| Abstrakt: |
The article examines the transformation of the position of the local nobility after the incorporation of the right-bank territories into the Russian Empire. The author analyzes the variability of imperial policies aimed at achieving social stability in the newly annexed region, which was characterized by a complex socio-ethnic structure. The author examines the fundamental conflict between the desire of the local nobility to preserve autonomy in resolving administrative and legal issues and the attempts of the absolutist imperial authorities to establish total control over all spheres of public life. Particular attention is paid to the role of the judiciary as a key mechanism for reconciling the interests of the center and the periphery. The author identifies several stages of the imperial policy towards the judiciary. At the initial stage, some of the Rzeczpospolita procedures were preserved, especially in the field of civil law. However, this period was shortlived and was replaced by the active introduction of Russian administrative and judicial bodies in accordance with the ‘Establishments...’. The author analyzes in detail the changes that took place during the reign of Catherine II, which led to a partial loss of the influence of the nobility. The article also examines the policy of compromise of Paul I, aimed at restoring elements of the previous judicial tradition, including the reintroduction of the Polish language, the III Lithuanian Statute and the legitimization of the Bar. The article reveals the contradictory nature of Paul I’s reforms: the external restoration of judicial traditions was accompanied by increased bureaucratic control, restrictions on the independence of courts and interference of administrative bodies in their work. The author emphasizes that despite the appearance of a return to the old order, the actual functioning of the new institutions was strictly regulated by the imperial authorities. The author concludes that the local gentry, despite their dissatisfaction with the new order, was forced to accept the imposed ‘rules of the game’ due to the threat of complete loss of influence and assimilation into the imperial elite. The article offers a comprehensive analysis of the complex process of integration of the right-bank gentry into the imperial system of governance through the prism of the transformation of the judiciary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
