Special Corps of Gendarmes
Encyclopedia
The Special Corps of Gendarmes (Отдельный корпус жандармов) 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
.
The responsibilities of the Gendarmes also included execution of court orders, chasing fugitives, riot control
, and detainment of "unusual" criminals. Gendarmes could also be assigned to assist local police and officials.
regiment, created in 1815 and based on the Borisoglebsk Dragoon Regiment
, and Gendarmerie units of the Special Corps of the Internal Guards. Following the 1825 revolt
, the new tsar
, Nicholas I
, created the office of the Chief of Gendarmes in July 1826 and appointed General Count Alexander Benkendorf to it; all of the Gendarmes were subordinate to the Chief. Benkendorf was also appointed Executive Director of the newly-created Third Section of the Imperial Chancellery, although the office of the Head of the Third Section was not formally merged with Chief of Gendarmes until 1839.
In 1836, the Gendarmerie of the Internal Guards was transformed into the Special Corps of Gendarmes, under the Chief of Gendarmes. The Commander of the Corps and Chief of Staff of the Corps were also Directors of the Third Section under the Executive Director. The Corps was divided into seven territorial Districts, six of them located in Russia
and one in the Kingdom of Poland
, each having a Directorate. The Main Directorate, along with additional Gubernial
Directorates, was also created. The Army's Gendarmerie regiment joined the Corps in 1842.
The Gendarmes used Cavalry ranks of the Russian military ranks system introduced in 1826.
As of 1867 statute, the Corps consisted of:
In 1871, the Gendarmes acquired the right to investigate both political and criminal cases, as the judicial investigators were dismissed.
Only the most competent of the Army's officers in noble ranks could join the Corps of Gendarmes. Although the Corps maintained a powerful image, its large network of informer
s and agents often supplied nothing more than rumors and slanders; the Gendarmes were obviously incapable of infiltrating real revolutionary
organizations. In August 1880, both the Third Section and the Special Corps of Gendarmes were transferred to the authority of the Minister of Internal Affairs by proposal of Count Loris-Melikov. The office Chief of Gendarmes was inherited by the Minister, and the Commander of the Corps became his Deputy. Many Gendarme officers were transferred to then-created Department of Police.
Following the 1902 assassination of MVD Minister Sipyagin, the state security power of Gendarmerie Directorates was transmitted to the Okhrana and counter-intelligence
units of the General Staff and the Department of Police.
Security police
In some countries, including the United States, security police are those persons, employed by or for a governmental agency, who provide police and security services to those agencies' properties....
of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main responsibilities were law enforcement and state security
State Security
State Security can refer to:* general concepts of security agency or national security* Committee for State Security * State Security * State Security...
.
The responsibilities of the Gendarmes also included execution of court orders, chasing fugitives, riot control
Riot control
Riot control refers to the measures used by police, military, or other security forces to control, disperse, and arrest civilians who are involved in a riot, demonstration, or protest. Law enforcement officers or soldiers have long used non-lethal weapons such as batons and whips to disperse crowds...
, and detainment of "unusual" criminals. Gendarmes could also be assigned to assist local police and officials.
Historical Development
The precursors of the Corps were the Army GendarmerieGendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
regiment, created in 1815 and based on the Borisoglebsk Dragoon Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
, and Gendarmerie units of the Special Corps of the Internal Guards. Following the 1825 revolt
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
, the new tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
, Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
, created the office of the Chief of Gendarmes in July 1826 and appointed General Count Alexander Benkendorf to it; all of the Gendarmes were subordinate to the Chief. Benkendorf was also appointed Executive Director of the newly-created Third Section of the Imperial Chancellery, although the office of the Head of the Third Section was not formally merged with Chief of Gendarmes until 1839.
In 1836, the Gendarmerie of the Internal Guards was transformed into the Special Corps of Gendarmes, under the Chief of Gendarmes. The Commander of the Corps and Chief of Staff of the Corps were also Directors of the Third Section under the Executive Director. The Corps was divided into seven territorial Districts, six of them located in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and one in the Kingdom of Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
, each having a Directorate. The Main Directorate, along with additional Gubernial
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
Directorates, was also created. The Army's Gendarmerie regiment joined the Corps in 1842.
The Gendarmes used Cavalry ranks of the Russian military ranks system introduced in 1826.
As of 1867 statute, the Corps consisted of:
- Main Directorate
- SurveillanceSurveillanceSurveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
staff - CaucasusCaucasusThe Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
Districts - GubernialGuberniyaA guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
Directorates (56) - UyezdUyezdUyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...
Directorates (50) - Railroad Directorates
- St. PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Warsaw divisions - Mounted units (13)
In 1871, the Gendarmes acquired the right to investigate both political and criminal cases, as the judicial investigators were dismissed.
Only the most competent of the Army's officers in noble ranks could join the Corps of Gendarmes. Although the Corps maintained a powerful image, its large network of informer
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
s and agents often supplied nothing more than rumors and slanders; the Gendarmes were obviously incapable of infiltrating real revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
organizations. In August 1880, both the Third Section and the Special Corps of Gendarmes were transferred to the authority of the Minister of Internal Affairs by proposal of Count Loris-Melikov. The office Chief of Gendarmes was inherited by the Minister, and the Commander of the Corps became his Deputy. Many Gendarme officers were transferred to then-created Department of Police.
Following the 1902 assassination of MVD Minister Sipyagin, the state security power of Gendarmerie Directorates was transmitted to the Okhrana and counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
units of the General Staff and the Department of Police.
Heads
- Alexander von BenckendorffAlexander von BenckendorffCount Alexander von Benckendorff, was a Russian Infantry General and statesman, Adjutant General of the H. I. M. Retinue and a commander in the Patriotic War of 1812 best remembered for having established the Gendarmes in Russia....
(1826–1844, its founder and first chief) - Vasily Andreyevich DolgorukovVasily Andreyevich DolgorukovPrince Vasily Andreyevich Dolgorukov was a Russian statesman, General of the Cavalry , Minister of War , Chief of Gendarmes and Executive Head of the Third Section of H.I.M. Chancellery ....
(?-?) - Aleksandr Potapov (1861–1864)
- Pyotr Andreyevich ShuvalovPyotr Andreyevich ShuvalovCount Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov was an influential Russian statesman and a counselor to Tsar Alexander II...
(1866-?) - Alexander Drenteln (1878-1880)
- Pyotr Dmitrievich Sviatopolk-MirskiiPyotr Dmitrievich Sviatopolk-MirskiiPrince Pyotr Dmitrievich Sviatopolk-Mirskii was a Russian politician and police official, Minister of the Interior in 1904–1905. He was the son of the general Dmitry Ivanovitch Sviatopolk-Mirskii and father of the literary historian D. S. Mirsky....
(1900-?)