Count M. M. Speranskii

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Российская национальная библиотека. Отдел рукописей.

Postal address:: 91069, Russia, St. Petersburg, ul. Sadovaia, д. 18, main building

Scope and content:: Documents pertaining to the history of Jews in Russia are housed in the following inventory sections: section 2, “Materials on official activities,” includes, in particular, an autograph draft of M. M. Speranskii’s opinion “on the case of the murder of the boy in the city of Velizh,” i.e., the so-called Velizh Affair, one of Russia’s most famous cases of Jews being falsely accused of ritual murder (1834); and “A Memorandum on Jews” by N. Plisetskii, a resident of the city of Borzna (Chernigov province) (1838); and the subsection “Petitions of various persons to M. M. Speranskii” contains a petition from F. Il’ish, agent of the Jewish community of Riga, requesting that the residency and commercial rights bestowed on Riga Jews by the Statute of 15 August 1835 be codified, and a memorandum on this issue (undated). The third section, “Materials on jurisprudence,” includes various documents prepared by M. M. Speranskii that dealt with the laws of the Kingdom of Poland, including as pertained to the “Jewish question” (1830s); and the subsection “Works on theology” includes notes by M. M. Speranskii on biblical texts (1818-39). The fourth section, “Materials of various persons,” has notes by unidentified persons on measures to improve the situation of Jews in Russia; and on the harm wrought by homeschooling of Jewish children, and the need to organise special educational institutions (undated).

Administrative/biographical history:: Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speranskii (1772-1839) was a jurist and statesman. He graduated from the Petersburg Theological Academy in 1791. He began government service in 1797, and drafted several projects related to education. In 1807 he became state secretary to Emperor Alexander I, and in 1808, a member of the Commission on Drafting Laws and deputy justice minister. He was tasked by the emperor to draw up a plan for state reforms (1809). From 1810-12 he held the post of secretary of the State Council. Upon being accused of having ties to Napoleon I in 1812, he was exiled to Nizhnii Novgorod under police supervision, and later to Perm’. He was appointed Penza governor in 1816, and governor-general of Siberia in 1819. In 1821 M. M. Speranskii returned to St. Petersburg, where he was appointed a member of the State Council and manager of the Commission on Drafting Laws. In 1826 he was a member of the Supreme Criminal Court in judgement of the Decembrists. From 1826 on he was de facto director of the Second Department of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancery. He oversaw preparation of the 45-volume Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire (1830) and 15-volume Law Code of the Russian Empire (1832). From 1836 on he chaired the State Council’s law department. He was a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1831); and an actual privy councillor (1827). He was made a count in 1839.

Access points: persons/families:: Il’ish, F.; Plisetskii, N.; Speranskii, M. M.

Subject terms:: Blood libel; Education; Jewish community; Jewish Question; Privileges; Residency issues of Jews; Trade and commerce

System of arrangement:: The fonds includes a single inventory systematised by structure.