On the Population and Politics: The 1832 Report of Prince Nikolai Dolgorukov, Governor-General of Vilnius, to Emperor Nicholas I

Abstract

In the Regulations of the Governorates Administration, issued in 1775, Empress Catherine II established the institution of the governor-general as the highest administrative authority in governorate administrations, which were composed of three or more governorates. Governors-general were placed under the direct supervision of the emperor and were required to prepare detailed reports providing information on the condition of the region entrusted to them, its pressing issues, and its political direction. This study aims to publish the 1832 report of the Vilnius Governor-General, Nikolai Dolgorukov, addressed to the emperor (original in Russian). The document analyses the situation following the 1830–1831 uprising, discusses planned measures in the region, identifies the main problems, and reveals the perspective of a Russian official on the western governorates.