The name of Count Benckendorff is well known to us from high school textbooks on history and literature. He was the chief of the gendarmes, on the orders of Emperor Nicholas I, supervised Pushkin, and also conducted an investigation into the case of the Decembrists. The image of this insidious and cruel official of the Russian Empire was forever imprinted in the minds of the older generation. What kind of person was he really?
General information
Count Benckendorff was a man who caused extremely contradictory impressions among his contemporaries. Most were negative. He left memoirs behind him. Reading them, many of his actions and decisions become clear, which the descendants accused him of. Tough, disciplined, who went through a great school of life, participating in the affairs of the country, ranging from military operations to expeditions pursuing military, territorial and economic goals.
They say they have a lot of life experience. Count Benckendorff approachedother people's actions only from the point of view from which he assessed his own actions, being extremely honest with himself and others. He proceeded only from the benefit of the state.
According to the same criteria, he assessed the actions of superiors and senior officials. But for the good of the cause (and partly for his own benefit), he did not consider it necessary to state them aloud. His thoughts became known only after his death.
Family
Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf came from hereditary noblemen of the Ostsee (B altic) Germans. His great-grandfather (Johann Benckendorff) was the senior burgomaster of Riga. This position gave the title of hereditary nobles. Alexander was born on 1783-04-06 in the family of Christopher Ivanovich Benkendorf, an infantry general, the military governor of Riga. The mother's name was Anna Benckendorff (Schilling von Kanstadt). She was a baroness. There were four children in the family: two brothers (Alexander and Konstantin) and two sisters (Maria and Dorothea).
Childhood and youth
From a brief biography of Benckendorff Alexander Khristoforovich, you can find out that he received his education and upbringing at the boarding house of Abbot Nicolas in St. Petersburg. It was one of the most prestigious educational institutions of the Russian capital, which provided secondary education. The tuition fee was 2,000 rubles, so the children of the Russian aristocracy studied here. Studying here was the key to a successful career, since it was here that connections were made with the offspring of the most influential people in Russia.
Young Alexander at the age of 15 enters the service in the Semyonovsky regiment. After serving for two years, he receives the rank of ensign, and at 19years - the rank of adjutant wing of Emperor Paul 1. A small digression is needed here, which will explain the appearance of the future chief of the gendarmerie at the imperial court.
Paul I and Christopher Ivanovich Benckendorff
As can be seen from the memoirs of Count Benckendorff, Grand Duke Pavel, the future Emperor of Russia, was friends with his father. After accession to the throne, he did not forget his friend. In 1796, the sovereign grants Alexander's father the rank of lieutenant general, and after a while appoints him to the post of military governor of Riga. He justified the trust with his conscientious service.
The mother of Alexander Khristoforovich Benckendorff, Anna Juliana Schilling von Kanstadt, from childhood was familiar and friendly with the wife of Emperor Paul I, Maria Feodorovna. They came to Russia together. Paul's attitude towards her was intolerant to such an extent that the Benkendorfs, despite the friendship of the head of the family with the emperor, were exiled to the city of Dorpat (Tartu). This was caused by the intervention of Anna Benkendorf in the relationship between Pavel and his favorite Nelidova.
After their expulsion, Empress Maria Feodorovna took over the care of her friend's two sons, Alexandra Konstantin. It was she who arranged them for the Abbé Nicolas boarding school. After the death of Anna Beckendorf, her husband was appointed governor-general of Riga.
Caring for the children of a friend was the duty of Empress Maria Feodorovna. It is with this that Count Benckendorff received the rank of adjutant wing, in which he served for about three years.
Start service
After the death of Paul I onthe throne was ascended by his son Alexander I, who did not really like his father's close associates. Therefore, by order of the emperor, Count Benckendorff is sent on a secret expedition to Asian and European Russia. It was headed by the future Governor-General of Finland Sprengtporten.
In the Napoleonic wars of 1805-1806. the future count took an active part, serving under the duty general Tolstoy. Military operations of this period took place in alliance with Austria and Prussia on the territory of these states.
It was at this time that Napoleon's victorious movement across Europe began. Since 1807, Benckendorff has been at the Russian embassy in France. But routine diplomatic work did not seduce him. Dreaming of an early promotion in military service, he decides to volunteer and take part in military operations against Turkey in the territory of Moldova, southern Ukraine and Bulgaria. In France, he becomes a member of the Masonic Lodge.
