The Work of the Secret Police. Special Operations, Recruitment Methods, Combat Tactics, Conducting Operational Investigations of the Tsar's Security

Pavel Pavlovich Zavartzin, a Russian gendarmerie officer and major general of the Separate Corps of Gendarmes. The book of a secret police officer discusses the affairs of the Tsar's security, containing detailed accounts of the work of professional revolutionaries. It describes methods of infiltrating agents into the criminal environment and external surveillance. We learn that the secret police is a counter-revolutionary and counter-terrorist organization and was not merely involved in capturing ordinary criminals. Its task was to identify spies and enemies of the regime, which was the aim of the infiltrated agents and the verification of correspondence to preserve statehood in Russia. The narrative is rich and vivid, recounting both successful and failed operations, recruitment methods, combat tactics, and conducting operational investigations. Zavartzin had immense investigative experience, rising through the ranks from adjutant to head of the administration, but after the February Revolution of 1917, all gendarmerie divisions were urgently liquidated by a decision of the Provisional Government, archives were burned, and the leadership was arrested. The author did not escape this fate. After his release, he emigrated to France, where he wrote memoirs about his work in the special services. The information provided in the book is authentic and very interesting for researchers studying the conflict between domestic special services and extremist organizations.