The first half of the 19th century was Socio-economic development of Russia in the first half of the XIX century

Russia in the first half of the 19th century was one of the greatest powers in the world. However, during this period in its history, it is not difficult to notice a combination of contradictory phenomena and trends, which as a result led to an intensification of the revolutionary struggle and violent upheavals at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The conditionally described period can be limited to the reign of two emperors: Alexander I (1801-1825) and Nicholas I (1825-1855). If the second of them openly and consistently was an adherent of cane discipline (for which he was nicknamed Nikolai Palkin in the army), then the first made attempts to play liberal. Examples of the “democratic” innovations of this tsar are the abolition of corporal punishment for nobles and merchants, the permission for Russians to travel abroad without special permission, the creation of an “Indispensable Council” to “supervise the observance of the rule of law” and the adoption of a decree on free cultivators (1803). But next to all this, there was a regime of total surveillance and barracks rules, which was associated with the name of General Arakcheev. But Arakcheev acted with the full approval of the king!
The Russian economy in the first half of the 19th century showed a significant step forward. The first signs of the industrial revolution appeared (including the railway). The number of industrial enterprises and workers on them grew (more than three times in 50 years). Highways appeared in the central part of the country. But at the same time, a backward serf system was preserved, and this despite the fact that the peasants made up about 80% of the population. In the first half of the 19th century, even in industry, it was mainly serfs who were “assigned” to enterprises that worked. Of course, in this case it was impossible to speak of the emergence of a stratum of skilled, conscious workers. The development of agriculture also slowed down, which could no longer rely on the involuntary labor of serfs. Russia was lagging behind its Western neighbors economically.
The territory of the empire continued to grow, Russia moved to the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, significant territories in Central Asia, Bessarabia, and the Amur region were annexed. However, the national lands were not at all calm, in order to keep them in the empire, significant efforts were required. In 1830-1831, a powerful uprising broke out in Poland (it also seized Ukrainian and Belarusian lands). For more than 20 years (1834-1859) the highlanders of the Caucasus, led by Imam Shamil, fought against the Russian presence. Even contemporaries called it "war", not "rebellion".
Russian military policy in the first half of the 19th century knew many successes. The wars with Napoleonic France ended in victory (despite sensitive setbacks in the period from 1801 to 1811). Two campaigns against Turkey and a war with Iran (1826-1828) were successfully carried out. But the Crimean War against France and England (1853-1856) brought a rather shameful defeat. The Black Sea military fleet was lost, Russia lost many foreign policy acquisitions acquired earlier. The legendary defense of Sevastopol and the success of military operations in the Caucasus showed that the Russian soldier is still good. But the provision of the army is outdated, and therefore Russia has yielded to technically more advanced countries. In foreign policy, Russian tsarism introduced the fear of any dissent, which turned Russia into the "gendarme of Europe." It was the desire to destroy even a hint of a revolutionary idea that gave rise to the Union of the Three Emperors, which took shape in 1814-1815. Russia was the initiator of this agreement.
At the same time, many Russians did not share this point of view at all. The first half of the century was the era of the birth of Russian revolutionism. The most striking event was, of course, the Decembrist uprising in 1825. The ideas of the Great French Revolution and the utopian socialists spread throughout the country. In the same period, Alexander Herzen began his activity, becoming the first Russian revolutionary publisher.
The first half of the 19th century should be considered a period of rapid rise in Russian culture. Suffice it to say that this was the era of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Glinka, Bryullov. For the first time Karamzin made an attempt to systematize scientific basis information on Russian history. New universities were opened, including such significant ones as Kharkov (1805) and Kiev (1834). And at the same time, more than three-quarters of the country's population were people completely or almost illiterate. Theological doctrine was imposed on education, and Nicholas I even believed that people did not need to know anything beyond what they needed for service.
As we can see, the first half of the 19th century singled out and deepened all the main contradictions of Russian life. The crisis of the old became apparent state system, and questions arose about who and how will change this system.

Lecture plan

Social and state system.

In the first half of the 19th century, changes took place in the class structure of society. New classes are born: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The population was still divided into 4 estates: the nobility, the clergy, the peasantry and urban residents. Consider the position of each of these estates.

The legal status of estates. Nobility. The nobility retained its position as the economically and politically dominant class. He owned most of the land and the monopoly right to own serfs. The nobles also formed the basis of the state apparatus. In connection with the development of capitalist relations, it also received new rights: to have factories and plants, to trade on an equal footing with merchants. The state pursued a policy of supporting the nobility through a state loan bank, others financial institutions. Adopted on December 6, 1831, the Manifesto "On the Order of Noble Assemblies, Elections and Service According to Them" introduced regulations according to which the right to be elected to noble public positions was granted only to nobles who owned three thousand uninhabited land or at least 100 souls of serfs . The law of July 16, 1845, further strengthened the positions of large landowners, according to which the majorats could not be alienated to unauthorized persons, as well as crushed. Naturally, these measures led to an increase in the role of large landowners in the noble class bodies and increased their influence on local self-government.

Clergy. Considering the position of the clergy, it should be noted that it was still divided into white (parish) and black (monastic). Church ministers received even greater privileges: in 1801 they, and since 1835 their children, were exempted from corporal punishment, since 1807 they were exempted from land tax, since 1807 from lodging. Since 1842, the parish clergy were gradually transferred to the state support. Even under Paul I, the nobility received the clergy awarded the order. At the same time, the white clergy received hereditary noble rights, and the black clergy received the command, i.e. a piece of inhabited land on the basis of a right of use.

Peasants. Feudally dependent peasants made up the bulk of the population. They were subdivided into landlord, state, sessional and appanage, belonging to the royal family. In the first half of the 19th century, some changes took place in the legal status of serfs. These changes are reflected in the following documents;

The decree of December 12, 1801 granted the right to purchase land to merchants, philistines and all peasants, except for landlords;

The decree of February 20, 1803 granted the landowners the right to release the peasants into the wild for a ransom;

An 1804 decree forbade the sale of peasants without land;

The decree of 1842 gave the right to the landowners to provide the peasants with land for use in the performance of certain duties.

Since 1816, part of the state peasants was transferred to the position of military settlers. In 1837, a reform was carried out in the management of state peasants, the quitrent taxation was streamlined, land allotments were increased, and peasant self-government bodies were regulated: volost and rural gatherings, volost administration and village headmen.

Urban population. There were also changes in the legal status of the urban population. In 1832, personal and hereditary honorary citizenship was established for the richest and most influential representatives of the bourgeoisie and some other categories. The category of hereditary honorary citizens included: large capitalists, scientists, artists and children of personal nobles, and the lower officials and persons who graduated from higher educational institutions were classified as personal honorary citizens. Honorary citizens had the following privileges: they did not pay the poll tax, they did not bear recruitment duty, they were exempted from corporal punishment. The merchant class began to be divided not into two, but into three guilds. The group of workshops was divided into masters and apprentices. City legislation promoted the growth of industry and commerce.

Government bodies. Council under the emperor. During this period, the Council under the emperor received its development. It was an advisory body with a narrow membership. It often changed its name. Until 1801 - the Council at the Highest Court, then the Permanent Council of 12 people with purely advisory functions, which existed until 1810, before the creation of the State Council. The State Council existed until 1917 with some changes. All projects had to go through the State Council, and he himself had to develop the most important of them. But not a single project could become law without the approval of its emperor. The State Council was also entrusted with financial management responsibilities.

The Council consisted of general meeting and 4 departments: departments of laws, military affairs, civil and religious affairs, state economy. The Fifth Department of Affairs of the Kingdom of Poland was created after the Polish uprising of 1830-1831, it was a legislative body. The emperor himself was considered the chairman of the State Council. However, it was envisaged that he could entrust the chairmanship function to one of the members of the Council.

Ministries At the beginning of the 19th century in Russia collegiums were replaced by ministries. In 1802 ministries were introduced, and in 1811 the "General Establishment of Ministries" was published. Vylo created 8 ministries: foreign affairs, military ground forces, naval forces, internal affairs, justice, finance, commerce and public education. The principle of unity of command was affirmed, however, under the minister there was a collegiate body - the council of the minister. This body was not even deliberative.

The publication in 1811 of the "General Institution of Ministries", created with the direct participation of M.M. Speransky, completed the formalization of the ministerial administration in Russia. It was established that all ministers report directly to the emperor. The minister and his deputies - comrade ministers - were appointed by the emperor. The apparatus of ministers was divided into departments and offices headed by directors.

Simultaneously with the ministries, the Committee of Ministers was created (abolished on April 24, 1906). It was an advisory body under the emperor, he decided on supra-departmental functions, as well as monitoring the governors and provincial boards. It consisted of chairmen of departments of the State Council, ministers, chief executives of departments, the secretary of state of the Institution, and His Majesty's own chancellery. Under Nicholas I, 6 departments were created in this office, the rights of which almost did not differ from the rights of the ministries. Particularly well known is the notorious III Section, which waged a struggle against revolutionary and generally progressive moods. He was given a corps of gendarmes, the chief of which was considered the chief head of the III department. The whole country was divided into gendarmerie districts. The III branch did a lot of work on the development of legislation and the systematization of law in Russia.

Territory management. When characterizing the social and state structure of Russia, it is necessary to pay attention to the management of dependent peoples. At the end of the 18th century, the independence of local self-government bodies in a number of outskirts was liquidated, and the provincial reform of 1775 was extended to them. So, for example, in Ukraine, the Zaporozhian Sich was liquidated, its territory was divided into provinces and counties. This reform was extended without taking into account the national composition of the population. For example, the territory inhabited by the Mordovians was divided among four provinces. In 1822, the charter of the peoples of Siberia was published. According to this charter, all the foreign peoples of Siberia were divided into sedentary, nomadic and vagrant. At the same time, nomadic or wandering peoples retained tribal administration. Camps or uluses were headed by elders, for some peoples there were steppe thoughts. In 1783, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were also divided into several provinces.

A number of features differed in the management of Finland. It was called the Grand Duchy of Finland. The Emperor of Russia was at the same time the Grand Duke of Finland. He represented Finland in foreign relations. In 1809, Alexander I approved the constitution of Finland. According to this constitution, the legislative power in Finland belonged to the Sejm, and the executive - to the Government Senate, consisting of 12 people elected by the Sejm. In 1816 the Senate was renamed the Imperial Finnish Senate. It was headed by a governor-general appointed by the king.

In 1815 Poland was granted a Constitutional Charter. The Emperor of Russia was at the same time the King of Poland. Poland had its own elected bodies. The Legislative Sejm was elected. Administrative power was in the hands of the viceroy of the king. Under the governor, the State Council existed as an advisory body.

Church reorganization. In the first half of the 19th century, transformations were also carried out in the sphere of public administration of the church. The administrative apparatus was restructured on the basis of unity of command, but unity of command not of a clergyman, but of a secular official - the chief prosecutor of the synod. In the second quarter of the 19th century, the office of the Synod and the commission of religious schools were transferred to the jurisdiction of the chief prosecutor. And in 1836, the office of the chief prosecutor of the Synod and the economic committee were created. As a result, the executive bodies of the Synod were subordinate to the chief prosecutor.

Projects of constitutional transformation. MM. Speransky, At that time, the problems of the constitutional transformation of Russia were also being developed. So, for example, M.M. Speransky came to the conclusion that Russia cannot stand aside from the economic and political transformations of Europe. Speransky did not doubt the inevitability and timeliness of reforms in Russia, the limitation of autocracy at the initial stage, and the adoption of the country's constitution. Speransky's views are most fully set forth in the "Introduction to the Code of State Laws". Speransky proceeds from the premise that "the beginning and source of strength" of the legislative, executive and judicial powers is in the people. The traditional principle of separation of powers is the basis of the public administration reform. He wrote; "It is impossible to base government on the law if one sovereign power will both draw up the law and execute it. Therefore, it would be necessary, first of all, to separate the legislative, executive and judicial parts from each other, concentrating them in different State bodies independent of each other." According to M. M. Speransky, the entire reorganization of the central government should take place in four directions: 1) the new management system should be based on the principles of a constitutional monarchy; 2) strengthening the role of public opinion, which should be a deterrent to tyranny and arbitrariness; 3) maximum approximation to the model of a truly democratic administration; 4) the creation and preservation of such institutions that would correspond to the principles of a true monarchy. " According to M.M. Speransky, the principle of separation of powers is implemented by the entire well-thought-out political system.

The representative and legislative body is the State Duma. The direct administration of the country is entrusted to the ministries. The State Duma is the highest legislative body of the country. "No law can be adopted without the respect (approval) of the Duma. The establishment of new taxes, taxes and duties are respected (considered and approved) in the Duma." Judicial power is exercised by a system of courts consisting of appointed officials and elected jurors.

Legislative codification. Code of laws. Changes in the legal system proceeded from the need to strengthen the absolute monarchy in Russia, the existing socio-political system. At the beginning of the 19th century, an attempt was made to codify law, but, unfortunately, it was not successful. In 1826, this work was resumed under the leadership of M.M. Speransky. The task was to compile the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. The complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire was published in April 1830. It included 40 volumes of laws and 6 volumes of applications. At the same time, painstaking work was carried out to compile a code of existing laws. It has been in operation since 1835. Only the existing acts were included in this code. The code of laws was divided into eight sections, consisting of 15 volumes. In 1854, the second edition of the Code was published, and in 1857 the third. The creation of the Code of Laws was of great importance for the development of Russian law. Special branches of legislation were formulated; civil, criminal, etc. In 1845, the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments was approved.

