Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery
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The Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery
was a secret department set up in Imperial Russia, inherited from Tayny Prikaz, Privy Chancellery and Specialty Chancellery, effectively serving as the Imperial regime's secret police
for much of its existence. The organization was relatively small. Created in 1825, it included only sixteen investigators. Their number was increased to forty in 1855 It was disbanded in 1880 and replaced by the Okhrana.
The Third Section was organized into the following departments (ekspeditsiya):
Count Alexander Benckendorff was the first Head of the Section from 1826. He was the person who tried to warn Alexander I
of the Decembrist plot; thus Nicholas I
saw him as perfect head of the secret force. He also served as Chief of Gendarmes
, but the office of the Executive Director of the Third Section was not formally merged with Chief of Gendarmes until 1839.
Count Benckendorff hoped the department would be something of a 'moral physician' to the people; an organisation they trusted and respected. In the beginning, the Gendarmes, often called 'blue archangels' because of their blue and white uniforms, fulfilled this hope - they proved themselves far more efficient at maintaining law and order than the ordinary police. Their official job was looking after orphans and widows. Its emblem was a handkerchief. Their uniforms rendered any secret work impossible, their founding directives labelled conspiratorial work as 'dishonorable'. This explains their failure as a secret police force.
However, over time its reputation deteriorated as it became progressively easier to imprison than investigate. The Third Section and Gendarmes became associated primarily with the suppression of any liberal ideas as well as strict censorship
on printed press and theatre plays. Although only three periodicals were ever banned outright, most were severely edited. It was keen to repress 'dangerous' western liberal ideas, such as constitutional monarchy or even republicanism. Throughout the reign of Nicholas I
, thousands of subjects were kept under strict surveillance.
In the end, the powerful image of the Section and the Gendarmes was largely undermined when they failed to suppress the rising revolutionary movement and acts of terrorism against government officials. The large network of informers and agents often supplied nothing more than rumors and slanders. Even the head of the Section Mesentsev fell victim to the assassin in 1878. Following the February 5, 1880 assassination attempt on Alexander II
, both the Third Section and the Corps of Gendarmes were subordinated to the Supreme Executive Commission under Count Loris-Melikov, who then advised the dismissal of the Third Section. The Corps of Gendarmes was then transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Department of Police.
His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery
His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancery or H.I.M. Own Chancery began as personal chancery of Pavel I and grew into a kind of regent's office, run by Count Arakcheyev from 1815 and until the death of Alexander I of Russia....
was a secret department set up in Imperial Russia, inherited from Tayny Prikaz, Privy Chancellery and Specialty Chancellery, effectively serving as the Imperial regime's secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
for much of its existence. The organization was relatively small. Created in 1825, it included only sixteen investigators. Their number was increased to forty in 1855 It was disbanded in 1880 and replaced by the Okhrana.
The Third Section was organized into the following departments (ekspeditsiya):
- I - supreme police (political crimes and enemies of the regime)
- II - counterfeiting, religious sects, murders, penitentiary, serfdom
- III - aliens
- IV - incidents, staff matters
- V (1842) - censorship of theatre plays (performed by the 1st department since 1828)
Count Alexander Benckendorff was the first Head of the Section from 1826. He was the person who tried to warn Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
of the Decembrist plot; thus 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...
saw him as perfect head of the secret force. He also served as Chief 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....
, but the office of the Executive Director of the Third Section was not formally merged with Chief of Gendarmes until 1839.
Count Benckendorff hoped the department would be something of a 'moral physician' to the people; an organisation they trusted and respected. In the beginning, the Gendarmes, often called 'blue archangels' because of their blue and white uniforms, fulfilled this hope - they proved themselves far more efficient at maintaining law and order than the ordinary police. Their official job was looking after orphans and widows. Its emblem was a handkerchief. Their uniforms rendered any secret work impossible, their founding directives labelled conspiratorial work as 'dishonorable'. This explains their failure as a secret police force.
However, over time its reputation deteriorated as it became progressively easier to imprison than investigate. The Third Section and Gendarmes became associated primarily with the suppression of any liberal ideas as well as strict censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
on printed press and theatre plays. Although only three periodicals were ever banned outright, most were severely edited. It was keen to repress 'dangerous' western liberal ideas, such as constitutional monarchy or even republicanism. Throughout the reign of 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...
, thousands of subjects were kept under strict surveillance.
In the end, the powerful image of the Section and the Gendarmes was largely undermined when they failed to suppress the rising revolutionary movement and acts of terrorism against government officials. The large network of informers and agents often supplied nothing more than rumors and slanders. Even the head of the Section Mesentsev fell victim to the assassin in 1878. Following the February 5, 1880 assassination attempt on Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, both the Third Section and the Corps of Gendarmes were subordinated to the Supreme Executive Commission under Count Loris-Melikov, who then advised the dismissal of the Third Section. The Corps of Gendarmes was then transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Department of Police.
Heads of the Third Section
- Count Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf (1826–1844)
- Count Alexey Fyodorovich OrlovAlexey Fyodorovich OrlovPrince Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov , the natural son of Count Fyodor Grigoryevich, was born October 8 in Moscow and took part in all the Napoleonic wars from 1805 to the capture of Paris...
(1844–1856) - Prince 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 ....
(1856–1866) - Count Pyotr Andreyevich ShuvalovPyotr Andreyevich ShuvalovCount Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov was an influential Russian statesman and a counselor to Tsar Alexander II...
(1866–1874) - Alexander Lvovich PotapovAlexander Lvovich PotapovAlexander Lvovich Potapov , was a Russian statesman.Potapov was Chief of Staff of the Special Corps of Gendarmes from 1861 to 1864, Governor-General of the Northwestern Krai from 1868 to 1874, and Chief of Gendarmes and Executive Head of the Third Section of H.I.M. Chancellery from 1874 to 1876....
(1874–1876) - Nikolay Vladimirovich Mezentsev (1876–1878)
- Alexander Romanovich DrentelnAlexander Romanovich DrentelnAlexander Romanovich Drenteln was a 19th century Russian General.He held the rank of General of the Infantry, and held the positions of* Adjutant General of the H. I. M...
(1878–1880).
Further reading
- Ronald Hingley, The Russian Secret Police: Muscovite, Imperial, and Soviet Political Security Operations (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1970). ISBN 0-671-20886-1
- R. J. Stove, The Unsleeping Eye: Secret Police and Their Victims (Encounter Books, San Francisco, 2003). ISBN 1-893554-66-X