244 GOVERNING RUSSIA'S PROVINCES
which he did not intend to carry out, we do not know for sure. There
is strong indication that this was the case. Anyway, he had no oppor-
tunity of putting his threat to the test.
Alexander I, for reasons known only to himself, was as yet not
willing to see Speransky back at court. A convenient pretext offered
itself to keep the governor of Penza a while longer away from the
capital. Siberia was in a dreadful state of disorganization and someone
with energy and ability was needed to put things in order. It had be-
come quite clear that only a thoroughgoing reorganization of Siberia's
administration could put an end to the perennial difficulties and
problems of that vast territory. But first a survey of Siberia's needs had
to be made; a concrete and detailed plan of reform could then be drawn
up on the basis of the findings. Speransky was a natural choice for such
an important and complex task. Without answering Speransky's request
for a leave, the Emperor appointed him Governor General of Siberia
in March 1819. Speransky submitted grudgingly to what, he felt, was
a new mark of imperial disfavor and a prolongation of his exile. He
was also quite saddened at the thought that he would not see his be-
loved daughter for a few more years.
In quite a despondent mood he set out on his journey eastward, ac-
companied by the regrets and good wishes of the inhabitants of Penza
whom he had governed so well for almost two years.
- SIBERIA BEFORE THE COMING OF SPERANSKY
For a century and a half after the beginning of Russian penetra-
tion and settlement, Siberia had remained a peripheral and quite neg-
lected area of the Empire. At first, the central authorities had seen
in it only a source of valuable furs and later, as a convenient place
of exile for obstreperous peasants and officials. Little was known of
the vast subcontinent and even less was cared about it by either the
government or the people. As a result, there was no clear or consis-
tent policy toward it and the local administration was left to shift for
itself, without much guidance or much interference from Moscow' or St.
Petersburg. As long as the local governors managed to send an adequate
quantity of furs, they were left alone by the central authorities. En-
dowed with wide powers, not easily controlled at such distance, without
any clear instructions and rules of procedure, the Siberian governors
were truly satraps. Only the government's practice of replacing them
at frequent intervals prevented them from becoming quasi-independent
rulers. Every announcement of a new governor's appointment was joy-