The History of Liberalism in Russia

Chapter 2

31 That Catherine’s reflections on issues of law were significant not merely from a theoretical point of view, but also from a practical one, was shown by her son Paul I’s reign, which must be seen as a period of radical reaction. Paul I was convinced that his patriarchal power was unlimited. He endeavored to regulate every sphere of life, even going so far as to lay down rules for his subjects on their use of language. Severe punishments were meted out to those who were in breach of them. He did not see himself as duty bound to respect the rights of his subjects. Thus, he decreed the repeal of Article 15 of the Charter to the Nobility, by which members of the gentry were no longer subject to corporal punishment. On the other hand, measures that he took to rescue noblemen from ruin (Paul I set up a bank especially for this purpose) were based on what Waliszewski has aptly called “the phantasm of the universally provident state.”1 That this reactionary phase was brought to a relatively quick end by Paul’s violent elimination can only be seen as a positive development from a liberal perspective. Alexander I, who succeeded to the throne, had been introduced at a young age to liberal ideas by his grandmother Catherine. As Karamzin put it, Paul I did for absolute monarchy what the Jacobins had done for the republic: he turned the abuse of unlimited power into an object of loathing.2 It is natural, therefore, that Alexander and those around him were interested in the question of a constitution. This problem had concerned Alexander chapter 2 alexander i Reaction under Paul i—constitutional ideas in the reign of alexander i—mordvinov 32 • alexander i even before his ascension to the throne, indeed, while Catherine was still alive. In a letter to Count Kochubei of May 10, 1796, which was thus written six months before Catherine’s death, in which he complains about chaos in the affairs of state, Alexander asked, “Can a single person govern the state, and more especially can they remove its ingrained defects?”3 It is well known that the question of a constitution in Russia was not resolved under Alexander I, although during his reign a number of constitutional projects were drafted. Speransky’s draft constitution will be dealt with in the chapter on that statesman. Novosil’tsev’s draft will also be described below. At this point, I shall just refer to plans that were proposed immediately after the succession to the throne and the following years. These plans embodied liberal ideas or at least bore some relation to them, even if one cannot describe these plans as constitutional projects in the true sense of the term. First, there was a plan to promulgate an affirmation of the basic rights of the subject in conjunction with the manifesto that formed part of the coronation celebrations . This was not about constitutional institutions or the establishment of a constitutional system, but about something like a Déclaration des droits.4 This declaration contained some of liberalism’s basic tenets: it highlighted the necessity for clear legislation to guarantee the inviolability of the individual and private property, as well as to moderate the penal code. Further articles ceremonially ratified Catherine’s legislation afresh, especially the charters, and reenacted those laws that Paul I had revoked. The basic direction of this draft declaration was, above all, to go back to Catherine’s legislative program, back to the spirit of her government. This was only natural in that the idea of writing the gramota (charter) came from Count A. Vorontsov, one of the old liberals from Catherine’s era. In his opinion, Catherine’s legislative program contained a series of provisions reflecting liberal ideas. As, however, they had attracted little attention, he went on to explain, it was of the upmost importance to reaffirm them and thereby give them a new emphasis. In the abovementioned observations accompanying the articles,5 Vorontsov stressed (in the observations to Arts. 4, 5, and 6) that guarantees for trade and industry, entrepreneurial initiative, and private property were nothing new. They could be found in Catherine’s Instruction, as well as in her legislation. Up to then, however, “they had had no more effect than any of the fine phrases of a Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Cicero and many more.” In order to become effective, they had to be gathered together in a charter...