When the state system develops, grows and grows stronger - reforms and innovations are inevitable. The ways, principles of management, territorial division are changing, new tasks appear. And the current state machine operation scheme ceases to meet the requirements of the time. There is a need for large-scale changes. This situation developed by the beginning of the XVI century in the Moscow kingdom. The centralization process has led to the emergence of a new management system. There were orders. They became the basis of the power structure for almost two centuries.
Creating an order system
The history of the appearance of this term is quite natural. The sovereign can “order to know” one or another matter, and a particular subject must fulfill the order. With the development of the state, management only through officials loses effectiveness. Entire institutions and departments are replacing them. Researchers believe that the command system began to take shape in the reign of Ivan III, in the late XV - early XVI centuries. Orders (also called “yards”, “chambers”, “quarters”, “huts”) were key central government bodies that were in charge of certain state territories or areas of activity. During the reign of Ivan the Great, about 10 such departments were created, including Kazenny, Zhitny, Konyushenny, and the Bolshoi Dvor, which was in charge of the lands of the Moscow prince. Under Vasily III (years of reign - 1505-1533), their number is growing, the Yamskaya order and the Smolensky bit appear.
The device and composition
Normatively, the creation of an order system was enshrined during the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible. The provisions of the Code of Laws of 1550 determined the number of orders (80 at that time) and their main powers.
In the jurisdiction of each, two main areas of activity were distinguished: legal proceedings and clerical work. The first was led by judges, the second by clerks and clerks. All of them were appointed and removed by decision of the supreme authority. To carry out individual tasks in the orders, for example, there were interpreters (Ambassadorial order), pipe makers, gunners, and week-goers. The task of the latter was to notify witnesses and defendants of the need to appear for trial.
The main “employees” were supposed to attend the service daily, except on Sundays and holidays. Decisions were made jointly by the judges, but more often unanimously, with the filing of the main one. Orders acted in the name of the sovereign, and in case of disagreement with the decision made, the complaints were considered by the Boyar Duma.
The heyday of the command system
Like any undertaking, management reform has gone through several stages. The formation of the command system was a response to expanding the range of state tasks. This also included the need to control newly annexed territories. The number and composition of orders has changed repeatedly. For example, with the advent of the patriarchate and the beginning of the development of Siberia, relevant departments arose. In the years of Troubles, on the contrary, the number of orders decreased.
Researchers agree that the period of the highest development of the command system was the first half of the XVII century - the reign of the first representatives of the Romanov dynasty. A significant number of orders, both temporary and permanent, appeared under Alexei Mikhailovich (Little Russian, monastery, bread, reytarsky, secret affairs, etc.). Most of them were located in the order chambers of the Moscow Kremlin.
Separation of powers: difficulties
Over time, it became apparent that the created managerial staff does not always effectively fulfill its functions and corresponds to state tasks. And the problem was not only the increase in the number of departments. The essence of the command system was the fuzzy hierarchy and distribution of powers. The responsibilities of many of them were intertwined, often contradicting each other. Sometimes in the order so many diverse cases could be performed that it ceased to correspond to its original functionality.
Gradually, the order system became rather cumbersome and clumsy. Judges and clerks often “did not correspond to their position”, not fulfilling direct duties, abusing their position. Despite the obvious shortcomings, the system continued until the reforms of Peter I, and individual orders existed almost until the middle of the XVIII century.
Territorial Orders
There were three relative principles by which the powers of orders were distributed. These are categories of population, territory or area of work. Based on this, several groups of orders can be distinguished. The territorial jurisdiction was the management of individual districts, principalities. Some of them were called “quarters” (according to the principle of dividing the lands of the Moscow principality that existed in the 15th century):
- Nizhny Novgorod.
- Vladimirskaya.
- Novgorod.
- Ustyuzhskaya.
- Galitskaya.
- Kostroma.
In process of accession or loss of new territories, new orders were created and unified: Great Russian, Siberian, Kazan Palace, Little Russian, Livonian affairs, etc.
Palace
If the entire first regions were under the jurisdiction of the first group of orders, then departments belonged to this category, the duties of which were charged with the administration of the sovereign's court and lands. The foundation was laid by the creation of the order of the Grand Palace. The leadership was entrusted to them by the "butler", who led the court. One of his most important tasks was to collect the quitrent and other taxes from the population of cities, villages, volosts belonging to the royal family. This order system also subsequently included:
- Treasury.
- Bread
- Stable.
- Stalker.
