Collegiate Assessor Gubskiy – Master of “Cunning Intrigues” Against His Colleagues: From the History of the Vladivostok Fortress Security Department (1907)

The article based on a number of previously unknown archival documents examines personal and professional relationships among the bureaucracies of different bodies of political police in Russia’s Far East in the final period of the 1905–1907 Russian revolution. The author focuses on the relationships between the heads of political police at different levels as well as officers and ordinary secret agents inside of one of these bodies: the Vladivostok Fortress Security Department. These personal and professional relationships are seen as a significant factor that affected the efficiency of the combat of political police against underground organizations run by revolutionary parties. The author’s historical “investigation” found out the real reasons for the emergence of Lieutenant-Colonel Zavaritskiy’s case, the former head of the Vladivostok Fortress Security Department. The investigation and trial ended in Lieutenant-Colonel Zavaritskiy’s imprisonment. A fatal role in Zavaritskiy’s destiny was played by his successor in the post, Collegiate Assessor Nikolay Gubskiy. His ambitions and careerism were of no less importance for him than the anti-government activities of revolutionary underground. For the sake of his own career, right upon his arrival in Vladivostok, he started intriguing against Zavaritskiy, collecting incriminating evidence. Moreover, Gubskiy’s scheming led to some conflicts among police, military and judiciary authorities of Primorsky region, which undermined the activities of political police in Russia’s Far East.