Cathedral code of 1649 the position of the peasants. Reasons for compiling the Code

The Cathedral Code of 1649 is a set of laws of Muscovite Rus' that regulates the most diverse spheres of life.

Reasons for the creation of the Cathedral Code

The last code of law, adopted before the creation of the Cathedral Code, belonged to 1550 (Sudebnik of Ivan the Terrible). Almost a century has passed since then, the feudal system of the state has changed somewhat, numerous new decrees and regulations have been created, which often not only make previous decrees obsolete, but also contradict them.

The situation was also complicated by the fact that numerous regulatory documents were widely scattered across departments, which is why there was complete chaos in the legislative system of the state. Situations were common when only those who adopted it knew about the new act, and the rest of the country lived according to outdated norms.

In order to finally streamline lawmaking and the judicial system, it was necessary to create a completely new document that would meet the requirements of the time. In 1648, the Salt Riot broke out, the rebels, among other things, demanded the creation of a new regulatory document. The situation became critical and it was no longer possible to postpone.

In 1648, the Zemsky Sobor was convened, which until 1649 was engaged in the creation of the Cathedral Code.

Creation of the Cathedral Code

The creation of a new document was carried out by a special commission headed by N.I. Odoevsky. The creation of a new lawsuit took place in several stages:

Work with numerous sources of laws and acts;
Meeting on the content of legislative acts;
Editing by the tsar and the Duma of the submitted drafts of new bills;
Joint discussion of certain provisions of the code;
Signing by all members of the commission of a new version of the bills.

Such a careful approach to the creation of the document was due to the fact that the members of the commission wanted to create a carefully systematized and as complete and accessible code book as possible, correcting all the shortcomings in the previous documents.

Sources of the Cathedral Code

The main sources were:

Sudebnik of 1550;
Decree books, where all issued bills and acts were recorded;
Petitions to the king;
Byzantine law;
The Lithuanian statute of 1588 was used as a sample of the code of law.

It was in the Council Code of 1649 that there was a tendency to separate the norms of law by industry, corresponding to modern legislation.

Branches of law in the Cathedral Code

The new code determined the status of the state and the king himself, contained a set of norms regulating the activities of all government bodies, established the procedure for entering and leaving the country.

In criminal law, a new system of classification of crimes has appeared. There are types such as:

crime against the church;
crime against the state;
a crime against the order of government (unauthorized departure from the country);
crimes against decency (maintenance of brothels);
malfeasance:
crimes against the person;
property crimes;
crimes against morality.

There are also new types of punishments. Now the offender could count on the death penalty, exile, imprisonment, confiscation of property, a fine or dishonorable punishment.

Civil law also expanded significantly due to the growth of commodity-money relations. The concept of an individual and a team appeared, the legal capacity of women in matters of transactions increased, the oral form of the contract was now replaced by a written one, laying the foundation for modern purchase and sale transactions.

Family law has not changed much - the principles of "Domostroy" were still in effect - the primacy of the husband over his wife and children.

The Council Code also outlined the procedure for legal proceedings, criminal and civil - new types of evidence appeared (documents, kissing the cross, etc.), new procedural and investigative measures aimed at proving guilt or innocence were identified.

An important difference from previous judicial codes was that, if necessary, the Cathedral Code of 1649 was supplemented and rewritten when new acts appeared.

Enslavement of peasants

However, the most prominent place in the Cathedral Code is occupied by questions regarding serfdom. The code not only did not give the peasants freedom, it finally enserfed them. Now the peasants (including their families and property) actually became the property of the feudal lord. They were inherited like furniture and did not have their own rights. The rules regarding getting out of oppression have also changed - now the peasants practically did not have the opportunity to become free (now the runaway peasant could not become free after a few years, now the search was ongoing indefinitely).

The meaning of the Cathedral Code

The Cathedral Code of 1649 is a monument of Russian law. It outlined new trends in the development of Russian law, consolidated new social features and institutions. In addition, the code has made significant progress in terms of systematization and drafting of legal documents, since a distinction was made by industry.

The Code was in effect until 1832.

The Code of 1649 contains a set of legal norms on the peasantry that determine its place in the social structure of that time. Chapter XI is entirely devoted to the peasants - “The Court of the Peasants”, it contains laws governing the legal relations of feudal lords on issues of ownership by peasants. Nevertheless, the legal norms relating to peasants are not limited in the Code only to the provisions of Chapter XI - to one degree or another, peasants are mentioned in 17 chapters out of 25. In total, 111 articles are devoted to peasants. First of all, this means that the role of the peasantry in the social life of Russia at that time was significant - many spheres of the life of the feudal system depended on its life. What did the Cathedral Code of 1649 establish with its norms regarding the peasants?

The largest and most radical norm of the Code was the law on hereditary (for feudal lords) and hereditary (for serfs) attachment of peasants, in fact, the abolition of contingent years was a natural condition and consequence of the implementation of this norm (XI, Art. 1, 2). The scribe books of 1626 (XI, Art. 1) became the basis for attaching both state and privately owned peasants. Another basis for serfdom was the census books of 1646-648, which took into account the male population of peasant and bobyl households of any age. A ban was introduced to transfer peasants from estates to patrimonies, even within the same possession, this ban was extended to peasants recorded in books behind estates (XI, 30). The law protected only the interests of the treasury or the landowner; the power of the landowner met a legitimate barrier only when it collided with state interests. The personal rights of the peasant were not taken into account. The law also allowed for anti-church splitting of a peasant's family: in the case of marrying a runaway peasant woman, the man and his wife returned to her owner, while his children, acquired from previous marriages, remained in the possessions of his master (XI, Art. 13). As for the protection of the peasant's property, as evidence of his legal capacity, the peasant's inventory belonged to him not as a legally capable person, but as a peasant, proving this by the fact that in the case of marrying a runaway peasant woman, a person returned with her to her owner, while leaving his property to his former landowner (XI, v. 13). The peasant's inventory was only his economic property, and not his legal property, and the peasant lost it even when he married a fugitive with the knowledge and even at the will of his owner.

Also in the Cathedral Code, the prohibition of St. George's Day was confirmed; there was a legally formalized mixing of the statuses of patrimony and estate (nobles received the right to transfer estates by inheritance, subject to the continuation of service by heirs); for sheltering runaway peasants, a fine of ten rubles was imposed; according to the chapter “On the townspeople”, the entire urban population had to bear the tax on the sovereign, the “white” settlements were liquidated, their population was included in the township; under pain of death, it was forbidden to move from one settlement to another and even marry a woman from another settlement, i.e. the population of the settlement was assigned to a certain city. Fugitive townspeople were punished with a whip or deportation to Siberia. Citizens received a monopoly on trade in cities. The peasants did not have the right to keep shops in the cities, but could only trade from carts and in the market stalls.

The Council Code still drew pale boundaries separating the peasantry and servility. Firstly, the serf was a state taxpayer, retaining a certain appearance of a civilian personality; secondly, the owner was obliged to provide the peasant with a land plot and agricultural equipment; thirdly, the peasant could not be deprived of land by taking into the yard, but by the estate and by setting free. However, a poorly drafted law helped eliminate these differences as well, driving the peasantry towards serfdom.

Thus, the entire taxable population of the country was attached either to the land or to the settlement. Serfdom received legal formalization.

Cathedral Code - the first code of laws of the Russian state in Russian history, adopted on January 29, 1649 at the Zemsky Sobor, held in 1648-1649. The monument itself does not have a heading, in the preface it is simply called "The Code". It is quite acceptable to use as definitions the Code of 1649, the Code of the Tsar and others used in historical and legal literature as synonyms.

Reasons for compiling the Code

The convocation of this council was caused by a series of uprisings that took place in Russian cities. The most powerful of them and dangerous for the authorities was the performance in Moscow in June 1648. Having ascended the throne in 1645 at the age of 16, the young Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich transferred a significant part of the power and responsibility to his "uncle" - educator B.I. Morozov. He failed to establish governance of the country, which was struck by corruption and arbitrariness on the part of the boyars, governors, and other officials. With reference to the 17th-century foreign traveler A. Olearius, in the historical tradition, the Moscow uprising of 1648 is often called the “salt riot”, but this does not reflect its real reasons, among which the increase in the price of salt was not among the main ones. The populace of Moscow (townsmen and archers, serfs and courtyards) who spoke out tried to submit a petition to the tsar with a complaint about bribes, extortions and an unfair trial by those in power. The rebels demanded the removal and severe punishment of especially hated dignitaries from the government headed by Morozov. The spontaneous rebellion began to take on organized forms with clearer demands, when nobles and other service people, gathered in the capital to be sent to guard the southern border, joined the movement a few days later. They, together with the top merchants, seized the initiative of negotiations with the tsar. This development of events put the supreme power in a difficult position. On the one hand, the service people were a privileged class and were not interested in continuing the rebellion. On the other hand, their interests and armed force could not be ignored. Simply suppressing speech became impossible. On July 16, the Zemsky Sobor was convened with the participation of elected representatives from nobles and merchants. The quintessence of their demands was the proposal to draw up a new Code to put in order and improve written legislation.

Preparation and adoption of the Code

The commission for the preparation of the preliminary text of the Code was headed by the close boyar of the tsar and governor, Prince N.I. Odoevsky (1605-1689). There is every reason to believe that he was not a nominal head, but a real leader of the work on the text of the Code, as a smart, firm, authoritative person. The commission included two more princes, the boyar F.F. Volkonsky and okolnichiy S.V. Prozorovsky, as well as two clerks, G. Leontiev and F.A. Griboyedov. The composition of the commission turned out to be very efficient and experienced, since it completed the task in a relatively short time (1.5 months). On September 1, 1648, as planned, the Zemsky Sobor in an expanded composition of delegates resumed work, having received a written draft of the Code. The work of the cathedral was carried out in two chambers. One included the tsar, the Boyar Duma and the Consecrated Cathedral, that is, the highest church hierarchs. The other was called the Reply Chamber, it was dominated by nobles and representatives of the townships. Amendments were made to the preliminary text both at the meetings of the council and in the course of the ongoing work of the Odoevsky commission on the texts of the collective petitions that the elected representatives brought with them to the council as mandates of the voters. The situation in the country, which remained alarming and explosive, forced the rush to resolve issues of legislation. In the winter of 1648-1649, unrest intensified in various places. On January 29, 1649, the compilation and editing of the Code was completed, it was accepted and signed by all members of the cathedral. These signatures were left by 315 people: Patriarch Joseph, 6 bishops, 6 archimandrites and abbots, the archpriest of the Annunciation Cathedral - the confessor of the tsar, 27 members of the Boyar Duma (boyars, roundabouts, a printer and a duma clerk), 5 Moscow nobles, 148 city nobles, 3 "guests "- privileged merchants, 12 elected from Moscow hundreds and settlements, 89 townspeople from different cities, 15 elected from Moscow archery "orders" regiments.

Publication of the Code

The original of the Code is a scroll glued together from 959 columns - “staves”. The length of the scroll is 309 meters. The Code is currently stored in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts in a gilded "ark" specially made for this purpose. Text is written on the front side, signatures are on the back. It is almost impossible to use such a scroll for practical purposes. An exact copy was made from it in the form of a handwritten book, and typographical typesetting was already carried out from it. Code of 1649 - the first printed monument of Russian law. The first edition of 1200 copies began printing on April 7, finished on May 20, 1649. Several copies were presented to the tsar, the patriarch, and the boyars. The main part of the circulation (up to 90%) was put on sale for institutions and individuals. For the first time in the history of Russia, the text of the code of laws could be read and even purchased by everyone. The price, however, was high - 1 ruble. The openness and accessibility of legislation was one of the main requirements of the participants in popular demonstrations and the Zemsky Sobor. The fact is that one could learn about the laws only when they were announced orally in the squares and in churches, from handwritten texts, in the original or a small number of lists stored in state institutions. In fact, officials had a monopoly on knowledge of the texts of laws, and they themselves were poorly informed about them. The publication of the Code in print and in mass circulation prevented the possibility of hiding and falsifying basic legal norms, committing the most flagrant abuses in the judicial part. The first edition did not satisfy the needs of the authorities and public demand. Copies put on free sale sold out rapidly from June 14 to August 7, 1649. In December 1649, a second edition was published in the same edition of 1200 copies. and at the same price for 1 rub. It was sold out (this time over 98% of the circulation went on sale) from January 1650 to August 1651. Great interest in the Code manifested itself abroad. This is evidenced by the purchases of its copies by foreigners, translations into Latin and French in the 17th century, into German and Danish - at the beginning of the 18th century.

Sources and content of the Code

Various sources were used to compile the Code: the Judicial Code of Ivan the Terrible of 1550, the Lithuanian Statute of 1588, the verdicts of the Boyar Duma, the collective petitions of nobles and townspeople, the decree books of the Local, Zemsky, Robbery and other orders, in which the laws received by these institutions were recorded and orders. Separate norms and provisions from the monuments of Byzantine and ecclesiastical law were also used, primarily from the Pilot's book. In the new code of laws, issues of state, church, economic, inheritance, family, contractual and criminal law, judicial and procedural rules were developed. In total, the Code included 25 chapters and 967 articles. They are divided and named as follows:

Chapter I. And it contains 9 articles about blasphemers and church rebels.

Chapter II. About the state honor, and how to protect his state health, and there are 22 articles in it.

Chapter III. About the sovereign's court, so that there would be no outrage and abuse from anyone at the sovereign's court.

Chapter IV. About subscribers, and which seals are forged.

Chapter V

Chapter VI. About travel letters to other states.

Chapter VII. About the service of all military people of the Moscow state.

Chapter VIII. About the redemption of the captives.

Chapter IX. About myty and about transportation, and about bridges.

Chapter X. Of Judgment.

Chapter XI. The Court of the Peasants, and there are 34 articles in it.

Chapter XII. About the court of patriarchal clerks, and courtyards of all kinds of people, and peasants, and there are 3 articles in it.

Chapter XIII. About the Monastic Order, and there are 7 articles in it.

Chapter XIV. About the kissing of the cross, and there are 10 articles in it.

Chapter XV. About accomplished deeds, and there are 5 articles in it.

Chapter XVI. About local lands, and there are 69 articles in it.

Chapter XVII. About estates, and it contains 55 articles.

Chapter XVIII. About printing duties, and there are 71 articles in it.

Chapter XIX. About townspeople, and there are 40 articles in it.

Chapter XX. The trial of serfs, and there are 119 articles in it.

Chapter XXI. Court on robbery and tatin cases, and there are 104 articles in it.

Chapter XXII. And there are 26 articles in it, a decree for which faults to whom the death penalty should be imposed, and for which faults not to be executed by death, but to be punished.

Chapter XXIII. About archers, and there are 3 articles in it.

Chapter XXIV. Decree on atamans and Cossacks, and there are 3 articles in it.

Chapter XXV. Decree on taverns, and there are 21 articles in it.

Actually, there are few new norms in the Code. It basically put the existing legislation in order and into a certain system. However, the new and significantly revised norms included in the Code made a very significant contribution to social, economic, legal relations, since they became a direct response to the events of 1648, the demands of their participants, and the lessons that the ruling circles learned from them. The main ones are as follows. Legislatively, the church was taken under the protection and protection of the state; for blasphemy against the church and faith, the death penalty was imposed. At the same time, the control of the patriarchal court by the secular one was emphasized, the entire clergy was declared subject to the jurisdiction of the Monastic order, the clergy were forbidden to acquire estates. Orthodox hierarchs were dissatisfied with the introduction of such rules, and the patriarch Nikon, although he signed the Cathedral Code as a Metropolitan of Novgorod, after coming to the leadership of the Russian Church (1652) he began to call this code a “cursed” book, a “devilish” law. The status of the king as an autocratic and hereditary monarch was determined, not only criminal acts, but also criminal intentions against which were severely punished. The concept of state crime was developed, for actions against the king, the royal power and its representatives, "death without any mercy" was supposed. Manufacturers of false documents, seals, money were also extremely severely punished. In general, the criminal legislation in the Cathedral Code was distinguished by medieval cruelty. At the same time, it proclaimed the principles of impartiality and objectivity in the consideration of cases, provided for the removal of judges and bringing them to justice in the event of the acquittal of the guilty or the prosecution of the innocent for "promises" - bribes. Very important in socio-economic terms were the steps to bring together the two forms of land tenure, landownership and patrimony, among which was the assumption of inheritance under certain conditions of estates by the wives and children of landowners, the exchange of estates for estates. The most important rule of law was the abolition of "lesson years" - the period of investigation of runaway and unauthorized peasants who left the landowners. Most historians consider this norm to be evidence of the final enslavement of the peasants in Russia. For harboring fugitives, a fine of 10 rubles was introduced. Judicial representation of serfs in property disputes was abolished, since their property began to be regarded as the property of a landowner or patrimony. In the cities, the "whites", that is, privately owned, settlements and courtyards, which belonged to the patriarch, monasteries, boyars, and other patrimonial estates and were free from state taxes, were liquidated. All those who lived in them were now obliged to "bear the tax", that is, to pay taxes and bear duties, along with the rest of the townspeople. The township population itself was forever attached to the townships and the sovereign's tax. Like serfs, townspeople could not arbitrarily leave their place of residence or change their occupation. An indefinite search for runaway townspeople was introduced.

The value of the Code

The Cathedral Code became the most important event and stage in the history of Russian legislation. During the 17th century, it was repeatedly replenished with “new decree articles” (in 1669 - On tateb, robbery and murderous cases, in 1676/1677 - On estates and estates, etc.) In the 18th century, attempts were made to create a new Code, for which Special Legislative Commissions were convened, which ended in vain. The Cathedral Code played the role of a code of laws of Russia (with numerous additions and changes) for almost two centuries. Its text opened the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire, published in 1830. To a large extent, it was taken into account in the development of the XV volume of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, which played the role of a criminal code, was released in 1845 and was called the “Punishment Code”.

Every frankly expressed thought, no matter how false, every clearly conveyed fantasy, no matter how absurd, cannot fail to find sympathy in some soul.
Lev Tolstoy

In this article, we will consider the Council Code of 1649 briefly, as one of the first documents that systematized the legislation of Rus'. In 1649, for the first time in the history of Russia, the codification of state law was carried out: the Zemsky Sobor developed the Cathedral Code. For the first time in this normative document, the main laws of the state were not simply collected, they were classified by industry. This greatly simplified the system of Russian legislation and ensured its stability. This article describes the main reasons for the adoption of the Council Code of 1649, its main meaning and brief description, and also analyzes the main consequences of the adoption of the law on the development of Russian statehood.

Reasons for the adoption of the Council Code of 1649

Between 1550 and 1648, about 800 decrees, laws and other legal acts were issued. Especially a lot of them came out during the Time of Troubles. Working with them required not only great knowledge, but also a lot of time for processing. In addition, there were cases when some provisions of one decree could conflict with others, which caused great damage to the system of legislation of the Russian kingdom. These problems forced us to think about codifying existing laws, that is, processing them and compiling a single and integral set of laws from them. In 1648, the Salt Riot took place in Moscow, one of the demands of the rebels was a call to convene a Zemsky Sobor to create a coordinated and unified law.

Another reason pushing Alexei Mikhailovich to create the Council Code of 1649 was the state's tendency towards absolute monarchy, which required clear enshrining in laws. The tsar from the young Romanov dynasty actually concentrated all power in his hands, limiting the influence of the Zemsky Sobor, however, the new political system needed to be enshrined in laws. Also, new class relations, and especially the status of the nobility and peasantry (tendencies towards the formation of serfdom) also needed legal revision. This whole set of reasons led to the fact that at the end of 1648, Alexei Mikhailovich convened the Zemsky Sobor, giving him the task of forming a single code of laws, which went down in history as the Cathedral Code.

