To the question: What is the role of Peter 1 in history? given by the author VALERY NOX the best answer is This is, first of all, the creation of a state with a harmonious
control system, strong army and navy, powerful economy,
influencing international politics. As a result of Petrovsky
reforms, the state was not bound by anything and could use any
means to achieve their goals. As a result, Peter came to his ideal
government structure - a warship, where everything and everyone is subordinated
the will of one person - the captain. Russia became an autocratic, military-bureaucratic state,
the central role in which belonged to the noble class. At the same time
Russia's backwardness was not completely overcome, and reforms were carried out in
mainly through brutal exploitation and coercion. The role of Peter the Great in the history of Russia is difficult to overestimate. No matter how
regarding the methods and style of his reforms, one cannot help but
admit - Peter the Great is one of the most prominent figures in the world
stories.
Source: Our StoryDon't you know?
Weak military strength, economic backwardness, lack of education, etc.
Answer from Neurologist[guru]
Truly a Great Man After all, it was he who created the modern bureaucratic system from which we still suffer. It was he who finally enslaved the lower classes; the consequences of this slavery are still felt today. It was he who destroyed many people for the sake of building a city in the swamps. Although it was possible to equip the same Revel, for example.
Although I still like St. Petersburg
Answer from Get bored[newbie]
Peter 1 opened a window to Europe, founded the City of St. Petersburg, and built a fleet.
Answer from User deleted[active]
Russian is European! It is the same. And the Golden Horde turned us into half-Asians, but Peter pulled us out of this shit! Made me remember that we are Europeans! Whoever did not understand this forever remained an Asian - a slave of the Mongol-Tatars! My condolences!
Answer from Sandals[guru]
Now you can talk as much as you like. Everyone is smart. . We've read a lot. . all sorts of rubbish. And the fact that he was an extraordinary person, being the 1st Emperor of Russia, is an indisputable thing and has gone down in history forever. It is unknown what fate Russia would have had if there had been someone else in power. Apparently God wanted it this way and there is no need to disturb history. She is what she is - she is. Thank you. That's all I wanted to say.
Answer from User deleted[guru]
He killed his citizens to surprise Western Europeans with architecture, in general, history repeats itself
Answer from Pavel Vasiliev[guru]
Peter the Great is a man with a capital M (“a worker was on the throne forever,” the Tsar was a carpenter), a Hero, he jumped overboard and saved drowning sailors, here in Lakhta, 2 km from me. And remember, Yeltsin was walking (someone hit him on the head with a dust bag) and fell off the bridge. Peter is the university, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the serving nobility, these are Russian victories! Glory to Russia! photo by Pavel Vasiliev
Answer from Manana tsitsihwili[guru]
Peter 1 was the first to create a navy, brought a lot of equipment to Russia, improved education and culture, being the first to carry this knowledge on his shoulders and then teaching others, not being lazy in physical or mental labor. People did not know an elementary lathe... And as for culture, at all times different peoples took from each other what they liked. Don’t our youth now grow up listening to foreign songs, ideals, fashion...
Topic “The role of Peter 1 in Russia”
Peter I
Introduction……………………………………………………………..… 3
Chapter 1 Peter I – a man of history………………………….5
1.1 Portrait of Peter I………………………………………………………………..5
1.2 Biography of Peter I……………………………………….…..7
1.3 The role of Peter I in the history of Russia…………………………8
Chapter 2 Politics of Peter I………………………………….….11
2.1 Coming to power…………………………………………….…11
2.2 What was Peter I based on in his reign?…….…………………………………………………….. 14
2.3 Peter’s reforms and Russia’s special path…………………………………………………………………………………16
Chapter 3 Legal status of estates………………………………………………………………………………17
1. Nobles……………………………..…………………………….…….…17
2. Service class…………………………………………….19
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………21
INTRODUCTION
Changes in all sectors and spheres of the country's socio-economic and political life, which gradually accumulated and matured in the 17th century, grew into a qualitative leap in the first quarter of the 18th century. Muscovite Rus' turned into the Russian Empire. Enormous changes have occurred in its economy, the level and form of development of the productive forces, the political system, the structure and functions of government bodies, management and courts, the organization of the army, the class and estate structure of the population, the culture of the country and the way of life of the people. The place and role of Russia in international relations of that time changed radically.
Tsar Peter I played a huge role in Russian history.
The personality of Peter and his era excited the imagination of writers,
artists, composers of many generations. From Lomonosov to the present day, the theme of Peter has not left the pages of fiction. Pushkin, Nekrasov, L. Tolstoy, Blok and others turned to her.
True, it should be noted that not all historians assessed and evaluate Peter I in the same way. Some, admiring him, push his shortcomings and failures into the background, others, on the contrary, strive to put all his vices in the first place, accusing Peter of wrong choices and criminal acts.
When considering the life and work of Peter, we must not forget that he worked in conditions of internal and external struggle: external - constant military action, internal - opposition. The dissatisfied boyars formed opposition circles, and later Tsarevich Alexei joined them. It was difficult for Peter’s contemporaries to understand him: the Tsar was a carpenter, the Tsar was a blacksmith, the Tsar was a soldier who tried to understand all the details.
the deed he is doing. The image of the “anointed one of God” - the king-father, which reigned in the minds of people, constantly came into conflict with the real figure of the new king.
It is not surprising that many did not understand Peter, his style of thinking, his ideas, which often lived in a different political space.
Of course, even after Peter’s passing, Russia’s forward movement, with all the zigzags and temporary retreats, continued. And in this, an important role, the role of an accelerator, was played by the powerful impulses given to this movement in the era of the first Russian emperor, by the actions of himself, the associates of the Tsar-Carpenter and, of course, millions of ordinary workers of Russia.
The purpose of this thesis is to study in detail the legal reforms of Peter I, the prerequisites, features and role in the history of Russia.
This work widely covers the life of Peter, his manners, habits, character, which helps to draw many conclusions and understand some of his actions. Peter's character was very complex, and besides, Peter was a very versatile, extraordinary personality, so it is impossible to describe him in a few words. But having understood his character and thinking, it is much easier to understand him as a whole, to understand the motives of many of his actions, even at first glance inexplicable. And Peter had plenty of such incomprehensible actions. That is why most of this thesis is devoted to the personality of Peter I, his life, and the process of coming to power.
This thesis consists of chapters, each of which fully reveals a particular issue on the topic under consideration.
In my work, I fully consider not only civil, family and other branches of law under Peter I, but also pay sufficient attention to reforms concerning the legal status of estates, the establishment of the police, as well as many other issues that in one way or another relate to this topic.
In general, it should be noted that the reforms of Peter I turned Russia upside down, introduced a lot of new things into its destiny, and set it on a new path. The law has changed a lot after Peter’s reforms, in many ways for the better.
Much of the work is devoted to the judicial process. I consider it not only under Peter, but also before him. This, in my opinion, is the most interesting part of his reforms (this is partly why I paid so much attention to this issue).
This work contains many of my personal inputs and opinions, since I analyzed a lot of literature, as well as the opinions of different authors, and did not agree with everyone.
At the end of the work, in conclusion, I summarize the work done, draw conclusions, and express my own opinion.
CHAPTER 1
Portrait of Peter I
In terms of the scale of interests and ability to see the main thing in a problem, it is difficult for Peter I to find an equal in Russian history. Woven from contradictions, the emperor was a match for his enormous power, which he, like a giant ship, led out of a quiet harbor into the world's oceans, pushing aside mud and stumps and cutting off growths on board.
Peter the Great, in his spiritual make-up, was one of those simple people whom you only need to look at to understand them.
Peter was a giant, almost three arshins tall, a whole head taller than any crowd among which he had ever stood.
He was naturally strong; constant handling of an ax and hammer further developed his muscular strength and dexterity. He could not only roll a silver plate into a tube, but also cut a piece of cloth with a knife on the fly.
Peter took after his mother and was especially like one of her brothers, Fyodor. He was the fourteenth child of the large-family Tsar Alexei and the first child from his second marriage - with Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Among the Naryshkins, liveliness of nerves and quickness of thought were family traits. Subsequently, a number of wits emerged from among them, and one successfully played the role of a funny jester in the salon of Catherine the Second. Very early, already in his twentieth year, his head began to shake and disgraceful convulsions appeared on his handsome face in moments of thought or strong inner agitation. All this, together with the mole on his right cheek and the habit of swinging his arms widely as he walked, made his figure noticeable everywhere.
His usual gait, especially given the understandable size of his step, was such that his companion could hardly keep up with him. It was difficult for him to sit still for a long time: at long feasts, he often jumped up from his chair and ran into another room to warm up. This mobility made him a great lover of dancing in his young years.
If Peter did not sleep, did not travel, did not feast, or did not inspect something, he was certainly building something. His hands were always at work, and calluses never left them. He took up manual labor whenever the opportunity presented itself. In his youth, when he still didn’t know much, when inspecting a factory or plant, he constantly grabbed onto the work he was observing. It was difficult for him to remain a simple spectator of someone else's work, especially something new to him. He still wanted to work on his own. Over the years, he acquired an immense amount of technical knowledge. Already on his first trip abroad, the German princesses from a conversation with him concluded that he knew up to 14 crafts perfectly.
Kind by nature as a person, Peter was rude like a king, not accustomed to respecting a person either in himself or in others; the environment in which he grew up could not instill this respect in him. Natural intelligence, years, acquired position later covered up this gap of youth; but sometimes it shone through in later years. Favorite Aleksashka Menshikov in his youth more than once experienced the power of Peter the Great’s fist on his face. He could not fully understand either the historical logic or the physiology of people's life. All his transformative activities were guided by the thought of the necessity and omnipotence of imperious coercion; he hoped only to forcefully impose on the people the benefits they lacked and, therefore, believed in the possibility of turning people’s life away from its historical channel and driving it to new shores. Therefore, caring for the people, he strained their labor to the extreme, spent human resources and lives recklessly, without any frugality.
Peter was an honest and sincere person, strict and demanding of himself, fair and friendly to others; but in the direction of his activity, he was more accustomed to communicating with things, with working tools, than with people, and therefore he treated people as working tools, knew how to use them, quickly guessed who was good for what, but did not know how and did not like to enter into their position, to conserve their strength, was not distinguished by the moral responsiveness of his father. Peter knew people, but he could not or did not always want to understand them. These features of his character sadly affected his family relationships. A great expert and organizer of his state, Peter poorly knew one corner of it, his own home, his family, where he was a guest. He did not get along with his first wife, had reasons to complain about the second and did not get along with his son at all, did not protect him from hostile influences, which led to the death of the prince and endangered the very existence of the dynasty.
