The successors of Peter I declared that there were no more important and large-scale political affairs in the state. By decree of May 28, 1726, Empress Catherine I liquidated the Secret Chancellery and ordered all its affairs and servants to be transferred to Prince I. F. Romodanovsky (the son of Peter the Great's satrap) to the Preobrazhensky Prikaz by the first of July. There the investigation was carried out. The order became known as the Preobrazhenskaya Chancellery. Among the political cases of that time, one can name the trials of Tolstoy, Devier and Menshikov himself. But Peter II in 1729 stopped the activities of this body and dismissed Prince Romodanovsky. From the office, the most important cases were transferred to the Supreme Privy Council, and less important ones were sent to the Senate.

The activities of special bodies resumed only under Anna Ioannovna.

On March 24, 1731, the Office of Secret Investigation Cases was established at the Preobrazhensky General Court. The new intelligence service was functionally designed to identify and investigate political crimes. The Office of Secret Investigative Affairs received the right to investigate political crimes throughout Russia, which resulted in the order to send to the office persons who declared “the sovereign’s word and deed.” All central and local authorities had to unquestioningly carry out the orders of the head of the office, Ushakov, and for “malfunction” he could fine any official.

When organizing the office of secret investigative cases, the experience of its predecessors, and first of all the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, was undoubtedly taken into account. The Office of Secret Investigative Affairs represented a new, higher stage in the organization of the political investigation system. It was free from many of the shortcomings inherent in the Preobrazhensky order, and above all, from multifunctionality. The office arose as an industrial institution, whose staff was entirely focused on investigative and judicial activities to combat political crimes.

Like its historical predecessors, the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs had a small staff - 2 secretaries and a little more than 20 clerks. The department's budget was 3,360 rubles per year, with the total budget of the Russian Empire being 6-8 million rubles.

A.I. was appointed head of the Office of Secret Investigation Cases. Ushakov, who had experience working in the Preobrazhensky Prikaz and the Secret Chancellery. He was able to obtain such a high position thanks to his demonstration of exceptional devotion to Empress Anna Ioannovna.

The new institution reliably guarded the interests of the authorities. The means and methods of investigation remained the same - denunciations and torture. Ushakov did not try to play a political role, remembering the sad fate of his former comrades Tolstoy, Buturlin, Skornyakov-Pisarev, and remained only a zealous executor of the monarch's will.

Under Elizaveta Petrovna, the Secret Investigation Office remained the highest body of political investigation in the empire. It was headed by the same Ushakov. In 1746 he was replaced by the actual chamberlain P.I. Shuvalov. He led the secret service, “instilling horror and fear throughout all of Russia” (according to Catherine II). Torture, even under Elizaveta Petrovna, remained the main method of inquiry. They even drew up a special instruction “Rite of what the accused is trying to do.” She demanded that “having recorded torture speeches, attach them to the judges without leaving the dungeon,” which regulated the registration of the inquiry.

All political affairs were still carried out in the capital, but their echoes also reached the provinces. In 1742, the former ruler of the country, Duke Biron, and his family were exiled to Yaroslavl. This favorite of Anna Ioannovna actually ruled the country for ten years. The established regime was nicknamed Bironovschina. The Duke's opponents were persecuted by servants of the Secret Chancellery (an example is the case of Cabinet Secretary A.P. Volynsky and his supporters). After the death of the empress, Biron became regent of the young king, but was overthrown as a result of a palace coup.

Intelligence 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 Chancery 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 established his amusing regiments, he appointed Buturlin prime major of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The latter becomes one of the king's most devoted assistants 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 promoted 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 with the defeat of the Russian army by the Swedes. Although the regiments he led fought bravely and escaped the encirclement, the general himself was captured, where he spent nine years.

Returning to Russia in 1710, the next year Buturlin received command of a special corps, at the head of which he defended Ukraine from the invasion of the Crimean Tatars and traitorous Cossacks, and 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 awarded 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 included in the number of “ministers” of the Secret Chancellery, took an active part in the interrogations and trial of Tsarevich Alexei, and signed a death sentence along with other colleagues in the political investigation. At the end of this matter, the tsar awarded him the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. For the next few years, he continued to participate in the work of the Secret Chancellery, but gradually moved away from its affairs, and since 1722 his name does not appear in the documents of this state security body.

In November 1719, Peter I appointed Buturlin a member of the Military Collegium, and in this position he, along with others, signed 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 Peace of Nystadt, which put an end to the Northern War, Peter on October 22, 1721 promoted Buturlin to the rank of full general. In 1722, his participation in the work of the Military Collegium ceased, but he remained the commander 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 for the trial of the “minister” of the Secret Chancellery G.G. Skornyakov-Pisarev in 1723

The first Russian emperor did not manage to appoint a successor during his lifetime. In the absence of his clearly expressed will, this issue was resolved 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 tongue, members of the Senate gathered to discuss the issue of a successor. The government class was divided: the old nobility, headed by princes Golitsyn and Repnin, spoke out for the young grandson of the converter, 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 their head, stood for the widowed empress... Suddenly, a drumbeat was heard under the windows of the palace: it turned out that two guards were standing there regiment under arms, called up by their commanders - Prince Menshikov and Buturlin. The President of the Military Collegium (Minister of War), Field Marshal Prince Repnin, asked with his heart: “Who dared to bring the regiments without my knowledge? Am I not a field marshal? Buturlin objected that he called up the regiments by the will of the empress, whom all subjects are obliged to obey, “not excluding you,” he added. It was the appearance of the guard that decided the issue in favor of the empress.” Thus, the foundation was laid for a tradition that operated in the history of Russia throughout the entire century.

