Empress Maria's Department of Institutions

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EMPRESS MARIA'S DEPARTMENT OF INSTITUTIONS, a central public institution, which administered charitable organizations, as well as women’s and special educational institutions. The office originated from the Department of Empress Maria Fedorovna, which ran the Educational Society of Noble Ladies from 1796. Initially, its authority applied to the Smolny Institute and Alexandrovsky Institute, the Commercial School, and the Foundling Hospital and the Board of Trustees; a short time later, the department assisted with the opening of the Ekaterininsky Institute and the Pavlovsky Institute, the School for the Deaf and Dumb, the Widows' House and the Obstetrics Institute; in addition, some establishments under the Board of Public Assistance passed into the jurisdiction of the Department. Upon Maria Fedorovna's death in 1828, administration of these institutions was delegated to the Fourth Division of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery, which was renamed His Imperial Majesty's Personal Chancellery over Empress Maria's Institutions in 1880 (the original name was used from 1854). All institutions under the Department's jurisdiction were subsidized by the State Treasury, and through donations and proceeds from the sale of playing-cards. In the late 19th century, the fund was also supported by profits from public entertainment. In 1893-94, the Institutions of Grand Princess Elena Pavlovna (the Mariinsky Institute, St. Helen's School, the Elizabeth Memorial Hospital for Children) and those of the Women’s Patriotic Society were attached to Empress Maria's Department of Institutions, headed by Empress Maria Fedorovna. The department also consisted of orphanages, almshouses and hospitals, women’s gymnasiums, women’s courses, the Mariinsky Vocational Schools, and the Alexandrovsky Lyceum. Orphanages played the most important role in the department (administered by a special committee), after educational institutions. On the eve of 1917, Empress Maria's Department of Institutions included over 500 establishments of different kinds, 20% of which were maintained at the department's own expense. The annual budget of the department amounted to several tens of millions of roubles. In 1918, Empress Maria's Department of Institutions was abolished, its property and capital nationalized.

References: Ведомство учреждений имп. Марии: Крат. ист. очерк... СПб., 1912; Благотворительность и милосердие Санкт-Петербурга: Рубеж XIX-XX вв. / Авт.-сост. В. Н. Занозина, Е. А. Адаменко. СПб., 2000.

V. V. Antonov. Elena Pavlovna, Grand Princess
Maria Fedorovna, Empress
Ведомство учреждений имп. Марии: Крат. ист. очерк... СПб., 1912
Благотворительность и милосердие Санкт-Петербурга: Рубеж XIX - XX вв. / Авт.-сост. В. Н. Занозина, Е. А. Адаменко. СПб., 2000 Smolny Institute
Boarding House of Education
Deaf-Mute School
Widows' House
Chancellery, His Imperial Majesty's Personal
Lyceum