Утверждение абсолютизма в России

The book is devoted to one of the most important and dynamic periods of Russian history - the era of Peter I, who appears in the book as a reformer of the new time.
Unlike all previous works on this topic, written both in our country and abroad, this book gives a new concept of Peter's reforms. Considering the absolutist state as the foundation and the first step towards the formation of a modern totalitarian system, the author asks about its social foundations, reveals the significance of such institutions as the ruling elite, the bureaucracy and the army. Particular attention is paid to the personality of the reformer himself - Peter the Great, whom the author considers among the charismatic leaders of the past and present.

The approach and method determined the structure of the book. First of all, it considers how the world science of the past and present approaches the problem of absolutism in general and Russian in particular. The focus is on the relationship between society and the state, the nature of unlimited power, the causes of its occurrence and the consequences for society (Chapter I). The book defines the place of Peter's reforms in the perspective of the development of Russian statehood of the previous and subsequent times, as well as in the world historical process (Chapter II). This allows us to show the reforms of Peter the Great in the context of the transition from the traditional organization of management to a rational one and the creation of a new type of statehood. Particular attention is paid to the personality of the reformer himself - Peter the Great, who is considered among other charismatic leaders and reformers of modern times. Interpreting the absolutist state as the foundation and the first step towards the formation of a modern totalitarian system, the book shows its social and economic foundations, the mechanism of the functioning of the estate system and political power (Chapter III), highlights the process of regrouping the ruling class during the period of the establishment of absolutism in Russia and Europe (Chapter IV), the ratio of the ruling elite (Chapter V) and the bureaucracy (Chapter VI) during the reform period. Conducted for the first time from the point of view of political sociology and the comparative historical method, the study of the establishment of absolutism in Russia allows us to better understand the origins and nature of the relationship between society and the state in Russia.