Theme 7. Catherine's enlightened absolutismII.

7.1. Enlightened absolutism in Russia

Enlightened absolutism is a policy pursued in most European countries in the second half of the 18th century. It consisted in carrying out reforms "from above" and was aimed at eliminating feudal vestiges that hinder the development of new capitalist relations. This policy was based on the ideas of the Enlightenment, taking advantage of the popularity of which, the monarchs wanted to show their rule as a union of philosophers and sovereigns.

Rice. 1 Catherine II

The first years of the reign of Catherine II, who came to power as a result of a palace coup, were marked by the policy of "enlightened absolutism." In Russia, the policy of "enlightened absolutism" was caused by the following reasons:

The desire of the supreme power to continue the modernization of the country, and therefore to create conditions for the development of industry, trade, the formation of the third estate.

Awareness of the need to bring the state government system, the level of cultural development in line with the “spirit of the times”.

The severity of social contradictions and the need to take measures to mitigate the discontent of the lower classes while preserving the absolutist state.

Educational views of Catherine herself.

At the same time, there were obstacles on the way of the country's modernization, which determined the peculiarities of “enlightened absolutism” in Russia. The immaturity of social and spiritual prerequisites is the absence of a national bourgeoisie, the patriarchal nature of the urban lower classes and the peasantry. The autocratic power of a monarch who is incapable of voluntarily limiting his powers. Considering all the circumstances, the essence of the policy of "enlightened absolutism" in Russia was expressed in its focus on the renewal of the political regime and the feudal system. Catherine, using the ideas of the French educator Montesier that the natural environment of the state, the size of the country, the mores and customs of the people determine the form of the state, proved the regularity of the autocratic system in Russia. She saw her task in issuing the best laws that satisfy the needs of all the words of society.

7.2. Public administration reforms

In 1767, Catherine convened the Legislative Commission to develop a new set of laws. Deputies to the commission were elected from representatives of all classes, except for the landlord peasants. The Empress herself prepared the Order, in which, in the spirit of the ideas of enlightenment, the equality of the estates before the law was proclaimed and, at the same time, the absolute monarchy and the power of the landowners over the peasants were justified. The work of the Legislative Commission did not reach the task of updating the legislation set before it, tk. the contradictions between the various estates were too deep. Catherine realized that it was not possible to reconcile the interests of different estates, and the commission was dissolved.

In 1764 the Senate was reformed, it was divided into six departments. The Senate was deprived of legislative functions. All legislative and administrative power was concentrated in the empress's own office.

Catherine's next step was the completion of measures begun by Peter I to bring the church into complete dependence on the state. In 1764, the secularization of church lands was carried out, which immediately undermined the basis of the welfare of the clergy.

The reform of local government was caused by the terrible shock that Catherine experienced in connection with the uprising led by E. Pugachev. The reform was intended to strengthen the central authority at the local level, to increase the efficiency of local bodies by transferring to them a number of powers of the central bodies. In 1775 Russia was divided into 50 provinces, each province was divided into 10-15 counties. The functions of the governors were expanded: financial, administrative and judicial powers were transferred to them from the center. In addition, the nobles received the right to create assemblies of the nobility in the provinces and counties, the post of the leader of the noble assembly was introduced, who could represent the interests of the nobles before the empress.

7.3. Social policy

Social policy was extremely controversial. During the reign of Catherine, serfdom was significantly strengthened. This was expressed in the wide practice of distributing state peasants to landowners, landowners were allowed to give peasants to hard labor without trial, and peasants were forbidden to complain about their landowners, which finally eliminated the remnants of the rights of serfs. Serfdom extended to the Left-Bank Ukraine. At the same time, adopted in 1785, the Charter to the Nobility expanded the privileges of the nobles, who received the right to monopoly ownership of land and peasants.

The granting of letters of gratitude to cities in 1785 provided some privileges to urban inhabitants and regulated the work of self-government bodies. Catherine pursued the goal of strengthening and supporting the third estate. The townspeople were divided into 6 categories in accordance with their occupation and financial situation.

