Describe the reforms of the elected council. Reforms of the elected council
The beginning of reforms is associated with the creation in 1549 of the Elected Rada - a circle of close like-minded people of the king, who began to play the role of government under the young sovereign. Among the most important events of this government is the convening of the first Zemsky Sobor in the history of Russia in Moscow in February 1549. Throughout the 16th century. Zemstvo councils met quite regularly and were meetings under the tsar, which were assigned an advisory role.
The “Elected Rada” was the body that exercised direct executive power, formed a new administrative apparatus and directed it. The compromise on which the new government was based had three sides: the feudal aristocracy on one side, the serving nobility on the other, and the tsar was also a party to the compromise. In this government activity, bold external enterprises went hand in hand with broad and well-thought-out plans for internal change.
The “Elected Rada” began the creation of centralized government bodies - orders (until the mid-60s they were called “lips”). The task of this institution was to receive petitions (complaints addressed to the sovereign) and conduct investigations into them. Order reform(2nd half of the 50s of the 16th century). A system of executive power and public administration has been created, consisting of 22 orders. The reform resulted in an increase in the size of the bureaucracy, covering all spheres of society with its influence.
Even before the reforms of the mid-16th century. certain branches of public administration, as well as the management of individual territories, began to be entrusted (“ordered,” as they said then) to the boyars. This is how the first orders appeared - institutions that were in charge of branches of public administration or individual regions of the country. In the middle of the 16th century. There were already two dozen orders. Military affairs were managed by the Razryadny Prikaz (in charge of the local army), Pushkarsky (artillery), Streletsky (streltsy), Armory Chamber (Arsenal), foreign affairs were managed by the Ambassadorial Prikaz, finances were managed by the Grand Parish Order, state lands distributed to the nobles were managed by the Local Prikaz , serfs - The serf order dealt with the distribution of estates and estates among service people. There were orders that were in charge of certain territories, for example, the order of the Siberian Palace governed Siberia, the order of the Kazan Palace governed the annexed Kazan Khanate.
At the head of the order was a boyar or clerk - a major government official. The orders were in charge of administration, tax collection and the courts. As the tasks of public administration became more complex, the number of orders increased. By the time of Peter the Great's reforms at the beginning of the 18th century. there were about 50 of them. The design of the order system made it possible to centralize the management of the country [ 3] . reign reformist formidable
Law code 1550 Undoubtedly, the largest undertaking of the government of Ivan the Terrible was the new legislative code drawn up in June 1550, which replaced the outdated Code of Laws 1497. Of the 99 articles of the new Code of Laws, 37 were completely new, and in the rest the text of the previous code was subject to coordinate revision.
Social legislation, included in the code of law of 1550, concerns two important issues - land ownership and the dependent population (peasants and slaves).
One of the articles deals with patrimonial land ownership in general. Since the nobility increasingly began to be supported by estates rather than fiefdoms, it is quite clear that the main content of the article mainly concerned land ownership of the feudal nobility. The article proclaims that persons who sold the estate or their relatives who signed the deed of sale are deprived of the right to redeem the alienated land property. The law is on the side of the land buyer. The law promoted the alienation of patrimonial-boyar land property.
The second group of articles of the Code of Laws consists of laws on peasants and slaves. “In an environment of growing class struggle, Adashev’s government did not dare to further enslave the peasants, although this was what the demands of the nobles amounted to. The attitude towards slaves has become even more bitter.”
The Code of Law paid special attention to issues of central and local government. This legislative monument already outlines the main directions along which the restructuring of the state apparatus will take place in the 50s. All transformations begin with local government. Law code 1550 clearly reflected this feature: its transformations concern mainly viceroyal administration.
The first royal questions set out three groups of problems concerning church reform. Church services and the order of church life were criticized; it was said that it was necessary to elect “immaculate” priests and abbots so that they would carefully fulfill their duties. In a cautious form, it was proposed to eliminate the non-jurisdiction of monasticism and the clergy to the royal court, but the question of the fate of monastic land ownership was of particular importance. While maintaining the old feeding system as a whole, it only makes adjustments to it that limit the power of governors and volosts.
