GOVERNING SENATE

The Governing Senate was founded in 1711. Its initial primary responsibility was to govern the empire when the emperor was on military campaigns. The establishment of the Senate was also part of a government re-organization undertaken by Peter I (1689–1725) who wished to make the government structure more responsive to his wishes and more effective at tapping society's resources for military purposes. In 1722 it was transformed from a higher governing organ to a higher supervisory one responsible for resolving legal and administrative disputes. Catherine II (1763–1796) further systemized the Senate by dividing it into six departments with relatively clear institutional responsibilities related to administrative oversight.

The governmental reforms undertaken by Alexander I (1801–1825) fundamentally changed the role of the Senate. According to his decrees of 1801 and 1802 the Senate had the right to judicial review and supervision of the highest governmental organs, including the newly established ministries. No legislative bill could become law without the Senate's approval. However, one year later a new decree stripped the Senate of these powers. The founding of the ministerial system and the State Council (1810) fatally weakened the Senate's role in practice. For the remainder of the nineteenth century it played the role of a High Court of Review and along with other institutions exercised limited administrative supervision. Until 1905 the Senate, whose forty or fifty members were chosen by the tsar, rarely met, except on ceremonial occasions. Six departments that dealt with a myriad of judicial, social, and political issues continued to work under the supervision of the Senate.

After the Revolution of 1905 the role of the Senate changed once again. It became the High Criminal Court dealing with corruption in the bureaucracy. Its first department played a role in the preparations for the formation of the First Duma, while its Second Department became the supreme appellate court for land-related issues.

See also: alexander i; catherine ii; peter i

bibliography

Seton-Watson, Hugh. (1991). The Russian Empire 1801–1917. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Yaney, George. (1973). The Systemization of Russian Government. London: University of Illinois Press.

Zhand P. Shakibi