Book contents
- Frontmatter
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Russia’s geographical environment
- Part I Early Rus’ and the Rise of Muscovy (c. 900–1462)
- Part II The Expansion, Consolidation and Crisis of Muscovy (1462–1613)
- Part III Russia Under the First Romanovs (1613–1689)
- 19 The central government and its institutions
- 20 Local government and administration
- 21 Muscovy at war and peace
- 22 Non-Russian subjects
- 23 The economy, trade and serfdom
- 24 Law and society
- 25 Urban developments
- 26 Popular revolts
- 27 The Orthodox Church and the schism
- 28 Cultural and intellectual life
- Bibliography
- Index
- Plate section"
- Plate section"
- References
19 - The central government and its institutions
from Part III - Russia Under the First Romanovs (1613–1689)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
- Frontmatter
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Russia’s geographical environment
- Part I Early Rus’ and the Rise of Muscovy (c. 900–1462)
- Part II The Expansion, Consolidation and Crisis of Muscovy (1462–1613)
- Part III Russia Under the First Romanovs (1613–1689)
- 19 The central government and its institutions
- 20 Local government and administration
- 21 Muscovy at war and peace
- 22 Non-Russian subjects
- 23 The economy, trade and serfdom
- 24 Law and society
- 25 Urban developments
- 26 Popular revolts
- 27 The Orthodox Church and the schism
- 28 Cultural and intellectual life
- Bibliography
- Index
- Plate section"
- Plate section"
- References
Summary
For the Muscovite state, the seventeenth century was one of evolution and growth, rather than radical change. The century experienced no political revolutions of the magnitude seen during the reigns of Ivan III and Ivan IV. Russia, having recovered from the confusion of the Time of Troubles, remained a strong autocracy held firmly in the hands of a small, martial ruling class. This is not to say that there was general stasis. Things still fell apart, though only for brief moments. And one can detect a single important political trend – the remarkable inflation of honours begun under Tsar Aleksei (Alexis) Mikhailovich and radically amplified by his weak successors. Nonetheless, the general picture was one of continuity, punctuated by momentary fits of confusion and gradual change.
The case is much the same in the realm of institutions. Seventeenth-century Muscovy was administered by the same fundamental types of organisation that it had been before the great upheaval of the beginning of the century. The most important institutions remained the royal family, its court and courtiers (gosudarev dvor) and the administrative chancelleries (prikazy). Similarly, the boyar council and the Assembly of the Land – both inventions of an earlier age – continued to operate in the seventeenth century much as they had before. All of these institutions grew, but not so much as to fundamentally alter their essential character.
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- The Cambridge History of Russia , pp. 433 - 463Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006