Creation of colleges under Peter I. Political reforms of Peter I

The famous Senate was "born" by Peter 1, as if impromptu. Departing for the Prut campaign in February 1711, Peter promulgated a decree: "The ruling Senate was determined to be for our absences, to govern ...". Its composition was small (9 senators), and it was created, as it were, temporarily. In pursuit of the first decree on March 2 came the second with a list of powers (care of justice, the organization of state revenues, general administration, trade and economy). Soon the Senate became the highest judicial and administrative body. At first, the Senate was a collegiate body of 9 senators with equal votes. Communication between the Senate and the provinces was carried out by provincial commissars.

Almost simultaneously with the Senate, Peter 1 founded a new control and revision institute of the so-called fiscals. It was a whole army of officials who acted in secret and revealed all the unrighteous actions that were detrimental to the state (embezzlement, bribery, violation of the law, etc.). At the head of the fiscals was the chief fiscal at the Senate. He had 4 fiscals subordinate to him (two from the merchants and two from the nobility). Under provincial governments there were also 4 fiscals, in cities - 1-2 fiscals. Fiscals did not receive a salary, as a reward for their work they were entitled in the first years to half, and then a third of the confiscated property. Fiscals sent all their observations to the Punishment Chamber, from where cases were sent to the Senate. Since 1715, the Senate itself was overseen by a special Senate Auditor General, and since 1721, control was carried out monthly by the staff officers of the guard.

Gradually made its way and this form government controlled like a board. Back in 1711, a project was submitted to organize a special board to manage the mining industry. The following year, projects for the organization of the Commerce Collegium, the Revision Collegium appeared, and in 1715 the Commerce Collegium began to function. At the same time, in 1715, the study of the issue of organizing central government bodies and studying the experience of Denmark, Sweden and Austria began. The three most important colleges (Military, Admiralty and Foreign) began to work already in 1718. A total of 11 colleges were established (the remaining eight; Board, Revision Board and Justice Board). The structure and functions of the collegiums, up to the organization of office work, the procedures for meetings, were developed in detail in the General Regulations and the regulations of individual collegiums. Thus was laid the foundation for the unification and bureaucratization of public administration.

Among the central institutions was to belong to the Synod, or the Spiritual College. At one time, after the death of Patriarch Adrian, the tsar appointed only an acting (locum tenens) to this post, and did not hold elections for the patriarch. The reason for this was the restrained, if not hostile, attitude of the clergy to the transformations of the king, the involvement of the clergy in the case of Tsarevich Alexei. As a result, in 1721, a Synod was formed, headed by the president, the elderly former locum tenens Stefan Yavorsky. The actual head of the Synod was Vice-President Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich of Pskov. It was he who composed the Spiritual Regulations - a set of the most important organizational and ideological regulations of the church organization in the new conditions of absolutism. According to the Rules, the members of the Synod, like all officials, swore allegiance to the tsar and pledged "not to enter into worldly affairs and rituals for anything." Behind all this, invisibly, stood the unforgotten danger of the pride of Patriarch Nikon. The same motives dictated the principles of collegiate management of the church and made it obligatory for priests to violate the secrecy of confession in cases "threatening state interests." Outwardly, all this, according to the stories, looked rather intimidating. As N.I. Pavlenko, the tsar, at a meeting with the hierarchs of the church, realizing that they want to elect a patriarch, raised the Spiritual Regulations and declared: “You ask for a patriarch - here is a spiritual patriarch for you!” And to the murmur of the dissatisfied, he unsheathed his dagger and with the words: “And for the anti-thinking, here is the damask patriarch,” he hit them on the table.

In 1718-1722. The Senate was reformed. In particular, all presidents of the collegiums became its members. The position of Prosecutor General was introduced. With the advent of it, a whole army of prosecutors began to operate in all central and provincial institutions. All the fiscals of the empire were subordinate to him. The Prosecutor General and Chief Prosecutor of the Senate were subordinate only to the sovereign. He could appeal and suspend the decision of the Senate. The main function of the prosecutor's control is to ensure the observance of law and order. The first prosecutor general was Pavel Ivanovich Yaguzhinsky.

In 1720, the Main Magistrate was recreated in St. Petersburg as a central institution, and city magistrates were again formed in the localities, to some extent reflecting the class interests of the merchants. Finally, in addition to the Preobrazhensky order, the Secret Chancellery was established to solve cases of political investigation in St. Petersburg.

Reasons for the formation of colleges

The evolution of the college system

Collegiate governance took place up until 1802 when " Manifesto for the Establishment of Ministries» was the beginning of a more progressive, ministerial system.

General Regulations

The activities of the collegiums were determined by the General Regulations, approved by Peter I on February 28, 1720 (lost its significance with the publication of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire).

The full name of this regulation is: “The general regulation or charter, according to which the state collegiums, as well as all of the offices and offices belonging to them, the servants, not only in external and internal institutions, but also in the administration of their rank, have the most submissive act”.

