The
Russian Council of Ministers is an executive governmental body that brings together the principal officers of the Executive Branch of the
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n government.
The Ministries and the
Committee of Ministers (Комитет Министров) were created 1802 as an advisory board as part of
Government reform of Alexander IThe early Russian system of government instituted by Peter the Great, which consisted of various state committees, each named Collegium with subordinate departments named Prikaz, was largely outdated by the 1800s...
. However, the Committee had little collective power and functioned as an advisory council to the Emperor as Head of the Government.
The
Russian Council of Ministers is an executive governmental body that brings together the principal officers of the Executive Branch of the
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n government.
Committee of Ministers
The Ministries and the
Committee of Ministers (Комитет Министров) were created 1802 as an advisory board as part of
Government reform of Alexander IThe early Russian system of government instituted by Peter the Great, which consisted of various state committees, each named Collegium with subordinate departments named Prikaz, was largely outdated by the 1800s...
. However, the Committee had little collective power and functioned as an advisory council to the Emperor as Head of the Government. The Tsar could preside over Committee meetings, but he usually appointed up to two Chairmen as his deputies.
Chairmen of the committee of Ministers (de facto), 1802 – 1810
- Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov (1802-1804) as Imperial Chancellor and Foreign Minister
- Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski was a Polish noble, statesman and author...
(1804-1806) as Foreign Minister
- Andrei Yakovlevich Budberg
Count Andrei Yakovlevich Budberg was a Russian diplomat who served as Foreign Minister in 1806-07.His ancestors moved to Russia in the 16th century from Westphalia. Budberg was born in Riga and entered the military service in 1759. He participated in the Russo-Turkish war 1768-1774. In 1783...
(1806-1807) as Foreign Minister
- Nikolay Petrovich Rumyantsev (1807-1810) as Foreign Minister
Chairmen of the committee of Ministers, 1810 – 1905
- Nikolay Petrovich Rumyantsev (1810-1812)
- Nikolay Ivanovich Saltykov
Count Nikolay Ivanovich Saltykov was a Russian Field Marshal and imperial courtier....
(1812-1816)
- Pyotr Vasilyevich Lopukhin (1816-1827)
- Viktor Pavlovich Kochubey (1827-1834)
- Nikolay Nikolayevich Novosiltsev
Count Nikolay Nikolayevich Novosiltsev was a Russian statesman and a close aide to Alexander I of Russia.He was a natural son of a wealthy nobleman, married to the aunt of Count Pavel Stroganov. This relationship secured for him a place in the Privy Committee that outlined the Government reform...
(1834-1838)
- Ivan Vasilyevich Vasilchikov (1838-1847)
- Vasily Vasilyevich Levashov (1847-1848)
- Aleksandr Ivanovich Chernyshov (1848-1856)
- Aleksey Fyodorovich Orlov
Orlov is the name of a Russian noble family which produced several distinguished statesmen, diplomatists and soldiers. The family first gained distinction in the person of four Orlov brothers, of whom the senior was Catherine the Great's paramour, and the two junior were notable military...
(1856-1861)
- Dmitry Nikolayevich Bludov (1861-1864)
- Pavel Pavlovich Gagarin (1865-1872)
- Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev (1872-1879)
- Pyotr Aleksandrovich Valuyev (1879-1881)
- Mikhail Khristoforovich Reutern (1881-1887)
- Nikolai Khristianovich Bunge
Nikolai Khristianovich Bunge was the preeminent architect of Russian capitalism under Alexander III of Russia. He was a distinguished economist, statesman, and academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences....
(1887-1895)
- Ivan Nikolayevich Durnovo
Ivan Nikolayevich Durnovo was a Russian political figure. He served as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers between 1895 and 1903, the precursor to the post of prime minister....
(1895-1903)
- Sergei Yulyevich Witte (1903-1905)
Council of Ministers
After
Nicholas IINicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and claimed the title of King of Poland...
issued the
October ManifestoThe October Manifesto was issued on October 17 1905 by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia under the influence of Count Sergei Witte as a response to the Russian Revolution of 1905....
of 1906 granting civil liberties and a national legislature (
DumaA Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed after the last Czar,...
and reformed
State CouncilThe State Council was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia.- 18th century :Early Tsar's Councils were small and dealt primarily with the external politics....
), the Committee was replaced with a
Council of Ministers (Совет министров), a real
cabinetA Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or Executive Committee.- Overview :...
with its Chairman acting as
Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
. As a result, from 1905 until 1917 the Council of Ministers collectively decided the government's policy, tactical direction and served as a buffer between the Emperor and the national legislature.
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
The Sovnarkom of the RSFSR was the basis for all Soviet governments, including both Union and republican levels, until 1946, when all of the Sovnarkoms were renamed Council of Ministers. With the leading role of the CPSU fixed in
Stalin Constitution of 1936The 1936 Soviet constitution, adopted on December 5, 1936, and also known as the "Stalin" constitution, redesigned the government of the Soviet Union. The constitution repealed restrictions on voting and added universal direct suffrage and the right to work to rights guaranteed by the previous...
, the governments were little more than the executive bodies of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The leading role was also fixed in
Soviet Constitution of 1977At the Seventh Session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Ninth Convocation on October 7, 1977, the third and last Soviet Constitution, also known as the "Brezhnev Constitution", was unanimously adopted. The official name of the Constitution was "Constitution ofthe Union of Soviet Socialist...
and was not overruled until 1991.
Russian FederationRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
After the fall of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
the Russian Council of Ministers became the chief body of administration for the President of the Russian Federation. At times it consisted of as many as 60 ministries and state committees and up to 12 Vice-Premiers. After the 2004 reform, Government duties were split between 17 Ministries, 7 Federal Services and over 30 governmental Agencies.
The
Prime MinisterThe Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation is the second most powerful official of the Russian Federation, who, under Article 24 of the Federal Constitutional Law On the Government of the Russian Federation, "heads the Government of the Russian Federation".Nowhere in the Russian Law...
is appointed by the
President of the Russian FederationThe President of the Russian Federation is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Russia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
and confirmed by the
State DumaThe State Duma in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma is headquartered in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to as deputies...
. The Chairman is second in line to succeed to the Presidency of Russia if the current President dies, is incapacitated or resigns.
See also
- Prime Minister of Russia
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation is the second most powerful official of the Russian Federation, who, under Article 24 of the Federal Constitutional Law On the Government of the Russian Federation, "heads the Government of the Russian Federation".Nowhere in the Russian Law...
- Premier of the Soviet Union
Premier of the Soviet Union is the commonly used English term for the offices of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR...