Creation of boards year Peter. Creation of boards under Peter I

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Collegiums under Peter 1

Creating the “new” Russian Empire, Peter 1 carried out many reforms, one of which was the elimination of inappropriate government bodies. Thus, the emperor eliminated the outdated system of orders (they are also chambers, bodies of central government), replacing it with new central bodies of sectoral management - Collegiums.

Peter borrowed the model for the establishment of Collegiums from Europe - the state structures of Sweden and Germany. The regulations were drawn up on the basis of Swedish legislation, of course, with an eye to Russian reality.

The reform began in 1712 with an attempt to establish a Board of Trade. But the final register (list) was approved only in 1718. According to it, nine Collegiums were established: Military, Admiralty Collegium, Foreign Affairs, Commerce Collegium, Chamber Collegium, or College of State Duties, Berg-Manufacturer Collegium, Justice Collegium, Revision Collegium, State Office.

Later, others were established: the Justice Collegium of Livonia and Estonia Affairs (1720), the Patrimonial Collegium (1721), and the College of Economy (1726). In addition, in 1720 the Chief Magistrate was established, and in 1721 - the Spiritual College, or the Holy Synod.

Functions of the Collegiums under Peter 1

Collegium	What did she control?

Admiralty
Foreign Affairs	Foreign policy
Commerce Collegium	Trade
Berg Manufactory Collegium	Industry and mining
Justice Collegium	Local courts
Audit Board	State budget funds
State office	Government spending
Justice Collegium of Livonian and Estonian Affairs	§ Activities of Protestant churches on the territory of the Russian Empire § Administrative and judicial issues of the provinces of Sweden annexed to the Russian Empire
Patrimonial	Land holdings
Savings	Land holdings of clergy and institutions
Chief Magistrate	The work of magistrates

Internal structure

The boards were headed by presidents, who were appointed by the Senate (the highest government body), but taking into account the opinion of the emperor. In the absence of the President, his functions were transferred to the Vice President, appointed in a similar manner. In addition to them, the College included advisers and assessors (appointed by the Senate), as well as clerical officials. In addition, each Collegium had a prosecutor who controlled the resolution of cases and the execution of decrees.

All decisions were made collectively, at meetings. Peter paid great attention to the new principle of office work, believing that the right decision can only be made jointly, after listening to everyone’s opinion.

board peter structure activities

Historical meaning

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the reform carried out by Peter 1. The boards functioned according to uniform standards of activity. Departmental functions were clearly distributed. Localism was finally eliminated. The establishment of these governing bodies was the final stage of centralization and bureaucratization of the state administration apparatus. However, it must be noted that the emperor’s brilliant idea was not fully realized. Thus, the main goal of the reform - the division of functions performed by departments - was never achieved in relation to some Collegiums.

Since 1802, the gradual abolition of the Collegiums began against the backdrop of a new system of ministries.

Under the jurisdiction of the Senate were a number of central institutions known as collegiums; they were established in 1718 and finally formed in 1720. The boards replaced the old orders. With the establishment of the Senate, which little by little acquired the functions of the most important orders, these latter (for example, Rank) were replaced by the “tables” of the Senate; small orders turned into offices and offices of various types and retained the previous organization. From about 1711 Peter I conceived the idea of setting up a central administration based on Western European models. Quite consciously, he wanted to transfer the Swedish collegial system to Rus'. The collegial system was also recommended to him by the theorist Leibniz. Men were sent abroad to study bureaucratic forms and clerical practices; Experienced clerks were imported from abroad to organize new institutions with their help. But Peter I did not give these foreigners a commanding position in the boards, and they did not rise above vice-presidents; Russian people were appointed presidents of the boards.

The boards were subordinated Senate, who sent them his decrees; in turn, local governments were lower than the collegiums and obeyed them. But, on the one hand, not all collegiums were equally subordinate to the Senate (the military and naval ones were more independent than the others); on the other hand, not all boards were related to regional governing bodies. Above the provincial authorities, as a direct higher authority, stood only the Chamber and Justice Collegiums and Chief Magistrate. Thus, both central and local government bodies did not represent a strict and harmonious hierarchy.

Each board consisted, like the order of the 17th century, of a presence and an office. The presence consisted of the President, Vice President, Councilors, Assessors and 2 Secretaries, who were the heads of the Chancery. There were no more than 13 people present, and matters were decided by majority vote.

Looking closely at the differences between the collegiums and the old orders, we see that the system of collegiums significantly simplified the previous confusion of departments, but did not destroy the confusion of the personal principle with the collegial principle, which lay at the basis of the previous central administration. Just as in orders in their collegial form, the personal principle was expressed by the activity of the powerful chairman, so in the collegiums, influential presidents and prosecutors assigned to the collegiums for general control violated the collegial system with their personal influence and in fact sometimes replaced collegial activity with individual activity.

Highest reputation throughout Europe, the Swedish system of government boards was used, and deservedly so: it was debugged to such an extent that the Swedish government was able to govern the country without disruption, despite the fifteen-year absence of the monarch, the loss of the army, the collapse of the empire and the deadly plague. Peter, who admired both Charles and the Swedish state machine and did not at all consider it shameful for himself to borrow anything from the enemy, decided to establish colleges in his country on the model and likeness of the Swedish ones.

In 1718, a new system of government was developed. Thirty-four pre-existing orders * were replaced by nine new boards: the board of foreign (later - foreign) affairs, the Chamber board, which was in charge of state revenues, the Justice board, the Military and Admiralty board, the Commsrts board, which dealt with trade issues, the Bsrg-i -Manufactory Collegium and the State Office Collegium, which was in charge of government expenditures, and the Revision Collegium, which controlled the expenditure of budget funds**.

* Number of orders in Russia in the 17th - early 18th centuries. It is impossible to establish precisely - the process of reorganization was continuous.

** The number of boards was constantly changing. In 1721 there were 11 colleges, in 1723 - 10. In 1722, D. Trezzini received a painting of the location of the colleges in a new building on Vasilyevsky Island. There were 12 sites in total. In addition to the 10 collegiums, it was planned to build 2 more premises: a reception hall and a Senate. This is how the name “Building of the Twelve Colleges” appeared.

Russians were appointed presidents of these boards (all of whom were Peter's closest friends and associates), while foreigners became vice-presidents. However, two exceptions were made; The president of the Berg-i-Manufaktur Collegium was a Scotsman, General Jacob Bruce, while in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs both the President and Vice-President of the Dust were Russians - Golovkin and Shafirov. The presidents of all colleges automatically became members of the Senate, which made this government body something like a council of ministers.

So that the institutions of power borrowed from abroad could work successfully, Peter intensively invited foreign specialists. Russian diplomatic agents, traveling throughout Europe, lured foreigners to work in the new Russian government agencies. They even invited Swedish prisoners of war who had learned Russian. Some Swedes rejected such offers - as Weber believed, because they feared obstacles to returning to their homeland. However, in the end, there were enough foreigners, and the same Weber described with admiration the lively activity of the College of Foreign Grandfathers; “There is hardly a foreign office anywhere in the world that sends out dispatches in so many languages. “There are sixteen translators and secretaries who know Russian, Latin, Polish, High German, Low German, English, Danish, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Chinese, Tatar, Kalmyk and Mongolian.”

However, despite the fact that knowledgeable foreigners worked at all levels in the new government apparatus, the new system was constantly in fever. Foreign experts experienced great difficulties trying to explain to Russian officials the essence of the new system, especially since even the interpreters who knew the language were not very versed in the specific terminology adopted in Sweden. It was even more difficult to explain the mechanism of action of the new management system to provincial officials, who were often distinguished by deep ignorance. Sometimes they sent such reports to St. Petersburg that it was impossible not only to attribute them to any category of business papers, but even to understand what they were about, or even just to read them.

Besides everything else, some presidents of the colleges were not very zealous about their duties, and Peter again and again had to admonish them like boys. He demanded that they be sure to appear in their collegiums on Tuesdays and Thursdays and ensure that due order and decency were maintained, both in the Senate and in the collegiums themselves. They were strictly instructed not to conduct “conversations about extraneous matters that do not concern our service at meetings, much less engage in idle conversations and jokes,” not to interrupt each other during speeches and to behave as befits statesmen, and not “bazaar women.” .

Peter hoped that by introducing the presidents of the colleges into the Senate, he would make this body of power more effective, but the incessant envy and enmity among the nobles led to the fact that as soon as they gathered in the absence of the king, noisy disputes and squabbles began. Senators who came from ancient families, such as Dolgoruky or Golitsyn, despised the artistic upstarts Menshikov, Shafirov and Yaguzhinsky. The President of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, Golovkin, and its Vice-President, Shafirov, could not stand each other. The clashes became more and more violent, passions ran high, senators openly accused each other of embezzlement. In the end, just as Peter left for the Caspian Sea, a resolution was passed accusing Shafirov of outrageous and lawless behavior in the Senate. Upon his return, Peter appointed the High Court from among the senators and generals to consider this case. Having gathered in Preobrazhenskoye, the judges listened to the testimony and sentenced Shafirov to death.

On February 16, 1723, Shafirov was brought from Preobrazhenskoe to the Kremlin in a simple sleigh. The sentence was read to him, his wig and old fur coat were torn off and he was led to the scaffold. Having made the sign of the cross, the condemned man knelt down and laid his head on the block. The executioner raised the ax, and at that moment Peter’s cabinet secretary Alexei Makarov stepped forward and announced that, out of respect for his long service, the sovereign ordered to save Shafirov’s life and replace the execution with exile to Siberia. Shafirov rose to his feet and with tears in his eyes, staggering, walked off the scaffold. He was taken to the Senate, where his former colleagues, shocked by what had happened, vied with each other to congratulate him on his pardon. To calm the suffering old man Shafirov, the doctor bled him, and he, reflecting on his gloomy future in exile, said: “It would be better to open up a large vein for me to get rid of the torment at once.” However, subsequently the exile to Siberia for Shafirov and his family was replaced by a settlement in Novgorod. After the death of Peter I, Catherine forgave Shafirov, and under Empress Anna Ivanovna he again returned to the system of power.

New administrative bodies often did not live up to the hopes that Peter had placed on them. They were alien to Russian tradition, and officials had neither the necessary knowledge nor incentives to work. The formidable figure of the omnipresent king did not always arouse in his subjects the desire to show initiative and determination. On the one hand, Peter ordered to act more boldly and take responsibility, and on the other hand, he severely punished for any mistake. Naturally, the officials were careful in every possible way and behaved like that servant who will not pull a drowning master out of the water until he is convinced that this is part of his duties and is written in the contract.

Over time, Peter himself began to understand this. He came to the conclusion that governance should be carried out through laws and regulations, and not through prodding from those in power, including himself. It is not necessary to command people, but to teach them, instruct and convince them, to explain what the interests of the state are, so that everyone understands it. Therefore, royal decrees issued after 1716, as a rule, were preceded by discussions about the necessity and usefulness of this or that legal provision, quotes, historical parallels, appeals to logic and common sense.

Despite all its shortcomings, the new system of government was a useful innovation. Russia was changing, and the changed state and society were governed by the Senate and collegiums more effectively than the old Moscow orders and the boyar Duma could have done. Both the Senate and the collegiums existed in Russia until the fall of the dynasty, although the collegiums were subsequently transformed into ministries. In 1722, the architect Domenico Trezzini began construction of an unusually long red brick building on Vasilyevsky Island, on the Neva embankment. It was to house the collegiums and the Senate. Nowadays, this building, the largest surviving from the times of Peter the Great, houses the University of St. Petersburg.

The reforms carried out by Peter affected the fate of individuals no less noticeably than the fate of state institutions. The Russian social structure, similar to that of medieval Europe, was based on the universal obligation to serve. The serf peasant had to serve his master, and he, in turn, served the sovereign. Peter was far from intending to break or at least weaken this universal service relationship. He only modified it, trying, if possible, to force all segments of the population to serve with full dedication. No concessions or exceptions were made for anyone. Service was the essence of Peter's own life, and he used all his power and energy to encourage everyone to serve with the greatest benefit for the fatherland. Nobles who served as officers in the reorganized Russian army and navy were required to master modern weapons and tactics; Those who entered the service in state institutions created on the European model also required special knowledge and skills to fully perform their duties. The idea of service has changed and expanded: in order to serve in accordance with the requirements of the time, it was necessary to study.

Peter made his first attempt to create educated national personnel in Russia back in 1696, when, before leaving for the Great Embassy, he sent a group of young nobles to study in the West. After the Poltava victory, Peter’s concern for educating his subjects became more focused and systematic. In 1712, a decree was issued according to which information about all noble minors was to be submitted to the Senate. The young men were divided into three groups: the youngest were sent to study maritime affairs in Revel, the older ones were sent to Holland for the same purpose, and the oldest were enlisted in the army. In 1714, the tsar cast a wider net: all young nobles from ten to thirty years old who were not in the service were ordered to report to the Senate before the end of winter.