In 1809, he wrote a petition asking him to be sent to the Russian-Turkish war that had begun. The request was granted. Benckendorff arrives at the site of the Russian-Turkish confrontation. For the battle near the Bulgarian city of Ruschuk, he receives the Order of St. George, fourth degree.
Petersburg Masonic Lodge
Freemasonry in Russia has been banned since the time of Catherine II. But the young Emperor Alexander I was tolerant of Freemasonry, which prompted the decision to establish a Masonic lodge in St. Petersburg. It was called "United Friends". The founder and "master of the chair" was Alexander Zherebtsov, a freemason since Catherine's time, a distant relative of the Zubov brothers, who were involved in a conspiracy against Emperor Paul I.
They were close to Emperor Alexander I, but the latter eventually became burdened by ties with the regicides. The nobles, taken to the court, realizing this, quickly stopped noticing the Zubovs. In order to regain their former influence, they, being members of the Masonic lodge in France, decide to create a similar secret society in St. Petersburg. The count understood that it was in his ranks that the top of the capital's aristocracy, subject to foreign influence, was concentrated. He writes about this in his note to the emperor.
He was too reasonable and ambitious, so he could not ignore the "Connected Friends", where you could get enough connections to make a worthy career. In 1810 he became a member of the United Friends Masonic Lodge. He was later accused of "snitching" on his comrades.
Patriotic War of 1812
At the very beginning of the French invasion of Russia, Count Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf again became the adjutant wing, but already of Emperor Alexander I. His duties included ensuring communication with Bagration's army. But here he did not stay long, as he moved to the army partisan detachment of General Winzingerode, where he was entrusted with the command of the vanguard. After the Napoleonic flight from Moscow, Benckendorff became for some time the commandant of the city.
Military Companies 1813-1814
A short biography of Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf says that in 1813 he was appointed commander of a military flying detachment. During his command, he showed himself to be a brave commander and distinguished himself in the battle of Timpelberg, for which he received the Order of St. George of the third degree. He took the town of Furstenwald and, together with the detachments of Prince Chernyshov and Baron Tettenborn, took part in the capture of Berlin. On account of his detachment is also the capture of the Swiss commune in the canton of Vorben. He participated in a number of battles and his liberation by a detachment of several settlements.
Under the command of Count Vorontsov, he participated in several operations, was awarded a golden saber with diamonds for his bravery. After that, a detachment under his command was sent to Holland, which needed to be cleared of the French. In 1814 he commanded the cavalry of Count Vorontsov, participating in the battles near Luttich, Craon, Saint-Dizier.
Emperor Alexander I was very pleased with Count Benckendorff. His biography was replenished with military exploits, which were noticed by the sovereign. The count in the post-war years remained close to the imperial court. His bravery was especially emphasized by the flood of 1824 in St. Petersburg, when he, together with General Miloradovich, took part in saving the population in front of Alexander I.
Marriage of Count Alexander Khristoforovich Benckendorff
In 1817, a significant event took place in the life of the future chief of gendarmes - he got married. His chosen one was the widow ElizabethAlexandrovna Bibikova. Her father (Zakharzhevsky G. A.) was the commandant of St. Petersburg. After the death of her husband Bibikov, she lived in the Kharkov province on the estate of her aunt Dunina. It was here that she met the count.
Alexander Benkendorf's family had five children, all girls. In marriage, they had three daughters Anna, Maria and Sophia, who were brought up together with two half-sisters Ekaterina and Elena Bibikov. Their mother was engaged in their upbringing, as the father was constantly busy at work. They all received a good upbringing, married high-ranking and we althy aristocrats.
Against the emperor's enemies
Contemporaries of Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf blamed him for denunciations of his classmates, acquaintances, and friends. Yes, it really was. He was called a snitch behind his back, wondering how a general of the guards, who had gone through hostilities, could inform the sovereign on his comrades. In his memorandum “On Secret Societies in Russia” addressed to the emperor, he reported that after the entry of Russian troops into France, many officers, obeying the existing fashion, joined Masonic lodges.
He was worried that such societies could appear in Russia. The ideas professed in them can become disastrous for the state. Many, not understanding the essence, can endure them only because of their commitment to fashion. He wrote that small printing houses could be sent to Russia, in which lampoons and caricatures of members of the sovereign family, appeals against the existing government would be printed. Distribution of suchinformation among the people will cause his discontent against the existing state foundations.
