Spravnyk in Volyn Province Administrative System (end of the 18th century – 1860s)

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to describe the functioning of the spravnyk (province superintendent of police) institution in Volyn province since the end of the 18^th century and till the reform of local police in 1862; to characterize their powers, to determine the peculiarities of personnel policy of appointments for that position, to characterize the practical activity of spravnyks.

Scientific novelty. The specific functions of the spravnyks of Volyn province, which provided stability on the newly annexed territories, are analyzed and the analysis of their full-time personnel and the duration of their stay in a position is made. Conclusions about the flexible personnel policy of the supreme power in the region are made: with the necessity of obtaining the loyalty of local elites, the opportunity to form the spravnyk institution independently was given to them, but in the case of stabilizing the situation – the supreme power returned to the bureaucratic principle.

Conclusions: The functioning of the spravnyk institution in Volyn province in the 18^th – the 1860s is analyzed. The assuming by them of administrative, economic, fiscal, and police powers in the povit and participation in the Lower Zemstvo Court is studied. It is noted that, unlike the inner provinces of the Russian Empire, the spravnyks also provided political stability. The supreme power relied on the opinion of the spravnyks to determine the reliability of the gentry; they issued permits to travel outside the povit to those Poles who were under investigation; they made reports on compliance with inventory rules in Polish estates, etc. Spravnyks had got exceptional independent powers to call the troops to suppress the rebellions.

Given the importance of the powers of the spravnyks, the supreme power only in critical cases allowed the election of officials, which put them in dependence on the local nobility (1802-1805, 1816-1823). In the rest of the periods, the corps of spravnyks was formed on a bureaucratic principle. The top for the officials was the rank of the titular counselor, and for the service, they were awarded orders. Their rotations between the povits were traditional. After the Polish November Uprising, the gentry lost the opportunity to take that position, and the final decision to appoint spravnyks was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Military retirees started to be assigned that position, who, according to the authorities, could better cope with the tasks of supervising the Poles. Instead, their inability to carry out administrative and economic powers, record keeping, etc. quickly became obvious. The former military regarded the service as an opportunity to enrich themselves quickly and illegally, which nullified the efforts of the supreme power to accelerate the integration of the region.