Having found 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 Empress’s reign, when he, along with all his colleagues in the Secret Chancellery, was drawn in by 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 discovered, Buturlin, by the will of His Serene Highness, was deprived of all ranks and insignia and exiled “to live forever” on his distant estate. The subsequent fall of His Serene Highness did not make his situation easier, but greatly worsened it, since the Dolgoruky princes, who had gained dominant influence over the son of Tsarevich Alexei, took away from him all the estates granted by Peter I, leaving only the hereditary estate of Kruttsy 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 - ca. 1745). "Minister" of the Secret Chancery in 1718–1723.

The Skornyakov-Pisarev family originates from the Polish native Semyon Pisar, whom Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich granted an estate in Kolomensky district. G.G. Skornyakov-Pisarev was first mentioned in official documents in 1696 as an ordinary bombardier. Apparently, he managed to attract the attention of the sovereign with his intelligence and the next year he was sent to Italy for training, accompanying Prince I. Urusov. While part of the Grand 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 returning to Russia, the Tsar entrusts him with training bombardiers in the company entrusted to him, and he has been engaged in this work for 20 years. The young Preobrazhenian showed himself valiantly during the siege of Narva in 1700, and Peter promoted him to ensign. When in 1704 A.D. Menshikov leaves the ranks of the officers of the bombardment company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, then G.G. is appointed in his place. Skornyakov-Pisarev, which testifies to the great affection towards him of both the tsar and his favorite. He is part of a relatively narrow circle of Peter’s associates and is one of the few “trusted” officers who correspond with the monarch.

As an officer in the active army, Skornyakov-Pisarev took part in many battles of the Northern War with Sweden, including the Battle of Poltava, which decided the fate of the war, and was promoted to the rank of captain-lieutenant for his skillful leadership of the artillery. During these same years, Peter I, who even in the most tense moments of the war did not forget about the tasks of economic transformation in Russia, instructs him to study the possibility of connecting the Dnieper and Dvina canals with each other and with the Lovat River. In this regard, it is worth noting that the design and construction of canals became the second specialty of Skornyakov-Pisarev in the Petrine era. Following this, he goes to the outskirts of Smolensk on the Kasplya River to prepare ships and organize the transportation of artillery and provisions 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 the ceremonial parade in honor of the Poltava Victoria, and the following year he took part in the assault on Vyborg. In the unsuccessful Prut campaign of Peter I against Turkey in 1711, Skornyakov-Pisarev commanded the artillery in the royal division, in 1712–1713. - commands 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 for future navigators in St. Petersburg, which soon received the name of the Maritime 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 which he drew leadership for a wide variety of assignments. The Tsar entrusts the guardsman Skornyakov-Pisarev with the most delicate part of the investigation concerning his ex-wife Evdokia Lopukhina.

In addition, the “scorer captain” participated in the investigation and trial of Tsarevich Alexei, signing a death sentence with other judges for the son of Peter I. Skornyakov-Pisarev was among the people who carried the coffin with his body out of the church. Needless to say, after the completion of such an important task for Peter I, a rain of royal favors fell on him, as well as on the rest of the “ministers” of the Secret Chancellery. Skornyakov-Pisarev was awarded the rank of colonel and two hundred peasant households on December 9, 1718 “... for faithful work in the former secret investigation business.” After the end of the case of Tsarevich Alexei, Skornyakov-Pisarev remains to serve in the Secret Chancellery.

Along with serving in the department of political investigation, the tsar entrusts a number of new assignments to the colonel who has 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. Petersburg Maritime Academy; in May, he received instructions to build a “towpath” - a waterway from Ladoga along the Volkhov and Meta, so that 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 bishop's houses, together with the Moscow and Novgorod schools of navigators, were entrusted to his care. However, this time the former bombardier did not live up to the royal hopes. A stern and cruel man, perfectly suited for working in a dungeon, he turned out to be unable to organize the educational process.

The construction of the Ladoga Canal entrusted to him also progressed extremely slowly, which in four years of work by 1723 had been laid only 12 miles. Peter I personally inspected the work performed and, based on the results of the audit, removed Skornyakov-Pisarev from the management of construction. A little earlier, a scandalous showdown took place between Skornyakov-Pisarev and Vice-Chancellor Shafirov in the Senate, which caused Peter I to become very angry 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 demotion. In parallel with this, he was removed from affairs in the Secret Chancellery. 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 people closest to the late monarch, carried his coffin.

When Menshikov's influence on Catherine I became decisive, the star of his former subordinate began to rise, 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 Elizaveta Petrovna and against the wedding of Menshikov’s daughter with Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich (future Emperor Peter II). The conspiracy was very quickly discovered, and His Serene Highness did not forgive his former protégé for his black ingratitude. Skornyakov-Pisarev was punished more severely than most of the other conspirators: in addition to deprivation of honor, ranks and property, he was whipped and exiled to the Zhigansk winter quarters, from where the nearest city of Yakutsk was as much as 800 miles away. However, he had to remain in Yakut exile for a relatively short time. As is known, during the reign of Catherine I the 1st Kamchatka Bering Expedition was equipped. Upon returning from the expedition, the navigator submitted a report to the government, where, in particular, he proposed to establish the 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 quarters “without any benefit” for the government, as the 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 any 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 Pacific coast, and the former bombardier of Peter the Great, who led the port on the Sea of Okhotsk for 10 years, made his 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 while trying to get her the crown. On December 1, 1741, he signed a decree releasing Skornyakov-Pisarev from exile. Communication with the Far East in that era was carried out extremely slowly, and the Okhotsk decree reached only June 26, 1742.

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

TOLSTOY Pyotr Andreevich (1645–1729). "Minister" of the Secret Chancery in 1718–1726.

