The era of Peter's reforms covered the entire first quarter of the XVIII century - from the approval of the complete autocracy of Tsar Peter I in 1689 to his death in 1725.
Its main milestones were: 1) a trip to Arkhangelsk (1693-1694);
2) The Azov campaigns (1695-1696);
3) "The Great Embassy" (1696-1697);
4) The Northern War (1700-1721);
5) the foundation of St. Petersburg (1703);
6) victory at Poltava (1709);
7) The Nishtadsky Peace Treaty (1721);
8) the proclamation of Russia as an empire (1721) Since all the successes and problems of Russia in the XVIII century were the result of the reforms of Peter the Great, historians are particularly focused on them, as well as on the personality of the reformer tsar.
Some credit him with the rapid growth of Russian industry, the creation of a regular army and navy, the establishment of trade, economic and cultural ties with Europe, the construction of a new capital, the foundation of schools.
The Academy of Sciences, the publication of newspapers, the adoption of a new calendar and in general the change in the life and everyday life of almost all strata of Russian society.
Changes in such a short time are not seen anywhere in the world, giving the right to consider Peter I a "revolutionary on the throne".
Russian russians, on the contrary, accuse him of undermining the former spiritual foundations of Russian society, uncritical perception of European norms of behavior and elements of Western culture that are alien to the Russian national character.
They complain that even positive changes in the life of Russian society were achieved at too great a price: the ruin of the country and the physical exhaustion of its inhabitants.
More original recently have been the accusations of Peter the Great in the imposition of a military barracks regime and the establishment of his own cult of the "father of the Fatherland".
"That is, he is not a great reformer, but simply a "brilliant tyrant" and "ambitious man", thanks to whom we became citizens of the world but in some cases ceased to be citizens of Russia" - as the Russian historian N. M. Karamzin sadly noted at the time.
But almost all the authors agree on one thing, that the reform process in Russia, despite its significant results, which made it the strongest power in Europe, was very controversial, cost great sacrifices and was accompanied by a number of negative consequences for the further development of the country.
Taking into account the contradictory assessments of the reform activity of the Great Negro and avoiding extreme judgments, we can agree with the point of view of E. Anisimov said that all the revolutionism of Tsar Nef Alekseevich had a clearly expressed conservative character.
After all, the transformation of all state institutions and structures did not completely destroy the most traditional foundations of Russian society the autocratic way of government and serfdom, which in essence were the main levers in carrying out reforms.
In addition, as a result of these reforms, the ruler's power has acquired a truly immense character, up to the right of the emperor to appoint his own successor.
And serfdom spread to the noble class, which was obliged to carry out lifelong service to the state.
The personality of Peter I (1672-1725) rightfully belongs to the galaxy of bright historical figures of the world scale Many studies and artistic works are devoted to the transformations associated with his name.
Historians and writers have assessed the personality of Peter I and the significance of his reforms in different ways, sometimes directly opposite.
Economic development of Russia during the reign of Peter the Great
New lands of the southern counties - the Volga region, Siberia were introduced into economic circulation.
Thanks to the intervention of the state, the crops of industrial crops (flax, hemp, hemp, tobacco) were expanded, new breeds of merino sheep were planted (for the production of high quality cloth), horse breeding was developed (for the needs of the cavalry).
However, the innovations did not affect the peasant economy.
Its serf like, naturally consumer character hindered the expansion of production and productivity growth.
Industry in the first quarter of the XVIII century experienced the most significant changes in connection with the military needs of Russia and the active policy of the state, which managed to mobilize the natural and human resources of the country.
The development of a new industrial area was started - the Urals, which soon became the center of domestic metallurgy.
By the end of the reign of Peter the Great, Russia fully satisfied its needs for metal and, taking the 3rd place in the world in terms of its production, began to sell abroad, where "Russian iron" was valued higher than Swedish in its qualities.
Light industry developed due to the construction of manufactories that produced products for military needs and, to a much lesser extent, for the domestic market.
Khamovny dvor in Moscow was turned into a large enterprise that manufactured canvas for the fleet.
A cloth yard was also founded there.
By 1718, Russia was freed from the need to import textile products.
In total, about 200 manufactories were founded in the country.
The main feature of the Russian industry was that it was created mainly for the treasury and for a long time was under direct state control, the forms and methods of which changed.
In the first decade of the XVIII century, the state created and directly managed manufactories.
However, the growth of their number and the complexity in the organization of management, and most importantly the unprofitability of production, pushed the government to a new policy.
From the middle of the second decade, state owned, primarily unprofitable enterprises, were transferred to private hands.
Private entrepreneurship was encouraged.
The creation of merchant companies, the provision of loans and benefits to them strengthened the position of the leading breeders, but it did not mean the state's self exclusion from the industrial sphere.
Control was maintained, for example, through the system of government orders.
The activities of the enterprises were carefully monitored by the Berg and Manufactory boards, which conducted periodic inspections.
The second feature of the Russian industry was the use of creposgnichesky food in manufactories.
At the beginning of the century, a few enterprises employed people of different social status, including free and runaway peasants.
With the growth of industry, an acute shortage of workers was revealed in the factories.
The solution of the problem was possible only for the use of forced labor.
State peasants were involved in auxiliary work, who were assigned by entire villages to this or that factory and were obliged to perform their duties there for 2-3 months.
And in 1721, Peter allowed the manufacturers (among them the majority were not nobles) to buy serfs to the factories, which later became known as posession peasants .
They became the property not of the breeder but of the enterprise.
In 1736, all the free people working in factories were enslaved, forming the category of the so called "eternally released people".
The development of trade, as well as industry, was largely stimulated by the state, which tried to increase revenues to the treasury.
In domestic trade, fairs (Makaryevskaya, Svenskaya, Irbitskaya) continued to play a leading role in wholesale trade operations.
The importance of foreign trade has increased.
By force, the tsar began to transfer trade from Arkhangelsk (its turnover fell 12 times) to the Baltic Sea, which caused the suspicion of many merchant families.
In addition, the development of foreign trade was hindered by the lack of its own merchant fleet, which brought a loss of 10 million rubles per year.
In 1724 , a customs protectionist tariff was introduced in Russia, designed to protect Russian industry from foreign
competition and promote the establishment of an active trade balance.
Low duties were imposed on exports to encourage the sale of Russian goods on foreign markets.
A high duty was imposed on imports if these products were produced in Russia, and a low one if they were not produced and were necessary for the domestic industry (paints, wool, raw sugar, etc.)
The protectionist nature of the foreign trade policy of the government of Peter I ensured an active trade balance of Russia - the export of goods in 1726 exceeded the import by 2 times.
During the reign of Peter I, the number of the nobility increased dramatically by 5 times.
The government's policy was aimed at strengthening the ranks, rallying the Russian nobility.
The decree of 1714 on single inheritance acquired special significance in this regard.
He legally equalized the estates and fiefdoms, declaring all the estates listed for the nobles as their hereditary property.
At the same time, the law allowed his inheritance only by one of his sons, which was supposed to prevent the fragmentation of the estates and the dispersion of the noble class.
However, the main meaning of the law was to create a material interest in the service of the state among the bulk of the nobility.
Noble children, having no prospects of inheritance, were now forced to link their well being with education and service in the army, navy or bureaucratic apparatus.
The decree on single inheritance was accompanied by laws prohibiting the production of noblemen who did not serve as privates in the guards regiments as officers, to marry noble "youngsters" who did not master the basics of mathematics, to buy estates for those who did not serve anywhere, etc.
A special role in the organization and consolidation of the noble class was played by the adoption on January 24, 1722 of the "Table of Ranks" -a state law that defined the order of service and established the hierarchy of service ranks.
Now the principle of holding a particular state position by nobility was replaced by a bureaucratic one.
Promotion through the ranks depended on seniority, education, and, as a result, on the personal abilities of a nobleman.
In the three categories of service - the Fazdan, military and palace all positions were divided into 14 ranks - from the 1st highest, for example, the chancellor in the Fazdan service, to the 14th lowest - the collegiate registrar.
The "table of ranks" separated the official class from the lower bureaucracy.
Under Peter, an official from the 14th rank received personal, and from the 8th (collegiate assessor) - hereditary nobility.
For the military, hereditary nobility was already provided from the 14th rank - the lowest officer rank of ensign, this made it possible for the most capable representatives of the" vile " estates to make their way up the social ladder, which strengthened the ranks of the nobility.
Thus, the government's policy, somewhat infringing on the material rights of the nobility, mobilized it to serve the state and general interests.
The main burden of the modernization of the country, which was also taking place in extreme conditions of war, was borne by the peasantry, which made up 92% of the population of Russia.
Tens of thousands of peasants, forcibly mobilized by the state, built shipyards, fortresses, factories, built a new capital on the marshes - St. Petersburg.
The peasants also formed the main backbone of the Russian army.
They were under pressure from constantly increasing taxes, as well as state and lordly duties.
Since taxes were collected from each yard, the peasants and posadsky people, trying to reduce the payment of taxes, often united and several families lived in one yard.
The state, conducting a population census since 1718, switched to poll taxation.
Since 1724, various taxes have been replaced by a single poll tax (74 kopecks from a male landowner peasant and 1 rub. 14 kopecks from a posadsky or state peasant).
As a result, the reforms led to an increase in the total amount of taxation by 2-3 times.
The tax reform strengthened serfdom , extending it to new strata of society - walking people and serfs who could previously gain freedom after the death of their master.
A side result of the reform was the elimination of serfdom.
In the process of the reform, a new category of peasants was formed , called state peasants .
In n it included the black nosed peasants of the North, the odnodvorets of the southern counties, the yasashny people of the First South Volga region and Siberia.
A passport system was created .
A peasant who went to work further than 30 versts from his place of residence had to have a passport - a paper from the landowner indicating the time of returning home.
The passport system has made it possible to tighten the fight against the flight of Creegians.
In addition, the amount of the fine for harboring a fugitive has increased to 100 rubles.
Thus, the tax policy of the government strengthened serfdom, led to the rapprochement of various strata of the peasantry, increased its exploitation, especially by the state
The sharp deterioration of the situation of the masses of the people, who took on their shoulders the entire burden of reforms, led to various kinds of speeches by the lower classes of society.
The most common form of protest was the flight of peasants from the oppression of state and landlord exploitation.
By the end of the reign of Peter 1, 200 thousand fugitive souls were recorded.
But from time to time, discontent broke out in active, violent forms.
The results of the socio economic transformations of Peter the Great
As a result of the reforms, a powerful industrial production, a strong army and navy were created, which allowed Russia to achieve access to the sea, overcome isolation, reduce the lag behind the advanced countries of Europe and turn into a great power of the world.
However, the forced modernization and borrowing of technologies were carried out due to a sharp increase in archaic forms of exploitation of the people who paid an extremely high price for the positive results of the reforms.
In addition to military and foreign policy successes, the imagination of contemporaries was struck by giant construction projects in Russia at the beginning of the XVIII century, which had no analogues in the history of other states of that time.
A whole city was built - the new northern capital (St. Petersburg), other cities were laid, giant canals were dug.
Of course, such major successes required colossal material sacrifices and human losses from Russia.
However, thanks to Peter's reforms, Russia in the first quarter of the XVIII century, in terms of its economic development, military power and culture of the privileged strata of Russian society, equaled the advanced states of Europe and for a whole century maintained this parity.
* 12. The era of Palace coups: causes and consequences*
Since 1725, after the death of Pef I and before Catherine II came to power in 1762, six monarchs and many political forces behind them were replaced on the throne.
This change did not always take place in a peaceful and legal way, which is why V. O. Klyuchevsky did not quite accurately, but figuratively and aptly called this period the era of palace coups.
After the death of Peter the Great, the era of reforms was replaced by a time of political instability from 1725 to 1762.
The main content of this period was the adjustment of Peter's reforms, i.e. the elimination of some of its consequences that violated political stability in the country.
The main milestones on this path were: 1) the reign of Catherine I (172I 1727);
2) the reign of Peter II (1727-1729); 'The reign of Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740);
4) the abolition of Peter's decree on the indivisibility of landowners' estates (1731);
5) reduction of the civil service of the nobles to 25 years {1736);
6) the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1761);
7) the abolition of the death penalty (1754) 8) The Seven Years ' War (1757-1763);
9) the reign of Pef III (1761-1762); 10) the manifesto "On the liberty of the nobility" (1762)
Background of the palace coups
1.