The General Regulations introduced a system of office work, called "college" after the name of a new type of institution - colleges. Dominant importance in these institutions received collegial decision-making the presence of the board. Peter I paid special attention to this form of decision-making, noting that “ all the best dispensation happens through advice"(Chapter 2 of the General Regulations" On the Preference of Collegia ").

The work of the boards

The Senate participated in the appointment of presidents and vice-presidents of the colleges (when appointing the president, the opinion of the tsar (emperor) was taken into account). In addition to them, the new bodies included: four advisers, four assessors (assessors), a secretary, an actuary (an office worker who registers acts or their component), a registrar, a translator, clerks.

The president was the first person in the college, but he could not decide anything without the consent of the members of the college. Vice President replaced the president during his absence; usually he helped him in the performance of his duties as chairman of the board.

Board meetings were held every day except Sundays and Sundays. public holidays. They started at 6 or 8 in the morning, depending on the season, and lasted 5 hours.

Materials for the boards were prepared in College offices, from where they were transmitted to General presence of the board where they discussed and adopted majority votes. Issues on which the collegium failed to make a decision were referred to the Senate - the only institution to which the collegiums were subordinate.

At each collegium there was a prosecutor, whose duty it was to oversee the correct and bezvolokitny decision of cases in the collegium and the execution of decrees both by the collegium and its subordinate structures.

The central figure of the office becomes secretary. He was responsible for organizing the office work of the board, preparing cases for hearing, reporting cases at a board meeting, conducting reference work on cases, drawing up decisions and monitoring their execution, keeping the seal of the board.

Significance of colleges

The creation of a system of colleges completed the process of centralization and bureaucratization of the state apparatus. A clear distribution of departmental functions, uniform standards of activity (according to the General Regulations) - all this significantly distinguished new apparatus from the command system.

In addition, the creation of collegiums dealt the final blow to the system of parochialism, abolished back in 1682, but which took place unofficially.

Disadvantages of collegiate work

The grandiose plan of Peter I to delimit departmental functions and give each official a clear plan of action was not fully implemented. Often the boards replaced each other (as orders once did). So, for example, Berg-, Manufaktura- and Commerce College could perform the same function.

For a long time, the most important functions remained outside the sphere of control of the colleges - the police, education, medicine, and the post office. Gradually, however, the system of colleges was supplemented by new branch bodies. Thus, the Pharmaceutical Order, which was already in force in the new capital - Petersburg, was transformed into the Medical College in 1721, and in the Medical Office from 1725.

Literature

Isaev I.A.
Ed. Titova Yu.P. History of the state and law of Russia. - M., 2006.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

E. Falcone. Monument to Peter I

All the activities of Peter I were aimed at creating a strong independent state. The realization of this goal could be realized, according to Peter, only through an absolute monarchy. For the formation of absolutism in Russia, a combination of historical, economic, social, internal and external political reasons was necessary. Thus, all the reforms he carried out can be considered political, since the result of their implementation was to become a powerful Russian state.

There is an opinion that Peter's reforms were spontaneous, thoughtless and often inconsistent. It can be objected that it is impossible in a living society to calculate everything with absolute accuracy for decades to come. Of course, in the process of implementing the transformations, life made its own adjustments, so plans changed and new ideas appeared. The order of the reforms and their features were dictated by the course of the protracted Northern War, as well as the political and financial capabilities of the state in a certain period of time.

Historians distinguish three stages of Peter's reforms:

1699-1710 There are changes in the system public institutions, new ones are created. The system of local self-government is being reformed. A recruiting system is being set up.
1710-1719 The old institutions are liquidated and the Senate is created. The first regional reform is being carried out. New military policy leads to the construction of a powerful fleet. A new legal system is being approved. State institutions are transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
1719-1725 New institutions are beginning to operate and the old ones are finally liquidated. The second regional reform is being carried out. The army is expanding and reorganizing. Church and financial reforms are being carried out. A new system of taxation and civil service is being introduced.

Soldiers of Peter I. Reconstruction

All the reforms of Peter I were fixed in the form of statutes, regulations, decrees that have the same legal force. And when, on October 22, 1721, Peter I was given the title of "Father of the Fatherland", "Emperor of the All-Russian", "Peter the Great", this already corresponded to the legal formalization of an absolute monarchy. The monarch was not limited in powers and rights by any administrative authorities and management. The power of the emperor was wide and strong to such an extent that Peter I violated the customs relating to the person of the monarch. In the military charter of 1716. and the Naval Charter of 1720 proclaimed: “ His Majesty is an autocratic monarch, who should not give an answer to anyone in his affairs, but has his own states and lands, like a Christian sovereign, to rule by his own will and goodwill.. « Monarchic power is autocratic power, which God himself commands for conscience to obey". The monarch was the head of state, the church, the supreme commander in chief, the supreme judge, it was exclusively in his competence to declare war, conclude peace, sign treaties with foreign states. The monarch was the bearer of legislative and executive power.