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Activities of the Senate

Senate under Peter I

On February 22, 1711, a new state body was formed - the Governing Senate. Members of the Senate were appointed by the king from among his inner circle (initially 8 people). These were the largest figures of that time. The appointments and resignations of senators took place according to the decrees of the tsar. The Senate was a permanent state collegial body. His competence included:

administration of justice;
resolving financial issues;
general issues of managing trade and other sectors of the economy.

In the Decree of April 27, 1722 “On the position of the Senate,” Peter I gave detailed instructions on the activities of the Senate, regulating the composition, rights and responsibilities of senators; the rules for the relationship of the Senate with the collegiums, provincial authorities and the prosecutor general are established. But the Senate's regulations did not have the supreme legal force of law. The Senate only took part in the discussion of bills and interpreted the law. But in relation to all other bodies, the Senate was the highest authority. The structure of the Senate did not take shape right away. At first, the Senate consisted of senators and the chancellery, and then two departments were formed: the Execution Chamber (as a special department before the advent of the College of Justice) and the Senate Office (which dealt with management issues). The Senate had its own office, which was divided into several tables: provincial, secret, discharge, order and fiscal.

The execution chamber consisted of two senators and judges appointed by the Senate, who regularly (monthly) submitted reports to the Senate on cases, fines and searches. The verdict of the Execution Chamber could be overturned by the general presence of the Senate.

The main task of the Senate Office was to prevent the current affairs of Moscow institutions from being accessed by the Governing Senate, to carry out the decrees of the Senate, and to control the execution of senatorial decrees in the provinces. The Senate had auxiliary bodies: the racketeer, the king of arms, and provincial commissars. On April 9, 1720, the position of “reception of petitions” was established under the Senate (from 1722 - racketeer), who received complaints about boards and offices. The duties of the herald master included compiling lists of nobles in the state, ensuring that no more than 1/3 of each noble family was in the civil service.

Provincial commissars monitored local, military, financial affairs, the recruitment of recruits, and the maintenance of regiments. The Senate was an obedient instrument of autocracy: senators were personally responsible to the monarch; in case of violation of the oath, they were subject to the death penalty or fell into disgrace, removed from office, and punished with monetary fines.

Fiscality

With the development of absolutism, the institute of fiscals and prosecutors was established. Fiscalism was a special branch of Senate government. The Ober-Fiscal (the head of the Fiscals) was attached to the Senate, but at the same time the Fiscals were the tsar’s proxies. The tsar appointed a chief fiscal, who took an oath to the tsar and was responsible to him. The competence of fiscal officials was outlined in the Decree of March 17, 1714: to inquire about everything that “may be detrimental to the state interest”; report “about malicious intent against the person of His Majesty or treason, about indignation or rebellion”, “whether spies are creeping into the state”, the fight against bribery and embezzlement. The network of fiscal officials constantly began to form according to territorial and departmental principles. The provincial fiscal monitored the city fiscals and once a year “exercised” control over them. In the spiritual department, the head of the fiscals was the proto-inquisitor, in the dioceses there were provincial fiscals, and in the monasteries there were inquisitors. With the creation of the Justice Collegium, fiscal affairs came under its jurisdiction and the control of the Senate, and after the establishment of the post of Prosecutor General, the fiscals began to report to him. In 1723 a fiscal general is appointed - the highest authority for fiscal officials. He had the right to demand any business. His assistant was the chief fiscal.

Organization of the Prosecutor's Office

By decree of January 12, 1722, the Prosecutor's Office was organized. Then subsequent decrees established prosecutors in the provinces and court courts. The prosecutor general and chief prosecutors were subject to trial by the emperor himself. Prosecutor's supervision even extended to the Senate. The decree of April 27, 1722 established his competence: presence in the Senate (“to watch closely so that the Senate maintains its position”), control over fiscal funds (“if anything bad happens, immediately report to the Senate”).

In 1717-1719 - the period of formation of new institutions - collegiums. Most collegiums were created on the basis of orders and were their successors. The system of collegiums did not develop immediately. On December 14, 1717, 9 boards were created: Military, Foreign Affairs, Berg, Revision, Admiralty, Justits, Kamer, State Office, Manufactory. A few years later there were already 13. The presence of the board: president, vice-president, 4-5 advisers, 4 assessors. The staff of the board: secretary, notary, translator, actuary, copyist, registrar and clerk. At the collegiums there was a fiscal officer (later a prosecutor), who exercised control over the activities of the collegiums and was subordinate to the prosecutor general. Collegiums received decrees only from the monarch and the Senate, having the right not to carry out the decrees of the Senate if they contradicted the decrees of the king.

Activities of the boards

Collegium of Foreign Affairs was in charge of “all sorts of foreign and embassy affairs”, coordinated the activities of diplomats, managed relations and negotiations with foreign ambassadors, and carried out diplomatic correspondence.

Military Collegium managed “all military affairs”: recruiting the regular army, managing the affairs of the Cossacks, setting up hospitals, supplying the army. The Military Collegium system contained military justice.

Admiralty College managed “the fleet with all the naval military servants, including those belonging to maritime affairs and departments.” It included the Naval and Admiralty Chancelleries, as well as the Uniform, Waldmeister, Academic, Canal Offices and the Particular Shipyard.

Chamber collegium was supposed to exercise “higher supervision” over all types of fees (customs, drinking), monitored arable farming, collected data on the market and prices, controlled salt mines and coinage.

Chamber collegium exercised control over government spending and constituted the state staff (the staff of the emperor, the staff of all boards, provinces, provinces). It had its own provincial bodies - renterii, which were local treasuries.

Audit Board exercised financial control over the use of public funds by central and local authorities.

Berg College supervised issues of the metallurgical industry, management of mints and monetary yards, supervised the purchase of gold and silver abroad, and judicial functions within its competence. A network of local bodies of Berg Colleges was created.

Manufactory Collegium dealt with industrial issues, except for mining, managed manufactories in the Moscow province, the central and north-eastern part of the Volga region and Siberia; gave permission to open manufactories, regulated the execution of government orders, and provided benefits. Its competence also included: exile of those convicted in criminal cases to manufactories, control of production, and supply of materials to enterprises. It did not have its own bodies in the provinces and governorates.

Commerce Collegium contributed to the development of all branches of trade, especially foreign trade, carried out customs supervision, drew up customs regulations and tariffs, monitored the correctness of weights and measures, was engaged in the construction and equipment of merchant ships, and performed judicial functions.

Justice Collegium supervised the activities of provincial court courts; carried out judicial functions in criminal, civil and fiscal cases; headed an extensive judicial system, consisting of provincial lower and city courts, as well as court courts; acted as a court of first instance in "important and controversial" cases. Its decisions could be appealed to the Senate.

Patrimonial Collegium resolved land disputes and litigation, formalized new land grants, and considered complaints about “wrong decisions” in local and patrimonial affairs.

Secret Chancery was engaged in investigation and prosecution of political crimes (for example, the case of Tsarevich Alexei). There were other central institutions (old surviving orders, Medical office).

Building of the Senate and the Holy Synod

Activities of the Synod

The Synod is the main central institution on church issues. The Synod appointed bishops, exercised financial control, was in charge of its fiefdoms and exercised judicial functions regarding heresies, blasphemies, schisms, etc. Particularly important decisions were made by the general meeting - the conference.

Administrative division

By decree of December 18, 1708 a new administrative-territorial division is being introduced. Initially, 8 provinces were formed: Moscow, Ingria, Smolensk, Kiev, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberian provinces. In 1713-1714 three more: Nizhny Novgorod and Astrakhan provinces were separated from Kazan, and Riga province from Smolensk. At the head of the provinces were governors, governors-general, who exercised administrative, military and judicial power.

Governors were appointed by royal decrees only from among the nobles close to Peter I. The governors had assistants: the chief commandant regulated military administration, the chief commissar and chief provision master - provincial and other taxes, the landrichter - provincial justice, financial boundary and investigative affairs, the chief inspector - tax collections from cities and counties.

The province was divided into provinces (headed by the chief commandant), provinces into counties (headed by the commandant).

The commandants were subordinate to the chief commandant, the commandant to the governor, and the latter to the Senate. In the districts of cities where there were no fortresses or garrisons, the governing body was the landarts.

