Abstract
With the return of Speransky to St. Petersburg from Siberia in 1821, a new period began in his political career. It would be an exaggeration to maintain, as some historians have done, that exile and service in remote provinces of the Empire had broken him morally and had transformed him into a spineless courtier, willing to undertake any assignment, however unpleasant. It is nonetheless true that Speransky returned to the capital a somewhat changed man. He never had been a very willful personality; his origins and early seminary schooling had developed in him a timid flexibility which could easily be taken for spinelessness. Also, by 1822 Speransky had lost most of his earlier energetic enthusiasm and self-confident faith in his work. After a decade of humiliation, loneliness, and wandering, he returned to the court a more humble, cautious, and “plodding” high bureaucrat.
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References
Letter to Count V. Kochubei, dated 21 Sept. 1818, Russkaia Starina, vol. 111 (July 1902), pp. 53-54 (also cited in Fateev: “Speranskii, General Gubernator Sibiri,” I, loc. at., p. 138).
Speranskii, “Zamechaniia o gubernskikh uchrezhdeniiakh” Arkhiv istoricheskikh i prakticheskikh svedenii, (1859), No. 4, pp. 95–96.
Ibid., p. 97.
I. Blinov, Gubernatory — istoriko-iurdicheskii ocherk (St. Pbg., 1905), p. 161.
“Zamechaniia o gubernskikh uchrezhdeniiakh,” loc. cit., p. 96.
“Vvedenie k namestnicheskomu (oblastnomu) uchrezhdeniiu,” Materialy… komissii o preobrazovanii gubernskikh i uezdnykh uchrezhdenii, I (1870), the discussion of the point is on pp. 75-78, the concrete proposals pp. 81-82, 83-84, in particular paragraphs 1-3, 5-6, 10, 11, 13: “I. Besides the general supervision entrusted to the Governing Senate, there is established a local main supervision over the provincial administration (with the name of Regional Administration). II. To this end the provinces are combined into regions (oblast’ or okrug). III. The main local supervision in each Region is entrusted to a Lieutenant (Governor General) and a Council. V. The Regional Administration (Lieutenancy) belongs to the order of state administration and is, in essence, the Ministry acting on the spot. VI. The Lieutenant (Governor General), ex officio is member of the Governing Senate, 1st Department, and of the Committee of Ministers. X. The power of supervision covers: 1. the flow of business, 2. the procedure of business. XL The power of administration, of decision, is of two kinds: 1. general — it consists in that all matters requiring authorization from higher authorities are forwarded through the Regional Administration, 2. particular — which consists in the following: a) inform the Senate of local difficulties in case new regulations are being implemented, and in the meantime, stop the application of these regulations, b) in criminal cases, decide without appeal any divergence of opinion between the Civilian Governor and the Criminal Court, c) to order guardianships over those who engage in too wanton a display of luxury or cruelty, d) to take decisive measures in case of popular disasters, when such measures cannot be delayed, e) to dismiss, remove, officials according to the rules established for these contingencies, f) assign to positions and nominate for rewards. XIII. The power of supervision and correction is entrusted to the Regional Administration, it also extends to those areas which are not part of the provincial administration, such as postal service, customs, etc. From this the military administration is excluded …”
“Zamechaniia o gubernskikh uchrezhdeniiakh,” loc. cit., p. 100. 2 Letter to Senator Stolypin, dated 19 November 1818, Russkii Arkhiv, (1869), p. 1977.
Speranskii, “Nuzhdy i zhelaniia,” in Pamiati, pp. 816–817.
“Zamechaniia o gubernskikh uchrezhdeniiakh,” loc. cit., pp. 98-99.
Ibid., p. 101.
Ibid., p. 99.
Ibid., p. 102.
“Proekt uchrezhdeniia oblastnogo upravleniia,” Materialy… komissii o pre-obrazovanii gubernskikh i uezdnykh uchrezhdenii, I (1870), pp. 86-87.
Ibid., pp. 94-95.
“Proekt uchrezhdeniia dlia upravleniia gubernii,” Sbornik IRIO, vol. 90, pp. 275-276 (pars. 8-9, 12).
Ibid., pp. 280-285, Pars. 38-41.
Ibid., pp. 275-276, Par. 10. A similar idea on the eventual membership of a delegate of the nobility in the chancery of the Regional Administration (oblastnoe pravlenie) is set forth in “Proekt uchrezhdeniia oblastnogo upravleniia,” loc. cit., p. 93, Par. 21.
“Proekt uchrezhdeniia dlia upravleniia gubernii,” loc. cit., p. 293, Par. 108 and p. 294, Par. 110.
For the organization of the judiciary, see ibid., pp. 295-310, pars. 112—-198 passim.
Ibid., p. 317, pars. 245, 248, 249.
The following subjects were specifically reserved for the jurisdiction of the District Administration: “1. state peasants, 2. supervision of guardians appointed over noblemen’s estates, 3. deeds and loans on security of serfs, 4. census of sales of real estate, 5. the disciplining of officials, reporting on local needs to higher authorities, control of the routine administration, accounting of treasury monies, preparation of yearly reports.” (Ibid., pp. 321-25, par. 261).
ibid., p. 332, Par. 314.
Ibid., pp. 332-335, pars. 320-335 passim.
The volost’ performs the following tasks: keeps a permanent and correct census of the population, acts as the general police for the township or its members, apportions the tax burden among the inhabitants, takes care of petty civil cases and minor misdemeanors. The township administration can impose light sentences, as, for instance, a fine not to exceed ten rubles, temporary indentured labor (for debts), moderate corporal punishment, advance recruiting into the army (a most important right, even though every case had to be confirmed by the district administration). (Ibid., pp. 345-54, pars. 342, 397-468).
Ibid., pp. 336-344, pars. 343-396 passim.
Speranskii, “Krepostnaia vlast’,” Pamiati, p. 852.
Letter to V. Kochubei, 21 Sept. 1818, loc. cit., and letter to Stolypin, 2 May 1818, Russkii Arkhiv, (1869), p. 1703.
Cf. V. Semevskii, Krest’ianskii vopros, I, p. 348 (note).
Emperor Nicholas I perhaps ordered the destruction of those items found among Speransky’s papers which might have seemed too radical, dangerous, or undesirable. It was a regular practice of Nicholas to subject to selective sifting the literary remains of all his ministers and officials. Cf. Letter of Nicholas I to General Vasil’chikov on hearing the news of Speransky’s death, 11 February 1839: “A l’instant même je viens d’apprendre Ia fin de notre respectable Speransky… Je crois nécessaire de Vous engager à envoyer de suite Korff mettre les scellés sur les papiers. A demain le reste…” “Iz zapisok barona M. A. Korfa,” Russkaia Starina, Vol. 99, (July 1899), p. 7.
Speranskii, “Opredelenie i ustroistvo krepostnogo sostoianiia,” Pamiati, p. 846; “Zapiska o krepostnom prave…,” in P. Bartenev (ed), Deviatnadtsatyi vek, II (1872), p. 160; cf. also “Istoricheskoe obozrenie izmenenii v prave pozemel’noi sobstvennosti…,” in “O zakonakh — Besedy grafa M. M. Speranskogo…,” Sbornik IRIO, XXX (1881), pp. 450ff.
“Istoricheskoe obozrenie izmenenii v prave pozemel’noi sobstvennosti…,” loc. cit., p. 464.
“Zapiska o krepostnom prave…” loc. cit., p. 160. Also, “Opredelenie i ustroistvo krepostnogo sostoianiia,” loc. cit., p. 847.
“Istoricheskoe obozrenie izmenenii…,” loc. cit., p. 464; “Opredelenie i ustroistvo krepostnogo sostoianiia,” loc. cit., p. 846.
“Krepostnaia vlast’,” Pamiati, p. 851.
“Zapiska o krepostnom prave…,” loc. cit., pp. 160-162; “Nuzhdy i zhelaniia,” Pamiati, p. 813.
“Nuzhdy i zhelaniia,” loc. cit., p. 813.
Ibid., p. 811.
Druzhinin, Gosudarstvennye krest’iane i reforma P. D. Kiseleva, I. p. 172.
Before these steps are taken, Speransky lectured to the heir presumptive, Grand Duke Alexander, one should first clarify and state explicitly the various obligations a serf has to his lord. Much of the abuse is due to the absence of such clear rules, and if they are introduced, they will not only protect the peasant but also help develop a more responsible and “civilized” attitude towards the peasant on the part of the nobility and the officials. “Istoricheskoe obozrenie izmenenii…,” loc. cit., p. 466.
“Zapiska o krepostnom prave…” loc. cit., pp. 162-163.
Ibid., pp. 164-165 — It might be added that individual ideas of Speransky’s, we have just described, had been proposed by various officials previously, for example Jakob, Storch, Kankrin. But none of these foreign authors had systematized them in a way that was directly applicable to Russian circumstances. The most complete exposition of these other suggestions is still V. I. Semevskii’s Krest’ianskii vopros v Rossii.
Druzhinin, op. cit., I, p. 183.
Speranskii, “Mery k ustroistvu gorodskikh i kazennykh sel’skikh obyvatelei,” Pamiati, p. 817. Though Speransky mentions specifically only state peasants, the suggestion would apply to all peasants once they have attained equality of status with the state peasants as envisaged in the first part of the program.
Quoted by Druzhinin, op. cit., I, p. 182.
“Mery k ustroistvu gorodskikh i kazennykh sel’skikh obyvatelei,” loc. cit. p. 814.
Ibid., p. 818 and “Nuzhdy i zhelaniia,” loc. cit., p. 814.
“Narodnye smiateniia,” Pamiati, pp. 822-823.
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© 1957 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
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Raeff, M. (1957). Projects for Reforming the Provincial Administration. In: Michael Speransky. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-9304-7_9
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