CONSTITUTIONALISM GENESIS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE


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Abstract

The paper covers the study of the introduction of constitutionalism elements in the projects and regulatory legal acts of the Russian Empire of the 17th – the early 18th century. The author analyzes the main approaches to the understanding of the term “constitutionalism”, the transformation of the terminology within the course of time, considers the periods of evolution of constitutionalism. The main sources of initial constitutionalism, both published officially and kept the project status, are studied. The author considers “The Conditions” of 1730, “The Instruction of Code Commission” of Ekaterina II of 1767, the Plan of State Reforming of the Count M.M. Speransky, “Russian Truth” of P.I. Pestel, and the range of other projects of the constitutional nature. The comparative-judicial and comparative-historical analysis of constitutional ideas’ development at the selected period of time is carried out. The paper offers to study the development of the reformist ideas of the nobility and monarchs, to distinguish between the noble and governmental constitutionalism. The author makes arguments to prove the point of view about the origination of the constitutional ideas in the 17th century, considers the reasons for the rejection of these ideas, and highlights the willingness of the monarchs to compromise without the introduction of any real changes to the legal system. The paper notes the improvement of laws and regulations during the 17th – the early 18th century, the progressiveness of ideas, the expansion in the number of the rights of a person offered to be fixed, and the improvement of state mechanism which were developed and implemented in the later historic period. The development of reformist ideas of the monarchs at the absolutism triumph is of special interest. In spite of the foreign nature of main concepts and the adoption of the ideas of Montesquieu and other authors, the Russian constitutionalism had at the initial stage its national peculiarities related to the autocratic power tradition and the specific features of statehood in the Russian Empire.

About the authors

Nelly Igorevna Borodina

Togliatti State University, Togliatti

Author for correspondence.
Email: replicantcaloengrin@mail.ru

lecturer of Chair “Constitutional and Administrative Law”

Russian Federation

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