Catherine's secretary 2. Collection of scientific papers
The relationship of the transformations of Catherine II
Remark 1
In $1775$, Catherine II spent provincial reform in the wake of the largest uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev. Actually, the transformations that unfolded after the riot were generally aimed at ensuring that this did not happen again, and this goal was achieved.
According to the Provincial Reform, the number of provinces doubled, for more convenient fiscal and police supervision. The division was strictly based on the number of population - for example, about $400 thousand souls were supposed to live in the province, and about $30 thousand souls in the county. The province was led by a governor, whose reform powers were increased.
Senate
As noted above, the reforms were carried out, roughly speaking, to restore order, so it is natural that they were interconnected. Changes in headquarters began gradually earlier, in the $60s. So, the Senate ceased to be the main body in the country, it was divided into $6$ departments, which were even located in different cities - in St. Petersburg and Moscow. These departments dealt with various problems - court cases, separately the issues of the Baltic states, Ukraine, etc. Only $ 1 $ department retained significant political weight, and even then, it was the publication of laws.
With the general loss of the authority of the Senate, the power of the chief prosecutor and the prosecutor general of the Senate grew. The Empress communicated with the Senate through the Prosecutor General, who had the power of the Minister of Finance, Justice, and also the function of treasurer. For a long time he was the Prosecutor General under Catherine II Vyazemsky A.A.
Under Catherine II, an important role was played by the Cabinet with secretaries of state, which considered most issues of domestic policy. The secretaries of state of Catherine II became important persons, because. through them, the empress actually led the country. Among the secretaries of state, we note Olsufieva A.V., Teplova G.N.
In addition to the secretaries of state, Catherine II had a division according to which certain proxies dealt with certain issues. For example, Minikh L.I. managed the customs policy, and Betskoy I.I. education and education in general. Such one-man management became the basis for the $19th century. ministries.
The closest and most influential dignitaries in Russian Empire met with Catherine II in the Council at the royal court, which became the restored analogue of the Imperial Council of Peter III. At first it was convened with the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war in $1768, but since $1769 it was convened regularly. It was a purely advisory body, discussing both foreign policy issues and internal politics. Any decisions of the Council, when adopted, were formalized as manifestos or decrees of the monarch.
Boards
The lion's share of cases was transferred from the center to the localities, so the role of the collegiums fell, many were closed (Votchinnaya, Kamer-, Yustits-, Shtats-Revision-, Berg-, Manufaktura-kollegiya, etc.). The most authoritative colleges retained their role:
- College of Foreign Affairs,
- Admiralteyskaya,
- Military.
The Synod also remained, but its position was already subordinate in relation to the secular authorities, since. a distinctive feature of the policy of enlightened absolutism was secularization, which Catherine II decided on.
In addition, a quite clear and transparent system of management and control institutions was formed, in which the nobility played a decisive role. The administrative system in this form also existed in the $19th century.
G. R. Derzhavin was born on July 3, 1743, near Kazan, into a family of small estate nobles. The Derzhavin family originated from the descendants of Murza Bagrim, who voluntarily went over to the side of the Grand Duke Vasily II (1425-1462), which is evidenced in a document from the personal archive of G. R. Derzhavin. “Murza Bagrim,” the genealogy says, “was baptized into the Orthodox faith by the Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich of All Rus' himself in baptism, his name is Ilya ...” [Russian National Library named after I.I. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. R. O. - Archive of G. R. Derzhavin: T. 20, l. 18].
In 1758, the first gymnasium in the Volga region opened in Kazan, and young Derzhavin was among its first students. But Derzhavin was not destined to finish the gymnasium.
