The reform activities of Catherine 2 briefly. The main reforms of Catherine II

The reign of Catherine 2 is sometimes called the time ʼʼenlightened absolutismʼʼ. This concept is usually understood as the desire to rule in accordance with the ideals of the European Enlightenment. The policy of enlightened absolutism was expressed in the destruction from above and the transformation of the most outdated feudal institutions (some class privileges, subordination of the church to the state, carrying out some reforms - courts, schooling, softening censorship, etc.) These measures were aimed at strengthening the position of the nobility, and also contributed to the development of the emerging bourgeoisie. An important feature of the policy of enlightened absolutism was the desire of monarchs to ease the severity of social contradictions by improving political add-ons(system of public administration, education of legal proceedings, etc.). There is no consensus among historians about whether she was really a “philosopher on the throne” and was truly committed to Enlightenment ideals, or whether she skillfully played the role and wore the mask of an enlightened ruler, wanting to look decent in the eyes of enlightened Europe.

Probably, at the beginning of her reign, she was committed to educational ideals. At the same time, pursuing a policy of enlightened absolutism, Catherine successfully used it to strengthen her authority. Having taken away power from her husband and son Paul, without having sufficient rights to the throne, she sought to show herself as the savior of Russia, a knight of “freedom and legality”. The Empress actively corresponded with European enlighteners Voltaire and Diderot, ordered the arrest of the cruel serf woman Daria Saltykova, who tortured dozens of serfs, encouraged science and art, wrote herself, inoculated herself with smallpox, etc.

The largest event in the policy of enlightened absolutism was convened in 1767ᴦ. commission on the drafting of a new code (Lawed Commission). As a guiding document for the Commission, the Empress prepared an “Order”, written on the basis of educational ideas. It established autocracy as a form of government due to the vast territory of Russia. Government bodies must be a guarantee against tyranny. This advisory document rejected torture and limited the use of the death penalty. The main question was the question of the attitude towards serfdom. Catherine had a negative attitude towards him. The first version spoke of the desire to soften the state of serfdom, which was expressed in a ban on the establishment of additional duties and the transfer of serfs to a special board that would collect duties in favor of the landowners. However, only a few deputies from the Legislative Commission approved this proposal. Realizing that the landowners did not want to change anything, Catherine 2, taking advantage of the outbreak of war with Turkey in 1768, dissolved the Commission. The collapse of the policy of enlightened absolutism was influenced by Peasants' War under the leadership of E. Pugachev (1773 - 1775), as well as the bloody events of the Great French Revolution (1789 - 1794).

The transformation of the outdated public administration system was more successful.

a) She rejected the count's idea N.Panina on the creation of the Imperial Council, which was supposed to actually rule the country, and did not give up autocratic power.

b) But she spent reform of the Governing Senate, dividing it into 6 departments. At the same time, the Senate lost its former political role, turning into a bureaucratic superstructure over all institutions of the empire.

c) changed the system of local government in Ukraine. The hetman was replaced by the governor general.
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Ukraine has finally lost its autonomy.

d) in 1763 - 1764. Catherine carried out what was canceled after the overthrow of Peter 3 secularization of church lands. This replenished the treasury and made it possible to stop the unrest of the monastery peasants.

To manage the former monastic peasants, the College of Economy was created, and the peasants began to be called economic. The number of monasteries in Russia decreased from 881 to 385. The Dudin Amvrosiev St. Nicholas Monastery, located near modern Dzerzhinsk, was also deprived of state subsidies, which largely predetermined its future decline. The clergy lost much of their property independence, finding themselves supported by the state. Thus, the process of transforming the clergy into a special detachment of bureaucrats, begun by Peter 1, was completed.

e) in 1775 year was held provincial reform. The provinces were eliminated. In order to improve management efficiency, the number of provinces increased from 23 to 50, and their population decreased to 300-400 thousand. Each was headed by a governor appointed by the empress. In county towns, power also belonged to the appointed mayor. In the counties, executive power belonged to the lower zemstvo court, headed by a captain - police officer, elected by the local nobility.

However, the nobility played a predominant role in local government, which was natural at that time.

Of particular note among all the innovations of Catherine 2 is “ Letter of grant to the nobility (1885). The diploma confirmed the rights granted to the nobility earlier: freedom from corporal punishment, capitation tax, compulsory service, the right of unlimited ownership of estates and land with its subsoil, the right to trade and industrial activities. The decision of noble dignity could be made only by decision of the Senate with the highest approval. The estates of convicted nobles were not subject to confiscation. The nobility was henceforth called the noble class. In addition, the powers of noble class institutions were expanded. The nobility received class self-government: noble assemblies headed by provincial and district leaders. The nobility could make representations to the authorities about their needs. It is no coincidence that the reign of Catherine 2 is often called the “golden age of the Russian nobility.” Having received their rights, the nobles left public duties. In this regard, V.O. Klyuchevsky wittily remarked: “Rights without responsibilities are a legal absurdity, and as a consequence without a reason – a logical absurdity; an estate with only rights and no duties is a political impossibility, and impossibility cannot exist. Alas, the impossible has become possible. This order lasted until the abolition of serfdom in 1861.

True, in the Charter there was no mention of the nobles' right to own souls. Probably, Catherine wanted to show by this that this right would not be forever reserved for the nobility.

