Mikhail Speransky: biography, years of life, activity, photo

Renowned official and reformer Mikhail Speransky (years of life: 1772-1839) is known as the author of several programs to change the legislation of in the early XIX century. He survived the peak and decline of his career, not all his ideas were realized, but it is his name that is synonymous with the liberal direction in which our state could develop under Alexander I and Nicholas I.

Childhood

The future great statesman Mikhail Speransky was born on January 1, 1772 in the Vladimir province. He was of lowly parentage - his father worked in the church, and his mother was the daughter of a deacon. It was parents who influenced the character and interests of the child most of all. He quickly learned to read and read a lot. A great influence on Misha was made by his grandfather, who went to church a lot, and also introduced his grandson to such important books as "The Hours" and "The Apostle."

Even after his rise, Mikhail Speransky did not forget his origins. Being a secretary of state, he cleaned his rooms and was generally modest in his way of life and habits.

Michael began his systematic training in 1780 in the walls of the Vladimir Diocesan Seminary. It was there that, thanks to the outstanding abilities, the boy was first recorded under the surname Speransky, which was a tracing-paper from the Latin adjective, translated as "giving hope." The father of the child was Vasiliev. Mikhail Speransky immediately stood out from the general mass of students with his wit, desire to learn, love of reading, and also a modest but firm character. The seminary allowed him to learn Latin and Greek languages.

Moving to St. Petersburg

Michael could have stayed in Vladimir and began a church career. He even became a cell-mate with a local hegumen. But already in 1788 as one of the brightest and talented students Speransky got the opportunity to go to St. Petersburg and continue his studies at the Alexander Nevsky Seminary. This institution was under the direct control of the Synod. Here, new programs were developed and the best teachers taught.

In a new place, Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky studied not only theology, but also secular disciplines, including higher mathematics, physics, philosophy and French, which at that time was international. In the seminary strict discipline reigned, thanks to which the students developed skills of hours of intensive mental work. After Speransky learned to read in French, he was carried away by the works of scientists of this country. Access to the best and newest books made the young seminarian one of the most educated people in the country.

In 1792, Speransky Mikhail Mikhailovich graduated from his studies. He remained in the seminary, where for several years he was a teacher of mathematics, philosophy and eloquence. In his spare time he was fond of fiction, and also wrote poetry. Some of them were published in St. Petersburg magazines. All the activities of the seminary teacher gave him a multi-faceted person with the broadest horizons.

Beginning of civil service

In 1795 the young Speransky, on the recommendation of Metropolitan Gabriel, was taken to work by Alexander Kurakin. He was a prominent metropolitan official and diplomat. With the accession to the throne of Paul I, he was appointed prosecutor-general. Kurakin needed a secretary who could cope with a large amount of work. It was such a man was Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky. To put it briefly, he preferred a secular career to a career within the Church. At the same time, they did not want to part with the talented teacher in the seminary. Metropolitan invited him to take monastic vows, after which Speransky could count on the title of bishop. However, he refused and in 1797 received the rank of titular counselor in the office of the prosecutor general.

Very quickly, the official ascended the career ladder. In just a couple of years he became a state counselor. Biography Speransky Mikhail Mikhailovich - a story of rapid elevation in the service due to a unique capacity for work and talent. These qualities allowed him not to fawn upon his superiors, which was the reason for his unquestioning authority in the future. Indeed, Speransky worked primarily for the welfare of the state, and only then he thought about his own interests.

Rise of the Reformer

In 1801 Alexander I. became the new emperor of Russia. He was radically different from his despotic father, Pavel, who was known for his military habits and conservative views. The new monarch was a liberal and wanted to produce in his country all those reforms that were necessary for the normal development of the state. In general, they were to expand the freedoms of the population.

Mikhail Speransky was also of the same views. The biography of this figure is extremely curious: he met Alexander I when he was still the heir to the throne, and the official was engaged in the arrangement of Petersburg, being an state councilor. Young people immediately found a common language, and the future king did not forget the figure of a bright native of the Vladimir province. With the accession to the throne, Alexander I appointed Speransky State Secretary at Dmitry Troshchinsky. This man was a senator and one of the trustees of the new emperor.

Soon, the activities of Mikhail Speransky drew the attention of members of the Secret Committee. These were the statesmen closest to Alexander, united in one circle to work out solutions for urgent reforms. Speransky became an assistant to the famous Victor Kochubei.

In the Secret Committee

Already in 1802, thanks to the Secret Committee, Alexander I established ministries. They replaced the obsolete and ineffective colleges of the Petrine era. Kochubei became the first Minister of Internal Affairs, and Speransky became his State Secretary. He was an ideal clerk: he worked with papers for tens of hours a day. Soon Mikhail Mikhailovich began to write his own notes to the highest people, in which he set out his views on the drafts of various reforms.

It is not superfluous to mention once again that Speransky's views were formed by reading the eighteenth-century French thinkers: Voltaire, etc. The liberal ideas of the state secretary found a response in power. Soon he was appointed head of the department, engaged in the development of reform projects.

It was under the leadership of Mikhail Mikhailovich that the main provisions of the famous "Decree on free-grain farmers" were formulated. This was the first timid step of the Russian government on the road to the abolition of serfdom. According to the decree, the nobles could now let the peasants go with the land. Despite the fact that this initiative found a very small response from the privileged class, Alexander was pleased with the work done. He instructed to begin developing a plan for radical reforms in the country. At the head of this process was Speransky Mikhail Mikhailovich. A brief biography of this statesman is amazing: he, not having ties, only thanks to his own abilities and diligence could get to the top of the political Olympus of Russia.

