The most important transformations of Peter 1. Political reforms of Peter I

Peter the Great is an ambiguous person in world history. Evaluating the reforms of Peter I briefly, some historians consider him the Great Reformer, who managed to turn the development of Russia in a different direction. Others - almost the Antichrist, who went back against the old order and church foundations, destroying the usual way of life of the Russian people.

Rise to power and background

Pyotr Alekseevich Romanov (1672-1725) was the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second marriage. He was proclaimed king together with his half-brother Ivan in 1682. Due to the small age of both, their older sister Sophia actually ruled the country.

In 1689, Sophia was removed from the throne. Power completely passed into the hands of Peter. Although formally Ivan continued to be considered a co-ruler, he was too weak and sick to participate in the affairs of the state.

The state was in a difficult position: the Moscow kingdom was in a state of another war with the Ottoman Empire. In search of allies, Peter 1 went on a trip to Europe in order to conclude political alliances. Getting acquainted with the culture and structure of European countries, he saw with his own eyes how far behind Russia was in development from the Western powers. Peter 1 realized that it was time for change. Returning to his homeland, he resolutely began to "cut a window to Europe".

The reforms of Peter the Great are shown in the table.

Foreign policy and military reform of Peter I

The young tsar planned to pursue a rather aggressive foreign policy. Peter intended to strengthen Russia's influence in the international arena, expand its borders and gain access to the non-freezing seas - the Azov, Black and Caspian. To achieve such ambitious goals, it was necessary to build a combat-ready army.

Peter has been interested in military affairs since childhood. For the young prince, amusing (Peter's) regiments were created - special military formations for studying combat tactics and weapon handling techniques. It was then that Peter developed views on how the Russian army should look like in the future. After coming to power, these views formed the basis of the military reform of Peter 1.

Military reform had five main directions:

Thanks to these changes, the Russian army was able to become one of the strongest at that time. This was especially evident during the Northern War, where the troops of Peter 1 defeated the exemplary Swedish army.

Administrative-territorial changes

The internal policy of Peter 1 was aimed at creating an absolute monarchy by strengthening the vertical of power based on local self-government, as well as strengthening police supervision to prevent and quickly suppress rebellions.

Administrative reforms can be divided into 2 categories:

• central control;
• local government.

The reason for the transformation of the central government was the desire of Peter to replace the old bureaucratic machine and build a new model of power.

The result of the reform was the creation of:

• Councils of Ministers (Senate)- authority to govern the state during the absence of the king. Senators were appointed personally by Peter 1;
• Synod- was created instead of the abolished post of patriarch to manage church affairs. The church passed into submission to the state;
• Colleges- government bodies, which were clearly divided into departments and replaced the outdated system of orders;
• Secret Office- an organization whose activity was to persecute opponents of the king's policy.

The prerequisite for the reform of local government was the war with Sweden and the need for a more efficient state apparatus.

According to the provincial (regional) reform, the country was divided into provinces, districts and provinces. This structure made it possible to more efficiently collect taxes from taxable estates in each area. A separate military unit was attached to the province, which the inhabitants of the province had to support, provide with food and housing. In case of war, recruits from local residents joined the same military unit and could be instantly transferred to the places of hostilities. The governors were appointed personally by Peter.

The urban reform was rather unsystematic and took place in several stages. The main goal was to collect as many taxes from the population as possible.

In 1699, the Chamber of Burmese was created, which was popularly called the Town Hall. The main functions of the City Hall were the collection of taxes and the maintenance of the army. It was an elected body, holding elections was possible with the payment of double taxes by the city. Naturally, most of the cities did not appreciate the reform.

After the end of the Northern War, the second stage of urban reform began. Cities were divided into categories (depending on the number of households), and the townspeople - into categories (taxable and non-taxable).

During the administrative reforms, Peter also undertook a judicial reform. The purpose of the reform was to separate the branches of government, to create courts independent of the city or provincial administration. Peter himself became the supreme judge. He conducted the proceedings of the most important state affairs. Hearings on political cases were handled by the Secret Office. The Senate and the Boards also had judicial functions (with the exception of the Board of Foreign Affairs). Courts and lower courts were created in the provinces.

Economic transformation

The socio-economic situation in Russia was unenviable. In the context of an aggressive foreign policy, constant warfare, the country needed a lot of resources and money. The reformist mind of Peter was persistently looking for ways to extract new financial sources.

The tax reform was carried out. Its main feature was the introduction of a poll tax - funds were collected from each person, while earlier the tax was levied from the yard. This made it possible to fill the budget, but increased social tension, and the number of peasant uprisings and riots increased.

For the development of backward Russian industry, Peter 1 actively used the help of foreign specialists, invited the best European engineers to the court. But workers were sorely lacking. Therefore, with the growth of production and the opening of new factories, instead of paying a poll, the serf could be assigned to the factory and undertake to work there for a certain amount of time.

Peter encouraged the construction of factories, endowed merchants with a wide range of benefits. And also enterprises were built for public money, and later transferred to private hands. If the chosen owner of the factory could not cope with production and was at a loss, Peter took the enterprise back into state ownership, and the negligent industrialist could be executed.

But clumsy Russian products could not adequately compete with advanced European ones. To support domestic production, Peter began to use a policy of protectionism - high duties were introduced on the import of foreign goods.

Peter actively promoted trade. He understood that for this it was necessary to develop a convenient transport system. New water channels were laid (Ivanovsky, Staroladozhsky, Tveretsky), overland communication routes were built.

Under the reign of Peter 1, a monetary reform was also carried out. The ruble began to equal 100 kopecks, or 200 money. Lighter silver coins were minted. For trading needs, copper round coins were introduced into use. For the needs of the state, 5 mints were established.

Innovations in the field of culture

Peter the Great sought to introduce Russia to European cultural traditions. He perceived the norms of appearance and behavior that were established in the era of the 18th century in Russian society extremely negatively, considered barbaric and outdated.

The tsar began his reforming activity with the creation of the Cathedral - a depraved entertainment event. The council ridiculed the rituals performed in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, parodied them, accompanying this with slander and drinking alcohol. It was created in order to reduce the importance of the church and the influence of the clergy on the common people.

While traveling in Europe, Peter became addicted to such a bad habit as smoking. In Russia, according to the decree of 1634, the use of tobacco and its sale were banned. Smokers, according to this decree, had to cut off the nose. Naturally, the tsar became more loyal in this matter, canceled the previous ban, and as a result, soon their own tobacco plantations began to be created on the territory of Russia.

Under Peter 1, the state began to live according to the new, Julian, calendar. Previously, the countdown was from the day of the creation of the world, and the New Year began on September 1. The decree was issued in December, so since then January has become the beginning not only for the new chronology, but also for the year.

