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Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich | |
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| Born | 8 September 1866 Russian Empire |
| Died | 22 October 1926 (aged 60) Arrochar, Staten Island, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Russian diplomat, political activist. |
| Notable works | The Secret World Government, or, "The Hidden Hand" (1926) |
Major-General Count Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich (Spiridovitch) (or A. de Tcherep-Spiridovitch) (aka Artur Čerep-Spiridovič) (8 September 1866[1] – 22 October 1926) was a major-general in the Imperial Russian Navy[2][3] (not in the Imperial Russian Army, as is frequently alleged), and an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist, who moved to the United States following the Bolshevik Revolution. He was a White Russian monarchist, and additionally he was heavily involved in Pan-Slavism, anti-Semitic activism, and various chivalric orders and cultural organizations, especially in the White Russian diaspora community in America. He is perhaps best known for authoring a book titled The Secret World Government, or, "The Hidden Hand" (1926), which presents his conspiracy theory that the world is being clandestinely governed by a group of 300 individuals of "Judeo-Mongol" ancestry.
- ^ Although his year of birth is often given as 1858, an article published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on 19 June 1921 states that he was 53 years old at the time. If this information is accurate, it means that Arthur was born in 1867 rather than in 1858. See "For World-Union of White Races" [1] by Frederick Boyd Stevenson, in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (issue of 19 June 1921, p. 64). However, 2 newspaper articles have been located which state that Arthur was 60 at the time of his death: (1) - "Count Issues Plea to Form Slavic Nation - Leader Announces Plans to be Laid at New York Parley"[2] in The Miami News, issue of 28 June 1926, p. 20). In this article Arthur is quoted as follows: "After 35 years of untiring effort in gratuitously aiding and advising the Slavs, I behold the commencement of such coalescence as my 60th birthday approaches". Assuming that 8 September 1866 is the accurate date of his birth, then his 60th birthday would fall on 8 September 1926. Based on this information, Arthur celebrated his 60th birthday on 8 September 1926, but then died on 22 October 1926, which was only about 6 weeks (actually 44 days) later. (2) "Count May Get Pauper Burial - Cemetery Lot Must be Purchased Today for Late Head of Russian Societies" [3], in The Kansas City Star (issue of 26 October 1926, P. 6). This article states the following: "The count, who was head of several Russian societies in the United States, died Tuesday at the age of 60." The information about Arthur's age at the time of his death presented in these 2 articles appears to be more in accord with the truth of the matter than the information on this issue that was given in the newspaper article dated 19 June 1921.
- ^ "Spiridovitch's Mission - The Russian General Explains the Purpose of his Visit to America" [4] in The New York Times (issue of 9 April 1907, p. 8). In this article Arthur is quoted as follows: "I am a Major General attached to the Admiralty (a military organization of the Russian Navy)". The military organization he refers to here as the "Admiralty" may have been the Admiralteystv-Sovet (Admiralty Council). See: Admiralty Board (Russian Empire) Admiralty Board (Russian Empire)
- ^ See: History of Russian military ranks History of Russian military ranks. Arthur said he was a major-general in the Imperial Russian Navy. According to this Wikipedia article, there was such a rank in the Imperial Russian Navy - it was the Grade IV rank of major general in the department of Naval Artillery and Coastal Defense. Similarly-named ranks were Grade IV (fleet major general) and Grade VIII (admiralty major) in the department of Naval Infantry and Shore Service Personnel. Which one of these ranks Arthur actually held is unknown at this time.