The Council considered: "types and assumptions for the design and improvement of various parts entrusted to each Ministry and General Directorate", "information on the progress of work on the design and improvement ...", initial legislative assumptions followed by submission to the State Council, measures , requiring the general assistance of different departments, but not subject to consideration in other higher state institutions, information about the most important orders for each department, requiring "common co expressions ", the conclusions of the commissions created by the Emperor for the consideration of reports of ministries and main departments.

Since 1863, the number of cases submitted to the Council has sharply decreased, it gathered less and less, and after December 23, 1882, the meetings stopped altogether.

Since all power was concentrated in the hands of the Emperor, matters were decided mainly through the submission at the highest discretion of reports generally objectively incompatible with the principle of collegiality in management.

The reformed Council was entrusted with "directing and combining the actions of the chief heads of departments in subjects, both legislation and higher state administration".

The Council included the ministers of internal affairs, finance, justice, commerce and industry, means of communication, public education, military, maritime, imperial court and inheritances, foreign affairs, chief governor of land management and agriculture, the state controller and the chief procurator of the Synod.

The terms of reference of the Council of Ministers included: the direction of legislative work and preliminary consideration of the assumptions of ministries, departments, special meetings, committees and commissions on legislative issues submitted to the State Duma and the State Council, discussion of the ministerial proposals on the general ministerial structure and on the replacement of the main posts of higher and local government, consideration by the special orders of the emperor of affairs of state defense and foreign policy, as well as cases of the Ministry of the Imperial Court and the inheritance.

In connection with the abolition of the Committee of Ministers in 1906, most of the functions left to the Committee passed to the Council of Ministers (introduction, extension and termination of the provisions on enhanced and emergency protection, designation of localities for the placement of exiles, strengthening the staff of the gendarmerie, the police, supervision of urban and local government, the establishment of companies, etc.).

It is worth noting that, along with the abdication of the throne, Emperor Nicholas II signed a decree appointing George Lvov Chairman of the Council of Ministers (March 15, 1917), but the Provisional Government in its declaration indicated that power was taken from the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, leaving the decree of Nicholas without attention.