06.01.202427.05.2017

Many radical transformations took place in the country: the way of life of the people changed, the fleet was rebuilt, the army was armed, but its main reforms concerned public administration. It was he who took the initiative to establish the highest administrative body, which was called the Governing Senate.

Founding history

With all the absolutism of power that was inherent in that period, the emperor decided to transfer part of his powers to the hands of selected and close people. At first, this practice was intermittent, and meetings took place only during the emperor’s frequent absences.

By official decree of Peter the Great, the Governing Senate was established in 1711. It did not arise out of nowhere; its predecessor was the boyar duma, which had long since become obsolete. The new and bold state demanded order in the legislative and administrative structure, “truth and fair trial between the people and in state affairs.” The emperor assigned these responsibilities to the new government body.

The question of foreign borrowing

Many historians associate the creation of the Governing Senate (date of event - February 19, 1711) with the emperor's practice of adopting everything Western. However, apart from the foreign word, there was nothing foreign in the new government; all its structure and functions were based only on Russian reality. This was immediately evident from the system of subordination: if, for example, in Sweden the Senate could dictate its opinion and will to the monarch, then under Peter such a situation was simply impossible.

The Emperor took as a basis only the idea of European states to include special institutions in the system of government and the distribution of responsibilities between different structures. The central authority was now guided not by ancient law or the customs of their ancestors, but by a law common to all. The Governing Senate under Peter 1 was a still-forming institution, the main goal of which was to unite the regions under the control of one center. The emperor himself was in charge and directed all the activities of his brainchild, even while away.

The role of the Governing Senate before 1741

After Peter's death, the central government existed in its original form for less than one year. In 1727, Empress Catherine I issued a decree establishing special supervision over him, which became the Privy Supreme Council. And the Governing Senate itself in Russia was renamed High.

Historians associate the reason for the creation of the supervisory body with the personal qualities of Peter’s successors, who did not know how to lead with an iron fist like he did. In practice, the Senate lost its original importance; its responsibilities now included judicial proceedings and minor government work. All this happened under the watchful eye of the Supreme Privy Council, whose members were A.D. Menshikov and F.M. Apraksin.

The situation changed with the arrival of Anna Ioannovna, who abolished the controlling body, and all power was again concentrated in the hands of the Empress and the Governing Senate. A reform was carried out, the department was divided into 5 departments, a cabinet of ministers appeared, for whose leadership Biron, Osterman and Minich fought.

Period from 1741 to 1917

Under Elizabeth, the governing Senate again received greater powers, including legislative activity and influence on foreign policy. However, all the introductions of the empress were canceled by Peter III. Under Catherine II, the formation of the state system of the Russian Empire actively continued. The great ruler did not particularly trust the members of the Senate and, whenever possible, tried to remove certain departments from the institution and transferred them under the control of trusted people, such as Prince Vyazemsky, Shuvalov and Chernyshev.

The position of the supreme body of power was finally formed during the reign of Alexander I. Immediately after his accession to the throne, he seriously took up the task of restoring the high role of the Governing Senate in public administration. The result of his efforts was the decree of September 8, 1802, which became the last legislative act that fully clarified the rights and responsibilities of this organization. In this form, the institution existed until 1917, when it was abolished.

Structure of the Governing Senate

Initially, the structure of the central government had a very simple structure; Peter's decrees mainly concerned its responsibilities and procedures. But with the growing importance of the Senate in the life of the country, its tasks gradually became more complicated; a clear hierarchy of management was required. In general, the Governing Senate had the following organization:

The main work was carried out by senators; they were appointed by the emperor from among civil and military officials; only members of the cassation department had to have at least three years of experience as chief prosecutor.
The institution included several departments (their number was constantly changing), joint offices and general meetings.
It had its own office in different compositions and types; it usually consisted of a secret, administrative, provincial and discharge table.
Even under Peter, a “retribution board” was distinguished, considering petitions and fiscal reports.
Senate offices, whose responsibilities included the administration of colleges from all over the country.

Under each subsequent emperor, the structure of the governing Senate constantly changed; depending on the era, new departments and structures were abolished or added, and a different procedure for election and administration was established.

Main functions

Over the two-hundred-year history of the central government body, it has undergone many changes. Gradual transformations led to the fact that the Governing Senate, whose functions were spelled out in a special imperial decree, had unique rights, including both the interpretation of laws and supervision of the activities of controlled institutions.

One of its most important functions is the ability to promulgate laws or refuse their official publication. Council members exercised control over the normative nature of state acts, interpreted laws, and their decision was final.
The Governing Senate supervised the legality of the actions of ministers, ministries, and provincial authorities. If violations were detected, the organization had the right to demand an explanation and, if necessary, punish.
He observed elections to zemstvo assemblies, the State Duma, city dumas, merchant, petty bourgeois, and craft institutions, and considered complaints from nobles.
The Senate had the right, in the event of gross errors in the service of provincial leaders, to reprimand them and issue appropriate decrees.
The Cassation Department of the government Senate managed the judicial system in Russia; the decisions it made were no longer subject to appeal.

The unique powers of the government body also lay in the fact that council members had the right to initiate criminal prosecution of senior administrative officials, county representatives of the nobility and other officials.

Peculiarities in the appointment of senators

Under Peter I, members of the council, in addition to serving in this central organization, carried out other state assignments. Therefore, in the sources of that time you can often find references to the meeting not being held in full force. Someone was appointed ambassador to Europe, someone was sent on special assignments to the district cities of the Empire, and it turned out that all duties were performed by 5-6 people.

The main management function was carried out by senators in departments, and initially among them there were no outstanding people of their time, those who were able to lead with a strong hand. The fact is that, according to the existing differentiation of government officials, persons with III and IV ranks were appointed to positions in the council, and service in the government for them was the pinnacle of their career. Thus, the social position of the members who were part of the governing Senate was absolutely not consistent with its high status.

Appointments were made by personal decrees, senators took an oath established under Peter I.

State officials attached to the central government

Even at the founding of the Governing Senate, a procedure was established according to which two commissioners were appointed from each province to “demand and adopt decrees.” They are the ones who should be intermediaries between the regional authorities and the Senate. Their duties included not only issuing decrees, but also monitoring implementation. Later these functions were transferred to the collegiums.

The Institute of Fiscals was established back in 1711; they were a supervisory body over the actions of courts, officials of all categories and other government officials. Very great power was concentrated in their hands; essentially, because of one denunciation, any person could be accused of a crime. Subordinate to the chief fiscal were several close assistants, as well as service people in every province and even city.

Peter I also wanted to establish control over the Governing Senate, but the problem was finding a person who could supervise the supreme body. Subsequently, the position of prosecutor general was established here. And we should also mention the retmeister and his office, they were the ones who received petitions from all over the country and monitored the timing and quality of their execution.

Range of departments

The establishment of the Governing Senate did not immediately resolve all the problems of government. The list of controlled departments was formed gradually; the first decree obligated the institution to carry out the following functions:

monitor the court and check the legality of their decisions;
control spending in the state;
monitor the collection of nobles and literate young boyars as officers, the search for evaders;
inspection of goods;
bargain with China and Persia;
control over escheated villages.

The institution could be called the central judicial, military and financial department, which exercised supervision over certain areas of government.

Procedure

Even Peter I noted the unforgivable slowness of the work of the entire system of the organ he created. The institution required a clear procedure for action, so the institution of office work was gradually organized in the government senate. In the 18th century, the concepts of protocol and reporting journal were already introduced into use, but only the charters of Alexander II finally established the procedure for conducting affairs in departments.

A petition, complaint or other documents are received by the office; employees collect the necessary information, certificates and prepare a note summarizing the essence of the petition, indicating the legal grounds.
An oral report is delivered to members of a particular department.
A vote is taken, and the decision, with some exceptions, had to be made unanimously.
The adopted resolution is entered into the journal by the office and, based on the results of the meeting, a final determination is drawn up.

Before the case went to the departments for consideration, all papers were read and controlled by the chief prosecutor, who had the right to make changes or influence the voting process.

Legislative activity

The Governing Senate has never fully been the department that develops and issues state decrees. Only under Peter and Elizabeth were council members given complete freedom of action. Over the two hundred years of its existence, its main function has taken shape - regulation and control of administrative management.

In rare cases, the central government body could submit a draft law for consideration by the emperor and ministers, however, council members rarely used this right, since the department did not have enough funds and capabilities to conduct legislative activities. Thus, the decrees of the governing Senate concerning the terms of service of noble officers were criticized and rejected by Alexander I.

Abolition

From the beginning of the 19th century until 1917, the role of the Senate in public administration was the same as under Alexander I. The problem of communication with the highest authority in the person of the emperor remained unresolved; all communication took place through the chief prosecutor, and its original great importance as under Peter I this department was never able to achieve. After the October Revolution, the council was dissolved, although temporary presences were resumed during the Civil War in Omsk and Yalta.

The establishment of the Governing Senate marked the beginning of a clear organization of governance in our country; the experience of departments in the Russian Empire was taken into account in the formation of the modern political system.

During the era of Peter the Great, the Governing Senate appeared in Russia. Over the next two centuries, this government body was reformatted many times according to the will of the next monarch.

Appearance of the Senate

The Governing Senate was created by Peter I as a “safety cushion” in case the sovereign left the capital. The tsar was known for his active character - he was constantly on the road, which is why the state machine could stand idle for months in his absence. These were the obvious costs of absolutism. Peter was truly the only embodiment of state power in the vastness of the empire.

The original Governing Senate (1711) included the tsar's closest associates and assistants, who had his many years of trust. Among them are Pyotr Golitsyn, Mikhail Dolgorukov, Grigory Volkonsky and other high-ranking nobles.

The creation of the Governing Senate under Peter 1 occurred in an era when a clear separation of powers (judicial, executive and legislative) did not yet exist in Russia. Therefore, the terms of reference of this body were constantly changing depending on the situation and expediency.

In his first instruction, Peter announced to the senators that they should pay special attention to the state of the treasury, trade and court. The important thing is that this institution was never in opposition to the tsar. In this, the Russian Senate was the complete opposite of the body of the same name in neighboring Poland or Sweden. There, such an institution represented the interests of the aristocracy, which could oppose the policies of its monarch.

Interaction with provinces

From the very beginning of its existence, the Governing Senate worked a lot with the regions. Huge Russia has always needed an effective system of interaction between the provinces and the capital. Under Peter's successors, a complex network of orders existed. Due to large-scale reforms in all spheres of the country's life, they have ceased to be effective.

It was Peter who created the provinces. Each such administrative entity received two commissioners. These officials worked directly with the Senate and expressed the interests of the province in St. Petersburg. With the help of the reform described above, the emperor expanded the scope of self-government in the provinces.

Fiscals and prosecutors

Of course, the creation of the Governing Senate could not do without the establishment of new positions related to its work. Along with the new body, fiscal officials appeared. These officials were the king's overseers. They controlled the work of institutions and ensured that all the instructions of the monarch were carried out exactly to the last remark.

The existence of fiscals led to abuses. A person who had such power could use his position for selfish purposes. At first, there was not even a regulated punishment for false reporting. In connection with the ambiguous service of fiscal officers in the Russian language, this word received a second negative lexical meaning of an informer and a sneak.

Nevertheless, the creation of this position was a necessary measure. The Ober-Fiscal (Chief Fiscal) could demand explanations from any official in the Senate. Thanks to this state of affairs, every nobleman, regardless of the height of his position, knew that his own abuses of power could ruin him. Fiscals existed not only in St. Petersburg, but also in the provinces (provincial fiscals).

Very quickly, the creation of the Governing Senate showed that this government body could not work effectively due to internal strife between senators. Often they could not come to a common opinion, became personal in their disputes, etc. This interfered with the work of the entire apparatus. Then Peter in 1722 established the post of Prosecutor General, who became the main person in the Senate. He was a “bridge” between the sovereign and the capital’s institution.

In the era of palace coups

After the death of the autocrat, the functions of the Governing Senate were seriously curtailed for the first time. This happened due to the fact that it was established in which aristocrats-favorites sat and it became an alternative to the Senate and gradually took over its powers.

After her accession to the throne, she restored the old order. The Senate again became the main judicial institution of the empire; the military and naval collegiums were subordinate to it.

Reforms of Catherine II

So, we figured out what functions the Governing Senate performed. It should be noted that Catherine II did not like this situation. The new empress decided to carry out reform. The institution was divided into six departments, each of which was responsible for a specific area of the state. This measure helped to more accurately outline the powers of the Senate.

The first department dealt with internal political affairs, the second - judicial affairs. The third - by provinces that had a special status (Estonia, Livonia, and also Little Russia), the fourth - by military and naval issues. These institutions were located in St. Petersburg. The two remaining Moscow departments were in charge of court and administrative affairs. These are the functions the Governing Senate was endowed with under Catherine II.

The Empress also significantly increased the influence of the Prosecutor General on the work of all departments. During this time, this position lost its former importance. Catherine preferred to keep everything under control and thus restored Peter's orders of autocracy.

During the short reign of her son Paul, the Senate again lost most of its rights. The new emperor was extremely suspicious. He did not trust the nobles who had any influence and tried to make their contribution to government decision-making.

In the 19th century

As it was at the very end of its existence (on the eve of the revolution), the Governing Senate was created during the reign of Alexander I. It was then that the political system of the empire stabilized. They stopped and the inheritance of the royal title ceased to be a lottery.

Alexander was probably the most democratically minded Russian emperor. He took control of a state that was working using outdated mechanisms that urgently needed to be changed. The new tsar understood that the creation of the Governing Senate (1711) was dictated by good goals, but believed that over the years this body had lost its significance and turned into a pathetic imitation of itself.

Immediately after his appearance on the throne, Alexander I issued a decree in 1801 in which he invited officials working in this institution to give him their projects for the upcoming reform for consideration. For several months, active work has been going on to discuss reformatting the Senate. Members of the Secret Committee took part in the discussion - young aristocrats, friends and associates of Alexander in his liberal endeavors.

