peter. Joachim, who was the patriarch in Peter's youth, significantly diverged from the king in relation to foreigners. His successor Adrian was less persistent and tough than Joachim, but also did not sympathize with Peter and did not hide his condemnation. Other bishops of the old Moscow trend shared the same opinion. Under such circumstances, when Adrian died (1700), Peter did not dare to elect a new patriarch. He entrusted the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne to the Ryazan Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky and left this temporary order for a long time. Only in 1721 followed by a reform of church government, which Peter discussed with his favorite and collaborator, the learned Pskov Bishop Feofan Prokopovich. The patriarchate was abolished and replaced by “conciliar government.” A Synod, or Spiritual College, was established, the composition of which was the same as that of other colleges. Its president was the elderly former locum tenens Stefan Yavorsky. The actual head of the Synod was the vice-president, Pskov Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich. It was he who composed the “Spiritual Regulations” - a set of the most important organizational and ideological regulations church organization in the new conditions of absolutism. According to the Rules, the members of the Synod, like all officials, swore an oath of allegiance to the Tsar and pledged “not to enter into worldly affairs and rituals for any reason.” The principle of collegial governance of the church was also established and priests were required to violate the secret of confession in cases “threatening state interests". The Chief Prosecutor was also at the Synod.
In 1701, church peasants, along with the estates of the clergy, were transferred to the management of the secular “monastic order”. Income from them began to be collected into the treasury, and the treasury, according to established states, paid constant annual salaries to their former owners. Recruitment and poll tax were extended to all people assigned to the church, except for clergy and clergy with their families. The right of the church court was limited, and representatives of secular authorities began to participate in it. Finally, in 1724, Peter issued a special law on monasticism, which placed monks under strict supervision and completely destroyed the status of transient, wandering monks. Even earlier, monasteries were forbidden to accept young people as monks and novices who could be useful in the army, state apparatus etc. By separate order, the monks were prohibited from having writing materials in their cells. The purpose of this decree was to put an end to the dissemination of anti-Petrine literature within the walls of monasteries. However, the consequences turned out to be much deeper. Monasteries, before former centers literacy and book knowledge began to sharply lose ground. Started to fall sharply intellectual level churches. The gap in the level of education between the Russian elite and the clergy grew. All this led to the fact that the prestige and influence of the Church began to gradually decline.
Popular unrest and uprisings
In the first years of Peter's reforms, in the most hard times During the Northern War, the masses were burdened with unbearable burdens of various duties and taxes. This, coupled with the introduction of new, unusual, “European” orders that caused rejection and hostility, in one place or another caused intense resistance from the masses, accompanied by unrest or riots.
In 1705, an uprising broke out in Astrakhan, a large trading border town with a diverse multi-ethnic population. The military authorities, as in many places in Russia, were distinguished by their cruelty towards their subordinates. Voivode Rzhevsky was a rude tyrant who was engaged in obvious arbitrariness. Abuses by officers, arbitrariness and bullying amid a sharp increase in taxes, rapid growth prices laid the foundation for outrage and unrest. Hostile sentiment against local authorities sharply increased among the archers in connection with unceremonious actions in the fight against old clothes, wearing beards. To top it off, an absurd rumor suddenly spread throughout the city that all young women would be married to foreigners. On Sunday, July 30, 100 weddings were hastily celebrated, and the drunken archers rang the alarm bells at night and began to deal with the initial people and foreigners. On the first day, about 300 people were killed. The uprising was predominantly of a Streltsy character. The rebels managed to improve the life of the city, but the desire to attract other cities of the Lower Volga region and the Don to the movement failed. In September, Peter learned of the uprising and assigned Boris P. Sheremetev to suppress it. In January 1706 As a result of the assault on Astrakhan, the uprising was suppressed.
The uprising of Kondraty A. Bulavin
The reasons for this biggest uprising Peter's time there was a sharp deterioration in the living conditions of the tax-paying population and a sudden and gross violation central government the old principle “there is no extradition from the Don.” After Russia captured Azov and built cities along the Lower Don and Azov Sea, the authorities for the investigation of fugitives began to actively comb the entire Don basin, those places where since the end of the 17th century. In the free alien towns, a mass of newcomers were accepted into the Cossacks, fleeing to the Cossack areas in the hope of gaining freedom and escaping from unbearable taxes. In the vast region near the Don, including Voronezh and Tambov districts and Lower Volga region, the people were brought to a critical state by endless mobilizations for the construction of the Voronezh and then the Azov fleet, the rapidly growing number of taxes invented by Peter the Great’s “profit-makers,” etc. of course, by the harsh oppression of the landowners. There was no unity among the Cossacks themselves. The masses of free settlers, yesterday's peasants, felt a sharp deterioration in their situation, because... fishing and other lands could no longer feed the increased population. They were opposed by a layer of wealthy old-timer Cossacks, concentrated mainly in the lower reaches of the Don, in the area of the Cossack capital - Cherkassk.