Contradictions between various noble fuppings in relation to Peter's heritage.
It would be a simplification to assume that the split occurred along the line of acceptance and rejection of reforms.
Both the so - called new nobility, who advanced in the years of Peter due to their official zeal, and the aristocratic party tried to soften the course of reforms, hoping in one form or another to give a respite to society, and first of all, to themselves.
But each of these FUPP defended its narrow pedigree interests and privileges, which created a fertile ground for an intra political struggle.
2. The acute struggle of various fuppirovki for power, which was most often reduced to the nomination and support of a candidate for the throne.
3. The active position of the guard, which Peter raised as a privileged support of the autocracy, which also assumed the right to control the compliance of the monarch's personality and policy with the legacy left by her beloved emperor.
4. The passivity of the masses of the people, who are absolutely far from the political life of the capital.
5. The aggravation of the problem of succession to the throne in connection with the adoption of the Decree of 1722, which broke the traditional mechanism of the transfer of power.
On January 28, 1725, Peter I died.
In 1722, in connection with the case of Tsarevich Alexei and the early death of his sons from his marriage with Catherine, he issued a decree according to which the throne was to be inherited by a person specified in the emperor's will.
Peter did not leave such a will.
From that moment on, the throne became the object of the struggle of various court groups, in which the guard played a huge role.
The history of Russia from 1725 to 1762 was marked by a number of palace coups.
The struggle for power did not change the basis of the organization of the political life of society.
Thus, during the reign of Catherine I (1725 - 1727) and in the first months of the reign of Peter II (1727 - 1730), Menshikov was actually at the head of the state administration.
From the end of 1727 to February 1730, the power was held by representatives of the noble aristocracy, who were at the head of the Supreme Privy Council, which replaced the Senate (Golitsin, Dolgorukov).
The reign of Anna Ivanovna (1730-1740) and Ioan Antonovich (1740 - 1741), who ruled under the leadership of his mother Anna Leopoldovna, is characterized by the dominance of all kinds of foreigners, adventurers.
For example, the reign of Anna is called the Bironovschina, after the Duke of Biron, who was the de facto ruler of Russia during her reign.
When he came to power as a result of a coup in November 1741, Elizabeth Petrovna was again given the upper hand at the court by the Russian nobles.
Among them, the most prominent role was played by the favorites of the Empress Razumovsky, Shuvalov.
11the heir of Elizabeth was her nephew the son of the Duke of Holstein, Peter Fedorovich (1761-1762).
He was the grandson of Peter 1 and Charles XII.
Peter III from the very first days began to conduct a policy that was alien to the Russian nobility.
This threatened a new Bironovism.
Therefore, in June 1762, the guards made another coup and elevated Peter III's wife Catherine I. to the throne.
Major reforms were not carried out.
Successive Governments have limited their activities to solving current issues.
The leading place in politics was taken by the implementation of a number of measures aimed at expanding the rights and privileges of the nobility.
The chief magistrate is destroyed, and the provincial and city magistrates are subordinate to the voivodes.
The service of the nobles is made easier, they are allowed to start manufactories.
Palace coups did not entail changes in the political, and even more so in the social system of society and were reduced to a struggle for power of various noble groups that pursued their own, most often selfish interests.
At the same time, the specific policy of each of the six monarchs had its own peculiarities, sometimes important for the country.
In general, the socio economic stabilization and foreign policy successes achieved during the reign of Elizabeth created conditions for more accelerated development and new breakthroughs in foreign policy that would occur under Catherine II.
* 13. Estates in Russia: features of formation, culture and traditions*
From the creation of the Russian centralized state until 1917, there were estates in Russia, the borders between which, as well as their rights and obligations, were legally determined and regulated by the government.
Initially, in the XVI XVII centuries in Russia there were relatively numerous estate fupi with a poorly developed corporate organization and not very clear distinctions between themselves in rights.
Later, in the course of Peter's reforms, as well as as a result of the legislative activity of the successors of I lerpa I, especially Catherine II, there was a consolidation of estates, the formation of estate corporate organizations and institutions, inter verbal partitions became more narrow.
