On February 19 (March 3 - new style) 1878 in San Stefano, a preliminary treaty was signed between Russia and Turkey. In its art. 6 it is noted: “Bulgaria will form an autonomous, tributary principality, with a Christian government and a people's militia.” And in art. 7 it is added: “The introduction of the new government in Bulgaria and the supervision of its implementation will be entrusted for two years to a Russian imperial commissioner.” The borders of the Bulgarian Principality, specified in art. 7 with an attached map, were determined with a view to including the territories of the Balkan Peninsula, where the majority of the population is Bulgarian, forumnauka.bg recalls.
Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Dondukov-Korsakov was prepared for the position of Russian Imperial Commissioner as early as February 1878. A participant in Russia's military campaigns conducted in 1848-1856, in 1869 he was promoted to the rank of adjutant general and appointed Kiev, Podolsk and Volyn governor-general. In early 1877, during the mobilization of the Russian army for participation in the Russo-Turkish War of liberation, he was temporarily commander of the Kiev Military District, and in September 1877 arrived at the theater of hostilities in Bulgaria, where he was appointed commander of the 13th Army Corps as part of the Eastern Detachment (the so-called Rousse Detachment). On April 16, 1878, by order of Alexander II, he was promoted to the rank of general of the cavalry and officially appointed imperial Russian commissar in Bulgaria.
On May 8, 1878, in San Stefano, Prince Dondukov-Korsakov took office. In the general instruction of the State Chancellor of Russia of April 10, 1878, by which the Imperial Commissioner was obliged to be guided in carrying out his activities in Bulgaria, it was emphasized that the Provisional Government must prepare the Bulgarian people for an independent political life and create a good state organization, so that when the Russians leave the country, the Bulgarians can resist any hostile encroachments.
The additional instruction to Dondukov-Korsakov of April 15, 1878 overlaps for the most part with the “Project of the Institutions in the Administration of the Bulgarian Principality” prepared by Prince Vl. Cherkassky, which was presented to the Commander-in-Chief in San Stefano by the author personally. This happened on February 18, 1878, just a few hours before the death of the head of the Civil Affairs Office. The similarity of what was included in the instruction with the project of Prince Cherkassky means that the latter's views and proposals regarding the organization of the future civil administration in Bulgaria were approved and used in giving specific instructions to Prince Dondukov-Korsakov. The instruction accompanying it mentioned that he would be “only a continuation of the administrative system”, the introduction of which had already begun under his predecessor Prince Cherkassky.
Guided by both instructions, Prince Dondukov-Korsakov created the Council of the Imperial Commissioner's Administration, also called the Central Administration of the Imperial Commissioner. The following members of the council, who were also managers of the departments, were appointed: Major General Mikhail A. Domontovich - manager of the office for general affairs and diplomacy, Major General Vasily G. Zolotarev - manager of the military department, Major General Pyotr A. Gresser - manager of the internal affairs department, Dr. senior sergey Iv. Lukiyanov – manager of the judicial department, Dr. senior sergey Konstantin A. Bukh – manager of the financial department, Prof. Marin Drinov – manager of the public education and spiritual affairs department, Dr. senior sergey Alexander Tukholka – head of the central administration of the customs department. The council also included the exarch and all Bulgarian exarchate hierarchs.
The headquarters of the Council of the Imperial Commissioner's Administration was initially established in Plovdiv, where Prince Dondukov-Korsakov arrived on May 20, 1878.
The decisions of the Berlin Congress of July 1, 1878 imposed certain adjustments to the tasks of the Council. The Berlin Treaty significantly reduced the territory of the liberated lands from those fixed in the Treaty of San Stefano. Southern Bulgaria was separated into an administrative region called Eastern Rumelia and remained under the direct political authority of the Sultan. The stay of the Russian troops and administrators was shortened to nine months, which reduced the time for full-fledged activity for the final and complete organization of the Bulgarian Principality.
On July 24, 1878, the Russian Foreign Ministry sent a third instruction to Prince Al. Dondukov-Korsakov, in which the tasks of the Council of Government were updated, taking into account the decisions of the Great Powers in Berlin. The headquarters of the Provisional Russian Government had to be moved to Sofia, since Plovdiv was becoming the center of Eastern Rumelia. Given the shortened term of action, some of the tasks were dropped, others - such as the creation of a zemstvo army and police - had to be implemented quickly. The Imperial Commissioner received the right to single-handedly direct the work on the final construction of the Bulgarian administration and especially the important central departments and institutions. Representatives of the other Great Powers could not interfere directly in his activities.
source: forumnauka.bg