From 1711 to 1917, the Governing Senate was the highest legislative, judicial, and executive body subordinate to the Russian emperors. The senate was instituted by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

to replace the Boyar Duma and lasted until the very end of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. It was chaired by the Procurator General, who served as the link between the sovereign and the Senate; he acted, in the emperor's own words, as "the sovereign's eye".

Description

Originally established only for the time of Peter's absence, it became a permanent body after his return. The number of senators was first set at nine and, in 1712, increased to ten. Any disagreements between the Chief Procurator and the Senate were to be settled by the monarch. Certain other officials and a chancellery were also attached to the Senate. While it underwent many subsequent changes, it became one of the most important institutions of imperial Russia, especially for administration and law. The State Council, created by Alexander I, was supposed to inherit the executive power of the Senate. An envisioned

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

was to inherit legislative power, but that never happened. In the 19th century, the Senate evolved into the highest judicial body in Russia. As such, it exercised control over all legal institutions and officials throughout the country. The Senate was composed of several departments, two of which were Courts of Cassation (one for criminal cases, one for civil cases). It also included a Department of

Heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, which managed matters relating to the rights of the nobles and honorary citizens.

First nine senators

Count Ivan Musin-Pushkin, Boyar Tikhon Streshnev, Prince Petr Golitsyn, Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov, Grigoriy Plemiannikov, Prince , General Mikhail Samarin, Quartermaster general Vasiliy Apukhtin and Nazariy Melnitskiy. As an ober-secretary was appointed Anisim Schukin.

Procurator Generals

Procurator Generals and Ministers of Justice

Sources and references

References