In this study, written during the first Russian revolution, the scientist, using extensive factual material, examined the reasons for the emergence of autocratic power in Russia. The main reason for the establishment of autocracy is ultimately the emergence and initial development of a monetary economy with a vast market. The main methodological installation of the researcher was that the study of the development of the state system is possible only in the context of the social and economic development of society as a whole, hence - a deep excursion into the specifics of the economic and social development of the Moscow state in the XVI - the first half of the XVII century. The book consistently examines various aspects of the relations of the supreme power, starting from the end of the XV century.: the formation of a system of subordinate administration, the management of discharge cases, the solution of issues related to land ownership by the authorities, the financial functions of the authorities, the judicial system, the police activity of the state, control over the administration, relations between the church and the state.