HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY’S OWN CHANCELLERY

Following his ascension to the throne in 1825, Tsar Nicholas I consolidated his personal authority by taking powers away from individual ministries and incorporating them into a body known as His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery. The chancellery was divided into several departments, or sections.

The First Section of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery dealt with imperial decrees and orders. The Second Section was responsible for the codification of law; the Fourth for the administration of charitable and educational institutions.

The Third Section was in charge of political crimes, censorship, espionage and internal suppression. It was the tsar’s secret police.