Decree on the establishment of provinces. What is a province and what is the process of formation of provinces? Under whom did the provinces appear

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The main processes of changing the ATD network include an increase or decrease in the number of administrative units, consolidation (combining small units into larger ones) and disaggregation of the units themselves. These changes occur as a result of the ATD reforms, the implementation of which is dictated by the current political needs of the state (changes in the political principles of managing the territory and its parts). For Russia, with its vast territory, the grid of the ATD and the principle of the structure of the ATD itself are one of the main foundations of its statehood.

This paper analyzes the evolution of the ATD network in Russia in the period from 1708 (the first reforms of Peter I) to the present day at the level of a unit of the highest (first) level of the hierarchy (province, region, territory, republic). The period before 1917 is considered within the boundaries Russian Empire, and after - within the borders of the RSFSR.

The process of evolution of the administrative-territorial division (ATD) of Russia is divided into 13 stages. The material is illustrated by tables, which, if possible, give information about the size and population, the dates of formation of each unit of the ATD.

First Petrine reform

Prior to its implementation, the territory of Russia was divided into counties (former princely lands, destinies, orders, ranks, and quarters). Their number, according to V. Snegirev, in the XVII century. was 166, not counting many volosts - some of them were actually close to counties in size.

By decree of Peter the Great of December 18, 1708, the territory of the Russian Empire was divided into 8 huge provinces. Moscow included the territory of the present Moscow region, significant parts of the Vladimir, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Ivanovo, Kostroma regions. Ingermanlandskaya - the current regions of Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, the southern parts of the Arkhangelsk, the west of the Vologda and Yaroslavl regions, part of the current Karelia (this province was renamed St. Petersburg in 1710). Arkhangelsk - the current Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Murmansk regions, part of the Kostroma region, Karelia and Komi. Kyiv included Little Russia, Sevsky and Belgorod discharges, parts of the current Bryansk, Belgorod, Oryol, Kursk, Kaluga, Tula regions. Smolensk covered the current Smolensk region, parts of the Bryansk, Kaluga, Tver, Tula regions. Kazan - all the Volga region, the current Bashkiria, the Volga-Vyatka, parts of the current Perm, Tambov, Penza, Kostroma, Ivanovo regions, as well as the north of Dagestan and Kalmykia. The Azov province included the eastern parts of the current Tula, Ryazan, Orel, Kursk, Belgorod regions, the entire Voronezh, Tambov, Rostov regions, as well as parts of the Kharkov, Donetsk, Lugansk, Penza regions (the center was the city of Azov). The Siberian province (with the center in Tobolsk) covered the whole of Siberia, almost the entire Urals, parts of the current Kirov region. and the Komi Republic. The size of these provinces was enormous (Table 1).

Table 1 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1708
provinces	Area, thousand km 2	Number of yards, 1710
Azov
Arkhangelsk
Ingrian
Kazanskaya
Kyiv
Moscow
Siberian
Smolensk
Total area of ​​the empire
Sources: Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron (1899, vol. 54, pp. 211-213); Milyukov (1905, p. 198).

The provinces were not divided into counties, but were made up of cities and adjacent lands, as well as categories and orders. In 1710-1713. they were divided into shares (administrative-fiscal units), which were managed by landrats.

In 1713, the province of Riga was formed from the newly annexed lands in the northwest. In this regard, the Smolensk province was abolished, and its territory was divided between the Riga and Moscow provinces. In January 1714, a new Nizhny Novgorod province was separated from the northwestern parts of the vast Kazan province, and in 1717 a new Astrakhan province was formed from the southern part of the Kazan province (it included Simbirsk, Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn, Guryev, Terek region). ). As of 1714, the empire was divided into 9 provinces (Table 2). In the same 1717, the Nizhny Novgorod province was abolished, and its territory again became part of the Kazan province.

table 2 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1714
provinces	Number of taxable souls	Number of yards
Azov
Arkhangelsk
Kazanskaya
Kyiv
Moscow
Nizhny Novgorod
St. Petersburg
Siberian
Total for the empire
Source: Milyukov (1905, p. 205).

Second Petrine reform

The second Petrine reform began to be carried out by decree of May 29, 1719. In accordance with it, shares were abolished, the provinces were divided into provinces, and the provinces into districts. The Nizhny Novgorod province was restored, and the Revel province was formed on the newly annexed lands in the Baltic. Only two provinces (Astrakhan, Revel) were not divided into provinces. In the remaining 9 provinces, 47 provinces were established (Table 3).

Table 3 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1719
provinces	Number of provinces	Number of cities	Provinces
Azov			Voronezh, Tambov, Shatsk,
			Yeletskaya, Bakhmutskaya
Arkhangelsk			Arkhangelsk, Vologda,
			Ustyug, Galician
Astrakhan
Kazanskaya			Kazan, Sviyazhskaya, Penza,
			Ufa
Kyiv			Kyiv, Belgorodskaya, Sevskaya,
			Orlovskaya
Moscow			Moscow, Pereyaslav-Ryazan,
			Pereslav-Zalesskaya, Kaluga,
			Tula, Vladimirskaya,
			Yuryevo-Polskaya, Suzdalskaya,
			Kostroma
Nizhny Novgorod			Nizhny Novgorod, Arzamas,
			Alatyrskaya
Revelskaya
			Riga, Smolensk
St. Petersburg			Petersburg, Vyborg, Narva,
			Velikolutskaya, Novgorodskaya,
			Pskov, Tver, Yaroslavl,
			Uglitskaya, Poshekhonskaya, Belozerskaya
Siberian			Vyatka, Sol-Kama, Tobolsk,
			Yenisei, Irkutsk
Total for the empire
Sources: Den (1902); Milyukov (1905).

In 1725, the Azov province was renamed Voronezh, and in 1726 the Smolensk province was again separated from the Riga and Moscow provinces.

Reform of 1727

The districts were liquidated, and the provinces themselves began to be divided not only into provinces, but also into counties. A total of 166 counties were restored. At the same time, new provinces were formed. Belgorod province was separated from the Kyiv province, which included the provinces of Belgorod, Oryol, Sevskaya, as well as part of the Ukrainian line and 5 regiments of the Sloboda Cossacks of the Kyiv province (10 Little Russian regiments remained in the Kyiv province itself). From the Petersburg province in 1727, the Novgorod province was separated from its 5 former provinces (). At the same time, part of the Yaroslavl and Uglitsk provinces of the St. Petersburg province went to the Moscow province. The Petersburg province itself was significantly reduced and now consisted of only 2 provinces (Petersburg, Vyborg), and the Narva province went to Estland.

In the same 1727, the Vyatka and Solikamsk provinces of the Siberian province were transferred to the Kazan province (in exchange, its Ufa province was transferred to the Siberian province in 1728), and the Olonets lands were assigned to the Novgorod province.

At the end of 1727, the ATD of the Russian Empire had the following form (Table 4).

Table 4 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1727
provinces	Provinces
Arkhangelsk
Astrakhan	1 province
Belgorodskaya	Belgorodskaya, Sevskaya, Orlovskaya
Voronezh	Voronezh, Yelets, Tambov, Shatsk, Bakhmutskaya
Kazanskaya	Kazan, Vyatka, Solikamsk, Sviyazhsk, Penza, Ufa
Kyiv	1 province (12 regiments of Little Russia)
Moscow
Nizhny Novgorod
Novgorod	Novgorod, Pskov, Velikolutskaya, Tverskaya, Belozerskaya
Revelskaya	1 province (Estland)
	1 province (Livland)
St. Petersburg	Petersburg, Vyborgskaya
Smolensk	1 province
Siberian
Source: Gauthier (1913, pp. 108-110).

In total, after the reform of 1727, there were 14 provinces and about 250 counties in the empire. After the reform, there was a long period when the ATD was relatively stable. Minor changes during this period include the following.

In 1737, the Simbirsk province was formed as part of the Kazan province. In 1744, the Vyborg province was created from the Vyborg and Kexholm provinces of the St. Petersburg province and the newly annexed parts of Finland. In the same year, a new Orenburg province was formed (it included the Iset and Ufa provinces of the Siberian province and the Orenburg commission* of the Astrakhan province). In 1745, there were 16 provinces in the empire (Table 5). At the same time, the Baltic provinces were divided into districts instead of provinces and counties.

