General Police of the Belarusian Provinces State in the Estimates of the Local Higher Administration on the Eve of the January Uprising of 1863

Abstract

According to the top offi cials of the local administration of the Belarusian provinces the county and city police consisted mostly of incompetent offi cials. If the city police basically coped with their duties, the county police did not perform a number of police functions. Police offi cials got little salaries and were relatively few in number. Corruption phenomena were registered in the general police. The county police were dependent on the local nobility. Those features prevented the rebellion suppression by police forces. During the Polish Uprising of 1863, the government had to make changes in the police structure, but those measures were late in time.