Vladimir Burtsev
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Vladimir Lvovich Burtsev (russian: Владимир Львович Бурцев; November 17, 1862August 21, 1942) was a revolutionary activist, scholar, publisher and editor of several
Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...
periodicals. He became famous by exposing a great number of
agents provocateurs An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, the ...
, notably
Yevno Azef Yevno Fishelevich Azef (russian: Евгений Филиппович (Евно Фишелевич) Азеф, also transliterated as ''Evno'' Azef, 1869–1918) was a Russian socialist revolutionary who also operated as a double agent and agent ...
in 1908. Because of his own revolutionary activities and his harsh criticism of the imperial regime, including personal criticism of emperor
Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
, he was imprisoned several times in various European countries. In the course of his life, Burtsev fought oppressive policies from
Tsarism Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states th ...
in
Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
, followed by the
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s and later
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's
National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
.


Early life (1862 - 1886)

Burtsev was born in Fort- Aleksandrovsky, in the
Transcaspian Oblast The Transcaspian Oblast (russian: Закаспійская область), or just simply Transcaspia (russian: Закаспія), was the section of Russian Empire and early Soviet Russia to the east of the Caspian Sea during the second half of ...
of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(present-day
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
) to a military family. In 1882, he was expelled from
Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
and in 1885 from
Kazan State University Kazan (Volga region) Federal University (russian: Казанский (Приволжский) федеральный университет, tt-Cyrl, Казан (Идел буе) федераль университеты) is a public research uni ...
for taking part in student disturbances. As a member of
Narodnaya Volya Narodnaya Volya ( rus, Наро́дная во́ля, p=nɐˈrodnəjə ˈvolʲə, t=People's Will) was a late 19th-century revolutionary political organization in the Russian Empire which conducted assassinations of government officials in an att ...
, he was imprisoned for two years (for about a year in the
Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...
) and in 1886 exiled to the
Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...
region of Eastern
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
.


Exile and publications (1888 - 1914)

In 1888 Burtsev managed to escape from exile and emigrate to
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. In 1889 he co-founded magazine ''Svobodnaya Rossiya'' (Свободная Россия, ''Free Russia'') but it survived only three issues. "In 1890 . . . Burtsev, wanted by the
czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...
ist police, boarded a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
boat bound from
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to
London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. When the ship found itself surrounded by Turkish police vessels with
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
ns on board, the captain refused their demand to hand over the fugitive, announcing: “This is
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
territory. And I am a
gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
!” In 1898, Burtsev was arrested by British police for advocating, in his magazine ''Narodovolets'' (Народоволец, ''Narodnaya Volya Comrade''), the assassination of
Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
. Burtsev was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months at hard labour. On his release he went on to publish it in Switzerland, resulting in his permanent ban from that country. In London, he published the two-volume book ''Za Sto Let (1800–1896)'' (За сто лет (1800–1896), ''For Hundred Years (1800–1896)''). He founded and published six issues of ''
Byloye ''Byloye'' ( rus, Былое, ''The Past'') was a monthly historical magazine published in the Russian Empire by Nikolay Elpidiforovich Paramonov and edited by Vasily Y. Bogucharsky (1861–1915), Pavel E. Shchegolev (1877–1931) and Vladimir L ...
'' (Былое, ''The Past''), a historical magazine. After the
Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
Burtsev briefly returned illegally to Russia and founded the Russian version of the ''Byloye'' magazine. Upon his return to the West in 1907, Burtsev began publishing the magazine ''Obshcheye Delo'' (Общее дело, ''Common Cause'') which was a continuation of the foreign edition of ''Byloye'' beginning with the 7th issue. By exposing numerous Tsarist
agent provocateur An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, th ...
s such as Yevno Azef, Burtsev gained fame as a
counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...
expert and became known as "the
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
of the Revolution".


World War I and the Bolsheviks (1914 - 1921)

At the outset of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1914 he repatriated, was arrested at the border and again exiled to Siberia. Amnestied in 1915, he returned to
Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. Burtsev strenuously opposed the
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s. In 1917 he accused
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
and his comrades of being agents of
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. In his article ''Either Us or the Germans and Those with Them'' (''Russian Freedom'', July 7, 1917), he listed the major enemies of Russia: # Bolsheviks, whose demagoguery puts their own goals above the interests of Russia # Reactionary forces # German agents and spies. The Bolsheviks are, and always have been, the agents of
Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...
. On the day of the
October revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
, he was arrested on orders of
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
, which led some historians to count him as the first
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
in the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. Despite their political differences and public disputes in the press,
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
pleaded for Burtsev's release and in February 1918 he was indeed freed and left Soviet Russia. Burtsev spent the rest of his life as an emigre, first in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, then
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and later in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. During the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
, he supported the White Movement of
Admiral Kolchak Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (russian: link=no, Александр Васильевич Колчак; – 7 February 1920) was an Imperial Russian admiral, military leader and polar explorer who served in the Imperial Russian Navy and fought ...
and General
Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...
. His numerous attempts to bring all anti-Bolshevik forces together under one ideological umbrella did not succeed.