7.4. Economic development

In the Russian economy of the second half of the 18th century. the process of forming the foundations of the capitalist system continued. Russia remained an agrarian country, progress in agriculture was achieved through the development of new lands. A new phenomenon was that there were signs of a crisis in the feudal-serf system of economy. The value of the natural quitrent finally falls. The landlords transferred the peasants to a monetary quitrent, especially in non-black earth regions. The monetary quitrent forced the peasants to be entrepreneurial, this strengthened their connection with the market and, accordingly, undermined the naturalness of the economy - the foundations of the feudal-serf system. Many peasants went to work in the city. In the black earth regions, the landowners preferred to retain more land for themselves and expanded the lordly plowing, while depriving the peasants of the land. Months are spreading - the system of working off peasants for clothing and food, while the peasants were deprived of their land, and this also testified to the destruction of the foundations of the feudal system of land use.

Industry developed more actively than agriculture. For the second half of the 18th century. the number of manufactories reached 2 thousand. Metallurgy and the textile industry developed especially rapidly. The rapid development of industry was due to the needs of the state. In industry, phenomena not characteristic of the feudal-serf system also arose: the use of hired labor grew, and the peasants were allowed to engage in entrepreneurship. This undermined the monopoly of the nobility on trade and the organization of production.

Changes in the financial sphere affected customs duties, which now went only to the treasury. Was carried out melting of silver and copper coins, in 1769 for the first time in Russia were issued paper money - banknotes.

On the whole, the feudal order hampered the economic development of the country, the peasant economy, crushed by obligations, was slowly included in commodity-money relations, and most of the landlord farms existed in the same way - at the expense of serfs. By the end of the 18th century. the potential of the feudal-serf system has practically exhausted itself, the country, which in the first half of the century caught up with the leading European countries in many respects, began to gradually lag behind.

Scheme 1 Enlightened absolutism in Russia

Traits of Enlightened Absolutism

Source - Western European educational ideas

The desire to create a fundamentally new system of law

An attempt to ensure social control over power

Inconsistency of ideals from the real conditions of the development of society

Conflict between policy goals - the "common good" and the means of achievement - coercion

Reliance on the nobility while not respecting the interests of other estates. Strengthening serfdom

After the “era of palace coups”, the reformist course of Peter I was continued by Catherine II (as well as some of her predecessors, who ascended the throne as a result of a palace coup and manicide), who managed to express the national interests of Russians and go down in history as the great empress who ruled the country 34 years (1762-1796). N.M. Karamzin, assessing the reforms of Catherine II, wrote: "Catherine II was the true successor to the greatness of Petrov and the second reformer of the new Russia." Her reign marked the beginning of the era of enlightened absolutism, the chronological framework of which is determined by different historians in different ways. The most common point of view dates back to the era from 1762 to 1815.

Enlightened absolutism is a common European phenomenon. This era was permeated with the ideas of the French enlighteners and was characterized by the emergence of a new class - the bourgeoisie, which openly declared its claims to economic and political power, sharply criticized the despotic rulers and the dominance of the Catholic Church. The ideas of the Enlightenment were widely spread outside Western European countries. Catherine II, being a European educated person, was aware of the need for the upcoming changes and seriously took up a thorough study of the works of Sh.P. Montesquieu, Voltaire, D "Alambert, D. Diderot and others.

During her reign, she seeks to carry out liberal reforms aimed at the formation of a "new breed of people" in Russia, which would become a social basis for a European type of development, tries to introduce a broad public education, tries to eradicate serfdom. Political instability under her predecessors and a series of palace coups led Catherine to the idea of ​​the need to strengthen her personal power, without which she could not imagine the possibility of deep transformations. Catherine II was aware of the imperfection of the existing legislation and the complete absence of law and order.