Religious reform was held at the so-called “Stoglavy Council” (meeting of the highest hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church) in 1551. The decisions of the council were summarized in 100 chapters (code of legal norms of the internal life of the Russian clergy and their relationships with society and the state) [ 4] . They included the transfer to the tsar of lands seized by the church from nobles and peasants during his childhood, as well as estates given by the boyars to monasteries for the funeral of the soul; the prohibition of the church from increasing its land holdings without the permission of the king; establishment of uniformity in religious rites, responsibility for their violation, election of archimandrites and abbots.
Stoglav is written in the form of answers to questions about church structure. These questions, written on behalf of Ivan the Terrible, contained a kind of reform program and were presented by the government for consideration by the church council. However, they were only compiled by order of the king, and not by himself [ 5] .
Who was the compiler of the royal questions? Some authors (a manual edited by I. A. Froyanov) call Sylvester . Others (A.V. Kartashev) point to Metropolitan Macarius with the participation of Archpriest Sylvester and Abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery Artemy (he was soon convicted by a church court and exiled to Solovki as a heretic). According to A.V. Kartashev, “... the council of 1551 really achieved its universal goal: it revised all aspects of Russian church life in order to cleanse it, if possible, of all its shortcomings.”
“Stoglav” approved previously adopted decisions on the canonization of local saints and recognition of them as All-Russian saints; prohibited innovation in icon painting; unified the procedure for performing church rites; planned the opening of special schools for the training of priests in Moscow and other cities; condemned the vices in secular and church life; forbade inviting buffoons to weddings; monasteries were forbidden to lend money for growth and to unnecessarily beg the tsar for new lands and preferential charters; monasteries were also forbidden to buy patrimonial estates “without reporting” to the tsar; lands taken from the boyars during Ivan’s childhood (from 1533) were taken away from them.
Monetary (tax) reform was the introduction in 1551 of a new unit of taxation - the large plow. Depending on the fertility of the soil, as well as the social status of the owner of the land, the plow amounted to 400-600 acres of land.
Its size varied depending on the class of the owner of the land,” according to which the Moscow ruble became the main monetary unit of the country. The right to collect trade duties under Ivan IV passed into the hands of the state. The population of the country was obliged to bear taxes - a complex of natural and monetary duties.
Military reform. At the beginning of 1550, the Streltsy army was created, initially numbering 3 thousand people. Artillery was separated into a separate branch of the military and quickly began to grow in quantity, having 3 thousand guns in service by the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. In July 1550, localism (occupation of military positions depending on the nobility of the family) was abolished. The local salary of the nobles for their service was increased to 600 quarters of land. In 1556, the feeding system was eliminated, and the boyars became; receive a monetary salary from the state for their service, which has become the main source of livelihood. In the same year, the Service Code was announced, equalizing the responsibilities of military service for boyars and nobles. Carrying out reforms, the government of the Elected Rada tried to satisfy the interests of the serving nobility at the expense of the aristocracy and peasantry. As a result of the reforms carried out, a tendency to limit autocracy to the new serving noble aristocracy emerged.