At the same time, the specifics of Russian society were wider than in many other European countries, the possibilities of transition from one class to another, including increasing the class status through public service, as well as the broad inclusion of representatives of the peoples who entered Russia into the privileged classes.
After the reforms of the 1860s, class differences began to gradually smooth out, and after the February Revolution of 1917, the question of the abolition of the estates was put on the agenda and prepared by the Provisional Government.
The all theological character of the future Russian Republic was to be determined by the Constituent Assembly.
But back in August 1917, the previous procedure for entering information about class origin into the metric birth records was confirmed, up to the legislative resolution of the issue.
The official abolition of the estates was carried out by the Bolsheviks.
All estates of the Russian Empire were divided into privileged and taxable.
The differences between them consisted in the rights to public service and chinoproduction, the rights to participate in public administration, the rights to self government, the rights to trial and serving a sentence, the mores to property and commercial and industrial activities, and, finally, the rights to receive education.
1. The ruling class is the nobles (about 1% of the country's population)
2.
Privileges the religious estate — the clergy (black and white)
3.
Semi privileged classes (about 2.5 % of the population):
merchants (1, 2 and 3 guilds), mainly the service class (Cossacks, Kalmyks and part of the Bashkirs), foreign colonists, raznochintsy, soldiers and soldiers ' children
4.
Taxable estates (more than 90% of the population): burghers, guild artisans, peasants:- state (odnodvorets, economic, assigned, black nosed, yasachnye, coachmen)- palace
- landowners ' houses
The peasantry, both in Moscow Russia and in the Russian Empire, was the lowest taxable class, which made up the overwhelming majority of the population.
In 1721, various groups of the dependent population were united into enlarged categories of state (state), palace, monastery and landowner peasants.
Philistinism - the main urban taxable estate in the Russian Empire originates from the posadskys of Moscow Russia, united in the black hundreds and settlements.
The burghers were assigned to their city societies, which they could leave only with temporary passports, and transfer to others - with the permission of the authorities.
They paid a poll tax, were subject to conscription and corporal punishment, had no right to enter the civil service, and when entering the military service did not enjoy the rights of voluntary workers.
Petty trade, various crafts, and work for hire were allowed for the burghers.
To practice crafts and trade, they had to enroll in workshops and guilds.
Shop workers (artisans).
Workshops as corporations of persons engaged in the same craft were established under Peter 1.
In the future, the rights of the shop workers were clarified and confirmed by the Craft and City Regulations under Catherine II.
Shop workers were given a preferential right to engage in certain types of crafts and sell their products.
To engage in these crafts by persons of other estates, they were required to temporarily register in the workshop with the payment of appropriate fees.
Without an appointment to the workshop, it was impossible to open a craft institution, keep employees and have a signboard.
The guilds belonged to the number of taxable estates and are subject to poll taxes, conscription and corporal punishment.
Merchants.
In Moscow Russia, merchants were distinguished from the general mass of the posadsky people, who were divided into guests, merchants of the Drawing Room and Cloth hundreds in Moscow and "the best people" in the cities, and the guests were the most privileged elite of the merchants.
11 Peter I, having singled out the merchants from the general mass of citizens, introduced their division into guilds and city self government.
Depending on the guild, merchants enjoyed different privileges and had different rights to produce trade and crafts.
All merchants could pay the corresponding money instead of recruiting.
Merchants of the first two guilds were exempt from corporal punishment.
Merchants of the 1st guild had the right to foreign and domestic trade, the 2nd - to internal, the 3rd to petty trade in cities and counties.
Merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds had the right to ride around the city in pairs, and the 3rd only on one horse.
The clergy was considered a privileged, honorary estate in Russia in all periods of its history.
The Orthodox clergy was divided into black (all monastics) and white, the latter actually belonged to the clergy (the protopresbyters and Archpriest, the elders, the priests, the protodeacons and subdeacons, and pracctice the rank of acolyte), and Church Ministers (the Sexton, sextons, etc.).
Because black clergy as the renounced order of the monks could not have sobstvennoy had podoshva or padunskie cease all communication with children, parents and all his relatives, and come into monasticism face in
