THE INTERACTION OF POLICE AND GENDARMERIE (as revealed in the materials of Yenisei province, 1881 – 1917)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to define the essence of the relations between the two law enforcement bodies of the Ministry of the Interior (police and gendarmerie) inYeniseiProvincein 1880 – 1917. The author analyzed the legislation on Siberian police and gendarmerie, their paperwork and statistics of pretrial procedures (investigations and inquiries). It was concluded that, despite the affiliation of these structures to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the availability of the necessary legislative framework, the integrity of regional law enforcement system was not been formed. There were some administrative barriers to integration: the preservation of gendarmes’ subordination to War Ministry; the Governor-General and governance of the Siberian District Gendarmerie (up to 1902) interfering with the functioning of these bodies; the contradictory positions of ministries and the Duma on the police question. Regional specificity was identified. Firstly, the size ofYeniseiProvinceterritory did not meet the population density of the region, so the police staff, which depended on the population, were unable to meet their stated objectives. Secondly, there was massive political exile in the region, so since the number of police and gendarmerie was small, supervision led to closer collaboration in various forms: from simple operative actions to regional meetings.