In 1722, Peter I issued a Decree on the succession to the throne, according to which the monarch determined his successor "recognizing convenient", but had the right to deprive him of the throne, seeing "lewdness in the heir", "seeing a worthy one." Legislation defined actions against the tsar and the state as the most serious crimes. Anyone “who will contemplate what evil”, and those who “helped or gave advice or, knowing, did not inform”, were punished with the death penalty, tearing out their nostrils or deportation to the galleys, depending on the severity of the crime.

Activities of the Senate

Senate under Peter I

On February 22, 1711, a new state body was formed - the Governing Senate. Members of the Senate were appointed by the king from among his inner circle (at first, 8 people). These were the biggest figures of the time. Appointments and dismissals of senators took place according to the decrees of the king. The Senate was a permanent state collegial body. His competence included:

the administration of justice;
solving financial issues;
general issues of management of trade and other sectors of the economy.

In the Decree of April 27, 1722 “On the position of the Senate”, Peter I gave detailed instructions on the activities of the Senate, regulated the composition, rights and duties of senators; the rules for the relationship of the Senate with the collegiums, provincial authorities and the prosecutor general are established. But regulations The Senate did not have the supreme legal force of law. The Senate only took part in the discussion of bills and interpreted the law. But in relation to all other organs, the Senate was the highest authority. The structure of the Senate did not take shape immediately. At first, the Senate consisted of senators and the office, and then two departments were formed: the Punishment Chamber (as a special department before the advent of the Justice College) and the Senate Office (which dealt with management issues). The Senate had its own chancellery, which was divided into several tables: provincial, secret, rank, order and fiscal.

The reprisal chamber consisted of two senators and judges appointed by the Senate, who regularly (monthly) submitted reports to the Senate on cases, fines and searches. The verdict of the Punishment Chamber could be canceled by the general presence of the Senate.

The main task of the Senate Office was to prevent the current affairs of Moscow institutions to the Governing Senate, the execution of decrees of the Senate, control over the execution of senatorial decrees in the provinces. The Senate had auxiliary bodies: the racket master, the king of arms, provincial commissars. On April 9, 1720, the Senate established the position of "reception of petitions" (since 1722 - requetmaster), which received complaints about the collegiums and chancelleries. The duties of the king of arms included compiling lists in the state, nobles, observing that from each noble family in the civil service was no more than 1/3.

Provincial commissars oversaw local, military, financial affairs, recruitment, maintenance of regiments. The Senate was an obedient tool of autocracy: senators were personally responsible to the monarch, in case of violation of the oath, they were subjected to the death penalty or fell into disgrace, were dismissed from office, and were punished with fines.

Fiscality

With the development of absolutism, the institution of fiscals and prosecutors was established. Fiscality was a special branch of Senate administration. The chief fiscal (head of the fiscals) was attached to the Senate, but at the same time the fiscals were confidants of the tsar. The tsar appointed a chief fiscal who took an oath to the tsar and was responsible to him. The competence of the fiscals was indicated in the Decree of March 17, 1714: to check on everything that is “to the detriment public interest may be"; to report “on malicious intent against the person of His Majesty or treason, on indignation or rebellion”, “do not spies creep into the state”, the fight against bribery and embezzlement. The network of fiscals constantly began to be formed according to territorial and departmental principles. The provincial fiscal supervised the city fiscals and once a year "performed" control over them. In the ecclesiastical department, the fiscals were headed by the proto-inquisitor, in the dioceses by the provincial fiscals, and in the monasteries by the inquisitors. With the creation of the College of Justice, fiscal affairs came under its jurisdiction and control of the Senate, and after the establishment of the post of Prosecutor General, the fiscals began to obey him. In 1723 a general-fiscal is appointed - the highest body for fiscals. He had the right to demand any business. His assistant was the Chief Fiscal.

Organization of the Prosecutor's Office

By decree of January 12, 1722, the Prosecutor's Office was organized. Then, by subsequent decrees, prosecutors were established in the provinces and in the courts of the courts. The Prosecutor General and Chief Prosecutors were subject to the court of the Emperor himself. Prosecutorial oversight extended even to the Senate. The decree of April 27, 1722 established his competence: presence in the Senate (“look firmly so that the Senate keeps his position”), control over fiscals (“if something bad happens, immediately report to the Senate”).

In 1717-1719. - the period of formation of new institutions - colleges. Most colleges were created on the basis of orders and were their successors. The system of colleges did not take shape immediately. On December 14, 1717, 9 colleges were created: Military, Ingstranny, Berg, Revision, Admiralteyskaya, Yustits, Chambers, State Offices, Manufactories. A few years later there were already 13 of them. The presence of the board: president, vice president, 4-5 advisers, 4 assessors. Collegiate staff: secretary, notary, translator, actuary, copyist, registrar and clerk. The collegiums consisted of a fiscal (later a prosecutor), who exercised control over the activities of the collegiums and was subordinate to the prosecutor general. Colleges received decrees only from the monarch and the Senate, having the right not to execute the decrees of the Senate if they contradicted the decrees of the king.

