4. Ancient to pre-Soviet Russian History

One of the most active tsars was Peter the Great, 1682 -1725. In the first quarter of the 18th century the absolute monarchy was legally established. Then followed a period of chaos.

Table of Contents

(no page numbers in here, but to get an idea.)

Topic IV. Russia in the 18th century. ...........................150

(1682 - 1725) Peter I the Great ......................................153

(1725 - 1762) The palace coups .............................…....174

(1725 - 1727) Catherine I ................................................175

(1727-1730) the 12-year-old Peter P ......................……...175

(1730 - 1740) Anna Ioannovna foreign controlled…… 175

(1741 - 1761) Elizaveta Petrovna ..........................…......175

(1761 - 1762) Peter III ......................................................175

Russia in the second half of the 18th century. ......….....187

Topic IV. Russia in the 18th century

The XVIII century in the life of the peoples of Europe and America is a time of radical changes in all spheres of society and the destruction of traditional European civilization. The aggregate of these processes is the essence of modernization. In Europe it had been going on for a century and a half. In the sphere of production modernization meaning industrialization; in the social sphere it was closely connected with urbanization - appearance of a large number of cities and strengthening of their role in economic and political life of the country; in the political sphere modernization meant democratization and appearance of the basis for a constitutional state; in the spiritual sphere it was connected with secularization, i.e. releasing all spheres of public and private life from religious and church care. The ideological basis of the modernization of public life in Europe was the ideology of the Enlightenment.

What was the Russian state at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? On the vast territory of the country lived, as already mentioned, only 13 million people. The country's population was ethnically and religiously heterogeneous: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Bashkirs, numerous peoples of the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, among which there were Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, pagans, etc. The peoples were at different stages of economic development. All this complicated the problem of governing the country.

According to the historical-materialistic approach, Russia still lagged behind the developed European states in economic terms. The reasons for lagging were not only poor soils and harsh climate, but also the fact that the country had no access to the sea.

At the same time, historians, who adhere to the local-historical theory, note that the existing trade routes allowed the country to develop successfully in its own way. This is also confirmed by the memoirs of foreigners who visited Russia at that time and drew attention to the country's wealth, variety of goods and low prices. This applies primarily to Moscow.

The main reason for the country's economic backwardness in terms of historical and materialistic approach was that Russia retained serfdom. If in the European states there was a process of liberation of the peasants, in Russia, on the contrary, it was their final enslavement. The vast majority of the Russian peasantry was owned by the courts, monasteries, and the royal family. Serfdom, inefficient labor preserved the economic backwardness of the country. At the same time, in the second half of the 17th century there were qualitative changes in the economy of the country. The foundations of subsistence economy were gradually undermined, crafts and small-scale production of one or another product were developing. The process of forming the All-Russian market was in progress. Slowly, but it developed a domestic industry. It was represented mainly by crafts, but the craft was acquiring the features of small commodity production, focused on the market, there appeared manufactory. At the end of the seventeenth century there were about 30 manufactories in Russia, including metallurgical factories, which employed serfs rather than freemen.

Russia's lagging behind was also evident in the military. The Russian army always distinguished by the courage and tenacity of soldiers in the harshest conditions. But it had no effective firearms, and its system of organization was hopelessly outdated. The striking force was still the cavalry of the nobility, and the infantry consisted of streletsky regiments. It was not a regular army, but the militia. Russia had no navy, which also had a negative impact on improvement of the country's defense capabilities.

Lagging behind European countries was not limited only to economics, it was also present in the field of culture and education. The bulk of the population - the peasantry was uneducated, conservative in its thinking, they negatively perceived all the innovations. In Russia, there was still no secular school, vocational and higher education. The culture of the country was isolated, isolated from Western civilization.

Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alekseevich ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May 1682 until his death in 1725

Thus, at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries, Russia needed qualitative changes and the necessary prerequisites for the reforms of Peter I. The main ones were that:

Russia remained economically backward, which posed a serious threat to national independence;

The country's industry was only in its infancy and was serf by its structure;

Agriculture was characterized by a routine method of farming, and was based on forced labor of serf peasantry;

Russia's economic backwardness was also manifested in the military: the country had no regular army or navy;

Russian culture was closed and isolated from Western civilization.

This approach is the most common in the academic literature. Along with this, arguments can be cited that question the objective necessity of Peter's transformations:

¨ There was not an economic backwardness of Russia, but lack of the specificity of development associated with the possibility of extensive growth;

¨ There were not only serf relations in industry, but also early bourgeois relations in industry;

¨ Russia was indeed an agrarian country, but in socio-economic terms, along with serfs there were chernosososhey (state) peasants. In addition, the serf sector of the economy was then characterized by a fairly high economic efficiency;

¨ Russian culture before Peter I did not exist in isolation, the penetration of European ideas was observed from the mid-17th century;

¨ The very nature and direction of the reforms were largely determined by the personality of Peter the Great, and therefore, their implementation depended largely on random, subjective factors.

Domestic historical science has long developed radically opposing views on the nature, essence and results of the activities of Peter I. Even during his lifetime some unrestrainedly praised him (for example, the vice-president of the Synod Theophanes Prokopovich), while others considered him the Antichrist (the Old Believers). In the mid-18th century Prince M.M. Scherbatov in his pamphlet "On the damage to morals in Russia" laid the beginning of the negative assessment of Peter in journalism. N.M. Karamzin also condemned Peter for mocking the Russian customs and the imposition of "foreign" orders. In the 40s of the 19th century Slavophiles argued that Peter "turned" Russia from its natural path of development, depriving it of its national identity. Historians of the "state school" wrote about Peter's personality and reforms in rapturous tones, attributing to him all of Russia's successes.

Discussions about Peter the Great do not subside only in modern historical literature. The largest experts - NI Pavlenko and NV Anisimov - hold different concepts. If the first sees in Peter's reforms a major step towards progress, the second believes that the Peter the Great reforms objectively led to the conservation of the autocratic and serf system in Russia.

According to many historians, the reformer had no clear plan for change, most often they were sporadic and were caused by certain circumstances. On Peter's reforms, as well as domestic policy as a whole, the decisive influence created a Northern War (1700 - 1721).

A special place in the transformations of Peter the Great was occupied by the reform in the field of public administration. Peter dreamed of creating a state apparatus that would be distinguished by clarity and rationality of operation. He saw the task of the state apparatus as carrying out the will of the monarch. Peter decisively restructured the entire edifice of government. Instead of the Boyarsky Duma in 1699 he set up the Middle Chancery of eight trustees. It existed until 1711 and was replaced by the Senate which consisted of 9 people and had legislative, administrative and judicial functions. The senators were appointed by the king, and of the 9 only three represented the former titled nobility. They were dependent on the emperor and represented the highest echelon of Russian bureaucracy. The establishment of the Senate was followed by other transformations. In 1717 - 1718 instead of orders the collegia were established. Thus, the Foreign Collegium replaced the Ambassadorial Prikaz; the Military Collegium, the Admiralty Collegium, the Collegium of Justice, etc. were created (11 in all). Each had a president, vice-president, four councilors, four assessors and a secretary. Collegiums differed from the orders by clear distribution of areas of public administration and open discussion of issues.

The decisive role in forming of the Russian bureaucratic system was played by the 'General regulations' adopted in 1720. It defined the principles of organization of the Russian state machinery and established the strict subordination of the lower-ranking institutions to the higher-ranking ones, determined the staff, place and duties of the office workers.

In 1721 was created a special board, the Holy Synod. Its creation meant a complete subordination of the church to the state and the end of any influence on secular power. Peter also curtailed the economic rights of the church, forbidding it to dispose of vast land riches. Most of the church's income now went to the state treasury. Under him forced and controlled communion for all Orthodox Christians was introduced in Russia. Priests were obliged to keep clerical records in which they noted all those who attended confession and communion. Those who evaded confession could lose their freedom. The secrecy of confession was also abolished. Parish priests were obliged to report to the Transfiguration priest, and later to the Secret Office, which was in charge of political investigations, the confessions received in confession, which somehow affected the interests of the state.

The final step in the bureaucratic system was the Table of Ranks adopted in 1722. According to it, the military, civilian and court ranks were divided into 14 ranks. To obtain the next one, it was necessary to pass the previous stage of official service, and the merit was not nobility and wealth, but service to duty and the Fatherland. Thanks to the reforms carried out in Russia, a powerful bureaucratic machine came into being under the authority of the emperor.

The restructuring of the central government was accompanied by the reorganization of the local government. Under the reform of 1708 - 1710 Peter had divided the whole country into four provinces. Now Peter divided the entire country into eight provinces: Moscow, Ingermanland, Kiev, Kazan, Smolensk, Siberia, Azov and Archangelgorod. At the head of each was a governor, in his hands was the totality of administrative, police, judicial and financial power.

An important part of Peter's reforms was the reorganization of regular army manning. Recruitment was introduced in Russia. From 1699 to 1725, 53 drafts were carried out. Recruitment was a lifelong duty. Recruits received good military training, state uniforms and weapons. Thus, a national army was created in Russia. In addition, the army became professional: military service was now the only occupation for soldiers and officers.

Already in 1699 on the eve of the Northern War Peter had 27 infantry and two dragoon regiments. Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments were created earlier. In 1708 the Russian field army consisted of 52 infantry, 5 grenadier and 33 cavalry regiments. By the end of the reign of Peter I the total number of the Russian army was over 300,000 men. Noblemen began their service with the rank of a soldier, many children of the nobility were sent to study abroad. Training of officers was carried out in two military schools - Bombardier (artillery) and Preobrazhenskaya (infantry). Naval, engineering, medical and other schools were also opened.

Thanks to the efforts of Peter I, the Russian army became one of the strongest in Europe. By the end of his life, the Tsar had 32 battleships, 16 frigates, 85 galleys and many other small vessels. The total number of Russian sailors was about 30,000 people.

Peter summed up transformations in the military affairs and in the Naval Charter stressed the idea that "only the sovereign has both hands, which has a land army and a fleet”.

Significant were the transformations of Peter I in the field of culture and everyday life. Often, they are reduced only to imitation of Europe in the wearing of men's and women's clothing, abdomen, smoking tobacco, etc. Yes, Peter I regulated not only the socio-political, but also the domestic side of society. He created a series of decrees on this very subject. In 1701 there was a decree which commanded men to dress in French and Saxon production outerwear, and jackets, pants, boots, hats were to be of German manufacture, women were also required to wear German clothes. Those who violated the decree were fined, and the out-of-shape dress was cut into pieces.

But this is secondary in the cultural transformations of Peter the Great. His role in the development of Russian culture is difficult to overestimate. And the main thing his efforts were aimed at - the destruction of the old, religious ways of life and the establishment of secular culture. Another thing is that these transformations affected only the upper stratum of Russian society.

Peter's transformations required a large number of educated and professionally trained people. In 1701 in Moscow was opened a school of mathematical and navigational sciences. Children of noblemen and officials aged 12 to 17 were admitted to the school. In large cities appeared the so-called "cypher" (primary) schools. And the king issued a decree according to which a nobleman, who did not complete the elementary school, could not marry. Vocational education was also developing: there were created verbal, arithmetic, surgical and navigation schools. Creating a network of schools needed textbooks, and Peter ordered to translate into Russian foreign textbooks and compile Russian ones. He simplified Russian alphabet: instead of a complicated Church Slavonic script, in 1708 he introduced a simple civil script, which is still used today; instead of Church Slavonic alphabet he introduced more convenient Arabic numerals.

Under Peter I the publishing business greatly expanded. From 1699 to 1725 in Russian printing houses there were printed 600 books. From January 1702 the first Russian newspaper "Vedomosti" was published. Finally, in 1725. Peter approved the Charter of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which was opened in August 1725.

Peter's reforms also affected the sphere of education of noble children. In 1717 there was published his book "The Honest Mirror of Youth" in which he gave instructions to young nobles. In its essence it was a teaching of the rules of good manners. Thus, the reforms of Peter I covered all aspects of life in the Russian state - from governance to everyday life.

The Northern War had a huge impact on the development of the country's economy. The economy of the Peter era was distinguished by the following features:

¨ active state intervention. It itself determined the uselessness or usefulness of certain industries. 43% of the industrial enterprises founded by the end of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were created with public funds. Half of them were engaged in supplying the army and navy. In metallurgy, shipbuilding, textile and leather industry had more than 100 enterprises. Since 1722 Russia began exporting iron;

¨ mercantilism, that is, the accumulation of money in the country through active foreign trade, and

¨ protectionism, i.e., all-round support for domestic industry by imposing high customs duties on imported foreign goods and preferential loans to entrepreneurs, also by exempting them from military service.

Active interference of the state in the economy limited real economic freedom. The main responsibility of factory owners became the fulfillment of state (government) orders. Only the surplus production could be sold by the entrepreneur on the market.

As a result of this economic policy, Russian entrepreneurship developed not in the form of free competition, but by means of adaptation, and was therefore dependent on the state. State interference in the economy and its militarization restrained the development of capitalist relations in industry. A widespread phenomenon in Russia was the mobilization of the population to fulfill government orders. The factories employed peasants with rights, and the practice of assigning entire villages to factories was widely used. Later the government allowed to buy peasants for the factories. Because of the shortage of workers, the government intensified its fight against runaway peasants. In 1724 the passport system was established. Henceforth, without a passport the peasants could not go further than 30 versts from their place of residence.

Russian trade also developed contradictorily. Forced creation of trading companies by Peter, increasing taxes on merchants, the ruin of the old merchant dynasties, forced relocation of merchants to St. Petersburg led to the fact that the Russian trade was self-contained, it did not play an independent role in the economy.

How to assess the transformation of Peter I in the economy? On the one hand, he contributed to the advancement of the Russian economy and thanks to him Russia joined the leading European countries; on the other hand, the Russian economy continued to develop on the serfdom basis. The autocracy, seeking to guarantee the country's economic independence and to meet the needs of the army and navy, developed only the defense industry. The domestic consumer market remained narrow. The economic success of Peter I was short-lived. With the development of bourgeois relations in the West, the gap in the level of economic development was widening.

The social policy of Peter was also of a serf nature. In 1714 he issued a decree on primogeniture. The estate was equalized in rights with the fiefdom. Now only one of the nobleman's sons could inherit his real estate. The others were obliged to engage in useful activities. The nobility was required to perform life-long service (military or civilian). The tax system was changed. As a result of the census of 1718 - 1724 instead of a suburban tax there was conducted a per capita tax. Only the nobility and clergy were exempt from it, thanks to it the budget profitability was increased.

Peter I went down in history not only as a reformer, but also as a talented military leader and diplomat. The main objectives of his foreign policy were exits to the Black and Baltic Seas. On the way to its implementation there were serious obstacles. The Black Sea was in the hands of the Turks and the Crimean Khanate, while the Baltic Sea was dominated by the Swedes. Peter's campaign to the south in 1695 ended in failure. A poorly prepared army and inexperienced commanders, the lack of a navy did not allow Peter I to take Azov. The problem was solved only in 1696, when at the cost of great effort ships, built near Voronezh, were launched. Thanks to this 40 thousand army of Peter, they received a powerful reinforcement, and Azov was taken.

Wishing to consolidate his success near Azov and intensify the anti-Turkish coalition, Peter sent the Great Embassy headed by Franz Lefort to Europe. Peter also pursued another goal - to get acquainted with the life of Europe, to take all the best in order to implement it in Russia.

Russian-Turkish war (1710 - 1713)

For 20 years, Russia had been at war with Sweden. After the defeat of the Swedes near Poltava, King Charles II fled to the Ottoman Empire. He and the Crimean Khan Davlet II Girey persuaded Turkish Sultan Ahmed III to declare war on Russia.

Peter I decided to act offensively: he chose to inflict distracting blows on the Tatars in small numbers, and attack Turkey massively via Moldavia and Wallachia.

The 80,000-strong Russian army, including the tsar himself, went deep into Moldova and faced the 120,000-strong Turkish army. The 80,000-strong army of the Crimean Tatars came to the aid of the Turks, and the Russians were cut off from the supply lines and encircled. 

Peter I admitted his defeat. The Russian army had the right to return home, but in exchange the tsar had to return the entire coast of the Sea of Azov to the Sultan.

Superior Turkish naval power, Russian economic backwardness, the lack of a naval fleet in Russia, and the failure of the "Great Embassy" to create an alliance against Turkey forced Peter I to abandon the struggle for access to the Black Sea and to concentrate efforts on the north-west direction. In 1700 he signed a peace with Turkey for 30 years. Now the main attention of Peter I was focused on the Baltic. The "Northern Alliance" was created against Sweden, which included Russia, Denmark, Saxony, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At the very beginning of the war Denmark signed an alliance with Sweden and withdrew from the war. Saxony acted very indecisively, besieging Riga for six months. The first military battle of the Russian and Swedish armies took place near Narva in 1700. The tsar hoped for an easy victory, but the Russian army suffered a crushing defeat. Peter was forced to start peace negotiations with Karl XII who declined. The defeat at Narva was not without consequences for the tsar. Already during the winter of 1700 - 1701 he formed ten new regiments on the model of his Guards - Preobrazhensky and Semenov. In 1702, 368 cannons were made from bells, taken by decree of Peter I from churches, as well as from Ural metal. Part of the modern armament was purchased by Peter in Europe. Peter's efforts to reorganize the army were already rewarded in December 1701, when Sheremetev's troops inflicted the first defeat on the Swedes near Dorpat (now Estonian Tartu). The losses of the Swedes were over 3,000 men - Russians lost about 1,000 men. The successes of Russian army allowed the emperor to launch an attack on the Swedish province of Ingria and capture the fortress of Noteburg (its ancient name Oreshek). Peter I renamed it Shlisselburg.

In 1704 Russian troops seized Dorpat and took the impregnable fortress of Narva which was of great strategic importance. In 1706 the Polish king August II abdicated the throne and broke the alliance with Russia. Now the Swedish King had his hands free and could fully concentrate on the fight against the Russian Tsar. He decided to invade Russia and defeat Tsar Peter on Russian territory. Beginning his campaign in Russia, Charles XII counted on the help of the new Polish king Stanislaus Leszczynski, as well as Hetman Mazepa of the Zaporozhian Cossack Army. His attempts to capture Smolensk and St. Petersburg ended in failure. Russian Baltic fleet, which included 12 battleships, 8 galleys, 6 brander and about 33 auxiliary ships, did not let the Swedish ships to the mouth of the Neva.