He warned the emperor that this was rooted in the army ranks. Before the performance of the Decembrists, he tried to convince many officers of the sad consequences and prevent the impending disaster. But they did not hear him, accusing him of snitching and betrayal. It ended with an uprising in the Senate Square, the death of many people who believed in their commanders.
Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf and the Decembrists
It should be noted that by this time Benckendorff had developed an interest in police matters. With regard to some issues of law and order, he submitted notes to the sovereign, in which he sensibly showed his abilities, showing himself to be an adherent of the ruling system. After the uprising on Senate Square, he was instructed to conduct an investigation. In a short biography of Alexander Benckendorff, another fact appears that was accused of him. He approached the assignment with all rigor and in accordance with the law.
He wasn't being hypocritical here. Despite the fact that Count Benckendorff had good friends and acquaintances in the secret societies of the Decembrists, he did not show the slightest sympathy for them. Although, as he later wrote in his memoirs, at first he was disposed towards many of them, even felt a kind of pity. As he later recalled, after the arrests, he gathered them all together and asked what they, considering themselves fighters against serfdom, had done for their peasants.
As an example, hebrought himself up, saying that he had long ago set the peasants free on his B altic estate, having paid taxes for them three years in advance. Provided the opportunity to purchase inventory and everything you need to start your own business. They still worked for him, without feeling hunger and need, they became strong masters, bringing him considerable income in the form of joint profits.
He invited the one who did the same to raise his hand and even promised that this person would be released immediately. He did not see a single raised hand of members of secret societies. Count Benckendorff then called them hypocrites and criminals trying to undermine the state system. This conversation immediately put a barrier between him and his former friends, gave him the opportunity to stand above them and conduct an investigation.
Establishment of the third branch
It should be noted that the project of the third department, as the highest police under the leadership of the minister and the inspector of gendarmes, was personally developed by Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf. In the photo we see his gendarmes. He sends Nicholas I a memorandum in which he describes everything in detail. The monarch, having familiarized himself with it, appoints him chief of the gendarmes. This happened on June 25, 1826. A few weeks later, the count becomes the chief head of the III department of the EIV Chancellery. In addition, he is entrusted with the duty of the commander of the main EIV apartment. Alexander Benckendorff devoted most of his time to work.
He got a lot of power. As A. Herzen wrote, he had the rightto interfere in everything, as he was the head of the terrible police, which stood above the law and was outside the law. Although Emperor Nicholas I had a low opinion of the mental abilities of his subordinate, he was afraid of all kinds of secret societies. Mindful of military merits (there are many of them in the biography of Alexander Benckendorff), as well as his participation in the cause of the Decembrists, the sovereign allowed him to create a body that had enormous power and the ability to interfere in all affairs of the empire.
Benckendorff in the third department performed mostly representational activities rather than service activities. He was friends with the king, unquestioningly carried out his will, and this earned him a high favor. He nurtured the idea of creating a police structure for a long time. He was a pedant and therefore could not quit work halfway through. In the photo, Alexander Benckendorff looks like a benevolent and respectable Eastsee German, who should have a streak in everything.
There is evidence that Benkendorf dreamed of creating a secret organization of detectives and bloodhounds who would guard the state and its interests. He explained the creation of the detective department by the fact that it would help the "orphans and the poor" to avoid the fate that befell the rank and file of the regiments that spoke in December 1825.
Benkendorf and officials
Count Benckendorff's society did not like, but was afraid. This is exactly what the chief of gendarmes needed. He did not need anyone's love, as he knew the price of everyone who surrounded him. His diaries talk about it. In them we can read the characteristic that the chief of the gendarmerie gives to those around himofficials. He called this estate morally corrupt, since decent people among them are rare.
Their craft in society, Count Benckendorff called embezzlement, forgery and the interpretation of laws in the right aspects. It was they, wrote Benckendorff, who ruled in the state, but not only the influential ones, but also those who knew all the intricacies of the bureaucratic system. They are afraid of one thing - the introduction of justice, correct laws and the eradication of theft. They hate those who discourage bribery.
It is they who belong to the detachment of the dissatisfied, since most of all they hate innovations that are aimed at creating order, not forgetting to classify themselves as a detachment of patriots. This definition is relevant in our time, since after centuries the essence of an official has remained the same. Maybe the emperor was wrong about his devoted subject?
