Regulation and control of duty hours of the record clerks in Russia during 1725-1734 (on the example of Middle Ural)

Abstract

This article is dedicated to examination of the history of establishment of the institution of duty hours at the time of Russian Empire after the death of Peter the Great. Namely the years of the rule of the first Russian emperor mark the emergence of the paramount of normative legal acts, which determined the fundamentals for regulation of state administration. The subject of this research is the analysis of discipline and control practices of the work of record clerks in the decade after the death of Peter the Great. The goal consists in determination of peculiarities in regulation of duty hours of the clerks during 1725-1734. The method of historiographical analysis allowed examining the internal criticism of the structure and content of legislative acts and documental materials. The author also applied the chronological method, mathematical analysis, and method of comparative-legal studies. The scientific novelty lies in comparison of the legislation and regulation practice of duty hours of the clerks in a particular region of the Russian Empire. Despite the sufficient knowledge on the history of mining administration in the Ural Region, the question of regulation of duty hours of the clerks of Siberian Oberbergamt did not receive due attention on the pages of monographs and articles. The comparison of legislative acts and specificity of orderliness of activity of the clerks of Siberian Oberbergamt and subordinate establishments allowed determining that the regulations on duty hours recorded in General Regulation required constant reinforcement by the local normative acts. Along with the monetary fines set by the Regulation, the record clerks were punished by confinements, demotion to a lower appointment, as well as hitting by cudgels. The increase in document flow created conditions for strengthening control over the work of clerks.