The Council Code of 1649 is a list of laws of the Russian state. It is the first legal act that regulated almost all areas of life at that time.
The appearance of this code of laws is determined by the results of the uprisings in the seventeenth century that arose as a result of peasant movements, as well as the need to adopt a single law. At these times, peasant wars and anti-feudal movements took place in a serfdom against increased exploitation, increased conscription and lack of rights. The movements were based on small monastic and church organizations, townspeople, and serfs. When the struggle reached its peak, the government decided to reduce the salary of the so-called service people, which provoked a protest, as a result of which there was an uprising in 1648. The adoption of the Council Code was the result of this rebellion and a sharp class struggle.
The king announced the convening of the Zemsky Sobor to develop the Code. The need for new laws is considered the main reason for the creation of the Code, we can say that this determined its nature.
The nobles, boyars and merchants, who were frightened by the uprising, demanded that the Council be convened to discuss the current situation, although in reality each of them pursued its own goals. The government made concessions to appease the people.
The adoption of the Cathedral Code dates back to 1648, when the king created a decree on writing the Book. He decided to write out articles written by the Greek tsars, as well as the old government, which needed to be corrected and supplemented so that the court and punishment for crimes were equal for every person living in the territory of the Moscow state.
A special commission consisting of five people was entrusted with compiling a code of laws. This commission developed new laws that it submitted to the king. The tsar was instructed that the adoption of the Council Code should be carried out by people of his choice from the settlements and cities (each one person).
At the Council, a draft Code was heard, discussed and signed. This document was sent to all cities in the office. Thus, the Zemsky Sobor became the largest of all those convened during the reign of the tsars in Russia.
The Code contained twenty-five chapters (nine hundred and sixty-seven taty). They contained the laws and codes of the Greek tsars, the Moscow judiciary and additional sentences to them, as well as the boyar sentences issued from the Lithuanian Statute, church decrees, and criminal law. According to the Council Code, each law or regulation was entered into special books, to which the codes were written indicating the amended laws, as well as orders regarding changes to laws that were not considered earlier, and those that included cases not provided for by law. The Cathedral Code had three hundred and fifteen signatures of the people who compiled it, as well as special notes on the columns that indicated the source of a particular article.
Thus, this document had a complex structure, it was divided into thematic sections devoted to certain branches of law, each section with its own title.
The adoption of the Council Code is the greatest achievement of the reign of Alexei. This great collection of laws played the role of a legal code for a rather long period of time. The Code captured a wide area of legislation, contributed to the definition of relations between classes. Change Code was not possible for a long period of time.