The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 marked the end of the Time of Troubles and was supposed to bring order to the rule of Russia. Let me remind you that after the death of Ivan 4 (the Terrible), the place on the throne was free, since the tsar left no heirs. That is why the Troubles occurred, when both internal forces and external representatives carried out endless attempts to seize power.
Reasons for convening the Zemsky Sobor
After the foreign invaders were expelled not only from Moscow, but also from Russia, Minin, Pozharsky and Trubetskoy sent invitation letters to all the destinies of the country, urging all representatives of the nobility to come to the Cathedral, where a new tsar would be elected.
The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 opened in January, and it was attended by:
- Clergy
- Boyars
- nobles
- City Elders
- Peasant representatives
- Cossacks
In total, 700 people took part in the Zemsky Sobor.
The course of the Council and its decisions
The first decision that was approved by the Zemsky Sobor was that the tsar must be Russian. He must not refer to aliens in any way.
Marina Mniszek intended to crown her son Ivan (whom historians often call "Vorenok"), but after the decision of the Council that the tsar should not be a foreigner, she fled to Ryazan.
Historical reference
The events of those days must be considered from the point of view of the fact that there were a huge number of people who wanted to take a place on the throne. Therefore, groups began to form, which united, promoting their representative. There were several such groups:
- Noble boyars. This included representatives of the boyar family. One part of them believed that Fedor Mstislavsky or Vasily Golitsyn would become the ideal tsar for Russia. Others leaned towards the young Mikhail Romanov. The number of boyars by interests was divided approximately equally.
- Nobles. These were also noble people with great authority. They promoted their "king" - Dmitry Trubetskoy. The difficulty was that Trubetskoy had the rank of "boyar", which he had recently received in the Tushensky yard.
- Cossacks. By tradition, the Cossacks joined the one who had the money. In particular, they actively served the Tushensky court, and after the latter was dispersed, they began to support the tsar, who was related to Tushin.
Mikhail Romanov's father, Filaret, was a patriarch in the Tushensky court and enjoyed great respect there. Largely due to this fact, Mikhail was supported by the Cossacks and the clergy.
Karamzin
Romanov did not have many rights to the throne. The more serious claim to him was that his father was on friendly terms with both False Dmitrys. The first False Dmitry made Filaret a metropolitan and his protege, and the second False Dmitry appointed him patriarch and his protege. That is, Mikhail's father was on very friendly terms with foreigners, whom they had just got rid of by the decision of the Council of 1613, they decided not to call for power anymore.
results
The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 ended on February 21 - Mikhail Romanov was elected tsar. Now it is difficult to reliably speak about all the intricacies of the events of those days, since not so many documents have survived. Nevertheless, it is known for certain that the Cathedral was surrounded by complex intrigues. This is not surprising - the stakes were too high. The fate of the country and entire ruling dynasties was being decided.
The result of the Council was that Mikhail Romanov was elected to the kingdom, who at that time was only 16 years old. The unequivocal answer "Why exactly him?" no one will. Historians say that it was the most convenient figure for all dynasties. Allegedly, young Mikhail was an extremely suggestible person and he could be "managed as the majority needs." In fact, all the fullness of power (especially in the first years of the reign of Romanov) was not with the tsar himself, but with his father, Patriarch Filaret. It was he who actually ruled Russia on behalf of his son.
Feature and controversy
The main feature of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was its mass character. Representatives of all classes and estates, with the exception of serfs and rootless peasants, took part in deciding the future of the country. In fact, we are talking about an all-estate Council, which had no analogues in the history of Russia.
The second feature is the importance of the solution and its complexity. There is no definite answer why Romanov was chosen. After all, it was not the most obvious candidate. The entire Council was marked by a large number of intrigues, bribery attempts and other manipulations of people.
Summarizing, we can say that the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was of great importance for the history of Russia. He concentrated power in the hands of the Russian tsar, laid the foundation for a new dynasty (the Romanovs) and saved the country from constant problems and claims to the throne from the Germans, Poles, Swedes and others.
National history. History of Russia from ancient times to 1917. Encyclopedia. Volume 2. M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1996. S. 261 - 262.
Zemsky cathedrals, cathedrals, councils, zemstvo councils, central nationwide class-representative institutions with legislative functions in the middle XVI – XVII centuries (in 1610 - 1613 the highest legislative and executive bodies). A variety of Zemsky Sobors were the so-called church-zemstvo, military and judicial councils. They arose at the final stage of the formation of the Russian centralized state in the form of a class-representative monarchy. By the middle of the XVI century. there were fundamental changes in the composition and structure of the Sovereign's court, local estate institutions, the importance of the Consecrated Cathedral increased.
The first Zemsky Sobor was convened in 1549 in an atmosphere of significant social aggravation (Moscow uprising of 1547, speeches of service nobles and taxable strata of the city and countryside in the 1540s). Meetings of Zemsky Sobors were held in Moscow, Vladimir (1550), near Moscow (1610 – 1611), in Yaroslavl (1611 – 1612). They were convened by kings (very rarely at the initiative of the estates) and estates (during periods of interregnum).
