When the Russian Army lost a staggering 125,000 men at the two battles of the Masurian Lakes during the First World War, the Ohkrana (secret police) were convinced there was a traitor in their midst.
They identified him as Colonel Miasoyedoff, an interpreter who spoke German and had a criminal record for theft. In 1912 a member of the Russian Duma (parliament) accused the colonel of being a German spy and an agent provocateur for the state against the workers. The colonel fought a duel with his accuser but he was nonetheless tried for high treason by a field court martial on Friday, April 2nd, 1915, and hanged that same evening.