Abstract: The subject of the research is to study the experience of foreign experience in public administration in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. An opportunity for this is provided by the information contained in the “Notes” of Ambassador Peter I A. A. Matveev. When conducting the research, methods of historical and textual analysis (semantic, terminological) were used in combination with the methodology of historical and situational analysis. The result of the study was conclusions about the degree of awareness of Ambassador Matveev about how governance was organized in France, as well as the objectivity of his assessments. It was revealed that Matveev paid maximum attention to the study of the system of higher government bodies in France, the personal and psychological characteristics of those who made decisions in this system. The author comes to the conclusion that Matveev’s information about how the administration of the French kingdom is structured could be useful in reforming public administration in Russia and, in particular, in creating the Senate and organizing its work.

Abstract: The concept of "freedom" is one of the pillars for identifying ideas about the social ideal and one of the guidelines in attempts at social construction of the modern era. The object of this study is the political thought of Russia in the 18th century. The subject of the research is the formation and evolution of the concept of “freedom” in the socio-political texts of Russian authors of the 18th century. The purpose of this article was to identify the specifics of the concept of "freedom", presented in the texts of statesmen and politicians of the 18th century, in relation to the texts created in the pre-Petrine tradition and the texts of the European Enlightenment. The basic research method is the textual analysis of the works of Russian political authors of the 18th century, in its various versions: semantic (including hermeneutics), genetic, comparative. The main conclusion is that the reception of the concept of "freedom" from the texts of the European Enlightenment and the formation, on this basis, of the political concept of "freedom", began in the second third of the 18th century, as evidenced by the texts of V.N. Tatishcheva. This reception ended in the 1780s in the form of three basic interpretations of the concept of "freedom" – liberal (texts by N.I. Panin and his associates), conservative (texts by M.M. Shcherbatov) and democratic (texts by A.N. Radishchev).

Abstract: The subject of this research is the development of theoretical representations on the mechanism of public administration in Russia of the XVIII century. The goal is to determine in the texts of draft reforms prepared by Count P. I. Shuvalov the provisions on the objectives and principles of public administration, as well as to analyze his views on the process of reforming state and social institutions. In the texts of P. I. Shuvalov examines such elements of public administration theory as the administrative objectives, its subject matter, instruments, and administrative decision-making process. It allowed establishing correlation between the two concepts: “the good of the state” and “the common good”, as the goals pursued by public administration. The formulated by Shuvalov principles of public administration fully corresponded to the principles advanced by the philosophers of the European Enlightenment. The conducted analysis decision-making mechanism reveals a universal algorithm, which implies several stages of development of the reforms: a) outlining the problem that needs to be solved using the instruments of public administration ; b) determining the causes of this problem; c) proposing solution to the problem, d) discussing the proposed solution, indicating the instruments that need to be implemented by the state.

Abstract: “Dedication” by P. P. Shafirov is one of the few texts of the early XVIII century that reflects goal-setting of public administration through the concept of “value”. The object of this article is the establishment of Russian administrative thought in the early XVII century. The subject of this article is the process of development of the concept of “value” as fundamental in substantiation of the goal of public administration. The author attempts to reveal the content of this concept in the text of “Dedication” in juxtaposition to the texts of Western European philosophers of the XVII century who rely on the concepts of “value” and “common good”, and to the similar in tasks texts of Russian authors – P. P. Shafirov and his contemporaries. The main conclusion consists in determination of fundamental difference between the Russian and the European concept of “value”. It implies that in Russia, the concept of “value” is primarily attributed to the state, while in Europe the basic concept was the “common good”. Shafirov deemed it possible to interpret the “state value” not only as creation of the conditions for expansion superiority and strength of the state, but also as the “value to its nationals”. It opened the door for transformation of “state value” into the “common”. Such transformation was not complete, which resulted in parallel existence of the two concepts: “value of state” and “common value”