The role of the Government in the formation of the merchant class as the bar in the second half of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century

Kipriyanova Nataliya Vladimirovna

In the present article examines the controversial issue of formation of the merchant class in Russia and the impact of government on the process. The stratification of society on the basis of legislative norms was necessary for the state to establish more complete control over its subjects. The government sought to legally formalize the status of the most prosperous social groups of the urban population, regardless of the type of activity and social origin. In the process of forming the Russian merchant class, the state tried to find a balance between its own interests, the interests of the commercial and industrial population and society as a whole. The desire to preserve the leading role of the nobility led to the restriction of the class rights of the merchants. The legislative norms established by the state did not allow the merchant class to become a full-fledged estate.

Keywords:Russia, merchants, estate, the second half of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century, power.