Characteristic in the development of a number of European countries and having come to Russia in the second half of the eighteenth century, politics - enlightened absolutism - brought into obsolete feudal society transformations that descended on states from above, that is, from the rulers of the renewed states. Outdated institutions like class privileges, censorship prohibitions, and subordination to the state of the church gradually changed their appearance.
Philosophical sovereigns
Enlightened absolutism modernized with the hands of the monarchs the legal proceedings, education and many other areas of public life. Advisers to the sovereigns relied entirely on the teachings of the French philosophers of the eighteenth century - Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire. Conservatism reigned in the social and political spheres, strengthening the position of the nobility, which served as a support for absolutism. On the other hand, enlightened absolutism is seen as a policy of social demagogy, which slyly uses the slogans of the enlightenment to preserve the old order.
Nevertheless, the new lifestyle and its order were fully supported by Joseph II of Austria, Frederick II in Prussia, Catherine the Great in Russia and partly her son Paul. Enlightened absolutism left a bright and favorable mark in Russian history, despite the fact that the first few years of the reign of Catherine the Great were marked by sovereign uncertainty - after all, she was not a direct heiress and could not help but feel some precariousness of her throne. Catherine was only the wife of Peter III, the grandson of Peter the Great. She was originally from Germany, bore the surname Anhalt-Zerbskaya with a long German name, Sofia-Augusta-Frederick-Emilia.
Way to the throne
She arrived in a foreign country at the age of sixteen and treated new rites and customs with exceptional respect: she quickly and accurately learned the language, was baptized in Orthodoxy as Catherine, read a lot, engaged in self-education, was attentive to state affairs. And outwardly she was worthy of no other Russian crown. Politics enlightened absolutism Catherine 2, in the light of the foregoing, could not help but get support among all sectors of society. With a regal tread, the white-skinned and black-eyed Catherine entered not only confidence, but also won great love from the Russian people.
However, Tsar Peter III for some reason did not like his wife; threats rained upon her, among which the least terrible was imprisonment in a monastery. He did not like and did not want to rule the country, the nobility and the guard were extremely annoyed by this. But his wife, with her incredible desire to become Russian, really liked the people around her, she had not only favorites, but people who could give her life for her. It was on the advice of the Orlov brothers that an atrocity took place that put an end to the era of palace coups, although it was no more than a coup. Izmaylovsky guards stood up for the future empress, and Peter was killed imprisoned in his estate. And the policy of enlightened absolutism of Catherine 2 began.
Manifests and Temporary
Literally immediately after the coup, Catherine published an imperial manifesto, where even the system of the Russian state was exposed as evil, because autocracy almost always did not differ in humanistic and good qualities, and all the harmful consequences were always the reason for this absence. By manifesto, the tsarina promised to bring legality into the life of the state, including the state power itself.So well began the enlightened absolutism of Catherine II.
But apparently, the time has not yet come to create a truly legal state. Nevertheless, in the very first years of her reign, Count Panin drew up a remarkable project designed to restrain the autocratic power with the help of the Imperial Council. However, it has never been possible to bring it to life. The only thing that was done in the framework of this project was the division of the Senate into departments. Central control was carried out for the most part by temporary workers and favorites such as Prince Potemkin and Count Orlov. Enlightened absolutism of Catherine II, nevertheless, with a scratch, however, penetrated the life of different layers of Russian society.
Under the influence of Voltaire
The empress actively corresponded with Voltaire, wrote a lot herself, because she was forever and deeply captured by the ideas of enlightenment that prevail in Europe. She recognized in herself an exclusively republican soul, even continuing to reign uniquely in the throne room. Catherine wrote that the most important thing for the country is the laws. In the twelve voluminous volumes of her writings were studies not only regarding law, but also on philosophy, history, and even comparative linguistics. At the same time, the queen was engaged in tight and direct legislative activity: she drafted decrees and commissions to compose a new code, where deputies worked not only on the part of the nobility, but also ordinary townspeople, peasants and Cossacks.