Affected by the reforms of Peter and the appearance of subjects. From his youth, he ridiculed baggy, long and uncomfortable court clothes. Therefore, by a new decree for the class nobles, he ordered to wear clothes according to the European type - German or French clothes were cited as an example. People who did not follow the new fashion could simply be grabbed in the middle of the street and "cut off the excess" - reshape their clothes in a new way.

Peter's beards were also in disfavor. He himself did not wear a beard, and did not perceive all the talk that this is a symbol of the honor and dignity of a Russian person. All boyars, merchants and military men were ordered by law to cut their beards. Some disobedient Peter cut them personally. The clergy and residents of the villages were allowed to keep their beards, but at the entrance to the city the bearded men had to pay a tax for it.

A public theater was created to ridicule Russian traditions and customs, and to promote Western culture. The entrance was free, but the theater did not win success with the public and did not last long. Therefore, Peter issued a new decree on entertainment for the nobility - the Assemblies. Thus, the king wanted to introduce his subjects to the life of an average European.

Not only the nobles, but also their wives had to go to the Assembly. Unbridled fun was supposed - conversations, dances, playing cards and chess. Smoking and drinking alcohol was encouraged. Among the nobility, the Assemblies caused a negative reaction and were considered indecent - because of the participation of women in them, and it was not pleasant to have fun under duress.

The reforms of Peter I are transformations in state and public life carried out during the reign of Peter I in Russia. All state activity of Peter I can be conditionally divided into two periods: 1696-1715 and 1715-1725.

The peculiarity of the first stage was the haste and not always thoughtful nature, which was explained by the conduct of the Northern War. The reforms were aimed primarily at raising funds for warfare, were carried out by force and often did not lead to the desired result. In addition to state reforms, extensive reforms were carried out at the first stage in order to modernize the way of life. In the second period, the reforms were more systematic.

A number of historians, such as V. O. Klyuchevsky, pointed out that the reforms of Peter I were not something fundamentally new, but were only a continuation of those transformations that were carried out during the 17th century. Other historians (for example, Sergei Solovyov), on the contrary, emphasized the revolutionary nature of Peter's transformations.

Historians who have analyzed Peter's reforms hold different views on his personal participation in them. One group believes that Peter did not play the main role (which was attributed to him as king) both in drawing up the program of reforms and in the process of their implementation. Another group of historians, on the contrary, writes about the great personal role of Peter I in carrying out certain reforms.

Public Administration Reforms

See also: Senate (Russia) and Colleges (Russian Empire)

At first, Peter I did not have a clear program of reforms in the sphere of public administration. The emergence of a new state institution or a change in the administrative-territorial administration of the country was dictated by the conduct of wars, which required significant financial resources and the mobilization of the population. The system of power inherited by Peter I did not allow collecting enough funds to reorganize and increase the army, build a fleet, build fortresses and St. Petersburg.

From the first years of Peter's reign, there was a tendency to reduce the role of the ineffective Boyar Duma in government. In 1699, the Near Office, or the Council (Council) of Ministers, was organized under the tsar, consisting of 8 trusted persons who controlled individual orders. It was a prototype of the future Governing Senate, formed on February 22, 1711. The last mention of the Boyar Duma dates back to 1704. A certain mode of operation was established in the Council: each minister had special powers, reports and minutes of meetings appear. In 1711, instead of the Boyar Duma and the Council that replaced it, the Senate was established. Peter formulated the main task of the Senate in this way: “Look at the expenses throughout the state, and set aside unnecessary, and especially vain. Collect money as possible, because money is the artery of war.

Created by Peter for the current administration of the state during the absence of the tsar (at that time the tsar went on the Prut campaign), the Senate, consisting of 9 people (presidents of the collegiums), gradually turned from a temporary into a permanent higher government institution, which was enshrined in the Decree of 1722. He controlled justice, was in charge of trade, fees and expenses of the state, oversaw the serviceability of serving military service by the nobles, he was transferred to the functions of the Discharge and Ambassadorial orders.

Decisions in the Senate were taken collectively, at a general meeting and supported by the signatures of all members of the highest state body. If one of the 9 senators refused to sign the decision, then the decision was considered invalid. Thus, Peter I delegated part of his powers to the Senate, but at the same time placed personal responsibility on its members.

Simultaneously with the Senate, the post of fiscals appeared. The duty of the Chief Fiscal in the Senate and the Fiscals in the provinces was to secretly supervise the activities of institutions: they identified cases of violation of decrees and abuses and reported to the Senate and the Tsar. Since 1715, the work of the Senate was monitored by the Auditor General, from 1718 renamed the Chief Secretary. Since 1722, the control over the Senate has been carried out by the Prosecutor General and the Chief Prosecutor, to whom the prosecutors of all other institutions were subordinate. No decision of the Senate was valid without the consent and signature of the Attorney General. The Prosecutor General and his Deputy Chief Prosecutor reported directly to the sovereign.

The Senate, as a government, could make decisions, but their implementation required an administrative apparatus. In the years 1717-1721, a reform of the executive bodies of government was carried out, as a result of which, in parallel with the system of orders with their vague functions, 12 colleges were created according to the Swedish model - the predecessors of future ministries. In contrast to orders, the functions and spheres of activity of each collegium were strictly delineated, and relations within the collegium itself were based on the principle of collegiality of decisions. Were introduced:

· Collegium of foreign (foreign) affairs - replaced the Ambassadorial Order, that is, it was in charge of foreign policy.

· Military Collegium (Military) - staffing, weapons, equipment and training of the land army.

· Admiralty Board - naval affairs, fleet.

· The patrimonial collegium - replaced the Local Order, that is, it was in charge of noble land ownership (land litigation, transactions for the purchase and sale of land and peasants, and the investigation of fugitives were considered). Founded in 1721.

· Board of Chambers - collection of state revenues.

The state-offices-collegium - was in charge of the state's expenses,

· Revision Board - control of the collection and spending of public funds.

· Commerce Board - issues of shipping, customs and foreign trade.

· Berg College - mining and metallurgical business (mining and plant industry).

Manufactory College - light industry (manufactories, that is, enterprises based on the division of manual labor).

· The College of Justice - was in charge of civil proceedings (the Serf Office operated under it: it registered various acts - bills of sale, on the sale of estates, spiritual wills, debt obligations). Worked in civil and criminal litigation.

· The Spiritual College or the Most Holy Governing Synod - managed (a) church affairs, replaced (a) the patriarch. Founded in 1721. This collegium/Synod included representatives of the higher clergy. Since their appointment was carried out by the tsar, and the decisions were approved by him, we can say that the Russian emperor became the de facto head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The actions of the Synod on behalf of the highest secular power were controlled by the chief prosecutor - a civil official appointed by the tsar. By a special decree, Peter I (Peter I) ordered the priests to carry out an enlightening mission among the peasants: to read sermons and instructions to them, to teach children prayers, to instill in them reverence for the tsar and the church.

