Казнь после казни: власть и тело преступника после смерти в России начала XVIII в.

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the relationship between the authorities and the Church regarding the body of a criminal after execution. Such an existential event for society traditionally fell within the realm of religious beliefs and church rituals. At the same time, the death penalty has always undoubtedly been one of the most important channels of social control and a means of intimidating subjects. It was during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, under the rule of Peter I, that church rituals and the dogmas of the Last Judgment gradually began to give way to the demonstration of the state's monopoly on violence. This perspective of the study will allow us to see in the worldview of eighteenth-century Russia not just the traits of a transitional period, but also evidence of a deep transformation in consciousness. The facts of the punishment of the criminal’s body after death have been documented by many researchers of repressive practices, using Russian sources. Historians point to the tradition of burying executed individuals outside the cemetery grounds, in "poor houses” (ubogie doma), in common nameless graves without religious rites. It is well known that after executions, bodies were left on the wheel, nailed to trees and fences, drowned in rivers, thrown into forests or swamps, burned, and the heads of criminals often remained on stakes or pillories "for admonition" to others. This extensive documentary material has rich heuristic potential and requires deep interpretation. In this article, the historical context of the punishment of the criminal's body after execution will be explored based on three high-profile cases: the case of the streltsy colonel Ivan Tsykler and his associates in 1697; the streltsy executions of 1698–1699; and the case of the first governor of Siberia, Prince Matvei Gagarin, in 1721. A comparison of the circumstances and symbolism of these executions will provide new material for understanding the mechanisms of the representation of power during the early Russian Enlightenment. The conclusions of the work are based on investigative cases from the Preobrazhenskii Chancellery (Prikaz), the Secret Chancellery, and the Expedition; visual sources; and descriptions of executions left by contemporaries.