City magistrates, also often referred to in Russian historiography as city magistrates, first appeared in our history under Peter the Great in 1718. Their establishment was associated with the need, as Peter believed, to restructure the city’s estate administration.
It should be noted, however, that Peter's reforms began with military questions and deeds - with the reorganization of the Russian army along the lines of the regiments of the foreign system that already existed in Rus' by that time. At this time, a new army charter was introduced in the Russian army, the “Charter of Weide” (after the name of the author, an Austrian general in the Russian service A.A. Weide). And along the way, and quite successfully, the issues of Russian naval construction are being resolved at the same time. Moreover, this was done already in the difficult conditions of the Northern War with Sweden in 1700 - 1721.
The latter circumstance, however, did not at all prevent Peter in 1703 from "cutting through" the notorious "window to Europe" - to found a new fortress and the future capital "city of Petrov", St. Petersburg, at the mouth of the Neva, and in 1708 to begin a protracted provincial reform . During this reform, the territory of the future Russian Empire was divided into eight vast provinces (however, later the number of provinces of the Russian Empire increased to 20). It is curious that at the same time (in 1708) Peter was dealing with seemingly minor, insignificant issues - he was reforming the Russian Cyrillic script, putting into circulation the so-called. civilian font, greatly simplifying the outline of many letters and excluding some of them from Cyrillic. However, the latter was only a tribute to the then fashion for the Latin alphabet, and therefore the new civil font (i.e., the font introduced for printing books of non-ecclesiastical content) with its styles resembled the font that modern Western European printed publications were made by Peter.
So gradually, step by step, in 1718 it came to the issues of restructuring the bodies of city self-government. After a year and a half of slipping out of the blue, mainly due to various kinds of bureaucratic delays (and lack of time for Peter in connection with various events at the final stage of the Northern War), at the beginning of 1720, Prince Trubetskoy was instructed to form a magistrate in St. Petersburg. Moreover, Trubetskoy was supposed to be guided, apparently, by the resolution of his sovereign in 1718, which read: "Do this on the basis of the Riga and Revel regulations for all cities." Under the regulations, in this case, one should understand the city charter, that is, the charter that regulated (hence the “regulations”) the issues of city self-government. Peter suggested taking the city charters of Reval (present-day Tallinn) and Riga as a model for such a “regulation”. Therefore, following the magistrate in St. Petersburg, according to Peter, the same class-collegiate institutions should have appeared in other cities.
Soon the fairy tale tells, but not soon the deed is done. Only at the beginning of 1721, the future exemplary magistrate with the title of Chief and subordination directly to the Senate (the highest body of state and legislative power of the Russian Empire, which, in turn, was directly subordinate to the Emperor) acquired a regulation according to which the rest of the city magistrates were to be equipped. The instruction to these city magistrates, however, saw the light of day two and a half years later, and only after Peter “encouraged” the chief president of the Chief Magistrate, Trubetskoy, with the prospect of hard labor.
The device of the new magistrate administration was combined with the introduction of a class division of the taxable townspeople into two guilds and vile people. The first included bankers, the so-called "noble" merchants, doctors, etc. The second included petty traders and guild artisans (by the way, a guild device for simple artisans was introduced at the same time). Among the vile people, that is, in the lower class of urban society, was included the working people, who earned their livelihood by black work and hiring, and in no way belonged to the category of "regular citizens", which was specifically stipulated by the magistrate's instructions.
In large cities, the elective magistrate presence was made up of the president, several burmesters (burgomasters), who replaced the former "zemstvo heads", and ratmans (junior advisers from him. Rat [council] and Mann [person], a title and position borrowed by Peter from Riga) . In smaller cities, they managed without a president at all.
City magistrates had judicial power to the same extent as court courts, which specialized in criminal and civil cases of the "lower classes". Moreover, death sentences were within the exclusive competence of the Chief Magistrate, who was also the highest appeal instance for city magistrates. In addition to judicial functions, the city magistrates were entrusted with the administrative functions of overseeing the city police and the city economy, including the layout and collection of state taxes and duties assigned to urban population. In the sphere of their activity was the concern for the multiplication of urban manufactories and crafts, the establishment primary schools, an institution of almshouses, orphanages, etc.
The chief magistrate was abolished shortly after Peter's death, in 1727, and re-established only in 1743 under his daughter, Empress Elizabeth. A whole bunch of decrees that followed then ordered the city magistrates to comply with the requirements of the police authorities and to obey the governors and governors in every possible way, who had the right to take the burmisters into custody in cases of inaccurate payment of fees.
