Which of Speransky's proposals were not implemented. Reform activity of M.M.

I find two conditions in Russia: the sovereign's slaves and the landlord's slaves. The former are called free only in relation to the latter; there are no really free people in Russia, except for beggars and philosophers.

The reign of Alexander 1 is marked by numerous reforms that affected almost all aspects of the state's life. One of the inspirers of changes in Russia at that time was Mikhail Speransky, who proposed to radically reform the political structure of the country, organizing its authorities on the principle of separation of branches of power. These ideas are known today as Speransky's reforms, which we will briefly review in this material. The reforms themselves were carried out in the period from 1802 to 1812 and were of great importance for Russia at that time.

The main provisions of the Speransky reform project

Speransky's reforms are usually divided into three stages: 1802-1807, 1808-1810, 1811-1812. Let's consider each of the stages in more detail.

First stage (1802-1807)

At this stage, Speransky did not hold positions of particular importance, but at the same time, taking part in the "Secret Committee", together with Kochubey, he developed a ministerial reform. As a result, the boards that had been created under Peter 1 were liquidated, then were abolished by Catherine, however, in the years of Paul 1 they again resumed their activities as the main state bodies under the emperor. After 1802 ministries were created instead of colleges. The Cabinet of Ministers was created to coordinate the work of the Ministries. In addition to these transformations, Speransky published a number of reports on the role of law in the life of the state and the need for a competent distribution of responsibilities among state bodies. These studies became the basis for the next stages of Speransky's reforms.

Second stage (1808-1810)

After increasing the emperor's confidence and being appointed to important government positions, in 1809 Speransky prepared one of the most important documents in his political career - "Introduction to the Code of State Laws." It was a plan for the reforms of the Russian Empire. Historians note the following key provisions of this document as a system that quite clearly characterizes Speransky's reforms:

At the heart of the political power of the state. Division of branches into legislative, executive and judicial. Speransky drew this idea from the ideas of the French Enlightenment, in particular Montesquieu. Legislative power was to be exercised by the State Duma, executive power by the already established Ministries, and judicial power by the Senate.
Creation of an advisory body under the emperor, the State Council. This body was supposed to prepare draft laws, which would then be submitted to the Duma, where, after voting, they could become laws.
Social transformations. The reform was supposed to carry out the division of Russian society into three classes: the first - the nobility, the second ("middle class") - merchants, petty bourgeois and state peasants, the third - the "working people".
Implementation of the idea of "natural law". Civil rights (the right to life, arrest only by court order, etc.) for all three estates, and political rights should have belonged only to the "free people", that is, the first two estates.
Social mobility was allowed. With the accumulation of capital, serfs could redeem themselves, and therefore become the second estate, and therefore receive political rights.
The State Duma is an elected body. Elections were to be held in 4 stages, thereby creating regional authorities. First of all, the two estates elected the volost duma, whose members elected the county duma, whose deputies, in turn, formed the provincial duma with their votes. Deputies at the provincial level elected the State Duma.
The leadership of the Duma passed to the Chancellor appointed by the emperor.

After the publication of this project, Speransky, together with the Emperor, began to implement the ideas. On January 1, 1810, an advisory body was organized - the State Council. Mikhail Speransky himself was appointed its head. In theory, this body was supposed to become a temporary legislative body until the Duma is formed. Also, the Council was supposed to manage the finances of the empire.

Third stage (1811-1812)

Despite the incompleteness of the implementation of the first stage of the reforms, in 1811 Speransky published the Code of the Governing Senate. This document suggested:

He proposed to divide the Senate into the Governing (issues of local government) and the Judicial (the main body of the judicial branch of power in the Russian Empire).
Create a vertical of the judiciary. Provincial, district and volost courts should be created.
He expressed the idea of granting civil rights to serfs.

This draft, like the first document of 1809, remained just a draft. At the time of 1812, only one idea of Speransky was implemented - the creation of the State Council.

Why did Alexander 1 not dare to implement Speransky's project?

Criticism of Speransky began as early as 1809 after the publication of the Introduction to the Code of State Laws. Alexander 1 perceived Speransky's criticism as his own. In addition, since Speransky's reforms were based largely on the ideas of the French Enlightenment, he was criticized for trying to "flirt" with Napoleon. As a result, a group of influential conservative-minded nobility formed in the Russian Empire, which criticized the emperor for trying to "destroy the historical foundations" of the Russian state. One of the most famous critics of Speransky, his contemporary, the famous historian Karamzin. Most of all, the nobility resented the desire to give political rights to state peasants, as well as the idea to give civil rights to all classes of the empire, including serfs.

Speransky took part in the financial reform. As a result, the taxes that the nobles had to pay had to increase. This fact also set the nobility against the head of the State Council.

Thus, we can note the main reasons why the implementation of the Speransky project was not carried out:

Huge resistance of the Russian nobility.
Not the determination of the emperor himself to carry out reforms.
The unwillingness of the emperor to form a system of "three powers", since this significantly limited the role of the emperor himself in the country.
A possible war with Napoleonic France, which, however, only suspended the reforms, if there were no other reasons for their complete stop.

Causes and consequences of Speransky's resignation

Given the distrust and protests from the nobility, Speransky was constantly under pressure. The only thing that saved him from losing his position was the confidence of the emperor, which lasted until 1812. So, in 1811, the Secretary of State himself personally asked the emperor for his resignation, because he felt that his ideas would not be implemented. However, the emperor did not accept the resignation. Since 1811, the number of denunciations against Speransky has also increased. He was accused of many crimes: slandering the emperor, secret negotiations with Napoleon, an attempted coup d'état and other meanness. Despite these statements, the emperor presented Speransky with the Order of Alexander Nevsky. However, with the spread of rumors and criticism of Speransky, a shadow fell on the emperor himself. As a result, in March 1812, Alexander signed a decree on the removal of Speransky from the duties of a civil servant. Thus, Speransky's state reforms were also terminated.

On March 17, a personal meeting between Speransky and Alexander 1 took place in the office of the Winter Palace, the content of this conversation is still a mystery to historians. But already in September, the former second person in the empire after the emperor was sent into exile in Nizhny Novgorod, and on September 15 they were transferred to Perm. In 1814 he was allowed to return to his estate in the Novgorod province, but only under political supervision. Since 1816, Mikhail Speransky even returned to public service, becoming the Governor of Penza, and in 1819 he became the Governor-General of Siberia. In 1821 he was appointed head of the commission for drafting laws, for which he received a state award during the years of Nicholas I. In 1839 he died of a cold, before his death he was included in the list of count families of the Russian Empire.