· The Little Russian Collegium - exercised control over the actions of the hetman, who owned power in Ukraine, because there was a special regime of local government. After the death in 1722 of Hetman I. I. Skoropadsky, new elections of hetman were prohibited, and the hetman was appointed for the first time by royal decree. The collegium was headed by a tsarist officer.

On February 28, 1720, the General Regulations introduced a single system of office work in the state apparatus for the whole country. According to the regulations, the collegium consisted of the president, 4-5 advisers and 4 assessors.

The central place in the management system was occupied by the secret police: the Preobrazhensky order (in charge of cases of state crimes) and the Secret Chancellery. These institutions were under the jurisdiction of the emperor himself.

In addition, there were the Salt Office, the Copper Department, and the Land Survey Office.

The "first" colleges were called the Military, Admiralty and Foreign Affairs.

On the rights of colleges there were two institutions: the Synod and the Chief Magistrate.

The colleges were subordinate to the Senate, and to them - the provincial, provincial and county administration.

The results of the management reform of Peter I are ambiguously considered by historians.

Regional reform

Main article: Regional reform of Peter I

In 1708-1715, a regional reform was carried out in order to strengthen the vertical of power in the field and better provide the army with supplies and recruits. In 1708, the country was divided into 8 provinces headed by governors endowed with full judicial and administrative power: Moscow, Ingermanland (later St. Petersburg), Kyiv, Smolensk, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberia. The Moscow province gave more than a third of the proceeds to the treasury, followed by the Kazan province.

The governors were also in charge of the troops located on the territory of the province. In 1710, new administrative units appeared - shares, uniting 5536 households. The first regional reform did not solve the set tasks, but only significantly increased the number of civil servants and the cost of their maintenance.

In 1719-1720, the second regional reform was carried out, which eliminated the shares. The provinces began to be divided into 50 provinces headed by governors, and the provinces were superdistricts headed by zemstvo commissars appointed by the Chamber Collegium. Only military and judicial matters remained under the jurisdiction of the governor.

Judicial reform

Under Peter, the judicial system underwent radical changes. The functions of the Supreme Court were given to the Senate and the College of Justice. Below them were: in the provinces - gofgerichts or court courts of appeal in large cities, and provincial collegiate lower courts. The provincial courts conducted civil and criminal cases of all categories of peasants except for the monastic ones, as well as townspeople not included in the settlement. Since 1721, the magistrate conducted the court cases of the townspeople included in the settlement. In other cases, the so-called one-man court acted (cases were decided solely by a zemstvo or city judge). However, in 1722 the lower courts were replaced by provincial courts headed by a governor. Also, Peter I was the first person to carry out judicial reform, regardless of the state of the country.

Control over the activities of civil servants

To control the execution of decisions on the ground and reduce rampant corruption, since 1711, the position of fiscals was established, who were supposed to “secretly visit, inform and expose” all abuses, both higher and lower officials, pursue embezzlement, bribery, and accept denunciations from private individuals . At the head of the fiscals was the chief fiscal, appointed by the emperor and subordinate to him. The Chief Fiscal was a member of the Senate and maintained contact with subordinate fiscals through the fiscal desk of the Senate Chancellery. Denunciations were considered and monthly reported to the Senate by the Punishment Chamber - a special judicial presence of four judges and two senators (existed in 1712-1719).

In 1719-1723. the fiscals were subordinate to the College of Justice, with the establishment in January 1722 of the post of prosecutor general were supervised by him. Since 1723, the chief fiscal was the general fiscal, appointed by the sovereign, his assistant was the chief fiscal, appointed by the Senate. In this regard, the fiscal service withdrew from the subordination of the College of Justice and regained departmental independence. The vertical of fiscal control was brought to the city level.

Military reform

Army reform: in particular, the introduction of regiments of a new order, reformed according to a foreign model, was begun long before Peter I, even under Alexei I. However, the combat effectiveness of this army was low. Reforming the army and creating a fleet became necessary conditions for victory in the Northern War of 1700-1721 years. Preparing for the war with Sweden, Peter ordered in 1699 to make a general recruitment and start training soldiers according to the model established by the Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites. This first recruitment gave 29 infantry regiments and two dragoons. In 1705, every 20 yards had to put up one recruit for life service. Subsequently, recruits began to be taken from a certain number of male souls among the peasants. Recruitment to the fleet, as well as to the army, was carried out from recruits.

Church reform

One of the transformations of Peter I was the reform of church administration he carried out, aimed at eliminating church jurisdiction autonomous from the state and subordinating the Russian church hierarchy to the Emperor. In 1700, after the death of Patriarch Adrian, Peter I, instead of convening a council to elect a new patriarch, temporarily appointed Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky of Ryazan as the head of the clergy, who received the new title of Custodian of the Patriarchal Throne or "Exarch".

To manage the property of the patriarchal and episcopal houses, as well as monasteries, including the peasants belonging to them (approximately 795 thousand), the Monastic order was restored, headed by I. A. Musin-Pushkin, who again became in charge of the trial of the monastic peasants and control income from church and monastic land holdings. In 1701, a series of decrees was issued to reform the management of church and monastery possessions and the organization of monastic life; the most important were the decrees of January 24 and 31, 1701.

In 1721, Peter approved the Spiritual Regulations, the drafting of which was entrusted to the Pskov bishop, Ukrainian tsar's close associate Feofan Prokopovich. As a result, a radical reform of the church took place, which eliminated the autonomy of the clergy and completely subordinated it to the state. In Russia, the patriarchate was abolished and the Spiritual 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 the monastic vaults. Peter did not go for the complete secularization of church and monastery possessions, which was carried out much later, at the beginning of the reign of Catherine II.

financial reform

The Azov campaigns, the Northern War of 1700-1721 and the maintenance of a permanent recruit army created by Peter I required huge funds, which were collected by financial reforms.

At the first stage, it all came down to finding new sources of funds. To the traditional customs and tavern fees 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.) , obligatory use of stamped paper, minting coins of smaller weight (damage).

In 1704, Peter carried out a monetary reform, as a result of which the main monetary unit was not money, but a penny. From now on, it began to equal not ½ money, but 2 money, and this word first appeared on coins. At the same time, the fiat ruble was also abolished, which had been a conditional monetary unit since the 15th century, equated to 68 grams of pure silver and used as a standard in exchange transactions. The most important measure in the course of the financial reform was the introduction of a poll tax instead of the prior 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 wattle fence, and one gate was made (this was considered one household during the census). Due to these shortcomings, it was decided to switch to a poll tax. In 1718-1724, a second census of the population was carried out in parallel with the revision of the population (revision of the census), which began in 1722. According to this revision, there were 5,967,313 people in the taxable state.