After the provincial reform of Catherine II in 1775, during which the Russian provinces were disaggregated (the new grid of the administrative-territorial division of Russia consisted of 50 provinces instead of the previous 20), the city magistrates of small Russian cities, continuing to obey the provincial magistrate, were composed of stewards and ratmans, elected for a period of three years by local merchants and philistines. From the judicial and administrative institutions of the time of Peter the Great under Catherine II, they become purely judicial class institutions, under whose jurisdiction the urban commercial and industrial population fell, that is, the same merchants and bourgeois.
We see the end of the history of city magistrates in the era of the great transformations of Alexander II, in 1866, during the next judicial reform, when the judiciary is finally separated from the administrative. That year they were abolished throughout the territory. European Russia. Court cases that were conducted in the city magistrates were transferred to the county courts, and administrative cases (for the economic part and city government) - to the city dumas.
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The reform of the city government of Peter I
At the beginning of his reign, Peter the Great tried to use the local government system that had been put in place before him. At the same time, he planned to introduce his own additions and elements into it.
The essence and main provisions of the urban reform of Peter I
On March 10, 1702, the tsar signed one of the main decrees of the future city reform, according to which from now on, not only governors, but also elected representatives of the nobility could participate in the management of the counties. Developing the interests of this upper class, which acted as the basis of the Petrine absolutist state, so-called noble councils were created in all counties from several representatives of this class who lived there. Three years later, this order became mandatory. According to Peter, such an introduction to management could increase the efficiency of work.
Creation of provinces and administrative districts
Three years later, the ruler signs a decree according to which Russia was divided into eight administrative districts which were called provinces. Their list included:
- Siberian;
- Azov;
- Kazanskaya;
- Arkhangelsk;
- Smolensk;
- Kyiv;
- As well as Ingermanland and Moscow provinces.
The provinces, in turn, were divided into provinces headed by governors, and those into counties or districts.
This transformation actually changed the entire system of local self-government. The main goal of the reform was the provision of the army with all necessary things. At the same time, with the army regiments distributed over the provinces, a direct connection was established between the provinces through the so-called institute of the Kriegskommissars.
This reform not only led to the concentration of all administrative and financial powers in the hands of local governors, but also formed a huge network of bureaucratic institutions, which included a large number of officials.
It is worth noting that back in 1699, in order to provide a wide range of rights to the merchants, the ruler planned to carry out the first urban reform, which for the first time introduced an element of urban self-government in the Russian state.
Despite all the imperfections, this reform was of fundamental importance. Especially given his interest in the rise, in the image of Western mercantilists, of an urban commercial and industrial class. Thus, in fact, an attempt was made to endow Russian cities with their own rights and status, along with their own organization, which, of course, would bring Russian cities closer to the cities of developed Western Europe.
Establishment of the Burmese Chamber
To achieve this goal, many Russian cities were removed from the power of the governors and their control was transferred to the burmisters, who were elected by the townspeople of these cities. Tsar Peter opens the Burmister Chamber in Moscow, which very soon became known as the City Hall. This body was supposed to regulate the work of local burmisters, who were in charge of collecting and delivering state duties, fees and taxes to Moscow.
Management in all other cities was carried out by the zemstvo huts with burmisters located there. At the beginning of the second city reform in 1720, Peter the Great created in St. Petersburg, according to the Western European model, the Chief Magistrate, who regulated the activities of city magistrates elected in large Russian cities.
Regulation of 1721. Creation of magistrates
According to regulations issued in 1721 by the Chief Magistrate, all big cities Russia was divided into five separate classes. At the same time, the inhabitants of the cities themselves were now divided into two independent guilds: people of lower origin or “mean people” and regular citizens.
Also, regular citizens, in turn, were divided into two guilds. The first included:
- silversmiths and icon painters;
- painters;
- skippers of merchant ships;
- pharmacists;
- the doctors;
- merchants;
- bankers.
The second guild of regular citizens included:
- small merchants;
- shoemakers;
- tailors;
- joiners;
- artisans.
However, such a division of the townspeople turned out to be purely formal, because the military auditors involved in it cared, first of all, to increase the number of poll tax payers and quite often, because of this, included people who had nothing to do with them in certain guilds.
The results of the city reform of Peter I
In general, the city reform of Peter the Great, which was planned and implemented for so long by the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, was in fact unfinished. At the same time, many of the innovations (for example, magistrates and provinces) managed to outlive their creator for a long time and bring considerable benefits to the state.
Even during the reign of Peter, the confrontation between the zemstvo and bureaucratic institutions intensified, which over time completely subjugated and suppressed the activities of elected bodies of local self-government.
Scheme: urban reform of Peter I (1699-1720)
Scheme: the system of government under Peter I
Video lecture: urban reform of Peter I
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The question of what was new in the management of cities under Peter I is one of the main topics in the study of the history of Russia in the 18th century. This reform should be seen in the context transformative activities emperor in general, who, in view of the new status of the country in the international arena and changes in its domestic political Special attention paid to the sphere of management not only in the center, but also in the field.
