Yakov Rostovtsev

Who was Yakov Rostovtsev?

Iakov Ivanovich Rostovtsev was a leading figure in the formulation of statutes which effectively emancipated the Russian serfs.

Born in St Petersburg, Russia, Rostovtsev became a career soldier, and was a young officer at the time of the 1825 Decembrist revolt. When he was invited to join the plot, he instead reported it to Tsar Nicholas I, though without revealing the names of the officers involved.

Rostovtsev went on to hold posts in military education, and was involved in the administration of the cadet corps, reaching the rank of General. In 1857, when the Russian government made public its plans to reform the institution of serfdom, Rostovtsev was appointed to the secret committee charged with developing those plans. His subsequent report was well received, and brought him the chairmanship of the Commission whose task was to draft the necessary statutes.

The resulting statutes were issued on 19 February 1861, a year after Rostovtsev's death. Apart from Rostosvtev, the key figures behind the emancipation manifesto were Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia and Nikolay Alekseyevich Milyutin.