Based on the data obtained, the government divided by the population the amount of money needed to maintain the army and navy.

As a result, the size of the per capita tax was determined: the serf landlords paid the state 74 kopecks, the state peasants - 1 ruble 14 kopecks (since they did not pay dues), the urban population - 1 ruble 20 kopecks. Only men were taxed, regardless of age. The nobility, clergy, as well as soldiers and Cossacks were exempted from the poll tax. The soul was countable - between revisions, the dead were not excluded from the tax lists, newborns were not included, as a result, the tax burden was unevenly distributed.

As a result of the tax reform, the size of the treasury was significantly increased. If in 1710 income 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).

Transformations in industry and commerce

Main article: Industry and trade under Peter I

Realizing during the Great Embassy the technical backwardness of Russia, Peter could not ignore the problem of reforming Russian industry. In addition, the creation of their own industry was dictated by military needs, as indicated by a number of historians. Having started the Northern War with Sweden in order to gain access to the sea and proclaiming as a task the construction of a modern fleet in the Baltic (and even earlier - in Azov), Peter was forced to build manufactories designed to meet the sharply increased needs of the army and navy.

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, by sending Russian nobles to study in Western Europe. Manufacturers received great privileges: they were exempted from military service with their children and craftsmen, they were subject only to the court of the Manufactory Collegium, they got rid of taxes and internal duties, they could bring the tools and materials they needed from abroad duty-free, their houses were freed from military quarters.

Significant measures have been taken on the exploration of minerals in Russia. Previously, the Russian state was completely dependent on foreign countries for raw materials, primarily Sweden (iron was transported from there), but after the discovery of deposits of iron ore and other minerals in the Urals, the need for iron purchases 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, Nizhny Tagil were founded. There are weapons factories (cannon yards, arsenals) in the Olonetsky region, Sestroretsk and Tula, gunpowder factories - in St. Petersburg and near Moscow, the leather and textile industries are developing - in Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kazan and the Left-Bank Ukraine, which was conditioned by the need to produce equipment and uniforms for the Russian troops, silk weaving, the production of paper, cement, a sugar factory and a trellis factory appear.

In 1719, the “Berg Privilege” was issued, according to which everyone was given the right to search, melt, boil and clean metals and minerals everywhere, subject to the payment of a “mountain tax” of 1/10 of the cost of production and 32 shares in favor of the owner of that land where ore deposits are found. For hiding ore and trying to prevent mining, the owner was threatened with confiscation of land, corporal punishment, and even the death penalty "through the fault of looking."

The main problem in the 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, the peasants of which worked out their taxes to the state at manufactories (such peasants would be called ascribed), criminals and beggars were sent to the factories. In 1721, a decree followed, which allowed "merchants" to buy villages, the peasants of which could be relocated to manufactories (such peasants would be called sessional).

Trade has been further developed. With the construction of St. Petersburg, the role of the main port of the country passed from Arkhangelsk to the future capital. River channels were built.

In particular, Vyshnevolotsky (Vyshnevolotsk water system) and Obvodny canals were built. At the same time, two attempts to build the Volga-Don Canal ended in failure (although 24 locks were built), while tens of thousands of people worked on its construction, working conditions were difficult, and mortality was very high.

Some historians characterize Peter's policy in trade as a policy of protectionism, which consists in supporting domestic production and imposing higher duties on imported products (this corresponded to the idea of ​​mercantilism). So, in 1724, a protective customs tariff was introduced - high duties on foreign goods that could be manufactured or already produced by domestic enterprises.

The number of factories and plants at the end of Peter's reign reached 233, of which about 90 were large manufactories.

autocracy reform

Before Peter, the order of succession to the throne in Russia was in no way regulated by law, and was entirely determined by tradition. Peter in 1722 issued a decree on the order of succession to the throne, according to which the reigning monarch during his lifetime appoints himself a successor, and the emperor can make anyone his heir (it was assumed that the king would appoint "the most worthy" as his successor). This law was in effect until the reign of Paul I. Peter himself did not use the law of succession to the throne, since he died without indicating a successor.

estate policy

The main goal pursued by Peter I in social policy is the legal registration of class rights and obligations of each category of the Russian population. As a result, a new structure of society developed, in which the class character was more clearly formed. The rights and duties of the nobility were expanded, and, at the same time, the serfdom of the peasants was strengthened.

Nobility

1. Decree on education of 1706: Boyar children must receive either primary school or home education without fail.

2. Decree on estates of 1704: noble and boyar estates are not divided and are equated to each other.

3. Decree of the same inheritance of 1714: a landowner with sons could bequeath all his real estate to only one of them of his choice. The rest were required to serve. The decree marked the final merger of the noble estate and the boyar estate, thereby finally erasing the differences between them.

4. Division of military, civil and court service into 14 ranks. Upon reaching the eighth grade, any official or military man could receive the status of a personal nobleman. Thus, a person's career depended primarily not on his origin, but on achievements in public service.

The place of the former boyars was taken by the “generals”, consisting of the ranks of the first four classes of the “Table of Ranks”. Personal service mixed the representatives of the former tribal nobility with people raised by the service. Peter's legislative measures, without significantly expanding the class rights of the nobility, significantly changed his duties. Military affairs, which in Moscow times was the duty of a narrow class of service people, is now becoming the duty of all sections of the population. The nobleman of the time of Peter the Great still has the exclusive right to land ownership, but as a result of the decrees on uniform inheritance and revision, he is responsible to the state for the taxable serviceability of his peasants. The nobility is obliged to study in order to prepare for the service. Peter destroyed the former isolation of the service class, opening, through the length of service through the Table of Ranks, access to the environment of the gentry to people of other classes. On the other hand, by the law of single inheritance, he opened the exit from the nobility to merchants and the clergy to those who wanted it. The nobility of Russia becomes a military-bureaucratic estate, whose rights are created and hereditarily determined by public service, and not by birth.

