When child support appeared in Russia, and how Peter I fought against orphanhood and poverty

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the 18th century, an impetus was given for the development of state aid to orphans. Since 1715, in accordance with the decree of Peter I, orphanages and hospitals for illegitimate babies began to open, to which the mother could deliver the baby, while maintaining anonymity - through the window. The tsar-reformer also fought against such a massive social phenomenon as poverty, which was one of the reasons for the growth in the number of street children. Often these two phenomena were combined into one problem - among the poor, children also begged for alms.

Why during the time of Peter the Great the percentage of homelessness increased

Peter I is the tsar of a new formation: the former tsars rarely left Moscow, “everything was done with a report to the great sovereign,” and Peter I, immersed in his reforming activities in Moscow, did not sit and was present everywhere on his own, where the situation required. He created a new kingdom, for which he had to break the old foundations. The transformations have affected all spheres of the country's life. "The forest is being cut - the chips are flying." The tsarist innovations were hard on the people - they required an infinite amount of human resources and money. Especially great efforts were required to create a fleet and to participate in the war. The poll tax, recruitment and the influx of foreign specialists caused strong discontent.

The growing murmur poured into riots, but it is good that the best people who cared for the good of the country, like him, were concentrated around the reformer-king. The strong movement drew others after them, interfering with bad designs. All these reform efforts and the war were not in vain: a great thing was done, but the people became impoverished, children were left orphans, the number of illegitimate and abandoned children increased.

How Peter I solved the problem of child homelessness and why the measures taken were ineffective

The starting point in deciding the fate of homeless children was the efforts of the Novgorod Metropolitan Job, who in 1706, on his own initiative and at his own expense, opened an institution at the monastery for feeding and raising orphans. His pupils later became servicemen or townspeople, and some became clergymen. Subsequently, Peter I launched the process of subordination of the church to the state and the penetration of the state into the spheres that the church was previously engaged in, including the sphere of charity for the poor and young children left without care. The tsar tried to transform the social sphere as well. But the scale of the problem and the lack of opportunities for full funding (the lion's share of the state budget was spent on the army and its rearmament, plus a number of global transformations in other areas) did not allow these efforts to be successful.

However, Peter I managed to change the attitude towards orphans - their charity ceased to be a matter of a private person, caring through deeds of mercy for the salvation of his soul, or only a church matter, they began to be taken care of at the state level. The question was posed in such a way that now the upbringing and education of such children is a necessary and useful business for the state. The reform provided for the establishment of custody of such children and their further socialization. The organization of orphans in families, or nurses who received a salary for this, was being established, and from them - in educational homes organized at churches or monasteries, where children were to be raised up to 7 years old, and then sent to various schools (craft, church and others) …

The magistrates were responsible for appointing guardians and supervising them - not ecclesiastical bodies, but state ones. In a decree of 1715, the tsar ordered that hospitals "for shameful babies" (that is, illegitimate babies) be set up in Moscow and other Russian cities in order to save as many of them as possible from the unenviable fate of being killed or abandoned. Anonymous admission to these hospitals was organized. The provision of such institutions was carried out not only at the expense of church donations and contributions from individuals, but at the expense of city revenues.

How alimony appeared in the Russian Empire

Peter I legislated punishment measures for those who lived in a civil marriage with a woman and did not provide financially for the joint children born ("who will stay with the girl, and she will give birth from him"). Such a person was obliged to pay a fine for the maintenance of the mother and baby (a prototype of alimony), in addition, he was even threatened with imprisonment, followed by church repentance. These measures were enshrined in special articles in the Military Regulations (1716) and the Naval Regulations (1720). They were canceled if the culprit marries the mother of the child.

Despite all the decrees issued and the actual steps being taken, the situation with the poor, vagabonds and street children did not level off. For the successful implementation of social reform, better financial support was required, which at that time was impossible to achieve.

Where Peter I ordered to "attach" rootless babies

Due to the large-scale transformations, there were not enough workers in the country, therefore, orphans were treated as future workers. By placing a homeless child in private custody or in a foster home, the state allowed the use of free child labor. Since the number of street children was constantly increasing, Peter I issued a decree ordering underage boys to be sent to work in factories, and those who were ten years old to be sent to sailors.

However, custody of abandoned children is gradually being regulated in more detail from a legal point of view. The circle of persons who can be guardians (close relatives, stepfather) began to be defined more clearly. The guardian has a duty to represent the interests of the child. And the obligation to return to the child under guardianship his property upon reaching the last adulthood passes from the moral plane to the legal one. In the era of Peter I, more and more rights, duties and powers in the field of charity for minors are given to city government bodies.

It will also be interesting to know how children were born and raised in families of serfs.