Lyubov V. Ulyanova Political Police in the System of State Administration: The Case of A.A. Maksimov (1908)

Abstract

The political police of the Russian Empire comprised a conglomeration of institutions that differed not only in their functions and the sociocultural backgrounds of their personnel, but also in their views on the limits of public participation and in their political sympathies during the emergence of legal political parties. This article examines how these differences manifested themselves in the 1908 dismissal of A.A. Maksimov, Mayor of Sevastopol, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, initiated by the Acting Governor-General of Sevastopol and Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet and Ports, Rear Admiral R.N. Viren. Particular attention is devoted to the relationships between local political police institutions (the Gendarme Administration) and the central authorities (the Police Department and the Corps of Gendarmes), as well as their interactions with other military and civilian government bodies and officials, including Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior P.A. Stolypin, Deputy Minister of the Interior and Chief of Police A.A. Makarov, Head of the Main Administration for Local Economy of the Ministry of the Interior S.N. Gerbel, and Acting Governor-General of Sevastopol R.N. Viren. The article also advances the hypothesis that Maksimov’s removal from office resulted not from concerns about his «political reliability»—the only explanation advanced in the existing scholarship—but rather from the economic interests of the Belgian Anonymous Company for Electric Lighting and Tramways, which, together with N.P. Ergopulo, Maksimov’s deputy in the Sevastopol City Duma, promoted an electrification project that competed with Maksimov’s own plans for the city. The controversy surrounding the electrification of Sevastopol is analyzed within the broader context of the activities of the Main Administration for Local Economy of the Ministry of the Interior and the Council of the Minister of the Interior.

Keywords:

A.A. Maksimov; P.A. Stolypin; R.N. Viren; Sevastopol; Рolitical police; Domestic policy; Corruption in the Russian Empire; Electrification; Belgian Anonymous Company for Electric Lighting and Tramways

For сitation:

Lyubov V. Ulyanova. Political Police in the System of State Administration: The Case of A.A. Maksimov (1908). The Historical Reporter. 2026. Vol. 59. P. 188–223. DOI: 10.35549/HR.2026.2026.59.007

Received 08.04.2026. Revised 08.05.2026. Accepted 08.06.2026.

Lyubov V. Ulyanova

C.Sc. (History), Associate Professor in Interethnic and Interfaith Relations Management Department, School of Public Administration, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Moscow, Russian Federation.

e-mail: ulianovalv@gmail.com

SPIN-code: 6459-1728

AuthorID: 535346

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