Sources of the Code and work on its creation

To create a code of laws, a special commission was created, consisting of those close to the king, headed by Prince Nikita Odoevsky. In addition to him, the commission included the hero of the Smolensk War, Prince Fyodor Volkonsky, as well as the clerk Fyodor Griboyedov. Tsar Alexei personally took part in the work of the commission. Briefly, the following legal sources served as the basis for writing the Council Code of 1649:

Sudebniks of 1497 and 1550. The basis of the Russian legal system of the 16th century.
Decree books of orders, where the main laws and orders were collected, which were published in the late 16th - first half of the 17th centuries.
Lithuanian Statute of 1588. The Basic Law of the Commonwealth of this period served as a model of legal technique. Legal formulations, phrases, headings, as well as ideas about the position of the peasantry were taken from here.
Petitions, submitted for consideration to state bodies from the boyars. They indicated the main requests and wishes regarding the existing legal system. Also, during the work of the commission, petitions were sent to its participants from various regions of the country.
Pilot Book (Nomocanon). These are collections of laws that dealt with ecclesiastical affairs. This tradition came from Byzantium. The helm book is used in the management of the church, as well as in the organization of church courts.

Characteristics of the Regulations by industry

In 1649, the Cathedral Code was completely completed. It is interesting that this was not only the first collection of Russian laws, formed according to headings, which were determined by areas of law. It was the first code of laws in Russia, which was in printed form. In total, the Cathedral Code consisted of 25 chapters, in which there were 967 articles. Historians of Russian law distinguish the following legal branches, which were disclosed in the Cathedral Code of 1649:

State law

The law fully determined the legal status of the monarch in Russia, as well as the mechanisms of inheritance of power. Articles from this branch of law removed questions from the point of view of the legality of the presence of the Romanov dynasty on the throne. In addition, these articles consolidated the process of becoming an absolute monarchy in Russia.

Criminal law

First, the types of crimes were classified here. Secondly, all possible types of punishment are described. The following types of crimes were identified:

Crimes against the state. This type of crime first appeared in the legal system of Russia. Insults and other illegal actions against the monarch, his family, as well as conspiracy and treason were considered a crime against the state. By the way, in cases where the relatives of the offender knew about the crime against the Russian state, they bore the same responsibility.
Crimes against public administration. This category included: forgery of coins, unauthorized crossing of the state border, giving false evidence and accusations (written in the law by the term "sneaking").
Crimes against "decency". These crimes meant sheltering fugitives and criminals, selling stolen goods and maintaining brothels.
Official crimes: bribery, waste of public money, injustice, as well as war crimes (primarily looting).
Crimes against the Church. This included blasphemy, conversion to another faith, interruption of church service, etc.
Crimes against the person: murder, mutilation, beating, insult. By the way, killing a thief at the scene of a crime was not considered a violation of the law.
Property crimes: theft, robbery, fraud, horse theft, etc.
Crimes against morality. In this category, there was a betrayal of a wife by her husband, "fornication" with a slave, disrespect for parents.

As for punishments for crimes, the Council Code of 1649 identified several main types:

Death penalty by hanging, quartering, beheading, burning. For counterfeiting, the criminal was poured molten iron down the throat.
Corporal punishment, such as branding or beating with batogs.
Terem conclusion. The term was from three days to life imprisonment. By the way, the prisoners' relatives were supposed to support the inmates.
Link. Initially, it was used for higher officials who fell out of favor ("disgrace") to the king.
Disgraceful punishments. Also applied to the upper classes, it consisted in the deprivation of rights and privileges through a demotion in rank.
Fines and confiscation of property.

Civil law

For the first time in the history of Russia, attempts were made to describe the institution of private property, as well as to highlight the legal capacity of subjects. So, a young man of 15 years old could be endowed with an estate. The types of contracts for the transfer of ownership rights were also described: oral and written. The Cathedral Code defined the concept of "acquisitive prescription" - the right to receive a thing in private ownership after using it for a certain time. In 1649 this period was 40 years. The basis of the civil branch of the new code of laws was the consolidation of the class character of Russian society. All classes of Russia were regulated, the nobility became the main pillar of the absolute monarchy.

In addition, the Council Code of 1649 briefly but finally completed the enslavement of the peasants: the landowner had the right, any time after the escape, to look for fugitive peasants. Thus, the peasants were finally "attached" to the land, becoming the property of the landowner.

Family law

The Council Code did not directly concern family law, since it was within the competence of the church court. However, separate articles of the code of laws dealt with family life, describing the basic principles of family relations. So, parents had great power over their children, for example, if the daughter killed one of the parents, then she was executed, and if the parent killed the child, then he received a year in prison. Parents had the right to beat their children, and they were forbidden to complain about their parents.

In the case of married couples, the husband had actual ownership over his wife. The marriageable age for a man was 15 years, and for a woman - 12. Divorce was strictly regulated, allowed only in some cases (leaving for a monastery, the inability of a wife to give birth to children, etc.).

In addition to the above provisions, the Council Code dealt with the procedural component of law. Thus, the following procedures were fixed, the purpose of which was to obtain evidence:

"Search". Inspection of things, as well as communication with possible witnesses.
"Pravezh". Whipping an insolvent debtor for a certain amount of time in exchange for a fine. If the debtor had money before the expiration of the term of “right”, then the beating stopped.
"Search". The use of various means to search for a criminal, as well as to conduct interrogations to obtain the necessary information. The Code described the right to use torture (no more than two or three times, using breaks).