At the Zemsky Sobors, the most important issues of Russia's domestic and foreign policy were discussed and resolved. Zemsky Sobors were convened during the coronation of Fyodor Ivanovich (1584), Alexei Mikhailovich (1645), when Sofya Alekseevna was appointed ruler (1682); at Zemsky Sobors, Boris Godunov (1598), Vasily Shuisky (1606), Mikhail Fedorovich (1613), Ivan V and Peter I (1682) were elected to the kingdom; confirmed the deposition of Tsar Vasily Shuisky and the transfer of supreme power to the "Seven Boyars" (1610); developed the conditions for the election of the Polish prince Vladislav to the Russian throne (1610). The Zemsky Sobor of 1619 sanctioned the election of Patriarch Filaret at the Consecrated Council, thereby emphasizing his real status as co-ruler of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Zemsky Sobors prepared a number of important reforms. The Zemsky Sobor of 1549 considered and approved the reform of local government and outlined other changes. On January 3, 1565, the Zemsky Sobor agreed to Tsar Ivan IV to introduce the oprichnina. In 1613 - 1622, the Zemsky Sobors were engaged in financial and tax policy (the decisions of the Zemsky Sobors on the collection of “fifteen”, “request”, “soshny” money and other fees and “reserves”), developed measures to eliminate the consequences of the intervention of the early XVII V. , regulated land relations, strengthened the foundations of feudal landownership (carrying out a new description and patrols in counties, detecting townspeople - pawnbrokers, etc.). In 1681 - 1682 Zemsky Sobors abolished localism and outlined military, financial, and government reforms. Secular and ecclesiastical codes were adopted at Zemsky Sobors [Sudebnik 1550, Stoglav (1551), Cathedral Code 1649]. At judicial Zemsky Sobors, A.F. Adashev and Sylvester , dethroned Metropolitan Philip (judicial-church Zemsky Sobors 1560, 1568), accused of conspiracy against False Dmitry I and convicted Prince Vasily Shuisky (judicial Zemsky Sobor 1605), sentenced to death (1607) Ileyka Muromets (“Tsarevich Peter”). The activities of some Zemsky Sobors are associated with the adoption of measures to suppress the Cossack-peasant uprising led by I.M. Zarutsky (1614), movements of the Cossacks in the Moscow and Pomeranian cities (1614), the Pskov uprising of 1650. In foreign policy, special attention was paid to Russian-Polish (1566, 1580, 1591, 1610, 1684) and Russian-Swedish (1616) relations, including violations of the Deulino Treaty of 1618 and the Polyanovsky Peace of 1634 by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . In 1642, the Zemsky Sobor considered the issue of accepting Azov into the Russian state. , in 1653 he decided to declare war on the Commonwealth and to accept Ukraine into Russian citizenship (took place in 1654). The so-called military councils (“meetings”, “meetings”) and some Zemsky sobors were devoted to the organization of campaigns against Kazan (1550, 1552), the reform of the border service (1571), military operations against the troops of the Crimean Khanate (1598, 1604, 1637, etc. .), the invasion of Prince Vladislav (1618), etc.
The composition of Zemsky Sobors was formed by representation from estate groups, socio-political and state institutions. Representation was due to the status of the person, determined by choice or, possibly, by appointment (invitation). The core of the Zemsky Sobor and its permanent parts (curia) were: consecrated cathedral, headed by the Moscow metropolitan (since 1589 - patriarch) and included archbishops, bishops, archimandrites, abbots of influential monasteries; Boyar Duma(including duma nobles and duma clerks), as well as (before the beginning of the XVII c.) persons who, by virtue of their position, had the right of a boyar court (butlers, treasurers, printers, etc.). The bulk of the secular feudal lords of the XVI century. represented various groups of the sovereign's court(stewards, solicitors, Moscow and elected nobles, clerks, etc.). From the trade and craft population, privileged groups of merchants were represented at the Zemsky Sobor ( guests, members of the Living Room and Cloth Hundreds). At the Zemsky Sobor of 1584 for the first time were present "elected" from the county nobility, at the Zemsky Sobor in 1598 their representation increased; For the first time, Sotsky Moscow Black Hundreds and Half Hundreds participated in the meetings of the cathedral. From the beginning of the 17th century the principle of real election was developed (elected from county corporations of the nobility, from the white urban clergy, a number of class groups of service people "according to the instrument", taxable citizens, etc.). A special role in the history of the Zemsky Sobors (“Councils of the Whole Earth”, 1611-1613) was played in 1604-1605 by city councils - all-estate local bodies that arose in many territories of Russia. Having started the national liberation movement against the interventionists, they actively contributed to the formation of the First Militia of 1611, the People's Militia of 1611 - 1612 and struggle for state and national revival. At the Zemsky Sobor of 1612 - 1613 for the first time were present elected from the black-haired and palace peasants. The electoral council of 1613 was the most numerous (over 800 people from no less than 58 cities) and representative in composition in comparison with the previous Zemsky Sobor. In 1613 - 1622 Zemsky Sobors acted almost continuously, while one composition of the Zemsky Sobor held several "sessions". In 1632 - 1653 Zemsky Sobors were convened relatively rarely - on the most significant issues of domestic and foreign policy. During this period, the activity of the class groups of the city became more active and the state significance of class meetings increased, representatives from foreigners appeared in the Russian service (1648). The last Zemsky Sobors (1682, 1683 - 1684) were held after the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich in the conditions of a political crisis and the struggle for power of palace groups. In the context of the evolution of the state-political system of Russia to absolutism Zemsky Sobors lost their significance by the end of the 17th century. Researchers count about 60 Zemsky Sobors of the middle of the 16th - 17th centuries. (V.D. Nazarov)
the highest estate-representative institutions in Russia ser. XVI - to. XVII centuries. They included members of the Consecrated Cathedral, the Boyar Duma, the "sovereign court", elected from the provincial nobility and the top of the townspeople. We considered the most important national issues.