Civil law. Contracts. A large place was given in the Code of Laws to the problems of civil legislation. Volume X of the Code of Laws was devoted to these issues. One of the central problems was the development of property rights. For the first time in Russian legislation, the concept of property rights was given as the right "exclusively and independently of an outsider to own, use and dispose of this (property) forever and hereditarily." And the right to own land was defined as the right "to all the works on its surface, to everything contained in its bowels, to the waters within its boundaries, and in a word, to all its belongings." It must be remembered that the term property became known only at the end of the 18th century. Legislation regulated the ways of acquiring property rights. In the legislation, there has been a distinction between obligations from contracts and obligations from causing harm. In a special article 574 part 1 of the Code of Laws, it was said that "any damage to property and causing harm or loss to someone, on the one hand, imposes the obligation to deliver, and on the other, produces the right to demand compensation." The Code had a special section on the drafting, execution and termination of contracts. The contract was drawn up by mutual agreement of the contracting parties. The subject of the contract could be either property or the actions of persons, and the purpose of the contract had to be consistent with the laws. In this regard, contracts could be declared void if the reason for their conclusion was the achievement of an unlawful goal. Contracts were made at home, private, notarial or serf order. The means of securing contracts were: a deposit, a penalty, a surety, a pledge and a pledge. There were contracts of the following types: exchange, sale, sale, rental of property, contract and supply, loan and loan of property, luggage, partnership, insurance, personal hire, power of attorney. Regulating the contract of exchange, the legislation limited the exchange of real estate. At the same time, it had to be drawn up by a notary public. The sale of real estate was also carried out by registration in a notarial order. And for the sale and purchase of movable things, a written form was not required. A sale was a contract for the conclusion of a subsequent sale and purchase. It was made in the form of a sales record. The leasing of movable property was carried out verbally (except for the hiring of river and sea vessels), and real estate in writing.

There was no general norm in the legislation regulating the relationship between the owner and the tenant. The owner had the right to terminate the lease at any time and evict the tenant from the apartment or the tenant from the land. At the conclusion of the supply contract, its subjects were: construction, repair, alteration of buildings, supply of materials, supplies and things, transportation of people and weights. This agreement was in writing. A loan was understood as an agreement by which one person cedes to another the right to use movable property, provided that it is returned in the same condition in which it was received, without remuneration. The loan agreement was concluded both in writing and orally.

Legal entities. Legislation knew the following types of personal employment contracts: for domestic services; to perform agricultural, handicraft, factory work; in general to perform any kind of work. The term of personal employment should not exceed five years. A power of attorney was an agreement under which one person undertook to be the representative of another. Typically, this agreement was in writing. Much attention was paid to partnership agreements. The following types were known: full partnership; fellowship by faith or by contributions; partnership on sites or companies on shares; labor partnership. A general partnership was a form of association when the partnership was responsible for transactions with all its property. A limited partnership was a form of association that included persons liable with all their property (partners) and persons with liability limited to a certain contribution. The joint-stock company consisted of persons whose liability was limited to a contribution in the form of shares. A labor partnership was created for the production of a certain type of work at the common expense of all participants, with mutual responsibility. Registration was required to form a partnership. The insurance contract was regulated only in the 19th century. There are insurance companies.

Family law. Marriage. The basic principles of family law remained unchanged. Church marriage was recognized as the only form of marriage. Marriage law existed in various forms and types (marriage law of the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox churches, Muslim, Jewish-Jewish confessions). Each of these rights had many of its duties and differences. The marriage of the Orthodox Church regulated the following positions: freedom of will and consciousness was required, the age of marriage was set at 18 for men and 16 for women, and the age limit for marriage was set at 80 years. Marriage between Catholic and Orthodox Christians and non-Christians was not allowed.

The rights of spouses. The husband's personal rights were quite extensive. There was a principle of separation of property of the spouses. According to the law, a wife is obliged to follow her husband when he moves, when he changes his permanent place of residence. The husband could go to court with a lawsuit and force his wife to follow him. Legislation made a distinction between legitimate children and illegitimate (illegitimate children under the 1902 law). Illegitimate children did not have the right to the name of the father, did not have property rights. Paternal authority extended to children of both sexes. Children were required to live with their parents. In case of disobedience to parental authority, children could, at the request of their parents, without special judicial review, be imprisoned for a period of two to four months.

Inheritance. Property passed to heirs either by will or by law. A will was required to be in writing. In the absence of a will, the property passed to the heirs according to the law. The next right of succession had male relatives in the descending line, i.e. sons of the deceased. If there were no sons, grandchildren became heirs, in the absence of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. A daughter with living brothers received 1/14 of real estate, 1/8 of movable property. In the absence of descending male heirs, descending female heirs were called upon to inherit.

Criminal law. The code of laws set out the norms of criminal law in the book of the 1st XV volume. The book consisted of 11 sections, sections of chapters, chapters were divided into articles (there were 765 articles in total). For the first time, the general and special parts were singled out. But there were many inconsistent and contradictory articles in this document. A new code was prepared and put into effect in 1846, called the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments. The code was divided into sections, sections into chapters, and chapters into articles (there were 2224 articles in total). At the beginning of the Code there were norms relating to the general part. In the Code there was no clear line between the concepts of "crime" and "misdemeanor". The statute of limitations was set only for crimes. The Code established forms of guilt, stages of commission of crimes, types of complicity, circumstances mitigating or aggravating guilt, eliminating criminal liability. "Criminal liability came from the age of 7. The system of crimes according to the Code was more complex. The system of crimes is reflected in twelve sections. Crimes against faith, state crimes were distinguished. At the same time, an attempt, a criminal act, and even the intent to overthrow the emperor were punishable by deprivation of all rights of state and the death penalty "Special sections were devoted to crimes against the order of management. Organized demonstrations of workers were especially severely punished. At the same time, the obvious disobedience of factory and factory people to the owner or manager of the plant, said by "a whole artel or crowd", was punished as an uprising against the authorities. Punishments were also provided for participants The perpetrators were arrested, the instigators - for a period of three weeks to three months, "others" from seven days to three weeks.A special section "On Crimes and Misdemeanors Against the Laws of the States" provided for the protection of class rights and privileges.

"Ladder of Punishment" The Code introduced a rather complex system of punishments. All punishments were divided into two categories: criminal punishments and correctional punishments. In addition, punishments were divided into main, additional, substituting. There were eleven types of major punishments. Further punishments followed. These included: loss of rights, repentance, confiscation, establishment of guardianship, surrender under police supervision, prohibition of fishing. All these punishments were considered general. They were supplemented by special punishments, including exclusion from service, removal from office, demotion, reprimand, deduction from salary, remark, as well as exceptional punishments, which included deprivation of a military burial, partial deprivation of the right to inherit.

imputation. Complicity. The Code listed the grounds on which imputation was eliminated. These grounds included the following: accident, infancy (up to 10 years of imputation was excluded, and from 10 to 14 years it was conditional), as well as insanity, insanity, necessary defense. In the Code, the subjective side was divided into: intent and negligence. A distinction was made between complicity in a crime: a) by prior agreement; b) without prior agreement.

Criminal process. Proof. The process largely remained inquisitorial. A decree of 1801 forbade torture. The police played a big role. She was entrusted with the investigation and execution of the sentence. The investigation itself was divided into preliminary and formal. Prosecutors and solicitors supervised the investigation. Evidence was divided into perfect and imperfect. Perfect evidence included: the accused's own confession; written evidence admitted by him; medical opinion of experts; concurring testimony of two witnesses not assigned to the defendants. Imperfect evidence included: extrajudicial confession of the accused, confirmed by witnesses; slander to them by strangers; general search; testimony of one witness; evidence.

Thus, the importance of creating the Complete Collection of Laws and the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire is obvious.

First half of the 19th century passed under the auspices of the reign of two tsars - Alexander I (1801 - 1825) and Nicholas I (1825 - 1855).

As a result of a palace coup, Alexander I became the Russian emperor, who promised to rule the people "according to the laws and heart of his grandmother Catherine the Great."

The first years of the reign of Alexander I left the best memories for many contemporaries. "The days of the Alexandrovs are a wonderful beginning" - this is how A.S. Pushkin. During these years, Alexander relied on a small circle of friends that had formed around him even before he ascended the throne. This circle became known as the "Secret Committee". Its members were young and well-intentioned. With their direct participation, the first transformations were carried out: an amnesty was declared for 12 thousand people who suffered under Paul, borders were reopened, European books and goods began to be freely imported.

The meetings of the Unofficial Committee began in July 1801 and continued until May 1802. The main result of the work was to be the limitation of the power of the autocracy, with which the tsar himself agreed.

9.1. social order

At the beginning of the XIX century. The Russian Empire was a huge continental country, which included vast territories of Eastern Europe, North Asia and Transcaucasia. The Russian Empire included the Baltic States, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Finland, Bessarabia. Its size has grown to 18 million square meters. km.

The vast space, the variety of natural, economic and ethnic conditions left their mark on the structure of the state and its society.

The crisis of the feudal-serf system intensified in the country.

There have been changes in the social structure of society. Along with the old classes, the classes of bourgeois society appear: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

The nobility still remained a privileged social stratum in Russian society. in Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century. There were 127 thousand landowners, who were divided into large and small landowners. Large landowners belonged to the titled nobility and occupied the highest posts in the state. With the development of capitalist relations, the nobles received the right to build factories and factories in the cities, along with the merchants to trade. On April 2, 1801, Alexander I restored in full the Letter of Complaint to the nobility. In 1817, a state commercial bank and other credit institutions were established to support the nobles who went bankrupt during the Patriotic War of 1812. In 1831, the Manifesto "On the order of noble assemblies, elections and service on them" was published. A new procedure for participation in elections was introduced. Only large landowners could participate in direct voting, others voted indirectly, through electors. In the second quarter of the XIX century. The composition of landowners has changed significantly. There were over 250 thousand nobles, of which 150 thousand did not have peasants. Access to the nobility from 1845 became difficult. According to the Decree of 1845, in order to become a hereditary nobleman, it was necessary to rise to the 5th class in the civil service, i.e. become a state adviser, and in military service rise to the rank of major.

Since 1845, reserved noble estates could be inherited only by the eldest son, they could not be divided and transferred to persons from another family.

Clergy. The legal status of the clergy in the first half of the XIX century. has changed significantly. From 1801, the clergy, and from 1835 and their children, were exempted from corporal punishment, from 1807 their houses were exempted from land tax, and from 1821 - from lodging. In 1803 - 1805, clergymen who did not have regular places in churches were allowed to move to other classes, i.e. change occupation. Clergy, decorated acquired nobility. The white clergy received hereditary noble rights, and the black received a piece of land with the right to personal use. Children of priests and deacons, in case of leaving the clergy, received the title of hereditary honorary citizens. Since 1822, the clergy from the nobility were given the right to buy artisans and peasants.

Peasants were divided into three categories: landlords, specific and state. State peasants belonged to the treasury and were officially considered "free rural inhabitants". In 1796, there were 6,034,000 state male peasants. The bulk of the state peasants were concentrated in the northern and central regions of Russia, the Volga region and the Urals. State peasants for the land plots provided to them had to perform duties: quitrent and poll tax. The norms of peasant allotments were 8 tithes per male in small-land provinces and 15 tithes in large-land provinces. Periodically, these allotments were redistributed, which hindered the development of productive forces in the countryside, and on the other hand, prevented the formation of a proprietary psychology among the peasants. State peasants were often transferred to the category of landlords. Alexander I stopped the distribution of state peasants to landowners, but since 1816, part of the state peasants was transferred to the position of military settlers. They had to carry out military service, engage in agriculture, pay duties to the state. Their life was regulated by the Military Charter.

In 1837-1841, a reform of the management of state peasants was carried out, as a result of which the principle of peasant local self-government was introduced, land allotments were increased, and a seed fund was created in case of crop failure. Elementary schools and hospitals began to open in the villages.

Specific peasants occupied an intermediate position between state and landowners. These are former palace peasants who received the title of appanage in 1797, when the Department of Appanages was created to manage the peasants who belonged to members of the imperial family. In 1797, there were 463 thousand male souls in the specific peasants. Specific peasants mainly lived in the Samara and Simbirsk provinces.

They paid dues, carried monetary and in-kind duties. By the middle of the XIX century. the royal family received an annual income from specific estates up to 3 million rubles. silver.

The landowning peasants constituted the largest and most exploited group of the population. They had to work off corvée 3-5 days a week and pay dues in kind and money. The landowners disposed of the peasants as movable property, kept their court over them. Mass actions of peasants forced the government to pay attention to this problem. In 1803, a decree was issued on free cultivators, according to which the landowners received the right to release their peasants into the wild for a certain ransom, but the decree was not widely used, because. the landlords were reluctant to let the peasants go, and the peasants did not have the money to pay the ransom to the landowner. In 1804, a decree was issued on attaching peasants to the land, and not to the landowner. Under this Decree, it was forbidden to sell peasants without land.

In 1816 - 1819, Alexander I freed the peasants of the Baltic from serfdom, but without land. In the second quarter of the XIX century. it was forbidden to give serfs to factories and exile them to Siberia. In 1841, a law was passed prohibiting the sale of peasants singly and without land. In 1843, landless nobles were prohibited from acquiring peasants. In 1842, the Decree "On obligated peasants" was issued, according to which the landowner could provide the peasants with a plot of land for use, and the peasants had to work out certain duties for this. Unfortunately, these were partial measures that did not change the essence of serfdom, and the peasants remained poor, downtrodden, and hungry.

The urban population was divided into five groups: honorary citizens, merchants, artisans (guild masters), small proprietors and working people.

The honorary citizens included the big bourgeoisie and merchants. Honorary citizens were divided into hereditary and personal. The category of hereditary honorary citizens included large capitalists, scientists, artists and children of personal nobles and priests. Lower officials and persons who graduated from higher educational institutions, artists of private theaters and children adopted by hereditary nobles were considered personal honorary citizens. Honorary citizens did not pay the poll tax, were exempted from corporal punishment, and did not bear recruitment duty.

Merchants were divided into two guilds. The first included merchants engaged in wholesale trade, the second - engaged in retail trade. Merchants retained their privileges, could receive ranks and be awarded orders. Money acquired by merchants in trade was invested in industry. This is how the dynasties of the Russian bourgeoisie Morozovs, Kondrashovs, Guchkovs and others gradually took shape.

Groups of guild masters were artisans assigned to guilds. They were divided into masters and apprentices. The workshops had their own self-government bodies.

In the first half of the XIX century. the number of workers employed in industry has increased significantly. Freelance workers became peasants who left for quitrent. Residents of some villages began to unite in artels and create their own artistic crafts. Some crafts, for example, Palekh, Gzhel, Fedoskino, have survived to this day.

Thus, in the first half of the XIX century. in Russia began to develop factory production, manufactories, small-scale industry, which was facilitated by the legislation on cities.

9.2. Political system

In the first half of the XIX century. Russia remained an absolute monarchy. The emperor was at the head of the state. In 1810, a new advisory body was created - the State Council, which was supposed to be involved in the preparation of bills. It consisted of senior government officials appointed by the emperor. Under Nicholas I, the role of the State Council was significantly reduced. Instead, His Majesty's Own Chancellery, which controlled all the most important issues in the life of the country, acquired particular importance. It was divided into several branches: the first branch exercised control over the activities of the ministries, the second was engaged in the codification of laws. A special place was occupied by the third branch, which carried out political investigation in Russia and abroad. The fourth dealt with social institutions and educational institutions. The fifth developed projects for reforms in the management of state peasants, the sixth was engaged in the preparation of proposals for the management of the Caucasus.

In 1802, the central government system was changed. Instead of the Petrovsky collegiums, ministries were created: foreign affairs, military land and naval forces, justice, internal affairs, finance, commerce and public education. The ministries were divided into departments and offices headed by directors. The principle of unity of command was affirmed in the ministries. The Minister was fully responsible for the management of the industry entrusted to him. He was an autocrat in his field. For the joint discussion of certain issues in 1802, the Committee of Ministers was created, which in 1857 was transformed into the Council of Ministers. The Committee of Ministers included the chairmen of the departments of the State Council, the Secretary of State, and the heads of departments. The Committee of Ministers was an advisory body, because none of its conclusions came into effect until approved by the emperor. The creation of secret committees for the development of various projects was widely practiced. The secret activity of the committees was caused by the fear of peasant unrest and the possible dissatisfaction of the nobles during the implementation of certain reforms that infringed on their rights.

The Senate in 1802 was practically reformed. It became the highest judicial institution in the country. Its departments became the highest courts of appeal for provincial courts. Participation in state administration and law-making was expressed only in the fact that he was given the right to make "representations" to the emperor about outdated laws and contradictions in newly issued laws. The Senate also retained the right to audit activities of local administrative bodies.

The synod was the highest institution for the affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church. At the head of the Synod was the chief procurator, who, like the members of the Synod, was appointed by the emperor.

In 1817, the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education was created, which was given the right to control the activities of the Synod.

9.3. Judiciary

The highest court was the Senate. In 1802, the Ministry of Justice was established, which was supposed to perform the functions of the highest judicial administration and supervision of the activities of judicial institutions.

In the first half of the XIX century. the Upper Zemstvo Courts (for the nobility), the upper and lower reprisals (for the state peasants), and the provincial magistrates (for the philistines) are abolished.

In the provinces there were chambers of criminal and civil courts. They considered cases of all estates and were at the same time the appellate instance for city and county courts. Chambers of the civil court considered cases of real estate in the provinces, disputes over city property. The chambers of the criminal court considered cases of malfeasance of nobles, arson, etc.

In each province there were conscientious courts that considered criminal cases committed by the insane and minors, and civil cases on property disputes between relatives. The task of these courts was to reconcile the parties.

In the two capitals there were court courts that tried the cases of military personnel who were away from the location of the military unit, as well as officials and raznochintsy.

The lower courts were estate and county courts, as well as city magistrates. Departmental courts were also created: military, sea, forestry, mountain, communications, peasant, spiritual. Minor criminal cases were dealt with by mayors, quarterly guards and bailiffs.

The courts were subordinate to the administration. The sentences handed down by the courts were approved by the governor, and some by the Minister of Justice, by the State Council. Supervision of the activities of judicial and local government bodies was carried out by provincial prosecutors, and in counties by county lawyers.

The Russian army, created by Peter I, in this period became one of the strongest in Europe. Her campaigns were led by great commanders: Rumyantsev, Suvorov, Kutuzov.

Together with the entire Russian people, the army won a brilliant victory over the French army in the war of 1812, covering itself with unfading glory.

In 1816, military settlements began to be created, the purpose of which was to reduce the enormous costs of maintaining the army in peaceful conditions and to create a new system for recruiting the army. State-owned peasants began to be transferred to the category of military settlers, who were supposed to be engaged in agriculture and carry out military service on a par with soldiers. By 1825, about a third of the soldiers had been transferred to the settlement. Families were assigned to the soldiers. Wives became villagers, sons from the age of seven signed up as cantonists, and from the age of 18 they entered the regiment. A.A. was appointed the chief commander of the military settlements. Arakcheev.

Merciless exploitation and military drill caused frequent peasant unrest. After 1831, military settlements that did not justify their purpose began to be abolished, and by the 1950s they were completely liquidated.

9.5. Police and punitive authorities

In 1802, the Ministry of the Interior was formed, from which the Ministry of Police was later allocated to manage the police. After the Decembrist uprising, the punitive apparatus intensified. The Third Branch of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery was created, which was engaged in investigating political cases, expelling suspicious people, and monitoring foreign citizens living in Russia. He had at his disposal numerous agents of informers and informers.

At the beginning of the XIX century. gendarmerie units were created, which in 1826 were merged into a separate corps of gendarmes. In 1837, in connection with the division of counties into stans, the positions of bailiffs appeared, who worked in close connection with the rural and patrimonial police. Punitive functions were performed by all links of the state apparatus.

9.6. Law codification

At the beginning of the XIX century. there is a need to codify the archaic and confusing Russian legislation. By this time, a huge amount of regulatory and legal material had accumulated. The Council Code, the legislation of Peter I and his successors continued to operate. In a number of cases, the normative documents came into conflict with each other. The current situation gave rise to the creation of a codification commission under the leadership of M.M. Speransky - a prominent lawyer and public figure, an outstanding and highly educated person. The complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire, which consisted of 45 volumes, was prepared and printed in 1830. It included 330,920 normative acts and 6 volumes of applications. In the Complete Collection of Laws, both normative legal documents that were in force and that had lost their force were placed in chronological order, starting with the Cathedral Code and ending with the manifesto on the accession to the throne of Nicholas I.

Based on the prepared material by M.M. Speransky compiled the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire in 15 volumes, which was published in 1832, and on January 1, 1835 came into force. The Code includes only existing laws arranged according to a special system developed by M.M. Speransky: laws on authorities, administration and public service; statutes on duties; statutes of state administration; estate laws; civil law; statutes of state improvement; statutes of deanery; criminal laws. The Code system remained unchanged until October revolution 1917, only in 1885 the Code was supplemented by procedural legislation.

An important monument of Russian law in the first half of the 19th century. is the Code of Punishment of Criminal and Correctional, adopted in 1845.

The codification of the laws of the Russian Empire was of great importance. Speransky managed to systematize the current legislation for 176 years, which facilitated its study and practical application.

9.7. Civil law relations according to the Code of Laws

The current civil legislation was systematized in the 9th, 10th and 11th volumes of the Code of Laws. For the first time in Russian legislation, the content of the owner's powers over his movable and immovable property is disclosed in detail.

Land, villages, houses, factories, factories, shops, any buildings and empty courtyards were considered real estate. Real estate could be acquired or ancestral.

Movable property included seagoing and river vessels, books, manuscripts, paintings and other items related to science and art, household items, carriages, implements of land production, tools, horses and other livestock, compressed and threshed bread, factory-made products, metals. , minerals and other minerals.

There were two types of property - private and public. An intermediate position was occupied by the property of the persons of the imperial house.

For the first time, the right of ownership to the results of intellectual creativity was established, which later served as the basis for the formation of copyright and patent law. Terms of use and procedure for resolving disputes on this species property are covered by the Censorship Charter and the Civil Procedure Laws.

The code of laws distinguishes between full and incomplete private ownership of land and property. By the right of full ownership, the owner had the right not only to the land, but also "to everything that was in its bowels, to the waters located within it." Article 430 stated that even the treasure belonged to the owner of the land and without his permission could not be "searched" either by private individuals or by local authorities. But if someone accidentally found a treasure in a foreign land, then the treasure was divided in half.

Chapter 2 (Article 432) defines partial ownership. The right of ownership is considered incomplete when it is limited by the rights of other persons to use the same objects of ownership:

the right to participate in the use and receive benefits from someone else's property:

land rights in other people's possessions:

ownership of reserved hereditary estates: ownership of estates that complained about the right of majorates in the western provinces.

The right to participate in the use and benefit from someone else's property was of two types - general and private.

The right of passage and travel along the main roads and waterways was secured for everyone, no matter whose possessions they were located. The owners of land adjacent to the main road did not have the right to mow and etch the grass growing along the road in order to leave pasture for driven cattle. The owners of land adjacent to waterways were forbidden to build insufficiently reliable bridges across navigable rivers; on navigable rivers, the construction of mills, dams and other obstacles that hinder navigation was not allowed. They were obliged to "allow" the passage and passage of people engaged in lifting lever vessels and fishing.

Under the right of private participation (Article 442), the owner, whose land lay in the upper reaches of the river, could demand that the neighbor not raise the water level with dams so as not to flood his meadows. Article 445 stipulated the rights of the owner of the house, who could demand that the neighbor not attach kitchens and stoves to the wall of his house, do not pour water and sweep garbage on his house, do not pitch the roof on his yard, etc.

Articles 543 and 544 define common ownership. The right of common ownership referred to property that was indivisible, or to property subject to division. Incomes in such estates were distributed among "all accomplices according to the proportionality of parts."

The right to full disposal of property arose from the age of 21. Persons who received an inheritance could manage their property from the age of 17, but they could manage capital only with the consent of the trustees.

A number of restrictions were set for subjects of other states, non-believers, women, peasants and townspeople. In particular, for the Jews the Pale of Settlement was established, they were forbidden to acquire immovable property outside this Pale.

Peasants who received freedom were forbidden to stand out from the community. Peasants who did not have trade certificates and did not own real estate could not accept bills of exchange obligations.

The pledge right was regulated in detail. It was possible to pledge both movable and immovable property. To pledge real estate, it was necessary to conclude an agreement with the fulfillment of certain requirements and certification in official bodies. The mortgagee had the right to receive income from real estate. The pledgor was given the right to redeem the mortgaged estate within six months. After this period, the estate was assigned for public sale. Mortgage of movable property was made in writing by private or home order. Only persons who, by law, could alienate them, could pledge things, and only those who could own them on property rights could take a pledge. Pledged items could not be re-pledged. Collateral became widely practiced in credit institutions.

Obligation law. A contract concluded in writing was considered valid, but in some cases an oral form was allowed.

According to the legislation of the beginning of the XIX century. barter, purchase and sale, sale contracts are known, i.e. preliminary sale with the payment of a cash deposit and the conclusion subsequently of a contract of sale, donation, contract, supply, loan, insurance, personal and property hire, luggage, transportation, partnership.

There were four types of partnerships: complete, when all participants are responsible for transactions with their property, by faith or by contributions, a joint-stock company ("by plots") and an artel, when all participants have a common account. To create a partnership, only registration was required, and to create a joint-stock company, government permission was required.

Real estate could be rented out for up to 12 years. At the same time, the new owner had the right to unilaterally terminate the lease agreement concluded by his predecessor.

The law established interest (6%) on loans in the event that they were not specified in the contract. Loan letters could be transferred to third parties, assuming obligations to pay the debt and the right to foreclose on the debtor.

The sold family estate within three years could be redeemed by members of this family or clan.

The contract of personal employment was drawn up on stamped paper and entered in the broker's book. Parents had the right to send their children without their consent to learn a craft. Peasants and philistines who did not pay fines were given to forced labor.

The deposit agreement was drawn up in writing, and if the property was stolen along with the property of the receiver or burned down in a fire, then no one was responsible for the safety of this property. In the event of the insolvency of the person who handed over the things for storage, the receiver was obliged to report on the location of his property.

Family law. Family and marriage relations have always been a sedentary, conservative area of ​​law and have been strongly influenced by the church. According to the law, only church marriage was recognized. Persons of the Orthodox Christian denomination could not marry persons of other denominations. The subordinate position of women in the family was still preserved. The law allowed the husband to punish his wife. A passport to a wife could be issued only with the permission of her husband. The wife had to follow her husband in the event of a change of residence by the latter. The marriageable age for boys was set at 18, for girls - from 16. At the same time, bishops, in some cases, were given the right to reduce the marriageable age. It was forbidden to marry men over 80, women over 60. Marriage required not only the consent of the spouses, but also their parents or guardians. For the military, the consent of the higher authorities was required, for the landlord peasants - the consent of the landowner.

The spouses had separate property rights. The wife's dowry and property received as a gift or inheritance, as well as acquired personally during marriage, were considered her separate property. Spouses could independently dispose of their property. The spouses were not responsible for each other's debts.

The father had authority over the children. From children, no complaints against parents were accepted in court, and parents had the right to apply to the court with a request to place their children in custody for two to four months. If adult children lived with their parents, they did not have the right to enter into any property transactions. Children separated from their parents had the right to dispose of their property at their own discretion. Illegitimate children did not have the right to the father's surname and to inherit his property.

The power over the children passed to the mother in the event of the death of the father or deprivation of his status by the court.

Inheritance law. The property was transferred to the heirs by law and by will. According to the law, sons were considered the heirs of the first stage, then grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In the absence of male heirs, the daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters of the deceased became heirs. If there were no direct heirs, then the inheritance was transferred to relatives along the side line. The property of a deceased childless son or daughter, received from the parents, was returned to the parents. The surviving spouse received 1/7 of the real estate and 1/4 of the movable. Sisters with living brothers received 1/14 of real estate and 1/8 of movable property.

At one's discretion, one could bequeath only acquired property. Family property could be bequeathed only in cases where the testator was childless, and only to a surviving spouse for life use or to a close relative.

The heirs were obliged to pay all the debts of the deceased, even if the inheritance property was not enough.

The inheritance was considered escheated and entered the treasury if there were no heirs at all or none of them appeared within 10 years to receive the inheritance.

9.8. Criminal law

Criminal law was also codified and included in the Code of Laws, but it did not suit Nicholas I, so in 1845 the Code of Penal and Correctional Punishments was prepared. The code established the forms of guilt, the stages of the commission of a crime, the types of complicity, mitigating or aggravating circumstances. Criminal liability came from the age of 7. The Code applied to all Russian subjects. Ignorance of the law did not exempt from punishment. Any violation of the law was considered a crime. A misdemeanor was understood as a violation of the rules prescribed for the protection of rights defined by law and personal safety. Crimes and misdemeanors were divided into intentional, i.e. premeditated, and unintentional, committed by "sudden prompting." Complicity in a crime was determined, the main perpetrators and participants in the crime were singled out. The accomplices of the crime were divided into: the instigators who controlled the actions during the commission of the crime; accomplices who took part in the crime; conspirators or instigators who persuaded others to commit a crime; accomplices who themselves did not participate in the commission of the crime, but helped to commit it; connivances who had the opportunity to prevent the crime, but allowed it; the hiders who hid the stolen things and the criminals themselves. Persons who knew about the crime and did not inform about it were recognized as "touched" by the crime.

The most serious crimes were actions directed against the church and state crimes: treason, rebellion, encroachment on the life of "the emperor and members of the imperial court." Crimes against the order of management and malfeasance are specially highlighted. Such crimes included forgery of documents, embezzlement of public funds, disobedience to the authorities, disclosure of official secrets. New norms "On disobedience of factory and factory people" appeared in the Code. Punishment for strikers was envisaged. The instigators were arrested for up to three months, the participants - from seven days to three weeks.

The most serious crime against citizens was considered murder, which was divided into qualified, intentional and unintentional. Qualified murder included the murder of parents, boss, master, priest, master, as well as murder committed in a way that was painful for the victim. A qualified murder was punishable by the deprivation of all rights of the state and a link to hard labor.

For property crimes, arson and horse-stealing, imprisonment or hard labor for various terms was supposed.

Crimes against the family and morality included: forced marriage, polygamy, adultery and rape. For such crimes, they were sent to correctional prison departments or hard labor for various periods. Chapter two of the Code lists all types of punishment: the death penalty, exile to hard labor or to a settlement in Siberia and the Caucasus, public corporal punishment with whips, deprivation of property rights, loss of family rights, temporary imprisonment in a fortress (in a strait house or in prison) , short-term arrest, monetary penalties, remarks and suggestions. The death penalty was sometimes commuted to a political "death" followed by a link to hard labor. The deprivation of all the rights of the state was always accompanied by the deprivation of all titles, ranks and orders. The deprivation of the rights of the state did not extend to the wife and children of the convict. Men over the age of 70 and women were exempted from branding.

Nobles, clergymen and merchants were subjected to such a measure of punishment as deprivation of the nobility, ranks, the right to enter the state service, deprivation of a spiritual title, merchants were forbidden to enroll in merchant guilds. In addition to the main punishments, additional ones were also used: church repentance, confiscation of property, police supervision.

The Code provided for a class approach to criminals. Nobles, clergy, merchants of the first and second guilds were exempted from branding, shackling, and whipping. They could serve a short arrest at home, while others - in police stations.

9.9. Trial

The litigation during the period under review had the following features. The decree of 1801 forbade torture during the investigation, but in practice they were used. The investigation and execution of the sentence were carried out by the police. Supervision of the investigation was carried out by the prosecutor and solicitors. After the end of the investigation, the case went to court. Court hearings were held at closed doors. The cases were considered only on the basis of written testimony. Parties and witnesses were not admitted to court. The main evidence of guilt was the written confession of the accused, which was often torn out by torture. The verdict was passed on formal grounds: how much - "for", how much - "against". Due to the unprovability of guilt, the case was terminated, but then the person remained "in suspicion" for life. The verdict was almost impossible to appeal. There was no lawyer. Cases were conducted very slowly, and bribery and abuse flourished in court. The educational level of the judges was very low.

On the whole, the Complete Collection of Laws and the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire were of great political and legal significance. The created system of law operated almost until the end of the existence of the empire.

9.10. Socio-political movements

First half of the 19th century characterized by the rise of popular consciousness, as a result of which the socio-political movement became more active. Progressive-minded representatives of different strata of society felt the need for fundamental changes, developed their own programs to change the socio-political system of the country. The Patriotic War of 1812 contributed to the formation of a revolutionary worldview among the advanced part of the nobility. Secret societies in the form of officer associations are evidence of this. In 1816, a secret society of future Decembrists, the Union of Salvation, arose, which developed a program and constitutional drafts. The author of the draft "Constitution" was N.M. Muravyov, the author of "Russian Truth" - P.I. Pestel.

N.M. Muravyov was a supporter of the constitutional monarchy. Legislature, in his opinion, should belong to the people's council, and the executive - to the emperor. The emperor commanded the troops, but did not have the right to start a war and make peace. The emperor could not leave the territory of the empire, otherwise he would lose his imperial rank. He was assigned a salary in the amount of 8 million rubles. annually. He could support the court staff at his own expense.

The electoral rights of citizens were limited by educational and property qualifications. According to N. Muravyov's constitution, serfdom was to be abolished and military settlements liquidated. The Table of Ranks, estates and nationalities were cancelled. The concept of a citizen of the Russian state was introduced. All Russians are equal before the law. The future Russia was presented as a federal state. The empire was divided into 15 powers. Each state had its own capital. Nizhny Novgorod should become the capital of the federation.

P.I. Pestel was a supporter of republican rule. Autocracy in Russia, according to Pestel's Russkaya Pravda, must be destroyed. The royal family was physically exterminated. In his opinion, all estates in the state should be merged "into a single civil estate." All Russians were declared equally noble. All were declared equal before the law. Civil age came at the age of 20 years. All male citizens were given the right to vote. Women, both under the Muravyov project and under the Pestel project, did not have voting rights.

The Republic of Pestel was divided into provinces, provinces - into counties, counties - into volosts. The People's Council should become the legislative body. The executive power in the state was handed over to the State Duma. In addition to the legislative and executive power, there was also a supervisory power. Nizhny Novgorod should become the capital of the republic.

Russkaya Pravda by Pestel is a revolutionary project for the bourgeois reconstruction of serfdom in Russia.

As you know, the Decembrists were defeated, but the social movement became even more active, the delimitation of three ideological directions began: conservative, liberal, radical.

A conservative position was formulated by the Minister of Education S.S. Uvarov, who created the theory official nationality, which consisted in a voluntary union of the sovereign and the people. Autocracy was recognized as the only form of government. The uselessness of social changes and the need to strengthen the autocracy and serfdom were substantiated.

This theory has drawn sharp criticism from both radicals and liberals. Of the radicals, P.Ya. Chaadaev with his Philosophical Letters, in which he sharply criticized serfdom and autocracy. In his opinion, neither in the past nor in the present, the Russian people have anything bright. He saw the main reason for the backwardness and stagnant existence of Russia in the absence of progressive social and cultural traditions. He saw the salvation of Russia in the unification of all Christian countries into a new community that would ensure the spiritual freedom and progress of all peoples.

Chaadaev's ideas about the role and fate of church life were picked up and continued by Vl. Solovyov and A. Herzen.

Among the noble intelligentsia at the turn of the 30s - 40s, two currents developed - Slavophiles and Westerners.

The Slavophiles considered it necessary to re-evaluate the experience of pre-Petrine Russia on the importance of the peasant community, local self-government, the role of the state principle and the relationship between law and custom. They considered Orthodoxy the only true and deeply moral religion. The Slavophiles fought against servility to the West.

The Westerners believed that Russia should develop according to the Western model. They advocated a broad education of the people, criticized the feudal system.

Numerous educational circles arose during the period under review. Their members shared the ideology of the Decembrists, read the famous message of A.S. Pushkin to Siberia and the response of the Decembrists. According to V.I. Lenin, the Decembrists woke up Herzen, and Herzen woke up the Narodniks.

Chapter 10. STATE AND LAW OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE

By the end of the XVIII century. in Russia, the crisis of the serf system (serfdom) begins.

Signs of the crisis of the serf system:

1. The exploitation of the peasants is sharply intensified. In the chernozem regions, the intensification of exploitation was expressed in the expansion of the lord's plowing at the expense of peasant allotments and an increase in corvée. The maximum manifestation of the intensification of exploitation in these regions is the transfer of peasants for a month - a bed or a meager monetary allowance paid to the peasant for working on the land of the feudal lord. At the same time, the peasant completely lost his farm, turning, practically, into a plantation slave. In the non-chernozem regions, the increased exploitation of the peasants was expressed in a constant increase in the amount of dues.
2. In an effort to increase the efficiency of their estates, the landowners are going to expand folk crafts and otkhodnichestvo - the departure of peasants to work in the city for manufactories. An interesting phenomenon arises - the peasants leave their masters as serfs, and they come to the manufactory already as civilian workers.
3. The number of industrial enterprises using hired labor is expanding. Such enterprises arise, first of all, in the light industry, the products of which already have a mass buyer. Their owners are merchants, artisans, wealthy peasant fishermen. This production was the future, but the dominance of the serf system hindered its development. The owners of industrial enterprises were often themselves serfs and were forced to give a significant part of their income in the form of dues to the landlords; the workers, legally and in essence, remained peasants, striving to return to the countryside after earning a quitrent. The growth of production was also hampered by a relatively narrow sales market, which was limited by serfdom, since the peasants did not have the means to purchase goods. Serfdom thus turned into an obstacle to the normal development of the country.
4. In an effort to support the landowners' farms that were losing profitability, the emperor carried out mass distributions of state peasants into private hands.

   The peasants, who constituted the absolute majority of the country's population, were not homogeneous in composition. About 55% of the peasants were landowners, i.e. were the private property of the landowners. Their position was the most difficult, since the entire burden of feudal duties fell on them.

   About 1% of peasants were black-mallowed(free). Most of them lived in the Arkhangelsk province (Pomorye) and in Siberia. These peasants paid considerable taxes and duties. However, being actively engaged in trade, fur hunting and fishing, they provided themselves with a very prosperous life.

   Another 25% of peasants were peasants state, created by Peter I. The state itself acted as a feudal lord here. It was to him that the peasants paid dues, taxes and duties. In addition, there were state duties (underwater, billet, etc.). It was the state peasants who were recruited. And yet they were in a more enviable position than the landlords, since they used large allotments and did not work out the corvée.

   An intermediate position between the landowners and the state was occupied by specific peasants (20%), who belonged personally to the tsar. Huge feudal payments were combined for them with the absence of corvee.

   The reign of Paul I (1796-1801)

   After the death of Catherine II, her son Pavel Petrovich becomes emperor. The nature of his policy was influenced by dislike for his mother, whom he could not forgive for the murder of his father ( Peter III), love for the Prussian military and state orders, as well as personality traits of the emperor.

   Paul inherited a great but devastated state. Numerous wars, a huge army and navy, a magnificent court completely devastated the treasury. Paul laid all the blame for this on Catherine. One of his first decrees, he repealed most of his mother's laws. Paper money, first introduced by Catherine, was replaced by silver coins minted from palace silver.

