Reforms of Peter I: restrictions of the nobility. legal investigations

(continuation)

1. Measures regarding estates. The measures taken by Peter the Great regarding estates seem to many to be a complete reform of everything. social order; in fact, Peter did not change the basic position of the estates in the state and did not remove their former estate duties from them. He only gave a new organization to the state duties of various estates, which is why the organization of the estates themselves also changed somewhat, having received greater certainty. Only the urban class, small in number in Rus', significantly changed its position thanks to the exceptional care of Peter about its development. An examination of the legislative measures for individual estates will show us the validity of the stated position.

The nobility in the seventeenth century, as we have already had occasion to show, was the highest social class; it was liable to the state for personal, mainly military service, and in return for it enjoyed the right of personal land tenure (patrimonial and local); with the extinction of the old boyars, the nobility acquired more and more administrative significance; almost the entire Moscow administration came out of it. Thus, before Peter the nobility were a military, administrative and landowning class. But as a military class, the nobility in the 17th century. no longer satisfied the needs of the time, because the disorganized noble militias could not fight the regular European troops; at the same time, the troops of the nobility were distinguished by poor mobility, they were slowly assembled: with success they could only carry out local defensive service on the borders. The Moscow government therefore began to start in the 17th century. regular regiments, recruiting soldiers from them from "walking people" (but these regiments also had their drawbacks). In them, the nobility was already in the capacity of officers. Thus, the military service of the nobility already before Peter needed to be reorganized. As administrators, the pre-Petrine nobles did not have any special training and did not remain permanently in civilian positions, because then there was no separation of military and civilian positions. If, therefore, the duties of the nobility to the state were unsatisfactorily organized, then the nobility, on the contrary, the further, the more developed. Nobles at the end of the 17th century. (1676) attained the right to inherit estates by law, as they formerly inherited them by custom; on the other hand, the power of the landowners over the peasants grew more and more - the nobles completely leveled their peasants with serfs planted on arable land ("backyard people").

Peter I set out to give a better organization to the service of the nobility and achieved this in this way: he attracted the nobles to serve the state service with terrible severity and, as before, demanded indefinite service as long as he had enough strength. Nobles had to serve in the army and navy; no more than one third of each "surname" was allowed to civil service, which under Peter was separated from the military. The growing up nobles were demanded for reviews, which were often carried out by the sovereign himself in Moscow or St. Petersburg. At reviews, they were either assigned to one or another type of service, or sent to study in Russian and foreign schools. Primary education was made compulsory for all young nobles (by decrees of 1714 and 1723). Until the age of 15, they had to learn literacy, numbers and geometry in specially arranged schools at monasteries and bishops' houses. Those who evaded compulsory education lost the right to marry. Entering the service, the nobleman became a soldier of the guard or even the army. He served alongside people from the lower classes of society, who came through recruiting kits. It depended on his personal abilities and zeal to break out into the officers; personal merit promoted to the officers and a simple peasant soldier. No nobleman could become an officer if he was not a soldier; but every officer, whoever he was by origin, became a nobleman.

So, quite consciously, Peter put personal length of service as the basis of service instead of the old foundation - generosity. But this was not news, personal length of service was already recognized in the 17th century; Peter gave her only the final advantage, and this replenished the ranks of the nobility with new noble families. The entire mass of service nobles was put under direct subordination to the Senate instead of the former Order of the Order, and the Senate was in charge of the nobility through a special official "master of arms". The former noble "ranks" were destroyed (before they were class groups: Moscow nobles, policemen, boyar children); instead of them, a ladder of official ranks (actually, positions) appeared, defined by the famous "Table of Ranks" of 1722. Before, belonging to a well-known rank was determined by the origin of a person, under Peter it began to be determined by personal merit. Outside of official positions, all the nobles merged into one continuous mass and received the common name of the gentry (it seems that since 1712).

Table of ranks (original)

Thus, the service of the nobles became more correct and harder; entering the regiments, they broke away from the terrain, were regular troops, served without interruptions, with rare holidays home, and could not easily hide from service. In a word, the organization of the state duty of the nobles has changed, but the essence of the duty (military and administrative) has remained the same.

But the reward for service has become stronger. Under Peter, we no longer see the distribution of estates to service people; if someone is given land, then it is in patrimony, i.e., in hereditary property. Moreover, Peter's legislation also turned old estates into estates, expanding the right to dispose of them. Under Peter, the law no longer knows the difference between local and patrimonial possession: it differs only in origin. Who can prove the right of ownership of the land, that votchinnik; who remembers that his hereditary land belongs to the state and was given to his ancestors for possession, that landowner. But, having turned estates into estates by law, Peter looked at estates as estates, considering them possessions that exist in the interests of the state. Previously, for the benefit of the state, it was not allowed to split up estates when passing them on to offspring. Now Peter, in the same form, extended this rule to estates. By decree of 1714 (March 23rd), he forbade the nobles to split up land holdings when bequeathing to their sons. “Whoever has several sons can give real estate to one of them, to whom he wants,” the decree said. Only when there was no will did the eldest son inherit; therefore, some researchers somewhat incorrectly call Peter's law of single inheritance the law of primacy. This law, observed by the nobility in relation to the estates, caused strong opposition when it was transferred to the estates. Abuses began, circumvention of the law, "hatred and quarrels" in noble families - and in 1731, Empress Anna repealed Peter's law and together destroyed any distinction between estates and estates. But with this last order, she completed only what Peter recognized, for the difficulties of his service, he gave the nobility more rights to estates.

But in addition to the expansion of landownership rights, which made the possession of estates more durable, the nobility under Peter also took stronger hold on the peasants. This question about the attitude of the nobles to the peasants leads us to the general question of the position of the latter under Peter I.

The nobility under Peter I, as S. Pushkarev notes in his Review of Russian History, was by no means always the privileged estate into which it became under his successors.

The highest rank of the Moscow court nobility - the boyars - completely disappeared. The Boyar Duma ceased to exist, and Peter appointed the highest officials of the central and regional administration, completely ignoring their origin.

The official service of the entire nobility under Peter not only did not become easier, but, on the contrary, became much more difficult than it was in the Muscovite state.

There, the nobles, after serving a military campaign or guard duty, went home, and under Peter they were obliged to join regular soldier regiments from the age of 15 and, only after a long test of soldier drill and suffering or showing special military distinctions, could they be promoted to officers. And then they had to serve in the army until old age or until they lost their ability to work.

On the other hand, every soldier who rose to the rank of officer received hereditary nobility.

In 1721, Peter signed a decree that read: "All chief officers who did not come from the nobility, these and their children and their descendants, are the nobles, and they should be given patents for the nobility."

Thus, access to the nobility through military service was open to all classes of the population.

The king of arms established under the Senate, supervising the nobility and its service, had to keep a strict account of the nobles and ensure that none of them, upon reaching fifteen years of age, shied away from service. He was also instructed to ensure that in the civil service there were no more than a third of the men of each noble family.

The former Moscow official ranks, which depended to a large extent on the origin of the service people, were abolished by Peter. The “Table of Ranks” published by him in 1722 divided the entire mass of civil servants, military and civilian, into fourteen ranks and ranks, along which an officer and a civil official had to advance.

In place of the former aristocratic hierarchy of "breed" and "fatherland", Peter put the military-bureaucratic hierarchy of merit and length of service.

In addition to official duty, Peter assigned a completely new educational duty to the nobles. He sent a hundred young nobles abroad to study mainly military and naval affairs.

All male noble children were ordered (in 1714) to be taught literacy, arithmetic and geometry.

At the same time, Peter limited the rights of the nobles to dispose of their estates. By a decree on uniform inheritance, issued in 1714, Peter forbade landowners to divide estates between sons and ordered to bequeath an immovable estate to only one son “at the choice of the owner”, because “the division of immovable estates is a great harm in our state both to the interests of the state and to the names themselves. ".

The relationship between peasants and landlords was not directly and directly regulated by the laws of Peter. However, the major financial reform he undertook, the introduction of a "poll" tax, contributed to the deterioration of the legal position of the serfs due to mixing them with serfs into one class of landlord subjects.

When Peter ordered a census of the population to be taxed by the poll tax, the census takers included only peasants in the lists, because serfs were not subject to taxation according to the previous situation.

However, Peter wanted to attract everyone to the state “tax” and in 1720 he pointed out to the Senate: “Because I hear that only peasants are written in the current censuses, and people who are courtyards and others are not written ... for the sake of now, confirm with a decree that all the landowners write their given, no matter what rank they are."

The poll tax was laid equally on peasants and serfs. Klyuchevsky wrote: "Slavery, as a special legal state, free from state duties, disappeared, merging with the serfs into one class of serfs, whom the masters were left to organize and exploit economically at their discretion."

At the same time, S. Pushkarev argues that Peter himself did not sympathize with the extreme development of serfdom, which came down to the sale of individuals "like cattle", but did not take effective measures to limit it.

