Spy mania and state security: the Great Retreat of 1915 and the expansion of the internal enemy in Imperial Russia

This article examines the transformation of Russia’s secret police (Okhrana or Okhranka) during the First World War, particularly after the Great Retreat of 1915. Drawing extensively on archived reports and official circulars, it argues that military defeat and political upheaval expanded the category of the ‘internal enemy’ and pushed the secret police to adapt surveillance beyond its traditional remit. The analysis situates spy mania, patriotic violence and jurisdictional struggles with military intelligence within broader wartime dynamics. These related security challenges highlight how wartime paranoia transformed state security’s responsibilities, introducing unfamiliar issues, while also exposing the limits of its actions.