Seven Lives of Count Mikhail Speransky. Biography of a Reformer of Russia

The great statesman Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky knew his country not from books. He not only visited different corners of the vast empire but also stayed there for a considerable time. Furthermore, throughout his life, he took on various roles: as a special advisor close to the emperor, as a high-ranking official, and as a persecuted regime victim, a humiliated man. He served under Paul I, worked with Alexander I and Nicholas I, and educated the future liberator Tsar Alexander II about the state and law. Speransky proposed a plan for state reform and prepared and carried out a series of reforms in the financial, personnel, and administrative systems of the empire. He achieved an incredible systematization of legislation, preparing the Complete Collection of Laws and the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. This book is a tribute to Mikhail Mikhailovich, an attempt to encompass his significant and multifaceted legacy, demonstrating his importance for subsequent generations. The second edition elaborates on the motives and facts related to Speransky's exile, investigates the evidence of M.M. Speransky's communication with A.S. Pushkin, and presents other facts and clarifications. Mikhail Mikhailovich accomplished an incredible feat, giving impetus to the development of such spheres of Russian law as legislation, education, science, and law enforcement.