The sovereign, who went down in history with the epithet “Liberator”, who realized the centuries-old dream of the people to abolish serfdom, became a victim of people from the same people, to the organization of whose life he put so much effort. His death raises many questions among historians. The name of the terrorist who threw the bomb is known, and, nevertheless, the question “Why was Alexander 2 killed?” and to this day there is no clear answer.
Reforms and their consequences
Government activity can serve as an illustration of the famous proverb “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Having ascended the throne at the age of thirty-six, he made a number of radical changes. He managed to end the disastrous Crimean War for Russia, which was hopelessly failed by his father, Nicholas I. He abolished it, established universal conscription, introduced local self-government and produced In addition, he managed to soften censorship and make it easier to travel abroad.
However, the result of all his good undertakings, which went down in Russian history as the “Great Reforms,” was the impoverishment of the peasants, freed from slavery, but deprived of their main source of existence - land; the impoverishment of their former owners - the nobles; corruption that has engulfed all spheres of government; a series of unfortunate mistakes in foreign policy. Obviously, in the totality of all these factors, one should look for the answer to the question of why Alexander 2 was killed.
The beginning of a series of assassination attempts
In Russian history there was no monarch whom they tried to kill so consistently and inexorably. Six attempts were made on Alexander 2, the last of which turned out to be fatal for him. Even before Narodnaya Volya, the organization that killed Alexander 2, fully declared its existence, the list of assassination attempts was opened by lone terrorist Dmitry Karakozov. On April 4, 1866 (all dates in the article are given in the new style) he shot at the sovereign as he emerged from the gates of the Summer Garden onto the Neva embankment. The shot was unsuccessful, which saved Alexander’s life.
The next attempt was made on May 25, 1867 in Paris by the Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky. This happened during the sovereign's visit to the World Exhibition. The shooter missed. He subsequently explained his action by the desire to take revenge on the Russian monarch for the bloody suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863.
This was followed by an assassination attempt on April 14, 1879, committed by retired collegiate assessor Alexander Solovyov, who was part of the Land and Freedom organization. He managed to waylay the sovereign on Palace Square during his usual walk, which he took alone and without security. The attacker fired five shots, but to no avail.
Debut of Narodnaya Volya
On December 1 of the same year, the Narodnaya Volya members made their first attempt, killing Alexander 2 two years later. They tried to blow up the royal train as it was en route to Moscow. Only a mistake prevented the plan from being carried out, thanks to which the wrong train was blown up, and the sovereign remained unharmed.
And finally, the series of failed assassination attempts ends with the explosion that occurred on February 17, 1880 on the first floor of the Winter Palace. It was produced by a member of the People's Will organization. This was the last case when fate saved the life of the sovereign. This time, Alexander 2 was saved from death by being late for lunch scheduled that day, and the infernal machine worked in his absence. A week later, a special government commission was appointed to combat terrorism and maintain order in the country.
Blood on the canal embankment
March 13, 1881 became fatal for the sovereign. On this day, as usual, he was returning from the disengagement of troops at the Mikhailovsky Manege. Having visited the Grand Duchess along the way, Alexander continued his journey and went to the embankment of the Catherine Canal, where terrorists were waiting for him.
The name of the one who killed Alexander 2 is now well known to everyone. This is a Pole, a student at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, Ignatius Grinevitsky. He threw a bomb after his comrade Nikolai Rysakov, who also threw hellish machine, but to no avail. When, after the first explosion, the sovereign got out of the damaged carriage, Grinevitsky threw a bomb at his feet. The mortally wounded emperor was taken to Winter Palace, where he died without regaining consciousness.
Court opposition
In 1881, when Alexander 2 was assassinated, the work of the state commission, although outwardly it gave the impression of vigorous activity, nevertheless seemed very strange. Historians have reason to believe that Alexander’s death was the result of a conspiracy by the court elite, firstly, dissatisfied with the liberal reforms carried out by the emperor, and secondly, fearful of the possible adoption of a constitution.
In addition, the circle of senior dignitaries included former landowners who had lost their serfs and thus suffered significant losses. They had a clear reason to hate the sovereign. If we look at the issue from this angle, it may be quite clear why Alexander 2 was killed.
Strange inaction of the security department
The actions of the Gendarmerie Department cause legitimate bewilderment. It is known that in the period preceding the murder, they received several messages about an impending terrorist attack, and even indicated the possible location of its implementation. However, there was no reaction to this. Moreover, when the guardians of the law received information that on Malaya Sadovaya - not far from the place where Alexander 2 was killed - the path of his possible passage was being mined, they limited themselves to only a cursory inspection of the premises from which the digging was carried out.
Not noticing anything (or not considering it necessary to notice), the gendarmes allowed the terrorists to continue preparing the terrorist attack. It seemed that someone was deliberately giving the criminals a free hand, wanting to use them to carry out their plans. Suspicion is also raised by the fact that when the tragedy occurred and the emperor, who had such powerful opposition in the palace, was gone, all participants in the assassination attempt were arrested with amazing speed. There is no doubt that the gendarmes knew exactly which organization killed Alexander 2.
Succession problems
In addition, in the question of who killed Alexander 2 (more precisely, who became the real organizer of the murder), one should also take into account the dynastic crisis that erupted in the palace. His son and heir to the throne, the future autocrat had every reason to fear for his future. The fact is that at the beginning of the year when Alexander 2 was killed, the sovereign, having barely survived the required forty days after the death of his legal wife Maria Alexandrovna, married his favorite Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova.
Considering that his father had repeatedly expressed a desire to remove him from the palace, Alexander Alexandrovich could well assume that he planned to transfer the crown not to him, but to a child born from a new marriage. Only an unexpected death could have prevented this, and given the previous attempts, it would not have aroused suspicion in anyone.
The first terrorist organization in modern history
The one who killed Tsar Alexander 2 (terrorist Ignatius Grinevitsky) was a member of the underground union "People's Will". It is generally accepted that this was the first modern history She specialized exclusively in political murders, in which she saw the only possible way to change the existing system.
Its members included people belonging to the most diverse strata of society. For example, Sofya Perovskaya, who directly supervised the assassination attempt on the Catherine Canal, was a noblewoman and even the daughter of the St. Petersburg governor, and her comrade-in-arms and dear friend Zhelyabov came from a family of serfs.
Verdict to the Tsar
Having chosen terror to achieve political goals, at their first meeting, held in 1879, they unanimously sentenced Alexander 2 to death and in subsequent years they were implementing their decision. For them, it was important to destroy the autocrat, no matter where it happened and in what year. Alexander was killed by 2 fanatics who did not spare their own lives, much less those of others, for the sake of utopian revolutionary ideas.
However, in that ill-fated spring they had reasons to hurry. The terrorists knew that the approval of the constitution was scheduled for March 14, and could not allow this, since, according to their calculations, the adoption of such an important historical document could reduce the level of social tension in the country and deprive their struggle of popular support. It was decided to end the king’s life at all costs as soon as possible.
Reassessment of historical realities
The name of the one who killed Alexander 2 has gone down in history, throwing an infernal machine at his feet, but it is unlikely that historians will be able to prove the validity or inconsistency of the suspicion of involvement in the conspiracy of court circles and the heir to the throne himself. There are no documents left to shed light on this issue. It is generally accepted that the initiators of the assassination attempt and its perpetrators were young people, members of the underground union "People's Will".
During the years of Soviet power, all organizations that fought against the autocracy were extolled as spokesmen for historical truth. Their actions were justified no matter how much or whose blood was shed. But if today we ask the question: “Who are the Narodnaya Volya people who killed Alexander 2 - criminals or not?”, then in most cases the answer will be in the affirmative.
Monument to the Tsar Liberator
History has proven that the end does not always justify the means, and sometimes a fighter for a just cause ends up among the criminals. Therefore, the one who killed Alexander 2 did not become the pride of Russia. No city streets are named after him, and no monuments have been erected to him in the squares. Many will answer the question about what year Alexander 2 was killed, but it will be difficult to name the killer.
At the same time, on the site of the death of the murdered emperor-liberator, a magnificent temple was built, popularly called the Savior on Spilled Blood and which became his an eternal monument. Over the years of atheistic obscurantism, they repeatedly tried to demolish it, but each time an invisible force averted the hand of the vandals. You can call it fate, you can call it the Finger of God, but the memory of Alexander 2, who broke the chains of serfdom, still shines with the gold of the domes, and his murderers have gone forever into the darkness of history.