In 1762 he received a call for military service in St. Petersburg, in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. From that time on, Derzhavin's public service began, to which the poet devoted over 40 years of his life. The time of service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment is also the beginning of Derzhavin's poetic activity, which undoubtedly played an exceptionally important role in his official biography. Fate threw Derzhavin to various military and civil posts: he was a member of a special secret commission whose main task was to capture E. Pugachev; for several years he was in the service of the all-powerful Prosecutor General Prince. A. A. Vyazemsky (1777-1783). It was at this time that he wrote his famous ode "Felitsa", published on May 20, 1873 in "The Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word." "Felitsa" brought Derzhavin a noisy literary fame. The poet was generously rewarded by the Empress with a golden snuff-box strewn with diamonds. The modest official of the department of the Senate became the most famous poet throughout Russia. Not without the participation of Catherine II, the poet was appointed to the post of governor in Karelia (1784-1785) and Tambov (1786-1789). Derzhavin's principledness, his desire for legality became the reason for his departure from Karelia and removal from the post of governor in Tambov, and in the latter case he was accused of exceeding his governor's powers and put on trial. It is difficult to say how the “Derzhavin affair” would have ended if it were not for the intercession of the empress. She really needed Derzhavin, not so much as an experienced official, but as a poet. It was this circumstance, in all likelihood, that became decisive in the appointment of Derzhavin on December 13, 1791 as Secretary of State of Catherine II [RGIA, f. 1329 - op. 1, d. 171. - l. 643]. He was entrusted with viewing all the senatorial memoriams and compiling comments on the violations of the law found, which he was supposed to present to the empress. In "Notes", speaking about the nature of his activities, Derzhavin wrote that "... he had all sorts of unpleasant things, that is, petitions for injustice, rewards for merit and favors for poverty ..." [Derzhavin, 6: 631 ]. Acquaintance with archival documents stored in the IRLI and RGADA confirm these words [RGADA, f. 1239. - d. 57833, op. 3; IRLI, f. 96: op. 7, d. 9]. The range of issues submitted to the empress for consideration was varied: land disputes, requests for pensions, awards, reinstatement, inheritance cases, and so on. Petitions sent to Catherine II first went to Derzhavin and only after studying were reported to the empress.
Being pedantic and industrious, Derzhavin studied each case thoroughly, expounding its content in detail. The Empress did not like this, he bothered her with a long explanation of matters, which often became the cause of serious conflicts between them. A vivid evidence of this phenomenon was the trial of "the case of Jacobi, the governor of Irkutsk, accused by the Senate of various crimes." The beginning of the proceedings dates back to 1786. The details of this story are well described by Derzhavin in Zapiski. Jacobi was accused of wanting to "incite the Chinese against Russia" and "purchasing provisions for the Siberian corps at the expense of the treasury" [Derzhavin, 6: 641]. Derzhavin was entrusted with investigating this case at the beginning of his service as secretary of state, that is, in 1791-early 1792. If Derzhavin is to be believed, Vyazemsky was the initiator of the accusation against Jacobi, who disliked him for personal reasons, which are not clearly stated in the Notes. The accusation against Jacobi was made up, based on the denunciation of the court adviser A. I. Parfentiev, who served in the office of the governor. During the trial, Derzhavin drew attention to the absurdity and lack of evidence of the accusation. The protracted investigation, which lasted for seven years, testified that Vyazemsky and his supporters insisted on Jacobi's guilt.
Tormented by endless interrogations, the Governor-General of Irkutsk pinned all his hopes on Derzhavin. “I believe,” he wrote in July 1792, “that ... taking pity on my languor, which has been going on for the fifth year, finish this consideration as soon as possible. As for your justice,” Jacobi continued, “I am sure of that” [Derzhavin 5:796]. Derzhavin did a great job of studying the whole case. It took him a whole year to do this. During the investigation, a huge number of documents were collected. The Senate extract had an impressive appearance and consisted of 300 sheets. Derzhavin believed that the empress would be satisfied with the activities of her secretary in considering such a complex case. However, this did not happen. Moreover, Derzhavin's almost daily reports on the Jacobi case turned Catherine II into real torture. The empress did not want to agree with the arguments of Derzhavin, who insisted on the innocence of the viceroy. "When Yakobiev continued, the cases flared up, objected to his remarks, and at one time asked with anger ... who ordered him and how he dared, considering other similar cases decided by the Senate, to deduce Jacoby's innocence." Derzhavin's temper, the desire to prove his case often ended in his removal from the queen's office [Derzhavin, 6: 636].
After the end of the proceedings in November 1792, Derzhavin submitted a decree justifying the viceroy, but the empress did not approve it for some personal reason. S. I. Sheshkovskoy, a well-known master of detective affairs, and the reketmeister Tersky agreed with Derzhavin's opinion. It is difficult to say what made them take this step. It is possible that Derzhavin was able to bring convincing facts of Jacobi's non-involvement on all counts of the accusation. The case is over. The governor was acquitted.
