Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky

Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky ( January 12 [O.S. January 1] 1772 – February 23 [O.S. February 11] 1839) was probably the greatest of Russian reformers, founder of the Russian jurisprudence and theoretical law. He was a close advisor to Alexander I and later to Nicholas I, he is sometimes called the father of Russian liberalism.
Speransky was the son of a village priest and spent his early days at the ecclesiastical seminary in St Petersburg, where he rose to be professor ofmathematics and physics. His brilliant intellectual qualities attracted the attention of the government, and he became secretary to Prince Kurakin. He soon became known as the most competent of the imperial officials.