Richard Robbins's biography of Vladimir Dzhunkovsky is a fine addition to the spate of books published in the centenary of the Russian Revolution. Senior tsarist officials such as Dzhunkovsky have rarely merited more than a passing mention in the literature while the more high-profile ministers have received the lion's share of biographers’ attention. Good scholarly biographies should link the life of the subject to the events taking place around him or her to facilitate an examination of their mutual interaction and make important and complex events more understandable. Robbins has admirably succeeded in so doing. One of the pitfalls of this genre of historical analysis, however, is that one can sometimes become too close to the subject and biography becomes hagiography. Far too often Robbins makes mention of Dzhunkovsky's admittedly laudable personal traits such as his honesty, tact, loyalty and (especially) his piety. Insofar as the latter is concerned, Robbins avers that Dzhunkovsky's religiosity “was strong and sincere, not colored by superstition, fanaticism, or narrow prejudice” (8). Dzhunkovsky was also supposedly bothered by the antisemitism of Nicholas II but when in command of an army division during the revolution he referred to an agitator as “a typical Jew” (365). Robbins remains sufficiently objective to conclude that Dzhunkovsky “shared the negative attitudes of his class, faith, and time …” (156).

Most specialists in the field might know of Dzhunkovsky as a policeman. He served as Russia's security chief from 1913–15, but prior to that was the Governor of Moscow province during and after the Revolution of 1905. Born to privilege and educated in the Corps of Pages, Dzhunkovsky became close to the royal family after serving as adjutant to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. His personal relationship with Nicholas II is ably explored by Robbins and constitutes one of the most fascinating leitmotifs of the book. As Governor, Dzhunkovsky was not only a competent official but also a reform- minded individual who engaged in outreach efforts to ameliorate the conditions of workers and their families. He also embraced the October Manifesto and accorded the new legislature his full cooperation. His acceptance of the importance of the idea of interpellation underscores Robbins's conclusion that many of the tsar's senior officials had become “politicized” in the sense that they understood well the challenges confronting a changing Russia and that its increasing pluralism necessitated new ideas and new approaches. Part of this pluralism, however, included resistance from liberals and conservatives alike in the countryside, something that vexed Governor Dzhunkovsky. He evidently did not get along well with the “Grand Old Man” of the zemstvo movement, Dmitrii Shipov, which is puzzling when one considers how similar the two men were in their outlooks. Here Robbins puts perhaps too fine a line on the distinction without a difference between a “liberal conservative” and a “conservative liberal.” When he accepted his appointment as assistant interior minister charged with running the security police, Dzhunkovsky continued his progressive reform efforts. Robbins shows how Dzhunkovsky's opposition to Rasputin eventually resulted in his downfall and illustrates once again just how influential the Empress was as she forced Nicholas to sack an able and loyal minister whom he valued greatly. In point of fact, after Dzhunkovsky had later gone into active military service at the front he was given command of the 1^st Guards Infantry Division and Nicholas said that this made him “very, very, happy” (353). After the revolution, he spent three years in prison but was then released. Robbins covers his trial and subsequent work consulting (collaborating?) with the secret police on security matters. This only delayed the inevitable as Dzhunkovsky was rearrested in 1938, tried again, and shot.

In sum, this is an important book that provides illuminating insights not only into the inner workings of the tsarist government but also into the momentous events that Dzhunkovsky lived though and participated in. Based largely on archival materials and Dzhunkovsky's own memoirs, it is extremely well-researched and paints a sympathetic picture of a decent, honorable, patriotic and conscientious public servant grappling with the myriad challenges posed by the modernization of social, economic, and political relations underway in the Empire since 1861. This remarkable story represents Robbins's masterpiece, the culmination of a lifetime of study and reflection. It may profitably be read by other specialists in Russian history and will be useful as supplemental reading for graduate students. Written in Robbins's usual clear and lucid prose, this lively and entertaining account of events in the final decades of Romanov Russia will also undoubtedly find an audience with general readers of history.