The Third Section : police and society in Russia under Nicholas I

This is a vivid account of the Russian secret police formed by Nicholas I (1825–1855). It shows the profound effect of the police on Russian political and intellectual life, and demonstrates that such institutions, far from being endemic to autocratic Russia, were a byproduct of Westernization. The story unfolds in a series of controlling images and dramatic encounters: the tsar’s parades, Pushkin’s police troubles, chaotic attempts at “thought control” by censorship, spies, literati, conspiracies. When possible, the author lets contemporaries speak for themselves, preserving tone and substance. Illustrations include sardonic Daumier caricatures. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CONTENTS Illustrations INTRODUCTION: The Dream of a Beautiful Autocracy 1. Political Police in Russia: A General Background 2. “Friends of the Fourteenth” 3. Manners and Morals in the Third Section 4. Censorship to 1848 5. Empire and Cabbage Soup 6. 1848, and After 7. The Third Section In Retrospect BIBLIOGRAPHY. NOTES. INDEX BIBLIOGRAPHY NOTES INDEX