The seat is a state institution in the Russian Empire. Presence: features, history and interesting fancies

In modern Russian, words and terms taken from other languages are very often used. Especially it concerns business speech and specifics related to the narrow focus in professional activity. But recently this process has acquired a slightly different trend - terms from the long-forgotten pre-revolutionary past are returning to us. To such "new old" words it is possible to carry the term "presence", which has existed for many years in dictionaries with the mark "out of date". So what does it mean? And why did you return to the modern Russian language?

Attribution place: definition and description

In the Russian Empire, the official place was called state institutions, in which officials received the population on various issues. This term was understood not only by the institution itself, but also by the building it occupies. Often the people were confused by various departments, such as offices and reception rooms, calling them all one concept - the "presence".

These institutions had their own work schedule and a certain hierarchical structure, which, however, did not interfere with the development of corruption and bureaucratic lawlessness, which was often mentioned in historical sources. Very common were cases when the right paper could not from the applicant to reach the addressee, as she went a long way from one site to another. Often, officials asked for a cash reward for prompt delivery of the petition to the desired cabinet.

These institutions existed until the revolution. Later they were abolished as superfluous and reorganized into other state organizations.

History of the occurrence of duty stations

Many believe that such a notion as "a place of presence" arose only in the sixteenth-seventeenth century. But in fact, these institutions in a slightly different form existed already in the fourteenth century. Usually they were located in the Kremlin - the most protected place in the city. It was built on a hill and was surrounded by a wall, it was here that the premises were located for the reception of city residents.

By the sixteenth century, the seats were finally formed into a separate state body and began to be located in specially constructed buildings. In some cases, there were several different institutions in the same room. It could be a legal office, judicial bodies and offices of local government officials. Virtually all issues with the population up to the beginning of the twentieth century were resolved through the presence of places.

Presence: significance in the life of the Russian Empire

Do not underestimate the importance of state institutions in the history of Russia, because in many remote provinces they were the only means of communication between the population and the authorities. Therefore, their appearance and content was clearly regulated at the legislative level. The recommendations stated:

• Number of officials in the offices;
• Interior decoration of premises;
• Availability and categories of informational leaflets;
• Description of special items for the protection of documents and money.

Such scrupulousness proves the special importance of the presence of places in the system of state institutions. They were represented by three types:

• City attendance places;
• County;
• Provincial ones.

Each given institution performed its functions and had subordination to higher authorities.

In each city there were places of presence?

The number of places in the territory of the Russian Empire can not be known, but it is believed that they existed in all cities. Even a small county township had several similar institutions. This was even written by the great Gogol in the comedy The Inspector General. The city's present places in this work appear before us in the form of a combination of bureaucratic defects and money-grubbing. It is known that the author sought to show all the realities of the life of an ordinary town. This is now the most vivid evidence of the numerous places in prerevolutionary Russia.

Construction of presence sites: a new milestone in the architecture of the Russian Empire

Since the sixteenth century, the construction of special buildings for state institutions has become massive. By the nineteenth century, this construction unfolded in remote Siberian cities, where they were a model of style that set the tone for all other buildings. Most of the effort went to the provincial offices. In many former Siberian provinces they have survived to the present day and have the status of architectural monuments.

To create their creations, the architects of that time used classical Russian traditions, combining sometimes the stylistics of different Russian regions. Almost every building of the presence sites was made in the style of Russian classicism. Later it was reconstructed and received additional elements related to later currents. The resulting symbiosis and mixing of styles is a unique example of architectural thought in the Russian Empire.

The use of the term in the modern world

The term "presence" began to return to the colloquial speech at the beginning of this century. Initially, he appeared in regulatory papers in connection with massive repairs of buildings owned by government in cities and regional centers. But now the phrase is not used in such a broad sense as before. In official papers, it refers to waiting areas located in government offices. They have special requirements for comfort and material and technical facilities. According to the rules and regulations, the presence sites should include rooms for waiting, informing and receiving the population. In addition, they should be comfortable and have separate sanitary rooms for visitors.

It is worth noting that the term has not yet returned to use, but the process of its implementation is slowly moving forward. After all, it is usually from official documents that concepts gradually become the status of words commonly used in the people.