Foreigners and representatives of the old aristocracy in the Russian ruling elite during the reign of Anna Ioannovna: the problem of the dynamics of the quantitative ratio

The article examines the internal structure of the Russian ruling elite during the reign of Anna Ioannovna. Criteria are proposed according to which certain statesmen of a given era should be classified in this group. Two key parts of it are identified – foreigners and representatives of the old nobility. It is shown that in the 1730-ies, the increase in the number of the former occurred mainly at the expense of the latter. Based on quantitative data, the dynamics of this process were determined. In addition, a numerical relationship was revealed between foreigners and people from the old aristocracy within a number of groups adjacent to the ruling elite – the military generals, holders of the orders of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called and Alexander Nevsky, as well as the chamberlain corps. It is shown that the number of foreigners increased to the greatest extent among, firstly, representatives of the upper layer of the ruling elite, and secondly, holders of the highest orders, moreover, in the latter group the number of foreigners increased while maintaining the positions of the old nobility. At the same time, within the ruling elite as a whole, as well as the generals, the process of growing influence of foreigners was more moderate. Thus, two sides of the development of the trend under study have been identified, one of which was an increase in the number of foreigners in the highest echelons of the state apparatus, the army, and also at court, while the other was the growth of the influence of foreigners within the narrow upper layer of the political elite and associated with this prestige enjoyed by foreigners, who received corresponding awards as a result.