Abstract
In this article features of political regime development in the Russian state of the Moscow era (the end of the XV-XVII centuries) are considered in the general context of the European early-modern states of the XVI-XVII centuries formation and evolution. Use of new methodological approaches and deeper and at the same time original approach to the analysis of both narrative, and assembly materials allow to conclude that, despite unusual, at first sight, features of development of the Russian state during the considered period (those natural and geographical conditions caused first of all by character it developed in), Russia can be put in one row with such early-modern states as France, Spain or the Ottoman Empire. For all of them who are not possessing the developed officialdom and so developed fiscal institutes and power tools (represented by regular army, police and so forth), the aspiration to find a certain balance of interests between raison d’État (understanding as it first of all interest dynastic) and bien public (that it is first of all interest of the most active and influential part of society, "the political nation" in the political plan) as it guaranteed the power necessary legitimacy, obedience and support from society as indispensable conditions of more or less effective functioning of power institutes is inherent.
Highlights
Gerberstein, characterizing the power of the Moscow grand duke Vasily III, noted that "in the sway which he holds over his people, he surpasses all the monarchs of the whole world" and he "oppresses most of them with close confinement" [1, 30]. This statement of the author which is noncritically apprehended by the latest authors and historians generated the perception of early-modern Russia dominating both in historical and legal literature, and in public opinion as country Asian in essence, and its political regime as despotic that opposed it to the European states of that era which political regimes differed in bigger freedom
This point of view so strongly was fixed in consciousness of scientific organization that up to the last time neither in Russia, nor in Europe serious attempts to reconsider it with a support and not just on the historical narrative to a greater or lesser extent having pronounced subjective character and dependent on political and other addictions of his creators how many on assembly materials and studying accepted in Russia political, administrative, legal and jurisprudence, especially in a comparative-historical context were not made
Characterizing a political regime of early-modern Russia through a concept of "the centralized state", we will provide its classical characteristic: "Formation of the centralized state included two interconnected processes: formation of the uniform state territory due to association of Russian lands and establishment of the real power of the uniform monarch over all this territory ..." [15
Summary
Gerberstein, characterizing the power of the Moscow grand duke Vasily III, noted that "in the sway which he holds over his people, he surpasses all the monarchs of the whole world" and he "oppresses most of them with close confinement" [1, 30] This statement of the author which is noncritically apprehended by the latest authors and historians generated the perception of early-modern Russia dominating both in historical and legal literature, and in public opinion as country Asian in essence, and its political regime as despotic that opposed it to the European states of that era which political regimes differed in bigger freedom. The essence of the new interpretation of the Moscow monarchy and a political regime offered by it in the Moscow Russia was that just as and in other European states of early Modern times, the power needed Moskovia and looked for support in society, in its various layers. The discussion around the lifted problem allowed to specify a number of the aspects connected from processes of the state construction in Russia of early Modern times in comparison with similar processes in the early-modern states of Europe [See, for example: 10; 11]
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