Biographies of the leaders of the secret office. “We worked according to European standards”: how the Secret Chancellery guarded Peter I and Russian sovereignty “If I were a queen ...”

01.02.2023

In addition to the formation of the police department, the XVIII century. It was also marked by the flourishing of a secret investigation, associated primarily with state or "political" crimes. Peter I in 1713 declares: “To say in the whole state (so that ignorance does not dissuade them) that all criminals and damagers of the interests of the state ... such without any mercy to be executed by death ... "

Bust of Peter I. B.K. Shot. 1724 State Hermitage, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Protection of state interests since 1718. the Secret Chancellery is engaged, for some time acting simultaneously with the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, formed at the end of the 17th century. In 1726 the baton of the secret investigation was taken over by the Supreme Privy Council, and in 1731. Office of Secret Investigative Affairs, subordinate to the Senate. Catherine II by decree of 1762. returns to the Office of Secret Investigation Affairs the former powers lost during the short period of the reign of Peter III. Catherine II also reorganizes the detective department, obliging him to obey only the Prosecutor General, which contributed to the formation of a secret investigation even more secret.

In the photo: Moscow, Myasnitskaya st., 3. At the end of the XVIII century. This building housed the Secret Office of Investigative Secret Affairs

First of all, cases related to official crimes of officials, high treason, attempt on the life of the sovereign fell into the sphere of competence of the investigators of the Secret Chancellery. In the conditions of Russia, only awakening from a medieval mystical sleep, the punishment for making a deal with the devil and through this causing harm, and even more so for causing harm to the sovereign in this way, was still preserved.

Illustration from the book by I. Kurukin, E. Nikulina "Everyday life of the Secret Office"

However, mere mortals, who did not conclude deals with the devil and did not think about high treason, had to keep their eyes open. The use of "obscene" words, especially as a wish for the death of the sovereign, was equated to a state crime. The mention of the words "sovereign", "king", "emperor" along with other names threatened to be accused of imposture. The mention of the sovereign as the hero of a fairy tale or an anecdote was also severely punished. It was forbidden to retell even real evidence related to the autocrat.
Given that most of the information came to the Secret Chancellery through denunciations, and investigative measures were carried out with the help of torture, falling into the clutches of a secret investigation was an unenviable fate for the layman.

"Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof" Ge N. 1872 State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

"If only I were a queen..."

Peasant Boris Petrov in 1705 for the words “Whoever started shaving his beard, he would cut off his head” was reared up on the rack.

Master Semyon Sorokin in 1731. in an official document, he made a typo "Perth the First", for which he was flogged with whips "for that of his guilt, in fear of others."

In 1732, the carpenter Nikifor Muraviev, being at the College of Commerce and dissatisfied with the fact that his case was being considered for a very long time, declared, using the name of the empress without a title, that he would go “to Anna Ivanovna with a petition, she will judge”, for which he was beaten with whips.

Court jester of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1744. was arrested by the Privy Office for a bad joke. He brought her a hedgehog in a hat "for laughter", thereby frightening her. The buffoonery was regarded as an attempt on the health of the empress.

"Interrogation in the Secret Office" Illustration from the book by I. Kurukin, E. Nikulina "Everyday life of the Secret Office"

They were also judged for “unworthy words such that according to which the sovereign is alive, and if he dies, then be different ...”: “But the sovereign will not live long!”, “God knows how long he will live, now times are shaky”, etc.

Not just a crime, but an insult to honor was considered a refusal to drink to the health of the sovereign or loyal royal subjects. Chancellor Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin denounced the nobleman Grigory Nikolaevich Teplov. He accused Teplov of showing disrespect to Empress Elizabeth Ioannovna, pouring “only a spoon and a half,” instead of “it is full to drink for the health of such a person who is faithful to Her Imperial Majesty and is in Her highest mercy.”

"Portrait of Count A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin" Louis Tokke 1757, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Catherine II, who tried to reform Russia no less than the famous Peter, softened significantly in relation to her people, who practically did not mention the name of the empress in vain. Gavrila Derzhavin dedicated this significant change to the line:
“There you can whisper in conversations
And, without fear of execution, at dinners
Do not drink for the health of kings.
There with the name of Felitsa you can
Scrape the typo in the line
Or a portrait carelessly
Drop it on the ground…”

"Portrait of the poet Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin" V. Borovikovsky, 1795, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

The Three Pillars of Secret Investigation

The first head of the Secret Chancellery was Prince Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy, who, being a good administrator, was not a fan of operational work. The "gray eminence" of the Secret Chancellery and a real master of detective work was his deputy Andrei Ivanovich Ushakov, a native of the village, at a review of undergrowth for his heroic appearance, he was enrolled in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, serving in which he won the favor of Peter I.

"Portrait of Count Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy", I. G. Tannauer 1710s, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

After a period of disgrace from 1727-1731. Ushakov was returned to the court by Anna Ioanovna, who gained power, and was appointed head of the Secret Chancellery. In his practice, it was common to torture the person under investigation, and then the informer against the person under investigation. Ushakov wrote about his work: “here again there are no important cases, but there are mediocre ones, according to which, as before, I reported that we were whipping rogues and setting them free.” However, the princes Dolgoruky, Artemy Volynsky, Biron, Minikh ... passed through the hands of Ushakov, and Ushakov himself, embodying the power of the Russian political detective system, successfully remained at court and at work. Russian monarchs had a weakness for investigating "state" crimes, often they themselves decided the court, and the royal ritual every morning, in addition to breakfast and toilet, was listening to the report of the Secret Chancellery.

"Empress Anna Ioannovna" L. Caravak, 1730 State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Ushakov was replaced in such an honorary position in 1746. Alexander Ivanovich Shuvalov. Catherine II mentions in the Notes: “Alexander Shuvalov, not by himself, but by the position he held, was a thunderstorm for the entire court, city and entire empire, he was the head of the inquisition court, which was then called the Secret Chancellery. His occupation caused, as they said, in him a kind of convulsive movement, which was made on the entire right side of his face from the eye to the chin whenever he was excited by joy, anger, fear or fear. His authority as head of the Secret Chancellery was more deserved by his repulsive and intimidating appearance. With the ascension to the throne of Peter III, Shuvalov was dismissed from this position.

Shuvalov Alexander Ivanovich Portrait by P. Rotary. 1761

The third pillar of political investigation in Russia in the XVIII century. became Stepan Ivanovich Sheshkovsky. He led the Secret Expedition from 1762-1794. For 32 years of Sheshkovsky's labor activity, his personality has acquired a huge number of legends. Sheshkovsky, in the minds of the people, was known as a sophisticated executioner, guarding the law and moral values. In noble circles, he had the nickname "confessor", for Catherine II herself, zealously watching the moral character of her subjects, asked Sheshkovsky to "talk" with the guilty persons for edifying purposes. "Talk" often meant "light corporal punishment", such as whipping or whipping.

Sheshkovsky Stepan Ivanovich. Illustration from the book “Russian antiquity. Guide to the XVIII century.

It was very popular at the end of the 18th century. a story about a mechanical chair that stood at the Sheshkovsky house in the office. Allegedly, when the invitee sat in it, the armrests of the chair snapped into place, and the chair itself fell into a hatch in the floor, so that one head remained sticking out. Further, invisible assistants took off the chair, freed the guest from clothes and flogged, not knowing who. In the description of the son of Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev, Afanasy Sheshkovsky appears to be a sadistic maniac: “He acted with disgusting autocracy and severity, without the slightest condescension and compassion. Sheshkovsky himself boasted that he knew the means of forcing confessions, namely, he began by grabbing the interrogated person with a stick under the very chin, so that the teeth would crackle, and sometimes even pop out. Not a single accused under such an interrogation dared to defend himself under fear of the death penalty. The most remarkable thing is that Sheshkovsky treated in this way only with noble persons, for the common people were handed over to his subordinates for reprisal. Thus, Sheshkovsky was forced to confess. He executed the punishments of noble persons with his own hands. With rods and whips, he often seceded. With a whip, he whipped with extraordinary dexterity, acquired by frequent exercise.

Whip punishment. From a drawing by H. G. Geisler. 1805

However, it is known that Catherine II stated that torture was not used during interrogations, and Sheshkovsky himself, most likely, was an excellent psychologist, which allowed him to achieve what he wanted from the interrogated with one escalation of the atmosphere and light cuffs. Be that as it may, Sheshkovsky elevated political investigation to the rank of art, supplementing Ushakov's methodicalness and Shuvalov's expressiveness with a creative and non-standard approach to business.

Secret Office. 18th century

In addition to the formation of the police department, the 18th century was also marked by the flourishing of a secret investigation, primarily associated with state or “political” crimes. Peter I in 1713 declares: “To say in the whole state (so that ignorance does not dissuade them) that all criminals and damagers of the interests of the state ... such without any mercy to be executed by death ... "

Bust of Peter I. B.K. Shot. 1724 State Hermitage, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Protection of state interests since 1718. is engaged secret office, for some time acting simultaneously with Preobrazhensky order formed at the end of the 17th century.

So, the first Secret Chancellery was founded by Peter the Great at the very beginning of his reign and was called Preobrazhensky Prikaz after the village of Preobrazhensky.

The first guardians of the detective case filed a lawsuit against the scoundrels who acted "against the first two points." The first point is atrocities against the person of the sovereign, the second - against the state itself, that is, they staged a riot.

“Word and deed” is a cry invented by guardsmen. Any person could shout out "word and deed", pointing a finger at the criminal - true or invented. The investigative machine immediately went into action. At one time, such concepts as “enemy of the people” rumbled, and given that Stalin’s investigators never made mistakes, the Preobrazhensky order was fair in its own way. If the guilt of the person taken on the denunciation was not proven, then the denunciator himself was subjected to “interrogation with passion”, that is, torture.

Secret Chancellery - the first special service of Russia

Overcrowded prisons, executions and torture are the reverse and unpleasant side of the reign of Peter I, whose unprecedented transformations in all spheres of Russian life were accompanied by repressions of opponents and dissenters. An important milestone in the fight against state crimes was April 2, 1718. On this day, Peter's secret office was created.

Great Leap Forward Costs

The decision of Peter I to create a fundamentally new special service was influenced by a variety of circumstances in his life. It all started with a childhood fear of the turmoil that took place before the eyes of the prince.

The childhood of the first Russian emperor, overshadowed by rebellion, is somewhat similar to the childhood of the first Russian tsar, Ivan the Terrible. At an early age, he also lived in the days of boyar self-will, murders and conspiracies of the nobility.

When Peter I began to carry out tough reforms in the country, a variety of his subjects opposed the changes. Supporters of the church, the former Moscow elite, long-bearded adherents of the "Russian antiquity" - who just was not dissatisfied with the impulsive autocrat. All this had a painful effect on Peter's moods. His suspiciousness intensified even more when the flight of the heir Alexei took place. At the same time, the conspiracy of the first head of the St. Petersburg Admiralty, Alexander Vasilyevich Kikin, was uncovered.

The case of the prince and his supporters turned out to be the last straw - after the executions and reprisals against traitors, Peter set about creating a centralized secret police on the Franco-Dutch model.