Table 5 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1745
provinces	Provinces
Arkhangelsk	Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Ustyug, Galician
Astrakhan	1 province
Belgorodskaya	Belgorod, Sevskaya, Orlovskaya and the cities of Kharkov, Sumy, Akhtyrka, Izyum
Voronezh	Voronezh, Yelets, Tambov, Shatsk, Bakhmut and the lands of the Don Cossacks
Vyborgskaya	From 3 counties
Kazanskaya	Kazanskaya, Vyatskaya, Kungurskaya, Sviyazhskaya, Penza, Simbirskaya
Kyiv
Moscow	Moscow, Yaroslavl, Uglitskaya, Kostroma, Suzdal, Yuryevskaya,
	Pereslav-Zalesskaya, Vladimir, Pereyaslav-Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga
Nizhny Novgorod	Nizhny Novgorod, Arzamas, Alatyr
Novgorod	Novgorod, Pskov, Velikolutskaya, Tverskaya, Belozerskaya
Orenburg	Orenburg, Stavropol, Ufa
Revelskaya	Districts Harriensky, Viksky, Ervensky, Virlyandsky
	Districts of Riga, Venden, Derpt, Pernovsky and Ezelskaya province
St. Petersburg	Petersburg, Shlisselburgsky, Koporsky, Yamburgsky districts
Siberian	Tobolsk, Yenisei, Irkutsk
Smolensk	1 province
Source: Arseniev (1848, pp. 83-88).

With the coming to power of Catherine II, some changes in the ATD were made in the country, which included mainly the formation of new provinces on the newly annexed lands. In 1764, the Irkutsk province of the Siberian province was separated as an independent Irkutsk province. In October 1764 counties were united in many provinces. In the south, from the Novoserbsky settlement, the Novorossiysk province was established (the center is Kremenchug), and in the Left-Bank Ukraine - Little Russian. And in 1765, a new Sloboda-Ukrainian province was formed from the southern part of the Belgorod and Voronezh provinces (districts of Slobozhanshchina) with the center in Kharkov. Thus, in 1764-1766. 4 new provinces appeared, and there were 20 of them. Information about their size and population is given by K.I. Arseniev (Table 6).

Table 6 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1766
provinces	Number of provinces	Population, thousand people	Dimensions in length, km	Dimensions in width, km
Arkhangelsk
Astrakhan
Belgorodskaya
Voronezh
Vyborgskaya
Irkutsk
Kazanskaya
Kyiv
Little Russian
Moscow
Nizhny Novgorod
Novgorod
Novorossiysk
Orenburg
Revelskaya
St. Petersburg
Siberian
Sloboda-Ukrainian
Smolensk
Source: Arseniev (1848, pp. 93-102).

After the first partition of Poland in 1772, 2 new provinces were created in the Russian Empire from the newly annexed lands - Mogilev and Pskov. The second included 2 old provinces of the Novgorod province (Pskov and Velikolutsk), as well as two new ones - Dvina (Polish Livonia) and Polotsk from the lands of the former Vitebsk Voivodeship. At the end of the same year, the Vitebsk province of the Mogilev province was annexed to the new Pskov province. Until 1776, the city of Opochka was the center of the new province.

In 1775, the Irkutsk province was divided into 3 provinces (Irkutsk, Uda, Yakutsk), and at the expense of new lands acquired in the south according to the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace, a new Azov province was formed, which included, in addition to the lands between the Dnieper and the Bug , Slavic Serbia (Bakhmut province), Azov province (the cities of Azov and Taganrog) and the lands of the Don army (on these latter, military civil law was established). In the same year, the Zaporizhzhya Sich was liquidated, and its lands were annexed to the Novorossiysk province. Before the start of the next ATD reform in 1775, the Russian Empire was divided into the following provinces (Table 7).

Table 7 Provinces of the Russian Empire in October 1775
provinces	Date of formation	Number of provinces	Provinces	Number of counties
Azov	14.02.1775 (18.12.1708)		Azov, Bakhmut
Arkhangelsk			Arkhangelsk,
			Vologda, Ustyug,
			Galician
Astrakhan
Belgorodskaya			Belgorodskaya, Sevskaya,
			Orlovskaya
Voronezh	1725 (18.12.1708)		Voronezh, Yelets,
			Tambovskaya, Shatskaya
Vyborgskaya			Kyumenegorsk,
			Vyborgskaya,
			Kexholmskaya
Irkutsk			Irkutsk, Udinsk,
			Yakut
Kazanskaya			Kazan, Vyatka,
			Perm, Sviyazhskaya,
			Penza, Simbirsk
Kyiv
Little Russian
Mogilevskaya			Mogilevskaya,
			Mstislavskaya,
			Orshanskaya, Rogachevskaya
Moscow			Moscow, Yaroslavl,
			Uglitskaya, Yurievskaya,
			Kostroma,
			Pereslav-Zalesskaya,
			Vladimirskaya,
			Suzdal, Tula,
			Kaluga,
			Pereyaslav-Ryazanskaya
Nizhny Novgorod	01. 1714-1717, 29.05.1719		Nizhny Novgorod,
			Alatyrskaya, Arzamasskaya
Novgorod			Novgorodskaya, Tverskaya,
			Belozerskaya, Olonetskaya
Novorossiysk			Kremenchug,
			Catherine,
			Elisavetgradskaya
Orenburg			Orenburg, Ufa,
			Isetskaya
Pskovskaya			Pskovskaya, Velikolutskaya,
			Dvinskaya, Polotsk,
			Vitebsk
Revelskaya
			Riga, Ezelskaya
St. Petersburg
Siberian			Tobolsk, Yenisei
Sloboda-Ukrainian
Smolensk	18.12.1708-1713,1726

Thus, the territory of the empire was divided into 23 provinces, 62 provinces and 276 counties, excluding the Novorossiysk province, the number of counties in which is unknown.

Catherine's reform
(disaggregation of cells of administrative-territorial division)

On November 7, 1775, Catherine II signed the law “Institutions for the management of provinces”, according to which the size of provinces was reduced, their number doubled, provinces were liquidated (regions were allocated within them in a number of provinces) and the division of counties was changed. On average, 300-400 thousand people lived in the province, 20-30 thousand people lived in the county. The process of replacing the old provinces with new ones, which became known as "governors", dragged on for 10 years (1775-1785). During this period, 40 provinces and 2 regions were formed with the rights of a province, 483 counties were allocated in them. The dynamics of the transformation and disaggregation of the old provinces into new ones was uneven: in 1780 and 1781. 7 provinces appeared each, in other years - from 1 to 5.

The process of formation of new provinces began (within the modern borders of Russia) from two central ones - Smolensk and Tver. The new Smolensk governorship in 1775 included the old Smolensk province, the western parts of the Moscow province and the Bryansk district of the Belgorod province, and the Tver governorship was composed of the Tver province and the Vyshnevolotsk district of the Novgorod province, Bezhetsk and Kashinsky districts of the Moscow province.

In 1776, the Pskov province was created (from the Pskov and Velikolutsk provinces of the old Pskov province and the Porkhov and Gdovsk districts of the Novgorod province), the Novgorod viceroy (from parts of the old Novgorod province, it was divided into 2 regions - Novgorod and Olonets), Kaluga viceroy ( from the southwestern districts of the Moscow province and the Bryansk district of the Belgorod province).

In 1777, Polotsk (from parts of the old Pskov province), Mogilev, Yaroslavl (separated from the Moscow province and parts of Novgorod, divided into two regions - Yaroslavl and Uglitsk), Tula governorships (from parts of the Moscow province) were established.

In 1778, the governorships of Ryazan (from parts of the old Moscow province), Volodimir (from parts of the Moscow province), Kostroma (from parts of the Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Nizhny Novgorod provinces; it was divided into Kostroma and Unzha regions), Oryol (from parts Voronezh and Belgorod provinces).

