Police Function of Bailiffs in Forts and Free Settlements of Western Siberia in the First Half of the XVIII Century (Based on Documents Issued in Kuznetsk Province)

Abstract

The research featured a historical and legal analysis of functions attributed to bailiffs of forts and settlements inhabited by free peasants in the XVIII-century Western Siberia. The objective was to develop a deeper understanding of the essence of law enforcement process at a local level in the early Imperial Russia. The author relied on management documents and case records from the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts. Bailiffs appeared to have no clearly stated police functions in the related regulatory acts. The author describes their responsibilities in law enforcement, rights protection, crime documentation, surveillance, detention, interrogation, search, and escorting. The article also focuses on the three types of popular crimes in the local administrative practices. The content and peculiarities of most law enforcement procedures depended on the general tendencies in the regional and state-level administrations. By the middle of the XVIII century, bailiffs had lost most of their police powers, which were resumed by the military officers of the local regular forces.

Keywords

• governor of provinces
• law enforcement competences
• political crime
• inquest
• irregular troops
• newly formed dragoon regiment