Alexander Ivanovich Spiridovich (; August 17, 1873 – June 30, 1952) was a police general in the

Russian Imperial Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard ( ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard), were combined Imperial Russian Army forces units serving as counterintelligence for preventing sabot ...

. He became a historian after he had left Russia.

Life

Spiridovitch was born in

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

. In 1893 he graduated from military academy and was promoted to sub-Lieutenant of the 105th Orenburg regiment garrison in

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. In 1899 he joined

Special Corps of Gendarmes The Separate Corps of Gendarmes () was the uniformed security police of the Imperial Russian Army in the Russian Empire during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main responsibilities were law enforcement and state security. The responsi ...

and started to work in

Okhrana The Department for the Protection of Public Safety and Order (), usually called the Guard Department () and commonly abbreviated in modern English sources as the Okhrana ( rus , Охрана, p=ɐˈxranə, a=Ru-охрана.ogg, t= The Guard) w ...

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 The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Soviet Russia. The party members were known as Esers (). The SRs were ag ...

. Spiridovitch and his men were highly recognized for their counter-terrorist work, and at the young age of 29, was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In May 1905, Spiridovich was shot twice at close range in the streets of Kiev by a pistol fired by the Bolshevik Peter Rudnenko (who had been Spiridovich's own informer within the revolutionary circles). 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 appointed the head of

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 ...

's secret personal guard, the post he occupied for ten years. After the assassination of the Prime Minister

Pyotr Stolypin Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin ( rus, Пётр Аркадьевич Столыпин, p=pʲɵtr ɐrˈkadʲjɪvʲɪtɕ stɐˈlɨpʲɪn; – ) was a Russian statesman who served as the third Prime Minister of Russia, prime minister and the Ministry ...

in Kiev, Spiridovich was investigated for failure to take necessary measures to guard Stolypin, but no charges were brought, and he retained his position. During the First World War, Spiridovich accompanied Nicholas II on his trips between

Tsarskoe Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the town of Pushkin. Tsarskoye Selo forms ...

, the military headquarters in

Baranovichi Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. ...

and

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

, and many military formations on the front. In 1915, he was awarded the rank of major general. In August 1916 Spiridovich was appointed mayor of

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

. After 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 ...

Spiridovitch, who was visiting Saint Petersburg, was arrested – as one of the first – on personal order of

Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early November 1917 ( N.S.). After th ...

. On October 2, he was released from the

Peter and Paul fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress () is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early ...

by accident, and managed to leave Russia. He and his second wife and children re-settled in Paris in 1920.

Works

Russian language

Революционное движение в России:Российская Социал-Демократическая Рабочая Партия
"Revolutionary movement in Russia:

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire. The ...

", 1914
Революционное движение в России:Партия Социалистов-Революционеров и ее предшественники
"Revolutionary movement in Russia:

", 1916
Записки жандарма.
"Memoirs of gendarme", 1928

"Great war and February Revolution". Published in 1962.

French language

* ''Les Dernières 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 Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian Mysticism, mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II of Russia, Nicholas II, the last Emperor of all the Russias, Emperor of Russia, th ...

English language

* Book 1 Les Dernières Années de la Cour de Tsarskoe Selo, English Translation by Emily Plank, Russiahouse Press, 2009 * Book 1 God, The Tsar & Mother Russia, Russiahouse Press, 2009

External links