- Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland
Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland ( _pl. Namiestnik Królestwa Polskiego) was the
title of the official representatives of theking of Poland (i.e.tsar of Russia , who used that title in that period) inCongress Poland , which existed from 1815 to 1874. Between 1874 and 1914, as Congress Poland became theVistulan Country , the title ofnamestnik was replaced by the title of Governor-General of Warsaw ( _pl. Generał-gubernator warszawski).Ref_label|a|a|noneThe office was introduced by the
Constitution of Congress Poland in 1815 and described in Chapter 3 (On the Namestnik and Council of State). The namestnik was chosen by the tsar from among the noble citizens of the Russian Empire or the Kingdom of Poland, excluding naturalized citizens. The namestnik supervised the entirepublic administration , and in the absence of the monarch, chaired the Council of State, as well as the Administrative Council. He had the right toveto the council's decisions; other than that his decisions had to becountersign ed by the appropriate minister. He had wide legislative rights: he could propose candidates for most senior official positions (ministers,senator s, judges of the High Tribunal, councilors of the state, referendaries, as well asbishop s andarchbishop s).The namestnik had no competences in the realm of finances and foreign policy; his military competences varied.Ref_label|b|b|none In case the namestnik was unable to hold his office due to resignation or death, his function was temporarily held by the president of the Council of State.
The office of namestnik was never abolished; however, after the
January Uprising it disappeared along with the Congress Kingdom. The last namestnik wasFyodor Berg , who served from 1863 to 1874. No namestnik was nominated to replace him after his death in 1874;Hugo Stumm, Russia's advance eastward, 1874, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0bDaNmNRYggGiGLW&id=Rq0BAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA140&lpg=RA2-PA140&dq=namestnik+Poland Google Print: p.140, note 1] ] however, the role of the namestniks -viceroy s in the former Congress Kingdom, now theVistulan Country - passed to the Governors-General ofWarsaw Thomas Mitchell, Handbook for Travellers in Russia, Poland, and Finland, 1888, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC34730101&id=AenSXGLDulUC&pg=RA9-PA460&lpg=RA9-PA460&dq=namiestnik+Poland Google Print, p.460] ] – or to be more specific, of theWarsaw Military District ( _pl. Warszawski Okręg Wojskowy, _ru. Варшавский Военный Округ). However in internal correspondence of offices` of Russian Empire he was still named as namestnik.The governors-general were directly subordinate to the tsar and had much wider powers compared to the namestniks. In particular, they had control over all of the military forces in the region, and were the overseers of the juridical systems (they could pronounce
death sentence s without trials). They could also issue "declaration s with the force ofstatute s", which could change existing laws.Namiestniks of the Kingdom of Poland
*
Józef Zajączek (1815–26)
* 1826-31 - vacant, power and responsibilities assumed by theAdministrative Council
*Ivan Paskevich (1831–55)
*Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov (1855 toMay 3 1861 )
*Nikolai Sukhozanet (16 May 1861 to1 August 1861)
*Karl Lambert (1861)
* Nikolai Sukhozanet (11 October 1861 to22 October 1861)
*Alexander von Lüders (November 1861 to June 1862)
*Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (June 1862 toOctober 31 1863 )
*Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg (1863–74)Governors-General of Warsaw
* Count
Paul Demetrius Kotzebue (1874–80)
*Pyotr Albedinsky (1880–83)
*Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko (1883–94)
*Pavel Andreyevich Shuvalov (1894–1896)
*Alexander Imeretinsky (1896–1900)
*Mikhail Chertkov (1900–05)
*Konstantin Maximovich (1905)
*Georgi Skalon (1905–14)
*Yakov Zhilinskiy (1914)
*Pavel Yengalychev (1914–1915)Notes
a Note_label|a|a|none The literature refers to that office using several names.
Namestnik is also sometimes translated asviceroy ,regent orlord lieutenant , and sometimes evenprince of Poland or Prince of Warsaw; Governors-General of Warsaw are sometimes referred to as "Governors-General of the Kingdom of Poland" or "Governors-General of Poland", and some sources erroneously use the term namestnik for after 1874, or governor-general for the preceding period.b Note_label|b|b|none Sources are contradictory on whether the namestnik had or did not have competences in the military realm. Certainly from 1815 to 1831 the military of the Congress Kingdom was controlled by
Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia , who "de facto" had more power then the namestnik,Józef Zajączek . Zajączek died in 1826, and was not replaced until 1831, when theNovember Uprising sawIvan Paskevich assuming the post of namestnik - and also command of the Russian military forces in the region, as he was tasked with defeating the uprising. The issue of who controlled the military after Paskevich's death is unclear, but again the last namestnik,Fyodor Berg , was tasked with crushing another Polish uprising - theJanuary Uprising - and had command over the military.References
:Inline: :General:
*Polish|Namiestnicy Królestwa Polskiego|8 January 2006ee also
*
Guberniya
*Ambassadors and envoys from Russia to Poland (1763–1794)
*Governor-General of Finland
*Governor-General of Lithuania /Governor-General of Vilnius /Governor-General of Wilno
*Namestniks' Palace (todayPresidential Palace, Warsaw )
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