The Rules of the Classification and Disposal of Official Documents in the Customs Administration Structures in the Russian Empire of 1864

Abstract

In the first half of the 19th century in the structures of the Finance Ministry’s Department of External Trade in the Russian Empire there were no operating regulations enabling the classification and destruction of documents produced as a result of the operation of state administration offices. A gradual increase in documents resulting from bureaucratic processes had a direct influence on the preparation of rules that enabled the classification of records and files, and assigning them the categories of perpetual or temporary storage in the archives of offices. Furthermore, the regulations issued in 1864 made it possible to destroy documents unnecessary for the further operation of customs offices in the territory of the Romanov monarchy. The rules introduced in 1864 were in force until the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia.