Reign of Paul I (1796-1801)

Paul I grew up in an atmosphere of suspicion at his mother's court, who excluded him from participation in government affairs. He had a sense of duty and a commitment to discipline. The domestic policy of Paul I, who ascended the throne in the context of a growing crisis within the country and the collapse of absolutist regimes in Western Europe, was aimed at strengthening the foundations of the political system of Russia. To counteract palace coups and strengthen autocracy, on the day of coronation, April 5, 1797, Paul issued a decree on succession to the throne, according to which the succession of power in the ruling dynasty was established in the male descending line. Thus, the bet was made on the powers granted to him by the Russian crown. This position determined the rejection of the previous practice of imperial councils, the desire for maximum centralization of power. Instead of the collegial system of the central apparatus, they began to create ministries on the principle of unity of command. Paul developed a plan for the establishment of seven ministries: justice, finance, military, maritime, foreign affairs, commerce and the State Treasury, but its implementation occurred after the death of the emperor. The provinces were enlarged, instead of 50 there were 41, and the Don Army Region appeared. The restructuring of the state system entailed serious violations of noble self-government. Administrative and police functions were removed from the jurisdiction of noble assemblies, and in 1799 provincial noble assemblies were abolished. In 1798, the upper zemstvo courts were abolished; according to the decree of August 23, 1800, the right of noble societies to elect assessors to judicial bodies was annulled. The participation of elected representatives of the nobility in legal proceedings was limited to the lower zemstvo court. Provincial magistrates were liquidated. The main judicial institutions were the chambers of criminal and civil courts.

The desire to concentrate power was expressed in the implantation of a specific autocratic doctrine, which included the theory of the divine origin of royal power, the idea of ​​succession from the rulers of antiquity, and elements of a knightly utopia. The attributes and ceremony corresponded to this. Thus, during the coronation celebrations, Paul commanded a military parade wearing the crown and clothing of the ancient kings. In 1798, after he accepted the Order of Malta under his patronage, the title of Master of the Order was included in the official title, and Maltese symbols were included in the state emblem. For all classes, an emphasized expression of loyal relations was mandatory, which consisted, for example, in the requirement to leave the carriage when meeting the emperor.

Pavel Petrovich's social policy testified to his ability to maneuver without affecting the foundations of the absolutist state. Promulgated on April 5, 1797 Manifesto on the three-day corvee, who recommended that landowners use peasant corvée labor no more than three days a week. Despite the absence of a state mechanism capable of facilitating the implementation of this decree, the very fact of its publication testified to the desire of the authorities to legislatively regulate relations between landowners and peasants. The development of these initiatives was the ban on the sale of servants and peasants under the hammer (1798). At the same time, in less than five years, 600 thousand souls of state peasants of both sexes were transferred to private ownership.

Contradictory trends were also visible in Paul I's policy towards the nobility. On the one hand, the tsar was concerned about strengthening the economic position of the nobility, which was expressed in the provision of material assistance through credit and banking system(Subsidiary Bank). On the other hand, there followed a restriction of class self-government, the actual abolition of the most important provisions of the Charter of the Nobility on freedom from compulsory service and corporal punishment, and the introduction of fees from noble estates for the maintenance of judicial and administrative institutions. Already in 1796, an end was put to the practice of enrolling noble offspring into regiments from birth. All officers who were only on the regimental lists but who were absent were expelled from service. Those who, having served no more than a year in the officer rank, resigned, were also subject to dismissal “for laziness.” During Pavlov's short reign, every tenth official or officer was punished for certain offenses. The focus on mobilizing nobles for public service emphasized the dependence of the upper class on the throne, which Paul I tried to restore contrary to the aspirations of the nobility itself.

The infringement of the interests of the nobles became the decisive argument in his attitude towards the monarch. The formation of the anti-Pavlovian conspiracy in 1797 was a direct response to the disruption of the established balance between power and the noble class. The heir to the throne, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, also supported the conspiracy. On the night of March 12, 1801, as a result of another palace coup, Paul I was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle by a group of conspirators.

The birth of the emperor's silver ruble took place in difficult economic conditions. The Russian-Turkish War, as well as the war with Poland, Persia and Sweden, required the treasury to increase military spending, which depleted the empire's budget.