Benkendorf and Pushkin
There is another page in the biography of Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf that he is blamed for - this is the duel between Pushkin and Dantes. Nicholas I instructed the chief of the gendarmes, Beckendorf, to keep an eye on Pushkin in order to protect him from the undesirable influence of a part of society negatively disposed towards the government and from the consequences of his jealousy for his wife Natalya Nikolaevna. The emperor himself carried out the censorship of the poet's works.
Benkendorf and Pushkin are completely different people, so the chief of gendarmes did not quite understand what the poet needed. After each (from his point of view) wrong step of Alexander Sergeevich, he personally wrote him moralizing letters, fromwhich the poet did not want to live. Pushkin perceived their content as a humiliation. Benckendorff wanted to know why he read Boris Godunov without his consent, why he went to Moscow, why he came to the ball not in a noble suit, but in a tailcoat.
Pushkin had to answer all these questions to the chief of gendarmes or ask his consent in advance. We see in the photo Alexander Benckendorff and the disgraced poet during their conversation. Pushkin has a white handkerchief in his hand. Looking at the picture, one gets the impression that now he will challenge the chief of police to a duel.
But the heaviest accusation was that he contributed to the duel of the poet and his murder. When fake letters about the wife of Alexander Sergeevich and Dantes began to spread around the city, then, knowing the explosive nature of Pushkin, Emperor Nicholas I asked Benckendorff to follow him and prevent the duel. Benckendorff knew about the scheduled duel, but sent his gendarmes not to the Black River, but in the other direction, since he personally disliked Pushkin and did not wish him well.
Participation in the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829
In this Russian-Turkish conflict, Benckendorff participated in a different capacity. He accompanied the sovereign during his trip to the active army, he was with him during his participation in the siege of Brailov, the conquest of Isakcha, the crossing of the Russians across the Danube River, at Varna. In April 1829, he was awarded the military rank of General of the Cavalry. In November 1832, he was elevated to the dignity of a count of the Russian Empire. All his descendants had to bear this title. Since hedid not have a male heir, the title of count passed to his nephew Konstantin Konstantinovich Benkendorf.
Benkendorff's involvement in financial transactions
The characterization of Russian officials given by him could well suit Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf. For his own benefit, he could lobby for any project. True, we must pay tribute, he was not seen in obvious adventures. There is evidence that he was a lobbyist for a large Russian insurance company in the 19th century. Occupying a high position, he was the founder of the society "for the establishment of double steamships", his share was 100,000 silver rubles at face value.
Last days
The last years of his life, Count Benckendorff was ill for a long time. In 1844 he went to Germany for treatment. After a long treatment, he returned home by sea to the estate near Revel. His wife came to Falle to meet him. But he died on the way on September 23, 1844 at the age of 62. The steamer brought his wife already dead.
Descendants of the Benkendorf family
There are three branches of the Benckendorff family, which trace their lineage from Johann-Michael Benckendorff, Alexander Khristoforovich's great-grandfather. The first is known as the count. Since the chief of the gendarmes himself had three daughters, the direct heirs of this line come from Konstantin Konstantinovich, the nephew of Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf. Two branches "Moscow" and "B altic" did not have a count title.
Many representatives of this genus in the male line devoted their lives to the military service of Russia. An example is Lieutenant GeneralBenkendorf Alexander Alexandrovich (1846-1914), representative of the B altic branch.
The revolutionary events of 1917 scattered the carriers of this surname in different parts of the world. Some settled in England, others (mostly Ostsee) - in Germany. Some representatives of the Moscow Beckendorfs remained in the USSR. During the Second World War, they fought against each other. Alexander Konstantinovich Benkendorf, the grandson of the Russian ambassador to England, fought against the Nazis in the British Navy. Been to Murmansk.
The representative of the B altic branch, Alexander Alexandrovich Benkendorf, was the fascist commandant of the city of Lyudinovo, located in the Kaluga region. He got into the German army after his parents emigrated to Germany. His desire was to return the estates in the B altic.
Another representative of this genus along the Moscow line is Alexander Alexandrovich Benkendorf. His father and grandfather were representatives of the oil business in Baku. After the revolution, the family remained in Azerbaijan, as his mother did not want to emigrate. Alexander graduated from the Institute of Architecture, fought in the Red Army against the Nazis. After the war, he worked as an architect for a long time.