Progress

Senators were appointed to their positions personally by the emperor. Only officials of the first three classes (according to the Table of Ranks) could become them. Theoretically, a senator could combine his main position with some other one. For example, this amendment has often been used in the case of the military.

Direct decisions on this or that issue were made within the walls of a certain department. At the same time, general meetings were convened periodically, at which all members of the Senate were present. A decree adopted in this state body could only be canceled by the emperor.

Functions

Let's remember in what year the Governing Senate was created. That's right, in 1711, and since then this institution of power has regularly taken part in legislation. During his reforms, Alexander I created a special institution for this purpose - the State Council. However, the Senate could still draft laws and submit them for higher consideration through the Minister of Justice, who, since the 19th century, also combined the old position of Attorney General with the new one.

At the same time, ministries were created in place of the collegiums. At first there was some confusion in the relationship between the new executive bodies and the Senate. The powers of all departments were finally defined towards the end of the reign of Alexander I.

One of the most important functions of the Senate was its work with the treasury. It was the departments that reconciled the budget and also reported to the supreme power about arrears and lack of money. In addition, the Senate was placed above the ministries in resolving interdepartmental disputes over property. This government body regulated internal trade and appointed justices of the peace. Senators were in charge of the armorial of the empire (a special department was even created for this).

The importance of the Senate and its abolition

Peter I needed a government institution that could replace him during his absence from the capital. The creation of the Governing Senate helped the emperor in this. The date of the appearance of the position of Prosecutor General (1722) is also considered the birthday of the Prosecutor's Office in modern Russia.

However, over time, the functions of the Senate have changed. The executive power of officials was small, but they remained an important layer between numerous boards (and later ministries).

The Senate had a noticeable importance in judicial matters. Appeals from all over the country flocked here. Dissatisfied provincial prosecutors, as well as governors, wrote to the Senate. This order was established after Alexander II in the 1860s.

When the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, one of their first laws banned the activities of the Senate. This was Court Decree No. 1, adopted on December 5, 1917.

March 5, 2011 marks the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Senate - the highest body of state power and legislation of the Russian Empire.

On March 5 (February 22, Old Style), 1711, by decree of Peter I, the Governing Senate was established - the highest body of state power and legislation, subordinate to the emperor.

The need to create such a government body was due to the fact that Peter I was often absent from the country and therefore could not fully deal with the current affairs of government. During his absence, he entrusted the management of affairs to several trusted persons. On March 5 (February 22), 1711, these powers were assigned to the Governing Senate. Initially, it consisted of 9 members and a chief secretary and acted exclusively on behalf of the king and reported only to him.

After the Table of Ranks was adopted (a law on the order of civil service in the Russian Empire, regulating the ratio of ranks by seniority and the sequence of promotion to ranks), members of the Senate were appointed by the tsar from among civil and military officials of the first three classes.

In the first years of its existence, the Senate dealt with state revenues and expenditures, was in charge of the appearance of nobles for service, and was a supervisory body over the bureaucratic apparatus. Soon, positions of fiscal officers were introduced in the center and locally, who reported on all violations of laws, bribery, embezzlement and other similar actions. After the creation of the collegiums (central bodies of sectoral management), all the heads of the collegiums entered the Senate, but this order did not last long, and subsequently the heads of the collegiums were not included in the Senate. The Senate exercised supervision over all colleges except the foreign one. The position of prosecutor general was introduced, who controlled all the work of the Senate, its apparatus, the office, the adoption and execution of all its sentences, their protest or suspension. The Prosecutor General and the Chief Prosecutor of the Senate were subordinate only to the sovereign. The main function of prosecutorial control was to ensure compliance with law and order.

From 1711 to 1714 The seat of the Senate was Moscow, but sometimes for a while, as a whole or in the person of several senators, it moved to St. Petersburg, which since 1714 became its permanent residence. Since then, the Senate has moved to Moscow only temporarily, in the case of Peter’s trips there for a long time. Part of the Senate chancellery remained in Moscow.

In April 1714, a ban was issued on bringing complaints to the Tsar about unfair decisions of the Senate, which was an innovation for Russia. Until that time, the sovereign could complain about every institution. This prohibition was repeated in a decree on December 22, 1718, and the death penalty was established for filing a complaint against the Senate.

After the death of Peter I, the position of the Senate, its role and functions in the public administration system gradually changed. Other higher state bodies were created, to which the functions of the Senate were transferred. Under Catherine II, the Senate was removed from the main legislative functions of political importance. Formally, the Senate was the highest court, but its activities were greatly influenced by the decisions of the Prosecutor General and the admission of complaints against him (despite the formal ban). Catherine II preferred to entrust the functions of the Senate to her proxies.

In 1802, Alexander I issued a decree on the rights and duties of the Senate, which, however, had almost no effect on the real state of affairs. The Senate had the formal right to develop bills and subsequently submit them to the emperor, but it did not use this right in practice. After the establishment of ministries in the same year, the Senate retained the functions of the highest judicial body and supervisory body, since the main management functions remained with the Committee of Ministers (which became the highest body of executive power).