Board activities

College of Foreign Affairs she was in charge of "all sorts of foreign and embassy affairs", coordinated the activities of diplomats, managed relations and negotiations with foreign ambassadors, carried out diplomatic correspondence.

Military Board managed "all military affairs": recruiting the regular army, managing the affairs of the Cossacks, arranging hospitals, and providing the army. Military justice was in the system of the Military Collegium.

Admiralty board managed "the fleet with all naval military servants, to that belonging to maritime affairs and administrations." It included the Naval and Admiralty offices, as well as the Uniform, Waldmeister, Academic, Canal offices and Particular shipyard.

Board of Chambers she was supposed to carry out "higher supervision" of all types of fees (customs, drinking), watched the arable farming, collected data on the market and prices, controlled the salt mines and the monetary business.

Board of Chambers exercised control over public spending, constituted the state staff (the staff of the emperor, the states of all colleges, provinces, provinces). It had its own provincial bodies - renters, which were local treasuries.

Revision Board exercised financial control over the use of public funds by central and local authorities.

Berg College supervised the issues of the metallurgical industry, the management of mints and money yards, supervised the purchase of gold and silver abroad, judicial functions within its competence. A network of local Berg Collegiums was created.

Manufactory College dealt with issues of industry, in addition to mining, managed the manufactories of the Moscow province, the central and northeastern parts of the Volga region and Siberia; gave permission to open manufactories, regulated the implementation of state orders, provided benefits. Her competence also included: the exile of those convicted in criminal cases in manufactories, production control, and the supply of enterprises with materials. It did not have its own bodies in the provinces and provinces.

College of Commerce promoted the development of all branches of trade, especially foreign trade, carried out customs supervision, drew up customs charters and tariffs, monitored the correctness of measures and weights, was engaged in the construction and equipment of merchant ships, and performed judicial functions.

Justice College supervised the activities of provincial court courts; exercised judicial functions in criminal offenses, civil and fiscal cases; she headed an extensive judicial system, consisting of provincial lower and city courts, as well as court courts; acted as a court of first instance in "important and contentious" cases. Its decisions could be appealed to the Senate.

patrimonial board resolved land disputes and litigation, issued new land grants, considered complaints about “wrong decisions” in local and patrimonial cases.

secret office engaged in the investigation and prosecution of political crimes (for example, the case of Tsarevich Alexei). There were other central institutions (old surviving orders, medical office).

The building of the Senate and the Holy Synod

Activities of the Synod

The synod is the main central institution for ecclesiastical matters. The synod appointed bishops, exercised financial control, administered its fiefdoms, and exercised judicial functions in relation to heresies, blasphemy, schisms, and so on. Particularly important decisions were made by the general meeting - the conference.

Administrative-territorial division

Decree of December 18, 1708. introduced a new administrative-territorial division. Initially, 8 provinces were formed: Moscow, Ingermanland, Smolensk, Kyiv, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberian provinces. In 1713-1714. three more: Nizhny Novgorod and Astrakhan provinces were separated from Kazan, and Riga province from Smolensk. At the head of the provinces were governors, governors-general, who exercised administrative, military and judicial power.

Governors were appointed by royal decrees only from among the nobles close to Peter I. The governors had assistants: the chief commandant regulated military administration, chief commissar and chief proviantmeister - provincial and other fees, landrichter - provincial justice, financial boundary and search affairs, chief inspector - tax collection from cities and counties.

The province was divided into provinces (headed by the chief commandant), provinces into counties (headed by the commandant).

The commandants were subordinate to the chief commandant, the commandant to the governor, and the latter to the Senate. In the counties of cities where there were no fortresses and garrisons, landarts were the governing body.

50 provinces were created, which were divided into districts - districts. The provincial governors were subordinate to the governors only in military matters, otherwise they were independent of the governors. The governors were engaged in the search for runaway peasants and soldiers, the construction of fortresses, the collection of income from state-owned factories, they took care of the external security of the provinces, and from 1722. performed judicial functions.

The voevodas were appointed by the Senate and were subordinate to the boards. Main Feature local government was that they performed both administrative and police functions.

The Burmister Chamber (Town Hall) was created with subordinate zemstvo huts. They were in charge of the commercial and industrial population of cities in terms of collecting taxes, duties and duties. But in the 20s. XVIII century city government takes the form of magistrates. The Chief Magistrate and local magistrates were formed with the direct participation of governors and governors. The magistrates were subordinate to them in matters of court and trade. Provincial magistrates and magistrates of the cities included in the province were one of the links of the bureaucratic apparatus with the subordination of lower bodies to higher ones. Elections to the magistrates of the burmisters and ratmans were entrusted to the governor.

