Nikolay Vladimirovich Mezentsov (russian: Николай Владимирович Мезенцов; 24 April 1827 – 16 August 1878) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

, chief of police,

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 ...

(1871), and member of the

State Council of Imperial Russia The State Council ( rus, Госуда́рственный сове́т, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj sɐˈvʲet) was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia. From 1906, it was the upper house of the parliament under the ...

(1877), assassinated for having advocated harsh punishment against the constitutional movement.

Military career

Mezentsov began his military career in 1845. He participated in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

of 1853-1856. In 1864, he was appointed

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the Gendarmery Corps; in 1874, Deputy Chief of Gendarmery; and finally, in 1876, Chief of Gendarmery and Chief of the " Third Department" (Третье отделение; Political Surveillance and Investigations Department) of His Imperial Highness's Personal Chancellery.

Politics and assassination

Mezentsov was active during the famous

Trial of the 193 The Trial of the 193 was a series of criminal trials held in Russia in 1877-1878 under the rule of Tsar Alexander II. The defendants were 193 socialist students and other “revolutionaries” charged with populist “unrest” and propaganda again ...

, in which university students were threatened with treason charges for having committed "disobedience". Alexander the Second, considered by some to have been an enlightened monarch, gave light sentences, until Mezentsov, then Chief of State Police, suggested that they should be heavy sentences. The emperor changed the sentences to heavier ones, and in response, Mezentsov was assassinated in 1878 by

Sergey Kravchinsky Sergey Mikhaylovich Stepnyak-Kravchinsky (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Степня́к-Кравчи́нский; July 1, 1851 – 23 December 1895), known in the 19th century London revolutionary circles as Sergius Stepniak, was ...

, a member of the revolutionary group Land and Liberty.

References

1827 births 1878 deaths Russian military personnel of the Crimean War Russian military leaders Assassinated politicians of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Russian monarchists {{Russia-bio-stub