104 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



RUSSIA. 



Constitution and Government. The 



government of Russia is an absolute hereditary 

 monarchy. The whole legislative, executive, 

 and judicial power is united in the Emperor, 

 whose will alone is law. There are, however, 

 certain rules of government which the sover- 

 eigns of the present reigning house have 

 acknowledged as binding. The chief of these 

 is the law of succession to the throne, which, 

 according to a decree of the Emperor Paul, of 

 the year 1797, is to be that of regular descent, 

 by the right of primogeniture, with preference 

 of male over female heirs. This decree an- 

 nulled a previous one, issued by Peter I., Feb- 

 ruary 5, 1722, which ordered each sovereign 

 to select his successor to the throne from 

 among the members of the imperial family, 

 irrespective of the claims of primogeniture. 

 Another fundamental law of the realm pro- 

 claimed by Peter I. is that every sovereign of 

 Russia, with his consort and children, must be 

 a member of the orthodox Greek Church. The 

 princes and princesses of the imperial house, 

 according to a decree of Alexander I., must 

 obtain the consent of the Emperor to any mar- 

 riage they may contract ; otherwise the issue 

 -of such union cannot inherit the throne. By 

 an ancient law of Russia, the heir-apparent is 

 held to be of age at the end of the sixteenth 

 year, and the other members of the reigning 

 family with the completed twentieth year. 



The administration of the Empire is en- 

 trusted to four great' boards, or councils, pos- 

 sessing separate functions. The first of these 

 boards is the Council of the State, established 

 in its present form by Alexander I., in the 

 year 1810. It consists of a president the 

 Grand Duke Mikhail since 1882- and an 

 unlimited number of members appointed by 

 the Emperor. In 1894 the Council consisted 

 of 62 members, exclusive of the ministers, who 

 have a seat ex offido, and six princes of the 

 imperial house. The Council is divided into 

 three departments, namely, of Legislation, of 

 Civil and Church Administration, and of 

 Finance. Each department has its own presi- 

 dent, and a separate sphere of duties ; but 

 there are collective meetings of the three sec- 

 tions. The chief function of the Council of 

 the Empire is that of examining into the proj- 

 ects of laws which are brought before it by 

 the ministers, and of discussing the budget and 

 all the expenditures to be made during the 

 year. But the Council has no power of pro- 

 posing alterations and modifications of the 

 laws of the realm ; it is, properly speaking, a 

 consultative institution in matters of legisla- 

 tion. A special department is intrusted with 

 the discussion of the requests addressed to the 



Emperor against the decisions of the Senate. 

 The second of the great colleges or boards 

 of government is the Ruling Senate, or " I'ra- 

 vitelstvuyuschiy Senat," established by Peter I. 

 in the year 1711. The functions of the Senate 

 are partly of a deliberative and partly of an 

 executive character. To be valid a law must 

 be promulgated by the Senate. It is also tin- 

 high court of justice for the Empire. Tlie 

 Senate is divided into nine departments or 

 sections, which all sit at St. Petersburg, two 

 of them being Courts of Cassation. Kadi 

 department is authorized to decide in the last 

 resort upon certain descriptions of cases. The 

 senators are mostly persons of high rank, or 

 who fill high stations; but a lawyer of emi- 

 nence presides over each department, who 

 represents the Emperor,, and without whose 

 signature its decisions would have no force. 

 In the plenum, or general meeting of several 

 sections, the Minister of Justice takes the 

 chair. Besides its superintendence over tin- 

 courts of law, the Senate examines into 

 the state of the general administration of 

 the Empire, and has power to make remon- 

 strances to the Emperor. A special depart- 

 ment consisting of seven members i.s intrusted 

 with judgments in political offenses, and 

 another (six members) with disciplinary judg- 

 ments against officials of the crown. 



The third college, established by Peter 1. in 

 the year 1721, is the Holy Synod, and to it is 

 committed the superintendence of the religious 

 affairs of the Empire. It is composed of the 

 three metropolitans (St. Petersburg, Moscow, 

 and Kieff), the archbishops of Georgia (Cau- 

 casus), and of Poland (Kholm and Warsaw), 

 and several bishops sitting in turn. All its 

 decisions run in the Emperor's name, and have 

 no force till approved by him. The President 

 of the Holy Synod is the Metropolitan of Nov- 

 gorod and St. Petersburg. 



The fourth board of government is the Com- 

 mittee of Ministers. It consists of all the min- 

 isters, who are : 



1. The Ministry of the l/n/ rial I/misi <ni<\ 

 Imperial Domain*. 



2. The Ministry <>f F<in-i<in Affair*. Assist- 

 ant Ministi r. 



3. The Ministry of War. 



4. The Ministry of tlic Xary. 



5. The Ministry of tin- Interior. 



6. The Ministry of Public Instruction. 



7. The Ministry of I-'inann . 



8. The Ministry of Justice. 



9. The Ministry of Agriculture ami Stuff 

 Domains. 



10. The Ministry of I'uJilic Works anil Hail- 

 ways. 



11. The Department of General Control. 



