REFORM OF RUSSIA'S FINANCES AND CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION 87significant theoretical contributions belonged to the pen of Balugianskii
and that Speransky merely translated the latter's work from the French,
made some editorial changes, and then passed it off as his own.
Unfortunately, Balugianskii's papers have not been published and it
is impossible to form a definitive opinion on the basis of the few
fragments quoted in secondary sources. It must be noted in this
connection that at the time he wrote his analysis of Russian finances,
Balugianskii was a newcomer to Russia and could hardly have been
too familiar with the country's condition and administration. Nor was
he in a position to obtain full and easy access to the information
collected by the Ministry of Finance. 1 On the other hand, the Financial
Plan of 1810 contains numerous remarks and references which testify
to a profound and first-hand knowledge of Russian conditions. We
must, perforce, conclude that while Balugianskii's theoretical consid-
erations may have provided a framework for the reforms proposed,
Speransky's creative participation cannot be denied. The latter alone
made it possible to implement the Plan by legislation. Such a contribu-
tion certainly went beyond the limits of mere translation and editorial
improvements. 2
The way for a new approach to finance was cleared early in 1810
when Golubtsov was dismissed as Minister of Finances and replaced by
a protege of Speransky, Count A. D. Gur'ev, who had been associated
with the Unofficial Committee and had been Treasurer of the Realm
since 1808. Although formally Gur'ev was at the helm of Russian
finances, it was Speransky who formulated the basic policies and who
submitted the projects of reform to the Emperor. At the same time,
early in 1810, the Commission for Financial Affairs was placed under
the direct supervision of the Department for State Economy of the
newly organized Council of State. The members of this department
(Admiral Mordvinov, Baron Kampenhausen, Count Kochubei, Count
Potocki, Councillor Balugianskii, Sablukov, Tutolmin, and Speransky)
were well trained and experienced government officials who viewed
with favor the economic theories then current in Western Europe.
Speransky himself set to work on the financial problem with his
customary energy and speed. Early in 1810 he was in a position to
present his Plan for the consideration of the Department for State
Economy of the Council of State. The Department and the Council
adopted the basic principles of the Plan, and the Emperor gave his
1 Jacob's memoirs mention the great difficulty he encountered in obtaining
official information on the country's economic and financial state. Denkwilrdig-
keiten, pp. 273, 279. See also, Pogrebinskii, Ocherhi istorii finansov, pp. 19-20.
2 Even Jacob implies that much, Denkwurdigkeiten, pp. 279, 280, 289.