Peasantry

Peter's reforms changed the position of the peasants. From different categories of peasants who were not in serfdom from the landowners or the church (black-eared peasants of the north, non-Russian nationalities, etc.), a new single category of state peasants was formed - personally free, but paying dues to the state. The opinion that this measure “destroyed the remnants of the free peasantry” is incorrect, since the population groups that made up the state peasants were not considered free in the pre-Petrine period - they were attached to the land (Council Code of 1649) and could be granted by the tsar to private individuals and the church as fortresses. State. peasants in the 18th century had the rights of personally free people (they could own property, act as one of the parties in court, elect representatives to estate bodies, etc.), but were limited in movement and could be (until the beginning of the 19th century, when this category is finally approved as free people) were transferred by the monarch to the category of serfs. Legislative acts relating to the serfs proper were contradictory. Thus, the interference of landlords in the marriage of serfs was limited (decree of 1724), it was forbidden to put serfs in their place as defendants in court and keep them on the right for the debts of the owners. The rule was also confirmed on the transfer of landowners' estates, who ruined their peasants, to custody, and the serfs were given the opportunity to enroll as soldiers, which freed them from serfdom (by decree of Empress Elizabeth on July 2, 1742, the serfs lost this opportunity). By the decree of 1699 and the verdict of the Town Hall in 1700, peasants engaged in trade or crafts were granted the right to move into the settlements, freeing themselves from serfdom (if the peasant was in one). At the same time, measures against fugitive peasants were significantly tightened, large masses of palace peasants were distributed to private individuals, and landowners were allowed to recruit serfs. A decree on 7 April 1690 was allowed to yield, for the unpaid debts of "local" serfs, which was effectively a form of serf trading. The taxation of serfs (that is, personal servants without land) with a poll tax led to the merging of serfs with serfs. The church peasants were subordinated to the monastic order and removed from the power of the monasteries. Under Peter, a new category of dependent farmers was created - peasants assigned to manufactories. These peasants in the 18th century were called possessive. By decree of 1721, nobles and merchants-manufacturers were allowed to buy peasants to manufactories to work for them. The peasants bought to the factory were not considered the property of its owners, but were attached to production, so that the owner of the factory could neither sell nor mortgage the peasants separately from the manufactory. Posessional peasants received a fixed salary and performed a fixed amount of work.

Transformations in the field of culture

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 of the Byzantine era became the year 1700 from the Nativity of Christ, and the New Year began to be celebrated on January 1. In addition, the uniform use of the Julian calendar was introduced under Peter.

After returning from the Great Embassy, ​​Peter I led the fight against the external manifestations of the "outdated" way of life (the most famous ban on beards), but no less paid attention to the introduction of the nobility to education and secular Europeanized culture. Secular educational institutions began to appear, the first Russian newspaper was founded, translations of many books into Russian appeared. Success in the service of Peter made the nobles dependent on education.

Under Peter in 1703 the first book appeared in Russian with Arabic numerals. Until that date, they were designated by letters with titles (wavy lines). In 1708, Peter approved a new alphabet with a simplified type of letters (the Church Slavonic font remained for printing church literature), the two letters "xi" and "psi" were excluded.

Peter created new printing houses, in which 1312 titles of books were printed in 1700-1725 (twice as many as in the entire previous history of Russian book printing). Thanks to the rise of printing, paper consumption increased from 4,000 to 8,000 sheets at the end of the 17th century to 50,000 sheets in 1719.

There have been changes in the Russian language, which included 4.5 thousand new words borrowed from European languages.

In 1724, Peter approved the charter of the Academy of Sciences being organized (opened in 1725 after his death).

Of particular importance was the construction of stone Petersburg, in which foreign architects took part and which was carried out according to the plan developed by the tsar. He created a new urban environment with previously unfamiliar forms of life and pastime (theatre, masquerades). The interior decoration of houses, the way of life, the composition of food, etc. have changed.

By a special decree of the tsar in 1718, assemblies were introduced, representing a new form of communication between people in Russia. At the assemblies, the nobles danced and mingled freely, unlike earlier feasts and feasts. The reforms carried out by Peter I affected not only politics, economics, but also art. Peter invited foreign artists to Russia and at the same time sent talented young people to study "arts" abroad, mainly to Holland and Italy. In the second quarter of the XVIII century. "Peter's pensioners" began to return to Russia, bringing with them new artistic experience and acquired skills.

On December 30, 1701 (January 10, 1702), Peter issued a decree ordering to write full names in petitions and other documents instead of pejorative half-names (Ivashka, Senka, etc.), not to fall on your knees before the king, to wear a hat in the cold in winter in front of the house where the king is, do not shoot. He explained the need for these innovations in this way: “Less baseness, more zeal for service and loyalty to me and the state - this honor is characteristic of the king ...”

Peter tried to change the position of women in Russian society. He by special decrees (1700, 1702 and 1724) forbade forced marriage and marriage. It was prescribed that there should be at least six weeks between the betrothal and the wedding, "so that the bride and groom could recognize each other." If during this time, the decree said, “the bridegroom does not want to take the bride, or the bride does not want to marry the groom,” no matter how the parents insisted, “there is freedom.” Since 1702, the bride herself (and not just her relatives) was given the formal right to terminate the betrothal and upset the arranged marriage, and neither side had the right to “strike with a forfeit”. Legislative prescriptions 1696-1704 about public festivities introduced the obligation to participate in the celebrations and festivities of all Russians, including "female".

Gradually, among the nobility, a different system of values, worldview, aesthetic ideas took shape, which was fundamentally different from the values ​​and worldview of most representatives of other estates.

Education

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, 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 in provincial towns, created by decree of 1714, called upon "to teach children of all ranks to read and write, numbers and geometry." It was supposed to create two such schools in each province, where education was supposed to be free. Garrison schools were opened for soldiers' children, and a network of theological schools was established to train priests in 1721.

According to the Hanoverian Weber, during the reign of Peter 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 with fierce resistance and was canceled. Peter's attempt to create an all-estate elementary school failed (the creation of a network of schools ceased after his death, most of the digital schools under his successors were redesigned into class schools for the training of the clergy), but nevertheless, during his reign, the foundations were laid for the spread of education in Russia.

In Russia, industry was poorly developed, trade left much to be desired, and the system of government was outdated. There was no higher education, and only in 1687 the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy was opened in Moscow. There was no printing, theaters, painting, many of the boyars and people of the upper class were not literate.

Peter 1 spent social reforms, which greatly changed the position of nobles, peasants and urban residents. After the transformation, people for military service were not recruited by the nobles as a militia, but now they were recruited to serve in regular regiments. The nobles began to serve with the same lower military ranks as ordinary people, their privileges were simplified. People who came from the common people had the opportunity to rise to the highest ranks. The passage of military service was no longer determined by the position of the clan, but by a document published in 1722 "Table of Ranks". He established 14 ranks of military and civilian service.

All nobles and those serving in the service had to be trained in literacy, numbers and geometry. Those nobles who refused or were unable to receive this primary education were deprived of the opportunity to marry and receive officer ranks.

Still, despite the strict reforms, the landowners had an important service advantage over ordinary people. The nobles, after entering the service, were ranked among the elite guards, and not as ordinary soldiers.

The former regime of taxation of peasants has changed, from the past “household” to the new “capitation” where taxes were withdrawn not from the peasant household, but from each person.

Peter 1 wanted to make cities like European ones. In 1699, Peter 1 gave cities the opportunity to self-govern. The townspeople elected burmisters in their city, who were part of the town hall. Now the inhabitants of the cities were divided into permanent and temporary. People who had various occupations began to enter guilds and workshops.

