Alexander Spiridovich
Encyclopedia
Alexander Spiridovich was a Russian police general and historian. He should not be confused with Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich
.
Spiridovitch was born in Arkhangelsk
.
In 1893 he graduated from military academy and was promoted to sub-Lieutenant of the 105th Orenburg regiment garrison in Vilna
.
In 1899 he joined Special Corps of Gendarmes
and started to work in Okhrana in Moscow. In 1902 he was named Chief of the Kiev Section of the Okhrana. At that time, Kiev was a principal center of activity for the Socialist-Revolutionary Party
. Spiridovitch and his men were highly recognized for their counter-terrorist work, and at the young age of 29, Alexander Ivanovitch was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. In May 1905, Spiridovitch was shot twice at close range in the streets of Kiev by a pistol fired by the Bolshevik terrorist Peter Rudnenko. He was forced by his injuries to take a leave of absence from service and rest until the winter of 1905.
In 1906 Spiridovitch was assigned to the court police, which guarded the residences of Nicholas II. After the assassination of the Russian prime minister Pyotr Stolypin
in Kiev, Spiridovich was investigated, but no charges were brought, and he retained his position.
During the First World War, Spiridovitch accompanied Nicholas II in his trips. In 1916 Spiridovitch was appointed mayor of Yalta
.
After the February Revolution
Spiridovitch was arrested under the personal order of Alexander Kerensky
. On October 2, he was released by accident, and managed to leave Russia. He and his second wife and children managed to escape from Petersburg and re-settle in Paris in 1920.
Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich
Not to be confused with Alexander Spiridovich.Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich was a Russian Count who moved to the United States following the Bolshevik Revolution. He was a Tsarist general and white Russian loyalist. He was involved in Pan-Slavism and White Russian activism, including various chivalric...
.
Spiridovitch was born in Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
.
In 1893 he graduated from military academy and was promoted to sub-Lieutenant of the 105th Orenburg regiment garrison in Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
.
In 1899 he joined Special Corps of Gendarmes
Special Corps of Gendarmes
The Special Corps of Gendarmes was the uniformed security police of the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main responsibilities were law enforcement and state security....
and started to work in Okhrana in Moscow. In 1902 he was named Chief of the Kiev Section of the Okhrana. At that time, Kiev was a principal center of activity for the Socialist-Revolutionary Party
Socialist-Revolutionary Party
thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries...
. Spiridovitch and his men were highly recognized for their counter-terrorist work, and at the young age of 29, Alexander Ivanovitch was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. In May 1905, Spiridovitch was shot twice at close range in the streets of Kiev by a pistol fired by the Bolshevik terrorist Peter Rudnenko. He was forced by his injuries to take a leave of absence from service and rest until the winter of 1905.
In 1906 Spiridovitch was assigned to the court police, which guarded the residences of Nicholas II. After the assassination of the Russian prime minister Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin served as the leader of the 3rd DUMA—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of...
in Kiev, Spiridovich was investigated, but no charges were brought, and he retained his position.
During the First World War, Spiridovitch accompanied Nicholas II in his trips. In 1916 Spiridovitch was appointed mayor of Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
.
After the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
Spiridovitch was arrested under the personal order of Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
. On October 2, he was released by accident, and managed to leave Russia. He and his second wife and children managed to escape from Petersburg and re-settle in Paris in 1920.
Russian language
- Революционное движение в России:Российская Социал-Демократическая Рабочая Партия: "Revolutionary movement in Russia: Russian Social Democratic Labour PartyRussian Social Democratic Labour PartyThe Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
", 1914 - Революционное движение в России:Партия Социалистов-Революционеров и ее предшественники: "Revolutionary movement in Russia: Socialist-Revolutionary PartySocialist-Revolutionary Partythumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries...
", 1916 - Записки жандарма. "Memoirs of gendarme", 1928
- Великая Война и Февральская Революция 1914-1917 "Great war and February Revolution". Published in 1962.
French language
- Les Dernieres Années de la Cour de Tsarskoe Selo, Payot, Paris 1928.
- Histoire du terrorisme russe, 1886-1917. Paris, Payot, 1930
- Raspoutine 1863-1916. 1936 — biography of Grigori RasputinGrigori RasputinGrigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a Russian Orthodox Christian and mystic who is perceived as having influenced the latter days of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their only son Alexei...
English language
- Book 1 Les Dernières Années de la Cour de Tsarskoe Selo, English Translation by Emily Plank, Isbn: 978-0-9806803-0-0 Russiahouse Press, 2009
- Book 1 God, The Tsar & Mother Russia, Isbn: 978-0-9806803-2-4 Russiahouse Press, 2009