In 1721, he issued a decree stating that “peasants and business and household people are sold separately by the petty gentry - whoever wants to buy - like cattle, which is not found in the whole world and why there is a considerable cry” - “And his royal majesty ordered to stop this sale to people”; but then a reservation followed: "And if it is impossible to stop it, then at least out of need they would sell whole families or families - and not separately."

Recognizing the importance of commerce and industry in the life of the state, Peter tried his best to raise activity and social level Russian commercial and industrial class. Having established elected city magistrates to manage cities, Peter also wanted Russian artisans to organize themselves into guilds, following the model of Western European ones (it should be noted that in Europe at that time there was already a struggle against the guild system).

According to the regulations of the chief magistrate, "each art and craft has its own special tsunfts (that is, workshops) and has aldermans (seniors) above them."

However, the guild organization was not supposed to be coercive. According to the decree on the workshops of 1722, it was necessary to write to the workshops "artisans who want to, but do not force them against their will."

However, Peter's attempt to impose self-government and a guild system in Russia was not crowned with success.

And one of the reasons that slowed down the rise and development of the urban class was precisely the state "tax" - the severity of taxes, as well as the obligatory performance of services and duties that lay on the urban population.

Peter, as S. Pushkarev notes, understood this, and by a decree of 1722 he tried to free the townspeople from state service: who are now in such cases - to be fired at the end of the year. And to have such gatherings as chief commanders from retired officers, and for smaller non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers ... and for them to choose a team from a magistrate from dissenters and bearded men into kissers.

However, it soon became clear that it was impossible to recruit the required number of retired officers and soldiers, schismatics and "bearded men" for such services, and the townspeople were again involved in the services, from which they were freed only by the City Regulations of 1785.

Kalinina A.S.

The beginning of the 18th century was marked by the reforms of Peter I, which were designed to bridge the gap in the level of development of Russia and Europe. The reforms affected all spheres of society. The state needed a secular culture. An important feature of the culture of the new time was its openness, the ability to make contacts with the cultures of other peoples. The era we are considering is the century of a turning point. This is clearly seen in the history of the nobility, in their everyday life.

The nobility for several centuries was the highest ruling class of the Russian state. In Russia, the nobility arose in the 12th century as the lowest part of the military service class. Under Peter I, the formation of the nobility was completed, which was replenished with people from other strata as a result of their promotion in public service.

The 18th century is a separate stage in the life of the Russian nobility, unlike either the previous 17th century or the subsequent 19th and 20th. This is a time of fundamental changes in the nobility in connection with the reforms of Peter I. But at the same time, this is a time when the old way of life of people was still preserved in a strong form. All this together gives a very complex and unique stock of character of the nobleman of the XVIII century.

Relevance of the topic: Recently, there has been an increased interest of researchers in the study of the microcosm of man, his daily life. The question of studying the realities of everyday life seems to be relevant. In the first quarter of the 18th century, thanks to the efforts of Peter I, the great Russian Empire was born, the Europeanization of culture was carried out. And it is very interesting for me to follow how the life of the Russian nobility changed with the reforms of Peter I.

Among the rather large amount of literature devoted to this topic, too, it is necessary to single out the most significant and important for us. First of all, from the pre-revolutionary works, it is necessary to note the works of S.M. Solovieva, V.O. Klyuchevsky, N.M. Karamzin.

The transformations of everyday life during the time of Peter I are deeply analyzed by S. M. Solovyov. He noted for the first time that the transformations began in the second half of the 17th century. Having considered the prerequisites for transformations in the field of culture, S. M. Solovyov noted that they were formed primarily in the sphere of material culture, in the material world of man, “the Russian people, entering the field of European activity, naturally had to dress in European clothes, because the question was not about the sign of the nationality, the question was: to which family of peoples belong European or Asian, and, accordingly, wear the sign of this family in clothes. And in chapter 3, volume 18 of his History of Russia from Ancient Times, he defends the correctness of the reforms of Peter I.

The well-known historian V. O. Klyuchevsky, continuing the thought of S. M. Solovyov, notes that the transformation of everyday life in the form in which they were carried out was caused not so much by necessity as by the expression of the subjective feelings and views of the king. "He hoped ... through the nobility to establish European science in Russia, enlightenment as a necessary condition ...". In turn, N. M. Karamzin noted: the main content of the reform was that "an ardent monarch with a heated imagination, having seen Europe, wanted to make Russia Holland." “But this passion for new customs for us crossed the boundaries of prudence in him ... Russian clothes, a beard did not interfere with the establishment of schools.”

And I agree, the reforms of Peter I are controversial. Transformations took place by force, entailed huge sacrifices. But on the other hand, for the first time after the baptism of Rus', Peter I made an energetic attempt to bring the country closer to European civilization. It "turned into a great power with an efficient economy, a modern navy, and a highly developed culture. The advance was swift and decisive."

It should be emphasized that the historiography describing the daily life of society in the first quarter of the 18th century is quite extensive. It is mainly devoted to the life and customs of the Petrine era in the works of historical and cultural orientation. The first experience of a comprehensive description of Russian life was undertaken by A.V. Tereshchenko in the multi-volume monograph “The Life of the Russian People” (T. 1-7. St. Petersburg, 1848.).

E. I. Karnovich’s everyday essays “Historical stories and everyday essays” contain information about the procedure for holding Peter's assemblies, masquerades and balls.

It should also be noted the works of M. M. Bogoslovsky "Life and customs of the Russian nobility in the first half of the XVIII century."

Speaking about the literature on this topic, it is necessary to say about the works devoted to the culture of the nobility. This, of course, is the work of the Soviet literary critic and culturologist Lotman Yu.M. “Conversations about Russian culture. Life and traditions of the Russian nobility. The author notes that in the 18th century belonging to the nobility meant "the obligatory rules of conduct, the principles of honor, even the cut of clothing." And, touching upon the problem of the emergence of the nobility as an estate, the scientist says that the nobility of the 18th century was entirely the product of Peter's reforms. The book immerses the reader into the world of everyday life of the Russian nobility of the 18th - early 19th centuries. We see people of a distant era in the nursery and in the ballroom, at the card table, we can examine in detail the hairstyle, the cut of the dress, the demeanor. At the same time, everyday life for the author is a historical-psychological category, a sign system, that is, a kind of text.

"History of everyday life" is currently one of the most urgent and actively developed problems in Russian historiography.

After the reforms of Peter I, fundamental changes took place in the country, in the life of a separate estate - the nobility, which is fundamentally different from the nobility of the 17th century. Therefore, the purpose of this work will be to show what the nobility was like after the reforms of Peter, his way of life in the 18th century.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been set: we will consider the daily, moral and cultural life of the nobility, its upbringing and education, and the spiritual sphere of its life.

The chronological framework of the study covers the period of reforms of Peter I (1700-1725).

The territorial scope of the study is outlined by Moscow and St. Petersburg. This limitation of the study is explained by objective reasons: Petersburg in the first quarter of the 18th century was the center of cultural change. In most cases, all social events and official holidays were held in the northern capital. At the same time, Moscow remained the center of the Russian Empire and did not lose its political and cultural significance.

We will focus on the key moments of the daily life of the nobles - this is education, leisure, life, clothing.

Education. Etiquette

The eighteenth century in Russia was marked by the reforms of Peter I. Russia began to climb the ladder of European culture, along which, in many respects forcibly, it was dragged by the unrestrained and furious will of Peter. The tsar sought to involve the Russian nation in enlightenment.

The formation of a new type of personality of a nobleman and noblewoman, which was the result of borrowing European educational systems, continued, begun earlier. During the time of Peter I, the creation of a secular school and education of the nobility was an exclusively state matter.

In the 18th century, in the "normative" upbringing and education, Peter's education became a necessary and obligatory part of the formation of both foreign languages and good European manners. After the reforms, the formation of a new Russian nobleman.

The tsar was concerned about the external gloss of officers and officials, but he was well aware that the ability to behave in society, not to champ at the table, ... neither to build a fortress or a ship, nor to successfully play the role of a wheel in a clockwork, which meant the entire hierarchy of newly created institutions. For this, knowledge and the ability to put this knowledge into practice were necessary. For this, elementary schools, colleges were opened, textbooks began to be produced, some nobles were sent to study abroad. Nobles were generally forbidden to marry without education.

In 1701, the Navigation School was established, on the basis of which the Naval Academy arose in 1715, and the Artillery School was founded. In 1712, the School of Engineering began to operate in Moscow, medical personnel were trained at the Medical School, opened in 1707. For the needs of the diplomatic service Embassy order A school for teaching foreign languages was opened. Established in 1721 special school, where students studied arithmetic, office work, the ability to compose business papers and letters, etc. Finally, in 1725, the Academy of Sciences was opened.

There are two innovations in the field of education. One of them, the main one, is that the network of schools has expanded many times over. It is important, however, that it was during the years of transformation that the foundations of professional educational institutions were laid.

