Under administrative-territorial division (ATD) implies the division of the state's territory into administratively managed parts (ATD units). Geography studies the hierarchy of these units, the configuration of the ATD network, the logic of zoning the territory into administrative-territorial units and the processes of changing the ADT network. In the process of change, administrative units can increase or decrease, they are enlargement or unbundling. As a rule, two opposite processes - centrifugal and centripetal - alternately replace each other in the process of forming an ADT network.
The process of evolution of Russian ATD is divided into 13 stages:
1. First Peter's reform became the first unification of the ATD system in the history of Russia. Before late XVII century, this system developed largely spontaneously, the state was divided into administrative-territorial units of different origins and having different statuses - former princely lands, appanages, orders, ranks, honors, districts, some volosts, actually equivalent to counties. The number of such units at the end of the 17th century fluctuated from 150 to 200.
By decree of Peter I of December 18, 1708 The territory of the Russian state was divided into eight huge provinces- Moscow, Ingria(in 1710 it was renamed St. Petersburg), Arkhangelsk, Kyiv, Smolensk, Kazan, Azov, Siberian. The maximum area (about 2/3 of the entire territory of the state) was occupied by the Siberian province, and the most populated (more than 190 thousand households) was the Moscow province. In 1713, from the newly annexed lands in the north-west, it was formed Rizhskaya province. In 1717, a new one was formed from the southern part of the Kazan province Astrakhan province.
2. Second Peter's reform , proclaimed by decree of May 29, 1719, was aimed at unbundling poorly governed huge provinces, which were divided into provinces, and those, in turn, - on districts. Two provinces were newly formed - Nizhny Novgorod And Revelskaya; The Azov province was renamed Voronezh.
3. Reform of 1727 abolished districts, partially replacing them counties. This reform also continued the process unbundling provinces, which began in 1719: were formed Belgorodskaya And Novgorodskaya provinces, the borders of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Siberian provinces changed. In total, after the reform of 1727, there were 14 province and about 250 counties. This ADT grid remained fairly stable for several decades (it was only in 1744 that Vyborgskaya And Orenburgskaya province).
The beginning of the reign of Catherine I was marked by some changes in the ATD, mainly associated with the creation administrative bodies on the lands newly annexed to the empire. In 1764, the Irkutsk province of the Siberian province was separated into an independent Irkutsk province. In the south it was established Novorossiysk province, and in Left Bank Ukraine - Little Russian. Formed in 1765 Slobodsko-Ukrainian province with its center in Kharkov.
After the first partition of Poland in 1772 two new provinces were created from the lands newly annexed to Russia - Mogilevskaya And Pskovskaya, and three years later, due to new lands acquired in the south according to the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiysky world, a new Azovskaya province. Received special status in the territory of this province lands of the Don army, while other Cossack lands - Zaporizhzhya Sich- were annexed to the Novorossiysk province.
Thus, by the time the new ATD reform began, the territory of the empire was divided into 23 provinces, 65 provinces and 276 counties.
4. Catherine's reform , which began November 7, 1775 since signing by Catherine II "Institutions for the management of provinces", marked much more significant unbundling ATD cells than all previous reforms. During this reform, the number of provinces (the main part of which began to be called viceroyalties) doubled, provinces were abolished, and the second-level ATD unit became counties. The process of implementing the reform lasted for 10 years, during which the 40 provinces (vicerarchates) and two regions with the rights of a province in which it was allocated 483 county
The process of splitting the old provinces began with the two central ones - Smolensk and Tver. Then they were created Pskovskaya province, Novgorod, Kaluga, Polotsk, Mogilev, Yaroslavl, Tula, Ryazan, Volodymyr, Kostroma, Oryol viceroyalty, Kursk province, Nizhny Novgorod, Tambovskoe, Voronezh, Vologda viceroyalty and Kolyvanskaya region. At the same time, the old Belgorodskaya province, which was divided between the Kursk province and the Voronezh governorship. The old Sloboda-Ukrainian province was transformed into Kharkovskoe governorship, a new one was allocated from the northern parts of the Kazan and Orenburg provinces Vyatskoe governorship, and from the southern districts of the Kazan province - new Simbirskoe And Penza viceroyalty. From the northern part of the Astrakhan province a new Saratovskoe Viceroyalty. IN last years Catherine's reforms arose Perm, Novgorod-Severskoe, Chernigovskoe, Kyiv, Kazanskoe, Ufa, Olonetskoe, Arkhangelskoe governorship and new Moscow province. In 1782, the largest unit of the empire's ATD, the Siberian province, was abolished, and a new one was established in its place. Tobolsk viceroyalty with two regions - Tobolsk And Tomsk. In turn, the Irkutsk governorship was divided into four regions ( Irkutsk, Nerchinsk, Okhotsk, Yakutsk).
In the south, on the contrary, there was a slight consolidation - the Azov and Novorossiysk provinces merged into a new Ekaterinoslavskoe governorship (with center in Kremenchug). In 1784, from the newly annexed southern lands, it was formed Tauride region with the rights of governorship. The last step of Catherine's reform was the transformation of the Astrakhan province into Caucasian governorship with the transfer of its center from Astrakhan to the newly created city of Yekaterinograd (soon the center had to be returned back to Astrakhan).
As a result of the reform, the empire began to be divided into 38 governorships, three provinces and one region with the rights of governorship (Tauride). The size and boundaries of most viceroyalties formed in 1775–1785 remained virtually unchanged until the 1920s.
After the reform at the end of the 18th century, as Russia acquired new lands, Minsk, Izyaslavskoe(Volyn), Bratslavskoe(Podolia), Voznesenskoye(southwest of Novorossiya), Courland, Vilna and Slonim governorship, and the Izyaslav governorship was divided into two new ones - Volynskoye And Podolsk.
5. Pavlovsk reform , following the logic of the ATD transformations in Russia, wore enlarged character. Having transformed all governorships into provinces, Emperor Paul I abolished the Olonets, Kolyvan, Bratslav, Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversk, Voznesensk, Ekaterinoslav, Tauride, Saratov, Polotsk, Mogilev, Vilna and Slonim provinces, and also reduced the number of counties. On the site of the Voznesensk, Ekaterinoslav provinces and the Tauride region arose Novorossiysk province; Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversk provinces were united into Little Russian province; former Polotsk and Mogilev - in Belarusian province (center - Vitebsk), Vilna and Slonim - in Lithuanian(center - Vilna). A number of other provinces were renamed. Thus, during the Pavlovsk reform, the number of first-level ATD units decreased from 51 to 42 .
6. Restoration of Catherine's provinces and the formation of new provinces in the 19th century century. From 1801, the new Emperor Alexander I began to restore the previous grid of provinces, retaining, however, a number of Pavlovian transformations. He resuscitated Olonetskaya and Penza province, Lithuanian province was divided into Vilenskaya And Grodno, and included in the empire Georgia received the status of a new province. Little Russian province was divided into Chernigovskaya And Poltava , and soon the Belarusian province was liquidated, which broke up into Mogilevskaya And Vitebsk. The Novorossiysk province was divided between Nikolaevskaya, Ekaterinoslavskaya and Tavricheskaya, and Vyborgskaya was renamed Finnish. From the Astrakhan province they were allocated Caucasian province with its center in Georgievsk, subsequently transforming it into the Caucasus region with its center in Stavropol.
