A special division of the Police Department and its participation in political life of Russian Empire. 1900–1914

Abstract

The most important of the internal functions of the state is the preservation of peace and order in society. Usually, this function is implemented by the forces of the political police, the effectiveness of which depends on many factors. An analysis of the work of the Special Department of the Police Department in the period preceding the First World War and subsequent social upheavals allows us to draw the following conclusions. Individual figures of the department took steps to build a corporate system as a response of conservatives to socialist movements and organizations, creating controlled workers’ organizations. However, the police provocation quickly outgrew the struggle with socialist movements, and the highest ranks of the Special Department of the Police Department became participants in the confrontation of the elites, which negatively affected the protection of public order. Moreover, the agents of the Police Department actually served as a catalyst for the formation of militant organizations of revolutionary terrorists actively arranging political assassinations of statesmen. This work not only provoked political confrontation and intensified the development of the revolutionary movement, but also morally and materially disarmed police representatives.

Keywords

• special division of the police department
• special services
• political provocation
• labor movement
• zubatovism
• corporatism