Michael Speransky Statesman of Imperial Russia 1772–1839

406 Pages·1969·27.832 MB·English

by  Marc Raeff (auth.)

MICHAEL SPERANSKY
STATESMAN OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA
1772-1839

MICHAEL SPERANSKY
STATESMAN OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA
1772-1839
by
MARC RAEFF
Second revised edition
•
MARTINUS NIJHOFF - THE HAGUE
1969
ISBN-13: 978-90-247-0455-2 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-011-7495-4
DOl: 10.1007/978-94-011-7495-4
© 1957 and 1969 by Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
All rights reserved, including the right to translate or to
reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form
INTRODUCTION
"An autocracy tempered by assassination", clever foreigners used to
say about the Russian empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. With
this bon mot the average curiosity about the Tsars' government was
satisfied and there seemed to be no need to look further into the
matter. There was, on the surface of things, some justification for
such a definition: many rulers had suffered violent death and little
did the autocracy abate between 1725 and 1905. The impression created
by travelers, by historians and journalists, as well as by Russia's own
discontented intelligentsia was that nothing really ever changed in
Russia, that the autocracy was the same in 1905 as it had been at the
death of Peter the Great in 1725. Not that the outside world had
remained ignorant of the efforts at reform, the changes, and the
modernization wrought in Russia since the day Peter I had "cut a
window into Europe." But the prevailing opinion was that such
changes as occurred were merely external and did not affect the
fundamental structure of the government or of society.
Yet, inspite of its apparent immobility, Russia did change: literature
and social thought developed and burst forth in an extraordinary
flowering by the middle of the 19th century; society underwent a
radical transformation following the emancipation of the serfs in
1861; economic developments in the late 19th century put Russia on
the way of becoming an important industrial power; new administrative
and judiciary institutions were gradually transforming the pattern of
local life. Did none of these transformations bring some changes to
the structure of the imperial government itself? And, in the absence
of an overt revolution, were these changes themselves not the result of
the actions of an allegedly static and inflexible autocracy? An answer
to these questions is not readily available because, absorbed by the
dramatic story of revolutionary and intellectual movements, historians
have failed to study closely the institutional and political developments
which took place in the administration in the course of the 18th and
19th centuries.
Peter the Great had provided the Russian administration with a
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modem, European framework. But it took almost a century for this
skeleton to grow a body and to become conscious of its functions and
problems. At the death of Catherine II in 1796 the task set' by
Peter I had been accomplished. But in the meantime Russia had
become a great European power, a multinational empire extending
from Scandinavia to Central Asia, its economy had developed, its upper
classes had become Westernized and had received something of a
corporate organization. New problems had to be faced now, and for
this many parts in the administrative machinery had to be changed
and the principles and methods of government had to be redefined.
This is what the generation of the first quarter of the 19th century set
out to do.
Coming after the capricious tyranny of Paul I, under the influence
of the ideas of both the enlightenment and romanticism, the reign of
Alexander I (1801-1825) was a critical period during which the
principles and practice of the imperial government were subjected to
examination, evaluation, and discussion. As a result of the critique,
new ideas and approaches were advanced and plans of reform suggested.
Emperor Alexander I himself seemed to lead the way as he searched
for new principles on which to found his absolute rule, and to this
end he sought out young, energetic, and talented advisors and
assistants. Among these, the most outstanding proved to be the son of
a village priest, Michael M. Speransky. Rising to positions of great
trust and influence, Speransky left a profound mark on the attitudes
and practices of the imperial administration and helped to create the
framework within which the social, economic, and administrative
changes of the 1860s were to take place.
The present volume aims at giving as comprehensive an account as
possible of the administrative and political activities, ideas, and plans
of Speransky, and also hopes to interpret and assess their significance
for the political evolution of Imperial Russia. As there is but scant
knowledge of the workings of the Russian imperial administration,
the account of Speransky's career and work will be accompanied by a
description of the institutional and social setting. At one time or
another Speransky was involved in almost every aspect of Russian
administration and to each he brought fresh ideas, rational organization,
and new goals. The legacy he left w,as great and important, less perhaps
in terms of practical accomplishments as in terms of mental attitudes
and methods. He helped to identify and analyse the most essential
social, economic, and political problems that beset Russia and in so
doing he prepared the way for their solution by "bureaucratic" means,
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within the framework of the autocracy. In this sense, he is one of the
major figures in the domestic history of 19th century Russia.
In view of the significance of his ideas and career, it is surprising
that Speransky has been a relatively neglected (and therefore often
misunderstood) figure in Russian historiography. True enough, his
name is always mentioned in the histories of the period, even the most
general ones. But he is described only as the author of an allegedly
liberal constitutional plan and as the codifier of Russian law. While
the latter achievement is treated as the special concern of legal
scholars, the former is pronounced an unfortunate failure, illustrating
once more the basic inability of the autocracy to reform itself. But the
bulk of Speransky's work and thought remains unknown to the general
historian. By undertaking a full scale biography, the present writer
hopes to give a fuller and more balanced picture, both of Speransky
and of the imperial administration.
The history of Speransky's bibliography well reflects the evolution