During the 19th–20th centuries it was created and abolished many times. Kamchatskaya region, however, for the first time it was separated from the Irkutsk province and received administrative independence in 1803. In the Asian part of the empire under Alexander I also arose Tomsk And Yeniseiskaya provinces. On the newly annexed lands were formed Bialystok, Ternopil, Imereti And Bessarabian regions; had their own administrative division Grand Duchy of Finland And Kingdom of Poland. In 1822, according to Speransky’s reform, all provinces and regions of Siberia were subordinated to two General Governments - West Siberian(center - Omsk) and East Siberian(center - Irkutsk). Special management was introduced for Siberian Kirghiz (Kazakhs).
In the middle of the century, the process of forming new ATD units continued: Kovenskaya(northern parts of Vilna province), Tiflisskaya, Kutaisi, Shemakha And Derbentskaya provinces in the Caucasus. The Caucasus region was renamed Stavropol province.
Among the most important transformations on the main territory of the empire in the second half of the 19th century is the creation Samara, Ufa And Black Sea provinces, as well as regions Transbaikal And Donskoy troops. During the peasant reform of 1861, the counties were divided into rural parishes.
7. Formation of the ATD system in the newly annexed and colonized territories (second half of the 19th century) . In 1849, in Transcaucasia it was formed Erivan province, Shemakha province was renamed Baku, arose Zagatala district On the site of the Derbent province was formed Dagestan region, and next door was created special area Cossack Kuban army. The most recent transformations of the ATD in the Caucasus were the creation Terskaya region (center - Vladikavkaz), Elisavetpolskaya provinces, Batumi And Kars regions.
In 1856, a new one was formed from the coastal parts of the East Siberian General Government. Primorskaya the region to which the former Chinese left bank of the Amur was annexed. Soon, on the newly annexed part of the left bank, a Amurskaya region (center - Blagoveshchensk). In 1884 Sakhalin was separated from the Primorsky region as a special department.
In the 1860s–1870s, the lands of modern Kazakhstan and Central Asia were annexed to the Russian Empire. In these territories they were organized mainly region(not provinces) - Akmola, Semipalatinsk, Orenburg Kyrgyz, Ural, Turgai, Semirechensk, Turkestan, Syrdarya, Samarkand, Fergana, Transcaspian. Vassal dependence on Russia was recognized Bukhara, Kokand And Khanate of Khiva.
8. ATD of the Russian Empire at the beginning XX century. In the last pre-revolutionary years, there were relatively few changes in the ATD of Russia: the Kamchatka region regained independence, and a new Sakhalinskaya region. In the south of Siberia, the territory of present-day Tuva was annexed to Russia under the name Uriankhai region.
9. Coexistence of old and new ATD units (1917–1923). Implementation of a new project unbundling ATD of Russia began the Provisional Government, which in April 1917 separated from the southern districts of the Tomsk province Altai province, and from the eastern part of the Astrakhan province - Bukeevskaya province.
Following the October Revolution of 1917, a spontaneous process of education began Soviet republics And non-Soviet autonomies, mainly on the outskirts of the country. Thus, Soviet republics appeared on the territory of modern Russia Stavropol, Terek, Tavrida, Don, Kuban-Black Sea, as well as non-Soviet autonomies in Siberia, Kuban, Crimea, and the Far East. In the provinces and regions with a predominant non-Russian population, their own Soviet and non-Soviet autonomous or independent states were proclaimed in 1918–1920 national republics. Completely separated from the country Bessarabia, Finland, Baltic states, Poland. In 1919–1922 in the Far East And in Siberia coexisted according to at least four states(incl. Verkhneudinsk Far Eastern Republic).
On the main territory of the country, which in 1918 became known as RSFSR, the process of fragmentation of a number of old provinces began. This is how they appeared Cherepovetskaya, Ivanovo-Voznesenskaya, North Dvina, Tsaritsynskaya, Ekaterinburgskaya, Tyumenskaya, Omsk And Chelyabinsk provinces. In January 1919, the Belorussian SSR became part of the RSFSR Mogilevskaya(soon converted to Gomel), Vitebsk And Smolenskaya provinces in which the Russian and Jewish population predominated. In March 1920, the region of the Don Army was liquidated, and from its territory formed Donskaya region, a new one was allocated from the western districts of the Oryol province Bryansk province, and from the western districts of the Yaroslavl province - Rybinskaya province.
In October 1918, the first national-state formation arose on the territory of the RSFSR - Labor commune of Volga Germans(prototype of the future ASSR and JSC). Following it, in March 1919, the “small” was organized Bashkir ASSR, and in May-June 1920, three more national autonomies appeared - Tatar ASSR, Karelian labor commune (transformed into the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1923) and Chuvash labor commune (autonomous region, later transformed into the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). From the steppe regions inhabited by the Kazakhs, a new Kyrgyz ASSR as part of the RSFSR with its capital in Orenburg (in 1925 it was renamed Cossack ASSR). Autonomous national regions were also formed Votskaya(since 1932 - Udmurt), Mari, Kalmyk , and Dagestan And Gorskaya ASSR. At the same time, the Mountain ASSR was divided into seven national districts: Kabardian, Balkar, Karachay, North Ossetian, Nazran (Ingush), Chechen, Cossack Sunzhensky. Similar transformations of the ATD took place in Siberia: in the Transbaikal province it was formed Buryat-Mongolian AO, and in the Irkutsk province - Mongol-Buryat JSC. Both of these autonomies soon merged into one Buryat-Mongolian ASSR. In August 1921 it was formed People's Republic of Tannu-Tuva, which seceded from the RSFSR and became an independent state. Gradually, the Zyryans (Komi), Kabardians, Balkars, Karachais, Circassians (Adyghe), and Yakuts created their own national autonomies. In October 1921, on the territory of Crimea, it was organized Crimean ASSR within the RSFSR. Olonets province was included in the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Almost the entire territory of Central Asia was part of Turkestan ASSR.
In the early 1920s, they were formed Murmansk And Novonikolaevskaya provinces, at the same time the Ufa and Rybinsk provinces disappeared from the map.
10. First Soviet reform (1923–1929; consolidation of ATD units). After the formation of the USSR, in 1923, the idea of a new zoning of the country, developed by the State Planning Committee, arose. Its essence was to replace the old provinces with huge Soviet economic regions, divided sequentially into districts, districts And village councils. The reform began in the Urals, where it was formed Ural region(with its center in Yekaterinburg), uniting four provinces. Soon, in the North Caucasus, a South-East region, which later became part of the huge North Caucasus region(with center in Rostov-on-Don).
In October-November 1924, the national-state delimitation of Central Asia was carried out: the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was withdrawn from the RSFSR, and on its territory arose Uzbek SSR (with Tajik ASSR) and Turkmen SSR.
In 1925, a second Soviet region was created on the territory of Siberia - Siberian with its center in Novosibirsk. All provinces of the Ukrainian SSR were liquidated, the territory of which was divided into 41 districts and Moldavian ASSR. In January 1926, a third region was formed in the east of the country. Far Eastern with its center in Khabarovsk. Arose in May 1927 Northwestern region with its center in Leningrad (soon it received the name Leningradskaya region). In May 1928, three new Soviet regions were formed at once - Central Black Earth(center - Voronezh), Middle Volga(center - Samara) and Nizhne-Volzhskaya(center - Saratov).
The last step of this reform was in 1929 complete liquidation of provinces and creation regions and territories in the remaining “unregistered” part of the country (Center and European North). This is how the last ones were formed large areas - Western(center - Smolensk), Ivanovskaya Industrial(center - Ivanovo), Nizhny Novgorod(center - Nizhny Novgorod), Central Industrial(center - Moscow) and Northern region(center - Arkhangelsk). During 1929–1930 there were minor changes in the composition of national autonomies, which were mainly part of the regions and territories. At the beginning of 1929, the Sunzha Cossack District was annexed to the Chechen Autonomous Okrug; in July 1929, it was formed as part of the Northern Territory Nenets National District, in January 1930, the Mordovian national district of the Middle Volga region was transformed into Mordovian JSC.
Thus, as a result of the first Soviet reform, ATD remained on the territory of Russia 40 units of the upper level of ATD, including two types of large units - six regions and seven edges Outside these units were the following 10 ASSR - Bashkir, Buryat-Mongolian, Dagestan, Kazak, Kara-Kalpak, Karelian, Kyrgyz, Crimean, Tatar and Yakut.
11. Second Soviet ATD reform (unbundling of cells). First phase: 1930–1939. The ATD units, huge in area, population and number of districts, were poorly managed, so in the USSR the question arose of disaggregating the territories and regions. First of all, the Far Eastern region was divided into several regions; then the remaining large areas and edges were divided into small areas.
In 1930, several new national districts were created - Ostyak-Vogulsky(current Khanty-Mansiysk), Yamalsky(Nenetsky), Evenki, Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets), Vitimo-Olyokminsky, Okhotsk (Even), Koryak And Chukotka. In 1934, the Ingushetia Autonomous Okrug was merged with the Chechen Autonomous Okrug into one Checheno-Ingush JSC, and the Birobidzhan district of the Far Eastern Territory was transformed into Jewish JSC. In June 1934, the Central Black Earth Region was disassembled, which existed for only six years. She was divided into Voronezh(84 districts) and Kursk(60 districts) region.
With the adoption of the new Stalinist constitution of 1936, the territory of the RSFSR was noticeably reduced, since the Cossack and Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics were removed from its composition (they were transformed into Kazakh And Kyrgyz SSR), as well as the Kara-Kalpak ASSR, which was included in the Uzbek SSR. Simultaneously with this reduction in the territory of the RSFSR in the south, the status of a number of autonomous regions was raised to the rank of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Kabardino-Balkarian, Komi, Mari, North Ossetian, Checheno-Ingush). Of the “large” Gosplan regions, by this time only the Western, Leningrad and Moscow regions had survived, although some parts were separated from them in 1935. As a result of the reform, the Russian ATD grid received a look that is in many ways reminiscent of the modern one.
In March 1940, a new one was formed from the newly annexed eastern parts of Finland and the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Karelo-Finnish SSR, which was withdrawn from the RSFSR.
12. The second phase of the disaggregation of regions (1943–1954). In the second half of the Great Patriotic War, another one began crushing wave poorly managed areas. It was accompanied by the liquidation of a number of autonomies of those peoples who were recognized as “disloyal”. This is how new areas appeared: Ulyanovsk, Kemerovo, Kurgan, Astrakhan And Groznenskaya. At the junctions of neighboring regions of the Center and North-West, arose Kaluga, Bryansk, Kostroma, Vladimir, Velikolukskaya, Novgorod And Pskovskaya regions, and in Western Siberia were formed Tomsk And Tyumen areas.
In 1944–1946, new territories became part of the USSR: Tuvinskaya people's republic , which received the status of joint-stock company, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk region, which was soon included in the Sakhalin region, and Koenigsberg region, renamed to Kaliningrad.
In January 1954, on the outskirts of a number of regions of central Russia, five new regions were formed at once, three of which ( Arzamasskaya, Balashovskaya And Kamenskaya) turned out to be ephemeral and lasted only three years, and the other two ( Belgorodskaya And Lipetskaya) still exist today.
The Crimean ASSR as part of the RSFSR was transformed into the Crimean region and transferred to Ukraine in 1954.
13. Stage of stable equilibrium of the ATD system (since 1957). At the very beginning of this period a small step was taken back in the direction consolidation- four unsuccessfully organized peripheral regions were liquidated, and all autonomies liquidated by Stalin were restored (with the exception of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Volga Germans). So they were restored or arose again Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Kalmyk Autonomous Okrug, Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Okrug And Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The Karelo-Finnish SSR was abolished, which was again included in the RSFSR under the name Karelian ASSR.
Subsequent changes were only “cosmetic” in nature: in 1958, the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Ust-Ordynsky and Aginsky Buryat-Mongolian national districts lost the word “Mongolian” in their name; Kalmyk Autonomous Okrug was withdrawn from the Stavropol Territory and transformed into the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; The Tuva Autonomous Okrug underwent the same reorganization, and the Stalingrad region was renamed Volgograd. According to the 1977 constitution, all 10 national okrugs began to be called autonomous okrugs.
After the collapse of the USSR, several more insignificant changes occurred in the ATD of Russia: the old names were returned to three regions, the autonomous republics (and some autonomous regions) declared sovereignty and began to be called "subjects of the federation"(along with all first level ATD units). In 1992, the first territorial change in the ATD after 1957 occurred - the Chechen-Ingush Republic was divided into independent Chechen And Ingush Republic.
Currently, ideas are being discussed in Russian political circles new ATD reform, which was largely heralded by the appearance in 2000 seven federal districts. Two approaches to reform prevail - unitary And differentiated. The first proceeds from the fact that all subjects of the federation should have equal rights; the second approach, on the contrary, ranks the subjects of the federation into two classes - simple (ordinary) and special (untouchable). This type of “special” group primarily includes national republics.
Materials used by Sergei Tarkhov “Changes in the administrative-territorial division of Russia over the last 300 years” (Geography: Weekly supplement to the newspaper “First of September”. 2001. No. 15, 21, 28).
Administrative-territorial structure is the division of the territory of the state into parts, in accordance with which the system of local authorities is built and functions. The first known from the 11th century. administrative-territorial units were volosts. In Ancient Rus', the term “volost” meant the entire territory of the land (principality), then an independent appanage and, finally, a village subordinate to the city (see Rus' in the 9th - early 12th centuries). With the growth of ancient Russian principalities in the 14th - first half of the 15th century. administrative-territorial division became more complicated. The principalities were divided into counties with volosts and camps (sometimes these were equivalent administrative-territorial units).
The city was an independent administrative-territorial unit in the ancient Russian principalities. The cities and suburban camps were ruled by the prince's governors from the boyars, and the volosts were ruled by the volosts from smaller feudal lords. With the formation of the Russian centralized state in the 16th century. The main administrative-territorial unit was the county, headed by a governor. In 1625, a list of cities and counties was compiled.
At the end of the 17th century. Peter I made an attempt to improve the administrative-territorial division and establish provinces, adding small towns and counties to Novgorod, Pskov, Astrakhan and other cities. By the decree of 1708 “On the establishment of provinces and on the designation of cities for them,” Russia was divided into 8 provinces - Moscow, Ingermanland (since 1710 - St. Petersburg), Smolensk, Kiev, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberian. In 1713 - 1714 Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan, and Riga provinces were added, and Smolensk became part of the Moscow and Riga provinces. In total in 1725 there were 14 provinces, with unequal territories and populations. At the head of the St. Petersburg and Azov provinces at the beginning of the 18th century. there were governors-general, the rest - governors.
By the next decree of Peter I of 1719 “On the structure of provinces and on the determination of their rulers,” the territory of each province was divided into smaller units - provinces. A total of 45 provinces were established, then their number increased to 50. The most important provinces were headed by governors-general, the rest by governors.
The provinces were divided into districts, where affairs were run by zemstvo commissars, elected from local nobles. In 1726, the districts were abolished and the historically established district division was restored. After the suppression of the uprising led by E.I. Pugachev (see Peasant Wars in Russia in the 17th and 18th centuries), the need to strengthen the power of the local administration became obvious. In 1775, during the reform local government based. “Institutions for managing the provinces of the All-Russian Empire and dividing them into districts,” the provinces were disaggregated.