With the advent of the spring of 1709, when Charles XII began laying siege to the Russian fortress of Poltava, his 35,000-strong army was noticeably weakened. Charles XII was confident of victory. After the capture of Poltava, he expected to resume the attack on Moscow through Kharkov and Belgorod. Peter decided to give a general battle at Poltava, the main forces of the Russian army were concentrated there, but here, at Poltava, the Russian fought not by numbers, but by skill. The Battle of Poltava ended in victory of the Russian army. On July 8, 1709. On July 8, 1709 Peter held a gala feast, to which he invited captive Swedish generals. As a result of the Battle of Poltava the Swedish army was defeated. This victory had significant international implications. In July 1709 Augustus II, supported by the Russian forces, was restored to the Polish throne and renewed his alliance with Peter I. Denmark and Prussia joined the anti-Swedish coalition.

After the Russian victory at Poltava the military actions were moved to the sea. Their peculiarity was that the battles were fought far beyond Russia, on Swedish territory. The situation was complicated by the fact that in November 1710. Turkey declared war on Russia. In 1711, after the difficult for both sides battle on the Prut River, peace talks began and ended with the signing of the Treaty. Under the treaty, Russia returned to Turkey the Azov and Taganrog and focused all efforts on fighting against Sweden.

In July 1714 near Cape Gangut the Russian galley squadron defeated the Swedish sailing squadron. Russians began to occupy the Aland Islands, located near the Swedish territory. Thus, they were able to strike at Sweden. They began to land a joint Russian-Danish landing on the coast.

In July 1720 the Russian fleet defeated the Swedish squadron near Grengham Island. During the peace talks Peter agreed to the return of Finland, which had been occupied by the Russian troops, and to pay Sweden 1.5 million rubles. But Russia still had the territory between Vyborg and Riga. These conditions were accepted by the Swedish side and on August 30 in Nystadt (Finland) was signed a peace treaty between Russia and Sweden, which ended more than twenty years of Northern War. It secured Russia's right of access to the Baltic Sea. The main result of the Great Northern War was that the international prestige of Russia increased greatly. Russia solved the problem which it had been trying to solve for two centuries. Henceforth it was firmly included in the circle of European powers. Diplomatic relations were established with major European countries. However, Russia's foreign policy had more and more imperial character. Beginning from Peter I the colonization process gradually acquired the traits of expansionism. This complicated Russia's relations with other countries, both Western and Eastern. It was under Peter I the imperial thinking was formed, which permeated not only domestic but also foreign policy.

The preconditions for the establishment of the absolute, unlimited power of the monarch began to take shape in the second half of the 17th century during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich ("The Quietest"). The tsar still ruled together with the Boyar Duma, but the composition of the Boyar Duma and its role in the system of government gradually changed. During the Time of Troubles and after that the position of ignorant people in the Duma strengthened, it became not only Boyar in its composition. From the political arena disappeared representatives of such noble families, as Shuisky, Godunov, Saburov, and their place took the unknown Streshnev, Naryshkin, Lopukhin, Tolstoy, etc. Thus, there arose the threat of parochialism.

The role of the Boyar Duma in resolving state affairs was increasingly diminished. At the same time the personal power of the Tsar was growing and the role of zemsky councils weakened. They became an obedient instrument of implementing the will of the tsar. And after 1653 they were not convened at all.

In XVII century, the system of decrees continued to develop, their number increased to 80 including 40 that functioned permanently. Red tape and bribery continued to flourish in them, orders often duplicated each other and further confused things. At the same time, the number of officials in the state was growing. They had to strengthen the position of autocratic power. At the same time, prikazes were the prototype of the future collegia, and later ministries.

In the XVII century, changes in local government were taking place. The power of voivodes extended throughout the country, and the role of voivodes increased especially during the Time of Troubles.

Subordination of the church into secular power, which started during the church schism, also played an important role in the formation of absolutism. In the second half of the 17th century the role of the church in the state increased significantly. The church not only became a major proprietor, but after the introduction of the patriarchate in 1589, it strengthened its political position in the state.

Under Peter the Great the formation of absolute monarchy continued. The tsar came to be regarded not only as the bearer of supreme power, but also as the legislator of the state. The state interest was expressed in the will of the tsar. To free himself from the class-representative institutions that limited the will of the tsar, Peter I ceased to convene zemsky councils. The last zemsky sobor was held in 1653. The composition of the Boyar Duma had significantly changed: the majority of it was now made up of the nobility. In 1701 the functions of the Boyars' Duma were transferred to the Secret (Near) Chancery, which included the most trusted officials of the tsar. The Boyarskaya Duma had finally lost its political significance with the establishment of the Senate in 1711. In the first quarter of the 18th century the absolute monarchy was legally established. In the Regulations (the charter of the Spiritual Board) it was written that, "the power of monarchs is autocracy, to be obeyed by which the God commands in conscience.

At the beginning of the 18th century the church was finally subjugated to the authority of the tsar. In 1700 the deceased Patriarch Adrian was replaced by a guardian of the patriarchal throne with fewer rights than those of the patriarch. The Monastery Prik was in charge of the church property. In 1721, to manage the affairs of the church was established a spiritual college - the Holy Synod, to direct the Synod was appointed chief prosecutor.

With the appearance of the Table of Ranks (1722) the number of officials in the country increased even more, all of them had to fulfill the will of the monarch. To limit the abuses of the bureaucracy, Peter strengthened state control. Having established in 1711 the institute of fiscal officials, obliged to monitor the execution of government orders, Peter introduced such positions under the Senate, colleges, provinces and cities. That is, the absolute power of the monarch was supported by a system of control and denunciation, kept on suspicion and fear.

One of the results of Peter I's activities was the emergence of a bureaucratic machine in Russia. It replaced the system of medieval administration based on custom. Bureaucracy became a necessary element in the structure of the states of the new time. However, under the conditions of specific Russian autocracy, under the unlimited will of the monarch, when the official was not responsible before anybody, except for his chief, the power of bureaucracy became absolute.

The role of the army in the state also changed. Peter was increasingly involving it to perform functions that were not typical of it. The military collected taxes, conducted a census of the population, suppressed the discontent of the people. With the creation of a regular army and navy the monarch's power was further strengthened. In 1721 Peter received the title of Emperor, i.e., the head of the secular and spiritual powers.

