Russia. The Government, of course, is very centralized. The general administrative council for each Siberian province or government is directly under the authority of the Minister of the Interior. It is presided over by a civil Governor who represents that Minister, and is aided by councillors nominated locally and approved in St Petersburg. The usual weakness of bureaucracy is thus displayed, for responsibility always rests upon the higher authority, who is generally too far away or too much engaged to attend to or direct local policy. On the other hand, without central authority, administration over the vast and isolated districts of Siberia would be impossible, and Siberia would never have become what it is.
The business of the Governor's Council is delegated to committees which control the different executive departments. These generally consist of the following:—A department for Urban Affairs, for Peasant Affairs, and for Justice; a Prison Committee; an Education Board; a Land Valuation Staff, and a Public Health Department. All these departments and committees are ultimately under the control of the Minister of the Interior in St Petersburg. Directly under the authority of the Imperial Finance Minister is the local branch of the Imperial Treasury, which is engaged in the assessment and collection of Imperial and local taxes. Under the Minister of Agriculture comes the Agricultural Organization Committee, the Local Immigration Committee and the Land Survey Staff. Then there is the local branch of the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, the local Department of Justice, and the local military authority. All these departments are under their respective bureaus in St Petersburg, and the local