1 ruble 1796, trial edition

History of origin The first ruble under Emperor Paul I began in November 1796, when Count Samoilov, who held the position of Prosecutor General, invited the St. Petersburg Mint to make a stamp for a silver ruble. When the coin was presented, it did not receive the approval of the emperor. Karl Leberecht "C.L.F." was the author of the stamp, minted in St. Petersburg “S.P.B.”

Metal silver.

On the obverse shows the profile of Paul I facing to the right.

Inscriptions on the obverse:

• along the circumference "B.M.PAVEL.I.IMP.ISAMOD.ALL RUSSIA";
• on the shoulder cut “C.L.F.”;
• at the base of the portrait "S.P.B." .

On reverse in the center there is a double-headed eagle with an orb and a scepter, and on the sides there are four letters “P” at the base of which is the Roman numeral I, and on top is the imperial crown.

Inscriptions on the reverse:

• along the circumference “COIN RUBLE 1796”.

Weight 24 g. Diameter 39 mm.

edge cord-like.

1 ruble 1796, circulation up to 50,000

A few days after the appearance of the trial ruble, the Tsar was presented bank coin, with an image on one side of a double-headed eagle characteristic of the second half of the 18th century and the motto of the Templar Order on the other. There was no price put on them - this was borrowed from the minting of chervonets. Minted by the St. Petersburg Mint.

Metal silver 868. Chemically pure metal – 25.3 g.

On the obverse– the coat of arms of the Russian Empire in the form of a double-headed eagle with a scepter and an orb, on the chest there is a shield with St. George on horseback striking a serpentine dragon with a spear. The shield is surrounded by the chain of St. Andrew the First-Called.

Inscriptions on the obverse:

• at the top "1796";
• at the eagle’s paws “BM” is a bank coin.

On reverse

Inscriptions on the reverse:

• in the frame “NOT FOR US, NOT FOR US, BUT FOR YOUR NAME.”

Weight– 29.18 g. Diameter 41 mm.

edge

1 ruble 1797, circulation – 920,101

On January 20, 1797, a manifesto was published, which proclaimed the coinage more advanced coin, the weight of the coin is compared to the thaler that was used in Baltic trade. The heavyweight ruble was minted in St. Petersburg.

Metal silver 868. Chemically pure metal – 25.38 g.

On the obverse

Inscriptions on the obverse:

• from below along the circumference it is divided by the crowns “RUBLE”, “1797”.

On reverse– a double square frame with an inscription surrounded by a pattern on four sides.

Inscriptions on the reverse:

• in the lower right corner of the frame “F.Ts.” – Mintsmeister Fedor Tsetreus.

Weight– 29.25 g. Diameter 41 mm.

edge cord-like with a slant to the left.

Ruble 1798-1801, circulation up to 8 million.

Due to the shortage of silver and the presence of two silver rubles in circulation, which differed in weight, another manifesto was issued on October 3, 1797, which approved production standards of 20.73 g of silver. Such coins were produced from 1798 to 1801.

Metal silver 868. Chemically pure metal – 18.0 g.

On the obverse– in the center is the Roman numeral “I”, it is surrounded by a monogram of four letters “P”, which are connected by their bases into a cross. Above each letter is an imperial crown.

Inscriptions on the obverse:

• at the top along the circumference it is divided by the crowns “COIN”, “PRICE”;
• from below along the circumference it is divided by the crowns “RUBLE”, “1801.”.

On reverse– a double square frame with an inscription surrounded by a pattern on four sides.

Around the circumference on both sides there is an edging with protruding notches.

Inscription on the reverse:

• in the frame “NOT FOR US, NOT FOR US, BUT FOR YOUR NAME.”;
• in the lower left corner of the frame “S.M.” – St. Petersburg coin;
• in the lower right corner of the frame:
  "M.B." – mintmaster Mikhail Bobrovshchikov 1798-1799;
  "A.I." –Alexey Ivanov 1799-1801;
  "F.C." –Fedor Cetraeus 1799 and 1801;
  "O.M." –Osip Meijer 1800-1801.