This famous noble family originates from the “honest husband” Indros, who left for Chernigov “from German land” in 1353 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 rise of this family began during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. Pyotr Andreevich's father, 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 Alexei Mikhailovich’s accession to the throne and in 1676 receiving the rank of steward “by patronymic,” Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, together with his patron Ivan Miloslavsky, actively prepared the Streletsky revolt 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 beginning of the Streletsky revolt, riding on horseback with Miloslavsky’s nephew through the Streletskaya Sloboda, shouting loudly that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich. Personally, Tolstoy received nothing from the coup, and after the death of the omnipotent ruler of Miloslavsky in 1685, he moved away from Sophia’s supporters. By this, without knowing 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 full power to young Peter, he had practically no chance of making a career under the new sovereign. Not only did he belong to the “seed of the Miloslavskys,” so hated by Peter, but also with his lies in 1682 he laid the foundation for the Streltsy uprising, which inflicted indelible mental trauma on little Peter. The king never forgot this.

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

Meanwhile, Peter, having won access to the Black Sea for Russia, actively begins to build a fleet. In November 1696, by his decree, he sent 61 captains abroad to study the art of navigation, i.e. be able to “control a ship both in battle and in a simple procession.” The overwhelming majority of future navigation masters 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, 52-year-old Tolstoy, much older than the other students in age, realizing that only expressing a desire to study maritime affairs, so beloved by Peter, could eventually lead to royal favor, on February 28, 1697, together with 38 captains, he went to study in Venice (the rest headed to England). He studies mathematics and maritime affairs, even sailed in the Adriatic Sea for several months. Although Tolstoy did not become a real sailor, his close acquaintance with life abroad made him a Westerner and a convinced supporter of Peter’s 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, discovered a remarkable literary talent, and he compiled a diary of his travels in Italy, translated Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” into Russian, and subsequently created an extensive description of Turkey.

However, one acquaintance with the Western way of life was not enough to earn the favor of the tsar who did not like him, and upon his return to Russia he was 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 in order to gain 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 “extremely sharp” mind and obvious ability for intrigue were forced to be recognized even by 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 intrigue, in which he was quite deft. Added to this were the intrigues of French diplomacy, the most influential European country in Constantinople, which, based on the interests of its state, actively encouraged Turkey to attack Russia. The ambassador’s colossal efforts 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 an attack from the south, concentrate all his forces against the main enemy.

The crushing defeat of the Swedish army near Poltava caused an outburst of rage among the Turks, who were hoping for the defeat of Peter and the easy capture of Azov and southern Ukraine. Those who fled to the domain of Sultan Charles XII and the traitor Mazepa were greeted with unprecedented honor, and troops were immediately moved to the Russian borders. Ambassador Tolstoy reported to Chancellor Count G.I. Golovkin from the Turkish capital: “Don’t be surprised that before, when the Swedish king was in great power, I reported on the peacefulness of the Porte, but now, when the Swedes are defeated, I doubt it! The reason for my doubt is this: the Turks see that the Tsar’s Majesty is now the winner of the strong Swedish people and wants to soon arrange everything according to his wishes in Poland, and then, no longer having any obstacles, he can start a war with us, the Turks. That’s what 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 him with a letter of ratification confirming the Treaty of Constantinople of 1700.

But the Swedish king, who was on Turkish territory, did not think of giving up. Taking the gold exported by Mazepa, making large loans in Holstein, in the English Levantine Company and borrowing 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 maintain peace, the Great Divan spoke out in favor of breaking off relations with Russia, and on November 20, 1710, the Turkish Empire officially declared war. The Ottomans supplemented their decision on war with an act that even wilder barbarian tribes did not stoop to - the arrest and imprisonment of the ambassador. He spent almost a year and a half in the famous Pikule prison, or, as it was also called, the Seven Tower Castle, until peace was concluded.

This war itself turned out to be unsuccessful for Russia. Led by Peter I, the small Russian army found itself surrounded on the Prut by superior forces of Turkish troops. The Tsar was forced on July 12, 1712 to sign the extremely unfavorable Prut Peace Treaty. However, peace did not come. Referring to the fact that Peter I did not fulfill all of 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 company with 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 war in the south, did not dare to go into armed conflict and in March 1713 resumed peace negotiations. To conduct them, Russian diplomats are released from Constantinople prison. The Turkish government makes ultimatum demands: Russia must actually abandon Ukraine and settle Mazepa’s fugitive adherents there, 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 at this crucial moment left Russian diplomats in Turkey 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. Tolstoy's difficult 12-year service to the Fatherland in the Turkish capital ended, and he was finally able to return to his homeland.

His rich diplomatic experience was immediately in demand, and upon his arrival in St. Petersburg, Tolstoy was appointed a member of the Council of Foreign Affairs. He takes an active part in the development of Russian foreign policy, in 1715 he was awarded the rank of Privy Councilor and is now called the “Minister of Secret Foreign Affairs of the Collegium.” In July of the same year, he negotiates with Denmark about the occupation of the island of Rügen by Russian troops, necessary for the quickest end of the Northern War. In 1716–1717 accompanies Peter I on his new trip to Europe. During it in 1716, Tolstoy participated in difficult negotiations with the Polish King Augustus: together with the Russian ambassador B. Kurakin, the Privy Councilor conducted difficult negotiations with the English King George I, and in 1717, together with Peter, he visited Paris and tried to establish friendly relations with the French government. There, abroad, in Spa, on June 1, 1717, the tsar entrusted Tolstoy with the most difficult and responsible mission at that moment - to return to Russia his son, who had fled to the domain of the Austrian emperor. The legitimate heir to the throne could become a trump card in the hands of forces hostile to Russia, who could thus obtain a plausible pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of the country. The impending danger had to be eliminated at any cost. The fact that such a delicate task was entrusted by Peter to Tolstoy testifies to the tsar’s high appreciation of his diplomatic dexterity and intelligence. After Russian intelligence established the exact location of the prince, who was carefully hidden from prying eyes, Tolstoy on July 29, 1717 handed the Austrian emperor a letter from Peter I, which stated 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 to 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 went 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 strike. The ambassador handed him a letter from Peter I, full of bitter reproaches: “My son! What have you done? He left and surrendered, like a traitor, under someone else’s protection, which is unheard of... What an insult and annoyance to his father and a shame to his Fatherland!” Next, Peter demanded that his son return, promising him his complete forgiveness. For Tolstoy, the days dragged on with regular visits to the fugitive, in long conversations with whom he, deftly alternating exhortations and threats, convinced Alexei of the complete pointlessness of further resistance to his father’s will, and strongly advised him to submit to Peter and rely on his mercy, swearing him of his father’s forgiveness. It is unlikely that the insightful Tolstoy harbored any illusions about the royal mercy, and he thus deliberately lured Alexei to Russia to face 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, asking her to contribute to receiving the 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.

