Governor-general and ruler of the viceroyalty in the system of the administrative and territorial structure of the Russian Empire in 1775–1796

Abstract

The research is devoted to the study of the emergence and evolution of the institution of governorship. We consider the place and role, the specifics of the division of powers of the governor-general and the ruler of the viceroyalty in the system of government of the Russian state in 1775–1796. Catherine II, from the beginning of her reign, made many efforts to strengthen the authority and power of the sovereign’s representative at local level – the governor. The governorgeneral and the governor were representatives of the central government and carried out its instructions. In the newly created viceroyalties, the governor served as the direct ruler of the viceroyalty, and the role of the governor–general was to oversee the local administration and the communication between it and the central government. The inconsistency of the administrative and ter ritorial reform led to the fact that one governor-general was appointed to several governorates, and the governor remained in each. The vertical structure of executive power built by Catherine II led to the high authority and quite successful activity of the governors. After becoming emperor, Paul I brought the reform carried out by Catherine II to its logical conclusion. During the reform of the governorate administration, the institution of the governor-general was abolished, and the governor became the main type of governor of the governorate.