Prerequisites
An analysis of what was new in the management of cities under the first emperor should begin with what goals the ruler pursued in modernizing the administration and the old bureaucracy. Military needs (during almost the entire reign of Peter the Great, our country waged a long war with Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea) required constant and regular tax revenues to the state treasury. That is why the ruler carried out a regional reform, for the same purpose he took up city government. However, he also sought some expansion of the rights of the merchants, as if in opposition to the high taxes that he imposed on them. But his main task was to ensure the uninterrupted flow of taxes to the treasury for the needs of the army and navy.
First stage
The topic “What was new in the management of cities under Peter I” should begin with the designation of two stages of this reform. The first of them dates back to 1699, when the future emperor introduced the institution of elected burmisters, to whom the townspeople were now subordinate. Thus, they were removed from the jurisdiction of the governor.
New officials were chosen from merchants, since they were the main owners in the cities and, consequently, the main category of taxpayers. They had direct access to the king and were able to address him, bypassing orders. Burmister chambers were created in the cities, which were subordinate to the Moscow City Hall. The main task of the new governing bodies was the collection of taxes and taxes to the state treasury, as well as control over the judicial and commercial affairs of owners and producers.
Second phase
Peter I returned in 1720. Around this time, his government was working on regional administration. Perhaps that is why the king returned to the difficult issue of city administration.
In the year mentioned, a chief magistrate was created, which was located in the capital and from there controlled all the city bodies. On the ground, its departments were created, which were completed from burmisters and ratmans. Since the war was coming to an end, the emperor took care of the mechanism of functioning new system in peaceful conditions.
Now the representatives of the city authorities were obliged not only to collect taxes and duties, but also to take care of the improvement of the plots entrusted to them. The latter circumstance is especially important in determining what was new in the management of cities at the time in question.
From now on, the burmisters and ratmans were charged with the duty to monitor security (that is, they had to create police bodies), maintain hospitals, schools, and almshouses. In addition, the population, again in order to properly collect taxes, was divided into two guilds: regular and irregular. The first included owners, the second - persons who did not have private property.
The guilds also had their own administration. Their members gathered at gatherings and elected foremen. Those who were busy with menial work elected elders and tenants for themselves. In addition, workshop organizations were created according to the Western European model. Thus, the first emperor tried to stimulate the development of urban self-government, but this reform was not successful.
results
Attempts of Peter I to introduce self-government in the country on the model European countries failed for one very simple reason: the magistrates did not have the means to cope with the duties assigned to them. After all, all funds from fees and taxes went to the state treasury, while the city actually did not have its own finances.
Nevertheless, it is indicative that even this not very successful reform lasted until the second half of the 19th century, which suggests that it more or less took root in the conditions of Russian reality, despite the fact that it did not lead to city self-government. .
By decree of Peter I, the Chief Magistrate was founded
Chief Magistrate - Central government agency in Russia, founded in St. Petersburg by decree of Peter I of February 13, 1720. It was created with the aim of centralizing the management of the affairs of the townspeople on the rights of a collegium, becoming Peter's second attempt in this matter after the Burmister Chamber. The prototype of the modern city administration.
According to the decree, the new body was called upon to "be in charge of all the merchant people by the court and report their affairs to the Senate, and collect packs of this scattered temple." Its emergence was associated with the growth of trade and industry, with the increased role of the merchants in the country's economy.
The chief magistrate reported directly to the tsar and the Senate, had a number of related functions with the College of Manufacture and the College of Commerce. It was headed by the chief president from the nobility, who was appointed by the king. The first chief president was Prince Yuri Trubetskoy. Under his leadership was the magistrate's board, which consisted of burgomasters and ratsgers from among the largest merchants. The chief magistrate was the main authority over the city magistrates of other Russian cities.
A year later, in January 1721, the "Regulations, or Charter of the Chief Magistrate" was approved, which determined its composition and functions. According to the Regulations, all citizens were divided into "regular citizens", who were members of guilds and workshops, and "vile" - those who worked for hire and in "black jobs". The magistrate was in charge of trade, craft and other rights of citizens - their transition from city to city, the return of those who had left the settlements and the organization of fairs.
The direction of the Chief Magistrate over the towns established locally consisted in coordinating the work of all magistrates, receiving complaints against their rulings and appeals against their judicial decisions. He also exercised control over the distribution of finance in cities, was in charge of the distribution and collection of taxes, taxes and duties. From 1722, indirect fees were left in the hands of city magistrates.
Quite quickly, the city magistrates - these class bodies of local administration of the commercial and industrial population - became the main bodies of the bureaucratic apparatus of the Petrine empire, since they relied, albeit to a limited extent, on class representation in the field. The leadership of city magistrates - including the president, 4 burgomasters, 2 ratmans - was chosen from among the wealthiest citizens.
