Assembly- a form of leisure for the nobility - ball meetings with the participation of women, introduced by Peter I in 1718.
Bironovshchina- the regime of government established under Empress Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740), named after her favorite Ernst Johann Biron. It was characterized by the dominance of foreigners in all areas of government and power, the plunder of the country, and repressions against the dissatisfied.
Bureaucracy – 1) a set of persons professionally engaged in management (officialdom), responsible to the state leadership and living off the wages (salaries) received; 2) control system state through the bureaucracy.
Eastern question- a term meaning a complex of contradictions powers in the Middle East, the Balkans, in the zone of the Black Sea straits and in North Africa - in the territories subject to the Ottoman empire(Turkey).
Guard- selected, the best part of the army.
Province- the main administrative-territorial unit of Russia since 1708. It was divided into counties. Several adjacent provinces could constitute a governor-general.
Palace coup- the forcible removal of the monarch from power by one of the opposition court groups with the help of guards.
Power– 1) a large and powerful country; 2) the emblem of power, one of the regalia of the monarch: a golden ball with a crown or cross at the top.
"Charter to the nobility"- a document confirming all privilege, data nobility after the death of Peter I, as well as allowing the creation of noble societies in provinces and counties.
"Charter to cities"- a document that defined the rights and obligations of the urban population, the management system in cities.
Emperor- a person, the bearer of the highest royal dignity, as well as the title of such a person. In Russia, the title of emperor was adopted by Peter I in 1721.
Intensive- providing high performance.
capitalist peasants- wealthy peasants who had capital and were engaged in entrepreneurial activities.
Boards- central executive authorities in charge of a particular industry (army, navy, foreign policy, etc.). Were introduced by Peter I instead orders.
Conditions- the conditions fixed in the contract.
otkhodnik peasants- peasants who were allowed, with the permission of the landowner, to leave the village for seasonal work in order to earn quitrent.
Magistrate- the body of city government, introduced under Peter I.
Philistinism (philistines)– in Russia until the end of 1917 – estate, the lowest rank of personally free, taxable urban population. According to the Letter of Complaint, the cities of 1785 included small merchants and artisans - the main payers of taxes and taxes.
Modernization- change, reconstruction of the socio-economic, political, cultural, religious, moral and other foundations of society through various innovations and improvements. In a narrower sense, modernization refers to industrial revolution and industrialization, the formation of a national market and a unified economic system.
Poll tax- the main tax levied on the male population (each "soul") taxable estates, regardless of age. Replaced yard taxation(when the tax was collected from the peasant or township yard).
Possession peasants– state peasants, bought by the owners of factories to work on them.
Ascribed peasants– palace or state peasants, which instead of paying taxes had to work at state-owned or private factories, were "attached" to them.
enlighteners- the general name of outstanding thinkers of the XVII-XVIII centuries. (Voltaire, C. Montesquieu, D. Diderot, J.-J. Rousseau and others), who criticized the feudal system, defended the freedom of the individual, equality of people in rights and before the law, and enlightenment of the people. Enlighteners believed that the main task of the monarch ("wise man on the throne") is to take care of the welfare of the people, in accordance with the laws emanating from the ruler. In Russia, the ideas of the Enlightenment were defended by N.I. Novikov and A.N. Radishchev.
Education- the ideological course of the period of transition from feudalism to capitalism associated with the struggle of the emerging bourgeoisie and the masses against absolutism and feudalism. Causes of human disasters enlighteners considered ignorance, religious fanaticism, opposed the feudal-absolutist regime, for political freedom and civil equality.
"Enlightened Absolutism"- designation of state policy in Russia (under Catherine II) and a number of Western European countries (Austria, Prussia, Portugal, etc.). This policy was to use the bourgeois ideas of the era Enlightenment to preserve the feudal order and the feudal system in the conditions of its beginning decomposition. Catherine II sought to build a "legitimate" autocratic monarchy strictly defining the rights and obligations estates. She portrayed her activities as a union of the sovereign and philosophers, contributing to the development of enlightenment and education. This policy was aimed at strengthening the dominance nobility, although some reforms contributed to the development capitalism.
Protectorate- a form of dependence in which a weak country, formally retaining its state structure and some independence in internal affairs, is actually subordinate to another, stronger one power.
Regent - temporary ruler of a monarchical state (in case of infancy or illness of the monarch).
Recruits soldiers who have served in the military for hire or duties. Recruitment for the Russian army was compulsory (from 1705 to 1874).
Craft workshops- associations of artisans of one specialty, introduced by decree of Peter I from 1722.
Secularization– 1) the transfer of monastic and church property (land, peasants) into secular property; 2) liberation of public and individual consciousness from the influence of religion.
Senate (Governing Senate)- the highest state administrative institution that replaced the Boyar Duma under Peter I. Together with the monarch, the Senate developed new laws, monitored the country's finances and controlled the work of the state apparatus. Since 1722, he was headed by the Prosecutor General ("the sovereign's eye").
Synod (Holy Governing Synod)– spiritual collegium, who was in charge of the affairs of the church, headed by the chief prosecutor (appointed from secular persons).
"Table of Ranks"- A document issued by Peter I in 1722, dividing the military, civil and court services. All positions (both military and civilian) were divided into 14 ranks. It was possible to occupy each next rank only by passing all the previous ones.
secret office- body of political investigation in the era palace coups, was in charge of cases of state crimes.
Laid commission- a commission convened by Catherine II to develop a new code of laws of the Russian Empire (the Code). Consisted of government officials and elected representatives from different classes. After working for 1.5 years and not having time to make any decisions, the commission was “temporarily” dissolved, the reason for which was the Russian-Turkish war that began in 1768.