Weight– 20.73 g. Diameter 37 mm. edge with an inscription.

Coin value

The price of the silver ruble of Paul 1 depends primarily on its circulation and the minister who issued the coin. With an increase in circulation, which reached up to 3 million annually, as in the case of rubles from 1798 to 1801, prices for them will not be high. All prices are based on VF coin condition.

• Bank ruble 1796 – 3,600 USD;
• Heavy ruble 1797 – 2,050 USD;
• 1798 to 1800 – 180 USD;
• 1801 –180 USD "A.I.", 230 USD "F.Ts.", and 410 USD "O.M."

But most expensive The test ruble of Paul 1 from 1796 is considered - its price at auction reaches 45 thousand dollars.

Is your coin original?

So as not to be deceived When buying a coin or in your hands, first of all compare all its indicators, such as weight, diameter, thickness, mass, metal. Check whether the reverse and obverse correspond to the year of minting, the mintmaster, carefully examine the edge and in which direction the notches are located. At the slightest dissimilarity, you should think about its originality.

Video

We recommend that you watch the video, in which you can get acquainted briefly history of rubles 1798-1801, find out about price changes depending on the degree of preservation of the coin. You will also be told its main characteristics.

Remember to save your money and don't fall for a fake, the only reliable way - which will quickly and surely establish its real value and authenticity. If the coin is not fake, the company will offer .

The domestic policy of Paul I was very contradictory, as was the personality of Paul I. The first thing he did was pass laws that contradicted the laws of Catherine II:

2) Decree on succession to the throne, according to which power was transferred from father to eldest son, excluding the transfer of power through the female line

3) Dressed the army in Prussian uniforms and introduced Prussian rules: drills, reviews

4) He organized his finances, burned 5 million paper money, melted down the silver sets and minted silver coins. Bribery and embezzlement were not so open under Paul I, although they were not eradicated. Paul himself made huge grants of money and people to his associates.

5) Attempts to alleviate the plight of the people consisted of the fact that Paul issued a decree prohibiting landowners from forcing peasants to work in corvée more than 3 days a week. This decree was not respected. That is, the policy of Paul 1 was not followed.

b) Paul allowed schismatics to openly worship and have their own churches. Paul waged a more brutal struggle against the influence of the French Revolution: the ban on wearing French-style hats and boots; the length of the trousers; citizen, fatherland, patriotism. He banned travel abroad, imposed the strictest censorship of the press, closed private printing houses, and prohibited the import of foreign books. This alienated the enlightened nobility from Paul. During Paul's reign, several peasant uprisings broke out. The flight of peasants increased sharply.

Paul limited the privileges of the nobility. Under Paul 1 there was a leap in the socio-economic development of Russia in the 19th century

1798 governors were ordered to attend the elections of a representative of the nobility

• Provincial assemblies of nobles were abolished
• Forbidden to submit collective ideas about their needs
• Authorized corporal punishment for criminal offenses
• Ban on selling peasants under the hammer without land
• 179b expansion of serfdom to the southern lands
• Regulated the situation of state-owned peasants (provide land plots of 15 dessiatines per capita of the male population)
• Elected village elders and volost heads were introduced
• Introduction of censorship 1797

Foreign policy of Paul I

First, Russia’s refusal to participate in military operations against revolutionary France.

After Napoleon captured Malta, which was patronized by Paul I, the situation changed. He joined the anti-French coalition (1798) - Austria, Türkiye, Spain, England, the Kingdom of Naples.

At the urgent request of Austria, Paul 1 placed Suvorov at the head of the Russian army. In 1799, Suvorov's Italian campaign began. After 4 months, he cleared Italy of the French. Brilliant victories on the Adda River, the capture of Milan, victory on the Trebia River. The French, having increased their army, were waiting for Suvorov near the city of Novi. The French army was defeated. Suvorov's successes caused concern in Austria. The Austrian emperor ordered Suvorov to follow through Alny to Switzerland, where Russian and Austrian troops were surrounded. In difficult conditions and a shortage of food, the Russians walked through the Alps. At the St. Gotthard Pass, French troops tried to stop them. They dismantled the damn bridge, direct fire from the Russians, and only bypassing Bagration and striking the French in the rear allowed the Russians to cross the restored bridge. This was the policy of Paul 1.

