Russia's Provincial Governors. by Joshua Curzon.
Anyone reading Anna Karenina will soon discover the vast amount of contemporary social issues of 1870s Russia, which Tolstoy put into the novel. Russia had a huge empire, and Tolstoy touched on the governmental aspects of the provinces in some areas of the book.
When reading I wanted to know what the typical life of a governor was like, what his duties were, and from what stock they were picked. Karenin was the character that brought the most aspects of provincial governorship to the novel. He was once a governor himself during his earlier years. With research I learned that what Tolstoy described as Karenin's childhood and early career was quite accurate to that of most of those who were going into some high civil service position such as the governor.
The novel also portrayed a governor and his position during the elections for marshal that took place, where many people were present such as Levin and Vronsky. It proved that the governor was a man of importance, but was even more so a figurehead. We saw how the governor opened the elections with his speech, and aroused a feeling of respect and even of awe in many people.
Who was the chief man of the province, and what were his duties? The governor was a personal representative of the Tsar, the Tsar's viceroy. This was the most important thing of all and was necessary for the Imperial control of the provinces. The governor of Imperial Russia was acting in the name of the Tsar, so his power was undeniable. Besides the governor there was nobody with more power in the province, the governor answered to the minister of the interior.
With the changes in Imperial Russia after the great reforms, I was interested in what role the governor played during this chaotic time. Bureaucratically we see problems. We also see problems with administration since rise of revolutionary ideas and organizations such as the Zemstvos. What was happening when Russia was falling apart during the revolution, or was the institution of the governor already stagnant and crippled beyond repair? My paper attempts to uncover the role of the governor and go in more depth to support Tolstoy's description of the provincial governorship that we find in Anna Karenina.