P. D. Kiselev on local self-government in the structure of the regional level of public power in Russia
Research Article
How to Cite
Slobozhnikova V.S. P. D. Kiselev on local self-government in the structure of the regional level of public power in Russia. Science. Culture. Society. 2026. Vol. 32. No. 1. P. 36-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/nko.2026.32.1.3 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The manageability of the political space within any form of government organization should be considered a fundamental problem in politics. Its structure is determined not only by the challenges of the time, but also by historical practices and their interpretation. The article analyzes the valuable experience of the preparation and implementation of P. D. Kiselev's reform in the 1830s–1850s, which aimed to organize the management of the territories of the Russian Empire inhabited by state peasants. It is concluded that, despite the class-based nature of Kiselev's proposed model, it should be considered a fundamental approach to combining state administration (at the level of provinces and districts) and self-government (in volosts and rural communities). This is due to the fact that during Kiselev's “reforms” the problems were raised of delineating authority, strictly regulating the involvement of officials in self-government, and a strict prohibition was introduced on interference in day-to-day affairs, which remains relevant today. Special attention should be paid to the structure of self-government and the approaches to its formation: self-government at the level of volosts and rural communities, the allocation of deliberative and executive bodies in its structure, the creation of rural communities, the alternative nomination of candidates from the peasant environment, and the organization of procedures for the real participation of peasants in self-government in various capacities. P. D. Kiselev not only proposed a management structure that fit into the contemporary political realities of the absolutist state and the preserved communal self-government, but also proved the effectiveness of the developments by leading its implementation, which increased the socio-economic level of development among the state peasants, something that would not have been possible without the implementation of the proposed model of self-government. The article demonstrates a significant contribution by P. D. Kiselev to finding an effective model of territorial and regional governance for Russia, which combines state administration and self-government, and to developing the principles of its functioning.
Keywords:
Russian political thought, P. D. Kiselev, local self-government, regional administration, state peasants reform, Russian Empire, 19th century, state peasants
References
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4. Gautier Yu. V. Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselev. In: The emancipation of the peasants: Architects of the reform: Coll. of Arts. Moscow: Nauchnoe Slovo; 1911. P. 54–89. (In Russ.).
5. Polovtsov A. A. (ed.) Kiselev, Pavel Dmitrievich. In: Russian biographical dictionary: In 25 vols. Vol. 8: Ibak – Klyucharev. St. Petersburg: Imperial Russian Historical Society; 1897. (In Russ.).
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10. Rumyantsev R. A. Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselev. Voprosy Istorii. 2008;(12):50–61. (In Russ.).
11. Minin A. Count P. D. Kiselev: A Portrait of a minister as a mirror of the era. St. Petersburg: SPbSUTD; 2012. (In Russ.).
12. Rezvantseva I. A. P. D. Kiselev – the great Russian reformer. Young Scientist. 2023;44:317–320. (In Russ.).
13. Latypov R. T., Ruchkin A. V. the system of state property management in the Russian empire in the second third XIX – early XX centuries. Bulletin of Surgut State Pedagogical University. 2022;(5):155–163. (In Russ.). DOI 10.26105/SSPU.2022.80.5.015.
14. Blinova V. S. P. D. Kiselev's views on local self-government. In: Regional policy: interuniversity coll. of scientific papers. Issue 2. Saratov: Volga Interregional Educational Center; 1997. P. 28–33. (In Russ.).
15. Blinova V. S. P. D. Kiselyov's views on the Russian state. In: Public thought, political movements and parties in Russia if the 19th–20th centuries: Coll. of scientific arts. (on materials of the interuniversity scientific conference. Bryansk: BSPU; 1996. P. 16–18. (In Russ.).
16. Blinova V. S. On the political views of P. D. Kiselev. In: Problems of political science and political history: interuniversity coll. of scientific papers. Issue 6. Saratov: Saratov University; 1996. P. 4–8. (In Russ.).
17. Oakeshott M. Rationalism in politics and other essays. Moscow: Idea-Press; 2002. (In Russ.).
18. Blinova V. S. State peasants of the Saratov Province in the first half of the 19th century. In: Questions of peasant studies: coll. of arts. Issue 1. Saratov: Saratov State Agricultural Academy; 1994. P. 92–94. (In Russ.).
