The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Procurator-General
the highest civil servant in the government of tsarist Russia. Responsible for checking the legality of the activities of the machinery of state, the procurator-general was also head of the Senate. The office was created in January 1722.
The supervisory function of the procurator-general was implemented by his subordinates, the procurators and government inspectors. After the death of Peter I (1725) the office of procurator-general lost its importance. However, it temporarily regained its status between 1740 and 1741. With the establishment of ministries in 1802, the procurator-general became the minister of justice as well. The significance of the procurator-general declined, although he remained head of the Senate and the entire governmental supervisory system. The office of procurator-general was abolished after the February Revolution of 1917.
REFERENCE
Eroshkin, N. P. Istoriia gosudarstvennykh uchrezhdenii dorevoliutsionnoi Rossii, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1968.
N. P. EROSHKIN
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.