Land legislation. The central issue of domestic policy in the 50s was the land question. The nature of the land policy of the 50s was determined already in the first major enterprise in the field of the land issue. This event was the deportation, the sentence on October 3, 1550, of a thousand nobles around Moscow, on the basis of which it was planned to build a new Sovereign's court not on a territorial principle, but on the basis of nobility and career success. Therefore, it was decided to place the “chosen thousand” - 1070 nobles. The “thousand” included nobles who did not have their own land near Moscow, which made it difficult for them to serve at court. The deployment of the “best thousand” allowed the government to always have on hand people who could be appointed as commanders in regiments, heads of hundreds, and sent on diplomatic missions to neighboring states. In addition, the transformation was supposed to restore the unity of the peasant class. But the reform encountered some difficulties. To provide a “thousand” with land, at least 118 thousand quarters of arable land were required, and the Treasury did not have such an amount. And therefore the reform was carried out only partially. The Novgorodians were supposed to be the last to be disposed of, but no land was found for them. That is, due to the remoteness of Novgorod from Moscow, Novgorod landowners practically could not serve in Moscow. During the implementation of the reform, some landowners did not have enough land, but the removal of thousanders was, first of all, an event of enormous scale in the field of land relations. As a result of the execution of the sentence on October 3, 1550, the noble landowners received into their hands over 100 thousand quarters of arable land with a corresponding amount of land: meadows and forests. One of the most important acts of policy of the government of Ivan the Terrible is the verdict on May 11, 1551. The significance of this verdict lies in the fact that it formulates the basic principles of the policy of the government of Ivan IV in relation to the two most important categories of feudal land ownership: monastic and princely. According to the verdict of May 11, 1551, bishops and monasteries were to transfer to the treasury all the lands granted to them after the death of Vasily III by the boyar governments. Secondly, they were obliged to return to the old owners - nobles and “Christians” - local and black lands taken by the clergy for debts or “violence”. Thirdly, the law completely prohibited the clergy from acquiring new lands “without reporting.” But the practical results of land measures cannot be overestimated, since the system of restrictions came into effect only if there was a threat of the land leaving service. “If there were heirs and during the normal course of service, the princes from the Sovereign’s court had the right to both the redemption of ancestral lands and the priority right to receive lands from the local fund, replenished from confiscated estates.” The implementation of this reform, expressing the interests of the state and the nobility, was necessary to limit the autocracy of the church and establish control over the land. The purpose of this legislation was not the conservation of previously established land relations, but the expansion of the fund of land ownership, which served as the basis for the new military service
The central reform was the abolition of feeding and the creation of fundamentally new local authorities in their place. Most often in the literature this reform is also called zemstvo reform. It began in 1551 [ 6] It entailed changes in all the most important spheres of society, at all levels of government. “The zemstvo reform can be considered the fourth blow to the feeding system dealt during the reforms.” It was supposed to lead to the final elimination of the power of the governors by replacing it with local governing bodies chosen from the wealthy black-growing peasantry and townspeople. Prosperous circles of the townspeople and the volost peasantry were interested in the implementation of the zemstvo reform. The intensification of class struggle, in the form of brigandage, and the inability of the viceroyal apparatus to successfully suppress the popular masses were the main reasons that made the reform of local government urgent. The provincial and zemstvo reforms, as they were implemented, led to the creation of estate-representative institutions in the localities that met the interests of the nobility, upper towns and wealthy peasantry. The feudal aristocracy gave up some of its privileges, but the meaning of the reform was directed primarily against the working masses in the countryside and city.
“In 1684, the convening and dissolution of the Zemsky Sobor on eternal peace with Poland took place. Thus ended the history of zemstvo assemblies, which had been convened for more than a hundred years. Zemsky Sobors were very important in the history of Russia, which explains the fact that a huge number of works by various scientists and historians are devoted to their study. The creation of zemstvo councils was a big step in improving the state management system and became a key moment in the development of our country as a democratic state.
At the very end of the 1540s. A circle of close associates formed around the young king, which was called the government of the Chosen Rada (Diagram 62). Its de facto leader was the nobleman A.F., who was of humble origin. Adashev. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Macarius, and the priest of the Annunciation Cathedral, Sylvester, had a great influence on the tsar. Princes D. Kurlyaev, A. Kurbsky, M. Vorotynsky, and clerk I. Viskovaty took part in the work of the Elected Rada. The elected Rada carried out a number of important changes in the life of the country aimed at strengthening the centralized state.
Scheme 62
It was during the reign of the Elected Rada in 1549 that an important step was taken in the formation of an estate-representative monarchy - the first Zemsky Sobor in Russian history convened. This became the name for the meetings periodically assembled by the tsar to resolve and discuss the most important issues of the state’s domestic and foreign policy. The Zemsky Sobor of 1549 considered the problems of abolishing “feedings” and suppressing the abuses of governors, so it was called the Council of Reconciliation.
