Ministers’ Council established in Russia

On November 12 (24), 1861 in Russia was established the Ministers’ Council – a deliberative body of state affairs. Unofficially the Council started to function from October 1857 and its first session took place on December 19 (31), 1857.

The Council of Ministers was established for “exclusive consideration in the presence of His Majesty” of cases which require “general examination” that is concern several areas of government at a time.

The Council included ministers and equal to the status heads of departments, the State Council president, the Ministers Committee president and other high officials on the emperor’s a special assignment. The Council was presided by the emperor himself who could lay any kind of issues before it. All the issues were reported by the ministers, and the Ministers Committee manager was in charge of all the office work. The Ministers’ Council did not have its own office. All the meetings of the Council were attended by the secretary of state who presented information from the cases of the State Council for legislative issues. Meetings of the Council of Ministers were not regular and were appointed every time by the emperor.

Subject to consideration by the Council were, "ideas and suggestions to arrange and improve different parts, entrusted to every Ministry and the Directorate General", "information on the progress of arrangement and improvement ...", the original legislative proposals with their subsequent submission to the Council of State; measures requiring general support of various agencies, but not to be considered in other supreme government institutions; information on the most  important orders for each agency, requiring "general considerations"; conclusions of the Committees, created by the Emperor to consider reports of ministries and head offices.

From 1863 the number of files received by the Council significantly reduced, it assembled more and more rarely, and after December 11 (23), 1882 its sessions stopped to take place.

The Ministers’ Council resumed its activity on February 3 (16), 1905 due to the state reforms that had to be carried out. Under the law of October 19 (November 1), 1905 the Council served as a new supreme governing body.

Lit.: Ерошкин Н. П. История государственных учреждений  дореволюционной России. М., 1968; Макаров С. В. Особое Совещание 17 января 1905 г. (К проблеме объединения министерского управления в Российской империи) // Правоведение. 1993. № 3; Макаров С. В. Создание Совета министров Российской империи // Правоведение. 1993. № 2; Совет министров // Большая советская энциклопедия. Т. 24. Кн. 1. М., 1977.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Complete Collection Of Laws Of The Russian Empire.T. 36. Branch 1-E. 1861. From No. 36490-37190