MURDER OF THE LIBERER
The struggle between the Winter Palace and the revolutionary populists was coming to an end, and its sad ending was inevitable, despite the fact that the conservatives tried to take their own measures against the terrorists. At the beginning of 1881, thirteen figures, whose names remained unknown to contemporaries and historians, united into the Secret Anti-Socialist League (T.A.S.L.) “Our motto,” wrote one of these figures, ““God and Tsar,” our The coat of arms is a star with seven rays and a cross in the center. Nowadays we... number about two hundred agents, and their number is continuously growing in all corners of Russia.” As for the number of T.A.S.L. agents, two hundred is a clear exaggeration, although we know that the league was patronized by Princess Yuryevskaya herself, who tried to save her crowned husband at any cost. In general, amateur legionnaires were unable to play on a foreign field (conspiracy, terror) with real professionals. Apparently that's why no real help The Emperor never received anything from the League.
Meanwhile, around the monarch not only was the ring of “hunters” shrinking, but also semi-mystical clouds of signs and omens were gathering. About two weeks before his death, Alexander Nikolaevich began to find killed and torn to pieces pigeons on the bedroom windowsill every morning. It turned out that a huge bird of prey had settled on the roof of the Winter Palace, but all attempts to catch it were in vain. Finally, they set a trap. The bird was still unable to control it in flight and fell onto Palace Square. The predator turned out to be a kite of such gigantic size that its stuffed animal was placed in the Kunstkamera. Later, the epic with the predator will be remembered as a dark and final omen of Alexander’s reign, but all this will happen later...
Once a fortune teller predicted to Alexander II that he would have a difficult life, full of mortal dangers. In general, you don’t have to be a seer to prophesy to the autocrat difficulties and dangers for his life path. However, the lady who told fortunes to Alexander Nikolaevich told him that he would die from the seventh attempt made on his life. If you have the desire, count how many assassination attempts the emperor survived, including Rysakov’s bomb, and it turns out that the fortune teller was right. She, however, could not (or did not want) to tell him about the assassination attempts that were being prepared, but for one reason or another did not take place. But there was something like this...
Alexander Mikhailov has long been attracted to the Stone Bridge spanning the Catherine Canal. The imperial carriage, traveling from Tsarskoye Selo station to the Winter Palace, could not possibly pass this bridge. When Mikhailov shared his observations with his comrades, the idea arose to mine this bridge and blow it up under the royal crew. The implementation of this plan was, of course, entrusted to Zhelyabov.
The experience of underground work taught the Narodnaya Volya people, first of all, thoroughness. A whole expedition went out to investigate the mining of the bridge: Makar Teterka at the helm of the boat, Zhelyabov at the oars. Besides them, Barannikov, Presnyakov, Grachevsky. We examined the powerful supports and measured the bottom under the bridge. It turned out that dynamite must be placed in the bridge supports, which can only be done under water. The most convenient way to explode is from the walkways on which the washerwomen rinsed the laundry. Kibalchich calculated that a successful assassination attempt would require seven pounds of explosives. He also came up with a shell for it - four gutta-percha pillows. They were lowered from the boat to the bridge supports, the wires were brought under the washermen's walkways. However, later they decided to abandon the explosion of the bridge supports, since there was no one hundred percent confidence in the success of the assassination attempt, and the Narodnaya Volya members did not need any extra victims. However, this did not mean that the radicals once and for all abandoned bombings in crowded places.
Malaya Sadovaya Street, the house of Count Mengden, in which the basement is for rent. On January 7, 1881, a cheese shop was opened there by the “Kobozev peasant family” - members of the IK “ People's Will» Anna Yakimova and Yuri Bogdanovich. Another tunnel, a narrow gallery-half-grave, fear of a possible collapse, the threat of an unexpected visit to the apartment by the police. The latter is the most realistic. The police in St. Petersburg are not the same, and the janitors are not the same. They became more fearful, more wary, more experienced. So the janitor brought an audit to the Kobozevs at the end of February: a local police officer and a well-known technician, Major General Mravinsky, a police expert.
The smell of cheeses that had accumulated in the basement was so overwhelming that the general couldn’t wait to get out into the fresh air. Apparently, that’s why he only inquired about the wall paneling, knocked on the floorboards in several places with his heel, and asked about the origin of the damp spot in the pantry. “They spilled sour cream, your honor,” answered Bogdanovich. And here there were cheese barrels filled with earth from the mine; a pile of earth lay on the floor near the wall, covered with matting and torn rugs. The general did not have time to delve into these “little things.” However, the terrorists did not need the tunnel.