Russian peasants responded to the unilateral, historically incongruous granting of freedom to the nobility by active participation in the Pugachev uprising of 1773–1775. What were the social thoughts and aspirations of the peasant masses? They were especially clearly reflected in the manifesto of E. Pugachev dated July 18, 1774ᴦ. It was a “letter of honor to the entire peasant world”, or a “charter”, on the basis of which a new, peasant kingdom was to be created. Pugachev called on “everyone who was previously in the peasantry and subjection of the landowners to be loyal slaves to our own crown”, and then granted “an ancient cross and prayer, heads and beards, liberty and freedom and forever Cossacks, without demanding recruitment, capitation and other monetary taxes , possession of lands, forest and hay lands and fishing grounds, and salt lakes without purchase and without quitrent, and we free all those previously committed from the villains of the nobles and city extortionists-judges to the peasants and the entire people of the taxes and burdens imposed. The peasants, therefore, sought liberation from serfdom, wanted to receive all the lands and holdings, be freed from all duties and taxes, and organize community self-government in the Cossack manner.

But this was not destined to come true.

The “Charter of Grant to the Cities” (1785) was aimed at creating a third estate. It confirmed the rights and freedoms previously given to the rich merchants: exemption from poll tax and conscription. Famous citizens and merchants of the first two guilds were exempt from corporal punishment and some other duties. The urban population was divided into six categories that made up urban society. It elected the city mayor, members of the magistrate and vowels (deputies) of the “general city duma”. The “General City Duma” elected a six-headed Duma - an executive governing body consisting of representatives of all categories of citizens.

The reforms remained unfinished due to serfdom, which prevented the formation of a strong third estate and sharply raised the nobles above the rest of the population. Moreover, peasants did not have any civil rights and were excluded from the class structure of society. But destroy serfdom Catherine couldn't. On the contrary, under her, about 900 thousand state peasants were transferred to serfdom.

Reforms of Catherine II - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Reforms of Catherine II." 2017, 2018.

Measures were taken to strengthen the nobility in the center and locally. For the first time in Russian legislation, a document appeared that determined the activities of local government bodies and courts. This system of local authorities lasted until the Great Reforms of the 60s of the XIX century. The administrative division of the country introduced by Catherine II remained until 1917.

On November 7, 1775, the “Institution for the management of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire” was adopted. The country was divided into provinces, each of which was supposed to have a population of 300-400 thousand male souls. By the end of Catherine's reign, there were 50 provinces in Russia. At the head of the provinces were governors who reported directly to the empress, and their power was significantly expanded. The capitals and several other provinces were subordinate to governors general.

Under the governor, a provincial government was created, and the provincial prosecutor was subordinate to him. Finances in the province were handled by the Treasury Chamber, headed by the vice-governor. The provincial land surveyor was engaged in land management. Schools, hospitals, almshouses were in charge of the Order of Public Charity (look after - look after, patronize, take care of); For the first time, government institutions with social functions were created.

The provinces were divided into districts of 20-30 thousand male souls in each. Since there were clearly not enough city centers for counties, Catherine II renamed many large rural settlements into cities, making them administrative centers. The main authority of the county became the Lower Zemstvo Court, headed by a police captain elected by the local nobility. A district treasurer and a district surveyor were appointed to the districts, following the model of the provinces.

Using the theory of separation of powers and improving the management system, Catherine II separated the judiciary from the executive. All classes, except for the serfs (for them the landowner was the owner and judge), had to take part in local government. Each class received its own court. The landowner was judged by the Upper Zemstvo Court in the provinces and the district court in the counties. State peasants were judged by the Upper Judgment in the province and the Lower Jurisprudence in the district, the townspeople were judged by the city magistrate in the district and the provincial magistrate in the province. All these courts were elected, with the exception of the lower courts, which were appointed by the governor. Supreme judicial authority a Senate was established in the country, and in the provinces - chambers of criminal and civil courts, whose members were appointed by the state. New for Russia was the Conscientious Court, designed to stop strife and reconcile those who were quarreling. He was classless. The separation of powers was not complete, since the governor could interfere in court affairs.

The city was allocated as a separate administrative unit. At its head was the mayor, endowed with all rights and powers. Strict police control was introduced in cities. The city was divided into parts (districts), which were under the supervision of a private bailiff, and the parts, in turn, were divided into quarters, which were controlled by a quarterly overseer.

After the provincial reform, all boards ceased to function, with the exception of the Foreign, Military and Admiralty boards. The functions of the boards were transferred to provincial bodies. In 1775, the Zaporozhye Sich was liquidated, and most of the Cossacks were resettled to Kuban.

The existing system of managing the territory of the country in the new conditions solved the problem of strengthening the power of the nobility locally, its goal was to prevent new popular uprisings. The fear of the rebels was so great that Catherine II ordered the Yaik River to be renamed the Ural, and the Yaik Cossacks to be renamed the Ural. The number of local officials has more than doubled.

Letters granted to the nobility and cities

On April 21, 1785, on the birthday of Catherine II, Letters of Grant to the nobility and cities were simultaneously issued. It is known that Catherine II also prepared a draft Charter for state (state) peasants, but it was not published due to fears of noble discontent.

By issuing two charters, Catherine II regulated the legislation on the rights and responsibilities of the estates. In accordance with the “Charter on the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble Russian nobility”, they were exempted from compulsory service, personal taxes, and corporal punishment. The estates were declared the full property of the landowners, who, in addition, had the right to establish their own factories and factories. Nobles could only sue their peers and, without a noble court, could not be deprived of noble honor, life and property. The nobles of the province and district constituted the provincial and district corporations of the nobility, respectively, and elected their leaders, as well as local government officials. Provincial and district noble assemblies had the right to make representations to the government about their needs. The charter granted to the nobility consolidated and legally formalized the power of the nobility in Russia. The ruling class was given the name “noble”. The “Certificate of Rights and Benefits to the Cities of the Russian Empire” determined the rights and responsibilities of the urban population and the management system in cities. All townspeople were registered in the City Book of Philistines and formed a “city society.” It was announced that “the townspeople or real city dwellers are those who have a house or other building, or place, or land in that city.” The urban population was divided into six categories. The first of them included the nobles and clergy living in the city; the second included merchants, divided into three guilds; in the third - guild artisans; the fourth category consisted of foreigners permanently living in the city; fifth - eminent townspeople, who included people with higher education and capitalists. The sixth are the townspeople who lived by crafts or work. Residents of the city elected a self-government body every three years - the General City Duma, the mayor and judges. The general city duma elected an executive body - a six-vote duma, which included one representative from each category of the city population. The City Duma decided on matters related to improvement, public education, compliance with trade rules, etc. only with the knowledge of the mayor appointed by the government.

