Imperial Russia's security police has long been popularly
associated with administrative lawlessness, harsh repression, and
throngs of spies. Shocking tales told by revolutionaries and
tendentious Soviet accounts have perpetuated such views. Yet
Russia's security service on the eve of the Revolution of 1905 was
relatively small-scale, law-abiding, and humane, especially given
the extent of social and political opposition the regime faced.
Autocracy under Siege examines the role of the security service
in the titanic struggle between the regime and those dedicated to
the defeat of monarchical absolutism. From the first terrorist
attempt on the life of a Russian emperor in 1866 through the
seismic upheaval of 1905, Daly traces the reaction, expansion, and
evolution of the security police in the face of the increased
antigovernment activity that threatened the continued survival of
the regime.
Drawing upon a wealth of sources, including many recently
declassified archival documents, Autocracy under Siege provides a
detailed analysis of the personnel, institutions, and effectiveness
of the Imperial Russian security police. Daly further explores the
interplay of regime and opposition at the point where they
confronted each other most directly in the years before the 1905
upheaval.
Through comparisons with western European police institutions,
Daly ultimately reveals that, despite their infamous reputation,
the Imperial Russian security police actually resembled European
models, a belief previously rejected by other historians. The most
probing analysis to date of how and why Russia's security police
developed, this study will prove essential to historians of Russia
and Europe and toreaders interested in the fields of politics, law,
and revolution.
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