2. Zablotsky-Desyatovsky A. Count P. D. Kiselev and his time: materials for the history of emperors Alexander I, Nicholas I, and Alexander II. In 4 vols. Vol. 2. St. Petersburg: M. M. Stasyulevich's Printing House; 1882. (In Russ.).
3. Knyazkov S. A. Count P. D. Kiselev and the reform of state peasants. In: The great reform: Russian society and the peasant question in past and present. In 6 vols. Vol. 2. Moscow: I. D. Sytin Partnership; 1911. P. 218–233. (In Russ.).
4. Gautier Yu. V. Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselev. In: The emancipation of the peasants: Architects of the reform: Coll. of Arts. Moscow: Nauchnoe Slovo; 1911. P. 54–89. (In Russ.).
5. Polovtsov A. A. (ed.) Kiselev, Pavel Dmitrievich. In: Russian biographical dictionary: In 25 vols. Vol. 8: Ibak – Klyucharev. St. Petersburg: Imperial Russian Historical Society; 1897. (In Russ.).
6. Druzhinin N. M. State peasants and the reform of P. D. Kiselyov. In 2 vols. Vol. 1: Preconditions and essence of the reform. Moscow: Leningrad: Academy of Sciences of the USSR; 1946. (In Russ.).
7. Druzhinin N. M. State peasants and the reform of P. D. Kiselyov. In 2 vols. Vol. 2: Implementation and consequences of the reform. Moscow: Leningrad: Academy of Sciences of the USSR; 1958. (In Russ.).
8. Mironenko S. V. Pages of the secret history of the autocracy: Political history of Russia in the first half of the 19th century. Moscow: Mysl’; 1990. (In Russ.). ISBN 5-244-00406-9.
9. Rumyantsev R. A. Military and state activity of Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselev: 1805–1862. Candidate Degree Thesis. Moscow; 2009. (In Russ.).
10. Rumyantsev R. A. Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselev. Voprosy Istorii. 2008;(12):50–61. (In Russ.).
11. Minin A. Count P. D. Kiselev: A Portrait of a minister as a mirror of the era. St. Petersburg: SPbSUTD; 2012. (In Russ.).
12. Rezvantseva I. A. P. D. Kiselev – the great Russian reformer. Young Scientist. 2023;44:317–320. (In Russ.).
13. Latypov R. T., Ruchkin A. V. the system of state property management in the Russian empire in the second third XIX – early XX centuries. Bulletin of Surgut State Pedagogical University. 2022;(5):155–163. (In Russ.). DOI 10.26105/SSPU.2022.80.5.015.
14. Blinova V. S. P. D. Kiselev's views on local self-government. In: Regional policy: interuniversity coll. of scientific papers. Issue 2. Saratov: Volga Interregional Educational Center; 1997. P. 28–33. (In Russ.).
15. Blinova V. S. P. D. Kiselyov's views on the Russian state. In: Public thought, political movements and parties in Russia if the 19th–20th centuries: Coll. of scientific arts. (on materials of the interuniversity scientific conference. Bryansk: BSPU; 1996. P. 16–18. (In Russ.).
16. Blinova V. S. On the political views of P. D. Kiselev. In: Problems of political science and political history: interuniversity coll. of scientific papers. Issue 6. Saratov: Saratov University; 1996. P. 4–8. (In Russ.).
17. Oakeshott M. Rationalism in politics and other essays. Moscow: Idea-Press; 2002. (In Russ.).
18. Blinova V. S. State peasants of the Saratov Province in the first half of the 19th century. In: Questions of peasant studies: coll. of arts. Issue 1. Saratov: Saratov State Agricultural Academy; 1994. P. 92–94. (In Russ.).
Article
Received: 19.11.2025
Accepted: 27.03.2026
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APA
Slobozhnikova, V. S. (2026). P. D. Kiselev on local self-government in the structure of the regional level of public power in Russia. Science. Culture. Society, 32(1), 36-49. https://doi.org/10.19181/nko.2026.32.1.3
Section
Theory and practice of state governance
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