Now there are 40 of them with a population of 300 - 400 thousand revision souls each. By 1796, due to new territories annexed to the Russian Empire, the number of provinces increased to 51. Each province was divided into counties. The province as an intermediate territorial unit was formally liquidated, but in practice, in some provinces, provinces existed until the end of the 18th century. Some provinces were united into governorships, they were ruled by a governor - an official vested with extraordinary powers and responsible only to Catherine P. In 1796
Paul I abolished governorships, and in the 19th - early 20th centuries. they were only in the Kingdom of Poland (1815 - 1874) and in the Caucasus (1844 - 1883, 1905 - 1917). In the last quarter of the 18th century. areas appear. Initially, these were provinces into which governorships with a large population were divided. From the end of the 18th century. regions are the newly annexed territories on the outskirts of the empire, as well as the lands of the Cossack troops - Don, Kuban, Terek.
The regions did not have self-government bodies and were subordinate to military governors. As a rule, regions were part of general governments, the system of which arose in the 19th century. During the 19th century. the general provincial organization was preserved on the main territory of European Russia. On the outskirts (except for the Baltic region, where there were 3 provinces), governor-general-generals were created, uniting several provinces: the Kingdom of Poland (10 provinces), the Grand Duchy of Finland (7 provinces), the Bessarabian region, the Caucasus region, the Siberian governor-general, the Turkestan general-government. governorship with the vassal Bukhara and Khiva khanates, Steppe Governor-General. Number and composition of provinces, general governorships, governorships, regions during the 18th - early 20th centuries. were constantly changing. By 1917, there were 78 provinces, 21 regions, and 1 governorship in the Russian Empire.
After the October Revolution of 1917, the number of provinces decreased, since 25 of them were transferred to Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states. But soon most of the regions were renamed into provinces, and by 1922 there were 72 provinces in the RSFSR. After 1917, autonomous republics and regions were created within the country. In 1923 - 1929 An administrative-territorial reform of the USSR was carried out, which aimed to transform the administrative-territorial division of the former Russian Empire according to the principle of economic zoning. Provinces, districts, and volosts were abolished. Regions, territories, districts and districts appeared. By 1930, there were 13 territories and regions in the RSFSR: Far Eastern, Nizhny Novgorod, Lower Volga, Northern, North Caucasus, Siberian, Middle Volga regions, Western, Ivanovo industrial, Leningrad, Moscow, Ural, Central Black Earth regions. In other republics, regional division was not initially introduced.
In 1930, the division into districts was eliminated. Since 1932, the disaggregation of territories and regions has been carried out. As a result, by 1935 the number of territories increased to 12. According to the Constitution of 1936, 7 territories began to be called regions. By 1938, there were 6 territories in the RSFSR - Altai, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorsky, Khabarovsk, Stavropol. In the post-war period, the boundaries of territories and regions changed.
By the time the Constitution of 1977 was adopted, the main administrative-territorial units in the USSR were regions, territories (in the RSFSR and Kazakhstan), districts, cities, city districts, towns, and rural settlements. The list of regions and territories, as well as districts (for republics and autonomous republics that do not have regional and territorial divisions) was enshrined in the relevant constitutions of the union and autonomous republics. It also contained a list of cities of republican subordination, which constituted independent administrative-territorial units. According to the Constitution of 1977, the establishment and change of the administrative-territorial structure is the responsibility of the union republic. The Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Union Republic determined the procedure for resolving issues of administrative-territorial division, established and changed the boundaries and regional division of territories and regions, autonomous regions and autonomous okrugs, formed districts, cities, districts in cities, established and changed the subordination of cities, made naming and renaming districts, cities, districts in cities and other populated areas.
March 31, 1992 The Federal Treaty recognized territories, regions, cities of federal significance as subjects Russian Federation, and from that moment on, 6 territories, 49 regions, 2 cities of federal significance (Moscow, St. Petersburg) changed their legal status and can no longer be considered as administrative-territorial units. The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 did not define the administrative-territorial structure of the country. Changing the boundaries of administrative-territorial units (districts, city districts) is, by current legislation, within the competence of public authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. However, according to the Constitution, they must take into account the opinion of the population of the relevant territory.
The administrative-territorial division has not yet become unified. Basic administrative unit there were counties that were divided into camps, and camps into volosts. But lands were still preserved, military districts and judicial districts existed. On the main territory of the state, administration was carried out by governors and volosts. They carried out the functions of a court over the local population and collected “feed” from them in their favor. The “feeding” system made it possible for representatives of the aristocracy (top service people, palace administration) to constantly strengthen their political and economic power. The main tendency was to constantly limit the functions of governors in favor of smaller agents of the state treasury, independent of the governor (tribute officers, tax collectors, customs officers). The limitation of the power of governors was based on strengthening the local role of the nobility, from which city clerks were recruited (recruited), into whose hands administrative and financial power passes not only over the city, but also over the county. In the estates, princes and boyars continued to retain administrative and judicial rights.
By the beginning of the 16th century, centralization government controlled was not completed, it retained significant diversity and archaic orders.
Public administration proper included the collection of taxes, the conscription system military service and legal proceedings. Monuments of public administration of the Moscow State are letters of various contents. Any salary to a private individual, monastery or church, as well as real estate, was formalized by a charter of the Grand Duke, according to which the grantee was sometimes freed from subordination to local authorities and was subordinate only to the Grand Duke. In addition, he himself received the right to judge persons living on the estate granted to him. The benefit could also consist in the release of the grantee from tributes and duties. The most important charters included statutory charters that determined the order of local government. The main content of the statutory charters of the viceroyal administration is the determination of the amount of food in favor of local rulers. Later, the Moscow state moved from individual charters to compiling collections of laws, which is called codification of laws.
The first experience of codification is the Code of Laws of Ivan III of 1497. This was the era of the establishment of Moscow autocracy. The collection was compiled by clerk Vladimir Gusev and was approved by the Tsar and the Boyar Duma. The main content of the code of law is legislative articles on purchase and sale, inheritance, servitude, etc. These resolutions were borrowed from the Pskov Judgment Charter, and the source of the Code of Law was “Russkaya Pravda”.
The punishment system has become more stringent compared to previous legislation. Among the crimes according to the Code of Laws appeared such as high treason (koromola), crime in service, crime against the judiciary.
There are two types of judicial bodies - state and patrimonial. The court was administered by governors and volostels. The defendant's failure to appear is an admission of guilt. Failure of the accuser to appear in court means termination of the case. Judicial power was exercised by provincial institutions. According to the law, the church achieved recognition of compulsory church marriage through a wedding. The number of reasons for divorce has decreased significantly.
The formation of a unified Moscow state took place under the conditions of a mobilization type of development. This led to the preservation of the management system with the authoritarian power of the Grand Duke and gradually increasing centralization. The most important central governing body becomes the Boyar Duma, whose activities are based on the principles of localism and differentiation of functions. The administrative-territorial division and, accordingly, local government was not unified, which posed the task of centralizing public administration (oprichnina - part of the territory of the state, with special management)
In the XVI–XVII centuries. The process of expanding the territory of the Moscow state continued. In the east, changes in borders in the second half of the 16th century. was associated primarily with the conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates. Back in the 30s. XVI century The Moksha and Alatyr regions, directly adjacent to the territory of the Kazan Khanate, were developed. After a long struggle, the Khanate was annexed in 1552, and it became part of the Russian state, inhabited by Kazan Tatars, highland and meadow Cheremis (respectively), Votyaks (). In 1552–1557 joined Russia most of lands. The Trans-Ural Bashkirs, whose territory was associated with the Siberian Khanate, came under the rule of Moscow at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. After the annexation of the Astrakhan Khanate (1554–1556), Russia began to possess the Volga route along its entire length.
It is necessary to note the importance of cities in the territorial expansion of the Moscow state to the east. As a rule, they were founded in the 16th century. was caused primarily by military-strategic considerations. Cities not only became centers for the development of annexed territories, but also strongholds for further expansion. The construction of such fortress cities as Vasilsursk (1523), Sviyazhsk (1551), Alatyr (1552) would move the borders of Rus' closer to Kazan and eventually allow it to be captured. The annexation, which took place without any significant resistance, in 1556 was expressed only in the placement of a Russian garrison in Astrakhan. This vast territory was almost uninhabited, except for the nomadic nomads of the Nogai Horde. With the annexation of the Volga khanates, this Horde disintegrated: the Greater Nogai roamed the left bank of the Volga up to Yaik and recognized vassal dependence on the Moscow kings; the Little Nogai Horde was located on the right bank, which soon became dependent on the Ottoman Empire. It was possible to finally bring the Volga under control only towards the end of the 16th century, linking Astrakhan with a chain of founded cities: Samara (1586) - Saratov (1590) - Tsaritsyn (1589).
Cossack regions began to emerge in a number of areas. Their appearance dates back to the 16th century, although separate communities of Cossacks on the Don, Volga and Dnieper began to emerge even earlier. By the 1540s. The Zaporozhye Sich was formed - an organization of Cossacks beyond the Dnieper rapids. The territory occupied by the Sich itself was relatively small, but its influence extended to a significant region, which received the name Zaporozhye in historical literature. It extended in a strip from the upper reaches of Samara on the left bank of the Dnieper to the west, to the left tributaries of the Southern Bug. After reunification with Russia in the middle of the 17th century. The Zaporozhye Sich was considered as an area subject to the Moscow state, although the Cossacks retained self-government and some other privileges until the second half of the 18th century.
Around the middle of the 16th century. a region occupied by the Don Cossacks emerged. This is mainly the interfluve of the Seversky Donets and the Don, although many Cossack settlements arose along the left bank Don tributaries: Khopru, Medveditsa, Ilovlya.
In the Ciscaucasia, in the region of the Terek-Sunzha Upland, back in the first half of the 16th century. There was a process of formation of the region of the Greben Cossacks (from the Grebni tract on the Aktash River), which then became part of the territory of the Terek Cossacks. Occupying a relatively small area in the Terek basin, from a strategic point of view this area was of great interest to Russia.
At the end of the 17th century. along the Yaik from the mouth and up the river, the region of the Yaik Cossacks is formed. If the formation of the Zaporozhye, Don, Terek Cossacks proceeded spontaneously, at the expense of free people, runaway peasants and other elements, then in the Yaik Cossacks the features of government leadership were established. At the same time, the Don and Terek Cossacks, being officially outside the sphere of activity of the Moscow government, were closely connected with Russia: they received a kind of salary from the Russian government in the form of weapons, clothing, food, etc. In the 16th–17th centuries. The Don Cossacks took an active part in the fight against the Turks. Like other Cossack regions, autonomous self-government existed here.
With the annexation of Astrakhan and Kazan, conditions arose for Russia to move east. Even earlier, after the annexation of the northeastern Novgorod possessions, the Russian state went beyond the borders of European territory. In the first half of the 16th century. Industrialists, in search of new places for fur production, from the north are exploring the Trans-Urals, the Ob region and reaching the Yenisei. However, intensive state promotion to Western Siberia began in the 80s. XVI century Its base was the so-called “Stroganov lands” - vast territories along the Kama and Chusovaya, which were given by Ivan IV to Solvychegodsk industrialists with a charter in 1558. These possessions, expanding to the east and south, came into contact with the Siberian Khanate - another entity that emerged after the collapse of the Golden Horde. Politically fragmented, it had no clearly defined boundaries. The authorities of the Siberian khans were subordinate to the lands of the Voguls () along the left tributaries of the Tobol, the Baraba steppes south of the Irtysh, where the nomadic camps of the Siberian and Baraba Tatars were located along the Tobol and Ishim. In the north, the possessions reached along the Ob to the Sosva River and included part of the Ostyak tribes ().
With the establishment of the Stroganovs in the Chusovaya basin, trips beyond the Urals in search of new fur-trading areas began to take on the character of well-armed and organized expeditions. Ermak's campaigns in 1581–1585. led to the defeat of the Siberian Khanate and the annexation of its territory to Russia. The advance, which began in Siberia at the initiative of the Stroganovs, received government support. Detachments marching to western Siberia in the 80s and 90s. XVI century, secured the territory by building cities and forts: Tyumen (1586), Tobolsk (1587), Berezov (1593), Surgut (1594), Ketsky fort (1597), Verkhoturye were founded (1598), etc. It is characteristic that most of these cities appeared on the routes from European Russia to Siberia. For example, along the path along which Ermak crossed the Urals (from the upper reaches of Chusovaya to the Tura and Irtysh rivers), Verkhoturye, Tyumen and Tobolsk were founded. In the north, there was another “trans-stone path” (the ancient name of the Ural Mountains is “Stone”, or “Stone Belt”): from Pechora to its tributary Usa and further to, where Obdorsk arose in 1595. With the annexation of Siberia, these routes receive further development. They were officially recognized and declared state.
In the second half of the 16th century. There were no significant changes to Russia's borders in the west. The cities of Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod, part of the Ladoga region, captured after the unsuccessful completion of the Livonian War of 1558–1583, as a result of the war of 1590–1593. were returned to Russia. New territorial changes occurred at the beginning of the 17th century. due to Polish and Swedish intervention. According to the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, Sweden again captured Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod, as well as Oreshek, Korela and the Neva along its entire length. Russia was cut off from until the beginning of the 18th century. The Deulin truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1618 led to the loss by Russia of territories annexed at the beginning of the 16th century - Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversk, Smolensk lands, as well as Nevel, Velizh, Sebezh with counties, that is, “cities from Lithuanian Ukraine” and "northern cities"
Subsequent territorial changes in the west were associated with the national liberation war of the Ukrainian and peoples (1648–1654), the reunification of Left Bank Ukraine with Russia and the subsequent Russian-Polish war, which ended with the Andrusovo truce of 1667. Russia was returned to the lands lost under the Deulin truce, The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth recognized the reunification of Eastern Ukraine with Russia, Kiev and its surroundings temporarily went to Russia (according to the “eternal peace” of 1686, it finally recognized Kyiv as Russia, receiving in return Sebezh, Nevel and Velizh). The Zaporozhye Sich, by agreement, passed into joint management, but in fact from that time on it was in the sphere of influence of Moscow.
Russia's access to the Dnieper in the lower reaches led to direct contact with the Crimean Khanate and Little Nogai, which by this time had broken up into several hordes: Kazyeva, Edichkul, Yedissan, Budzhak. At the same time, Russia comes into contact with the possessions of the Ottoman Empire in Podolia and the southern Dnieper region. As a result of two campaigns of 1695–1696. The mouth of the Don with Azov was recaptured.
Huge territorial annexations were made by Russia in the 17th century. in the east, on the Asian continent. The first two decades were spent on the development of the left bank of the Yenisei region of Western Siberia. The advancement was accompanied by the construction of cities and fortified points, which was extremely necessary to secure the territory. Mangazeya on the Taz River (in 1601) and the Yenisei fort on the Yenisei (in 1619) that arose here became the starting points for further advances into Siberia, primarily to “ Great River» – Lena and further to the east. Transition to Central and Eastern Siberia was carried out in two ways, northern: Mangazeya - Turukhansk - Lower Tunguska - Vilyui - Lena and southern: Yeniseisk - Upper Tunguska (Angara) - Ilim - Lensky portage - Kuta - Lena. If at the beginning of the 17th century. predominantly used the northern direction, then with the construction of Yeniseisk the southern, more convenient route became preferable, and in the 1660s. Mangazeya is deserted.
By the beginning of the 30s. XVII century Mangazeya service people first reached the Lena by the northern route and founded the Yakut fort here (1632), which became a stronghold for the development of Eastern Siberia and the Far East. From here expeditions started that discovered the mouths of the Lena, Indigirka, Olenek, the shores of the Arctic Ocean, and the Kolyma region. By the middle of the 17th century. Russia reaches the coast, which is associated, first of all, with the expeditions of Vasily Poyarkov and Erofey Khabarov, who explored the coast, Fedot Popov and Semyon Dezhnev, who discovered the strait between Asia and North America And . The northern and eastern boundaries of the new territories, with some exceptions, are clearly defined by the coastline. With regard to the southeastern borders, the situation was much more complicated. The Qing Empire laid claim to large areas of the southern part of Eastern Siberia. The demarcation of territories took place under conditions of military pressure on its part and insufficiently clear definition of individual geographical landmarks. According to the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689, the most defined border was the Argun River, at that time
Like many other names of rivers, mountains and other geographical landmarks, they were not exact and identical, which led to different interpretations of the Russian and Manchu texts. An important point of the agreement was the refusal of the Manchu side to claim the Okhotsk coast (but in general the borders here were established later, only in the 19th century).
In the Southern Urals and Western Siberia, Russia’s borders reached the Yaik, Belaya, Tobol, Ishim, Irtysh, and the Tara and Ob interfluves.
Regional and administrative-territorial division
The process of formation of the internal regions of the country in the 16th–17th centuries. had two sides. Firstly, it developed more or less one system administrative management, taking into account the specifics of the regions, and secondly, historically established areas were preserved. The official administrative-territorial units were counties, volosts and camps. The most established division was into counties. In the 17th century there were about 250 of them. The term “county” appeared in the 12th century. and originally designated the territory directly subordinate to the prince or other landowner. In a centralized state, counties became administrative units, which were based mainly on the former appanage principalities. In this regard, even in the central regions, counties varied significantly in size. In addition, even in the 17th century. There was still no established division and the same lands could belong to different counties at different times. Almost every county had one city that served as its center. Counties were divided into smaller units - volosts and camps. The volost organization arose and was closely connected with the peasant rural community. The center of the volost, as a rule, was the village, to which the surrounding villages were adjacent. The camp was most likely a purely territorial concept in the 17th century. it, as a more convenient unit for management, is gradually replacing the volost. In addition to the district division as the main one, previously established traditional divisions have been preserved in a number of areas.
The main (European) territory of the Russian state by the 17th century. was divided into geographical areas, called “cities” at that time. The center of the state was occupied by Zamoskovnye cities (Zamoskovny Krai). The name of this territory became established as an idea of the cities and lands lying “beyond Moscow”, if one addresses them from the southern and southwestern borders. The borders of this region, like other regions of the country, were quite arbitrary. They covered almost all the lands of the former Vladimir-Suzdal principality (within the borders of the late 12th century), reached the Belozersky Territory in the north, captured the right bank Posukhonye, and in the east they did not reach a little. During the period under review, Zamoskovny Krai was the most densely populated and economically developed part of the country. In addition to the capital of the state, there were quite a lot of significant cities here: to the old centers of Suzdal, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Tver, Beloozero, intensively developing Dmitrov, Klin, Torzhok, Uglich, Shuya, Kineshma, Balakhna, Kostroma, Ustyuzhna, etc. were added. Many of the largest monasteries were located, for example, Trinity-Sergius, 80 km northeast of Moscow, and Kirillo-Belozersky on the upper Sheksna.
To the north of the Zamoskovny cities lay a vast region stretching to the Arctic Ocean. In the XVI–XVII centuries. it was called Pomorie, or Pomeranian cities. Initially, Pomorie actually referred to the shores of the White Sea, and in the period under review this word began to designate the entire vast northern region of the state from the northern Urals, including Perm and Vyatka. This territory was extremely rich natural resources. Forests abounded fur-bearing animal, lower reaches of rivers and numerous lips (bays) of the White Sea - with fish, islands - with sea animals (seal, walrus). Some areas convenient for farming (the Vaga, Kargopol, Charonda rivers, the middle reaches of Pinega) produced good spring grain harvests. On the coast of the White Sea to the west of the mouth of the Dvina there were rich salt springs, iron was produced in Karelia, and pearls were found in the rivers.
Most of Pomerania was originally inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes. Russian colonization pushed one of them - (the Karelians) - to the lands northwest of Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga (Karyala, ). This tribe, in turn, forced the Sami (Lapps) who lived here to move to Kola Peninsula. The Vychegda basin was occupied by the Komi tribe, divided into Zyryans and Permyaks. The middle and lower reaches of the Vyatka and the upper reaches of the Kama were inhabited by Votyaks (Udmurts). The northeastern part of Pomerania, the tundra and the sea coast to the Subpolar Urals were occupied by the Samoyed tribes (under this general name - “Samoyed” - the Russians knew the peoples belonging to the Samoyed language group– , Enets and Nganasans). The Russian population was concentrated mainly in the lower reaches of the Dvina, Obonezhye, on the Tersky and Murmansk banks, as well as on lands most suitable for agriculture: Kargopol, Vaga, Ustyug, Vyatka.
The most significant cities of Pomerania were Ustyug, which stood at the crossroads of the most important river and land routes. trade roads the north, where there was trade in local, foreign, Moscow, Novgorod and Siberian goods, Kholmogory - the main administrative and military point (Arkhangelsk was originally only the seaport of Kholmogory), Khlynov (Vyatka), which supplied Pomorie with bread and flax, Solvychegodsk, Kargopol, etc. Of the monasteries, Solovetsky stood out, located on an island in, which owned lands and lands. His main industries were salt mining and fishing. The monastery built and maintained the Kemsky and Sumsky forts on the mainland.
In addition to the district division, the northern regions have retained the ancient divisions into graveyards, camps, and volosts in a variety of combinations. For this territory, the geographical nomenclature distinguishes Dvina land, Pechora region, Vyatka land, Perm land, etc.
In the north-west of European territory lay the region of cities from German Ukraine. This name was applied to the Pskov lands and the center of Novgorod, which long time retained some of the old administrative-territorial features. Thus, in the Novgorod land at the time of its entry into the Moscow state at the end of the 15th century. The division into Pyatyns finally took shape (the name comes from the number of these administrative-territorial units). The Vodskaya (Votskaya) Pyatina was limited by Volkhov, Luga and the coast of the Gulf of Finland, and also occupied part of the Karelian Isthmus and the land north of. The Obonezhskaya Pyatina was located east of Volkhov and covered the environs of Lake Onega, reaching the White Sea in the north. Shelonskaya Pyatina occupied lands south of Luga and the lake, separated in the west by Lovat from Derevskaya Pyatina. Between Derevskaya and Bezhetskaya Pyatina the border was the Msta River. The Moscow administration not only preserved this division, but also introduced under Ivan IV, for greater convenience, the division of each of the pyatinas into halves. The Vodskaya Pyatina was divided into the Karelian and Poluzhskaya halves, the Shelonskaya - into the Zarusskaya and Zalesskaya, the Obonezhskaya - into the Zaonezhskaya and Nagornaya, the Derevskaya - into Grigoryev Morozov and Zhikhareva Ryapchikov, the Bezhetskaya - into Belozerskaya and Tverskaya. The names of pyatin and half in most cases have a geographical origin. True, sometimes they only indicated the direction of the spread of Novgorod possessions. Thus, the city of Bezhichi (Bezhetsky Upper), which gave its name to Pyatina, was not part of the Novgorod land, and its two halves were only adjacent to the neighboring Tver and Belozersk lands. The names of the halves of Derevskaya Pyatina probably come from the people who described them in scribe books. The smallest administrative-territorial unit in the Novgorod land was churchyards. A graveyard meant both a settlement and a certain group of villages and lands that were part of this unit. However, while maintaining some old divisions, the entire Novgorod land in the 17th century. was already divided into 12 counties.