The main result of Speransky's activity

Despite the fact that Speransky's reforms were never implemented, they continued to be discussed in Russian society even after the death of the reformer. In 1864, during the judicial reform, Speransky's ideas regarding the vertical of the judicial system were taken into account. In 1906, the first State Duma in the history of Russia began its work. Therefore, despite the incompleteness, Speransky's project had a huge impact on the political life of Russian society.

Personality Speransky

Mikhail Speransky was born in 1772 into a modest family, his parents belonged to the lower clergy. A career as a priest awaited him, but after graduating from the seminary, he was offered to remain a teacher. Later, the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg himself recommended Mikhail for the position of house secretary for Prince Alexei Kurakin. The latter, a year later, became Prosecutor General under Paul 1. This is how the political career of Mikhail Speransky began. In 1801-1802, he met P. Kochubey, began to take part in the work of the "Secret Committee" under Alexander 1, for the first time showing a penchant for reform. For his contribution to the work of the "committee" in 1806 he received the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree. Thanks to his reports on legal topics, he has established himself as an excellent connoisseur of jurisprudence, as well as an expert in the field of state theory. It was then that the emperor began to systematize Speransky's reforms in order to use them to change Russia.

After the signing of the Peace of Tilsit in 1807, the "Unspoken Committee" opposed the truce with France. Speransky himself supported the actions of Alexander, in addition, he expressed interest in the reforms of Napoleon Bonaparte. In this regard, the emperor removes the "Secret Committee" from its activities. Thus begins the rise of Mikhail Speransky as a reformer of the Russian Empire.

In 1808 he became deputy minister of justice, and in 1810 the main appointment of his life took place: he became the state secretary of the State Council, the second person in the country after the emperor. In addition, from 1808 to 1811 Speransky was Chief Procurator of the Senate.

Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (1772-1839) - Russian political and public figure, author of numerous works on law and jurisprudence, author of major bills and reforms.

Speransky lived and worked during the reign of Alexander the 1st and Nicholas the 1st, was an active member of the Academy of Sciences, was engaged in social activities and reforming the legal system of the Russian Empire. Under Nicholas I, he was the tutor of the heir to the throne - Alexander Nikolayevich. Speransky wrote many theoretical works on jurisprudence and is considered one of the founders of modern law. In addition, he drafted a constitution.

Brief biography of Speransky

Born in the Vladimir province in the family of a church clerk. From early childhood, he learned to read and write and read sacred books. In 1780, Speransky entered the Vladimir Seminary, where, thanks to his sharp mind and unusually strong abilities for analytical thinking, he soon became the best student. After graduating from the seminary, Speransky continued his education there, but already as a student. For his success in his studies, he received the opportunity to transfer to the Alexander Nevsky Seminary in St. Petersburg, after which he remained there to teach.

Speransky's teaching activity at the seminary did not last long. In 1795, he received an offer to become Prince Kurakin's secretary. Thus began the political career of Speransky.

Speransky quickly moved up the career ladder. In 1801, he became a full councilor of state, which allowed him to participate more actively in the socio-political life of the country. In 1806, Speransky met Emperor Alexander 1st and so impressed him with his talents and intelligence that he received an offer to develop a draft reform that could improve the state of the country. In 1810, Speransky became secretary of state (the second person in the country after the sovereign), and his active reformatory activity began.

The reforms proposed by Speransky affected the interests of too many sectors of society and were so extensive that the nobility feared them. As a result, in 1812 Speransky fell into disgrace and remained in such a miserable position until 1816.

In 1819, he unexpectedly received the post of Governor-General of Siberia, and already in 1821 he returned to St. Petersburg.

The emperor died, and his brother ascended the throne,. Speransky met Nikolai and also charmed him with his intelligence, which allowed him to regain his former political influence and respect. At this time, Speransky received the post of educator of the heir to the throne. The Higher School of Law was opened, in which he actively worked.

Speransky died in 1839 from a cold.

Speransky's political reforms

Speransky was widely known for his numerous reforms, which were comprehensive. Speransky was not a supporter of the monarchical system, he believed that the state should give all citizens the same rights, and power should be divided, but at the same time he was sure that Russia was not yet ready for such radical changes, so he suggested, as it seemed to him , a better option. By order of Alexander the 1st, Speransky developed a program of reforms that were supposed to help Russia get out of the crisis.

Speransky proposed the following ideas:

the receipt by citizens, regardless of class, of equal civil rights;
a significant reduction in all costs for the activities of state bodies and officials, as well as the establishment of strict control over the budget;
division of power into legislative, executive and judicial, restructuring of the system of ministries and changing their functions;
the creation of more modern judiciaries, as well as the writing of new legislation that would take into account the needs of the new system of government;
extensive transformations in the domestic economy, the introduction of taxes.

The main idea of Speransky's reforms was to create a democratic model of government headed by a monarch, who, however, would not have power alone, and society would be equalized before the law. According to the project, Russia was supposed to become a full-fledged legal state.

Speransky's reforms were not accepted by the nobility, who were afraid of losing their privileges. The project was not completed in full, only some of its points were implemented.

The results of Speransky's activities

The results of Speransky's activities:

a significant increase in foreign trade by increasing the economic attractiveness of Russia in the eyes of foreign investors;
modernization of the state administration system; reforming the army of officials and reducing the cost of their maintenance;
the emergence of a powerful economic infrastructure that allowed the economy to self-regulate and develop faster;
creation of a modern legal system; Speransky became the author and compiler of the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire;
creation of the theoretical basis of modern legislation and law.

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Introduction

Speransky state reform

In the first half of the 19th century, the state and social order of the Russian Empire was on the same basis. The nobility, constituting a small part of the population, remained the dominant, privileged class. Freed from compulsory service to the state, the landlords turned from the service class into an idle, purely consumer class.

State policy expressed the interests of the bulk of the nobility. The growing contradiction of the feudal system in Russia was reflected in the confrontation and clash between liberal and protective ideologies.

At the beginning of his reign, Alexander I promised to govern the people "according to the laws and according to the heart of his wise grandmother." The main concern of the government was proclaimed the preparation of radical (basic) laws for the destruction of the "arbitrariness of government." Court nobles were involved in the discussion of reform projects. Relatively minor issues and scattered reforms of some state institutions were discussed, until the talented thinker and statesman M.M. Speransky (1772-1839).

