Golubtsov, Fedor Aleksandrovich

Fyodor Golubtsov began serving in the Senate under Catherine II . With almost all his career advancement, both in the Senate and in the financial department, Golubtsov was obliged to be related to Baron Alexey Vasilyev and his personal disposition. In 1797 , already under Pavel I , when Alexey Vasilyev was appointed state treasurer, Golubtsov received from him the position of senior member of the state revenue expedition. And after the appointment in 1802 (already count ) of Vasilyev the first Minister of Finance of Russia, Golubtsov took the place of state treasurer under him. After the death of Count Alexei Vasilyev on August 15, 1807, the Ministry of Finance was left almost without leadership.

Fedor Golubtsov was at the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Finance at a very difficult time. In addition, he became only the second minister at a time when the new management system under Alexander I was not yet fully formed. The process of reforming the public administration system coincided with the time when at the same time it was required to solve the urgent financial problems of the country. Even under Golubtsov’s predecessor, Minister Alexey Vasilyev, the very first after the establishment of the Ministry of Finance, an inventory of income and expenses in 1803 immediately reflected the painful state of the state budget: revenues were calculated at 97,686,737 rubles, and expenses exceeded them by 13,153,856,000 rubles . In addition, at the beginning of the 19th century, Russia conducted active military operations in Europe against Napoleon , and in the east against Turkey and Persia . A number of military failures, as well as Russia's accession to the continental blockade under the terms of the Tilsit Peace of 1807, had an even more devastating effect on the country's budget . The main source of replenishment of state revenues during these years remained mainly the issue of paper money - notes, which caused a strong depreciation of the ruble .

The difficulties in the budget joined the problems in the system of management of the Ministry of Finance. After the death of the first Minister of Finance of Russia, Alexei Vasiliev, who enjoyed great personal confidence of the emperor , the agency was essentially left without an appointed head for almost two years. At the end of August 1807, Fyodor Golubtsov, who was also the state treasurer, was appointed the managing ministry. Officially, he received the post of minister only in 1809 . ^[2]

The Finance Committee (formed in 1806 and existed until 1917 ) was directly involved in the development of the financial policy of the state and, in part, in the development of the ministry’s management structure. The activity of this committee until 1906 was completely secret and closed to the general public. Formed to consider the state list and eliminate the budget deficit , at the same time he dealt with all the problems of public finances that were put before the Minister of Finance and state control. Being the highest interdepartmental body with special rights attached to it, the committee could facilitate the implementation of the measures proposed by the Minister of Finance. The members of this secret institution worked out the rules for all loans , both internal and external, as well as monitored cash flows and were engaged in the development of state credit . ^[2] Most of his term, even without being officially appointed Minister of Finance, Fyodor Golubtsov (as state treasurer) for the most part simply carried out the decisions taken by the Finance Committee.

As you know, the fundamental changes in the state system were developed by M. M. Speransky , who had not yet held the post of Secretary of State . In November 1809, he was ordered by Emperor Alexander I to prepare an urgent program to overcome the financial crisis . Temporary and disconnected measures could no longer solve the accumulated problems of the state budget. For the preparation of the project, a special committee was formed, in the discussion of which the constant comrade of the Minister of Finance , Dmitry Guriev , who in recent years had become close to Mikhail Speransky, who was occupying ever stronger positions with the throne, took an active part. ^{[2] A} pragmatist and subtle court, Guriev used all his intelligence and Speransky’s growing influence in the struggle for the ministerial chair and in 1810 finally managed to “dump” Golubtsov.

Outwardly, demonstrating his commitment to Speransky’s new ministerial system, aimed at strengthening the vertical of power, Dmitry Guriev (under the patronage of the latter), on January 1, 1810, was appointed Minister of Finance and at the same time a member of the newly reformed State Council. After the removal of the Minister of Finance, Fedor Golubtsov retained his membership in the State Council .

• Alekseev M., Pachkalov A. Ministers of Finance: From the Russian Empire to our days. M., 2019.
• V. Sudeikin . Golubtsov, Fedor Aleksandrovich // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Shilov D. N. State figures of the Russian Empire: Heads of higher and central institutions, 1802-1917: Bibliographic reference. - Ed. 2nd, rev. and add. - SPb., 2002 .-- S. 200.