The Provincial Reform of 1775. Provincial Reform of Catherine 2

To prevent peasant unrest, Catherine II in 1775 decided to carry out reforms related to local government. This step led to a more precise division of the entire territory of the Russian Empire. It began to be subdivided into administrative units that determined the number of the so-called taxable population (people who paid taxes). The largest of them were provinces.

Reform of 1708

According to the decree of Peter I on December 18, the whole empire was divided into 8 provinces: Moscow, Smolensk, Azov, Archangel, Kazan, Siberian, Kiev and Ingermanland, which in 2 years became known as St. Petersburg. They were governed by governors appointed by the tsar himself. Such high posts were usually claimed by major dignitaries. They received enormous military, administrative, and judicial power. In addition, they were given the opportunity to manage the finances of their province.

In the years to come, three large administrative units appeared: Riga, Astrakhan and Nizhny Novgorod. The Provincial Reform of Peter I stretched out for several years. In 1715, some changes were made to local self-government. They consisted of a fractional division of provinces, which was based on a statistical principle, that is, by the number of households. In 1719 these administrative units were divided into provinces. Later, they were divided. As a result, 250 counties were established, governed by the voevoda.

It should be noted that the turning point in the management of a huge empire was both the decree of Peter I and the year 1708. The provincial reform was aimed at maximum simplification of the very mechanism of governing the country. At that time, it was considered almost innovative.

Goals of the Catherine Transformations

The main paper that determined the implementation of the next reform in Russia was a document entitled "Institutions for the Governance of the Gubernias of the All-Russian Empire". I must say that on the eve of the reforms initiated by Catherine II, the territory of the country, in comparison with Peter's times, already had a greater number of administrative territories. This was due to the fact that new lands were constantly annexed to the empire.

The provincial reform in Russia, initiated by Catherine II, was to transform 23 provinces, 66 provinces and approximately 180 districts. Its goal was to increase the number of large administrative centers. As a result, their number has almost doubled.

Separation

The whole empire was broken up in the province, and then in the uyezds. This process took place only on an administrative basis, without taking into account any economic, geographic and national factors. The Cuban reform of Catherine II pursued one goal: to adapt the new administrative apparatus to police and fiscal duties.

The division took place according to a quantitative criterion, that is, according to the number of people. So, in the territory of each province there were to live about 400 thousand people, and in the county - 30 thousand. After a number of transformations that took place from 1728 to 1760, the old management bodies were liquidated. The provincial reform also abolished territorial units such as the provinces.

Control

At the head of the largest territorial units stood governors, who could be appointed or dismissed only by the emperor. Governors were assisted by provincial boards consisting of a prosecutor and a couple of centurions. The fiscal chambers and finances were dealt with by the state chambers. Education and health care were administered by orders of public charity. Legality was carried out by prosecutors with two solicitors.

The Cuban reform of Catherine II also touched upon the county administrations. There at the head stood zemskii ispravniki, which local nobles chose. There were also collegiate governing bodies, which were called lower Zemstvo courts. In addition to the police chief, there were two assessors. In subordination to the Zemsky courts was the police. Also, their duties included monitoring the order and the introduction of various decisions and laws of provincial governments on the territory under their control. And in cities there was a new post - the mayor.

Management of several large territorial units was carried out by the governor-general. They were commanders-in-chief in these regions, if the emperor himself was absent there, and had the right to introduce not only extraordinary measures, but also directly address reports to the monarch.

It must be said that for the centralized government the year 1775 was very important. The Provincial Reform strengthened it even more. Having divided the country's territory in this way, it maximally strengthened the position of its administrative apparatus in all regions. In addition, for the same purpose, the judicial system was reorganized, and special bodies were created that carried out police and punitive functions.

Assumed reorganizations

In 1769, the commission laid down, attempts were made at the provincial level to divide the duties of administrations and courts. For this purpose, it was planned to create a four-level system, which would include county and provincial orders, provincial liquidation chambers, and also the Senate, which was an appellate instance.

In cities, however, the provincial courts of the magistrates wanted to keep. In addition, it was planned to organize estate courts - separately for the peasants and nobles. At one of the sessions, the deputies proposed that the trials should be open and public. But at the same time they supported the creation of class courts. It is this twofold attitude that prevented, in the final analysis, the separation of judicial functions from those of power. The deputies understood that it was possible to protect the privileges and the special status of the nobles only through the intervention of the administration. Despite this, most of the proposals put forward by the commissioned commission were put into practice when the provincial reform of 1775 began.

Ships separation

In 1769 the deputies prepared a special bill, which regulated the basis of judicial law. It was supposed to create several ships: the trading, dealing with brokerage and merchant affairs; Special - was in charge of customs problems; Criminal, police and civilian - were engaged in "deaneries"; Spiritual - considered intra-church issues related to law and faith; Military - engaged in criminal acts of court ranks.

Police, criminal and civil courts wanted to divide by territorial principle - into urban and zemstvo. All of them were to enter the general system of three-level subordination: the province - the county - the province. It was also assumed that the judiciary will have the opportunity to evaluate decrees emanating from the central government from the point of view of state significance. In addition, city and zemstvo courts had to be elected, and trials - open. All these proposals, made at that time by the commission, were of great importance for the forthcoming judicial reform in Russia in 1775.