On March 1, 1881, Alexander Nikolaevich told his wife how he intended to spend the current day: in half an hour he was going to the Mikhailovsky Manege to remove the guards, from there he was going to his cousin, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, who lived near the arena. At a quarter to three, the monarch promised to return home and take his wife for a walk in the Summer Garden.
The Emperor left the Winter Palace at three quarters past midnight in a carriage accompanied by six Terek Cossacks. The seventh was sitting on the box, to the left of the coachman. Three policemen, led by police chief A.I. Dvorzhitsky, followed the carriage in a sleigh. After the guards were cleared, the sovereign, together with Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, went to his cousin, and at two o’clock ten minutes he left her and got into the carriage, saying to the coachman: “The same road home.” Having passed Engineering Street and turning onto the Catherine Canal, he greeted the guard from the 8th naval crew returning from the divorce. The coachman set his horses at a trot along the embankment, but did not have time to travel even a hundred meters when a deafening explosion was heard, damaging the emperor's carriage. We will not try to fictionalize further events and will give the floor to Police Chief Dvorzhitsky as the main witness of what happened.
“Having driven a few more meters after the explosion,” he wrote, “His Majesty’s carriage stopped, I immediately ran up to the sovereign’s carriage, helped him get out and reported that the criminal had been detained. The Emperor was completely calm. To my question about the state of his health, he replied: “Thank God, I’m not wounded.” Seeing that the sovereign's carriage was damaged, I decided to invite His Majesty to ride in my sleigh to the palace. To this proposal, the sovereign said: “Okay, just show the criminal.” The coachman Frol also asked the sovereign to get into the carriage and go further, but His Majesty, without saying anything to the coachman’s request, returned and headed... along the sidewalk, to his left the Cossack Mochaev , who was on His Majesty's goats, behind Mochaev were 4 dismounted Cossacks with horses. After walking a few steps, the sovereign slipped, but I managed to support him.
The Tsar approached Rysakov. Having learned that the criminal was a tradesman, His Majesty, without saying a word, turned and slowly headed towards the Theater Bridge. At this time, His Majesty was surrounded on one side by a platoon of the 8th naval crew, and on the other by Cossack escorts. Here I again allowed myself to turn to the sovereign with a request to get into the sleigh and leave, but he stopped, lingered a little, and then replied: “Okay, just show me the place of the explosion first.” Fulfilling the will of the sovereign, I turned obliquely to the place of the explosion, but did not have time to take even three steps when I was stunned by a new explosion, wounded and knocked to the ground.
Suddenly, among the smoke and snowy fog, I heard His Majesty’s weak voice: “Help.” Assuming that the sovereign was only seriously wounded, I lifted him from the ground and then saw with horror that His Majesty’s legs were crushed and blood was flowing heavily from them...” Let's face it, the emperor's security was carried out extremely poorly, and this was no secret to the highest ranks of the then police. One of them said that the Governor-General of St. Petersburg was obliged to always personally accompany the emperor and not allow him to leave the carriage in such a critical situation. However, since the time of A.E. Zurov (late 1870s), it was considered indecent for a guards officer to ride for the sovereign, and this task was entrusted to the chief of police. Dvorzhitsky, according to the same source, “looked at his main duty as a task that would be done by itself” - he showed off more in front of passers-by than he thought about the safety of the sovereign.
Alexander II, like his assassin Ignatius Grinevitsky, died simultaneously, one in the Winter Palace, the other in a prison hospital. Alexander Nikolaevich sacredly fulfilled one of his father’s behests. “The head of a monarchical state,” Nicholas I told him, “loses and disgraces himself by giving in one step to the uprising. His duty is to support by force the rights of his own and his predecessors. It is his duty to fall, if destined, but... on the steps of the throne...” At 15:35 on March 1, 1881, a black and yellow imperial standard crept down from the flagpole of the Winter Palace. And at the coffin of his grandfather stood the 12-year-old Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was destined to become the last emperor of Russia and meet an equally martyr’s death...