In 1779, the Kursk province, the Nizhny Novgorod, Tambov and Voronezh governorships and the Kolyvan region were established. At the same time, the old Belgorod province was liquidated, which was divided between the Kursk province and the Voronezh governorship. The structure of the Kursk province included the counties of the liquidated Belgorod province and the counties of the Sloboda-Ukrainian and Voronezh provinces. The neighboring Voronezh vicegerency was composed of the old Voronezh province and parts of the liquidated Belgorod province, as well as the Ostrogozhsk province of the Sloboda-Ukrainian province. The Tambov governorship was established at the expense of the southern parts of the Ryazan (mainly Elatomsky district) and the northern parts of the Voronezh governorships. The Nizhny Novgorod vicegerency included the old Nizhny Novgorod province, as well as parts of the Ryazan and Volodimir (Vladimir) vicegerencies, part of the Kazan province. From the southern regions of the Siberian province (Kuznetsk and Tomsk districts), an independent Kolyvan region was allocated with a center in Berdsk prison (since 1783 - the city of Kolyvan).

In 1780, 7 new governorships and provinces were organized. In January of this year, the old Petersburg province was reorganized, which remained a province with 7 counties. From the old Arkhangelsk province, a new Vologda governorship was established, to which the Kargopol district of the Novgorod governorship and part of the Kologrivsky district of the Kostroma governorship were attached. This new governorship was divided into two regions - Vologda and Arkhangelsk. In the spring of 1780, the old Sloboda-Ukrainian province was transformed into the Kharkov governorate, and parts of the abolished Belgorod province were included in its composition. Following this, a new Vyatka governorship was allocated from the northern parts of the Kazan and Orenburg provinces (its center, the city of Khlynov, was renamed Vyatka in this regard). And from the southern districts of the Kazan province, new Simbirsk and Penza governorships were allocated. From the northern part of the Astrakhan province, a new Saratov governorship was formed.

In 1781, an independent Perm governorship was separated from the Tyumen province of the Siberian province, with the division of its territory into 2 regions - Perm and Yekaterinburg. In the autumn of 1781, the Little Russian province was abolished, which was divided into the Novgorod-Seversk and Chernigov governorships, and part of it merged with the old Kyiv province into the Kiev governorate. At the same time, the remnants of the old Kazan province (minus the Simbirsk, Penza and Vyatka governorships) were transformed into the new Kazan governorate. In 1781, the Olonetsk region and the Novoladozhsky district were transferred from the Novgorod viceroy to the St. Petersburg province, and the Gdovsky and Luga districts were transferred from the Pskov viceroy. Petersburg province was divided into two regions - Petersburg and Olonets. In October 1781, a new Moscow province was established from the fragments of the former Moscow province. At the very end of the year, the Orenburg province was transformed into the Ufa vicegerency with the addition of the Chelyabinsk district of the Perm viceroy to it. This new governorship (centered in Ufa) was divided into 2 regions - Ufa and Orenburg.

In 1782, the Siberian province was abolished, instead of which a new Tobolsk governorship was established with two regions - Tobolsk and Tomsk. At the end of the same year, the Kolyvan region. was transformed into the Kolyvan governorship. In the next year, 1783, in Siberia, instead of the former Irkutsk province, the Irkutsk governorship was organized with the division of its territory into 4 regions (Irkutsk, Nerchinsk, Okhotsk, Yakutsk).

At the beginning of 1783, two southern provinces (Azov and Novorossiysk) were abolished, from which a new Yekaterinoslav governorate (with a center in Kremenchug) was formed. In the summer of the same year, the Revel province was transformed into the Revel viceroy, the Riga province into the Riga viceroy, and the Vyborg province into the Vyborg viceroy (without changing the territory). In February 1784, from the southern lands (Crimea, Taman, Kuban side) newly annexed in 1783, the Taurida region was formed with the rights of governor. In March 1784, the Vologda governorate was divided into two independent governorships - Arkhangelsk and the smaller Vologda (it was divided into 2 regions - Vologda and Veliky Ustyug). In May of the same year, on the basis of the Olonets province of the St. Petersburg province, the Olonets viceroy with its center in Petrozavodsk was allocated as an independent one.

Finally, the last step of Catherine's reform of the ATD was the transformation in 1785 of the Astrakhan province into the Caucasian governorship with the transfer of its center from Astrakhan to the newly created center of Ekaterinograd at the confluence of the Malka with the Terek (in 1790, due to its lack of infrastructure, the center had to be returned back to Astrakhan ). The Kuban side was included in the Caucasian vicegerency, and its territory was divided into two regions - Astrakhan and Caucasian.

The new division of the territory of the empire (Catherine's reform of 1775-1785) was completed, and it began to be divided into 38 governorships, 3 provinces (Petersburg, Moscow and Pskov) and 1 region on the rights of governorship (Tauride). According to Arseniev, in the Russian Empire at the end of 1785 there were the following provinces (Table 8).

Table 8 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1785
Viceroys, provinces, regions	Date of formation	population, shower
Arkhangelsk
Vladimirskoe
Vologda
Voronezh
Vyborgskoe
Yekaterinoslav
Irkutsk
Caucasian
Kazan
Kaluga
Kyiv
Kolyvanskoe
Kostroma
Mogilev
Moscow province
Nizhny Novgorod
Novgorod
Novgorod-Severskoye
Olonets
Orlovskoye
Penza
Perm
Polotsk
Pskov province
Revelskoye
Ryazan
St. Petersburg Governorate
Saratov
Simbirsk
Smolensk
Tauride region
Tambov
Tverskoe
Tobolsk
Tula
Ufimskoye
Kharkiv
Chernihiv
Yaroslavl
Dwellings of the Don Cossacks
Source: Arseniev (1848, pp. 117-129), with corrections by the author.

The size and boundaries of most of the viceroyalties in European Russia, formed in 1775-1785, practically did not change until the 20s of the 20th century, except for a short period of ATD reforms under Paul I.

With the acquisition by Russia of new lands in the south and west in the early 90s of the XVIII century. new governorships were formed: in 1793 - Minsk, Izyaslav (Volyn), Bratslav (Podolia); in 1795 - Voznesensk (southwest of Novorossiya) and Courland, and the Izyaslav governorship was divided into two new ones - Volyn and Podolsk; in 1796 - Vilna and Slonim.

As a result, by the end of the reign of Catherine II, Russia was divided into 50 governorships and provinces and 1 region (total - 51 units of the highest level of the ATD).

Pavlovian reform (consolidation)

With the accession to the throne of Paul I, the previously created governorships were temporarily enlarged, which were officially renamed into provinces. At the same time, by a decree of December 12, 1796, the provinces of Olonetsk, Kolyvan, Bratslav, Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversk, Voznesensk, Yekaterinoslav, Tauride Regions, Saratov, Polotsk, Mogilev, Vilna and Slonim (that is, 13 provinces) were abolished. In addition, a new division of provinces into uyezds was established, and the number of uyezds was reduced, and part of the uyezd cities were transferred to provincial towns.

Olonets province was divided between Arkhangelsk and Novgorod, Kolyvan - between Tobolsk and Irkutsk, Saratov - between Penza and Astrakhan, Bratslav - between Podolsk and Kyiv.

The abolished Voznesenskaya, Yekaterinoslav provinces and the Tauride region. were united into the huge Novorossiysk province (its center Yekaterinoslav was renamed Novorossiysk).

The abolished Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversk provinces were merged into one Little Russian province, the former Polotsk and Mogilev - into one Belarusian province (center - Vitebsk), Vilna and Slonim - into one Lithuanian (center - Vilna).

Several provinces were renamed and enlarged: Kharkov began to be called Sloboda-Ukrainian (restored within the boundaries of 1780), Caucasian - again Astrakhan, Ufa - Orenburg (the center was transferred from Ufa to Orenburg). The Riga province began to be called Livonian, Revel - Estland.

In March 1797, the Penza province was renamed Saratov, and its center was transferred from Penza to Saratov. In October of the same year, most of the former Penza province was divided between the neighboring Tambov, Simbirsk, and Nizhny Novgorod provinces. In July 1797, the enlargement of the Kyiv province was carried out. Paul I canceled all the changes made by Potemkin to the management of the Don army.

In the course of the Pavlovian reform, the number of provinces decreased from 51 to 42, and counties were also enlarged. The main idea of ​​the reform of Paul I was the enlargement of the provinces (Table 9).

Restoration of Catherine's and the formation of new provinces in the XIX century.

