He was a master at interrogating radical activists and occasionally winning them over to his side, arguing that the Russian Empire could do more for the poor than could terrorists and agitators who would only bring down upon the people the heavy hand of reaction.

Despite rumors, Zubatov was never a Colonel (Polkovnik) in the Special Corps of Gendarmes, but he was rapidly promoted so that in 1896, at the age of 32, he was appointed head of the Moscow Okhrana Bureau, making him the official in charge of investigating and suppressing political dissent in Russia's second city.

Between 1901 and 1903 he therefore also promoted the organization of pro-government trade unions to channel protest away from agitation - a practice revolutionary activists called police socialism or lambasted as Zubatovshchina (Russian: зуба́товщина, IPA: [zʊˈbatəfɕːɪnə]).

On 19 February 1902, Zubatov succeeded in orchestrating a loyal demonstration with religious overtones by about 50,000 workers, outside the Kremlin, in honour of the former Emperor Alexander II - despite a call from the Moscow committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party to boycott the ceremony.

A month later, on 19 August 1903, Interior Minister Vyacheslav von Plehve summoned Zubatov, accused him of fomenting strikes and betraying secrets, sacked him, and banned him from living in the Saint Petersburg or Moscow Governorates.

[11] After the assassination of Plehve in July 1904, Zubatov was allowed back into the capital and invited to rejoin the police, but he refused, partly in order to protect the life of his son, whom he feared revolutionary activists might threaten.