   As soon as he came to power, Pavel ordered to rebuild the Russian army according to the Prussian model - the army was disguised, the principles of training were changed (drill was introduced). Some of the higher military officials who criticized these transformations were dismissed, including A.V. Suvorov.

   1797 G. - new law on the succession to the throne, according to which the throne was transmitted only through the male direct ascending line, i.e. from father to eldest son.

   Paul tried again to force the nobles to serve the state: it was forbidden to enroll them in regiments in early childhood.

   1797 g. - Decree on a three-day corvee. It is forbidden to sell peasants at auctions.

   The system of collegiums, practically abolished by Catherine, was restored. But at the same time, the first three ministries were created - Military, Naval and Foreign Affairs. They will completely oust the colleges later.

   In foreign policy, Pavel initially decided to abandon expensive military actions (Suvorov's campaign in France was canceled). However, in 1798, England and Austria drew Russia into an anti-French coalition (this was facilitated by the conflict between Paul and Napoleon over Malta). V 1799 the Italian and Swiss campaigns of Suvorov took place, whom Paul, at the request of the allies, returned from exile. Crushing defeats to the French troops in Italy and on the islands mediterranean sea(capture of Corfu) inflicted by the Russian fleet led by F.F. Ushakov. In 1800, in protest against the disdainful attitude of the allies towards Russian soldiers, Russia withdrew from the anti-French coalition. Paul made an alliance with France.

   The tyranny of Paul, his unbalanced foreign policy, caused discontent among the Russian nobility. On the night of March 12 1801 With the tacit consent of the heir to the throne Alexander Pavlovich, conspirators led by the St. Petersburg governor Palen killed Paul I.

   Domestic policy of Alexander I (1801-1812)

   At the beginning of his reign, Alexander I returned to the policy of enlightened absolutism. Restored all the laws of Catherine. Preparations are underway for reforms that were supposed to streamline the system of public administration and solve peasant question, i.e. weaken as much as possible, and then, and completely abolish, serfdom, fraught with a new Pugachevism.

   The transformation project is being developed The secret committee- circles of like-minded people that developed around the king (Stroganov, Kochubey, Czartorysky, Novosiltsev).

   V 1802 Collegiums are beginning to be replaced by new central authorities - ministries. Unlike collegiums, work in the ministries was based on the principle unity of command. Such transformations made it easier for the autocratic authorities to govern the country, however, they contributed to the strengthening of the position of the bureaucracy, the growth of corruption, although they were carried out primarily to combat them.

   Since a serious weakening of serfdom was contrary to the interests of the landowners, Alexander I only tried to soften it somewhat. 1803 G. - Decree on free cultivators, allowing the landowner to release peasants with land for a ransom. However, the decree, which was advisory in nature, had practically no consequences. In 1804-1805. serfdom was partially abolished in the Ostsee region - in Latvia and Estonia. These measures, due to their limitations, did not contribute to the mitigation of serfdom.

   Partially, measures are being taken to liberalize life in the country. V 1804 A new University charter was issued, which provided higher educational institutions (except for Moscow State University, Derpt (1802), Vilna (1803), Kharkov and Kazan (1804) universities) significant autonomy.

   By 1804, Alexander had lost interest in the activities of the Secret Committee and in 1807 he dissolved it.

   After the Peace of Tilsit (1807), the tsar again raised the issue of reforms. In 1808-1809. M. M. Speransky, Secretary of State, new adviser to the sovereign, developed " Introduction to the code of state laws"- a project of transformation, according to which it was supposed to put the state under the control of society and create a system of separation of powers. It was planned to form a system of elected bodies of local self-government - a kind of pyramid of volost, district (county) and provincial dumas. She was to be married The State Duma is the country's highest legislative body. The abolition of serfdom was not envisaged. Speransky's plan, rather moderate in character, seemed too radical to Alexander. The project was shelved, and Speransky himself was later exiled to the provinces on charges of spying for Napoleon. However, part of the plan was nevertheless implemented: the State Council was created ( 1810 ) - a legislative body under the emperor, and in 1811 the Senate was reorganized, which became more of a judicial body. Thus, the foundation of the system of separation of powers was laid in Russia.

   Foreign policy of Alexander I.
   Patriotic War of 1812.

   In the first decade of the XIX century. The main directions of Russia's foreign policy were:

   1. Struggle with Persia (Iran) and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) for strengthening on the Black Sea and in Transcaucasia;
   2. Confrontation with Napoleonic France, which was due not so much to state interests as to Alexander's personal attitude towards Napoleon.

   In 1801, the Georgian ruling dynasty of the Bagratids (Bagrationov) abdicated, power in Eastern Georgia passed to the Russian governor. In 1803-1804. the rest of Georgia was annexed. These events exacerbated Russia's relations with Iran and Turkey.

   1804-1813 gg. - Russo-Iranian War. Under the Gulistan Treaty, Azerbaijan was annexed to Russia.

   1806-1812 gg. - Russian-Turkish war. M.I. played a significant role in the victory over Turkey. Kutuzov. According to the Treaty of Bucharest (May 1812), part of Bessarabia was ceded to Russia. The signing of this treaty was a major foreign policy victory for Russia - she managed to end the war with Turkey before the start of the war with Napoleon.

   In 1801, Russia again joins the anti-French coalition. In 1805, Russia, in alliance with Austria and England, entered the war with Napoleon. 20 November 1805 the Russian and Austrian armies were defeated near Austerlitz. In 1806 a new anti-Napoleonic coalition was formed. In it, in addition to Russia and England, Prussia took an active part. In 1807, the Russian-Prussian troops suffered heavy defeats in the battles near Preussisch-Eylau and Friedland. In June 1807 in Tilsit (Prussia) a peace was signed between Russia and France, according to which the states actually became allies. Without suffering territorial losses, Russia was forced to join continental blockade(a ban imposed by Napoleon on the trade of European states with England). In addition, under the terms of the Treaty of Tilsit, the Duchy of Warsaw, vassal dependent on France, was created on the border of Russia. Members of the Unspoken Committee opposed the union with France. This was the reason for his dissolution. MM was an ardent supporter of the Tilsit Treaty. Speransky.

   As an ally of France, Russia is waging a Russo-Swedish war 1808-1809 gg. The Russian army is headed by Minister of War M.B. Barclay de Tolly. A brilliant victory was won and Finland was annexed to Russia, which received significant autonomy.

   In an effort to strengthen the alliance that is needed to conquer India, Napoleon (emperor since 1804) asks Alexander for the hand of his sister Anna, but is refused. This contributes to the growth of tension between the two states.

   Another destabilizing factor is the constant violation of the continental blockade by Russia, which became one of the most important causes of the Patriotic War of 1812.

   12 June 1812 Mr. Napoleon, at the head of the 600,000-strong "Great Army", began a campaign in Russia. The Russian army, about 200 thousand people, was divided into three parts (armies). First Army(M.B. Barclay de Tolly, 110 thousand), stood near Vilna and defended the St. Petersburg direction. Second Army(P.I. Bagration, 45 thousand), was located in the Bialystok region and covered the road to Moscow. Third Army(A.P. Tormasov, 45 thousand) was stationed in Volhynia and blocked the road to Kiev. Such a strange disposition of the Russian troops was due to the lack of a unified plan for the conduct of the war. The Ful plan approved by Alexander (a strategic retreat to the fortified Dris camp) was never implemented. The army did not have a commander-in-chief, his duties were performed by Barclay de Tolly, who generally offered to wage an offensive war.

   Napoleon's plan involved the destruction of individual Russian armies on the border and the signing of a peace treaty beneficial to France. This plan did not provide for advancement into the depths of Russia, and, moreover, the capture of Moscow.

   Realizing that the Russian army divided into parts would become easy prey for Napoleon, Barclay gives the order to start the retreat of the first two armies in order to unite them (the third army was away from the main attack of the enemy). Despite the retreat, already in the first days of the war, the first victory was won - Platov's Cossacks put the enemy's cavalry to flight under Mir.

   Initially, it was supposed to unite the armies near Vitebsk, but Bagration's army did not have time to reach the junction. Thanks to the feat of the division of D.P. Neverovsky under the Red unification of the armies took place August 3rd in Smolensk. There, August 4-6, Barclay gave the first major battle. After two days of fighting, the Russian army continued its retreat.

   In this situation, the question arose of the candidacy of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. The emperor would prefer to see his favorite in this post - Barclay de Tolly, a talented commander who saved the Russian army from inevitable defeat on the border. However, he did not enjoy great authority with the army, because. does not belong to the number of commanders of the Suvorov school.

   Everyone's favorite - Bagration was obviously not able to manage large forces.

   There was only one commander who was completely suitable for the post of commander in chief. We are talking about M.I. Kutuzov, the best student of Suvorov, who enjoyed incredible authority in the army. True, the commander was already very old, ill, and after graduation Russian-Turkish war, had retired. However, on August 8, it was he who was appointed commander in chief.

   August 18, near Tsarevo-Zaimishch, Kutuzov arrives in the army. He criticized Barclay's retreat tactics, but after analyzing the situation, gave the order to continue the retreat.

   For the general battle, Kutuzov chose a place near the village of Borodino. A kind of prologue to the battle was the battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt (August 24). Redoubts and Flashes- types of field earth fortifications.

   The forces of the parties on the eve of the Battle of Borodino were approximately equal (according to various sources, 125-135 thousand), but the Russians had a slight advantage in artillery. The right flank of the Russian army (Maslovskie flushes), standing on the impregnable bank of the Kolocha River, was commanded by Barclay de Tolly. The center (Kurgan Battery of N.N. Raevsky) and the left flank (Semenovsky or Bagrationov flushes) were led by Bagration.

   August, 26th Battle of Borodino took place. Napoleon brought down the main blow on the Raevsky battery and the left flank of the Russian army. These positions changed hands seven times. During one of the counterattacks P.I. Bagration was mortally wounded. The wounded commander of the 2nd Army was replaced by D.S. Dokhturov, but it was no longer possible to turn the tide of the battle. By the end of the battle, the center and left flank were pushed back by the French behind the Semenovsky ravine. Napoleon was already ready to bring his Old Guard into battle, thereby completing the rout of the Russian army. At this decisive moment, the Cossacks of atamans Platov and Uvarov, on the orders of Kutuzov, make a swift raid into the rear of the enemy army. In the ensuing panic, Napoleon did not dare to send his last reserve into battle. In the morning the battle did not resume - the Russian army continued its retreat.

   The losses of both sides were monstrous, but Napoleon failed to achieve his main goal - to destroy the Russian army.

   In the battle of Borodino, the generals brothers N.A., S.A., A.A. were killed. Tuchkovs, commander of the Russian artillery A.I. Kutaisov. The future Decembrist K.F. was wounded. Ryleev.

   September 1 took place military council in Fili. The question of the fate of Moscow was being decided. At the insistence of Kutuzov, a decision was made to surrender Moscow to the French.

   Moscow was abandoned by the inhabitants and, by order of the military governor F.V. Rostopchina, set on fire. The French army got an empty burning city, devoid of food supplies.

   The Russian army bypassed Moscow from the south and stopped at the village of Tarutino (Tarutino camp). Thanks to the Tarutino maneuver, the army took an advantageous position to protect the fertile regions of the South, link up with the regiments returning from the war with Turkey and organize a future counteroffensive.

   In parallel with the events described, a guerrilla war unfolds, in which, along with the army (Wintsengerode, Davydov, Figner, Seslavin, Benckendorff), peasant detachments (V. Kozhina, G. Kurin) also operate. The actions of the partisans gave the war a truly Patriotic character.

   After all attempts by Napoleon to start peace negotiations with Alexander ended in failure, he was forced to leave Moscow on October 7, giving the order to blow up the Kremlin and set fire to the city. After the battle near Maloyaroslavets (a radical turning point in the course of the war), he had to start a retreat along the devastated old Smolensk road. November 14-16 battle on the Berezina River. The French army was almost completely destroyed in Russia. Only the Old Guard of Napoleon managed to escape.

   Having expelled the French, the Russian army in 1813-1814. took an active part in the hostilities against Napoleon in Europe in alliance with Prussia, Austria and England. After a series of bloody battles (the largest - " Battle of the Nations» near Leipzig - October 4-7 1813 d) the Allies invaded France and March 18, 1814 city ​​captured Paris. Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba.

   After the victory over Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) gathered, at which the victorious powers decided the fate of Europe. Russia annexed a significant part of the Polish lands under the name of the Kingdom of Poland.

   In 1815, on the initiative of Alexander, the Holy Union, which, in addition to Russia, also included Austria and Prussia. In 1818, France was admitted to the Union. The Union was supposed to maintain the status quo, to fight the revolutionary movement. In the early 1820s. it was the Union that suppressed the revolutionary uprisings in Italy and Spain.

   Significance of the Patriotic War of 1812:

   1. The international prestige of Russia has grown considerably.
   2. The Patriotic War became one of the main themes of Russian culture in the 19th century.
   3. Poland is annexed to Russia.
   4. The victory in the war contributed to the conservation of the existing system.
   5. The Patriotic War provoked the beginning of the revolutionary movement of the Decembrists.

   Domestic policy of Alexander I in 1815-1825

   The last decade of Alexander's reign went down in history as arakcheevshchina- named after the main confidant of Tsar A.A. Arakcheev.

