Iakov Ivanovich Rostovtsev ( – ) was a leading figure in the formulation of statutes which effectively emancipated the Russian serfs.

Biography

Born in St Petersburg, Russia, Rostovtsev became a career soldier, and was a young officer at the time of the 1825

Decembrist revolt The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...

. When he was invited to join the plot, he instead reported it to

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Nicholas I, though without revealing the names of the officers involved. Rostovtsev went on to hold posts in military education, and was involved in the administration of the cadet corps, reaching the rank of Full General. In 1857, when the Tsar made public his plans under the Nazimov Rescript to reform the institution of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which deve ...

, Rostovtsev was appointed to the Editing Commission charged with developing those plans, after a conservative leaning secret commission found Emancipation to be impossible. His subsequent report was well received, and brought him the chairmanship of the Commission whose task was to draft the necessary statutes. The resulting statutes were issued on 19 February 1861, a year after Rostovtsev's death. On that occasion Rostovtsev's widow and children were made Counts of the Russian Empire.

References

Panlog article
1804 births 1860 deaths Russian nobility Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Military personnel of the Russian Empire Politicians of the Russian Empire Burials at the Feodorovskaya Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra {{Russia-noble-stub