In 1872, the “Special Presence for Judging State Crimes and Illegal Communities” was created within the Senate - the highest political court of Russia.

By the beginning of the 20th century. The Senate finally lost its significance as the highest body of government and turned into a body overseeing the legality of the actions of government officials and institutions and the highest cassation authority in judicial cases. In 1906, the Supreme Criminal Court was established, which tried crimes mainly by officials.

In 1917, the Special Presence and the Supreme Criminal Court were abolished.

By decree of Soviet power of December 5 (November 22), 1917, the Senate was abolished.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

The Governing Senate was established - the highest body of state power and legislation, subordinate to the emperor.

Peter's constant absences I from the country prevented him from dealing with the current affairs of government. During his absence, he entrusted the management of affairs to several trusted persons. 22 February (5 March) 1711 These powers were entrusted to a new institution called the Governing Senate.

The Senate exercised full power in the country in the absence of the sovereign and coordinated the work of other government institutions.

The new institution included nine people: Count Ivan Alekseevich Musin-Pushkin, boyar Tikhon Nikitich Streshnev, Prince Pyotr Alekseevich Golitsyn, Prince Mikhail Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, Prince Grigory Andreevich Plemyannikov, Prince Grigory Ivanovich Volkonsky, Kriegszalmeister General Mikhail Mikhailovich Samarin, Quartermaster General Vasily Andreevich Apukhtin and Nazariy Petrovich Melnitsky. Anisim Shchukin was appointed chief secretary.

In the first years of its existence, the Senate took care of state revenues and expenses, was in charge of the appearance of nobles for service, and was a supervisory body over the extensive bureaucratic apparatus. A few days after the establishment of the Senate on March 5 (16), 1711, the positions of fiscal officers were introduced in the center and locally, who reported on all violations of laws, bribery, embezzlement and similar actions harmful to the state. By the emperor's decree of March 28, 1714 “On the position of fiscal officers,” this service received final formalization.

In 1718-1722 gg. The Senate included all the presidents of the colleges. The position of prosecutor general was introduced, who controlled all the work of the Senate, its apparatus, the office, the adoption and execution of all its sentences, their protest or suspension. The Prosecutor General and the Chief Prosecutor of the Senate were subordinate only to the sovereign. The main function of prosecutorial control was to ensure compliance with law and order. Pavel Ivanovich Yaguzhinsky was appointed the first prosecutor general.

After Peter's death I The position of the Senate, its role and functions in the public administration system gradually changed. The Senate, instead of the Governing Senate, began to be called the High Senate. In 1741 Mr. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna issued a Decree “On the restoration of the power of the Senate in the management of internal state affairs,” but the real significance of the Senate in matters of internal government was small.

Restructuring the system of higher and central government bodies (Senate, collegiums, state control and supervision bodies). Table of ranks

Peter's government reforms were accompanied by fundamental changes in the sphere of top government. Against the backdrop of the beginning of the formation of an absolute monarchy, the significance of the Boyar Duma finally fell. At the turn of the 18th century. it ceases to exist as a permanent institution and is replaced by the one first created under it in 1699. Near office, whose meetings, which became permanent in 1708, began to be called Consultation of ministers. Peter I initially entrusted this new institution, which included the heads of the most important government departments, with the conduct of all state affairs during his numerous “absences.”

In 1711, a new supreme body of state power and administration was created, which replaced the Boyar Duma - Government Senate. Established before the departure of Peter I on the Prut campaign instead of the abolished Council of Ministers, initially as a temporary government body, the decrees of which Peter I ordered to be carried out as unquestioningly as the decisions of the tsar himself, the Senate over time turned into a permanently functioning highest administrative and control body in the state government system.

The composition of the Senate has undergone a number of changes since its creation. At first it consisted of noble persons appointed by the sovereign, who were entrusted with the management of the state during the absence of the king. Later, from 1718, when the Senate became a permanent institution, its composition changed, and all the presidents created by that time began to sit in it. collegiums (central government bodies that replaced the Moscow orders). However, the inconveniences of this state of affairs soon became apparent. Being the highest administrative body in the state, the Senate was supposed to control the activities of the boards, but in reality it could not do this, since it included in its composition the presidents of these same boards (“now being in them, how can they judge themselves”). By decree of January 22, 1722, the Senate was reformed. The presidents of the collegiums were removed from the Senate, they were replaced by specially appointed persons independent in relation to the collegiums (the right to sit in the Senate was reserved only for the presidents of the Military Collegium, the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and, for a time, the Berg Collegium).

