During the reign of Peter the Great, Russia became one of the leading European powers. To a large extent this was facilitated by the reforms actively carried out by the emperor. However, this process slowed down in the era of palace coups - a 37-year period in Russian history.
During this time, there were six sovereigns on the throne, one of whom was Anna Ioannovna. It cannot be said that during the ten years of her reign, the leadership of the country was launched. Nevertheless, the reforms of the reign of Anna Ioannovna were mainly carried out in the interests of the nobility.
Vacant Throne
In January 1730, completely unexpectedly, Emperor Peter II died of smallpox . Events like this have always caused court fever. When it became clear that the days of Peter were numbered, the Supreme Privy Council gathered to determine the candidacy of the future sovereign. Each court group proposed its own candidate.
In the end, Prince Dmitry Golitsin managed to convince the members of the Council to put on the vacant throne, Anna Ioannovna, the widow of the Duke of Courland, who was suitable in all respects. True, in exchange for the kingdom, she was required to sign certain conditions, or, as they said then, conditions. In fact, it was about restricting autocratic power.
The Duchess of Courland accepted the conditions of the supreme leaders and on February 15 solemnly entered Moscow. Very soon, those who wanted to limit the power of the empress regretted their choice. We can say that the reforms of Anna Ioannovna began with the liquidation of the Supreme Privy Council, which made up the aforementioned standards.
One of the Romanovs
The new empress of Russia was the niece of Peter the Great. She was the middle daughter of his half-brother Ivan (John). Like all Russian princesses, she was taught reading, arithmetic, writing, geography, dancing and foreign languages.
Her life went on in the Kremlin, and then in the royal residence in Izmailovo, until Peter I decided to consolidate his success in the Northern War by arranging the marriage of one of his nieces with the Duke of Courland. The choice fell on Anna.
However, her marriage was short-lived: two months later, the duke died. Anna was only 17 years old, but the political interests of Russia ordered her to preserve widowhood, leading a bleak life in Courland.
Therefore, when a messenger arrived from Moscow, Anna signed the condition and set off without delay. The very first reception she arranged showed that the empress knew how to attract an army to her side. Subsequent reforms of Anna Ivanovna in the military sphere once again emphasized this.
New government
Any autocrat needs advisers. Anna Ioannovna was no exception in this regard. Management reforms, as already noted, began with the abolition of the Supreme Privy Council. Instead, the empress created the Cabinet of Ministers, and also returned the meaning to the Senate that he had under Peter I.
During the first two years of the new reign at court, a struggle was fought for influence on Anna Ioannovna between the Russian aristocrats and natives of Courland, ending in the victory of the latter. The Empress’s special location was enjoyed by Ernst Biron. It is no coincidence that ten years of the reign of Anna Ioannovna went down in history under the name “Bironovism”.
In addition to the Cabinet of Ministers, in 1731, by decree of the Empress, the Office of Secret Investigation Cases, which dealt with political crimes, was reinstated. Another administrative act of Anna Ioannovna was the decision to transfer the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 1732.
A mountain of laws does not mean legitimacy
Researchers estimate that at least three and a half thousand decrees during the reign of Anna Ioannovna signed. The main reforms concerned the situation of nobles, the army and the economy. Despite such an abundance of legislative acts, not so many really important laws were adopted for the development of Russia.
The bureaucratic apparatus created under Peter the Great by the time of the reign of Anna Ioannovna had grown so much that the central government was practically unable to control it. To establish a clear work of the state mechanism, they issued new, more stringent decrees, but nothing changed.
Noble Reforms of Anna Ioannovna
The list of them, undoubtedly, is headed by a decree of 1730, repealing the Petrine law of uniform inheritance, which all the nobles asked for. Going towards them, the government of the new empress thoroughly strengthened its social base. Now the landowners were free to dispose of the main property - the estate, and their younger sons, provided with an inheritance, did not need government service.
Another decisive landmark for the nobility was adopted in 1736. If Peter I ordered the gentry to carry out public service for life, Anna Ioannovna reduced this period to 25 years. Moreover, due to injuries or illnesses, it was allowed to resign earlier. After the war with the Turks ended in 1739, thousands of nobles, using this decree, left the service for the good of the state and returned to their estates.
Army and Navy
It is well known that Peter the Great attached great importance to gaining access to the sea and the fleet itself. Nevertheless, after his death, not a single ship was built in Russia. In order to save money, military vessels did not go to sea, which affected the combat training of their crews.
The military reform of Anna Ioannovna began with the restoration of the navy. In the very first year of her reign, the 66-gun ship Glory of Russia was laid down, and in the next two more. By her decree, the Military Maritime Commission was established, proposing to reopen the port and shipyards in Arkhangelsk . Since 1731, regular military exercises that have not been held in the Baltic Sea resumed long ago.
However, the reforms of Anna Ioannovna were not limited to caring for the fleet. So, in 1732, by her order, the first overland gentry corps was opened , which laid the foundation for the cadet movement in Russia. In addition, new regiments were formed: Konnogvardeisky and Izmailovsky.
Trade and industry
The economic reforms of Anna Ioannovna affected mainly industry. First, the Empress’s government abolished the strict Customs regulations. Although it was created with the goal of protecting Russian industry products from foreign competitors, it actually did more harm than good.
The decrease in customs tariffs under Anna Ioannovna, on the contrary, favored the development of trade, as well as the establishment of the first borrowed banks in the country.
The serf system in the years of her reign did not in the least weaken its grip. In conditions of backward production, this, of course, brought good income. In 1736, by decree of the Empress, the class of civilian workers was actually eliminated. From that moment on, all of them, together with their families, were attached to manufactories.
It may seem that the reforms of Anna Ioannovna regarding industrial production were progressive. In reality, they suppressed capitalist initiative. The government tightly controlled the entire production process and, with the slightest violation of the law, confiscated plants in favor of the treasury.
Board Results
Thus, the reforms of Anna Ioannovna can be briefly described as aimed at strengthening the autocratic power, the satisfaction of the noble petitions and the strengthening of serfdom.
Her reign lasted only ten years. In historical literature, it has not received flattering assessments. On the one hand, Anna Ivanovna is blamed for the dominance of the Germans in the state apparatus, on the other hand, for the brutal persecution of political opponents.
Be that as it may, but, having examined the reforms of its rule, it cannot be denied that some of them nevertheless served for the good of the future development of Russia.