Liquidation of the Institution of the Hetmancy and the Second Little Russian Collegium (1764)
The final abolition of political autonomy. Catherine II forced hetman Rozumovsky to renounce his office and by the decree of November 10, 1764 established an occupation administration: "we command our Senate, for the proper governance of Little Russia, to establish there a Little Russian Collegium, presided over by our general, Count Rumyantsev"[1]. The program had been set in advance in a secret instruction: "so that they become Russified and cease looking to the forest like wolves"[2].
Actors
| ID | Name | Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| G0009 | Russian Empire | 3 |
Instruments Applied
| ID | Name | Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| S0008 | Government | 3 |
Procedures Carried Out
The final elimination of the office of the autonomy's leader: after Rozumovsky's forced abdication, Catherine II's decree of November 10, 1764 handed power to the Little Russian Collegium, whose president was instructed to act "with a governor's authority, that is, as our special plenipotentiary"[1]. Catherine II's instruction to procurator-general Vyazemsky (1764) stated the goal openly: "and when there is no hetman in Little Russia, one must strive that the very age and name of hetmans vanish"[2].
The establishment of a direct imperial organ – the Second Little Russian Collegium: four Great Russian members, four Little Russian ones, headed by Rumyantsev with the powers of a governor-general; the Zaporozhian Sich was also transferred to its jurisdiction: "the Zaporozhian Sich, which was under the hetman's jurisdiction, shall now be administered by this Little Russian government"[1].
The monarch's secret instruction on the cultural digestion of the land: "Little Russia, Livonia, and Finland are provinces governed by the privileges confirmed to them… These provinces, as well as Smolensk, must by the easiest means be brought to the point where they become Russified and cease looking to the forest like wolves"[2].