Konstantin Alexander Karl Wilhelm Christoph Graf von Benckendorff (russian: Александр Христофорович Бенкендорф, Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf, – ) was a
Baltic German Cavalry General and statesman,
Adjutant General
An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer.
France
In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...
of
Tsar Alexander I, a commander of ''partisan'' (''Kossak irregular'') units during the
War of 1812–13. However, he is most frequently remembered for his later role, under
Tsar Nicholas I
, house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp
, father = Paul I of Russia
, mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire
, death_date =
...
, as the founding head of the
Gendarmes and the
Secret Police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic ...
in Imperial Russia.
Family and career
Alexander von Benckendorff was born into the
Baltic German noble Benckendorff family in
Reval (Tallinn in present-day
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
), son of General Baron (12 January 1749,
Friedrichsham – 10 June 1823,
Kolga), who served as the military governor of
Livonia
Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...
, and of his wife Baroness Anna Juliane Charlotte Schilling von Canstatt (31 July 1744,
Thalheim – 11 March 1797,
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...
), who held a high position at the
Romanov
The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to ...
court as senior lady-in-waiting and best friend of Empress
Maria Fyodorovna (the second wife of the Emperor
Paul). His paternal grandparents were Johann Michael von Benckendorff and his wife Sophie von Löwenstern. Alexander von Benckendorff's younger brother
Konstantin von Benckendorff
Konstantin von Benckendorff (russian: Константин Христофорович Бенкендорф, ''Konstantin Khristoforovich Benkendorf''; 31 January 1785 – 6 August 1828) was a Baltic German general and diplomat.
Life and career
K ...
(1785–1828) became a general and diplomat, and his sister
Dorothea von Lieven (1785–1857) a socialite and political force in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. His other sister, Maria von Benckendorff (1784–1841), married Ivan Georgievitch Sevitsch.
Having received his education at a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...
, Benckendorff started military service in 1798 in the
Semyonovsky Life-Guards Regiment. During
Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, Benckendorff led the
Velizh offensive, taking three French generals prisoner. When
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
was liberated (October 1812), he became the commander of its garrison. In the foreign campaigns following, he defeated a French contingent at
Tempelberg and became one of the first Russians to enter
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
. He further distinguished himself
at Leipzig (October 1813) and later cleared out the French forces occupying the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. After British and Prussian forces arrived to succeed him, his unit proceeded to take
Louvain
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...
and
Mechelen
Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...
, liberating 600 imprisoned Englishmen on the way.
In 1821 he attempted to warn Emperor
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of A ...
of the threat from the
Decembrist clandestine organisation, but the Tsar ignored his note. After the 1825
Decembrist Revolt
The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...
he sat on the investigation committee and lobbied for the establishment of a
Corps of Gendarmes and of a
secret police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic ...
, the
Third Section of
the Imperial Chancellery. He served as the first Chief of Gendarmes and executive director of the Third Section from 1826 to 1844. Under his management, the Third Section established, ''inter alia'', strict
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
over
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...
and theatre performances. His aim for
Russian historiography
This list of Russian historians includes the famous historians, as well as archaeologists, paleographers, genealogists and other representatives of auxiliary historical disciplines from the Russian Federation, the Soviet Union, the Russian Empire ...
was reflected in his statement that "Russia's past was admirable, its present is more than magnificent and as for its future — it is beyond anything that the boldest mind can imagine." In his rôle as Chief Censor, he became involved in the tragic death (1837) of
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
in an unnecessary duel, an involvement that for long made him an ''unmentionable'' in Russian historiography.
Yet by temperament, he was the very opposite of a proto-
Dzerzhinsky or a proto-
Beria. He suffered from a bizarre tendency to forget his own name, and periodically had to be reminded of it by consulting his own
visiting card
A visiting card, also known as a calling card, is a small card used for social purposes. Before the 18th century, visitors making social calls left handwritten notes at the home of friends who were not at home. By the 1760s, the upper classes in ...
. From the mid-1830s, his family seat was the
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
manor, Schloss Fall (now
Keila-Joa) near Tallinn in present-day Estonia.
Forum entry about Benckendorff's residence
He died in Dagö.
In 1817 Alexander von Benckendorff married Elisaveta Andreyevna Donets-Zacharzhevskaya (11 September 1788 – 7 December 1857, Berlin). The couple had three daughters:
* Countess Anna Alexandrovna Benckendorff (11 September 1818 – 19 November 1900, Lengyel), married to Count Rudolf Appony de Nagy-Appony
* Countess Maria Alexandrovna Benckendorff (24 May 1820, Saint Petersburg – 4 November 1880, Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
) married in Saint Petersburg on 12 January 1838 as his first wife Prince (28 March 1808, Saint Petersburg – 7 May 1882, Menton
Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border.
Me ...
(Nice))
* Countess Sophia Alexandrovna Benckendorff (2 August 1825, Keila-Joa – 5 March 1875, Paris), married to and to Prince .
Benckendorff's notes
A recent Russian publication reveals his own view of his early life: ''Zapiski Benkendorfa: Otechestvennaia voina; 1813 god: Osvobozhdenie Niderlandov'' (Benkendorff's Notes. The Patriotic War; 1813: The Liberation of the Netherlands): Yaziki slavyanskikh kul'tur, Moscow, 2001. . This book reproduces two sections of Benckendorff's private notes that had not seen publication since 1903, very lively on the events of the Napoleonic war, correspondences with his contemporaries, Bagration and others, and associated regimental histories.
According to that book, Benckendorff kept personal notes and diaries throughout his life. One additional source for his notes, in this case from the late 1830s, can be found in volume 91 of the journal ''Istoricheskii vestnik'' for 1903.
References
Sources
*
Further reading
* Ronald Hingley, ''The Russian Secret Police: Muscovite, Imperial, and Soviet Political Security Operations'' (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1970).
* R. J. Stove, ''The Unsleeping Eye: Secret Police and Their Victims'' (Encounter Books, San Francisco, 2003).
* Judith Lissauer Cromwell, "Dorothea Lieven: A Russian Princess in London and Paris" (McFarland and Co., 2007)
External links
Baltic nobility genealogy handbook
Alexander von Benckendorff
* http://www.mois.ee/english/harju/keilajoa.shtml – overview of Keila-Joa (in German: Schloss Fall) manor in Estonian Manors Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benckendorff, Alexander Von
1780s births
1844 deaths
People from Tallinn
People from Kreis Harrien
Baltic-German people
Counts of the Russian Empire
Members of the State Council (Russian Empire)
Chiefs of the Special Corps of Gendarmes
19th-century Estonian people
Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree
Knights Fourth Class of the Military Order of William