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Okhrana

The Department for Protecting the Public Security and Order (Russian: Отдѣленіе по Охраненію Общественной Безопасности и Порядка), usually called "guard department" (okhrannoye otdelenie) and commonly abbreviated in modern sources as Okhrana or Okhranka in Russia, was a secret police force of the Russian Empire and part of the police department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in the late 19th century, aided by the Special Corps of Gendarmes. The Okhrana was notorious for its harsh methods, including torture. The agency was founded in 1881 in reaction to the murder of Tsar Alexander II, and was dissolved by the Provisional Government in 1917 during the Russian Revolution.

Okhrana in The Two Georges[]

The Okhrana was a police force of the Russian Empire. Being an Okhrana member was a dangerous job akin to being a combat soldier, which might have explained the agency's reputation for harsh treatment of suspects. This included torture to obtain confession, and disregard for niceties such as proper warrants. All this made "Okhrana" a synonym for any tyrannical organisation.[1]

Thomas Bushell of the North American Union's Royal American Mounted Police disdained the Okhrana's methods and refused to sink to their level, although he was sorely tempted by his experiences with the villains responsible for the theft of The Two Georges.

References[]

  1. The Two Georges, p. 140, 196, 318, 341 HC.
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