Another feature of education was that it acquired a secular character.

But young people must still be able to behave correctly in society. She must learn this not only in educational institutions and in assemblies, but also by studying special instructions. One of them, under the unintelligible title "An Honest Mirror of Youth, or an Indication for Worldly Behavior," was especially popular. Under Peter, it was printed three times, which indicates a huge demand for it. The unknown compiler of this essay took advantage of several foreign works, of which he translated those parts that he considered useful to the Russian reader.

“An Honest Mirror of Youth” set out the rules for the behavior of young people in the family, at a party, in public places and in the service. It inspired the young men with modesty, diligence, obedience. In the family it was necessary to “keep father and mother in great honor”, “young children should always speak foreign languages among themselves”. Interesting recommendations on how to behave in public places and at the table. "No one has hanging his head and downcast eyes to walk down the street, or to look askance at people, but to step straight and without bending over." Rules of behavior at the table: “Let your hands not lie on the plate for a long time, do not shake your feet everywhere when you drink, do not wipe your lips with your hand, but with a towel.”

The last pages of The Youth of an Honest Mirror are devoted to girls. Their maiden should have had much more: humility, diligence, mercy, modesty, fidelity, cleanliness. The girl appreciated the ability to blush, which was a sign of moral purity. "In conversations, be able to listen, be polite ...".

The network of schools contributed to the spread of literacy. But not everyone could get an education. It covered with its network primarily the children of the nobility and the clergy. The expansion of the network of schools and vocational schools has caused a flood of educational literature. There were textbooks on various branches of knowledge.

Clothes in the life of the nobles

The eighteenth century was marked by a revolution in the clothing of the nobility. The Russian nobility in their European costume showed old Russian traditions - a passion for jewelry, furs, red heels. Baroque costumes created a festive atmosphere of everyday life.

The year 1700 became a kind of starting point on the path of Europeanization of Russian clothing and life. The well-known historian of the 19th century, Vladimir Mikhnevich, very accurately conveyed the flavor of the 18th century: “The magic director instantly changes the stage, costumes beyond recognition and, as it were, takes us on a magic carpet from Asia to Europe, from the gloomy Kremlin chambers to Versailles sparkling with fashion and luxury. A noisy, motley crowd of gilded, the latest Parisian style, short-haired caftans and camisoles, magnificently puffed up tanks, curled, powdered wigs and smart cocked hats rushes onto the historical stage ... Is this not a dream?

“Peter I considered it necessary to change the old ideas about dresses and beards: he started with himself. His example should have brought about a change between the nobles and all citizens, but almost everyone persisted. So, in December 1700, in Moscow, to the sound of drums, a royal decree was announced on the abolition of the old-fashioned Russian dress "On the wearing of every rank to people of German dress and shoes." Peter I set out to eradicate traditional clothing. Dresses of a new, European type were put on display near the Kremlin wall. It was prescribed for men to wear Hungarian and German dress from December 1, 1700, and for wives and daughters from January 1, 1701, so that "they were with them (husbands and fathers) in that dress equal, not different." As you can see, the female half of the urban population was given a slightly longer period to update their wardrobe. It was obvious that the new fashion was accepted with great difficulty. In Moscow, kissers were even chosen, who stood at all the city gates and “at first they took money from the opponents of the decree, and also cut and flogged the (old-fashioned) dress. For wearing a long caftan, a fine was collected - 2 hryvnias. If a Muscovite could not pay the required amount, then they put him on his knees and cut off his caftan on a level with the ground. “At the same time, it was ordered not to sell Russian dresses in the shops and not to sew such a tailor, under fear of punishment.” The change in clothing went hand in hand with the change in everything. appearance. In January 1705, the Decree "On the shaving of beards and mustaches of all ranks for people" followed.

Even among the nobility, new fashions at first caused discontent and resistance.

The transition to new clothes was not easy. Among the poor nobility, the transition to a new costume was difficult due to their financial situation; it was not possible to change the entire wardrobe in a short time. The general appearance of the costumes, transformed by the fashion of the new time, was as follows: men's clothing consisted of shoes, a shirt, a camisole, a caftan, short pants (culottes), and stockings. For a woman, it was necessary to wear a corsage, fluffy skirts, a swing dress. To complete the impression, imagine heavily powdered hairstyles for women and wigs for men. Gradually, dressing richly, following the new fashion, began to be considered a sign of high dignity.

The daily life of the Petrine era was strikingly different from the previous one. If earlier it was enough for a fashionista to put on rich clothes and jewelry, now a new cut of a dress required learning different manners and different behavior. Fashionistas had to show not so much an expensive dress to the eyes of their contemporaries as to show their personal merits, their ability to bow gallantly, with dignity, stand elegantly, and easily carry on a conversation.

The ladies were in a more difficult position. They had to first overcome their modesty - the dress bared their neck and arms, and only then learn how to move gracefully, learn languages.

The science of etiquette was difficult to comprehend, in 1716 the Hanoverian resident Christian Friedrich Weber wrote: “I saw many women of amazing beauty, but they have not quite lost their old manners, because in the absence of a court (in Moscow) there is no strict observation of this. The nobles dress in German, but they put on their old clothes over them, but otherwise they keep to the old ways, for example, in greetings they still bow their heads low to the ground. “In 1715, Peter the Great laughed at the old Russian outfits and in December appointed a street masquerade. In which, from the most eminent person to the mere mortal, everyone was dressed in curious old dresses. So, among the ladies' persons was Baturlina in a naked fur coat and summer coat; Prince Abbess Rzhevskaya - in a fur coat and a padded jacket ... So the reformer of Russia laughed at the old outfits.

Changing clothes is easier than breaking old habits. And if the costume of the Russian fashionista was in no way inferior in its elegance to European models, then the manners left much to be desired. Weber said that women in dealing with strangers and foreigners “are still wild and wayward, which one famous German gentleman had to find out from his own experience. When ... he wished to kiss one girl's hand and was rewarded for this with a full-fledged slap in the face.

Over time, clothes of a new style become an integral part of most of the nobility.

Leisure

It begins with the nobility true story leisure. For a nobleman, almost all the time free from official affairs turned into leisure. The main forms of this leisure were originally borrowed in the 18th century. The Petrine era was marked by new traditions of spectacles. Fireworks were the most important innovation. Masquerades were held either in the form of costume processions, or in the form of a demonstration of carnival costumes in a public place, theatrical performances glorified the king.

The nobleman's day started very early. If he served, then he went to the service, and if not, then for a walk. “The place for walking in St. Petersburg was Nevsky Prospekt, and in Moscow - Tverskoy Boulevard. There was music playing and crowds of people walking around. There were also other places for walking in Moscow. The nobles often went to the Botanical Garden, founded by the decree of Peter I as an Apothecary Garden, to admire rare flowers, herbs, shrubs and trees.

During walks, the nobles showed off their fashionable outfits, talked and made social acquaintances. The walks continued until noon.

Lunch was an important step in the daily routine. They dined either at home, but always with guests, or they themselves went to a dinner party. They dined for a long time, in accordance with the traditions of noble etiquette, which were strictly observed. After dinner, rest was certainly supposed, and then new entertainment awaited the nobleman.

The penetration of European culture into Russia radically changed the position of the noblewoman. "The nobles began to live open house; their spouses and daughters came out of their impenetrable chambers; balls, dinners connected one floor to another in noisy halls. First, by force, and then of her own free will, she joined secular life and mastered the appropriate skills of noble etiquette: she read books, took care of the toilet, learned foreign languages, mastered music, dance, and the art of conversation. At the same time, she had a family with good good traditions of the priority of values and the Christian faith. Children remained the main daily concern of the noblewoman of the time of Peter the Great.

The everyday life of the capital's noblewomen was predetermined by generally accepted norms. The capital's noblewomen, if funds allowed, tried to think less about the state of finances and the entire "home economy". They were much more worried about the arrangement of their home, its readiness to receive guests, as well as the state of their outfits, which had to correspond to the latest fashion trends. Even foreigners were struck by the Russian noblewomen "the ease with which (they) spent money on clothes and home improvement."

Petersburg demanded greater observance of etiquette and time rules and daily routine; in Moscow, as V. N. Golovina noted, “the way of life (was) simple and unobtrusive, without the slightest etiquette,” the actual life of the city began “at 9 o’clock in the evening,” when all “houses were open,” and “morning and afternoon can (was) done in any way.

Nevertheless, most of the noblewomen in the cities spent both the morning and the day “in public”. The morning of the townswoman began with make-up: “In the morning we blushed slightly so that the face was not too red ...” After the morning toilet and a fairly light breakfast (for example, “from fruit, yogurt”), it was the turn to think about the outfit: even on an ordinary day a noblewoman in the city could not afford negligence in her clothes, shoes “without heels, lack of hair, that other“ young women , having styled their hair for some long-awaited holiday, “were forced to sleep until the day of departure, so as not to spoil the dress.” And although, according to the Englishwoman Lady Rondo, Russian men of that time looked at “women only as funny and pretty toys that could entertain,” women themselves often subtly understood the possibilities and limits of their own power over them. For 18th-century urban women, conversations remained the main means of exchanging information and filled most of the day for many.

