CODIFYING RUSSIAN LAW 327only looked into the archives of the Senate (for which a register had
been compiled earlier), it later also undertook to search for relevant
documents in various other archives of St. Petersburg and Moscow;
but not energetically enough perhaps. 1
These forays into the historical archives gave Speransky the idea that
it would be of advantage to have a repertory of all the ancient laws
of Russia - i.e., those issued before 1649, beginning with Kievan times.
He was quite aware of the fact that some existing institutions and
laws could not be properly understood without a good knowledge of
their historical background, which at times went back quite a bit. He
therefore proposed that the Second Section sponsor two subsidiary
publications: a collection of the ancient laws and a complete history
of Russian law from earliest times. 2 For some reason, which has
remained unknown, the Second Section did not complete the task. But
Speransky's suggestion was not forgotten, and it was eventually carried
out privately by former members of the Second Section, the first Russian
jurists and historians of law (Nevolin, Kunitsin, and their students).^3
The work of codification also brought into sharp focus the need for
more and better trained Russian jurists. As we recall, a school of law
attached to the Senate had been established in 1806; but it did not
prove very successful and was closed in 1809. Balugianskii, himself
trained in Germany, made the suggestion, which Speransky endorsed
and supported before the Emperor in 1828, that a few promising young
men be selected every year to study law abroad for. two years. Upon
their return, and the satisfactory passing of an examination, they would
continue to study for a higher degree at a Russian university while
working for the Second Section. These studies and practical apprentice-
ship would prepare them either to teach jurisprudence or to take up a
responsible legal post in the Second Section. As the better schools were
restricted to you~g nobles who were interested only in higher policy-
making positions in the bureaucracy, the prospective candidates were
to be found mostly in theological seminaries. The sons of the clergy
therefore provided the main contingent of students under this program.
On the recommendation of Alexander von Humboldt, Speransky asked
Savigny to supervise the study program of the Russian students who
were sent to the University of Berlin. Savigny accepted, and though he
did not take his supervisory role too seriously, the students received
1 Filippov, "K voprosu 0 sostave pervogo PSZ," lac. cit., pp. 87-88.
2 Speransky had advocated the writing of a history of Russian law in his first
political paper and recommended A. Radishchev for the job. See Ch. V supra.
a A. Filippov, "Dva istoriko-kriticheskikh izdaniia," lstoricheskie Izvestiia (1916),
pp.26-42.