The Namiestnik (or Namestnik, Viceroy) of the Kingdom of Poland (, ) was the deputy of the

Emperor of Russia The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's ...

who, under the

Congress Kingdom of Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established wh ...

(1815–1915), was styled "King of Poland". Between 1874 and 1914, the title ''

Namiestnik A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

'' was replaced by that of Governor-General of Warsaw ().

History

The office of ''

'' was introduced in Poland by the

Constitution of Congress Poland The Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland () was granted to the Congress Poland, 'Congress' Kingdom of Poland by King of Poland Alexander I of Russia in 1815, who was obliged to issue a constitution to the newly recreated Polish state under his d ...

(1815), in its Article 3 (On the Namiestnik and Council of State). The namiestnik was chosen by the Tsar from among the noble citizens of the Russian Empire or the Kingdom of Poland, excluding

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

citizens. The namiestnik supervised the entire

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and, in the monarch's absence, chaired the Council of State of Congress Poland, as well as the Administrative Council of Congress Poland. He could

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

the councils' decisions; other than that, his decisions had to be countersigned by the appropriate

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

. The namiestnik exercised broad powers and could nominate candidates for most senior government posts (ministers,

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

s, judges of the High Tribunal, councilors of state, referendaries, as well as

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s and

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

s). The namiestnik had no competence in the realms of finances and foreign policy; his military competence varied. In the event that the namiestnik were unable to exercise his office due to resignation or death, this function would be temporarily carried out by the president of the Council of State. The office of namiestnik was never officially abolished; however, the last namiestnik was

Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert Graf von Berg (; ; – ) was a Russian nobleman, statesman, diplomat and general of Baltic German descent. Berg was a count of the Austrian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland. He was also the fifth last person to be prom ...

, who served from 1863 to his death in 1874. No namiestnik was named to replace him;Hugo Stumm, ''Russia's Advance Eastward'', 1874, p. 140, note 1. Google Prin

/ref> however, the role of namiestnik—

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

of the former Congress Kingdom —passed to the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Thomas Mitchell, ''Handbook for Travellers in Russia, Poland, and Finland'', 1888, p. 460. Google Prin

/ref>—or, to be more specific, of the Warsaw Military District (Russian Empire), Warsaw Military District (, ). However, in the internal correspondence of Russian Imperial offices this functionary was still called ''namiestnik''. The governor-general answered directly to the Tsar and exercised much broader powers than had the namiestnik. In particular, he controlled all the military forces in the region and oversaw the judicial systems (he could impose

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

s without trial). He could also issue " declarations with the force of law," which could alter existing laws.

Viceroys of the Kingdom of Poland

Józef Zajączek Prince Józef Zajączek (; 1 November 1752 – 28 August 1826) was a Polish general and politician. Zajączek started his career in the Army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, an aide-de-camp to hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki. H ...

(1815–26) * Vacant, 1826–31 (power and responsibilities were exercised by the

Administrative Council Administrative Council () was a part of Council of State (Kingdom of Poland), Council of State of the Congress Poland. Introduced by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, it was composed of 5 ministers, special nominees of the Tsar, Ki ...

) *

Ivan Paskevich Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw ( – ) was a Russian military leader who was the ''namiestnik'' of Poland. Paskevich is known for leading Russian forces in Poland during the November Uprising and for a s ...

(1831–55) *

Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov Prince Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov (, ; – , Warsaw) was a Russian General of the Artillery from the Gorchakov family, who commanded the Russian forces in the latter stages of the Crimean War and later served as a Namestnik of Kingdom o ...

(1855 – 3 May 1861) *

Nikolai Sukhozanet Nikolai Onufrievich Sukhozanet () (1794 – 22 July 1871) was an Imperial Russian Army general and statesman. Nikolai Sukhozanet was born in a noble family of Vitebsk Governorate. During the Napoleon's invasion of Russia he fought in numerous ...

(16 May 1861 – 1 August 1861) *

Karl Lambert Count Karl Karlovich Lambert (; ) (1815 – 20 July 1865) was a Russian General of Cavalry and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland from August to October 1861. From 1840 to 1844, he fought against Chechnya, Chechen highlanders during the Caucasia ...

(1861) *

(11–22 October 1861) *

Alexander von Lüders Count Alexander Nikolaevich Liders (; 14 January 1790 – 2 February 1874), better known as Alexander von Lüders, was a Russian general of German descent who served as the ''namestnik'' of Poland.Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (; 21 September 1827 – 25 January 1892) was the Emperor's Viceroy of Poland from 1862 to 1863 and a general admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. Early life Konstantin Nikolayevich was born as ...

(June 1862 – 31 October 1863) *

(1863–74)

Governors-General of Warsaw

* Count Paul Demetrius von Kotzebue (1874–80) *

Pyotr Pavlovich Albedinsky Pyotr Pavlovich Albedinsky (1826–1883) was a Russian military officer and politician. Personal life Descended from the nobility of Smolensk province, Pyotr Pavlovich Albedinsky was born in Moscow on 4 September 1826 and died in Warsaw on M ...

(1880–83) *

Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko Count Iosif Vladimirovich Romeyko-Gurko (; – ), also known as Joseph or Ossip Gourko, was a prominent Russian field marshal during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). Biography Career Of Belarusian extraction, Gurko was educated ...

(1883–94) *

Pavel Andreyevich Shuvalov Count Pavel Andreyevich Shuvalov (; Leipzig/Saint Petersburg, – Yalta, ) was an Imperial Russian statesman and the brother of Count Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov. Biography Pavel Andreyevich came from the Shuvalov family which has been promi ...

(1894–1896) * Prince

Alexander Imeretinsky Alexander Konstantinovich Bagration-Imeretinsky ( ka, ალექსანდრე კონსტანტინეს ძე ბაგრატიონ-იმერეტინსკი (''Aleksandre Konstantines dze Bagration-Imeretinski' ...

(1896–1900) *

Mikhail Chertkov Mikhail Ivanovich Chertkov () (St. Petersburg, August 14, 1829 - Paris, October 19, 1905) was a Russian Cavalry General and statesman who served as Governor-General of Warsaw in Poland between 1900 and 1905. He joined the Tsarist Army in Decembe ...

(1900–05) * (1905) *

Georgi Skalon Georg Karl de Scallon (, , Romanization of Russian, tr. ; 24 October 1847 – 1 February 1914) was a Russian Empire, Russian general of Huguenot origin, Governor-general of Warsaw and the commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Military District (Russia ...

(1905–14) *

Yakov Zhilinskiy Yakov Grigoryevich Zhilinsky (; 27 March 1853 – 1918) was a Russian cavalry general, chief of staff of the Imperial Russian Army from 2 February 1911 to 4 March 1914. He one of the main culprits of the failure of the East Prussian Campaign in ...

(1914) *

Pavel Yengalychev Prince Pavel Nikolayevich Yengalychev (; 25 March 1864 – 12 August 1944, Lausanne) was a Russian prince and general. He was a member of the noble Engalychev family. From 1894 until 1901 he was the Russian military attaché in Imperial Germany ...

(1914–1915)

Notes

a The office is referred to in sources by various names. ''

'' is sometimes translated as "

," "

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

" or "

lord lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

," and even "

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

" of Poland or Prince of Warsaw. The Governor-General of Warsaw is sometimes referred to as "Governor-General of the Kingdom of Poland" or "Governor-General of Poland." Some sources erroneously apply the term ''namiestnik'' to the period after 1874, or "governor-general" to the earlier period. b Sources are contradictory as to whether the namiestnik had competence in the military realm. Certainly from 1815 to 1831 the Congress Kingdom's military was controlled by

Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia Konstantin Pavlovich (; ) was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. He was the heir-presumptive for most of his elder brother Alexander I's reign, but had secretly renounced his c ...

, who ''de facto'' had more power than the namiestnik,

. Zajączek died in 1826 and was not replaced until 1831, when the November 1831 Uprising saw

assume the post of namiestnik—as well as command of Russian military forces in the region, as he was tasked with defeating the Uprising. The question of who controlled the military after Paskevich's death is unclear, but again the last namiestnik,

Fyodor Berg Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert Graf von Berg (; ; – ) was a Russian nobleman, statesman, diplomat and general of Baltic German descent. Berg was a count of the Austrian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland. He was also the fifth last person to be prom ...

, was tasked with crushing another Polish uprising—the January 1863 Uprising—and commanded the military.

References

;Inline ;General {{Namestniks of the Kingdom of Poland Government of Congress Poland Heads of state of Poland Political history of Poland ! Government of the Russian Empire

History

Viceroys of the Kingdom of Poland

Governors-General of Warsaw

See also

Notes

References