The charter placed all six categories of the urban population under state control. Real power in the city was in the hands of the mayor, the deanery and the governor.

Education reform

Catherine II attached great importance to education in the life of the country. In the 60-70s of the 18th century. she, together with the President of the Academy of Arts and the Director of the Land Noble Corps I. I. Betsky, made an attempt to create a system of closed class educational institutions. Their structure was based on the idea of ​​the priority of upbringing over education. Believing that “the root of all evil and good is education,” Catherine II and I. I. Betskoy decided to create a “new breed of people.” According to the plan of I. I. Betsky, Orphanages, the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens with a department for bourgeois girls in St. Petersburg, a Commercial School in Moscow were opened in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the Cadet Corps was transformed.

The views of I. I. Betsky were progressive for their time, providing for the humane upbringing of children, the development of their natural talents, the prohibition of corporal punishment, and the organization of women's education. However, “greenhouse” conditions, isolation from real life, from the influence of family and society, of course, made I. I. Betsky’s attempts to form a “new man” utopian.

The general line of development of Russian education did not go through the utopian ideas of I. I. Betsky, but along the path of creating a comprehensive school system. It began with the school reform of 1782-1786. The Serbian teacher F.I. Jankovic de Mirievo played a major role in carrying out this reform. Two-year small public schools were established in district towns, and four-year main public schools in provincial towns. In the newly created schools, uniform start and end dates for classes, a classroom lesson system were introduced, methods of teaching disciplines and educational literature, and uniform curricula were developed.

New schools, together with closed gentry buildings, noble boarding schools and gymnasiums at Moscow University, formed the structure of secondary education in Russia. According to experts, by the end of the century in Russia there were 550 educational institutions with a total number of 60-70 thousand students, not counting home education. Education, like all other spheres of the country's life, was fundamentally class-based.

A. N. Radishchev

The Peasant War, the ideas of Russian and French enlighteners, the Great French Revolution and the War of Independence in North America (1775-1783), which led to the formation of the United States, the emergence of Russian anti-serfdom thought in the person of N. I. Novikov, and the leading deputies of the Statutory Commission influenced the formation views of Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev (1749-1802). In “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow,” in the ode “Liberty,” in “Conversation about the Son of the Fatherland,” A. N. Radishchev called for the “complete abolition of slavery” and the transfer of land to the peasants. He believed that “autocracy is the state most contrary to human nature,” and insisted on its revolutionary overthrow. A. N. Radishchev called the one who fights for the interests of the people, “for freedom - a priceless gift, the source of all great deeds,” a true patriot, a true son of the Fatherland. For the first time in Russia there was a call for a revolutionary overthrow of autocracy and serfdom.

“A rebel is worse than Pugachev,” this is how Catherine II assessed the first Russian revolutionary. By her order, the circulation of the book “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” was confiscated, and its author was arrested and sentenced to death, replaced by ten years of exile in the Ilimsky prison in Siberia.

Paul I

The reign of Paul I (1796-1801) is called “unenlightened absolutism” by some historians, “military-police dictatorship” by others, still others consider Paul “the Russian Hamlet”, and others call him a “romantic emperor”. However, even those historians who find positive features in Paul’s reign admit that he equated autocracy with personal despotism.

Paul I ascended the throne after the death of his mother at the age of 42, already a mature, established man. Catherine II, having given her son Gatchina near St. Petersburg, removed him from the court. In Gatchina, Paul introduced strict rules based on iron discipline and asceticism, contrasting them with the luxury and wealth of the St. Petersburg court. Having become emperor, he tried to strengthen the regime by strengthening discipline and power in order to exclude all manifestations of liberalism and free-thinking in Russia. Characteristics Pavel was harsh, unbalanced and hot-tempered. He believed that everything in the country should be subordinated to the orders established by the tsar; he put diligence and accuracy in the first place, did not tolerate objections, sometimes reaching the point of tyranny.

In 1797, Paul issued the “Institution on the Imperial Family,” which canceled Peter’s decree on succession to the throne. From now on, the throne was to pass strictly through the male line from father to son, and in the absence of sons, to the eldest of the brothers. To maintain the imperial house, a department of “appanages” was formed, which managed the lands that belonged to the imperial family and the peasants who lived on them. The procedure for the service of nobles was tightened, and the effect of the Letter of Grant to the nobility was limited. Prussian order was imposed in the army.

In 1797, the Manifesto on the three-day corvee was published. He forbade landowners from using peasants for field work on Sundays, recommending that corvée be limited to three days a week.

Paul I took the Order of Malta under his protection, and when Napoleon captured Malta in 1798, he declared war on France in an alliance with England and Austria. When England occupied Malta, winning it from the French, there followed a severance of relations with England and an alliance with France. By agreement with Napoleon, Paul sent 40 regiments of Don Cossacks to conquer India to annoy the British.

Paul's continued stay in power was fraught with loss of political stability for the country. The emperor’s foreign policy also did not meet the interests of Russia. On March 12, 1801, with the participation of the heir to the throne, the future Emperor Alexander I, the last palace coup in Russian history was carried out. Paul I was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg.

"Mandate" and the Commission of 1767 - 1768

In January 1765, Catherine began direct work on the legislative project.

In July 1767, over 500 locally elected deputies gathered in Moscow to form the “Commission on the Drafting of a New Code,” which worked for seven years. On June 30, the Commission began its work, the “Order” was officially promulgated, and all deputies received the texts of the Code of Legal Principles.