King and Consequence

In 1718, when the search for Tsarevich Alexei was still ongoing, the Office of Secret Investigations was formed in St. Petersburg. The department is located in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The main role in her work began to play Petr Andreevich Tolstoy. The secret office began to conduct all political affairs in the country.

The tsar himself often attended the "hearings". He was brought "extracts" - reports of the investigation materials, on the basis of which he determined the sentence. Sometimes Peter changed the decisions of the office. “Having beaten with a whip and cut out the nostrils, sent to hard labor in eternal work” in response to the proposal only to beat with a whip and send to hard labor - this is just one characteristic resolution of the monarch. Other decisions (like the death penalty for fiscal Sanin) were approved without amendments.

"Excesses" with the church

Peter (and hence his secret police) had a special dislike for church leaders. Once he learned that Archimandrite Tikhvinsky had brought a miraculous icon to the capital and began to serve secret prayers before it. First, the Royal Majesty sent midshipmen to him, and then he personally came to the archimandrite, took the icon and ordered him to be sent "for guard".

"Peter I in a foreign outfit in front of his mother, Tsarina Natalia, Patriarch Andrian and teacher Zotov." Nikolai Nevrev, 1903

If the matter concerned the Old Believers, Peter could demonstrate flexibility: “His Majesty deigned to reason that with the schismatics, who, in their opposition, were very cold, it was necessary to act cautiously, by civil court.” Many decisions of the Secret Chancellery were postponed indefinitely, since the tsar, even in the last years of his life, was distinguished by restlessness. His resolutions came to the Peter and Paul Fortress from all over the country. As a rule, the orders of the ruler were transmitted by the cabinet-secretary Makarov. Some of those who were guilty before the throne, in anticipation of the final decision, had to languish in prison for a long time: "... if the execution of the Vologotsk priest is not inflicted, then wait for it until you see me." In other words, the Secret Chancellery worked not only under the control of the tsar, but also with his active participation.

In 1711, Alexei Petrovich married Sophia Charlotte of Blankenburg- the sister of the wife of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Archduke Charles VI of Austria, becoming the first representative of the reigning house in Russia after Ivan III to marry a princess from the family of a European monarch.

After the wedding, Alexei Petrovich took part in the Finnish campaign: he oversaw the construction of ships in Ladoga and carried out other orders of the tsar.

In 1714, Charlotte had a daughter, Natalia, and in 1715, a son, the future Russian Emperor Peter II, a few days after whose birth Charlotte died. On the day of the death of the crown princess, Peter, who had received information about Alexei's drunkenness and his connection with the former serf Euphrosyne, demanded in writing from the prince that he either reform or become a monk.

At the end of 1716, together with Efrosinya, whom the prince wanted to marry, Alexei Petrovich fled to Vienna, hoping for the support of Emperor Charles VI.

In January 1718, after much trouble, threats and promises, Peter managed to summon his son to Russia. Alexei Petrovich renounced his rights to the throne in favor of his brother, Tsarevich Peter (son of Catherine I), betrayed a number of like-minded people and waited for him to be allowed to retire for private life. Efrosinya, imprisoned in the fortress, betrayed everything that the prince concealed in her confessions - dreams of becoming king when her father dies, threats to her stepmother (Catherine), hopes of rebellion and the violent death of her father. After such testimony, confirmed by Alexei Petrovich, the prince was taken into custody and tortured. Peter convened a special trial over his son from the generals, the senate and the synod. On July 5 (June 24, old style), 1718, the prince was sentenced to death. On July 7 (June 26, old style), 1718, the prince died under unclear circumstances.

The body of Alexei Petrovich from the Peter and Paul Fortress was transferred to the Church of the Holy Trinity. On the evening of July 11 (June 30, old style), in the presence of Peter I and Catherine, it was interred in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

"Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof" Ge N. 1872 State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Further fate

Peter's Secret Chancellery outlived its creator by only one year. The first Russian emperor died in 1725, and the department merged with the Preobrazhensky Prikaz already in 1726. This happened because of the unwillingness of Count Tolstoy to burden himself with long-standing duties. Under Catherine I, his influence at court increased significantly, which made it possible to carry out the necessary transformations.

However, the very need for power in the secret police has not gone away. That is why for the rest of the 18th century (the century of palace coups) this organ was reborn several times in different reincarnations. Under Peter II, the functions of the detective were transferred to the Senate and the Supreme Privy Council. In 1731, Anna Ioannovna established the Office of Secret and Investigative Affairs, headed by Count Andrei Ivanovich Ushakov. The department was again abolished by Peter III and restored by Catherine II as a Secret Expedition under the Senate (among its most high-profile cases were the persecution of Radishchev and the trial of Pugachev). The history of regular domestic special services began in 1826, when Nicholas I, after the Decembrist uprising, created The third branch of the office of his imperial majesty.

The Preobrazhensky order was abolished by Peter II in 1729, honor and praise to the boy-king! But strong power came in the person of Anna Ioannovna, and the detective office started working again, like a well-oiled mechanism. This happened in 1731; she was now called "Office of Secret Investigations". An inconspicuous one-story mansion, eight windows along the facade; casemates and office premises were also in charge of the office. Andrey Ivanovich Ushakov, well-known throughout St. Petersburg, was in charge of this farm.

In 1726 takes over the baton of secret investigation Supreme Privy Council, and in 1731. Secret Investigation Office l, subordinate to the Senate. Catherine II by decree of 1762. returns to the Office of Secret Investigation Affairs the former powers lost during the short period of the reign of Peter III. Catherine II also reorganizes the detective department, obliging him to obey only the Prosecutor General, which contributed to the formation of a secret investigation even more secret.

In the photo: Moscow, Myasnitskaya st., 3. At the end of the XVIII century. This building housed the Secret Office of Investigative Secret Affairs

Illustration from the book by I. Kurukin, E. Nikulina "Daily life of the Secret Office"

However, mere mortals, who did not conclude deals with the devil and did not think about high treason, had to keep their eyes open. The use of "obscene" words, especially as a wish for the death of the sovereign, was equated to a state crime. The mention of the words "sovereign", "king", "emperor" along with other names threatened to be accused of imposture. The mention of the sovereign as the hero of a fairy tale or an anecdote was also severely punished. It was forbidden to retell even real evidence related to the autocrat.
Considering that most of the information came to the Secret Office through denunciations, and investigative measures

were carried out with the help of torture, falling into the clutches of a secret investigation was an unenviable fate for the layman ..

"If only I were a queen..."
- Peasant Boris Petrov in 1705. for the words “Whoever started shaving his beard, he would cut off his head” was reared up on the rack.

Anton Lyubuchennikov was tortured and whipped in 1728. for the words “Our sovereign is stupid, if I were a sovereign, I would have hanged all the temporary workers.” By order of the Preobrazhensky order, he was exiled to Siberia.
- Master Semyon Sorokin in 1731. in an official document, he made a typo "Perth the First", for which he was flogged with whips "for that of his guilt, in fear of others."
- The carpenter Nikifor Muravyov in 1732, being at the College of Commerce and dissatisfied with the fact that his case was being considered for a very long time, declared, using the name of the empress without a title, that he would go "to Anna Ivanovna with a petition, she will judge", for which he was beaten with whips .
- Court jester of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1744. was arrested by the Privy Office for a bad joke. He brought her a hedgehog in a hat "for laughter", thereby frightening her. The buffoonery was regarded as an attempt on the health of the empress.

"Interrogation in the Secret Office" Illustration from the book by I. Kurukin, E. Nikulina "Everyday life of the Secret Office"

Not just a crime, but an insult to honor was considered a refusal to drink to the health of the sovereign or loyal royal subjects. The chancellor denounced the nobleman Grigory Nikolaevich Teplov Alexey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin. He accused Teplov of showing disrespect to Empress Elizabeth Ioannovna, pouring “only a spoon and a half,” instead of “it is full to drink for the health of such a person who is faithful to Her Imperial Majesty and is in Her highest mercy.”

"Portrait of Count A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin" Louis Tokke 1757, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Catherine II, who tried to reform Russia no less than the famous Peter, softened significantly in relation to her people, who practically did not mention the name of the empress in vain. Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin devoted to this essential change of the line:
“There you can whisper in conversations
And, without fear of execution, at dinners
Do not drink for the health of kings.
There with the name of Felitsa you can
Scrape the typo in the line
Or a portrait carelessly
Drop it on the ground…”

"Portrait of the poet Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin" V. Borovikovsky, 1795, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

The Three Pillars of Secret Investigation
The first head of the Secret Chancellery was Prince Petr Andreevich Tolstoy, who, being a good administrator, was not a fan of operational work. The “gray eminence” of the Secret Office and the real master of detective work was his deputy Andrey Ivanovich Ushakov, a native of the village, at a review of undergrowth for his heroic appearance, he was recorded in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, serving in which he won the favor of Peter I.

After a period of disgrace from 1727-1731. Ushakov returned to the court who gained power Anna Ioannovna and appointed head of the Privy Chancellery.

In his practice, it was common to torture the person under investigation, and then the informer against the person under investigation. Ushakov wrote about his work: “here again there are no important cases, but there are mediocre ones, according to which, as before, I reported that we were whipping rogues and setting them free.” However, the princes Dolgoruky, Artemy Volynsky, Biron, Minikh ... passed through the hands of Ushakov, and Ushakov himself, embodying the power of the Russian political detective system, successfully remained at court and at work. Russian monarchs had a weakness for investigating "state" crimes, often they themselves decided the court, and the royal ritual every morning, in addition to breakfast and toilet, was listening to the report of the Secret Chancellery.

"Empress Anna Ioannovna" L. Caravak, 1730 State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Ushakov was replaced in such an honorary position in 1746. Alexander Ivanovich Shuvalov. Catherine II mentions in the Notes: “Alexander Shuvalov, not by himself, but by the position he held, was a thunderstorm for the entire court, city and entire empire, he was the head of the inquisition court, which was then called the Secret Chancellery. His occupation caused, as they said, in him a kind of convulsive movement, which was made on the entire right side of his face from the eye to the chin whenever he was excited by joy, anger, fear or fear. His authority as head of the Secret Chancellery was more deserved by his repulsive and intimidating appearance. With ascension to the throne Peter III Shuvalov was dismissed from this post.

Peter III visits Ioan Antonovich in his Shlisselburg cell. Illustration from a German historical magazine from the early 20th century.

The third pillar of political investigation in Russia in the XVIII century. became Stepan Ivanovich Sheshkovsky. He led the Secret Expedition from 1762-1794. For 32 years of Sheshkovsky's labor activity, his personality has acquired a huge number of legends. Sheshkovsky, in the minds of the people, was known as a sophisticated executioner, guarding the law and moral values. In noble circles, he had the nickname "confessor", for Catherine II herself, zealously watching the moral character of her subjects, asked Sheshkovsky to "talk" with the guilty persons for edifying purposes. "Talk" often meant "light corporal punishment", such as whipping or whipping.

Sheshkovsky Stepan Ivanovich. Illustration from the book “Russian antiquity. Guide to the XVIII century.

