Formation of the Noble Class in the System of Political and Legal Values of the Russian Police State

In the system of political and legal values of the police state, class differentiation is an integral element. The functional purpose of the estates determines the place and methodology in the content of the ʻcommon goodʼ, the amount of corresponding privileges for the performance of duties. The process of formation of the nobility by Peter the Great was determined by the fate of the estate ― development trends, the search for resources to protect interests, forms of participation in public life. In the desire to create a social monolith of diverse groups of serving people in the fatherland, it was necessary to resort to harsh measures to introduce universal and lifelong, continuous service with the introduction of a new ranking system of ranks and positions, coercion to receive education and assimilate European culture. The flexibility of class culture allowed the noble class to be replenished with the best people from the taxable categories of the population while preserving the main political and legal values, which allowed for a long time to successfully maintain the existing regime.