Unrealized Initiative on Fighting the Military Espionage in the Russian Empire (1909–1914)

Abstract

The appearance in the Russian legislative practice of the phenomenon of unrealized initiatives (bills) was a sign and a consequence mainly of political short-sightedness of the supreme executive and legislative power. The Council of Ministers has not managed to recognize and actualize the regular military and spyware threats. Problems of over-concentration of foreign colonists in the border regions of Russia and the imperfection of the domestic proceedings in cases of espionage were considered as not worthy of attention and not in need of immediate legal assessment. The State Duma and the Council of State, due to the lack of parliamentary experience and of special (urgent) passing legislation procedures, has not had time to take preventive and comprehensive legislative response to the foreign espionage. Meanwhile, emerging Russia’s national security system was in need of additional regional «counterespionage» laws that could minimize favorable conditions for operations of the German and Austrian intelligence. The functionality of the agents’ network in the western borderlands and the South-West region (regions of Vilna, Warsaw, Kiev and Odessa military districts) was dependent to a large extent on two factors. Firstly, the European Russian border line was inhabited by many foreigners used for the false attraction and dispersion of attention of Russian military and police authorities. In addition, there was a concentration in the Volyn and some other nearby provinces of the reserve of German and Austrian reservists (sworn allegiance to Germany or Austria-Hungary and have served in the armed forces of these countries) who were planned to get involved in the collection of intelligence information about the Russian defense with the beginning of the mobilization. Moreover, several cases of cooperation of foreign colonists were recorded in the pre-war period. And, secondly, the Grand Duchy of Finland, as a «state within a state», did not recognize the laws of Russian Empire (in terms of the fight against political crimes). As a result, criminal law prosecution for espionage, carried out by local police and judicial authorities and institutions, wasn’t so strict.