Somewhat further south lay the territory of cities from Ukraine. In addition to the southern Pskov lands, this included the Velikiye Luki districts and Smolensk volosts. This area was the subject of a long struggle between the Russian state and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the XVI–XVII centuries. The main administrative unit here became counties, although the old division into provinces was also preserved.
The Zaotsk cities were the lands of the upper Oka in the Ugra and Zhizdra basins. Most of the cities of the region were previously classified as Verkhovsky principalities. The former lands of the Chernigov-Seversky principality constituted the so-called Seversky cities. This area of the Seim and Desna river basins until the end of the 15th century. was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Seversky cities were adjacent to the Ukrainian cities, a strip stretching from the Zamoskovny Territory to the southwest to Krom. Together with Ryazan Ukraine, which lay to the east and up to the upper reaches of the Don, they formed the region of Polish cities, that is, cities that lay on the border with the Wild Field. The region of the Lower (or Ponizov) cities included a significant part of the territory stretching along both banks of the middle Volga, approximately from Nizhny Novgorod to the Kama. This included not only the Volga cities, but also the lands of the Chuvash and Mari. In the XVI–XVII centuries. the concept of “Lower Cities”, “Niza” could cover both the lands immediately adjacent to the Zamoskovny region and the entire Middle and Lower Volga region down to the sea.
The district division became the main one in all these areas. As the territory of Russia expanded, it also extended to the newly annexed lands, but in some areas there were other divisions. For example, all of Bashkiria was part of one Ufa district, although this region was almost as large as Zamoskovsky Krai, which had up to 30 districts. Therefore, there was still a division of the Bashkir lands into “roads”: Kazan, Siberian, Osinsk. In turn, the roads were divided into volosts. The Kazan district was also divided into roads, and in the Mari and Chuvash lands there was a division into hundreds, fifties and tens. , inhabited since the 17th century. the left bank of the Volga from Astrakhan to Samara, retained the division into uluses.
The administrative-territorial division that entered the 17th century had a somewhat different administrative division. Left Bank Ukraine became part of Russia. Here back in the 16th century. Regiments were established as military administrative districts. In particular, the registered Cossacks were distributed among regiments that bore the names of cities and towns. The number of regiments fluctuated. In 1650, there were 17 regiments: Kiev, Chernigov, Mirgorod, Poltava, etc. After the Truce of Andrusovo (1667), 10 regiments were left on the territory of Left Bank Ukraine, which were directly subordinate to the hetman of Ukraine. Slobodskaya Ukraine, located in the upper reaches of the Seversky Donets (region of Kharkov and Izyum), also had a regimental division.
On those annexed in the 16th–17th centuries. A district system was established in the territories of Siberia. By the end of the 17th century. these huge spaces occupied 20 counties, many of which were larger in size than entire regions of the European part of the country.
Southern border defense system
The southern and southeastern borders of the Russian state during the period under review were exposed to the greatest external danger. Both small and large raids by the Nogais and troops of the Crimean Khanate very often occurred from the south. In this regard, in the first half of the 16th century. In this direction, active construction of special fortified lines or serif lines begins. The abatis were complexes of fortifications: cities, forts, abatis and rubble in forests, earthen ramparts in open spaces, etc. Artificial fortifications were created taking into account local natural obstacles. The large serif line, built in 1521–1566, ran south of Kozelsk and Belev (a branch through Karachev and Mtsensk) to Tula and Pereyaslavl Ryazan and was supposed to, in a certain sense, strengthen the natural “border” of the state – the Oka. A system of military defense of the southern borders, the strongholds of which were cities, was coordinated with the serif fortifications. By the beginning of the 1570s. the inner line of strategically important strongholds consisted of cities located on the Oka River or in close proximity to it: Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Meshchera, Kasimov, Pereyaslavl Ryazansky, Kashira, Serpukhov and Tula. In the west, such a stronghold was Zvenigorod on the Moscow River. These cities were constantly guarded by significant troops and, if necessary, could send help to the front line, which included Alatyr, Temnikov, Kadoma, Shatsk, Ryazhsk (Ryassk), Donkov, Epifan, Pronsk, Mikhailov, Dedilov, Novosil, Mtsensk, Orel, Novgorod Seversky , Rylsk and Putivl. The front line of the fortresses of the Moscow state “looked” straight into the steppe and sent out their traveling villages and guards in different directions. These guards or "dens" were sent out 4-5 days' journey from the city and were located on average half a day's journey from each other. They were in constant contact with each other and formed several unbroken lines that crossed all the steppe roads along which Crimean Tatars came to Rus'. Behind the front line, already in the steppe, in some places ditches, abatis, battlements (fords on rivers studded with stakes) and other field fortifications were created, sometimes guarded by special guards. From some “external” cities, villages were sent to burn out the steppes in order to deprive the Crimeans and Nogais of the opportunity to hide their movements and deprive their horses of pasture, so necessary for long and fast raids.
Since in the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries. The forest-steppe territory south of the Oka was actively populated; it was necessary to organize new defensive structures much further south. At the end of the 16th century. government colonization of the field outskirts of the Russian state is unfolding. The royal governors “placed” fortress cities on the field: in 1585 - Voronezh and Livny, in 1592 - Yelets, in 1596 - Belgorod, Kursk and Oskol, in 1599 - TsarevBorisov and Valuiki4. Initially, the population of the new cities consisted of service people of various categories (boyar children, Cossacks), to whom the government allocated land in the district or in the vicinity of the city. When choosing locations for cities, Moscow authorities were guided not only by the convenience of the location of the future settlement, but also by military-strategic interests. The new fortresses were supposed to bring under control the main routes of Tatar invasions - steppe roads or roads.
From the Crimean Khanate, three main steppe roads went north along the river watersheds to the borders of the Moscow state: Muravskaya, Izyumskaya and Kalmiusskaya. The western road - Muravskaya, or Muravsky Way, began at the headwaters of the river. Samara, arced around the Seversky Donets basin from the west and then passed along the Vorskla-Donets watershed. North of Belgorod in the steppe at the sources of the Donets and Psel there was the Dumchev Kurgan, near which there was a fork in the steppe roads. The main one went to the east, where at the upper reaches of the Seim the Muravskaya road connected with the Izyumskaya road. The Bakaev Way turned to the west from the Dumchev Kurgan, and the Pakhnutsky Way went in a northwestern direction to the upper reaches of the Oka. The Izyum road began, like the Muravskaya, in the upper reaches of Samara, but went directly north west of Oskol and at the upper reaches of the Seim it again joined the Muravskaya. Somewhat east of these paths passed the Kalmius steppe road, which originated at the small river Kalmius, which flows into. Along it, the Tatars reached the Seversky Donets below the mouth of Oskol and rushed north into the Bystraya Sosna basin. There was also a Nogai road from the Don (near the mouth of the Khopr to the upper reaches of Voronezh). Along it, Nogai Tatars invaded Rus' from the Caspian and Kuban steppes.