So Peter came out unlike his predecessors. Peter was a great master, who understood economic interests best and was most sensitive to the sources of state wealth. His predecessors, the kings of the old and new dynasties, were similar masters; but they were Sidney masters, white hands, accustomed to managing things with the hands of others, and from Peter came the master-laborer, self-taught, king-craftsman.
Peter I has been described by many historians as an outstanding political figure, a bright personality, a fair and democratic king, whose reign was so eventful and controversial that it gave rise to a mass of scientific, popular science and fiction literature on this topic. Let us turn only to some fairly well-known sources.
According to Klyuchevsky’s description, Peter I “was kind by nature as a person, but rude as a tsar, not accustomed to respecting a person either in himself or in others.” For all his intelligence, curiosity and hard work, Peter did not have a good upbringing and did not know how to behave in society as befits a member of the royal family.
The rudeness of expressions characteristic of Peter was always associated with the shortcomings of his upbringing. But this doesn't explain anything. Ruler by dynastic law, Peter sincerely considered himself sent to Russia by Divine Providence, the ultimate truth, incapable of mistakes. Measuring Russia to his own standards, he felt that it was necessary to begin transformations by breaking old Testament customs.
1.2 Biography of Peter 1
On May 30 (June 9, new style), 1672, Moscow resounded with the sound of bells, which were interspersed with cannon salvoes from the Kremlin towers - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna, née Naryshkina, had a son, Peter. The boyars cautiously examined the baby and, marveling at his long body, breathed a sigh of relief: the child looked healthy and cheerful. This was especially striking after looking at his half-brothers Fyodor and Ivan, the sons of the Tsar and his first wife Maria Miloslavskaya, who suffered from severe congenital ailments since childhood. Finally, the Romanov dynasty could count on a healthy and energetic heir to the throne.
Like everyone else, Peter I’s character was formed in childhood. The Tsar-Father, faithful to the precepts of Domostroy, did not particularly single out his youngest son. All worries about the child fell on the mother's shoulders. The future Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna was brought up in the house of Artamon Matveev, who was an ardent supporter of reforms and encouraged all sorts of innovations in everyday life.
The prince's early childhood was spent in a European home and its unique atmosphere, which later helped Peter to visit foreigners without prejudice and gain useful experience from them.
Nikita Moiseevich Zotov, a not very literate, but patient and affectionate clerk of the Great Parish, was appointed to Peter as a teacher of Russian literature and the law of God, at the request of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, who not only did not seek to suppress the natural wit and restlessness of the royal offspring, but managed to become Peter’s friend . It was he who instilled in Peter the habit of filling his leisure hours with various “handicrafts,” which he retained throughout his life.
At the age of three, Peter was already giving commands to the Butyrsky Reitar Regiment of the “new system” at the royal review, which pleasantly surprised Alexei Mikhailovich and aroused the enmity of his brother Fyodor Miloslavsky and his sister, Princess Sophia.
This is how Peter grew up - strong and resilient, not afraid of any physical work. Palace intrigues developed in him secrecy and the ability to hide his true feelings and intentions. Forgotten by everyone, except for the occasional few relatives who visited, he gradually turned into a child of an abandoned boyar estate, surrounded by burdocks and rickety townsman's huts. He disappeared all day long, anywhere, resorting only to mass. He now had to study in secret. Knowing the suspicion of the Miloslavskys, during meetings with the patriarch, who brought small sums of money to the disgraced queen, he pretended that he had not learned to read, write and count. Bishop Joachim always lamented this issue in conversations with the boyars, who in turn gossiped about the ignorance of the prince abandoned by everyone in the Kremlin. Knowing Kremlin morals, Peter lulled the vigilance of all his Kremlin enemies. Subsequently, this helped him become an outstanding diplomat.
Peter's acquaintance with "Europe" in his early youth largely predetermined the entire worldview of further reforms: he would begin to develop Russia as a huge German settlement, borrowing entirely something from Sweden, something from England, something from Brandenburg.
Peter's engineering interests gave him the opportunity to invent new weapons principles and tactical innovations. To Gordon’s surprise, in 1680 he opened a special “rocket establishment” in Preobrazhenskoye, in which he first produced “artistic lights” and later lighting shells, which remained in the Russian army until 1874. Knowledge of ballistics led Peter to think about a fundamentally new type of open artillery position - redoubts, brilliantly tested in the Battle of Poltava. The Narva disaster forced the tsar to look critically at the soldiers' weapons: and he found the simplest solution for screwing a triangular bayonet to the barrel of an infantryman's gun, making the attack of Russian infantry long before Suvorov the main tactical method. He himself examined the naval officers who arrived from Holland in ship navigation and control of cannon fire.
Peter I was an outstanding diplomat. His arsenal of means included all the classical techniques, which Peter easily forgot at the right moment and reincarnated as a mysterious eastern king, who suddenly began to kiss the stunned interlocutor on the forehead, sprinkle folk sayings that baffled the translators, or suddenly end the audience, like the Persian Shah, citing that his wife is waiting for him! Outwardly sincere and benevolent, Peter, according to European diplomats, never revealed his true intentions and therefore invariably achieved what he wanted.
The role of Peter I in the history of Russia
Not a single name in Russian history has acquired such a huge number of legends and myths, which are based on historical lies, as the name of Peter. You read works about Peter and his characteristics by outstanding Russian historians, and you are amazed at the contradiction between the facts they report about the state of Muscovite Rus' on the eve of Peter’s accession to the throne, Peter’s activities and the conclusions they draw based on these facts. The first biographer of Peter Krekshin addressed Peter: “Our Father, Peter the Great! You have brought us from non-existence to non-existence.” Peter's orderly Nartov called Peter an earthly God. Neplyuev asserted: “No matter what you look at in Russia, everything has its beginning.” For some reason, the flattery of Peter's court sycophants was used by historians as the basis for characterizing his activities. I. Solonevich expresses absolutely legitimate surprise that “All historians, citing “particulars”, list blatant examples of carelessness, mismanagement, ruthlessness, great ruin and very modest successes, and as a result of adding up the endless minuses, dirt and blood, a portrait of a kind of “national genius” is obtained. "I think that such a strange arithmetic operation has never been seen in all world literature." Yes, it is very difficult to find another such biased historical conclusion. The question is: is it worth it for us, witnesses of the most terrible period in the history of Russia - Bolshevism, to clarify the question of whether or not Peter the Great is a brilliant transformer of the Russian state? Are there really no other more important and significant topics for a modern thinker and historian at a time when Russians need to establish a correct historical view of how they came to Bolshevism? This question must be answered with all determination that the question of the historical role of Peter I is the most important question. The myth of Peter as a brilliant reformer who “saved” the Russian state from inevitable destruction is associated with the myth that Muscovite Rus' was on the edge of an abyss. These false myths of historians who belonged to the camp of the Russian intelligentsia completely distort the historical perspective. In the light of these myths, the history of pre-Petrine Rus', as well as the history of the so-called St. Petersburg period, looks like an absurd interweaving of absurd events. Adhering to these two myths, it is completely impossible to discover a historical pattern in the development of Russian history after Peter I. But this historical legitimacy of the reason for the ugly development of Russian life after Peter I is easily discovered, once you understand that Peter was not a reformer, but a revolutionary (“Robespierre on the throne ", - according to Pushkin's apt assessment). Then a causal connection is easily established between the anti-national activities of the “brilliant” Peter, the destructive activities of Freemasonry and the spiritual brainchild of the latter - the Russian intelligentsia during the so-called St. Petersburg period of Russian history, and the appearance at the end of this period of the “brilliant” Lenin and Stalin. These are all links of the same chain, the first links of which were chained by Peter the Great. Anyone who does not understand that Peter I is the “Alpha” and Lenin is the “Omega” of one and the same natural historical process will never have a correct idea of the real reasons for the emergence of Bolshevism in a country that always dreamed of becoming Holy Russia.
In Boris Bashilov’s book “Robispierre on the Throne” you can read the following words: “Peter the Great, as we see from Klyuchevsky’s description of the main features of his personality, could not and did not have a coherent worldview. And people who do not have a specific worldview easily fall under the influence of other people whom they recognize as their authorities. Such authorities for Peter, as we see, were Patrick Gordon and Lefort, whose influence on Peter, as all contemporaries admit, was exceptional. Peter did not independently reach the idea of sending everything Moscow to hell and remaking Russia into Europe. He only blindly followed the plans that were instilled in him by Patrick Gordon and Lefort before his trip abroad and by various European political figures with whom he met in Europe. Western politicians, supporting Peter's intentions to implant European culture in Rus', did so, of course, not out of a disinterested desire to turn Russia into a cultural state. They, of course, understood that a cultural Russia would become even more dangerous for Europe. They were interested in Peter becoming imbued with hatred of Russian traditions and culture. They also understood that Peter’s attempts to forcibly transform Russia into Europe were doomed to failure and that apart from weakening Russia they would achieve nothing. But this is exactly what foreigners needed. That’s why they tried to confirm Peter’s intention to carry out reforms as quickly as possible and in the most decisive manner.”
But I cannot completely agree with this. Perhaps Peter really learned from Western politicians, but he could not be accused of hatred of the people. Perhaps he was too rude in some ways, but no more than due to his lack of upbringing and simply natural rudeness, if you can call it that. Yes, there really were mistakes during his reign, but he is a man, and it is human nature to make mistakes. Moreover, Russia, and other countries, to this day, do not know a single ruler who would not make more than one mistake, who would please everyone. After all, it is impossible to please everyone!!! Peter had a bright personality, was a very temperamental person in everything, and really rude and harsh, but this did not make him a bad ruler, did not implore his services to Russia. And to this day people speak with respect about Great Peter.
CHAPTER 2
Rise to power
“ Peter came to power after several years of struggle for the throne, which was waged by two groups led by the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins. “1 The Sagittarius, led by Sophia, tried to organize a new coup with the aim of overthrowing Peter. Thus, very soon Peter felt the emptiness on which his power was based. This situation was realized not only by Peter, but also by his predecessors, and they tried to find a way out of it. They drew up a program of reforms that aimed only at correcting the existing foundations of society, but not replacing them. The transformations should have affected
reorganization of the armed forces, finance, economics and trade. The need for closer contact with European countries and turning to them for help was recognized. The plans also included changes in the social sphere: the provision of self-government to the urban population and even the partial abolition of serfdom.
Let us now return to Peter and see what he did. Peter accepted the existing program, slightly changing it and expanding it, added a reform of morals, changes in behavior, following the example established in Europe, but left the main problem of the social sphere - serfdom - untouched.
The protracted war, which lasted 20 years, guided the adoption of many decisions, the consequence of which was the acceleration of the progress of transformations and, at times, the inconsistency of decisions made and measures taken. “Constantly irritated by the war, carried away by its wave, Peter did not have the opportunity to systematize his plans; he swept over his empire and his people like a whirlwind. He invented, created and terrified.”2
Peter began his transformative activities immediately upon the return of the Great Embassy from Europe. The official goal of the Embassy was to confirm Russia's friendly relations with European countries and search for allies against Turkey, but the real task for Peter was to learn about the political and cultural life of Europe, the state structure, the education system, the structure and equipment of the army, and about the fleet - Peter was interested in absolutely everything. As for the diplomatic goals of the trip, it should be noted that European countries received the Russian embassy, to put it mildly, coolly: Russia not only did not find allies against Turkey, but it also turned out that elements of an anti-Russian bloc in Europe began to form. It was not possible to achieve any significant successes in the diplomatic field. But this trip gave a lot to Peter: he saw and decided for himself many questions that interested him.
“Returning from a trip to Europe in August 1699. , the king appeared to his subjects in the attire of a Westerner, in which he had never been seen before. And a few days later, on August 29, 1699. , a decree was issued according to which it was ordered to shave beards and dress in foreign dress, Hungarian or French cut, samples of the established dress were posted on the streets. The poor were allowed to wear an old dress, but from 1705 everyone had to wear a new dress under penalty of a fine or more severe punishment.”1 The beard has long been considered an inviolable adornment, a sign of honor, birth, and a source of pride, so this decree caused resistance, but Peter decided This problem was solved economically: wearing a beard was subject to a special tax, the amount of which was determined by the wealth of the owner of this decoration. For schismatics and wealthy merchants, a beard cost 100 rubles a year; when paying taxes, they were given a badge with the inscription “a beard is an extra burden.” Quite an amazing start to the transformation, but if we think more deeply about this issue, turn to research in the field of psychology, we will see that in this way the psychological barrier between Russia and the West was partially broken, and even, to some extent, it prepared people’s minds to perceive further changes.
Peter's main step in the first years of his reign was the destruction of the Streltsy, who had stood in his way since the Tsar's childhood. After Peter declared his intention to reform the armed forces and form a new army in a European manner, he seemed to make it clear that the time when the Streltsy were the most combat-ready force had passed. Thus, the archers were condemned to destruction. The Streltsy regiments were now sent to the dirtiest jobs, away from Moscow - the Streltsy fell into disgrace. In March 1698 they rebelled, at which time Peter was in England. The Streltsy sent a deputation from Azov to Moscow outlining their complaints. The delegation returned empty-handed, but brought with them the exciting news that Peter had given himself up body and soul to foreigners, and Princess Sophia, imprisoned in the Maiden Convent, was calling on her former supporters to defend the throne and altar from the rebellious and wicked king.”2 The Sagittarius rebelled. and moved towards Moscow. General Shein came to meet them, they met on June 17, 1698. near the Resurrection Monastery. General Shein's army was superior in both numbers and equipment, so victory was on the side of the government troops. Several people were killed and the rest were taken prisoner. Peter, having learned about this, was in a hurry to return and, taking advantage of the current situation, decided that this was a good pretext for delivering the final blow to the Streltsy formations. Arriving in Moscow, Peter immediately announced a search, which was hastily carried out by General Shein and Romodanovsky, but this was not enough and the search was resumed several times. The captured archers were either killed or sent to dungeons. Torture was carried out in order to obtain clear evidence of Princess Sophia’s participation in the conspiracy against Peter. The searches were accompanied by mass executions. Peter set out to get rid of the archers once and for all and did everything to achieve this goal. The Sagittarius disappeared. There were no more archers, but there were no more troops. “A few months later, the king realized his haste, so he was forced to “bring the dead back to life,” and in 1700, in the battle of Narva, streltsy regiments took part - these are provincial streltsy, who, by decree of September 11, 1698, were deprived of their name and organization, and by decree of January 29, 1699. both were returned to them.”1 The final decision to destroy the archers was made in 1705 after the Arkhangelsk riot, in which the remnants of undisciplined hordes took part.
After the destruction of the Streltsy, another problem arose before the Tsar: Russia did not have an army that could provide serious resistance. Under the walls of Azov, Peter tested the value of his troops and discovered that the armed force he had hoped to find in them did not exist. The Streltsy uprising was not just an expression of dissatisfaction with the way they were treated by the offended Streltsy - it was a revelation of existing opposition sentiments in the country . It is no secret that many old boyars did not understand Peter, and, therefore, did not welcome his undertakings. Reluctance to change anything, conservatism of thinking and a hostile attitude towards everything foreign and new turned part of the boyars against the tsar. And Peter had to reckon with this. Perhaps it was this factor that did not give Peter the opportunity to go further and deeper in his transformations. The opposition often played a retarding role in the advancement of reforms. A big blow for Peter was that his son Alexei entered opposition circles. Peter more than once tried to involve Alexei in his affairs and concerns, but the prince showed complete indifference to this. “Finally, on October 27, 1715, Peter put his son before a choice: either he would come to his senses and take up the matter together with his father, or he would renounce the succession to the throne. When his father demanded that he determine his place in life, Alexey replied that he agreed to become a monk. “1 But in reality, Alexey had no desire to lead a monastic life. Alexey saw a way out for himself by fleeing abroad. The prince fled to Austria, where he was secretly granted asylum. A short time later he was found and on January 31, 1718 brought to Moscow. Having received his father's forgiveness, he signed a pre-prepared manifesto on abdication of the throne. After this, the prince revealed all his accomplices, who were convicted, executed or exiled to Siberia. After these events in March 1718, the royal court moved to St. Petersburg. “Fear for his life clouded Alexei’s mind. During interrogations, he lied and slandered others in order to minimize his guilt. But the Petersburg stage of the search established his indisputable guilt. On June 14, 1718, Alexei was taken into custody and put in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The court, consisting of 127 important officials, unanimously declared the prince worthy of death. On June 24, 1718, Alexey was sentenced to death for high treason.”2
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Introduction
The historical role of Peter the Great is enormous and ambiguous. He was proclaimed a national genius, educator, savior of Russia, revolutionary, “Napoleon and Robespierre” (Pushkin), called the Antichrist, a hater of everything Russian, a destroyer and a blasphemer. The legendary reformer tsar radically changed the course of Russian history.
Having defeated Sweden and introduced the progressive achievements of the West into Russian society, Peter expanded the geographical, cultural and economic borders of his country. Russia received a key role in the international arena and acquired the status of a great empire.
At the same time, the reforms placed a heavy burden on the common people. Many people died from backbreaking labor, executions and torture. St. Petersburg, built by Peter, is still considered “a city built on bones.”
Having spent most of his life traveling and on military campaigns, Peter was an enemy of palace ceremonies and any conventions. He welcomed the frankness of his subjects and adored the relaxed atmosphere of revels. Unpretentious in everyday life, the king loved to work in the open air. Contemporaries recalled that Peter knew 14 crafts perfectly. He combined a cheerful disposition and painful attacks of anger. He liked wine, women, rude jokes. An active, active and despotic ruler did not try to understand those around him. During Peter's lifetime, few people dared to openly criticize his policies. A powerful emperor and a born warrior, he amazed the world with boundless imperial ambitions. Peter the Great resembled the vast Russia he ruled.
Power struggle
Birth of Peter and death of FyodorIII
30 On May 1672, the wife of the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Natalya Naryshkina gave birth to a son, Peter, who in the future would be called the Great. A little later, she gave the sovereign two more daughters. In 1676, when the prince was 4 years old, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich died.
The main contender for the throne was Alexei Mikhailovich's son from his first marriage, Tsarevich Fedor, who by that time was 15 years old. On June 21, 1676, Feodor III was elevated to the throne. Power in the state passed to the Miloslavskys, the family of the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich. Tsarina Natalya Naryshkina with her relatives and young children were exiled to the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow. Since the throne was inherited, blood relatives of the royal family waged an endless struggle for power at court.
The question arose of who should be king: the older, sickly Ivan Alekseevich or the healthy younger brother, Tsarevich Peter. John was semi-paralyzed and could not hope for a long life. Feodor III, although he called Peter his successor, died on April 27, 1682 at the age of 20, without having time to issue a decree appointing the next tsar.
Bloody riot and accession of Sophia
Left without an official heir to the throne, the royal court plunged into intrigue. The higher clergy and aristocracy split into two warring camps. As a result, young Peter ended up on the throne.
On the day of the coronation, a rumor spread throughout the capital: “The Naryshkins poisoned Tsar Fyodor and strangled Tsarevich John.” A riot broke out, and the royal palace was captured by the Streltsy army. Called to defend the throne, the archers sought to dictate their terms to the authorities. The instigators of the Streltsy rebellion were Princess Sophia and her lover, Prince Vasily Golytsyn.
In the hope of calming the rioters, Queen Natalya came out to the archers, leading John and Peter by the hands. In the first hours of the riot, several Naryshkin supporters were killed. Standing on the porch, 10-year-old Peter watched as the palace square was drowned in blood. The Sagittarius insisted on recognizing John and Peter as kings during the regency of Sophia during their childhood.
Childhood
Since childhood, the prince was distinguished by his curiosity. In addition to home teachers, he studied science and crafts from numerous masters, including foreign specialists who inhabited the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Most of all, Peter was interested in shipbuilding and shipbuilding. He equipped his “amusing army” of fellow commoners with military weapons and uniforms, and over time turned them into a real regiment of soldiers. Queen Natalya was wary of friendship with foreigners and commoners. In January 1682, hoping to bring her son to reason, she married 17-year-old Peter to 20-year-old Evdokia Lopukhina.
On the threshold of big politics
Overthrow of Sophia
Under Sophia, the position of royal power was precarious. Military campaigns against the Crimean theater, organized by her favorite Prince Golitsyn, ended in failure. And although the princess herself tried to proclaim these companies “very successful,” the truth soon became known. This caused discontent among the people, who increasingly supported the growing Peter.
Sophia understood that the older Peter got, the more her power weakened. In a desperate attempt to strengthen her position in the summer of 1689, the princess ordered the Streltsy regiments to capture Preobrazhensoe and kill all Peter's supporters. If successful, this foray of the archers should, like 7 years ago, end in great bloodshed. However, the day before the “case,” on August 6, two archers defected to Peter’s camp and reported to him about Sophia’s plans. Having learned about the impending treason, Peter took refuge from the rebels in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The very next day, the Preobrazhensky regiment he had assembled and Peter’s supporters from the archers arrived there.
Patriarch Joachim himself, and after him most of the Streltsy army also sided with Peter, and the rebellious princess had to admit defeat. By order of Peter, Sophia was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent under strict supervision. “Being in constant fasting and prayer,” John V did not want to take part in the government and actually gave power into the hands of Peter.
"Frivolous" young man
“The Tsar, who has overthrown the old government, will actively create a new government,” many thought after Sophia’s defeat. However, these hopes were not realized. In the first years of his reign, Peter almost did not participate in the affairs of the state, giving powers to Queen Natalya and her entourage from the Naryshkin family. Peter used his power only to expand, strengthen and equip the army.
Spending all his time on maneuvers, Peter now rarely visited Moscow and completely stopped seeing his wife, who in 1690 gave birth to his son Alexei. He became friends with his sweetheart, Anna Mons. Peter fell in love with a free life and became a frequent guest in the German settlement near Preobrazhensky. In January 1694, Tsarina Natalya died without seeing her son “come to his senses.” The young tsar turned 22 years old, and the day of his emergence as a great politician was close.
Sudden awakening
Meanwhile, the political situation worsened. The weakening of tsarist power played into the hands of numerous external enemies. However, Peter, who had not ruled the state before, seemed to wake up. On January 25, 1695, he begins a military campaign against Turkey. The goal of the move was declared to be the capture of the Azov fortress, the most important stronghold at the confluence of the Don into the Sea of Azov.
The tsar’s bold plan was not destined to come true: the Azov fortress withstood the onslaught of the Russian army. Peter was able to analyze the reasons for the defeat and draw the necessary conclusions. He realized that the first campaign had failed due to the lack of a fleet, and already in the fall of the same year he began preparations for a new attack. Peter built a flotilla of rowing galleys with unprecedented speed. In January 1696, his brother Ivan died, but this did not stop military preparations.
The Russian flotilla approached Azov at the mouth of the Don and blocked the river passage for Turkish ships. Unable to withstand the blockade, the fortress began to weaken without supplies and help. Without waiting for the final assault, in July 1696 the Azov fortress surrendered.
Big reforms
"Great Embassy"
5 months after the capture of Azov, in December 1696, Peter sent the “Great Embassy” to Europe. A Swiss man had given him the idea for the trip two years earlier. Seizing on it, the young king decided to go to Europe, in the depths of his soul cherishing the idea of finding allies in the fight against Turkey.
It must be said that in those days it was not customary in Rus' to travel abroad. Anticipating protests from conservatives. Peter hastily assembled a delegation and secretly left the country.
The “great embassy” included 250 people: 3 plenipotentiary ambassadors, 36 volunteers who were supposed to collect foreign knowledge, 70 soldiers. The sovereign himself traveled in the name of the sergeant of the Preobrazhensky regiment Pyotr Mikhailov. The Tsar pursued two goals: to study while remaining incognito, and, if necessary, to “adjust” political negotiations.
Before leaving, Peter was informed about the conspiracy. The Sagittarius were going to declare the king an “unchrist” who was destroying Russia, kill him and return Sophia to the throne. Peter drowned another riot in blood: the four main conspirators were beheaded.
Having restored order in the capital, Peter set off on a trip on March 10. It’s funny, but by that time all foreign diplomats already knew that the Russian Tsar was going to Europe.
Curious traveler
The “Grand Embassy” visited Germany and crossed through Holland to England. Then, again bypassing Holland, he visited Vienna. In Holland, Peter hired more than 600 different craftsmen and specialists (from a vice admiral to a ship's cook) into the Russian service, spending enormous amounts of money. When the delegation gathered in Venice, an urgent report came from Russia about another Streltsy riot.
The king spent more than a year abroad. He either learned the wisdom of shipbuilding in the costume of a Dutch sailor, or established diplomatic relations with potential allies against the Ottoman Empire.
By the end of the embassy, Peter realized that his main opponent in the near future would not be the Turks, but the Swedes. Russia had to break through to the Baltic Sea. During the trip, Peter concluded an agreement with King Augustus II of Poland to start a war with Sweden.
Cutting beards down to the neck
On August 25, 1698, Tsar Peter returned to Moscow. The very next day, having gathered the court nobility, he suddenly grabbed scissors and began to trim the beards of the boyars. For the tsar, who had seen European life, the ancient principle of the Russian boyars - “cutting the beard of a sinner” - seemed barbaric. The boyars experienced terrible horror during this “execution.”
Following the beards, heads flew. From September to January of the following year, more than a thousand rebels were executed. Their corpses were displayed under the walls of the Kremlin for several months. Despite Sophia's involvement in the Streltsy rebellion, her guilt was not proven. Peter forced his sister to become a nun and imprisoned her in the Novodevichy Convent. The same fate befell his wife Evdokia. The Tsar entrusted the care of his son Alexei to his older sister Natalya.
Having put an end to the rebels, Peter waged a fight against the old Russian way of life, gradually introducing the nobility to education and European secular culture. He issued a decree that everyone, except priests and peasants, was obliged to shave their beards. In December 1699, the Julian calendar was introduced in Russia. “Russia needs reforms!” - the king repeated.
Federal Agency for Education
State educational institution
Higher professional education
"Brotherly State University"
Branch of State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "BrSU"
In the city of Ust-Ilimsk
Department of OND
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETER I’S REFORM FOR RUSSIA
ABSTRACT
in the discipline "National History"
RF – 270102.65 – PGS-09
Completed:
1st year student
specialty PGS-09 Ageev Dmitry Viktorovich
Checked:
Art. teacher of the department of OND Rozanov Philipp Ivanovich
Ust-Ilimsk 2009
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….3
The significance of the reforms of Peter I for Russia………………………………………………………..5
§1.Sources of Peter’s reforms……………………………………………………...….…...…..5
§2. Reform activities of Peter I …………………………………………………….6
§3. Historical significance of Peter’s reforms…………………...14
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….………..22
List of sources and literature…………………………………………………….……….25
INTRODUCTION
Disputes about the significance of the personality of Peter I and his reforms have not subsided for the fourth century. For a long time, in their assessment of Peter, researchers have been divided into “Slavophiles” and “Westerners” (“statists”). The first drew attention to the damage that traditional Russian culture suffered as a result of the introduction of Western elements alien to it. The latter, using countless historical documents, proved the timeliness, benefits and value of the reforms, and their brilliant results.
At the end of the 17th century, when the young Tsar Peter I came to the Russian throne, our country was experiencing a turning point in its history. In Russia, unlike the main Western European countries, there were almost no large industrial enterprises capable of providing the country with weapons, textiles, and agricultural implements. It had no access to either the Black or the Baltic Seas, through which it could develop foreign trade. Russia did not have its own military or merchant fleet. The land army was built according to outdated principles and consisted mainly of noble militia. The nobles were reluctant to leave their estates for military campaigns; their weapons and military training lagged behind the advanced European armies.
I chose the topic “The Significance of the Reforms of Peter I” because I wanted to find out the significance of Peter’s reforms for the Russian state.
The following problems can be identified in the topic: “Were the reforms carried out by Peter Alekseevich timely”, “How well thought out were his reforms”, “How significant were the reforms carried out by Peter the Great.”
The problem that is discussed in the abstract: “the problem of the significance of the reforms carried out by Peter the Great.”
The relevance of this topic is due to the fact that it has not been fully studied and has many contradictions.
The purpose of this essay is to identify the significance of the reforms of Peter I for the history of Russia.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to implement the following tasks:
1. clarification of the origins of Peter’s reforms,
2. consideration of the main reforms of Peter the Great,
3. identifying the historical significance of reforms for Russia at that time.
In accordance with the identified tasks, the structure of the work is as follows: content of the abstract (a complete sequential list of all structural parts of the abstract), introduction (identification of the problematic nature of the stated topic, justification of work methods), main part (analysis of the theories, concepts and views discussed in the abstract), conclusion (conclusions on the stated topic), a list of used sources and literature (listing of sources in a numbered list).
The object of the study is research concepts and theories that study the period of reforms and the path of development of the country.
The subject of the study is information sources and literary materials that present the views of authoritative researchers on the events that took place during the period of transformation, and analyze the path of further development of our country to identify the meaning of the reforms.
Methods used in the abstract: comparative analysis– comparison of the facts, events, theories or processes under study and in their analysis; material combination– analysis of the text of the sources used, highlighting the most important fragments in it and compiling from these fragments an original text work containing an answer to the problem posed in the work.
The abstract uses only scientific sources, due to distrust of journal articles and especially Internet sources due to their dubious reliability.
The most important sources turned out to be “History of Russia from antiquity to the present day” (Zuev M.N.) and “The Time of Peter’s Reforms” (Anisimov E.I.), since they are written in detail and have a well-founded opinion of the authors. From these sources many interesting facts about the time of transformation were gleaned. The source “History of Russia: Controversial Problems” (Golovatenko A.V.) turned out to be no less important because it examines the controversial aspects of the reforms of Peter the Great. The following sources should also be highlighted: “Rulers of Russia. From Rurik to Putin." (Ozersky V.V.), “Peter the Great” (Pavlenko N.I.), since they examine individual periods of reforms of the 17th-18th centuries.
The significance of Peter's reforms I for Russia
§1. The origins of Peter's reforms.
The origins of the transformations of the era of Peter the Great lie in the 17th century. As a result of the activities of the first Romanovs, the deepest socio-economic and political crisis of the state and society caused by the events of the Time of Troubles was overcome, and by the end of the century there was a tendency towards the Europeanization of Russia, and the prerequisites for future reforms were clearly outlined.
In the 17th century Russia's lag behind the level of development of Western European countries was very significant, despite the emerging tendency to narrow the gap. The state needed a strong personality who would have not only supreme power, but also an understanding of the need for change, energy, courage and determination, intelligence and talent as a transformer. And Peter I became such a statesman. All state activities of Peter the Great divided into two periods: 1695-1715 and 1715-1725.
The most important feature of the reform activities of the first period is that they were conditioned, first of all, by the tasks of internal reconstruction, which were dictated by the needs of waging the Northern War. Reforms were mainly carried out using violent methods and were accompanied by active government intervention in economic affairs. Lack of experience, military failures, and pressure from the old conservative government apparatus gave many reforms an ill-conceived, hasty character.
In the second period, when military operations had already been transferred to enemy territory, reforms became more systematic and consistent. The transformations were formalized by legislative decrees of the tsar (their number in the first quarter of the 18th century amounted to more than 2.5 thousand). However, this does not at all contradict the fact that Peter’s reform activities were mainly of a violent nature.
In general, Peter's reforms were subordinated to the interests not of individual classes, but of the entire state - its prosperity, well-being and inclusion in Western European civilization. They served to implement a kind of revolution from above and step by step formed in Russia absolute monarchy system- a type of state power in which the monarch has unlimited supreme power. With absolutism, the highest degree of centralization is achieved, an extensive bureaucratic apparatus, a standing army and police are created, and the activities of estate-representative bodies actually cease.
§2. Reform activities of Peter I.
Public Administration Reforms . From the beginning of the 18th century. the activity of the Boyar Duma gradually fades away, and is replaced (since 1700) by Near office, also called the Council of Ministers, which was a boyar commission from among the Duma members - heads of orders and was called upon to exercise operational management of the administrative apparatus. This body became the predecessor of the one created in 1711. Governing Senate- the highest government institution with extremely broad administrative, judicial, and sometimes legislative prerogatives. Its creation was associated with Peter’s departure from the capital and was motivated by the need to have such a temporary institution “for our constant absences,” as noted in the royal decree. Peter personally appointed 9 people to the Senate. Three of these senators were representatives of the family nobility (princes M.V. Dolgoruky, G.I. Volkonsky and P.A. Golitsyn), three were members of the Boyar Duma (T.N. Streshnev, I.A. Musin-Pushkin, G. . A. Plemyannikov), and three more were from the nobility (M. A. Samarin, V. A. Apukhtin, N. P. Melnitsky). Senate decisions were made collegially, at a general meeting, and were sealed with the signatures of all senators.
Huge office work was in charge of the Senate office, headed by the Chief Secretary. The functions of the Senate in the first years of its formation were very wide and varied. The affairs of the Rank and Local Orders were transferred to his jurisdiction; he was in charge of the appearance of nobles for service and took care of the collection and expenditure of state funds. It was also the supervisory authority over the extensive bureaucratic apparatus. For this purpose, since 1711. positions of provincial and city fiscals were established in the center and locally. They reported on all facts of violation of laws, bribery and embezzlement that harmed the interests of the state. They were led by the chief fiscal, who was part of the structure of the Senate. The denunciations of the fiscals were received by the Execution Chamber - the highest court of appeal consisting of four judges and two senators - and reported on them monthly to the Senate. Peter encouraged fiscals, freeing them from taxes, jurisdiction over local authorities, and even responsibility for false slander.
The Senate was the leading supervisory body, but supervision was also established over its activities. Since 1715, the work of the Senate was monitored by the Senate Auditor General (supervisor of decrees), then by the Senate Chief Secretary and staff officers of the Guard, and finally, from 1722, by the Prosecutor General (P. I. Yaguzhinsky) and Chief Prosecutor, to which prosecutors in all other institutions were subordinate. The Prosecutor General controlled the work of the Senate, its apparatus, the office, the adoption and execution of all its sentences, their appeal or suspension.
The Prosecutor General and his assistant Chief Prosecutor were subordinate only to the Tsar and were subject only to his court. Acting through his subordinate prosecutors (public supervision) and fiscal officers (secret supervision), the Prosecutor General acted as “the king’s eye and attorney on state affairs.”
New regulations on the Senate 1722 recorded its status as the highest government institution of the empire. The Senate became an obedient instrument in the hands of the monarch in governing the country. But he was responsible for too much everyday, menial work. In this regard, there is an urgent need to radically restructure the entire system of central government bodies. To replace the complex and clumsy apparatus of orders and offices with their vague functions and parallelism in work, a project was developed for the creation of central departments with a clear delineation of areas of management. Reform 1717 – 1721 abolished orders and offices and introduced collegium created on the basis of studying foreign experience in organizing public administration. Unlike orders, decisions in the new bodies were made collectively.
In total, 11 boards were created, in accordance with the studied Danish and Swedish models, with strict delimitation of administrative powers and areas of activity. The most important, “state”, were three boards: Collegium of Foreign (Foreign) Affairs led by Chancellor G.I. Golovkin and Vice-Chancellor P.P. Shafirov, Military Collegium, which was led by A.D. Menshikov and A.A. Weide, and the Admiralty Board, headed by F.M. Apraksin and K. Kruys. Another group of boards dealt with state finances: Chamber collegium was responsible for collecting revenues The State Board of Directors watched for expenses, and Revision board controlled the collection and expenditure of government funds. Trade and industry were administered first by two and then by three boards: Commerce Collegium was in charge of shipping issues, customs and trade organization, Berg College was engaged in mining, Manufactory Collegium led the light industry. Finally, the country's judicial system was supervised Justice Collegium.
In addition, two estate colleges were created. In 1721 it was formed Patrimonial Collegium, which regulated issues of noble land ownership and became the legal successor of the Local Prikaz. Another class board was created in 1720. Chief Magistrate, who ruled the urban classes (artisans and merchants). His predecessor was Burmister stalemate in Moscow, created in 1699 and transformed the following year into Town Hall during the unsuccessful reform of city government. The chief magistrate stood at the head of the city magistrates, who replaced the zemstvo huts. The task of these new institutions was to perform administrative, police and judicial functions in cities.
The boards did not cover all branches of public administration. Therefore, palace, construction, pit, medical and a number of others were still under the jurisdiction of special orders, offices, chambers and offices.
He was engaged in political investigation throughout the entire Peter the Great era. Preobrazhensky order(from 1695 to 1729), located in Moscow, as well as created in St. Petersburg in 1718. Secret Chancery .
At first, each board was guided by its own regulations, but in 1720. an extensive (of 56 chapters) was published "General Regulations"- the charter of the civil service, which defined in detail their uniform organizational structure and the procedure for the activities of the updated administrative apparatus.
The development of the principle of official, bureaucratic seniority to replace the old service-clan mechanism was reflected in the famous Peter the Great Tables of ranks 1722 The new law divided the “sovereign” service into civil, military and court service. The report card established 14 classes, or ranks of officials. Anyone who received the rank of the 8th class in the civil (“state”) service received hereditary nobility, and civil class ranks from the 14th to the 9th gave its owner personal nobility. In the army and navy, even the lowest officer rank of the 14th class gave hereditary “cavalry”. It was this system of extreme bureaucratization of the state apparatus that made it possible to qualitatively change and strengthen the social support of Russian absolutism - the “noble nobility”, recruiting people from other social strata into the nobility. Thus, about a third of the officer corps of Peter’s army received nobility solely through service. At the same time, they, the nobles of the old and new formations, received lands and serfs. Therefore, in the Peter the Great era, hundreds of thousands of peasants from among the state and palace peasants moved into private ownership. The mandatory recruitment of nobles into the service was also facilitated by the law adopted in 1714. Decree on unified inheritance, who equated estates to fiefdoms.
Along with the strengthening of the central administrative apparatus, the reform of local institutions began even earlier. Instead of the voivodeship administration in 1708-1715. was introduced provincial government system. The country was originally divided into eight provinces: Moscow, Ingria (later St. Petersburg), Smolensk, Kyiv, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberian.
Then four more provinces were formed. At the head of the provinces were governors, in whose hands were all the full administrative, police and judicial powers. To assist the governor, officials were assigned to manage individual industries. At the head of the districts, the place of governors was taken by commandants. In 1713, under the governor, a board of 8-12 Landrats was created, elected by nobles, but the very next year the Landrats turned into appointed officials who managed the new administrative-territorial units of counties - shares.
In 1719, Peter again returned to the problem of local administration. According to the new decree, the country was divided into 50 provinces headed by governors. The provinces remained, but only military and judicial matters remained in the hands of the governors. In territorial terms, the governor ruled only the province of the provincial city. The provinces were accordingly divided into districts headed by zemstvo commissars.
The judicial authorities also joined the complex and intricate system of local institutions. In 1719, lower (provincial and city) and upper (court) courts were introduced. At the head of the court courts were governors. However, by 1722 the lower courts were abolished, and the court courts existed only until 1727. The attempt to separate the court from the administration thus failed.
Church reform . The largest feudal lord in Russia remained the church, which by the end of the 17th century. still retained some political independence, which was incompatible with the development of absolutism. When Patriarch Adrian died in 1700, Peter I decided not to call the election of a new patriarch. Temporarily, Ryazan Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky, confirmed as locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, was placed at the head of the clergy. The locum tenens still had to convene councils of bishops - Consecrated Councils, but these meetings were purely formal. The patriarchal rank was abolished, and its functions were transferred to the restored one in 1701 Monastic order led by boyar I.A. Musin-Pushkin. The Patriarchal State and Palace orders were subordinated to this order. Income from the properties of monasteries and other church institutions went mainly to state needs. Thus, over 11 years (1701 – 1711), the treasury received more than 1 million rubles from the monastery estates. At the same time, the state limited the number of monks, prohibited their movement from one monastery to another, and regulated the staff of monasteries. The church was entrusted with the establishment and maintenance of primary schools and almshouses for the maimed and sick, as well as retired soldiers.
Finally, in 1721 Peter approved "Spiritual Regulations", developed by his ardent supporter, Pskov Bishop Feofan Prokopovich. According to the new law, a radical church reform was carried out, eliminating the autonomy of the church and completely subordinating it to the state. The patriarchate in Russia was abolished, and a special body was established to govern the church. Spiritual College, soon transformed to give greater authority to Holy Synod. He was in charge of purely church affairs: interpretation of church dogma, orders for prayers and church services, censorship of spiritual books, the fight against heresies, management of educational institutions, removal of church officials, etc. The Synod also had the functions of a spiritual court. The presence of the Synod consisted of 12 highest church hierarchs appointed by the king, to whom they took an oath. To supervise the activities of the Synod, Peter appointed from among the officers close to him the chief prosecutor (I.V. Boldin), to whom the synodal office and church fiscals - “inquisitors” - were subordinate. All property and finances of the church, the lands and peasants assigned to it were under the jurisdiction of the Monastic Prikaz, subordinate to the Synod, and since 1724 transformed into a synodal chamber-office.
Reforms of the army and navy.
All Peter's reforms in domestic policy, in addition to the general plan of transforming Russia into a great power, were largely aimed at a radical reorganization of the country's armed forces: the creation of a regular army and the construction of a powerful fleet. The “amusing” regiments became a kind of combat training school for new formations. Already in 1698, the Streltsy began to disband and regular regiments were created.
However, the new report card of 1720 determined the army to include 51 infantry and 33 cavalry regiments, which by the end of Peter’s reign amounted to an army of 130,000 consisting of three branches of troops - infantry, cavalry and artillery. In addition, about 70 thousand people are in the garrison troops, 6 thousand in the land militia (militia) and over 105 thousand in the Cossack and other irregular units.
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For the training of soldiers and officers, in addition to the “Military Regulations” (1698), numerous instructions were prepared: “Leading to battle”, “Rules for a military battle”, “Military articles”, etc. Finally, in 1716 a new “ Military regulations”, summarizing 15 years of experience of continuous armed struggle. For training officers back in 1698 -1699. A bombardment school was founded at the Preobrazhensky Regiment, and at the beginning of the new century, mathematical, navigation (naval), artillery, engineering, foreign languages and even surgical schools were created. In the 20s 50 garrison schools operated to train non-commissioned officers. Internships for young nobles abroad for military training were widely practiced. At the same time, the government refused to hire foreign military specialists. Along with the creation of a regular army, naval construction(Fig. 2). The fleet was built in both the south and north of the country. The main efforts were focused on creating the Baltic Fleet. In 1708, the first 28-gun frigate in the Baltic was launched, and 20 years later the Russian military fleet in the Baltic Sea turned out to be the most powerful: 32 battleships (from 50 to 96 guns), 16 frigates, 8 ships, 85 galleys and others small vessels. Recruitment for the fleet was also carried out from recruits (for the first time in 1705). For training in maritime affairs, instructions were drawn up: “Ship Article”, “Instructions and Articles, Military for the Russian Navy”, “Marine Charter” and, finally, “Admiralty Regulations” (1722). In 1715, the Naval Academy was opened in St. Petersburg, training naval officers. In 1716, the training of officers through the midshipman company began.
Financial and tax reform. The large-scale state-political and socio-economic transformations of the era of Peter the Great, the formation of a regular army of thousands and the construction of a powerful navy, carried out simultaneously with the implementation of an active foreign policy and the grueling Northern War, required colossal financial expenses.
Inherited to Peter I from his predecessors on the throne, the household taxation system introduced in Russia in 1678, in which the unit of accounting and taxation was the peasant or township household - the yard, in the conditions of interest-free growth of government spending could no longer satisfy the needs of the budget.
At first, the government tried to solve this problem by increasing direct taxes and significantly expanding indirect payments. Special “profit-makers,” headed by A.A. Kurbatov, were looking for ever new sources of replenishment of the treasury: bathhouse, fish, honey, horse and other taxes were introduced, including taxes on beards and oak coffins. In total, indirect collections by 1724 numbered up to 40 species. State trade (wine monopoly) also brought in significant income. In addition to this, direct taxes were also introduced: conscription, dragoon, ship, etc. Significant funds were brought in by minting coins of lighter weight (Fig. 3). However, the population tried to avoid tax levies by all means.
The search for new sources of replenishment of the state budget led to a radical reform of the entire tax system - introduction of a single poll tax, which took into account the entire male population of the country. From the end of 1718 to 1724 A population census was carried out in Russia, and then, due to incorrect data submitted by landowners about the number of peasants, the first audit was carried out by officers. In accordance with its results, 5.6 million male souls were taken into account, subject to a single tax: from landowner peasants - 74 kopecks, from state peasants - 1 ruble. 14 kopecks, from townspeople (artisans and merchants) - 1 rub. 20 kopecks These amounts were determined from the needs of the annual maintenance of the army (4 million rubles) and the navy (2.2 million rubles).
The implementation of the tax reform had not only financial, but also serious social consequences, further strengthening serfdom and extending tax service to previously free categories of the population (“walking people”, free slaves), while simultaneously forming a new social stratum within the peasantry (state peasants) . Finally, the new fiscal system further tightened police supervision in the country by establishing a passport system, which became an additional means of securing the rural population. As a result, compared to 1701, state revenues by the end of Peter’s reign increased almost 4 times and amounted to 8.5 million rubles, of which more than half (4.6 million rubles) came from the poll tax.
Education reforms. Peter clearly recognized the need for enlightenment, and took a number of decisive measures to this end.
On January 14, 1700, a school of mathematical and navigational sciences was opened in Moscow. In 1701-1721, artillery, engineering and medical schools were opened in Moscow, an engineering school and a naval academy in St. Petersburg, and mining schools at the Olonets and Ural factories. In 1705, the first gymnasium in Russia was opened. The goals of mass education were to be served by digital schools created by decree of 1714 in provincial cities, designed to “ teach children of all ranks literacy, numbers and geometry" It was planned to create two such schools in each province, where education was to be free. In 1721, garrison schools were opened for soldiers' children, and a network of theological schools was created to train priests.
During Peter's reign, several thousand Russians were sent to study abroad. Peter's decrees introduced compulsory education for nobles and clergy, but a similar measure for the urban population met fierce resistance and was cancelled. Peter's attempt to create an all-class primary school failed (the creation of a network of schools ceased after his death, most digital schools were closed under his successors), but nevertheless, during his reign the foundations were laid for the spread of education in Russia.
Peter I organized the publication of the first newspaper, Vedomosti, and introduced a new calendar, according to which chronology was carried out, as in other European countries, from the “Nativity of Christ,” and the year began on January 1. The first theaters were created, a civil script was introduced, and “Moscow University” was founded (April 26, 1755) (Fig. 4).
§3. Historical significance of Peter's reforms.
The transformations carried out by Peter in all areas of Russian life are one of the most complex and controversial phenomena in Russian history. Each era brings a new understanding of the activities of the sovereign reformer, based on its own problems and ideas.
The successful completion of the construction of the Russian Empire, begun in the previous century by the first rulers of the Romanov family, was the main historical result of the activities of Peter the Great. The former Muscovy turned into a strong European state. The transformations carried out by Peter served as the basis for the establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia. In his decisions, Peter relied on the then level of knowledge about society. In the conditions of feudal Russia, he implemented his ideas assertively, on a grand scale, sometimes regardless of the personal interests of his subjects.
All the most important areas of activity of Peter I - military reform, the struggle for access to the seas, the development of industry, public administration, the Europeanization of culture - were outlined long before he came to power. Peter only acted much more decisively than his predecessors on the throne. This determination stemmed partly from the difficult circumstances in which the country found itself at the beginning of the 18th century, partly from the personality traits of the monarch, which have always been of great importance in the political life of Russia. Rough, forceful methods of modernizing the country, applied without regard to countless sacrifices, helped achieve the goals, but at the same time led to the extreme depletion of the people's forces during the reign of Peter. Among the most severe consequences of the activities of the tsar-reformer were the crisis of autocratic power under his successors, the final enslavement of the peasants, the omnipotence of officials in the bureaucratic apparatus of government, the deepening split of Russian society into “tops” alien to each other not only in social status, but also in culture and even in language. " and "bottoms".
Peter I paid great attention to the development of the manufacturing industry: in the first quarter of the 18th century. More than 100 manufactories appeared in Russia. The main industries were metallurgy, the production of weapons, linens and cloth. The country formed a cadre of permanent manufacturing workers - the forerunners of the proletariat. Hired workers were recruited from townspeople and landowners and state peasants released on rent, but the labor of serfs was also widely used, especially in the mining industry of the Urals. Promoting the development of manufactories, Peter I allowed merchants and industrialists to buy villages with peasants from landowners; such peasants were called possessions. Many thousands of state peasants were forcibly “assigned” to manufactories. They were required to work in factories instead of paying state taxes. To establish new manufactories, cash loans were issued, and sometimes state-owned factories were transferred.
Internal trade developed, facilitated by the construction of canals and the founding of large shipyards on the Volga and on the rivers of Siberia for river shipbuilding. In 1724, the first trade tariff was introduced, encouraging the export of Russian goods abroad and limiting the import of those goods that the country no longer needed.
The rise and enrichment of the nobility was facilitated by the decree of 1714 “On Single Inheritance,” according to which estates were equated to estates and became the hereditary property of the nobles; To prevent landowners' farms from being split up, all "real estate" was transferred to one of the landowner's sons, and the rest had to enter government or military service. The class rights and privileges of the nobility were enshrined in the “Table of Ranks” of 1722. The nobles were divided into 14 “ranks” in accordance with the position held in the state or military service, which became a duty. People from other classes could become nobility by rising to a certain “rank.”
Under Peter I, a new system of state institutions was formed, and the absolute monarchy was finally formalized. The law declared that “the All-Russian Emperor is an autocratic and unlimited monarch.” In 1711, the highest governing body, the Senate, was created from persons appointed by the tsar, which exercised control over the central and local administration, tax collection, and developed laws on the basis of the “personal decrees” of the emperor. The activities of the Senate were monitored by the Prosecutor General - “the eye of the sovereign.” In 1718, instead of the old orders, collegiums were established, each of which was in charge of a specific branch of public administration. Church affairs were in charge of the Spiritual College (Synod), which acted under the control of the chief prosecutor.
The transformations that took place in Russia in the 18th century covered almost all aspects of the country's life: economics, politics, science, everyday life, foreign policy, and the political system. They affected the situation of the working masses, church affairs, etc. Of all Peter's reforms, the central place was occupied by the reform of public administration, the reorganization of all its links. This is understandable, since the old administrative apparatus, inherited by Peter, was unable to cope with the increasingly complex tasks of management. Therefore, new orders and offices began to be created. A regional reform was carried out, with the help of which Peter hoped to provide the army with everything necessary. The reform, while meeting the most pressing needs of autocratic power, was at the same time a consequence of the development of a bureaucratic tendency. It was with the help of strengthening the bureaucratic element in government that Peter intended to resolve all state issues. The reform led not only to the concentration of financial and administrative powers in the hands of several governors - representatives of the central government, but also to the creation at the local level of an extensive hierarchical network of bureaucratic institutions with a large staff of officials. The previous system of "order - district" was doubled: "order (or office) - province - province - district."