The purpose of the control work is to review the main reform projects developed by M.M. Speransky.

The objectives of this abstract are:

1. coverage of the biography of M.M. Speransky

2. disclosing the essence of reform projects

3. consideration of the circumstances of Speransky's excommunication from public affairs.

Chapter 1. Biography of M.M. Speransky

Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky was born in January 1772 in the family of a village priest in the village of Cherkutin, Vladimir province. His father assigned him to the Suzdal Theological Seminary. In January 1790 he was sent to St. Petersburg to the newly founded First Theological Seminary. After graduating from the seminary in 1792, Speransky was left as a teacher of mathematics, physics and eloquence, and French. Speransky taught all subjects with great success. Since 1795, he also began to lecture on philosophy and received the post of "prefect of the seminary." The thirst for knowledge forced him to go to the civil service. He thought of going abroad and completing his education at German universities.

Petersburg Metropolitan Gabriel recommended him as a personal secretary to Prince Kurakin. In 1796, appointed Prosecutor General Kurakin took Speransky to the civil service and instructed him to manage his office. Speransky brought to the Russian untidy office of the 18th century. an unusually straightened mind, capable of endless work and excellent ability to speak and write. In all this, of course, he was a real find for the stationery world. This prepared him for an unusually fast service career. Already under Paul, he gained fame in the St. Petersburg bureaucratic world. In January 1797, Speransky received the rank of titular councilor, in April of the same year - a collegiate assessor (this rank gave personal nobility), in January 1798 - a court adviser, and in September 1799 - a collegiate adviser.

In November 1798 he married an Englishwoman, Elizabeth Stevens. His happy life was short - in September 1799, shortly after the birth of his daughter, his wife died.

Speransky was distinguished by his broad outlook and strict systemic thinking. By the nature of his education, he was an ideologist, as they said then, or a theoretician, as they would call him now. His mind has grown in hard work on abstract concepts and has become accustomed to treat simple everyday phenomena with disdain. Speransky had an unusually strong mind, of which there are always few, and in that philosophical age there were fewer than ever. Persistent work on abstractions imparted extraordinary energy and flexibility to Speransky's thinking. He easily came up with the most difficult and bizarre combinations of ideas. Thanks to such thinking, Speransky became an embodied system, but it was precisely this increased development of abstract thinking that constituted an important shortcoming in his practical activity. By long and hard work, Speransky prepared for himself an extensive store of diverse knowledge and ideas. In this reserve there was a lot of luxury that satisfied the refined requirements of mental comfort, there was, perhaps, even a lot of excess and too little of what was needed for the base needs of man, for understanding reality. In this he resembled Alexander, and in this they agreed with each other. But Speransky differed from the sovereign in that the former had all his mental luxury tidied up and neatly placed in their places. The most intricate question in his presentation acquired an orderly harmony.

Chapter 2 Projects of state reforms M.M. Speransky

Alexander I, who ascended the throne as a result of the assassination of Paul I, at the beginning of his reign promised to rule the people "according to the laws and according to the heart of his wise grandmother." The main concern of the government was proclaimed the preparation of radical (basic) laws for the destruction of the "arbitrariness of government." Court nobles were involved in the discussion of reform projects. Relatively minor issues and disparate reforms of some state institutions were discussed, until the talented thinker and statesman Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (1772-1839) got into the emperor's entourage.

On the instructions of Alexander I, Speransky prepared a number of projects for improving the state system of the empire, in essence, drafts of the Russian constitution. Some of the projects were written in 1802-1804; in 1809, the extensive Introduction to the Code of State Laws, the Draft Code of State Laws of the Russian Empire, and related notes and projects were prepared.

2.1 Public administration reform

A supporter of the constitutional order, Speransky was convinced that new rights to society must be granted by the authorities. A society divided into estates, whose rights and obligations are established by law, needs civil and criminal law, public conduct of court cases, and freedom of the press. Speransky attached great importance to the education of public opinion.

At the same time, he believed that Russia was not ready for a constitutional system, that it was necessary to start reforms with the reorganization of the state apparatus.

The period 1808-1811 was the era of the highest importance and influence of Speransky, about whom it was at this time that Joseph de Maistre wrote that he was "the first and even the only minister" of the empire: the reform of the state council (1810), the reform of ministers (1810-1811) , reform of the Senate (1811-1812). The young reformer, with his characteristic fervor, set about drawing up a complete plan for the new formation of state administration in all its parts: from the sovereign's office to the volost government. Already on December 11, 1808, he read to Alexander I his note "On the improvement of general public education." Not later than October 1809, the whole plan was already on the emperor's desk. October and November passed in an almost daily review of its various parts, in which Alexander I made his own corrections and additions.

The views of the new reformer M. M. Speransky are most fully reflected in the note of 1809 - "Introduction to the Code of State Laws." Speransky's "Code" opens with a serious theoretical study of "the properties and objects of state, indigenous and organic laws." He additionally explained and substantiated his thoughts on the basis of the theory of law or, rather, the philosophy of law. The reformer attached great importance to the regulatory role of the state in the development of domestic industry and, through his political transformations, strengthened the autocracy in every possible way. Speransky writes: “If the rights of state power were unlimited, if the forces of the state were united in sovereign power and they would not leave any rights to subjects, then the state would be in slavery and rule would be despotic.”

According to Speransky, such slavery can take two forms. The first form not only excludes subjects from any participation in the exercise of state power, but also deprives them of the freedom to dispose of their own person and property. The second, softer one, also excludes subjects from participation in government, but leaves them freedom in relation to their own person and property. Consequently, subjects do not have political rights, but civil rights remain with them. And their presence means that there is freedom to some extent in the state. But it is not guaranteed enough, therefore - explains Speransky - it is necessary to protect it - through the creation and strengthening of the basic law, that is, the Political Constitution.