Derzhavin was given much trouble and anxiety by yet another complex "case of the banker R. Sutherland." The beginning of his investigation dates back to 1791. Sutherland's case was as follows. The court banker Sutherland was an intermediary in the conclusion of foreign loans. He had large sums of money available, with which he often lent noble dignitaries of the Catherine's court, often not receiving them back. Derzhavin himself also used the services of a banker. In a letter dated January 8, 1789, Sutherland asked Derzhavin to "immediately send all the money and with interest for a period of time," otherwise he threatened to protest his bills [Derzhavin, 5: 731]. Trying to get out of financial difficulties, Suterland became close to the Italian merchant Mocenigo and, receiving goods from him, used the proceeds for his speculations. As a result of the machinations of the banker, Motsenigo suffered a loss of 120,000 rubles. Unable to find a way out, Sutherland committed suicide.
The Empress created a special commission to investigate this story, which included: A. A. Vasiliev, G. R. Derzhavin, P. I. Novosiltsev [Derzhavin, 6: 648]. As can be seen from the documents, the "Suterland case" was classified as secret. In a special instruction drawn up by Ekaterina, it was indicated "... to conduct an investigation with due modesty so that excessive publicity does not harm credit..." [IRLI, arch. Derzhavin, f. 96. - op. 5. - l. 9, l. 1]. It was not, of course, a matter of credit. Catherine II was most afraid of the publicity of those who took money from Sugarland. The investigation revealed that many noble nobles, such as: Prince. Potemkin, Vyazemsky, Bezborodko, and even Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich used the services of a banker [Derzhavin, 5: 731].
Seeing the meticulousness of Derzhavin, who actively took up the investigation of the case, his frankness, Catherine was so irritated that she drove her secretary away from her [Derzhavin, 5: 652-653]. He especially angered her when he began to read the register of money taken from Sutherland. Among the banker's debtors were A. A. Vyazemsky, G. A. Potemkin and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, against whom "Ekaterina began to complain that he was winding, building such impassively buildings that were not needed ..." [Derzhavin, 5 : 652]. Catherine II expected Derzhavin to turn a blind eye to this matter, but was surprised and very annoyed by his silence. Derzhavin "did not know how to play the role of a cunning courtier, downcast eyes, did not say a word" [Derzhavin, 5: 652]. The enraged empress resorted to a tried-and-true method—she expelled Derzhavin from her office. Apparently, even then she began to understand that she had made a mistake in choosing Derzhavin.
While in office secretary, Derzhavin saw the life of the court with his own eyes, and his idea of Catherine II also changed. If Derzhavin's first meeting with the Empress literally stunned him, and the Empress "seemed to be a supernatural being" [Derzhavin, 8: 990], then in the future he changes his mind about her. “During the poet’s service at court, Catherine repeatedly asked him to write like “Felitsa.” He promised her and was accepted several times, “... but he couldn’t write anything without being excited by some glorious patriotic feat” [Derzhavin , 6: 606]. This, of course, did not mean that Derzhavin had ceased to see Catherine II as an “enlightened monarch.” It is simply that in Derzhavin's view, she is losing her features of exclusivity, ceases to be an unearthly being.
The poet's service as secretary of the empress was much more difficult than that of the governor. Favoritism, behind-the-scenes intrigues, and the ever-changing situation at court seriously complicated Derzhavin's work as the empress's personal secretary. Derzhavin, finding himself in a whirlpool of palace cunning and gossip, made himself many enemies. This happened not only because of Derzhavin's temper. It's just that during the trial of cases, petitions, he affected the interests of certain warring parties. The whole drama of the situation in which Derzhavin found himself consisted in the fact that his honesty and adherence to principles increased the hostility of the court towards him.