At the end of the 18th century, the story of a mechanical chair that stood in the office near the Sheshkovsky house was very popular. Allegedly, when the invitee sat in it, the armrests of the chair snapped into place, and the chair itself fell into a hatch in the floor, so that one head remained sticking out. Further, invisible assistants took off the chair, freed the guest from clothes and flogged, not knowing who. In the description of the son of Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev, Afanasy Sheshkovsky appears to be a sadistic maniac: “He acted with disgusting autocracy and severity, without the slightest condescension and compassion. Sheshkovsky himself boasted that he knew the means of forcing confessions, namely, he began by grabbing the interrogated person with a stick under the very chin, so that the teeth would crackle, and sometimes even pop out. Not a single accused under such an interrogation dared to defend himself under fear of the death penalty. The most remarkable thing is that Sheshkovsky treated in this way only with noble persons, for the common people were handed over to his subordinates for reprisal. Thus, Sheshkovsky was forced to confess. He executed the punishments of noble persons with his own hands. With rods and whips, he often seceded. With a whip, he whipped with extraordinary dexterity, acquired by frequent exercise.

Whip punishment. From a drawing by H. G. Geisler. 1805

However, it is known that Catherine II stated that torture was not used during interrogations, and Sheshkovsky himself, most likely, was an excellent psychologist, which allowed him to achieve what he wanted from the interrogated with one escalation of the atmosphere and light cuffs.

Be that as it may, Sheshkovsky elevated political investigation to the rank of art, supplementing Ushakov's methodicalness and Shuvalov's expressiveness with a creative and non-standard approach to business.

torture

The office had a rule - "confessing to torture three times." This implied the need for a triple confession of guilt by the accused.

In order for the testimony to be recognized as reliable, they had to be repeated at different times at least three times without changes. Prior to Elizabeth's decree of 1742, torture began without the presence of an investigator, that is, even before the start of questioning in the torture chamber. The executioner had time to “find” a common language with the victim. His actions, of course, no one is controlled.

Elizaveta Petrovna, like her father, constantly kept the affairs of the Secret Chancellery under full control. Thanks to a report given to her in 1755, we learn that the favorite methods of torture were: rack, vice, squeezing the head and pouring cold water (the most severe of the tortures).

Inquisition "in Russian"

The secret office was reminiscent of the Catholic Inquisition. Catherine II in her memoirs even compared these two bodies of "justice":

“Alexander Shuvalov, not by himself, but by the position he occupied, was a thunderstorm for the entire court, city and entire empire, he was the head of the inquisition court, which was then called the Secret Chancellery.”

These were not just nice words. Back in 1711, Peter I created a state corporation of informers - the institute of fiscals (one or two people in each city). Church authorities were controlled by spiritual fiscals, who were called "inquisitors". Subsequently, this undertaking formed the basis of the Secret Chancellery. It did not turn into a witch hunt, but religious crimes are mentioned in the files.

In the conditions of Russia, just awakening from a medieval sleep, there were punishments for making a deal with the devil, especially with the aim of harming the sovereign. Among the latest cases of the Secret Chancellery is the trial of a merchant who declared the already deceased Peter the Great to be the Antichrist, and threatened Elizaveta Petrovna with a fire. The impudent foul-mouthed was from among the Old Believers. He got off lightly - he was flogged with a whip.

Eminence grise

He led the case of Tsarevich Alexei, tipped the cup in favor of Catherine I, when after the death of Peter the issue of inheritance was decided, opposed Elizabeth Petrovna, and then quickly entered the favor of the ruler.

When the passions of palace coups rumbled in the country, he was as unsinkable as the "shadow" of the French revolution - Joseph Fouche, who, during the bloody events in France, managed to be on the side of the monarch, the revolutionaries and Napoleon, who came to replace them.

Significantly, both "gray cardinals" met their death not on the scaffold, like most of their victims, but at home, in bed.

Hysteria of denunciations

Peter urged his subjects to report all disorder and crime. In October 1713, the tsar wrote ominous words "about the obedient to the decrees and those laid down by law and the robber of the people", for the denunciation of which the subjects "without any fear would come and announce it to us ourselves." The following year, Peter pointedly publicly invited the unknown author of an anonymous letter “about the great benefit to His Majesty and the whole state” to come to him for an award of 300 rubles - a huge amount at that time. The process that led to a real hysteria of denunciations was launched. Anna Ioannovna, following the example of her uncle, promised "mercy and reward" for a just accusation. Elizaveta Petrovna gave freedom to the serfs for the “right” denunciation of the landowners who were hiding their peasants from revision. The decree of 1739 set as an example the wife who reported on her husband, for which she got 100 souls from the confiscated estate.
Under these conditions, they denounced everything and everyone, without resorting to any evidence, based only on rumors. It became the main instrument of the work of the main office. One careless phrase at a feast, and the fate of the unfortunate was sealed. True, something cooled the ardor of adventurers. Igor Kurukin, a researcher on the issue of the "secret office," wrote: "In the event of the defendant's denial and refusal to testify, the unfortunate scammer himself could get on his hind legs or spend in captivity from several months to several years."

In the era of palace coups, when thoughts of overthrowing the government arose not only among officers, but also among persons of a "vile rank", hysteria reached its climax. People started denouncing themselves!

The “Russian Antiquity”, which published the affairs of the Secret Chancellery, describes the case of the soldier Vasily Treskin, who himself came with a confession to the Secret Chancellery, accusing himself of seditious thoughts: “it’s not a big deal to hurt the empress; and if he, Treskin, finds time to see the gracious empress, he could stab her with a sword.

Spy games

After Peter's successful policy, the Russian Empire was integrated into the system of international relations, and at the same time, the interest of foreign diplomats in the activities of the St. Petersburg court increased. Secret agents of European states began to visit the Russian Empire. Cases of espionage also fell under the jurisdiction of the Privy Office, but they did not succeed in this field. For example, under Shuvalov, the Secret Chancellery knew only about those "exiles" who were exposed on the fronts of the Seven Years' War. The most famous among them was Major General of the Russian army Count Gottlieb Kurt Heinrich Totleben, who was caught for corresponding with the enemy and giving him copies of the "secret orders" of the Russian command.

But against this background, such well-known "spies" as the French Gilbert Romm, who in 1779 handed over to his government a detailed state of the Russian army and secret maps, successfully turned their affairs in the country; or Ivan Valets, a court politician who sent information about Catherine's foreign policy to Paris.

The last pillar of Peter III

In other words, the body was accused of failure to fulfill the tasks assigned to it.

The abolition of the Secret Chancellery is often considered one of the positive outcomes of the reign of Peter III. However, this only led the emperor to his inglorious death. The temporary disorganization of the punitive department did not allow the participants in the conspiracy to be identified in advance and contributed to the spread of rumors that discredited the emperor, which now had no one to stop. As a result, on June 28, 1762, a palace coup was successfully carried out, as a result of which the emperor lost his throne, and then his life.

Special services of the Russian Empire [Unique encyclopedia] Kolpakidi Alexander Ivanovich

Biographies of the leaders of the Secret Chancellery

BUTURLIN Ivan Ivanovich (1661–1738). "Minister" of the Secret Office in 1718–1722

He belonged to one of the oldest noble families, which was descended from the "honest husband" of the legendary Ratsha, who served Alexander Nevsky. His descendant, who lived at the end of the 14th century, was called Ivan Buturlya and gave the name to this family. I.I. Buturlin began his career as a sleeping man, and then as a steward of the young Peter I. When in 1687 the young tsar establishes his amusing regiments, he appoints Buturlin as prime minister of the Preobrazhensky regiment. The latter becomes one of the most devoted assistants to the king in his struggle for power with the ruler Sophia. Together with the Preobrazhensky regiment, he participates in the Azov campaigns of Peter I. At the beginning of the Northern War with Sweden, the tsar promotes Buturlin to major general. At the head of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky Guards regiments, he was the first to approach Narva, the siege of which ended in the defeat of the Russian army by the Swedes. Although the regiments led by him fought bravely and escaped from the encirclement, the general himself was taken prisoner, in which he spent nine years.

Returning to Russia in 1710, Buturlin the following year received command of a special corps, at the head of which he defended Ukraine from the invasion of the Crimean Tatars and traitorous Cossacks, commanded Russian troops in Courland and Finland, which at that time belonged to Sweden. For successful actions against the Swedes, Peter I in May 1713 assigns Buturlin the rank of lieutenant general; July 29, 1714 takes part in the famous naval battle of Gangut.

In 1718, Lieutenant-General Buturlin, by decision of the tsar, was introduced to the number of "ministers" of the Secret Chancellery, took an active part in the interrogations and trial of Tsarevich Alexei, signed a death sentence along with other colleagues in the political investigation. At the end of this case, the tsar assigns him the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. For the next few years, he continues to participate in the work of the Secret Chancellery, but gradually withdraws from its affairs, and since 1722 his name has not been found in the documents of this state security body.

In November 1719, Peter I appoints Buturlin a member of the Military Collegium, and in this position he, along with others, signs the Regulations on the Army on February 9, 1720. In the same year, at the head of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky Guards, Ingermanland and Astrakhan infantry regiments, he went to Finland, where, under the command of M.M. Golitsyn distinguished himself in the naval battle of Grengam. In honor of the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystadt, which put an end to the Northern War, on October 22, 1721, Peter promotes Buturlin to the rank of full general. In 1722, his participation in the work of the Military Collegium ceased, but he remained the head of the same four elite regiments that he commanded during the last campaign in Finland. These four regiments, consolidated into a division, were stationed in St. Petersburg, and they were soon to play a decisive role in the history of Russia. The last major assignment entrusted to him during the life of Peter I was participation in the commission formed to try the "minister" of the Secret Chancellery G.G. Skornyakov-Pisarev in 1723

The first Russian emperor did not have time to appoint a successor during his lifetime. In the absence of his clearly expressed will, this issue was decided by Peter's associates. How this happened was superbly described by V.O. Klyuchevsky: “On January 28, 1725, when the converter was dying, having lost his language, members of the Senate gathered to discuss the issue of a successor. The government class was divided: the old nobility, headed by the princes Golitsyn, Repnin, spoke in favor of the young grandson of the reformer - Peter II. New unborn businessmen, the closest employees of the converter, members of the commission that condemned to death the father of this heir, Tsarevich Alexei, with Prince Menshikov at the head, stood for the widowed empress ... Suddenly a drumbeat sounded under the windows of the palace: it turned out that there were two guards regiment under arms, called by their commanders - Prince Menshikov and Buturlin. The President of the Military Collegium (Minister of War), Field Marshal Prince Repnin, asked with a heart: “Who dared to bring regiments without my knowledge? Am I not a field marshal?" Buturlin objected that he had called up the regiments at the behest of the empress, to whom all subjects were obliged to obey, "not excluding you," he added. It was the appearance of the guards that decided the issue in favor of the empress. Thus was laid the foundation of a tradition that operated in the history of Russia throughout the entire century.