Additions to the law in the 17th century

During the second half of the 17th century, additional laws were adopted that made changes or additions to the Code. For example, in 1669 a law was passed to increase the penalties for criminals. He was associated with an increase in crime in Russia during this period. In 1675-1677 additions were adopted on the status of the patrimony. This was due to the increase in the number of disputes regarding the right to land. In 1667, the "New Trade Charter" was adopted, which was designed to support the Russian manufacturer in the fight against foreign goods.

Historical meaning

Thus, the Cathedral Code of 1649 has several meanings in the history of the development of the Russian state and law:

It was the first set of laws that was printed in a typographical way.
The Council Code eliminated most of the contradictions that existed in the laws of the late 16th-first half of the 17th century. At the same time, the Code took into account the previous achievements of the Russian legislative system, as well as the best practices of neighboring states in the field of lawmaking and codification.
She formed the main features of the future absolute monarchy, the support of which was the nobility.
Finally formed serfdom in Russia.

The Council Code of 1649 was in effect until 1832, when Speransky developed the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire.

The Cathedral Code of 1649 was a new stage in the development of legal technique, it became the first printed monument of law. Before him, the publication of laws was limited to their announcement in marketplaces and temples, which was usually indicated in the documents themselves. The appearance of the printed law to a large extent eliminated the possibility of abuses by the governors and clerks who were in charge of legal proceedings.

The Cathedral Code had no precedent in the history of Russian legislation. In terms of volume, it can only be compared with Stoglav, but in terms of the richness of legal material it surpasses it many times over. Of the monuments of the law of other peoples, in terms of legal content, the Cathedral Code can be compared with the Lithuanian Statute.

The Cathedral Code is the first systematized code of laws in the history of Russia. contains material relating to many branches of law.

The original Cathedral Code is a column 309 meters long of 959 separate compositions. This unique document allows you to judge the work on its compilation. On the front side of the column, the text of the Cathedral Code was written by several scribes. On the back - 315 signatures of the participants of the Council. According to the gluing of the front side of the bond of the Duma clerk I. Gavrenev. The braces of the duma clerks F. Elizariev, M. Volosheninov, G. Leontiev and F. Griboedov are made on the reverse side, also by gluing. Special marks on the column indicate the sources of a particular article. There are corrections in the manuscript, the places omitted during the correspondence have been restored. The “Inventory of amendments” is attached to the Code. At the same time, this column was not used in judicial practice. From the original column, a handwritten book-copy “word for word” was made, from which copies of the Cathedral Code were printed. It is not yet possible to determine the exact number of printed books, but one of the documents gives a figure - 1200 books.

Unlike previous legislative acts, the Council Code is distinguished not only by its large volume (25 chapters, separated by 967 articles), but also by its great focus and complex structure. A brief introduction contains a presentation of the motives and history of the compilation of the Cathedral Code. For the first time, the law is divided into thematic chapters devoted, if not to a certain branch of law, then at least having a specific scope of nomination. The chapters are highlighted with special headings: for example, "On blasphemers and church rebels" (Chapter 1), "On state honor and how to protect his sovereign health" (Chapter 2). Such a scheme for constructing chapters allowed their compilers to adhere to the usual sequence of presentation for that time: from the initiation of a criminal case to the execution of a decision. This causes serious difficulties in the analysis of the Code by branches of law and by object of law.

The first chapters (1 - 9) and the last three (23 - 25) cover relations related to the position of the church (chapter 1), the highest state authority (chapters 2-3) and the established order of government (chapters 4-9, 23-25) . The first chapter of the Code contains legal norms “on blasphemers and church rebels” - the most terrible crime, according to legislators of the 17th century, since it is considered even earlier than an attempt on “sovereign honor” and “sovereign health” (chapter 2). For blasphemy against God and Bo and ju Mother, an honest cross or saints, according to Article 1 of the Chapter of the Code, the guilty, regardless of his nationality, were to be burned at the stake. Death also threatened any "outlaw" who obstructed the serving of the liturgy. Severe punishments were also due for any outrages and riots carried out in the temple, from commercial execution to imprisonment. But with Chapter 1 with its 9 articles, legalizations on church issues are not exhausted, they are scattered throughout the entire text of the Code. And in further chapters there are decrees on the oath for people of spiritual and secular rank, on restricting the rights of non-believers, on marriage, on protecting church property, on honoring holidays, etc. All these measures were designed to protect the honor and dignity of the church. But the Code also contained clauses that caused strong dissatisfaction with the church hierarchy. According to chapter 13, a special Monastic order was approved, on which judgment was imposed in relation to the clergy and people dependent on it. The clergy were deprived of judicial privileges, and this was done at the petition of elected people. Church land ownership was also subjected to significant restrictions. The settlements and patrimonies that belonged to the church authorities in the cities, on the settlements and near the settlements were taken “for the sovereign as a tax and for services without flight and irrevocably” (ch.19, article 1). Further, all clergy and institutions were categorically forbidden to

acquire estates in some way and give estates to worldly people in monasteries (ch.17, st.42). From the point of view of the state, this contributed to further centralization and strengthening of autocratic power. But the provisions of the new code aroused the resistance of the clergy, because. The Code deprived him, with the exception of the patriarch, of judicial privileges. All church and monastery lands were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Monastic order.