Having descended into the Mutten Valley, I learned that the Russian corps of Rimsky Korsakov, abandoned by the Austrians, had been defeated. Controversies in the Allied camp led to the recall of Suvorov from Switzerland to Russia. Fedor Ushakov, together with the Turkish fleet, headed to the Mediterranean Sea. Goal: drive the French out of the Ionian Islands. The Russian landings were greeted with delight by the Greeks and drove the French out of all the islands. Now the task is to conquer the island of Corfu. The siege of the island lasted 3 months. Assault on the fortress on the island of Vido, which covered Corfu. The fortress has been taken. Corfu and Dales also capitulated. Russian landings with Ushakov's ship cleared the coast of Southern and Northern Italy. Naples was liberated from the French and entered Rome. Allied contradictions led to the recall of Ushakov's fleet to Russia. Russian military art: great commanders and naval commanders: Pyotr Semenovich Saltykov, Rumyantsev, Suvorov.

1801 - palace coup.

There are many dissatisfied with Paul's policies. 1. A conspiracy arose in guards circles. At the head was General Palen. The conspirators convinced Alexander. son of Paul I, that he faces the fate of Tsarevich Alexei. He agreed to the coup, taking the word that Pavel would not be killed. On the night of March 11-12, the conspirators broke into Paul's bedroom and demanded a signature on his abdication. Pavel refused. A fight, a fight, a murder. This is how Alexander I came to power.

The reign of Paul I is a controversial period in the history of the Russian Empire. The complex and contradictory foreign policy basically continued the basic idea of ​​Empress Catherine. Bureaucracy and individualism in domestic politics became the reason for organizing the conspiracy and murder of Pavel.

1. After the death of Catherine II in 1796, a short but eventful era of the reign of Paul I began in Russia, which lasted 5 years - from 1796 to 1801, when he was killed as a result of a conspiracy.

Despite the fact that the forces that came to power as a result of the conspiracy of 1801 created a caricature of this emperor for more than 50 years, in the history of Russia, 5 years of his reign became a major breakthrough in all areas of life and a missed historical chance.

The most important achievements of the short reign of Paul I were:

• cessation of political repression, democratization in the country;
• the first attempt in Russian history to limit serfdom;
• timely struggle against France, wide participation of Russia in European affairs, victorious actions of the Russian army in Europe.

2. Paul I (1754 - 1801) was the son of Catherine II and Peter III and ascended the throne in 1796. During the reign of Catherine II, Paul was in opposition to Catherine and almost lost the throne. Catherine was going to transfer the throne to Paul's son and her grandson Alexander, bypassing Paul, but did not have time to do this due to her death.

The main differences between Catherine II and Paul arose on the following issues:

• political repressions carried out by Catherine;
• serfdom;
• absolutism;
• favoritism.

These contradictions laid the foundation for the future domestic policy of Paul I.

3. The first step of Paul I after ascending the throne was to end political repression. Despite their political convictions, all the most famous political prisoners of that time were released from prison - Nikolai Novikov, Alexander Radishchev, Tadeusz Kosciuszko. Persecution for political opinions has stopped. Thus, Novikov continued his criticism of serfdom, and Radishchev was included in the commission for preparing reforms.

Within a short time, favoritism and wastefulness were eradicated by Paul I. Instead, strict order and the requirement to comply with the law were introduced in all spheres of life, from the imperial palace to the ordinary soldier.

In Russia there is a twofold situation:

• the government of Paul I tolerated political opponents and criticism of the regime;
• The government punished the slightest, even insignificant, violation of discipline, instructions and regulations in the most severe manner (including prison).

