Establishment of ministries

The establishment of ministries during the reign of Alexander the First took place in close relationship with the administrative reform. There were several prerequisites for this reform. The main among them were the moral characteristics of the emperor and the people surrounding him, the state of public and state life.

Establishment of colleges, which was made before the accession to the throne of Alexander the First, did not bring order to the administrative apparatus. The system lacked the correct administrative framework. This fragmentation of affairs often reached extremes, introducing into the whole system a constant mess. In addition, there was no unity between different divisions of government. In this regard, there were clashes between the organs of the administrative apparatus. Moreover, the ministers and directors approved under Paul did not only exist without supervision, but, in the absence of an institution that united their activities, virtually no liability was brought to justice. The situation was aggravated by a lot of unnecessary formalities in the process of making cases, which gave rise to one of the main problems of management - slowness. Under these conditions, various kinds of abuse were widespread, primarily bribery. The administrative system, therefore, required major changes.

Already at the very beginning of the reign of Alexander I the first ministries were formed, as well as the state council. Those principles that underlay the system began to be gradually replaced. Alexander the First sought to establish justice and justice in the state through the formation of closer relations with the administration. Establishment of ministries was supposed to be carried out according to the Western example. It should be noted that in this sphere, as, indeed, in others, the reforms were not adopted immediately. So, about ten years have passed before the new system has received a relatively stable organization.

The establishment of the ministries Alexander the First carried out after repeated meetings with his entourage. At these meetings there was a discussion of the projects that the members of the committee represented. So, the projects of Novosiltsev, Kochubei, Chartorizhsky and other figures were discussed. A special attention was paid to the proposals of Novosiltsev. In accordance with his draft, it was planned to establish ministries and divide the administration into eight parts. Thus, the bodies of internal affairs, justice, state treasury, finance, public education, foreign, military and naval affairs were to be formed. In addition, yielding to the sovereign in the matter of approving a special department of commerce, Novosiltsev proposed to form it as an institution that would manage customs, subordinating him to a commercial college.

It should be noted that the basis for the proposal of the figure was the idea of approving one ministry, dividing it into the above parts. Unity in the structure, according to Novosiltsev, could be achieved through the formation of a special organization of reports to the emperor. Before submitting these reports to the tsar, they should be discussed in the committee of ministers jointly. In addition, the committee was supposed to conduct a discussion of all current affairs. Matters of special importance were to be submitted to the State Council.

As a result of numerous meetings in 1802, on September 8, a decree was issued on the establishment of ministries. For many officials, he became a surprise. Mostly, this was due to the fact that all meetings were held secretly, with the participation of only those close to the emperor. Because of this stealth, the new decree has acquired quite a lot of dissatisfied responses.

The ultimate goal of establishing a new system was to eliminate collegia, the introduction of a ministerial principle of government.