In St. Petersburg, the Chief Magistrate also performed the functions of the city magistrate. In the reign of Peter I, it was the main body of city government, concentrating in its hands control over the main areas of life in the Russian capital - it controlled the organizations of guilds, workshops, promoted the development of crafts, trade, manufactories, urban economy, and carried out the functions of a court for the commercial and industrial population.
The Chief Magistrate was abolished in 1727 by decree of the Supreme Privy Council and temporarily replaced by the Town Hall, re-established in May 1743 as the Office of the Chief Magistrate, but transferred to Moscow. By order of the Senate, the Chief Magistrate became subordinate to the provincial authorities and the police. Since 1775, it has become almost exclusively a judicial institution, considering criminal and civil cases of persons from the merchant and petty-bourgeois classes. Catherine II finally liquidated the Chief Magistrate in 1782.
... read more >As the main institution of authority over the city magistrates of other cities.
In St. Petersburg, the Chief Magistrate performed the functions of the city magistrate, headed by the chief president, the members of the Chief Magistrate (4 burgomasters and 2 ratmans) were elected from among the wealthiest citizens. The chief magistrate exercised control over the distribution of finances in cities, the layout and collection of taxes and fees. Indirect fees (customs, saline, taverns, etc.) since 1722 have been left in the hands of city magistrates. The chief magistrate also supervised the actions of the police and the performance of the police functions assigned to them by the city magistrates.
All civil and criminal cases that were conducted by city magistrates were subject to approval by the Chief Magistrate. To resolve complex cases, the Chief Magistrate communicated with the Senate. The chief magistrate did not obey the orders of the Chamber College and other colleges, which was mandatory for city magistrates. During the reign of Peter I, the Chief Magistrate was the main body of city government, concentrating control over the main areas of life in St. Petersburg in his hands.
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Literature
- Dityatin I.I.. - St. Petersburg. , 1875 .. - T. 1. - S. 199-248.
An excerpt characterizing the Chief Magistrate
At what time did the battle start? the emperor asked.“I can’t tell your majesty at what time the battle began from the front, but in Dürenstein, where I was, the army launched an attack at 6 o’clock in the evening,” Bolkonsky said, perking up and at the same time assuming that he would be able to present what was already ready in his head a true description of all that he knew and saw.
But the emperor smiled and interrupted him:
- How many miles?
“From where and to where, Your Majesty?”
– From Dürenstein to Krems?
“Three and a half miles, Your Majesty.
Did the French leave the left bank?
- As the scouts reported, the last ones crossed on rafts at night.
– Is there enough forage in Krems?
- The forage was not delivered in that quantity ...
The emperor interrupted him.
“At what time was General Schmit killed?”
“Seven o’clock, I think.
- At 7:00. Very sad! Very sad!
The emperor said that he was grateful and bowed. Prince Andrei went out and was immediately surrounded on all sides by courtiers. Affectionate eyes looked at him from all sides and affectionate words were heard. Yesterday's adjutant wing reproached him for not stopping at the palace, and offered him his house. The Minister of War approached him, congratulating him on the Order of Maria Theresa of the 3rd degree, which the Emperor had bestowed on him. The chamberlain of the empress invited him to her majesty. The Archduchess also wanted to see him. He did not know whom to answer, and for a few seconds he collected his thoughts. The Russian envoy took him by the shoulder, led him to the window and began to talk to him.
Contrary to the words of Bilibin, the news brought by him was received joyfully. A thanksgiving service was scheduled. Kutuzov was awarded the Grand Cross by Maria Theresa and the entire army received decorations. Bolkonsky received invitations from all sides and had to make visits to the main dignitaries of Austria all morning. Having finished his visits at five o'clock in the evening, mentally composing a letter to his father about the battle and about his trip to Brunn, Prince Andrei returned home to Bilibin. At the porch of the house occupied by Bilibin, there was a britzka half-stowed with things, and Franz, Bilibin's servant, dragging the suitcase with difficulty, went out the door.
Before going to Bilibin, Prince Andrei went to a bookstore to stock up on books for the campaign and sat up in the shop.
- What's happened? Bolkonsky asked.
- Ah, Erlaucht? said Franz, heaving the suitcase into the britzka with difficulty. – Wir ziehen noch weiter. Der Bosewicht ist schon wieder hinter uns her! [Ah, Your Excellency! We're going even further. The villain is on our heels again.]
- What's happened? What? asked Prince Andrew.
Bilibin went out to meet Bolkonsky. There was excitement on Bilibin's always calm face.
- Non, non, avouez que c "est charmant," he said, "cette histoire du pont de Thabor (bridge in Vienna). Ils l" ont passe sans coup ferir. [No, no, admit that this is a charm, this story with the Taborsky bridge. They crossed it without resistance.]