The work of the office began in 1796, when Empress Maria Feodorovna took over the
Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens. The Empress' Chancellery then consisted of six persons, headed by
Grigory Ivanovich Villamov. Two days after the death of the Empress,
Nicholas I of Russia, by decree of 26 October 1828, took all the institutions under her jurisdiction under his patronage. To manage them, the Fourth Department of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery was formed. Starting in 1858, the office sponsored a network of
Mariinsky Girls' Gymnasiums in the empire. ==See also==