Creation of the army and navy

Peter I turned separate sets of "subjective people" into annual recruitment sets and created a permanent trained army in which the soldiers served for life.

petrovsky fleet

The creation of a recruiting system took place from 1699 to 1705. from the Decree of 1699 "On admission to the service of soldiers from all free people." The system was based on the class principle: officers were recruited from the nobility, soldiers from the peasants and other tax-paying population. For the period 1699-1725. 53 recruitments were carried out, which amounted to 284187 people. Decree of February 20, 1705. garrison internal troops were created, which ensured order within the country. The created Russian regular army showed itself in the battles of Lesnaya, Poltava and in other battles. The reorganization of the army was carried out by the Discharge Order, the Order of Military Affairs, the Order of the Commissar General, the Order of Artillery, etc. Subsequently, the Discharge Table and the Commissariat were formed, and in 1717. created the Military Board. The recruiting system made it possible to have a large combat-ready army.

Peter and Menshikov

The Russian fleet was also formed from drafted recruits. Then it was created Marines. The navy was created during the wars with Turkey and Sweden. By using Russian fleet Russia established itself on the shores of the Baltic, which raised its international prestige and made it a maritime power.

Judicial reform

It was held in 1719 and streamlined, centralized and strengthened the entire judicial system of Russia. The main task of the reform is to separate the court from the administration. At the head of the judicial system was the monarch, he decided the most important affairs of state. The monarch, as the supreme judge, dealt with and decided many cases on his own. On his initiative, the Office of Investigative Affairs arose on his initiative, they helped him to carry out judicial functions. The Prosecutor General and the Chief Prosecutor were subject to the court of the king, and the Senate was the court of appeal. Senators were subject to trial by the Senate (for malfeasance). The Justice Collegium was the court of appeal in relation to the court courts, it was the governing body over all the courts. Regional courts consisted of court courts and lower courts.

The presidents of court courts were governors and vice-governors. Cases moved from the lower court to the court court on appeal.

Chamberlains judged cases concerning the treasury; governors and zemstvo commissars were judged for the escape of the peasants. Judicial functions were performed by almost all collegiums, excluding the Collegium of Foreign Affairs.

Political cases were considered by the Preobrazhensky Prikaz and the Secret Chancellery. But since the order of passing cases through the instances was confused, governors and voivodes interfered in court cases, and judges in administrative ones, a new reorganization of the judiciary was carried out: the lower courts were replaced by provincial ones and passed to the voivodes and assessors, court courts and their functions were eliminated were given to the governors.

Thus, the court and the administration again merged into one body. Court cases were most often resolved slowly, accompanied by red tape and bribery.

The adversarial principle was replaced by the investigative one. In general, the judicial reform was especially unplanned and chaotic. Judicial system the period of Peter's reforms was characterized by a process of strengthening centralization and bureaucratization, the development of class justice and served the interests of the nobility.

The historian N. Ya. Danilevsky noted two aspects of the activity of Peter I: state and reform (“changes in everyday life, mores, customs and concepts”). In his opinion, "the first activity deserves eternal grateful, reverent memory and the blessing of posterity." By the activities of the second kind, Peter brought "the greatest harm to the future of Russia": "Life was forcibly turned upside down in a foreign way."

Monument to Peter I in Voronezh

Boards- central administrative bodies created by Peter I from 1717 to 1722 to replace orders (the outdated system of executive bodies). Swedish legislation served as the basis for the regulations of the boards, and the system itself was built on the basis of the experience of its functioning in Germany and Sweden.

College system

The establishment of collegiums introduced three newprinciple:

Sectoral division of departments (orders duplicated each other's functions)
Deliberative (collegiate) nature of decision-making.
General rules for the functioning of authorities under the General Regulations of 1720.

Significance of colleges

The establishment of the college system was the final stage in the centralization and bureaucratization of state administration. Together with the Governing Senate, the Holy Synod and the Secret Chancellery, the colleges formed the central government bodies (assisting the emperor and acting on his behalf) in the absolutist monarchy of Peter I.

In addition, the gradual replacement of orders with colleges was the final blow to the system of parochialism, which was canceled as early as 1682, but unofficially continued to exist.

Central authorities

The history of the creation of the Colleges

Back in 1712, with the participation of foreign advisers, there was an attempt to create a College of Commerce. Sophisticated officials and lawyers from Europe were invited to work in state institutions of the Russian kingdom. The Swedish collegiate system, which at that time was the best in Europe, was taken as a model for developing its own rules.

In fact, the real work on the creation of a system of colleges began only at the end of 1717. On December 22, 1717, a royal decree was issued “On the staff of the Colleges and on the time of their opening”, which laid the foundation for the reform of the Colleges. It was impossible to quickly change the order system, so it was decided to abandon drastic changes in the state structure. Orders were either replaced by colleges, or transferred to their subordination (for example, the Justice College included seven different court orders). Peter I himself called "the first" (i.e., the main) only three collegiums - foreign affairs, military and Admiralty collegiums.