In the XVIII century. The Legislative Commission was created, the purpose of which was to eliminate the shortcomings in the legislation and identify the needs and sentiments in society. With great enthusiasm, the Empress began to create a new Code, based on the principles of new philosophy and science, discovered by the modern era of the Enlightenment. To this end, she set about drawing up her famous instruction, which received the name "Order" in the historical literature. In her reasoning, the Empress proceeds from the conviction that Russia is a European country, and that its size determined the only form of government acceptable for her in the form of an absolute monarchy. Catherine II did not allow the thought of limiting her own autocracy. "A vast state presupposes autocratic power in the person who rules this world." Any other rule was not only harmful to Russia, but in the end ruinous.

What is the pretext for autocratic rule? Not in taking people away from their liberty, but in directing their actions towards receiving the greatest of all the good ”. In her "Instruction" she moved forward in the interpretation of the foundations of the power of the monarch, she concretizes the concept of unlimited power and considers the royal person as a source of state power and her right to publish and interpret the laws of the Russian empire. The compiler of the "Order" believed that for the successful implementation of reforms, it is necessary to provide civil rights, first of all, to the "ruling class itself." It is interesting to note that no one, primarily in Russia, had them. Even members of the aristocracy were subjected to corporal punishment. If Peter I took the first steps towards a state governed by the rule of law, the "Order" deepens this idea, in many articles explaining the meaning of the law in all spheres of life. The weakest of all in the "Order" is the peasant question.

The work of the Legislated Commission has shown that the Russian nobility is the most conservative part of society and is firmly on the guard of its interests. And the fight against them may end in the loss of power. Therefore, taking advantage of the beginning of the war with Turkey, the Commissioned Commission was dissolved in 1769, although its main task was not fulfilled.

In the 60s and 70s. a wave of peasant uprisings swept across Russia. The largest of them is the uprising of E. Pugachev, who betrayed himself as the murdered Emperor Peter III. The popular uprising had a sobering effect on the empress and pushed her to the idea that the existing system of local government was not able to prevent the growth of peasant unrest. November 7, 1775 was published "Institution for the management of the province", which entailed profound changes in the state structure. The reform marked the beginning of the creation of an orderly system of provincial government. During this period, Russia took a major step towards the separation of the branches of power.

In 1785 "Letters of Charter to Cities and Nobility" were published. Letters of gratitude to cities transferred to urban societies the right of a legal entity, which could independently dispose of property and income from it. In addition, according to the decree, the townspeople were divided into 5 categories: merchants, bourgeoisie, noblemen, officials, clergy. Their rights and privileges, unequal in scope and significance, depended on the class category, property status. Sixth category - peasants living in cities were not included in the number of townspeople, although taxes were taken from them in double the amount. According to the second charter, the nobles received a number of personal and corporate rights. The main one is the right to own land on the basis of private property rights, freedom in choosing occupations. A nobleman could not be subjected to corporal punishment and without a trial could not be deprived of noble dignity, honor, life and property.

Catherine II carried out certain transformations in the economic sphere. In the middle of the 18th century, the development of agriculture was still extensive, in contrast to Western Europe, where it followed an intensive path. The extensive nature of the development of agriculture was explained by the presence of a large amount of free land and an insufficient level of agrotechnical science. Therefore, the Kazakh, southern Ukrainian steppes and other lands were gradually mastered. In addition, new crops are emerging. In 1765, the Senate issued a decree on the cultivation of an "earthen apple", that is, potatoes (since then, potatoes have become the second bread of Russians). They also began to cultivate sunflower. Industry developed at a high rate.

At the end of the reign of Catherine II, 167 mining plants and 1,094 manufacturing enterprises operated in Russia. By the end of the 18th century. there were already about 2 thousand manufactories in the country. Among them were many who were created in their estates by the nobles, and on which the peasants assigned to them worked. Russia came out on top in Europe for the production of pig iron, exported ferrous metals to the West, and actively traded with the countries of the East. However, the material base, the socio-economic basis for the development of capitalism remained very limited. And in many respects it was this that determined the contradictory nature of the country's development in the 19th century.

Under Catherine II, science, literature, and socio-political thought were further developed. Ekaterina Dashkova became the first woman in Russia to head the Academy of Sciences. With the names of A.N. Radishchev, famous publisher and publicist N.I. Novikov is associated with the birth of democratic traditions in Russian society.

Foreign policy of Catherine II characterized by the further expansion of the country's territory and the strengthening of its international authority. The main object of Russian foreign policy was the steppe Black Sea region with the Crimea and the North Caucasus, as well as the territory of Poland. At the same time, the economic and cultural successes of Russia, its international prestige could not hide the plight of the common people, whose work and talent achieved these successes. Diligence, endurance and patience could not withstand the brutal exploitation of the autocracy, which led to powerful unrest. Catherine II experienced a formidable and merciless peasant revolt led by

In Russia it is associated with the name of Catherine II. This empress tried in every possible way to reform the state in accordance with the liberal ideas fashionable in the second half of the 18th century. Due to the Pugachev uprising and events in France, these transformations were curtailed.

Personality of Catherine II

Ekaterina Alekseevna by birth was a German Sophia Augusta. She did not belong to the royal dynasty of the Romanovs, but was the daughter of a German prince. In her youth, she married the future Russian emperor Peter III and only then moved to St. Petersburg.

The enlightened absolutism of Catherine II had precisely European roots associated with her origin. She received a modern Western education. Her tastes and interests were much more free-thinking than those of the Petersburg conservative aristocracy. At the same time, Sophia Augusta perfectly merged with the environment in which she had to live according to her new status. She converted to Orthodoxy (in baptism she received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna), and also flawlessly learned the Russian language.

Formally, the wife of the heir did not have any rights to power. But this did not prevent Catherine from being ambitious and possessing a state mindset. Her ideology of enlightened absolutism was formed precisely in her youth, when she had not yet occupied the throne.

In 1761, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died, and power passed to Peter III, the husband of Catherine. This man did not live up to his high-profile title at all. He was puny and cowardly. At this time, Russia was victoriously waging the Seven Years War against Prussia. Peter was also German by birth and concluded an unexpected peace treaty with the Prussian king, giving him Berlin and all the conquered lands.

This, to put it mildly, unpatriotic act led to a revolt of the guards. The very next year, in 1762, a coup d'état took place. The army chose Catherine II, who, after receiving the crown, did not particularly stand on ceremony with her husband.

The principles of enlightened absolutism

Unlike other Russian crowned heads, Catherine, having come to power, already had a clear political program for transforming the country. These were the ideas of enlightened absolutism, which she picked up from the books of the great thinkers of that era - Voltaire, Montesquieu, etc. These French philosophers, in their published works, called for changing society in an evolutionary way, without upheavals and revolutions.

The policy of enlightened absolutism presupposed the introduction of new modern legislation that would take into account the interests of all members of society. That is why Voltaire believed that change had to come from above. Only the state could, on its own initiative, ensure universal happiness in the country.

Reliance on the law as the main measure of all things was also not accidental. The adopted norms were supposed to regulate all spheres of life. Then, theoretically, the state turned into a perfectly working machine, in which all the mechanisms were perfected. Enlightened absolutism in Russia could endow all members of society with privileges and rights. They depended on a person's belonging to a particular class. Both peasants and nobles were protected by law from encroachment on their rights.

Combination of conservatism and liberalism

Thanks to her education, reading circle and correspondence with French thinkers, Catherine II was well aware of what needs to be done to improve life in Russia. The country that she inherited after the palace coup was radically different from the utopian picture of a free state. Serfdom reigned here, a huge gap gaped between the estates, and the peasantry was completely illiterate.

There is no doubt that Catherine wanted to change the country. However, once on the throne, she was in no hurry to implement reforms. Over the years of her life in Russia, the empress realized that cardinal changes would only lead to troubles and unrest. The monarch could not encroach on the rights of the nobility - the main support of the state and the system.

From her successors, Catherine inherited an absolute monarchy, in which the word of the autocrat was the law. The Empress skillfully used all her possibilities. This combination of conservatism and its liberal ideas is called enlightened absolutism.

Stacked commission

In 1767, the enlightened absolutism of Catherine II brought its first tangible fruits. The Empress convened the Legislated Commission. This was the name of the meeting of lawyers and officials in Russia, which considered the legislation of the state. The practice of convening commissions was established in the 18th century and existed even before Catherine.

As a rule, such temporary authorities have systematized and revised laws. Even at the end of the 18th century, Russia continued to live according to the outdated Cathedral Code of 1649, adopted during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the father of Peter the Great. This code, in particular, consolidated serfdom in the country. In the age of enlightened absolutism, such norms were already hopelessly outdated. They did not allow the development of the state economy and the legal consciousness of citizens.

Catherine's order

Catherine II did not directly participate in the work of the Legislative Commission convened by her. Nevertheless, the policy of the empress's enlightened absolutism affected the decisions taken at those important meetings. Even on the eve of the convening of the commission, Catherine drew up the so-called Instruction. This document collected all the instructions of the empress, which concerned the forthcoming codification and reformatting of legislation.

Catherine wrote and edited the Order for two years. The first version of the document was in French. This indicates that the direct source of his inspiration was the works of French philosophers who promoted enlightened absolutism in Europe.

In the final edition, the Order received 20 chapters and more than 500 articles related to the state structure. It was not even a clerical document, but a philosophical composition. If it were fully implemented in the new legislation, then enlightened absolutism in Russia would become not a theory, but an everyday reality.

The basis of the state structure

In the introduction of the Order, Catherine directly addressed the officials who worked in the Legislative Commission. The Empress reasoned that the new laws were supposed to take into account the interests of all residents of the country, thus ensuring general prosperity. Catherine appealed to Christianity as an illustrative example. She believed that the Gospel and the New Testament had already sketched out an ideal society that could be built on earth with just laws.

Thus, in her opening remarks, Catherine demonstrated what the idea of ​​enlightened absolutism is. But these were general words about the desired result. In subsequent chapters of the Mandate, the Empress proposed specific solutions.

At the beginning of the main part of the document, she recorded the most fundamental and important principles of public administration, which were to remain unshakable in all circumstances. First of all, the monumentality of the power of the autocrat was emphasized.

The only ruler in Russia was the monarch. No other state institution or body could claim supremacy in the country. In addition, no one could challenge the decisions of the emperor or empress.

At the same time, Russia was proclaimed a European power. Catherine wanted to emphasize the connection of her country with its western neighbors, from which she received her political system. In other words, the reforms of enlightened absolutism were supposed to become something similar to the baptism of Rus by Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, when, at the religious and ideological level, our country became an integral part of European civilization.

The monarch could not rule alone. He was supposed to be helped by various state institutions, the main of which Catherine considered the Senate. This body, together with the collegia, could propose solutions for the reform of legislation that had become obsolete or harmful to the inhabitants of the country. In the era of palace coups, the significance of the Senate was reduced to zero. Now the new empress was reviving this institution.

Civil liberties

For Catherine, the concept of liberty was limited by law. That is, a citizen could do whatever he pleases within the framework of the space that was given to him by the norms adopted at the state level. The Empress believed that the state of affairs, when the peasant wanted to be equal to the master, etc., could be disastrous for Russia.

In her Instruction, Catherine mentioned "folk speculation." This term was synonymous with the modern word "mentality". The new Russian laws were supposed to be guided by the norms that were adopted in society among ordinary residents. In other words, they should not have contradicted the mentality of the peasantry, the bourgeoisie, etc.