Favorite- a courtier who enjoys the special favor of the monarch, receiving from him various privilege often influencing domestic and foreign policy states.
nobility- the name of the Russian nobility(in the Polish manner).
Extensive- aimed at quantitative increase, expansion, distribution (as opposed to intense).
Tasks and questions for independent work
1. Explain the meaning of the term "absolutism".
2. Explain the meaning of the concept of "palace coup".
3. Explain the meaning of the concept of "board".
4. Explain the meaning of the concept of "mercantilism".
5. Explain the meaning of the term "modernization".
6. Explain the meaning of the term "protectionism".
7. Explain the meaning of the concept of "enlightened absolutism."
8. Explain the meaning of the term "secularization".
9. Explain the meaning of the concept "Table of Ranks".
10. Explain the meaning of the concept of "Laid Commission".
11. Two transformations of Peter I, which contributed to the strengthening of the bureaucratization of management - ...
12. Two transformations of Peter I, aimed at the Europeanization of the country - ...
A) convocation of the Zemsky Sobor
B) the creation of a regular army
C) the abolition of the patriarchate and the creation of the Synod
D) exemption of the nobility from compulsory service
13. Two government bodies under Peter I - ...
14. Chronological framework of the Northern War - ...
Catherine the Great ruled the Russian Empire for 34 years. During her reign, the territory and population of the country increased significantly. Significant progress has been made in foreign policy. Russia has gained more weight and influence in international affairs, including in relation to European states. But the most striking feature of this era was the expansion of the rights of the nobility to unthinkable limits. In history, it is difficult to find a similar example of an elite with such unlimited privileges. The reign of Catherine II is called the golden age of the nobility.
Accession to the throne
The path to the Russian crown turned out to be very thorny for the future empress. Catherine came to power as a result of a palace coup under difficult and confusing circumstances. Her husband Peter the Third was little capable of governing the state and served as an obstacle on the way to the throne. After his mysterious death, Catherine concentrated power in her hands. But, from the point of view of the subjects, she was a foreign princess involved in the murder of her husband. The position of the empress seemed precarious and unreliable. The main support and protection for her was the court guard who organized the coup. The need to obtain support from the army elite determined the policy of Catherine in relation to the entire nobility.
Enlightened Monarchy
The Empress read the works of Voltaire and was familiar with European liberal ideas. She believed that reasonable laws, effective law enforcement agencies and concern for the education of citizens can lead the state to prosperity and well-being. The idea of an enlightened monarchy assumed the preservation of the class system, the main force of which was the nobles. In addition, the autocrat was not questioned.
Carried away by the principles of the French enlighteners, Catherine realized how far the reality of the Russian Empire was from them. With all the desire to smooth out social contradictions in society, she was forced to act to please the estate, on which her power depended. That is why the golden age of the nobility came during the reign of Catherine. The Palace Guard was a huge political force, sometimes deciding who would sit on the throne.
Changing position of nobles
The fundamental principle of the relationship between the monarch and the nobles was to perform military service in exchange for the possession of estates. The obligations of a representative of the noble estate to the sovereign were by their nature similar to the dependence of a serf on a feudal lord. Until the time of Peter the Great, inclusive, the service began at the age of 15 and was practically lifelong. The nobleman did not have the right to choose between military and civilian careers.
Gradually there was a destruction of these ancient principles. The process of their abolition reached its climax when the reign of Catherine II came. The golden age of the nobility marked the beginning of the existence of the first completely free and independent stratum of society in Russia.
Changes after the death of Peter the Great
Gradually, amendments were made to the legislation, making the position of the feudal estate more and more convenient and profitable. The nobles were allowed to temporarily leave their duties to the state and return to their estates in order to personally manage economic affairs. One of the sons in each noble family received the right not to enter the service and devote himself entirely to solving issues related to the estate. The age at which representatives of the feudal class began to fulfill their duty to the monarch was increased from 15 to 20 years. The nobles were given the choice between military and civil service. The exclusive right of the noble class to own land and serfs was confirmed. There was an opportunity to receive a resignation after 25 years of service.
Manifesto of Peter III
Far-sighted Catherine sought to enlist the support of the nobility even before her accession to the throne. She could largely manipulate the reigning spouse, and under her influence, he signed a manifesto abolishing compulsory public service for representatives of the feudal class. Catherine confirmed the main points of this document a few months after her coronation. The golden age of the nobility was called the era that began from the moment of the proclamation of liberties that had no analogues in the past. But the estate from the generosity and mercy of the autocrat remained strong.
Economic situation
The Empress officially declared that there was no need to force the nobles to fulfill their duties to the state. In her opinion, the patriotism and devotion to the monarch, inherent in the representatives of this estate, guaranteed their voluntary entry into the service. This statement is not entirely true. The real reason was that often the estates gave small incomes and did not provide their owners with a decent standard of living. For many nobles, public office was the only alternative.
bundle
It is worth noting that the Empress contributed to the enrichment of a narrow circle of her proxies and favorites. For example, the organizers of the palace coup, which opened the way for her to the Russian throne, received ranks, large sums of money and land. Thanks to royal generosity, some of those close to him became owners of fantastic fortunes. The reign of Catherine the Great is called the golden age of the nobility, but not all representatives of this class received economic benefits in this era. Some of them did not have serfs at all. The Liberty Manifesto did not affect their financial situation.
Serfs
The golden age had its downside. The welfare of the feudal class was based on the free labor of serfs. The expansion of the privileges of the nobility was accompanied by the restriction of the rights of forced farmers. The only judicial instance for the serfs was their landowner. He had the authority to sentence to exile in a settlement in Siberia or even life hard labor. It was forbidden to file complaints against the landowner under pain of punishment with a whip. The position of serfs differed little from classical slavery, although the legislation did not openly recognize this.