50 provinces were created, which were divided into districts. Provincial governors were subordinate to the governors only in military matters, otherwise they were independent of the governors. The governors were engaged in the search for fugitive peasants and soldiers, the construction of fortresses, the collection of income from state-owned factories, they took care of the external security of the provinces, and from 1722. carried out judicial functions.

Voivodes were appointed by the Senate and were subordinate to the collegiums. The main feature of local government bodies was that they simultaneously performed administrative and police functions.

The Burmister Chamber (Town Hall) was created with subordinate zemstvo huts. They were in charge of the commercial and industrial population of cities in terms of collecting taxes, duties and duties. But in the 20s. XVIII century city government takes the form of magistrates. The Chief Magistrate and local magistrates were formed with the direct participation of governors and voivodes. The magistrates obeyed them in matters of court and trade. Provincial magistrates and magistrates of cities included in the province represented one of the links in the bureaucratic apparatus with the subordination of lower bodies to higher ones. Elections to the magistrates of mayors and ratmans were entrusted to the governor.

Creation of the army and navy

Peter I turned separate sets of "Datochny people" into annual recruiting sets and created a permanent trained army in which soldiers served for life.

Petrovsky fleet

The creation of the recruitment system took place from 1699 to 1705. from the Decree of 1699 “On the admission to service as soldiers from all kinds of free people.” The system was based on the class principle: officers were recruited from the nobles, soldiers from the peasants and other tax-paying population. For the period 1699-1725. 53 recruitments were carried out, amounting to 284,187 people. By decree of February 20, 1705 Garrison internal troops were created to ensure order within the country. The created Russian regular army showed itself in the battles of Lesnaya, Poltava and other battles. The reorganization of the army was carried out by the Rank Order, the Order of Military Affairs, the Order of the Commissar General, the Artillery Order, etc. Subsequently, the Rank Table and the Commissariat were formed, and in 1717. The Military Collegium was created. The recruiting system made it possible to have a large, combat-ready army.

Peter and Menshikov

The Russian fleet was also formed from conscripted recruits. At the same time, the Marine Corps was created. The navy was created during the wars with Turkey and Sweden. With the help of the Russian fleet, Russia established itself on the shores of the Baltic, which raised its international prestige and made it a maritime power.

Judicial reform

It was carried out in 1719 and streamlined, centralized and strengthened the entire judicial system of Russia. The main objective of the reform is to separate the court from the administration. At the head of the judicial system was the monarch; he decided the most important state affairs. The monarch, as the supreme judge, examined and decided many cases independently. The Offices of Investigative Cases arose on his initiative; they helped him carry out judicial functions. The Prosecutor General and Chief Prosecutor were subject to the court of the Tsar, and the Senate was the court of appeal. Senators were subject to trial by the Senate (for official crimes). The Justice Collegium was a court of appeal in relation to the court courts and was the governing body over all courts. Regional courts consisted of court and lower courts.

The presidents of the court courts were governors and vice-governors. Cases moved from the lower court to the court court by way of appeal.

The chamberlains tried cases concerning the treasury; voivodes and zemstvo commissars tried peasants for escaping. Almost all boards performed judicial functions, with the exception of the Board of Foreign Affairs.

Political affairs were considered by the Preobrazhensky Order and the Secret Chancellery. But since the order of cases through the authorities was confused, governors and voivodes interfered in judicial matters, and judges - in administrative ones, a new reorganization of the judiciary was carried out: the lower courts were replaced by provincial ones and were placed at the disposal of voivodes and assessors, court courts and their functions were eliminated were handed over to the governors.

Thus, the court and administration again merged into one body. Court cases were most often resolved slowly, accompanied by red tape and bribery.

The adversarial principle was replaced by an investigative one. In general, judicial reform was particularly unplanned and chaotic. The judicial system of the period of Peter's reforms was characterized by a process of increased centralization and bureaucratization, the development of class justice and served the interests of the nobility.

The historian N. Ya. Danilevsky noted two sides of the activities of Peter I: state and reformative (“changes in life, morals, customs and concepts”). In his opinion, “the first activity deserves eternal gratitude, reverent memory and the blessing of posterity.” With activities of the second kind, Peter brought “the greatest harm to the future of Russia”: “Life was forcibly turned upside down in a foreign way.”

Monument to Peter I in Voronezh

Senate and its functions

At the next stage, the king organized the Senate as the main government body in the country.

