The author reconstructs the complex picture of administrative reforms in Vyatka Region, the westernmost territory of Siberia Governorate, focusing on the tangled system of subordination of the local bureaucracy in 1713—1717. The article aims at studying one of the most difficult subjects of the history of early modern Russian state administration, which is the essence and mechanisms of the first administrative reform of Peter the Great. The particular case studied in the paper exposes a considerable discrepancy between the administrative legislation and the real practice of state development during Peter’s reforms. The article reveals the ample potential and autonomy of the first regional governors in decision making as to the organization of territorial administration.