In ancient Russia, orders called central government bodies. They were also called chambers and courtyards, huts and palaces, thirds and quarters. They suggest that orders as state institutions arose involuntarily, and the first mention of them in this role occurs in 1512 in a letter sent to the Vladimir Uspensky Monastery by the Grand Duke of All Russia Vasily III.
A certain number of people were ordered to do some specific things - that is how the definition of "order" appeared. The newly established orders acted on behalf of the sovereign and were the highest government seats. Complaints about their actions were considered only by the king or the tsar’s duma. Orders are the initial stages of current ministries.
Occurrence and purpose
An embassy order arose in 1549 under Ivan IV. It existed until 1720. By a judicial system in 1550, Ivan the Terrible introduced a system of command and control, which was designed to provide for state needs. For almost 200 years, the framework of this system was preserved and was replaced only during the Great Reformer Peter I. The duties of the newly created order included relations with other states, ransoms and exchange of prisoners, overseeing certain groups of “service people”, for example, Don Cossacks.
Main functions
The embassy order also dealt with the management of certain lands in the south and east of the state. He was also responsible for sending Russian missions abroad, and for receiving foreign missions. In his submission were foreign merchants, throughout their stay in our territory.
The preparation of texts of international negotiations was also charged with the responsibility of the order. He supervised the diplomatic missions.
Body structure
Initially, the Ambassadorial order consisted of a duma clerk, under the command of which were his “comrade” (deputy), 15-17 clerks (lower administrative rank) and several interpreters. At the head of the newly created institution was Prikaznoy clerk, aka Ambassador clerk. In those days, clerks were called civil servants (in addition to clergy), in particular, heads of orders or junior ranks in the boyar’s Duma.
Structure is gaining weight
The first Ambassadorial order was headed by Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovatov, who until that appointment had served as ambassador, duma clerk, was the keeper of the state press. He was at the head of the order until his death, which occurred in 1570. With the growth of the international weight of Russia, the value of the Ambassadorial order also increased, its staff increased many times - in 1689 53 clerks served in it instead of 17 and 22 translators plus 17 interpreters (interpreter).
By the end of the 17th century, the Ambassadorial order had gained such strength that it became one of the most important components of the central state apparatus of Russia. In this century, he has gone from the Chancellery for External Relations to a state structure with significant independence and the broadest powers.
Milestones
The entire period of existence of the Ambassadorial order can be conditionally decomposed in accordance with the three epoch-making intervals of that time. This is the Time of Troubles, the restoration of the Russian monarchy under Mikhail Romanov, the first Russian tsar from this dynasty, and the heyday of statehood, which came under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
Bright representatives
Since 1621, Ivan Tarasyevich Gramotin, the then head of the Ambassadorial order, began to prepare for the king systematic information about the situation in other countries. They were drawn from the periodicals of countries, as well as from the observations and conclusions of the ambassadors. These “West letters” were essentially the first Russian newspaper. I must say a few words about this eighth chapter of the Ambassadorial order. He began his career as a clerk, and three times under different kings he held the highest post of the Ambassadorial order. In the Time of Troubles, he was one of the most prominent politicians.
Upgrades
The structure of the order was divided into departments that manage paperwork on territorial grounds (uplift). There were five in total. The functions of the Ambassadorial order, according to these five clerical parts, were distributed as follows - the first exaltation included the countries of Western Europe - England and France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the Papal state. The second povety was engaged in relations with Sweden, Poland and Wallachia (the south of modern Romania), Moldova, Turkey and the Crimea, Holland, Hamburg.
Relations with Denmark, Branderburg and Kurland were dealt with by the 3rd branch in the order, managing the clerical work of these countries. Persia, Armenia, India and the Kalmyk state were under the jurisdiction of the 4th Povyta. The last fifth was in charge of relations with China, Bukhara, Khiva, the Zhungar state and Georgia.
Work volumes are growing
From the very moment when the Ambassadorial order was established, he was charged with the general management of the country's foreign policy. From the second half of the 17th century, the following orders were directly subordinated to him - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Smolensky and Little Russia. It also kept the accumulated over time archive of the most important foreign and domestic political documents.
