Forms of Legitimization in the Russian Empire

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the legitimization forms in the Russian Empire. It also presents the idea of inextricable connection between the understanding of a historical event or phenomenon and the socio-political processes reflected in law. Therefore, the understanding of the Imperial law system, the insight into the peculiarities and processes of its legitimization formation is the basis of historical studies of the Russian Empire period. The purpose of this paper is to summarize and to give the comparative analysis of the legitimization forms existing on the territory of the Russian Empire and its outskirts in the period of the 18th ‒ early 20th centuries. The methodological basis of the study is a set of historical and legal methods used in the state-legal phenomena study. The study uses the comparative-historical, terminological analysis and comparative law methods. The paper is interdisciplinary, it is written at the intersection of jurisprudence and historical science. The study found a variety of legitimization forms enshrined in Russian Law, which are difficult to classify. It was noted that the classification and hierarchy of Russian Legislation depended on the extent of the monarch’s involvement in the legislative process. The author draws attention to the fact that the legitimization within the spatial and personal scope has some features that are most pronounced toward Siberia. When analyzing the content of a number of Charters and Provisions, specific standards or exemptions regarding this act enactment on the Empire outskirts are often found. The organization of power on the national Empire outskirts was regulated by special acts. The author concludes that despite the variety of legislative forms the Emperor’s will remained above the law and the law-making mechanism provided for its legal confirmation forms. Indeed, from a legal standpoint, such acts weakened the strong arm and the rule of the law, on the other hand, they speed up some decision-making processes. Keywords: the Russian Empire, Siberia, System of Law, sources of Law, form of Law, legislation, autocracy