The Legal Foundations of Civil Service in the Russian Empire during the Reign of Emperor Nicholas I

The purpose of the research. The article discusses the characteristics of the legal basis of civil service in the Russian Empire during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I. The author reviews such problems as the governmental service and the elective service. The purpose of the research is to reveal the key aspects of civil service during this historic period in accordance with the legislative norms of the Digest of Laws of the Russian Empire of 1832 and 1857. It is necessary for further expansion and deepening of scientific knowledge about the history of the state and law of Russia in the 19th century. Results. As a result of the research, the author comes to the conclusion that the legislation on civil service received an extremely intensive development during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I. The Digest of Laws of the Russian Empire regulated in detail and comprehensively all the activities of civil servants, starting from their entry into service and ending with retirement benefits. The law reflected such issues as the conditions of entry into the civil service, the procedure for recruitment, promotion to the ranks, the definition of rights, privileges, duties, restrictions and prohibitions applied to civil servants, their dismissal from service and pension provision. In addition to the governmental civil service the legislation paid due attention to various aspects of elective service, that is service for the election of nobles, urban and rural inhabitants.