See also collegium (disambiguation) for other meanings.

The collegia (plural of a collegium, "joined by law") were government departments in Imperial Russia

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

, established in 1717 by Peter the Great

Peter I of Russia

Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

. The departments were housed in the Twelve Collegia

Twelve Collegia

The Twelve Collegia, or Twelve Colleges is the largest edifice from the Petrine era still extant in Saint Petersburg. It was designed by Domenico Trezzini and Theodor Schwertfeger and built from 1722 to 1744.- Description :...

 building in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

.

Originally nine were established:

• Collegium of Commerce
  Collegium of Commerce
  The Collegium of Commerce was a Russian executive body , created in the government reform of 1717. It was de-established in 1796 or 1786 following the decentralising reforms of Catherine II of Russia. Its first President was Pyotr Tolstoy....
  
  
• Collegium of Financial Inspection and Control
• Collegium of Foreign Affairs
  Collegium of Foreign Affairs
  The Collegium of Foreign Affairs was a Russian executive body , created in the government reform of 1717. It was de-established during the decentralising reforms of Catherine II of Russia. Its first President was Fyodor Golovin....
  
  
• Collegium of Justice
  Collegium of Justice
  The Collegium of Justice was a Russian executive body , created in the government reform of 1717. It was de-established during the decentralising reforms of Catherine II of Russia. Its first President was Andrey Matveev....
  
  
• Collegium of Manufacturing
  Collegium of Manufacturing
  The Collegium of Manufacturing was an executive body in the Russian Empire from 1722, when the Collegium of Mining and Manufacturing split into two....
  
  
• Collegium of the Navy
  Russian Admiralty
  Admiralty Board was a supreme body for the administration of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Russian Empire, established by Peter the Great on December 12, 1718, and headquartered in the Admiralty building, Saint Petersburg....
  
  
• Collegium of State Expenses
  Collegium of State Expenses
  The Collegium of State Expenses was a Russian executive body , created in the government reform of 1717. It was de-established during the decentralising reforms of Catherine II of Russia. Its first President was Ivan Musin-Pushkin....
  
  
• Collegium of State Income
  Collegium of State Income
  The Collegium of State Income was a Russian executive body , created in the government reform of 1717. It was de-established during the decentralising reforms of Catherine II of Russia. Its first President was Dmitry Golitsin....
  
  
• Collegium of War
  College of War
  The College of War was a Russian executive body , created in the government reform of 1717. It was the only of the six original and three new colleges to survive the decentralising reforms of Catherine II of Russia...
  
  

Three more were later added:

• Collegium of Estates
  Collegium of Estates
  The Collegium of Estates was a Russian executive body , created in 1721. In 1782 it was announced that the College would be closing, though, because the college dealt with various disputes, this dragged on for another four years.-References :...
  
  
• Collegium of Mining
  Collegium of Mining
  The Collegium of Mining was an executive body in the Russian Empire from 1722, when the Collegium of Mining and Manufacturing split into two. It was closed in 1783 under Catherine II of Russia, before being reopened in 1796.Its Presidents were: H. W. Bruce ; A. K. Zybin ; A. F. Tomilov ; M. S...
  
  
• Collegium of Town Organization

Each collegium consisted of a president, a vice-president, four councilors, four assessors, a procurator, a secretary, and a chancellery. The collegia were replaced with ministries during the Government reform of Alexander I

Government reform of Alexander I

The early Russian system of government instituted by Peter the Great, which consisted of various state committees, each named Collegium with subordinate departments named Prikaz, was largely outdated by the 19th century...

.