Civil rights must be enumerated in it "in the form of initial civil consequences arising from political rights", and political rights must be given to citizens by which they will be able to defend their rights and their civil liberty. So, according to Speransky, civil rights and freedoms are insufficiently secured by laws and law. Without constitutional guarantees, they are powerless in themselves, therefore, it was precisely the requirement to strengthen the civil system that formed the basis of Speransky's entire plan of state reforms and determined their main idea - "rule, hitherto autocratic, to establish and establish on the basis of law." The idea is that state power must be built on a permanent basis, and the government must stand on a solid constitutional and legal basis. This idea stems from the tendency to find in the fundamental laws of the state a solid foundation for civil rights and freedoms. It bears the desire to ensure the connection of the civil system with the fundamental laws and firmly establish it, precisely relying on these laws. The transformation plan involved a change in the social structure and a change in the state order. Speransky dismembers society on the basis of the difference in rights. “From a review of civil and political rights, it becomes clear that all of them, in their belonging to three classes, can be divided: Civil rights are common to all subjects; the nobility; Middle class people; The working people." The entire population seemed to be civilly free, and serfdom was abolished, although, establishing "civil freedom for the landlord peasants", Speransky at the same time continues to call them "serfs". The nobles retained the right to own populated lands and freedom from compulsory service. The working people consisted of peasants, artisans and servants. Speransky's grandiose plans began to come true. Back in the spring of 1809, the emperor approved the “Regulations on the composition and management of the commission for drafting laws” developed by Speransky, where for many years (until the new reign) the main directions of its activity were determined: “The works of the Commission have the following main subjects:

1. Code Civil. 2. Code Criminal. 3. Code Commercial. 4. Various parts belonging to the State Economy and to public law. 5. Code of provincial laws for the Ostsee provinces. 6. Code of laws for those provinces of Little Russian and Polish annexed.

Speransky speaks of the need to create a rule of law state, which should ultimately be a constitutional state. He explains that the security of a person and property is the first inalienable property of any society, since inviolability is the essence of civil rights and freedoms, which have two types: personal freedoms and material freedoms. Content of personal freedoms:

1. No one can be punished without trial; 2. No one is obliged to send a personal service, except by law. The content of material freedoms: 1. Everyone can dispose of his property at will, in accordance with the general law; 2. No one is obliged to pay taxes and duties otherwise than according to the law, and not according to arbitrariness. Thus, we see that Speransky everywhere perceives the law as a method of protecting security and freedom. However, he sees that guarantees are also needed against the arbitrariness of the legislator. The reformer approaches the requirement of a constitutional-legal limitation of power, so that it takes into account the existing law. This would give her more stability.

Speransky considers it necessary to have a system of separation of powers. Here he fully accepts the ideas that then dominated Western Europe, and writes in his work that: “It is impossible to base government on the law if one sovereign power will draw up the law and execute it.” Therefore, Speransky sees a rational structure of state power in its division into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial, while maintaining the autocratic form. Since the discussion of bills involves the participation of a large number of people, it is necessary to create special bodies representing the legislative power - the Duma.

Speransky proposes to involve the population (personally free, including state peasants, in the presence of a property qualification) to direct participation in the legislative, executive and judicial authorities on the basis of a system of four-stage elections (volost - district - provincial - State Duma). If this plan had received a real embodiment, the fate of Russia would have been different, alas, history does not know the subjunctive mood. The right to elect them cannot belong equally to all. Speransky stipulates that the more property a person has, the more he is interested in protecting property rights. And those who have neither real estate nor capital are excluded from the election process. Thus, we see that the democratic principle of universal and secret elections is alien to Speransky, and in contrast to this, he puts forward and attaches greater importance to the liberal principle of the division of power. At the same time, Speransky recommends broad decentralization, that is, along with the central State Duma, local dumas should also be created: volost, district and provincial. The Duma is called upon to resolve issues of a local nature. Without the consent of the State Duma, the autocrat had no right to legislate, except in cases where it was a question of saving the fatherland. However, in contrast, the emperor could always dissolve the deputies and call new elections. Consequently, the existence of the State Duma, as it were, was called upon to give only an idea of the needs of the people and exercise control over the executive branch. Executive power is represented by boards, and at the highest level - by ministries, which were formed by the emperor himself. Moreover, the ministers had to be accountable to the State Duma, which was given the right to ask for the abolition of illegal acts. This is the fundamentally new approach of Speransky, expressed in the desire to put officials, both in the center and in the field, under the control of public opinion. The judicial branch of government was represented by regional, district and provincial courts, consisting of elected judges and acting with the participation of juries. The highest court was the Senate, whose members were elected for life by the State Duma and approved personally by the emperor.

The unity of state power, according to Speransky's project, would be embodied only in the personality of the monarch. This decentralization of legislation, courts and administration was supposed to give the central government itself the opportunity to solve with due attention those most important state affairs that would be concentrated in its bodies and which would not be obscured by the mass of current petty matters of local interest. This idea of decentralization was all the more remarkable because it was not yet in the queue of Western European political thinkers, who were more concerned with developing questions about central government.

The monarch remained the only representative of all branches of government, heading them. Therefore, Speransky believed that it was necessary to create an institution that would take care of planned cooperation between individual authorities and would be, as it were, a concrete expression of the fundamental embodiment of state unity in the personality of the monarch. According to his plan, the State Council was to become such an institution. At the same time, this body was supposed to act as the guardian of the implementation of the legislation.

On January 1, 1810, a manifesto was announced on the creation of the Council of State, replacing the Permanent Council. M. M. Speransky received the post of state secretary in this body. He was in charge of all the documentation that passed through the State Council. Speransky initially envisaged the State Council in his reform plan as an institution that should not be particularly involved in the preparation and development of bills. But since the creation of the State Council was considered as the first stage of transformation and it was he who was supposed to establish plans for further reforms, at first this body was given wide powers. From now on, all bills had to pass through the State Council. The general meeting was composed of members of four departments: 1) legislative, 2) military affairs (until 1854), 3) civil and spiritual affairs, 4) state economy; and from ministers. The emperor himself presided over it. At the same time, it is stipulated that the king could only approve the opinion of the majority of the general meeting. The first chairman of the State Council (until August 14, 1814) was Chancellor Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev (1751_1826). The Secretary of State (new position) became the head of the State Chancellery.

Speransky not only developed, but also laid down a certain system of checks and balances in the activities of the highest state bodies under the supremacy of the emperor. He argued that already on the basis of this, the very direction of the reforms is set. So, Speransky considered Russia mature enough to start reforms and get a constitution that provides not only civil, but also political freedom. In a memorandum to Alexander I, he hopes that "if God blesses all undertakings, then by 1811 ... Russia will accept a new existence and be completely transformed in all parts." Speransky argues that there are no examples in history of an enlightened commercial people remaining in a state of slavery for a long time and that upheavals cannot be avoided if the state system does not correspond to the spirit of the times. Therefore, heads of state should closely monitor the development of the public spirit and adapt political systems to it. From this, Speransky drew the conclusion that it would be a great advantage to have a constitution in Russia thanks to the "beneficial inspiration of the supreme power." But the supreme power in the person of the emperor did not share all the points of Speransky's program. Alexander I was quite satisfied with only partial transformations of feudal Russia, flavored with liberal promises and abstract arguments about law and freedom. Alexander I was ready to accept all this. But meanwhile, he also experienced the strongest pressure from the court environment, including members of his family, who sought to prevent radical changes in Russia.