Great Definition
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Zemsky Sobors
Central class-representative institutions in Russia in the XVI-XVII centuries. They included members of the Consecrated Cathedral - archbishops, bishops, etc., headed by the metropolitan, from 1589 - with the patriarch, members of the Boyar Duma, the "sovereign court", elected from the provincial nobility and the top citizens. The most important nationwide issues were considered at the Western Conference. At the beginning of the XVII century. during the period of mass popular movements, Polish and Swedish intervention, the “Council of All the Earth” was convened, the continuation of which was the Z. S. in 1613, who elected the first Romanov, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, to the throne. During his reign, the Z. S. were convened most often. The practice of convening and running meetings of Z. S. was not strictly regulated. Councils approved or elected tsars on the throne, approved the Council Code of 1649, abolished parochialism in 1682, approved treaties on the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, on “perpetual peace” with Poland in 1683-1684, with their help the government introduced new taxes, changed existing ones, discussed foreign policy issues, the need to recruit troops, etc. Sometimes unplanned issues were proposed for discussion, for example, at the Council of 1566, the question of abolishing the oprichnina introduced by John IV the Terrible was raised. From the middle of the XVII century. the activity of Z. S. freezes, which is explained by the strengthening of absolutism in Russia.
Composition Z.s. was formed by representation from class groups, socio-political and state institutions. Representation was due to the status of the person, determined by choice or, possibly, by appointment (invitation). The core of Z.s. and its permanent parts (curia) were: the Consecrated Cathedral, headed by the Moscow metropolitan (since 1589 - patriarch) and including archbishops, bishops, archimandrites, abbots of influential monasteries; Boyar Duma (including duma nobles and duma clerks), as well as (until the beginning of the 17th century) persons who had the right of the boyar court (butlers, treasurers, printer) by position. The bulk of the secular feudal lords of the XVI century. represented various groups of the Sovereign's court (stewards, solicitors, Moscow and elected nobles, clerks). From the trade and craft population in the W.s. privileged groups of merchants were represented (guests, members of the Living Room and Cloth Hundreds). From 1584 on the W.s. there were "elected" from the district nobility, since 1598 the sotskys of the Moscow Black Hundreds, since 1612 - elected from the peasants. Z.s. lost their importance by the end of the 17th century.
The first Z.s. (1549 and 1566) are organically included in the system of institutions of the estate-representative monarchy that had developed by the middle of the 16th century, when a number of political reforms were carried out.
In June 1566, on the W.s. only representatives of the zemshchina were present, the delegates were appointed by the government. Here, for the first time, the government faced strong opposition. A large group of boyars, nobles turned to the tsar with a petition for the resignation of the oprichnina. Z.s. stands out in particular. 1613: it was wider and more democratic in composition than the previous ones - a new dynasty was elected to the Moscow throne. Some time after the election of Mikhail Fedorovich Z.S. did not dissolve and acted as the supreme body under the king. At the beginning of the XVII century. frequent convocations of Z.s. were necessary for the adoption of unpopular decisions on the new tension of the military and economic forces of the country.
Z.s. gathered in one of the Kremlin chambers (Granovitaya, Dining room and others). The cathedral was opened by a clerk or by the tsar himself. The clerk read out the "letter" (summon) for the cathedral. The answer to the question on the agenda was given on "separate articles" by each class.
Duration Z.s. was from several hours (1645) and days (1642) to several months (1648-1649) and even years (1613-1615,1615-1619,1620-1622).
Solutions were drawn up in a conciliar act-protocol with the seals of the tsar, the patriarch, the highest ranks and the kissing of the lower ranks. Z.s. existed until the end of the 17th century, gradually losing their significance and role in the life of the state.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
From the earliest times in Rus' there was an order according to which all the problems that arose were solved collectively, although the first Zemsky Sobor was convened only in 1549. What did this body do, what happened in the country, what caused it to appear, who was its member? The answers to these questions can be found in the article.
The Zemsky Sobor is the highest representative state institution in Tsarist Rus' from the middle of the sixteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century.
It included:
- the boyar Duma - a permanent council under the prince, which decided the most important state issues and is present in the Zemsky Cathedral in full force;
- a consecrated cathedral, whose representatives were the highest church hierarchs;
- elected people from servicemen - persons known in Rus' in the period from the fourteenth century to the eighteenth century, who are obliged to carry out military or administrative service for the benefit of the state;
- Moscow nobility;
- archers - elected servicemen;
- pushkari - Russian artillerymen from the sixteenth to the seventeenth century;
- Cossacks.
This organization included absolutely all classes of the population, not counting the serfs. The first Zemsky Sobor of 1549 was convened to acquaint all participants in this institution with the reforms of the new body of Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. This body was the Chosen Rada.
The reforms included the following innovations:
- the formation of the Streltsy troops - the personal guards of Ivan the Terrible;
- creation of a new Sudebnik;
- centralization of power, tightening and strengthening of the system of orders, coercion.
This council existed during the estate-representative monarchy - a form of government in which members of all estates take part in solving political, administrative, economic, social, international problems and issues in the state.