This was the essence of enlightened absolutism. Catherine wanted to modernize the autocracy, make it more flexible in relation to its own citizens, while not changing the basic norms of the state. When the People's Will movement arose many years later in Russia, revolutionary students began to "go to the people" - to travel to the villages and spread their own proclamations there about the need to overthrow the autocracy. As a rule, the result of such actions was sad. The peasants themselves seized the Narodnaya Volya and handed them over to the gendarmes. Examples like these clearly demonstrate the importance of mentality - what Catherine called “folk speculation”.

Russian estates

According to the Order, the entire Russian population was divided into three classes. The nobility served the state, the peasants cultivated the land, the merchants traded and brought wealth to the country. This was the picture of Russian society that Catherine II presented.

Of course, the most privileged were the nobility. This order of things was confirmed a little later, when Catherine presented the Letter of Charity, in which all the rights of the landowners were enshrined. At the same time, in the Nakaz, the Empress advised the members of the Legislative Commission to develop laws that would protect the peasants from the arbitrariness of their owners. Unfortunately, these were only general words, and when the Pugachev uprising broke out in the Volga region, the idea of ​​the rights of the villagers became a scarecrow and a bogey for the empress.

The peculiarities of enlightened absolutism consisted in the attentive attitude of the state to the "third estate". If you look at this term more broadly than usual, then in its framework you can include not only merchants, but also all those who did not belong to landowners or peasants. In other words, it was a diverse intelligentsia - writers, artists, scientists, as well as free artisans, craftsmen, etc.

Economic policy

Catherine believed that if all three estates worked hard for the prosperity of the country, then she would quickly become rich. The Empress noted that the two pillars of the Russian economy were agriculture and property rights. That is, in the 18th century, a huge empire was still officially considered an agrarian country, where industry was in second place, and its contribution to the general well-being was small. Time has shown that this point of view was erroneous.

Enlightened absolutism in Europe then demanded that the sovereigns grant freedom to all estates so that they could work for their own benefit, which would ultimately result in the economic growth of the entire state. These were the basic principles of capitalism, which at that time existed only in England. But this country went through a bloody civil war in the 17th century. And only after it was the principle of free enterprise and civil liberties enshrined in England.

Catherine looked at things a little differently. She never granted final freedom to the peasantry. Without this measure, all its transformations were only decorative. She could not go into conflict with the landowners. It took several more generations for the country to realize the fallacy of its course.

The impetus for this was the failure in the Crimean War, after which in 1861 Alexander II (the great-grandson of Catherine) abolished serfdom. But even this reform was not momentary. The peasants had to make redemption payments for many more years in order to finally secure their own plot of land.

Court

The last two chapters of Catherine's Order dealt with legal proceedings. Of course, the era of enlightened absolutism could not but influence the way an advanced society viewed this important aspect of the life of any country. The judiciary was the arbiter between the state and society, and the educated empress understood its fundamental importance.

In one of her theses, she stressed the importance of the principle of freedom of religion in Russia. This norm was to be defended by the court. In her correspondence, Catherine mentioned that she considers the forced baptism of numerous small peoples of the empire (for example, the indigenous inhabitants of Siberia, the Kazakh steppes, etc.) to be harmful.

The Legislated Commission has banned extraordinary and unforeseen court hearings. They had to be subject to strict rules and regulations. Another important innovation was the expansion of freedom of speech. Catherine wrote in her Instruction that any statement in itself is not a crime.

Such a document, written by the monarch himself, has not yet been known in Russian history. The empress's enlightened absolutism became a popular ideology among the aristocracy, boyars, and generally educated members of society. The printed order was kept in every state institution. This document was appealed to during the court hearings.

Administrative reforms

The Legislated Commission was disbanded in 1768, when there was another war between Russia and Turkey. Then the empress was temporarily distracted from internal affairs and took up foreign policy. The commissioned commission did not meet anymore, but the decisions it made were reflected in many of Catherine's subsequent reforms.

