Vyacheslav Konstantinovich von Plehve ( rus, Вячесла́в Константи́нович фон Пле́ве, p=vʲɪtɕɪˈslaf kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ fɐn ˈplʲevʲɪ; – ) was a Russian politician who served as the director of the

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 ...

from 1881 to 1884 and later as the

minister of the interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 1902 until his assassination in 1904.

Biography

Born in

Meshchovsk Meshchovsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Meshchovsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Tureya River southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: ...

Kaluga Governorate Kaluga Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed in 1796–1929. Its capital was Kaluga. Administrative division Kaluga Governorate consisted of the following ...

, Russia, on 20 April 1846, Plehve was the only son of schoolteacher Konstantin von Plehve and Elizaveta Mikhailovna Shamaev, daughter of a minor landowner. In 1851, Plehve's family moved from Meshchovsk to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, where his father accepted a job as an instructor in a gymnasium. After studying law at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, he joined the Ministry of Justice in 1867. He served as assistant prosecutor in the

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

circuit court and as a prosecutor in

Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...

. In 1876, he was appointed assistant prosecutor of the Warsaw Chamber of Justice, and in 1879 as prosecutor of the

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Chamber of Justice. In 1881, he investigated the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

of Alexander II and then joined the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

as a Director of the Department of Police, also in charge of the

Secret Police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

. He is credited with the destruction of numerous "

People's Will Narodnaya Volya () was a late 19th-century revolutionary socialist political organization operating in the Russian Empire, which conducted assassinations of government officials in an attempt to overthrow the autocratic Tsarist system. The org ...

" terrorist groups. He became a member of the

Governing Senate From 1711 to 1917, the Governing Senate was the highest legislative, judicial, and executive body subordinate to the Russian emperors. The senate was instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and lasted until the very end of the R ...

in 1884 and assistant minister of the Interior in 1885. As an assistant minister, at first under Count Dmitry Tolstoy (in office 1882-1889) and later under his successor,

Ivan Durnovo Ivan Nikolayevich Durnovo (, the patronymic is also transcribed as Nikolaevich; – ) was a Russian politician. He served as Russian Council of Ministers, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers between 1895 and 1903, the precursor to the po ...

(in office 1889-1895), Plehve had shown definite administrative talent. Made an Actual Privy Counsellor in 1899, he was Finnish Minister Secretary of State from that year until 1904. He supported the abolition of the separate Finnish army in 1901. In April 1902, following the assassination of

Dmitry Sipyagin Dmitry Sergeyevich Sipyagin (; – ) was a Russian politician. Political career Born in Kiev, Sipyagin graduated from the Judicial Department of St Petersburg University in 1876. Served in the MVD as Vice Governor of Kharkov Governorate ( ...

, Plehve was appointed minister of the interior and chief of

Gendarmes A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

. After a brief attempt at conciliation with the ''

zemstvo A zemstvo (, , , ''zemstva'') was an institution of local government set up in consequence of the emancipation reform of 1861 of Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Nikolay Milyutin elaborated the idea of the zemstvo, and the fi ...

'' conservatives failed, he relapsed—disbanding the police-supported labour unions ('' zubatovshchina''). The same year, Plehve used his position as minister of interior to insist that Hirsh Lekert, who had tried to assassinate the governor of

Vilnius 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 ...

Victor von Wahl Viktor Karl Konrad Wilhelm von Wahl (; 1840–1915) was a Baltic German general, mayor of St. Petersburg, and governor of Vilna Governorate. He came from Baltic German noble Wahl family, which was a branch of the Scottish MacDowall clan. Von W ...

, be tried under wartime law. This virtually guaranteed a death-sentence. In August 1903, Plehve met with

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

and discussed the establishment of Zionist societies in Russia. He proposed a Russian government request to the Ottoman Turks to obtain a charter for Jewish colonisation of Palestine. Plehve became a target for Jewish revolutionaries after his meeting with Theodor Herzl although he had forwarded Herzl's proposals to Tsar

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 ...

. After Plehve did nothing to prevent a bloody wave of anti-Jewish violence in 1903, the known double-agent

Yevno Azef Yevno Fishelevich (Yevgeny Filippovich) Azef (; 1869–1918) was a Russian socialist revolutionary who also operated as a double agent and agent provocateur. He worked as both an organiser of assassinations for the Socialist Revolutionary Party ...

decided not to inform the Tsarist authorities of the plans of 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 Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia. The party memb ...

to kill Plehve. He survived one attack in 1903, and two in 1904, before the Socialist-Revolutionary Combat Organization succeeded. On 28 July 1904, Plehve was travelling on his way to his weekly audience with the Emperor. At in

, Igor Sazonov, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, threw a bomb into Plehve's horse-drawn carriage, killing him at the age of 58. File:EM S. PETERSBURGO — Assassinato do Sr. Plehwe, ministro do interior.jpg, Assassination of Mr. Plehve,

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(

Angelo Agostini Angelo Agostini (8 April 1843 – 23 January 1910) was an Italian-born Brazilian illustrator, journalist and founder of several publications, and although born in Italy, is considered the first Brazilian cartoonist. Biography Agostini was born ...

, ''

O Malho ''O Malho'' ( Portuguese: ''The Mallet'') was a Brazilian weekly satirical magazine published from 1902 to 1954. It was based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the first commercially successful Brazilian satirical magazine during the Republican r ...

'', 1904). File:The assassination of Vyacheslav von Plehve, Le Patriote Illustré.jpg, The assassination of Vyacheslav von Plehve, '' Le Patriote Illustré''. File:Pleve mort Peterburg VII-1904 Varschav voksal.jpg, Scene of the assassination in

on 15 July 1904

Legacy

Because Plehve carried out the

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

of the provinces within the Russian Empire, he earned bitter hatred in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and especially in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. He despoiled the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

, and was credited with being accessory to the

Kishinev pogrom The Kishinev pogrom or Kishinev massacre was an anti-Jewish riot that took place in Kishinev (modern Chișinău, Moldova), then the capital of the Bessarabia Governorate in the Russian Empire, on . During the pogrom, which began on Easter Day, ...

s. His logical mind and determined support of the autocratic principle gained the tsar's entire confidence. He opposed commercial development on ordinary European lines on the ground that it involved the existence both of a dangerous

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist ph ...

and of a prosperous middle class equally inimical to

autocracy Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pleve, Vyacheslav 1846 births 1904 deaths People from Meshchovsk People from Meshchovsky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of German descent Nobility from the Russian Empire Active Privy Councillor (Russian Empire) Members of the Russian Assembly Interior ministers of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Senators of the Russian Empire Police chiefs from the Russian Empire Moscow State University alumni Assassinated politicians from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class

Biography

Legacy

Notes

References

Further reading

External links