Regulation: Policing the City

Abstract

The numerous reforms introduced by Peter I have been linked to the concept of the early modern Polizeistaat, or ‘well-ordered police state’, wherein ‘police’ refers to the ‘institutional means and procedures necessary to secure peaceful and orderly existence for the population¹ However, as one of the leading historians of eighteenth-century Russia has noted, ‘police’ (politsiia) was not merely an institution, it was also a way of thinking about the authority and role of the state.² This interpretation can be linked to the concept of social discipline insofar as the strong central authority of the state — a key part of the Polizeistaat — was able to control social behaviour effectively. St Petersburg provided an important staging ground for the implementation of such a system, since it was the first city in Russia to have a dedicated ‘police’ institution to enforce the component laws. However, the requirements of such a system often meant that the reality of everyday life in St Petersburg often fell short of the ideal, particularly in the consistent application of that system.