Collegium (ministry)

For other uses, see Collegium (disambiguation).

The collegia (plural of a collegium, "joined by law") were government departments in Imperial Russia, established in 1717 by Peter the Great. The departments were housed in the Twelve Collegia building in Saint Petersburg.

Building of the Twelve Collegia, 1753 engraving

Historic building of the Twelve Collegia now belongs to the Saint Petersburg State University

Originally nine were established:

• Collegium of Commerce
• Collegium of Financial Inspection and Control
• Collegium of Foreign Affairs
• Collegium of Justice
• Collegium of Manufacturing
• Collegium of the Navy
• Collegium of State Expenses
• Collegium of State Income
• Collegium of War

Three more were later added:

• Collegium of Estates
• Collegium of Mining
• Collegium of Town Organization

Each collegium consisted of a president, a vice-president, four councilors, four assessors, a procurator, a secretary, and a chancellery. The collegia were replaced with ministries during the Government reform of Alexander I.

See also

• Prikaz