Palace life flowed according to its own special laws. The climate of the court was often determined by the favorites of the empress, who, for the sake of their personal interests, were ready for anything: forgery, bribery, etc. Even experienced courtiers in this situation could not easily figure out all the intricacies of palace politics. As for Derzhavin, he often became "obnoxious" to many nobles because of his official zeal and directness. Indicative in this respect is the incident that happened to Derzhavin during the investigation of the petition of the famous mechanic I. P. Kulibin, who occupied a prominent position in the Academy of Sciences. In 1783, the head of the Academy was appointed Prince. E. R. Dashkova, hostile to the mechanic, due to his failure to comply with some of her orders. After that, at every opportunity she tried to annoy Kulibin. During his service as Secretary of State, Derzhavin interceded for Kulibin before the Empress. He asked to increase the salary of Kulibin, who was experiencing great financial difficulties. In a letter dated March 30, 1792, Derzhavin notified Kulibin of the decision of Catherine II to pay him an additional 90 rubles of salary per year "[Derzhavin, 5: 787-788]. In the Notes, Derzhavin noted that Dashkova, having learned about his act, " she was so angry that to someone who came to visit him on a holiday ... she said, due to her quick-tempered or, better, crazy temper, a lot of rudeness ... "[Derzhavin, 6: 654]. Dashkova also wrote a letter to Count Bezborodko with a complaint about Derzhavin [Derzhavin, 6: 654].
This episode had a negative impact on Derzhavin's position at court. Dashkova, according to him, turned against him not only the nobles, but also the empress, "setting in the heart (her - O. L.) a cold, which was noticed by Derzhavin at her very death" [IRLI, f. 56: op. 7, d. 9]. It is possible that Derzhavin exaggerated somewhat, believing that the incident with Dashkova became fatal in his official career. Long before this, the empress had had the repeated opportunity to be convinced of the intractability and intransigence of her secretary. Derzhavin at court became intolerant. But Catherine did not want to openly resign him: she did not want a quarrel.
In September 1793, Derzhavin was removed from the secretariat and appointed a senator. In order to somehow smooth over Derzhavin's resentment, the Empress gave him the rank of Privy Councilor and the Order of Vladimir of the second degree. Derzhavin, of course, understood the full meaning of his appointment to a new position, but with his characteristic energy he set to work in his new capacity - a senator.
Literature
Derzhavin G. R. Works: In 9 volumes / Ed. J. K. Grota. - St. Petersburg, 1864 - 1883.
IRLI, arch. Derzhavin, f. 96, op. 5. - l. 9., l. I.
IRLI, f. 56, op. 7. - d. 9.
RGALA, f. 1239. - d. 57833, op. 3.
RGIA, f. 1329, op. 1, d. 171. - l. 643.
RNB. R. O. Archive of G. R. Derzhavin. - T. 20. - L. 18.
Ivan Ivanovich Betskoy is a prominent figure in the Russian Enlightenment. On his initiative, Russia's first women's educational institution- Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, as well as an Educational Home for Orphans and Foundlings. He was the personal secretary of Catherine II in 1762-1779 and the president of the Imperial Academy of Arts.
Ivan Ivanovich Betskoy was born on February 3, 1704 in Stockholm. His father is Prince Ivan Yuryevich Trubetskoy, who was captured by the Swedes during the Great Northern War. There is no exact information about the mother. Under one version - this is Baroness Wrede, according to another - Countess Shparr, other versions claim that his mother was generally of a simple rank. Here is what Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Shcherbatov wrote about this:
Prince Ivan Yuryevich Trubetskoy, having been captured by the Swedes, had a mistress, they say, the only noble woman in Stockholm, whom he assured that he was a widow, and from her he had a son, who was called Betsky, and this even under Peter the Great was honored by a noble and already was in officer ranks.
In 1718, Ivan Trubetskoy and Avton Golovin were exchanged for the Swedish Field Marshal Renschild, who was in Russian captivity. Upon the return of Ivan Yuryevich from captivity, his family adopted little Vanya as their own. After several decades, Ivan Yuryevich, who did not have legal male heirs, will offer his son to change his last name and become Trubetskoy. However, he will be rejected. Ivan Ivanovich will answer that "he became known under the name of Betsky and will remain with this name and die."
Betskoy was sent to get an education in Copenhagen, in the local cadet corps; then he briefly served in the Danish cavalry regiment, during the exercise he was thrown off by a horse and badly dented, which, apparently, forced him to refuse military service. He traveled around Europe for a long time, and spent the years 1722-1728 "for science" in Paris, where, at the same time, he was secretary to the Russian after and was introduced to the Duchess Joan Elizabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst (mother of Catherine II). There is a version that it is Betskoy who is the real father of Catherine II.
In 1729 he came to Russia, served in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, being at the same time an adjutant to his father.
During the accession of Anna Ioannovna, Prince Trubetskoy, together with A. Kantemir, Yaguzhinsky and others, was among the main supporters of the autocracy and he himself handed over to the Empress the well-known petition, which was also signed by the young Betskoy. On April 8, 1730, Betskoy was appointed by Trubetskoy to the rank of adjutant general, but he was approved in this rank by the Military Collegium only on September 5, 1733 and, moreover, in the rank of major, and a year later he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Continuing to serve under his father, Betskoy traveled in early 1739 with his daughter Anastasia Ivanovna (who entered into a second marriage with Prince Ludwig of Hesse-Homburg in 1738) abroad and visited various places in Germany, as well as Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, and in the winter of 1740 he returned again to Russia.
In the coup of 1741, Betskoy did not personally take an active part, but only appeared to Chétardie with various instructions from Empress Elizabeth immediately after her entry into the palace. His sister Anastasia Ivanovna managed to win the special favor of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, being with her during palace coup in 1741, for which she was granted on November 25, 1741 by a lady of state. Thanks to her, he became close to the court of Elizabeth Petrovna.
On February 18, 1742, Betskoy, being in the rank of lieutenant colonel, was granted by the chamberlain to the heir to the throne, Peter Feodorovich. In this position, Betskoy often appeared at the Court and repeatedly saw the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst Joanna-Elizabeth, who arrived in Moscow in 1744 with her daughter, who soon married Pyotr Fedorovich. During this time, according to Catherine II herself, "her mother became very close to the spouses of Hesse-Homburg and even more to Chamberlain Betsky. Countess Rumyantseva, Marshal Brumer and everyone in general did not like this very much."
In addition, being a chamberlain of a small court together with Pyotr Sumarokov, Lilienfeld, Diker, Pyotr Devier, Betskoy, who spoke French and German well and had already seen a lot in his lifetime abroad, had the opportunity, as an interesting interlocutor, to attract the attention of the heir to the throne and his spouses, preferably over other persons of the grand ducal court, which consisted mainly of Germans. In 1747, Betskoy shared the fate of the latter and, at the insistence of Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin, was removed along with other close associates of the Grand Duke, since they influenced His Highness in a spirit that did not correspond to the political views of the chancellor.
Betskoy, however, remained a chamberlain, but very rarely appeared at the Court and even made a trip abroad again in 1756, together with Prince Dimitri Mikhailovich Golitsyn, married to his niece, Ekaterina Dmitrievna Kantemir (daughter of Anastasia Ivanovna of Hesse-Homburg from the first her marriage). During this long stay abroad, Betskoy visited Germany, Holland, France and Italy, examined various institutions and charitable institutions. In Paris, he met many artists, scientists and writers (such as Grimm, Diderot, etc.), as well as Madame Geoffrin and visited her salon, which gathered leading figures of French literature and art. Probably, at the same time in Paris, Betskoy got acquainted with the teachings and views of both the Encyclopedists and Rousseau and his followers. This acquaintance was largely reflected in the various projects of Betsky, which he later presented to Catherine II.
State activity, glorifying him, began with the advent of Catherine II to power. By decree of March 3, 1763, management was entrusted to him, and in 1764 he was appointed president of the Academy of Arts, under which he set up an educational school. On September 1, 1763, a manifesto was published on the establishment of a Moscow orphanage according to a plan drawn up, according to some data, by Betsky himself, according to others - by professor of Moscow University A. A. Barsov, on the instructions of Betsky. According to Betsky, an “educational society for noble maidens” (later the Smolny Institute) was opened in St. Petersburg, entrusted to his main care and leadership.
Betskoy dreamed of a new nobility - enlightened and industrious. He thought not only about the nobility. He proposed to educate in Russia the "third rank of people", necessary for trade, industry and crafts. In other words, the Russian enlightened bourgeoisie, which would be as industrious as the Western one, but at the same time would be brought up not on the love of money, but on the love of people. If you dream up, it was a good foundation for building a capitalist society "with human face". Moreover, Betskoy believed that not only merchants and manufacturers should come out of the “third rank”, but also people living by intellectual work, that is, the intelligentsia. Betsky's ideas were ahead of their time by almost a hundred years: both the bourgeoisie and the intelligentsia in Russia XVIII centuries were just emerging.
