Catherine The Great Reform

the Legislative Commission of 1767-8 and the Nakaz. What ideas were put forth? What was the role of Catherine the Great? For whom were these changes discussed and debated?

1)
In December 1766, Catherine II called upon the free "estates" (nobles, townspeople, state peasants, Cossacks) and central government offices to select deputies to attend a commission to participate in the preparation of a new code of laws. The purpose of the commission was therefore consultative; it was not intended to be a parliament in the modern sense. The Legislative Commission opened in Moscow in July 1767, then moved to St. Petersburg in February 1768. Following the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War in January 1769, it was prorogued and never recalled. The
Thus, Peter insulted his two greatest allies: the army and the church, and it cost him dearly. Catherine knew she needed to act quickly.

Her first intention drawing the country out of debt by focusing on agriculture
Catherine encouraged horse, sheep, and cattle breeding. She offered grants for farmers to purchase new machinery and learn western methods. Catherine “acknowledged that not a small number of such regions still lie fallow, that could be advantageously and easily most usefully utilized to be populated and lived in” (Germans From Russia). She offered pleasing terms in
German and French newspapers to foreigners who wanted to settle in Russia (History Web). If they could not afford the journey, they had the option of notifying the Russian ambassador near them, who would finance their voyage. All immigrants were allowed to enter Russia on the terms that they announced their presence, and were willing to be detained, but once settled, were to be exempt from taxes for a certain
These were free to spend said revenues, making creating a budget impossible; thus Catherine reformed finance collections with the Statute of 1775
In this statute she also repealed roughly 32 taxes. The Statute was also meant to reorganize the provinces. In ten years, the 25 original provinces were divided into 41, Districts were divided to have between 20,000 and 30,000 residents, raising the district count from 169 to 493 (
Within the Statute of 1775 were also laws regarding criminals. Torture was strictly forbidden, and Catherine wished prisoners to be considered as “innocent until proven guilty”
Catherine also set up Courts of Conscience, modeled after England’s, where more unusual cases were viewed. Thus the Statute of 1775 was significant because Catherine reorganized her country’s budget, provinces, and court system. It allowed Catherine to reform Russia and help it begin to meet western standards.

Furthermore 1780, Catherine issued the Armed Neutrality