Ivan Putilin

Ivan Dmitrievich Putilin was born on May 20, 1830 in Novy Oskol, Kursk province, Russian Empire, in the family of a poor college registrar. He lived in poverty, in need. I caught crayfish at night on the river. He graduated from the Novooskolsk district school after studying for four years, and then moved to St. Petersburg.

Elder brother Vasily helped Putilin to get a job in the Economic Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on October 31, 1850.

On December 31, 1853, he became the owner of a certificate, having passed external examinations for a gymnasium course at St. Petersburg University.

On July 28, 1854 he received the first rank of collegiate registrar.

In 1854, Putilin was appointed a junior assistant overseer in the 4th quarter of the 1st Admiralty unit (order of the chief police chief of St. Petersburg No.

243 dated December 18, 1854), in 1855 he was transferred to the 2nd quarter of the 3rd Admiralteyskaya units (order of July 31, 1855, No.

164), in 1856 - to the senior assistants of the quarter overseer (order No.

111 of May 28, 1856). Putilin became famous after the high-profile case of the «Pugovkin Counterfeiting Brothers», which sold about half a million counterfeits in a year. In order to get on the trail of criminals, Putilin had to change his image and change clothes five times. After the arrest, the defendants hired the best lawyers, but still lost the case and were sent to hard labor. Putilin also participated in political affairs, such as the Chernyshevsky case, but the fight against the criminal world brought him fame.

In August 1858, 27-year-old Putilin, who was returning at night from his family, was stopped by four masked men, took away everything he had and almost killed. Putilin was angry and at that time did not even think to thank fate and God for salvation. He hid the incident from his work colleagues and investigated on his own, taking brass knuckles and a revolver with him.

In 1862, Putilin became a member of the All-Russian Commission of Inquiry.

On December 31, 1866, by order of the St. Petersburg Chief of Police, he was temporarily appointed head of the newly created detective police.

On August 1, 1867, he was appointed chief of the detective police. Putilin's favorite way for reincarnation was a laborer. It was he who used it in order to study the customs of the criminal world. However, in his arsenal there were also such images as a vagabond, a priest and a merchant. On the account of Putilin there were hundreds of cases solved. He never used physical assault on suspects.

In 1889 he settled in a manor in Novoladozhsky district. Shortly before his death, he wrote memoirs "Forty years among robbers and murderers.