Chancellery of General Governor of Vilnius: Aspect of the Clerkship

Abstract

In Lithuanian historiography, the institution of the Governor General of Vilnius is better known as the body that shaped politics in the Western provinces. However, in this study, we encounter an aspect that has been little researched in historiography – the employees of the Governor General of Vilnius who worked in his chancellery and its structure. In the ’30s and ’40s of the 19th century, an intensive process of bureaucratisation began, marked by the creation of a corps of bureaucrats, which was more pronounced in central government institutions. Therefore, in this article, based on archival sources found in the Lithuanian State Historical Archives, the Vilnius Governor General’s Chancellery Fund, using descriptive and problem analysis methods, this article aims to reveal the structure and employment processes of civil servants who wanted to enter the chancellery, as well as their social image: origin, education, and religion.