Ivan Sherwood Verny

Ivan Vasiyevich Sherwood-Verny (Russian: Иван Васильевич Шервуд-Верный) (born John Sherwood; 12 March 1798 – 4 (16) November 1867) was a Russian Imperial Army officer of English descend. He was known for denouncing the Dekabrist revolt and for this act was awarded the surname Shervud Verny or Sherwood the Faithful by Tsar Nicholas I.

John Sherwood was born in Greenwich, England and emigrated to Russia with his parents, engineer William Sherwood and Martha née Feltham in 1800 when his father worked at the Imperial Alexandrov factory in St Petersburg. The children were rechristened with Russian names and Ivan's youngest brother Osip Sherwood was subsequently the father of architect Vladimir Osipovich Sherwood. Ivan Sherwood was admitted to the Moscow Medical and Surgery Academy in 1815 but left after 3 months and became an English Language teacher.

Sherwood joined the army initially as a private in the 3rd Ukrainian Ulan Regiment and was rapidly promoted to NCO. By the end of 1823 he became aware of the existence of a conspiracy among a large group of officers. As he later wrote: "I loved the blessed memory of the late Emperor Alexander I, not by one devotion, as to the king, but as to the emperor, who did much good to my father." Sherwood wrote a letter about the plot to Doctor Y. V. Wiley for onward transfer to Tsar Alexander I. In a letter, Sherwood reported on the plans of the conspirators. As a consequence, he was summoned to Aleksey Arakcheyev, to whom he was brought with a courier in Gruzino on July 12, 1825. The next day he was brought to St. Petersburg to see General Kleinmichel, through whom Sherwood was introduced in the Kamennoostrovsky Palace to Alexander I. Sherwood told "that he accidentally learned that in some regiments of the 1st and 2nd armies there is a secret society that is gradually increasing connections in the 4th reserve cavalry corps, and that he is sure that the Ensign of the Nezhinsky Cavalry Regiment, the ensign Vadkovsky, is one of the most important members, and finally ... he hopes to be introduced into this and to discover the secrets and members of it."

Returning to the south, on the instructions of Alexander I, he began to make acquaintance with the officers in different places and "clearly saw from their conversations that the conspiracy must be ubiquitous". Having reported to Arakcheyev everything that was possible to learn about the program, composition and objectives of the Southern Society, Sherwood on November 10, 1825 received an order from I. I. Dibich from Taganrog to act in the most energetic way; On November 18, he sent Dibich a detailed report on the results achieved. At the same time, Alexander I received confirmation of the conspiracy in a letter to Maiboroda.

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