Peter I, Decrees and Statutes (1701–1723)

During the eighteenth century, European states turned much of their attention to the political and military scene burgeoning within Europe, vying to keep one step ahead of their rivals. Russian tsar Peter I (r. 1689–1725) was especially successful at this game, transforming Russia into a formidable European power with all the trappings of an absolutist state, including a strong army and centralized bureaucracy. After spending time abroad, notably in England and the Dutch Republic, Peter came to admire western European technology, commerce, and customs and worked relentlessly to refashion Russia accordingly. For him, Westernization was more than an act of admiration; it provided him with powerful tools for enhancing Russia’s status on the European stage. Below are several decrees and a statute he issued seeking to reform various aspects of Russian life and society, all with the aim of bringing them more in line with western European models.

From A Source Book for Russian History from Early Times to 1917, vol. 2, ed. George Vernadsky (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1972), 347, 357–58; and Peter the Great, ed. L. Jay Oliva (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970), 44–45.

The Decree on “German” Dress, 1701

Western [“German”] dress shall be worn by all the boyars, okol’nichie,¹ members of our councils and of our court . . . gentry of Moscow, secretaries . . . provincial gentry, deti boiarskie,² gosti,³ government officials, strel’tsy,⁴ members of the guilds purveying for our household, citizens of Moscow of all ranks, and residents of provincial cities . . . excepting the clergy (priests, deacons, and church attendants) and peasant tillers of the soil. The upper dress shall be of French or Saxon cut, and the lower dress and underwear—[including] 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 strel’tsy, and their children, shall wear Western [“German”] dresses, hats, jackets, and underwear—undervests and petticoats—and shoes. From now on no one [of the above-mentioned] is to wear Russian dress or Circassian 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. [Note: For a breach of this decree a fine was to be collected at the town gates: forty copecks from a pedestrian and two rubles from a mounted person.]

The Decree on the Shaving of Beards and Moustaches, January 16, 1705

A decree to be published in Moscow and in all the provincial cities: 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 . . . provincial service men, military men, and government officials of all ranks—60 rubles per person; from the gosti and members of the wholesale merchants’ guild of the first class—100 rubles per person; from members of the wholesale merchants’ guild of the middle and the lower class [and] . . . from [other] merchants and townsfolk—60 rubles per person; . . . from townsfolk [of the lower rank], boyars’ servants, stagecoachmen, waggoners, church attendants (with the exception of priests and deacons), and from Moscow residents of all ranks—30 rubles per person. Special badges shall be issued to them from the Prikaz of Land Affairs [of Public Order] . . . which they must wear. . . . As for the peasants, let a toll of two half-copecks 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.

Decree on the Invitation to Foreigners, April 17, 1702

It is sufficiently known in all the lands which the Almighty has placed under our rule, that 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 skilful 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 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 labours, 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, as is incumbent on a Christian monarch to do. To attain these worthy aims, we have endeavoured 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 artists and 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 wise 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.

The Statute of the College of Manufactures, December 3, 1723

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 College of Manufactures to exert itself in devising the means to introduce, with the least expense, and to spread in the Russian Empire these and other ingenious arts, and especially those for which materials can be found within the empire; [the College of Manufactures] must also consider the privileges that should be granted to those who might wish to found manufacturing plants and factories.

His Imperial Majesty gives permission to everyone, without distinction of rank or condition, to open factories wherever he may find suitable. This provision must be made public everywhere. . . .

In granting a privilege to establish a factory, the college must take care not to debar others who might later wish to establish similar factories. For competition between manufacturers may not only help industrial growth but also ameliorate the quality of goods and keep prices at a reasonable level, thereby benefiting all His Majesty’s subjects. At the same time, in cases where existing factories are sufficient for the general needs, the college must see to it that the creation of new ones does not lead to a deterioration of original manufactures, especially through the production of inferior goods, even though they may sell at a low price. . . .

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. . . .

The factories and plants that have been built or will be built at His Majesty’s expense should be turned over to private individuals as soon as they are put into good condition; let the college exert itself to this end. . . .

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, both in companies and individually, which tend to increase the welfare of the state—and many of them have already started production; therefore permission is granted both to the gentry and to men of commerce to acquire villages for these factories without hindrance, [but] with the permission of the College of Manufactures, on the condition, however, that such villages remain permanently attached to the said factories. . . .

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 Russia, and help them to move.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS