"guberniya" - 1 õppematerjal

English portfolio

Catherine II (1762­1796), on the whole, favored the Enlightenment. Her politics of enlightened absolutism aspired to modernize and unify the entire Russian Empire. The special status of the Baltic provinces was greatly reduced: the customs barriers between Estonia and Livonia and Russia were eliminated and an all-Russian tax system (poll tax) enforced. In connection with this, Russia's first census was organized in the same year. In 1783, the Russian guberniya system spread to the Estonian territories. It was called the `regency' and signified a policy compromise by enlightened absolutism towards the Baltic German nobility. Catherine II partly curbed the nobility's class privileges: the peerage roll lost its former significance, and the Councils of Diet were abolished. The Statthalterschaft extended townspeople's rights also to non-Germans, allowing urban Estonians to get a foot on the social ladder and limited participation in politics.