Ministry of Communication Routes of the Russian Empire
| Министерство путей сообщения Российской империи | |
 Flag of the ministry used from 1870 | |
 Badge of fire brigades under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Communication Routes | |
 Ministry headquarters in Saint Petersburg | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 16 June 1865 |
| Dissolved | 1917 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Headquarters | Saint Petersburg |
Ministry of Communication Routes of the Russian Empire (Russian: Министерство путей сообщения Российской империи) was the central government agency in the Russian Empire that ensured the implementation of a unified policy in the sphere of water, land and rail transport, and also carried out general management in the field of transport communications. It was located in Saint Petersburg, on the Fontanka Embankment, 117.[1]
History
[edit]The date of the formation of the ministry is considered to be June 16, 1865, but the systematic activity of the government in the field of communications began back in 1649, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich issued the "Code on the Protection of Shipping".
Under Peter I, the capital of the state was moved to Saint Petersburg. The Collegium of Commerce was established, which supervised land roads. The transfer of the capital led to the need to build new communication routes for the new capital: first of all, the Vyshny Volochyok Waterway began operating in 1709, and secondly, in 1712, construction of the Moscow–Saint Petersburg highway began, for which the Chancellery of the Prospective Road was established, which in 1742 took over the functions of monitoring land roads from the Commerce Collegium, and after it was completed in 1746, in 1748 it was named the Commission on Roads in the State, which in 1755 formed the Chancellery of the Construction of State Roads.[2] In 1798, Emperor Paul I approved the project for the formation of the Department of Water Communications, which was headed by Nikolay Rumyantsev. Under Rumyantsev, the department "for the educational part" was expanded in the department. Nikolai Petrovich realized the acute shortage of civil engineers required for the accelerated construction of communication routes. He issued recommendations for training a group of specialists in England and France, on the other hand, he invited scientists and engineers to Russia to design and build highways, bridges, bypass canals, stone abutments and other technical structures. He created the first transport library in Russia in the department, as well as a model room with copies of engineering structures and mechanisms. The department operated successfully under Rumyantsev and in 1809 expanded its powers and was renamed the Directorate of Water and Land Communications. On the basis built by Rumyantsev, in the same 1809, the Corps of Communication Engineers was created and within it the military Institute of the Communication Corps.[2]
From 1820 to 1832, the department was called the "Main Directorate of Communications",[3] and from 1833 to 1842 – the "Main Directorate of Communications and Public Buildings".
On October 31, 1839, the position of assistant to the Chief Directorate of Communications was established, to which Lieutenant General Engineer Aleksandr Devyatnin was appointed. Since 1840, due to the increased volume of paperwork, two Departments of the Chief Directorate of Communications and Public Buildings were formed – the 1st Department (for the construction of highways and waterways) was headed by Major General Engineer Aleksey Rokasovsky; the 2nd Department (shipping and public buildings) – State Councilor Vladimirov. In 1842, by decree of August 17, the Department of Railways was created in the Directorate, with Konstantin Fisher appointed director.
The Department headed the construction of the Saint Petersburg–Moscow railway (1842–1851). In 1862, the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw railway and the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod Railway were completed. By the 1860s, the rapid development of industry required the formation of a reliable transport system. On June 15, 1865, Emperor Alexander II issued a decree establishing the Ministry of Railways of the Russian Empire. Management of public buildings was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the telegraph to the Main Postal Department. The Department of Railways was retained within the ministry, and the Office of the Chief Inspector of Private Railways was created. Pavel Petrovich Melnikov was appointed the first Minister of Railways. Following the October Revolution, the ministry was dissolved and was succeeded by the People's Commissariat of Communication Routes of the RSFSR on 26 October (8 November) 1917.[4]
Ministers
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References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Шилов Д. Н. Министерство путей сообщения Archived 2015-06-11 at the Wayback Machine // Санкт-Петербург. Энциклопедия. — 2-е изд., испр. и доп. — СПб.: ООО «Бизнес-пресса»; М.: Российская политическая энциклопедия (РОССПЭН), 2006. — 1024 с.
- ^ a b Марговенко, Алексей (2004). "«Дороги царей»". журнал «Урал» (in Russian) (10). Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ А.В.Иванов 2024, p. 48.
- ^ "Декрет об образовании Рабочего и Крестьянского правительства" (in Russian). 1917-11-08.
Bibliography
[edit]- Иванов, Алексей Викторович (2024). Речфлот. История речного флота Российской империи и Советского Союза. Moscow: Альпина нон-фикшн. ISBN 978-5-00223-259-8.