One of the most cruel rulers of Rus', who wanted to create an absolute monarchy in his state, on February 27, 1549, shows signs of democratic initiative and organizes the convening of the first Zemsky Sobor - a body that includes people of various social and economic statuses.
However, in fact, this is a big step towards the centralization of power. For the next 130 years, this council had a decisive say in solving the most important domestic and foreign political problems, economic issues, electing new rulers of the state and determining the succession to the throne.
Before the governing body that was born in the time of Ivan Vasilyevich, the country knew another similar institution - the veche. This is a kind of attempt to introduce democracy into the system of government, because this body also included representatives of different classes. At first, small judicial and administrative problems were discussed here, and then - issues at the level of international relations.
Important! The Zemsky Sobor was fundamentally different from the Veche. Its activities were much more binding, regulated, and the most important state issues were resolved from the very beginning. The councils became the first demonstration of parliamentarism in the country - a system of government in which there is a delimitation of the functions of the legislative and executive powers with a significant position of the parliament.
Reasons and prerequisites for the creation
In 1538, Elena Glinskaya was a princess, the second wife of the Moscow prince Vasily Ivanovich, the first 
ruler of the united Russian state, dies.
Her reign was marked by endless internal confrontations between the boyars and other representatives of the upper classes, the lack of support among the boyars and the common people, cruelty to competitors in the struggle for the throne.
After her death, the line of inheritance of the reign continued with two children - the eldest Ivan and the younger Yuri.
The young applicants, neither one nor the second, could take control of the country, therefore, in fact, the power over them and the state was exercised by the boyars. There is a continuous struggle for the throne between different clans.
In December 1543, the eldest son of Elena Glinskaya was ready to declare his intentions to begin an independent reign. To gain power, he uses a cruel method. An order was given from him to arrest Shuisky, the prince of Rus' at that time.
On January 16, 1547, Ivan is crowned king. During this period, the dissatisfaction of the people is growing due to poor management, which was not really realized, the lawlessness that noble people did in relation to ordinary peasants. The feudal struggle between the estates and the boyars is growing. The king understands that the conditions that existed before he began to rule made him completely dependent and controlled by noble people.
Thus, it was the following reasons and prerequisites that laid the foundation for the history of the Zemsky Sobor:
- the creation and legitimization of new orders of management features, such as the establishment of an absolute monarchy (autocracy), as well as a return to the positions in power that existed during the reign of Vasily III;
- the unification of the main and most influential political forces in the state - the feudal lords and the richest merchants who conduct foreign trade;
- the need to conclude a truce and friendly, cooperative agreements between the estates;
- the need to distribute responsibility for ongoing political activities among representatives of the noble estates;
- the growing discontent of the lower classes - the ordinary people, which intensified due to the fires that occurred in Moscow in 1547, where more than 1,700 people died and about a third of the city's buildings were destroyed;
- the need for fundamental reforms in all spheres of society, state support for the population.
The institution received the unofficial name of the "Cathedral of Reconciliation". He concluded about the bad results of the rule of the boyars, which was carried out after the death of the princess.
However, Ivan the Terrible himself did not blame the boyars for the bad state of affairs in the country - he took most of the responsibility upon himself, at the same time making it clear that he was ready to forget all gross violations of the rules of decency, norms of behavior and past grievances in exchange for loyalty to the tsar himself, existing laws and regulations, adherence to the ideals of public institutions.
However, already at that time it was clear that boyar rule would be severely limited in favor of the power of the nobility - the young tsar did not want to give all the powers of government to one hand.
If the main prerequisite for convening this government body is clear - the features of Ivan the Terrible's personal vision and the contradictions that had accumulated at the very top of power by the time he took office, then there are still disputes among historians regarding the main reason for the creation: some scientists argue that the main factor was a huge Moscow fire that claimed the lives of thousands of people, in which the people blamed the relatives of the tsar - Glinsky, and others are sure that Ivan was afraid of the outrages of ordinary people.
One of the most plausible is the theory that the young king was afraid of the responsibility that fell upon him when he came to power, and decided to create a body that shares this responsibility with him.
Differences between Western parliamentarism and Russian
All created social institutions, state institutions, including the Zemsky Sobor were unique, had their own characteristics, unlike Western foundations and orders. The creation of this body is a step towards the formation of a system of governance that has helped the country more than once to survive and overcome political and international crises.
For example, when a period came in which there were no obvious contenders for kingship, it was this council that determined who would take power into their hands and established a new dynasty.
Important! The first ruler elected by the Zemsky Sobor was Fedor, son of Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible. After that, the council met several more times, establishing the reign of Boris Godunov, and then Mikhail Romanov.
During the reign of Michael, the activities and history of the convocation of zemstvo councils ceased, but the further formation of the state administration system was carried out with an eye to this. 
institution.
The Zemsky Sobor cannot be compared with similar government bodies in the West for the following reasons:
- In the West, representative, governmental, legislative bodies were formed in order to eliminate and prevent the arbitrariness of the autocratic "top". Their establishment was the result of political competition. The initiative to form such bodies was put forward by ordinary citizens, while in Russia the formation took place at the suggestion of the tsar himself, and the main goal was the centralization of power.
- The Parliament of the West had a regulated system of government, was convened at regular intervals, had a specific meaning and functions prescribed in the legislation. The Russian Zemsky Sobor was convened at the request of the tsar or out of urgent need.
