A. I. Razdorsky. Project of the Minister of Internal Affairs D. N. Bludov for the Reorganization of
the Northern Provinces of the European Part of the Russian Empire (1838) // Petersburg Historical Journal, no. 2, 2026, pp. 62–74.

DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2026_2_62

Abstract:

The article provides an analysis of the proposals set out by the Minister of Internal Affairs, D. N. Bludov, concerning the reform of the administrative-territorial structure of the six northern provinces of the Russian Empire (Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Novgorod, Olonets, Pskov, St. Petersburg). These proposals were outlined in a draft entitled A New Delimitation of the Provinces of the European Part of the Country, which was presented to Emperor Nicholas I in the spring of 1838. The prerequisites that gave rise to this project are outlined (the revealed imperfections of the administrative-territorial division that emerged as a result of the Catherine provincial reform of 1775–1785, the changed geopolitical and demographic situation). The key provisions of the draft concerning the European part of the Russian Empire are listed, and the list of provinces and regions whose borders were intended to be altered is provided. The following information is provided: firstly, details of the planned changes to the provincial and county borders of the northern provinces; secondly, information on the territorial composition of the new Velikoustyug province; and thirdly, information on the establishment of new county towns in the north of the country. The following information is provided on the consideration of Bludov’s project by government authorities, including the attitude of Emperor Nicholas I and members of the Russian government (Minister of Finance Ye. F. Kankrin, Minister of State Property P. D. Kiselyov, Minister of Justice D. V. Dashkov), as well as some governors of the northern provinces (Olonetsky and Vologda). The reasons why Bludov’s project could not be implemented are considered, and the individual provisions of the project that were implemented during the Soviet period are noted. The source base of the article consists of documents stored in various collections of the Russian State Historical Archive.

Key words: Administrative-territorial division, the North of the European part of Russia, northern
provinces, regional reforms, history of local government, historical geography, D. N. Bludov.

Author:

Razdorskii, Aleksei Igorevich — Dr. of Sci. in History, Head of the Federal Center for Regional Studies of the National Library of Russia (St. Petersburg, Russia).
E-mail: razdor@nlr.ru
ORCID: 0000-0003-2506-7714

References:
Khitrov, D. A. Gubernskaya reforma Ekateriny II. Izmenenie vnutrennikh granits i organizatsiya prostranstva gosudarstva [The Provincial Reform of Catherine II. Changing the Internal Borders and Organization of the State Space. In Russ.]: abstract of dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences. Moscow, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2025, 45 p.

Khitrov, D. A., Razdorskii, A. I. K voprosu o ponyatiyakh “guberniya” i “namestnichestvo” v ekaterininskoe vremya [On the Question of the Concepts of “Governorate” and “Viceroyalty” in Catherine’s Time. In Russ.]. In Administrativno-territorial’noe ustroistvo Rossii. Istoricheskii opyt, sovremennoe sostoyanie, perspektivy razvitiya. Tezisy dokladov Vserossiiskoi nauchnoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi 250-letiyu gubernskoi reformy Ekateriny II (Sankt-Peterburg, 18–19 noyabrya 2025 g.). St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2025, pp. 125–128. URL: https://spbiiran.ru/sostoyalas-vserossijskayanauchnaya-
konferencziya-administrativno-territorialnoe-ustrojstvo-rossii-istoricheskij-opyt-sovremennoesostoyanie-perspektivy-razvitiya/ (date of access: 23.11.2025).

Pisar’kova, L. F. Gosudarstvennoe upravlenie Rossii s kontsa XVII do kontsa XVIII veka. Evolyutsiya byurokraticheskoi sistemy [The State Administration of Russia from the End of the 17th to the End of the 18th Century. The Evolution of the Bureaucratic System. In Russ.]. Moscow, ROSSPEN publ., 2007, 742 p.

Shilov, D. N. Glavy vysshikh i tsentral’nykh gosudarstvennykh uchrezhdenii Rossiiskoi imperii, 1802–1917. Biobibliograficheskii spravochnik [Heads of the Highest and Central State Institutions of the Russian Empire, 1802–1917. Bio-bibliographic Reference. In Russ.]. Vol. 1. St. Petersburg, Nestor-Istoriya publ., 2024, 809 p.

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