In the period from 1803 to 1806 years. Speransky became the author of a large number of notes delivered to the emperor. In papers, the Secretary of State analyzed the then-current state of the judiciary and the executive. The main proposal of Mikhail Mikhailovich was to change the state system. According to his notes, Russia was to become a constitutional monarchy, where the emperor was deprived of absolute power. These projects remained unrealized, but Alexander approved many of Speransky's theses. Due to his tremendous work, this official also completely changed the language of clerical communication in state structures. He abandoned the numerous archaisms of the XIX century, and his thoughts on paper, devoid of uselessness, were clear and as clear as possible.

Assistant to the Emperor

In 1806, Alexander I made the former seminarian his main assistant, "taking it away" from Kochubei. The Emperor needed just such a man as Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky. A brief biography of this civil servant can not do without a description of his relationship with the monarch. Alexander appreciated Speransky primarily for his isolation from various aristocratic circles, each of whom lobbied for his own interests. This time, Mikhail's unfamiliar origin played into his hands. He began receiving orders personally from the king.

In this status, Speransky engaged in education in theological seminaries - personally a topic close to him. He became the author of the statute regulating all activities of these institutions. These rules safely survived until 1917. Another important enterprise of Speransky as an auditor of Russian education is the compilation of a note in which he outlined the principles of the work of the future Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. This institution for several generations taught the color of the nation - the youngest of the most venerable aristocratic families. His graduate was Alexander Pushkin.

Diplomatic service

At the same time, Alexander I was very busy with foreign policy. Going to Europe, he invariably took Speransky with him. So it was in 1807, when the Erfurt Congress was held with Napoleon. It was then that Europe first learned who Mikhail Speransky is. A brief biography of this official necessarily mentions his skills as a polyglot. But before 1807, he had never been abroad.

Now, thanks to the knowledge of languages and his education, Speransky was able to pleasantly surprise all the foreign delegations that were present in Erfurt. Napoleon himself paid attention to Alexander's assistant and even allegedly jokingly asked the Russian emperor to change the talented state secretary "to some kingdom." But abroad Speransky also noted the practical benefit of his own stay in the delegation. He took part in the discussion and conclusion of peace between France and Russia. However, the political situation in Europe was then shaky, and soon these agreements were forgotten.

Zenith career

Speransky spent a lot of time working on drafting requirements for admission to the civil service. The knowledge of many officials did not correspond to the level of the position they occupied. The reason for this situation was the widespread practice of making a device for service thanks to family ties. Therefore, Speransky proposed to introduce exams for people who want to become officials. Alexander agreed with this idea, and soon these norms became law.

With the accession of Finland to Russia, Speransky began to direct the reforms in the new province. There was no conservative nobility, therefore, it was in this country that Alexander was able to realize his boldest liberal ideas. In 1810 the State Council was established. Also there was a post of the state secretary to which became Speransky Michael Mihajlovich. The reformer's activities were not in vain. Now he officially became the second person in the state.

Opal

Speranskii's numerous reforms have affected virtually all spheres of the country's life. Somewhere the changes were radical, which was resisted by the stagnant part of society. Mikhail Mikhailovich did not like the nobility, because because of his activities, it was their interests that were the ones who suffered first. By 1812, at the court of the emperor appeared a group of ministers and proxies, who began to intrigue against Speransky. They spread false rumors about him, for example, that he allegedly criticized the emperor. With the approach of the war, many ill-wishers began to recall his connection with Napoleon in Erfurt.

In March 1812, Mikhail Speransky was dismissed from all posts held. He was ordered to leave the capital. In fact, he was in exile: first in Nizhny Novgorod, then in Novgorod province. A few years later, he nevertheless achieved the removal of opals.

In 1816 he was appointed Penza governor. Mikhail Speransky, briefly, did not know this region well. Nevertheless, thanks to his organizational skills, he was able to become the guarantor of order in the province. The local population fell in love with the former Secretary of State.

After Penza, the official was in Irkutsk, where he worked as a Siberian governor from 1819 to 1821. Here the state of affairs was even more neglected than in Penza. Speransky took up the arrangement: he developed statutes on the management of national minorities and the conduct of economic activities.

Again in St. Petersburg

In 1821, Mikhail Mikhailovich was in Petersburg for the first time in many years. He achieved a meeting with Alexander I. The emperor made it clear that the old days, when Speransky was the second person in the state, is behind. Nevertheless, he was appointed head of the commission on drafting laws. It was exactly the position on which it was possible to make the most of the experience that Mikhail Speransky owned. The historical portrait of this man shows him as an outstanding reformer. Therefore, he again took up the transformation.

The first thing the official completed was Siberian business. According to his notes, an administrative reform was carried out. Siberia was divided into Western and Eastern. In the last years of the reign Alexander I devoted much time to the arrangement of military settlements. Now they are engaged in and Speransky, who, together with Alexei Arakcheyev, headed the relevant commission.

Under Nicholas I

In 1825 Alexander I died. There was an unsuccessful speech by the Decembrists. Speransky was charged with drafting the Manifesto on the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I. The new ruler valued Speransky's merits, despite the fact that he had his own political view. The famous official remained a liberal. Tsar was a conservative, and the Decembrist revolt set him even more against the reforms.

In Nicholas's years Speransky's main work was the compilation of a complete set of laws of the Russian Empire. The multivolume edition united a huge number of decrees, the first of which appeared in the 17th century. In January 1839, thanks to his services, Speransky received the title of Count. However, on February 11, he died at the age of 67.

His ebullient and productive work became the engine of the Russian reforms of the first years of the reign of Alexander I. At the height of his career, Speransky found himself in undeserved disgrace, but later returned to his duties. He served the state faithfully, despite all adversities.