The History of Bolshevism in Russia from its Origins to the Seizure of Power: 1883—1903—1917. With an Appendix of Documents

Major General of the Separate Corps of Gendarmes Alexander Ivanovich Spiridovich was a man devoted to the idea of monarchic power. Spiridovich knew the history of revolutionary parties very well — he spent many years engaged in political investigations. With the onset of World War I, L. I. Spiridovich, providing personal security for the sovereign, accompanied him on trips to the front, to the Headquarters, and to front-line units. In 1915, for his service successes, L. I. Spiridovich was promoted to major general. But he summarized his investigative experience in books about the fight against revolutionaries, which were published in the printing house of the Security Department and used by gendarmes as reference and training publications. The collapse of the Russian Empire, the overthrow of the monarch, and the subsequent events were perceived by General Spiridovich as a great tragedy. If the Provisional Government had not imprisoned him in the Peter and Paul Fortress during the February Revolution, he might have found a way to save the royal family. The book "The History of Bolshevism in Russia from its Origins to the Seizure of Power" was written by him in exile and published in Paris in 1922.