State Council (Russian Empire)

Although envisaged by Speransky as the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, it was actually an advisory legislative body composed of people whom the tsar could trust.

There were four departments of the council: Legislative; Civil and Ecclesiastical Administration; State Economy; and Industry, Science and Commerce.

According to Dominic Lieven it "played no part in the formulation of foreign policy and its members' access to the emperor was very limited.

Half of its members were appointed by the Tsar from persons distinguished at civil and military service, and half by elections from various categories of society, separately: The State Council was the upper house of the parliament, while the State Duma of the Russian Empire was the lower house.

Compared to the contemporary British House of Lords and Prussian Herrenhaus, the Russian upper chamber was more democratically constituted, as half of its members were democratically elected from different sections of society, while the Herrenhaus consisted of hereditary peers, and the House of Lords consisted of hereditary peers and clergy from privileged dioceses.