|
Edicts and Decrees
LEARNING FROM (Decree
on the New Calendar {1699}) It is
known to His Majesty that not only many European Christian lands, but also
Slavic nations which are in total accord with our Eastern Orthodox
Church...agree to count their years from the eighth day after the birth of
Christ, that is from the first day of January, and not from the creation of
the world,[1] because of the many difficulties and
discrepancies of this reckoning. It is now the year 1699 from the birth of
Christ, and from the first of January will begin both the new year 1700 and a
new century; and so His Majesty has ordered, as a good and useful measure,
that from now on time will be reckoned in government offices and dates be
noted on documents and property deeds, starting from the first of January
1700. And to celebrate this good undertaking and the new century...in the
sovereign city of Moscow...let the reputable citizens arrange decorations of
pine, fir, and juniper trees and boughs along the busiest main streets and by
the houses of eminent church and lay persons of rank.... Poorer persons
should place at least one shrub or bough on their gates or on their house....
Also,...as a sign of rejoicing, wishes for the new year and century will be
exchanged, and the following will be organized: when fireworks are lit and
guns fired on the great Red Square, let the boyars,[2] the Lords of the
Palace, of the Chamber, and the Council, and the eminent personages of Court,
Army, and Merchant ranks, each in his own grounds, fire three times from small
guns, if they have any, or from muskets and other small arms, and shoot some
rockets into the air. (Decree
on the Invitation of Foreigners {1702}) Since our
accession to the throne all our efforts and intentions have tended to govern
this realm in such a way that all of our subjects should, through our care
for the general good, become more and more prosperous. For this end we have
always tried to maintain internal order, to defend the state against
invasion, and in every possible way to improve and to extend trade. With this
purpose we have been compelled to make some necessary and salutary changes in
the administration, in order that our subjects might more easily gain a knowledge of matters of which they were before ignorant,
and become more skillful in their commercial relations. We have therefore
given orders, made dispositions, and founded institutions indispensable for
increasing our trade with foreigners, and shall do the same in the future.
Nevertheless we fear that matters are not in such a good condition as we
desire, and that our subjects cannot in perfect quietness enjoy the fruits of
our labors, and we have therefore considered still other means to protect our
frontier from the invasion of the enemy, and to preserve the rights and
privileges of our State, and the general peace of all Christians.... To attain
these worthy aims, we have endeavored to improve our military forces, which
are the protection of our State, so that our troops may consist of
well-drilled men, maintained in perfect order and discipline. In order to
obtain greater improvement in this respect, and to encourage foreigners, who
are able to assist us in this way, as well as artisans profitable to the
State, to come in numbers to our country, we have issued this manifesto, and
have ordered printed copies of it to be sent throughout Europe.... And as in
our residence of Moscow, the free exercise of religion of all other sects,
although not agreeing with our church, is already allowed, so shall this be
hereby confirmed anew in such manner that we, by the power granted to us by
the Almighty, shall exercise no compulsion over the consciences of men, and
shall gladly allow every Christian to care for his own salvation at his own
risk. (An
Instruction to Russian Students Abroad Studying Navigation {1714}) 1. Learn
how to draw plans and charts and how to use the compass and other naval
indicators. 2. Learn
how to navigate a vessel in battle as well as in a simple maneuver, and learn
how to use all appropriate tools and instruments; namely, sails, ropes, and
oars, and the like matters, on row boats and other vessels. 3.
Discover...how to put ships to sea during a naval battle.... Obtain from
foreign naval officers written statements, bearing their signatures and
seals, of how adequately you are prepared for naval duties. 4. If,
upon his return, anyone wishes to receive from the Tsar greater favors, he
should learn, in addition to the above enumerated instructions, how to
construct those vessels [aboard] which he would like to demonstrate his
skills. 5. Upon
his return to CREATING A NEW RUSSIAN (Decree
on Western Dress {1701}) Western
dress shall be worn by all the boyars, members of our councils and of our court...gentry
of Moscow, secretaries...provincial gentry, gosti,[3]
government officials, streltsy,[4] members of the
guilds purveying for our household, citizens of Moscow of all ranks, and
residents of provincial cities...excepting the clergy and peasant tillers of
the soil. The upper dress shall be of French or Saxon cut, and the lower
dress...--waistcoat, trousers, boots, shoes, and hats--shall be of the German
type. They shall also ride German saddles. Likewise the womenfolk of all
ranks, including the priests', deacons', and church attendants' wives, the wives of the dragoons,
the soldiers, and the streltsy, and their children,
shall wear Western dresses, hats, jackets, and underwear--undervests
and petticoats--and shoes. From now on no one of the abovementioned is to
wear Russian dress or Circassian[5] coats, sheepskin coats, or Russian peasant coats,
trousers, boots, and shoes. It is also forbidden to ride Russian saddles, and
the craftsmen shall not manufacture them or sell them at the marketplaces. (Decree
on Shaving {1705}) Henceforth,
in accordance with this, His Majesty's decree,
all court attendants...provincial service men, government officials of all
ranks, military men, all the gosti, members of the
wholesale merchants' guild,
and members of the guilds purveying for our household must shave their beards
and moustaches. But, if it happens that some of them do not wish to shave
their beards and moustaches, let a yearly tax be collected from such persons;
from court attendants.... Special badges shall be issued to them from the
Administrator of Land Affairs of Public Order...which they must wear.... As
for the peasants, let a toll of two half-copecks[6] per beard be
collected at the town gates each time they enter or leave a town; and do not
let the peasants pass the town gates, into or out of town, without paying
this toll. MILITARY AND ECONOMIC REFORMS (Decree
on Promotion to Officer's Rank {1714}) Since
there are many who promote to officer rank their relatives and friends--young
men who do not know the fundamentals of soldiering, not having served in the
lower ranks--and since even those who serve [in the ranks] do so for a few
weeks or months only, as a formality; therefore...let a decree be promulgated
that henceforth there shall be no promotion [to officer rank] of men of noble
extraction or of any others who have not first served as privates in the
Guards. This decree does not apply to soldiers of lowly origin who, after
long service in the ranks, have received their commissions through honest service
or to those who are promoted on the basis of merit, now or in the future.... (Statute
for the His
Imperial Majesty is diligently striving to establish and develop in the
Russian Empire such manufacturing plants and factories as are found in other
states, for the general welfare and prosperity of his subjects. He
[therefore] most graciously charges the His
Imperial Majesty gives permission to everyone, without distinction of rank or
condition, to open factories wherever he may find suitable.... Factory
owners must be closely supervised, in order that they have at their plants
good and experienced [foreign] master craftsmen, who are able to train
Russians in such a way that these, in turn, may themselves become masters, so
that their produce may bring glory to the Russian manufactures.... By the
former decrees of His Majesty commercial people were forbidden to buy
villages [i.e. to own serfs], the reason being that they were not engaged in
any other activity beneficial for the state save commerce; but since it is
now clear to all that many of them have started to found manufacturing
establishments and build plants,...which tend to increase the welfare of the
state...therefore permission is granted both to the gentry and to men of commerce
to acquire villages for these factories without hindrance.... In order
to stimulate voluntary immigration of various craftsmen from other countries
into the Russian Empire, and to encourage them to establish factories and
manufacturing plants freely and at their own expense, the College of
Manufactures must send appropriate announcements to the Russian envoys
accredited at foreign courts. The envoys should then, in an appropriate way,
bring these announcements to the attention of men of various professions,
urge them to come to settle in [1]
Before Credits: Marthe Blinoff, Life and Thought in Old Russia (University Park:
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1961), pp. 49-50; Eugene Schuyler, Peter
the Great, vol. 2, pp. 176-177; L. Jay Oliva, Peter
the Great (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1970), p. 50; George Vernadsky et al., A Source Book for Russian History from
Early Times to 1917, vol. 2 (New Haven and London: Yale University Press,
1972), pp. 347, 329, 357. |