The Council Code of 1649 was very outdated, so there was an urgent need to draw up a new code of laws. Under the influence of Montesquieu, the Empress for the new Commission laid down a mandate on freedom and equality of citizens, on religious tolerance, on easing serfdom, on the principles of this constitutional monarchy. The deputies were so impressed that they showered her with the titles of the Wise, Great and Mother of the Fatherland, which did not prevent them from fulfilling their task and not compiling a new code. Because in reality, Catherine strengthened the autocracy in every possible way, expanded serfdom: Little Russia also became slavish, it was forbidden to complain about gentlemen. It was the peak of the development of serfdom in Russia.
Privileges for the nobility and the birth of the bourgeoisie
Church lands were secularized; Catherine converted them to state ownership. But the nobility was given new class advantages through a deed of honor, where freedom and liberties of the nobles were confirmed, service to their state ceased to be mandatory, they could become jurisdictional only from their own class court, and were not subject to corporal punishment. Class cases were decided by the provincial noble assemblies and personally by the leader of the nobility. So enlightened absolutism of the XVIII century. created the class organization of the Russian nobility.
Also, cities where they had the opportunity to emerge as a class of the Russian bourgeoisie got their letter of honor. The population in cities was divided into six categories. Named citizens of the highest category - owners of land and houses in cities, merchants by guilds (even the lower, third guilds merchants had capital not less than a thousand rubles, the less wealthy remained in the rank of merchants, that is, bourgeois). There were also posad people, workshop artisans, and lower ones — laborers. but domestic policy Enlightened absolutism was quite able to provide cities with self-government. The City Duma was elected by all six layers of the population, the six-digit Duma was the executive body - each representative of the townspeople has his own representative. Elections were based on property qualifications, respectively, the emerging class of the bourgeoisie constituted the majority among the elect.
Contradictions
Enlightened absolutism in Europe and Russia had the same roots, although its development in different states was significantly different from each other.Catherine’s policy was characterized by the strengthening of autocracy and serfdom, as well as a departure from totalitarianism and the formation of layers of the population that were not completely dependent on the central government. Here all the contradictions of enlightened absolutism have shown themselves, which are inherent, however, in other European countries.
The international activity of Catherine the Great developed under the same slogans of freedom and equality, but the eastern issue was resolved by Catherine harshly: two successful wars with Turkey gave Russia access to the Black Sea, annexed Taganrog, Ochakov and Azov, destroyed the Turkish fleet in the Chesme Bay, which served as a right passage of ships through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, the independence of Crimea was first recognized, annexed along with the Kuban to the Russian Empire, and Georgia was also under the auspices of Russia. The time of enlightened absolutism significantly expanded the country's territory and its external relations.
Conservatism
All the monarchs of Europe, pursuing the goals of enlightened absolutism, understood that the basic foundations of the old order for their inviolability required some changes. All the rulers of that time from Austria, Prussia and other countries were conservative reformers. The transformations were about the same: trade was encouraged, education developed, the scope of activity of individual shop structures was limited, and attempts were made to optimize public administration and finances. The latter, as well as the modernization of agrarian relations, were touched extremely carefully, with an almost imperceptible result.
The elite changed their outlook on life. The traits of enlightened absolutism overlapped the whole of society and the state. The hierarchy of values was transformed, since they operated on the entire environment of enlightened monarchs. If earlier the church dogmas dominated, determining the norms of relationships in everyday life, justifying the principle of government, now there is a desire to justify and explain the vital functions of society from all sides. Science and art received unprecedented patronage, and this was considered a good form. Thus, during the period of enlightened absolutism, a gradual transition to civil society began.
European civilization
In the countries of Europe, the views on the essence of the state began to change, their interests were severely criticized from the middle of the seventeenth century, and in the process of forming a new concept, the systemic principles of international relations were strengthened, individual countries rallied into one complex, developing common norms and strengthening legal principles. The ideas of enlightened absolutism flexibly used the slogans of the enlightenment and social demagogy, but stood guard over the preservation of the former order, that is, served as one of the stages of the evolution of the monarchy, which led Europe to create a unified civilization system.
