Regional reform of Peter 1. For what purpose did Peter undertake regional reform?

The question of why Peter undertook the regional reform should be considered within the domestic political and foreign policy situation that developed in our country at the beginning of the 18th century. At the end of the previous century, the prerequisites for profound serious state-administrative reforms were outlined. The final impetus for their conduct was the Northern War, the needs of which prompted the first emperor to make the appropriate changes in the internal structure of the country.

The Decline of the Old Management System

In order to understand the purpose for which Peter undertook the regional reform, one must turn to the characterization of the control system that existed in the previous century. The Moscow principality was traditionally divided into counties led by voevoda sent from the center. However, this system had one serious drawback, namely the lack of permanent links between the center and local areas.

By the end of the century, this management principle has become obsolete. The new ruler needed a new and effective bureaucratic apparatus that would constantly be under his control and would quickly execute all orders.

Military needs

The means for conducting military operations and constant expenses explain the purpose for which Peter undertook the regional reform. The emperor needed constant income to supply the army, he needed workers and timely recruitment kits. The old control system has ceased to meet these new requirements. Russia waged a war with a developed European country, and for the victory it was necessary to rebuild the entire administrative system on a new pattern.

Here it should be noted that this tsar's reform, like all its other transformations, was initially made exclusively for practical reasons, primarily because of the need to provide the army and the fleet with food. However, on the successful completion of the war, the ruler was concerned with how to adapt the new system to peacetime.

First step

In order to understand the purpose for which Peter undertook the regional reform, it is briefly necessary to disclose two main periods for carrying out these reforms. The first of these can be conditionally dated 1708-1715 years. This was the time of the height of the confrontation with Sweden, when the tsar needed constant taxation, the proper performance of duties and the timely recruitment of the army. Therefore, the reform itself at this stage had (if I may say so) a militarized character. The ruler did not go into details of the administrative administration, confining himself to dividing the whole country into eight, and after a while to ten provinces led by the governors.

Since these years there was a war, then these positions were assigned to representatives of the military class. The governors were primarily required to provide the treasury with timely tax revenues, monitor recruitment kits, and provide for the needs of the army and the fleet by working people. Issues of civil administration and people's welfare were not part of their responsibilities. They had advisory councils, Landrats, who were formally independent and had to be elected from local nobles, but in connection with the military situation they were entirely subordinate to the governor, and their members were approved by the Senate.

Second phase

When studying the state administrative system of the empire of the first half of the 18th century, it is necessary to pay special attention to the question of why Peter 1 undertook regional reform, since the study of this aspect makes it possible to understand the peculiarities of the tsar's reform policy and the new management system that he created. It was mentioned above that at first the reform was designed to serve military needs, but when the campaign began to come to an end, the emperor improved the system he had created.

By a number of its decrees in 1718-1719 the provinces were divided into provinces, and the provinces into districts. At the head of the provinces were voevods, who were actually independent of the governor and, in addition to performing military functions (security, control over recruitment kits), had to take care of the people's needs: improve trade, contribute to the founding and development of manufactories. Thus, the regional reform of Peter 1 played an important role in modernizing the country's administrative system.