Pyotr Nikolaevich Durnovo () (1845 in

Moscow Governorate The Moscow Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, and the Russian Empire. It was bordered by Tver Governorate to the north, Vladimir Governorate to the northeast, Ryazan Governorate to the southeast, Tula Gove ...

– in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

) was an

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

n lawyer, politician, and member of Russian nobility belonged to

House of Durnovo The Durnovo () (known variant 'Durnovy' lural 'Durnov' ,'Durnova' ()) is a prominent family of Russian nobility. Durnovo is one of two Russian noble families, of which the most famous is the branch of the Tolstoy (family), Tolstoy famil ...

. Known by anti-Tsarist revolutionaries in the era of the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

as "the counter-revolution's butcher."

Biography

Pyotr Durnovo was born in the Moscow Governorate to the noble Durnovo family in 1845. Durnovo began his career in the naval and military service, transferred in 1881 to the Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and from 1884 to 1893 was that department's director. He went on to high posts in other parts of the same ministry, including -a short term as its head (1905–06 ). His principal position during the last decade of his was that of member of the State Council. A graduate of the Imperial Naval School and the Military/Naval Law Academy, he served in the Ministry of Justice reaching the position of Assistant Procurator of the

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Court of Appeals, until transferring to the Ministry of the Interior in 1881. Durnovo was appointed Director of

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

in 1884 and remained in that position until 1893 when he was forced to resign due to a disagreement between himself and the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Ambassador to Russia involving the misuse of police powers. He was appointed to the Imperial Russian Governing Senate in 1893 where he distinguished himself. In 1900, he was appointed Assistant Minister of the Interior in charge of Posts and Telegraph services at the request of Sipiagin. He remained in this position until 1905 when he was appointed Minister of the Interior, on

Witte Witte (and de Witte) are Dutch and Low German surnames meaning "(the) white one". Witte can also be a patronymic surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Witte (1878–1941), German astrologer * Barbara Witte (1922–1992), Ge ...

's recommendation. In his book on the

, Leon Trotsky describes Durnovo's appointment by Witte to the post: "This most foul specimen of the Russian bureaucracy's foul mores, this thievish official whom even the unforgettable Alexander III himself was obliged to throw out with the energetic words: 'remove this swine,' this Durnovo was now brought out of the rubbish bin to provide a counterweight to the 'liberal' Prime Minister in the capacity of Minister of Home Affairs. ..Durnovo, the master of the situation, rolled up his sleeves and got on with his bloody work as the counter-revolution's butcher." Durnovo led campaigns against the freedom of the press during the 1905 Russian Revolution. Immediately after the end of the final session of the Second Peasants' Congress of 1905, held in Moscow from 6–12 November, Durnovo, intent on crushing the resistance of the peasantry, issued the following orders: "Rioters to be exterminated immediately by force of arms, their dwellings to be burned down in the event of resistance. Arbitrary self-rule must be eradicated once and for all – now. Arrests would not serve any purpose at present and anyway it is impossible to try hundreds and thousands of persons. It is essential that the troops should fully understand the above instructions. —P. Durnovo" He retired from the position of Minister shortly after Witte's resignation from the Chairmanship of the Council of Ministers despite earlier differences between the two.

A letter to Nicholas II

Durnovo was noted for his outspoken opposition to closer ties with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

at the expense of relations with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

which he expressed in his letter sent to

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

in February 1914.The Durnovo Memorandum, translated to English.
/ref> In the letter Durnovo has set out his views and which were to be realized in the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He believed that German and Russian interests were complementary while a war between the two empires could result only in the destruction of the existing political orders of both. Durnovo foresaw an imminent war between Russia,

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and

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against

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

; he even predicted that

irredentism Irredentism () is one State (polity), state's desire to Annexation, annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by Ethnicity, ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the ...

would make

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stay neutral or join the Russo-Franco-British side despite its commitment to the other. His memorandum accurately predicted Russia's defeat and demoralization of the Imperial Army, elimination of existing legislative institutions, intellectual opposition, and Monarchy favoring "social revolution in its most extreme form the way and evolution of which is hard to predict". The document was found amongst the papers of Tsar Nicholas following the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

of 1917. It's unknown whether the Tsar had read it or not.

Death

Pyotr Durnovo died in September 1915 at his villa in Petrograd, from natural causes.

Notes

References

*''Out of My Past: The Memoirs of Count Kokovtsov'' Edited by H.H. Fisher and translated by Laura Matveev; Stanford University Press, 1935. *''The Memoirs of Count Witte'' Edited and translated by Sydney Harcave; Sharpe Press, 1990.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Durnovo, Pyotr Nikolayevich 1845 births 1915 deaths People from Moscow Governorate Pyotr Politicians from the Russian Empire Interior ministers of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Monarchists from the Russian Empire Law enforcement in the Russian Empire Lawyers from the Russian Empire