Man behind the table 1800

There were various kinds of officials in 19th century Russian society. Civil servants were officials, but oftentimes professors, lawyers, and doctors held official rank. The official class was created by Peter the Great and consisted of fourteen official grades. The ranks werre: 1. Chancellor 2. Actual Privy Councillor 3. Privy Councillor 4. Actual State Councillor 5. State Councillor 6. Collegiate Councillor 7. Court Councillor 8. Collegiate Assessor 9. Titular Councillor 10. Collegiate Secretary 11. Ship’s Secretary 12. Provincial (gubernsky) Secretary 13. Provincial (provintsialny) Secretary 14. Collegiate Registrar

In 1864, Alexander II created the zemstvos, which were rural councils elected to run local affairs. Members and executive boards were elected for three-year terms, and dealt mostly with local economic issues, such as road upkeep, medicine, and schools. Unfortunately, the power of the zemstvos were severely restricted by Alexander III in 1890.