of the political climate in Russia. Soon after Speransky's death in 1839
there appeared several articles which contained valuable information.
But being in the nature of eulogies or of reminiscences by his
colleagues, they have to be approached very critically and cannot be
considered historical studies in the true sense. The only lattempt at a
comprehensive biography appeared in two volumes in 1861. Though
written by an official of unblemished loyalty, Baron Modest A. Korf,
it is quite incomplete, as the author was not allowed to discuss
Speransky's plans of reform and describe fully his £all from favor and
exile in 1812. The main value of Baron Korl's compilation lies in the
information it gives about Speransky's family life (Korl was in a
position to interview surviving friends and associates) and the details
of his official assignments and honors ..
Reflecting perhaps the disillusionment of Russian society with the
"Great Reforms" of the 1860s, there was little interest in Speransky
in the 1870s and 1880s. The re-awakening of interest in the 1890s and
1900s brought forth a number of valuable studies (numerous articles
and a few books) dealing with various phases of Speransky's career.
But however informative an4 insightful, these studies were very
limited in scope and none ever attempted a full assessment of
Speransky's ideas and work. More important than these articles for an
understanding of his career were the publications of numerous sources
from the first half of the 19th century, particularly the papers of the
leading administrative institutions (Council of State, Committee of
Ministers, the Senate, etc.). At the same time a large body of memoir
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and epistolary material from the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I
was accumulated, helping the historian to a better understanding of
Speransky's time and associates. The only thing lacking for the
raw materials of a Speransky biography to be complete was the
publication of all his remaining public and private papers; (most of
his projects had already been published). The first step towards such
a publication was taken (a catalogue of the papers seized at his house
in 1812 appeared in 1916). but the first World War and the Revolution
put an end to the project. Except for a few short biographical essays,
no life of Speransky had been written by 1917, although most of the
raw material had been made available. The Soviets have evinced little
interest in the subject, satisfied with repeating trite generalities about
Speransky's lukewarm liberalism. Abroad also scholars have left the
topic unexplored, merely restating the opinions found in older general
histories. (The important articles by A. Fateev, published in Prague in
the 1920s and 1930s, are based on material collected before the
revolution; they are also quite fragmentary, serving as Vorarbeiten to
a full biography which was not completed).
It seemed, therefore, desirable to fill the gap somewhat by a
summary of all the evidence published until now and an evaluation
of Speransky's career and accomplishments. Fortunately such an
assessment is possible on the basis of material contained in the
government records published in the last decades before the Revolution.
Perhaps it will also contribute to a better understanding of thl!
problems, traditions, and methods of the imperial government.
NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION
Except for the correction of minor errors and an occasio~al stylistic
improvement, the first edition is reproduced here without change.
Since the first printing, however, there has appeared the first complete
and scholarly edition of Speransky's earliest memoranda, projects, and
short treatises, as well a new edition of the Plan of 1809 incorporating
variant readings and first drafts (S.N. Valk ed., M. M. Speransky -Proekty
i zapiski, Moscow-Leningrad, Akademiia Nauk, Institut Istorii - Lenin
gradskoe otdelenie, 1961). The publication has not altered of the Plan of
1809. But the reader is urged to refer to this publication whenever he
wishes to check or read Speransky's own words. It was felt useful to in
clude in Appendix an article. written after· the appearance of the full
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text of Speransky's earliest memoranda, which analyses and spells out in
some detail the arguments and circumstances of Speransky's first political
ideas and plans.
The only monograph on the domestic history of Russia in Speransky
is time to have appeared since my book went to press first: A. V. Pred
techenskii, Ocherki obshchestvenno-politicheskoi istorii Rossii v pervoi
chetverty XIX veka, Moscow-Leningrad 1957.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It is an author's pleasant obligation to acknowledge the help and
advice received in the course of a research which occupied the better
part of five years. In a sense, it is impossible to do so fully, as much
is owed to passing remarks and casual conversations with friends,
colleagues, and students. But I do wish to thank my teachers and
colleagues who read the manuscript and gave me the benefit of their
knowledge and judgment. Professors Michael Karpovich and Dwight
E. Lee read the entire opus and their criticisms and suggestions helped
greatly in eliminating obscurities and improving the exposition. My
colleagues, Professors Morris H. Cohen, Sherman S. Hayden, H.
Donaldson Jordan, and James A. Maxwell read some of the chapters
and made valuable comments within their special areas of knowledge.
They are, of course, in no way responsible for whatever defects and
inaccuracies that remain. I am most grateful to M1'. James M. Miller
for his able assistance in compiling the index under a grant from the
Bland Fund of the History Department of Clark University. My
sincere appreciation goes to the numerous staff members of Widener
Library, the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, the
Hoover Library, and the National Archives who helped me in locating
obscure and bulky publications. What lowe to my wife for her
encouragement, prodding, advice, and patient help is not to be
expressed here.
The publication of the book was made possible thanks to the
generosity of the Humanities Fund Inc., the Joint Committee on Slavic
Studies of the Social Science Research Council, and the Committee
for the Promotion of Advanced Slavic Cultural Studies Inc.
I am grateful to the Board of Editors of the American Slavic and
East European Review and of the Slavonic and East European Review
for permission to make use of materials that first appeared in article
form on the pages of the reviews.
February 1957
Clark University
Worcester, Massachusetts