Finding himself for a brief moment in the role of a "kingmaker", Buturlin was generously rewarded by the empress, whom he, in fact, elevated to the throne. Paying tribute to his role in this event, Catherine I instructed him to carry the crown of the Russian Empire at the funeral of her late husband, which he actually delivered to her. However, his prosperity did not last long - only until the end of the reign of the empress, when he, along with all his colleagues in the Secret Chancellery, was drawn into P.A. Tolstoy in a conspiracy against the plans of A.D. Menshikov to marry his daughter with the grandson of Peter I and elevate him to the throne. When the conspiracy was revealed, Buturlin, by the will of His Serene Highness, was deprived of all ranks and insignia and exiled "for permanent residence" to his distant estate. The fall of the Serene Highness, which soon followed, did not alleviate, but greatly worsened his situation, since the princes Dolgoruky, who gained a dominant influence on the son of Tsarevich Alexei, took away from him all the estates granted by Peter I, leaving only the hereditary estate of Krutsy in the Vladimir province, where he spent the rest of his life. Buturlin was awarded the highest Russian orders of St. Andrew the First-Called and St. Alexander Nevsky.

SKORNYAKOV-PISAREV Grigory Grigorievich (year of birth unknown - c. 1745). "Minister" of the Secret Office in 1718–1723

The Skornyakov-Pisarev family originates from the Polish native Semyon Pisar, whom the Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich granted an estate in the Kolomna district. G.G. Skornyakov-Pisarev was first mentioned in official documents from 1696 as an ordinary scorer. Apparently, he managed to attract the attention of the sovereign with his quick wit, and the next year he was sent to Italy for training, accompanying Prince I. Urusov. Being part of the Great Embassy abroad, Peter I ordered Skornyakov-Pisarev to be moved to Berlin, where he mastered the German language, and then studied mathematics, mechanics and engineering. Upon his return to Russia, the tsar entrusts him with the training of scorers in the company entrusted to him, and he has been doing this for 20 years. The young Preobrazhenets valiantly manifests himself during the siege of Narva in 1700, and Peter promotes him to ensign. When in 1704 A.D. Menshikov leaves the number of officers of the bombardment company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, then G.G. is appointed in his place. Skornyakov-Pisarev, which testifies to the great disposition towards him of both the king and his favorite. He is included in a relatively narrow circle of Peter's close associates and is one of the few "trusted" officers who correspond with the monarch.

As an officer in the army, Skornyakov-Pisarev takes part in many battles of the Northern War with Sweden, including the Battle of Poltava, which decided the fate of the war, for the skillful leadership of artillery in which he is promoted to the rank of captain-lieutenant. In the same years, Peter I, who even in the most tense moments of the war did not forget about the tasks of the economic transformation of Russia, instructed him to study the possibility of connecting the Dnieper and Dvina canals to each other and to the Lovat River. In this regard, it is worth noting that the design and construction of canals becomes the second specialty of Skornyakov-Pisarev in the Petrine era. Following this, he goes to the vicinity of Smolensk on the Kasplya River to prepare ships and organize the transportation of artillery and provisions on them for the Russian army besieging Riga. From Riga at the end of 1709, Skornyakov-Pisarev, at the head of his bombardment company, was sent to Moscow to participate in a solemn parade in honor of the Poltava Victoria, and the following year he participated in the assault on Vyborg. In the unsuccessful Prut campaign of Peter I against Turkey in 1711, Skornyakov-Pisarev commanded artillery in the tsarist division, in 1712–1713. - commanded the guards artillery in the ongoing war with the Swedes, and at the end of 1713 - the entire artillery of the Northern capital. The tsar instructs him to organize an artillery school in St. Petersburg for future navigators, which soon received the name of the Naval Academy.

With the beginning of the case of Tsarevich Alexei, Peter I creates a new body of political investigation - the Secret Chancellery. The composition of the leadership of this new structure is indicative: in addition to the diplomat Tolstoy, who lured the "beast" from abroad, it is entirely staffed by guards officers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Such a step by Peter was far from accidental - the guard he created was the institution on which he could safely rely and from where he drew leading personnel for a wide variety of assignments. The Tsar entrusts Guardsman Skornyakov-Pisarev with the most delicate part of the investigation concerning his ex-wife Evdokia Lopukhina.

In addition, the “bombardier captain” participated in the investigation and trial of Tsarevich Alexei, signing with other judges the death sentence for the son of Peter I. Skornyakov-Pisarev was among those who carried the coffin with his body out of the church. Needless to say, after the completion of such an important matter for Peter I, he, like the rest of the "ministers" of the Secret Chancellery, was showered with royal favors. On December 9, 1718, Skornyakov-Pisarev was awarded the rank of colonel and two hundred peasant households “for faithful work in the former secret investigation case”. At the end of the case of Tsarevich Alexei Skornyakov-Pisarev remains to serve in the Secret Chancellery.

Along with the service in the department of political investigation, the tsar assigns a number of new assignments to the colonel who justified his trust. In December 1718, Skornyakov-Pisarev was charged with supervising the construction of the Ladoga Canal, in January 1719 he was appointed director of the St. rivers "everywhere it was possible to drive ships with horses to the pier", etc. Finally, in November of the same 1719, the Pskov, Yaroslavl and Novgorod schools at the bishops' houses were entrusted to his care, together with the Moscow and Novgorod schools of navigators. However, this time the former scorer did not justify the royal hopes. A stern and cruel man, perfectly suited to work in a dungeon, he was unable to establish a learning process.

The construction of the Ladoga Canal, which was entrusted to him, progressed extremely slowly, which in four years of work by 1723 had been laid only 12 versts. Peter I personally examined the work done and, following the results of the audit, removed Skornyakov-Pisarev from the construction management. A little earlier between Skornyakov-Pisarev and Vice-Chancellor Shafirov there was a scandalous showdown in the Senate, which caused the strongest anger of Peter I against both participants in the quarrel. However, thanks to the intercession of His Serene Highness Prince A.D. Menshikov, for his former subordinate in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, he suffered a relatively light punishment in the form of a demotion. In parallel with this, he was removed from work in the Secret Office. The disgrace did not last long, and in May 1724 Skornyakov-Pisarev was forgiven by a special decree, but Peter I never forgot the misdeeds of his former favorite. Nevertheless, when the first Russian emperor died, during his funeral, Colonel Skornyakov-Pisarev, along with other closest associates of the late monarch, carried his coffin.

When Menshikov's influence on Catherine I becomes decisive, the star of his former subordinate went up, and at the insistence of his Serene Highness, he received the rank of major general. However, in 1727, Skornyakov-Pisarev allowed himself to be drawn into a conspiracy by Tolstoy and, under his influence, advocated the transfer of the throne of the Russian Empire to Elizabeth Petrovna and opposed the marriage of Menshikov's daughter to Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich (future Emperor Peter II). The conspiracy was very quickly revealed, and the brightest did not forgive his former protégé for black ingratitude. Skornyakov-Pisarev was punished more severely than most other conspirators: in addition to deprivation of honor, ranks and estates, he was beaten with a whip and exiled to the Zhigansk winter hut, from where it was as much as 800 miles to the nearest city of Yakutsk. However, he had to stay in Yakut exile for a relatively short time. As you know, during the reign of Catherine I, the 1st Kamchatka expedition of Bering was equipped. Upon returning from the expedition, the navigator submitted a report to the government, where, in particular, he proposed to establish an Okhotsk administration and build a port at the mouth of the Okhota River. This proposal was approved, and since the Far Eastern outskirts of the empire experienced an acute shortage of educated leaders, Bering pointed to Skornyakov-Pisarev, who was sitting in the Zhigansk winter hut "without any benefit" for the government, as a person who could be entrusted with this task. Since Peter II had already died by this time and Anna Ioannovna had ascended the throne, this idea did not raise objections, and on May 10, 1731, a decree was issued appointing the exiled Skornyakov-Pisarev as commander in Okhotsk. Russia confidently began to develop the coast of the Pacific Ocean, and the former Peter the Great bombardier, who had been in charge of the port on the Sea of Okhotsk for 10 years, made his own contribution to this process.

The position of the former "minister" of the Secret Chancellery changes dramatically with the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna. She did not forget her longtime supporters who suffered in an attempt to get her the crown. December 1, 1741 signs a decree on the release of Skornyakov-Pisarev from exile. Communication with the Far East in that era was carried out extremely slowly, and the decree reached Okhotsk only on June 26, 1742.

Upon returning to the capital, Skornyakov-Pisarev received the rank of major general, all his orders and estates. The last news about him dates back to 1745, and, obviously, he died soon after.

TOLSTOY Peter Andreevich (1645–1729). "Minister" of the Privy Office in 1718–1726

This famous noble family originates from the “honest husband” Indros, who left in 1353 for Chernigov “from the German land” with two sons and a retinue. Having been baptized in Rus', he receives the name Leonty. His great-grandson Andrei Kharitonovich moved from Chernigov to Moscow under Grand Duke Vasily II (according to other sources - under Ivan III) and received from the new overlord the nickname Tolstoy, which became the surname of his descendants. The beginning of the rise of this kind falls on the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. The father of Peter Andreevich, the boyar Andrei Vasilyevich Tolstoy, who died in 1690, was married to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, the sister of the first wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Born in the year of the accession of Alexei Mikhailovich and in 1676 received the rank of stolnik “by patronymic”, Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, together with his patron Ivan Miloslavsky, actively prepared the Streltsy rebellion of 1682, which took away power from the young Peter and transferred it to Princess Sophia. In the May days of 1682, Tolstoy personally gave the signal for the start of the Streltsy revolt, riding along with Miloslavsky's nephew through Streltsy Sloboda, shouting loudly that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich. Personally for himself, Tolstoy did not receive anything from the coup, and after the death of the all-powerful under the ruler Miloslavsky in 1685, he moved away from Sophia's supporters. By this, without suspecting it, he is protected from the consequences of the fall of the regent four years later.

Although the future head of the Secret Chancellery was not injured, during the next coup in 1698, which gave young Peter full power, he had practically no chance of making a career under the new sovereign. Not only did he belong to the "seed of Miloslavskys" so hated by Peter, but with his lies in 1682 he laid the foundation for the uprising of the archers, which inflicted indelible mental trauma on little Peter. This the king never forgot to him.

With such an attitude of the monarch, it would be simply impossible for any other person to make a career in his reign - but not for the smart and dodgy Tolstoy. Through his relative Apraksin, he becomes close to the supporters of Peter I and in 1693 seeks the appointment of a governor in Veliky Ustyug.

Meanwhile, Peter, having won access to the Black Sea for Russia, is actively beginning to build a fleet. In November 1696, by his decree, he sent 61 stolniks abroad to study the art of navigation, i.e. be able to "own the ship both in battle and in a simple procession." The vast majority of future masters of navigation were sent to the West by force, because for disobedience, the royal decree threatened to deprive them of all rights, lands and property. In contrast to them, the 52-year-old Tolstoy, much older than other students in age, realizing that only an expression of desire to study the maritime business so beloved by Peter could lead to royal mercy in the future, on February 28, 1697, together with 38 stewards, he went to study in Venice (the rest went to England). He studies mathematics and seamanship, even sailed the Adriatic Sea for several months. Although Tolstoy did not become a real sailor, his close acquaintance with foreign life made him a Westerner and a staunch supporter of the Petrine reforms. In this regard, the journey undertaken, which significantly expanded his horizons, was not in vain. During his stay in the country, he learned Italian quite well. Along the way, he, the ancestor of the great writer Leo Tolstoy, discovers a remarkable literary talent, and he compiles a diary of his travels in Italy, translates Ovid's Metamorphoses into Russian, and subsequently creates an extensive description of Turkey.

However, one acquaintance with the Western way of life was not enough to earn the mercy of the tsar, who did not like him, and upon returning to Russia, he is out of work. The situation changed dramatically when, in April 1702, the already middle-aged Tolstoy was appointed the first permanent Russian ambassador to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. At that moment it was the most difficult and responsible post of the entire Russian diplomatic service. Having entered into a dangerous and protracted war with Sweden in 1700 for the sake of access to the Baltic Sea, Peter I vitally needed a stable peace on the southern borders of Russia, since the country could not withstand a war on two fronts. To prevent Turkey's attack on Rus' was sent by Tolstoy, whose "very sharp" mind and obvious ability to intrigue were forced to recognize even his enemies.

Despite the fact that the Russian embassy in Constantinople was placed in extremely unfavorable conditions, Tolstoy managed to achieve success in fulfilling the mission entrusted to him. When bribes and flattering speeches did not help, the Russian diplomat had to resort to intrigues, in which he was quite dexterous. To everything was added the intrigues of French diplomacy, the most influential of the European countries in Constantinople, which, proceeding from the interests of its state, actively encouraged Turkey to attack Russia. The colossal efforts of the ambassador were not in vain - at the moment of the decisive battle with the Swedish king Charles XII in 1709, Peter's hands were untied, and he could, without fear of a strike from the south, concentrate all his forces against the main enemy.

The crushing defeat of the Swedish army near Poltava caused an explosion of rage among the Turks, who hoped for the defeat of Peter and the easy capture of Azov and southern Ukraine. Those who fled to the possessions of Sultan Charles XII and the traitor Mazepa were met with unprecedented honor, and troops were immediately moved to the Russian borders. Ambassador Tolstoy reported to the Chancellor, Count G.I. Golovkin from the Turkish capital: “Do not be surprised that before, when the Swedish king was in great power, I reported on the peacefulness of Porta, and now, when the Swedes are defeated, I doubt it! The reason for my doubt is this: the Turks see that the royal majesty is now the winner of the strong people of Sweden and wants to soon arrange everything at will in Poland, and then, having no longer any obstacle, can start a war with us, the Turks. So they think...” However, Tolstoy once again coped with his task, and already in January 1710, Sultan Ahmed III gave him an audience and solemnly presented the instrument of ratification confirming the Treaty of Constantinople of 1700.

But the Swedish king, who was in Turkey, did not think to give up. Having taken the gold exported by Mazepa, made large loans in Holstein, in the English Levantine Company and borrowed half a million thalers from the Turks, Charles XII managed to outbid the Turkish officials. Despite all the attempts of Peter I and his ambassador to keep the peace, the Great Divan speaks in favor of breaking off relations with Russia, and on November 20, 1710, the Turkish Empire officially declares war. The Ottomans supplemented their decision on the war with an act, to which the wilder barbarian tribes did not stoop - the arrest and imprisonment of the ambassador. In the famous Pikul prison, or, as it was also called, the Seven-Tower Castle, he spent almost a year and a half until the conclusion of peace.

This war itself was unsuccessful for Russia. The small Russian army led by Peter I was surrounded on the Prut by superior forces of Turkish troops. On July 12, 1712, the tsar was forced to sign the extremely disadvantageous Prut peace treaty. However, peace did not come. Referring to the fact that Peter I did not fulfill all his terms of the peace treaty, on October 31, 1712, the Sultan declared war on Russia for the second time. Tolstoy is again arrested and thrown into the Seven-Tower Castle, however, this time not alone, but in the company of Vice-Chancellor P.P. Shafirov and Mikhail Sheremetev, son of Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev, sent by the tsar to Turkey as hostages under the terms of the Prut Treaty. The Sultan, seeing that this time Russia was thoroughly preparing for a war in the south, did not dare to go into an armed conflict and in March 1713 resumed peace negotiations. To conduct them, Russian diplomats are released from the Constantinople prison. The Turkish government makes ultimatum demands: Russia must actually abandon Ukraine and settle there the fugitive followers of Mazepa, as well as resume paying tribute to the Crimean Khan. Russian ambassadors reject these humiliating demands. Their situation is extremely complicated by the fact that Chancellor Golovkin left the Russian diplomats in Turkey at this crucial moment without any instructions. Shafirov and Tolstoy were forced to conduct difficult negotiations on their own, at their own peril and risk, rejecting or accepting the conditions of the Turkish side. Nevertheless, a new peace treaty "due to many difficulties and truly mortal fear" was finally concluded on June 13, 1712, and Peter, having familiarized himself with its terms, approved the result of the hard work of his diplomats. The difficult 12-year service to the Fatherland in the Turkish capital ended for Tolstoy, and he was finally able to return to his homeland.

His rich diplomatic experience was immediately in demand, and upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Tolstoy was appointed a member of the Foreign Affairs Council. He takes an active part in the development of Russia's foreign policy, in 1715 he was awarded the rank of Privy Councilor and is now called the "Minister of the Secret Foreign Affairs Collegium." In July of the same year, he negotiates with Denmark on the occupation of the island of Rügen by Russian troops, which is necessary for the speedy end of the Northern War. In 1716–1717 accompanies Peter I on his new trip to Europe. In the course of it, in 1716, Tolstoy participates in difficult negotiations with the Polish King Augustus: together with the Russian ambassador B. Kurakin, the Privy Councilor conducts difficult negotiations with the English King George I, and in 1717, together with Peter, visits Paris and tries to establish friendly relations with the French government. There, abroad, in Spa on June 1, 1717, the tsar entrusts Tolstoy with the most difficult and responsible mission at that moment - to return to Russia his son, who had fled to the possession of the Austrian emperor. The legitimate heir to the throne could become a trump card in the hands of forces hostile to Russia, which could thus receive a plausible pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of the country. The impending danger had to be eliminated at all costs. The fact that such a delicate task was entrusted by Peter to Tolstoy testifies to the king's high appreciation of his diplomatic dexterity and intelligence. After Russian intelligence established the exact location of the prince, carefully hidden from prying eyes, on July 29, 1717, Tolstoy handed the Austrian emperor a letter from Peter I, which said that his son was currently in Naples, and on behalf of his sovereign demanded the extradition of the fugitive. The ambassador subtly hinted that an angry father with an army might appear in Italy, and at a meeting of the Austrian Privy Council he threatened that the Russian army stationed in Poland might move into the Czech Republic, which belonged to the Austrian Empire. The pressure exerted by Tolstoy was not in vain - the Russian ambassador was allowed to meet with Alexei and agreed to let him go if he voluntarily goes to his father.

The sudden appearance of Tolstoy and Alexander Rumyantsev, who accompanied him, in Naples, where the prince considered himself completely safe, struck Alexei like a lightning bolt. The ambassador handed him a letter from Peter I, full of bitter reproaches: “My son! What did you do? He left and gave himself up, like a traitor, under someone else's patronage, which is unheard of ... What an insult and annoyance to his father and shame to his Fatherland! Then Peter demanded that his son return, promising him his full forgiveness. For Tolstoy, the days of regular visits to the fugitive stretched out, in long conversations with whom he, deftly interspersing exhortations and threats, convinced Alexei of the complete senselessness of further resistance to his father's will, and strongly advised him to obey Peter and rely on his mercy, assuring him with oath of his father's forgiveness. It is unlikely that the shrewd Tolstoy harbored any illusions about the royal favor, and he, thus, deliberately lured Alexei to Russia for certain death.

Having finally persuaded Alexei to return to his father, Tolstoy immediately notifies the sovereign of his success. At the same time, he writes an informal letter to Catherine, begging her to help in obtaining an award. On October 14, 1717, the prince, together with Tolstoy, leaves Naples and, after three and a half months of travel, arrives in Moscow. January 31, 1718 Tolstoy hands it over to his father.

Having promised to forgive his son, Peter I did not think to keep his word. To search for the case of Tsarevich Alexei, an emergency investigative body is created - the Secret Office, at the head of which the tsar puts Tolstoy, who demonstrated his skill and loyalty. Already on February 4, Peter I dictated to him "points" for the first interrogation of his son. Under the direct supervision of the tsar and in cooperation with other "ministers" of the Secret Chancellery, Tolstoy quickly and exhaustively conducts an investigation, not stopping even at the torture of the former heir to the throne. Thanks to his participation in the case of Alexei, the former adherent of the Miloslavskys finally achieved the royal favors that he had so long and passionately longed for, and entered the inner circle of Peter's associates. The reward for the life of the prince was the rank of real state councilor and the order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

The Secret Chancellery was originally created by Peter as a temporary institution, but the king's need to have an organ of political investigation at hand made it permanent. They barely had time to bury the executed Alexei, when on August 8, 1718, the tsar wrote to Tolstoy from the ship at Cape Gangut: “My lord! Ponezhe appeared in the theft of stores below named, for that sake, having found them, take them on guard. The investigation on the list of alleged thieves contained further in the letter resulted in the high-profile Revel Admiralty case, which ended with harsh sentences for the perpetrators. Although all the "ministers" of the Secret Chancellery were formally equal among themselves, Tolstoy played a clearly leading role among them. The other three colleagues, as a rule, brought their opinions to him on certain matters and, recognizing his unspoken superiority, asked if not direct approval of their own actions, then, in any case, the consent of the cunning diplomat. Nevertheless, in the depths of his soul, Tolstoy, apparently, was weighed down by the investigative and executioner duties assigned to him. Not daring to directly refuse this position, in 1724 he persuaded the tsar to order not to send new cases to the Secret Chancellery, but to hand over the existing cases to the Senate. However, under Peter, this attempt to throw off this disgusting “burden” from his shoulders failed, and Tolstoy was able to carry out his plan only during the reign of Catherine I. Using his increased influence, in May 1726 he convinced the empress to abolish this body of political investigation.

As for the other aspects of Tolstoy's activities, on December 15, 1717, the tsar appointed him president of the College of Commerce. Taking into account how great importance Peter attached to the development of trade, this was another evidence of the royal confidence and another reward for the return of the prince from abroad. He leads this department until 1721. The “smartest head” does not leave the diplomatic field either. When at the beginning of 1719 the tsar became aware that an intensive process of rapprochement was taking place between Prussia and England, hostile to Russia, which should be crowned with an official agreement, Peter I sent P.A. Tolstoy. However, this time the efforts were unsuccessful, and the Anglo-Prussian treaty was concluded. This private failure did not affect the attitude of Peter I towards him, and in 1721 Tolstoy accompanied the tsar on his trip to Riga, and the next year on the Persian campaign. During this last war of Peter I, he was the head of the field diplomatic office, through which in 1722 all reports of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs passed. At the end of the campaign, Tolstoy remained in Astrakhan for some time to negotiate with Persia and Turkey, and in May 1723 he went to Moscow to prepare the official coronation ceremony of Catherine I.