   This time is characterized by the preservation of liberal phraseology, with an almost complete curtailment of real transformations. Alexander's refusal to reform was due to the victory in Patriotic War, which gave undeniable arguments to the conservatives, the absence of a liberal-minded environment, difficult personal experiences associated with the death of his daughters and the trials that befell Russia. Alexander was increasingly oppressed by a sense of guilt for the murder of his father. In addition, he was afraid to repeat the fate of Paul.

   In 1815 Poland was granted a constitution. In March 1818, at the opening of the Polish Sejm (Parliament), the emperor promised to introduce a constitution throughout Russia when the people were ready for it. However, Novosiltsev's draft constitution (" Statutory charter of the Russian Empire”) remained on paper. The same fate befell the very moderate project of the abolition of serfdom by Arakcheev, which provided for the gradual redemption of the landlord peasants by the state.

   In 1816-1819. ended the abolition of serfdom in Estonia (Estonia) and Livonia (Latvia). However, this did not matter much to the rest of the country.

   On the other hand, protective measures are becoming more and more visible in domestic politics. Thus, the government's attack on the autonomy of universities begins. Public life is imbued with the ideas of mysticism and religiosity.

   WITH 1816 (the first attempts were made earlier) the creation begins military settlements in the Pskov and Novgorod provinces. Their organization was supposed to give the opportunity for a sharp increase in the size of the army in wartime and to transfer the army to partial self-sufficiency, since the soldier and the peasant were united in one person. This experiment turned out to be extremely unsuccessful and caused powerful uprisings of military settlers, which were ruthlessly suppressed by the government.

   Decembrist movement

   The Decembrist movement, although it contained some signs of past palace coups, was the first attempt at a bourgeois revolution in Russia.

   Reasons for the Decembrist movement:

   1. The failure of the government to implement the promised reforms. Having grown up in anticipation of liberal reforms, the young nobles were disappointed in Alexander I and tried to take the process of democratization of the life of Russian society into their own hands.
   2. The foreign campaign of the Russian army (1813-1814), during which Russian officers were personally convinced of the backwardness of Russia, they more acutely felt the horrific lawlessness of Russian society.
   3. The need to abolish serfdom, fraught with a new Pugachevism.
   4. The active participation of serfs in the Patriotic War of 1812. These events forced many Russian landlords to take a different look at their slaves, to see them as full-fledged people. The young officers were outraged by the unwillingness of the emperor to give freedom to the peasants participating in the war.
   5. Acquaintance of the nobles with the works of European philosophers-enlighteners, through which liberal ideas penetrated into Russia.
   6. The extremely reactionary policy of the autocracy after 1815 was especially outraged by the creation of military settlements by the future Decembrists.

   Among the liberal-minded noble youth, a special place was occupied by guards officers A.N. and N.M. Muravievs, S.I. and M.I. Muravyov-Apostles, S.P. Trubetskoy, I.D. Yakushkin, who initiated the creation of 1816 G. Union of Salvation". The "Union" united about 30 people and was strictly conspiratorial, conspiratorial in nature: it was supposed to seize power by means of an armed coup in 1817, during the summer maneuvers (the so-called "Moscow uprising"), and then abolish serfdom and start other reforms. Due to the lack of a plan, the uprising was canceled at the last moment, and the Union was disbanded, deciding to change tactics.

   Largely influenced by Alexander's constitutional promises, in 1818 was created " Welfare Union”, which included about 200 members and set itself the same goals as its predecessor. But the members of the new secret organization tried to achieve them by promoting their views. Thus, the Decembrists tried to prepare society for the adoption of the constitution. However, their propaganda still did not reach the people. The governing body of the organization was called Indigenous council. The "Union" had its own charter - " green notebook».

   By 1820, members of the Union of Welfare became disillusioned with the educational methods of struggle. The most radical Decembrists organize its dissolution and begin preparations for an uprising again. V 1821 in St. Petersburg arises Northern, and in Ukraine - South e societies of the Decembrists. Formally, both societies were considered part of the same organization. The representatives of these societies are N.M. Muravyov and P.I. Pestel, respectively, drafted program documents. In parallel with the Northern and Southern Unions, there are other secret organizations. One of the most notable was Society of United Slavs founded by the Borisov brothers in Ukraine in 1818.

   N.M. Ants in his Constitution"Proposed to introduce a constitutional monarchy in Russia. The tsar became the head of the executive branch, and the bicameral parliament ("People's Council" and "State Duma"), elected on the basis of a rather high property qualification, received legislative power. Serfdom was abolished. Each freed peasant was endowed with two tithes of land. The rest of the land (based on the principle of inviolability of private property) was supposed to be left to the landowners. Russia was to become a federal state, consisting of 15 parts, with the capital in Slavyansk (Nizhny Novgorod).

   « Russian truth» P.I. Pestelya was more radical in every respect. Immediately after the uprising, power was to be transferred to a provisional government endowed with dictatorial powers. Then Russia was to become a republic, all of whose bodies - both legislative ("People's Council"), and executive ("Sovereign Duma" (an executive body of five people, one of whom was re-elected annually)) - would be formed on the basis of universal equal suffrage (only for men). The head of the executive branch is the President (one of the members of the State Duma). Serfdom was supposed to be abolished, and each farmer should receive only the absolute minimum allotment for use. The rest of the land was divided into two parts: state fund and the land of the landowners. Peasants could buy land from the state or rent it from landlords.

   New organizations were preparing a coup that was to take place in the summer of 1826. However, on November 19, 1825, Alexander I suddenly died in Taganrog. all, became Nikolai Pavlovich) and carry out the uprising ahead of schedule.

   December 14, 1825 d. The Northern Society brought some guard units to the Senate Square in St. Petersburg, trying to disrupt the Senate's oath to the new Tsar, Nicholas I. However, the Senate took the oath early in the morning and, therefore, the uprising lost all meaning. In addition, it was poorly organized - there was no clear plan of action. The dictator (leader) of the uprising, S.P. Trubetskoy, did not appear on the square and the uprising was left without a leader. Later, he was proclaimed M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The uprising lasted almost a whole day, because the government troops did not dare to shoot at their comrades. The situation changed radically when P.G. Kakhovsky shot the hero of the war of 1812, the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, M.A. Miloradovich, who came to persuade the rebels. The uprising was brutally suppressed. Another reason for the defeat was the unwillingness of the Decembrists to turn to the people for help. Fearing a repetition of the horrors of Pugachevism, they were careful not to involve common people in the struggle - they acted on the principle of " For the people, but without the people».

   December 29 Southern society headed by S.I. Muravyov-Apostol organized an uprising of the Chernigov regiment, which was also suppressed by the troops.

   Nicholas I brutally cracked down on the Decembrists. Most ended up in exile and hard labor, and five - K.F. Ryleev (poet, hero of the Battle of Borodino), P.G. Kakhovsky, P.I. Pestel, S.I. Muraviev-Apostol and M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin - were hanged.

   Domestic policy of Nicholas I (1825-1855)

   Directions of the domestic policy of Nicholas I:

   1. The fight against any manifestations of free-thinking and opposition, capable of developing into a revolution.
   2. Strengthening the state system of the Russian Empire.
   3. Serious attempts are being made to resolve the peasant question.
   4. Carrying out economic transformations.

   The dynastic crisis and the uprising of December 14, 1825 left a serious imprint on the reign of Nicholas I and gave it a pronounced reactionary character.

   1826 g. - creation III Divisions the imperial office - the secret police to control public sentiment. The corps of gendarmes was under the jurisdiction of the III Branch (A.Kh. Benkendorf became the chief of both units).

   1826 g. - publication of a rigid censorship charter (" Cast iron charter»).

   V 1828 Minister of Education S.S. Uvarov developed The theory of official nationality. Its main principles are Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality- asserted the originality and inviolability of autocracy based on Orthodoxy and the boundless love of the people for the monarch. Thus, control was established over the ideological content of education. In addition, Theory was supposed to put up an insurmountable barrier to the penetration of Western ideas and sentiments into Russia. This seemed like a very important task, because Nicholas considered the Decembrist movement to be part of a pan-European revolutionary conspiracy. In the same year, admission to secondary and higher educational institutions of children from unprivileged classes was prohibited. S.S. Uvarov owns the words: "If I manage to move Russia 50 years away from what theories are preparing for it, then I will fulfill my duty and die in peace."

   Nicholas' domestic policy was not only reactionary. Serious efforts were made to improve the state system.

   One of the most important state-legal problems of that time was the lack of a coherent system of law. Formally, the hopelessly outdated Cathedral Code of 1649 still continues to operate. In fact, during the XVIII-first quarter of the XIX centuries. a huge, absolutely unsystematic mass of laws was created, often directly contradicting each other. In order to codify (order) the laws in 1826, the II Department of the Chancellery was created, headed by M.M. Speransky. 1832 d. - publication Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire(all laws in chronological order, 45 volumes). 1833 - edition Code of Laws of the Russian Empire(current laws, 15 volumes).

   Nicholas I was concerned about the preservation of serfdom (“a powder keg under Russia”), which, firstly, was fraught with revolution, and, secondly, hindered the development of the economy. However, knowing perfectly well the need to abolish it, the emperor could not take this step. The abolition of serfdom was, in his opinion, to lead to global social upheaval and revolution. Therefore, we could only talk about its mitigation.

   By Decree on obligated peasants (1842 d.) the landowner could give the serfs personal freedom, leaving the land in his ownership. However, he had to transfer part of this land to the liberated peasants for use on the terms of serving their duties.

   In 1847, a inventory reform which was obligatory for the nobility. When compiling "inventories" - inventories of landowners' estates - the norms of corvée and dues were established, which the owner of the estate had no right to violate. However, this reform covered only the Kiev Governor-General (several provinces) and was aimed at protecting the rights of Orthodox peasants from the oppression of Catholic landowners.

   Nicholas paid much attention to improving the situation of the state peasants. V 1837 d. is being created Ministry of State Property, headed by General P.D. Kiselev, who is carrying out the reform of the state village. Elements of local self-government were created, hospitals and schools were built in the villages, peasants were resettled in sparsely populated areas. The collection of state duties was streamlined. To protect the peasants from the consequences of a possible crop failure, a public plowing(jointly cultivated land with common results of labor), on which potatoes are usually planted. In the early 1940s, a wave of "potato riots" swept through the country. the introduction of public plowing was perceived by the peasants as a state corvée and aroused sharp protest.

   During the reign of Alexander I, the economic situation in Russia was thoroughly undermined. Now there is a need to strengthen this area. Minister of Finance E.F. Kankrin pursued a protectionist policy and at the same time sought to minimize government spending (for railway construction, the Caucasian War, etc.)

   1839-1843 gg. - financial reform Kankrin. The depreciated paper banknotes were replaced with a silver coin (ruble).

   As a result of the measures of Nicholas I, there was some strengthening Russian state, which, however, was accompanied by its bureaucratization, made it cumbersome and clumsy. Real power was concentrated in the hands of a faceless bureaucracy. That is what the phrase of Nicholas I meant: "Russia is ruled by head clerks."

   Foreign policy of Nicholas I

   The main directions of Russia's foreign policy in 1825-1855:

   1. The fight against revolutionary movements in Europe, which, according to Nicholas, give rise to radical sentiments in Russia itself.
   2. Eastern question, i.e. the desire of Russia to take control of the Black Sea straits - the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. In this direction, our country had to face strong opposition not only from Turkey, but also from European states (primarily Austria).
   3. Strengthening Russia's position in Transcaucasia, the Black Sea region and the North Caucasus. Here the main opponents of Russia are Persia (Iran) and Turkey.
   4. The accession of the states of Central Asia, as well as the strengthening of their positions in Central Asia (Afghanistan). In this direction, England becomes the main enemy of Russia. With the voluntary acceptance of Russian citizenship by the Senior Zhuz (1846), Russia established itself in Kazakhstan.

   In the 1830-1840s. Russia is turning, in the words of Nicholas I himself, into Gendarme of Europe.

   In 1830, during the revolutions in France and Belgium, Nikolai began preparations for a campaign in these countries in order to suppress popular uprisings, but Russia did not receive support from its allies, who feared too much strengthening of its position in Europe.

   In the same year, 1830, an uprising began in Poland, led by the fallen colleague of Alexander I Czartoryski. It was suppressed with demonstrative cruelty, which was supposed to show Russia's readiness for an uncompromising fight against the "revolutionary infection", but caused only general condemnation. Poland was stripped of its autonomy and constitution.

   V 1849 d. The 100,000-strong Russian army suppresses the revolution in Hungary, which was trying to free itself from Austrian oppression.

   In an effort to strengthen its position in the Transcaucasus and the Northern Black Sea region, Russia is conducting a series of successful wars with Persia and the Ottoman Empire. According to the Turkmanchay (1828) treaty with Persia, most of Armenia was annexed to Russia. After the war with Turkey, in 1829, the Andrianopol Treaty was signed, according to which the entire mouth of the Danube departed to our country, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles became neutral, and the Ottoman Empire actually became dependent on Russia. Thus, it seemed that the Russian Empire came close to solving the Eastern Question.

   Russia's desire to gain a foothold in the Caucasus region (Dagestan, Chechnya, Adygea) led to a long-term war that began in 1817 Mountaineers of the Caucasus, guided by the Muslim clergy ( imams), announced gazavat(holy war against infidels). Attempts to suppress the movement of the highlanders by brute force, undertaken by General A.P. Yermolov ended in complete failure and only led to an increase in tension in the region.

   For 25 years (since 1834) this movement was headed by Shamil, a strong-willed, energetic figure with a talent for military leadership. Under him, the Caucasian war acquires a particularly fierce character. A radical change in it occurred when the Russian troops in the region were headed by M.S. Vorontsov. He is gradually pushing Shamil's warriors into the highlands, while at the same time establishing a peaceful life on the plains. V 1859 when Shamil was taken prisoner in his native village Gunib. The Caucasian war continued until 1864 of the year.

   In the early 1850s Nicholas I was preparing to deliver a decisive blow to the Ottoman Empire during the new Russian-Turkish war. Among the reasons for the war - in addition to the need to resolve the Eastern Question - is the hope for strengthening the authority of the government after the victory over Turkey. The Russian army was not ready for war - outdated (muzzle-loading) weapons, lack of ammunition and food, embezzlement, lack of necessary communications, a primitive method of recruitment (recruitment). But the Turkish army and navy were generally of little combat capability, so the victory had to be quick and easy.

   In October 1853 The Crimean War begins, the reason for which was a dispute between the Orthodox and Catholic churches over ownership of Jerusalem shrines. November 18, 1853 the Turkish fleet was completely defeated in Sinop naval battle(the last battle of the sailing fleet in history) by the Russian squadron P.S. Nakhimov.

   Russia's military successes opened the way for her to hegemony in Europe. However, this prospect did not suit the leading states of the West. In March 1854, England, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia entered the war on the side of the Ottoman Empire. Austria took a hostile position. At the same time, Odessa, the Aland Islands, the Kola Bay (Murmansk), Arkhangelsk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky were attacked.

   Russia was unable to resist the advanced European powers. In September 1854, the Allies laid siege to Sevastopol, which defended itself heroically. The sailor Pyotr Koshka especially distinguished himself in battles. The fortifications of Sevastopol were built by E.I. Totleben, who proved that ramparts and ditches are more effective than walls. Malakhov Kurgan became the center of defense. L.N. participated in the Sevastopol events. Tolstoy and N.I. Pirogov (great surgeon).

   Russian army A.S. Menshikova, who was in the Crimea, suffered a number of defeats from the Allies and was unable to support the defense of Sevastopol. Consistently, one after another, admirals V.A. Kornilov, V.I. Istomin and P.S. Nakhimov, who led the defense of the city.

   After an 11-month siege, in August 1855, Sevastopol fell.

   At the beginning of 1856, negotiations began in Paris, which ended with the signing of a peace treaty ( Treaty of Paris), summing up the results of the Crimean War.

   Terms of the Paris Treaty:

   1. Neutralization of the Black Sea, i.e. a ban on the deployment of the Russian navy and border fortresses in its basin.
   2. Southern Bessarabia ceded to the Ottoman Empire.

   The Crimean War clearly demonstrated the terrible backwardness of Russia from the advanced countries of the West and became one of the reasons for the abolition of serfdom.

   Social movement under Nicholas I

   The leader of the conservative trend in public life was S.S. Uvarov, Minister of Education, President of the Academy of Sciences, author of the Theory of Official Nationality - the basis of the ideology of conservatives. Among the theorists of this direction, historians N.M. Karamzin and M.P. Pogodin, playwright N.V. Puppeteer, writers F.V. Bulgarin, N.I. Grech, M.N. Zagoskin.

   After the defeat of the Decembrists, Russia is going through a period of political reaction. Late 1820s-early 1830s. the revolutionary trend exists only in a few student circles. Among them are the circles of the brothers Kritsky (1827) and Sungurov (1831), who tried to continue the work of the Decembrists and were mercilessly crushed by the government.

   The government consistently persecuted those organizations that adopted the new ideas of utopian socialism: the Herzen circle in Moscow (1833-1834) and the Petrashevsky society in St. Petersburg (1845-1849, F.M. Dostoevsky participated in the work of the circle). More peaceful was the existence of the moderately liberal circle of Stankevich (1833-1839), far from politics, whose members were fond of German idealist philosophy.

   By the end of the 1830s. There are two distinct trends in liberal thought in Russia: Westernism and Slavophilism, - who offer their concepts of the historical development of Russia and programs for its reorganization.

   Westerners (V.P. Botkin, E.F. Kort, K.D. Kavelin, V.P. Botkin, I.S. Turgenev, historians S.M. Solovyov and T.N. Granovsky) believed that Russia was an ordinary European state that deviated from the “correct” path of development after the beginning of the Mongol yoke and returned to it, as a result of the reforms of Peter the Great. The movement to the west is strongly hampered by the persistence of serfdom and despotism. The authorities and society must prepare and carry out well-thought-out, consistent reforms (the abolition of serfdom and the restriction of absolutism), with the help of which the gap between Russia and Western Europe will be eliminated.

   From the point of view of the Slavophiles (A.S. Khomyakov, brothers I.V. and P.V. Kireevsky, K.S. and I.S. Aksakov, A.I. Koshelev), Russia is developing in its own, original way. They called the peasant community, Orthodoxy, collectivism, limited absolutism, democratic traditions (in the form of Zemsky Sobors) its main features. As a result of Peter's reforms, this harmonious structure of Russia was destroyed. It was Peter who introduced serfdom, which interfered with the existence of the community, the despotism of power and European customs. It is necessary to return Russia to the “correct” path of development by abolishing serfdom, limiting absolutism and returning to the original way of life. The Slavophils hoped to achieve this goal with the help of reforms to be carried out by the Zemsky Sobor convened by the emperor. A special, very moderate position was taken by the “Moscow Slavophiles” (Yu.M. Samarin). They opposed radical reforms and serious restrictions on autocracy. Their motto is: The power of power is for the king. The power of opinion is to the people.”

   Thus, both currents of liberalism in Russia, interpreting the features of its historical path in completely different ways, came out with the same slogans, calling for the abolition of serfdom and the restriction of absolutism.

   Representatives of the radical trend, A.I. Herzen, N.P. Ogarev and V.G. Belinsky in the late 1830s and early 1840s shared the main ideas of the Westerners. Later, however, the radicals subjected the capitalist system to the sharpest criticism. In their opinion, a new type of society should be built in Russia - communal (Russian) socialism(the author of his theory is A.I. Herzen). The main cell of the new society should be the peasant community, the universal equality of whose members the radicals considered the main sign of socialism. At the end of the 1840s. Herzen and Ogarev emigrated to England. There from 1857 to 1867. they publish the first Russian revolutionary newspaper, Kolokol.

   P.Ya. occupies a special place in the social movement. Chaadaev, a participant in the war of 1812 and the Northern Society of Decembrists. In their " Philosophical letters”(1829-1831) he spoke about the excommunication of Russia from world history, about the spiritual stagnation due to the peculiarities of Orthodoxy, which hinders the historical development of the country. For the publication of "Letters" in the journal "Telescope" (1836), Chaadaev was declared insane. In 1837 he writes “ Apologia for a madman”, in which he expresses the hope for the inclusion of Russia in Western Christian civilization.

   Culture of the first half of the 19th century - "The Golden Age of Russian Culture"

   One of the most important phenomena in the history of Russian culture of that time was the transformation of the system of public education in 1803. The lowest step in it was the 2-class parish schools for peasant children; the next - 4-class county schools for the children of the townspeople; in the provincial cities, gymnasiums were established for the offspring of the nobility, from where the path to the university was opened. The system, therefore, was of an estate character, but in principle it was open, not closed: there was the possibility of moving from one stage to another. Under Nicholas I, the situation changed: the transition from one stage to another became practically impossible. In 1835, a new university charter was also issued, which nullified their autonomy.

   Significant advances have been made in science. The works of N.I. Lobachevsky (created non-Euclidean geometry) and P.L. Chebyshev (proved the law of large numbers). Outstanding discoveries were made in the field of organic chemistry by N.N. Zinin and A.M. Butlerov. Successes in the study of electricity and magnetism are associated with the names of V.V. Petrova (study of the properties of an electric arc), E.Kh. Lenz and B.S. Jacobi (electroplating method). In medicine, the works of N.I. Pirogov, who first used a plaster cast and ether anesthesia. With the name of V.Ya. Struve is associated with the beginning of the work of the Pulkovo Observatory and major discoveries in astronomy. P.P. Anosov unraveled the secret of Damascus steel.

   The most important milestone in the development of Russian historical science was the 12-volume " History of Russian Goverment» N.M. Karamzin. The design of the nobility trend in historiography is associated with the names of historians N.G. Ustryalova and M.N. Pogodin. During this period, the works on the world history of the professor of Moscow State University T.N. Granovsky.

   In the first half of the XIX century. numerous round-the-world trips are undertaken. The first round-the-world trip in the history of Russia was made under the command of I.F. Kruzenshtern and Yu.F. Lisyansky in 1803 - 1806 New islands were discovered in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, valuable ethnographic information about the life of the indigenous population of Sakhalin and Kamchatka was obtained and recorded. In 1821, also during a round-the-world trip made under the command of F.F. Bellingshausen and M.I. Lazarev, one sixth of the world was discovered - Antarctica. Expeditions of F.P. Wrangel, F.F. Matyushin made a description of the northeastern coast of Asia, P.K. Pakhtusova, F.P. Litke - the islands of the Arctic Ocean.

   In the first half of the XIX century. new features appear in Russian literature, most clearly manifested in romanticism (V.A. Zhukovsky and K.N. Batyushkov), which at the beginning of the century gradually replaced the inherited from the 18th century. classicism and sentimentalism.

   With the names of A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, N.A. Nekrasova, N.V. Gogol is connected with the victory of the new and most significant in Russian literature XIX v. directions - realism.

   In the visual arts, the romantic perception of the world is also being strengthened, magnificent examples of which are given in the works of O.A. Kiprensky (portraits of Pushkin and Zhukovsky) and K.P. Bryullov (" The last day of Pompeii», « Rider”, “Self-portrait”).

   In the 1830s - 1840s. in painting, too, there is a gradual formation of realism. The first steps in this direction were taken by V.A. Tropinin (" Lacemaker”, a portrait of Pushkin) and A.G. Venetsianov (" On the threshing floor», « On arable land"). The pinnacle of realism in painting in the 1840s. genre paintings by P.A. Fedotova ( "Major's Matchmaking", "Aristocrat's Breakfast", "Anchor, More Anchor"). The tragic figure of A.A. Ivanov - a deeply religious artist who devoted his whole life to the embodiment of his thoughts and feelings in a vivid picture " Appearance of Christ to the People».

   In architecture, the position of late classicism ( empire), which is characterized by solemn monumentality, rigor and simplicity, turned out to be very durable. His best creations of the first half of the 19th century: building Admiralty(A.D. Zakharov), Saint Isaac's Cathedral(O. Montferrand), Kazan Cathedral, Mining Institute(A.N. Voronikhin), and Ensemble of the General Staff, the Senate and the Synod(K.I. Rossi) in St. Petersburg, The Bolshoi Theatre(A.A. Mikhailov - O. Bove) and the building of Moscow University rebuilt after a fire (D. Gilardi).

   Since the end of the 1830s. under the influence of the theory of official nationality, an eclectic Russian-Byzantine style ( The Grand Kremlin Palace, the Armory, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Moscow railway station in St. Petersburg and Petersburg in Moscow- all K.A. Tone).

   First half of the 19th century characterized by the development of the art of sculpture, and primarily monumental. main theme heroic pages remain national history: monuments to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow (I.P. Martos), Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly in St. Petersburg near the Kazan Cathedral (B.I. Orlovsky). The sculptural group “ horse taming» on the Anichkov Bridge in St. Petersburg.

   Early 19th century marked by a rather intensive growth in the number of theaters and theater troupes. In 1824, the Bolshoi and Maly theaters were formed in Moscow. In 1832, the Alexandrinsky Theater began its activities in St. Petersburg. The founder of realism in acting art is considered to be M.S. Shchepkin. Outstanding tragic actors P.S. Mochalov, V.A. Karatygin, M.S. Shchepkin created memorable images in the plays of Shakespeare, Schiller, Gogol, Ostrovsky, Turgenev.

   The name of M. I. Glinka is associated with the formation and development of Russian classical music and the national music school. The composer became the author of the first Russian operas " Life for the king" (another name is "Ivan Susanin") and " Ruslan and Ludmila”, symphonic works, many romances. The traditions and musical aesthetics of Glinka were continued and developed by D.S. Dargomyzhsky (opera " Mermaid»). Folk motives also permeate the songs and romances of A.N. Verstovsky, A.A. Alyabyeva, A.L. Gurileva, A.E. Varlamov, which enjoyed wide popularity in various sectors of society.

A special stage in the development of European society - the formation of an industrial civilization, the basis of which is technical progress, is the 19th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, not individual discoveries and experiments, but the industrial development of new machines, the widespread introduction of new technologies, became a new phenomenon in the economies of European countries. During this period, J. Stephenson invented a railway locomotive, and R. Fulton patented the world's first steamboat. In order to exchange experience from the middle of the XIX century. world industrial exhibitions began. On May 1, 1851, the first international industrial exhibition was organized in London.

The development of new technologies created favorable conditions for the industrial revolution that laid the foundation for the industrial economy. However, industrial revolutions in Western European countries did not occur simultaneously. England was the first to embark on the path of industrialization, where the prerequisites for an industrial revolution were formed earlier than other countries. These include:

significant accumulation of capital by entrepreneurs;

creation of a free labor market at the expense of peasants and ruined artisans;

the bourgeois revolution, which removed the obstacles to the development of new economic relations;

competition with other states.

During the industrial revolution, the state paid great attention to the development of science and technology. Qualified specialists were trained at Oxford, Cambridge and other universities. According to the law of 1802, entrepreneurs had to open factory schools, where for four years young people were trained on the job.

The Industrial Revolution, which lasted in England from the 60s of the 18th century until the 30s of the 19th century, turned the country into an industrial power. However, the orientation of the most important branches of production mainly to the colonial market had a negative impact on its economic development in the future. The industrial revolution that began in France at the end of the 18th century occurred more slowly than in England, due to the predominance of small peasant farming. Only in the 30-40s of the XIX century. in the main branches of industry, the transition to machine technology assumed wide scope. initial stage industrialization ends in France in the 70s. XIX century.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Germany was one of the most backward countries in Europe economically. The reasons for the lag were: the preservation of large landed estates, the guild system and the political fragmentation of the country.

Until the middle of the 19th century, Germany remained an agrarian country; the abolition of serfdom took place here much later than in the developed Western European countries. Unlike France, the abolition of serfdom in Germany was carried out gradually "from above", i.e. through government reforms. Therefore, the liberation of agriculture from the remnants of serfdom was protracted and contradictory. A similar situation took place in Russia in the 1860s.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the US economy was developing rapidly. By the middle of the 19th century, this country ranked 4th in the world in terms of total industrial production. In iron smelting, the United States took 3rd place after England and France. The industrial revolution began in the country in the 20-30s of the XIX century, covering the textile industry, food, metallurgy, engineering and transport. Farming developed in the north of the country, while the south remained a region of plantation agriculture based on the labor of slaves. After the Civil War (1861-1865) in the United States, an economic boom began, caused by the abolition of slavery, the elimination of serfdom remnants, the presence of a huge amount of free land, and a variety of natural resources.

Under the conditions of the industrial revolution, the population is growing rapidly, especially in urban areas. If in 1700 the world population was 610 million people, then in 1800 - 905 million people, and in 1900 - 1630 million people.

During this period, the social structure of the population is changing. The importance in the economic and political life of European countries of entrepreneurs who owned factories and factories and the working class is growing. In most countries of Western Europe, the formation of nations has been completed. The changes also affected the state structure of many European countries, where absolute monarchies were replaced by constitutional monarchies or republics.

Achievements in the field of science and technology have had a huge impact on the development of culture and education. In fiction at the beginning of the 19th century, romanticism dominated, which was based on a conflict with reality (W. Scott, J. Byron, W. Hugo, etc.).

In the 19th century, theories of the reorganization of society of the utopian socialists A. Saint-Simon, C. Fourier, and R. Owen appeared and were developed. In the middle of the 19th century, the teaching of Marxism, addressed to the class consciousness of people, was spreading.

Thus, the changes that took place in the economic, political, spiritual life of European states were reflected in culture and art.

Note that the 19th century occupies a special place not only in world history, but also in the history of Russia, since during this period the prerequisites were created for the abolition of serfdom, the industrial revolution and the transition to industrialization.

In terms of population, Russia was one of the largest states in Europe (in 1800, 36 million people lived in the country, and in 1825 -52 million people).

The progress that began in the economy was associated with the development of new forms of economy and was characterized by the decline of sessional manufactory, the emergence of new industries, and the growth of urban population. However, the formation of new market relations in the country's economy had its own characteristics. Work force was mainly represented by serfs. Only in a few industries, such as the cotton industry, did freelance labor predominate. In 1825, civilian workers accounted for about a third of all workers employed in industry, while even among them the majority were quitrent serfs released to work.

At the beginning of the 19th century, there were significant changes in agriculture. Grain makes up 20-25% of the value of Russian exports. Expanding and domestic trade bread. In this regard, especially in the southern and southwestern provinces, the landowners begin to take away land from the peasants and strengthen the corvée.

Thus, in Russia, in contrast to the Western European countries, the growth of trade strengthened the feudal forms of management.

Financial system the country was also imperfect. Almost all taxes to the state budget came from the poll tax and excises - indirect taxes on wine, salt, tobacco and some other consumer goods.

Significant lag in the level of economic development of Russia from the countries of Western Europe required transformations in the economic, social life and state structure of the country.

The reorganization of the state structure of the country began during the reign of Alexander I. Representatives of the progressive-minded part of the nobility (P.A. Stroganov, V.P. Kochubey, N.N. Novosiltsev and
A. Czartoryski) created an Unofficial Committee, at whose meetings issues related to the further development of Russia were resolved. The main task of the committee was to prepare management reforms.

In September 1802, instead of the outdated Petrine collegiums, 8 ministries were formed, a committee of ministers was created. The reorganization also affected the Senate, which was the highest judicial instance. The Senate was divided into 9 departments and the ministers were obliged to submit annual reports to it.

One of the best representatives of the Russian reformers of the early 19th century was M.M. Speransky. In 1803, he compiled a “Note on the structure of judicial and government institutions”, and in 1809 he prepared the “Introduction to the Code of State Laws”. In these documents, M.M. Speransky pointed out that in Russia there are all conditions for a gradual transition to a constitutional monarchy. He proposed to introduce an elective system of representative bodies in the country.
Negative M.M. Speransky related to the serfdom of the peasants, considering, however, the abolition of serfdom was not a priority.

At the end of 1809 M.M. Speransky, appointed to the post of Secretary of State, begins reforms. In order to settle disputes between the emperor and government agencies, the State Council was created, and examinations were introduced for officials of certain classes. In the summer of 1811, instead of the abolished Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Police was formed.

Simultaneously with the reform of the state apparatus M.M. Speransky carries out financial reform. At the beginning of 1818, the country was in an extremely distressed financial condition:
125 million rubles income, 230 million rubles. expenses and 100 million rubles. debt. Wellness Plan financial condition countries included the following activities:

To withdraw from circulation all bonds and to form capital for their redemption;

Reduce the costs of all government departments;

Create a new monetary system;

Double all taxes, introduce a new progressive income tax, which was to be levied on the income of landowners from their lands.

As a result of the implementation of part of the financial reform project, by the end of 1810, the expenditure side of the budget was reduced by 20 million rubles.
And in 1811, the budget deficit was reduced to 6 million rubles, and revenues rose to 300 million rubles.

In 1812, for a number of internal and external circumstances transformative activity of M.M. Speransky was interrupted. Reforms in the early 19th century affected social relations. In February 1803, a decree “on free cultivators” was published, according to which landowners could free their peasants by entire villages or families, without fail with land by mutual agreement. This contributed to the formation of a new layer of peasants in the country - "free cultivators". However, only a small part of the peasants (less than 50 thousand people) were able to enter the category of free people due to the high size of the ransom. For example, 5 thousand serfs of the landowner Petrovo-Solovovo had to pay him 12.5 million rubles in 19 years.

In the course of the reform of the education system in Russia, four types of educational institutions are being established: rural parish and district schools, gymnasiums and universities. The university charter of 1804 granted broad autonomy to the councils of professors who elected rectors and deans of faculties.

As a result of the reform, the country was divided into
6 educational districts headed by trustees. The local university carried out the actual management of public education in each district. In total in 1805 in Russia there were 6 universities, 42 gymnasiums
(excluding gymnasiums in Lithuania, Poland and the Baltic region) and 45 district schools.

In 1811, the first lyceum was opened, designed to train well-educated officials convinced of the need to reform Russia, the director of which was the famous democrat V. F. Malinovsky.

Transformations in the sphere of education created favorable conditions for the development of culture, science, and the growth of public consciousness.

Libraries, museums are opened, the journals "Bulletin of Europe", "Journal of Russian Literature", etc. are published. Russian literature is developing (N.M. Karamzin, V.A. Zhukovsky, I.A. Krylov, etc.).

In 1820, a scientific expedition led by M.P. Lazarev and F.F. Bellingshausen discovered a new continent - Antarctica. Russian scientists explored the islands of the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, etc.

In 1818, the first 8 volumes of N. M. Karamzin's "History of the Russian State" were published, which aroused great interest in the country.

Thus, the situation that developed in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century contributed to the emergence of constitutional sentiments among the advanced part of the intelligentsia, the formation of secret free-thinking societies. However, the transformations carried out in the country were met with hostility by most of the nobility.

After the end of the war with Napoleon in 1815, work continued for some time in Russia on reform projects in the sphere of the administration system and the peasant question. However, after 1820, Alexander I finally abandoned liberal ideas, and a period of government reaction began in the country.

Of particular indignation in society is the introduction of military settlements by General A.A. Arakcheev. The life of state-owned peasants on the territory of military settlements was under constant supervision of the authorities, they were subject to strict military discipline and at the same time had to be engaged in peasant labor.

The government's rejection of liberal policy contributed to the differentiation of the nobility in Russia, the emergence of the Decembrist movement.

In 1816, the first secret society of the future Decembrists, the Union of Salvation, was formed in St. Petersburg among guard officers, two years later it was transformed into the Union of Welfare. Disagreements within the union led to its dissolution and the formation in 1821-1822 of the Northern and Southern societies of the Decembrists. The program of the Southern Society was "Russian Truth", compiled by P.I. Pestel, and the Northern Society "Constitution" N. Muravyov. The armed uprising of the Decembrists in 1825 ended in defeat, which slowed down the pace of evolution of the state system along the Western European path of development.

A new rise in the social movement in Russia falls on the second half of the 1930s. XIX century. During this period, it develops liberal movement, which includes two directions - Westernism and Slavophilism.

Westerners (T.N. Granovsky, P.V. Annenkov, V.P. Botkin and others) believed that in order to overcome socio-economic backwardness, Russia had the only way of development - the Western European one. Slavophiles (A.S. Khomyakov, Yu.V. Samarin, K.S. and I.S. Aksakovs, I.V. and
P. V. Kireevsky and others) believed that Russia should develop in its own special way, taking into account national experience, traditions, customs, and culture. The problem of finding ways for Russia's development contributed to the formation of a revolutionary-democratic trend in public thought (V. G. Belinsky, A. I. Herzen, M. V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky, and others).

With the coming to power of Nicholas I in 1825, the bureaucratization of all aspects of the state and public life of Russia began. The state apparatus acquired enormous size and influence. The role of the Council of State and the Senate is declining, while the importance of the monarchy and military departments is increasing.

The class principle is being strengthened in the education system. Each class is given an appropriate level of education. The charter of 1835 limited the autonomy of universities, students were placed under strict supervision of special inspectors

In the early 30s. XIX century Minister of Public Education Count S.S. Uvarov ideologically substantiates the government policy in the theory of "official nationality", which included the unity of Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality.

Despite the strengthening of conservative tendencies, the government of Nicholas I understood the need for peasant reform. Count P.D. Kiselev developed a draft reform. He planned first to carry out transformations in relation to the state peasants, who accounted for 40% of all peasants, and then to the landowners. In 1837-1841. reform of the state village was carried out. The allotments of the state peasants increased significantly, the per capita dues began to gradually turn into a land and trade tax.

As a result of the reform, the volost and rural administration began to be built on the basis of peasant self-government. The village assembly elected those authorized to the volost assembly, and the volost assembly elected the volost head and two of his deputies. Ministry of State Property, headed by P.D. Kiselev sought to satisfy the economic and domestic needs of the peasants: they opened shops, savings banks, schools, hospitals.

In 1839, Minister of Finance E.F. Kankrin carried out a monetary reform, as a result of which the silver ruble became the main monetary unit of Russia (350 paper rubles were equal to 100 silver), which meant the devaluation of banknotes. Banknotes were gradually withdrawn from circulation and replaced by credit notes. However, unfavorable economic and foreign policy conditions led to a constant fall in the exchange rate of the ruble and the abolition of the free conversion of credit money into silver. This contributed to the beginning of the financial crisis and the growth of the budget deficit, which reached in the mid-1950s. XIX century 50%.

The refusal of the government of Nicholas I to solve the most important socio-economic and political problems led to a deepening of stagnation in the life of the country. The future minister of the government of Alexander II wrote about Russia in the second quarter of the 19th century: "Glitter from above, rot from below." His assessment was confirmed by the unsuccessful foreign policy of Russia in the last years of the reign of Nicholas I. Thus, structural reforms were necessary for the further development of the country.

Control questions

1. What is the industrial revolution? What are its features in the countries of Western Europe?

2. Highlight the features of Russia's economic development in the first half of the 19th century?

3. Why the government of Alexander I refuses in the 20s. XIX century from the course of reforms?

4. What new directions in the social movement in Russia appear in the second half of the 30s. 19th century?

5. What are the common features and characteristics of the country's socio-economic development in the first and second quarters of the 19th century?

Literature

Budanova V.P. History of world civilizations. M., 2005.

Russian history: tutorial/ resp. ed. Ya. A. Perekhov. Ed. 3. M., 2009.

Samykin P.S., Samykin S.I. and others. History for bachelors: textbook. Rostov n / D., 2011.

Nightingale V. Russian history: a new reading. M., 2005.

Shevelev V.N. Everything could be different: alternatives in the history of Russia. - Rostov n / D., 2009.