And everything was mixed up in the Russian state. According to the newspaper “Novoye Vremya”, about 200 innocent citizens were arrested on the Vyborg side of St. Petersburg alone. In the provinces, crowds of commoners beat up landowners and intellectuals, saying: “Oh, you are glad that the tsar was killed, you bribed him to kill him because he freed us.” It was proposed to lay anti-mine discharge cables near the most important buildings in St. Petersburg; slingshots were installed around the residence of the new emperor and patrols were constantly on duty. The panic at the top really reached its climax. From this point of view, the instructions given to Alexander III by his longtime mentor K.P. Pobedonostsev are characteristic: “When you are going to bed, please lock the doors behind you, not only in the bedroom, but in all subsequent rooms, right up to the day off. A trusted person should carefully monitor the locks and ensure that the internal latches of the swing doors are closed.”
The turn has come for fantastic descriptions of the activities of insidious and cunning revolutionaries, like Ulysses. There was talk of mysterious poison pills allegedly sent to the emperor from abroad; about three young people who ordered caftans for court singers from a tailor and apparently intended to enter the Winter Palace not in order to serenade the ladies-in-waiting; about millions of sums of money allegedly found on Zhelyabov during his arrest. However, some plans of the Narodnaya Volya outstripped the wildest imagination of ordinary people.
Since the twentieth of March, the IK has been developing an operation to release comrades arrested and convicted “in the March 1 case.” They were supposed to be repulsed on the way to the place of execution by 200-300 workers, divided into three groups. The workers were to be supported by all St. Petersburg and Kronstadt officers who were members of the military organization of the People's Will. The groups of attackers were planned to be placed on three streets facing Liteiny Prospekt.
When the cortege with the regicides passed the middle group, all three - at a signal - had to rush forward, dragging the crowd with them. The side groups should have distracted the attention of part of the troops with noise so that the officers going to middle group, could reach the convicts and hide with them in the crowd.
It is not known whether the Narodnaya Volya members had the required number of workers at their disposal, but as for the officers, they agreed to participate in the attack on the motorcade with the convicts. The Executive Committee abandoned its plan at the last moment, since the five convicts were surrounded by an unprecedented convoy (in total, from 10 to 12 thousand soldiers were involved in cordoning off the execution site). On April 3, A. Zhelyabov, S. Perovskaya, N. Kibalchich, A. Mikhailov and N. Rysakov were hanged on the Semenovsky parade ground. This was the last public execution in Russia.
In general, from the very beginning of the reign of the new emperor, his relations with “People’s Will” and other populist circles took on the character of irreconcilable military actions, and victory in them increasingly leaned towards the side of the government. Yes, the terrorists managed to force the monarch to move from the Winter Palace to Gatchina, but this can hardly be considered a significant success for the revolutionaries. The reason the emperor changed his residence was not so much fear (personal courage Alexander III showed not only before, during Russian-Turkish War 1877-1878, but it will also manifest itself later, say, during the crash of the royal train in Borki), as much as the desire to protect the country from shocks that would be inevitable in the event of a second successful attempt on the head of state.
And what Alexander Alexandrovich was thinking about in Gatchina was not at all projects of constitutional reform, as the Narodnaya Volya members who continued to threaten him demanded, but proposals for the complete eradication of sedition and the establishment of peace and order in the empire. Gendarmerie Lieutenant Colonel G.P. Sudeikin recommended fighting the revolutionaries with their own weapons, and responding to the creation of an anti-government underground by establishing an underground operating under police control (later similar tactics were used by the famous S.V. Zubatov). The lieutenant colonel's project was approved by the Highest, and soon the Narodnaya Volya members who remained free could not say with confidence which of the circles was formed by them and which was controlled by Sudeikin.
By the spring of 1882, revolutionary populism was over: all members of the “great IC” were either arrested or forced to emigrate. This did not mean that the life of the emperor was not threatened by assassination attempts by revolutionaries; the infection of political terror penetrated deeply into the radical movement and over the years again gave ugly shoots. However, the assassination attempts for some time lost their organized party character, becoming, as in the 1860s, an individual matter, that is, quite random. Over the next twenty years, the danger of assassinating the monarch decreased sharply; later it disappeared altogether, as militant groups of Socialist Revolutionaries concentrated their fire against prominent ministers of Nicholas II.
Let us return, however, to 1881. Immediately after the murder of Alexander Nikolaevich, Loris-Melikov turned to the new monarch with a question: should he, according to the instructions received the day before from the late emperor, order the publication of the Manifesto on the convocation of a commission and elected officials? Without the slightest hesitation, Alexander III replied: “I will always respect my father’s will. Order it to be printed tomorrow.” However, late at night from March 1 to 2, Loris-Melikov received an order to suspend the printing of the Manifesto. A new reign was beginning, the star of the emperor was rising, who professed completely different methods than Alexander II for solving the pressing problems facing Russia.