Humanistic ideals and reality
Catherine the Great considered such a system of social organization to be inhuman. She repeatedly thought about possible ways to limit serfdom. However, these plans directly contradicted the interests of the elite. The economic source of the golden age of the nobility was serfdom. The good intentions of the empress collided with harsh reality, and she was forced to abandon her humanistic plans. The support of the aristocracy was for Catherine the highest priority, and the years of her reign became the heyday of serfdom.
Complaint about the liberties of the nobility
In 1785, a document was published confirming all the privileges previously received and expanding them. First of all, the liberation of the noble class from compulsory public service and its exclusive right to own land and peasants were secured. In addition, from that time on, the title of nobility was inherited, and it was possible to lose it only by decision of the Senate for committing a grave crime. Exemption from the poll tax was added to the list of privileges. Only those who were equal in origin could judge a nobleman. It was forbidden to apply corporal punishment to representatives of the noble class and to confiscate their estates. They had the right to address requests and complaints directly to the sovereign. Nobles were allowed to travel abroad and even enter the service of foreign monarchs.
Representatives in administration
It is worth emphasizing the introduction of local self-government. In the golden age of the Russian nobility, practically all representatives of power in counties and cities were elected or appointed from this class. The aristocracy in Russia finally turned into a closed corporation, isolated from the rest of the population.
Food export
The golden age of the nobility coincided with the widespread rise in the price of grain and bread. Russia's participation in the European market system mainly consisted in food supplies. The export of bread has become an exceptionally profitable occupation. This circumstance stimulated the landlords to increase the area under crops and intensify the exploitation of the labor of serfs in order to obtain additional income. The economic situation contributed to the continuation of the golden age of the nobility.
End of an era
After the death of Catherine the Great, Paul came to the throne, with whom she had a difficult relationship due to the murder of his father Peter the Third. He made attempts to limit the liberties and privileges granted to the noble class. The golden age of the nobility has not yet ended, but its peak was already behind. In an effort to make this class the main pillar of the autocracy, Catherine endowed it with enormous rights and turned it into a serious political force.
Prussia, Austria and Russia:
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Bessarabia
V.V. Rastrelli, V.I. Bazhenov, M.F. Kazakov are:
Russian architects of the 18th century
Russian writers
Russian theatrical figures of the 18th century
V.I. Bazhenov, F.I. Shubin, F.G. Volkov are:
Russian writers of the 19th century
Russian travelers of the 18th century
Russian theatrical figures of the 19th century
Figures of Russian culture of the XVIII century
Choose the correct answers (2). Terms related to the sphere
international trade:
muridism
Protectionism
favoritism
Mercantilism
The main condition for the accession to the throne of Anna Ioannovna was:
exemption of nobles from compulsory military service
concentration in the hands of the empress command of the guards
appointment of an heir
Joint reign of the empress with the Supreme Privy Council
Choose the correct answers (2). Privileged Estates XVIII
centuries were:
Conditions are:
a document that defines the procedure for the service of officials
document confirming the privileges of the nobility
Decree of Peter I on the succession to the throne
Conditions for limiting royal power proposed by Anna Ioannovna
Choose the correct answers (2). The provisions of the "Charter
nobility":
Confirmation of all privileges given after the death of Peter I
Creation of noble societies in provinces and districts
the right to have their own armed detachments to protect the estates
repeal of the decree on single inheritance
The highest body of state power in Russia, created in the 18th century:
Boyar Duma
Zemsky Sobor
State Council
Choose the correct answers (2). Measures of Paul I in relation to
nobility:
The introduction of a tax on nobles to support the local administration
restoration of the obligatory service of the nobility
The possibility of applying corporal punishment to nobles
the abolition of the right of nobles to make requests and complaints to the autocrat
At the beginning of the 18th century, the position of a profitmaker appeared in Russia. What is summer
Means
a person who cares about increasing the income of landowners
a person who takes into account all receipts for the maintenance of the royal family
A person obliged to invent new taxes or duties
Bank employee
The political system of Russia at the beginning of the 19th century is:
Autocratic absolutism
parliamentarism
totalitarianism
democracy
In the early years of the reign of Alexander I, the author of the project
government reforms were:
S.Yu.Witte
P.A. Stolypin
M.M. Speransky
A.D. Menshikov
Reign of Alexander I (years):
The State Council, created in 1810 by Alexander I according to the project
M.M. Speransky, possessed:
legislative functions
Advisory functions
investigative functions
supervisory functions
The main idea of the project of reforms of the political system of M.M. Speransky
Introduction of the principle of separation of powers
strengthening the power of the autocracy
establishment of a multi-layered system
establishment of a democratic republic
The project of separation of powers, the introduction of representative bodies,
Equality of all citizens before the law and the federal principle
The state structure was developed:
MM. Speransky
N.N. Novosiltsev
A.A. Arakcheev
YES. Guriev
Draft Russian constitution "Charter of the Russian Empire"
created under the direction of:
MM. Speransky
N.N. Novosiltseva
A.A. Arakcheeva
D.A Gurieva
The ministerial system of central government introduced by Alexander I
based on the principle:
collegiality
unity of command
electivity
self-nomination
The dates 1801, 1825, 1855, 1881 refer to:
the process of liberation of peasants from serfdom
The beginning of the reigns of Russian emperors
public administration reforms
stages of the industrial revolution