At the end of 1718, Peter I forcibly introduced new forms of leisure - assemblies. Assembly, explained the king in the decree, the word is French, it means a certain number of people who have gathered together either for their own amusement, or for reasoning and friendly conversations. Selected societies were invited to the assemblies. They began at four or five in the afternoon and continued until 10 in the evening. The hosts, to whom guests came to the assemblies, had to provide them with a room, as well as a light treat: sweets, tobacco and pipes, drinks to quench their thirst. Special tables were set up for playing checkers and chess. By the way, Peter loved chess and played it excellently.

The Assembly is a place of informal meetings, where the tops of the society went through a school of secular education. But both ease, and genuine fun, and the ability to conduct a secular conversation or insert an appropriate remark, and, finally, to dance were not achieved immediately. At the first balls of the time of Peter the Great, depressing boredom reigned, they danced as if they were serving the most unpleasant duty. A contemporary drew such an assembly from nature: “Ladies always sit separately from men, so that not only can you not talk to them, but you can hardly even say a word; when they are not dancing, everyone sits like dumb people and just looks at each other.

Gradually, the nobles learned manners and fashionable dances, and Peter's assemblies became a joy. There were two kinds of dances at the assemblies: ceremonial and English. “At first, only wind and percussion instruments could be heard at the assemblies: trumpets, bassoons and timpani, and in 1721 the Duke of Holstein brought a string orchestra with him to Russia.”

Most often, assemblies were held in the winter months, less often in the summer. Sometimes the king himself was the host of the assembly. Guests were invited to Summer garden or a country residence - Peterhof.

Peter taught the courtiers the rules of etiquette with the same zeal as officers of the military article. He drew up instructions that were to be followed in Peterhof. It is noteworthy as evidence of what elementary rules of behavior the king inspired his courtiers: “To whom a card with the number of a bed is given, then he has to sleep without transferring the bed, give it lower to another, or take something from another bed.” Or an even more expressive point: "Without taking off your shoes, with boots or shoes, do not lie down on the bed."

Assemblies are the most characteristic innovation, a kind of symbol of the era in the sense that it had no predecessors.

Code of Household Conduct

“In the time of Peter the Great were laid important basics in the transformation of the noble family: the prohibition of forced marriage, the assumption of freedom of marriage choice, the violation of the isolation of the Orthodox family by allowing marriages with foreigners, the education of the bride and groom, raising the age of the young. Six weeks before the wedding, the betrothal was to take place, after which the bride and groom could see each other freely, and if they did not like each other, they had the right to refuse marriage. Despite the preservation of traditional rituals, the wedding gradually turned into a European-style celebration with fashionable dresses, dances and foreign travels. The innovation of this time was the divorce of noble families. At the heart of the family itself, which largely retains a patriarchal character, was duty and family harmony. The document serving as the legal protection of the spouses was the marriage contract. An important phenomenon was the acquisition by a noblewoman of the exclusive right to a dowry. The noble family began to be built on new principles. In the family, the role of a woman who became a wife-friend has increased. The power of the husband began to have a more refined and enlightened character.

For the first time, personal libraries and collections appeared in the houses of the nobility. Under the influence of European culture in the 18th century, aesthetic tastes and a new communication etiquette of the Moscow nobility were gradually formed. This process was accompanied by the development of self-consciousness of the first estate, which was based on moral Orthodox guidelines. The ethical norms of Christianity largely influenced the moral principles of the noble society. This was most clearly manifested in the charitable activities of the nobility - the creation of shelters, hospitals and other charitable institutions.

House. Culinary traditions

The eighteenth century passed in a tense struggle between the Russian chambers and the European home - the palace. The Petrine era was marked by the penetration of style, they began to gradually build palace houses. The urban and rural estates of the nobles had a number of common features: the location of a residential building in the depths of the courtyard, the nature of the estate development, adherence to wood, the isolation of possessions and a regular park. The European interiors of the houses of the nobility were decorated in red and lingonberry colors and with green tiled stoves according to the old Russian tradition. The visiting card of the noble mansion was a portico with columns and facing of wooden details under the stone. Landscape parks became one of the prerequisites for the development of the scientific interest of the nobility in the natural branches of knowledge.

There were French, English and German dining trends in the aristocracy's feast culture. In general, "Russian exoticism" was a defining trend in the gastronomic tastes of the nobility. In the development of table culture, the Russian custom of table setting won not only in Moscow, but by the middle of the 19th century it was also recognized in Europe. The nobles, for the most part, turned dinners into theatrical performances, the roles of which were painted by noble etiquette. So, the 18th century became the century of European cuisine for Russia. There were a large number of new dishes that exist today. From Western Europe, Russian people borrowed a more refined taste, table setting and the ability to eat beautifully prepared dishes.

Conclusion

The everyday culture of the nobility of the 18th century, during the reign of Peter I, is characterized by a clash and a mixture in everyday life of two trends - traditional and European. It was a turning point, primarily in the field of changes in the external, material factors of the everyday life of the nobility. The change in appearance was a kind of symbolic manifestation of the choice of one or another path of development of the country, an expression of commitment to a certain type of culture, but behind the external attributes there was usually an important internal content.

Thus, we see that the 18th century is a time when, on the one hand, the nobleman still has the features of a truly Russian, deeply religious person, and on the other hand, the process of Europeanization began, inevitable after the turbulent era of Peter I, but at the same time not entirely clear to the Russian to a person.

Summing up my work, we can say that the 18th century is the time when a completely new nobility takes shape, in the Russian nobility we see a type of Russian person, not yet fully formed, but already completely new, who will never return to the past .

List of sources and literature

1. Georgieva T.S. History of Russian culture.-M.: Yurayt.-1998.-576p.

2.Zakharova O.Yu. Secular ceremonials in Russia in the 18th-beginning of the 20th century.

3. History of Russia in questions and answers. / Ed. V.A.Dines, A.A.Vorotnikova.- Saratov.- Publishing Center SSEU.-2000.-384p.

4. Karamzin M.K. History of Russian Goverment. T.11-12.- St. Petersburg: Eduard Prats Printing House.- 1853.-425p.

5. Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian state: 12 volumes in 4 k., k.4.t.10-12.-M.: RIPOL CLASSIC.-1997.-736s.

6. Kirsanova R.M. Russian costume and life of the 18th-19th centuries // Culturology.-2007.-№4.-P.152

7. Klyuchevsky V.O. Russian history course. part 4. - M.: A.I. Mamontov.-1910.- 481s.

8. Klyuchevsky V.O. Op. in 9 v., v.4. Course of Russian history.- M.: Thought.-1989.-398s.

9. Korotkova M.V. Journey into the history of Russian life.- M.: Bustard.-2006.-252p.

10. Lotman Yu. M. Conversations about Russian culture. Life and traditions of the Russian nobility.- M.: Art.- 1999.-415p.

11. Pavlenko N.I. Peter the Great and his time.-M.: Enlightenment.-1989.-175p.

12. Politkovskaya E.V. How people dressed in Moscow and its environs in the 16th-18th centuries.-M.: Nauka.-2004.-176p.

13. Pushkareva N.L. Private life of a Russian woman: bride, wife, mistress (10th - early 19th century).-M.: Ladomir.-1997.-381p.

14. Pylyaev M.I. Old life. - St. Petersburg: Printing house A.S. Suvorin.- 1892.-318s.

15. Suslina E.N. Everyday life of Russian dandies and fashionistas.-M.: Youth Guard.-2003.-381s.

16. Tereshchenko A.V. Life of the Russian people. Part 1. -M.: Russian book.-1997.-288s.

Lecture LXV111, Soloviev's judgments//Klyuchevsky V.O. The course of Russian history. Part 4. M., 1910. S. 270

Klyuchevsky V.O. Op. in 9 v., v.4. Russian history course. M., 1989. S. 203

Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian state: 12 volumes in 4 k., k.4.t.10-12. M., 1997. S.502

History of Russia in questions and answers./Under the editorship of V.A.Dines, A.A.Vorotnikov. Saratov, 2000, p. 45

Lotman Yu. M. Conversations about Russian culture. Life and traditions of the Russian nobility. M., 1999. S. 6

Pavlenko N.I. Peter the Great and his time. M., 1989. S. 158

Tereshchenko A.V. Life of the Russian people. Part 1. M., 1997.S. 206

Kirsanova R.M. Russian costume and life of the XVIII-XIX centuries.//Culturology. 2007. No. 4. S. 152

Politkovskaya E.V. How people dressed in Moscow and its environs in the 16th-18th centuries. M., 2004. S. 144

