Anna Ioannovna’s conditions in the history of Russian state and legal institutions: experience of interdisciplinary research (historical-legal and constitutional-legal aspects)

Pavel Astafichev

VAK Russia 5.1.1 UDC 340.15

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ANNA IOANNOVNA’S CONDITIONS IN THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN STATE AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS: EXPERIENCE OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH (HISTORICAL-LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL-LEGAL ASPECTS) Anna Ioannovna’s conditions in the history of Russian state and legal institutions: experience of interdisciplinary research (historical-legal and constitutional-legal aspects)

АА Аа

Published in Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia · Volume 2026, Issue 3 · Pages 21–30 · Rubric: Theoretical and historical legal sciences

Received: 22.04.2026 Accepted: 25.09.2026 Published: 30.09.2026 Language of publication: RUS

Authors

Pavel Astafichev

ORCID

Pavel Astafichev

Academic degree: doctor of jurisprudence sciences

Science rang: professor

Saint Petersburg University of the MIA of Russia Russian Federation

ORCID

ABSTRACT

Introduction. The article examines a number of issues relating to attempts to institutionalise constitutional principles in Russia during the first half of the 18th century, as well as identifies and systematises the reasons behind the failure of the relevant state-legal projects. In the contemporary Russian context, characterised by the official legal recognition of the fundamental principles of constitutionalism (the separation of powers, popular sovereignty and the primacy of human rights), the issue of the historical and legal assessment of the Mitava Conditions has come to the fore; these conditions require a new or substantially revised interpretation. The author argues that, from a 21st-century perspective, it is, at the very least, unfair to accuse the Supreme Privy Council’s members of attempting “a coup d’état”, seizing or usurping power, or engaging in mutiny or rebellion. The Supreme Privy Council proposed to the Crown the first (albeit somewhat “crude”, “primitive” and “unviable”) model of domestic constitutionalism. The Mitava Conditions played the role in Russian history of a “failed project”, with no explicit succession in subsequent state and legal practice, and were harshly suppressed. This had undeniable political and legal consequences and largely predetermined the further course of Russian state and legal history. Methods. The research is based on a range of methods developed and tested within the field of the history of state and law. The methods employed included analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, the dialectical approach, and the method of comparative law. Results. The author proves that the absolute, constitutionally unrestricted monarchy of 1730 hindered the positive development of the state, and that the restoration of absolute autocracy in the first half of the 18th century was one of the causes of the subsequent social crises and upheavals experienced by the Russian Empire, which were particularly acute in 1825, 1905 and 1917. The values upheld by the Supreme Privy Council, namely the prohibition of unlawful deprivation of life and the legally limited powers of the head of state, are unquestionably reflected in the modern Russian constitutional order.

KEYWORDS

constitutionalism, separation of powers, absolutism, limited monarchy, the Mitava Conditions, the Supreme Privy Council’s members, traditionalism, Western European influence, parliamentarism, constitutional culture, legal consciousness

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GOST

Astafichev P. A. Anna Ioannovna’s conditions in the history of Russian state and legal institutions: experience of interdisciplinary research (historical-legal and constitutional-legal aspects) // Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. 2026. no. 3. pp. 21-30. URL: https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c164b32807fdbab873787/anna-ioannovna-s-conditions-in-the-history-of-russian-state-and-legal-institutions-experience-of-interdisciplinary-research-historical-legal-and-constitutional-legal-aspects/view. (Date of access 09.10.2026).

MLA

Pavel Astafichev. "Anna Ioannovna’s conditions in the history of Russian state and legal institutions: experience of interdisciplinary research (historical-legal and constitutional-legal aspects)." Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 2026.3 (2026): 21-30. URL: https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c164b32807fdbab873787/anna-ioannovna-s-conditions-in-the-history-of-russian-state-and-legal-institutions-experience-of-interdisciplinary-research-historical-legal-and-constitutional-legal-aspects/view.

APA

Astafichev P. A. (2026). Anna Ioannovna’s conditions in the history of Russian state and legal institutions: experience of interdisciplinary research (historical-legal and constitutional-legal aspects). Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 2026(3), 21-30. URL: https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c164b32807fdbab873787/anna-ioannovna-s-conditions-in-the-history-of-russian-state-and-legal-institutions-experience-of-interdisciplinary-research-historical-legal-and-constitutional-legal-aspects/view

Chicago

Pavel Astafichev. "Anna Ioannovna’s conditions in the history of Russian state and legal institutions: experience of interdisciplinary research (historical-legal and constitutional-legal aspects)." Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 2026, no. 3 (2026): 21-30. URL: https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c164b32807fdbab873787/anna-ioannovna-s-conditions-in-the-history-of-russian-state-and-legal-institutions-experience-of-interdisciplinary-research-historical-legal-and-constitutional-legal-aspects/view.

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Astafichev P. A. | title = Anna Ioannovna’s conditions in the history of Russian state and legal institutions: experience of interdisciplinary research (historical-legal and constitutional-legal aspects) | journal = Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia | year = 2026 | volume = 2026 | issue = 3 | pages = 21-30 | url = https://vestnikkf.ru/en/nauka/publications/article/6a9c164b32807fdbab873787/anna-ioannovna-s-conditions-in-the-history-of-russian-state-and-legal-institutions-experience-of-interdisciplinary-research-historical-legal-and-constitutional-legal-aspects/view }}

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