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Практическое применение законодательных норм в русских городах: на примере конфликта в Ржевском магистрате середины XVIII в.
The article examines the conflict that arose during the elections in 1748-1761. in the Rzhev magistrate between the “true believers” of the townspeople and the Old Believers. As a result of his analysis, the practice of the actual implementation of legislative norms in the electoral process in Russian cities in the mid-18th century, as well as the factors influencing this process, was traced. The attempt of the Rzhev Old Believers to introduce “agents of their influence” into the magistrate caused resistance from another intra-posad group, as a result of which an election conflict flared up. The Rzhev "faithful" merchants also raised the question of whether the Old Believers had the right to participate in the secular council. At the same time, the Chief Magistrate was in no hurry to resolve the conflict and give clarifying explanations about how the legislative provisions should be applied in this case, since the financial interests of this institution were not affected in the conflict. This, however, did not stop the Rzhev “faithful” merchants, who on their own brought three more institutions into the conflict: the Raskolnik Cantor of the government Senate, the Salt Cantor, and the consistory of the Archbishop of Tver and Kashin Mitrofan. This changed the course of the conflict in a key way. However, the Chief Magistrate gave only ad hoc directions on how the issue of application of the laws should be resolved, avoiding any definitive conclusions. Using the example of the electoral conflict in Rzhev, one can see how the implementation of legislative norms is influenced by clashes of different state interests and different departments. At the same time, one of the key roles in the process of implementing the laws in this case was played by the townspeople: they showed not only unexpected activity, but also knowledge of the legislation and understanding of the interests of which institutions are affected in this conflict and how they can be involved in the confrontation.