Later life and death (1921 - 1942)

In 1921 Burtsev co-founded and became chairman of the Russian National Committee. In 1930s, Burtsev fought against
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
and
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
. In 1934–1935 he was a witness in the
Berne Trial The Berne Trial (also known under the name of "Zionistenprozess") was a famous court case in Berne, Switzerland which took place between 1933 and 1935. Two organisations, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities () and the Bernese Jewish Commun ...
, exposing the Okhrana's role in creating the infamous fraud ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
''. In 1938 in Paris he published a book ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: A Proven Forgery''. Burtsev died in poverty in
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. S ...
in 1942 from a blood infection.


Publications

* Белый террор при Александре III (''White Terror under Alexander III'', 1890?) * Долой царя! - London, 1901 (''Down with the tsar!'') * Историко-революционный альманах (''Historical-Revolutionary Almanach'') * О войне (''About War'', 1916) * Проклятие вам, большевики! Открытое письмо большевикам." (''Condemnation on You, Bolsheviks! Open letter'', Stockholm, 1918) * В борьбе с большевиками и немцами. (''Fighting with the Bolsheviks and Germans'', Paris, 1919. Issue 1 of newspaper "Общее дело" (1917) * Articles in the newspapers ''Будущее'' and ''Общее дело'' (1917). * Борьба за свободную Россию: Из воспоминаний (1882–1924). Vol. I. - Berlin: Гамаюн, 1924. (''Struggle for Free Russia. Memoirs'') * Юбилей предателей и убийц (1917–1927). (''Jubilee of Traitors and Murderers'') * В погоне за провокаторами. М.-Л., 1928. (Репринт - М., 1989) (''In pursuit of provocateurs.'') * В защиту правды. Перестанут ли клеветать? Дело генерала П.П. Дьяконова. Дело полковника А.Н. Попова и полковника И.А. де Роберти. Заговор молчания. - Paris: Общее дело, 1931. (''In Defense of the Truth. Will They Stop the Slander? The Case of Gen. Diakonov'') * Боритесь с ГПУ! - Paris: Общее дело, 1932. (''Fight the GPU!'') * Браудо Александр Исаевич (1846–1924): Очерки и воспоминания. - Paris. (''Braudo Alexander Isayevich'') * Кружок русско-еврейской интеллигенции в Париже, 1937. (one of authors). (''Circle of Russian-Jewish Emigration in Paris'') * «Протоколы Сионских мудрецов» - доказанный подлог. - Paris, 1938 (''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: Proven Forgery'') (Republished by Слово, 1991). * Преступления и наказания большевиков. По поводу 20-летнего юбилея предателей и убийц. – Paris: Дом книги, 1938. (''Crimes and Punishments of the Bolsheviks. 20 Year Jubilee of Traitors and Murderers'')


Editor and publisher

* «Былое» (''The Past'') * «Общее дело» (1909–1910) (''The Common Cause'') * «Будущее» (1911–1914) (''The Future'') * «Общее дело», «Наше общее дело» (1918–1922, 1928–1933) (''The Common Cause'', ''Our Common Cause'') * «Борьба за Россию» (1926–1931) (''The Struggle for Russia'')


See also

* Henryk Baran *
Protocols of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
*
Berne Trial The Berne Trial (also known under the name of "Zionistenprozess") was a famous court case in Berne, Switzerland which took place between 1933 and 1935. Two organisations, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities () and the Bernese Jewish Commun ...


References


External links


The Sherlock Holmes of the Revolution
by Rita T. Kronenbitter, CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM, RELEASE IN FULL, September 22, 1993.

by Ben B. Fischer, History Staff Center for the Study of Intelligence, CIA (declassified), 1997.

at hrono.ru
Vladimir L'vovich Burtsev papers
at th
Hoover Institution Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burtsev, Vladimir 1862 births 1942 deaths People from Mangystau Region People from Transcaspian Oblast Russian journalists Russian revolutionaries Protocols of the Elders of Zion Saint Petersburg State University alumni Kazan Federal University alumni