Who is to blame for the tragedy that happened on Ekaterininskaya Embankment? Who is to blame for the failures that befell Alexander II in the second half of his reign? Who is guilty? - any work devoted to the history of Russia can hardly do without this question. The problem can be formulated more softly: why did this become possible? The essence will not change from this. It is unlikely that my interlocutors will be satisfied if the initiator of the conversation gets away with simply stating the fact that Alexander Nikolaevich’s loneliness is to blame for everything. You can, of course, try to blame some public camp for what happened. But G. Heine mocked such attempts when he wrote:
This is all the fruit of revolution,
This is her doctrine.
It's all Jean Jacques Rousseau's fault,
Voltaire and the guillotine...
Well, we will try to give a more intelligible, although not final, summary.
Let's start with the fact that the uniqueness of the post of the monarch led to the struggle of revolutionaries not with reactionaries and not with conservatives, but with the emperor, as a symbol of the old Russia, hated by the “progressives”. Opportunities for compromise in this struggle were very rare, in particular, the peaceful resolution of issues, theoretically possible in the early 1860s, was left far behind. Now the parties absolutely did not understand each other, and could not understand, since they carefully concealed the true goals of their actions from the enemy.
The Winter Palace sincerely believed that it had benefited the peasantry, took care of the introduction of a modern judicial system in the country, and strengthened military power state, raised its education and culture to a new level of development, without forgetting about the interests of the first estate. However, the “tops” diligently hid the fact that they considered the reform activities to be largely completed. The reform of the highest bodies of power and the change in the way they were governed were not planned and could only happen by chance, under the pressure of emergency circumstances. The revolutionaries seemed to proceed from the fact that tsarism deceived the peasantry, ruined it and did not actually equalize its rights with other classes; from their point of view, he got rid of society with pitiful handouts, keeping his power intact.
These accusations lay on the surface and served, so to speak, as slogan support for the actions of revolutionary organizations. The main thing was that the ideal of equality and justice was seen by the populists in a free communal structure future Russia, outside the community this ideal did not exist. The emperor, with his reforms, perhaps unwittingly, gave a signal for the more rapid development of capitalism, which primarily destroyed the peasant community. Therefore, in the clash between revolutionaries and the authorities, it was not just about deceiving the people and society, but about depriving them of a bright future - what kind of compromises are there!?
As for the terrorist method of struggle chosen by the populists, here, too, everything is not so simple. Let’s immediately discard talk about special bloodthirstiness or other pathologies allegedly characteristic of Russian revolutionaries. Otherwise, we will have to turn not to historians, but to psychiatrists. By the way, don’t you think that it was not the radicals who started the attempts on the lives of the crown bearers? Justifying the removal of Ivan Antonovich from the throne, Peter III, Paul I, their successors created a dangerous precedent for the dynasty. After all, the illegal killings of monarchs in these cases were interpreted as “correct,” logical, and therefore seemingly legal. It is unlikely that after this one could seriously count on the fact that society would constantly adhere to the principle proclaimed by the ancient Romans: “What is allowed to Jupiter is not allowed to the bull.” But it's not only that. It would be interesting to know why individual assassination attempts carried out on specific occasions (Karakozov - the deception of peasants by the reform of 1861; Berezovsky - the defeat of the Polish uprising of 1863, Solovyov - the government’s reprisal against peaceful propagandists) became a matter of principle for the populists of the late 1870s, method of rebuilding the country?
Is it because the emperor and members of his government at one time did not want to listen to the just demands, not even the proposals, of society (including its revolutionary part)? After all, the same populist terror in the 1870s went through a number of stages and at some of them it could have been easily and painlessly stopped. Trepov suffered because he broke the laws Russian Empire; the highest police ranks - because the rules for keeping arrested and convicted persons were not observed in prisons and exiles; police agents and traitors were killed, since “Land and Freedom” and “Narodnaya Volya”, being underground organizations, were forced to defend themselves against failure, which threatened their members with many years of imprisonment in very remote places. Could the government at these stages have contributed to the end of revolutionary terror? Of course, it could, but it didn’t want to, didn’t dare, didn’t believe in the romantic idealism of its opponents. When terror became a method for the reorganization of society for the populists, no agreements between them and the authorities were any longer possible.
