Legal Projects of the Supreme Privy Council in January-February 1730 as the Beginning of Early Constitutionalism in the Russian Empire

Aim. Determine the political and legal nature of constitutional projects in early 1730.

Methodology. A political and legal comparative analysis of “constitutional” projects and other evidence in the field of the history of Russian law related to an attempt to change the political system in the Russian Empire in connection with the conspiracy of the Supreme Privy Council in early 1730.

Results. The authors revealed that the proponents of limiting the power of the monarch in Russia proceeded from the provisions of natural law, which were well known among educated Russians at that time. The lack of legal traditions of parliamentarism in Russia led to the fact that the constitutional projects of the beginning of 1730 had little in common with such projects in a number of Western countries, but the authors at the same time believe that Russian society has not gone so far in its legal consciousness from the countries of continental Europe in the first half of the 18th century. The authors believe that the “Conditions” of the “supreme leaders” were the answer to the challenges of their time, which Russia faced already at the end of Peter the Great’s reforms.

Research implications. For the first time in the study of the history of the state and law of Russia, an analysis of early domestic constitutionalism was made, from the standpoint of studying the influence of the school of natural law on Russian society and the reaction of elites to crisis processes in the country. The materials of this article can be used in the educational process within the framework of the subject “History of State and law”.

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