Michael Speransky. Statesman of Imperial Russia, 1772–1839 - Marc Raeff

202 DISGRACE AND EXILE

of his small estate, the supervision of his daughter's education, and

occasional conversations with visitors, were hardly enough to fill the

day or to satisfy his need for constant work. Speransky kept himself

busy by developing his mind and, more particularly, by filling the

gaps in his knowledge of philosophy, theology, and languages. He also

had ample leisure and opportunity to look back with some detachment

on his earlier ideas and actions and to subject them to critical analysis.

Thereby he deepened and broadened his understanding of Russia's

political and social problems, while at the same time clarifying his

own philosophical views. From his exile, Speransky returned not only

chastened by bitter experience, but also enriched by a deeper and

more comprehensive Weltanschauung. An examination of this intel-

lectual development will provide a basis for an analysis of his phil-

osophical views and a discussion of the political philosophy which

underlay his administrative activities, not only implicitly before 1812'

but also explicitly after his return to work in 1816.

SOURCES

Both the general biographies of Speransky and Alexander I cited previously and
the general histories of the period, deal with Speransky's exile in more or less
detailed fashion.
The following lists only the major primary sources, contemporary memoirs, and
special secondary works on which the chapter is based:
P rim a r y Sou r c e s : Speranskii: "Opravdatel'naia zapiska" (in French),
Russkii Arkhiv, (1892), I, pp. 65-72; Druzheskie< pis'ma M. M. Speranskogo k P. G.
Masal'skomu 1798-1819 (St. Pbg. 1862); leUel's of Speransky to Alexander I and
Arakcheev are found in: N. Dubrovin, Pis'ma glavnykh deiatelei v tsarstvovanie
Aleksandra I 1807-1829 (St. Pbg. 1883); important letters and other sources on
Speransky's life in exile are found in: A. F. Bychkov (ed.), V pamiat' grata Speranskogo
(St. Pbg. 1872); Speranskii, "Pis'mo k Aleksandru I iz Nizhnego Novgoroda," March
1812, in Shil'der, lmperator Aleksandr l, III. pp. 491-493; Speranskii, "Permskoe
pis'mo k Aleksandru I," January 1813, in Shil'der, op. cit., III, 515-527; Speranskii:
"Pis'mo k Aleksandru I," 9/21 July 1814 in Shil'der, op. cit., III, p. 263; Speranskii,
"Pis'mo k Aleksandru I, 6. ianv. 1816 s zapiskoi po povodu manifesta 25. dek. 1815,"
Sbornik materialov I-go otdelenia sobstvennoi E. I. V. Kantseliarii, II (St. Pbg.
1876), pp. 36-42; Speranskii, "Pis'mo k. Aleksandru I," July 1816, in Korf: Zhizn'
grata Speranskogo, II, p. 106; Speranskii, "Pis'mo k A. A. Arakcheevu" 1816, in Korf,
op. cit., II, pp. 107-109.

eon t em p 0 r a r y m em 0 irs: Ernst Moritz Arndt, Meine Wanderungen und

Wandlungen mit dem Freiherrn vom Stein (Reclam Ausgabe 1859), (3. Abdruck,
Berlin 1869); A. la. Bulgakov, "Pis'rna k ego bratu 1811-1812," Russkii Arkhiv,
(1900), No.5; A. la. Bulgakov, "Vyderzhki iz zapisok Aleksandra lakovlevicha
Bulgakova" (1811-1812), Russkii Arkhiv, (1867), pp. 1361-1374; E. G. "Iz zhizni
Speranskogo v Perrni" lstoricheskii Vestnik, 48 (1892), 570-572; E. G. "Speranskii
v ssylke v Perrni," lstoricheskii Vestnik, III (1880), 637-638; V. S. Filippov,
"Arestovanie Speranskogo," Pamiatniki Novoi Russkoi lstorii, III (St. Pbg. 1873),
113-116; (F. Fortunatov), "Pamiatnye zametki Vologzhanina," Russkii Arkhiv,
(1867), 1646-1707; A. I. Golitsyn, "Rasskazy," Russkii Arkhiv, (1886), No.2, pp.
52-108, 305-333; N. S. Il'inskii, "Rasskazy 0 Speranskom i Arakcheeve," Russkaia