The dates 1649, 1803, 1861, 1881 refer to history:
Development of the peasant question
solutions to the Eastern question
development of social thought
literature, art
Dates 1812, 1853-1956 1877-1878 connected with:
foreign policy developments
stages of the liberation of the peasants
development of literature, art
working class speeches
The industrial revolution in Russia began in (years):
30-40s 19th century
1920s
50s of the 19th century
60s of XIX century
The essence of the industrial revolution in Russia is the transition:
from slave labor to feudalism
from feudal labor to capitalist
From manual labor to machine
from mechanized to automated
The essence of the decree of Alexander I on the "free cultivators":
the abolition of serfdom in the Baltics
emancipation of the serfs
increase in allotments of land to state peasants
The liberation of serfs under an agreement with the landowner
As part of Russia after the defeat of Napoleon in 1812-15. entered (entered):
Bessarabia
The main goal of the project of economic transformations of M.M. Speransky
Development of market relations
development of foreign trade
strengthening the role of the state
liquidation of the landownership
The first codification of Russian legislation was carried out in
(decades of the century):
In the 20-30s of the XIX century, Nicholas I
at the beginning of the 19th century by Alexander I
at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Paul I
in the 50s Alexander II
The key idea of the constitutional draft "Constitution" by N.M. Muravyov:
constitutional monarchy
Republican system
parliamentary system
presidential system
The key idea of the constitutional project "Russian Truth" by P.I.Pestel:
Republican state system
aristocratic republic
parliamentary system
absolute monarchy
The main goal of the Decembrists is:
strengthening of serfdom
strengthening autocratic power
restoration of monarchical regimes in Europe
The abolition of serfdom and the elimination of autocracy
The essence of the ideology of autocracy in the early 30s of the XIX century (after
defeat of the Decembrists under Nicholas I):
The theory of official nationality (the formula "autocracy, Orthodoxy,
nationality")
introduction of a constitutional monarchy
establishment of a parliamentary system
democratization of the country
The famous III branch of His Imperial Majesty's own u1042
office was engaged in:
support of creative intelligentsia
Surveillance of writers, reprisals against dissidents
fight against foreign agents
fight against industrial espionage
During the reign of Nicholas I, the darkest and most hopeless time of the nineteenth
in. Russian literature:
degrades
trying to hold his ground
Rising and growing
comes to a complete standstill
The essence of Slavophilism is:
Historical identity of Russia
Russia is part of Western civilization
Russia is part of the eastern civilization
Russia does not have its own civilizational identity
The essence of the ideology of Westernism is:
The future of Russia lies in the Europeanization of the country
Russia is a special civilization
Russia is a Eurasian civilization
Russia is an intermediate civilization that does not belong to either Western or Eastern civilizations.
An oath on Sparrow Hills in Moscow to fight the autocracy for freedom,
for the liberation of the people gave:
M.A. Bakunin and P. Lavrov
Tkachev and S. Perovskaya
A.I. Herzen and N.I. Ogarev
N.G. Chernyshevsky and N.A. Dobrolyubov
The creation of a separate corps of gendarmes and the participation of Russian troops in
The suppression of revolutions in Europe in 1848 belong to the period
board:
Nicholas I
Nicholas II
Catherine II
Alexander I
N.M. Karamzin, V.A. Zhukovsky, K.P. Bryullov are:
Russian architects of the 18th century
Figures of Russian culture of the XIX century
Russian travelers of the 18th century
founders of Moscow University
V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen, N.G. Chernyshevsky are:
Russian architects of the 18th century
Russian artists of the 19th century
Russian theatrical figures of the XVIII-XIX centuries
Russian writers-democrats of the 19th century
The need to abolish serfdom, introduce a free press,
reforms of the court on the basis of publicity and competitiveness were discussed
at group meetings:
bakunin
Tkachevtsy
Petrashevtsy
Demonstration version in history and social studies Grade 7Choose the correct answer.
1. Decree on "lesson years":
a) prohibited the free transfer of peasants from one owner to another
b) set a five-year term for the investigation of fugitive peasants
c) determined the transition of peasants to another landowner only on St. George's Day
d) established an indefinite search for runaway peasants
2. The beginning of the end of the Time of Troubles can be considered:
a) the liberation of Moscow from the interventionists
b) election by the Zemsky Sobor for the reign of Mikhail Romanov
c) returning from the captivity of Filaret and becoming a co-ruler under Mikhail Romanov
d) accession to the throne of Alexei Mikhailovich
3. The main direction of Russian foreign policy throughout the 17th century:
a) the struggle for access to the Baltic Sea
b) obtaining access to the Black Sea
c) relations with the Commonwealth
d) relations with Turkey
4. What event is referred to in the lines of A. S. Pushkin?
Severe was in the science of fame
She was given a teacher: not one
Lesson unexpected and bloody
Asked her Swedish paladin
a) about the withdrawal of Denmark from the war with Sweden
b) about lifting the siege of Riga by the Polish troops
c) about the defeat of Russian troops near Narva
d) about the Prut campaign
5. The highest church body under Peter I:
a) Monastery order
b) Chief Magistrate
c) Governing Senate
6. Russia became an empire after:
a) Azov campaign
b) suppression of the uprising led by K. A. Bulavin
c) Prut campaign
d) Northern War
7. Strengthening the role of the noble guard in 1725-1762.
in public affairs:
a) contributed to the strengthening of autocracy
b) became one of the reasons for the ease and frequency of palace coups
c) led to the limitation of the absolute power of the Russian emperors
d) led to conflicts and upheavals
8. All privileges given to the nobility after death
Peter I, were confirmed in the reign of:
a) Elizabeth Petrovna c) Catherine II
b) Peter III d) Paul I
9. Strengthening the power and arbitrariness of the landowners over the peasants during the reign of Catherine II led to:
a) copper riot
b) an uprising led by K. A. Bulavin
c) an uprising led by S. Razin
d) peasant war led by E. I. Pugachev
Choose the correct answers.
