At the beginning of the 20th century, the ministers of internal affairs in the Russian Empire changed with astonishing frequency, and they were held responsible for many government mistakes. However, some of them genuinely sought to improve the lives of ordinary citizens. Today we will talk about Petr Dmitrievich Svyatopolk-Mirsky.

In September 1904, with the support of Empress Maria Feodorovna, he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs. Svyatopolk-Mirsky was an active opponent of using police agents in political parties. Upon taking office, he stated: "The effectiveness of government work is based on sincere trust in public and class institutions and the population as a whole. This should become the best means of countering the unacceptable for Russia parliamentarism."

The minister allowed gatherings of zemstvo officials, relaxed censorship, returned some exiled prisoners, and expanded access to the Ministry of Internal Affairs archives. He also prepared a liberal decree "On the Improvement of the State Structure," which was signed by the Tsar. However, his democratic views played a cruel joke on him. The shooting of a peaceful demonstration on January 9, 1905, which became the prologue to the First Russian Revolution, made Svyatopolk-Mirsky a scapegoat, and he was dismissed.

Despite this, leading political and public figures of that time spoke of him as a man of great integrity and culture. Until the end of his days, Svyatopolk-Mirsky often recalled those tragic events and reproached himself for his mistakes. However, he did not witness the end of the Russian Empire, passing away in May 1914.