During this solemn procedure, which took place on May 7, 1724, the old diplomat acted as high marshal, and for the successful conduct of the coronation he was granted the title of count.

When the emperor dies in January of the following year without having time to name a successor, P.A. Tolstoy together with A.D. Menshikov vigorously promotes the transfer of power to Catherine I. Tolstoy perfectly understood that if the throne passes to Peter II, the son of Tsarevich Alexei, who was killed by him, then his head has every chance to fly off his shoulders. At the beginning of the reign of the empress, the count enjoyed great influence, and it is he who is credited with the idea of forming the Supreme Privy Council, created by the decree of Catherine I of February 8, 1726. This body consisted of representatives of the new and old nobility and actually decided all the most important state affairs. Tolstoy was a member along with six other members. However, at the end of the reign of Catherine I, Menshikov received the predominant influence on her. As a result, the political weight of the former diplomat decreases sharply, and he almost never comes with reports to the empress. Realizing that the empress would soon die and the throne would inevitably go to Peter II, Menshikov, in order to ensure his future, decided to marry the heir to his daughter and obtained Catherine I's consent to this marriage. However, Tolstoy rebelled against this plan, seeing in the son of Tsarevich Alexei a mortal threat to himself. He almost upset this marriage, and as heir to the throne, he shrewdly nominated Tsarina Elizabeth, daughter of Peter I. Tolstoy was a complete failure. The defeat of the old diplomat was largely predetermined by the fact that practically none of the influential people supported him and he had to fight the all-powerful enemy almost alone.

In search of allies, Tolstoy turned to his colleagues in the Secret Chancellery, who also had no reason to expect good things from the accession to the throne of Peter II, and to Chief of Police Count Devier. However, Menshikov became aware of these negotiations, and he ordered the arrest of Devier. During interrogation, he quickly confessed to everything, and according to his testimony, all the former "ministers" of the Secret Chancellery were immediately captured. Deprived of honor, rank, villages, and the title of count (this title was returned to his grandchildren in 1760), Tolstoy and his son Ivan were exiled to the harsh northern prison of the Solovetsky Monastery. Ivan was the first who could not endure the hardships of imprisonment, and a few months later his father, who died on January 30, 1729 at the age of 84, died.

USHAKOV Andrei Ivanovich (1670–1747). "Minister" of the Secret Office in 1718-1726, head of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz in 1726-1727, head of the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs in 1731-1746.

Descended from the nobility of the Novgorod province, together with his brothers, he owned the only serf. He lived in poverty for up to 30 years, until, together with other noble undergrowths, in 1700 (according to other sources, in 1704) he appeared at the royal review in Novgorod. A powerful recruit is recorded in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, and there, with zeal and quickness, he attracts the attention of the sovereign. The recent undergrowth quickly enough moves up the ranks and in 1714 becomes a major, always signing since then: “From the guard, Major Andrey Ushakov.”

The turning point in his life was his participation in the investigation of the Bulavin uprising of 1707–1708. The cruelty with which Ushakov dealt with its participants and at the same time still managed to recruit horses for the regular army pleased the tsar. Gradually, he enters a relatively close circle of the guards elite, whom Peter I entrusted with responsible assignments as his most reliable and experienced servants. In July 1712, being the tsar's adjutant, he was sent to Poland for secret supervision of the Russian officers who were there. The detective talent of his adjutant Peter I decided to use it for its intended purpose. In 1713, the tsar sent Ushakov to the old capital to check denunciations against the Moscow merchants, recruit merchant children to study abroad, and search for runaway peasants. In 1714, by personal royal decree, he was appointed to investigate the causes of the fire at the Moscow Cannon Yard. Simultaneously with this public order, Peter instructs him to secretly investigate a number of important cases in Moscow: about thefts under contracts, extortion in the military office, Moscow town hall affairs, about hiding peasant households and hiding from service. To conduct such a diverse search, Ushakov, by royal command, creates his own special "major's office". Concerning the relationship of the king with his faithful servant, the famous historian of the XIX century. D.N. Bantysh-Kamensky noted: “Peter the Great always gave him an advantage over other guards officers for his excellent unselfishness, impartiality and loyalty, and usually used to say about him that “if he had many such officers, he could call himself completely happy.” Indeed, many of Peter's companions could boast of devotion and courage, but the absence of greed was a rarity among them. Ushakov is engaged in the revision of the judicial places of the Moscow province, in 1717 he travels to the new capital to recruit sailors and supervise the construction of ships. Until the death of Peter I, he oversees the proper execution of the tsar's favorite work - the construction of ships in St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod.

In 1718, the case of Tsarevich Alexei, returned to Russia, was opened, and the tsar included the faithful and quick-witted major among the "ministers" of the Secret Chancellery, where he immediately became P.A.'s closest assistant. Tolstoy. Actively participating in the investigation, Ushakov, on the orders of Peter I, creates in the old capital a branch of the new department of political investigation, located in the Poteshny Dvor in Preobrazhensky. Like other participants in the search for this extremely important matter for the sovereign, he receives generous royal awards. In 1721, he was promoted to the rank of Major General, leaving the Major of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Experiencing an obvious penchant for political investigation, Ushakov remains in the Secret Chancellery and works hard in it until it is liquidated (at the same time he is a member of the Admiralty College). The actual head of the Chancellery, P.A. Tolstoy was weary of the position imposed on him by Peter I and willingly shouldered all the current work on the shoulders of his diligent assistant. Having ascended the throne after the death of Peter I, Catherine I favored the faithful servant of her late husband, one of the first to honor him with the title of Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, newly established by her, and appointed him a senator.

After the abolition of the Secret Chancellery in 1726, Ushakov did not leave his usual path and transferred to the Preobrazhensky Prikaz. He becomes the actual head of this department under the seriously ill official head I.F. Romodanovsky. Instead, he makes a search, reports the most important cases to the Empress and the Supreme Privy Council. Ushakov had a short time to lead the Preobrazhensky Prikaz. Together with other colleagues in the Secret Office, he was drawn into P.A. Tolstoy into an intrigue against A.D. Menshikov, in May 1727 he was arrested and charged with the fact that, "knowing about the malicious intent, he did not inform about it." True, unlike others, he got off lightly - he was not exiled with the deprivation of all rights and ranks to Solovki or Siberia, but was sent to Revel with the rank of lieutenant general.

Involvement, albeit indirect, in an attempt to prevent Peter's accession to the throne, made it impossible for Ushakov to have a successful career under the new monarch, but his reign was short-lived, and under Empress Anna Ioannovna his star shone especially brightly.

When in 1730 political fermentation took place among the metropolitan elite and various groups of aristocracy and nobility drew up various projects for limiting the monarchy, which was for a brief moment enshrined in the conditions of the Supreme Privy Council signed by Anna Ioannovna when she was elected to the kingdom, Ushakov kept in the background and did not shy away from participating only in those projects that called for the restoration of autocracy in full. When the new empress tore up the terms she had signed, the loyalty of the former "minister" of the Privy Chancellery was noticed and appreciated. In March 1730, the rank of senator was returned to him, in April he was promoted to the rank of general-in-chief, in 1733 - lieutenant colonel of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment. But the main thing was that real power in the sphere of political investigation was again returned to his hands. Having strengthened herself on the throne, Anna Ioannovna hastened to liquidate the Supreme Privy Council, and withdrew political affairs from the jurisdiction of the Senate and transferred them to the newly created special body, headed by Ushakov, returned to the court - the empress could not have found a better candidate for this responsible role. On April 6, 1731, the new department was given the name "Chancery of Secret Investigative Affairs", and according to its legal status it was officially equated to colleges. However, due to the fact that Ushakov received the right of a personal report to the empress, the structure he headed was beyond the influence of the Senate, to which the colleges were subordinate, and acted under the direct supervision of Anna Ioannovna and her inner circle, primarily the infamous favorite of Biron. The empress directed her first blow against those members of the Supreme Privy Council who almost deprived her of the fullness of autocratic power. V.L. was the first to suffer. Dolgoruky, exiled to the Solovetsky Monastery in 1730, and executed in 1739. In 1731, it was the turn of his relative, Field Marshal V.V. Dolgoruky, accused of disapproving of the new empress in a home conversation. The search was conducted by Ushakov, and on the basis of the materials he fabricated to please Anna Ioannovna, for real or imaginary words addressed to the empress, the dangerous field marshal was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress, in 1737 he was exiled to Ivangorod, and two years later he was imprisoned in the Solovetsky Monastery.

MM. Golitsyn fell into disgrace immediately after the accession of Anna Ioannovna, but he was “lucky” to die a natural death in 1730. His brother D.M. Golitsyn, the true “ideologist and organizer” of the conspiracy of the “Verkhovnikovs”, was accused of official abuse and brought to trial in 1736. Formally, for “abuse”, but in fact for an attempt to limit the autocracy, the old prince was sentenced to death, replaced by imprisonment in the Shlisselburg fortress, where he soon died.

Princes Dolgoruky Ushakov was judged jointly with other proxies of Anna Ioannovna, among whom was the Cabinet Minister of the Empress A.P. Volynsky. But in 1740, the head of the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs was already torturing his recent colleague in charge of this process, who had tried to put an end to German dominance at court. Drafts of documents confiscated from Volynsky during the search testified to a plan to limit autocratic power, and his associates, under torture, "testified" the desire of the cabinet minister to usurp the Russian throne - the last accusation, apparently, was suggested to Ushakov by Biron.

Sincerely devoted to his torture craft, Ushakov did his job not out of fear, but in good conscience. Even in his free time from the presence in the Chancellery, he never for a moment forgot about his duties. Such a reputation was entrenched behind the terrible leader of the dungeon that his name alone made everyone tremble, moreover, not only Russian subjects, but also foreign ambassadors who enjoyed diplomatic immunity. “He, Chetardius,” reported members of the commission for the expulsion of a French diplomat from Russia in 1744, “as soon as he saw General Ushakov, his face changed.”

