On Some Criteria for Selection to the Civil Service in the Russian Empire of the XIX–XX Century

Abstract

The object of the research is the practice of selection of candidates for the state service of the Russian empire, legal registration of this practice and influence of the national and confessional belonging, especially Jewish (Judaism) and to some extent Polish on the results of the selection. The subject of the research is the legislation of the Russian Empire, by-laws, the existing practice of staffing in various departments and services, as well as projects to address the “Jewish question” by prominent Russian statesmen. The author considers in detail the emergence of restrictions on the rights of Jews and attempts of the government to eliminate the contradiction between the desire not to allow Jews to enter public service in general, and the need for qualified specialists, primarily doctors. Particular attention is paid to the practice of prohibiting the service of Jews and Poles in the Russian special services: the Separate Corps of Border Guards and the Separate Corps of Gendarmes. A comparative legal analysis of the Gorodovaya Provisions made it possible to note the increase in anti-Semitism during the reign of Alexander III. The main conclusions of the research are the impossibility to solve the national, including Jewish and Polish, question under the conditions of Great Russian chauvinism, typical for many members of Russian government and emperors. The novelty of the study lies in the comparison of two opposite ways of achieving the same goal, formulated by the highest officials of the empire.