The presence of the Senate met three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). To carry out cases under the Senate, there was an office, initially headed (before the establishment of the post of Prosecutor General) chief secretary (the names of positions and titles were mostly German). Helped him executor, keeping order in the building, distributing and registering decrees of the Senate. At the Senate office there were to a notary actuary(custodian of documents), registrar And archivist. The same positions existed in the collegiums; they were determined by one “General Regulations”.

The Senate also consisted of: Prosecutor General, Racket Master General, King of Arms And Chief Fiscal The establishment of these positions was of fundamental importance for Peter I. Thus, the racketeer general (1720) was supposed to accept all complaints about the incorrect resolution of cases in the boards and office of the Senate and, in accordance with them, either force government institutions subordinate to the Senate to resolve cases fairly, or report about complaints to the Senate. It was also the responsibility of the racketeering general to strictly ensure that complaints against lower government bodies did not go directly to the Senate, bypassing the collegium. The main responsibilities of the herald master (1722) were collecting data and compiling personal service records of the noble class, entering into the genealogical books of the nobility persons of lower ranks who had risen to the rank of non-commissioned officer. He also had to ensure that more than 1/3 of each noble family were not in the civil service (so that land would not become scarce).

In its main activities, the Government Senate carried out practically the same functions that at one time belonged to the Boyar Duma. As the highest administrative body in the state, it was in charge of all branches of government, exercised supervision over the government apparatus and officials at all levels, and performed legislative and executive functions. At the end of the reign of Peter I, the Senate was also assigned judicial functions, making it the highest court in the state.

At the same time, the position of the Senate in the system of public administration differed significantly from the role played by the Boyar Duma in the Moscow state. Unlike the Boyar Duma, which was an estate body and shared power with the tsar, the Senate was initially created as a purely bureaucratic institution, all members of which were personally appointed by Peter I and were controlled by him. Not allowing the very thought of the independence of the Senate, Peter I sought to control its activities in every possible way. Initially, the Senate was supervised by an auditor general (1715); later, guard staff officers were appointed for this purpose (1721), who were on duty in the Senate and monitored both the acceleration of the passage of business in the Senate office and the maintenance of order in the meetings of this highest state body.

In 1722 a special position was created Prosecutor General The Senate, designed, according to the plan of Peter I, to provide communication between the supreme power and the central government bodies (to be the “sovereign eye”) and to exercise control over the activities of the Senate. Not trusting senators and not relying on their integrity in resolving matters of national importance, Peter I, with this act, essentially established a kind of double control (“control over control”), placing the Senate, which was the highest body of control over the administration, in the position of a supervised institution . The Prosecutor General personally reported to the Tsar on affairs in the Senate, conveyed the will of the supreme power to the Senate, could stop the decision of the Senate, and the Senate office was subordinate to him. All decrees of the Senate received force only with his consent, and he also monitored the implementation of these decrees. All this not only placed the prosecutor general above the Senate, but also made him, in the opinion of many, the first person in the state after the monarch.

In light of the above, assertions about vesting legislative functions in the Senate appear controversial. Although initially the Senate had some relation to lawmaking (it issued so-called “general definitions” equated to laws), unlike the previous Boyar Duma, it was not a legislative body. Peter I could not allow the existence next to him of an institution endowed with the right to make laws, since he considered himself the only source of legislative power in the state. Having become emperor (1721) and reorganizing the Senate (1722), he deprived it of any opportunity to engage in legislative activities.

Perhaps one of the most important innovations of Peter’s administrative reform was the creation in Russia of an effective systems of state supervision and control, designed to control the activities of the administration and protect state interests. Under Peter I, a new one for Russia began to take shape. Institute of Prosecutor's Office. The highest control functions belonged to the Prosecutor General of the Senate. Subordinate to him were other agents of government supervision: chief prosecutors and prosecutors at collegiums and in provinces. In parallel with this, an extensive system of secret supervision over the activities of the state administration was created in the form of positions established at all levels of government fiscals.

The introduction of the institution of fiscals was a reflection of the police nature of Peter's management system and became the personification of the government's distrust of public administration bodies. Already in 1711, the position was introduced under the Senate Ober-fiskada. In 1714, a special decree was issued on the distribution of fiscal funds among different levels of government. Under the Senate there were an ober-fiscal and four fiscals, under the provincial boards - four fiscals headed by a provincial fiscal, for each city - one or two fiscals, and the positions of fiscals were also established under each board. Their duty was to secretly inquire about all violations and abuses of officials, about bribes, theft of the treasury and report to the chief fiscal. Denunciation was encouraged and even rewarded financially (part of the fine imposed on the violator or bribe-taker went to the fiscal officer who reported him). Thus, the system of denunciation was elevated to the rank of state policy. Even in the Church, a system of fiscals (inquisitors) was introduced, and priests, by a special royal decree, were obliged to violate the secret of confession and inform the authorities on those confessing if their confession contained one or another “sedition” that threatened the interests of the state.

It has already been said above that the modernization of the state apparatus carried out by Peter I was not systematic and strict. However, upon careful examination of Peter’s reformation, it is easy to notice that with all this two tasks remained a priority and undeniable for Peter I. These tasks were: 1) unification government bodies and the entire administration system; 2) carrying out through the entire administration collegial principle, which, together with a system of overt (prosecutor's) and secret (fiscal system) control, was, according to the tsar, supposed to ensure legality in governance.

In 1718-1720 new central government bodies were established, called collegiums. They replaced the old orders and were built according to Western European models. The Swedish collegial system was taken as a basis, which Peter I considered the most successful and suitable for the conditions of Russia. The creation of the boards was preceded by a lot of work on the study of European bureaucratic forms and clerical practices. To organize new institutions, experienced practitioners were specially recruited from abroad, well acquainted with clerical work and the peculiarities of the collegial structure (“skilled in law”). Swedish prisoners were also invited. As a rule, each board of foreigners appointed one adviser or assessor, one secretary and one Schreiber (scribe). At the same time, Peter I sought to appoint only Russian people to senior leadership positions in the collegiums (presidents of the collegiums); foreigners usually did not rise above vice presidents.

Establishing boards. Peter I proceeds from the idea that “conciliar government in a monarchical state is the best.” The advantage of the collegial system was seen in a more efficient and at the same time objective solution of matters (“one head is good, two are better”). It was also believed that the collegial structure of state institutions would significantly limit the arbitrariness of senior officials and, no less important, eliminate one of the main defects of the previous order system - the widespread spread of bribery and embezzlement.

The collegiums began their activities in 1719. A total of 12 collegiums were created: Foreign Affairs, Military, Admiralty (naval), State Offices (department of public expenditures), Chamber Collegium (department of state revenues), Revision Collegium (exercising financial control) , Justits Collegium, Manufactory Collegium (industry), Berg Collegium (mining), Commerce Collegium (trade), Patrimonial and Spiritual Collegiums. Formally, the collegiums were subordinate to the Senate, which controlled the activities of the collegiums and sent them its decrees. With the help of prosecutors appointed to the collegiums, who were subordinate to the Prosecutor General of the Senate, the Senate supervised the activities of the presidents of the collegiums. However, in reality, there was no clear uniformity in the subordination here: not all boards were equally subordinate to the Senate (the Military and Admiralty boards had significantly greater independence compared to other boards).

Each board drew up its own regulations, which determined the scope of its actions and responsibilities. The decree of April 28, 1718 decided to draw up regulations for all boards on the basis of the Swedish Charter, applying the latter to the “situation of the Russian state.” Since 1720, the “General Regulations” were also introduced, which consisted of 156 chapters and were common to all colleges.

Like the orders of the 17th century. the boards consisted of general presence And office. The presence consisted of a president, a vice-president, four (sometimes five) councilors and four assessors (no more than 13 people in total). The president of the college was appointed by the king (later the emperor), the vice-president by the Senate, followed by confirmation by the emperor. The collegiate chancellery was headed by a secretary, subordinate to whom were a notary or record taker, an actuary, a translator and a registrar. All other office officials were called clerks and copyists and were directly involved in the production of cases as assigned by the secretary. The presence of the board met in a specially designated room, decorated with carpets and good furniture (meetings in a private house are prohibited). No one could enter the “chamber” without a report during the meeting. Outside conversations in the presence were also prohibited. Meetings were held every day (except for holidays and Sundays) from 6:00 to 8:00 am. All issues discussed at the presence meeting were resolved by a majority vote. At the same time, the rule was strictly observed that when discussing an issue, opinions were expressed by all members of the presence in turn, starting with the youngest. The protocol and decision were signed by all those present.

The introduction of the collegial system significantly simplified (from the point of view of eliminating the previous confusion in the system of administrative management) and made the state management apparatus more efficient, giving it some uniformity and clearer competencies. Unlike the order system, which was based on the territorial-sectoral principle of management, the boards were built on a functional principle and could not interfere with the activities of other boards. It cannot be said, however, that Peter I managed to completely overcome the shortcomings of the previous management system. It was not only possible to build a strict hierarchy of management levels (Senate - collegiums - provinces), but also to avoid mixing the collegial principle with the personal one, which was the basis of the old order system.

Just as in the orders, in the newly created collegiums the last word often remained with the superiors, in this case with the presidents of the collegiums, who, together with the prosecutors assigned to the collegiums to monitor their activities, with their intervention replaced the collegial principle of decision-making with an individual one. In addition, the boards did not replace all the old orders. Next to them, administrative institutions continued to exist, called either offices or, as before, orders (Secret Office. Medical Office, Preobrazhensky Order, Siberian Order).