During this period, profound changes took place in the system of the state apparatus. The Government of the Elected Rada began the formation of sectoral management bodies. They were distant prototypes of modern ministries and were called orders, and their employees were clerks and clerks. Petition, local, and zemstvo orders were among the first to be formed.
In 1550, a new Code of Law of the Russian State was adopted. The very structure of this important document speaks of the rapid pace of development of the state and legal system in the 15th-16th centuries. The articles of the Code of Law of 1550 are more clearly separated from one another than the articles of the Code of Law of 1497. Legal norms were added to the first articles of the previous Code of Law, defining the punishment of officials for unjust trials and bribery. The judicial powers of the royal governors were limited. Cases of robbers were transferred to the jurisdiction of provincial elders. The Code of Laws contained instructions on the activities of orders. A number of his articles concerned the social sphere. Here the right of the peasant transition on St. George’s Day was confirmed. The Code of Law of 1550 introduced a significant restriction on the enslavement of children of slaves. A child born before his parents were enslaved was recognized as free.
The principles of local government were radically changed. In 1556, the “feeding” system was abolished throughout the state. Administrative and judicial functions were transferred to provincial and zemstvo elders.
The Service Code adopted by the government regulated the military service of feudal lords. A significant restructuring of the armed forces began. A cavalry army was formed from service people (nobles and children of boyars). In 1550, a permanent streltsy army was created. Infantrymen armed with firearms began to be called archers. The artillery was also strengthened. From total mass service people, the “chosen thousand” were formed: it included the best nobles endowed with lands near Moscow.
Tax policy was determined by the introduction unified system land taxation - the "big Moscow plow". Size tax payments began to depend on the nature of land ownership and the quality of the land used. Secular feudal lords, landowners and patrimonial owners received greater benefits compared to the clergy and state peasants.
A major role in strengthening Russian statehood was played by the outstanding church leader Macarius, who served in 1542-1563. Russian metropolitan. In the 1540s he convened church councils at which issues regarding the canonization of Russian saints were decided. In February 1551, under the leadership of Macarius, a council was convened, which was called the Stoglavoy, since its decisions were set out in 100 chapters. The Council discussed wide circle issues: church discipline and morality of monks, enlightenment and spiritual education, appearance and standards of Christian behavior. The unification of the rituals of the Russian Orthodox Church was especially important.
The reform activities of the Elected Rada lasted about 10 years. Already in 1553, disagreements between the king and his entourage began. This year, due to Ivan’s dangerous illness, the question of succession to the throne arose. Not hoping to survive, the king bequeathed the throne to his infant son Dmitry. Many of the courtiers refused to swear allegiance to the baby. Ivan's cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky, was nominated as a candidate for the throne. Sylvester and many other members of the Chosen Rada at the decisive moment betrayed the king and went over to the side of his opponents. Contrary to everyone's expectations, Tsar Ivan recovered. He announced the forgiveness of his relative and associates.
The reason for the renewal of the conflict was the death of Queen Anastasia in 1560. Members of the Chosen Council were accused of killing the king's beloved wife with evil witchcraft. The recent rulers fell into disgrace. The elected Rada ceased to exist, and reforms were suspended (Diagram 63).
In 1564, Prince Andrei Kurbsky, who had long been considered Ivan’s closest adviser and personal friend, betrayed the tsar and moved to the Poles. From exile, he wrote a letter to his former ruler, full of accusations and reproaches. Ivan the Terrible's response message will become a real manifesto of autocratic power. Both Andrei Kurbsky and Ivan the Terrible had great literary talent.
Scheme 63
Their correspondence, which stretched over many years, is one of the outstanding monuments of Russian literature and social thought of the 16th century.
At the beginning of the 16th century. Russia was faced with the task of establishing and strengthening a single state. To do this, it was necessary to put an end to the remnants of feudal decentralization, complete the formation of a unified state apparatus, and also expand the territorial boundaries of Russia (primarily based on the growing needs of the local system).