The innovations of Paul I were negatively perceived by a significant part of the nobility, spoiled under Catherine and accustomed to the irresponsibility and impunity granted by her “Charter of Grant” of 1785. It was they who, after the assassination of Paul, created a caricature of the emperor - a “martinet”, requiring compliance with the slightest instructions. In fact, the tough policy of Paul I was determined by the need to stop Catherine’s arbitrariness at the top, their separation from the rest of the country, which had become threatening; restore legality, discipline and responsibility in the country, which were practically absent. Under Paul I, commissions were created to prepare reforms, which included both senior officials and critics of the regime, even people like A. Radishchev. For the first time in the history of Russia, the issue of the need to abolish serfdom began to be discussed. In 1797, Paul I issued a Decree limiting corvee. For the first time in the history of Russia, the emperor (tsar) limited serfdom by decree. According to the decree, landowners were legally prohibited from exploiting peasants more than 3 days a week (peasants could spend the rest of the time on themselves) and the practice of exploiting peasants around the clock was put to an end.

4. With the coming to power of Paul I, foreign policy changed radically:

• for the first time in history, Russia began to participate on a large scale in pan-European affairs;
• Russia entered and became one of the main participants in the pan-European coalition against revolutionary (and then Napoleonic) France;
• Paul I began a timely war against Napoleon, while he was not strong enough, on his territory;
• Russian troops made successful campaigns in Europe far beyond Russia - Italy, Switzerland and Austria; The Russian fleet won brilliant victories in the Mediterranean.

The purpose of Russia's sudden entry into the international arena was to counter revolutionary France and the growing strength of Napoleon.

The largest military operations of Russia in Europe under Paul I were:

• the campaign of the Russian army under the command of Alexander Suvorov in Italy in 1799, the defeat of the French army in the Battle of Adda, the entry of the Russian army into Rome;
• successful assault by the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov of the previously impregnable French fortress on the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea (between Italy and Greece) February 18 - 20, 1799; the capture of a fortress defended by 650 guns;
• the heroic transition of the Russian army of A. Suvorov from Italy to Switzerland through the Alps and the Devil's Bridge, impassable for the army, September 21 - October 8, 1799, as a result of which the Russian army unexpectedly went to the rear of the French and, uniting with the army of Rimsky-Korsakov, defeated the French .

5. Fundamental changes in domestic and foreign policy, initiated by Paul I, were abruptly interrupted by the coup of March 12, 1801 and the assassination of Paul I:

• the process of establishing order and establishing the rule of law in the country was stopped;
• timely wars against Napoleon on its territory were stopped.

During the reign of Paul I (1796-1801), the centralization and bureaucratization of the state apparatus intensified. The emperor strove to rule alone and solved major matters with the help of especially trusted persons. He pursued a policy of eliminating the privileges of individual classes, relying on military force.

Foreign policy developed in the directions outlined by the previous period and the situation in Europe. The main content was the fight against revolutionary France, for which a fleet under the command of F. F. Ushakov and ground forces under the leadership of A. V. Suvorov were sent to Europe. Subsequently, Napoleon's attempts to get closer to Paul I, as well as the dissatisfaction of the nobility with the contradictory, impulsive actions of the emperor, led to a conspiracy, headed by the St. Petersburg military governor Count P. A. Palen. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, Paul I was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle, which had recently been built for him.

The new emperor Alexander I, the son of Paul I, who took part in the conspiracy against his father, stopped Paul’s innovations, returned benefits to the nobility, and missed the chance for reforms; made peace with Napoleon, which lulled Russia's vigilance and gave Napoleon a chance to conquer half of Europe and gather forces to invade Russia.

Reign of Paul I (1796-1801)

