Alexander Karaulov (1868–1920), Head of the Agency of the Russian Government of Admiral Kolchak: Reconstructing a Biography

Abstract

This article provides a historical-biographical study of a high-ranking officer for the domestic special services, Alexander Vasil’evich Karaulov. Being a worthy specialist in his field, this man devoted thirty years to his military career, successively serving in the ranks of the Russian Imperial Army, the Separate Corps of Gendarmes, and then in anti-Bolshevik armed formations and special services. Historical-biographical and problem-chronological methods are fundamental in preparing this work, defining its genre and nature of presentation. The connection of the subject with general historiography is presented. Sources include unpublished materials in the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Military Archive, the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region, and the archive of the Office of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Omsk Region. Of these, the greatest potential for research is the record of Colonel A. V. Karaulov compiled in Omsk in the spring of 1919. Published materials and periodicals played a supporting role. Thanks to these sources, the complex and tragic biography of one of the leaders of the special services of Kolchak’s government was reconstructed with the greatest possible detail.