Table 9 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1800
provinces	Date of formation
Arkhangelsk
Astrakhan
Belarusian
Vladimirskaya
Vologda
Volyn
Voronezh
Vyborgskaya
Irkutsk
Kazanskaya
Kaluga
Kyiv
Kostroma
Courland
Lithuanian
Livonian
Little Russian
Moscow
Nizhny Novgorod
Novgorod
Novorossiysk
Orenburg
Orlovskaya
Perm
Podolskaya
Pskovskaya
Ryazan
St. Petersburg
Saratov
Simbirskaya
Sloboda-Ukrainian
Smolensk
Tambov
Tverskaya
Tobolsk
Tula
Estonian
Yaroslavskaya
Dwellings of the Don Cossacks

With the accession to the throne of Alexander I in 1801, the former grid of provinces was restored, but a number of new Pavlovian provinces were preserved. By a decree of September 9, 1801, 5 provinces abolished by Paul were restored within the old borders until 1796, including Olonets, Penza; The Lithuanian province was abolished and divided into Vilna and Grodno (former Slonim). Incorporated into the empire, Georgia received the status of a province.

In January 1802, the Little Russian province created by Pavel was abolished, which was divided into the former Chernigov and the new Poltava (coinciding in many respects with the Novgorod-Seversk province liquidated in 1796). In March 1802, the Belarusian province was liquidated, which broke up into Mogilev and Vitebsk provinces. At the same time, the center of the Orenburg province from Orenburg was transferred again to Ufa. In October 1802, another Pavlovsk province, Novorossiysk, was disbanded. Its territory was divided between three provinces - Nikolaev (in 1803 its center was transferred from Nikolaev to Kherson and the name of the province was changed to Kherson), Yekaterinoslav and Tauride. At the end of 1802, the Vyborg province was renamed Finland.

Thus, by the end of 1802, of the Pavlovian innovations of 1796, only the Sloboda-Ukrainian province remained "alive", but only nominally, since 3 of its Sloboda districts (Bogucharsky, Ostrogozhsky, Starobelsky) were returned to their former owner - the Voronezh province. True, the Kolyvan province was not restored. In fact, thanks to the reform of Alexander I, all the enlargement measures of Paul were reduced to zero. In addition, the number of counties was increased, that is, their size was reduced on average.

In 1803, the Astrakhan province was divided into two independent provinces - Caucasian (center - Georgievsk) and Astrakhan. In 1822, the Caucasian province was transformed into the Caucasian region, and its center was transferred to Stavropol.

In 1803-1805. happened minor changes and in Siberia. From the composition of the Irkutsk province in 1803, it was separated into an independent Kamchatka region (although already in 1822 it was deprived of independence and again subordinated to Irkutsk under the name of the Kamchatka coastal administration), in 1805 - an independent Yakut region. In February 1804, instead of the Kolyvan province abolished by Pavel, a new Tomsk province was organized approximately within the same boundaries (separated from the Tobolsk province).

In 1808, the Bialystok region was formed from the annexed lands, in 1809 Finland was annexed with its ATD, in 1810 - the Tarnopol region (returned to Austria in 1815), in 1810 - the Imeretin region, in 1811 The Finnish (former Vyborg) province was included in the Finnish Principality. In 1812, Bessarabia was annexed to Russia (in 1818, the Bessarabia region was organized here, transformed in 1873 into the Bessarabian province), in 1815, according to the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Poland (Kongressovka).

In January 1822, according to the reform of M.M. Speransky, the entire territory of Siberia was divided into 2 governor-generals - West Siberian (center - Omsk) and East Siberian (center - Irkutsk). The first of them included the provinces of Tobolsk and Tomsk, as well as the newly separated Omsk region, and the second - the newly organized Yenisei (center - Krasnoyarsk) and the former Irkutsk province, as well as the Yakutsk region, the coastal administrations of Okhotsk and Kamchatka, the border with China Troitsko- Savo administration. Speransky put into effect the "Decree on the Siberian Kirghiz", which introduced a special administration of the Kirghiz-Kaisaks (Kazakhs) in the territory of the present north of Kazakhstan with 2 districts subordinate to Omsk.

In 1825, there were 49 provinces in Russia (32 Russian, 13 special and 4 Siberian) and 7 regions (Bessarabian, Caucasian, Don troops, Bialystok, Imeretin, Omsk and Yakutsk; among the "special" provinces were 3 Ostzey (Baltic) , 8 western (Belarus and western Ukraine) and 2 Little Russian.

In 1835, the lands of the Don army were divided into 7 civil districts. In the same year, the Sloboda-Ukrainian province was returned to its old Catherine's name - Kharkov.

In 1838, the Omsk region was abolished, part of which, including Omsk and Petropavlovsk, was assigned to the Tobolsk province, and the rest, including Semipalatinsk and Ust-Kamenogorsk, to the Tomsk province. At the same time, Omsk became the center of the border and military administration of the Governor-General of Western Siberia.

In 1840, in the western part of Transcaucasia, the Georgian-Imereti province (center - Tiflis) was created, and in the east - the Caspian region (center - Shemakha; Azerbaijan and Dagestan). The latter included the whole of Dagestan, which was included in Russia in parts in 1806-1813. In 1844, the Djaro-Belokan region. and the Ilisu sultanate in Transcaucasia were united into the Dzhar-Belokansky district, which in 1859 was renamed Zakatalsky. In December 1846, Transcaucasia was divided into 4 new provinces: the Georgian-Imereti province - into Tiflis and Kutaisi, and the Caspian region. - to Shemakha and Derbent provinces.

In 1842, a new Kovno province was separated from the northern parts of the Vilna province, and in 1843 the Belostok region was liquidated, the territory of which was included in the Grodno province.

In May 1847, the Caucasus region. was renamed the Stavropol province.

As of 1847, there were 55 provinces and 3 regions in the Russian Empire (Table 10).

Table 10 Provinces of the Russian Empire in 1846-1847.
Provinces, regions	Date of formation	population, shower	Area, km2
Arkhangelsk
Astrakhan
Bessarabian region
vilenskaya
Vitebsk
Vladimirskaya
Vologda
Volyn
Voronezh
Grodno
Derbent
Yekaterinoslavskaya
Yenisei
Irkutsk
Kazanskaya
Kaluga
Kyiv
Kovno
Kostroma
Courland
Kutaisi
Livonian
Mogilevskaya
Moscow
Nizhny Novgorod
Novgorod
Olonetskaya
Orenburg
Orlovskaya
Penza
Perm
Podolskaya
Poltava
Pskovskaya
Ryazan
St. Petersburg
Saratov
Simbirskaya
Smolensk
Stavropol
Tauride
Tambov
Tverskaya
Tiflis
Tobolsk
Tula
Kharkiv	1780 (1796, 1835)
Kherson	1803 (1795, 1802)
Chernihiv
Shemakha
Estonian
Yakutsk region
Yaroslavskaya
Land of the Don Army

