The
Governing Senate (Правительствующий сенат) was a legislative, judicial, and executive body of the
Russian Emperors, instituted by
Peter the Great to replace the
Boyar Duma and lasted until the very end of the
Russian Empire. It was chaired by the
Procurator General, who served as the link between the sovereign and the Senate and acted, in the emperor's own words, as "the sovereign's eye".