Pylyaev M.I. Old life. St. Petersburg, 1892. S. 62

Zakharova O.Yu. Secular ceremonials in Russia in the 18th - early 20th century. M., 2003. S. 182

Suslina E.N. Daily life of Russian dandies and fashionistas. M., 2003. S. 153

Pylyaev M.I. Old life. St. Petersburg, 1892. S. 63

Suslina E.N. Daily life of Russian dandies and fashionistas. M., 2003. S. 152

Korotkova M.V. Journey into the history of Russian life. M., 2006. S. 181

Karamzin M.K. History of Russian Goverment. T.11-12. St. Petersburg, 1853. S. 419

Pushkareva N.L. Private life of a Russian woman: bride, wife, mistress (10th - early 19th century). M., 1997. S.226

Ibid S. 227

Pushkareva N.L. Private life of a Russian woman: bride, wife, mistress (10th - early 19th century). M., 1997. S.227

Korotkova M.V. Journey into the history of Russian life. M., 2006. S. 188

Pavlenko N.I. Peter the Great and his time. M., 1989. S. 156

Georgieva T.S. History of Russian culture. M., 1998. S. 155

During the implementation of the project, state support funds were used, allocated as a grant in accordance with the order of the President Russian Federation No. 11-rp dated January 17, 2014 and on the basis of a competition held by the All-Russian public organization "Russian Union of Youth"

Russian nobility life traditions

The Russian nobility in the 18th - 19th centuries was a product of the Petrine reform. Among the various consequences of this reform, the creation of the nobility in the function of the state and culturally dominant class is clearly not the last. The Peter's reform, with all the costs that the era and the personality of the tsar imposed on it, solved national problems, creating statehood that ensured two hundred years of existence for Russia next to the main European powers, and creating one of the brightest cultures in the history of human civilization. The Petrine epoch put an end to the class of service people forever. The forms of Petersburg city life were created by Peter I, and his ideal was the so-called. a "regular state" where all life is regulated, subject to rules, built in observance of geometric proportions, reduced to precise, almost linear relationships.

The behavior of the nobles was strikingly different in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Here is how Ekaterina Vladimirovna Novosiltseva describes the way of life in her grandmother's house: “At eight o'clock they drank tea. Vera Vasilievna (aunt) busied herself with the housework, grandmother began her long prayer, Katya and her sister Olya were engaged in their wing. And Nadezhda Vasilievna (the elder aunt) went for a walk, that is, to bypass familiar neighbors, but before that she had gone to an early mass. For about an hour everyone gathered in the tearoom. The dinner table was set at two o'clock. Then the whole family rested, and the girls went to their wing. At six o'clock everyone gathered in the living room, where Vera Vasilievna poured out tea. In the thirties, my grandmother did not go anywhere, except for the church, but earlier she always went to visit in the evenings. The evening was spent with family. Nadezhda Vasilievna either herself went to visit, or invited some neighbor. At ten there was dinner, and then everyone went to their places (only Katya ran away to Vera Vasilievna and talked to her until two o'clock) Novosiltseva E.V. Family notes of T. Tolycheva. M., 1865. P. 144-150.

In St. Petersburg, the daily routine was completely different. The writer M. A. Korsini captured the way of life of the Northern capital in the image of one of her heroines, who got up at two in the afternoon, talked with her daughter, gave household orders, dined, then she had to gather to visit herself or wait for them to appear in order to spend the rest of the day for the maps of Corsini M.A. Essays on modern life: in 7 vols. St. Petersburg, 1853. T. 5. S. 75 ..

Of course, the communication style of a nobleman depended on his place of residence. If it were possible to draw up a certain scale of hospitality, then the highest point would be in the estates, and St. Petersburg would be characterized by the greatest restraint and closeness. In St. Petersburg they lived constantly in the invisible or real presence of the emperor, so they could not afford more free behavior. Life in St. Petersburg was more expensive, ostentatious and fussy. In Moscow, the pace of life was slower, and the number of daily contacts with acquaintances was much less than in the Northern capital, which allowed more time to be devoted to family, communication with loved ones and favorite activities.

For half a century, the ideal behavior of a nobleman in the family has changed, striving for liberation from previously accepted norms of communication. If in early XIX centuries, the husband and wife communicated exclusively on "you", then by the 1830s it became quite acceptable. It was also indecent for girls to smoke and drink, and already in the 1840s, “paquitoski” came into fashion among the capital's young ladies and they were poured champagne at the festive table Bogdanov I. Smoke of the Fatherland, or a Brief History of Smoking. M .: New Literary Review, 2007, p. 14 .. With the undoubted value of marriage in secular circles, it is not the internal relations between spouses that come to the fore, but the external picture of decorum that is in demand in society. The change in the norms of behavior in the family, first of all, was determined by the influence of Western European culture through communication with foreign tutors, reading foreign books and frequent trips abroad.

The lot of men was military service. Well-born noble nobles recorded their sons in the regiments almost even before birth: one can recall, for example, Grinev from " captain's daughter", who told about himself: "Mother was still my belly, as I was already enrolled in the Semenovsky regiment as a sergeant" Pushkin A. S. Works. In 3 vols. T. 3. Prose. - M .: Khudozh. Lit ., 1985.V.1, p. officers from wealthy families of the military generally saw only in the picture - loving mothers did not let their sons go to the active troops. And they had practically no chances to rise to a high rank. Having retired, which often happened immediately after marriage, the nobles settled in their estates, where there could be packs of greyhounds, and a pleasant company of provincial ladies, and casual conversations over a glass of aniseed vodka.

As for women, their position in society and their type of activity directly depended on the position of the father, then the husband and their type of activity. This was stated in the table of ranks. Women also had their own ranks: colonel, brigadier, adviser, general's wife, secretary - that was the name of the wife of the colonel, brigadier, adviser, etc., respectively. And under the empresses Anna and Elizabeth, a whole dress code was developed that regulated women the width of the lace, the presence of gold or silver embroidery on the dress, the splendor of the dress itself, and so on, so that a lady can be classified at one glance at her attire. Mainstein, in his Notes on Russia, writes that “Luxury was already exaggerated and cost the court a lot of money. It is unbelievable how much money went abroad through this. The courtier, who determined only 2 or 3 thousand rubles a year for his wardrobe, i.e. 10 and 15 thousand francs, could not boast of panache” Manstein H. G. Manstein’s notes on Russia. 1727-1744. - St. Petersburg: Type. V.S. Balasheva, 1875. From 182.

Noblewomen before the second half of XIX centuries were completely deprived of the opportunity to make at least some kind of career. There have been precedents, such as, for example, the cavalry girl Nadezhda Durova, but such cases can be counted on the fingers of one hand. To strive to serve, that is, to do men's work, for a noblewoman was a matter of condemnation and shame. The destiny of a noble girl is marriage, motherhood, housekeeping.

The moral ideal that the nobility sought to embody in the first half of the 19th century included such elements as: chivalry, brought by cultural ties with Western Europe, heroism, drawn from the ancient classics, as well as elements of Orthodox piety, which became the moral core even at the time of adoption Christianity. The way of life of the nobles of the first half of the 19th century depended on their social status, wealth and place of residence. However, following other cultural patterns led to disharmony in society. The values that were accepted among the nobility contradicted the patriarchal way of life and the worldview of the peasantry, merchants and clergy. The image of a noble person, who absorbed the ideas of equality and brotherhood, propagated by Western culture, was so uncharacteristic of Russian culture as a whole. In the circle of the nobility, questions began to be raised more and more often: according to what scenario should Russia develop, what form of government is optimal for it, which can ensure the happiness of the people. At the same time, other ideas were strong for the peasantry - that the only form of government in Russia could be only autocracy, and the only religion - Orthodoxy.

The great Russian writers, describing Russia of that time, its various segments of the population paid a lot of attention to the role of the nobility in Russian society. This problem was reflected in the satirical depiction of feudal landowners by writers of that time. For example, in Woe from Wit, the Moscow nobility is a society of callous feudal lords, where the light of science does not penetrate, where everyone is panicky afraid of novelty, and “their enmity is irreconcilable to a free life Griboedov A. S. Woe from Wit: Comedy in 4- x actions in verse // Griboyedov A.S. Woe from Wit. -- 2nd ed., add. - M.: Nauka, 1987. - S. 47.". It is not for nothing that Pushkin chose Griboyedov's lines for the epigraph to the seventh chapter of "Eugene Onegin". By this he wanted to emphasize that since then the Moscow nobility has not changed at all:

“Lyubov Petrovna lies all the same, Ivan Petrovich is just as stupid ... Pushkin A. S. Works. In 3 vols. T. 2. Poems; Eugene Onegin; Dramatic works. - M.: Artist. Lit., 1986. S. 310.

