In the era of Peter the Great, the Governing Senate appeared in Russia. Over the next two centuries, this government body was reformatted many times according to the will of the next monarch.
Appearance of the senate
The governing senate was created by Peter I as"Airbag" in case of departure of the sovereign from the capital. The king was known for his active character - he was constantly on the road, because of which the state machine in its absence could stand idle for months. These were the visual costs of absolutism. Peter really was the only embodiment of state power in the vastness of the empire.
In the initial Governing Senate (1711) the closest comrades-in-arms and assistants of the king, who had his many years of trust, entered. Among them are Peter Golitsyn, Mikhail Dolgorukov, Grigory Volkonsky and other high-ranking nobles.
The establishment of the Governing Senate under Peter 1happened in an era when Russia did not yet have a clear separation of powers (judicial, executive and legislative). Therefore, the terms of reference of this body are constantly changing, depending on the situation and expediency.
In his first directive, Peter announced to the senators,that they should pay special attention to the state of the treasury, trade and court. It is important that this institution has never been oppositional to the king. In this, the Russian Senate was the exact opposite of the organ of the same name in neighboring Poland or Sweden. There, such an institution represented the interests of the aristocracy, which could oppose the policies of its monarch.
Interaction with the provinces
From the very beginning of its existenceThe governing senate worked a lot with the regions. Huge Russia has always needed an effective system of interaction between the provinces and the capital. Under Peter's successors, there was a complex network of orders. Due to large-scale reforms in all spheres of the country's life, they have ceased to be effective.
It was Peter who created the province.Each such administrative entity received two commissioners. These officials worked directly with the Senate and expressed the interests of the provinces in St. Petersburg. With the help of the above reform, the emperor expanded the scope of self-government in the provinces.
Fiscal and prosecutors
Of course, the establishment of the Governing Senate is notcould do without the establishment of new posts related to his work. Together with the new body appeared fiscal. These officials were royal supervisors. They controlled the work of institutions and ensured that all instructions of the monarch were executed exactly to the last remark.
Существование фискалов приводило к abuses. A person who possessed such power could use his position for mercenary purposes. At first, there was not even a regulated punishment for false denunciation. In connection with the controversial service of fiscal in the Russian language, this word received a second negative lexical meaning of the scammer and sneak.
Тем не менее создание этой должности было necessary measure. The chief fiscal (chief fiscal) could demand an explanation from any official in the Senate. Due to this state of affairs, every grandee, regardless of the height of his position, knew that his own abuses of power could ruin him. Fiscals existed not only in Petersburg, but also in the provinces (provincial fiscal).
Very quickly the creation of the Governing Senateshowed that this government body can not work effectively due to internal strife between senators. Often they could not come to a common opinion, turned into personal disputes in their disputes, etc. This interfered with the work of the whole apparatus. Then Peter in 1722 established the post of Prosecutor General, who became the main person in the Senate. He was a "bridge" between the sovereign and the capital institution.
In the era of palace coups
After the death of the autocrat functionThe governing Senate for the first time was severely curtailed. This happened due to the fact that the Supreme Privy Council was established, in which the aristocratic favorites of Catherine I and Peter II sat. He became an alternative to the Senate and gradually took over his powers.
Elizaveta Petrovna, after her accession to the throne, restored the old order. The Senate again became the main judicial institution of the empire, the military and naval colleges were subordinate to it.
Reforms of Catherine II
So, what functions did the GoverningSenate, we figured it out. It should be noted that Catherine II did not like this position. The new empress decided to reform. The institution was divided into six departments, each of which was responsible for a specific sphere of the state’s life. This measure helped to more precisely outline the powers of the Senate.
The first department was engaged in internalpolitical affairs, the second - judicial. The third - by the provinces that had a special status (Estland, Livonia, and Little Russia), the fourth - by military and maritime issues. These institutions were located in St. Petersburg. The two remaining Moscow departments were in charge of the court and administrative affairs. These are the functions that the Government Senate was given to Catherine the Second.
Also, the Empress greatly strengthened the influenceAttorney General for the work of all departments. During the era of palace coups, this position lost its former importance. Catherine preferred to keep everything under control and, thus, restored the order of Peter's autocracy.
During the short reign of her son Paul the Senateagain lost most of their rights. The new emperor was extremely suspicious. He did not trust the grandees, who had at least some influence and tried to make their own contribution to the state decision-making process.
In the XIX century
The way he was at the very end of hisexistence (on the eve of the revolution), the Governing Senate was created during the reign of Alexander I. It was then that the political system of the empire stabilized. The palace coups ceased, and the inheritance of the royal title ceased to be a lottery.
Alexander was probably the most democratictuned Russian emperor. He got into his own hands a state that worked on obsolete mechanisms that had to be urgently changed. The new king understood that the creation of the Governing Senate (year 1711) was dictated by good goals, but believed that over the years this body lost its significance and turned into a miserable imitation of himself.
Immediately after his appearance on the throne, Alexander Iin 1801, he issued a decree in which he proposed to officials who worked in this institution to give him for consideration their projects on the upcoming reform. For several months, there was an active work on discussing the reformatting of the Senate. The discussion was attended by members of the Secret Committee - young aristocrats, friends and associates of Alexander in his liberal endeavors.
Progress
Сенаторы назначались на свою должность лично the emperor. They could only be the officials of the first three classes (according to the Table of Ranks). Theoretically, the senator could combine his main position with any other. For example, this amendment was often used in the case of the military.
Direct decisions on a particularThe issue was taken within the walls of a particular department. At the same time, general meetings were convened periodically, attended by all members of the Senate. The decree adopted in this state body, could only cancel the emperor.
Functions
Let's remember what year was createdGovernment Senate. That's right, in 1711, and since then this institution of power has regularly participated in legislation. In the course of his reforms, Alexander I created for this purpose a special institution - the State Council. However, the Senate could still draft drafts of laws and propose them for higher consideration through the Minister of Justice, who from the 19th century also combined the old position of prosecutor general with a new one.
At the same time on the site boards were createdthe ministry. At first, there was some confusion between the new executive bodies and the Senate. The powers of all departments were finally determined by the end of the reign of Alexander I.
One of the most important functions of the Senate was hiswork with the treasury. It was the departments that verified the budget, and also reported the supreme authority about the arrears and lack of money. In addition, the Senate was put over the ministries in resolving inter-agency property disputes. This state body regulated domestic trade, appointed magistrates. The senators were conducting the arms of the empire (for this, a special department was even created).
Significance of the Senate and its abolition
Peter I needed a public institutionwhich could replace it for the time of absence in the capital. In this, the emperor was helped by the creation of the Governing Senate. The date of the appearance of the post of Prosecutor General (1722) is also considered the birthday of the Prosecutor’s Office in modern Russia.
However, over time, the functions of the Senate have changed. The executive power of the officials was small, but they remained an important stratum between numerous colleges (and later ministries).
The Senate had a noticeable importance in court cases.Appeals flocked here from across the country. The Senate wrote dissatisfied provincial prosecutors, as well as governors. This order was established after the judicial reform of Alexander II in the 1860s.
When the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, they were one of their first laws to ban the activity of the Senate. It was a decree on the court number 1, adopted on December 5, 1917.