from lat. gubernius - ruler) - the highest unit of adm. division and local organization in Russia, which took shape in the 18th century. under Peter I in the process of organizing an absolutist state. By a decree of 1708, the country was divided into 8 regions: Petersburg (until 1710 - Ingermanland), Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Smolensk, Kyiv, Kazan, Azov, and Siberian. In 1713-14, the Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan, and Riga cities were established, while the Smolensk region was divided between the Moscow and Riga regions. In 1725 it was 14 G. Organization of the provinces. management took shape in 1713-19. G. were first divided into shares, from 1719 - into 47 provinces, the latter into districts. At the head of the city was the governor, the provinces - the governor, the district - the zemstvo commissar. Under the arm governor created a branched adm.-bureaucratic. apparatus. Consistent The implementation of the system of local government in accordance with the program of Peter's reform is connected with the "Institution for the administration of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire" in 1775 (completed in 1780). Additional the impetus was the need to strengthen the center. authorities on the ground after the cross. wars led by E. I. Pugachev. Instead of 20 G. to the beginning. of the reign of Catherine II, 40 years were established with a population of 300-400 thousand revision souls in each year (by the end of the reign due to the annexation of territories - 51 years); Townships were united into governorships (b. h. of 2–3 townships), divided into okrugs or uyezds with 20–30,000 souls (12–15 per town, a total of about 500 uyezds). The deputies and governors were subordinate to the senate and the prosecutor's supervision, headed by the prosecutor general. At the head of the county was a police captain, who was elected once every 3 years by the county noble assembly. Nearest pom. The governor was the lieutenant governor appointed by the Senate. Performed power was concentrated in the lips. board and the lower zemstvo court, financial - in the lips. and county treasury, court. power (with additional division according to class): for the nobility - in the upper and county zemstvo courts, for the merchants - in the lips. and mountains. magistrates, for state. peasants - to the top. and lower reprisals. "Institution" has created a complex bureaucracy. lip system. administration, in which the leading role was assigned to the nobility; this system was supported by the organization of estate self-government of the nobility. Some of the positions held by the nobles were elective. The "institution" laid the foundation for the entire subsequent structure of the local administration of the empire. In the 19th century adm.-terr. org-tions into 2 groups: obschegub. organization is maintained. terr. European Russia (in the 1960s) - 51 G.); on the national the outskirts (except for the Ostsee region - 3 AD), a system of general governorships is created: the Kingdom of Poland (10 AD), led. prince of Finland (7 G.), Bessarabian region. (until 1873), Caucasus. region (6 G., at the end of century 11), Siberia (4 G., at the end of century 9), in the 60-80s. Turkestan general-governorship with vassal Bukhara and Khiva khanates and Steppe general-governorship with Kazakhstan (9 AD). Total in con. 19th century there were 97 G., in the beginning. 20th century - 101 D. There is a further centralization and bureaucratization of local government with its multilateral subordination to the bodies of the center. authorities, starting with the establishment of ministries (1802-11), and departments. subordination G. min-woo ext. affairs. At the same time, there is a simplification of the local apparatus with an increase in direct subordination to the governor personally. On the other hand, dep. branches of management are singled out and receive a special organization with direct subordination of the correspondences. departments. Independent. apparatus of the state subordination and guardianship is created for the state. peasants in the organs of the Min-va state. property, chambers of state. properties and districts. The independence of class-representation is limited. elected noble organizations and the controlling functions of the lips are being strengthened. bureaucracy against them. The reforms of the 60-70s, especially the zemstvo, city and judicial, introduced the bourgeoisie. the beginning of elective all-estate representation in the organization of local government and the court. Elected bodies of zemstvo self-government (in 1934) (see Zemstvo) were in charge of local farming; in cities - mountains. thoughts and councils. The zemstvo (1890) and city (1892) counter-reforms strengthened the representation of estates and nobility in local self-government and the subordination of its administration. The introduction of the institute of zemstvo chiefs (1889) as carriers of the nobility and landlord rights (appointed from the nobility) with their adm., court. and finance. functions nullified the cross. self management. Lip apparatus. management was formed in the post-reform. Russia from lips. board, a number of presences on dep. branches of government (for zemstvo and city affairs, court-adm., military-adm., financial, etc.) and otd. industry institutions - state chambers, lips. statistical to-you. Nar. education, health care were part of the system directly. center. submission. lips. the apparatus of local government remained in force until the 20th century. Stolypin's reaction restored emergency management methods. The role of police agencies (the Okhrana) and class-noble organizations (council of the united nobility) increased. Time pr-in kept the entire lip system. institutions; only governors were replaced by lips. commissars (respectively, district commissars), however, with a predominance of the nobility and landowners. In parallel, the system of Soviets was taking shape. Oct. revolution, retaining the original lips. division, eliminated the entire old lips. apparatus and installed new organs of the Sov. authorities headed by lips. perform. to the one that got out on the lips. Congress of Soviets. Gub.-terr. the division was abolished in 1924-1929 in connection with the zoning of the USSR and was replaced by division into regions and territories, and later into districts. Lit .: Blinov I., Governors, St. Petersburg, 1905; Gradovsky A., Nachala Rus. state law, vol. 3. - Bodies of local government, St. Petersburg, 1883; Gotye Yu.V., History of the region. management in Russia from Peter I to Catherine II, vol. 1-2, M.-L., 1913-41; Eroshkin N.P., Essays on the history of the state. pre-revolutionary institutions. Russia, M., 1960, Ch. 4-10; Nelidov A. A., History of the state. institutions of the USSR. 1917-1936, M., 1962. N. L. Rubinshtein. Moscow.

Nominal given to the Senate

From now on, we command the following provinces to be composed: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Tver, Pskov, Smolensk, Tula, Kaluga, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Vyatka, Kazan, Perm, Tobolsk, Irkutsk, Orenburg, which before now it was Ufimskaya, Simbirskaya, Penza, Astrakhanskaya, Voronezhskaya, Tambovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Kurskaya, Orelskaya, Sloboda-Ukrainskaya instead of the former Kharkovskaya, and Novorossiyskaya instead of Ekaterinoslavskaya; Yes, on special rights and privileges of their bases of Little Russia, Livonia, Estland, Vyborg, Courland, Lithuania, Minsk, Belarus, Volyn, Podolsk and Kyiv. As a result, 1. the former Olonets Gubernia, similar to the local situation, is divided between Novgorod and Arkhangelsk, so that the parts closest to the North are assigned to the Arkhangelsk Gubernia, and the rest to Novgorod, leaving that to the agreement of the governors of these latter. 2. Restore the Sloboda-Ukrainian Gubernia to the exact borders in which it was arranged in 1765, adding to it those who departed and deducting to others those assigned to it after that place. 3. Kolyvanskaya Gubernia, abolishing its circumference, ascribe to those to which it belonged until 1779. 4. Voznesenskaya Province and the Tauride Region should be destroyed in the same way, and the Novorossiysk Province should be composed of everything that after the return of the separated counties to Little Russia, and from the former Voznesenskaya assigned to it from the lands acquired from Poland, also now returning to the Sloboda-Ukrainian Governorate will remain , adding here the Tauride Region, divided simply into districts, according to the number of inhabitants and the vastness of the local area. 5. There will be no Saratov Province, but the places included in it should be annexed, according to the ability, to the Provinces of Penza and Astrakhan. 6. From the former Polish Ukraine, Volhynia and Podolia, annexed to Our Empire, after separating a sufficient number of souls and a circle to form the Kyiv Province, to form two Provinces: Podolsk and Volyn. 7. From Polotsk and Mogilev to unite into one Belorussian Province, appointing the Gubernia city to be conveniently in Vitebsk. 8. From the provinces previously determined in Vilna and Slonim, to form one Lithuanian one in the first of the cities mentioned, providing in general about the borders between all adjacent provinces to be reunited on the agreement of their governors, about which they must submit to the Senate for reporting to Us. However, We will not hesitate to supply all the aforementioned provinces with staffs, which We, with the benefit of the state and with successful production in accordance with the good, recognize.

Legislation of Emperor Paul I. — M., 2008. - S.3-4.

Legislation on legal status population

LETTER OF RIGHTS, Liberties, and Benefits to the NOBLE RUSSIAN NOBILITY (1785, April 24)

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The province is the highest territorial and administrative division of the Russian state, which took shape in the 18th century as a result of the reforms of Peter I to form an absolutist state.

The decree of 1708 stated that the Russian Empire was divided into 8 provinces.
At the head of the province was the governor or governor-general, who was appointed by the sovereign himself.

To create such an administrative division, there were both economic and military-political prerequisites, in addition, the natural and geographical factor was of great importance.

Huge territories needed reasonable management.
The province consisted of the administrative center, which was the provincial city and the cities assigned to it. Each assigned city had its own county.
Somewhat later, after the second administrative reform. The number of provinces increased to 11, and subsequently they were divided into 50 provinces, which became the basic unit of the province.
Counties united and formed provinces, and provinces formed provinces.
In 1727, the territorial division of Russia was presented as follows: 250 counties formed 47 provinces, which, in turn, made up 14 provinces.

The governor remained the only viceroy of the tsar in the province, and in the provinces and counties such a body was the voivode.
The county governor was directly subordinate to the provincial governor, who in turn was subordinate to the governor.

When were the provinces formed in Russia, how many were there and what were they called?

The governor in all his actions was guided by the instructions of the central institutions or, directly, by the personal instructions of the sovereign.
The governor, like the governors, organized their activities through the office, available in each county, province and province.

In 1763, military commands were assigned to each governor, which were supposed to ensure unquestioning obedience to his orders. Also, police chiefs and fiscal authorities were returned under the authority of governors and governors.
In the future, further reforming of the province as a territorial administrative unit continued.
Governors began to be appointed by the Senate, of course with the consent of the emperor.

As a result, a complex bureaucratic system of provincial administration was formed, in which the leading role belonged to the nobility.
The provincial administrative apparatus and territorial division persisted until the 20th century and were abolished after the establishment of Soviet power.

From this article it will become clear to everyone what a province is.

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Collegiate Commissioner, board commissioner- state class rank in the Russian Empire.

He belonged to the XIV class of the Table of Ranks, was equal in status to the collegiate registrar, that is, he was lower than the provincial secretary, and was titled "your honor."

During the existence of this rank, personal nobility complained about it.

The name of the rank came from the position of an authorized representative, an official for special assignments in the Petrovsky collegiums, a member of a commission or an official of a profile (in areas of work) office, created at the collegium on a permanent or temporary basis. Initially, the rank was absent in the General Regulations of February 28, 1720, since it was assumed that the officials of the colleges would solve a strictly defined range of tasks, but by 1722 it became already obvious that, as usual in Russia, a lot of completely unexpected and unforeseen questions arise (in including the smallest and smallest), often also requiring a business trip to the place, for the solution of which it is impossible to constantly distract staff officials of the office.

In addition, a number of tasks have appeared on the ground that require the constant presence of a representative of the board. This is what they all did collegiate commissioners, they, for example, performed the functions of managers at state-owned factories and lands, controlled procurement for state needs, etc.

Later, the rank was also assigned to the owners of private industries, procurement offices, estates that carried out deliveries in the public interest.

At the head of the commission, the profile office at the collegium, was usually the collegiate chief commissar, to whom the commissars reported in the corresponding line of work. Accordingly, there could be several chief commissars in the collegium.

The rank quickly fell into disuse, and the holders of universal ranks, as a rule, of higher classes began to perform the corresponding duties, however, in the 1770s, individual collegiate commissars still met.

Changes in the administrative-territorial division of Russia over the past 300 years

stood apart commissars at gunpowder and nitrate factories military and naval departments (despite the fact that there were also ordinary collegiate commissars in the corresponding colleges) - they had it not a civil rank, but a military rank, moreover, assigned to the IX class, with all the ensuing legal consequences: the hereditary nobility complained about it , the commissar could curry favor with majors or captains from artillery.

Just like the civil rank, this title quickly fell into disuse.

see also

Literature

The article was compiled based on the materials of the book by P.M. Koryavtsev “The Great Abevega of Ranks and Titles”

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Peter I

Peter I Alekseevich, nicknamed Great(May 30, 1672 - January 28, 1725) - the last Tsar of All Russia (since 1682) and the first All-Russian Emperor (since 1721). From a young age, showing interest in the sciences and a foreign way of life, Peter was the first of the Russian tsars to make a long journey to the countries of Western Europe.

Upon returning from it, in 1698, Peter launched large-scale reforms of the Russian state and social order. One of the main achievements of Peter was the solution of the task set in the 16th century: the expansion of Russian territories in the Baltic region after the victory in the Great Northern War, which allowed him to take the title of Russian emperor in 1721.

In historical science and in public opinion from the end of the 18th century to the present, there are diametrically opposed assessments of both the personality of Peter I and his role in the history of Russia.

In the official Russian historiography, Peter was considered to be one of the most prominent statesmen who determined the direction of Russia's development in the 18th century.

However, many historians, including N. M. Karamzin, V. O. Klyuchevsky, P. N. Milyukov and others, expressed sharply critical assessments

Reforms of Peter I

Most of all, Peter I was occupied with the thought of the fleet and the possibility of trade relations with Europe.

To put his ideas into practice, he equipped the Great Embassy and visited a number of European countries, where he saw how Russia lagged behind in its development.

This event in the life of the young tsar marked the beginning of his transformational activity. The first reforms of Peter I were aimed at changing the external signs of Russian life: he ordered beards to be shaved and ordered to dress in European clothes, he introduced music, tobacco, balls and other innovations into the life of Moscow society, which shocked him.

Foreign policy of Peter I

The main goal of Peter I's foreign policy was access to the Baltic Sea, which would provide Russia with a connection with Western Europe. In 1699, Russia, having entered into an alliance with Poland and Denmark, declared war on Sweden. The outcome of the Northern War, which lasted 21 years, was influenced by the victory of the Russians in the Battle of Poltava on June 27, 1709.

On August 30, 1721, the Treaty of Nystadt was signed, according to which Russia retained the conquered lands of Livonia, Estland, Ingermanland, part of Karelia and all the islands of the Gulf of Finland and Riga. Access to the Baltic Sea was secured.

awarded the tsar with the title of Father of the Fatherland, Peter the Great and Emperor of All Russia.

In 1723, after a month and a half of hostilities with Persia, Peter I acquired the western shore of the Caspian Sea.

Simultaneously with the conduct of hostilities, the vigorous activity of Peter I was also aimed at carrying out numerous reforms, the purpose of which was to bring the country closer to European civilization, increase the education of the Russian people, strengthen the power and international position of Russia.

A lot has been done by the great tsar, here are just the main reforms of Peter I.

Reform of public administration of Peter I

Instead of the Boyar Duma, the Council of Ministers was created in 1700, which met in the Near Chancellery, and in 1711 the Senate, which by 1719 had become the highest state body. With the creation of the provinces, numerous Orders ceased their activity, they were replaced by Collegia, which were subordinate to the Senate.

The secret police also operated in the management system - the Preobrazhensky order (in charge of state crimes) and the Secret Chancellery. Both institutions were under the jurisdiction of the emperor himself.

Administrative reforms of Peter I

Regional (provincial) reform of Peter I

The largest administrative reform of local government was the creation in 1708 of the

8 provinces headed by governors, in 1719 their number increased to 11.

1796, December 12 - On the new division of the State into Provinces

Second administrative reform divided the provinces into provinces headed by governors, and the provinces into districts (counties) headed by zemstvo commissars.

Urban reform (1699-1720)

To manage the city, the Burmister Chamber in Moscow was created, renamed in November 1699 into the Town Hall, and magistrates subordinate to the Chief Magistrate in St. Petersburg (1720).

The members of the City Hall and the magistrates were elected through elections.

Estate reforms

The main goal of the estate reform of Peter I was to formalize the rights and obligations of each estate - the nobility, the peasantry and the urban population.

Nobility.

1. Decree on estates (1704), according to which both boyars and nobles received estates and estates.
2. Decree on Education (1706) - all boyar children are required to receive primary education.
3. Decree on single inheritance (1714), according to which a nobleman could leave an inheritance only to one of his sons.
4. Table of Ranks (1722): the service to the sovereign was divided into three departments - the army, the state and the court - each of which was divided into 14 ranks.

   This document allowed a man of the lower class to curry favor with the nobility.

Peasantry

Most of the peasants were serfs. Kholops could sign up as soldiers, which freed them from serfdom.

Among the free peasants were:

• state, with personal freedom, but limited in the right to move (i.e.

  at the will of the monarch, they could be transferred to serfs);

• palace, which belonged personally to the king;
• sessional, assigned to manufactories. The owner had no right to sell them.

urban estate

Urban people were divided into "regular" and "irregular". The regular ones were divided into guilds: the 1st guild - the richest, the 2nd guild - small merchants and wealthy artisans.

Irregular, or "mean people", made up the majority of the urban population. In 1722, workshops appeared that united masters of one craft.

Judicial reform of Peter I

Functions supreme court carried out by the Senate and the College of Justice.

Courts of appeal and provincial courts headed by governors operated in the provinces. The provincial courts dealt with the cases of peasants (except for monasteries) and townspeople not included in the settlement.

Since 1721, the court cases of the townspeople included in the settlement were conducted by the magistrate. In other cases, cases were decided by the Zemstvo or city judge alone.

Church reform of Peter I

Peter I abolished the patriarchate, deprived the church of power, and transferred its funds to the state treasury.

Instead of the post of patriarch, the tsar introduced a collegiate supreme administrative church body - the Holy Synod.