Also, one of the ideas was to improve the "bureaucratic army" for future reforms. On April 3, 1809, a decree was issued on court ranks. He changed the order of obtaining titles and certain privileges. Henceforth, these titles were to be regarded as mere insignia. Privileges were given only to those who performed public service. The decree, which reformed the procedure for obtaining court ranks, was signed by the emperor, but it was no secret to anyone who was its real author. For many decades, the offspring of the most noble families (literally from the cradle) received the court ranks of the chamber junker (respectively - 5th class), after a while - the chamberlain (4th class). When they entered the civil or military service upon reaching a certain age, they, who had never served anywhere, automatically occupied the “highest places”. By decree of Speransky, chamber junkers and chamberlains who were not in active service were ordered to find a kind of activity for themselves within two months (otherwise - resignation).

The second measure was the decree published on August 6, 1809 on new rules for promotion to civil service ranks, secretly prepared by Speransky. In a note to the sovereign under a very unpretentious title, a revolutionary plan was rooted for a radical change in the order of production to ranks, establishing a direct connection between obtaining a rank and an educational qualification. This was a bold attempt on the system of rank production, which has been in force since the era of Peter I. One can only imagine how many ill-wishers and enemies appeared in Mikhail Mikhailovich thanks to this decree alone. Speransky protests against the monstrous injustice when a graduate of the Faculty of Law receives ranks later than a colleague who has never really studied anywhere. From now on, the rank of collegiate assessor, which previously could be obtained by seniority, was given only to those officials who had in their hands a certificate of successful completion of a course of study at one of the Russian universities or who passed exams in a special program. At the end of the note, Speransky speaks directly about the harmfulness of the existing system of ranks according to Peter's "Table of Ranks", suggesting either to cancel them or to regulate the receipt of ranks, starting from the 6th grade, by the presence of a university diploma. This program included testing knowledge of the Russian language, one of the foreign languages, natural, Roman, state and criminal law, general and Russian history, state economics, physics, geography and statistics of Russia. The rank of collegiate assessor corresponded to the 8th grade of the "Table of Ranks". Starting from this class and above, officials had great privileges and high salaries. It is easy to guess that there were many who wanted to get it, and most of the applicants, as a rule, middle-aged, simply could not take the exams. Hatred of the new reformer began to grow. The emperor, protecting his faithful comrade with his auspices, raised him up the career ladder.

Elements of market relations in the Russian economy were also covered in the projects of M. M. Speransky. He shared the ideas of the economist Adam Smith. Speransky connected the future of economic development with the development of commerce, the transformation of the financial system and money circulation. In the first months of 1810, the problem of regulating public finances was discussed. Speransky drew up a "Finance Plan", which formed the basis of the tsar's manifesto of February 2. The main purpose of this document was to eliminate the budget deficit. According to its content, the issuance of paper money was stopped, the volume of financial resources was reduced, and the financial activities of ministers were put under control. In order to replenish the state treasury, the poll tax was increased from 1 ruble to 3, and a new, previously unprecedented tax was introduced - "progressive income". These measures gave a positive result and, as Speransky himself later noted, “by changing the financial system ... we saved the state from bankruptcy.” The budget deficit was reduced, and the treasury revenues increased by 175 million rubles in two years.

In the summer of 1810, at the initiative of Speransky, the reorganization of the ministries began, which was completed by June 1811. During this time, the Ministry of Commerce was liquidated, cases of internal security were allocated, for which a special police ministry was formed. The ministries themselves were divided into departments (with a director at the head), departments into departments. From the highest officials of the ministry, a council of the minister was formed, and from all the ministers, a committee of ministers to discuss administrative and executive affairs.

Clouds begin to gather over the head of the reformer. Speransky, contrary to the instinct of self-preservation, continues to work selflessly. In a report submitted to the emperor on February 11, 1811, Speransky reports: “/…/ the following main subjects were completed: I. The State Council was established. II. Completed two parts of the Civil Code. III. A new division of ministries has been made, a general charter has been drawn up for them, and draft charters for private ones have been drawn up. IV. A permanent system for the payment of state debts was drawn up and adopted: 1) by ceasing the issuance of banknotes; 2) sale of property; 3) setting a repayment commission. V. A monetary system has been drawn up. VI. A commercial code for 1811 was drawn up.

Never, perhaps, in Russia in the course of one year were so many general state decrees made as in the past. /…/ From this it follows that in order to successfully complete the plan that Your Majesty deigns to deign for himself, it is necessary to strengthen the methods of its implementation. /…/ the following subjects in terms of this seem to be absolutely necessary: I. To complete the civil code. II. Draw up two very necessary codes: 1) judicial, 2) criminal. III. Complete the arrangement of the Judicial Senate. IV. Draw up the structure of the ruling Senate. V. Administration of the provinces in judicial and executive order. VI. Consider and strengthen ways to pay off debts. VII. Establish state annual revenues: 1) By introducing a new census of people. 2) The formation of a land tax. 3) A new wine income device. 4) The best source of income from state property. /…/ It can be stated with certainty that /…/ by committing them /…/ the empire will be placed in such a firm and reliable position that the age of Your Majesty will always be called a blessed century. Alas, the grandiose plans for the future outlined in the second part of the report remained unfulfilled (primarily the Senate reform).

By the beginning of 1811, Speransky also proposed a new project for the transformation of the Senate. The essence of the project was largely different from the original. It was supposed to divide the Senate into a government and a judiciary. The composition of the latter provided for the appointment of its members as follows: one part - from the crown, the other was chosen by the nobility. Due to various internal and external reasons, the Senate remained in the same state, and Speransky himself ultimately came to the conclusion that the project should be postponed. We also note that in 1810, according to the plan of Speransky, the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum was established.

