
Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (1772-1839) was a son of an underprivileged village priest who went on to become an advisor of tsar Alexander I of Russia. Following the tsar’s orders, he played a vital part in the process of transforming
the systemic structures of the Russian Empire, actively supervising the works of a commission that was set up to develop complex projects concerning criminal and civil law codification. During this process, he faced opposition from conservative environments that were reflected in Nikolay Karamzin’s Memoir on Ancient an Modern Russia (1811). He was dismissed in 1812 but would return to the tsar’s court
again under the rule of Nicholas I of Russia.