General Statute

regulations for the Russian state civil service in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The General Statute was drafted with the participation of Peter I the Great and issued on Feb. 28, 1720. It defined the duties of the collegium officials (the president, vice-president, collegium members, the secretary, notary, translator, and others), the procedure governing the examination of matters in the collegiums, the organization of clerical work, and the relations between the collegiums and the Senate and local government organizations. In addition to the General Statute, there were further regulations governing the State Office and the collegiums for the navy, trade, revenue, and mining and industry. Regulation in minute detail of the activities of institutions and their officials was a characteristic feature of the absolute monarchy of the 18th century. The General Statute lost its importance when the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was issued in 1833.