Such was the general outline of the political reform. The state of serfdom, the court, administration, legislation - everything found its place and resolution in this grandiose work, which remained a monument of political talents far beyond the level of even highly talented people. Some reproach Speransky for paying little attention to the peasant reform. In Speransky we read: “The relations in which both these classes (peasants and landowners) are placed completely destroy all energy in the Russian people. The interest of the nobility requires that the peasants be completely subordinate to it; the interest of the peasantry is that the nobles were also subordinate to the crown ... The throne is always a serf as the only counterbalance to the property of their masters”, i.e. serfdom was incompatible with political freedom. “Thus, Russia, divided into various classes, exhausts its forces in the struggle that these classes wage among themselves, and leaves to the government the entire scope of unlimited power. A state structured in this way - that is, on the division of hostile classes - if it has one or another external structure - these and other letters to the nobility, letters to the cities, two senates and the same number of parliaments - is a despotic state, and as long as it consists of the same elements (warring classes), it will be impossible for it to be a monarchical state. The consciousness of the need, in the interests of the political reform itself, to abolish serfdom, as well as the consciousness of the need for the redistribution of power to correspond to the redistribution of political power, is evident from the argument.

2.2 Judicial reform

All sections of society were interested in the reform of the court, and most importantly, the ruling class. The judicial reform was also a consequence of the so-called crisis of the upper classes, the realization by the ruling elite of the need to create an effective mechanism for protecting the individual and property. And, of course, Emperor Alexander II himself, as well as his brother Konstantin Nikolayevich, who adhered to even more radical views, advocated judicial reform.

Preparation and principles of reform. The history of the preparation of judicial reform has its roots in the first half of the 19th century. In 1803 M.M. Speransky proposed a broad program for improving the judicial system, which was developed in the "Introduction to the Code of State Laws" of 1809. In 1821 and 1826 he returned to the projects of judicial reforms. However, the governments of Alexander I and Nicholas I rejected them, because these projects, albeit very timidly, proposed the implementation of certain bourgeois principles. In addition, judicial reforms could not be carried out in isolation, without solving the fundamental issues of public life, primarily the peasant one. As you know, Alexander I and Nicholas I were opposed to the abolition of serfdom. Therefore, the bourgeois principles of equality of all owners before the law, underlying the improvement of the judicial system M.M. Speransky, turned out to be unacceptable and premature for feudal Russia, where more than 50% of the population was in conditions of slavery and depended not on the law, but on the will and arbitrariness of the landowners.

In the summer of 1857, Alexander II ordered to submit to the State Council a draft of the Charter of Civil Procedure, born in the bowels of the II branch. An explanatory note was attached to the project by the head of the II department, Count D.N. Bludov. The project proceeded from the introduction of the principle of adversarial process, it was proposed to reduce the number of courts and pay attention to a significant improvement in the quality of training and selection of personnel in the judicial system. The draft Charter provoked a mixed reaction, splitting the highest bureaucracy into two main groups - liberals and conservatives. The former wanted a significant restructuring of the judiciary and legal proceedings, the latter only cosmetic changes. Conservatives and, above all, Count D.N. Bludov did not want to follow Western European models and introduce the principles of oral speech, publicity, equality of the parties in the process, and establish a bar. For 1857-1861 Section II prepared and submitted to the State Council 14 bills proposing various changes in the structure of the judiciary and the judiciary. The materials of the judicial reform amounted to 74 voluminous volumes.

The work was especially intensified after the abolition of serfdom. In October 1861, the preparation of documents on the judiciary and legal proceedings was transferred from the II Department to the State Chancellery. A special commission was created, which included the most prominent Russian lawyers: A.N. Plavsky, N.I. Stoyanovsky, S.I. Zarudny, K.P. Pobedonostsev and others. In fact, it was headed by State Secretary of the State Council S.I. Zarudny. It is important that the commission, which consisted mainly of like-minded people, took the path opposite to that of fornication. The general theory of the bourgeois judiciary and legal proceedings and the practice of Western European legislation were taken as a basis. Of course, the fathers of the reform had to reckon with Russian reality and traditions and made certain adjustments to their projects, but at the same time they tried to prove that bourgeois institutions, for example, the jury and the advocacy, in no way undermine the foundations of autocracy.

The result of the commission's work was the "Basic Provisions for the Transformation of the Judiciary in Russia". In April 1862, this document was submitted by the emperor for consideration to the State Council, and on September 29, 1862, it was approved by him and published in the press. Simultaneously with the promulgation of the "Basic Provisions", Count V.N. left the post of Minister of Justice. Panin, who on February 18, 1860 was temporarily released from the management of the Ministry on the occasion of his appointment as chairman of the Editorial Commission. By the highest decree of October 21, 1862, Dmitry Nikolaevich Zamyatin, comrade (deputy) minister, senator, privy councilor, was appointed Minister of Justice.

D.N. Zamyatin was born in 1805 in the Nizhny Novgorod province. After graduating with a silver medal from the course of science at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, he entered the service of the commission for the drafting of laws, and then the II department of his imperial majesty's own office. Having made a reputation for himself as a capable, hardworking and impeccably honest official, he quickly moved up the career ladder. In 1848 he was appointed a member of the consultation at the Ministry of Justice, in 1852 - chief prosecutor of the second department of the Governing Senate and a senator. In 1858 he was appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Justice. He was finally approved as Minister of Justice on January 1, 1864.

The legislative framework. Based on the "Basic Provisions", four laws were prepared, which were approved by the emperor on November 20, 1864: "Establishment of Judicial Institutions", "Charter of Civil Procedure", "Charter of Criminal Procedure", "Charter on Punishments Imposed by Justices of the Peace".

Judicial reform radically changed the judiciary, procedural and partly substantive law of the Russian Empire. Judicial statutes were built in accordance with the procedural and organizational forms of bourgeois states. They proclaimed principles that were bourgeois in nature: the judiciary was separated from the legislative, executive, and administrative powers; the principle of independence and irremovability of judges was consolidated; the equality of all before the law was proclaimed, an all-estate court was introduced; the advocacy was established; for the consideration of criminal cases in district courts, the institution of jurors was introduced; an elected magistrate's court was created to consider minor cases; the institution of judicial investigators independent of the police was established; the prosecutor's office was reorganized, freed from the functions of general supervision and focused on work in court; introduced the principles of oral, public, adversarial legal proceedings; the presumption of innocence was proclaimed.

Changes in the judiciary. Fundamental changes in the judicial system of Russia were outlined in the "Institution of Judicial Establishments". Instead of the complex and cumbersome structure of class courts, two judicial systems were created: local and general courts.