Enlightened absolutism, in short, influenced changes in the administration of the empire. In 1775, Catherine carried out a provincial reform. Prior to that, Russia lived according to the internal borders drawn in the time of Peter I. His successor on the throne increased the number of provinces several times, and also reduced their size. She gave local officials great powers in dealing with internal economic issues.

One of Russia's main problems throughout its existence has been its size. It took weeks to get from the European part of the country to Siberian cities. Therefore, when the provincial officials turned to St. Petersburg for advice and instructions, the effectiveness of their work in the field dropped significantly.

The next step on this path was the issuance of the Certificate of Appreciation to the cities in 1785. This important piece of legislation regulated the rights and status of all residents of large settlements. These were people who owned their own real estate in the city. They were also called bourgeois.

Residents of the cities received self-government bodies - magistrates. They elected representatives of the bourgeoisie and merchants, who solved current economic problems. The emergence of magistrates was a direct consequence of the policy of enlightened absolutism of Catherine II.

The significance of Catherine's policy

The laws adopted during the reign of the Empress, for the most part, existed for another century before the comprehensive reforms of Alexander II. Catherine's reforms ensured the stability of the autocratic monarchy in Russia. The state has become more efficient in coping with its own internal problems - taxation, improvement, economic troubles.

Although Catherine did not dare to abolish serfdom, until the end of her days she remained a supporter of civil liberties for the rest of the population of Russia.

Catherine II proved the lawfulness and necessity of autocracy in Russia. The task of the monarch was to issue the best laws, and the government and other governing bodies - to carry out his will. All subjects and the monarch himself are obliged to follow these laws, which distinguishes the enlightened monarchy from despotism.

As a result of a palace coup in June 1762, Peter III was overthrown from the throne by his wife Catherine II. The policy of Catherine II was based on the ideas of the European philosophers and educators M.F. Voltaire, III. L. Montesquieu, J.J. Rousseau, D. Diderot. They argued that it was possible to achieve a harmonious society through the activities of enlightened monarchs who would help the cause of enlightening the people and establish just laws.

The policy of Catherine II was called "enlightened absolutism."

The largest event of Catherine II was the convocation of the Legislative Commission in 1767. As a guiding document of the commission, the Empress prepared the "Instruction", in which she theoretically substantiated the policy of "enlightened absolutism." The commission was convened to draw up a new set of laws. During the discussion of orders from the localities, contradictions emerged: each estate demanded privileges in its favor, it was impossible to abolish serfdom. In 1768, under the pretext of starting a war with Turkey, the commission was disbanded. It was not possible to work out a new code.

Catherine II carried out a course of reforms in the socio-political and economic life of Russia. In an effort to strengthen state power, Catherine II established the work of the Senate (1763), dividing it into 6 departments with specific duties and powers; abolished the autonomy of the rights of Ukraine; subordinated the church to the state, carrying out the secularization of church lands (1763 - 1764). In 1775, a reform of local government was carried out, as a result of which Russia was divided into 50 provinces, estates courts and a clear division of power by function (administrative, judicial, financial) were introduced on the ground. This reform strengthened local government.

The economic reforms of Catherine II were aimed at promoting the development of domestic industry and trade. In 1765, the Free Economic Society of Nobles and Merchants was created. In 1776, 1782 and 1796. customs tariffs were introduced, which kept high duties on foreign goods. In 1775, the Manifesto on the freedom to open enterprises and the Granted 1ramoga to the cities were published, which confirmed the privileges of the merchants and introduced urban self-government. Catherine II introduced a new form of trade - shops and paper money. During her reign, the number of manufactories increased (under Peter I there were 200 manufactories, under Catherine II - 2000).

The estate policy of Catherine II was aimed at strengthening the nobility. The decree of 1765 allowed the landowners to exile their peasants without trial to Siberia to hard labor, and the Decree of 1767 forbade the peasants to complain to the empress about their owners.

Serfdom is growing stronger. In 1775 the nobility received a Certificate of Merit confirming the estate privileges of the nobility. The nobility is given the title of "noble".