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PROVINCE, in the Russian Empire (in the USSR until 1929) the main administrative-territorial unit; at different times, the provinces existed along with the regions and territories. The first provinces were created in accordance with the decree of Tsar Peter I dated December 18 (29), 1708: Azov, Arkhangelsk, Ingermanland (since 1710 St. Petersburg), Kazan, Kyiv, Moscow, Siberian and Smolensk. Their education and the formation of the staff of the provinces were completed by 1710.

In the provinces, the district division was preserved [existed from the end of the 15th century; fixed by the royal decree of 17 (28). The number of provinces was constantly increasing: 23 by 1775, 41 by 1800, 78 by 1914 (see the essay "Administrative-territorial division" in the volume "Russia", section of the Appendix). In the course of the reform of local government in 1719, the provinces were divided into provinces (headed by governors), and the provinces into counties (from 1710 headed by commandants).

According to the provincial reform of 1775, two or three provinces were merged into governor-generals, most of the provinces became known as governorships (the name "province" was returned as a result of the reforms of Emperor Paul I in 1796), the division of provinces and governorships into provinces was eliminated (division of districts was preserved) .

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The provinces were headed by governors, in some cases by governor-generals (Azov province - in the early 18th century, St. Petersburg - in the 18-19th centuries, Moscow - in the 18th - early 20th century).

The provincial administration consisted of a number of officials subordinate to the governor, among them - the vice-governor, in the 18-19 centuries - officials who were directly in charge of tax collection (chief commissar), military affairs (chief commandant), provision of food and fodder stationed in the province troops (Ober-proviantmeister), court cases (landricht). In 1713, to resolve issues of local government in the provinces and represent the interests of the county nobility, a landrat council was formed under the governor.

It consisted of 8-12 (depending on the size of the province) landrats elected by the local nobility, the governor had two votes in the council. Landrat offices (disbanded in 1719) were subordinate to the landrats (two of them permanently resided in the provincial town).

In 1715, the landrats were also entrusted with the responsibility of managing shares. Landrats in 1719-20 were placed at the disposal of the College of Chambers for appointment to other places (in the Baltic provinces, landrat councils remained until 1786). At the same time, a number of local institutions were formed in the provinces: the office - search affairs, waldmeister cases, "evidence of souls", as well as rental offices, offices of cameramen's affairs and recruitment affairs, etc.

(some of them were liquidated in 1726-27). Since 1728, the direct administration of the provinces was carried out by the governors through the provincial office, to which the provincial offices were subordinate, and to them, in turn, the county offices. According to the provincial reform of 1775, provincial governments, orders of public charity, as well as state chambers were created in the provincial cities (in 1862, the management of indirect taxes was transferred from them to excise departments).

The protection of order on the territory of the province in the European part of the Russian Empire in 1811-64 was carried out by internal guards, then by various formations of local troops. For the collection, processing and publication of statistical data from 1834/35, provincial statistical committees were created in the provinces. Since 1837, the Gubernskiye Vedomosti newspapers have been published in a number of provinces. In 1864, in 34 provinces of European Russia (by 1916 - in 43 provinces), in accordance with the zemstvo reform, elected bodies of local all-estate self-government were formed - provincial and district zemstvos, which were in charge of local economy, health, education, statistics, etc.

In the 1860s, provincial presences began to be created under the governor, most of which were local institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. The local bodies of the Ministry of State Property (since 1894, the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property) were chambers (1838-66, then management) of state property, State Control - control chambers (established in 1865-68) operating within several provinces.

To carry out the Stolypin agrarian reform in 1906, in a number of provinces (in 1911 everywhere) land management commissions were created - local bodies of the Main Directorate for Land Management and Agriculture (since 1915, the Ministry of Agriculture). After the October Revolution of 1917, the provinces began to be governed by provincial executive committees elected at provincial congresses of soviets.

During the first Soviet reform of the administrative-territorial division (1923-29), the provinces were liquidated, they were replaced by regions and territories.

Lit.: Gradovsky A.

D. Beginnings of Russian state law. SPb., 1883. T.

ON THE NEW DIVISION OF THE STATE INTO THE PROVINCE

3; Bogoslovsky M. M. Regional reform of Peter the Great. Province 1719-1727 M., 1902; Eroshkin N. P. History of state institutions of pre-revolutionary Russia. M., 1983.

B. Kamensky, S. G. Lanina.

Provincial reform of Peter I

At the first stage, there were minor changes in the system of local government: with the creation of the Burmister Chamber (1699), the townspeople were removed from the jurisdiction of the voivods; 1702-1705 - local nobles are involved in the voivodeship administration.

This was the first provincial reform, which completely changed the system of local government. In its final form, it was formed only by 1719, on the eve of the second regional reform. The main goal of this reform was to provide the army with everything necessary: ​​with the regiments of the army, distributed among the provinces, a direct connection was established between the provinces through a specially created institute of krieg commissars.

According to this decree, the entire territory of the country was divided into eight provinces:

At first, Moscow, Ingermanland, Smolensk, Kyiv, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberian provinces were formed. In 1711 there were 9 provinces, and in 1714 - 11 (Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod, Riga).

Administrative-territorial division of the Russian Empire

This was Peter's first administrative reform.

At the head of the provinces were governors, governors-general, who combined administrative, military and judicial power in their hands.

The functions of the governor were joined by other duties - the organization and activities of the court and the police. The provincial reform strengthened the power of the landowners in the localities.

Peter made an attempt to introduce collegial and electoral principles into the provincial administration. Under the governor, a council of "landrats" (8-12 advisers) was formed, which was to be elected by the local nobility.

However, life turned the named undertaking of Peter into something directly opposite to what the reformer dreamed of. Landrats were not elected, but appointed from the nobility by the Senate or the governor (the latter selected the people he needed).

The encirclement of the governor by the landrat council did not create any gain for the Russian provincial self-government. Landrats did not exist even for five years, they were liquidated. The province did not become a self-governing public union.

Governors were appointed by royal decrees only from among the nobles close to Peter I (Menshikov, Apraksin, Streshnev, etc.). The governors had assistants who controlled the branches of government:

• chief commandant - military administration;
• chief commissar and chief food officer - provincial and other fees;
• landrichter - provincial justice, financial boundary and search affairs;
• chief inspector - collecting taxes from cities and counties.

The meaning of the reform was to shift the center of gravity in management to the localities. With the vast distances in our country and the means of communication of that time, it was impossible to quickly manage such a vast territory directly from the center, as they tried to do in the previous period. A reasonable decentralization of power was necessary, but the reform failed at the first stage.

By appointing major statesmen as governors, Peter I wanted these people to be able to make decisions quickly on the spot on behalf of the tsar. However, this step also had negative consequences - for the most part, these people were burdened with numerous duties (for example, Menshikov and Apraksin - presidents of the "first" colleges, senators) and practically could not continuously stay in their provinces, and the vice-governors who ruled instead of them did not had such powers and trust of the king.

The second regional reform was carried out on the basis of those transformations that had already been made.

In 1718, the Senate established the states and the nomenclature of posts for provincial institutions, and in May 1719 a clear schedule of provinces, provinces and cities by provinces and provinces was given. From this period, the division into provinces is introduced throughout the country.

The province becomes the basic unit of regional government.

In accordance with the second reform of local government, 11 provinces were divided into 45 provinces, headed by voivodes.

The provinces were divided into districts - districts, where the chamber-collegium appointed such leaders as zemstvo commissars. Since 1724, a new tax began to be collected from the population - the poll tax. To collect the poll tax, the institution of new zemstvo commissars elected for 1 year by the local noble society is established.

This was the second, after the landrats, an attempt by the Petrine legislation to increase the initiative of the nobility in local government.

However, the institution of elected commissars did not last long either; it faced the pronounced absenteeism of the local nobles (many of their congresses could not take place due to the absence of the nobles). The zemstvo commissar, who handed over the poll tax to the colonel, became completely dependent on the latter.

The dominance of the civilian bureaucracy in the province (governor, voivode, zemstvo commissar) was further complicated by the dominance of the military regimental authorities. Under the double pressure of both, the germs of self-government quickly withered away. The rural land community, the subject of self-government in the countryside (collecting taxes, supplying recruits), was also under the weight of fiscal duties.

In the estates, where management was based on secular (communal) representation (a gathering of peasants who elected the village headman and his deputies - forest, land, hay, etc.).