In 1718 list was approved first 9 colleges:

Foreign Affairs.
Military board.
Admiralty Board.
Board of Chambers
Justice College.
Commerce College.
State office.
Berg Manufactory College.
Revision Board.

Panoramic view of the building of the Colleges located on Vasilevsky Island in St. Petersburg, made by J. A. Atkinson in the period 1802-1805

In the future, as necessary, new boards were created or existing ones were reorganized:

In 1720, the Collegium of Justice for Livonian, Estonian, and Finnish Affairs was established.

In 1721, the Votchina Board was established to replace the Local Order.

In 1722, the Berg-Manufactory-Collegium was divided into the Berg-Collegium and the Manufactory-Collegium, and the Little Russian College was created to replace the Little Russian Order. Thus, answering the question " how many collegiums were under Peter I» you can list them by 1722.

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Colleges under Peter 1

Creating the "new" Russian Empire, Peter 1 carried out many reforms, one of which was the elimination of unsuitable state bodies. So, the emperor eliminated the outdated system of orders (they are also chambers, bodies of central government), replacing it with new central bodies of sectoral government - colleges.

Peter borrowed a model for the establishment of the Colleges from Europe - the state structures of Sweden and Germany. The regulations were drawn up on the basis of the legislative acts of Sweden, of course, with an eye on Russian reality.

The reform began as early as 1712 with an attempt to establish a College of Commerce. But the final register (list) was approved only in 1718. According to him, nine Collegias were established: Military, Admiralty Collegium, Foreign Affairs, Commerce Collegium, Chamber Collegium, or Collegium of State Duties, Berg Manufactory Collegium, Justice Collegium, Revision Collegium, State Office.

Others were later established: the College of Justice for Livonian and Estonian Affairs (1720), the Estates College (1721), the College of Economy (1726). In addition, in 1720 the Chief Magistrate was established, and in 1721 - the Theological College, or the Holy Synod.

Functions of the Colleges under Peter 1

College	What did you control

Admiralties
foreign affairs	Foreign policy
College of Commerce	Trade
Berg Manufactory College	Industry and mining
Justice College	local courts
Revision Board	State budget funds
State office	Government spending
Justice Collegium of Livonian and Estonian Affairs	§ Activities of Protestant churches in the territory Russian Empire § Administrative and judicial issues of the provinces of Sweden annexed to the Russian Empire
Votchinnaya	land holdings
Savings	Land holdings of clerics and institutions
Chief Magistrate	The work of magistrates

Internal structure

The boards were headed by presidents, who were appointed by the Senate (the highest state body), but taking into account the opinion of the emperor. In the absence of the president, his functions passed to the vice president, appointed in a similar way. In addition to them, the College included advisers and assessors (appointed by the Senate), as well as clerical officials. In addition, each Collegium had a prosecutor who supervised the decision of cases and the execution of decrees.

All decisions were made collectively, at meetings. Peter paid great attention to the new principle of office work, believing that the right decision can only be made jointly, after listening to the opinion of everyone.

collegium petr structure activity

Historical meaning

It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the reform carried out by Peter the Great. The collegiums functioned in accordance with uniform norms of activity. Departmental functions were clearly distributed. Localism was finally abolished. The establishment of these governing bodies was the final stage in the centralization and bureaucratization of the state administration apparatus. However, it is impossible not to clarify that the emperor's brilliant idea was not fully implemented. Thus, the main goal of the reform - the division of functions performed by departments - has not been achieved in relation to some Collegiums.

Since 1802, the gradual abolition of the Colleges began against the backdrop of a new system of ministries.

Under the jurisdiction of the Senate stood a series of central institutions known as colleges; they were established in 1718 and finally formed in 1720. The colleges replaced the old orders. With the establishment of the Senate, which gradually assimilated the functions of the most important orders, these latter (for example, the Discharge) were replaced by the "tables" of the Senate; small orders turned into an office and offices of various names and retained their previous organization. Since about 1711 Peter I conceived to arrange a central administration according to Western European models. Quite consciously, he wanted to transfer the Swedish collegial structure to Russia. The collegiate system was also recommended to him by the theorist Leibniz. People were sent abroad to study bureaucratic forms and clerical practices; experienced clerks were sent from abroad to organize new institutions with their help. But Peter the Great did not give these foreigners a senior position in the collegiums, and they did not rise above the vice-presidents; Russian people were appointed presidents of the collegiums.

The boards were subordinated Senate who sent them his decrees; in turn, local governments were below the collegiums and obeyed them. But, on the one hand, not all colleges were equally subordinate to the Senate (military and naval were more independent than others); on the other hand, not all colleges were related to regional governments. Above the provincial authorities, as a direct highest authority, stood only the Chambers and Justice Collegiums and Chief Magistrate. Thus, both central and local governments did not represent a strict and harmonious hierarchy.

Each board consisted of order XVII in., from the presence and office. The presence consisted of the President, Vice President, Councilors, Assessors and 2 Secretaries, who were the Chiefs of the Chancellery. In total, there were no more than 13 people in attendance, and matters were decided by a majority vote.

Peering into the differences between the colleges and the old orders, we see that the system of colleges greatly simplified the previous confusion of departments, but did not destroy the confusion of personal and collegiate principles that underlay the former central administration. Just as in orders, in their collegiate form, the personal beginning was expressed by the activity of the imperious chairman, so in collegiums influential presidents and prosecutors assigned to the collegiums for general control violated the collegial system with their personal influence and in fact sometimes replaced collegial activity with an individual one.

highest reputation throughout Europe, the Swedish system of government boards was used, and deservedly: it was debugged to such an extent that the Swedish government was able to govern the country without disruption, despite the fifteen-year absence of the monarch, the loss of the army, the collapse of the empire and the deadly plague. Peter, who admired both Charles and the Swedish state machine and did not at all consider it shameful for himself to borrow something from the enemy, decided to establish colleges in his country on the model and likeness of the Swedish ones.

In 1718, a new system of government was developed. Thirty-four pre-existing orders * were replaced by nine new colleges: the Collegium of Foreign (later - Foreign) Affairs, the Chamber Collegium, which was in charge of state revenues, the Justice Collegium, the Military and Admiralty Collegium, the Kommsrts Collegium, which dealt with trade issues, the Bsrg-i -Manufactory Board and State Office Board, which was in charge of public spending, and the Revision Board, which controlled the spending of budget funds **.

* Number of orders in Russia XVII- early 18th century it is impossible to establish precisely - the process of reorganization went on continuously.

** The number of collegiums has been constantly changing. In 1721 there were 11 colleges, in 1723 - 10. In 1722, D. Trezzini received a painting for the placement of colleges in a new building on Vasilyevsky Island. There were 12 sites in total. In addition to 10 collegiums, it was planned to build 2 more premises: a hall of ceremonial receptions and the Senate. This is how the name "The Building of the Twelve Collegia" appeared.

The presidents of these collegiums were Russians (and all of them from among Peter's closest friends and associates), while foreigners became vice-presidents. However, two exceptions were made; A Scot, General Jacob Bruce, became the President of the Berg-and-Manufactory Collegium, while the Russians Golovkin and Shafirov became the President and Vice-President of the Dust in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. The presidents of all colleges automatically became members of the Senate, which made this body of power like a council of ministers.

So that the institutions of power borrowed from abroad could work successfully, Peter intensively invited foreign specialists. Russian diplomatic agents, traveling all over Europe, lured foreigners to work in the new Russian government institutions. They even invited Swedish prisoners of war who had learned the Russian language. Some Swedes turned down such offers, Weber believed, because they feared impediments to their return to their homeland. However, in the end, there were enough foreigners, and the same Weber described with admiration the lively activities of the College of Foreign grandfathers; “There is hardly anywhere in the world to be found an office of foreign affairs that would send dispatches in so many languages. “There are sixteen translators and secretaries here who know Russian, Latin, Polish, High German, Low German, English, Danish, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Chinese, Tatar, Kalmyk and Mongolian.”

However, despite the fact that knowledgeable foreigners worked at all levels in the new government apparatus, the new system was constantly in a fever. Foreign specialists experienced great difficulties in trying to explain to Russian officials the essence of the new system, especially since even the interpreters who knew the language were not very versed in the specific terminology adopted in Sweden. It was even more difficult to explain the mechanism of operation of the new system of government to the provincial officials, who were often characterized by dense ignorance. Sometimes they sent such reports to Petersburg that it was impossible not only to attribute them to any category of business papers, but even to understand what they were about, or even just to read them.

Among other things, some presidents of the colleges were not very zealous about their duties, and Peter again and again had to reason with them like boys. He demanded that they without fail appear in their colleges on Tuesdays and Thursdays and seek to maintain due order and propriety, both in the Senate and in the colleges themselves. They were strictly ordered not to conduct at meetings "talks about extraneous matters that do not concern our service, and even less to engage in idle conversations and jokes", not to interrupt each other during speeches and to behave as befits statesmen, and not "bazaar women" .

Peter hoped that by introducing the presidents of the colleges into the Senate, he would make this body of power more effective, but the ongoing envy and enmity among the nobles led to the fact that as soon as they gathered in the absence of the king, noisy disputes and squabbles began. Senators descended from ancient families, such as Dolgoruky or Golitsyn, despised the puny upstarts Menshikov, Shafirov and Yaguzhinsky. The President of the Board of Foreign Affairs Golovkin and its vice-president Shafirov could not stand each other. The clashes became more and more violent, passions ran high, the senators openly denounced each other in embezzlement. In the end, just as Peter left for the Caspian Sea, a resolution was adopted accusing Shafirov of outrageous and lawless behavior in the Senate. Upon his return, Peter appointed a High Court of Senators and Generals to hear the case. Having gathered in Preobrazhenskoye, the judges listened to the testimony and sentenced Shafirov to death.