Thus, the reforms of Catherine II preserved and strengthened the absolute monarchy and serfdom in Russia.

Results of "Enlightened Absolutism"

The autocracy was strengthened and modernized.

Public life has revived, the beginnings of civil society have appeared

Serfdom intensified, but for the first time the question of mitigating or even abolishing serfdom was raised.

4. The concepts of honor, freedom and individual rights were born. And although they do not go beyond the spiritual elite of Russian society, over time, realizing their importance, the Russian noble intelligentsia will begin to fight for the provision of freedom for the entire people.

The policy of economic liberalism of the government will contribute to the development of the capitalist structure, which will accelerate the decomposition of serf relations

Some negative consequences of the policy of enlightened absolutism, the inability to implement the declared liberal principles lead a part of society to disillusionment with the reformist policy of the top and the emergence of radical revolutionary ideas.

Any state degrades if it is entrusted only to the rulers of the people. Only the people themselves are the reliable guardians of power and people.

Thomas Jefferson

The coming to power of the young Empress Catherine II was marked by her desire to improve the life of the country. To this end, the country carried out the politics of enlightened absolutism... The very idea of ​​such a policy was not new. The Russians, who in that era looked towards France with respect and reverence, drew this idea from the works of French philosophers: Rousseau, Walter, Diderot, etc. the growth of imminent errors. They can be avoided only if the state is governed by an educated, wise monarch. Such a person will be able to fully use the fullness of his power.

Speaking about the use of the powers of power, the French scholars assumed not the brutal use of force to establish the necessary order. It was about the fact that a true person is able to justly rule the country. Such a person can build the vertical of power in such a way that it really serves the needs of the people. This approach implies justice and equality of people, which should lead to the prosperity of the country. In fact, we can say that the essence of the policy of enlightened absolutism determines the dominant role of the state, which is ruled by a strong and educated person. Catherine II saw herself in the role of such a monarch.

Russian enlightened absolutism

The considered form of government was a harsh criticism of the remnants of feudal relations. French philosophers wrote that every person is born free, and one should not take her away from him. According to the postulates of this policy, the people should have broad powers, some of which they voluntarily trust their rulers. Philosophers called this moment a "social contract." The policy of enlightened absolutism also criticized the churches. The clergy should be engaged in spiritual affairs and have no influence on politics, wrote the scientists, whose works were used by Catherine. They offered to take away all church lands and transfer them to the jurisdiction of the state. At the same time, church officials were to be permanently excommunicated from power. Catherine did not even think to implement many of these areas.

During the first two years of her reign, the Empress Catherine II, developed a special Decree, which outlined her interpretation of enlightened absolutism... The Empress did not want to implement "social contracts" in Russia, she did not want to endow the people with the broadest powers. Catherine II believed that the guarantee of the success of the state lies exclusively in the unlimited power of the emperor. The empress saw her support in governing the country in the nobility, who had received a good education, and who could honorably help her to rule. In addition, Catherine II widely supported the view that the church should be deprived of its lands. The Empress did not want to quarrel with the clergy and overnight did not want to deprive them of all influence. However, in her decree, Catherine II announced the implementation of "secularization", i.e. the process of transferring church lands to the jurisdiction of the state. This decree was issued in 1764.

Catherine 2 was as follows:

1. Secularization of church lands;
2. Large-scale education of the people, transfer of knowledge to all classes;
3. Strict regulation of all peasants' duties;
4. Founding of the Free Economic Society in 1765;
5. Encouraging everyone to engage in fishing in 1767;
6. A complete ban on the sale of peasants for the debts of the owners in 1771;
7. Approval of the right to open any enterprise without permission in 1775;
8. Creation of free topographies in 1783;
9. Widespread implementation of school reform in 1786.

Thus, we can say that the policy of enlightened absolutism affected all the main and important aspects of the state life of Russia at that time.