Patriarch Nikon, dissatisfied with the Code, called it a "lawless book", and the first chapter of the Monastic order - "New Luther". As a result of a tense struggle, the spiritual power overcame the secular one: in 1667, the Monastic order was abolished.

For the first time in Russian legislation, the Code singles out a special chapter dedicated to the criminal law protection of the monarch's personality (ch. 2). At the same time, it is emphasized that even intent is punishable by death. Besides, compositions of the state, political crimes are defined. The chapter rarely separates these crimes from other "dashing deeds", being "the first codification in the history of Russian legislation, which provides, if not an exhaustive, then still a relatively complete system of state crimes." The chapter establishes the composition of each crime, the subjective and objective side of the side of anti-state encroachments, the circumstances that eliminate the punishability of the act, the procedural rules in these cases, fixing the dominant role of the search.

The next group of chapters is connected with the “court”, and these chapters are distinguished both by the subject of regulated relations (ch. 9 - the court for peasants, ch. 10 - the court for townspeople), and by object (ch. ch.16 - about local lands). Some authors believe that the first chapters relate to state law, 10-15 - to the process, 16-20 - to property law, 21-22 - to criminal law, 22-25 - an additional part: about archers, about Cossacks, about taverns and etc. In its original form, the Code was provided with a list of articles, each with its own name. In subsequent years, the code was supplemented by “new decree articles”, the most important among them: “New decree articles on robbery and murderous cases” of 1669, “On estates” of 1676, “On estates and estates” of 1677, etc.

Articles of the Cathedral Code establish the legal status of various estates and social groups of society: the legal status of peasants is established by Art. 1,5,12,16,32 chapter 11; art.13 chapter 2; st.st. 94,235, 262 chapter 10; Art. 7 chapter 13; st..st. 9,15,37 of chapter 19. It can be seen from them that the Code finally secured the complete enslavement of the peasant exit - the “lesson years” were canceled - the period for detecting fugitive peasants, after which the search stopped and in fact there was at least a small opportunity to exit the serfdom, even if by way of escape. According to the Code, the search for fugitives became indefinite, and a fine of 10 rubles was imposed for harboring them. Thus, the peasants were finally attached to the land and the legal registration of serfdom was completed. The adoption of these norms was in the interests of the service people who actively participated in the third Council of 1648. But it is important to note that according to the Code, the peasants still had some class rights. Fugitive peasants were categorically ordered to be returned together with their property, thereby recognizing their property rights. The recognition of personal rights was the provision according to which the peasants who married on the run were subject to return to the owner only by their families. But on the whole, the peasants were almost completely demonized.

are right both in private and in public life (Article 13 of Chapter 2, Article 6 of Chapter 9, Article 261 of Chapter 10), etc. It must be borne in mind that the Code, without interfering in many relations between the feudal lords and the peasants, leaves room for the arbitrariness of the patrimonials and landowners: the Code does not contain norms regulating the amount of peasant duties.

If the position of the patrimonial, and especially the landlord, peasants was much more difficult than the position of the state peasants, then at the very bottom of this ladder were serfs and bonded people (Art. 8,16,27,35,63,85 Chapter 27). Kholops did not have personal and property rights, although in fact they more and more often turned into arable people and were included in the tax. If we compare the articles about peasants and about serfs, then we can note that the position of a serf has come close to the legal status of a serf. In the Code, much attention was paid to some social issues. In the Time of Troubles, the class of service people and residents of the settlements was the force that ensured the final victory over external and internal enemies. Chapters 16 and 17 were devoted to streamlining land relations, which were confused during the years of the “Moscow ruin”. Someone then lost the fortresses on their possessions, someone received them from impostors. The new legislative code established that only service people and guests had the right to own estates. Thus, land ownership became a class privilege of the nobility and the top merchants. In the interests of the nobility, the Code smoothed out the difference between conditional ownership - an estate (on condition and for the duration of service) and hereditary possession - a fiefdom. From now on, estates can be changed to fiefdoms and vice versa. The petitions of the townspeople were satisfied by the 19th chapter specially dedicated to them. According to it, the township population was isolated in a closed estate and attached to the township (in addition, fighting attempts to evade the township tax, the Code deprived people of the “black hundreds” - the right to move from city to city (Article 19,22,37,38 of Chapter 19 All residents of the township had to pay certain taxes and perform duties in favor of the state. Now it was impossible to leave the township, but it was possible to enter only if you joined a tax community. This provision satisfied the demand of the townspeople to protect them from the competition of various ranks of people who, coming from service, spiritual, peasants, traded and were engaged in various crafts near the settlements, at the same time not incurring tax. Now everyone who was engaged in trading and crafts turned into an eternal township tax. ” (whitewashed, that is, freed from taxes and duties to the state), which belonged to secular feudal lords and the church, were attached to the sovereign's settlements free of charge. All those who had previously left from there were subject to return to the settlements. They were instructed to "take them to their old townships, where someone lived before this, without flight and irrevocably." But this provision, fixed by law, was not fully implemented in practice, and throughout the 18th century, townspeople continued to petition for the elimination of “white places”, the expansion of urban areas, and the prohibition of peasants from trading and crafts.

