403 highly preliminary look at the role the Swedish amiralitetskollegiummight have had as a model for the Russian college. As has been mentioned earlier, Peter issued an ukaz in December 1717 directing the presidents of the colleges to draw up plans for their respective collegial organizations, so that it would be possible to initiate operation “in the Swedish manner” at the beginning of 1719.^^ Although this target date was postponed a year, most of the colleges were able to present preliminary budgets to the Senate during 1718 or during the first half of 1719; some were even able to present comprehensive proposals for the instructions which were to govern their operations. In relation to the other colleges, however, the admiralty was behind schedule in its organizational activities. In a letter to the Senate dated May 8, 1719, the college reported that “how many persons and what positions there are to be in this college has not been indicated by the Senate’s chancellery and has not been determined in any ukaz.” The college therefore asked the Senate to outline the principles which were to guide its organization and operation.-^’’ It does not appear, however, that the Senate took note of this request right away, for just eleven days later it asked the college to report on how large a staff it envisaged and how many positions had already been filled. The admiralteiskaia kollegiia could only reply that it still had no idea of how the college was to be organized. On May 29, 1719, the chief secretary of the Senate, Anisim Shchukin, made the followingcomment on the admiralty’s response: That which has been submitted by Pick about the Admiralty and about that college, as well as about the personnel of the other colleges, and the questions put by the presidents; send all of this to the admiralteiskaia kollegiia immediately and without any delay. The Senate thus decided that the admiralteiskaia kollegiia was to be given all the material Heinrich Pick had prepared concerning the organization of the personnel of the various colleges, but the material the college received in this connection was very meager. Anisim Shchukin informed the Senate that the college had been given “a copy of the table which has been drawn up as an example of the positions and their salaries, as well as a copy of the memorandum and the information concerning the Swedish form of government.” The description of the Swedish amiralitetskollegium, which was sent along with these papers and was presumably written by Heinrich Pick, was all too brief to be of any help in organiSec above, p. 87. S. I. Elagin & F. F. Veselago, eds., Materialy dlia istorii russkogo jlota (15 v., St. Petersburg, 1865—1895), III, 374—375. ZA (no. 277), 230—231. TsGADA, f. 248 delo 654 1. 186.
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