Russia under the Old regime

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The reform measures so far described were intended to squeeze out of the country more money and services. In that sense they were mere improvements on Muscovite practices, and far less revolutionary than they appeared to contemporaries who, overawed by the energy of Peter and the foreign format of his reforms, failed to see their antecedents. Essentially, Peter rationalized the Muscovite system in order to make it more efficient.

Just how traditional Peter's methods were can be seen in the procedures he used to construct his new capital in St Petersburg. The decision to erect a city on the Neva estuary was first taken in 1702, but little progress was made until the victory at Poltava assured its security from the Swedes.8 In 1709 Peter tackled the job in earnest. Because dvoriane and merchants were reluctant to settle in the new city noted for its raw climate and lack of amenities, Peter resorted to compulsion. In 1712 he ordered the transfer to St Petersburg of one thousand dvoriane and an equal group of merchants and artisans. The government assured these new settlers of the necessary labour and building materials for the construction of their residences, but the costs of building had to come out of their own pockets. The designs of the residences were strictly prescribed. Owners of more than 3,500 'souls' had to build houses of stone; less affluent dvoriane could use wood or mud. The dimensions and facades of all the private buildings had to conform to designs authorized by the city's chief architect. Only in furnishing the interiors were the proprietors free to use their imagination - a gesture with unintended symbolic meaning for the future of Russia's westernized upper class. Lists were drawn up containing the names of the families selected for transfer; they included representatives of the most eminent boyar clans. In all these measures the votchina background was clearly in evidence. As one historian puts it, such resettlements of dvoriane by government order 'had much in common with the resettlement of serf peasants from one estate to another at the landlord's command'.9

The construction of the new city under extremely adverse climatic and geological conditions required a steady supply of manual workers. For this purpose recourse was had to forced labour. In Muscovite Russia, forced labour for construction purposes had been usually employed in the immediate vicinity of the worker's village or posad. Since the area surrounding St Petersburg had few indigenous inhabitants, Peter had to import labour from other parts of the country. Requisition orders calling for 40,000 peasants to perform several months of labour in St Petersburg were issued every year. Like the new Russian army, the force was assembled on the basis of quotas set by the authorities of one worker for anywhere from each nine to sixteen households. The labour conscripts, carrying their tools and food, were driven in gangs over