The Code pays the main attention to the feudal lords. It secured the privileged position of representatives of the ruling class (Art. 1, Chapter 9, Art. 27,30,90, Chapter 10, Art. 1, Chapter 11), etc. From the text of the Code it is clear which groups of the population should be classified as feudal landowners (Article 1 of Chapter 9, Article 1 of Chapter 11, Articles 41-45,66 of Chapter 16). A number of articles confirm the monopoly right of the feudal lord to own land with the peasants (Article 46 of Chapter 16), establishes their privileges (Articles 5,12,92,133,135 of Chapter 10, Articles 16,56 of Chapters 18,9 and 22) and their obligations to bear the “sovereign service” (Article 7,19 Chapter 7, Article 69 Chapter 16, Article 2 Chapter 20). The main part of the feudal lords was called "service people", although they included far from all feudal lords, and not only feudal lords, but also archers, Cossacks, gunners, etc., who had neither peasants, nor estates, nor estates, and received for service money and grain salary and some benefits. The Code, as a code of feudal law, protects the right of private property, and above all, ownership of land. The main types of land ownership of feudal lords were estates (Art. 13,33,38,41,42,45

chapter 17) and estates (articles 1-3,5-8,13,34,51 chapter 16). The Code takes a serious step towards equating the legal regime of estates with the regime of estates; this applied to wide circles of feudal lords, especially small ones. It is no coincidence that the chapter on estates comes earlier in the law than the chapter on estates.

The equating of estates with estates proceeded mainly along the lines of granting landowners the right to dispose of land. Until now, in essence, only votchinniks had the right to own land (but their rights were somewhat limited, which was preserved in the Code), but in principle, the votchinnik had a necessary element of property right - the right to dispose of property. The situation is different with the estate: in previous years, the landowner was deprived of the right to dispose, and sometimes the right to own land (this was if the landowner left the service). The Cathedral Code made significant changes to this matter: first of all, it expanded the right of the landowner to own land - now the retired landowner retained the right to land, and although he was not left with his former estate, the so-called subsistence estate was given according to a certain norm - a kind pension. The landowner's widow and his children up to a certain age received the same pension.

The right to dispose of the estate according to the Cathedral Code was manifested in the permission of the so-called surrender of the subsistence estate, in the possibility of exchanging the estate, including for the patrimony. As for the estates, they could be sold to an almost unlimited circle of feudal lords, and articles devoted to the "sovereign's palace and black" lands revealed the position of the king as a major feudal lord.

There are many articles in the Code that protect other numerous objects of economic management of the feudal lords, as well as the trade and craft population. Chapter 10 contains articles on other issues of civil law. All the law of obligations in the Code is closely connected with the criminal law, for the failure to fulfill many contracts, criminal punishment was threatened.

Much attention is paid to criminal law (Ch. 1-5, 10, 21, 22, etc.) and the process. Compared to previous legislation, the Code provides for more cases of public prosecution (Article 31 Chapter 21, Article 14 Chapter 22). In the punitive policy, the features of the right-privilege clearly appear (Art. 90.92 of Chapter 10, Art. 10 of Chapter 22). The general concept of a crime remains the same, but one can note the development of ideas about its composition. The system of crimes becomes more complicated. The set of norms about them, provided for by the Code, for the first time acquires the character of a system. The most dangerous crimes for feudal society are put in the first place: against the church, state crimes, against the order of government (the first chapters of the Code). Next come the crimes against the person, property crimes, although a clear distinction according to the object of the crime in the systematization is not always maintained. One of the circumstances excluding criminal liability was recognized as actions resembling necessary defense and extreme necessity (Articles 105,200,201,283 of Chapter 10, Articles 88-89 of Chapter 21, Article 21 of Chapter 22). The system of punishments is also becoming more complex. The punishment is increased in the presence of qualifying circumstances (Article 90 of Chapter 21, Articles 1,2,16 of Chapter 25).

In procedural law, there is a growing tendency to expand the scope of the search, although the court is still in the first place in terms of the amount of jurisdiction. The significance of judicial documents is affirmed, rules of conduct in court are established, etc.

The code includes the development of all branches of law of that time. Entire chapters are devoted to administrative and financial law. Civil rights are widely interpreted - property, contracts, inheritance. The articles of the Council Code do not give a complete picture of issues related to the state structure, for

my board, the organization of the state apparatus, etc., but there are articles that make it possible to judge the mechanism of the state of the 17th century. In addition, the Code consolidates the process of strengthening royal power, which is characteristic of a class-representative monarchy and reflects a tendency to develop into an absolute monarchy. Articles relating to the Boyar Duma give some idea of its role in the state of the 17th century (Art. 2, Chapter 10).

The Code also contains information about administrative positions (voivods, clerks, clerks, kissers, heads, collectors, etc.), about individual local institutions, about administrative-territorial units, about military (ch. 12), judicial and punitive ( ch.11,12,13), financial (ch.9) system, church and monastic apparatus (ch.1,12,13).

The Cathedral Code satisfied the main class requirements of the nobility and partly of its allies - the top tenants, marked the first systematized code of laws covering almost all branches of law, and was the final stage in the process of establishing a unified Russian state.