Experts («Svedushhie ljudi») in the State Council of the second half of the XIX century

Abstract

The State Council was the highest legislative authority of Russian Empire. Although its function was purely advisory, the quality of managerial decisions highly depended on it. So, thoroughness of its work was an important requirement for the Council. And the use of experts served as one of the ways to reach it. Experts (or «svedushhie ljudi») might be of different social position but they had to be able to provide professional conclusions on planned projects. Their opinions were important and could even change final decisions of the Council but in the same time they had a second-rate position: they weren’t present during discussions and have no right to vote. Their invitation wasn’t governed by any law and depended on the willingness of officials. Increasing complexity of state administration didn’t modify the status of the experts. They continued to be treated as an alien transplant for bureaucratic system and none of projects of State Council reform raised this issue. So, the problem of involvement of local figures in the state administration couldn’t be solved through experts.