10. Of the listed events relate to the reign of Catherine II:
a) secularization of church lands
b) cancellation of the decree on single inheritance
c) restoration of the powers of the Governing Senate
d) "Charter to the nobility"
e) provincial reform
f) "Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility"
g) "Charter to the cities"
h) formation of the Office of Secret Investigation
i) introduction of freedom of enterprise
j) convening the Legislative Commission
11. Set the correct match:
1632-1634 a) Russian-Turkish war
1700-1721 b) Russia's participation in the war for the "Polish inheritance"
1733-1735 c) Smolensk war
1768-1774 d) Northern War
B. Godunov a) Crimean campaigns
Alexei Mikhailovich b) Prut campaign
V. V. Golitsyn d) establishment of the patriarchate
Peter I e) the reunification of Ukraine with Russia
13. Set the correct match:
Simon Ushakov a) architect
A. F. Zubov b) poet
A. P. Sumarokov c) icon painter
G. R. Derzhavin d) portrait painter
F. S. Rokotov e) engraver
M. F. Kazakov f) author of tragedies and comedies
14. Indicate in what chronological order the successors of Peter 1 ruled Russia:
1) Peter III
2) Anna Ioannovna
4) Elizaveta Petrovna
5) Catherine I
15.
Who are we talking about?
The enthronement of this woman was restless, because not everyone considered such a step to be correct; in the end, the issue was decided by the guard;
Most of the time she spent in entertainment, which sometimes dragged on until the morning;
It was under this ruler that an alliance was concluded with Austria, about which so much was said under Peter I;
This woman could not rule the state herself, therefore representatives of the so-called “new nobility” played a decisive role in the life of the country;
According to her own will (drawn up not entirely voluntarily), the throne of Russia after her death passed to a male representative of the royal house, effectively depriving her own daughters of power.
16. Labor monetary remuneration:
1) wages 2) rent 3) capital 4) tax
17. Are the judgments about the qualifications of the worker correct:
a) rapid progress simplifies work and lowers the requirements for the qualification of an employee;
b) manual labor does not require high qualifications
1) only A is true; 2) only B is true; 3) both judgments are true; 4) both judgments are wrong
18. The process of creating new types of products:
1) production 2) consumption 3) trade 4) distribution
19. The value of something in the market, expressed in monetary terms:
barter 2) exchange 3) commodity 4) price
1) subsistence economy 2) commodity economy 3) labor productivity
4) quality of work
21. Which of the following applies to the variable costs of production?
workers' wages
raw material purchase costs
room use fee
fare
director's salary
00:05 — REGNUM
Serf nobility
There are only 100 years between the freedom of the nobles and the abolition of serfdom - and what! The era of palace coups, the expansion of the empire, war and peace, reshaped at the Congress of Vienna. Along with the pan-European processes, the nobility itself underwent an internal transformation: from serf thinking to liberal fermentation in the minds of the Decembrists.
“I don’t want to study, I want to get married!” - perhaps, these could be the first words of the Russian nobility.
A consolidated estate with special rights, duties, and a role in governing the country was born under Peter I. Before him, the royal service people were still a different community, socially and legally.
The sovereign-absolutist Peter I strengthened and centralized power. Started to modernize the country. It is more convenient to cut through the Euro-window with the support of the bureaucratic apparatus - permanent, executive, professional. Service to one's overlord was obligatory in feudal-class countries. The Russian emperor made it inevitable for all nobles. Along with "enslavement" in the service, forcing them to study - for greater efficiency.
Those who resisted were punished in the form of taxes and ... the inability to marry. So “I don’t want to study - I want to get married” is not a joke, but the harsh truth of life at the beginning of the 18th century. Upon completion of studies, special documents were issued, “and without such testified letters, they should not be allowed to marry and do not give crown memories”.
According to the first, the upper class was called precisely the nobility.“The estate formed by Peter the Great from the royal officials is called the Polish-German word, - writes Alexander Romanovich-Slavatinsky, professor of state law at the Imperial University of St. Vladimir. — First, the name is applied to ordinary bureaucratic people - nobles and boyar children, and the courtiers are mentioned separately ... The name of the whole estate was established by the nobility in the second half of the 18th century.
The term "civil service" first appears in the decree of 1714, supplementing the decree "On Single Succession". Before that it was like this - "temporary cases and parcels." For a solid occupation, only military service was recognized at all.
Guaranteed employment pleased not all those liable for service. In the work “Nobility in Russia. From the beginning of the 18th century to the abolition of serfdom, we find many examples of the attitude of the estate to its position as serfdom, bondage. The author of the work, a lawyer Romanovich-Slavatinsky who lived in the 19th century, himself still adhered to a similar point of view. He welcomes the expansion of rights in the Catherine era with the words “for the first time in our society a face appears, not a serf”. Although the empress herself was surprised at this approach of the nobility: “Were you serfs and have you been sold until now?”
Rather, it is appropriate to speak here not of the semblance of draft duty, but of a sign of absolutist power. The main person is the autocrat. Not even the first among equals, but the anointed of God, the bearer of sacred power. The rest are his subjects. And of course, no one to the same Peter I (or rather, especially Peter I) would have dared to say a word across. More and more with subservience: "Your Imperial Majesty..." Moreover, the privileged estates received their status and financial privileges not “for a beautiful coat of arms”, but as a result of a “social labor contract” - in return for serving the emperor for the good of the Fatherland.
As Count Mikhail Vorontsov wrote to Elizaveta Petrovna:“We are all your faithful slaves, we cannot live without the mercy and reward of your imperial majesty. And I don’t know a single house of a surname in the state, which would actually support itself without rewarding royal generosity.
The nobles studied, served, curried and sat at home. Since even if someone wanted to go on a foreign voyage, they were allowed to leave only to complete their studies with an indispensable return to their homeland after that. Of the "burning trips", perhaps, only the war and the Great Embassy.
A specialized estate duty was the servile execution of the imperial will - for example, to go where they were sent. According to this "concept" was built and the Northern capital.
"Peter the Great announced 1000 gentry houses that at the end of the Swedish war they would be transferred to St. Petersburg." Lists of forced migrants were compiled. The construction was carried out according to the order: the requirements for buildings were determined by the number of peasant households. But here's the problem - the lack of stormy enthusiasm among those who move. For greater motivation, they decided: "if whose house is not finished, half of their villages will be written off to the treasury."
The nobility was counted according to the report card: in 1722, the “Table of Ranks” was published, which finally determined the advantage of the rank over the breed (gentility). “And she brought into one social group people of noble origin, rich fortune and the offspring of small, poor officials and officers”. The entire public service was divided into military, civil and court, and in each such category a ladder of 14 steps was installed.
Even places in worship and court ceremonies were henceforth determined by rank. The status of husbands determined the status of their wives. The outfit, the crew, and even the number of servants corresponded to the same grounds. A foreign observer spoke of those times: “There are no gentlemen in Russia, but there are majors, captains, assessors and registrars”.
Child with excellent appetite
The expansion of the rights of the nobility as the ruling class led to the strengthening of serfdom.
The “debt for food” was changing. As a result, such dependent classes were formed: the privileged, dependent on the will of the sovereign and serving, and the peasantry, providing for the needs of the nobility.
There were, in fact, no alternative opportunities for obtaining financial benefits at a compressed pace then. The efficiency of farming has not become a part of the morals, the same with entrepreneurship. Resources were multiplied not intensively, but extensively. The key indicator of wealth is not financial assets, but the number of serfs and land. The monetary content introduced before that did not allow the nobleman - "state employee" to live widely. I had to choose a military career or "serve in civilian life", seeking the location of the first person and "bonuses". So, Catherine's approximate prince Grigory Potemkin received 37 thousand souls in just two years - a whole county town.
“The ownership of serfs began to lose its state character and acquire a civil character” — displayed in the book “Nobility in Russia. From the beginning of the 18th century to the abolition of serfdom,“Peter the Great, under whom local distribution ceased and the granting of populated estates began, favors no longer four arable lands and haystacks, but peasant households. Under the successors, since the establishment of revisions and the poll tax, peasant souls are already complaining ...
The nobility does not yet enjoy freedom from corporal punishment. Not only does he not participate in the local court and administration, but even ... the possession of serfs is only beginning to coincide with it.
The peasants were “timed” gradually, becoming over time a bonus to the lands and estates of the privileged class. Initially, this possession was determined by the state service, that is, only an employee or a nobleman who was legally retired could dispose of the estate and serfs as his property. In addition, not only noble families practically owned peasants, but also representatives of other classes. Subsequently, or rather, in several attempts and decades, they will try to close this privilege exclusively to hereditary nobles. Like peasants to nobles - without reference, whether they are in the service or lead an idle lifestyle.
adolescence
The nobility, united in a kind of group or corporation, grew up and transformed. Outwardly, fenced off by a fence of way of life, morals and rights, it separates itself from the rest of the world, “begins to treat the people as the highest caste to the lowest”. Transformations inside will lead to its future renaming and stratification into higher nobility (aristocracy), middle and lower.
Soon the new class starts teething. Having concentrated the land in their hands, having the labor of the peasants at their disposal, the nobility felt itself to be a major social and political force, but not so much a service one as a landowner. It begins to strive to free itself from compulsory service to the state, but while maintaining all those rights with which the government thought to ensure the working capacity of the gentry.
Humility or barter, silent sabotage - there were plenty of ways to "slope" from the state service before the introduction of "leave" was invented. Ivan Pososhkov, the first theoretical economist, a contemporary of Peter the Great, a peasant, wrote about such examples: “... In Oyster I will eat a nobleman, I have already grown old, but I have never been in the service with any one foot. To please some with gifts, but whom he cannot please with gifts, then he will pretend to be a serious illness, or he will impose foolishness on himself, and let him go through his beard in the lake ... " And the nobleman Timiryazev from Alekseevsky district, under his own name, sent his man to the service.
It is also known about other common methods: entry into the merchant class, admission to the yard to the landowners, moving from one city to another, “just to hide your noble title”, and “postponement” due to study (“so, for example, in 1715 in 180 people signed up for the Slavic-Latin Academy for this purpose, according to another source - 280 people).
Courtiers also shied away from service. “For the poor nobles, of course, it was more difficult to leave the service than for the rich”- as Pososhkov noted, all the rulers of the noble rank helped people of their level and did not dare to say a word of prohibition to them, “and they have power and boldness only over the most insignificant people”.
Having replaced milk teeth with molars, the nobility speaks of the need to shorten the service life, tearing them away from home and household. This does not happen immediately - only after the death of Peter the Great.
Step by step, but the process has begun. Under Anna Ioannovna, the period of compulsory service was limited to 25 years.
Under Elizaveta Petrovna, for a comfortable service and accelerating a career, the custom that appeared even before that appeared was to enroll children of 2–3 years old in regiments, in which they were successively promoted to subaltern ranks, until, with reaching adulthood and receiving a high rank, they did not enter active regimental service.
In 1762, the upper class received official freedom from service. And enters the first class - privileged.
