Speransky M.M.

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PHJ № 2 (46) 2025 — L. P. Marney. DEVELOPMENT OF THE MONETARY AND CREDIT SYSTEM OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE 19 TH CENTURY IN PROJECTS OF M. M. SPERANSKY AND D. A. GURYEV

In the early 19 th century, two Russian statesmen, Secretary of State Mikhail Speransky and Minister of Finance Dmitry Guryev, proposed financial reforms with a particular emphasis on the development of the monetary system, a key component of the economic security of the Russian Empire. This strategy, which sought to enhance financial management, mobilise material resources, strengthen monetary circulation and stabilise the Empire’s financial system, had been in development since 1802, when the Ministry of Finance was established, and continued until 1823, when the subsequent finance plan was formulated. Despite the presence of certain discrepancies and idiosyncrasies, the finance plans devised by Speransky and Guryev constituted a unified programme for the development of the Russian financial system. The objective of this programme was to consolidate all revenue streams within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, to ensure the autonomy of the monetary system, to facilitate the implementation of administrative and political reforms, and, in general, to enhance the resilience and stability of the Russian Empire’s economic and political systems.

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PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — A. V. Ashikhmin, D. N. Shilov. “WELL, BUT NOT THE TIME”. THE LAST REPORTS OF M. M. SPERANSKY TO EMPEROR ALEXANDER I ON THE REFORM OF THE SENATE IN 1811

This research is dedicated to the unfinished reform of the Senate carried out by Speransky in 1811. The authors analyzed a set of documents deposited in the Russian State Historical Archive in the fund of the Special Committee of Chairmen of Departments of the State Council (F. 1164), consisting of 32 parts. These documents were interpreted by researchers since the beginning of the 20th century, and their archival systematization was carried out during that period by A. R. Dobrokhotov, clerk of the State Chancery. Despite the obvious relevance of these sources for the history of such large-scale state transformations, most of them have not yet been published. Based on the research of predecessors, source studies, and archaeological research, the history of this collection is reconstructed. This archival complex fits into the history of the Senate reform in 1911, and the role of Speransky and other members of the State Сouncil in its development is revealed. The authors describe and analyze the contents of reform documents, including preparatory projects dating back to Catherine’s reign. This collection provides a comprehensive source on senatorial reform developed by Speransky. Access to these documents and their analysis helps us better understand the ideas of the reformer and his methods of working with historical and contemporary materials, as well as methods of communicating and defending his opinions during discussions. It also reveals additional aspects Speransky’s “technical bureau” work during its early period. For the first time in more than a century of research, the most important documents of the reform authored by Speransky were published — the note “On the formation of the Senate”, with attached drafts of manifesto and decrees, and the note “On the timeliness of establishing the Senate”, comprising parts 17 and 18 of the archival collection under consideration.

PHJ № 3 (35) 2022 – B. P. Milovidov. M. M. Speransky’s note “On monetery circulation”: to the history of the text

The article is devoted to the last work of a major Russian Reformer M. M. Speransky — the report “On the money in circulation”. This document played an important role in the preparation of the monetary reform of 1839–1843. The 1839 report was the result of the reformer’s reflections on the problems of the money in circulation. The article examines the history of its creation, establishes the presence of two editions of the report, written with a difference of several days; shows the influence of E. F. Kankrin’s critical remarks on the second edition.

PHJ № 3 (35) 2022 – L. V. Vyskochkov. Notes and projects of M. M. Speransky in the historiography of Russian source studies

The article discusses the main stages of the publication of the notes and projects by M. M. Speransky (1772–1839), who created hundreds of works on philosophy, jurisprudence, morality, religion, realized and unrealized projects of the state system, which were published and republished from 1802 to the present. In historiography, his early works are the most studied, in particular, his constitutional draft of 1809.

PHJ № 3 (35) 2022 – T. V. Andreeva. Return: M. M. Speransky in 1821–1824 (according to the diary of a reformer)

The article is devoted to the diary of M. M. Speransky, which refers to the period of the reformer’s arrival from Siberia to St. Petersburg and is a valuable source of information not only about the complex process of his return to big politics, but also about the most important domestic and foreign policy problems of the last period of the reign of Alexander I. Diary of the greatest statesman of the 19th century allows you to expand and, possibly, to some extent change the ideas that have developed in historiography, both about the role and place of M. M. Speransky in public life in the early 1820s, and about the activities of the administrative apparatus of that time.

PHJ № 3 (35) 2022 – A. Yu. Andreev. Sources on the resignation of M. M. Speransky in 1812: an experience of a systematic analysis

The article analyzes the source base for studying one of the “mysteries of Russian history” — the sudden resignation of M. M. Speransky from the post of State Secretary of Emperor Alexander I, held in March 1812. The article states that the existing multiple interpretations of these events are based in a large number of cases on the uncritical use of historical sources. A new analysis of the source structure has been carried out and a new classification has been proposed. As a result, it was concluded that the considered base of sources, provided that the methods of their critical analysis are applied, allows reconstructing the events that led to Speransky’s resignation with a sufficient degree of completeness.