Collegia, created by Peter 1, were offered to the emperor by the theoretician Leibniz. Peter himself planned to transfer the Western European system of government to Russia, paying special attention to the experience of Sweden. It was there that the structure 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. Specialists from other countries were invited to Russia to help organize new institutions. However, they were always led by the Russians.
Views
Officially, the colleges of Peter the Great and their functions were defined in 1719. Each of them had its own statutes. The total number of colleges is 12.
- The first was in charge of foreign affairs.
- Second - for the military.
- There was a separate maritime board.
- The College of State was responsible for accounting expenses.
- Chamber Board handled income.
- Justice College performed judicial functions.
- The Revision Board carried out supervision in the field of finance.
- The Commerce Board was entrusted with the trading function.
- The Berg Collegium was responsible for the miningcase.
- Manufacture College conducted activities in the industry.
- Votchina - worked like the previous one.
- The Chief Magistrate was the city's central authority. A special building was set aside for them in St. Petersburg.
Submission
The Senate and colleges under Peter 1 were in a strict hierarchical chain. The latter were subordinate to the Senate, but to varying degrees. The military and naval collegiums had the most independence. Each of them had its presence, the office.
Differences
The colleges of Peter the Great made departmental administration much easier. However, in practice, often the most influential persons influenced key decisions, while collective decisions were not always made.
Reasons for choosing
It is quite natural to ask why the colleges of Peter the Great were created exactly according to the Swedish model. The thing is that in those days it was the Swedish system that was considered exemplary. The emperor did not see such examples in Russian realities. He decided not to invent a special Russian ship and decided to simply build an efficient Western-style frigate.
Sending functions
Introducing the boards, Peter 1 meant 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 original idea of deliberative decisions was buried under the influence of the strongest memberscolleges. The reason was that collegiality was not strictly documented. Peter himself believed that the presence of a large number of members in the authorities would make lawlessness more difficult to hide. After all, it is much easier for one person to break the law than to do it in front of many: at least one person is able to give it away.
According to the royal idea, each case was to be decided by a majority vote. Foreigners also sat in the colleges. They were considered experts in their field, and they were attracted to power so that Russian novice managers could learn from experienced comrades. For foreigners, the path to the presidency of the colleges was closed by Peter's decree. However, foreigners became vice presidents.
The introduction of the collegiate system effectively 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 creation of colleges in 1719. The implementation of his ideas tended to be delayed.
The President for each collegium was appointed directly by the Senate. The same was true for the vice president. The president could not make decisions without meetings and participation of members of the collegiums. The newly introduced bodies met every day, with the exception of holidays and Sundays. The meetings usually lasted 5 hours. Each collegium had a prosecutor, whose duty it was to ensure that cases were resolved properly.
After the reforms of Peter the Great, the functions of the authorities were clearly demarcated. This distinguishes the state apparatus frompast with a command system. The disadvantage of the system was the fact that the functions of some boards were mixed in practice: some could safely deal with the affairs of others. In addition, the police, medicine and post office were left without attention. And in the end, it was necessary to continue the reform in the 1720s, introducing additional orders for these areas.