The reasons for the “hunt for the Tsar” or “for the red beast” organized by “Narodnaya Volya” were not only that the emperor was a unique figure, a symbol of something... Stop! Let's ask ourselves: what did Alexander II symbolize in the late 1870s? Besides everything else, he was also a symbol of the underdevelopment of Russian political life, its lack of civilization. For any country experiencing a period of radical reforms and rapid changes in all spheres of life, the most important thing in public life is the political center, and the most reasonable line of behavior is the policy of centrism. This is not at all because this policy is perfect and meets the interests of all sectors of society. The fact is that without the creation of a center protected by all public camps, an essentially unproductive clash between the extreme right and extreme left forces very quickly occurs. The most hopeless thing about this development of events is that even the seemingly final victory of one or the other does not lead to the establishment of calm in the country. Sooner or later, a “crushing” victory is followed by an equally crushing defeat, bringing the country a new political crisis.
On the other hand, true centrism cannot be throwing from side to side in attempts to connect the incompatible. It represents a search from the right and left for acceptable constructive solutions that can lead society to its intended goal and at the same time reconcile the warring parties in specific work. The political center becomes a shield against extremism, irrepressible social fantasies that are not and cannot be supported by sensible forces. In the political battles that raged in the empire, Alexander II tried to occupy an exceptional, unique position - he wanted to personify the center of public life, which was designed to absorb the actions of the extreme right and extreme left forces.
As a result, he was subjected to harsh and, as it turned out, deadly attacks from both sides. The political position, in contrast to the sacred post of the monarch, is by no means sacred, and Alexander Nikolaevich, having tried to become, in addition to the autocrat, also one of the political figures of Russia, actually became a target for his opponents. First targeted at figuratively this word, and then... And again let’s return to the personal life of our hero. His persistent desire to emphasize the rights of his human self, the desire to be seen not only as an autocrat, but also as a person, bore fruit. For wide sections of society, it has truly become closer, more understandable and, I would say, more accessible in every sense of the word. Time, of course, takes its toll. For many Decembrists, say, raising a hand against the monarch meant taking aim at something sacred, at least consecrated by centuries-old tradition. For the populists, such problems no longer existed, after all, half a century had passed, and what half a century! , distinguished from ordinary subjects...
Alexander Nikolaevich, of course, was not a doctrinaire; during the years of his reign he had to give up a lot and reconsider established views and positions. At the end of his life, the emperor seemed to be convinced that a person, no matter the level and scale of his personality or the post he occupied, could not alone be the political center of social forces. Even such a generally external thing as the gradual fragmentation of his own environment pushed him to this conclusion. Princess Yuryevskaya is difficult to compare with Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna; Shuvalov, Tolstoy, Plehve - with an inspired and professionally trained cohort of figures of the late 1850s - early 1860s.
The Emperor was changing. It seemed that in just a little while a means would be found to establish, if not an alliance, then normal civilized relations between government and society. It's not meant to be. The loneliness that surrounded Alexander Nikolaevich with three almost impenetrable rings may be more than one thing to blame for tragic death monarch, but it was precisely this that made the fate of this man unique.
Tsar Liberator. Tsar-Hangman. Unhappy king...
Notes
2. In addition to Alexander II and Grinevitsky, twenty people were injured from the explosion on the embankment of the Catherine Canal. Two of them died from their wounds.
3. In the early 1880s. both the government and the revolutionary camp found themselves at another crossroads. The authorities could try to do what Alexander II did not dare to do for so long - to bring the socio-economic and political order in the country into some kind of conformity. Another path involved a final return to the attempts of Nicholas I to stabilize the situation in the country using traditional authoritarian methods, which ultimately led to a distortion of the historical meaning of the transformations of the 1860-1870s. The Russian press also felt the urgency and turning point of the moment. In the editorial of "Moskovskie Vedomosti" dated January 1, 1881, the previous year was called "the year of crisis and transition... a year that did not say its word and will now pass on an unknown legacy to its successor." The legacy turned out to be so unpredictable that the Moskovskie Vedomosti journalist could hardly have imagined it even in a nightmare.
