Reasons and consequences of the conflict between governor Alexander Filosofov and the governorate officials

The article uses the historical and anthropological approach to analyze the influence of the “thaw” during the era of Alexander II on the mentality of the then officialdom, manifested in the forms and methods, as well as the course and outcome of the managerial conflict that broke out among the Olonets Province officials. This is the first-of-its kind research on the Olonets Province, which was considered an extremely low-grade location for service. The author found out that the main cause of the conflict was that the heads of the province departmental institutions had rejected the Governor’s outdated management style. He was unable to assess the consciousness of local officialdom that had changed during the first five years of Alexander II’s reign under the influence of allowed publicity, which was most clearly manifested in the periodical press publications of literary works and articles criticizing the shortcomings and abuses in the work of state institutions and officials. A significant role in this process was played by the specifics of the bureaucracy formation in the Olonets Province, where officials from the capitals and central provinces of the empire came to speed up their careers. In addition to the traditional methods of struggle, such as mutual incriminating reports and memos to higher authorities, both sides used the central press. The Governor’s confrontation with the heads of various departments went so far that special officials were sent from St. Petersburg to find out its causes and the degree of guilt of its participants, and the officials’ opinions were communicated to the Emperor. As a result, the governor was declared incapable of holding his position, but in order to prevent discrediting the Governor’s rank, he was allowed to ask the Emperor for dismissal, and the leaders of the “anti-governor” party were sent away from the province under plausible excuses.