Vasily III only outlined the solution to these problems. After his death, power passed to his three-year-old son Ivan and his mother Elena Glinskaya. The weakening of the central government led to an intensification of the struggle for influence on the royal child of the boyar groups of the Velsky, Shuisky and Glinsky. Elena Glinskaya managed to continue the line of Vasily III to strengthen the centralization of state power. She carried out a reform of local government (labial reform), and in 1535 introduced a unified monetary system. However, her actions displeased the boyar opposition, and the Grand Duchess was poisoned.
The first major reform of Ivan IV was his adoption of the royal title in 1547. This was supposed to emphasize not the accidental, but the divine nature of his power, to equalize his status with the Horde khans, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Byzantine rulers of the past.
At the same time, taking into account the traditions of appanage Rus', Ivan IV initially developed forms of estate-representative monarchy. By this time, the main categories had taken shape Russian society: boyar aristocracy, nobility, clergy, peasantry, townspeople. In the fight against the boyar opposition, the young Tsar could only count on the nobility, which was getting on its feet, who carried out administrative, military and diplomatic service under him and received land and cash payments for this.
In 1549, the tsar convened the first Zemsky Sobor in the history of Russia, an advisory body in which there were representatives of the family aristocracy, as well as nobles and clergy. Preparations for reforms were announced.
In their development, the king relied on a circle of people close to him, who were called the Chosen Rada. Its members included Prince Andrei Kurbsky, nobleman Alexei Adashev, Metropolitan Macarius, Archpriest Sylvester and others.
In 1550, a new all-Russian code of laws was adopted - the Code of Laws, which further strengthened the royal power. It retained the previous deadlines for peasants leaving their owners (tied to St. George’s Day), and the payment for the “elderly” was increased. The special position of the nobility as the support of royal power was consolidated. Instead of traditional militias, in case of military danger, a regular streltsy army was created, which, in peacetime and free time from service, was engaged in trade and trade. The status of special government bodies was determined - orders in charge of specific management functions (the Ambassadorial order was responsible for contacts with foreign countries, Robber - for order and security, Petition - reported to the king the requests received in his name, and took measures to implement them, etc.). Soon localism was limited (the traditional occupation of the highest positions in the state not depending on abilities, but on the birth and service status of ancestors). The maintenance of governors and their staff on the ground at the expense of the local population (feeding) was replaced in 1556 by a national tax, from which they. began to pay regular salaries. In 1551, the church was also reformed. At the Church Council of the Hundred Heads (whose resolutions were summarized in one hundred chapters), an all-Russian pantheon of saints was approved, church land ownership was transferred under the control of the tsar, and measures to combat vices among the clergy were strengthened.
The reforms of the Chosen Rada led to the fact that in a short period of time the appearance of the highest authorities in the country changed noticeably, and its authority grew. The new management system created was more efficient and effective. All decisions made in the 50s were aimed at strengthening central power, which was based on the personal power of the king.
Reforms of the 50s created the necessary conditions for solving pressing foreign policy problems.
The activities of Tsar Ivan the Terrible are still considered controversial by historians. But there is no doubt that at the beginning of his reign, the then young king was thinking about progressive changes in the country. And she helped him with this Elected Rada. What is the Elected Rada? Who was part of it? What transformations did Ivan the Terrible carry out together with its members?
Elected Rada
The elected Rada was an informal council under Ivan the Terrible, which included his friends and like-minded people. Despite the fact that the Rada was not an official body of power, it was its activities that primarily determined politics in Russia. The term was proposed by the tsar's closest associate, Prince A.M. Kurbsky. The word "rada" among the Western Slavs meant "council".
Years of activity of the Elected Rada
The elected Rada existed for 11 years: from 1549 to 1560 years. It was during this period that Grozny carried out large-scale reforms in literally all spheres of life.
Composition of the Elected Rada
Confessor of the Tsar Sylvester
A.F.Adashev
Metropolitan Macarius
Head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz Viskovaty I.M.
Princes Kurbsky A.M. , Vorotynsky, Serebryany, Sheremetyevs and others.
Reforms of the Elected Rada
Local government reform.
In 1549 was convened for the first time Zemsky Sobor, which marked the beginning of class representation in Rus'. The cathedral provided communication between the central government and local authorities and discussed important issues.