Philosophers
Educational ideology dominated the philosophical preconditions for absolutism, when the main provisions of this concept in social development were formulated.
- The Englishman Thomas Hobbes presented the world his own theory, according to his hypothesis, the state arose as the executor of a social contract, which is designed to protect people in the aggression of competition.
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau was convinced that the citizens of the state that protects their rights should contribute to its good, subordinate their own interests to universal laws, and he also substantiated the theory of the superiority of the republican state over the monarchist one, since the former provides control by democratic postulates.
- Charles Montesquieu outlined the features of enlightened absolutism on the principle of separation of powers. He formulated a postulate about the preservation of freedom, which is based on the law, it was a completely new concept for that time.Enlightened absolutism implied the separation of the judiciary, executive and legislative branches, their complete independence.
- Denis Didro fought all his life with the dominance of the church, because he considered its requirements for man not too reasonable, and therefore not fair enough.
- John Locke substantiated the most important human rights: the right to property (the result of labor), the right to freedom, and the right to life.
The ideas of enlightened absolutism that were present in all theories were based on faith in the omnipotence of reason: equality before the law of all citizens, without exception, regardless of their position in society, the right to appeal to governing bodies of any level, deprivation of the church’s rights to administer secular authority, humane criminal the right, inviolability of property, support of science and technology by the state, freedom of the press, agricultural reforms, fair taxation. Philosophers relied on the sages sitting on the thrones. This was the main mistake of the enlightenment.
The decline of absolutism
Already in the second half of the eighteenth century, absolutism, established in Europe, which gave the monarchs unlimited power, gradually began to decline. In England, the king ceased to be God's mercy, it was the mercy of parliament. In France, the stronger bourgeoisie ceased to be content with the concessions of the feudal aristocracy, leading to a bloody denouement. The rest of the European countries have not yet exhausted the possibilities of absolutism, the nobles dominated even with the formation of capitalism.
This happened in Prussia, Austria, Denmark, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Portugal. The vigorous activity of the autocracy was characteristic of all these countries, but it was aimed at the law enshrining serfdom, at strengthening noble privileges, at expanding state borders, at protecting trade and industry, at the brutality of the suppression of popular uprisings. And as usual, the contradictions between reactionary feudal politics and official liberal ideology persisted.
Absolute Pros
A clear paradox: the ideas of enlightenment, fundamentally hostile to absolutism, were constantly used to justify it. Both the sovereigns and the ministers were completely carried away by the philosophical treatises of the enlightenment, where the pictures of a new society, rational, with a monarch-transformer, who consults with court philosophers, were outlined. Voltaire, for example, was close friends with the Prussian Frederick, corresponded with the Russian Catherine. That is, philosophers wanted transformations without shedding blood, smart reforms from above. This point of view, of course, satisfied the monarchs.
Thanks to the enlightenment, the most urgent reforms in the countries with absolute monarchy. Estate privileges were partially eliminated (taxes were also levied on noblemen), serfdom was abolished in Austria, agrarian reforms took place in many other countries, the church parted with its lands and fell under state control. The monastic orders closed. In Portugal, the Jesuits were expelled from the country, and their vast wealth confiscated. Monasteries have reduced the number. Secular education began. Tolerance was inculcated in society. The monstrous torture of the Middle Ages was gradually eradicated from judicial practice. The witch hunt has stopped.
The end of absolutism in Europe
The revolution in France thoroughly crippled this policy. The governments of all European countries were extremely frightened, many even partially or completely closed their borders to revolutionary contagion. And still, by the end of the eighteenth century, the time of enlightened absolutism was almost over. Living in the old way, keeping the situation under control has become extremely difficult. Neither the state apparatus, which had grown to an incredible size, nor the privileges with which the loyalty of the aristocracy was bought, nor the increase in the army — nothing could stop the course of history.
More and more money was required, and only a developed economy with market principles could ensure their inflow, and the pettiness of the old order could not provide a leap to socio-economic well-being. Separate reforms of enlightened absolutism did not bring the desired result. However, public consciousness was politicized, which contributed to revolutionary sentiments.