- The Western parliament is a legislative body, and the Russian model rarely engaged in the issuance and adoption of laws.
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Conclusion
The first Zemsky Sobor was convened by Ivan IV the Terrible at the beginning of his reign. Probably, the young ruler wanted to confirm his right to the throne, create a healthy, strong system of government, and bring the state closer in terms of development to Western countries.
However, the subsequent development of events showed that the tsar sought to centralize power, create an absolute monarchy, a strong autocracy. At the same time, this body played a big role - it became a prototype for the further formation of the public administration system.
The concept of Zemsky Sobors
Zemsky Sobors - the central estate-representative institution of Russia in the middle of the 16-17th century. The appearance of Zemsky Sobors is an indicator of the unification of Russian lands into a single state, the weakening of the princely-boyar aristocracy, the growth of the political significance of the nobility and, to some extent, the upper tenants. The first Zemsky Sobors were convened in the middle of the 16th century, during the years of exacerbation of the class struggle, especially in the cities. Popular uprisings forced the feudal lords to unite to pursue a policy that would strengthen state power and the economic and political position of the ruling class. Not all zemstvo sobors were properly organized class-representative assemblies. Many of them were convened so urgently that there was no question of choosing representatives from the localities to participate in them. In such cases, in addition to the “consecrated cathedral” (higher clergy), the Boyar Duma, the capital’s service and commercial and industrial people, persons who happened to be in Moscow on official and other business spoke on behalf of the county service people. Legislative acts that determined the procedure for choosing representatives to councils did not exist, although the idea of them arose.
The Zemsky Sobor included the tsar, the Boyar Duma, the Consecrated Cathedral in full force, representatives of the nobility, the upper classes of the townspeople (trading people, large merchants), i.e. candidates of the three estates. Zemsky Sobor as a representative body was bicameral. The upper chamber included the tsar, the Boyar Duma and the Consecrated Cathedral, who were not elected, but participated in it in accordance with their position. Members of the lower house were elected. The order of elections for the Council was as follows. From the Discharge Order, the governors received an order on elections, which was read to the inhabitants of cities and peasants. After that, estate electoral lists were drawn up, although the number of representatives was not recorded. Voters gave their elected mandates. However, elections were not always held. There were cases when, during the urgent convocation of a council, representatives were invited by the king or local officials. In the Zemsky Sobor, the nobles (the main service class, the basis of the tsarist army), and especially merchants, played a significant role, since the solution of monetary problems to provide funds for state needs, primarily defense and military, depended on their participation in this state body. Thus, in the Zemsky Sobors, the policy of compromise between the various strata of the ruling class found its manifestation.
The regularity and duration of meetings of Zemsky Sobors were not pre-regulated and depended on the circumstances and the importance and content of the issues discussed. In a number of cases, Zemsky Sobors functioned continuously. They solved the main issues of foreign and domestic policy, legislation, finance, state building. Issues were discussed by estates (by chambers), each estate submitted its written opinion, and then, as a result of their generalization, a conciliar verdict was drawn up, adopted by the entire composition of the Council. Thus, the government authorities had the opportunity to reveal the opinions of individual classes and groups of the population. But on the whole, the Council acted in close connection with the tsarist government and the Duma. Councils gathered on Red Square, in the Patriarch's Chambers or the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, later - the Golden Chamber or the Dining Hut.
It must be said that the bulk of the population - the enslaved peasantry - was not part of the zemstvo sobors as feudal institutions. Historians suggest that only once, at the council of 1613, was apparently present a small number of representatives of the black-skinned peasants.
In addition to the name "Zemsky Sobor", this representative institution in the Moscow State had other names: "Council of All the Earth", "Cathedral", "General Council", "Great Zemstvo Duma".
The idea of catholicity began to develop in the middle of the 16th century. The first Zemsky Sobor was convened in Russia in 1549 and went down in history as Cathedral of Reconciliation. The reason for its convocation was the uprising of the townspeople in Moscow in 1547. Frightened by this event, the tsar and the feudal lords attracted not only boyars and nobles, but also representatives of other segments of the population to participate in this Council, which created the appearance of involving not only gentlemen, but also and the third estate, thanks to which the discontented were somewhat reassured.
On the basis of available documents, historians believe that about 50 Zemsky Sobors took place.
The Stoglavy Cathedral of 1551 and the Cathedral of 1566 had the most complex and representative structure.
At the beginning of the 17th century, during the years of mass popular movements and the Polish-Swedish intervention, the “Council of All the Earth” was convened, the continuation of which was essentially the Zemsky Sobor of 1613, which elected the first Romanov, Mikhail Fedorovich (1613-45), to the throne. During his reign, zemstvo councils operated almost continuously, which did a lot to strengthen the state and royal power. After the return of Patriarch Filaret from captivity, they began to gather less often. Councils were convened at this time mainly in those cases when the state was in danger of war, and the question arose of raising funds or other questions of domestic policy arose. So, the cathedral in 1642 decided the issue of surrendering Azov to the Turks, captured by the Don Cossacks, in 1648-1649. after the uprising in Moscow, a council was convened to draw up the Code, the council of 1650 was devoted to the question of the uprising in Pskov.
The most important state issues were discussed at the meetings of the Zemsky Sobors. Zemstvo sobors were convened for approval on the throne or the election of a tsar - councils of 1584, 1598, 1613, 1645, 1676, 1682.
