Mikhail Speransky

Mikhail Speransky (1772–1839) was the chief reforming statesman of Alexander I's Russia. A village priest's son from Vladimir Province, he became the tsar's closest adviser after 1807. His plans produced the ministry system and, in 1810, the State Council, of which he became the first state secretary. Aristocratic opposition brought him dismissal and exile to Perm in 1812.

He later served as governor of Penza and governor-general of Siberia, returning to the State Council in 1821. Under Nicholas I, he directed the compilation of the Complete Collection of Laws, the basis of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, published in 1833. He was made count weeks before his death in 1839.