As a result of Peter's reforms absolutism was finally formed in Russia. It is a form of government of the period of late feudalism, or transition to capitalism. The power of the monarch during this period becomes unlimited (absolute). Absolutism existed in Europe as well, but its Russian version had significant features. In the military statutes Peter I gave the following definition of this form of government: "His Majesty is an autocratic monarch, who has no one in the world to answer for their actions, but the power and authority has his state and land as a Christian sovereign of his will and good will to govern”. Thus, the Tsar declared his complete independence in decision-making. Only he alone knew how Russia should develop. He protected the people from external and internal threats, and the population was to unconditionally fulfill his will. Peter identified the interests of the Russian autocracy with the national interests of Russia.

While Western Europe was evolving from absolutism to representative democracy, The Russian people were becoming even more powerless. Its core population was deprived not only of property, but also of personal freedom. Right French socialist utopianist H.B.Mabli, who wrote that "Peter taught the Russians how to trade and fight, but did not teach them the most important thing - above all, to be citizens.” He could not do this. The very situation in which the country was, and the traditions of the Russian autocracy, would not allow him to go beyond the limits of autocratic power. He had only one path before him: “to strengthen it in every possible way, which was done by Peter.”

Formation of absolutism in Russia had ideological and political basis. First of all, it was reflected in the writings of Theophanes Prokopovich, an active supporter of Peter's reforms. In his justification of the absolute power of the monarch, he proceeded from the idea of "common good”. In Peter I he saw the image of "enlightened monarch", whose activities were aimed at the benefit of the people.

Prominent defenders of absolutism were V.N. Tatishchev, A.D. Kantemir and I.T. Pososhkov. I.T. Pososhkov in "The Book of Scarcity and Wealth" gave a program of socio-economic development to the country. He considered absolute monarchy as a means of achieving civil peace, economic well-being and "common good".

So, under Peter the Great the absolute power of the monarch was finally established in Russia. Never before had the head of the Russian state possessed such fullness of power as now. Absolutism is a pan-European form of government, but in Russia it had distinctive features. Firstly, nowhere else in Europe did monarchs have such unlimited power as in Russia. Secondly, in Europe there was a certain autonomy of society from the power of the monarch, since all sectors of the population had civil rights and freedoms. In Russia, however, even the nobility, which was the social base of absolutism, were not free.

Proponents of the materialistic approach believe that as a result of Peter's reforms Russia has made a major step forward on the path of progress, albeit within the feudal-serfdom system. For historical-liberal direction, it is characterized by recognition of the merits of Peter I in transforming Russia into an advanced European power. But Russia took the path of direct borrowing of European achievements, not being ready for them internally. Therefore, the country has established Asian despotism, only superficially similar to the absolute monarchies of European countries. The price of Peter the Great's reform was exorbitantly high.

Within the framework of the modernization direction, the reforms of Peter I are considered as the use of technological and organizational experience of the advanced European countries of that era - Sweden and Holland. The nature of modernization was selective and concerned mainly the military sphere. In terms of local-historical theory Peter I led Russia away from the natural path of development and caused irreparable damage to the national identity of the country.

(1725 – 1762) The palace coups

The overextension of the country during the years of Peter's reforms, the destruction of traditions, and violent methods of reforms led to ambiguous attitudes in different groups of Russian society toward the Petrine (Peter’s) legacy and created conditions for political instability.

From 1725, after the death of Peter the Great to the accession to power in 1762 of Catherine II, six monarchs and many political forces behind them succeeded to the throne. This change did not always take place peacefully and lawfully, which is why this period V.O. Kluchevsky did not quite accurately, but figuratively and aptly called "the era of palace coups".

A major force in determining policy during this period was the Guard. It was used both for the personal protection of the emperor and for organizing control over the activities of various institutions. The positions of the Guard were shaped by the battling palace factions. The position of the Guard regiments largely determined who would occupy the throne in St. Petersburg. The Guard actively intervened in dynastic disputes, and then the struggle for power took the form of palace coups.

If you try to isolate the balance of the interaction of the three main forces - the nobility, the peasantry and the absolutist state, it will reflect the expansion of morals and privileges of the nobility, the further enslavement of the peasantry and attempts of state power to adjust the apparatus of bureaucratic machine to the changing conditions of life.

(1725 - 1727) Catherine I

Peter I died on January 28, 1725, leaving no order for a successor. He left no sons. His daughters were born before his marriage to Catherine. The real pretenders to the throne after the emperor's death were his wife Catherine and his grandson Peter, son of the executed Tsarevich Alexei. Two factions of the nobility clearly emerged at court. One was composed of representatives of the new nobility, promoted under Peter I. Among them the most important role, played by Prince AD Menshikov. Catherine was their candidate for the throne. The other group was represented by aristocrats, led by Prince D. M. Golitsyn, who nominated Peter II. While the Senate and senior dignitaries discussed who to pass the throne, Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments openly sided with Catherine I (1725 - 1727). The actual ruler of the country was A.D. Menshikov, the first of a long line of favorites, most of whom primarily paid attention to their pockets and their interests.

For a better management of the state the Supreme Privy Council was created, the supreme state body, which limited the power of the Senate. It included A. D. Menshikov, F. M. Apraksin, G. I. Golovkin, P. A. Tolstoy, A. I. Osterman, D. M. Golitsyn and the Duke of Holstein Karl Friedrich - the husband of Peter I's eldest daughter Anna. The majority of the Supreme Privy Council was composed of the closest advisers of Peter I, only Prince D.M.Golitsyn belonged to the old nobility. An attempt to oppose A.D. Menshikov led to the exile of P.A. Tolstoy and his death in the Solovki.

(1727-1730) the 12-year-old Peter P

Shortly before her death in 1727. the 43-year-old Catherine I signed a will under which Peter II, son of Tsarevich Alexei, was to succeed to the throne, to be followed by Peter's daughters Anna and her heirs and Elizabeth and her heirs.

The throne was taken by the 12-year-old Peter P (1727-1730) under the regency of the Supreme Privy Council. However in 1727 the prince was arrested, deprived of his rewards and wealth and together with his family he was exiled to the Siberian town of Berezov (now Tyumen region) where he completed his life in 1729.

The Supreme Privy Council under Peter II had undergone significant changes. It was headed by four Princes Dolgoruky and two Golitsyns, as well as a master of intrigue Alexander Osterman. The Dolgorukys came to the fore. Catherine Dolgoruky became "the tsar's bride. But the unexpected death of Peter the Great in his fifteenth year, on the day of his wedding, led to the termination of the Romanov dynasty on the male line. The question of the new emperor had to be decided by the Supreme Privy Council.

After lengthy consultations, the Verkhovniki have opted for the senior line of the dynasty, associated with the brother of Peter I - Ivan V.

(1730 – 1740 Anna Ioannovna) foreign controlled

Anna, the daughter of Ivan V Alexeevich, was married to the Duke of Courland in Peter's time and lived widowed in one of the Baltic cities - Mitava (now Jelgava). Inviting Anna Ioannovna to the Russian throne, the Verkhovniki took into account the fact that Anna had no political ties with the Russian nobility. Verkhovniki developed special conditions - conditions, on the basis of which Anna was to rule the country. The new Empress has taken on the obligation not to marry without the permission of the supreme leadership and not to appoint an heir, to solve the most important issues in the state only with the participation of the Supreme Privy Council.

However, two weeks after his arrival in Moscow, Anna broke the conditions in front of the supreme court and declared about "the acceptance of autocracy”. During the massacre of the Kremlin, Ivan Dolgoruky was executed, since it was discovered the false will of his sister, "the Queen's bride", to occupy the throne, his father and sister were exiled to Berezov. The Supreme Privy Council in 1731 was replaced by the Cabinet of three ministers, headed by A. I. Osterman. Four years later, Anna Ioannovna equalized the signatures of the three cabinet ministers to one of her own.

Anna Ioannovna (1730 - 1740) took little interest in the affairs of state, transferring control to her favorite, Ernst Johann Biron, Duke of Courland, an ambitious but limited man. Anna Ioannovna's reign was called "Bironovshchina," a word that came to represent the dominance of foreigners in the government of the country.

All key positions in the country were in the hands of the Germans. Foreign affairs were conducted by A.I. Ostermann, the army was commanded by B.-K. Minich, the guards - by F.-K. Levenwode. The Academy of Sciences was headed by I.D. Schumacher. Into the Russian economy penetrated adventurers, who robbed the country with impunity, such as Shemberg, who robbed the factories of the Urals.

The symbol of Anna's reign was the Secret Chancery, headed by A. I. Ushakov, which monitored the speeches against the Empress and the "state crimes" (the famous "word and deed"). Through the Secret Office passed on 10 thousand people.

Under Anna Ioannovna there was resumed distribution of lands to nobles. In 1731 was abolished the uniform inheritance, introduced by Peter's decree of 1714. Thus, estates were recognized as the full property of the nobility. Two new regiments of the Guards - Izmailovsky and Konnogvardeysky - were created, where officers were mostly foreigners. From 30s of the 18th century nobility undergraduates were allowed to enroll in the Guard regiments, to be trained at home and after examinations to be made officers. In 1732 there was opened a Royal Cadet Corps for training nobles. It was followed by opening of the Naval, Artillery and Pageant corps. From 1736 the term of service for the nobility was limited to 25 years.

The peasants became more and more firmly attached to the personality of their landowner. From 1731 the landlords or their clerks began to take an oath of allegiance to the emperor on behalf of the peasants. In the same year the collection of per capita money from the subject peasants due to their indebtedness to the state was placed in the hands of the nobility. The landlord himself received the right to establish the penalty for a peasant's escape. In the 30s - 40s of the 18th century forced labor became predominant in almost all branches of industry. In 1736 factory workers were permanently attached to the factories and could not be sold separately from the manufactory.

Anna Ioannovna decided that her heir would be the son of her niece Anna Leopoldovna and the Duke of Brunswick, Ivan Antonovich. The Empress appointed E.-I. Biron as regent (ruler) for a two-month old child. Less than a month later he was arrested by guardsmen on the order of Field Marshal B.-K. Minich and was exiled to Pelym (Tobolsk province).

(1741 – 1761) Elizaveta Petrovna

Russian nobility pinned its hopes on the daughter of Peter I - Elizaveta. In 1741 with the assistance of the French and Swedish diplomats, interested in the reorientation of Russian foreign policy, there was another palace coup. With the help of the Grenadier Company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Elizabeth Petrovna ascended the throne.

As a political and statesman Elizaveta Petrovna (1741 - 1761) did not stand out among her closest predecessors. Contemporaries note that she was an extremely attractive thirty-two-year-old woman, of cheerful disposition and affable. This is confirmed by the extant portraits of the empress. Her passion was for dresses, balls, and fireworks. Music was part of the life of the court: the harp, the mandolin, and the guitar were part of everyday life at that time. The dazzling brilliance of the Elizabethan baroque testifies to endless entertainment rather than the painstaking work of the court.

Indeed, Elizabeth was little engaged in state affairs, having entrusted them to her favorites - the Razumovsky brothers, the Shuvalovs, the Vorontsovs, and A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. Elizabeth Petrovna proclaimed a return to the orders of her father, Peter the Great, as the goal of her reign. The Senate, the Berg and manufactory committees, and the Chief Magistrate were restored to their rights. Under Elizabeth was opened the University in Moscow (January 25, 1755). The Conference of the Imperial Court took the place of the abolished Cabinet. The activities of the Secret Office had become imperceptible.

Social policy remained the same: the expansion of rights and privileges of the nobility, which was achieved by restricting the rights and regulating the life of the peasants. In 1746 only the right to own land and peasants was reserved for the nobility. In 1760 landlords received the right to exile peasants who opposed them to Siberia and credit them instead of recruits. Peasants were forbidden to conduct money transactions without the permission of the landlord. The landlord exercised police functions in relation to the peasants.

To support the nobility, the Gentlemen's Land Bank was established. A similar bank was also opened for the merchants. In the interests of both the nobility and merchants in 1754 domestic customs duties were abolished, which opened wide opportunities for trade in agricultural and industrial goods. In 1744 - 1747 there was carried out the second census of the tax population. In 1755 the factory peasants were assigned as permanent (obsessional) workers at the Ural plants. Thus the landlords gained the right to dispose not only of the land, but also of the personality and property of the peasant.