Peter I, who promised to forgive his son, did not think of keeping his word. To search for the case of Tsarevich Alexei, an extraordinary investigative body is created - the Secret Chancellery, at the head of which the tsar puts Tolstoy, who has 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 leadership of the tsar and in cooperation with other “ministers” of the Secret Chancellery, Tolstoy quickly and exhaustively conducts an investigation, not even stopping at torturing the former heir to the throne. Thanks to his participation in Alexei’s case, 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. His reward for the life of the prince was the rank of full 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 tsar’s need to have a political investigation organ at hand made it permanent. They barely had time to bury the executed Alexei when the Tsar, on August 8, 1718, wrote to Tolstoy from aboard a ship off Cape Gangut: “My lord! For the sake of this, having found them, take them on guard.” The investigation into the list of alleged thieves contained further in the letter resulted in the high-profile Revel Admiralty case, which ended in severe sentences for the perpetrators. Although all the “ministers” of the Secret Chancellery were formally equal to each other, Tolstoy clearly played a leading role among them. The remaining three colleagues, as a rule, conveyed to him their opinions on certain matters and, recognizing his unspoken primacy, asked, if not direct approval for their own actions, then, in any case, the consent of the cunning diplomat. Nevertheless, deep down in his soul, Tolstoy, apparently, was burdened by the investigative and executioner duties assigned to him. Not daring to directly refuse this position, in 1724 he persuaded the Tsar to order that new cases not be sent to the Secret Chancellery, but that existing cases be handed over to the Senate. However, under Peter, this attempt to throw off this hateful “burden” from his shoulders failed, and Tolstoy was able to implement his plan only during the reign of Catherine I. Taking advantage of his increased influence, in May 1726 he convinced the empress to abolish this body of political investigation.

As for other aspects of Tolstoy’s activities, on December 15, 1717, the tsar appointed him president of the Commerce Collegium. Considering the great importance Peter attached to the development of trade, this was another evidence of the royal trust and another reward for the prince’s return from abroad. He headed this department until 1721. The “smartest head” did not leave the diplomatic field. 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 culminate in an official treaty, Peter I sent P.A. to help the Russian ambassador in Berlin, Count A. Golovkin. Tolstoy. However, this time the efforts were unsuccessful, and the Anglo-Prussian Treaty was concluded. This private failure did not affect Peter I’s attitude 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 is the head of the traveling diplomatic office, through which in 1722 all reports of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs pass. At the end of the campaign, Tolstoy remained in Astrakhan for some time for negotiations 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 performed the role of high marshal, and for the successful completion of the coronation he was awarded 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 energetically promotes the transfer of power to Catherine I. Tolstoy perfectly understood that if the throne passed to Peter II, the son of Tsarevich Alexei, whom he destroyed, then his head had every chance of falling off his shoulders. At the beginning of the reign of the Empress, the count enjoyed great influence, and it was he who is credited with the idea of forming the Supreme Privy Council, created by 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 of it along with six other members. However, at the end of the reign of Catherine I, Menshikov gained predominant influence over her. As a result, the political weight of the former diplomat sharply decreases, and he almost never reports to the Empress. Realizing that the empress would soon die and the throne would inevitably go to Peter II, Menshikov, in order to secure 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 the son of Tsarevich Alexei as a mortal threat to himself. He almost upset this marriage, and as the heir to the throne, he shrewdly nominated Tsarevna Elizabeth, daughter of Peter I. Elizabeth Petrovna would indeed eventually become empress, but this would happen only in 1741. At the same time, in March 1727, the plan 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 anything good from the accession to the throne of Peter II, and to the Chief of Police, Count Devier. However, Menshikov became aware of these negotiations, and he ordered Devier's arrest. 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 to not bear the hardships of captivity and died, and a few months later, so did his father, who died on January 30, 1729 at the age of 84.

USHAKOV Andrey Ivanovich (1670–1747). “Minister” of the Secret Chancellery in 1718–1726, head of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz in 1726–1727, head of the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs in 1731–1746.

He came from the humble nobility of the Novgorod province, and together with his brothers he owned the only serf peasant. He lived in poverty for up to 30 years, until, together with other noble minors, in 1700 (according to other sources, in 1704) he appeared at the royal review in Novgorod. The powerful recruit is enlisted in the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, and there, with his zeal and efficiency, he attracts the attention of the sovereign. The recent underage quickly moves up the career ladder and in 1714 becomes a major, always signing from then on: “From the Guard, Major Andrey Ushakov.”

