Autocracy under Siege

Imperial Russia's security police have long been popularly associated with administrative lawlessness, harsh repression, and throngs of spies. Shocking tales told by revolutionaries and tendentious Soviet accounts have perpetuated such views. Yet Russia's security service on the eve of the Revolution of 1905 was relatively small-scale, law-abiding, and humane, especially given the extent of social and politcal opposition the regim faced.