The colleges created by Peter the Great were proposed to the emperor by theorist Leibniz. Peter himself planned to transfer the Western European management system to Russia, paying particular attention to the experience of Sweden. It was there that the device of power was collegial.
Introduction
Before the introduction of the colleges of Peter the Great, subjects were sent abroad to study the features of such a device. From other countries, experts were invited to Russia who contributed to the organization of new institutions. However, they were always led by Russians.
Kinds
Officially, the colleges of Peter 1 and their functions were determined in 1719. Each of them had its own charters. The total number of colleges is 12.
- The first was responsible for foreign affairs.
- The second is for the military.
- There was a separate maritime college.
- The staff was responsible for accounting for expenses.
- The chamber board was involved in revenue.
- The Justice College performed judicial functions.
- The revision board oversaw finance.
- The Commerce Board was entrusted with a trading function.
- The Berg College was responsible for mining.
- The manufactory board conducted activities in the field of industry.
- Patrimony - worked like the previous one.
- The Main Magistrate was the central city authority. A special building was assigned for them in St. Petersburg.
Subordination
The Senate and the collegium under Peter 1 were in a strict hierarchical chain. The latter obeyed the Senate, but to a different extent. Most independent was the military and naval colleges. Each of them had its own presence, an office.
Differences
The boards of Peter 1 made departmental management much easier. However, in practice, individuals with the greatest influence often influenced key decisions, but collegial decisions were far from always made.
Reasons for choosing
A very natural question is why the boards of Peter the Great were created precisely according to the Swedish model. The thing is that in those days the Swedish system was considered exemplary. The emperor did not see such examples in Russian realities. He decided not to invent a special Russian ship and decided simply to build an effective frigate according to the Western model.
Function Departure
Introducing the colleges, Peter 1 implied that decisions here would be made during the meetings. But after the introduction, they underwent constant changes, and by the end of the reign of the emperor there were only 10 left.
The initial idea of deliberative decisions was buried under the influence of the strongest members of the collegiums. The reason was that collegiality was not strictly documented. Peter himself believed that the presence of a large number of members in government would make lawlessness more difficult to hide. Indeed, it is much easier for one person to break the law than to do it in front of many: at least one, but is able to give it away.
According to the royal idea, each case was to be decided by a majority of votes. Foreigners also sat on the boards. They were considered to be specialists in their field, and they were brought to power so that Russian novice managers learned from experienced comrades. For foreigners, the path to the presidency of the colleges was closed by decree of Peter. However, foreigners became vice presidents.
The introduction of a collegial system virtually eliminated the Orders. Most of the new institutions functioned for a long time: they disappeared only during the reforms of Catherine II and Alexander I. Peter signed a decree on the establishment of colleges in 1719. The implementation of his ideas tended to drag out.
The president for each board was appointed directly by the Senate. The same was true for the vice president. The president could not make decisions without meetings and the participation of board members. The newly introduced bodies met every day, with the exception of holidays and Sunday. Usually the sessions lasted 5 hours. Each collegium had a prosecutor whose duty was to ensure that matters were resolved properly.
After the Petrine reform, the functions of the authorities were clearly delineated. This distinguished the state apparatus from the past with an order system. The disadvantage of the system was the fact that the functions of some colleges were mixed in practice: some could calmly deal with the affairs of others. In addition, the police, medicine and the post were ignored. And in the end, it was necessary to continue the reform in the 1720s, introducing additional orders for these areas.