Class system

As mentioned earlier, the transformations affected not only the administrative apparatus. Gubernskaya reform has pulled along and changes in the judicial system. It not only clearly formulated, but also as much as possible strengthened the division according to the class distinction.

● In each county special courts for noblemen have been created. They consisted of a judge and two assessors. They were elected by the local nobility for a period of 3 years. The upper zemstvo courts played the role of appellate instances and consisted of two departments dealing with civil and criminal cases. They were the only ones for the entire province and consisted of two people - the chairman and his deputy, who were appointed by the emperor himself. They could conduct audits, as well as monitor the activities of district courts.

● Magistrates became the lowest courts in the cities. Their members were also elected for a period of 3 years. For these courts the appellate courts were provincial magistrates. They consisted of 2 chairmen and 2 assessors from among the local residents.

● In the lower county massacres, state peasants were tried. There were considered civil and criminal cases. They were dealt with by officials who were appointed by the authorities. Appellate instances for the lower steel were the top executions. The cases in them were made only on bail, which operated for one week.

● The Provincial Reform also established so-called conscientious courts. They were also built according to the class principle. They included representatives of the nobility, as well as citizens and peasants. These courts performed the so-called conciliatory function (helped to settle the conflict between the plaintiffs). In addition, their duty included special proceedings in relation to crimes committed by insane persons or children. Here, too, were the cases of witchcraft.

● In the provinces, the auditing and appellate courts were the judicial chambers, considering both criminal and civil cases. They reviewed the claims coming to them from the upper Zemstvo courts and reprisals, as well as from the provincial magistrates. As a rule, appellate complaints were accompanied by a sufficiently large cash deposit.

● The Senate was the highest of all judicial bodies.

So, what else is interesting the provincial reform of Catherine 2 (year 1775)? It was then that the first attempt was made to separate the administration from the court. But it was not a success. The governors still could influence the execution of sentences, for example, on issues of deprivation of honor or the use of the death penalty. The chairmen of the courts were appointed by the authorities, since representatives of the estates had the right to elect only the assessors. Many cases came to the city police authorities. In addition, patrimonial justice also acted.

Duties

The principles of the police department were discussed at the meetings of the commission, before the provincial reform began. The year 1771 was marked by the completion of the project, which assumed the creation of police departments in the cities. They were to become an apparatus for the protection of public order.

The police duties included the suppression of various unlawful acts. For example, it could be debauchery, fisticuffs, excessive luxuries, fast driving or disturbance during worship services and religious processions. Also, the police had the right to monitor various folk festivals, observe the trade in the markets and the cleanliness of cities, rivers, products, water and many others. Other

The functions of the police also included fighting fires, robbers and vagabonds, secret assemblies and other trespassers. It also regulated the rules of trade and the maintenance of restaurants. In addition, the police were responsible for monitoring the taxation, planning of cities and organizing various holidays.

Police bodies

Beginning of the provincial reform of Catherine 2. The year 1775 provided for the creation of a number of special police bodies. But the draft "Charter of Deanery" was completed only after 6 years. The following year it was published. It consisted of 14 chapters and 274 articles. This statute determined the structure of the police, their system, the main aspects of the activities, as well as a list of acts that were punishable.

The law enforcement body of the city became the administration of the deanery. His staff included advisers of Ratmans, bailiffs engaged in both criminal and civil affairs, the mayor (or the commander-in-chief) and the police chief.

For convenience, all the cities were divided into quarters and parts (the section was based on the number of buildings). The chief of the police department in part was a police officer, and in the quarter - a warden. All ranks were included in the "Table of Ranks". The provincial authorities supervised the police. They were the ones who solved all the questions concerning the dismissal or appointment of posts. Police in the capitals were controlled exclusively by the Senate.

Offenses

The "Charter of Deanery" listed a number of crimes and sanctions that the police should have been aware of. Here are some of them:

● acts related to non-compliance with laws and decisions of police authorities;

● Activities against the conduct of worship and Orthodox faith in general;

● bribery;

● acts that violate public order;

● Actions that run counter to the standards of deanery, such as: gambling, banned views, drunkenness, abuse, building without permission, unseemly behavior;

● criminal activity directed against the existing law and order, property, personality, etc.

The police authorities had the right to apply sanctions to violators only for certain incidents, for example, for illegal possession of weapons, theft of property, opposition to Orthodoxy, violation of customs rules, etc. But more often than not, the police engaged in preliminary investigations and subsequent transfer of collected material to the courts. The only thing it did not work with was political crimes. For this purpose, there were other organs.

The Cuban reform of Catherine II contributed to the separation of executive and judicial authorities. All estates, not including serfs, began to take a more active part in local government. Also, for each of them, a court was created. In addition, the provincial reform put an end to the functioning of almost all the colleges. The exception was only the most important - Foreign, Admiralty and Military. The duties of the liquidated colleges passed to the provincial bodies.