Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf

Count Alexander Khristophofovich Benkendorf (граф Александр Христофорович Бенкендорф) (1783-1844) was a Russian Lieutenant General and statesman, Adjutant General of the Svita and a commander in Patriotic War of 1812.

In 1821 he tried to warn Alexander I of the Decembrist clandestine organisations, but the Tsar took no actions. After the 1825 Revolt, he sat on the investigation committee and lobbied for the creation of the Corps of Gendarmes and the Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery. He was the first Chief of Gendarmes and Executive Director of the Third Section (1826-1844). Under his management, the Third Section established a strict censorship over literature and theater plays.