The turning point in his fate was his participation in the investigation of the Bulavinsky 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 entered the relatively close circle of the guards elite, to whom Peter I entrusted important assignments as his most reliable and experienced servants. In July 1712, being the Tsar's adjutant, he was sent to Poland to secretly supervise the Russian officers there. Peter I decides to use his adjutant’s detective talent 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, a royal decree was issued 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 on contracts, extortion in the military office, Moscow town hall affairs, about the concealment of peasant households and those hiding from service. To conduct such a varied search, Ushakov, by royal command, creates his own special “major’s office.” Regarding the relationship between the king and his faithful servant, the famous historian of the 19th century. D.N. Bantysh-Kamensky noted: “Peter the Great always gave him preference over other guards officers for his excellent lack of selfishness, impartiality and loyalty, and usually said about him, “that if he had many such officers, he could call himself completely happy.” Indeed, many of Peter’s associates could boast of devotion and courage, but the absence of self-interest was very rare among them. Ushakov was engaged in the audit of judicial places in the Moscow province, and in 1717 he went to the new capital to recruit sailors and supervise the construction of ships. Until the death of Peter I, he supervised 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, who had returned to Russia, was opened, and the Tsar included the loyal 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, by order of Peter I, creates a branch of the new political investigation department in the old capital, located at the Poteshny Dvor in Preobrazhenskoye. Like other participants in the search for this extremely important matter for the sovereign, he receives generous royal rewards. In 1721 he was promoted to the rank of major general, leaving the Preobrazhensky regiment as major. Experiencing an obvious penchant for political investigation, Ushakov remains in the Secret Chancellery and works hard in it until its liquidation (at the same time he is a member of the Admiralty Board). Actual head of the Chancellery, P.A. Tolstoy was burdened by the position imposed on him by Peter I and willingly placed all the current work on the shoulders of his diligent assistant. Catherine I, who ascended the throne after the death of Peter I, favored the faithful servant of her late husband, was one of the first to honor him with the title of Knight of the newly established Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, and appointed him a senator.

After the abolition of the Secret Chancellery in 1726, Ushakov did not leave his usual path and moved to the Preobrazhensky Prikaz. He becomes the de facto head of this department with its official head, I.F., seriously ill. Romodanovsky. Instead, he conducts a search and reports the most important cases to the Empress and the Supreme Privy Council. Ushakov did not manage to lead the Preobrazhensky Prikaz for long. Together with other colleagues in the Secret Chancellery, he was drawn in by P.A. Tolstoy in the intrigue against A.D. Menshikov, in May 1727 he was arrested and accused of “knowing about the malicious intent, but did not report it.” True, unlike others, he got off easy - he was not exiled with deprivation of all rights and ranks to Solovki or Siberia, but with the rank of lieutenant general he was sent to Revel.

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 there was political ferment among the capital's elite and various groups of the aristocracy and nobility drew up various projects for limiting the monarchy, which for a brief moment was enshrined in the terms of the Supreme Privy Council, signed by Anna Ioannovna upon her election to the kingdom, Ushakov kept a low profile 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 conditions she had signed, the loyalty of the former “minister” to the Secret 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, and in 1733 - lieutenant colonel of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment. But the main thing was that real power in the field of political investigation was again returned to his hands. Having consolidated her position on the throne, Anna Ioannovna hastened to liquidate the Supreme Privy Council, and removed political affairs from the jurisdiction of the Senate and transferred them to a newly created special body, headed by Ushakov, who had 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 “Office of Secret Investigative Affairs”, and in legal status it was officially equal to the collegiums. However, due to the fact that Ushakov received the right to personally report to the empress, the structure he headed was outside the influence of the Senate, to which the collegiums were subordinate, and acted under the direct leadership of Anna Ioannovna and her immediate circle, primarily the notorious favorite Biron. The Empress directed her first blow against those members of the Supreme Privy Council who almost deprived her of full 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 making a disapproving comment about the new empress in a conversation at home. The search was led by Ushakov, and on the basis of the materials of the case fabricated by him 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 Anna Ioannovna’s accession, 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 “supreme leaders”, was accused of official abuses and brought to trial in 1736. Formally for “abuses”, but in fact for an attempt to limit autocracy, the old prince was sentenced to death, commuted to imprisonment in Shlisselburgskaya fortress, where he soon died.

Prince Dolgoruky Ushakov was tried together 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 tortured his recent colleague in conducting this process, who tried to put an end to German dominance at court. The draft documents seized from Volynsky during the search testified to the plan to limit autocratic power, and his like-minded people, under torture, “witnessed” the cabinet minister’s desire 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 conscientiously. Even in his free time from being in the Chancellery, he never for a moment forgot about his duties. The terrible leader of the dungeon had such a reputation that his name alone made everyone tremble, not only Russian subjects, but also foreign ambassadors who enjoyed diplomatic immunity. “He, Shetardius,” reported in 1744, members of the commission for the expulsion of the French diplomat from Russia, “as soon as he saw General Ushakov, his face changed.”

Anna Ioannovna died in 1740, bequeathing the Russian throne to the infant Ivan Antonovich, and she appointed her favorite Biron as regent under him. In the subsequent series of coups d'etat, Ushakov demonstrates miracles of political survival. At first, out of old memory, he supports Biron. But a month later, Field Marshal Minikh easily overthrows the hated temporary worker and proclaims Anna Leopoldovna, mother of Ivan Antonovich, Princess of Brunswick, as regent. In order to give the military coup the appearance of at least some kind of legitimacy, the winner orders Ushakov to obtain the necessary information about Biron’s conspiracy. The dungeons of the Chancellery of Secret Investigation Cases were filled with Courlanders, the main of whom were the former favorite himself and his cousin, who was appointed captain of the Preobrazhensky Regiment by his all-powerful relative. They were charged with intending to poison Ivan Antonovich, blame Anna Leopoldovna for his death and proclaim Biron the Russian Emperor. As a result, the matter ended with the latter being sentenced to death, replaced by exile in Pelym, and the irrepressible zeal of the members of the Office of Secret Investigation Cases to present the imaginary conspiracy as large-scale as possible and to accuse as many people as possible of participating in it was stopped by Minich himself, who cursed investigators and ordered them to “stop this idiotic activity, which is spreading chaos throughout the Russian state.” Nevertheless, the regent awarded A.I. Ushakov the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

