To bridge the gulf: State, society and the Russian bureaucratic ideal at the turn of the twentieth century

This study examines bureaucracy as a social space which not only regulates, but is also affected by a surrounding culture and society. My conceptualization differs from the more traditional Weberian approach which views bureaucracy as analogous to heavy machinery, with civil servants regarded merely as cogs within it. To the contrary, I argue that the institution of bureaucracy must not be understood merely in terms of its administrative structure, but also as imbued with values. To fully understand a particular administration, one must grasp the concepts which evolve around it, such as efficiency, rationality, progress, state, morality, public responsibility, etc. The meanings that such terms take on will differ from culture to culture. I focus on a particular case-study, the Russian imperial bureaucracy under the last two emperors (1881-1917). I examine memoirs, which have been left to us by pre-revolutionary bureaucrats and those who had in-depth experience with Russia\u27s state administration. I propose that, at turn of the century the Russian bureaucracy was in the process of negotiating its relationship with the society around it. Tensions within the state apparatus were indicative of the uncertainty with which the bureaucracy viewed its own place. At this time, Russia was confronted with which the bureaucracy viewed its own place. At this time, Russia was confronted with a central issue: the existence and effects of the gulf that lay between state and society. Hence, the need to bridge the gulf and to generate a reciprocal relationship between state and society became increasingly urgent. Awareness of this need forced many civil servants to reconsider the rational, legalistic ideal of state administration, and engage in the construction of new ideals, which, as I show, played and active role in their decision making. Through my case studies, I attempt to show that these bureaucrats were agents, living in a rich cognitive space, rather than just cogs in a machine