Plehve, Vyacheslav Konstantinovich von

(1847–1904)

   One of the most reactionary and anti-Semitic of Tsar Nicholas II’s advisors, von Plehve was made minister of internal affairs in 1902. As security chief, von Plehve supported draconian internal security practices and supported anti-Semitic organizations known as “Black Hundreds.” He was despised by liberal and radical public opinion for his sponsorship of the Kishinev pogrom of April 1903 that claimed hundreds of Jewish lives. Von Plehve was an incompetent security chief. He fired his most competent subordinate, Nikolai Zubatov, and ignored intelligence about growing urban and peasant radicalism. More importantly, he was seen by many Russians as the single most evil figure in the tsar’s court. His death became a major goal of the Socialist Revolutionary Party’s Battle Organization, and after several failed attempts he was assassinated in 1904, an act that prompted genuine popular rejoicing in Russia.