A DOUBLE-DEALER.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 12, 6 September 1912, Page 7

A DOUBLE-DEALER.

AZEFF’S CAREER. The career of Azoff, the agent-provo-cateur and spy, who was arrested recently, and who was at the same time a leading spirit of the Revolutionary party, and who not only sold the revoluntary leaders, hut allowed the assassination of Duke Sergius, Plehve, and others, makes very interesting reading. This Jewish spy, who amassed a huge fortune in the service of both Tsar and Terrorist, was the evil genius of the whole strife in Russia for years. Though he engineered almost all the great events of the revolution, it is only about three years ago that lie emerged out of darkness and came before the public notice. Azeff always lived quietly, never advertised himself, always avoided publicity, and very little is known of Ibis private life. But his life will have to he written ; no history of the revolution will be other than superficial that does not in some way indicate his biography and account for his doings. What is at present known of him may he briefly stated thus. He was born at Rostov, on the Don, in the year 1871 ; his father, who was a tailor, sent him to the Rostov Gymnasium, where he acquitted himself creditably, but was forced through a violent quarrel with the teachers to leave when be was in the seventh class. An ambitious hoy, he was extremely disappointed at the fact that he was not allowed to matriculate. He continued bis studies in private, and became rapidly proficient in French and German. This was in 1887, and in order to earn a living he undertook some sort of commission business. In the summer of 1889, when he was eighteen, he became cashier of a theatre at Yalta, in the Crimea. In this place he remained three years, and it is surmised he fell into had company there and formed certain habits which characterised date.