DISGRACE AND EXILE 189extent Speransky had become a symbol of the course pursued by the
government. The State Secretary, therefore, could easily be made into
a scapegoat whose sacrifice would quickly restore the country's (i.e.
the nobility's) confidence in the government. Furthermore, Speransky's
careless handling of the secret correspondence with Paris might have
made Alexander fear that rumors of his contacts with Talleyrand,
England, Prussia, and Austria might "get around." To assuage the
feelings of the country, check the opposition of the nobility, and keep
Napoleon from learning about the secret negotiations, it had become
expedient to sacrifice Speransky. So it was that the Emperor's motives
of personal jealousy and distrust conveniently combined with weighty
political considerations to make Speransky's dismissal very expedient
indeed. Speransky's fall from power had to rally the country around
its Emperor, restore unlimited confidence in the government, and
proclaim openly that - contrary to evil rumor - Russia was not a
satellite of France. To achieve this political and psychological effect,
Speransky's departure had to be dramatic, with an element of mystery.
The State Secretary's last day in the capital was staged and enacted
with these considerations in mind.
The ever-prying curiosity of the historian cannot, unfortunately, be
readily satisfied. The last meeting between Speransky and the Emperor
at which the former was unexpectedly notified of his dismissal and
impending exile, took place behind closed doors, with no third person
present. For reasons of their own, Alexander and Speransky were too
discreet ever to discuss the matter, and neither of them left any com-
ment on what must have been a rather painful moment for both. No
official document registers Speransky's dismissal. As a matter of fact, the
State Secretary was removed very informally, and no government cor-
respondence or paper have recorded the matter. Speransky was never
formally relieved of his duties or deprived of his rank and privileges.
Only as time went by, replacements were appointed to carryon the
various functions with which he had been entrusted; but in no case
was the new appointment accompanied by any statement concerning
the dismissal of the previous incumbent. Apart from a very brief news
item in the St. Petersburg Journal to the effect that Speransky had left
the capital, the public was kept uninformed of motives or details, which
produced the desired effect of "weighty mystery:' Contemporaries did
not have much of a chance for exploring the unexpected event in any
detail, be it only through rumor and court gossip; three months later
Russia was precipitated into the most difficult of wars. Speransky's
exile was quickly forgotten.