Russia under the Old regime

182

scattered, for ever subdivided, and prevented from fusing with local administrative authority - gave them no solid regional footing. Fear of losing serfs acted as a further deterrent to political involvement. The absence until 1785 of corporate institutions and the spirit that grows out of them prevented the dvorianstvo from closing its ranks. Thus the gains made in the eighteenth century - freedom from state service, a charter of rights, and full title to landed property - had no political results. They improved the condition of the upper class without bringing it nearer to the sources of power.

In Russian history there were only three significant attempts, each a century apart, on the part of the service 61ite to stand up to the monarchy and restrain its unlimited power. The first occurred during the Time of Troubles when a group of boyars entered into a compact with the Polish crown. They offered the Russian throne to the son of the King of Poland, on condition that he consent to specified terms under which he would exercise royal authority. The Poles agreed but the compact was annulled when they were expelled from Russia shortly afterwards. The Romanov dynasty which took over in 1613 was not required to subscribe to any terms. Next, in 1730, during an interregnum, a group of upper class civil servants sitting in the Supreme Privy Council, prominent among whom were members of the ancient princely clans of Golitsyn and Dolgorukii, requested and obtained from Empress Anne her signature to a set of 'Conditions'. These severely limited her power to dispose of state revenue, promote servitors and conduct foreign policy. Prodded by the provincial dvorianstvo, however, Anne renounced these terms after assuming office and reverted to unlimited autocratic authority. Finally, in December 1825, a group of officers from the most distinguished families tried to stage a coup a"Uat. Their purpose was to abolish the autocracy and replace it either with a constitutional monarchy or a republic. The mutiny was quelled in no time at all.

All three of these attempts had certain features in common. In each case, the effort was led by the topmost elite, descendants of the 'pedigreed' clans or wealthy nouveaux riches who identified with the western aristocracy. They acted on their own without being able to draw on any support from the masses of provincial dvoriane. The latter profoundly mistrusted all constitutional attempts which they saw not as moves intended for the common good but as cleverly camouflaged designs to introduce an oligarchic form of government. Given its dependence on the state for jobs and landed estates, the rank and file greatly feared the state falling into the hands of the great landed families who (so they believed) would use the power to enrich themselves at their expense. In 1730, at a critical juncture in Russia's constitutional development, the spokesmen for the victorious party of provincial dvoriane who opposed