37 takings since the middle of the seventeenth century, required not only the most efficient collection of taxes possible, but also a concentrated treasury administration. There were, however, three prikazy which were almost exclusively involvcd in administering financial affairs. The Prikaz BoVshogo prikhoda administered the collection of customs duties and was to supervise such things as the Moscow customs office, as well as to regulate weights and measures throughout the realm. The Prikaz Novoi chetverti collected the tax imposed by the state on the sale and serving of alcohol, the so-called Kahatskie den'gi. However, its area of collection was limited to Moscow and, briefly, the cities in the southern part of Russia. In addition, this prikaz carried on a continuous struggle against private commerce in alcohol and tobacco, which had been declared illegal. The Prikaz BoVshoi kazny was involved in more comprehensive fiscal administration and was, for example, in charge of the crown’s own commercial and manufacturing activities. The minting of coins, which was done in the Denezhnyi dvor, was also included among the responsibilities of this chancellery.^- The administration of foreign affairs was primarily the task of the so-called PosoVskii prikaz, while military matters were divided among several administrative units. In principle, the Razriadnyi prikaz was responsible for the defense of the realm and was to maintain constant control over the cavalry to ensure that it was in fighting trim and could be mobilized rapidly if the country was threatened. Likewise, the Razriadnyi prikaz was to see to it that necessary fortifications were built and to organize the defense of the frontiers. In addition to this prikaz, the Streletskii and Pushkarskii prikazy should be mentioned, since the first of these was in charge of the so-called strePtsy regiments, a type of infantry unit in the Muscovite army, and the second was responsible for the artillery and for the production of weapons. The cannon foundry, the socalled Pushechnyi dvor, was also supervised by the Pushkarskii prikazP^ The so-called palace chancelleries, or dvortsovye prikazy, constituted a special group whose jurisdictions sometimes encompassed the entire country. Here we find the Prikaz BoPshogo dvortsa, which administered the extensive crown estates, the Kazennyi prikaz, where the crown jewels, furs, and other treasures were stored, and the Koniushennyi prikaz, or crown stables, which was responsible not only for maintenance of the stables, but also for the collection throughout the realm of the so-called UsTiuGOV (1955), 370—371. UsTiuGov (1964), 139—140.
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