ESPIONAGE IN RUSSIA.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9417, 13 April 1909, Page 3

ESPIONAGE IN RUSSIA.

HOW THE SYSTEM IS WORKED. The unmasking of the Agent Provocateur Azeff has disclosed a.terrible picture of the misdeeds that take place behind the secret doors of the political -police cabinet of Rusisa, and show how this arch-protector of the present system of government in the country instigates and carries out acts of terrorism with State aid in or'er to catch revolutionaries, aciiial Or potential, and hand them over to the executioners. ,j This system of provocation, which aims on the one hand at suppression of revolutionaries, and on the_ other is used by the highest authorities as an instrument of the political police has been practised not merely during the recent years of stress and storm, but almost as long as revolutionary tendencies have manifested themselves. The provocateurs and traitors Degaieff, Goldenberg, and others developed their activity more than a quarter of a century ago, and ninetencbs of the discoveries of revolutionary organisations and failures of attempted risings are to be attributed to internal treachery. Such is the contention made by aM. Bakai, who was formerly in the service of the secret police for a few years, and has acted as one of the principal witnesses against Azeff. The Tsar has a special interest in the successes of the political police, and for some years a special paper was issued, which gave full details of all the exploits of the political police, and upon which he made marginal comments.

The system of espionage reached its height under Plehve, shut became seriously disorganised after his murder, and it found new life only after the overthrow of the Moscow insurrection at the end of 1905. As soon as Trussevitoh was appointed director of the Police Department he sent a circular to all the chiefs of the gendarmerie and Public Safety Administrations, in which he urged that no means should be overlooked for carrying out the. mpst extensive provocation among all classes of the population. For the realisation of his plans he placed several unscrupulous men at the head of the “political” districts into which he divided the Russian Empire. He also supplied foreign countries with a systematic organisation for watching Russian revolutionaries, and its centre is in Paris, under the control of a certain Hartwing, or Petrovski, or Beire.

Provocation is really the climax of espionage. What the spy cannot find out is discovered by the provocateur who often becomes an influential personality 'in the ranks of the Terrorists,at a single blow. After succeeding in several robberies and attacks, he wins such confidence among the Terrorists that he can persuade them to greater exploits with the knowledge of the police, and so betray them—with unquestionable proofs—into the hands of the authorities.

The political police recruit the spies and provocateurs in different ways. They search for them in prison among those who seem to be peculiarly fit for the work, and they compel them, either by a promise of liberty or by torture, -to betray their comrades, and then to become regular spies. To win over a provocateur the police are ready to arrange his escape from prison, to falsify documents, or to quash important trials, in the hope of reaping the benefit in the future. Out of these demoralised elements are recruited the best guides foi the highly-placed officials, who are at a loss to distinguish between the different revolutionary parties. An acquisition of a more important kind consisted in the winning over of the well known author, fiisohosowski to write reports on the activity of the revolutionary parties for the Warsaw secret police—for money, of course. He was the man who bad inspired the entire Polish youth with the greatest hopes, and who had gathered round him a multitude of revolutionary admirers. In the last number of the Byloie many incidents of provocation are narrated, of which some may be mentioned. In 1905 the chief of the detective police in Nioolaiev was a Captain Levdikov. He had an adjutant who informed him about the local group’ of anarchists. This group, however, was quite inactive. Then both heroes arranged a printing press for the anarchists put of the funds of the political detective police, and caused the press to be discovered and the anarchists to bo seized. As a reward for this brilliant suppressionr of anarchism in Nioolaiev Levdikov was transferred to Odessa. His friend accompanied him, and continued his activity among the Odessa anarchists. He persuaded them to make an attack upon General Kaulbars, and on hearing that they had no bombs, placed himself at their head and robbed a chemist’s shop, from which they got the necessary material for manufacturing bombs. At the advice of Levdikov it was arranged that the attack should take place on a holiday, when Kaulbars would ride to the cathedral. But on the previous evening domiciliary searches were made, the bombs were found, and the would-be assailants were arrested. Thus was Kaulbars “rescued” and the “Real” Russians then held p solemn service and presented him with an address.