Autocracy, which sharply strengthened in the second half of the 17th century, did not need institutions of representation and self-government. At the beginning of the 18th century. the activities of the Boyar Duma are actually terminated, management of the central and local apparatus is transferred to the so-called “Concilia of Ministers” - a temporary council of heads of the most important government departments. The creation and functioning of the Senate was the next level of bureaucratization of senior management. The permanent composition of senators, elements of collegiality, personal oath, work program for a long period, strict hierarchical management - all this testified to the growing importance of bureaucratic principles, without which Peter could not imagine either effective management or autocracy as a political regime of personal power.
Peter I attached great importance to the adopted legislation. He believed that a “government” law, issued on time and consistently implemented, could do almost anything. That is why the legislation of the Peter the Great era was distinguished by pronounced tendencies towards comprehensive regulation and unceremonious interference in the sphere of private and personal life. Peter associated the poor work of his subjects with disdain for the law, the exact implementation of which, as he believed, was the only panacea for the difficulties of life.
Peter's idea as a reformer of Russia was aimed, firstly, at creating such perfect and comprehensive legislation that would, if possible, cover and regulate the entire life of his subjects. Secondly, Peter dreamed of creating a state structure that was perfect and as accurate as a clock, through which legislation could be implemented. The formalization of the idea of reform of the state apparatus and its implementation date back to the end of 1710-1720. During this period, Peter I, in many areas of domestic policy, began to move away from the principles of direct violence to the regulation of social phenomena with the help of a bureaucratic machine. Peter chose the Swedish government system as a model for his planned government reform.
Peter made great efforts to establish the effective operation of the institutions he created and paid main attention to the development of numerous regulatory documents that were supposed to ensure the efficiency of the apparatus. Having generalized the experience of the Swedes, taking into account some specific aspects of Russian reality, he created the so-called General Regulations of 1719-1724, which had no analogues in Europe at that time, containing the most general principles of the operation of the apparatus. He also created a model of the regulations of the central institution - the Admiralty College.
Thus, a new system of central institutions was created together with a system of higher authorities and local government. Particularly important was the reform of the Senate, which occupied a key position in Peter’s state system. The Senate was entrusted with judicial, administrative and legislative functions. He was in charge of the collegiums and provinces, the appointment and approval of officials. The unofficial head of the Senate, consisting of the first dignitaries, was the Prosecutor General, endowed with special powers and subordinate only to the monarch. The creation of the position of prosecutor general laid the foundation for an entire institution of the prosecutor's office, the model for which was the administrative experience of France. The social transformations carried out by Peter I also affected the serfs: the serfs and serfs merged into a single class. As you know, servitude is an institution similar in its features to domestic slavery, which had a thousand-year history and developed law. The general trend in the development of serfdom was in the direction of extending many norms of serf law to serfs, which was the common platform for their subsequent merger.
The legislation introduced by Peter I was characterized by a clearer regulation of the rights and obligations of each class and, accordingly, a more stringent system of prohibitions. Tax reform was of great importance in this process. The introduction of the poll tax, which was preceded by a census of male souls, meant the establishment of a procedure for strictly assigning each payer to the tax in the place of residence where he was registered for payment of the poll tax.
The time of Peter the Great was characterized by large, long-term police actions. The most serious of them should be recognized as the placement in 1724-1725. army regiments to permanent apartments in places, districts, provinces where the poll tax was collected for them, and the related police functions of army commanders. Another police action carried out under Peter was the introduction of a passport system. Without a passport established by law, not a single peasant or city dweller had the right to leave their place of residence. Violation of the passport regime automatically meant turning a person into a criminal, subject to arrest and sending to his previous place of residence.
Significant changes also affected the church. Thus, Peter I carried out a reform that was expressed in the creation of collegial (synodal) governance of the Russian church. The destruction of the patriarchate reflected the desire of Peter I to eliminate the “princely” system of church power, unthinkable under the then autocracy. By declaring himself the de facto head of the church, Peter destroyed its autonomy. Moreover, he made extensive use of church institutions to carry out his policies. Subjects, under pain of large fines, were obliged to attend church and repent of their sins to the priest in confession; the same, according to the law, was obliged to report everything illegal that became known during confession to the authorities.
The reforms carried out by Peter I were of great importance for the historical fate of Russia. The institutions of power he created lasted hundreds of years. reforms led to the formation of a military-bureaucratic state with a strong centralized autocratic power, based on a feudal economy and a strong army.
Speaking about the significance of the reforms of Peter I, in conclusion, it should first of all be noted that they meant the beginning of the process of modernization and Europeanization on a global scale. While maintaining a certain continuity, the new system of institutions created in Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century meant at the same time a radical break with previous management practice. Peter's administrative reforms embodied development, modernization and Europeanization, and were the first in a series of similar transformations of modern times, revealing a number of stable features that can then be traced in the reforms of Russia and other countries up to the present day.
In preparation for the war with Sweden, Peter ordered in 1699 to carry out a general recruitment and begin training soldiers according to the model established by the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovtsy. This first recruitment yielded 27 infantry regiments and two dragoons. In 1705, every 20 households had to put up one recruit, a single guy between 15 and 20 years old, for lifelong service. Subsequently, recruits began to be taken from a certain number of male souls among the peasants. Recruitment into the navy, as into the army, was carried out from recruits. If at first among the officers there were mainly foreign specialists, then after the start of the work of the navigation, artillery, and engineering schools, the growth of the army was satisfied by Russian officers from the noble class. In 1715, the Maritime Academy was opened in St. Petersburg. In 1716, the Military Regulations were published, which strictly defined the service, rights and responsibilities of the military.
As a result of the transformations, a strong regular army and a powerful navy were created, which Russia simply did not have before. By the end of Peter's reign, the number of regular ground forces reached 210 thousand (of which 2,600 were in the guard, 41,550 in cavalry, 75 thousand in infantry, 74 thousand in garrisons) and up to 110 thousand irregular troops. The fleet consisted of 48 battleships; galleys and other vessels 787; There were almost 30 thousand people on all ships.
One of the transformations of Peter I was the reform of church administration that he carried out, aimed at eliminating the church jurisdiction autonomous from the state and subordinating the Russian hierarchy to the Emperor. In Russia, the patriarchate was abolished and the Theological College was established, soon renamed the Holy Synod, which was recognized by the Eastern patriarchs as equal in honor to the patriarch. All members of the Synod were appointed by the Emperor and took an oath of allegiance to him upon taking office. Wartime stimulated the removal of valuables from monastery storages. Peter did not go for the complete secularization of church and monastic properties, which was carried out much later, at the beginning of the reign of Catherine II.
The Azov campaigns, and then the Northern War of 1700-1721, required huge funds, the collection of which was aimed at collecting financial reforms.
At the first stage, it all came down to finding new sources of funds. To the traditional customs and tavern levies were added fees and benefits from the monopolization of the sale of certain goods (salt, alcohol, tar, bristles, etc.), indirect taxes (bath, fish, horse taxes, tax on oak coffins, etc.) , mandatory use of stamp paper, minting coins of lesser weight (damage).
In 1704, Peter carried out a monetary reform, as a result of which the main monetary unit became not money, but a penny. From now on it began to be equal not to ½ money, but to 2 money, and this word first appeared on coins. At the same time, the fiat ruble, which had been a conventional monetary unit since the 15th century, equated to 68 grams of pure silver and used as a standard in exchange transactions, was also abolished. The most important measure during the financial reform was the introduction of a poll tax instead of the previously existing household taxation. In 1710, a “household” census was carried out, which showed a decrease in the number of households. One of the reasons for this decrease was that, in order to reduce taxes, several households were surrounded by one fence and one gate was made (this was considered one yard during the census). Due to these shortcomings, it was decided to switch to the poll tax. In 1718-1724, a repeat census was carried out in parallel with the population audit (revision of the census), which began in 1722. According to this audit, there were 5,967,313 people in taxable status. Based on the data obtained, the government divided the amount of money needed to maintain the army and navy by the population.
As a result of the tax reform, the size of the treasury was significantly increased by extending the tax burden not only to the peasantry, but also to their landowners. If in 1710 incomes extended to 3,134,000 rubles; then in 1725 there were 10,186,707 rubles. (according to foreign sources - up to 7,859,833 rubles).
Having realized Russia's technical backwardness during the Grand Embassy, Peter could not ignore the problem of reforming Russian industry. One of the main problems was the lack of qualified craftsmen. The Tsar solved this problem by attracting foreigners to the Russian service on favorable terms and by sending Russian nobles to study in Western Europe. Manufacturers received great privileges: they were exempt from military service with their children and craftsmen, they were subject only to the court of the Manufacture Collegium, they were freed from taxes and internal duties, they could import the tools and materials they needed from abroad duty-free, their houses were freed from military billets.
The first silver smelter in Russia was built near Nerchinsk in Siberia in 1704. The following year he gave the first silver.
Significant measures have been taken for geological exploration of mineral resources in Russia. Previously, the Russian state was completely dependent on foreign countries for raw materials, primarily Sweden (iron was brought from there), but after the discovery of deposits of iron ore and other minerals in the Urals, the need for purchasing iron disappeared. In the Urals, in 1723, the largest ironworks in Russia was founded, from which the city of Yekaterinburg developed. Under Peter, Nevyansk, Kamensk-Uralsky, and Nizhny Tagil were founded. The main problem in Russian manufactories of that time was the shortage of labor. The problem was solved by violent measures: entire villages and villages were assigned to manufactories, whose peasants worked off their taxes to the state in manufactories (such peasants would be called assigned), criminals and beggars were sent to factories. In 1721, a decree followed, which allowed “merchant people” to buy villages, the peasants of which could be resettled in manufactories (such peasants would be called possessions).
With the construction of St. Petersburg, the role of the country's main port passed from Arkhangelsk to the future capital. River canals were built.
Thus, under Peter, the foundation of Russian industry was laid, as a result of which in the middle of the 18th century Russia came out on top in the world in metal production. The number of factories and factories at the end of Peter's reign extended to 233.