Pushkin and Griboedov in their works showed that at that time in Russia it did not matter what the quality of education was, everything foreign was in fashion, while people from the “high society” were alienated from national culture. Both in "Woe from Wit" and in "Eugene Onegin" the facelessness is emphasized " the mighty of the world this." They have no individuality, everything is false, and public opinion is the most important thing for them. Everyone strives for some generally accepted measure, they are afraid to express their feelings and thoughts. And hiding the true face under the mask has already become a habit.

(continuation)

1. Measures regarding estates. The measures taken by Peter the Great regarding estates seem to many to be a complete reform of the entire social system; in fact, Peter did not change the basic position of the estates in the state and did not remove their former estate duties from them. He only gave a new organization to the state duties of various estates, which is why the organization of the estates themselves also changed somewhat, having received greater certainty. Only the urban class, small in number in Rus', significantly changed its position thanks to the exceptional care of Peter about its development. An examination of the legislative measures for individual estates will show us the validity of the stated position.

The nobility in the seventeenth century, as we have already had occasion to show, was the highest social class; it was liable to the state for personal, mainly military service, and in return for it enjoyed the right of personal land tenure (patrimonial and local); with the extinction of the old boyars, the nobility acquired more and more administrative significance; almost the entire Moscow administration came out of it. Thus, before Peter the nobility were a military, administrative and landowning class. But as a military class, the nobility in the 17th century. no longer satisfied the needs of the time, because the disorganized noble militias could not fight the regular European troops; at the same time, the troops of the nobility were distinguished by poor mobility, they were slowly assembled: with success they could only carry out local defensive service on the borders. The Moscow government therefore began to start in the 17th century. regular regiments, recruiting soldiers from them from “walking people” (but these regiments also had their drawbacks). In them, the nobility was already in the capacity of officers. Thus, the military service of the nobility already before Peter needed to be reorganized. As administrators, the pre-Petrine nobles did not have any special training and did not remain permanently in civilian positions, because then there was no separation of military and civilian positions. If, therefore, the duties of the nobility to the state were unsatisfactorily organized, then the nobility, on the contrary, the further, the more developed. Nobles at the end of the 17th century. (1676) attained the right to inherit estates by law, as they formerly inherited them by custom; on the other hand, the power of the landlords over the peasants grew more and more - the nobles completely leveled their peasants with serfs planted on arable land ("backyard people").

So, quite consciously, Peter put personal length of service as the basis of service instead of the old foundation - generosity. But this was not news, personal length of service was already recognized in the 17th century; Peter gave her only the final advantage, and this replenished the ranks of the nobility with new noble families. The entire mass of service nobles was placed under direct subordination to the Senate instead of the former Order of the Order, and the Senate was in charge of the nobility through a special official "master of arms". The former noble "ranks" were destroyed (before they were class groups: Moscow nobles, city officials, boyar children); instead of them, a ladder of service ranks (actually, positions) appeared, defined by the well-known “Table of Ranks” of 1722. Previously, belonging to a well-known rank was determined by the origin of a person, under Peter it began to be determined by personal merit. Outside of official positions, all the nobles merged into one continuous mass and received the common name of the gentry (it seems that since 1712).

Table of ranks (original)

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WINE MONOPOLY in Russia, the exclusive right of the state to produce and/or sell alcoholic beverages. It covers the entire production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages or its individual stages (production of raw alcohol, its purification), especially wholesale and retail trade, and sometimes drinking sales. The elements of a wine monopoly have been known since the 1470s.

In the 1650s - 1794, it was combined with wine farming, prevailed in 1819-27, then the wine monopoly was replaced by wine farming, which, in turn, was replaced in 1847 by excise farming commission.

Domestic activities of Peter since 1700

In 1863, the free sale of "drinks" was introduced (tax collection began to be carried out in the form of an excise tax). The wine monopoly was re-introduced for the sale of alcohol, wine and vodka products in 1895, initially in 4 provinces, by the beginning of the 20th century - everywhere (the law on the wine monopoly was published in 1894 at the insistence of S.

Yu. Witte, preparation started by I. A. Vyshnegradsky). The sale of alcoholic products was carried out by state wine shops, as well as private establishments that purchased “drinks” from places of state trade. Distillation was still carried out at private enterprises, while the network of state-owned distillation plants was expanding.

The wine monopoly was supposed to increase state revenues, improve the quality of alcoholic beverages (mandatory rectification of alcohol was introduced) and lead to an improvement in "people's morality" (the sale of alcoholic products for things and on bail is prohibited, the number of places for its sale and the time of their work are limited), which should the sobriety guardianships created by the Ministry of Finance were also promoted.

The wine monopoly was exercised by the Main Directorate of Non-Salary Duties and State Sale of Drinks of the Ministry of Finance, locally by its district departments headed by district inspectors.

The volume of alcohol production in Russia increased from 3665.4 million liters in 1894 to 9077.4 million liters in 1913, drinking income became important source replenishment of the budget: 85 million rubles (11% of budget revenues) in 1900; 750 million rubles (22.1%) in 1913. With the outbreak of World War I, the wine monopoly actually ceased to operate, since the sale of vodka was prohibited for the period of mobilization of troops, and then for the entire duration of the war; alcohol was dispensed at the request of institutions, and also, to preserve the distillery industry, it was exported through the port of Arkhangelsk.

In the USSR, there was an absolute wine monopoly: the production and sale of all alcoholic beverages were carried out by state-owned enterprises. In the Russian Federation, the production and sale of alcoholic beverages are carried out on a commercial basis.

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M. V. Sumenkova.

Russian nobility in the first half of the 18th century

This chapter covers the reign of Emperor Peter I and the era of palace coups, which lasted from the death of Emperor Peter the Great until 1762.

Nobility under Peter I The reign of Peter - 1682-1725

- can be described as a period of transformation of the nobility into a full-fledged class, occurring simultaneously with its enslavement and increasing dependence on the state. The process of forming the nobility as a single class consists in the gradual acquisition of class rights and privileges.

One of the first events in this area was the adoption of the Decree on uniform inheritance. In March 1714, a decree "On the order of inheritance in movable and immovable property" was issued, better known as the "Decree on Uniform Succession".

This decree was an important milestone in the history of the Russian nobility. He legislated the equality of estates and estates as forms of real estate, i.e. there was a merger of these two forms of feudal landed property. From that moment on, land holdings were not subject to division among all the heirs of the deceased, but went to one of the sons at the choice of the testator.

The position of the nobility under Peter I the Great

It is quite obvious that the rest, according to the legislator, having lost their source of income, should have rushed to the state service.

In this regard, most researchers believe that the involvement of nobles in the service or some other activity useful to the state was the main purpose of this decree. Others believe that Peter I wanted to turn part of the nobility into the third estate.

Still others - that the emperor cared about the preservation of the nobility itself and even sought to turn it into a kind of Western European aristocracy.

The fourth, on the contrary, are convinced of the anti-noble orientation of this decree. This decree, which had many progressive features, caused discontent among the upper class.

In addition, like many normative acts of the Petrine era, it was not well developed. The ambiguity of the wording created difficulties in the execution of the decree. Here is what Klyuchevsky notes about this: “It is poorly processed, does not foresee many cases, gives vague definitions that allow for conflicting interpretations: in the 1st paragraph it strongly prohibits the alienation of real estate, and in the 12th it provides and normalizes their sale as needed; establishing a sharp difference in the order of inheritance of movable and immovable property does not indicate what is meant by one and the other, and this gave rise to misunderstandings and abuses.

These shortcomings caused repeated clarifications in subsequent decrees of Peter. By 1725, the decree had undergone significant revision, allowing significant deviations from the original version. But all the same, according to V. O. Klyuchevsky: "The law of 1714, without achieving the intended goals, only introduced confusion and economic disorder into the landowning environment."

According to some historians, the Decree on Uniform Succession was created in order to attract the nobles to the service.

But despite this, Peter was constantly faced with an unwillingness to serve. This is explained by the fact that service under this emperor was not only obligatory, but also indefinite, for life. Every now and then, Peter received news of dozens and hundreds of nobles hiding from service or study on their estates. In the fight against this phenomenon, Peter was merciless. So, in the decree to the Senate it was said: "Whoever hides from the service, will announce to the people, whoever finds or announces such a person, to him give all the villages of the one who was guarded."

Peter fought not only with punishments, but also by legislatively creating a new system of service. The most important sign of fitness for service, Peter I considered the professional training of a nobleman, his education. In January 1714, there was a ban on marrying noble offspring who did not have at least a primary education.

A nobleman without education was deprived of the opportunity to occupy command positions in the army and leadership in civil administration. Peter was convinced that a noble origin could not be the basis for a successful career, so in February 1712 it was ordered not to promote nobles who did not serve as soldiers, that is, who did not receive the necessary training, as officers.

Peter's attitude to the problem of the relationship of various social groups between themselves and the state was fully manifested in the course of the tax reform that began in 1718. Almost from the very beginning, the nobility was exempted from taxation, which legally secured one of its most important privileges.