The Zemsky Sobors of 1549 and 1550 are connected with the reforms of the reign of the Elected Rada, with the Zemsky Sobors of 1648-1649 (at this council there was the largest number of representatives from the localities in history), the conciliar decision of 1682 approved the abolition of parochialism.
With the help of Z. with. The government introduced new taxes and modified the old ones. Z. s. discussed the most important issues of foreign policy, especially in connection with the danger of war, the need to raise an army, and the means of its conduct. These issues were discussed constantly, starting with Z. s. 1566, convened in connection with the Livonian War, and ending with the councils of 1683-84 on "perpetual peace" with Poland. Sometimes on W. with. questions that were not planned in advance were also raised: at the 1566 council, its participants raised the question of the abolition of the oprichnina; 1642, convened to discuss issues about Azov - about the situation of Moscow and city nobles.
Zemsky Sobors played an important role in the political life of the country. The tsarist government relied on them in the fight against the remnants of feudal fragmentation, with their help the ruling class of feudal lords tried to weaken the class struggle.
From the middle of the 17th century, the activity of Z. with. gradually fades. This is explained by the establishment of absolutism, and is also due to the fact that the nobles and partially townspeople, by the publication of the Cathedral Code of 1649, achieved satisfaction of their demands, and the danger of mass urban uprisings weakened.
The Zemsky Sobor of 1653, which discussed the question of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, can be considered the last. The practice of convening zemstvo sobors ceased because they played their part in strengthening and developing the centralized feudal state. In 1648-1649. the nobility achieved satisfaction of its basic requirements. The aggravation of the class struggle prompted the nobility to rally around the autocratic government, which ensured its interests.
In the second half of the XVII century. the government sometimes convened commissions from representatives of certain estates to discuss matters that concerned them in the closest way. In 1660 and 1662-1663. guests and elected representatives from the Moscow taxpayers were gathered for a conference with the boyars on the issue of the monetary and economic crisis. In 1681 - 1682. one commission of service people examined the question of organizing troops, another commission of merchants considered the issue of taxation. In 1683, a council was convened to discuss the question of "perpetual peace" with Poland. This cathedral consisted of representatives of only one service class, which clearly testified to the dying of class-representative institutions.
The largest zemstvo cathedrals
In the 16th century, a fundamentally new body of state administration arose in Russia - the Zemsky Sobor. Klyuchevsky V. O. wrote about the cathedrals as follows: “a political body that arose in close connection with local institutions of the 16th century. and in which the central government met with representatives of local communities.”
Zemsky Sobor 1549
This cathedral went down in history as the "Cathedral of Reconciliation". This is a meeting convened by Ivan the Terrible in February 1549. His goal was to find a compromise between the nobility, supporting the state, and the most conscious part of the boyars. The Council was of great importance for politics, but its role also lies in the fact that it opened a "new page" in the system of government. The tsar's adviser on the most important issues is not the Boyar Duma, but the all-estate Zemsky Sobor.
Direct information about this cathedral has been preserved in the Continuation of the Chronograph edition of 1512.
It can be assumed that at the council of 1549, it was not specific disputes about lands and serfs between boyars and boyar children or the facts of violence perpetrated by boyars against petty employees that were dealt with. It was, apparently, about the general political course in Grozny's infancy. Favoring the dominance of the landowning nobility, this course undermined the integrity of the ruling class and aggravated class contradictions.
The record of the cathedral is protocol and schematic. It is impossible to catch from it whether there were debates, and in what directions they went.
The procedure of the council of 1549 can be judged to some extent by the charter of the zemstvo council of 1566, which is similar in form to the document underlying the chronicle text of 1549.
Stoglavy Cathedral 1551.
Klyuchevsky writes about this council in the following way: “In the following 1551, for the organization of church administration and the religious and moral life of the people, a large church council was convened, usually called Stoglav, according to the number of chapters in which his deeds are summarized in a special book, in Stoglav. At this council, by the way, the king's own handwritten "writing" was read and he also delivered a speech.
Stoglavy Sobor in 1551 - a cathedral of the Russian church, convened on the initiative of the tsar and the metropolitan. The Consecrated Cathedral, the Boyar Duma and the Elected Rada participated in it in full force. He received this name because his decisions were formulated in one hundred chapters, reflecting the changes associated with the centralization of the state. On the basis of local saints revered in certain Russian lands, an all-Russian list of saints was compiled. Ritual rituals were unified throughout the country. The council approved the adoption of the Sudebnik of 1550 and the reforms of Ivan IV.
The Council of 1551 acts as a "council" of the ecclesiastical and royal authorities. This "council" was based on a community of interests aimed at protecting the feudal system, social and ideological domination over the people, and suppressing all forms of their resistance. But the council often gave a crack, because the interests of the church and the state, spiritual and secular feudal lords, did not always and not always coincide.
Stoglav is a collection of decisions of the Stoglav Cathedral, a kind of code of legal norms for the inner life of the Russian clergy and its reciprocity with society and the state. In addition, Stoglav contained a number of family law norms, for example, it consolidated the power of a husband over his wife and father over children, determined the age of marriage (15 years for men, 12 for women). It is characteristic that three legal codes are mentioned in the stoglava, according to which court cases between church people and laity were decided: Sudebnik, the royal charter and Stoglav.
