THE GOVERNING SENATE IN 1730–1741: THE POWERS AND COMPETENCIES

Abstract

The author examines how the Senate’s powers and competence changed between 1730 (when the Senate was returned to the rights granted by Peter I) and 1741 (when the Cabinet of Ministers was created with growing power and the Senate was subordinated to the Cabinet). The author shows the ambiguity of the problem in historical science and discloses the diverse and heterogeneous composition of the Senate’s competence, as well as the high level of its powers through the analysis of legislation and record keeping documentation of the two higher authorities. The author shows that the collegiate bodies were controlled by the Senate for the most part and that it exercised the regular management of the state based on Peter's regulations. For example, the Senate decided the difficulties faced by collegiate bodies, developed the rules for them, regulated their work, and took the decisions on their appeal. The Senate usually drafted the laws, tracked violations of law in the activities of other state agencies, exercised the codification of laws, collected information on taxes, and ensured their collection. The Senate performed a variety of orders of the Empress or the Cabinet of Ministers, controlled noble service, solved the problems of everyday life of the capitals, etc. The author concludes that the competence and authority of the Governing Senate, restored by Anna Ivanovna, were similar to the competence of the Senate of Peter the Great.