But even here problems arose, since it was not so easy to distinguish a nobleman from a non-nobleman. In the pre-Petrine era, there was no practice of awarding the nobility with the accompanying legal and documentary registration. Thus, in practice, the main sign of belonging to the nobility in the course of the tax reform was the real official position, i.e.

service in the army as an officer or in the civil service at a fairly high position, as well as the presence of an estate with serfs.

Peter personally took part in editing this decree, which was based on borrowings from the "schedules of ranks" of the French, Prussian, Swedish and Danish kingdoms. All the ranks of the "Table of Ranks" were divided into three types: military, civilian (civil) and courtiers and were divided into fourteen classes. Each class was assigned its own rank. Chin - official and social position, established in the civil and military service. Although some historians considered the rank as a position.

Petrovskaya "Table", determining a place in the hierarchy of the civil service, to some extent made it possible for talented people from the lower classes to advance. All those who have received the first 8 ranks in the state or court department are ranked as hereditary nobility, "even if they were of low breed", i.e. regardless of their origin. In military service, this title was given at the rank of the lowest XIV class. Thus, Peter I expressed his preference for military service over civilian.

Moreover, the title of nobility applies only to children born after the father has received this rank; if, upon receiving the rank of children, he will not be born, he can ask for the grant of nobility to one of his previously born children. With the introduction of the table of ranks, the ancient Russian ranks - boyars, okolnichy and others - were not formally abolished, but the award to these ranks ceased. The publication of the report card had a significant impact on both the official routine and the historical fate of the nobility.

The only regulator of service was personal length of service; "father's honor", the breed, has lost all meaning in this respect. Military service was separated from civil and court service. The acquisition of the nobility by the length of service of a certain rank and the grant of the monarch was legalized, which influenced the democratization of the noble class, the consolidation of the service nature of the nobility and the stratification of the noble mass into new groups - the hereditary and personal nobility.

Nobility in the era of palace coups

The era of palace coups is usually called the period from 1725 to 1762, when in the Russian Empire the supreme power passed to another ruler mainly through coups that were carried out by noble groups with the support and direct participation of the guard.

During these four decades, eight rulers have changed on the throne.

Despite the frequent change of monarchs, the main line of government policy is clearly visible - the further strengthening of the position of the nobility.

In one government decree, the nobility was called “the main member of the state.” The Russian nobility received benefit after benefit.

Now the officer rank of noble children grew up along with the children themselves: having reached the age of majority, they automatically became officers. The term of service for the nobles was limited to 25 years. Many of the nobles received the right not to serve at all, the vacations of the nobles to manage their estates became more frequent. All restrictions on any transactions with noble estates have been canceled. Those nobles who actively contributed to the assertion of any reigning person on the throne, gratuitously complained of land, peasants and state-owned factories.

The nobles received the exclusive right to distillation. In the interests of the nobles, the collection of internal customs duties was abolished.

During the reign of Catherine I, the Supreme Privy Council was established (1726). He received great powers: the right to appoint senior officials, manage finances, manage the activities of the Senate, the Synod and collegiums. It included the most prominent representatives of the old noble families, such as Menshikov, Tolstoy, Golovkin, Apraksin, Osterman and Golitsyn.

After the death of Catherine I, it was this Council that decided to invite the Russian Duchess of Courland Anna Ivanovna to the throne. Its members sent her "conditions" (conditions), designed to limit the autocratic royal power. According to the "conditions", the future empress was obliged, without the consent of the Supreme Privy Council, not to appoint senior officials, not to decide questions about war and peace, not to manage state finances, etc.

Only after Anna signed them, she was allowed to take the throne. However, no matter how hard the leaders tried to hide their plan to limit the royal power, this became known to the broad layers of the nobility, which had already received so much from this power and hoped to receive even more. A broad opposition movement unfolded among the nobility.

Conditions limited the autocracy, but not in the interests of the nobility, but in favor of its aristocratic elite, which sat in the Supreme Privy Council.

The mood of the ordinary gentry was well conveyed in one of the notes that went from hand to hand: "God save that instead of one autocratic sovereign, ten autocratic and strong families do not become!" At a reception at the Empress's on February 25, 1730, the opposition directly turned to Anna with a request to accept the throne as it is, and to destroy the conditions sent by the Supreme Privy Council.

After that, the Empress publicly tore the document and threw it on the floor. The guards were on the alert here too, expressing their full approval of the preservation of autocratic tsarist power. The reign of Empress Anna lasted 10 years (1730-1740).

At this time, many German nobles arrived in Russia, and the complete dominance of foreigners was established in the country. The Empress relied on her favorite Biron in everything.

This time was dubbed "Bironism", for Biron, a mercenary and mediocre man, personified everything dark sides rulers of that time: unbridled arbitrariness, embezzlement, senseless cruelty. The problem of "Bironism" has attracted the attention of historians more than once. There are still conflicting opinions state activity Anna Ivanovna.

Some historians say that it was during her reign that "the Germans poured into Russia like rubbish from a holey bag", others agree that foreigners appeared in Russia long before Anna's reign, and their number was never frightening for the Russian people .

Foreign specialists came to work in Russia even before Peter the Great. Many of Anna Ivanovna's orders were not aimed at protecting the interests of foreigners, but, on the contrary, defended the honor of Russians. So, for example, it was under Anna that the difference in salaries was eliminated: foreigners stopped receiving twice as much as Russians.

Thus, "Bironism" did not put foreigners in any special conditions. The Russian nobles were not worried about the "dominance of foreigners", but the strengthening under Anna Ioannovna of the uncontrolled power of both foreign and Russian "strong persons", the oligarchic claims of part of the nobility.

At the center of the struggle that went on within the nobility, therefore, was not the national, but the political question. Anna Ivanovna herself took an active part in government.

During her reign, the right to dispose of estates was returned to the nobility, which allowed, upon inheritance, to divide their estates among all children. From now on, all estates were recognized as the full property of their owners.

The collection of the poll tax from the serfs was transferred to their owners. In 1731, the government of Anna Ivanovna responded to the numerous demands of the nobility by establishing a Military Commission, which, with the Manifesto of 1736, limited the term of service to 25 years.

In addition, a nobleman who had several sons had the right to leave one of them to manage the estate, thereby freeing him from service.

Thus, we can conclude that, in general, the absolutist state pursued a pro-noble policy, making the nobility its social support.

Important transformations in the sphere of the nobility took place during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna - 1741 - 1761. After Peter, by the time of Elizabeth, the conditions of life were improved for the nobility: the obligations to the state were eased, the restrictions that lay on its property rights were eliminated, and the nobility received greater power than before over the peasants.

Under Elizabeth, the successes of the nobility continued both in the sphere of its property rights and in relation to the peasants. Only long-term compulsory service remained unchanged. In 1746, Elizabeth's decree appeared, forbidding anyone, except the nobles, to buy peasants. Thus, one nobility could have peasants and real estates. This right, having been assigned to only one class, now turned into a class privilege, a sharp line separating the privileged nobleman from people of the lower classes.

Having granted this privilege to the nobility, the government of Elizabeth, naturally, began to take care that the privileged position was enjoyed by persons only by right and deservedly.

Hence a number of government concerns about how to define more clearly and close the noble class. From the time of Peter the nobility began to be divided into hereditary and personal. By the decrees of Elizabeth, the personal nobility, i.e.

those who reached the title of nobility by their own merits were deprived of the right to buy people and land.

This prevented the possibility for the personal nobility to enjoy the benefits of the hereditary nobility. Nobles by birth became separate from nobles by service. But from the environment of the nobility, who enjoyed all the rights and benefits, the government sought to withdraw all those people whose noble origin was doubtful.

Only those who could prove their nobility began to be considered a nobleman. With all these measures, Elizabeth turned the nobility from an estate, the hallmark of which was state duties, began to turn into an estate, the distinction of which was made special exclusive rights: ownership of land and people. In other words, the nobility became a privileged estate in the state, hereditary and closed.

This was a very important step in historical development Russian nobility. However, the time has not yet come for the release of the nobles from compulsory service. Until now, the desire to avoid service in any way has not diminished.

This was the reason for Elizabeth's refusal to reduce the service life and its cancellation. Since there was a threat to be left without employees.

The establishment of the Noble Bank in 1754 should also be noted.

This bank provided the nobility with an inexpensive loan (6% per year) in fairly large amounts (up to 10,000 rubles) secured by precious metals, stones, and estates.

To simplify the procedure for assessing the property of a nobleman, it was customary to take into account not the size of the estate or the area of arable land, but the number of serf souls. One male soul was valued at 10 rubles. Of course, the creation of the Noble Bank was seen as a way to stimulate trade and support the nobility.

However, in fact, the establishment of this bank became a new milestone in the development of the institution of serfdom. The nobility acquired another form of disposition of the serfs, and the state legally established the monetary equivalent of the peasant soul. The following year, 1755, another an important event- the introduction of a noble monopoly on distillation. The implementation of this reform was due to the intensification of competition between the nobility and the merchant class. Focusing on the most important financially branches of the economy in the hands of the nobility was a serious concession to him from the state.