The main goal pursued by Peter 1 during the implementation of social reforms:

• Improvement of the economic situation in the country.
• Decreased status of the boyars in society.
• Transformation of the entire social structure of the country as a whole. And bringing society to the European image of culture.

Table of important social reforms carried out by Peter 1, which influenced the social structure of the state.​

Before Peter 1 in Russia already existed in large numbers, regular regiments. But they were recruited for the duration of the war, and after it ended, the regiment disbanded. Before the reforms of Peter 1, the servicemen of these regiments combined service with craft, trade and work. Soldiers lived with their families.

As a result of the reforms, the role of the regiments increased, and the noble militias completely disappeared. A standing army appeared, which did not dissolve after the end of the war. The lower ranks of the soldiers were not recruited as in the militia, they were recruited from the people. The soldiers stopped doing anything other than military service. Before the reforms, the Cossacks were a free ally of the state and served under a contract. But after the Bulavinsky rebellion, the Cossacks were obliged to organize a clearly defined number of troops.

An important achievement of Peter 1 was the creation of a strong fleet, which consisted of 48 ships, 800 galleys. The total crew of the fleet was 28 thousand people.

All military reforms, for the most part, were aimed at raising the military power of the state, for this it was necessary:

• Create a full-fledged army institute.
• Deprive the boyars of the right to form a militia.
• To introduce a transformation into the army system, where the highest officer ranks were given for faithful and long service, and not for pedigree.

Table of important military reforms carried out by Peter 1:

Government reforms

Under the reforms of Peter 1, the boyar duma lost the status of an influential authority. Peter discussed all matters with a narrow circle of people. An important management reform was carried out in 1711, creation of the highest state body - the government Senate. Representatives of the Senate were appointed personally by the sovereign, but did not receive the right to power because of their noble family trees. At first, the Senate had the status of an administrative institution that did not work on the creation of laws. Supervision over the work of the Senate was conducted by the prosecutor, who was appointed by the king.

All the old orders were replaced during the 1718 reform following the Swedish model. It consisted of 12 colleges that conducted business in the maritime, military, foreign areas, accounting for expenses and income, financial control, trade and industry.

Another reform of Peter 1 was the division of Russia into provinces, which were divided into provinces, and then into counties. The governor was appointed at the head of the province, in the provinces the voivode became the head.

An important management reform, Peter 1 carried out on the succession to the throne in 1722. The old order to the throne of the state was abolished. Now the sovereign himself chose his heir to the throne.

Table of reforms of Peter 1 in the field of state administration:

Economic reforms briefly

Peter 1 at one time carried out major economic reforms. By his decree, a large number of factories were built with state money. He tried to develop the industry, the state in every possible way encouraged private entrepreneurs who built factories and factories with large benefits. By the end of Peter's reign, there were more than 230 factories in Russia.

Peter's policy was aimed at introducing high duties on the import of foreign goods, which created competitiveness for the domestic manufacturer. The regulation of the economy was applied by establishing trade routes, canals and new roads were built. Every effort was made to explore new mineral deposits. The strongest surge in the economy was the development of minerals in the Urals.

The Northern War prompted Peter to introduce numerous taxes: a tax on baths, taxes on beards, a tax on oak coffins. At that time, lighter coins were minted. Thanks to these introductions, a large injection of funds into the country's treasury was achieved..

By the end of Peter's reign, a serious development of the tax system was achieved. The household tax system was replaced by a poll tax. Which subsequently led to strong social and economic changes in the country.

Table of economic reforms:

Reforms of Peter 1 in the field of science and culture briefly

Peter 1 wanted to create in Russia the European style of culture of that time. Returning from a trip abroad, Peter began to introduce Western-style clothes into the everyday life of the boyars, forcibly forced the boyars to shave their beards, there were cases when, in a fit of rage, Peter himself chopped off the beards of people of the upper class. Peter 1 tried to disseminate useful technical knowledge in Russia to a greater extent than humanitarian ones. Peter's cultural reforms were aimed at creating schools where a foreign language, mathematics, and engineering were taught. Western literature was translated into Russian and made available in schools.

The reform of replacing the alphabet from the church to the secular model influenced the education of the population.. The first newspaper was published, which was called Moskovskie Vedomosti.

Peter 1 tried to introduce European customs in Russia. Public holidays were held with a bias in the European manner.

Table of Peter's reforms in the field of science and culture:

Church reforms in brief

Under Peter 1, the church, being previously independent, became dependent on the state. In 1700, Patriarch Adrian died, the state prohibited the election of a new one, right up to 1917. Instead of the patriarch, the ministry of the guardian of the throne of the patriarch was appointed, which was Metropolitan Stefan.

Until 1721 there were no concrete decisions on the question of the church. But already in 1721, a reform of the church administration was carried out, during which it was determined that the position of the patriarch in the church was abolished, and was replaced by a new assembly called the Holy Synod. The members of the Synod were not elected by anyone, but were personally appointed by the tsar. Now, at the legislative level, the church has become completely dependent on the state.

The main direction in the church reforms carried out by Peter 1 was:

• Relaxation of the power of the clergy, on the population.
• Create state control over the church.

Table of church reforms:

Reforms of Peter I

Reforms of Peter I- transformations in state and public life carried out during the reign of Peter I in Russia. All state activity of Peter I can be conditionally divided into two periods: -1715 and -.

A feature of the first stage was haste and not always thoughtful nature, which was explained by the conduct of the Northern War. The reforms were aimed primarily at raising funds for warfare, were carried out by force and often did not lead to the desired result. In addition to state reforms, extensive reforms were carried out at the first stage in order to modernize the way of life. In the second period, the reforms were more systematic.

Decisions in the Senate were taken collectively, at a general meeting and supported by the signatures of all members of the highest state body. If one of the 9 senators refused to sign the decision, then the decision was considered invalid. Thus, Peter I delegated part of his powers to the Senate, but at the same time placed personal responsibility on its members.

Simultaneously with the Senate, the post of fiscals appeared. The duty of the Chief Fiscal in the Senate and the Fiscals in the provinces was to secretly supervise the activities of institutions: they identified cases of violation of decrees and abuses and reported to the Senate and the Tsar. Since 1715, the work of the Senate was monitored by the auditor general, who was renamed the chief secretary. Since 1722, the control over the Senate has been carried out by the Prosecutor General and the Chief Prosecutor, to whom the prosecutors of all other institutions were subordinate. No decision of the Senate was valid without the consent and signature of the Attorney General. The Prosecutor General and his Deputy Chief Prosecutor reported directly to the sovereign.