During Peter's government reforms, the final formation of an absolute monarchy in Russia took place. In 1721, Peter I took the title of emperor. A number of official documents - the Military Regulations, the Spiritual Regulations and others - legally enshrined the autocratic nature of the monarch's power, which, as the Spiritual Regulations stated, "God himself commands to obey for the sake of conscience."

In the general vein of the final stage of the process of the formation of the absolute monarchy in Russia was the one carried out by Peter I reform of church governance, the result of which was the abolition of the patriarchate and the final subordination of the Church to the state. On February 14, 1721 it was established Holy Governing Synod, replacing patriarchal power and structured according to the general type of organization of collegiums. The “Spiritual Regulations”, prepared for this purpose by Feofan Prokopovich (one of the main ideologists of Peter’s reformation) and edited by the tsar himself, directly pointed out the imperfection of the patriarch’s sole management, as well as the political inconveniences that stemmed from the exaggeration of the place and role of patriarchal power in state affairs . The collegial form of church government was recommended as the most convenient. The Synod formed on this basis consisted of 12 members appointed by the tsar from representatives of the clergy, including the highest (archbishops, bishops, abbots, archimandrites, archpriests). All of them, upon taking office, had to take an oath of allegiance to the emperor. The Synod was headed by chief prosecutor (1722), appointed to supervise his activities and personally subordinate to the emperor. The positions in the Synod were the same as in the collegiums: president, two vice-presidents, four councilors and four assessors.

Under Peter I, in the course of reforming the state apparatus, accompanied by the institutionalization of management, the dissemination and active implementation of the principles of Western European cameralism, the previous traditional model of public administration was basically rebuilt, in the place of which a modern rational model of government administration begins to take shape.

The overall result of the administrative reform was the approval of a new system of organization of the civil service and the transition within the framework of the emerging rational bureaucracy to new principles of equipment acquisition government institutions. The law introduced by Peter I on February 22, 1722 was called upon to play a special role in this process. Table of ranks, which is considered today to be the first law on civil service in Russia, which determined the procedure for serving by officials and established the legal status of persons in public service. Its main significance was that it fundamentally broke with the previous traditions of management, embodied in the system of localism, and established a new principle of appointment to public positions - principle of serviceability. At the same time, the central government sought to place officials under strict state control. For this purpose, a fixed salary of government officials was established in accordance with their position, and the use of official position for the purpose of obtaining personal gain was severely punished ("bribery" and "bribery").

The introduction of the "Table of Ranks" was closely connected with the work carried out by Peter I new personnel policy in the state. Under Peter I, the nobility (from that time on, called the gentry) became the main class from which personnel were drawn for the state civil service, which was separated from the military service. According to the “Table of Ranks,” nobles, as the most educated layer of Russian society, received a preferential right to public service. Geli, a nobleman was appointed to a public position, he acquired the rights of the nobility.

Peter I strictly demanded that nobles serve in public service as their direct class obligation: all nobles had to serve either in the army, or in the navy, or in government institutions. The entire mass of serving nobles was placed under direct subordination to the Senate (previously they were under the jurisdiction of the Rank Order), which carried out all appointments in the civil service (with the exception of the first five higher classes). The registration of nobles fit for service and staffing of the civil service were entrusted to the person who was under the Senate king of arms, which was supposed to maintain lists of nobles and provide the Senate with the necessary information on candidates for vacant government positions, strictly ensure that nobles do not evade service, and also, if possible, organize professional training for officials.

With the introduction of the “Table of Ranks” (Table 8.1), the previous division of nobles into class groups (Moscow nobles, policemen, boyar children) was destroyed, and a ladder of service positions was introduced class ranks, directly related to military or civil service. The “Table of Ranks” established 14 such class ranks (ranks), giving the right to occupy one or another class position. Occupation of class positions corresponding to ranks from 14 to 5 occurred in the order of promotion (career growth) starting from the lowest rank. The highest ranks (from 1 to 5) were awarded at the will of the emperor for special services to the Fatherland and the monarch. In addition to the positions of the state civil service, the status of which was determined by the “Table of Ranks,” there was a huge army of lower clerical employees who made up the so-called.

Table 8.1. Petrovskaya "Table of Ranks"

A feature of Peter the Great's "Table of Ranks", which distinguished it from similar acts of European states, was that, firstly, it closely linked the assignment of ranks to the specific service of certain persons (for persons not in the public service, class ranks were not were provided), secondly, promotion was based not on the principle of merit, but seniority principle(it was necessary to begin service from the lowest rank and serve in each rank for a set number of years). In a similar way, Peter I intended to solve two problems simultaneously: to force the nobles to enter public service; to attract people from other classes to the public service, for whom being in the public service meant the only opportunity to obtain nobility - first personal, and in the future also hereditary (upon reaching the VIII class rank).