Sergei Vasilyevich Zubatov
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Sergei Vasilyevich Zubatov (Template:Lang-ru) (March 2 (O.S.), 1864, Moscow - March 15 (N.S.), 1917, Moscow) was a famous Russian police administrator, a Colonel (Polkovnik) in the Special Corps of Gendarmes. He was a director of Moscow Okhranka Station between 1896 and 1902 and Director of the Special Section of MVD's Department of Police in 1902-1903.
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Colonel Zubatov
Zubatov was a member of revolutionary movement is his teens, but soon he became dissatisfied with revolutionaries and was easily persuaded to become agent provocateur of the Moscow Okhranka. He started the official service in the agency in 1889 and was quickly raised to the chief of Moscow office in 1896. His inventions include the routine photographing of suspects and a special surveillance unit, whose members were known as filyor (филёр).
Being a prominent monarchist, Zubatov nevertheless realized that the policy of repressions would not end the revolutionary movement. He sought the organization pro-government trade unions to channel protest away from agitation between 1901 and 1903, a practice named police socialism or Zubatovshchina (зуба́товщина) after him, and gained support from Moscow Governor General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. The first such organisation was set up under name of The community of mutual help of the workers in mechanized industry (Общество взаимного вспомоществования рабочих в механическом производстве); others were formed in Odessa, Kiev and Minsk. Howewer, he was unable to persuade the government for any actual improvement in labour legislation and the enterpreneurs were not happy about the trade unions either. After a series of strikes, in August 1903 Zubatov was expelled from the police by Minister Vyacheslav von Plehve in person and the trade unions were disbanded. After the assassination of Pleve, he refused to return to the service and continued as journalist and researcher.
He shot himself during the February Revolution after hearing the news of Emperor's abdication.