The locals included: justices of the peace and congresses of justices of the peace as the second (appeal) instance. Volost courts also belonged to the locals. created in 1861; they dealt with the cases of peasants for minor offenses, if persons of other classes were not interested in them and if these acts were not subject to consideration by general courts. The general courts were referred to - district courts and judicial chambers as an appellate instance. This system was headed by the Senate, which was the only cassation instance for all the courts of the Russian Empire.

2.3 Peasant reform

The peasant question was the most important issue of the internal policy of the autocracy. Alexander 1 took measures to alleviate the situation of the peasants, but his steps in solving this problem were extremely cautious. The emperor and members of the Unspoken Committee saw serf relations as a source of social tension, were convinced of the advantages of free labor over the serf, and perceived the power of the landowner over the peasants as a moral disgrace for Russia. However, they considered it impossible to take radical measures and adhered to the principle of gradualism. On December 12, 1801, a decree was issued to grant the right to own land to merchants, burghers and state peasants, who from now on could buy uninhabited lands. Already at the beginning of his reign, Alexander 1 stopped the distribution of state peasants into private hands. The law of December 12 destroyed the centuries-old landowning monopoly of the nobility, which until then alone enjoyed the right to acquire land for personal ownership. Encouraged by this first undertaking, some free-thinking landlords had the desire, entering into an agreement with their serfs, to free them into the will of entire villages. I must say that until that moment there was no law on such a mass liberation of the peasants. Thus, the Voronezh landowner Petrovo-Solovovo made a deal with 5,001 souls of his peasants, giving them the ownership of the land they cultivated, on the condition that they pay him 1 1/2 million rubles at the age of 19. The son of the Catherine field marshal, Count Sergei Rumyantsev, decided to release 199 souls of his peasants with land by voluntary agreement with them, but at the same time he submitted to the government a draft general law on transactions between landlords and serfs. The government accepted this project, and on February 20, 1803, a decree was issued on free cultivators: the landowners could enter into an agreement with their peasants, freeing them without fail with the land in whole villages or individual families. These liberated peasants, without signing up for other states, formed a special class of "free cultivators". The law of 20 February was the first decisive expression of the government's intention to abolish serfdom.

But, nevertheless, this decree had more ideological than practical significance: for the entire period of Alexander's reign, less than 1.5% of serfs passed into the category of "free cultivators". That is, only 47 thousand male souls were released. But the ideas laid down in the decree of 1803 subsequently formed the basis of the reform of 1861.

In the Unspoken Committee, a proposal was made to prohibit the sale of serfs without land. Human trafficking at that time was carried out in Russia in undisguised, cynical forms. Announcements about the sale of serfs were published in newspapers. At the Makariev Fair, they were sold along with other goods, separating families. Sometimes a Russian peasant, bought at a fair, went to distant eastern countries, where until the end of his days he lived in the position of a foreign slave. Alexander 1 wanted to stop such shameful phenomena, but the proposal to prohibit the sale of peasants without land ran into the stubborn resistance of the highest dignitaries. They believed that this undermined serfdom. Without showing perseverance, the young emperor retreated. It was forbidden only to publish advertisements for the sale of people in government publications.

2.4 Reorganization of the financial policy of the state

In 1809, Speransky was entrusted with the restoration of the financial system, which, after the wars of 1805-1807. was in a state of deep distress. Russia stood on the verge of state bankruptcy. During a preliminary review of the financial situation for 1810, a deficit of 105 million rubles opened up, and Speransky was instructed to draw up a definitive and firm financial plan. Professor Balugyansky wrote an extensive note in French, which Speransky revised and supplemented. It was subjected to a joint discussion with the participation of N.S. Mordvinov, Kochubey, Kampenhausen and Balugyansky, and then in a special committee that met with the Minister of Finance Guryev. The financial plan prepared in this way was handed over by the sovereign to the chairman of the state council on the very day of its opening, January 1, 1810. Here are its main provisions: “Expenses must correspond to income. Therefore, no new expense can be assigned before a source of income commensurate with it is found The costs should be divided:

by departments;

according to the degree of need for them - necessary, useful, superfluous, superfluous and useless, and the latter should not be allowed at all;

in terms of space - general state, provincial, district and volost. No collection should exist without the knowledge of the Government, because the Government must know everything that is collected from the people and turned into expenses;

by subject purpose - ordinary and extraordinary expenses. For emergency expenses, it is not money that should be in reserve, but methods of obtaining it;

according to the degree of constancy - stable and changing costs.

According to this plan, government spending was reduced by 20 million rubles, taxes and taxes were increased, all banknotes in circulation were recognized as state debt secured by all state property, and the new issue of banknotes was supposed to be stopped. The capital for the redemption of banknotes was supposed to be formed through the sale of uninhabited state lands and an internal loan. This financial plan was approved, and a commission for the redemption of public debts was formed.

By the laws of February 2, 1810, and February 11, 1812, all taxes were raised - some doubled, others more than doubled. Thus, the price of a pood of salt was raised from 40 kopecks to a ruble; head tax from 1 rub. was raised to 3 rubles. It should be noted that this plan also included a new, unprecedented before tax - "progressive income tax". These taxes were imposed on the income of landowners from their lands. The lowest tax was levied on 500 rubles of income and amounted to 1% of the latter, the highest tax fell on estates that gave more than 18 thousand rubles of income, and amounted to 10% of the latter. But the expenses of 1810 greatly exceeded the assumption, and therefore taxes, established for only one year, were converted into permanent ones. The raising of taxes was the main reason for the people's grumbling against Speransky, which his enemies from high society managed to take advantage of.

In 1812, a large deficit again threatened. The Manifesto of February 11, 1812 established temporary increases in taxes and new duties. Responsible for all these financial difficulties and tax increases caused by the difficult political circumstances of the time, public opinion made Speransky. The government could not keep promises to stop issuing banknotes. The new tariff of 1810, in which Speransky participated, was greeted sympathetically in Russia, but angered Napoleon as a clear deviation from the continental system. Finnish affairs were also entrusted to Speransky, who, only with his amazing diligence and talent, could cope with all the duties assigned to him.