The official text of the “Order of the Commission on the drafting of a new code” consisted of 20 thematic chapters and 526 articles. Most of The text was, apparently, borrowed. However, in the end, Catherine came up with a creation that was independent in design and political principles. The postulates of the laws she developed were aimed at strengthening the unlimited power of the monarch, legality based on “reasonable leniency”, guaranteeing civil rights in the form of privileges for estates, and general reform legal system in the spirit of these principles.

The first five chapters recorded the most important principles of the power of government in Russia as indisputable, “fundamental” principles of the life of society in general. One of the very first articles of the Order proclaimed Russia a European power. This provision had an important political connotation: following Montesquieu’s criteria, all the laws of European statehood are inherent in Russia, despite its particular vastness. The main one of these laws is “The sovereign in Russia is autocratic; for no other power, as soon as the power united in his person, can act similarly to the space of such a great state.” And “any other rule would not only be harmful to Russia, but also ultimately ruinous.” However, the new, legal monarchy has a new goal: to direct all people’s actions to receive the greatest good from everyone, to promote the prosperity of society, and to guarantee the rights of citizen-subjects. The sovereign cannot and should not rule everywhere himself, although it was he who was supposed to be the legal source of all power in the state. This shows that the “Nakaz” fully preserved the absolutism of the monarchy.

Chapters 9 and 10 established the principles of legislation in the field of criminal law. A properly constructed criminal law was proclaimed to be the most important guarantee of civil “liberty.” The “mandate” categorically prohibited any form of cruel punishment and reduced possible cases of the death penalty. The court is also not so much a punitive institution as a body for protecting society and citizens. And since the court operates in a real estate society, guarantees of judicial justice in it should consist in the participation of elected representatives from estates in the consideration of cases.

Chapters 11-18 were devoted to legislation in the social and legal sphere and civil law. Society is divided into three classes, based on natural and historical differences classes. The more honorable place of the nobles guaranteed them special privileges in the service and in property. But it is also important for the peasantry to “establish something useful.” The law must protect everyone, but civil rights are granted according to class.

The last, 19th and 20th chapters of the “Order” established some rules in certain matters of legislation. Freedom of religion was declared, and courts not provided for by law were prohibited.

Despite the complete failure of the Commission, it still had important consequences for the subsequent activities of Catherine II. In this regard, the meeting of deputies of 1767-1768 played a major role. The deputies brought a lot of instructions, their speeches were left in the archives of the Commission, thus the opinions of both the estates and the individuals they separately elected on subjects that interested the Empress were expressed. A huge amount of factual material was collected, reflecting a picture of the views, moods and interests of the society of that time. In addition, Catherine managed to make Russians think about state freedom, political rights, religious tolerance, and the equality of all subjects in the face of the Law. The commission showed exactly what needs to be corrected and what these principles need to be applied to. After the dissolution of the Code Commission, Catherine II began her own development of a series of legislative acts that constituted the reform of “enlightened absolutism”, the basis for which were the principles and rules of the previously issued “Instruction”. Especially important there was a reform of local government.

Provincial reform

The provincial institutions of Empress Catherine II constituted an entire era in the history of local government in Russia. In 1775 an extensive legislative document"Institution for the administration of provinces." In accordance with this document, a new administrative-territorial division came into force, and major changes were made to local government. This system lasted for almost a century.

All newly formed provinces and districts received a uniform structure based on a strict separation of administrative, financial and judicial affairs. The province was headed by a government-appointed governor with his deputy, the vice-governor. Sometimes two or three provinces were united under the control of a governor-general. The country was divided into 50 provinces; the provinces were abolished, each province was divided into 10-12 districts. This division was based on the principle of the size of the tax-paying population. A certain number of inhabitants was established for provinces and districts: 300-400 thousand and 20-30 thousand people, respectively.

With the change in the boundaries of the former administrative territories, new district and provincial centers arose. The local government system was reorganized. The weakness of the previous local government was manifested in its inability to suppress anti-government protests on its own. This was convincingly proven by the events of the Moscow “plague riot” of 1771 (a widespread uprising caused by the strictness of quarantine), and especially the Pugachev uprising. Now the central government had numerous administrative institutions at its disposal; any armed uprising would have met with quick and brutal rebuff.

Catherine II developed her provisions on the provinces, striving, first of all, to increase the strength of the administration, delineate departments and attract zemstvo elements to management. In each provincial city, the following were established: provincial boards headed by the governor (had an administrative nature, represented government power and was the auditor of the entire administration), criminal and civil chambers ( higher authorities courts in the province), the treasury chamber (body financial management), upper zemstvo court (judicial place for noble litigation and for the trial of nobles), provincial magistrate (judicial place for persons of the urban class for claims and litigation against them), upper reprisal (judicial place for fellow believers and state peasants), order of public charity for the establishment of schools, almshouses, etc. All these institutions were collegial in nature and were considered class-based, but in reality all power belonged to the governor.

In each district city there were: a lower zemstvo court (in charge of the affairs of the district police and administration, consisting of a police officer and assessors), a district court (for nobles, subordinate to the Upper Zemstvo Court), a city magistrate (a judicial seat for citizens, subordinate to the provincial magistrate), a lower reprisal (court for state peasants, subordinated to the upper reprisal).

Judicial reform

For the first time in Russia, a court appeared, separated from the executive branch, although dependent on it. The activities of the new bodies acquired the features of self-government, since local residents took part in it. The new courts were elected. Separately, courts were elected for the nobles, the urban population and for those peasants who were not in serfdom.

As a result of the regional reform, police and noble supervision over the population was strengthened, and the number of officials was increased. 216 new cities appeared due to the abolition of the autonomy of the outskirts (in 1775 the Zaporozhye Sich was destroyed, Cossack self-government on the Don was abolished, and the autonomy of Estland and Livonia was abolished).

These were the main measures taken by Catherine II regarding government. As a result, the empress strengthened the composition of the administration, correctly distributed departments between governing bodies and gave broad participation to the zemstvo in new institutions. But the disadvantage of the local institution of 1775 was the previous system in the central administration, the responsibility for leadership and general supervision. With the exception of two institutions (the court of conscience and the order of public charity), all the rest were bodies of one class. Self-government acquired a strictly class character: it was not an innovation for the townspeople, but was a major reform for the nobility.

"Certificate of Nobility"

In 1785, Catherine II published the Charter of the Nobility and in it confirmed all their rights received from previous sovereigns, giving them new ones.

Under Catherine II, the nobleman became a member of the provincial noble corporation, which was privileged and held local self-government in its hands. The charter of 1785 established that a nobleman cannot, except by court, lose his title and transfer it to his wife and children. He was freed from taxes and corporal punishment, owned as inalienable property everything that was on his estate, and was finally freed from the previously obligatory civil service, but could not take part in elections for noble positions if he did not have an officer rank. Deprivation of noble dignity could be carried out only by decision of the Senate with the highest approval. The estates of convicted nobles were not subject to confiscation. The nobility was now called "noble".

Peasant reforms

She forbade free people and freed peasants from re-entering serfdom. By her order, for the newly established cities, the government bought out serfs and turned them into townspeople. Children of serfs, taken into state care in orphanages, became free. Catherine was preparing a decree according to which children of serfs born after 1785 were considered free. She also dreamed of implementing another project - it would lead to the gradual liberation of peasants during the transfer of estates from one hand to another. But this project was not published, as the empress was afraid of noble discontent.

"Certificate of Complaint to Cities"

Simultaneously with the Charter, a Charter was issued to the nobility on the rights and benefits of cities Russian Empire. Like the nobility, urban society was seen as entity, enjoying corporate rights, the main of which was the right of self-government. Its primary body was the city assembly, which elected the city mayor and representatives of the judiciary. The administrative body of class self-government was the general city duma, which met once every three years. It represented the mayor and the so-called vowels (deputies) from six categories of the city population (“real city inhabitants,” that is, owners of real estate within the city); merchants of three guilds; guild artisans; Russian and foreign specialists; “famous citizens” - a large group of people who served in elections, businessmen, intellectuals, townspeople. In the interval between meetings of the City Duma, its functions were transferred executive body- a six-vote Duma, which included one vowel from each category of the population. Compared to the self-government of the nobility, elected city bodies had much fewer rights and were subject to petty state-bureaucratic supervision.

A comparison of all three documents (the Charter to the nobility, the Charter to the cities and the unpublished Charter to the state peasants) allows us to believe that the empress did not so much strive to support one or another class, but rather cared about strengthening the state, the basis of which was, in her opinion, the strong classes of Western European type. It was under Catherine II that a civil society based on the strengthening of classes began to take shape.

Important role in the formation civil society Other works on legislation and law, developed by Catherine II in 1770-1780, also played a role in the Russian Empire. Catherine II was engaged in other projects: about the reconstruction of prisons, about changing the search procedure. A small decree of 1781 arose from the Code on changing responsibility for different types theft. At the same time, Catherine drew up an extensive charter for the deanery, promulgated in 1782. The Charter defined the principles of reforming police institutions in the country, new tasks of police institutions - not only to search for criminals and maintain order, but also to regulate in general social life in cities. The Charter also included the Criminal Code (since the powers included the right not only to put on trial, but also to determine punishments for minor crimes).

Development of trade and industry

Among the individual events of the enlightened government of Catherine II, the Empress’s patronage of Russian trade also stands out, evidence of which is the Charter of the Cities of 1785. Catherine’s attitude towards Russian trade and industry was affected by the empress’s dependence on Western European ideas. Since Peter I in Russia, a system of old government control was established over trade and industry, and the activities of the commercial and industrial class were constrained by regulation. Catherine II removed these restrictions and destroyed the control bodies - the Berg Manufactory Collegium. She promoted the development of industry and trade. Under her, banknotes, or paper money, were issued for the first time, which greatly helped trade. Wanting to better organize credit, Catherine II established a state loan bank with large capital.

In November 1775, for the development of trade and industry, a Manifesto was issued on the freedom to establish industrial enterprises ("stans"), and freedom of entrepreneurship was declared. Merchants who owned capital over 500 rubles were exempt from the poll tax and paid a tax of one percent on capital; A representative of the merchant class could be freed from conscription duty by paying 360 rubles. Also in 1775, the empress adopted a preferential customs tariff for the Black Sea ports and abolished industrial and trade monopolies. Development southern Russia made grain trade on the Black Sea possible; New cities were founded in Russia, a naval base was built in Sevastopol. These events, carried out by Ekaterina in economic policy Russia, contributed to the expansion of exports and improvement of various industries.

Extension public education

Important results of the activities of the government of “enlightened absolutism” include the measures taken by Catherine II regarding public education. Catherine II, in her “Instructions,” was the first to talk about the educational significance of education and then began to take care of the establishment of various educational institutions.

In accordance with the “General Institution for the Education of Both Sexes of Youth,” a school was opened at the Academy of Arts (1764), the Society of Two Hundred Noble Maidens (1764) with sections for middle-class girls, a commercial school (1772)

In 1782, the Commission on the Establishment of Schools was formed to carry out a larger school reform. These schools were all-class and were maintained at the expense of the state.

The main merit of Catherine II in the field of educational reforms can be considered the first experience of creating in Russia a system of general primary education, not limited by class barriers (with the exception of serfs). The significance of this reform is very high, because it was about creating an all-Russian educational school system.

Organization of medical care to the population

It is also noteworthy that under Catherine II, the organization of medical care to the population was entrusted to the authorities. Caring about public health and hygiene caused an attempt under the empress to properly organize medical care throughout the country. The medical commission, established in 1763, and the orders of public charity were supposed to oversee the medical unit in the empire and prepare medical workers. Each city was required to have a hospital and a pharmacy, where patients were offered not those medicines that were cheaper, but those prescribed by the doctor. The city was also supposed to establish asylums for the incurable and the insane. Since there were not enough doctors, they were discharged from abroad and Russian doctors and surgeons were trained. At the same time, pharmacies and factories were founded surgical instruments. In 1783, Catherine II organized medical service to monitor the health status of the population. She established hospitals and psychiatric hospitals.

Development of Russian science

Russian science is making a big step forward. In 1783, a special Russian Academy was founded for the study of language and literature. The Academy of Sciences, which existed since Peter the Great's time, conducted five geographical expeditions in the years 1768-1774, which made a valuable contribution to the study of the geography of the country. The Academy of Sciences began publishing Russian chronicles, and twenty-five volumes of ancient Russian documents were published. In 1765, the Free Economic Society emerged, intended to popularize advanced agronomic knowledge and promote landowner rationalization. Numerous articles on the organization and management of agriculture were published in the proceedings of the Free Economic Society. The number of Russian scientists at the Academy of Sciences has increased significantly, among them the outstanding naturalists I. I. Lepyokhin, N. Ya. Ozeretskovsky, astronomer S. Ya. Rumovsky, mineralogist V. M. Severgin and others. The second half of the 18th century included the activities of prominent historians M. M. Shcherbatov and I. N. Boltin; sources on Russian history were actively published (by N.I. Novikov, the Academy of Sciences). Publishing output is increasing enormously. Over the entire 18th century, 9,500 books were published in Russia, of which about 85% were published during the reign of Catherine II. On January 15, the Empress signed a decree allowing the establishment of “free” printing houses.

Positive changes have also occurred in the organization of research work. In 1783, Princess E.R. Dashkova was appointed director of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who showed remarkable abilities in the administrative field. During the twelve years of her tenure in this post, the academic economy and academic educational establishments, work has been established public courses in the main branches of science, the publishing activity of the Academy intensified.

Senate reform

Reasons and goals:

• Catherine wanted to concentrate legislative power in her hands
• Allocation of specific departments of the Senate for specific tasks

By personal decree of Catherine II, the Senate was divided into six departments and lost its legislative function, which passed personally to the empress and her trusted representatives - state councilors. Five of the six departments were headed by chief prosecutors, the first was by the prosecutor general, who personally reported on important matters royal person.

Division of departmental functions:

• first - control of political and government affairs in the capital
• the second is a court in the capital
• the third - supervised everything related to education, art, medicine, science and transport
• fourth - was responsible for naval and military-land decisions
• fifth - control of political and government affairs in Moscow
• sixth - court in Moscow

Thus, the empress monopolized legislative power and prepared the way for subsequent reforms. Higher administrative and judicial functions continued to be exercised by the Senate.

Provincial reform

Reasons and goals:

• Increasing tax efficiency
• Preventing uprisings
• Introduction of election of some administrative and judicial bodies, division of their functions

Provincial reform of Catherine II - 1775

As a result of the signing by Catherine II of the document “Institutions for the management of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire,” the principle of the administrative-territorial division of the provinces was changed. According to the new law, the provinces were divided based on the size of the population living and capable of paying taxes - tax-paying souls. In addition, a hierarchical system of institutions was built, between which the functions of management and court were divided.

Administrative part

General Government- consisted of several provinces
Province- contained 10-12 districts, numbered 350-400 thousand tax-paying souls.
County- unification of volosts ( rural areas), 10-20 thousand taxable souls.
City- administrative center of the county.

Governor General- led all the troops and governors stationed in the provinces assigned to him.
Governor- governed the province with the help of the provincial government and all lower institutions.
Mayor- the main official and chief of police in the city, which became a separate administrative unit.
Police Captain- presided over the lower zemstvo court and controlled the police in the district.

Treasury Chamber— was responsible for collecting taxes and distributing funds between institutions.
Order of public charity- led everyone social facilities. Hospitals, schools, shelters, art institutes were subordinate to this structure.

Judicial part

Senate- the highest judicial body, divided into civil and criminal chambers.
Upper Zemsky Court- the main judicial institution of the province, primarily dealt with the affairs of nobles, and considered complex cases of lower authorities.
Lower Zemsky Court- controlled the implementation of laws within the county, dealt with the affairs of the nobles.
Upper reprisal- judged peasants in the province, appeals from lower massacres.
Bottom reprisal- dealt with the affairs of peasants in the district
Provincial magistrate- considered appeals from city magistrates, judged citizens.
City Magistrate— considered the lawsuits of the townspeople

Conscientious court- was of all classes, served to reconcile those tried in minor and non-socially dangerous cases.

The changes assumed that, depending on who was being tried, those representatives were included in the assessors - Zemstvo courts were elected by the noble class, reprisals - by the peasants, magistrates - by the bourgeoisie (citizens). However, in fact, the higher nobility always interfered in the course of affairs that were of interest to them.

As a result of the transformation total number The bureaucratic apparatus has increased significantly, as have the costs of it. Compared to spending on the army, twice as much was allocated for the salaries of officials. The growth in the number of bureaucrats of all types and ranks, coupled with favoritism, numerous military expenditures and the backwardness of the economy, led to a systematic shortage of money in the budget, which could not be eliminated until the death of Catherine II

Judicial reform

Police reform

Date of: April 8, 1782
After the “Charter of deanery, or police” was signed, a new structure- Deanery Board, with its functions and positions.

