Alexander Spiridovich

Alexander Spiridovich (1873—1952) — Russian police general, historian.

Biography

Spiridovitch was born in Arkhangelsk.

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

In 1899 he joined Special Corps of Gendarmes and started to work in Okhrana in Moscow. In 1902 he was named Chief of the Kiev Section of the Okhrana. At that time, Kiev was a principle center of activity for the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. Spiridovitch and his men were highly recognized for their counter-terrorist work, and at the young age of 29, Alexander Ivanovitch was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. In May 1905, Spiridovitch was shot twice at close range in the streets of Kiev by a pistol fired by the Bolshevik terrorist Peter Rudnenko. 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 assigned to the court police, which guarded the residences of Nicholas II. After the assassination of the Russian prime minister Pyotr Stolypin in Kiev, Spiridovich was investigated, but no charges were brought, and he retained his position.

During the First World War, Spiridovitch accompanied Nicholas II in his trips. In 1916 Spiridovitch was appointed mayor of Yalta.

After the February Revolution Spiridovitch was arrested under the personal order of Kerensky. On October 2, he was released by accident, and managed to leave Russia. He and his second wife and children managed to escape from Petersburg and re-settle in Paris in 1920.

Works

Russian language

* [http://www.hronos.km.ru/libris/lib_s/spir00cd.html Революционное движение в России:Российская Социал-Демократическая Рабочая Партия] : "Revolutionary movement in Russia: Russian Social Democratic Labour Party", 1914
* [http://www.hronos.km.ru/libris/lib_s/spir00cp.html Революционное движение в России:Партия Социалистов-Революционеров и ее предшественники] : "Revolutionary movement in Russia: Socialist-Revolutionary Party", 1916
* [http://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/gendarme.htm Записки жандарма.] "Memoirs of gendarme", 1928
* [http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/spiridovich_ai/index.html Великая Война и Февральская Революция 1914-1917] "Great war and February Revolution". Published in 1962.

French language

* Les Dernieres annes 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

Links

* [http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/spiridovitchbio.html Biographies - Alexander Ivanovitch Spirodovitch]