Pavel I Petrovich, the son of Catherine II and Peter III, inherited the royal throne according to the traditional unwritten law of the former Moscow kings. By repealing this firm law, Peter I almost “legitimized” a number of palace coups of the 18th century. The daughter of such a revolution was the mother of Paul I. Catherine II undoubtedly loved her son in childhood and dreamed of raising in him a certain “genius” on the throne. On this basis, she “opened” and elevated Met. Plato. But human feelings are not subject to simple logic. Over time, she began to see in Paul the banner of a coup against herself, alienated him from any acquaintance with state affairs, created for him a disguised prison in the Gatchina Palace and an offensive atmosphere of neglect on the part of the favorites surrounding her throne. This big, not only family, but also highly political drama, was one of the reasons for the long-term nervousness of his teacher, Metropolitan. Plato. A man of a straightforward soul, ready to serve entirely the legitimate government, Plato was confused and downright horrified by this political tragedy. And he was right in his premonitions. Plato very early, even during his Tver period (from 1770) and especially after the death (1771) of Archbishop. Ambrose Zertis-Kamensky and Pugachevsky uprising (1773-1774), began to be acutely afraid of the role of at least the synodal head of the church and the associated state responsibility. And while still in his prime, he began to think about taking advantage of the bishop’s privilege of retiring. Having learned about Plato’s submission of such a petition to Catherine, Pavel Petrovich, in solidarity with his wife Maria Feodorovna (and she, like Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg, was also Plato’s student), wrote him a very friendly letter: “... This intention to leave my place is not only surprised me, but also saddened me, as someone who loves his fatherland and your friend... I don’t know whether I will succeed in my enterprise - to turn you away from your intention, but there cannot be anything else in me that is consistent with your goodness, for I love you and there is your faithful friend." And then all the time Pavel Petrovich appreciates and strengthens his friendship for his teacher of the law. Here is his letter from 1777: “I will tell you good news. The Lord heard on the day of sorrow, sent help from the saint and stood up from Zion. I have great hope about my wife’s pregnancy. Knowing your sentiments towards me and your patriotic dispositions, I tell you this so that you will rejoice with me Continue not to doubt my friendship for you and be sure that I am and will be your faithful Paul." A few months later, Alexander Pavlovich is born. Paul again writes to Plato: “Share with me my joy, you who participate in everything that can concern me, you who know my feelings and, moreover, my disposition towards my fatherland.”

What thoughts did Met. Plato survived the death of Catherine II and the accession of the 42-year-old, but “minor” due to lack of government experience, Paul I; this is the secret of his heart. But Plato was aware of Paul's sincere religiosity, and he could be inspired by certain hopes for the best for the church.

At the coronation of Paul, the latter was in full military parade with a sword. But when Paul, already anointed, wanted to enter through the open royal doors into the altar for communion at the end of the liturgy, Plato commandingly stopped him with the words: “Here a bloodless sacrifice is being offered. Take away, pious Sovereign, the sword from your thigh.” And Pavel obediently surrendered his weapons.

***

In vain Plato expected from his reigning pupil particularly favorable changes in the sense of expanding the freedom of bishop's management. Taking it away was historically irrevocable. But the group of Great Russian bishops, who accepted the principle of secularization, psychologically had difficulty suppressing the economic instincts that were predominantly characteristic of them as Great Russians. They were irritated by the petty control in this matter, which emanated in a persistent and permanent form from the chief prosecutor's desk in the Synod. In the already quoted letter to Metropolitan. Metropolitan Ambrose of Kazan Plato sighs: “What do we care about them and what do they care about us? And why did they think that we should obey them even in this?” The exclamations are sentimental, but not sober. When a union of church and state is once accepted, each side always “has something to do with the other.”

***

Even at the end of Catherine’s reign, 26.VII. 1791 Chief Prosecutor Naumov was dismissed upon request and a more active and closer to the Court was appointed in his place. Musin-Pushkin. He took into his own hands the entire synod office, all its staff and all its affairs, and to expand the entire apparatus he demanded additional allocations from the general budget of the Synod. Personal proximity to the empress freed Musin-Pushkin even from temporary control over economic affairs by the Senate, which was established temporarily after Chebyshev’s abuses. But Musin-Pushkin himself was a church man and therefore did not prevent members of the Synod from making personal reports to Catherine and receiving direct decrees from her.

With the accession of Paul I (1796), this closeness to the throne of the synod hierarchs was strengthened even more. Especially because Metropolitan, who was transferred after death. Gabriel (1794) to the St. Petersburg metropolis from Kazan, Ambrose (Podobedov) gained special favor from Paul. After Musin-Pushkin moved (1797) to the Senate, Prince was appointed Chief Prosecutor to the Synod. V. A. Khovansky. He introduced unprecedentedly strict bureaucratic procedures. For regular weekly reports to the emperor on the progress of Synod affairs, the new chief prosecutor ordered the chief secretary after each meeting of the Synod to make him a written report on the affairs and resolutions on them, on the members of the Synod present, even with a time stamp for the entry and departure of each member of the Synod.