Zemsky Sobor 1566 on the continuation of the war with the Polish-Lithuanian state.
In June 1566, a zemstvo council was convened in Moscow on war and peace with the Polish-Lithuanian state. This is the first zemstvo sobor, from which a genuine document (“letter”) has come down to us.
Klyuchevsky writes about this council: "... was convened during the war with Poland for Livonia, when the government wanted to know the opinion of officials on the issue of whether to put up on the terms proposed by the Polish king."
The Cathedral of 1566 was the most representative from a social point of view. It formed five curia, uniting different segments of the population (clergy, boyars, clerks, nobility and merchants).
Electoral council and council on the abolition of tarkhans in 1584
This council passed a decision on the abolition of church and monastery tarkhans (tax benefits). The letter of 1584 draws attention to the grave consequences of the policy of the Tarkhans for the economic situation of service people.
The council decided: "for the military rank and impoverishment, set aside the tarkhans." This measure was of a temporary nature: until the sovereign's decree - "for the time being, the land will be built and help in everything by the royal inspection."
The goals of the new code were defined as the desire to combine the interests of the treasury and service people.
The Council of 1613 opens a new period in the activities of Zemsky Sobors, which they enter as established bodies of class representation, playing a role in public life, actively participating in solving issues of domestic and foreign policy.
Zemsky Sobors 1613-1615.
During the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich. It is clear from the known materials that in the context of the unabated open class struggle and the unfinished Polish and Swedish intervention, the supreme power needed the constant assistance of the estates in carrying out measures to suppress the anti-feudal movement, restore the country's economy, which had been severely undermined during the Time of Troubles, replenish the state treasury, and strengthen the military forces. , solving problems of foreign policy.
Council of 1642 on the issue of Azov.
It was convened in connection with an appeal to the government of the Don Cossacks, with a request to take Azov under their protection, which they captured. The council was supposed to discuss the question: whether to agree to this proposal and, in case of consent, with what forces and with what means to wage war with Turkey.
It is difficult to say how this council ended, whether there was a conciliar verdict. But the cathedral of 1642 played its role in further measures to protect the borders of the Russian state from Turkish aggression, and in the development of the estate system in Russia.
From the middle of the 17th century, the activity of Z. with. gradually fades, because the cathedral of 1648-1649. and the adoption of the "Council Code" resolved a number of issues.
The last of the cathedrals can be considered the Zemsky Sobor on peace with Poland in 1683-1684. (although a number of studies speak of the cathedral in 1698). The task of the council was to approve the "decree" on "eternal peace" and "union" (when it is worked out). However, it turned out to be fruitless, did not bring anything positive to the Russian state. This is not an accident or a simple failure. A new era has come, requiring other, more efficient and flexible methods of solving foreign policy (as well as other) issues.
If the cathedrals played a positive role in their time in state centralization, now they had to give way to the class institutions of the emerging absolutism.
Cathedral Code of 1649
In 1648-1649, the Laid Council was convened, during which the Cathedral Code was created.
The edition of the Cathedral Code of 1649 dates back to the time of the domination of the feudal-serfdom system.
Numerous studies by pre-revolutionary authors (Shmelev, Latkin, Zabelin, and others) give mainly formal reasons for explaining the reasons for compiling the Code of 1649, such as, for example, the need to create a unified legislation in the Russian state, etc.
The question of the role of estate representatives in the creation of the Code of 1649 has long been the subject of research. A number of works quite convincingly show the active nature of the activities of the "elected people" at the council, who spoke with petitions and sought their satisfaction.
The preface to the code contains official sources that were used in compiling the code:
1. "Regulations of the Holy Apostles and Holy Fathers", i.e., Church resolutions of ecumenical and local councils;
2. "City laws of the Greek kings", i.e. Byzantine law;
3. Decrees of the former "great sovereigns, tsars and grand dukes of Russia" and boyar sentences, compared with the old judicial codes.
The Cathedral Code, expressing the interests of the class of feudal serfs, first of all satisfied the requirements of the main pillar of tsarism - the mass of the service nobility, securing their right to own land and serfs. That is why the tsarist legislation not only singles out a special chapter 11 "The Court of the Peasants", but also in a number of other chapters repeatedly returns to the question of the legal status of the peasantry. Long before the approval of the Code, tsarist legislation, although the right of a peasant transition or “exit” was abolished, in practice this right could not always be applied, since there were “fixed” or “decree years” for filing a claim for fugitives; the search for fugitives was mainly the business of the owners themselves. That is why the question of the abolition of the school years was one of the fundamental questions, the solution of which would create all conditions for the feudal lords for the complete enslavement of broad strata of the peasantry. Finally, the question of the serf status of the peasant family was unresolved: children, brothers, nephews.
Large landowners in their estates sheltered the fugitives, and while the landlords filed a claim for the return of the peasants, the period of "lesson years" expired. That is why the nobility, in their petitions to the tsar, demanded the abolition of "lesson years", which was done in the code of 1649. Issues related to the final enslavement of all sections of the peasantry, the complete deprivation of their rights in the socio-political and property situation are mainly concentrated in chapter 11 of the Code.
The Cathedral Code consists of 25 chapters, divided into 967 articles without any definite system. The construction of the chapters and articles of each of them was determined by the socio-political tasks facing the legislation in the period of the further development of serfdom in Russia.
