比较视角下的俄国专制制度

The Russian Absolutism In A Comparative Perespective

专制制度作为民族国家建立和发展的一种形式,是欧洲社会政治和文化遗产的重要组成部分。官僚化管理是现代化与改革进程的重要组成部分。专制制度的社会职能在于通过法律和强制手段实现民族一体化、统一文化和传统社会的社会转型。问题的关键在于改变官僚体制的角色地位,它可以是改革的积极拥护者,或者完全相反,成为改革的严重阻力。从这个角度而言,揭示俄国现代化进程中专制制度的积极和消极作用具有重要的理论意义。

The article of prof. Andrey N. Medushevsky concemes the problem of the Russian absolutist monarchy of the XVIII - the beginning of XX - th centuries in a comparative perspective. The European absolutism is described in general as an important stage in the process of formation modem national and multi - national states and in the process of transition from traditional society to a modem one. The author presents the definition of this phenomenon, describes the typology, national, geographical and chronological frameworks of absolutism in Western and Eastern Europe. He concentrates on the main stages in the development of the Russian absolutist statehood - the establishment of the absolutist system by Peter the Great, the Enlightened absolutism of Catherine the Great at the XVIII - th century, the transformation of the system by liberal reforms of Alexander I and Alexander II at the XIX - th Century, and the development of the absolutist system towards dual constitutional monarchy at the beginning of the XX - th century which ended with the revolutionary collapse of the whole monarchical system. The purpose of this study is to understand the precess of social and administrative modernization initiated and guided by absolutist government through the whole period under consideration. The social function of absolutism consisted in national integration, cultural unification and social transformation of traditional society by using of legal and coercive measures. The crucial problem is the changing role of the bureaneracy which could be the main protagonist of reforms or, just the opposite - its main opponent. From this point of view the author summarizes positive and negative aspects of absolutist reforms making outlook on the comparative experience of other absolutist empires of Europe and Asia.