The establishment of the Order of Secret Affairs (the year of formation is approximately 1653th), initiated by Alexei Mikhailovich Tishayshim, pursued two goals. On the one hand, it was used as an individual office of the sovereign. On the other hand, the Secret Cases order acted as a state body that accepted cases from other departments of administration. According to some historians, the new institution can be considered as the first department of special services. This statement is supported by the fact that the order of Secret Affairs was not subordinate to the Boyar Duma, and the decisions it made always went around the opinion of such an important High Council.
The essence of the activity
Based on the data provided by the official of the Ambassadorial order Grigory Karpovich Kotoshikhin during his stay in Moscow, the order of the Secret Affairs consisted of one clerk and ten clerks. An interesting historical fact is that dummy people, as well as boyars, did not have the right to be included in its composition. This was due to the fact that the activities of this organization were directly aimed at monitoring their activities. The clerk carried out a number of special assignments of national importance. For example, they were included in the composition of the embassy delegations to different countries, and in case of military operations they were sent with governors. The task of the "agents" was to carefully monitor the activities of the governor and ambassadors and to inform the sovereign in a timely manner about the observations. At the same time, ambassadors interested in friendship with clerks often bribed them.
Reasons for the appearance
Like his son in the future, Alexei Mikhailovich tried to maximize his field of activity. The liveliest curiosity and indefatigable activity always aroused in him the desire to be knowledgeable in all matters of national importance, regardless of their scale and significance, and to take maximum participation in all these areas. But, unlike his fearless offspring, the Silent King was timid in nature and highly sensitive, and did not differ in directness in decision-making. The story with Patriarch Nikon showed that the fulfillment of the duties of the ruler was difficult for him. The need to hide this part of their essence can be explained by his desire to organize this special state body. The closest foreign counterparts can be recognized as the French Secret Chancellery, operating during the reign of Louis XV, with the difference that the sphere of her interests extended much further than the field of foreign policy relations.
Assessment of Contemporaries and Development
During his travels and campaigns, the king was accompanied by a whole staff of employees of the Secret Order, consisting of secretaries, clerks and clerks, and clerks. Over time, this organization has lost its mobile character. The Secret Affairs Order became a permanent service at court, and these changes occurred as the competence of the authority expanded. The number of objects of political life of the state in the conduct of a new state institution has increased rapidly. The order of the Secret Affairs aroused logical concern among contemporaries who had the opportunity to observe its growing influence. So, for example, Tatishchev compared him to the Inquisition, and Leclerc and Kono to the "bloody tribunal." According to modern historians, the creation of the Secret Affairs Order was the first attempt to form a secret organization. It is even believed that this department is a prototype of such structures as the royal secret police or even the NKVD. Along with this, the order of Secret Affairs was also a centralization tool.
The duality of the "secret service" of the king
But such a narrow interpretation of the role of order can be attributed rather to the impressionability of contemporaries. History has not retained allusions to its activities of a repressive nature even during the era of peasant riots, for example, during the suppression of the uprising of Stepan Razin. Such errors in determining the scope of tasks of the first "special services" can be explained both by the wide scope of activities and by the halo of secrecy that inevitably surrounded all state institutions of this kind. In this you can see the personal attitude of Alexei Mikhailovich to his offspring. He even composed a special alphabet for the order, but on the whole, the sovereign, apparently, later had a very vague idea of the meaning of the institution.
The participation of the king in the activities of the secret service
The uncertainty of the situation led to the fact that the registry of the order was soon filled with a wide variety of cases, whose composition was determined not so much by the scope of the true purpose of the state body, but by the impulsiveness and enthusiasm of the king. It is not surprising that in the terms of reference of the "blood tribunal" there was a place for extracting fruit trees and parrots from abroad for tsar's houses and organizing the service of signalmen in case of fire.
Conclusion
The formed order of Secret Affairs (the year of formation is indicated at the beginning of the article) had the authority to intervene in domestic and foreign policy (with the full approval of the king). Thus, it can be determined that the main activity of the organization extended in two directions. Firstly, it was an independent body for the consideration of cases outside the competence of any other state institutions. And secondly, the department independently intervened in the functioning of all the offices. Particular attention was paid to the personal correspondence of the king, known for his passion for studying and editing all written circulars that came from the pen of his secretaries.