"PROHIBITATIVE DECREES" OF PETER I IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY OF EARLY MODERN TIME
In 1713-1721 Peter the Great issues a series of interrelated and complementary decrees aimed at the curbing of corruption. In the office documentation of those years, they were called “prohibitive”. At the same time, the tsar is taking energetic organizational measures designed to ensure the practical implementation of this legislation. The author wonders why it is during these years that the monarch is launching an unprecedented fight against corruption. The answer is seen in the fact that this legislation was caused by serious changes in the Russian economy, which gave rise to large-scale and systemic economic crime. First of all, these changes have occurred in the field of finance and taxes. They were associated with the saturation of the national economy with money, the transfer of most of the taxes and fees into monetary form, and the widespread practice of public procurement. The intensification of cash flows with weak control by the state, the access to state funds opened by both officials and private individuals led to a sharp increase in the criminalization of the economy. Thus, Peter's “prohibitive” decrees became not only a reaction, but also an important indicator of economic changes; they designated corruption as a systemic threat to the interests of the state for the first time.