Preliminary Reform, 1831–1832¹

Abstract

The proposals for change made by Dibich, Wittgenstein, and Vasil’ chikov in 1828 formed the bases for parts of the reforms of 1832–1836, but the final reform bore little resemblance to their recommendations. The suggestions made in 1828 were inadequate as blueprints for reform—they were more in the nature of complaints, and by the time it was possible to think about serious reform, all three men had vanished from the military-political scene. Dibich died fighting the Polish insurgents in May 1831, Vasil’ chikov returned to his retirement, and Wittgenstein, who would forever be tied in Nicholas’s mind to the failures of 1828, also retired. The task of reforming devolved upon Dibich’s successor, Aleksandr Ivanovich Chernyshev, who was the first and last man to hold simultaneously the posts of War Minister and Chief of the Main Staff.