The Senate, as a government, could make decisions, but their implementation required an administrative apparatus. In -1721, a reform of the executive bodies of government was carried out, as a result of which, in parallel with the system of orders with their vague functions, 12 colleges were created according to the Swedish model - the predecessors of future ministries. In contrast to orders, the functions and spheres of activity of each collegium were strictly delineated, and relations within the collegium itself were based on the principle of collegiality of decisions. Were introduced:

• Collegium of Foreign (Foreign) Affairs - replaced the Posolsky Prikaz, that is, it was in charge of foreign policy.
• Military Collegium (Military) - acquisition, armament, equipment and training of the land army.
• Admiralty Board - naval affairs, fleet.
• The patrimonial collegium - replaced the Local Order, that is, it was in charge of noble land ownership (land litigation, transactions for the purchase and sale of land and peasants, and the investigation of fugitives were considered). Founded in 1721.
• Chamber College - collection of state revenues.
• State-offices-collegium - was in charge of the state's expenses,
• Revision Board - control of the collection and spending of public funds.
• Commerce College - issues of shipping, customs and foreign trade.
• Berg College - mining and metallurgical business (mining and plant industry).
• Manufactory College - light industry (manufactories, that is, enterprises based on the division of manual labor).
• The College of Justice was in charge of civil proceedings (the Serf Office operated under it: it registered various acts - bills of sale, on the sale of estates, spiritual wills, debt obligations). Worked in civil and criminal litigation.
• Theological College or the Holy Governing Synod - managed church affairs, replaced the patriarch. Founded in 1721. This collegium/Synod included representatives of the higher clergy. Since their appointment was carried out by the tsar, and the decisions were approved by him, we can say that the Russian emperor became the de facto head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The actions of the Synod on behalf of the highest secular power were controlled by the chief prosecutor - a civil official appointed by the tsar. By a special decree, Peter I (Peter I) ordered the priests to carry out an enlightening mission among the peasants: to read sermons and instructions to them, to teach children prayers, to instill in them reverence for the tsar and the church.
• The Little Russian Collegium - exercised control over the actions of the hetman, who owned power in Ukraine, because there was a special regime of local government. After the death in 1722 of hetman I. I. Skoropadsky, new elections of hetman were prohibited, and the hetman was appointed for the first time by tsar's decree. The collegium was headed by a tsarist officer.

The central place in the management system was occupied by the secret police: the Preobrazhensky Prikaz (in charge of cases of state crimes) and the Secret Chancellery. These institutions were under the jurisdiction of the emperor himself.

In addition, there were the Salt Office, the Copper Department, and the Land Survey Office.

Control over the activities of civil servants

To control the execution of decisions on the ground and reduce rampant corruption, since 1711, the position of fiscals was established, who were supposed to "secretly visit, denounce and expose" all abuses, both higher and lower officials, pursue embezzlement, bribery, and accept denunciations from private individuals . At the head of the fiscals was the chief fiscal, appointed by the king and subordinate to him. The Chief Fiscal was a member of the Senate and maintained contact with subordinate fiscals through the fiscal desk of the Senate Chancellery. Denunciations were considered and monthly reported to the Senate by the Punishment Chamber - a special judicial presence of four judges and two senators (existed in 1712-1719).

In 1719-1723. the fiscals were subordinate to the College of Justice, with the establishment in January 1722 of the post of prosecutor general were supervised by him. Since 1723, the chief fiscal was the general fiscal, appointed by the sovereign, his assistant was the chief fiscal, appointed by the Senate. In this regard, the fiscal service withdrew from the subordination of the College of Justice and regained departmental independence. The vertical of fiscal control was brought to the city level.

Ordinary archers in 1674. Lithograph from a 19th century book.

Reforms of the army and navy

The reform of the army: in particular, the introduction of regiments of a new order, reformed according to a foreign model, was begun long before Peter I, even under Alexei I. However, the combat effectiveness of this army was low. Reforming the army and creating a fleet became necessary conditions for victory in the Northern War -1721. Preparing for the war with Sweden, Peter ordered in 1699 to make a general recruitment and start training soldiers according to the model established by the Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites. This first recruitment gave 29 infantry regiments and two dragoons. In 1705, every 20 households had to put up one recruit for life service. Subsequently, recruits began to be taken from a certain number of male souls among the peasants. Recruitment to the fleet, as well as to the army, was carried out from recruits.

Private army infantry. regiment in 1720-32. Lithograph from a 19th century book.

If at first among the officers there were mainly foreign specialists, then after the start of the navigation, artillery, engineering schools, the growth of the army was satisfied by Russian officers from the nobility. In 1715, the Naval Academy was opened in St. Petersburg. In 1716, the Military Charter was issued, which strictly defined the service, rights and duties 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 troops reached 210 thousand (of which there were 2600 in the guard, 41 560 in the cavalry, 75 thousand in the infantry, 14 thousand in the garrisons) and up to 110 thousand irregular troops. The fleet consisted of 48 battleships; 787 galleys and other vessels; there were almost 30 thousand people on all the ships.

Church reform

Religious politics

The age of Peter was marked by a trend towards greater religious tolerance. Peter terminated the “12 Articles” adopted by Sophia, according to which the Old Believers who refused to renounce the “schism” were to be burned at the stake. The "schismatics" were allowed to practice their faith, subject to the recognition of the existing state order and the payment of double taxes. Complete freedom of belief was granted to foreigners who came to Russia, restrictions were lifted on the communication of Orthodox Christians with Christians of other faiths (in particular, interfaith marriages were allowed).

financial reform

Some historians characterize Peter's policy in trade as a policy of protectionism, which consists in supporting domestic production and imposing higher duties on imported products (this corresponded to the idea of ​​mercantilism). So, in 1724, a protective customs tariff was introduced - high duties on foreign goods that could be manufactured or already produced by domestic enterprises.

The number of factories and plants at the end of Peter's reign extended to , including about 90 large manufactories.

autocracy reform

Before Peter, the order of succession to the throne in Russia was in no way regulated by law, and was entirely determined by tradition. Peter in 1722 issued a decree on the order of succession to the throne, according to which the reigning monarch during his lifetime appoints himself a successor, and the emperor can make anyone his heir (it was assumed that the king would appoint "the most worthy" as his successor). This law was in effect until the reign of Paul I. Peter himself did not use the law of succession to the throne, since he died without indicating a successor.

estate policy

The main goal pursued by Peter I in social policy is the legal registration of class rights and obligations of each category of the population of Russia. As a result, a new structure of society developed, in which the class character was more clearly formed. The rights and duties of the nobility were expanded, and, at the same time, the serfdom of the peasants was strengthened.

Nobility

Key milestones:

1. Decree on education of 1706: Boyar children must receive either primary school or home education without fail.
2. Decree on estates of 1704: noble and boyar estates are not divided and are equated to each other.
3. Decree of Uniform Succession of 1714: a landowner with sons could bequeath all his real estate to only one of them of his choice. The rest were required to serve. The decree marked the final merger of the noble estate and the boyar estate, thereby finally erasing the difference between the two estates of feudal lords.
4. "Table of Ranks" () of the year: division of military, civil and court service into 14 ranks. Upon reaching the eighth grade, any official or military man could receive the status of hereditary nobility. Thus, a person's career depended primarily not on his origin, but on achievements in public service.

The place of the former boyars was taken by the “generals”, consisting of the ranks of the first four classes of the “Table of Ranks”. Personal service mixed the representatives of the former tribal nobility with people raised by the service. Peter's legislative measures, without significantly expanding the class rights of the nobility, significantly changed his duties. Military affairs, which in Moscow times was the duty of a narrow class of service people, is now becoming the duty of all sections of the population. The nobleman of the time of Peter the Great still has the exclusive right to land ownership, but as a result of the decrees on uniform inheritance and revision, he is responsible to the state for the tax service of his peasants. The nobility is obliged to study in order to prepare for the service. Peter destroyed the former isolation of the service class, opening, through the length of service through the Table of Ranks, access to the environment of the gentry to people of other classes. On the other hand, by the law of single inheritance, he opened the exit from the nobility to merchants and the clergy to those who wanted it. The nobility of Russia becomes a military-bureaucratic estate, whose rights are created and hereditarily determined by public service, and not by birth.

Peasantry

Peter's reforms changed the position of the peasants. From different categories of peasants who were not in serfdom from the landowners or the church (black-eared peasants of the north, non-Russian nationalities, etc.), a new single category of state peasants was formed - personally free, but paying dues to the state. The opinion that this measure “destroyed the remnants of the free peasantry” is incorrect, since the population groups that made up the state peasants were not considered free in the pre-Petrine period - they were attached to the land (Council Code of 1649) and could be granted by the tsar to private individuals and the church as fortresses. State. peasants in the 18th century had the rights of personally free people (they could own property, act as one of the parties in court, elect representatives to estate bodies, etc.), but were limited in movement and could be (until the beginning of the 19th century, when this category is finally approved as free people) were transferred by the monarch to the category of serfs. Legislative acts relating to the serfs proper were contradictory. Thus, the intervention of landowners in the marriage of serfs was limited (decree of 1724), it was forbidden to put serfs in their place as defendants in court and keep them on the right for the debts of the owner. The rule was also confirmed on the transfer of landowners' estates, who ruined their peasants, to custody, and the serfs were given the opportunity to enroll as soldiers, which freed them from serfdom (by decree of Empress Elizabeth on July 2, 1742, the serfs lost this opportunity). By the decree of 1699 and the verdict of the Town Hall in 1700, peasants engaged in trade or craft were granted the right to move into the settlements, freeing themselves from serfdom (if the peasant was in one). At the same time, measures against fugitive peasants were significantly tightened, large masses of palace peasants were distributed to private individuals, and landowners were allowed to recruit serfs. A decree on 7 April 1690 was allowed to yield, for the unpaid debts of "local" serfs, which was effectively a form of serf trading. The taxation of serfs (that is, personal servants without land) with a poll tax led to the merging of serfs with serfs. Church peasants were subordinated to the monastic order and removed from the power of the monasteries. Under Peter, a new category of dependent farmers was created - peasants assigned to manufactories. These peasants in the 18th century were called possessive. By decree of 1721, nobles and merchants-manufacturers were allowed to buy peasants to manufactories to work for them. The peasants bought to the factory were not considered the property of its owners, but were attached to production, so that the owner of the factory could neither sell nor mortgage the peasants separately from the manufactory. Posessional peasants received a fixed salary and performed a fixed amount of work.

Urban population

The urban population in the era of Peter I was very small: about 3% of the country's population. The only major city was Moscow, which was the capital until the reign of Peter the Great. Although in terms of the level of development of cities and industry, Russia was much inferior to Western Europe, but during the 17th century. there was a gradual increase. The social policy of Peter the Great, concerning the urban population, pursued the provision of the payment of the poll tax. To do this, the population was divided into two categories: regular (industrialists, merchants, artisans of workshops) and irregular citizens (everyone else). The difference between an urban regular citizen at the end of Peter's reign and an irregular one was that a regular citizen participated in city government by electing members of the magistrate, was enrolled in a guild and workshop, or carried a monetary duty in the share that fell on him according to the social layout.

Transformations in the field of culture

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 of the Byzantine era became the year 1700 from the Nativity of Christ, and the New Year began to be celebrated on January 1. In addition, the uniform application of the Julian calendar was introduced under Peter.

After returning from the Great Embassy, ​​Peter I led the fight against the external manifestations of the "outdated" way of life (the most famous ban on beards), but no less paid attention to the introduction of the nobility to education and secular Europeanized culture. Secular educational institutions began to appear, the first Russian newspaper was founded, translations of many books into Russian appeared. Success in the service of Peter made the nobles dependent on education.

There have been changes in the Russian language, which included 4.5 thousand new words borrowed from European languages.

Peter tried to change the position of women in Russian society. He by special decrees (1700, 1702 and 1724) forbade forced marriage and marriage. It was prescribed that there should be at least six weeks between the betrothal and the wedding, "so that the bride and groom could recognize each other." If during this time, the decree said, “the bridegroom does not want to take the bride, or the bride does not want to marry the groom,” no matter how the parents insisted, “there is freedom.” Since 1702, the bride herself (and not just her relatives) was given the formal right to terminate the betrothal and upset the arranged marriage, and neither side had the right to “strike with a forfeit”. Legislative prescriptions 1696-1704 about public festivities introduced the obligation to participate in the celebrations and festivities of all Russians, including "female".

Gradually, among the nobility, a different system of values, worldview, aesthetic ideas took shape, which was fundamentally different from the values ​​and worldview of most representatives of other estates.

Peter I in 1709. Drawing of the middle of the 19th century.

Education

Peter was clearly aware of the need for enlightenment, and took a number of decisive measures to this end.

According to the Hanoverian Weber, during the reign of Peter 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 with fierce resistance and was canceled. Peter's attempt to create an all-estate elementary school failed (the creation of a network of schools ceased after his death, most of the digital schools under his successors were redesigned into class schools for the training of the clergy), but nevertheless, during his reign, the foundations were laid for the spread of education in Russia.

Background and features of the reforms of Peter 1

Diagram of the characteristic features of Peter's reforms

Economic reforms of Peter 1

State administrative reforms of Peter 1

Scheme of authorities and administration

Military reforms of Peter 1

Social reforms of Peter 1

During the implementation of Peter's reforms, there were changes in the position of social groups and in the social estate structure of Russian society:

Reforms of Peter 1 in the spiritual sphere

The transformation of the state and society as a result of Peter's reforms

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The source of information: History in tables and diagrams. / Edition 2e, St. Petersburg: 2013.