The question of why Peter undertook regional reform should be considered within the framework of the domestic and foreign policy situation that developed in our country at the beginning of the 18th century. At the end of the previous century, the preconditions for deep serious state administrative reforms were outlined. The final impetus for their conduct was the Northern War, the needs of which prompted the first emperor to carry out the appropriate reforms in the internal structure of the country.
The decline of the old management system
In order to understand why Peter undertook regional reform, one must turn to the characterization of the management system that existed in the previous century. The principality of Moscow was traditionally divided into counties, led by governors sent from the center. However, this system had one serious drawback, namely the lack of permanent links between the center and local areas.
By the end of the century, this management principle is outdated. The new ruler needed a new and effective bureaucratic apparatus, which would constantly be under his control and quickly carry out all orders.
Military needs
The funds for the conduct of hostilities and fixed costs explain why Peter undertook regional reform. The emperor needed constant income to supply the army; he needed working people and timely recruitment. The old management system has ceased to meet these new requirements. Russia was at war with a developed European country, and to win it was necessary to rebuild the entire administrative system according to a new model.
It should be noted here that this reform of the king, like all his other transformations, was carried out at first solely for practical reasons, primarily because of the need to provide the army and navy with food. However, upon the successful completion of the war, the ruler became concerned about how to adapt the new system to peacetime.
First stage
In order to understand why Peter undertook regional reform, we briefly need to reveal two main periods of these transformations. The first of them can be conditionally dated 1708-1715 years. This was the time of the height of the confrontation with Sweden, when the tsar needed a constant receipt of taxes, the proper performance of duties and the timely staffing of the army. Therefore, the reform itself at this stage was (if I may say so) a paramilitary character. The ruler did not go into the details of the administrative department, confining himself to dividing the whole country into eight, and after some time into ten provinces led by governors.
Since there was a war during these years, representatives of the military class were appointed to these posts. The governors were primarily charged with providing the treasury with timely tax revenues, monitoring recruitment kits, and also providing the needs of the army and navy with working people. Issues of civil administration and welfare were not part of their responsibilities. They had advisory councils, Landrats, who were formally independent and had to be elected from local nobles, but in connection with the military situation, they were completely subordinate to the governor, and their members were approved by the Senate.
Second phase
When studying the state-administrative structure of the empire of the first half of the 18th century, special attention should be paid to the question of why Peter 1 undertook regional reform, since the study of this aspect allows us to understand the features of the tsar’s transformational policy and the new management system created by him. It was said above that at first the reform was designed to serve the military needs, but when the campaign began to come to an end, the emperor improved the system he created.
According to a number of his decrees of 1718-1719, the provinces were divided into provinces, and the provinces into districts. The provinces were headed by governors who were virtually independent of the governor and, in addition to performing military functions (ensuring security, control of recruitment kits), should also take care of the needs of the people: improve trade, promote the foundation and development of manufactories. Thus, the regional reform of Peter the Great played an important role in modernizing the country's administrative system.