Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Empire


The Cabinet of Ministers was the supreme state body established on November 4, 1731 by the decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna. On December 23, 1741, after the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna, it lost its powers and was transformed into the Personal Office of the Empress. In 1756, its functions were transferred to the Conference at the Highest Court.

History

Having come to power in 1730, Anna Ioannovna, instead of the Supreme Privy Council, restored the Senate. Shortly after the abolition of the Privy Council, Anna Ioannovna, by a decree of November 17, 1731, established the Cabinet of Ministers.
In 1735 a decree was issued, which the signature of the three cabinet ministers equated to the Imperial signature.
During the reign of Anna Leopoldovna, under the influence of Minich, the Cabinet was divided into 3 departments:
Separate cabinet ministers, in charge of their departments, single-handedly decided matters in them, communicating only "for coordination" their opinion to other ministers. Only particularly important matters should be decided by the general council. In its new form, the Cabinet did not exist for long: following the accession of Elizaveta Petrovna to the Throne, it was abolished by a decree: "On the restoration of the internal state bodies; on the composition of the register, the decree of the former kingdoms, which the use of the State is repugnant of; the destruction of the former Cabinet, and the installation of the new at the Court of Her Imperial Majesty; the establishment in the Governorate Prosecutor, the scope of which is defined for management by the foreign staff of the Chancellor" of December 23, 1741.

Composition

The Cabinet consisted of three cabinet ministers. It constantly included Andrey Osterman and Alexey Cherkassky, and also, replacing each other, Gavriil Golovkin, Pavel Yaguzhinsky, Artemy Volynsky, Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Mikhail Golovkin and Burkhard von Münnich.
Cabinet Ministers alphabetically: