Ivan Petrovich Liprandi

Ivan Petrovich Liprandi (Иван Петрович Липранди; 28 July [O.S. 17 July] 1790 – 21 May [O.S. 9 May] 1880) was a Russian secret service officer, major general, and memoirist of Spanish and Italian descent. He was the elder brother of Pavel Liprandi.

His father Pietro headed Russia's arms factories and organised those of Tsar Alexander, before returning from Russia to his native Piedmont. During the Finnish War and Napoleonic Wars, Ivan built a reputation as a remarkable duelist and Freemason. After the taking of Paris in 1814, he became interested in secret police methods and did some fieldwork with Vidocq.

In the early 1820s, Liprandi served in Odessa under Prince Vorontsov, helping infiltrate the Danubian Principalities with Russian spies. During this soujourn in New Russia, he saw Pushkin on a daily basis and was on friendly terms with him. The writer depicted him as Silvio in The Shot, a 1830 short story inspired by an anecdote told by Liprandi.

After the Decembrist Revolt, Liprandi was briefly arrested and had to leave military service (although some Decembrists considered him a government spy). He went on to serve as an 'official for special assignments', first for the Minister of Internal Affairs (from 1840), and then at the Government Office (from 1856).

Liprandi played a prominent role in the suppression of the so-called Petrashevsky Circle. On behalf of Minister of Interior Lev Perovski, he observed the circle for a year and on 20 April 1849 gave the names of four people more or less involved in it, all of whom were arrested. The Commission of Inquiry invited Liprandi to express his opinion about the case, provided they noted that, in his own words, he had contributed to the guilty verdict against the four.

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