Elizabeth Petrovna reigned for twenty years. Even during her lifetime she began to consider to whom she should pass the throne. To this end, from Holstein (the capital - the city of Kiel) was released her 14-year-old nephew Carl Peter Ulrich, who after conversion to Orthodoxy, received the name of Peter. He was the grandnephew of Charles XII on the paternal side and simultaneously the grandson of Peter I on the maternal side. Even under the will of Catherine I he had the right to the Russian throne. On Peter the Great's coming of age the Prussian King Frederick II recommended his daughter Sophia Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Tserbstskoy, who was named Catherine Alexeevna in Russia, as a wife. The young couple had a son Paul in 1757.

(1761 - 1762) Peter III

After the death of Elizaveta Petrovna in 1761. 33-year-old Peter the third (1761 - 1762) became emperor of Russia. The six-month reign of Peter the third is astonishing with the abundance of adopted state acts. During this time 192 decrees were issued. The most important of them was the "Manifesto on granting freedom and liberty to Russian nobility" of February 18, 1762. The Manifesto released the nobility from compulsory state and military service. A nobleman could leave the service at any time, except for military service. It was allowed to go abroad and even to enter foreign service, to give children a home education. The nobility was increasingly transformed from a servile to a privileged class. "By the demand of historical logic and social justice," wrote V.O. Kluchevsky, "on the next day, February 19, was to follow the abolition of serfdom; and it followed the next day, only 99 years later. The golden age of the Russian nobility had arrived.

The secularization of church lands in favor of the state was announced, which strengthened the state treasury (the final decree was implemented by Catherine II in 1764). Peter the Great stopped persecution of the Old Believers and wanted to equalize all religions, to make the clergy to wear secular clothes, focusing on Lutheranism. The Secret Chancery was abolished, people who had been condemned under Elizabeth Petrovna were returned from exile and disgrace. At the same time Peter behaved insultingly toward the guards, whom he called janissaries. The emperor wanted to remove the guards from the capital, choosing the Holstein guards as his support.

As we see, on the one hand, Peter the Third carried out the decrees that continued the line of his predecessors, at times he went even further than them. But on the other hand, his actions were distinguished by inconsiderateness, tactlessness, chaotic, ill-conceived policy, combined with rudeness and disrespect for his wife and family, to his loved ones, with drunkenness and foolishness. All this could not but cause discontent in Russian society. It is unlikely to speak of the presence of Peter III thought-out program of action. The verdict of the court, the guards and the clergy was unanimous: Peter III did not look like a real sovereign.

During this period the expansion of the rights and privileges of the nobility was achieved at the expense of the attack on the rights of the main mass of the population of the country - the peasantry. The state experienced enormous difficulties in collecting taxes, as the flight of peasants to the outskirts of the country intensified. At a time when with the people there were strong tsarist illusions, there were impostors. Researchers note at the turn of 50 - 60 years of the XVIII century, more than 60 revolts of monastic peasants.

Active participation in the struggle for their rights took the mining population of the Urals. From 1754 to 1764 riots were observed at 54 major factories of the Urals. They involved about 200 thousand peasants. Arbitrariness of the tsarist administration and serfdom caused mass unrest of numerous peoples of the Urals and Volga region. The country was facing the need for new reforms. They were carried out under Catherine the Great.

Foreign policy objectives in the second quarter - middle of the XVIII century Russia was solved less energetically than it was under Peter I. The country was retreating from the tensions of Peter's time. B.-K. Minich began to restructure the army in the European manner. The fleet was decrepit, much effort was taken to build defensive lines in the south and southeast of the country. The commanding posts in the army were in the hands of foreigners.

Crimean Tatars violated the borders of Russia, which was the cause of the Russian-Turkish War of 1735 - 1739. In 1736 the Russian army took Bakhchisarai and Azov, and the following year - Ochakov. In 1739 Turkey and Russia signed the Peace of Belgrade. Russia received Azov, though without fortifications, and a small territory between the Seversky Donets and the Bug River. Access to the Black Sea was retained by Turkey.

Sweden tried to take revenge for defeat in the Northern War and declared war on Russia. The Russian-Swedish war (1741 - 1743) was carried out on the territory of Finland and ended with the Peace of Abos (the city of Turku), in which Sweden confirmed the results of the Northern War. Russia also lost a small territory in Finland up to the river Kymen.

In 1756 - 1763 the Anglo-French war for the colonies broke out. Two coalitions of powers were involved in the war. One was composed of Prussia, England, and Portugal. Their opponents were France, Spain, Austria, Sweden, and Saxony, with Russia on their side. Russia understood that Prussia wanted to conquer Poland and a part of the Baltics, which would mean the end of Russian influence in this region.

In the summer of 1757 the Russian army moved into East Prussia. The Prussian King Frederick P., who was considered invincible, had sent his main forces against Russia, but his army was destroyed. In 1760 the Russian troops entered Berlin, where they stayed for several days. In the battles of the Seven Years' War P.A. Rumyantsev and A.V. Suvorov, who later glorified the Russian art of war, won the first major victories.

However, victories of Russian soldiers did not give the country any real results. Disagreements among the allies and especially the accession of Peter III, radically changed the position of Russia in the war. In 1762 Russia made peace with Prussia and returned all the conquered territories. However, during the war Prussia was weakened, and the international prestige of Russia strengthened. The main result of the Seven Years' War was the victory of England over France in the struggle for colonies and trade supremacy. The anti-national foreign policy of Peter III, as well as outbreaks of social protest, pushed the Guards to a new coup in favor of Catherine II.

The era of palace coups in general has not changed the foundations of the socio-economic and political system created by the reforms of Peter I. Changes occurred only in the personal composition of the ruling elite. At the same time the main trends in the development of countries remained the same: the strengthening of serfdom, the formation of imperial traditions in foreign policy, and the extensive nature of economic development. At the same time the privileges of the nobility were expanding and there were noticeable shifts in the cultural life of the country.

Russia in the second half of the 18th century (1762 - 1796)

In the second half of the 18th century Russia remained one of the largest states in the world. Despite great merits of Peter I in the development of industry, the country still had an agrarian economy. Agriculture developed extensively, the increase in production was due to the plowing of new lands in the Black Sea region, the Middle and Lower Volga region, in the Urals, in Siberia. The peasantry accounted for 90% of the population of Russia. Traditional forms of their exploitation persisted. Despite the domination of the feudal serf system, new features appeared in the socio-economic development of the country. In the second half of the 18th century bread (grain) became a commodity and both landed estates and peasants began to work for the market. From the end of the 18th century bread (grain) exports expanded. The growth of the lord's ploughing led to a reduction and sometimes even to the disappearance of the peasant's allotment. As a result the system of alienation developed. The separation of the peasantry from its allotment and the need to earn money to pay the cash tribute contributed to the formation of a labor market. In order to increase the profitability of their farms, landlords used new agricultural techniques, imported fertilizers from abroad, etc. All these new phenomena showed the first signs of decay of the barch economy.

In the 50s - 60s of the 18th century private enterprise was actively developing. The availability of large reserves of their own raw materials (flax, hemp, leather, wool, grain), free labor, as well as the opportunity to sell their products profitably, pushed the landowners to set up patrimonial factories. But by the end of the 18th century the number of noble manufactories based on forced labor decreased sharply. The number of peasant and merchant manufactories increased.

Capitalist manufacture grew most often out of peasant trades, primarily in light industry. Thus, in the Ivanovo textile region, which emerged by the end of the 40s of the 18th century, with few exceptions, the manufactories used not the peasants, but hired laborers.

Manufactures in light industry in Russia were distinguished by their large size. Among them there were such, which employed up to 2 thousand people and even more, and the enterprises, serviced by 300-400 workers, were considered medium-sized. The Goncharovs' sailing manufacture had 1,624 workers by the end of the 18th century, the Cloth Factory of the Prince Khovanskys had up to 2,600 workers.

In the initial period of manufactory production large light industry enterprises were located mostly in cities. In the second half of the XVIII century industrial capital also penetrated into the village. Owner of the manufactory distributed raw materials and tools to the surrounding peasants or bought from them semi-finished products. Such scattered manufactories, in which only the final stage of production was centralized, were most common in the linen industry. The transformation of domestic peasant trades into an appendage of the manufactory indicated the beginning of the decay of the subsistence economy and the stratification of the peasantry.

In the second half of the 18th century the total number of hired workers employed in manufactories, trades and transport grew greatly. At the factories, registered in the Manufactory Board in 1767 there were 18 thousand hired workers, and together with home workers - up to 25 thousand. Only the cloth manufactories dominated the forced labor of private peasants, in the remaining industries - silk weaving, sail and cloth, cotton, and others - the capitalist exploitation of labor prevailed.

In the central regions of the country capitalist forms of production with hired labor developed not only in the light industry, but also in the metal-working industry (Pavlov, Vorsma). Hired labor was widely used in small peasant enterprises: flour mills, oil mills, tanneries, soap mills, candle mills, iron mills and others. Wage labor in water transport and partly in animal-drawn vehicles, shipbuilding, and in loading and unloading operations was of great importance. The total number of hired laborers in the 60's of the 18th century reached approximately 220 thousand people, more than half of them were employed in water transport. By the end of the 18th century there were about 420 thousand hired workers.

Tilled peasants were forced to seek wages on the side, to turn to outlandish trades. The labor market was expanding. Some peasants were breaking away from agriculture. This was especially true for the villages, long famous for weaving and metal-working trades. The example of the villages of Ivanovo and Pavlov, whose inhabitants were peasants, but by the late 18th century they were no longer engaged in farming, clearly shows the process of turning the village into a major commercial and industrial center, which later became a town. In search of earnings people from surrounding areas flocked here. Passports and vacation documents began to be issued for increasingly long periods, until, at last, the peasant-choosers turned into permanent residents of Moscow, Ivanovo and other industrial centers. At the same time the peasants who sold their labor to an entrepreneur, most often remained serfs to a landlord.

The development of entrepreneurship was facilitated by the prohibition in 1762 the purchase of peasants to factories and permission in 1775 for peasant industry.

By the end of the 18th century in Russia there were about 100 large industrial enterprises in the most dynamically developing industry - cotton, almost entirely based on freelancers. The process of formation of the all-Russian market continued. This was facilitated by the proclamation in 1762 of the freedom of trade. Fair trade prevailed.

Thus, a capitalistic way of life began to form in the Russian economy in the second half of the 18th century, but it could not become firmly established on Russian soil. The main obstacle was the absolutist system, which preserved serfdom and strengthened the position of the nobility.

Catherine II

In 1762 as a result of the coup d'etat Catherine II ascended the Russian throne. Her reign marked the beginning of the era of "enlightened absolutism”. There is no consensus on the policy of "enlightened absolutism”. Some historians believe that the flirting with the philosophers was a kind of coquetry on the part of monarchs, rather than a real policy. Others see it as a certain stage in the development of absolute monarchy, which was trying to reform itself in order to prevent the impending bourgeois revolutions. Different historians also define the chronological framework of enlightened absolutism. The most generally accepted point of view is that of I.A. Fedosov, who considers the beginning of enlightened absolutism in Russia in 1762, and the end - in 1815.

Enlightened absolutism was a pan-European phenomenon. This policy was widespread in Prussia, Sweden, Austria and France. The 18th century went down in history as the Age of Enlightenment. Enlightenment philosophy was developed by such thinkers as A. Voltaire, D. Diderot, J.-J. Rousseau, Ch. Montesquieu, I. Kant, D. Hume, etc.

It was based on the ideas of rationalism, reflected the belief that human reason is capable of comprehending not only the laws of the development of nature, but also the laws of society. The idea of progress, a steady movement along the path leading to an order based on law and reason, permeated the writings of all the philosophers of the Enlightenment.

The triumph of rationalism was associated with a "secularization" of spiritual life. The Enlighteners mercilessly criticized the church, which had kept its parishioners in fear and ignorance. The philosophers did not deny God, but were only against the idea of divine predestination. Their main point was that man is the creator of his own destiny. The recognition of the personal independence and freedom of the individual by his natural rights is the main thesis of the Enlighteners. Thus appeared the theory of "natural rights," the essence of which is that man is born to be free, to have property and to be protected by the state and its just laws. From this derived criticism of the old feudal order, which violated the natural rights and freedoms of man, as well as justification of the need for democratic reforms in society.

See Part Five for:

(1762-1796) The "Enlightened absolutism" of Catherine II

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