The uprising began on October 9, 1707 with the extermination of a punitive detachment led by Guards Major Prince Yuri V. Dolgoruky, whose goal was to search for and return the newly arrived Cossacks to their places of former residence. This operation was led by the former Bakhmut “salt ataman” Kondraty A. Bulavin, originally from the Trekhizbyanskaya village on the Seversky Donets. Thus began the first stage of the uprising. However, quite quickly, military ataman Lukyan Maksimov with the Cossacks loyal to him, a regular detachment from Azov and with the support of the Kalmyks defeated Bulavin’s army. The rebel chieftain fled to the Zaporozhye Sich. Soon the center of the Bulavin formations becomes the Pristansky town on the river. Crow. From here, Bulavin’s “lovely letters” flew to all directions of the Don region, to Kozlovsky and Tambov districts, calling for an uprising of both Cossacks and peasants. Soon unrest spread across Tambov, Voronezh, Borisoglebsky, Verkhnelomovsky, and Nizhnelomovsky districts. By April 1708 the uprising had spread Sloboda Ukraine(where the troops of Charles XII were located at that time)
On April 9, 1708, the rebels defeated Cossack army Ataman Lukyan Maksimov, and moved to Cherkassk, approaching it on April 28. A rebellion broke out in Cherkassk itself, and Bulavin entered the city, executing L. Maksimov and five elders. Having distributed the treasury to the people and lowered the price of bread, Bulavin convened a Cossack circle, where he was elected military chieftain. But in Cherkassk there were many who only temporarily joined Bulavin. They were just waiting for the right moment to betray them.
Meanwhile, the rebels split into a number of detachments and began campaigns on Izyum, where they were joined by 1.5 thousand Cossacks, to Saratov, where they captured Dmitrievsk, and to Azov, where the main forces headed by Bulavin headed. At Azov, the rebels failed and suffered heavy losses. Even before Bulavin’s forces left Cherkassk, a conspiracy of 30 noble Cossacks had matured in the city. After Bulavin returned, they attacked his kuren and killed the ataman on July 7, 1708.
However, the uprising continued. Ataman Ignatius F. Nekrasov with the Cossacks and Ataman Ivan Pavlov captured ships on the Volga and moved up the Volga to the Middle Volga region, where the rebel Bashkirs were operating. Pavlov besieged Saratov, and Nekrasov besieged Tsaritsyn, which was taken around June 7. Here they soon learned about the death of Bulavin. Nekrasov then went to the town of Golubye, and Pavlov remained in Tsaritsyn, where he was defeated by the troops of Colonel Levingston, who arrived from Astrakhan. Soon the Volga was cleared of rebels. The Cossacks were defeated near Bakhmut. And the brother of the murdered Yu. Dolgoruky, also Guards Major Vasily V. Dolgoruky, launched an attack on Cherkassk in July 1708. But the new military ataman Zaryshchikov and all the senior officers confessed. On July 28, the bulk of the Cossacks kissed the cross, and 200 Bulavinites were executed. The remnants of the rebels were still active in the Middle and Lower Volga until March 1709.
The uprising of K. Bulavin was crushed against the backdrop of peasant uprisings and unrest that continued here and there. They were in Smolensk, Dorogobuzh, Vyazemsky, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Tver, Kashirsky, Lukhsky, Kineshma, Nizhny Novgorod, Kostroma, Unzhensky, Galichsky, Ustyug, Yaroslavl and other districts. Peasant unrest in 1709-1710. About 60 counties were covered. There were new outbreaks of unrest in 1719, 1720 -1725.
There were also uprisings of working people. They were worried and rebelled at the end of the 17th century. and in the 20s years XVIII V. assigned peasants of Olonets factories. In the summer of 1703 there were unrest in the Kungur district. The most intense struggle was waged by the working people of the Moscow Cloth and Khamovny courtyards in the 20s of the 18th century.
Succession problems
After the brutal mass executions of Moscow archers in the capital itself, resistance to the policies of Peter I was broken for a long time, except for the case of the “book writer” G. Talitsky, uncovered in the summer of 1700.
The worker-tsar, constantly traveling around the country, with growing alarm, discovered the spiritual discord in own family. Back in 1698, he finally separated from his first wife Evdokia, sending her to a monastery, and in 1705 he brought Marta Skavronskaya closer to him, whom he married only in 1712. Something was wrong with the son from his first marriage to Evdokia Lopukhina, Alexei. The father tsar, not understanding the shock experienced by the little prince from the forced separation from his mother, who was hidden in a monastery, all the time demanded from his son “service to the fatherland.” For ten years the father fought for his son, sometimes showing brutal insistence. It was all in vain, Alexey only tried to avoid any business. He mastered arithmetic only at the age of 18, although he was fluent in German and partially French languages. Three years of internship abroad added a little to his knowledge. Already an adult young man, the Tsar Father tried to entrust responsible tasks (procurement of provisions in Smolensk, strengthening the defense of Moscow, etc.), but he performed them poorly and was not seriously interested in anything. While still a young man, he surrounded himself with a “company” modeled after Peter’s “company” and began to drink, and a lot. Surrounded by people who were narrow-minded and deeply hostile to the affairs of the Tsar-Father, Alexei became more and more “pleasing”; about antiquity. The alienation between father and son grew year by year. The forced marriage to the Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess Sophia-Charlotte, a tall, thin girl with pockmarks on her face, did not change anything. In addition, the princess died from childbirth four years later (1715). Immediately after the funeral, the tsar-father posed a very abrupt question in a letter to his son: either radically change his behavior or take monastic vows. The “companions” who surrounded Alexei in St. Petersburg advised him to become a monk, and then we’ll see.
