GOVERNING RUSSIA'S PROVINCES 239
convince [men] that institutions, even the best. can run by themselves;
on the contrary, everything is expected from men and the distrust ot
the new institutions is nothing else than fear for the manner of their
execution." Many years would pass, Speransky added, until Russia's
provincial society would be educated enough to give spiritual welfare
the same due it gave today to physical comfort. 1
To develop a responsible and enlightened public opinion had been
Spera~sky's wish ever since he had begun to think and write on the
subject of government. He was convinced of its importance and need
now more than ever. But the very same experience which confirmed him
in his basic belief also showed that there was little hope for its reali-
zation in the near future. Consequently he grew still more distrustful
of any representative body endowed with legislative powers, even for
purely local needs. This conclusion explains his reaction to the Em-
peror's famous Warsaw speech of 1818 in which Alexander I vaguely
hinted at his desire to see in Russia a Sejm like that of Poland. The
Emperor's words were generally interpreted to mean that Russia would
soon receive a real constitution; the rumor spread throughout the
country, arousing fear and panic among serf-owners (who viewed it
as a prelude to emancipation) and hope in the hearts of the "liberal"
officers, aristocrats, and intelligentsia of the capitals. In a long and
very interesting letter to his old friend, A. Stolypin, Speransky reported
on the rumors and then commented on his own reaction. First of all,
he wrote, the rumor of a constitution had spread a dangerous mood
of panic in the countryside. If the educated and informed nobleman has
interpreted Alexander's words as a promise of emancipation. it is easy
to imagine the effect they must have had on the illiterate and dull
serfs. A false hope, quickly dispelled by the facts, might lead easily to
dangerous consequences, e.g. rebellions. To counteract the panic, the
government should establish a committee (the eternal bureaucratl) to
study the problem and formulate recommendations. To demonstrate that
the country's true conditions would not be left out of sight, several
provincial governors (including himself?) should be appointed to the
committee in an advisory capacity. Later still, invitations might also
be extended to a few marshals of the nobility. In any case, the first
task was to improve the administration by bureaucratic means. Once
this was done, one could think of constitutional laws and even of
civic liberty, i.e. emancipation. As Speransky put it, "Who sweeps the
staircase from below? Epurez la partie administrative. Venez ensuite a
etablir les lois constitutionnelles, c'est a dire la liberte politique et puis
1 Letter to Kochubei, 1 October 1818 from Penza, in Pamiati, pp. 491-492.