Betskoy advocated for learning "easy and natural." He wrote that “it is necessary to bring children to learning, as in a pleasant field decorated with flowers, and the thorns in it only irritate nature, especially at first, and this only comes from the educator’s unreason.” Betskoy was sure that teachers should take into account the age psychology of students and not force them to learn too much by heart, overloading their memory. In his opinion, teachers should try to interest children, "using their natural children's curiosity." Here, Betskoy had high hopes for a visual technique: children should be shown various objects as much as possible so that they learn “things, not words.” Therefore, he recommended keeping globes, stuffed animals, models and collections of stones in the classrooms, as well as organizing educational walks with children more often. Those who are older should watch the work of artisans. Having chosen a craft to their liking, they will first play it, but it is in the process of playing that they will learn the basics of labor. Of course, Betskoy was against corporal punishment, believing that they develop revenge and pretense. Instead of them, he put "condemnation", which for moral person stronger than the rod.
According to Ivan Ivanovich, the education of new people should take place away from society, its laws and morality. It was on these principles that the Smolny Institute and the Orphanage in Moscow were organized.
From the very foundation of the Orphanage, great importance was attached to the medical aspects of the institution's activities. According to the General Plan "On the Chiefs and Ministers of the Orphanage", the Orphanage provided for a staff of medical workers, consisting of doctors, healers and midwives. Thus, the Imperial Moscow Orphanage can rightfully be considered the cradle of Russian pediatrics.
The Orphanage was run by the Board of Trustees and financed by private donations (including on behalf of monarchs and grand dukes) and taxes - a quarter of the collection from public shows and a special tax on branding cards. All playing cards sold in Russia were taxed at five kopecks from a Russian-made deck and ten from foreign ones, bringing 21 thousand rubles in 1796 and 140 thousand in 1803. manufactory in St. Petersburg.
From 1772, the Board of Trustees also managed banking institutions - Loan, Safe and Widow's treasuries, which became the main source of income in the 19th century. In the same year, at the expense of P.A. Demidov, the Demidov Commercial School and the theater studio of the entrepreneur Medox were opened. Children up to 11 years of age were taught writing and the basics of crafts within the walls of the institution, and from 1774 they were sent to study at third-party factories and workshops. Gifted students were sent to continue their education at Moscow State University, the Academy of Arts, and 180 people were sent to study in Europe. Most of the graduates did not have such privileges - they were given clothes, one ruble of money, and a free man's passport, allowing them to join the merchant class and open their own enterprises.
In 1770, again, on the initiative of Ivan Ivanovich Betsky, the St. Petersburg Orphanage was created on the model of the Moscow Orphanage.
The Smolny Institute, according to Catherine II, was to become an exemplary educational institution, which had no equal then in Europe. According to the charter, children were supposed to enter an institution no older than six years of age and stay there for twelve years, and a receipt was taken from their parents that they would not demand them back under any pretext before the expiration of this period. The empress hoped, by removing the children for a long time from an ignorant environment and returning an already developed and ennobled girl there, to help soften morals and create a "new breed of people." The Senate was ordered to print and send the charter of this institution to all provinces, provinces and cities, “so that each of the nobles could, if he so desired, entrust his daughters in infancy to this institutional education.” The decree provided for the education of two hundred noble maidens in the newly built Novodevichy Convent.
In 1765, at the institute, originally established as a closed privileged educational institution for the daughters of the noble nobility, a department was opened “for petty-bourgeois girls” (non-noble estates, except for serfs). The building for the Meshchansky School was erected by the architect Y. Felten.
In the first grade, pupils were taught Russian and foreign languages, as well as arithmetic and, of course, various needlework. The second introduced geography and . In the third - literature, architecture, heraldry, music, dances. The last classes were supposed to make the pupils of the institute pleasant members of society. From that time on, the Smolyanka women had to sew their own dresses. The fourth grade was devoted entirely to practical exercises. The older pupils took turns studying with the younger ones in order to learn how to raise children. They were also taught to maintain order and house economy. They were taught how to negotiate with suppliers, calculate expenses, pay bills, and determine the price of products.
Portrait of I.I. Betsky by Alexander Roslin (1776-77)
31 years - from 1763 to 1794 Betskoy was the president of the Academy of Arts. The Academy was supported by the treasury and combined the Academy itself and the Art School. Management was carried out by the director, who kept a large academic seal. The director was elected from among the rectors every four months, but not more than three times in a row, his duties included overseeing the general order at the Academy of Arts, education and training. Boys of all classes of five or six years old were admitted to the school (from this age Betskoy considered it possible to start educating worthy citizens of the fatherland), and for nine years they were taught general education disciplines, as well as copying engravings and drawings. The most capable were transferred to special classes and for six years they were trained as sculptors, painters, engravers and architects.
On June 27, 1769, Betskoy asked for permission from the Empress to support ten boys at his own expense, starting in 1770, taking them every three years. By 1785, there were already 60 people who were brought up at the expense of Betsky at the Academy of Arts. With the subsequent change in the amount of interest paid by the bank in 1786, Betskoy did not find it more possible to continue this business and notified the council of the new reception of pupils that was earlier forthcoming in 1788.
Art subjects were taught by academics. The Academy of Arts banned corporal punishment. In his letter to the Board of Trustees of the Academy (1784), Betskoy wrote: "... a person, considering himself a man, should not allow himself to be treated like an animal." Betskoy himself loved the theater and tried to convey this love to his pupils. At the Academy of Arts, a theater was opened in which students played (they also made scenery for performances). Balls, illuminations, live pictures were often arranged. The musical education of the pupils included learning to play the harpsichord, violin, cello, musical and theoretical disciplines and singing. A student orchestra and a choir of pupils of the school were formed.
Betskoy bequeathed to the Academy two cabinets with engraved antiques, very ancient, and with rare casts of images of various historical figures, made mainly by French artists. This collection was collected by him during his travels abroad.
In 1765, he was appointed chief of the land gentry corps, for which he drew up a charter on a new basis. According to the "points for change" approved in the same 1765 cadet corps(among which it was positively prescribed "to renounce all corporal punishment to the cadets now"), Betsky drew up a new charter, approved by the Empress on September 11, 1766. Here, too, the beginnings found in other charters compiled by Betsky were also repeated: only children of nobles were accepted into the corps, not older than six years, and the parents gave a subscription that they give the children voluntarily, for at least fifteen years, during which they will not take the children even on vacation. The corps was a closed institution, had five ages (or classes), each age stayed for three years. Entering the 4th age, the cadet had the right to choose the civil service and, accordingly, studied some other sciences, which the rest of the cadets did not study. It was instructed to take care of the physical and moral development of the cadets, treat them kindly, never hit with a sword or fuchtel, try to prevent and avert mistakes and misconduct, etc. Those who completed the full course entered the military service, the best were awarded medals, and the most worthy had the right , with parental consent, travel three years abroad at the expense of the Corps. All the statutes compiled by Betsky required especially good mentors and teachers, in which at that time there was a great shortage; therefore had to resort to the assistance of foreigners. The desire to remove foreign influence prompted Betsky in 1772 to submit a special report to the Empress, in which it was proposed to establish a special department for the education of petty-bourgeois children at the land corps, from which worthy teachers and educators for the corps could eventually form. The Empress approved this project on 27 October. In 1773, Lieutenant General Purple was appointed director of the corps, and Betskoy remained only a member of the council until it was abolished in 1785.
In 1768, Catherine II promoted Betsky to the rank of active privy councillor. In 1773, according to the plan of Betsky and at the expense of Prokopy Demidov, the Educational Commercial School for merchant children was established.
Entrusting Betsky with the leadership of all educational and educational institutions, Catherine endowed him with great wealth, a significant share of which he gave to charity and especially to the development of educational institutions. Following the model of Moscow, Betskoy opened an orphanage in St. Petersburg, and with him he established a widow and safe treasury, which were based on generous donations made by him.
Portrait of I. I. Betsky by Alexander Roslin (1777)
In 1773, the Senate, in a solemn meeting, presented Betsky with a large gold medal knocked out in his honor, according to the Highest Will, for establishing scholarships at his own expense in 1772, with the inscription: “For love of the fatherland. From the Senate November 20, 1772." As the director of the office of buildings, Betskoy contributed a lot to decorating St. Petersburg with state-owned buildings and structures; The largest monuments of this side of his activity were the monument to Peter the Great, the granite embankment of the Neva and canals and the lattice of the Summer Garden.
By the end of Betsky's life, Catherine lost interest in him, depriving him of the title of her reader. From her expression: “Betskoy appropriates himself to the glory of the sovereign,” one can think that the reason for the cooling was rooted in the empress’s confidence that Betskoy attributed the merit of the educational reform to herself alone, while Catherine herself claimed a significant role in this matter.
Betskoy was single, but had a number of "pupils", including Anastasia Sokolova, to whom he bequeathed 80,000 silver rubles and 40,000 banknotes, as well as two stone houses on Palace Embankment. He was the curator of the Smolny Institute, and, being already an elderly person, he took a 17-year-old graduate Glafira Alymova to live in his house, whom he was very jealous of. When the girl got married and, unable to withstand the constant control of Betsky, fled with her husband to Moscow, Betsky was struck by a stroke, he almost died and retired from most of his affairs.
ctrl Enter
Noticed osh s bku Highlight text and click Ctrl+Enter
Empress Catherine 2 had many confidants as cabinet secretaries: Bezborodko, Elagin, Teplov. All these were gifted people: in addition to officials, there were writers and poets among them, who introduced "a light style into clerical affairs" (R. G. Derzhavin).
Since 1763, the position of secretaries of state was introduced, whose main duty was to "receive petitions addressed to the highest name." They were appointed to this position on the basis of letters of recommendation and high patronage.
According to the "Table of Ranks" they belonged to the fourth category with the appeal "Your Excellency", had high salaries, lump sum payments, nominal pensions, were awarded orders, medals, signs. The cabinet had large financial resources, which were used to build estates, palaces, civil buildings, prisons, and so on in the name of the empress.
The extracts were kept by the secretary of state, and copies were given to the petitioner. Work with petitions was regulated by instructions, where a clear procedure for handling petitions was determined. They were submitted personally to the office, more often by mail. Sometimes brave dignitaries ("under the cover") - with a signature ("in their own hands"), often along with letters of recommendation. Most of the petitions were submitted to the Secretary of State in the Senate, "for resolution according to the laws."
Many issues set out in petitions addressed to the highest name were resolved out of turn, depending on the patronage of noble persons. The speed of consideration of the issue often depended on the personality of the submitter. There is a resolution of Catherine 2 to the request of the Swedish ambassador: "Do not linger in our Russian custom, as in the old days, so that strangers do not know."
The office of secretaries of state was a good school of bureaucratic service, prominent statesmen went through it. Subsequently, many became senators.
The office of each secretary of state was autonomous. There were two or three secretaries on the staff. They were educated people, knew languages, were smart and able to grasp the essence of the issue. There were also young people from noble families for "courier parcels to foreign lands." In Russia, their function was to verify the facts stated in the petitions. The class composition of petitioners is the nobility, foreign ambassadors, merchants. The peasants were exiled to Siberia for complaining about their landowners.
Twice a week at eight in the morning, Catherine II had an audience with secretaries of state. The private correspondence of Catherine 2 also passed through their hands.
The secretaries of state were members of numerous commissions on foreign settlements, on unrest in Little Russia, and prepared a draft law "On the establishment of a province."
Archives of State Secretaries - a valuable historical source for the study of the policy of absolutism in Russia.
In local governments, the secretaries played the main role in the presence, the secretaries for each case received made memorandums, on which decisions were made.
At the end of the 18th century, there were manuals for drafting documents that were used by secretaries. ("Cabinet or merchant secretary" by I. Sokolsky). Along with the statutory rules, they included elements of legal relations between the employee and the state, business and "parquet" etiquette.
The reorganization of the central apparatus and the creation of ministries met the interests of the Russian monarchy of the 19th century. The hierarchical principle increasingly permeated the system of government. This is also manifested in the organization of the civil service on the basis of Peter's "Table of Ranks" and on the basis of the "Regulations on Ministries". The "Establishment of the Ministries" of 1811 strictly established the structure of the ministries and the "way of doing things." The ministries were represented by departments, the council of the minister, the general presence of departments, and chancelleries.