IN 1556 the system was abolished feedings, in their place were taken by representatives of zemstvo (local) self-government bodies - heads and kissers. The local nobility also had the opportunity to elect their own zemstvo authorities and resolve local issues.
Judicial reform.
In 1550, the Code of Laws was adopted, which significantly added to the provisions of the Code of Laws of Ivan III: the central government was strengthened, the powers of governors and volosts were reduced, the right of peasants to leave on St. George’s Day was confirmed, but the elderly were introduced , that is, payment for the use of the landowner’s land, which became the next stage in the enslavement of the peasants.
Reform of central authorities
The formation began order system of power. Orders are central government bodies in charge of a specific area of activity. At the head are clerks and clerks. A similar system lasted until the end of the 17th century and was then replaced by Peter I with collegiums. Orders: Petition, Local, Ambassador, Streletsky, Robber and others .
Church reform.
IN 1551 was convened Stoglavy Cathedral received its name from the number of chapters of decisions made). Goal: unification of church rituals, recognition of local saints as all-Russian. Church canons (that is, requirements, laws) were clearly defined, for example, how to be baptized, how to go in procession, etc.
Much was given to improving the morality of the priests themselves.
Military reform
Much attention was paid to strengthening the country's military power. For this purpose it was created standing army- archers, gunners, 1556 accepted Service Regulations, which established a uniform procedure for serving. Interestingly, the Code noted that localism was limited during wars.
Thus, the Elected Rada played a huge role in reforming the country, its progressive development, and strengthening the state. For the first time Russia became class - representative monarchy. This is a great achievement.
Reasons for the fall of the Chosen Rada
Ivan the Terrible's desire for autocracy, he no longer needed friends and advisers.
Difficult relations of some members of the Rada (Sylvester and Adashev) with the relatives of the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia Zakharyeva-Yuryeva, especially after her death.
Foreign policy differences arose related to the Livonian War.
Disagreement over reforms. The tsar expected quick results, but the reforms were designed for a long period of time; it was difficult to immediately transform so many aspects of life, and the state apparatus itself was not yet ready for this, it worked ineffectively.
The fate of the members of the Elected Rada
The fate of Ivan the Terrible's closest supporters was tragic.
Sylvester was exiled in 1560 to the Solovetsky Monastery
Adashev was sent to war with Livonia, was soon arrested, and died in prison.
Prince Kurbsky, seeing the reprisals against members of the Rada, fled to Livonia in 1564 and even fought with Grozny on the side of the Lithuanians.
The fate of the remaining members of the Elected Rada is also tragic. The defeat of the Rada was the beginning oprichnina- one of the most terrible periods in the history of Russia.
You can read material about the life and activities of Tsar Ivan the Terrible on my website
"Historical portraits":istoricheskiy-portret.ru
Material prepared by: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna
(1533-1538), daughter of Prince Glinsky, a native of Lithuania. Under Elena Glinskaya, a number of reforms and measures were carried out that contributed to the centralization and security of the state: a monetary reform that established a unified monetary system in the country, the construction of new and reorganization of old fortresses, the strengthening of the army, the limitation of feudal immunities (the rights of patrimonial owners to collect taxes and use them for their needs ); providing benefits and land to Orthodox immigrants from Lithuania, etc.
Both during the reign of Elena Glinskaya and after her death (there is an assumption that she) the struggle for power between the boyar groups of the Belskys, Shuiskys, and Glinskys did not stop. Boyar rule (1538-1547), which began after the death of Elena Glinskaya, led to the weakening of central power, and the arbitrariness of the patrimonial rulers caused widespread discontent among the people and open mass protests in a number of Russian cities.
In 1547, Ivan IV (born 1530) came of age and was crowned king, officially accepting the title of Tsar and Grand Duke of “All Rus'.” Even in former times, the most powerful independent ruler in Rus' was called “tsar”. This title was used by the Russians in relation to the Byzantine emperor, and then to the Mongol khan. The first Russian Tsar was a very controversial person. According to G.V. Vernadsky, endowed with great intellectual abilities, being a ruler with a broad outlook, he was at the same time hot-tempered, cruel, and also suffered from a persecution mania, which was especially evident in the last twenty years of his life.
In the late 40s - 50s. XVI century The government of the so-called Elected Rada (1549 - 1560) carried out numerous reforms of central and local government. It is worth recalling that this is a system of measures carried out by the state and aimed at transformations in certain areas public life while maintaining the foundations of the existing system. The people who were members of the Elected Rada enjoyed not only the support, but also the personal sympathy of Ivan IV: Alexey Adashev, the confessor of Tsar Sylvester, the clerk of the Ambassadorial Prikaz Ivan Viskovaty, the father and brother of Queen Anastasia, the boyars Zakharyina, childhood friend Andrei Kurbsky, Metropolitan of All Rus' Macarius. In 1549, the Zemsky Sobor was convened for the first time in Moscow as an advisory body under the tsar, which included, first of all, members of the Boyar Duma and the highest clergy. In addition to the Boyar Duma and the top clergy, Zemsky Sobors included representatives of the local nobility and
posad elites: landed nobility was the main service class, the basis of the royal army, and the top of the townspeople was an important source of cash income for the treasury.
Zemsky Sobors (“All-Russian Assemblies”), which were periodically convened by the tsar to discuss the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy, took a special place in the system of state authorities starting from the middle of the 16th century. The emergence of Zemsky Sobors testified to the formation of the institutions of an estate-representative monarchy in the Russian state. An estate-representative monarchy is a type of power when the monarch rules the country, relying primarily on estate-representative institutions that exist in the vertical of central power.
However, in contrast to similar Western European institutions (parliament in England, “States General” in France, Cortes in Spain), Zemsky Sobors in Russia, on the contrary, served as a tool for strengthening the autocracy and were often convened to legitimize (approval and support) the domestic and foreign policies of Moscow kings. In particular, in 1565, the Zemsky Sobor gave consent to Tsar Ivan IV to introduce.
The general trend towards centralization of the state necessitated the publication of a new set of laws - the Code of Laws of 1550. It streamlined and supplemented the Code of Laws of 1497. The new Code of Laws confirmed the right of peasants to move on St. George’s Day, but the payment for the “elderly” was increased. The Code of Law of 1550 somewhat increased the power of the feudal lord over the peasants, since it made them responsible for the crimes of the peasants.
In 1551, a church council was convened. The council's answers to one hundred royal questions amounted to a code of legal norms for the internal life of the Russian clergy and their relationships with society and the state, called “Stoglav”. "Stoglav" approved previously adopted decisions on the canonization of local saints and recognition of them as All-Russian saints; prohibited innovation in icon painting; unified the procedure for performing church rites; planned the opening of special schools for the training of priests in Moscow and other cities; condemned the vices in secular and church life; prohibited monasteries from buying patrimonial estates “without reporting” to the tsar. Serious changes during the reign of the Elected Rada were introduced into the system of central government.
Instead of the two previous central departments - the Sovereign's Palace and the Treasury, which had different, often intertwined management functions, a system of specialized orders was created, that is, central executive institutions in charge of branches of public administration or individual regions of the country. The order system of central government, which was based on the principles of centralism and class, went through a number of stages in its development: from the “order” as a one-time order to the boyars or competent unborn officials to carry out certain state functions, to the “order” as a permanent one government agency central government with independent structural divisions.
In the middle of the 16th century. there were almost two dozen orders. Military affairs, for example, were led by the Razrydny Prikaz (local army), Pushkarsky Prikaz (artillery), Streletsky (streltsy), and the Armory Chamber (arsenal). Foreign affairs were managed by the Ambassadorial Prikaz, and state lands, which were distributed to the nobles, were managed by the Local Prikaz.
At the head of each order was a boyar or clerk - a major government official. The orders were in charge of administration, tax collection and the courts. The design of the order system made it possible to centralize the management of the country. During the reign of the Elected Rada, a reform of local government was carried out, according to which in 1556 the feeding system was abolished, and local government was transferred to the hands of provincial elders (guba - district), elected from local nobles, as well as zemstvo elders, elected from among the wealthy strata of the black-sown population.
