The reactualization of the little-known empirical research experience of ordinary provincial bureaucracy in pre-revolutionary Russia is presented, conducted by the magazine “Sputnik Chinovnika” from 1911 to 1914. The analysis of questionnaires sharpens the problem: the evaluation of the official’s work does not depend on the expectations of the population, but is entirely determined by the benevolence of the boss. It is necessary to cancel the infamous “third point” of the Civil Service Charter, when at the sole discretion of the chief, any objectionable official can be dismissed. Overcoming official disenfranchisement, involving independent commissions in solving personnel issues, developing social control on the part of society, providing the population with a greater share of self-government to understand the complexity of public administration – this is the way to establish trust between society and an official. The inclusion in the scholarly arsenal of the experience of the formation of the sociology of officialdom in Russia demonstrates the heuristic value of studying the life world of this professional group; it allows us to understand which organizational and personal factors can become a brake, which are a driver of good governance, proper public administration in the interests of society.