All routes of the Tatar invasions passed mainly along the hills, along dry watersheds of rivers. As before, the concept of “road” to designate such paths was very arbitrary. It is no coincidence that in the sources the word “sakma” was often used in relation to the described paths, since sakma is a trace remaining on the ground after the passage of cavalry. The Tatars tried to avoid crossing rivers, wetlands, and forests. Tatar detachments always had guides who knew fords and convenient stopping places.
By the middle of the 17th century. a need arose for the emergence of full-fledged fortification systems on the border with the steppe to prevent raids from the south. The Belgorod notch line appeared (1635–1653), 800 km long, running along the upper reaches of the Vorskla and further through Belgorod, Novy Oskol, Korotoyak, Voronezh, to Kozlov. Its outposts were the cities of Chuguev and Valuiki. In the east, the Belgorod line merged with the Simbirsk line, built in 1648–1654. along the line Kozlov – Tambov – Verkhniy Lomov – Insar – Saransk – Simbirsk. In 1652–1656 The Zakamsk line was built from the outskirts of Samara to Menzelinsk in the Middle Kama region. The Izyum Line was built mainly in 1679–1680. and stretched approximately 530 km from the Kolomak fortress (at the source of the river of the same name, a tributary of the Vorskla) to the Seversky Donets, on the northern bank of which there were fortifications and towns, including Izyum. Further, the Izyum line ran along the right bank of Oskol to Valuyki and the Userd fortress. These fortified lines actually represented the border of the state in the second half of the 17th century.
The country's defense needs led to the emergence during this period of special military administrative districts - discharges. This word was used in two meanings: a military unit, which included servicemen living in a certain territory, and the territory of their deployment itself. The first category – Ukrainian – arose already in the second half of the 16th century. It included regiments stationed in cities “from the steppe Ukraine” of the Moscow state - Tula, Kaluga, Vorotynsk, Kozelsk, Pereyaslavl Ryazansky, Shatsk, etc. Later, when the border of the state moved far to the south, the Ukrainian category was renamed Tula. At the end of the 16th century, the Coastal Discharge, centered in Serpukhov, which included cities along the Oka River and north of it, and Ryazan, also temporarily existed.
During the organization of the Belgorod fortified line and the settlement of the adjacent territory, the Belgorod rank (or regiment) was formed. It included the cities of Belgorod, Novy Oskol, Valuyki, etc., as well as some of the old Ukrainian cities, in particular Mtsensk and Novosil. A few years after the formation of Belgorod, the Sevsky (Seversky) discharge appeared to protect the border from the Crimean Khanate and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. His list of cities included Sevsk, Putivl, Novgorod Seversky and other Seversky cities, as well as part of the Zaotsky and Ukrainian ones (Likhvin, Belev, Orel, etc.). The western border was guarded by the Smolensk discharge, created shortly after the capture of Smolensk in 1654. Subordinate to the Smolensk governor were the garrisons of Dorogobuzh, Roslavl, Shklov, and later Kaluga, Vyazma, Borovsk, Vereya, Mozhaisk, etc. The Novgorod discharge, mentioned, was directed towards the border with Sweden from 1656, including Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, Torzhok, Velikiye Luki, Toropets, etc. In documents of the last quarter of the 17th century. the Moscow, Vladimir, Tambov and restored Ryazan categories are mentioned, but they did not have the same importance as the border ones and some were soon eliminated. Member of the Kazan rank since the early 1680s. included cities lying north of the Simbirsk line, and the center of the category was Simbirsk, not Kazan.
In Siberia, due to the impossibility of constantly directing the activities of governors from Moscow due to the long distance, the need arose very early to create an on-site center that would unite and control the entire administration of the region. It became such a center at the end of the 16th century. "capital city" Tobolsk. The Tobolsk category arose, to which all Siberian governors were initially subordinate. Later, when the territory of Russian possessions in Siberia expanded, the Tomsk (1629) and Yenisei (1672) categories were formed, and Yakutsk became the center of the Lena category, which covered the entire Eastern Siberia. However, general control over the administration and disposal of all military forces of Siberia remained under the authority of the Tobolsk category, which was considered the main and leading one among others.
History of Russia from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century Froyanov Igor Yakovlevich
Administrative division and local government in the XIV–XVI centuries
The unification of the Russian lands did not mean their complete merger either politically or economically, although in parallel with the formation of central authorities in Moscow, changes also occurred in local authorities. With the annexation of appanage principalities-lands to Moscow, some appanage princes, while maintaining sovereignty, were forced to obey, others moved to the position of grand-ducal servants and became governors and governors. Such princes were called service princes.
In the domains of the appanage princes, the management system that developed in the 14th–15th centuries was preserved. The center of administration was the princely palace, which consisted of economic and administrative departments. The largest of them were the departments of the courtier, treasurer, equerry and armory. The general name of these rulers is “introduced boyars.” The “princely Duma” also consisted of them, which was not permanent body and convened by the princes as needed. The appanage princes were in charge of the court for “land” and “robbery” cases, and their tribute-bearers collected duties and levies into the appanage treasury. Thus, the appanage princes were given quite a lot of freedom of action in internal affairs, which cannot be said about the foreign policy sphere, in which their complete subordination to the Moscow prince was established. As for the territory governed by the service princes, they became an administrative-territorial unit in the system of already all-Russian administration - a district. Since their borders went back to the borders of the former independent principalities, their sizes were varied. In the 15th century The counties were already divided into camps and volosts. Power in the district belonged to the governor, and in the camps and volosts - to the volostels. Governors and volostels were sent from Moscow. They received control of the territories “by feeding” (hence their general name - feeders). Feedings consisted of court fees and part of taxes. Feedings were a reward - but not for the performance of real administrative and judicial duties, but for previous military service. Therefore, the feeders treated their duties carelessly and entrusted them to their tiuns - managers. There was no strict system either in the appointment of feeders themselves, or in the amounts of duties and taxes. Overall, the feeding system was ineffective.
The Moscow Grand Dukes, when sending governors, sometimes gave them special statutory charters, which fixed the limits of the rights of feeders and their responsibilities in relation to the population. So, back in 1397, Vasily Dmitrievich gave such a letter to the entire population of the Dvina land - from the “Dvina boyars” to “all his black people.” It guaranteed the right of any person to appeal to the Grand Duke's court in case of abuse by officials.
The Belozersk charter of 1488 regulated the relationship between central authorities (governors) and the local population even more broadly. It not only repeated, but expanded the norm that ensured the right of Belozersk residents to complain to the Grand Duke about governors and their assistants. It also established a “mixed” (joint) trial: the viceroyal court was competent only in the presence of community representatives. A special article made it impossible for governors to invade inner life communities.
The Dvina and Belozersk charters, thus, reflect the desire of the central government to limit the autocracy of the governors - on the one hand, and on the other - the recognition by the center of great importance in local government of community organizations. Yu.G. Alekseev notes: “Although the charter is directly addressed to the population of only one district, we have before us a document of fundamental importance. The certificate can be considered as a standard one... Apparently, it was intended to give similar certificates to other districts of the Russian state.” Some norms and provisions of the charters were included in the first all-Russian code of laws of Moscow Rus' - Code of Laws of 1497.
At the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. An institute of city clerks is being created in cities. Despite the fact that they were representatives of the administration of the Grand Duke, they were usually appointed from among the local nobility (children of the boyars). City clerks were directly in charge of city fortresses, i.e. they were, as it were, military commandants. However, gradually they begin to deal with other issues related to military administrative management: the construction of roads, bridges, provision of military transportation and storage of weapons. One of their most important responsibilities was to carry out the district mobilization of peasant and city militias. Financial affairs were also concentrated in their hands.
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