Political reforms of Peter I

This happened in 1711. The Senate has become one of the key bodies in governing the country, with the broadest powers, which include the following:

Legislative activity
Administrative activities
Judicial functions in the country

Creation of boards

Secret Chancery

Regional reform

Moscow
Smolenskaya
Kyiv
Azovskaya
Kazanskaya
Arkhangelogorodskaya
Simbirskaya

Each province was governed by a governor. He was appointed personally by the king. All administrative, judicial and military power was concentrated in the hands of the governor. Since the provinces were quite large in size, they were divided into districts. Later the counties were renamed provinces.

Church reform

A. Renewal of government. Bureaucratic apparatus. Supreme authorities

What facts indicate the need

economic reforms in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century?

2. What new features did the economic sphere acquire during the reign of Peter the Great?

3. Is there a connection between economic and social changes in the country (using the example of the reforms of Peter the Great)?

Question 26. State and administrative reforms of Peter I

ANSWER PLAN:

A. Renewal of government. Bureaucratic apparatus. Higher authorities.

B. Creation of boards. Local authorities.

B. Church reform.

D. Procedure for serving. Table of ranks.

D. Military reforms.

1. Under Peter I, a new state apparatus was created. The reform of government bodies was largely dictated by the war, since the old state machine could not cope with the increasingly complex tasks and new functions. When implementing the new government system, Peter relied on the works of European scientists on the theory of state, and also borrowed something from the practice of European states, in particular Sweden.

2. The king believed that he knew what the happiness of the state consisted of, and that his will was the law. He wrote in one of the decrees: “Our people are like children for the sake of ignorance, who will never learn the alphabet when they are not forced by the master, who at first seem annoyed, but when they learn, then they thank ...” Therefore, Peter began fulfilling his will by updating the administrative apparatus.

3. First of all, Peter I stopped consulting with the Boyar Duma, and in 1701 created a “consultation of ministers” of 8 proxies. The last mention of the Boyar Duma dates back to 1704. A certain mode of work was established in the council, each minister had special powers, reporting and minutes of meetings appeared, i.e., management was bureaucratized. In 1711, Peter I established the Governing Senate, which replaced the Boyar Duma. It was the supreme governing body of the country, consisting of nine people appointed by the king. The Senate controlled judicial, financial, military, foreign, and trade affairs, but all legislative power belonged to the king.

Question 20. State reforms of Peter 1.

Decisions by senators were made collectively. Fiscal positions were introduced in the center and locally, who identified facts of violation of decrees, bribery and reported this to the Senate and the Tsar. But in 1722, the tsar organized control over the Senate itself: the prosecutor general and his assistants monitored the work of the Senate.

2. In 1707-1711. The local government system was changed. Russia was divided into 8 provinces headed by governors. They had enormous power: they were in charge of collecting taxes, justice, and recruiting recruits. The provinces were divided, in turn, into 50 provinces headed by a governor, and the provinces into counties (districts). City magistrates collected taxes from the population and judged the citizens. The urban population was divided into “regular” (haves) and “irregular” (have-nots).

3. The main role in the management system was played by Tsar Peter I. For example, the military oath spoke of the obligation to serve the Tsar, and not Russia. Peter was the highest legislative and judicial authority. A personal royal office was created - the Cabinet, which prepared cases for reports to Peter. Acceptance of the title by Peter I in 1721 emperor was an expression and confirmation of absolutism that had become established in Russia.

Reforms of Peter 1

The sage avoids all extremes.

The reforms of Peter 1 are his main and key activities, which were aimed at changing not only the political, but also the social life of Russian society. According to Pyotr Alekseevich, Russia was very far behind Western countries in its development. This confidence of the king was further strengthened after he conducted the great embassy. Trying to transform the country, Peter 1 changed almost all aspects of the life of the Russian state, which had developed over centuries.

What was the central government reform?

The reform of central government was one of Peter's first reforms. It should be noted that this reformation lasted a long time, since it was based on the need to completely restructure the work of Russian authorities.

Peter I's reforms in the field of central government began back in 1699. At the initial stage, this change affected only the Boyar Duma, which was renamed the Near Chancellery. With this step, the Russian Tsar alienated the boyars from power and allowed power to be concentrated in a chancellery that was more pliable and loyal to him. This was an important step that required priority implementation, since it allowed the centralization of government of the country.