FORMATION of POLITICAL POLICE FORCES IN the RUSSIAN EMPIRE in the XVIII-th century

The article aims to reveal the peculiarities of formation of state security bodies in the Russian Empire throughout the XVIII-th century. The object of the study is political police forces of the Russian Empire existing in parallel or superseding sequentially: the Preobrazhenskiy department, the secret Chancellery, the Chancellery of secret crime detection and the secret expedition. The subject of the study is the reference legal basis of the activities of political investigation bodies, their structure, functions, authorities and methods of activity. Within the framework of the research methodology on the basis of a number of materials and sources, the author uses historical and legal, comparative legal and comparative historical methods, analyzes the process of development, formation and functioning of state security bodies in the Russian Empire in the XVIII-th century. The author presents the facts of intelligence and counterintelligence activities of the political police of the Empire. The author draws the conclusion that by the end of the XVIII-th century as a result of a rather complex and contradictory process of evolution the Russian empire had developed the forces whose main function was to ensure state security. However, in order to solve a number of domestic and foreign policy issues arisen by early XIX-th century it was necessary to create fundamentally new institutions of political investigation.

государственная безопасность, органы государственной безопасности, политическая полиция, политический сыск, государственные преступления