Okhrana

This article is about the secret police of the Russian Empire. For the Slavophone militias in German occupied Macedonia during World War II, see Ohrana. For the security company of the National Guard of Russia, see Federal State Unitary Enterprise Guard (Russia).

Okhrana
Guard Department
Department for the Protection of Public Safety and Order
Охрана
Охранное отделение
Отделение по охранению общественной безопасности и порядка

Okhrana group photograph in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire in 1905
Agency overview
Formed1881; 143 years ago (1881)[1]
Dissolved1917; 107 years ago (1917)
Superseding agency
Jurisdiction Russian Empire
HeadquartersPetrograd

The Department for the Protection of Public Safety and Order (Russian: Отделение по охранению общественной безопасности и порядка, romanized: Otdelenie po okhraneniyu obshchestvennoy bezopadnosti i poryadka), usually called the Guard Department (Russian: Охранное отделение, romanized: Okhrannoye otdelenie) and commonly abbreviated in modern English sources as the Okhrana (Russian: Охрана, IPA: [ɐˈxranə] ⓘ, lit. 'The Guard') was a secret police force of the Russian Empire and part of the police department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in the late 19th century and early 20th century, aided by the Special Corps of Gendarmes.

  1. ^ Corrin, Chris; Feihn, Terry (31 July 2015). AQA A-level History Tsarist and Communist Russia: 1855–1964. Hachette UK; Hodder Education; Dynamic Learning. p. 44. ISBN 9781471837807. Retrieved 8 November 2015. In 1881 a new secret police – the Okhrana – was established.