Chernososhnye (state) and palace peasants in the volosts, as well as townspeople in the cities, received the right to choose from their midst “favorite heads” (zemstvo elders) and “best people” (tselovalniks, or zemstvo judges), who headed local government bodies - zemstvo and provincial huts, which performed financial-tax and police-judicial functions, respectively.
These local authorities replaced the feeding system, which was the main part of the activities carried out in the Russian state in order to strengthen the autocracy and strengthen political centralization. Zemsky and provincial huts became in the middle of the 16th century. estate-representative local authorities. The tendency towards strengthening the autocratic power of the Moscow sovereigns in the 16th century. intertwined with another - the beginning of the formation of bodies of class representation both in the center and locally.
Essentially, this meant that the degree of centralization of the state achieved by the middle of the century was still insufficient for the Russian tsars to be able to do without the participation of estates in governing the country. The combination of autocracy, serfdom and the enormous role of the state has distinguished Russia from other European countries since the 16th century. until the middle of the 19th century. Military reform was important, aimed at strengthening the noble militia, which formed the basis Russian army at that time. Near Moscow, the “chosen thousand” were planted on the ground - 1070 provincial nobles, who, according to the Tsar’s plan, were to become his support. In 1556, the Code of Service was drawn up for the first time, according to which a patrimonial owner or landowner could begin service at the age of 15 and pass it on by inheritance, and with 150 acres of land, both the boyar and the nobleman had to exhibit one warrior and appear at horseback parades. crowded and armed.”
In 1550, instead of the detachment of pishchalniks, which appeared at the beginning of the 16th century, a permanent Streltsy army was created (at first, the Streltsy recruited three thousand people). The Streltsy army was created from archer warriors armed with firearms. Foreign mercenaries, whose number was insignificant, also began to be recruited into the army. The Cossacks were used to perform border service. The boyars and nobles who made up the militia were called “serving people of the fatherland,” that is, by origin.
The other group consisted of “service people according to the instrument” (i.e., according to recruitment). In the middle of the 16th century. an official guide was compiled - "The Sovereign's Genealogist", which streamlined local disputes and somewhat limited localism. The reforms of the Elected Rada led to increased political centralization and the strengthening of central power. However, by the end of the 50s. Serious contradictions arose between Ivan IV and the government of A. Adashev. The policy of compromise (“reconciliation of classes”), which was pursued by the Elected Rada, contributed to the consolidation of the power of the tsar. However, as it grew stronger, Ivan IV showed less and less desire to share it with those to whom he owed much of his power.
The balance of power between the clan nobility and the nobility achieved thanks to the reforms of the Elected Rada not only strengthened the royal power, but also made it possible to mercilessly suppress both competing social groups. In 1560 there was a final break between Ivan IV and the government of A. Adashev. The historian S. Veselovsky even believes that it was from this time that the turmoil began in the Moscow state, which lasted 70 years. The first open disagreement between the tsar and members of the Elected Rada occurred in 1558 due to disagreements in foreign policy: Adashev, Sylvester and their supporters considered it necessary to continue active foreign policy in the south and east, and the king turned his gaze to the west, to Livonia.
The further fate of the members of the Elected Rada was unenviable: A. Adashev was arrested, and Sylvester was exiled to Solovki. Feeling the obvious approach of the “royal thunderstorm,” in 1564 Prince A. Kurbsky, close to the leaders of the Elected Rada, fled to Lithuania. For all the “troubles,” the tsar blamed the “traitors” of the boyars and his cousin, appanage prince V.A. Staritsky. So, the reforms of the Elected Rada, which were carried out in the middle of the 16th century. were aimed, in general, at the gradual centralization of what was formed at the beginning of the 16th century. The Moscow state, i.e. to strengthen the central power, the power of the monarch. These reforms were ultimately designed to ensure the creation in Russia of a strong monarchy “with a human face.” But as an alternative to this method of centralizing the state in the mid-60s of the 16th century. Another policy emerged - the policy of the oprichnina, the initiator and conductor of which was Ivan the Terrible himself.