The dominance of Courland at the Russian court gave way to that of Brunswick, again creating a breeding ground for discontent. But everything comes to an end: on November 25, 1741, the guard carried out a coup and elevated Elizabeth Petrovna to the throne. The young Emperor John Antonovich, along with his parents and Minikh and Osterman, who played the main role at the court of Anna Leopoldovna, was arrested. When Peter's daughter was not yet in power, Ushakov refused to join the party that supported her, but after a coup in her favor he managed to retain both his post and his influential position at court. While many prominent members of the former elite were exiled or deprived of their previous positions, the head of the Office of Secret Investigations finds himself in the renewed composition of the Senate. Not long before, at the behest of Minich, he interrogated Biron, who allegedly wanted to kill Ivan Antonovich, but now he is investigating a new case - “About the malice of the former Field Marshal von Minich on the health of Prince John Antonovich, Duke of Brunswick”, leading at the same time to another one - “About the machinations 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 also had to deal with some of the victors, intoxicated by a series of military coups and feeling their permissiveness. Thus, a tipsy 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 aura of greatness and inviolability of the bearer of supreme power in the eyes of some of the military was already greatly blurred, and to the reproaches and admonitions of his retinue, the sergeant replied: “What a great wonder that we scolded the general or the riders. And the empress herself is the same person as me, only she has the advantage of being king.”

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Crowded prisons, executions and torture are the other and unpleasant side of the reign of Peter I, whose unprecedented transformations in all spheres of Russian life were accompanied by repression of opponents and dissenters. An important milestone...

Costs of the Great Leap Forward

Peter I's decision to create a fundamentally new intelligence service was influenced by a variety of circumstances in his life. It all started with a child’s fear of the Streltsy unrest that happened before the eyes of the prince. The childhood of the first Russian emperor, marred by rebellion, is somewhat similar to the childhood of the first Russian Tsar - Ivan the Terrible. At an early age, he also lived in times of boyar self-will, murders and conspiracies of the nobility.

When Peter I began to carry out harsh reforms in the country, a variety of his subjects opposed the changes. Supporters of the church, the former Moscow elite, long-bearded adherents of “Russian antiquity” - whoever was not dissatisfied with the impulsive autocrat. All this had a painful effect on Peter’s mood. His suspiciousness intensified even more when the heir Alexei fled. At the same time, the conspiracy of the first head of the St. Petersburg Admiralty, Alexander Kikin, was revealed. The case of the prince and his supporters turned out to be the last straw - after the executions and reprisals against the traitors, Peter began to create a centralized secret police on the Franco-Dutch model.

The Tsar and the Consequence

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

Count Peter Tolstoy

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. “By beating with a whip and cutting out the nostrils, send them to hard labor for eternal labor” in response to the proposal to only beat with a whip and send to hard labor - that’s 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 therefore his secret police) had a particular dislike for church leaders. One day he learned that Archimandrite Tikhvinsky had brought a miraculous icon to the capital and began to serve secret prayer services in front of it. First, the Royal Majesty sent midshipmen to him, and then he personally came to the archimandrite, took the image and ordered him to be sent “on guard.”

“Peter I in foreign attire in front of his mother Queen Natalya, Patriarch Andrian and teacher Zotov.” Nikolay 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 extremely frozen, it was necessary to deal with the nobles carefully, in a 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 various parts of the country. The ruler's instructions were usually conveyed by the cabinet secretary Makarov. Some of those who had committed offenses before the throne had to languish in prison for a long time in anticipation of the final decision: “... if the execution has not been carried out on the priest of Vologots, then wait until we see me.” In other words, the Secret Chancellery worked not only under the control of the tsar, but also with his active participation.

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 due to Count Tolstoy’s reluctance to burden himself with long-standing responsibilities. Under Catherine I, his influence at court increased significantly, which made it possible to carry out the necessary transformations.

Nevertheless, the very need of the authorities for 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 investigation 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 prosecution of Radishchev and the trial of Pugachev). The history of regular domestic intelligence services began in 1826, when Nicholas I, after the Decembrist uprising, created the Third Department under the office of His Imperial Majesty.

Secret office. XVIII century

In addition to the formation of the police department, the 18th century was also marked by the rise of secret investigation, associated primarily with state or “political” crimes. Peter I in 1713 declares: “To say throughout the state (so that no one can be excused by ignorance) that all criminals and destroyers of state interests... such people will be executed without any mercy...”

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

Protection of state interests since 1718 is engaged Secret Chancery, acting for some time 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 the Preobrazhensky Prikaz after the village of Preobrazhensky.

The first guardians of the detective business brought 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 is against the state itself, that is, they staged a rebellion.

“Word and deed” is a cry invented by the guardsmen. Any person could shout out “word and deed”, pointing a finger at the criminal - real or imagined. The investigative machine immediately sprang into action. At one time, such concepts as “enemy of the people” were thundered, and if we consider that Stalin’s investigators were never mistaken, then the Preobrazhensky order was fair in its own way. If the guilt of the person arrested through denunciation was not proven, then the informer himself was subjected to “interrogation with bias,” that is, torture.