Peter I changed the beginning of the chronology from the so-called Byzantine era (“from the creation of Adam”) to “from the Nativity of Christ.” The year 7208 in the Byzantine era became 1700 AD. However, this reform did not affect the Julian calendar as such - only the year numbers changed. Under Peter the first book in Russian with Arabic numerals appeared in 1703. Before that, numbers were designated by letters with titles (wavy lines). In 1710, Peter approved a new alphabet with a simplified style of letters (the Church Slavonic font remained for printing church literature), two letters xi and psi were excluded. Peter created new printing houses, in which 1,312 book titles were printed between 1700 and 1725 (twice as many as in the entire previous history of Russian book printing). Thanks to the rise of printing, paper consumption increased from 4-8 thousand sheets at the end of the 17th century to 50 thousand sheets in 1719. There have been changes in the Russian language, which included 4.5 thousand new words borrowed from European languages.
CONCLUSION
The abstract was based on the problem of the significance of the reforms carried out by Peter the Great.
The goal set in this essay is to identify the significance of the reforms of Peter I for the history of the Russian state.
To achieve this goal, the following tasks were planned: elucidating the origins of Peter’s reforms; consideration of the main reforms of Peter I; identifying the historical significance of reforms for Russia.
The following research was carried out in the abstract: elucidation of the origins of Peter’s reforms; consideration of the main reforms of Peter I; identifying the historical significance of reforms for Russia. They were carried out using methods such as comparative analysis (comparing the facts, events, theories or processes under study and in their analysis) and combining material (analysis of the text of the sources used, highlighting the most important fragments in it).
The following results were obtained during the study:
1. Even before Peter, the preconditions for widespread Europeanization had been created, ties with foreign countries had noticeably strengthened, Western European cultural traditions were gradually penetrating into Russia, even shaving beards was rooted in the pre-Petrine era. In the 17th century Russia's lag behind the level of development of Western European countries was very significant, despite the emerging tendency to narrow the gap. Reform activity was determined, first of all, by the tasks of internal reconstruction, which were dictated by the needs of waging the Northern War. The most important stage in the implementation of reforms was Peter’s visit to a number of European countries as part of the Grand Embassy. Upon his return, Peter sent many young nobles to Europe to study various specialties, mainly to master marine sciences.
2. Reform of culture and education: introduction of a new calendar (7208 becomes 1700, and New Year celebrations are moved from September 1 to January 1); The first issue of the Vedomosti newspaper, the first Russian newspaper, is published (1703); an engineering school appears in Moscow (1711); The Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy was opened - the first higher educational institution in Russia (1687). Public administration reform: the boyar Duma was replaced by the Senate (1711); orders were replaced by collegiums; the “Table of Ranks” was introduced; "Decree on succession to the throne"; the capital was moved to St. Petersburg (1712); Peter I took the title of Emperor (1721). Military reform: creation of a regular army; introduction of conscription; creation of a fleet; new military regulations; equipping troops. Church reform: the patriarchate was abolished; the church began to be governed by the Holy Synod; priests began to receive titles from the treasury. Economic reforms: a general census was carried out and a poll tax was introduced; more than 180 manufactories were created; state monopolies on essential goods were introduced; massive construction of roads and canals. Social reform: “Decree on single inheritance (1714); passports are introduced for peasants; serfs and slaves were equalized.
3. The historical significance of the reform activities of Peter the Great was ambiguous, since many reforms not only helped Russia become a powerful power, but also finally enslaved the peasants. The transformations served as the basis for the establishment of an absolute monarchy in Russia, powerful industrial production, a strong army and navy were created, which allowed Russia to gain access to the sea, overcome isolation, reduce the gap with the advanced countries of Europe and become a great power in the world. Reforms in the field of culture and everyday life, on the one hand, created conditions for the development of science, education, literature, etc. But on the other hand, the mechanical and forced transfer of many European cultural and everyday stereotypes hindered the full development of a culture based on national traditions. This caused a deep sociocultural split in society, which largely predetermined the depth of contradictions and the strength of social upheavals at the beginning of the twentieth century. Understanding perfectly the importance of the development of trade and industry, Peter carried out a number of measures that satisfied the interests of the merchants, strengthened and consolidated serfdom, and justified the regime of autocratic despotism. There was not and could not be a pre-developed general plan for reform. They were born gradually, and one gave birth to the other, satisfying the requirements of the given moment. And each of them provoked resistance from the most diverse social strata, caused discontent, hidden and open resistance, conspiracies and struggle, characterized by extreme bitterness.
Having realized the tasks set in the abstract, we come to the conclusion that crude, forceful methods of modernizing the country, used without regard for countless sacrifices, helped achieve the goals, but at the same time led to the extreme depletion of the people's forces during the reign of Peter. Under Peter I, a new system of state institutions was formed, and the absolute monarchy was finally formalized. Peter's ideas were aimed at creating such perfect and comprehensive legislation, a state structure perfect and accurate as a clock, through which legislation could be implemented. Peter the Great, in many areas of domestic policy, begins to move away from the principles of direct violence to the regulation of social phenomena with the help of a bureaucratic machine. The reform of the Senate was especially important, because he was entrusted with many functions. Peter strove to make Russia a European country in every sense of the word and attached great importance to even the smallest details of the process. Peter's reforms stabilized the country. New institutions and social structures created a certain stability in society. As a result of the transformations, Russia became a strong European state. In many ways, the technical and economic backwardness was overcome. However, routine technology and serfdom in agriculture retarded the growth of productive forces.
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The economic strengthening of the country and the strengthening of its international position created the preconditions for reforms at the end of the 17th - first quarter of the 18th century. Military reform was Peter's first priority reform. It was the longest and most difficult for both himself and the people. Peter's merit is the creation of a regular Russian army. Peter I disbanded the Moscow Streltsy regiments and, with the help of the Preobrazhentsy and Semyonovtsy, who grew out of amusing regiments and became the first soldier regiments of the regular tsarist army, began recruiting and training a new army. In the military campaign of 1708-1709. against the Swedes, the new Russian army showed itself at the level of European armies. Recruitment kits were introduced to staff the army with soldiers. Recruits were carried out according to the norm - one recruit from 20 draft yards.
To train officers, several special schools were established: navigation, artillery, and engineering. The main military practical school for officers was the Guards Regiment - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. By decree of the tsar of February 26, 1714, it was forbidden to promote nobles who did not serve as soldiers in the guards regiments as officers. At the end of the reign of Peter the Great, the number of regular ground forces reached 200 thousand people. The navy consisted of 48 battleships and about 800 galleys and other vessels. Of all Peter's reforms, the central place was occupied by the reform of public administration, the reorganization of all its links. New orders began to be created and offices appeared. Peter hoped to radically solve the problem of governance with the help of regional reform, that is, the creation of new administrative entities - provinces, which united several former counties. In 1708, provinces were also formed in Russia. To provide the army with everything necessary, a direct connection was established between the province and the regiments.
Regional reforms were a characteristic indicator of the development of a bureaucratic tendency. They led to the concentration of financial and administrative powers in the hands of several governors - representatives of the central government, and created an extensive hierarchical network of bureaucratic institutions with a large staff of officials locally. The next level of bureaucratization of top management was the creation of the Senate. He came to replace the Boyar Duma. The Senate, as the highest institution of Peter the Great's administration, concentrated in its hands judicial, administrative and legislative functions, was in charge of collegiums and provinces, and appointed and approved officials.
The newly created bodies central to the board include the collegiums created in 1717-1718. instead of former orders. Nine collegiums were established, including military, admiralty, foreign affairs, justice, and so on.
In 1699, cities were given the right to have their own elected mayors. These mayors made up the town hall. The town halls of regional cities were subordinate to the Burmist Chamber, or the town hall of Moscow. In 1720, the Chief Magistrate was established in St. Petersburg, which was supposed to organize magistrates in regional cities and lead them. The magistrates managed the city economy, had to take care of the development of trade and industry, the improvement and deanery of the cities, and decided not only civil, but also criminal cases.
So, in the course of Peter’s reforms, the system of medieval governance is replaced by a bureaucratic state machine.
The most important feature of the economic boom of the early 17th century was the determining role of the autocratic state in the economy, its active and deep penetration into all spheres of economic life. This was required by the dominant concept of mercantilism in Europe. It is expressed in the active intervention of the state in economic life - in achieving an active balance in foreign trade.
The constant need for money for military expenses prompted Peter to seek more and more new sources of government revenue. A number of new taxes appear, own trade is created, monopolies are introduced on the procurement and sale of certain goods.
Direct taxation underwent a radical revolution under Peter. If before this the population was taxed by household, now they switched to universal taxation. Peasants and male townspeople from infants to very old men had to pay taxes.
During the reign of Peter I, the Russian monetary system was created. Small change coins, kopeks, denezhkas and half rubles, were minted from copper. Dime, fifty kopecks, half-fifty kopecks and rubles were minted from silver. Chervonets were minted from gold. Following the Western model, Peter I tried to teach his capitalists to act in a European way - to combine capital, to unite in companies. Thus, by decree of 1699 he ordered merchants to trade companies. To encourage them, various benefits were introduced - government subsidies and benefits. Approximately from the end of the 10s of the 18th century. Peter made a significant change in trade and industrial policy: the virtual monopoly on export trade was eliminated, various measures were taken to encourage private industrial entrepreneurship, and the practice of transferring state-owned enterprises, primarily unprofitable for the treasury, to private owners or companies specially created for this purpose became especially widespread. However, changing economic policy to a certain extent. Peter did not intend to weaken the influence of the state on the economy. At the same time, important social transformations took place in Russia. The fight against peasant escapes was sharply intensified. A massive return of fugitives to their former owners began. The category of free and walking people was outlawed. On January 18, 1721, Peter 1 signed a decree that allowed private factories to buy serfs to use them in factory work. This decree marked a decisive step towards the transformation of industrial enterprises, where the capitalist structure was born, into feudal enterprises, a type of feudal property. A new criterion for the service of nobles was introduced. Previously, the principle of origin applied. Now the principle of personal service was introduced. Its conditions were determined by law. The new principle was reflected in the Table of Ranks of 1722. He divided the entire mass of civil servants, military and civilian, into 14 ranks, or ranks. Every officer and civil official had to move along them. The most important condition was the mandatory service of an ordinary soldier or clerical officer. Social transformations also affected serfs. The era of Peter the Great led to the merging of serfs and serfs into a single class. The reform was also significant in relation to city residents. Peter decided to unify the social structure of the city by transferring Western European institutions to it: magistrates, workshops, guilds.
The townspeople's population was divided into two guilds. The first guild was made up of first-class people. It included the upper classes of the settlement, rich merchants, artisans, and citizens of intelligent professions. In the second - small shopkeepers and artisans. They were united into workshops on a professional basis. All other citizens were subject to a complete check in order to identify runaway peasants among them.