Catherine II in her Notes wrote about the events of that morning, January 17, 1762:“After three weeks after the death of the Empress, I went to the body for a memorial service. Walking through the hallway, I found here Prince Mikhail Dashkov weeping and beside himself with joy, and, running to me, said: “The sovereign is worthy in order for him to erect a golden statue; he gave freedom to all the nobility, ”and with that he goes to the Senate to announce it there. I said to him: “Were you serfs and have you been sold until now?” What is this liberty? .. Vorontsov and the Prosecutor General thought to do a great deed, reporting to the Sovereign in order to give free rein to the nobility, but in fact they begged for nothing more than that everyone was free to serve and not to serve ... All the nobles great was the joy of this permission to serve or not to serve, and for that hour they completely forgot that their ancestors acquired the honors and property that they use by their service.
liberty
The permission of Peter III to grant liberties to the nobles was announced in the Senate on January 17, 1762. Almost a month later, on February 18, the document itself “On granting liberties and freedom to all Russian nobility” appears (the traditional short name is the Manifesto on Liberty to the Nobility):
"Noble Thoughts, - stated in the Manifesto - rooted in the hearts of true Russian patriots boundless fidelity and love for Us, great zeal and excellent zeal in Our service, and therefore We do not find the need for compulsion to service, which has been needed until now.
Nobles were exempted from compulsory service. Members of the rank could retire under certain conditions. Those who retired “from all affairs” or from military service to civilian service were promoted by one rank with a certain length of service (one year and three years, respectively). Foreign voyage has now become possible for those who have retired. It was even allowed to serve other monarchs “with such an obligation that when need calls, then the nobles outside our state would come to their Fatherland ... with all possible speed to fulfill our will under the penalty of the sequester of his estate”.
The nobles accepted the Manifesto of Peter III with enthusiasm. The Senate, in its entirety, went to the emperor with a request for permission to build a golden statue of him. The Moscow nobility asked the senators for permission "to bring the lowest and slavish all-subject to his majesty thanksgiving". Odes were composed, for example, "as a token of gratitude for the unprecedented and merciful granting of liberty to the Russian nobles".
The eyewitness Bolotov writes in his Notes:“Everyone jumped up almost for joy and, thanks to the sovereign, blessed the moment at which he was pleased to sign this decree ... Until now, the All-Russian nobility was tied hand and foot; it was bound to serve unfailingly; and their children…”
And The magazine “The Painter” characterizes the views of the county nobility in an interesting way:“... Yes, the devil heard it, God forgive me, what kind of liberty is this? They gave freedom, but nothing can be done with this freedom; it is impossible to take away the land from a neighbor ... Today, only the will, that you can leave the service, and go overseas. And even though it was impossible to leave the service then, yes, there were doctors for this: you take them a lamb in a piece of paper, but to another judge, they will leave you for illnesses.
Why the elites wanted liberties is understandable. Why Peter III, who needed their loyalty, went for it - can also be explained. In theory. But it’s more difficult to refer to sources: since no one “held a candlestick” when compiling the document, there are many versions about the reasons for the adoption of the document, the authors of the idea and the compilers of the text itself.
According to historian Mikhail Kiselyov, the mysteriousness of the Manifesto is explained by the fact that preparatory draft materials, authentically connected with its creation, have not yet been discovered.
This issue was studied by Georgy Vernadsky, Nikolai Rubinstein, Sergei Polsky. There is an opinion that the freedom of the nobility to serve or not was discussed at the end of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, and did not become the insight of Peter III or his entourage. But, they say, then the favorite of the Empress Ivan Shuvalov could act as an opponent of liberties.
Count Roman Vorontsov, the head of the Legislative Commission, is often called the author and designer of the project, where the chapter on the nobles and their advantage of part III of the draft Code was discussed while Peter's daughter was still alive. The count, being the father of the favorite of the emperor Elizabeth, actively participated in the development of the document during the accession of Peter III. He was granted the general-anshef. It is interesting that Ekaterina Dashkova, an associate of Catherine II and a representative of the opposite political camp, was also Vorontsov's daughter.
Another version of the origin of the Manifesto attributes the idea to Peter III himself. Teacher, and later librarian led. book. Petr Fedorovich Jacob Shtelin in his notes reported:“The most remarkable thing that he (Peter III) did in the first days of his reign was the destruction of the Secret Chancellery and the granting to the Russian nobility of the freedom to serve or not to serve, to leave the state, and so on. He often spoke about these two main subjects and about religious tolerance, being the Grand Duke.
Almost a month passed from the moment the will of Peter III was announced in the Senate to the signing of the formalized document.
In the final version, there were not only liberties, but actually restrictions - the preservation of some elements of compulsory service for the nobility. In particular, the right of the monarch to call a nobleman back into service; a ban on military personnel leaving service during a military campaign and three months before it; leaving under the Senate and ongoing office in the provinces several people from retired nobles; the condition that nobles from the lower ranks less than a chief officer could only be retired after 12 years of service; control, from the age of 12, the education of noble children and the introduction of compulsory education for those of them who have no more than a thousand souls of peasants (they were supposed to be trained in the gentry cadet corps).
In addition, the Manifesto on Liberty to the Nobility contained a very interesting and instructive conclusion:“We hope that all the noble Russian nobility ... will be encouraged not to leave ... For all those who did not have any service anywhere ... we, as if essentially negligent about the good in general, despise and destroy, we command all our loyal subjects and true sons of the Fatherland ... »
A spoonful of restrictions on liberties did not spoil the holiday, but the sediment, as they say, remained. Austrian diplomat Mercy Argento writes about this:"The general joy of the Russian nobility about the privileges granted in the future was greatly reduced by the difficulties that were encountered in the required detailed explanation of the main manifesto."
