[4] He studied at the religious seminaries in Vladimir and St Petersburg, where he acquired the surname of Speransky, from the Latin verb "to hope" (sperare).

He believed himself to be a potent instrument for the attainment of the ideal objective of a regenerated Russia, which was his minister's sole preoccupation.

[5] In 1810, Speransky was still in high favor and was the confidant of the emperor in the secret diplomacy which preceded the breach of Russia with Napoleon.

Speransky then committed a serious mistake – he conceived the idea of reorganizing the masonic order in Russia to educate and elevate the Orthodox clergy.

Alexander appeased Old Russian sentiment, the strongest supporters of the autocratic Tsar against revolutionary France.

[10] A number of people in the entourage of the emperor were motivated to involve Speransky on a charge of treason, including the Grand Duchess Catherine, Fessler, Karamzin, Rostopchin, the Finnish general Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt and the Minister State Secretary of the Grand Duchess of Finland in St Petersburg.

After the Decembrist Revolt of 1825 at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I of Russia, Speransky sat on the special court of investigation and passed the sentences.

In 1826, Speransky was appointed by Nicholas I to head the Second Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery, a committee formed to codify Russian law.

Under his leadership, the committee produced a publication of the complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire, containing 35,993 enactments.

For his efforts in codifying Russian law, Speransky was awarded the Order of St Andrew[3] and, in January 1839, the title of count by Tsar Nicholas I.

These are acts, decrees, regulations and other official documents drawn up by him, as well as drafts, preparatory materials, letters to the emperor, family, friends.

For example, correspondence with a daughter and friends helps to determine how the views of the reformer were formed, how he perceived the events, the conditions of his activities.