Anna Ioannovna died in 1740, having bequeathed the Russian throne to the infant Ivan Antonovich, she appointed her favorite Biron as regent under him. In the succession of coups d'état that followed, Ushakov demonstrated miracles of political survival. At first, out of old memory, he supports Biron. But a month later, Field Marshal Munnich easily overthrows the hated temporary worker and proclaims Anna Leopoldovna, the mother of John Antonovich, Princess of Brunswick, regent. In order to give the military coup an appearance of at least some kind of legality, the winner orders Ushakov to obtain the necessary information about Biron's conspiracy. The dungeons of the Office of Secret Investigation Affairs were filled with Courlanders, the main of which were the former favorite himself and his cousin, who was attached by his all-powerful relative to the captains of the Preobrazhensky regiment. They were charged with the intention to poison Ivan Antonovich, blame Anna Leopoldovna for his death, and proclaim Biron the Russian Emperor. As a result, the case ended with the fact that the latter was sentenced to death, replaced by exile in Pelym, and the irrepressible zeal of the members of the Office of Secret Investigation Affairs to present an imaginary conspiracy as large as possible and accuse as many people as possible of participating in it was stopped by Minich himself, who scolded investigators and ordered them to "stop the idiotic occupation, from which unrest is sown throughout the Russian state." Nevertheless, the regent awarded A.I. Ushakov with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

Courland dominance at the Russian court was replaced by Brunswick, once again creating a breeding ground for discontent. But everything comes to an end: on November 25, 1741, the guards made a coup and elevated Elizaveta Petrovna to the throne. The young emperor John Antonovich, together with his parents and playing the main role at the court of Anna Leopoldovna Minikh and Osterman, was arrested. When Peter's daughter was not yet in power, Ushakov refused to join the party that supported her, but after the coup was carried out in her favor, he managed to maintain both his post and his influential position at court. While many prominent representatives of the former elite were exiled or deprived of their former places, the head of the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs finds himself in the renewed composition of the Senate. Shortly before that, at the will of Minich Biron, who allegedly wanted to exterminate John Antonovich, he was interrogating a new case - “On the intrigues of the former Field Marshal von Minich on the health of Prince John Antonovich, Duke of Brunswick”, leading along the way and one more thing - “On the intrigues of the former chancellor Count Osterman. Both leaders of the previous coup were declared enemies of the Fatherland and in turn sent into exile. Along with major political figures, the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs had to deal with some of the winners, who were intoxicated by a series of military coups and felt their permissiveness. So, drunk 19-year-old sergeant of the Nevsky Regiment A. Yaroslavtsev, "walking with a friend and a lady of easy virtue", did not want to give way to the carriage of Empress Elizabeth herself in the center of St. Petersburg. The halo of greatness and inviolability of the bearer of supreme power in the eyes of a part of the military was already very blurred, and to the reproaches and exhortations of the retinue, the sergeant answered: “What a great curiosity that we chose the general or riders. And the empress herself is the same person as I am, only she has the advantage that she reigns.

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On March 6, 1762, Peter III abolished the Secret Office - the first secret service in Russian history. It was called the "Russian Inquisition", even those who refused to drink to the health of the monarch fell under its jurisdiction.

On my own blood

In January 1718, Tsar Peter I was waiting for the return of the prodigal son Alexei, who had fled to Austrian possessions. Departing from Naples to St. Petersburg, Alexey thanked his father for the promised "forgiveness". But the sovereign could not endanger his empire, even for the sake of the well-being of his own son. Even before the return of the prince to Russia, the Secret Office of Investigative Affairs was created specifically for the case of Alexei, which was supposed to conduct an inquiry about his "treason".
After the completion of the case of Alexei, which led to the death of the heir, the Secret Chancellery, unlike the "major's offices", was not liquidated, but became one of the most important state bodies subordinated personally to the monarch. On November 25, 1718, Cabinet Secretary Aleksey Makarov informed Tolstoy and General I. I. Buturlin: “His Majesty deigned to determine one day in the week for hearing the search cases of your office, namely Monday, and for that, please be aware of that” . Peter often personally attended the meetings of the Chancellery and was even present during the torture.

If during the interrogation it seemed to the investigators that the suspect was “locked up”, then the conversation was followed by torture. This effective method was resorted to in St. Petersburg no less than in the cellars of the European Inquisition.
There was a rule in the office - "confessing - torture three times." This implied the need for a triple confession of guilt by the accused. In order for the testimony to be recognized as reliable, they had to be repeated at different times at least three times without changes. Prior to Elizabeth's decree of 1742, torture began without the presence of an investigator, that is, even before the start of questioning in the torture chamber. The executioner had time to “find” a common language with the victim. His actions, of course, no one is controlled.
Elizaveta Petrovna, like her father, constantly kept the affairs of the Secret Chancellery under full control. Thanks to a report given to her in 1755, we learn that the favorite methods of torture were: rack, vice, squeezing the head and pouring cold water (the most severe of the tortures).

Inquisition "in Russian"

The secret office performed, among other things, functions similar to those of the European Inquisition. Catherine II in her memoirs even compared these two bodies of “justice”: “Alexander Shuvalov, not by himself, but by the position he held, was a thunderstorm for the entire court, city and entire empire, he was the head of the inquisition court, which was then called the Secret Chancellery ".
These were not just nice words. Back in 1711, Peter I created a state corporation of informers - the institute of fiscals (one or two people in each city). Church authorities were controlled by spiritual fiscals, who were called "inquisitors". Subsequently, this undertaking formed the basis of the Secret Chancellery. It did not turn into a witch hunt, but religious crimes are mentioned in the files. In the conditions of Russia, just awakening from a medieval sleep, there were punishments for making a deal with the devil, especially with the aim of harming the sovereign. Among the latest cases of the Secret Chancellery is the trial of a merchant who declared the already deceased Peter the Great to be the Antichrist, and threatened Elizaveta Petrovna with a fire. The impudent foul-mouthed was from among the Old Believers. He got off lightly - he was flogged with a whip.

Eminence grise

General Andrei Ivanovich Ushakov became a real "gray eminence" of the Secret Chancellery. “He managed the Secret Chancellery under five monarchs,” notes the historian Yevgeny Anisimov, “and he knew how to negotiate with everyone! First he tortured Volynsky, and then Biron. Ushakov was a professional, he didn't care who he tortured." He came from among the impoverished Novgorod nobles and knew what "struggle for a piece of bread" means. He led the case of Tsarevich Alexei, tipped the cup in favor of Catherine I, when after the death of Peter the issue of inheritance was decided, opposed Elizabeth Petrovna, and then quickly entered the favor of the ruler. When the passions of palace coups thundered in the country, he was as unsinkable as the “shadow” of the French revolution - Joseph Fouche, who during the bloody events in France managed to be on the side of the monarch, the revolutionaries and Napoleon who came to replace them. Significantly, both "gray cardinals" met their death not on the scaffold, like most of their victims, but at home, in bed.

Hysteria of denunciations

Peter urged his subjects to report all disorder and crime. In October 1713, the tsar wrote ominous words "about the obedient to the decrees and those laid down by law and the robber of the people", for the denunciation of which the subjects "without any fear would come and announce it to us ourselves." The following year, Peter publicly invited the unknown author of an anonymous letter “about the great benefit to His Majesty and the whole state” to come to him for a reward of 300 rubles - a huge sum at that time. The process that led to a real hysteria of denunciations was launched. Anna Ioannovna, following the example of her uncle, promised "mercy and reward" for a just accusation. Elizaveta Petrovna gave freedom to the serfs for the “right” denunciation of the landowners who were hiding their peasants from revision. The decree of 1739 set as an example the wife who reported on her husband, for which she got 100 souls from the confiscated estate.
Under these conditions, they denounced everything and everyone, without resorting to any evidence, based only on rumors. It became the main instrument of the work of the main office. One careless phrase at a feast, and the fate of the unfortunate was sealed. True, something cooled the ardor of adventurers. Igor Kurukin, a researcher on the issue of the "secret office," wrote: "In the event of the defendant's denial and refusal to testify, the unfortunate scammer himself could get on his hind legs or spend in captivity from several months to several years."
In the era of palace coups, when thoughts of overthrowing the government arose not only among officers, but also among persons of a "vile rank", hysteria reached its climax. People started denouncing themselves! The “Russian Antiquity”, which published the affairs of the Secret Chancellery, describes the case of the soldier Vasily Treskin, who himself came with a confession to the Secret Chancellery, accusing himself of seditious thoughts: “it’s not a big deal to hurt the empress; and if he, Treskin, finds time to see the gracious empress, he could stab her with a sword.

Spy games

After Peter's successful policy, the Russian Empire was integrated into the system of international relations, and at the same time, the interest of foreign diplomats in the activities of the St. Petersburg court increased. Secret agents of European states began to visit the Russian Empire. Cases of espionage also fell under the jurisdiction of the Privy Office, but they did not succeed in this field. For example, under Shuvalov, the Secret Chancellery knew only about those "exiles" who were exposed on the fronts of the Seven Years' War. The most famous among them was Major General of the Russian army, Count Gottlieb Kurt Heinrich Totleben, who was convicted of corresponding with the enemy and giving him copies of the "secret warrants" of the Russian command. But against this background, such well-known "spies" as the French Gilbert Romm, who in 1779 handed over to his government a detailed state of the Russian army and secret maps, successfully turned their affairs in the country; or Ivan Valets, a court politician who sent information about Catherine's foreign policy to Paris.

The last pillar of Peter III

Upon accession to the throne, Peter III wanted to reform the Secret Chancellery. Unlike all his predecessors, he did not interfere in the affairs of the body. Obviously, his dislike for the institution played a role, in connection with the cases of Prussian informers during the Seven Years' War, to whose ranks he belonged. The result of its reform was the abolition of the Secret Chancellery by the manifesto of March 6, 1762, due to "uncorrected morals among the people." In other words, the body was accused of not solving the tasks assigned to it.
The abolition of the Secret Chancellery is often considered one of the positive outcomes of Peter's reign. However, this careless move led the emperor only to his inglorious death. The temporary disorganization of the punitive department did not allow the participants in the conspiracy to be identified in advance and contributed to the spread of rumors that discredited the emperor, which now had no one to stop. As a result, on June 28, 1762, a palace coup was successfully carried out, as a result of which the emperor lost his throne, and then his life.

The answers to tasks 1-19 are a number, or a sequence of numbers, or a word (phrase). Write your answers in the answer boxes to the right of the task number without spaces, commas or other additional characters.

Arrange historical events in chronological order. Write down the numbers that represent historical events in the correct sequence.

1. formation of the Supreme Privy Council

2. Liquidation of the Secret Chancellery

3. Formation of Austria-Hungary

Establish a correspondence between events and years: for each position of the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column

Below is a list of terms. All of them, with the exception of one, belong to the 19th century.

1. ministries; 2. populists; 3. statutory letters; 4. mediators; 5. state farms; 6. Westerners

Give the name of the process of urban growth and the proportion of the urban population, as well as the increasing role of cities in the development of society.

Establish a correspondence between processes (phenomena, events) and facts related to these processes (phenomena, events): for each position of the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

Establish a correspondence between fragments of historical sources and their brief characteristics: for each fragment indicated by a letter, select two corresponding characteristics indicated by numbers.

A) “And then the bishop of Korsun with the priests baptized Vladimir. He was baptized in the church of Hagia Sophia. And this church stands on a high place in the middle of the city ... "

B) “Askold and Dir came. And all the other warriors jumped out of the boats, and Oleg Askold and Dir said: “You both are not princes, nor a princely family. And I am of a princely family. - And then Igor was taken out. “And this is the son of Rurik.”

1. the document refers to the period of fragmentation of Rus'

2. Vladimir married the Byzantine princess Anna

3. Rurik dynasty began to rule in Kyiv

4. after Askold and Dir, Igor began to reign in Kyiv

5. Oleg arrived from Novgorod

6. the events took place on the territory of Crimea

Write the chosen numbers under the corresponding letters.

