A special role in the events of the February coup in 1917 was played by the last Minister of the Interior in the Russian Empire, Alexander Protopopov. The conspirators considered him a traitor, the right-wingers thought that the empress Alexandra Fedorovna was involved in the appointment of the leader, and some even believed that the minister had lost his mind.
A bit about the figure
Protopopov Alexander Dmitrievich - a well-known Russian official, a large industrialist and landowner, who was destined to become the last Minister of Internal Affairs in the empire. Among other things, the nobleman was a member of the State Duma from the Simbirsk province. In general, the weight of the figure in society at that time was very significant.
Russian politician Aleksandr Dmitrievich Protopopov was radically different from the previous ministers of the interior. Prior to receiving such a high position, he did not work as a policeman, official, dignitary or military administrator. Moreover, he had absolutely no experience in public administration.
The opinion of contemporaries
Most Protopopov’s contemporaries believed that it was precisely the complete indifference and deliberate inaction of the minister in the winter of 1917 that led to a significant deterioration of the events and, as a result, the emperor’s abdication. For example, the poet Alexander Blok, who was a member of the Kerensky Extraordinary Commission, mentioned this in his works. It was also believed that the minister knew perfectly well about the preparation of the coup, but at the same time he didn’t just do nothing, but he didn’t even report to the ruler about the current state of affairs.
This fact was confirmed by notes in the diary of Protopopov himself. After all, after the death of the activist, these first-person stories became public knowledge, which the activist himself, of course, did not count on. That is why Minister Aleksandr Dmitrievich Protopopov wrote in his diary not as a nobleman or famous person, but as a deeply bewildered and even miserable person who could not independently make the right decision and take action.
Personal biography
The future Russian official was born on December 30, 1866 in a village called Marysovo, located in the Nizhny Novgorod province. A native of a noble family had two older brothers - Sergey and Dmitry.
At the age of 17, the young man graduated from the first cadet corps, and two years later - from the Nikolaev Cavalry School in Leningrad. Then the guy for several years served in the equestrian grenadier regiment. In 1888, Alexander became a student of the General Staff at the Nikolaev Academy. And just 2 years later, he resigned as headquarters captain.
Politics Activities
The following year, Alexander Dmitrievich Protopopov moved to his own estate, located in the Simbirsk province. There he engaged in agricultural activities, acquired a foundry, mechanical and sawmill. Among other things, the property of the future official was the Rumyantsev Cloth Factory, which was considered one of the largest sewing enterprises in Russia in terms of its production volumes. So Protopopov became the head of the association of cloth manufacturers.
At that time, the textile industry was led by opposition leaders Raskolnikov - Konovalov and Guchkov, with whom Protopopov had very close friendly relations. It was with the help of the opposition that in the summer of 1915, Alexander Dmitrievich became the head of the Council of Congresses of Representatives of the Metallurgical Industry. In addition, the future official joined the ranks of the Progressive opposition bloc.
Back in 1892, Alexander Dmitrievich Protopopov became a member of the department of institutions of the Empress Maria. Repeatedly, the leader was elected by the provincial and district zemstvo vowel, as well as a justice of the peace. In 1905, he took over as head of the nobility of Korsun County.
Just a few years later Protopopov became a member of the State Duma from the Simbirsk province. After the split of the corresponding fraction, it entered the association of Zemstvo-Octobrists. And in 1908, Alexander received the title of chamber junker, and a little later - a real state adviser.
Relations with the king
Emperor Nicholas II was well aware of the personality of Alexander Dmitrievich Protopopov, his capabilities and connections. It was also known to the ruler that in England the name of the official was strongly popularized. It was Alexander who headed the Russian parliamentary delegation sent to Europe at the invitation of the English government in the spring of 1916.
On the way back Protopopov will stop in Stockholm, where he had a meeting with the German banker Max Warburg, who arrived in the city with a particularly secret mission. At this meeting, the leaders discussed, for the most part, Wall Street, but subsequently there were numerous rumors that negotiations on a separate peace were held in Stockholm. By the way, the official himself not only did not refute these rumors, but also supported.
Although in reality all this was completely different from the truth. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Protopopov met with Nicholas II and informed him of all the details of a visit to Stockholm. According to many contemporaries of Alexander, it was this meeting with the sovereign that subsequently became one of the reasons for the appointment of the official as Minister of the Interior in the future.
On confidential meetings with the emperor, Alexander Dmitrievich spoke about the plot of the Progressive Bloc members preparing against the government and made a promise to control the actions of the Duma opposition. It was after this that on January 2, 1917, Protopopov was appointed by Nicholas II Minister of the Interior of the Russian Empire.
Minister appointment
The appointment of Alexander, the Octobrist, and a member of the Progressive Bloc, once again saying that the tsar wants to establish relations with the opposition. True, the emperor’s plans also included something else. By appointing Protopopov to this post, the tsar tried to prevent a coup coming out against him, without resorting to violence from the government. But the plans of the emperor were not destined to come true.
In response to the actions of the monarch, the participants in the Progressive bloc, in turn, launched a brutal campaign against the new minister. Indeed, for the opposition, the fact that Protopopov, being a friend of Gnuchkov before he got the post, knew all the plans of the bloc. The new minister believed that the idea of a coup d'état during the war was unacceptable, so he hoped that the opposition leaders would sooner or later realize this and abandon their idea.
Having taken the post of minister, Protopopov first of all restored the apparatus of secret agents in the troops and the operational monitoring of opposition leaders. In addition, he banned the organization of large meetings of the military-industrial complex with the participation of outsiders. By February 1917, the new minister had practically fulfilled his duties and fulfilled the promise given to the tsar: the revolution in Petrograd was stopped, and the opposition in fact lost control of the situation. However, the Minister’s actions on the eve of the February coup remained incomprehensible.
Giving a positive assessment to the situation in Petrograd, Alexander did not pay any attention to the actions of Kerensky and the leadership of the Stavka, which, in fact, led to the tragic events of the winter of this year. It is known for certain that until the last moment Protopopov kept the monarch in ignorance, even when the situation became truly threatening. The opinions of contemporaries regarding the minister’s behavior were divided: some believed that Alexander was simply mistaken, others openly accused him of collaborating with the opposition.
Arrest and execution
Immediately after the coup, Alexander Dmitrievich independently arrived at the Tauride Palace and talked for a long time with Kerensky. At numerous interrogations, the former minister spoke of the king as an insidious and weak-willed leader, controlled by his wife. Although on the eve of the events, the same Protopopov spoke of the royal family with great enthusiasm and even some worship. Nobody knew about why such a dramatic change occurred with the Minister.
In March 1917, Protopopov was arrested and was detained for six months in the Peter and Paul Fortress. A little later, Alexander's friend, Ryss, prepared fictitious documents about Protopopov’s mental illness, in connection with which he was sent to a special hospital. Then he was transferred to the Tagansky prison, located in Moscow, after the October Revolution. In the fall of next year, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission sentenced the former minister to be shot. On October 27, 1918, the verdict was executed in Moscow.