Peter was very upset by his son’s lack of will, delayed his decision and again tried to reason with his son. While in Copenhagen, he invited Alexei to his place, hoping to convince his son to change himself. But Alexei’s entourage and, above all, the former chief quartermaster of the Admiralty A.V. Kikin persuaded the prince to use the written invitation to Copenhagen to flee abroad (to Rome or Vienna). A significant incentive for this was Alexey’s desire to preserve love affair with Nikifor Vyazemsky's serf - Efrosinya Fedorova. Kikin prepared an escape, and on November 10, 1716, a Russian prince entered the house of the vice-chancellor of the Viennese court, Schönborn.
Meanwhile, in Copenhagen, Peter did not wait for his missing son. A long search began, and only in March 1717. Peter's envoys established that Alexey was in Erenberg. However, Peter's request to Charles VI did not receive a positive response. A difficult diplomatic struggle lay ahead with the Viennese court, which intended to unite with England in the defense of Alexei.
The Austrians transferred the prince to Naples, where he was kept under the guise of an important state criminal. They even inspired Alexei’s written appeals to the Russian Senate and bishops. This was already a serious action hostile to Russia.
Convinced of the loyal attitude of France and partly England, Peter sent P.A. to Vienna. Tolstoy and guardsman A.I. Rumyantsev with a strict order to return Alexey to Russia. In Vienna they refused Peter’s demands to extradite Alexei, but, however, P.A. Tolstoy was allowed to enter into negotiations with the fugitive prince. In the long, months-long negotiations, Tolstoy showed remarkable resourcefulness and perseverance. He shook Alexei’s confidence in the strength of Austrian tutelage, and at the same time, apparently, also managed to win over the maiden Euphrosyne to his side. As a result, on October 3, 1717, Alexei announced his agreement to return to Russia, where preparations were already underway for his trial. On February 3, 1718, the prince entered the capital of Moscow.
The investigation of the prince and the search for his mother were large-scale undertakings. 127 people were appointed to the court. At the first meeting of the king with his runaway son, the prince begged for forgiveness and the granting of his life. The Tsar demanded abdication, to which the Tsarevich immediately agreed and signed an oath to the new heir (Peter Petrovich)
Having received information about his accomplices from his son, Peter headed the investigation. 50 people were immediately taken into custody. Among them were A.V. Kikin, I. Afanasyev, Senator Mikhail Samarin, brother-in-law of the Tsar by his first wife Abraham Lopukhin, Siberian Tsarevich Vasily, brother of Admiral Apraksin Apraksin Peter Apraksin, Prince Vasily Dolgoruky and many others famous in the country persons Interrogations and torture revealed that Alexey revealed to his father barely half of his plans. The first executions were carried out right there in Moscow. A.V. Kikin was carved up, his arms and legs were chopped off in slow motion, and his head was placed on a stake.
On March 18, the entire court went to St. Petersburg. The investigation and trial continued there. On June 14, the prince was transferred to Peter and Paul Fortress. The medieval brutal torture. At the first interrogation the father was present, as well as A.D. Menshikov, Ya.F. Dolgoruky, F.M. Apraksin, P.A. Tolstoy, P.P. Shafirov and others gave the Tsarevich 25 blows. The execution lasted one hour. After 10 days, a verdict was announced, sealed with 127 signatures: the prince deserves death both as a son and as a subject. Church hierarchs avoided being categorical. However, the sentence was not carried out. The prince, unable to withstand the torture and stress, died on June 26 in the afternoon at 7 o'clock.
The Suzdal search confirmed the tsar's guesses about the connections of the Tsarevich's St. Petersburg supporters with his mother's entourage, although the involvement of Evdokia herself was not proven. The main sin of the former queen - fornication with a certain captain Stepan Glebov - was irrefutably proven. Glebov was impaled. Former queen this time she was truly made a nun, exiled to the Novo-Ladoga Monastery. From there it was released only under the reign of his grandson Peter II in 1727.
After the death in 1719 of the second son of Peter I from Catherine, Pyotr Petrovich, Alexei's son, Pyotr Alekseevich, was to become the heir to the throne. Peter I did not want this and in 1722 he approved the “Decree on the Succession to the Throne.”
wiki.304.ru / History of Russia. Dmitry Alkhazashvili.