Reasons and goals:

• The need to strengthen the vertical of power
• Defining the functions and hierarchy of police agencies in cities
• Formulation of the basics of police law

Police reform 1782

Functions of the Deanery Board:

• Maintaining order and lawfulness within cities
• Supervision of non-governmental organizations
• Investigation and search activities
• Execution of court decisions and other institutions

The city was divided into parts (200-700 households) and quarters (50-100 households), which were supposed to be monitored by private bailiffs and neighborhood supervisors. The only elected position was the quarter lieutenant, who was chosen for three years from among the residents of the quarter.

The head of the Administration was the mayor, chief of police (in the cities-centers of the provinces) or chief of police (in the capitals).

In addition to detective work and performing direct police functions, the councils supervised public service personnel - food delivery, ensuring the safety of roads, etc.

Urban reform

Economic reforms

Currency reform

The signing of the manifesto “on the establishment of Moscow and St. Petersburg banks” created a precedent for the use of paper banknotes on the territory of the Russian Empire.

Reasons and goals:

• Inconvenience of transporting large amounts of copper money within the country
• The need to stimulate the economy
• Striving to meet Western standards

Example of a bank note

Banks created in Moscow and St. Petersburg received 500 thousand rubles of capital each and were obliged to issue the corresponding amount in copper equivalent to the bearer of banknotes.

In 1786, these banks were united into a single structure - the State Assignment Bank, with the definition of its additional functions:

• Export of copper from the Russian Empire
• Import of gold and silver bars and coins.
• Creation of a mint in St. Petersburg and organization of coinage.
• Accounting for bills of exchange (receipts for the obligation to pay a certain amount)

50 rubles 1785

Manifesto for Free Enterprise

By “manifesto on freedom of enterprise”, it is customary to understand the publication of a document allowing the opening of any small handicraft production to all citizens of the Russian Empire - “Manifesto on the highest favors granted to different classes on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with the Ottoman Porte.” The Peasant War of 1773-1775, which frightened all the nobles, made it clear that without any concessions to the most numerous class, the emergence of new unrest was quite possible.

Causes:

• The need to stimulate the economy and develop small businesses
• Peasants' dissatisfaction with exploitative policies

Key points of the document:

• More than 30 different fees for trades (extraction of furs, poultry, fish) and processing industries (dairies, fat slaughterhouses, etc.) have been cancelled.
• Any citizen is allowed to open “all kinds of workshops and handicrafts” without any additional permitting documents.
• Exemption from the poll tax for merchants with a capital of more than 500 rubles. Instead, an annual fee of 1% on capital was introduced.

Customs reforms

Customs tariffs were adjusted frequently - in 1766, 1767, 1776, 1782, 1786 and 1796. changed customs duties, ensuring revenues to the treasury from the import of foreign goods, prohibiting the transportation of certain types of raw materials or easing the tax burden for certain categories of products. The foreign economy was actively developing, and the volume of previously unsupplied industrial and production products imported into the Russian Empire was growing.

Delivery of goods

A key element of customs policy was the signing on September 27, 1782 of the document “On the establishment of a special Customs Border Chain and guards to prevent the secret transportation of goods”

According to the innovations:

Positions were introduced border guards And customs inspectors, for each of the western border provinces - they were listed in the service of the Treasury Chamber. According to the instructions, they were required to be in places “convenient for the import of goods” and prevent smuggling. If it was impossible to stop the smugglers on their own, the border guards had to immediately arrive at the nearest locality to get help.

Social reforms

Estate reforms

Date of: 1785

Causes:

• The Empress relied on the nobles and wanted to increase their loyalty
• Strengthening the vertical of power
• It was necessary to determine the rights of two classes that were growing in number due to the development of the economy and cities, the merchants and the petty bourgeoisie (citizens)

Noble Ball

Key points:

• Nobles were exempt from paying taxes and public service
• The noble class received the inalienable right to own serfs, property, land and its subsoil
• Noble assemblies and family books were established to confirm origins
• The merchants gained access to administrative positions (general city and six-vote dumas) and were exempted from the poll tax.
• Merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds were exempt from corporal punishment.
• A new class emerged and received rights - the townspeople
• Serfs finally turned into slaves

Educational (school) reform

It is impossible to single out a specific document or date that is key in the policy of enlightened absolutism of Catherine II. She consistently issued decrees and opened institutions aimed at increasing the level of knowledge and the accessibility of its acquisition. Mainly, educational services were provided to the nobility and townspeople, but homeless children and orphans were also not left without attention.

The main figures were I. I. Betskoy and F. I. Yankovic.

“Orphanages” were opened in Moscow and St. Petersburg - it was necessary to solve the problem of street and abandoned children.

Institute of Noble Maidens

In 1764 a school for young men was founded at the Academy of Arts, and in 1765 a similar one was founded at the Academy of Sciences.

The Commercial School, opened in 1779, was designed to train qualified personnel in the field of trade.

Formed in 1782, the “Commission for the Establishment of Public Schools” by 1786 developed “the charter for public schools of the Russian Empire.” This document approved the class-lesson teaching system and provided for the opening of two types of general education institutions in cities: small public schools and main public schools.

Small schools prepared applicants for two years - basic reading and writing skills, rules of behavior and related knowledge.

The main schools provided broader subject training - for five years, in addition to basic skills, languages, history, exact and natural sciences, and architecture were taught here. Over time, it was from the main school that the teacher’s seminary, a center for training future teachers, was separated.

The teaching was based on a friendly attitude towards students, and physical punishment was strictly prohibited.

The peasantry remained outside the educational reform - project rural schools and compulsory primary education, regardless of gender and class, was envisioned by Catherine II, but was never implemented.

Secularization of the Church

The reign of Catherine II was not the best period for the Orthodox Church. However, all conditions were made for other faiths. The Empress believed that all religious movements that do not oppose her power have the right to exist.

