VIII
and epistolary material from the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I
was accumulated, helping the historian to a better understanding of
Speransky's time and associates. The only thing lacking for the
raw materials of a Speransky biography to be complete was the
publication of all his remaining public and private papers; (most of
his projects had already been published). The first step towards such
a publication was taken (a catalogue of the papers seized at his house
in 1812 appeared in 1916). but the first World War and the Revolution
put an end to the project. Except for a few short biographical essays,
no life of Speransky had been written by 1917, although most of the
raw material had been made available. The Soviets have evinced little
interest in the subject, satisfied with repeating trite generalities about
Speransky's lukewarm liberalism. Abroad also scholars have left the
topic unexplored, merely restating the opinions found in older general
histories. (The important articles by A. Fateev, published in Prague in
the 1920s and 1930s, are based on material collected before the
revolution; they are also quite fragmentary, serving as Vorarbeiten to
a full biography which was not completed).
It seemed, therefore, desirable to fill the gap somewhat by a
summary of all the evidence published until now and an evaluation
of Speransky's career and accomplishments. Fortunately such an
assessment is possible on the basis of material contained in the
government records published in the last decades before the Revolution.
Perhaps it will also contribute to a better understanding of thl!
problems, traditions, and methods of the imperial government.NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITIONExcept for the correction of minor errors and an occasio~al stylistic
improvement, the first edition is reproduced here without change.
Since the first printing, however, there has appeared the first complete
and scholarly edition of Speransky's earliest memoranda, projects, and
short treatises, as well a new edition of the Plan of 1809 incorporating
variant readings and first drafts (S.N. Valk ed., M. M. Speransky -Proekty
i zapiski, Moscow-Leningrad, Akademiia Nauk, Institut Istorii - Lenin-
gradskoe otdelenie, 1961). The publication has not altered of the Plan of
- But the reader is urged to refer to this publication whenever he
wishes to check or read Speransky's own words. It was felt useful to in-
clude in Appendix an article. written after· the appearance of the full