On February 16, 1723, Shafirov was brought from Preobrazhensky to the Kremlin in a simple sleigh. They read the sentence to him, tore off his wig and old fur coat and put him on the scaffold. Overshadowing yourself sign of the cross, the convict knelt down and laid his head on the chopping block. The executioner lifted the ax, and at that moment Peter's cabinet secretary Alexei Makarov stepped forward and announced that, out of respect for the long service, the sovereign had ordered Shafirov's life to be saved and the execution to be replaced by exile in Siberia. Shafirov got to his feet and, with tears in his eyes, staggered down from the scaffold. He was taken to the Senate, where shocked by what had happened former colleagues vied with each other to congratulate him on his pardon. To calm the suffering old man Shafirov, the doctor bled him, and he, reflecting on his gloomy future in exile, said: "I'd better open big vein to get rid of the pain all at once." However, later the exile to Siberia for Shafirov and his family was replaced by a settlement in Novgorod. After the death of Peter I, Catherine forgave Shafirov, and under Empress Anna Ivanovna he returned to the system of power again.

The new administrative bodies often did not justify the hopes that Peter placed on them. They were alien Russian tradition and officials had neither the necessary knowledge nor incentives to work. The formidable figure of the omnipresent king did not always arouse in his subjects the desire to show initiative and decisiveness. On the one hand, Peter ordered to act more boldly and take responsibility, and on the other hand, severely punished for any mistake. Naturally, the officials were cautious in every possible way and behaved like that servant who will not pull the drowning master out of the water until he is convinced that this is part of his duties and is written in the contract.

Over time, Peter himself began to understand this. He came to the conclusion that government should be carried out through laws and regulations, and not by urging on the part of those in power, including himself. It is not necessary to command people, but to teach them, to instruct and convince, to explain what the interests of the state are, so that everyone can understand it. Therefore, royal decrees issued after 1716, as a rule, were preceded by arguments about the necessity and usefulness of this or that legal provision, quotations, historical parallels, appeals to logic and common sense.

Despite all the shortcomings, the new system of public administration was a useful innovation. Russia was changing, and the Senate and collegiums managed the changed state and society more effectively than the old Moscow orders and the boyar Duma could do. Both the Senate and collegiums existed in Russia until the fall of the dynasty, although the collegiums were subsequently transformed into ministries. In 1722, the architect Domenico Trezzini began the construction of an unusually long red brick building on Vasilyevsky Island, on the Neva embankment. It was to house the collegiums and the Senate. Today, this building, the largest of the surviving from the times of Peter the Great, houses St. Petersburg University.

The reforms carried out by Peter had no less tangible effect on the fate of individuals than on the fate of state institutions. social organization Russia, similar to that which existed in medieval Europe, was based on the universal obligation to serve. The serf peasant had to serve his master, and he, in turn, the sovereign. Peter was far from intending to break or even weaken this universal relationship of service. He only modified it, striving, as far as possible, to force all sections of the population to serve with full dedication. No concessions or exceptions were made for anyone. The service was the essence of the life of Peter himself, and he used all his power and energy to encourage everyone to serve with the greatest benefit for the fatherland. The nobles who served as officers in the reorganized Russian army and navy were to master modern weapons and tactics; Those who entered the service in state institutions created according to the European model also required special knowledge and skills for the full performance of duties. The concept of service has changed and expanded: in order to serve in accordance with the requirements of the time, one had to study.

Peter made his first attempt to bring educated national cadres to Russia as early as 1696, when, before leaving with the Great Embassy, he sent a group of young noblemen to study in the West. After Poltava victory Peter's concern for the education of his subjects became more focused and systematic. In 1712, a decree was issued, according to which the Senate was to submit information about all the noble undergrowth. The young men were divided into three groups: the youngest were sent to study seamanship in Revel, those older were sent to Holland for the same purpose, and the oldest were enlisted in the army. In 1714, the tsar threw a net wider: all young nobles from ten to thirty years old who were not in the service were ordered to report to the Senate before the end of winter.

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Creation of colleges under Peter I. Political reforms of Peter I

Reasons for the formation of colleges

The evolution of the college system

General Regulations

The work of the boards

Significance of colleges

Disadvantages of collegiate work

Links

Literature

Activities of the Senate

Fiscality

Organization of the Prosecutor's Office

Board activities

Activities of the Synod

Administrative-territorial division

Creation of the army and navy

Judicial reform

Significance of colleges

The history of the creation of the Colleges

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