His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancery or H.I.M. Own Chancery () began as personal chancery of
Paul I Paul I may refer to:
*Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch
*Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople
*Pope Paul I (700–767)
*Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia
*Paul ...
and grew into a kind of
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
's office, run by
Count Arakcheyev
Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev (russian: граф Алексе́й Андре́евич Аракче́ев) ( – ) was an Imperial Russian general and statesman during the reign of Tsar Alexander I.
He served under Tsars Paul I ...
from 1815 and until the death of
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of ...
.
Under
Nicholas I, the Chancery was transformed into a large administrative body, on par with the
Committee of Ministers and the
Governing Senate
The Governing Senate (russian: Правительствующий сенат, Pravitelstvuyushchiy senat) was a legislative, judicial, and executive body of the Russian Emperors, instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and last ...
. Since 1826, the Chancery was divided into several sections (
sl. otdeleniye):
*First Section – preparation of the Majestic Decrees and Orders, control over its execution, gubernatorial and ministerial reports, petitions to the Sovereign, state service and its awards and decorations. It was run by Stats-Secretary of His Majesty.
*Second Section – codification of the Imperial Legislation, publication of the codes.
Mikhail Speransky
Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Спера́нский; 12 January 1772 – 23 February 1839) was a Russian reformist during the reign of Alexander I of Russia, to whom he was a close advisor. ...
was the first head of the Section.
*
Third Section The Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery (russian: Tretiye Otdeleniye, or ''III otdeleniye sobstvennoy E.I.V. kantselyarii'' - in full: Третье отделение Собственной Его Императорского В ...
– political crimes, censorship, religious sects, aliens,
Gendarmes
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (literally, " ...
, headed by General Benckendorf, who had been commander of the Guards under Alexander. He suggested formation of a ministry of police and the overhaul of the whole system. They also exercised an increasingly repressive influence on education, especially after Uvarov's resignation.
*
Fourth Section, 1828 – former Chancellery of Dowager Empress
Maria Fedorovna; charity issues such as education of females, orphanage, disabled persons, healthcare
*Fifth Section, 1836 – state-owned
serfs
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
of
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
gubernia
A governorate, gubernia, province, or government ( rus, губе́рния, p=ɡʊˈbʲɛrnʲɪjə, also romanized ; uk, губернія, huberniia), was a major and principal administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire. After the empir ...
. Created to improve the poor administration of the state peasants. The aim was to make them more efficient producers, both for the benefit of the state as a whole and as an example for landowners to follow with their serfs.
Pavel Kiselyov
Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff (Па́вел Дми́триевич Киселёв) (, Moscow – , Paris) is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I's generally conservative reign.
Early m ...
, another German who had been in Russian service since 1812, was placed at the head of the new section.
*Sixth Section, 1842 –
Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
civil matters and development
Starting with 1880, the latter five sections were transferred to the corresponding
Ministries
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian mi ...
and in 1882 the First Section effectively became the Chancellery itself, serving as personal office of the
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
again.
Government of the Russian Empire
1815 in the Russian Empire
{{Russia-hist-stub