Secret Chancellery - Russia's first intelligence service

Costs of the Great Leap Forward

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

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

The Tsar and the Consequence

In 1718, when the search for Tsarevich Alexei was still ongoing, the Office of Secret Investigation Cases was formed in St. Petersburg. The department was located in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The main role in her work began to play Petr Andreevich Tolstoy. The secret chancellery 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. “By beating with a whip and cutting out the nostrils, send them to hard labor for eternal labor” in response to the proposal to just beat them with a whip and send them to hard labor - that’s 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 I in foreign attire in front of his mother Queen Natalya, Patriarch Andrian and teacher Zotov.” Nikolay Nevrev, 1903

In 1711, Alexey Petrovich married Sophia-Charlotte of Blankenburg- the sister of the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor, 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, Alexey Petrovich took part in the Finnish campaign: he monitored 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 Euphrosyne, 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 until he was allowed to retire for private life. Euphrosyne, imprisoned in the fortress, revealed everything that the prince had hidden in his confessions - dreams of accession to the throne when his father dies, threats to his stepmother (Catherine), hopes for rebellion and the violent death of his father. After such testimony, confirmed by Alexei Petrovich, the prince was taken into custody and tortured. Peter convened a special trial of 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 was transferred from the Peter and Paul Fortress 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

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

Further fate

Nevertheless, the very need of the authorities for 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 investigation 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 prosecution 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 Third Department at 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 began to work again, like a well-oiled machine. This happened in 1731; it was called now "Office of Secret Investigations". An inconspicuous one-story mansion, eight windows along the facade; The office also had casemates and office premises under its jurisdiction. This farm was managed by Andrei Ivanovich Ushakov, well-known throughout St. Petersburg.

In 1726 takes over the baton of secret investigation Supreme Privy Council, and in 1731 Office of secret investigators l, subordinate to the Senate. Catherine II by decree of 1762 returns to the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs its former powers, lost during the short period of the reign of Peter III. Catherine II also reorganized the detective department, obliging it to report only to the prosecutor general, which contributed to the development of secret investigation even more secret.

In the photo: Moscow, Myasnitskaya st., 3. At the end of the 18th century. in this building the Secret Office of Investigative Secret Affairs was located

First of all, the sphere of competence of the investigators of the Secret Chancellery included cases concerning official crimes of officials, high treason, and attempts on the life of the sovereign. In the conditions of Russia, just awakening from a medieval mystical sleep, there was still a punishment for making a deal with the devil and thereby causing harm, and even more so for causing harm to the sovereign in this way.

Illustration from the book by I. Kurukin and E. Nikulina “Daily Life of the Secret Chancellery”

However, even mere mortals, who did not make deals with the devil and did not think about treason, had to keep their ears to the ground. The use of “obscene” words, especially as a wish for death to the sovereign, was equated to a state crime. Mentioning the words “sovereign”, “tsar”, “emperor” along with other names threatened to be accused of imposture. Mentioning the sovereign as the hero of a fairy tale or joke 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 Chancellery through denunciations, and investigative measures

were carried out through torture, falling into the clutches of a secret investigation was an unenviable fate for the average person..

"If only I were a queen..."
- Peasant Boris Petrov in 1705. for the words “Whoever started to shave his beards should have his head cut off” he was strung up on the rack.

Anton Lyubuchennikov was tortured and whipped in 1728. for the words “Our sovereign is a fool, if I were a sovereign, I would hang 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 “for his guilt, for fear of others.”
- Carpenter Nikifor Muravyov in 1732, being in the Commerce Collegium 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 Secret Chancellery for a bad joke. He brought her a hedgehog in a hat “for fun,” thereby scaring her. The buffoonery was regarded as an attack on the health of the empress.

“Interrogation in the Secret Chancery” Illustration from the book by I. Kurukin, E. Nikulina “Daily Life of the Secret Chancery”

They were also tried for “undignified words such as in which the sovereign is alive, but if he dies, then he will be different...”: “But the sovereign will not live long!”, “God knows how long he will live, these are shaky times,” etc.

Refusal to drink to the health of the sovereign or his loyal royal subjects was considered not just a crime, but an insult to honor. The chancellor reported on the nobleman Grigory Nikolaevich Teplov Alexey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin. He accused Teplov of showing disrespect for Empress Elizabeth Ioanovna by pouring “only a spoon and a half”, instead of “drinking it full to 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 Tocquet 1757, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Catherine II, who tried to reform Russia no less than the famous Peter, significantly softened in relation to her people, who practically no longer mentioned the name of their empress in vain. Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin dedicated this significant line change:
“There you can whisper in conversations
And, without fear of execution, at dinners
Don't drink to the health of kings.
There with the name Felitsa you can
Scrape out the typo in the line
Or a portrait carelessly
Drop it to the ground..."

“Portrait of the poet Gabriel Romanovich Derzhavin” V. Borovikovsky, 1795, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

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

After a period of disgrace from 1727-1731. Ushakov was returned to the court of the newly gained power Anna Ioanovna and appointed head of the Secret Chancellery.

In his practice, it was common practice to torture the person under investigation, and then the informer on the person under investigation. Ushakov wrote about his work: “here again there are no important cases, but there are mediocre ones, according to which, just like before, I reported that we flog rogues with a whip and release them to freedom.” However, the princes Dolgoruky, Artemy Volynsky, Biron, Minikh passed through Ushakov’s hands, and Ushakov himself, who embodied the power of the Russian political investigation system, successfully remained at court and at work. Russian monarchs had a weakness for investigating “state” crimes; they often held court themselves, and every morning royal ritual, in addition to breakfast and the toilet, was listening to the report of the Secret Chancellery.

“Empress Anna Ioannovna” L. Caravaque, 1730 State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

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

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

The third pillar of political investigation in Russia in the 18th century. became Stepan Ivanovich Sheshkovsky. He led the Secret Expedition from 1762-1794. Over the 32 years of Sheshkovsky’s work, his personality has acquired a huge number of legends. In the minds of the people, Sheshkovsky was known as a sophisticated executioner, guarding the law and moral values. In noble circles, he had the nickname “confessor,” because Catherine II herself, zealously monitoring the moral character of her subjects, asked Sheshkovsky to “talk” with guilty individuals for edifying purposes. “Talk” often meant “light corporal punishment,” such as flogging or whipping.

Sheshkovsky Stepan Ivanovich. Illustration from the book “Russian Antiquity. Guide to the 18th century."

At the end of the 18th century, the story of a mechanical chair that stood in the office of the Sheshkovsky house was very popular. Allegedly, when the invitee sat down in it, the armrests of the chair snapped into place, and the chair itself was lowered into a hatch in the floor, so that one head remained sticking out. Then the invisible henchmen removed the chair, freed the guest from his clothes and flogged him, not knowing who. In the description of the son of Alexander Nikolaevich 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 to force confessions, and it was he who began by striking the person being interrogated with a stick right under the chin, so that his teeth would crack and sometimes pop out. Not a single accused person dared to defend himself during such interrogation under fear of the death penalty. The most remarkable thing is that Sheshkovsky treated only noble persons in this way, since the common people were given over to his subordinates for reprisals. Thus, Sheshkovsky forced confessions. He carried out the punishments of noble persons with his own hands. He often used rods and whips. He used the whip with extraordinary dexterity, acquired through frequent practice.”

Punishment with a whip. 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 get what he wanted from the interrogated by simply escalating the atmosphere and light punches.

Be that as it may, Sheshkovsky elevated political investigation to the rank of art, complementing Ushakov’s methodical approach and Shuvalov’s expressiveness with a creative and unconventional approach to the matter.

Torture

If during interrogation it seemed to the investigators that the suspect was “locking himself in,” then the conversation was followed by torture. This effective method was used in St. Petersburg no less often than in the basements of the European Inquisition.

The rule in the office was “to torture a confessor three times.” This implied the need for a triple confession of guilt of the accused.

In order for the readings to be considered reliable, they had to be repeated at different times at least three times without changes. Before 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, are not controlled by anyone.

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

Inquisition "in Russian"

The secret chancellery resembled the Catholic Inquisition. Catherine II even compared these two bodies of “justice” in her memoirs:

“Alexander Shuvalov, not in himself, but in the position he held, was a threat to the entire court, the city and the entire empire; he was the head of the Inquisition Court, which was then called the Secret Chancellery.”

These were not just beautiful 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 called “inquisitors.” Subsequently, this initiative formed the basis of the Secret Chancellery. It hasn't turned into a witch hunt, but religious crimes are mentioned in the cases.

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

Eminence grise

General Andrei Ivanovich Ushakov became the real “gray eminence” of the Secret Chancellery. “He managed the Secret Chancellery under five monarchs,” notes historian Evgeniy Anisimov, “and 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 “the struggle for a piece of bread” was.

He led the case of Tsarevich Alexei, tilted 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 into 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 replaced them.

What is significant is that both “gray cardinals” met their death not on the scaffold, like most of their victims, but at home, in bed.

Hysteria of denunciations

Peter called on his subjects to report all disorders and crimes. In October 1713, the tsar wrote threatening words “about those who disobey the decrees and those laid down by law and who are robbers of the people,” to denounce whom the subjects “without any fear would come and announce it to us ourselves.” The following year, Peter demonstratively publicly invited the unknown author of an anonymous letter “about the great benefit of His Majesty and the entire state” to come to him for a reward of 300 rubles - a huge sum at that time. The process that led to real hysteria of denunciations was launched. Anna Ioannovna, following the example of her uncle, promised “mercy and reward” for a fair accusation. Elizaveta Petrovna gave the serfs freedom for the “right” denunciation of the landowners who were sheltering their peasants from the audit. The decree of 1739 set the example of a wife who denounced her husband, for which she received 100 souls from the confiscated estate.
Under these conditions, they reported everything to everyone, without resorting to any evidence, based only on rumors. This became the main tool for the work of the main office. One careless phrase at a party, and the fate of the unfortunate man was sealed. True, something cooled the ardor of the adventurers. Igor Kurukin, a researcher on the issue of the “secret office,” wrote: “If the accused denied and refused to testify, the unlucky informer could himself end up on his hind legs or spend from several months to several years in captivity.”

In the era of palace coups, when thoughts of overthrowing the government arose not only among officers, but also among persons of “vile rank,” hysteria reached its apogee. People started reporting on themselves!

In “Russian Antiquity,” which published the affairs of the Secret Chancery, the case of soldier Vasily Treskin is described, who himself came to confess to the Secret Chancery, accusing himself of seditious thoughts: “that it’s not a big deal to offend 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 arrive in the Russian Empire. Cases of espionage also fell under the jurisdiction of the Secret Chancellery, but they did not succeed in this field. For example, under Shuvalov, the Secret Chancellery knew only about those “infiltrators” 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 transferring to him copies of “secret orders” of the Russian command.

But against this background, such famous “spies” as the French Gilbert Romm, who in 1779 handed over to his government the detailed state of the Russian army and secret maps, successfully carried out their business in the country; or Ivan Valets, a court politician who conveyed information about Catherine’s foreign policy to Paris.

The Last Pillar of Peter III

Upon ascending 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 hostility towards the institution in connection with the affairs of Prussian informers during the Seven Years' War, with whom he sympathized, played a role. The result of his 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 failing to fulfill the tasks assigned to it.

The abolition of the Secret Chancellery is often considered one of the positive results 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 defaming the emperor, which now there was 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.