After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter III took the throne on completely legal grounds.

One of the most significant legislative acts of his short reign was the Manifesto on the Granting of Liberty and Freedom to the Russian Nobility, published on February 18, 1762. The appearance of this Manifesto meant a decisive victory for the nobility in the struggle against the state for the acquisition of their class rights. For the first time, a truly free social category appeared in Russia. The legal base of the nobility was replenished with the most important act, which formulated its class privileges.

This was of paramount importance for the process of consolidating the nobility as an estate, the formation of its class identity. By issuing this document, the state recognized that it did not have full power over all subjects, and for some of them it acts as a partner with whom contractual relations are possible. The immediate consequence of the appearance of this Manifesto is the massive exodus of nobles from military service. According to I. V. Faizova, in the first 10 years of this act, about 6 thousand nobles retired from the army.

The publication of this legislative act, containing the rights and privileges of the nobility, sharply separated it from the rest of society. In addition, its introduction meant the destruction of the centuries-old hierarchy of all social groups and the expansion of the social gap between the higher and the lower. Thus, the Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility essentially carried out a kind of revolution, a revolution in the entire system social relations Russian state.

Option 2.

1. Mark the feature of the economy of the second half of the 18th century, indicating the decomposition of serfdom:

a) increase in corvee

b) the stratification of the peasantry, the emergence of capitalist peasants

c) the right of landowners to judge peasants, exile them to Siberia and hard labor.

The Cabinet of Ministers was created

A) Anna Ioannovna

B) Elizabeth Petrovna

C) Peter II.

Mark the main events of the Seven Years' War

A) battles at the river.

Large and Kaluga, the victory of the Russian fleet in the Chesme Bay and at Kunersdorf

B) the battle at Gross-Jegersdorf, the capture of Koenigsberg and Berlin

C) the capture of the Ochakov fortress by Russian troops, the victory near Zorndorf and on the river. Rymnik

By decree of Peter III

A) succession to the throne was to be through the male line only

B) landlords received the right to exile their peasants to Siberia

C) the nobles were exempted from military service.

Scientific institution equipped for astronomical observations

A) an observatory

B) water area

B) rhetoric

Peasants were deprived of the right to take farms and contracts

Mark the closest associates of Anna Ioannovna

Biron, B.H. Minikh, A.I.

V. O. Klyuchevsky on the position of the nobility under Peter I

Osterman

b) F.Ya. Lefort, A.D. Menshikov, B.P. Sheremetev

c) M.I. Vorontsov, P. Shuvalov, I. Lestok

8. Mark who it is. Born in the family of an officer. He received a good education: he knew ancient languages, history, philosophy, was fond of theology.

In 1756 he was assigned to the court. Member of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, the first governor of New Russia, the founder of the city of Yekaterinoslav, Sevastopol.

One of the favorites of the Empress

A) G. Orlov.

B) G. Potemkin

B) A. Razumovsky

As a result of the third partition of Poland, Russia ceded

A) Courland, Western Belarus, Western Volyn

B) Novorossia, Eastern Belarus, Right-Bank Ukraine

B) Galicia, Sea of Azov

The Order of Catherine II contained

A) the idea of abolishing serfdom

B) a proposal to limit autocracy by the constitution

C) the idea of equality

Note the wrong reason for the rebellion led by E.

Pugacheva

a) strengthening the oppression

b) the liquidation of the Cossack self-government

c) the desire of the guard to make a new palace coup

The Supreme Privy Council was created during the reign

a) Catherine I

b) Anna Ioannovna

c) Catherine II

Mark the main events of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791.

a) battles at the river.

Large and Kaluga, the victory of the Russian fleet in the Chesme Bay

b) the battle at Gross-Egersdorf, the capture of the Turkish fortress of Izmail; landing of Russian troops in Greece.

c) the capture of the Ochakov fortress by Russian troops, the victory near Focsani and on the river.

By decree of which empress was Moscow University opened and the Academy of Arts founded

a) Anna Ioannovna

b) Elizabeth Petrovna

c) Catherine II.

The exclusive right of the nobles to distill was called

a) a monopoly

b) self-government

c) favoritism

Specify the consequence for Russian economy issuance of banknotes

a) the gold reserves of the state increased

b) reduced taxes from peasants

c) inflation starts

Nobles received the right to create noble societies and gather for noble assemblies in accordance with:

a) Letter of grant to the nobility

b) Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility

c) decree of 1741

18. The palace coup, during which the emperor was killed, took place:

Russian inventor, creator of the semaphore telegraph, devices for polishing glass in optical instruments, author of the project of a single-arch bridge across the Neva

Polzunov

B) I. Kulibin

A) V.N. Tatishchev

B) M.V. Lomonosov

C) M.I. Shein

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Attachment of nobles to public service

Peter 1 did not get the best nobility, therefore, in order to rectify the situation, he introduced lifelong attachment to the civil service.

The service was divided into military state and civil state services. Since a number of reforms were carried out in all areas, Peter 1 introduced compulsory education for the nobility. Nobles entered the military service at the age of 15 and always had the rank of private for the army and sailor for the navy.

The nobility also entered the civil service from the age of 15 and also occupied an ordinary position. Until the age of 15, they were required to undergo training. There were cases when Peter 1 personally held reviews of the nobility and distributed them into colleges and regiments. The largest such review was held in Moscow, where Peter 1 personally assigned everyone to regiments and schools. After training and entering the service, the nobles fell into some guard regiments, and some into ordinary or city garrisons.

It is known that the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments consisted only of nobles. In 1714, Peter 1 issued a decree stating that a nobleman could not become an officer if he had not served as a soldier in the guards regiment.

The nobility under Peter 1 was obliged to carry out not only military service, but also civil service, which was wild news for the nobles.

If earlier this was not considered a real service, then under Peter 1, civil service for the nobles became as honorable as military service. At the offices began to start schools of certain orders in order not to pass military training, but to pass civil - jurisprudence, economics, civil law, etc.

Realizing that the nobility would want to choose their military or civil service, Peter 1 adopted a decree from which it followed that the nobles would be distributed at reviews based on their physical and mental data.

The decree also stated that the share of nobles in the civil service should not exceed 30 percent of the total number of nobles.

Decree of Single Succession of 1714

The nobility of the time of Peter 1 still enjoyed the right to land ownership. But the distribution of state lands into possessions for service has ceased, now lands were given out for achievements and feats in the service.

March 23, 1714 Peter Alekseevich adopts the law "On movable and immovable estates and on uniform inheritance." The essence of the law was that, according to the law, the landowner could bequeath all his real estate to his son, but only to one.

If he died without leaving a will, then all the property was transferred to the eldest son. If he had no sons, he could bequeath all real estate to any relative. If he was the last man in the family, he could bequeath all the property to his daughter, but also only one.

However, the law lasted only 16 years and in 1730, Empress Anna Ioannovna canceled it, due to the constant hostility in noble families.

Table of ranks of Peter the Great

The source of noble nobility, Peter 1 declares official merits, expressed in rank. Equating the civil service with the military forced Peter to create a new bureaucracy for this kind of public service. January 24, 1722 Peter 1 creates a "table of ranks".

In this report card, all positions were divided into 14 classes. For example, in the ground forces, the highest rank is Field Marshal General and the lowest is Fendrik (ensign); in the fleet, the highest rank is admiral general and the lowest rank is ship commissar; in the civil service, the highest rank is chancellor and the lowest rank is collegiate registrar.

The table of ranks created a revolution in the basis of the nobility - the significance and origin of the noble family was excluded.

Now, anyone who achieved certain merits received the corresponding rank and, without going from the very bottom, could not immediately take a higher rank. Now the service became the source of the nobility, and not the origin of your family.

The table of rank says that all employees with ranks of the first eight levels, along with their children, become nobles.

The table of ranks of Peter 1 opened the way to the nobility for any person who was able to get into public service and is moving up with his deeds.

From the introduction of the “Table of Ranks” of 1722, the nobles with a rich past, who had a long family and had previously held all the high posts under the tsar, suffered primarily. Now they were on a par with people of lower classes, who began to occupy high ranks under Peter 1.

The very first is Alexander Menshikov, who had a humble origin. You can also enumerate the ignorant foreign people, but who have held high positions: Prosecutor General P.

Nobility in the reign of Peter 1

I. Yaguzhinsky, Vice-Chancellor Baron Shafirov, Chief of Police General Devier. Serfs who were able to reach heights in the service - the manager of the Moscow province Ershov, the vice-governor of the Arkhangelsk city Kurbatov. Of the clan nobility, the princes Dolgoruky, Romodanovsky, Kurakin, Golitsyn, Buturlin, Repnin, Golovin, as well as Field Marshal Count Sheremetev, retained high posts.