- Bed.
- Falconer.
- Palace Judgment.
- Stone.
- Funeral service.
- Gold and silver business order.
- Tsarskaya and Tsaritsyna workshops.
Industry
The order management system began to take shape largely because of the need to separate the various spheres of domestic affairs. It was on this principle that the Pharmacist, Yamskoy, Zhitny, Kholopiy, Printed orders initially appeared. One of the first among them in the sources is Yamskaya. His tasks included control over transit spans and mail delivery, as well as collecting taxes from coachmen. In times of disaster, the Zhitny Order, which was in charge of warehouses in which bread was stored to supply troops and in case of crop failures, was of great importance.
A special category was made up of departments responsible for complying with the law, order and system of punishments. These include the Robbery and the Detective orders. Initially, they were created as a temporary body to combat robbery, but in the end they existed until the XVIII century. The robbery order was in charge of cases of robbery and murder, controlled prisons and executioners.
Military and diplomatic affairs
Foreign policy has always been the most important area of state interest, which was reflected in the number of relevant institutions. In different years, the order system for military and foreign affairs included:
- Ambassadorial order.
- Foreign.
- Streletsky.
- Reitarsky.
- Cossack.
- Pushkarsky.
- Monetary and bread collection order.
- Armory.
- Bit.
- Bronny.
- Admiralty.
Diplomatic relations with the countries of Europe and Asia were under the jurisdiction of the Ambassadorial Order. Tolmachi and the clerk, led by the embassy duma clerk, were engaged in the preparation of Russian embassies and the meeting of foreign delegations, escorting foreigners in Moscow, ransom and exchange of prisoners of war.
The entire service class was under the jurisdiction of the Rank Order. His tasks also included the acquisition of troops, the appointment of military leaders and governors, reviews and fees, accounting for civilian posts, determining the size of the salary.
Property, income and expenses
A not so numerous, but no less significant group of institutions included in the order system controlled not only the process of replenishing the state treasury, but also land tenure issues. It included:
- Local order;
- New quarter;
- Order of the Big Parish;
- order of the Big Treasury.
The first of them was one of the most influential government bodies in charge of patrimonial and local land ownership. This included the distribution and seizure of estates for the service class (nobles and children of the boyars), compilation of scribe books, and the resolution of land disputes.
The tasks of the order of the Big Treasury included control over state revenues received from cities, villages, villages that were not under the jurisdiction of other units. Also, merchants, hundreds of cloth and living rooms, money yard, customs, Tula arms factory obeyed him.
The responsibilities of the New Quarter were quite variegated: collection from circle yards (up to 100 thousand rubles a year), court cases on the illegal sale of tobacco and wine, and since 1678 - management of Kalmyk affairs.
Control and revision orders
The growth in the number of departments and the indistinct division of their responsibilities led to the fact that the order system in the 17th century was faced with the need to create regulatory bodies.
So the order of Accounts was formed. There were no judges in it, and the tasks of the clerks included control over the income and expenses of various institutions. Also, the order was engaged in collecting taxes and surplus funds that were not received by the treasury that were not spent by departments during the year.
An order of secret affairs created in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich was a certain mansion. Obeying the sovereign directly, he performed the functions of monitoring the execution of royal decrees, while being the chancellery. The tasks included the identification of state crimes and the organization of an investigation on them. The clerk also accompanied the ambassadors during visits to other countries and the governor on campaigns, monitoring their actions. It is noteworthy that it was precisely this order that was entrusted with participating in the creation of a unified postal service.
State improvement
The components of the command system responsible for construction, public charity, and education have been preserved in Russia for quite some time. These include:
- order of Stone Affairs;
- Book Printing Order;
- The order of the Building is alms.
The stone order performed the most important function of managing the construction of buildings and structures. He was also in charge of all the artisans and brick factories, collecting taxes from the cities where lime and white stone were mined. His successor (established in 1775) monitored the compliance of Moscow's development with the developed plan. The new government agency was also responsible for the quality of building materials and the fire safety of buildings.
Public charity and charity were administered by the order of the Almshouse Building, created in the second half of the 17th century. These included: giving alms, searching for earning opportunities for the able-bodied population, punishment for parasitism. A significant part of the duties was assigned to the clergy.
At the Zemsky Sobor in 1681, it was decided to organize a census of the poor, arrange the elderly and infirm citizens in hospitals, and the able-bodied to engage in community service. In Moscow, it was envisaged the construction of "housing houses" - state almshouses.