Book Khovansky did not limit himself to the strictness of formal control of synod affairs in only two capitals. Diocesan office work was, as in appanage principalities, completely closed from the control of the center and the chief prosecutor, in particular. Khovansky reasoned consistently. If the supervision of the “Eye of the Sovereign” is established in the head, then why is it not in the whole body? On his own initiative, he ordered the secretaries of the consistories to report to him monthly on matters that had been resolved and those that remained unresolved. Seeing disorder from these reports, Khovansky encouraged the Synod to issue reprimands and corrections. In 1798, Khovansky proposed to the Synod to stop unauthorized trips of provincial clergy to St. Petersburg to complain. These unauthorized complainants, as you know, ruined the Tobolsk Metropolitan Pavel (Konyuskevich). The Synod willingly decided that no one would appear in St. Petersburg without a special passport from their diocesan bishop, but that such a complainant would be punished by being sent to military service. When the “restless” regional prosecutor Khovansky raised a protest against the distribution of some residual amounts between both synodal and diocesan bishops, the synodals through Metropolitan. Ambrose complained to the emperor. Pavel. The complaint was not only respected, but the sovereign even provided his revered Metropolitan. Ambrose, together with other members of the Synod, themselves elect a candidate they like for the position of Chief Prosecutor and submit it for the Highest approval. With this grace, Paul I testified to his complete misunderstanding of the controlling nature of this position. For the sake of decency, the Synod presented three candidates, but clearly wanted the first of them, Count Dm. Iv. Khvostova. It was approved on May 10, 1799. Khvostov voluntarily handed it over to Metropolitan. Ambrose the entirety of church administration, signing a minimum of papers only nominally. For three whole years, the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Synod became obsolete. Both the church and state sides showed a clear lack of understanding of the essence of this position. And this was just on the eve of the rise in power of the Chief Prosecutor on October 21. 1803 in the person of Prince. A. N. Golitsyn to an unprecedented height above the entire hierarchy.

***

The general mentality of Paul I, in contrast to the Voltairean period of his mother’s reign, was favorable towards all kinds of improvement of the church. And the synod hierarchs managed to carry out a number of legislation favorable to the life of the church.

In 1797 and 1799 According to annual state estimates, regular salaries from the treasury for the ecclesiastical department have been doubled compared to the previous one. According to Catherine's states in 1764, only 462,868 rubles were allocated for all dioceses of Great Russia. And now another 519,729 rubles have been added to this amount, i.e. the government issue has reached almost one million rubles. In 1797, the plots of land for bishops' houses were doubled, and additionally allocated to bishops and monasteries: mills, fishing grounds and other lands.

At the request of the Synod, Emperor. Paul exempted clergy from corporal punishment for criminal offenses in civil courts until defrocking (if any), since their punishment, “inflicted in view of those very parishioners who received saving mysteries from them, disposes them to despise the sacred dignity.”

For the first time under Paul I (1799), measures were legalized to provide for widows and orphans of the clergy. For the heredity of the very places of clergy was supplanted by school diplomas. New people from other relatives and from other places were assigned. And the widows and orphans remained here. According to the new law, spiritual widows are given the advantage of occupying almshouse vacancies in monastic and bishop's houses. It is indicated that fine money, cemetery and stipend incomes should be used in favor of such widows and orphans.

Taking advantage of the attention of the new emperor, favorable for the church. Paul, at the very beginning of his reign, the leading synod hierarchs, which were Ambrose (Podobedov) and Metropolitan. Plato, achieved a significant increase in allocations for theological schools. From 1797 to 1800, the estimate kept increasing to 181,931 rubles. per annum. True, the number of full seminaries also increased significantly: Bethany was created, and Kolomenskaya was transferred and became Tula. Kaluzhskaya has also been added to the center. In the East: Penza, Perm and Orenburg. For the children of the army clergy, there was also a (temporarily existing) so-called. Army Seminary.

St. Petersburg and Kazan in 1797 increased in title and were already named Academies. Together with the older Academies in Kyiv and Moscow, 4 Theological Academies appeared in Russia, with which the Russian Church survived until the 20th century, until the fall into the abyss of the revolution.

Imperial Paul, in his theocratic sentiments, was, so to speak, generally clerical, that is, he did not mechanically and conservatively follow the monopoly of hierarchical power and honor in the hands of only the monastic and bishop ranks. He willingly met the high-ranking leaders of the white clergy (Fr. Pamfilov and Alekseev) and boldly supported their ambitious aspirations for their bishop-like decorations. This is imp. Paul (at the prompting of the leaders of the white priesthood) willingly introduced the awarding of priests with crimson-velvet (rather than purple) skufs, kamilavkas, and pectoral crosses and miters. And for personal merit, Paul I introduced something unprecedented (and generally new for Russian life) - distribution for personal merit, also for the entire priesthood from top to bottom, state orders and ribbons. When Met. Plato received such an unusual award; he had the courage to beg the monarch to give him the opportunity to “die as a bishop, and not as a gentleman.” Archbishop Pskov Iriney (Klementyevsky) received from the emperor. Pavel was even awarded with aiguillettes. A portrait was painted from this decoration, which is kept in the portrait gallery of the St. Petersburg Hermitage.

***

The religious-theocratic mood of Paul I opened his heart to a benevolent policy towards Roman Catholicism within the Russian Empire, which had expanded at the expense of the liquidated Poland. And even in relation to the papacy itself, humiliated by the French Revolution. Personally, Pavel offered to move to Russia. And the Order of Malta, expelled from Malta by Napoleon, was sheltered by Paul in Russia. The Jesuit order, persecuted from everywhere, was equally established within Russia. He even brought the Jesuit Gruber especially close to himself and improved his sphere of activity. Having assumed the title of great master, that is, head of the Maltese, Paul put on a ritual robe, etc. clothes of the general of the order. He also created a special Roman Catholic chapel in the wing of the Corps of Pages building on Sadovaya Street.

***

Inconsistent in the sense of any well-thought-out system of government and legislation, imp. Paul unwittingly nevertheless walked towards the inevitable brewing reforms. And Klyuchevsky even more unconditionally emphasizes the positive aspects of Paul’s reign. “At the heart of the government policy of Emperor Paul, external and internal,” he says, “were serious thoughts and principles that deserve our full sympathy”... “Paul was the first anti-noble king of this era”... The domination of the nobility, based on injustice, was a sore spot of Russian society in the second half of the 18th century. A sense of order, discipline, equality was the guiding impulse of the emperor’s activities, the fight against class privileges was his main goal.” “Humbling class aristocracy, Paul involuntarily turned his face to the ideal of a nation-wide monarch. He said: “In Russia, only the one with whom I speak is great, and only while I speak with him.” He also deprived the nobles of freedom from physical punishment for certain criminal offenses. He also protected the serfs from unlimited exploitation. Paul's Law (1797) limited corvee to only three days a week. The second half of the week is declared to belong to the free labor of the peasant for himself and his family. This was an experimental start and instilled a sense of freedom and even caused some peasant unrest. But at the same time, the same Paul gave more than half a million state peasants into private ownership of landowners, which was tantamount to the loss of relative personal freedom.

But Paul was ruined by the lack of system and inconsistency in foreign policy. Despite the almost miraculous exploits of Russian soldiers in the distant Alps of Europe under the leadership of the brilliant Suvorov, Pavel’s fancifully mixed maps of military coalitions carried him along the dangerous path of war with England, right up to a direct campaign against India. Here the English ambassador Vytautas directly came to an agreement with the heirs of the “Catherine’s eagles” about a coup.

By the murder of 03/11/1801 imp. Paul ended a series of palace coups that were painful and - seemingly - dangerous for the monarchy system of the 18th century. But biologically necessary for the imperially growing organism of a vast and diverse state, the Russian military-monarchical power, without any violent tricks, resisted and provided Russia and the Russian Church with another new century of uncontrollable development and even prosperity, despite the gigantic difficulties of overcoming such organic defects as serfdom and class inequality. The Russian Church, which lived this century under the regime of an archaic form of unlimited monarchy, also despite all the hardships and difficulties, ascended to the highest stage of its development in all respects.

The page was generated in 0.02 seconds!