Making a Career: The Evolution of Professionalism within Fontanka

The images of the men who filled the senior and middle ranking posts within the police bureaucracy have merged over the years into a dark conglomerate, invariably seen as a brutal, corrupt band, the dregs of tsarist officialdom. This picture like most stereotypes is derived from a few glaring cases. Men such as P.G. Kurlov, M.S. Komissarov, P.I. Rachkovskii and A.A. Makarov, to be sure, fit into the mould, but Fontanka's officialdom cannot be sorted out so easily. A close look at the careers of Russia's leading police executives, especially those connected with the political police, does reveal many unsavoury aspects. Yet many police officials worked hard at their jobs, which were often so monumental that the strain ruined their health and family life. To paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan a policeman's lot was not a happy one. Day-to-day duty was boring, unrewarding, dry and impersonal. Very few police officials enjoyed the camaraderie and close friendships usually associated with a small professional elite. 1 Any sense of comradeship wilted in an atmosphere poisoned by intrigue, where police officials were forced to expend considerable energy on advancing or preserving their careers (more on this subject later in the chapter). These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.