The social dualism of the community was most clearly manifested as an instrument of patrimonial administration, on the one hand, and on the other, as an instrument for protecting and preserving the interests of the peasants in front of the feudal lord and the tsarist administration.

The provincial governors were subordinate to the governors only in military matters, otherwise they were independent of the governors. The governors were engaged in the search for runaway peasants and soldiers, the construction of fortresses, the collection of income from state-owned factories, they took care of the external security of the provinces, and from 1722

performed judicial functions. The governors and provincial administrations were appointed by the Senate and reported directly to the colleges. Four collegiums (Cameras, State Offices, Yustits and Votchinnaya) had their own apparatus in the field of chamberists, commandants and treasurers.

The province was usually headed by a voivode, in the county the financial and police administration was entrusted to the zemstvo commissars, partly elected by the county nobles, partly appointed from above.

The decree on the establishment of provinces completed the first stage of the reform of local government.

Provincial administration was carried out by governors and vice-governors, who performed mainly military and financial management functions. However, this division turned out to be too large and did not allow the management of the provinces to be carried out in practice, especially with the communications that existed at that time.

Therefore, in each province there were big cities, in which the management was carried out by the former city administration.

The provinces, in turn, were divided into districts, governed by zemstvo commissars.

Thus, a three-tier system was created on the ground: province, province, district.

Gradually, the number of provinces grew both due to the annexation of new lands to Russia, and due to the disaggregation of excessively large provinces. As a result, by the time of the new provincial reform by Catherine II, by 1775 there were already 23 provinces in the empire, and by the end of the century their number had reached fifty. The growth in the number of provinces, and, consequently, the decrease in their territories, led to the abolition in principle of the provinces created at the beginning of the century, which became an unnecessary intermediate link.

True, in some provinces the provinces have been preserved.

Started $18$ December $1708$ by issuing a decree "On the establishment of provinces and on the painting of cities for them". The Petrine reforms in this area acquired their final form after the Second Provincial Reform of $1719.

Remark 1

The reason for the reform was to overcome the obsolete by the $XVIII$ century. administrative division and provision of the army during the Great Northern War. The created provinces had a direct connection with the distributed regiments.

The territory of the country was divided in $1708$ into $8$ provinces:

1. Moscow
2. Ingermanlandskaya (St. Petersburg)
3. Kyiv
4. Smolensk
5. Kazanskaya
6. Arkhangelsk
7. Azov
8. Siberian

By $1714$, the number of provinces had increased: Astrakhan, Riga and Nizhny Novgorod appeared.

According to the reform, the head of the province was appointed governor general, who had the fullness of military and judicial power. In addition, the governors organized the work of the police and the courts. The governors-general had several assistants for collections, organization of military administration, justice, search, etc.

Difficulties of reform

The provincial reform was carried out in parallel with the introduction of the collegial system. Therefore, Tsar Peter I introduced advisers to the governors ( Landrats), who had to be elected from local nobles. However, in practice, the idea failed: the governors chose their own people, so the councils were canceled.

Example 1

Only trusted people close to the tsar were appointed governors, for example, Menshikov A.D. was the governor-general of the St. Petersburg province.

But these trusted people were too busy with affairs to constantly rule the provinces, and the lieutenant governors did not have such a breadth of powers, and besides, they might not be very reliable.

It can be concluded that Peter I was well aware of the impossibility of governing such a huge country solely by the forces of one center, so he tried to moderate decentralization, to shift the center of gravity to the localities. But the First Provincial Reform was not very successful.

Second Regional Reform

After $10$ years of work of the local administrative system under the First Provincial Reform, in $1718$ the activities of the second stage began. The second reform absorbed the achievements and failures of the first reform. In addition, if the first reform was carried out primarily for the needs of the war, then with the approach of its end, it was required to arrange life inside the country in peacetime.

The Senate was in charge of developing the reform. He carefully studied the experiences of European countries in this matter. In May, $1719, the introduction of a new administrative division began. First, he was accepted in the St. Petersburg province, and from $ 1720 $ throughout the country. Thus, the state was divided into counties, provinces and districts. The main administrative unit was provinces, in total there were $50$. Led the province governor, smaller district - zemstvo commissar. The provinces continued to exist as military districts, but the governor was not subordinate to the governor (only in military matters).

Then, to collect the poll tax, the institution of elected new zemstvo commissars from local nobles was founded. But this second attempt to introduce self-government failed again, because. the nobles did not even want to simply come to the congresses.

The activity of the governor was extensive: collecting income from state industries, building fortresses, ensuring the security of the province, judicial functions, and searching for fugitives. The governor and the provincial administration were appointed by the Senate, and they were subordinate to the colleges.

Results. Meaning

The regional reform of Peter I helped win the Great Northern War thanks to the precise organization of the supply of troops by the provinces.

Judicial and administrative power were divided among themselves. The management system was generally unified throughout the country, regardless of regional characteristics.

At the same time, the total number of institutions and employees has increased greatly, which has led to an increase in costs.

PROVINCE

main administrative-territorial unit in tsarist Russia and in the first years of Soviet power. The division of the country into G. was carried out in 1708 by decree of Peter I (initially there were only 8 of them). G. was divided into counties (in 1715-1775 - also into provinces). The government was headed by a governor appointed and dismissed by the monarch. Some provinces united into governor-generals. The division into cities and counties was carried out according to a strictly administrative principle, without taking into account geographical, national, or economic characteristics. By 1917 there were 78 G., 25 of them went to Poland, Finland. the Baltic states. In 1924-1929. G. in the USSR were eliminated, instead of them. edges and regions are formed.

Lit .: Eroshkin N.P. History of state institutions of pre-revolutionary Russia. 2nd ed. M., 1968.

Law Encyclopedia. 2005 .

Synonyms:

See what "PROVINCE" is in other dictionaries:

- (new lat. gubernium, from gubernare to manage). 1) in Russia, an administrative subdivision, a part of the empire entrusted to the governor's office. 2) in Austria, the central provincial government. Dictionary foreign words included in the Russian ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

See the place to go to the city of Mordasov in the Kharkov province ... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M .: Russian dictionaries, 1999. province place Dictionary of Russian synonyms ... Synonym dictionary

PROVINCE, provinces, women. (source). The main administrative territorial unit in Russia and in the USSR before zoning. || Provincial city (simple obsolete). ❖ The province went to write (colloquial jest.) 1) the entire bureaucratic apparatus came into action; ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

PROVINCE, and, for women. In Russia since the beginning of the 18th century. and until 1929 (now in Finland): the main administrative territorial unit. Moscow city, Kostroma city. The province went to write (outdated colloquial and joking) about the beginning of a long and difficult business, which ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

Female kind of region or large district of Russia, divided into districts, under the control of the governor. Colloquially, a province is also a provincial city, the main city in a province. Provincial, belonging to the province, belonging to it; places and jobs... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

The main administrative territorial unit in Russia since 1708 was divided into counties. Some governments united in governorships general. By 1917, there were 78 G., 25 of them went to Poland, Finland, the Baltic states. In 1923 1929 ... ... Law Dictionary

The main administrative territorial unit in Russia since 1708. It was divided into counties. Some provinces united into governor generals. By 1917 there were 78 provinces, 25 of them went to Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states. In 1923 29 ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

PROVINCE, the main administrative territorial unit in Russia in the 18th and early 20th centuries. The first 8 provinces were created by Peter I in 1708: St. Petersburg (until 1710 Ying Germanland), Moscow, Arkhangelsk (Arkhangelsk), Smolensk, ... ... Russian history

Province- (from lat. gubernius ruler; eng. province) in Russia since the beginning of the 18th century. the main administrative territorial unit that existed before zoning (1924-1929). By decree of Peter I in 1708, the country was divided into 8 years. Organization ... ... Encyclopedia of Law

PROVINCE- the main administrative territorial unit in Russia since 1708. It was divided into counties. Some governments united in governorships general. By 1917 there were 78 cities, 25 of them went to Poland, Finland and the Baltic states. In 1923… … Legal Encyclopedia

The division of the Russian Empire into provinces in 1914 The province is the highest unit ... Wikipedia

Books

• Province, its zemstvo and government institutions. Part 1, A V Lokhvitsky. Reproduced in the author's original spelling…