En
Ru
Birthday anniversary of Nikolai A. Milutin, Russian statesman
6 (18) June 1818 in Moscow, into a noble family was born Nicholai A. Milutin, Russian statesman, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs (1859-1861), a member of the State Council of the Russian Empire (1865-1867), Principal Chief of Staff for the Kingdom of Poland in St. Petersburg, one of the developers of the Emancipation reform of 1861.
Milutin studied at the Noble Boarding School under the University of Moscow, after which in 1835 joined the civil service at the Commercial Department of the Interior Ministry. In 1840, following a trip to Novgorod, Tver and Moscow regions, Rybinsk and Yaroslavl, he made a note on the famine, which drew the attention of a Minister, Count Alexander Stroganov, who entrusted to a young officer to address the issue of the development of railways in Russia.
In 1842 Milutin headed the City Branch of the Economic Department, and later the entire Department. He developed a new city regulations, introduced in 1846 in St. Petersburg and spent a lot of work on the statistical survey of Russia and the publication of its results. Under his leadership, was released "The social structure and economy of cities" with data for 1838-1858. (Volume 1-2. St. Petersburg, 1859) and were compiled the first two volumes of the "Urban settlements in the Russian Empire" (1860-1861).
The publishing of the obtained statistical data was made possible also due to an active participation of Nikolai in the activities of the Russian Geographical Society. For example, in 1850, the Economical Department developed a comprehensive set of materials on Russian government statistics, excerpts from which were published in 1851 by the Society in the "Collection of statistical data on Russia." In the "Bulletin of the Geographical Society" published detailed instructions to statistical expedition prepared by Milyutin who, in 1852, was assigned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to collect information about the population of Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl Governorates. At the expense of the Society as a result of the expedition Milyutin prepared and published the edition composed on the basis of the provincial reports of 1849 and other data from the "Statistical Atlas of European Russia" - the first Atlas of economic geography (preserved in manuscript form).
The Economical Department had been actively gathering data necessary for the development of the Emancipation reform. In 1856, Milutin wrote a note, "Preliminary thoughts on the structure of relations between landowners and peasants." Appointed in 1859, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, he led the work in order to solve the peasants problem, during which fought against the excessive claims of landowners expressed in the opinion of the majority of the provincial committees of the peasants' cause. After the publication of the Manifesto abolishing serfdom Milutin resigned and was appointed a senator.
In this position he continued to defend his ideas and in 1863 at an audience with Alexander II made a plan of pacification of the Polish uprising through the Emancipation reform in the Kingdom. Soon Milutin, as the State Secretary of the Emperor, was sent to the Kingdom of Poland to study the state of the peasant problem. This work resulted in the transformation of the administrative structure of Poland on the basis of the decrees of February 19 (March 2) 1864 about the structure of everyday life of Polish peasants, of rural communes, the liquidation committee, the procedure for introducing new regulations. During the implementation of reforms Milutin also initiated a review of school charter of 1862 and all the circulars of A. Velepolsky, organized publishing of manuals for the Russian united schools, prepared a judicial reform, and in 1866 obtained a resolution on the abolishment of the Concordat with the Holy See.
In December of 1866 after a meeting at the State Chancellery regarding the concordat Milutin became seriously ill and two years later was forced to resign.
Nikolay Milutin died January 26 (February 7), 1872 and was buried at the Novodevichy Convent cemetery in Moscow. According to contemporaries, it was a man of iron will, hot dedication to the service, incorruptible integrity.
Lit.: Браудо А. И. Николай Алексеевич Милютин // Главные деятели освобождения крестьян. СПб., 1903; Вальская Б.А. Милютин Николай Алексеевич // Отечественные экономико-географы XVIII-XX вв. М., 1957; Гофштеттер И. А. Забытый государственный человек Николай Алексеевич Милютин: (По русским и иностранным источникам). СПб., 1901; Милютин Николай Алексеевич // Шилов Д. Н., Кузьмин Ю. А. Члены Государственного совета Российской империи. 1801—1906: Биобиблиографический справочник. СПб., 2006; Захарова Л. Г. Записка Н. А. Милютина об освобождении крестьян (1856 г.) // Вопросы истории России XIX — XX века. Л., 1983; Н. А. Милютин // Иллюстрированная неделя. 1876. № 2; Начала реформы Н. А. Милютина // Вестник Европы. 1877. Кн. 9; Николай Алексеевич Милютин // Русская старина. 1880. Февр.; Ольховский Е. Р. Экономические труды Н. А. Милютина // Из истории экономической мысли и народного хозяйства России. Вып. 1. Ч. 2. М., 1993; Савкин А. Н. А. Милютин в воспоминаниях современников: сравнительный анализ трёх источников // Платоновские чтения. Самара, 1998; Страшевич Л. Взгляды Н. А. Милютина на учебное дело в Царстве Польском. СПб., 1897; Травкин В. И. Милютины на службе Отечеству // Бомбардир. 2001. № 13; Трубкин М. Я. Окружение Александра II — Николай Алексеевич Милютин // Музеи России: поиски, исследования, опыт работы. Вып. 4. СПб., 1998; Якушкин В. Е. Н. А. Милютин и редакционные комиссии // Русская старина. 1897. № 10.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Щебальский П. К. Николай Алексеевич Милютин и реформы в Царстве Польском. М., 1882.