The year 1812 was fatal in the life of Speransky. The main instruments in the intrigue that killed Speransky were Baron Armfelt, who enjoyed the great favor of Emperor Alexander, and the Minister of Police, Balashov. Armfelt was dissatisfied with Speransky's attitude towards Finland: according to him, he "sometimes wants to exalt us (Finlanders), but in other cases, on the contrary, wants to let us know about our dependence. On the other hand, he always looked at the affairs of Finland as petty, minor matter. Armfelt made an offer to Speransky, forming a triumvirate together with Balashov, to seize the government of the state, and when Speransky refused and, in disgust for denunciations, did not bring this proposal to the attention of the sovereign, he decided to destroy him. Obviously, Armfelt wanted, having removed Speransky, to become the head of more than just Finnish affairs in Russia. Speransky sometimes, perhaps, was not sufficiently restrained in his reviews of the sovereign, but some of these reviews in a private conversation, brought to the attention of the sovereign, were obviously an invention of slanderers and scammers. In anonymous letters, Speransky was already accused of obvious treason, of dealing with Napoleon's agents, of selling state secrets.

At the beginning of 1812, the emperor, suspicious and very sensitive to insults, noticeably cooled off towards Speransky. Karamzin's note (1811) directed against liberal reforms and various whisperings of Speransky's enemies impressed Alexander I. his. Starting to fight Napoleon, Alexander decided to part with him. Speransky was suddenly sent into exile.

Chapter 3 Excommunication M.M. Speransky from public affairs

On March 17, 1812, after many hours and a highly emotional audience, accompanied by tears and dramatic effects, Alexander I resigned from numerous posts and exiled State Secretary M.M. Speransky. The closest collaborator and "right hand" of the emperor, for several years, in essence, the second person in the state, was sent with the police to Nizhny Novgorod the same evening.

In a letter from there to the sovereign, he expressed his deep conviction that the plan of state transformation he had drawn up was "the first and only source of everything that happened" to him, and at the same time expressed the hope that sooner or later the sovereign would return "to the same basic ideas" . The vast majority of society greeted the fall of Speransky with great rejoicing, and only N.S. Mordvinov openly protested against his exile by resigning from the post of chairman of the economy department of the state council and left for the countryside.

After Speransky's removal, a note in French began to circulate, the author of which claimed that Speransky intended to lead the state to decay and complete overthrow with his innovations, depicted him as a villain and traitor to the fatherland and compared him with Cromwell. This note was drawn up by Rosenkampf, who served in the commission of laws and hated Speransky because he outshone him with his talents, and was corrected by Armfelt.

In September of the same year, as a result of a denunciation that, in a conversation with the bishop, Speransky mentioned the mercy extended by Napoleon to the clergy in Germany, Speransky was sent to Perm, from where he wrote his famous letter of acquittal to the sovereign. In this letter, seeking to justify himself, Speransky lists with maximum completeness all possible accusations - both those that he heard from the emperor, and those that, as he believed, could remain unspoken. “I don’t know exactly what the secret denunciations against me consisted of. From the words that Your Majesty deigned to tell me when I was excommunicated, I can only conclude that there were three main points of accusation: 1) that with financial affairs I tried to upset the state; 2) bring the government into hatred with taxes, 3) reviews of the government... The cruel prejudice about my connections with France, having been supported by the era of my removal, is now the most important and, I can say, the only stain of my accusation among the people. it belongs to your justice to efface it. I dare to say affirmatively: in eternal truth before God, you are obliged, sovereign, to do this ... Finances, taxes, new institutions, all public affairs in which I had the good fortune to be your executor, everything will be justified by time, but here how can I justify myself when everything is and should be covered with mystery.

By a decree on August 30, in which it was said that "after careful and strict consideration of the actions" of Speransky, the sovereign "did not have convincing reasons for suspicion," Speransky was appointed to the post of Penza civil governor in order to give him a way "by diligent service to cleanse himself to the full ". Here he still does not leave the thought of state reforms and proposes, having cleared the administrative part, to move on to political freedom. To work out the necessary reforms, Speransky advises establishing a committee of the Minister of Finance Guryev, several governors (including himself) and 2-3 provincial marshals of the nobility.

In March 1819, Speransky was appointed Governor-General of Siberia, and the sovereign wrote in his own letter that by this appointment he wanted to clearly prove how unfairly the enemies had slandered Speransky. Service in Siberia further cooled Speransky's political dreams.

Siberian governors were notorious for their cruelty and despotism. Knowing this, the emperor instructed Speransky to carefully investigate all the lawlessness and endowed him with the broadest powers. The new governor-general had to simultaneously audit the region entrusted to him, and manage it, and develop the foundations for paramount reforms. He made himself a personal office of people devoted to him. Then he began inspection trips - he traveled around the Irkutsk province, visited Yakutia and Transbaikalia.

Speransky understood that evil was rooted not so much in people as in the very system of government in Siberia. He established the Main Department of Trade of Siberia, the Treasury Chamber to resolve land and financial issues, took a number of measures to encourage agriculture, trade and industry of the region. A number of important legal acts were developed and adopted. The result of Speransky's activity as the Siberian governor-general, a new chapter in the history of Siberia, was the fundamental Code for Governing Siberia, which examines in detail the structure, administration, legal proceedings and economy of this part of the Russian Empire.

In March 1821, Alexander allowed Speransky to return to St. Petersburg. He returned a completely different person. He was not a defender of the complete transformation of the political system, conscious of his strength and sharply expressing his opinions, he was an evasive dignitary who did not disdain flattering servility even to Arakcheev and did not retreat before the laudatory printed word to military settlements (1825). After the reform projects developed by him or under his supervision in Siberia received the force of law, Speransky had to see the sovereign less and less, and his hopes for a return to their former importance did not come true, although in 1821 he was appointed a member of the state council.

The death of Alexander and the uprising of the Decembrists led to another change in the fate of Speransky. He was introduced to the Supreme Criminal Court, established over the Decembrists, and played an important role in this trial.

Another important thing - the compilation of the "Complete Collection" and the "Code of Laws of the Russian Empire" - Speransky completed already in the reign of Nicholas I.

Conclusion

Thus, the place and role of Speransky in the history of the transformation of the national statehood and the formation of government legislative policy are generally recognized and are of enduring importance.

It was Speransky who stood at the origins of the creation of ministries in Russia, which are still the core of executive power. He also created the State Council and the project of the State Duma. At the same time, his plan for the radical transformation of Russian statehood was implemented only to a small extent, however, he paved the way for the subsequent streamlining of the judicial and legislative system.

Speransky managed for the first time in Russian history to codify Russian legislation - under his leadership, the Complete Collection of Laws (56 volumes) and the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire (15 volumes) were created. At the heart of Speransky's worldview was the desire to establish the rule of law in Russia as opposed to the usual rule of arbitrary power, even if formally clothed in the form of "law".

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