In 1800, Derzhavin wrote the political work "Opinion" in response to a request by Emperor Paul I to investigate recent famines in Mogilev Governorate. In the "Opinion", Derzhavin blamed Belorussian famines on the "mercenary trades" of Jews, who exploited peasants through leaseholding of estates and distilling of alcohol, as well as the indifference of the local magnates who allowed this exploitation to occur. In response to these issues, Derzhavin proposed a series of reforms to substantially restrict the freedoms of the magnates, abolish the Jewish "Qahal", end the autonomy of the Russian Jewish community, and resettle Russian Jews in colonies along the Black Sea. The "Opinion" became an influential source of information during the early reign of Alexander I, who eventually implemented several of Derzhavin's suggested reforms in the 1804 "Statute Concerning the Organization of the Jews".