For example, the first chapter is devoted to the fight against crimes against the foundations of the doctrine of the Orthodox Church, which was the bearer of the ideology of the feudal system. The articles of the chapter protect and secure the inviolability of the church and its religious rites.
Chapter 2 (22 articles) and 3 (9 articles) characterize the crimes against the personality of the king, his honor and health, as well as the crimes that were committed on the territory of the royal court.
Chapters 4 (4 articles) and 5 (2 articles) single out such crimes as forgery of documents, seals, counterfeiting in a special section.
Chapters 6, 7 and 8 characterize the new offenses of state crimes related to treason to the fatherland, the criminal acts of persons in military service, the established procedure for ransoming prisoners.
Chapter 9 deals with financial matters concerning both the state and private individuals - feudal lords.
Chapter 10 deals mainly with judiciary issues. It covers in detail the norms of procedural law, which generalize not only the previous legislation, but also the wide practice of the feudal judicial system of Russia in the 16th - the middle of the 17th centuries.
Chapter 11 characterizes the legal status of serfs and black-eared peasants, etc.
Periodization of the history of Zemsky Sobors
Z.'s history with. can be divided into 6 periods (according to L.V. Cherepnin).
The first period is the time of Ivan the Terrible (since 1549). Councils convened by the royal power. 1566 - a council convened at the initiative of the estates.
The second period can begin with the death of Ivan the Terrible (1584). This is the time when the prerequisites for a civil war and foreign intervention were taking shape, and a crisis of autocracy was emerging. The cathedrals mainly performed the function of electing the kingdom, and sometimes they became an instrument of forces hostile to Russia.
It is characteristic of the third period that the zemstvo sobors, with militias, turn into the supreme body of power (both legislative and executive), resolving issues of domestic and foreign policy. This is the time when Z. s. played the largest and most progressive role in public life.
Chronological framework of the fourth period - 1613-1622. Councils operate almost continuously, but already as an advisory body under the royal power. Many questions of current reality pass through them. The government seeks to rely on them when carrying out financial measures (collecting quintet money), when restoring the undermined economy, eliminating the consequences of intervention and preventing new aggression from Poland.
Fifth period - 1632 - 1653. Councils are held relatively rarely, but on major issues of internal policy (drawing up the Code, the uprising in Pskov (1650)) and external (Russian-Polish, Russian-Crimean relations, the annexation of Ukraine, the issue of Azov). During this period, the speeches of class groups that make demands to the government, in addition to cathedrals, are also activated through petitions.
The last period (after 1653 and before 1683-1684) is the time of the decay of cathedrals (a slight rise marked the eve of their fall - the beginning of the 80s of the 18th century).
Classification of Zemsky Sobors
Turning to the problems of classification, Cherepnin divides all cathedrals, primarily in terms of their social and political significance, into four groups:
1) Councils convened by the king;
2) Councils convened by the king on the initiative of the estates;
3) Councils convened by estates or on the initiative of estates in the absence of the king;
4) Councils that elect the king.
The majority of cathedrals belong to the first group. The second group should include the cathedral of 1648, which gathered, as the source directly says, at the request of the king of people of "different ranks", and also, probably, a number of cathedrals of the time of Mikhail Fedorovich. The third group includes the cathedral of 1565, at which the question of the oprichnina was raised, the “verdict” of June 30, 1611, the “council of the whole earth” of 1611 and 1611-1613. The electoral councils (the fourth group) gathered for the election and approval of the kingdom of Boris Godunov, Vasily Shuisky, Mikhail Romanov, Peter and John Alekseevich, and also, probably, Fyodor Ivanovich, Alexei Mikhailovich.
Of course, there are conditional moments in the proposed classification. Cathedrals of the third and fourth groups, for example, are close in their purpose. However, the establishment of who and why the council was assembled is a fundamentally important basis for classification, helping to understand the relationship between autocracy and estates in a class-representative monarchy.
If we now take a closer look at the issues that the councils convened by the tsarist government dealt with, then, first of all, we must single out four of them that approved the implementation of major state reforms: judicial, administrative, financial and military. These are the cathedrals of 1549, 1619, 1648, 1681-1682. Thus, the history of Zemsky Sobors is closely connected with the general political history of the country. The given dates fall on the key moments in her life: the reforms of Grozny, the restoration of the state apparatus after the civil war of the beginning of the 17th century, the creation of the Cathedral Code, the preparation of Peter's reforms. For example, the meetings of the estates in 1565, when Grozny left for Aleksandrov Sloboda, and the verdict passed by the Zemsky Sobor on June 30, 1611, in “stateless time” (these are also acts of general historical significance) were devoted to the fate of the political structure of the country.
Electoral councils are also a kind of political chronicle, depicting not only the change of persons on the throne, but also the social and state changes caused by this.
The content of the activity of some zemstvo sobors was the struggle against popular movements. The government directed the councils to fight through the use of ideological means, sometimes combined with military and administrative measures applied by the state. In 1614, on behalf of the Zemsky Sobor, letters were sent to the Cossacks who had left the government with an exhortation to submit to obedience. In 1650, the representation of the Zemsky Sobor itself went to the rebellious Pskov with persuasion.
Most often at the councils, issues of foreign policy and the tax system were considered (mainly in connection with military needs). Thus, the largest problems facing the Russian state passed through discussions at the meetings of the councils, and somehow the statements that this happened purely formally and the government could not reckon with the decisions of the councils are somehow not convincing.
