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«Записку вашу мне данную принели все с превеликою вашему сиятельству благодарностью…»: Документы о составлении наказа дворянства Шлиссельбургского уезда из бумаг Р.И. Воронцова (1767 г.)
The correspondence of Senator Count Roman Vorontsov with captain of Preobrazhenskii regiment Petr Chebyshev and Marshal of Shlissel´burg nobility Alexander Artsybashev is a unique source revealing unofficial negotiations regarding the election of Vorontsov as a deputy to the Legislative Commission of 1767 and the composition of the instruction (nakaz) addressed to him. It demonstrates that Roman Vorontsov initiated his election and gave recommendations as to which requests to the Monarch should be included in the instruction to the deputy. The Shlissel´burg nobles elected Vorontsov without apparent hesitation and in most cases took his advice as to the instruction’s content. However, they abandoned some of the count’s ideas and included some claims of their own. The preface to the publication of the documents contextualizes the case in the following respects: personal information on Shlissel´burg nobles participating in the election; the connection of Vorontsov’s activities as Shlissel´burg deputy with his views expressed as a senator and co‑author of the Moscow nobility’s instruction; the importance of the Shlissel´burg instruction case for the exploration of other instructions of the nobility. The investigation leads the author to the conclusion that the demands drawn up by Roman Vorontsov were to a great extent in accordance with the wishes expressed by rank‑and‑file nobility despite some differences in claims and ways of argumentation. The electors first of all appealed to the Monarch’s mercy for their needs whereas the deputy tended to justify his claims with considerations on the State’s well‑being. The task of formulating their interests and problems significantly enhanced communication among the nobility and promoted the dissemination of shared ideas as well as the expression of relatively specific ones. Last, the information provided by this presentation of the Shlissel´burg nakaz can be useful for understanding other instructions as the result of the interaction of different views and not as the final position of all the nobility of a district.