Causes:

• Excessive autonomy of the church
• The need to increase tax revenues and land use efficiency

Churchmen

As a result of the signing of a decree to the Senate on the division of spiritual estates, all lands and peasants belonging to the clergy came under the control of the state. A special body, the College of Economy, began to collect a poll tax from peasants and transfer part of the received amount to the maintenance of monasteries. So-called “states” of monasteries were established, the number of which was limited. Most of the monasteries were abolished, their inhabitants were distributed among the remaining churches and parishes. The era of “church feudalism” has ended

As a result:

• The clergy lost about 2 million monastic peasants
• Most of the lands (approximately 9 million hectares) of monasteries and churches came under the jurisdiction of the state
• 567 of 954 monasteries are closed.
• The autonomy of the clergy has been eliminated

Results, significance and results of internal reforms
Catherine 2 the Great

The reforms of Catherine II were aimed at creating a European-type state, i.e. to the logical conclusion of Peter’s reforms, which was carried out using the methods of enlightened absolutism based on the ideas of humanization of justice. Under Catherine II, the legal formalization of the class structure of society was completed; An attempt was made to involve the public in the reforms and transfer some of the management functions “to the localities.”

The policy towards the serf peasantry was somewhat contradictory, because, on the one hand, the power of the landowners was strengthened, and on the other, measures were taken that somewhat limited serfdom. In the economic sphere, state monopolies were eliminated, freedom of trade and industrial activity was proclaimed, the secularization of church lands was carried out, paper money was introduced into circulation, the State Assignation Bank was established, measures were taken to introduce state control over expenses.

At the same time, it is worth taking into account the negative results - the flourishing of favoritism and bribery, increased debt, currency depreciation and the dominance of foreigners in the scientific and cultural spheres.

Catherine 2, like most monarchs who reigned for any significant time, sought to carry out reforms. Moreover, she inherited Russia in a difficult situation: the army and navy were weakened, there was a large external debt, corruption, the collapse of the judicial system, etc., etc. Next, we will briefly describe the essence of the transformations carried out during the reign of Empress Catherine 2.

Provincial reform:

“Institution for the administration of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire” was adopted on November 7, 1775. Instead of the previous administrative division into provinces, provinces and districts, territories began to be divided into provinces and districts. The number of provinces increased from twenty-three to fifty. They, in turn, were divided into 10-12 counties. The troops of two or three provinces were commanded by a governor-general, otherwise called a governor. Each province was headed by a governor, appointed by the Senate and reporting directly to the empress. The vice-governor was in charge of finances, and the Treasury Chamber was subordinate to him. Supreme official The district police captain was the police captain. The centers of the counties were cities, but since there were not enough of them, 216 large rural settlements received city status.

Judicial reform:

Each class had its own court. The nobles were tried by the zemstvo court, the townspeople by magistrates, and the peasants by reprisals. Conscientious courts were also established, consisting of representatives of all three classes, which performed the function of a conciliation authority. All these courts were elective. A higher authority were the judicial chambers, whose members were appointed. And the highest judicial body of the Russian Empire was the Senate.

Secularization reform:

It was held in 1764. All monastic lands, as well as the peasants living on them, were transferred to the jurisdiction of a specially established College of Economy. The state took upon itself the maintenance of monasticism, but from that moment it acquired the right to determine the number of monasteries and monks required by the empire.

Senate Reform:

On December 15, 1763, the manifesto of Catherine 2 was published “On the establishment of departments in the Senate, Justice, Patrimonial and Revision Boards, on the division of their affairs.” The role of the Senate was narrowed, and the powers of its head, the Prosecutor General, on the contrary, were expanded. The Senate became the highest court. It was divided into six departments: the first (headed by the Prosecutor General himself) was in charge of state and political affairs in St. Petersburg, the second was in charge of judicial affairs in St. Petersburg, the third was in charge of transport, medicine, science, education, art, the fourth was in charge of military and land affairs. and naval affairs, the fifth - state and political in Moscow and the sixth - the Moscow judicial department. The heads of all departments, except the first, were chief prosecutors subordinate to the prosecutor general.

Urban reform:

The reform of Russian cities was regulated by the “Charter on the rights and benefits of cities of the Russian Empire,” which was issued by Catherine II in 1785. New elected institutions were introduced. The number of voters has increased. City residents were divided into six categories according to various property, class characteristics, as well as merits to society and the state, namely: real city inhabitants - those who owned real estate within the city; merchants of the three guilds; guild artisans; foreign and out-of-town guests; eminent citizens - architects, painters, composers, scientists, as well as wealthy merchants and bankers; townspeople - those who were engaged in handicrafts and crafts in the city. Each rank had its own rights, responsibilities and privileges.

Police reform:

In 1782, Empress Catherine 2 introduced the “Charter of Deanery or Police”. According to it, the deanery board became the body of the city police department. It consisted of bailiffs, mayor and chief of police, as well as townspeople determined by elections. Court for public disturbances: drunkenness, insults, gambling, etc., as well as unauthorized construction and bribes were carried out by the police themselves, and in other cases a preliminary investigation was carried out, after which the case was transferred to court. The punishments applied by the police were arrest, censure, imprisonment in a workhouse, a fine, and in addition, the prohibition of certain types of activities.

Education reform

The creation of public schools in cities marked the beginning of the state system of comprehensive schools in Russia. They were of two types: main schools in provincial cities and small schools in district ones. These educational institutions were supported by the treasury, and people of all classes could study there. School reform was carried out in 1782, and earlier in 1764 a school was opened at the Academy of Arts, as well as the Society of Two Hundred Noble Maidens, then (in 1772) a commercial school.

Currency reform

During the reign of Catherine 2, the State Bank and Loan Bank were formed. And also, for the first time in Russia, paper money (banknotes) was introduced into circulation.