Organizational and legal foundations of the activities of the police of the Russian Empire to ensure public welfare in the XVIII–XIX centuries

The article reveals the organizational and legal foundations in the activities of the police to ensure public charity in the period of the XVIII–XIX centuries. The evolution of the formation of the legal foundations that determine the material and financial support in the organization of the mechanism for the implementation of the charity policy is considered. A diverse picture of police activity in the implementation of areas of public charity, features in the implementation of forms of assistance declared by the state, as well as the evolution of methods and directions in police activities is traced. The article analyzes the role of the police, one of the main administrative and executive authorities in the Russian Empire in the development and implementation of the idea of public charity and its traditions, especially in providing supervisory and control functions in organizing assistance to those in need.