Husband and wife, but one liberty
Catherine II received a resonant but controversial document from her defeated husband. At the very beginning of the reign, the manifesto seemed to have been forgotten. But in the fall of 1762, Ekaterina Alekseevna wrote to Count Nikita Panin: “I forgot just now to tell you that there is not a lot of murmuring among the nobility about the non-confirmation of their liberties and it is necessary not to forget to make an attack”. Having omitted the details of the activities of the created commission, the opinions of historians about whether the provisions of the manifesto of 1762 were sabotaged or carried out under Catherine ( "were realized in the practice of the Senate and the clerical work of the King of Arms") it can be concluded that a legal document that accurately confirmed the course for liberty and expanded the rights of the nobility appeared only in 1785.
"The charter on the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble Russian nobility" brought together and secured all its privileges, providing significant benefits in comparison with others.
“For the first time in our society, a person appears, and not a serf - a person who cannot be subjected to any punishment without a trial, whom even a court cannot subject to corporal punishment; who cannot be deprived of property without a trial, - writes Romanovich-Slavatinsky.
The personal advantages of the nobility over other classes, in addition to, in fact, confirming freedom from compulsory service, included: freedom from corporal punishment, including for nobles of lower ranks, from paying taxes and standing troops, the right to land ownership and other property rights, the right to occupy crafts and some trade operations, the protection of noble dignity and the abolition of the confiscation of noble estates. For the first time, the right to organize noble assemblies in provinces and districts was granted. But the most important personal right of the nobility - the nobility par excellence - was the ownership of serfs.
“The Empress finally completes the estate, turns it into a privileged and noble one, to which serfs belong on the rights of full private ownership.”
“If you want to be beautiful, join the hussars” (K. Prutkov)
In fairness, it should be noted that the civil service actually, and not legally, remained mandatory. And it's not just about the ideas of noble service or ambitions that beckoned into the golden cage of the sovereign's service.
The official position of the "party and government" did not encourage freedom from duties. Catherine II, having read in the testimony of the arrested Novikov that, having served only six years, he retired 24 years old as a lieutenant, wrote irritably: “It can be said that he did not serve anywhere, and the young man retired, therefore, he did not fulfill his duty by serving either the sovereign or the state”. So not everyone went to their estates "to the village, to my aunt, to the wilderness, to Saratov." The device worked. The system reproduced correctly.
The military career was considered the most prestigious. At first, the nobles disdained the civil service. For a long time, nothing could change the situation. “For some 20 prime and second majors, captains, sergeants, sergeants, corporals and soldiers, one titular adviser or collegiate assessor will hardly meet”. As the culturologist Yuri Lotman wrote, the military field even in Pushkin's time seemed so natural for a nobleman that the absence of this feature in the biography should have had some special explanation, for example, illness or physical disability. Most civil servants or non-serving nobles had at least a brief period in their biography when they wore a military uniform. It is enough to pay attention to the environment of Alexander Pushkin to make sure that only a few never wore a uniform.
Both in civil and military service (where it was possible for people of the non-noble estates to make a career with varying degrees of success), the nobles enjoyed advantages. At the end of the 18th century, a nobleman who had served for three years could receive a rank, for which a non-nobleman had to "pull the soldier's strap" for 12 years with excellent abilities, merit, and at the same time being "not ugly." Privates, before being promoted to the non-commissioned officer rank, nobles had to serve for three months, and non-nobles could be introduced to non-commissioned officers only after four years of service.
A difficult age
The outwardly fully formed estate continues its internal search for itself, its identity. There comes a "difficult" transitional age. The views of the nobility sometimes diverge from the point of view of the "elders":“Peter III freed me from compulsory service, Paul I considered it necessary to return to it; Catherine II freed from corporal punishment, Paul I began to subject them; Fedor Ioannovich bestowed serfs, Alexander II took them away ... "
But in the 19th century, internal value fermentation also began in the minds, salons and squares.
Having satisfied the basic material needs that read liberal authors, as they say, in the original, the elites changed in content. Not all of them, slowly (perhaps too carefully and slowly), but they thought more boldly, in the fashion of the century. The coming nineteenth century has become a time of social, legal, intellectual, institutional, economic restructuring within the entire European continent. The main institutions of modern society are beginning to take shape: civil society, social security and social equality, democracy and mass culture.
The generation at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries differed from their great-grandfathers in their liberality. In a relatively short period, the path was passed from secular salons and university circles to political unions and parties, which, claiming to actively participate in the activities of government institutions, came into inevitable conflict with the government.
There was a time and a trend for social activities and creativity. Poetry and literature in Russian developed.“They also raise the rank of people of the pen. Despite the military spirit of the government system of Emperor Nicholas (I), the peaceful occupations of a civil official begin to enjoy great honor in society, and the people of the pen even begin to take precedence over the people of the sword.
“... The view of the civil service as a very respectable profession is changed only by those noble generations who have passed through the universities.
These university generations of nobility, enfants terribles of their class, bring into it a protest against the privilege, the demand for the equalization of the rights of the social classes.
Without trying to narrow down the extremely extensive and controversial issue of the causes and symptoms of fatal events, we quote the same Romanovich-Slavatinsky: "The nobility is currently going through its crisis". This conclusion, let me remind you, is contained in the book of 1870!
Then another rhetorical question flies after him: “What will this new position of the nobility consist of? But he himself finds the answer: "... Life will answer this question and resolve it in accordance with its fatal requirements".
Revolution
threw away
crumbling
mourned a thousand births,
because he knows:
a new architect is coming -
portholes of tomorrow's cities.
unbreakable,
Hey twentysomethings!
