Okhranka

The Okhrannoye otdeleniye (, meaning Security Section or Security Station), also the Okhrana or Tsarist Okhranka in Western sources, or diminutive Okhranka by those dissatisfied with the tsarist regime, was a secret police force of the Russian Empire and part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in late 1800s, aided by Special Corps of Gendarmes.

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As the name suggests, the primary purpose of the agency was the security of the tsar and royal family, including, but not limited to, fighting hostile organizations: terrorists ("bombists"), socialists, and revolutionaries. The Okhranka operated offices throughout the Russian Empire and in a number of foreign satellite agencies primarily concerned with monitoring the activities of Russian revolutionaries abroad, most notably in Paris, where Pyotr Rachkovsky was based (1884 - 1902). Its headquarters were located in St. Petersburg, Fontanka, 16; this street address was infamously known in the Russian Empire.

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The task was performed by any means, including covert operations, undercover agents, and "perlustration"—reading of private correspondence. Even its Foreign Agency served this purpose. The Okhrank is notoriously known for its agents provocateurs—Dr. Jacob Zhitomirsky (a leading Bolshevik and close associate of Vladimir Lenin), Yevno Azef, and Dmitry Bogrov. Of note is the Bloody Sunday event, when imperial guards killed hundreds of unarmed workers who were peacefully marching during a protest organized by an Okhrana agent provocateur, Father Gapon. The Okhrana tried to compromise labour movement by creating police-run trade unions, the practice known as zubatovshchina.

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Other controversial activities of the agency included fabrication of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion document and fabrication of the antisemitic Beilis trial.

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Suspects captured by the Okhranka were typically given to the normal Russian judicial system, and then either executed or sent to forced labor camps known as katorgas in extremely remote areas of northeastern Siberia, although in extraordinary circumstances, the Okhrana was permitted to conduct summary executions by hanging or firing squad.

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Tsar: Tsar (Bulgarian ???, Russian ????, ; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to 1917 (although this usage ...

Secret police: :This article is about the definition of the term 'secret police'. For an actual list of such organizations, see list of secret police organizations....

Ministry of Internal Affairs: redirect Interior ministry...