Life in sufficiency? Material support of the governors during the preparation of the great reform (1856-1861)

The article deals with the problem of material support of the governor’s corps of Russia on the eve of the abolition of serfdom (1856-1861). The author examines only official (legitimate) sources of money for governors: salaries, additional amounts, amounts for the rise and equipping, as well as pensions separately. The author traces the relationship between the attitude towards this or that governor on the part of the Minister of the Interior or (more rarely) the emperor and the amount of money paid to the official (additional amounts, amounts for moving and equipping, as well as an increase in pension). Besides the author’s thesis is confirmed that, in general, the material support of the governor’s corps on the eve of the abolition of serfdom could not be called sufficient. In this regard, many governors had to turn to the Minister of the Interior or directly to the tsar with a request to give them additional amounts. The author notes the discrepancies between the public perception of the financial situation of the “masters of the province” and the real state of affairs.