Fragment A		Fragment B

Which of the following refers to the period of the liberation movement in Russia in 1816-1825? Choose three answers and write down the numbers under which they are indicated in the table.

1. carrying out political changes in the country through a coup by the army

2. the future of Russia is socialism, to which the country will come, bypassing capitalism

3. main program documents: “Constitution” by N.M. Muravyov and Russkaya Pravda by P.I. Pestel

4. revolutionary and liberal directions stand out in the composition of the movement

5. the intelligentsia is indebted to the people and must devote themselves to delivering them from oppression and exploitation

6. The Patriotic War of 1812 influenced the formation of the liberation ideas of the movement.

Fill in the gaps in these sentences using the list of missing elements below: for each sentence marked with a letter and containing a gap, choose the number of the element you want.

A) During the Great Patriotic War, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs was ______.

B) _______ commanded the historic Victory Parade in Moscow.

1. G.K. Zhukov

2. K.E. Voroshilov

3. K.K. Rokossovsky

4. I.V. Stalin

5. V.M. Molotov

6. L.P. Beria

Establish a correspondence between events and participants in these events: for each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

Read an excerpt from the speech and indicate the name of the author.

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended on the continent. On the other side of the curtain are all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe - Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Sofia. All these famous cities and the populations in their districts fell within what I call the Soviet sphere, all of them, in one form or another, are subject not only to Soviet influence, but also to the significant and increasing control of Moscow. Only Athens, with its immortal glory, is free to determine its future in elections with the participation of British, American and French observers. The Russian-dominated Polish government is being encouraged to make huge and unjust encroachments on Germany, leading to mass expulsions of millions of Germans on a deplorable and unprecedented scale.

Fill in the blank cells of the table using the list of missing elements below: for each gap indicated by letters, select the number of the element you need.

2.the beginning of the counteroffensive near Moscow

3. battle on the Kursk Bulge

4.K.K. Rokossovsky, I.D. Chernyakhovsky, I.Kh. Bagramyan

5. battle for the Dnieper

6.N.F. Vatutin

7.summer 1944

8. beginning of the counter-offensive near Stalingrad

Read an excerpt from the memoirs of a politician.

“There were continuous demonstrations in St. Petersburg. They usually went to the Serbian embassy, located on Furshtadtskaya Street, opposite my apartment. The crowd daily approached my entrance and demanded that I come out. I went out onto the balcony, and once in the evening, when the demands were very insistent, I had to go down into the street to the crowd with some members of the Duma who were with me at that time. I was asked to stand on a free car and give a speech.

On the day of the manifesto about the war with Germany, a huge crowd gathered in front of the Winter Palace. After a prayer for the granting of victory, the sovereign addressed with a few words, which he ended with a solemn promise not to end the war until at least one inch of Russian land was occupied by the enemy. A thunderous cheer filled the palace and echoed back through the crowd in the square. After the prayer, the sovereign went out onto the balcony to the people, followed by the empress. A huge crowd filled the entire square and the streets adjacent to it, and when she saw the sovereign, it was as if an electric spark pierced her, and a thunderous “hurray” announced the air ...

Leaving the palace on the square, we mingled with the crowd. Workers were walking. I stopped them and asked them how they had come to be here, when not long before they had gone on strike and made economic and political demands almost in arms. The workers replied:

That was our family business. We have found that reforms through the Duma are proceeding very slowly. But now it concerns the whole of Russia. We have come to our tsar as to our banner, and we will go with him in the name of victory over the Germans.”

Using the passage and knowledge of history, select three correct judgments from the list provided.

Write down the numbers under which they are indicated.

1. The events described in the passage took place in 1914

2. The emperor referred to in the passage is Nicholas I.

4. The war the beginning of which is referred to in the passage ended with the victory of Germany and her allies

5. A contemporary of the events referred to in the passage was the Chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck

6. During the war, the beginning of which is discussed in the passage, an offensive operation of the Russian troops, known as the Brusilovsky breakthrough, took place.

Review the diagram and complete tasks 13-16

Write the name of the commander of the front, indicated on the diagram by the number "1".

Write the name of the commander of the front, indicated on the diagram by the number "2".

Write the name of the river indicated by the number "3" on the diagram.

What judgments related to the events indicated in the diagram are correct? Choose three sentences from the six offered. Write in the table the numbers with which they are indicated.

1. The diagram shows the events of the final stage of the Great Patriotic War.

2. The result of the battle shown in the diagram was the surrender of the Berlin garrison on May 9, 1945.

3. Anglo-American troops, whose actions are indicated on the diagram by white arrows, tried to prevent the Soviet troops from taking Berlin.

4. The encirclement of Berlin, indicated on the diagram, took place in April 1945.

5. As a result of the end of hostilities shown in the diagram, and the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany, A. Hitler committed suicide.

6. In the course of the events presented in the diagram, a red banner was hoisted on the dome of the Reichstag building in Berlin.

For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

Look at the picture and complete tasks 18-19

What judgments about this image on the matchbox label are correct? Choose two of the five sentences given.

1. The architectural monument depicted on the label is located in Moscow.

2. This label was issued in the second half of the 20th century.

3. The construction of the architectural monument depicted on the label was started during the reign of Alexander III.

4. The cultural figure whose anniversary the label is dedicated to is the author of the design of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

5. The architectural monument depicted on the label was created in the style of late classicism.

Which of the photographs shows a monument built according to the project of the same cultural figure as the architectural monument depicted on the label of a matchbox? In your answer, write down the number under which this photo is indicated.

Part 2.

First write down the task number (20, 21, etc.), and then a detailed answer to it. Write your answers clearly and legibly.

“After the end of the Patriotic War, the Soviet people proudly celebrated the glorious victories achieved at the cost of great sacrifices and incredible efforts. The country experienced a political upsurge. The Party emerged from the war even more united, and the cadres of the Party were tempered in the fire of the war. Under these conditions, no one could even think of the possibility of any kind of conspiracy in the Party. And in this period, the so-called "Leningrad case" suddenly arises. As has now been proven, this case was falsified. Innocently died TT. Voznesensky, Kuznetsov, Rodionov, Popkov and others. How did it happen that these people were declared enemies of the people and destroyed? The facts show that the “Leningrad case” is also the result of the arbitrariness that Stalin allowed in relation to the cadres of the party. If there were a normal situation in the Central Committee of the Party, in the Politburo of the Central Committee, in which such questions would be discussed, as it should be in the Party, and all the facts would be weighed, then this case would not have arisen, just as other similar cases would not have arisen. It must be said that in the post-war period the situation became even more complicated. Stalin became more capricious, irritable, rude, his suspicions especially developed. The mania of persecution increased to incredible proportions. Many workers became enemies in his eyes. After the war, Stalin further fenced himself off from the team, acted exclusively on his own, without regard for anyone or anything. The Central Committee of the Party checked the so-called "Leningrad case", the innocent victims have now been rehabilitated, the honor of the glorious Leningrad Party organization has been restored. The question arises: why were we now able to sort out this matter, and did not do it earlier, during the life of Stalin, in order to prevent the death of innocent people? Because Stalin himself gave direction to the "Leningrad case" and most members of the Politburo of that period did not know all the circumstances of the case and, of course, could not intervene. As soon as Stalin received some materials from Beria and Abakumov, he, not understanding the essence of these fakes, gave instructions to investigate the “case” of Voznesensky and Kuznetsov. And this already sealed their fate.

Indicate the decade during which the construction referred to in the order took place. Indicate the name of the leader of the Communist Party of that time. Specify the decoding of the abbreviation GULAG.

Show answer

The correct answer must contain the following elements:

1) report of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU at the XX Congress;

2) 1950s;

3) Khrushchev N.S.

What specific accusations against I.V. Stalin put forward by the author? Name any three accusations.

Show answer

Indicated accusations to I.V. Stalin:

The arbitrariness of Stalin in relation to the cadres of the parties;

Capriciousness, rudeness, irritability, suspicion;

Solitary actions without regard to other opinions;

Decline in the pace of construction or a drop in output.

Measures to strengthen labor discipline are indicated:

There are debatable problems in historical science, on which different, often contradictory points of view are expressed. Below is one of the controversial points of view that exist in historical science.

"The economic potential of the serf economy was not exhausted, and there were no economic reasons for the abolition of serfdom, the state was forced to abolish serfdom in connection with a change in the attitude of mankind towards slavery."

Using historical knowledge, give two arguments that can support this point of view, and two arguments that can refute it. When presenting arguments, be sure to use historical facts.

Write your answer in the following form.

Arguments to support:

Arguments in rebuttal:

Show answer

The correct answer must contain arguments:

1) in confirmation, For example:

After the abolition of serfdom, many landlord farms went bankrupt, the number of mortgaged estates exceeded the pre-reform level;

The socio-economic situation of the peasants worsened after the abolition of serfdom, since the peasants were not accustomed to taking care of their own lives and, in case of disasters and crop failures, relied on their master;

The serf economy regulated itself: in the Non-Black Earth region, otkhodnichestvo and a quitrent system were widespread, which was economically feasible, and corvée dominated in the Black Earth region;

Before the reform, it was the serfs that provided the bulk of agricultural products;

The mass leasing of estates was caused not by a crisis in the economy, but by rising land prices, and in this case it was profitable;

Many estates introduced technical innovations, new ways of cultivating the land and other innovations;

It was after the abolition of serfdom that the number of peasant riots increased sharply, before that their number was constant and insignificant;

2) in rebuttal, For example:

Peasant duties and payments reached the maximum level, this exceeded the economic possibilities of the peasantry;

In the black earth provinces, the transfer of peasants for a month spread, this was the ultimate use of the peasant's capabilities;

There was an impoverishment of the local nobility, in the 50s. two-thirds of the landed estates were mortgaged;

The further development of industry and the need to use civilian labor demanded the abolition of serfdom;

Serfdom gave rise to constant unrest among the peasants.

Other arguments may be given

You need to write a historical essay about ONE of the periods in the history of Russia:

1) 1237-1480;

2) 1741-1761;

3) 1953-1964

The essay must:

Indicate at least two events (phenomena, processes) relating to a given period of history;

Name two historical personalities whose activities are associated with the indicated events (phenomena, processes), and, using knowledge of historical facts, characterize the role of these personalities in the events (phenomena, processes) of this period of Russian history;

Indicate at least two causal relationships that existed between events (phenomena, processes) within a given period of history.

Using the knowledge of historical facts and (or) the opinions of historians, give one historical assessment of the significance of this period for the history of Russia. In the course of the presentation, it is necessary to use historical terms, concepts related to this period.

Share your results or ask how to solve a particular problem. Be polite guys.

Biographies of the leaders of the secret office. “We worked according to European standards”: how the Secret Chancellery guarded Peter I and Russian sovereignty “If I were a queen ...”

Secret Office. 18th century

Secret Chancellery - the first special service of Russia

Great Leap Forward Costs

King and Consequence

"Excesses" with the church

Further fate

torture

Inquisition "in Russian"

Eminence grise

Hysteria of denunciations

Spy games

The last pillar of Peter III

Part 2.

Interesting articles

Interesting articles