Activities of the Russian railway gendarmerie in protecting imperial trains in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries

Archive of Scientific Articles

ISSUE:

Manuscript. 2026. Volume 19. Issue 3

COLLECTION:

National History

All issues

Abstract. The purpose of the study is to reconstruct the historical experience of the operational activities of the gendarme railway police in ensuring the traffic safety of imperial trains amidst the escalating revolutionary threat in the Russian Empire. The article examines the problem of organizing the forces involved in guarding emergency trains of special importance, as well as the significance of the railway police in their coordination. The inertia of the authorities in strengthening security measures for the Tsar on the railways during the reign of Emperor Alexander II is noted. The decisions aimed at increasing the level of protection for royal trains under Alexander III are identified. The roles of the Palace and General Police, military units, and the Gendarmerie in ensuring the safe passage of imperial trains are determined. The scientific novelty of the study is determined by introducing into scientific discourse administrative correspondence of the gendarme police departments of the railways, uncovered in the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The consulted sources made it possible to expand scientific knowledge regarding access control measures, inspections of railway infrastructure facilities, and residents living near the railway during the Emperor’s travels. The organizing and coordinating role of the railway gendarmes regarding military personnel deployed for security duty is revealed. The author proposes an approach to structuring the security system for emergency trains of special importance, highlighting the security contours for royal trains: an inner contour directly inside the train, and outer contours within the railway right-of-way as well as adjacent territories. As a result of the study, it was established that the 1881 terrorist act committed by members of Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will), which claimed the life of Alexander II, led to significant changes in approaches to ensuring the personal safety of the Emperor and members of the Imperial family. Transformations affected the protection of the Tsar during his travels by rail. The size of the forces deployed to ensure the safety of royal journeys was increased. The activities of the railway gendarmerie regarding the protection of the Tsar underwent detailed regulation, the powers of its officers were expanded, and supervisory rules were tightened. Through the measures taken by the government, the bombing of the retinue train in 1879 remained in history as the only executed assassination attempt on the Tsar on the railways of Russia.