The revolutionary camp also had two options for further action. He could remain on his previous populist positions, trying to rouse the village to the socialist revolution. However, in 1882-1883, after the final defeat of the populist circles, this option turned out to be unviable. The second path was associated with changes in the ideological foundations of the radical movement, its tactics with a focus on the proletariat as the main force of the revolution. The choice of the government and revolutionary camps is known as well as its results, which brought neither prosperity nor peace to Russia.
4. Cursing revolutionaries for being revolutionaries, or demanding that revolutionary organizations be banned (if they are not trying to destroy the foundations of a proper civil society) is a completely useless exercise. The revolutionary movement is just the most acute manifestation of the clearly felt discontent of society, it is the most drastic reaction to the lack of rights of society, the blatant social insecurity of the masses, violation of individual rights, etc. It is possible to demand that the revolutionary movement take more or less adequate forms only if proper civilized political life has been established in the country. The Russia of Alexander II did not even begin to approach civil society, and therefore political terror turned out to be quite adequate to the framework of the system that existed in the state.
5. The greatest trouble from the rampant terror in Russia was that both government and revolutionary terror became a destructive force for the moral health of society. They merged into a single chain of increasing repressions and assassinations, accustoming people to blood, violence, and the cheapness of human life. They stopped shocking people with their inhumanity and uncivilization. As a result, the sense of the uniqueness of the human person has atrophied, let alone the value of its rights...
Source Leonid Lyashenko. Alexander II, or the Story of Three Solitudes
MOSCOW, YOUNG GUARDS, 2002
Assassination of Alexander II.Assassination of Alexander II.
The eldest first of the grand duke, and from 1825 of the imperial couple Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna (daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William III), Alexander received a good education.
Alexander II
His mentor was V.A. Zhukovsky, teacher - K.K. Merder, among the teachers - M.M. Speransky (legislation), K.I. Arsenyev (statistics and history), E.F. Kankrin (finance), F.I. Brunov (foreign policy).
Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky
Mikhail Nestorovich Speransky
The personality of the heir to the throne was formed under the influence of his father, who wanted to see in his son a “military man at heart,” and at the same time under the leadership of Zhukovsky, who sought to raise in the future monarch an enlightened man who would give his people reasonable laws, a monarch-legislator. Both of these influences left a deep mark on the character, inclinations, and worldview of the heir and were reflected in the affairs of his reign.
In the center of the lithograph is the heir to the Tsarevich Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich (future Emperor Alexander II), and at his feet is the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich.
Artist Vasilievsky Alexander Alekseevich (1794 - after 1849)
Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich in cadet uniform
Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich in the uniform of the Ataman Regiment.
Having ascended the throne in 1855, he received a difficult legacy.
Not a single one of the cardinal issues of his father’s 30-year reign (peasant, eastern, Polish, etc.) was resolved, in Crimean War Russia was defeated. Not being a reformer by vocation or temperament, Alexander became one in response to the needs of the time as a man of sober mind and good will.
The first of his important decisions was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in March 1856.
Paris Congress of 1856
With the accession of Alexander, a “thaw” began in the socio-political life of Russia. On the occasion of his coronation in August 1856, he declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831, suspended recruitment for three years, and in 1857 liquidated military settlements.
Coronation of Alexander II
Partisan detachment of Emilia Plater
Realizing the primary importance of resolving the peasant question, for four years (from the establishment of the Secret Committee to the adoption of the Manifesto on March 3, 1861) he showed unwavering will in striving to abolish serfdom.
Adhering in 1857-1858 to the “Bestsee version” of landless emancipation of peasants, at the end of 1858 he agreed to the purchase of allotment land by peasants into ownership, that is, to a reform program developed by the liberal bureaucracy, together with like-minded people from among public figures(N.A. Milyutin, Ya.I. Rostovtsev, Yu.F. Samarin, V.A. Cherkassky, etc.).
With his support, the Zemstvo Regulations (1864) and City Regulations (1870), Judicial Charters (1864), military reforms of the 1860-1870s, reforms of public education, censorship, and the abolition of corporal punishment were adopted. Alexander II was unable to resist traditional imperial policies.
Decisive victories in Caucasian War were won in the first years of his reign
He gave in to demands for promotion to Central Asia(in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of the Empire). After long resistance, he decided to go to war with Turkey (1877-1878).
After the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 and the assassination attempt by D.V. Karakozov on his life in April 1866, Alexander II made concessions to the protective course, expressed in the appointment of D.A. to senior government posts. Tolstoy, F.F. Trepova, P.A. Shuvalova.
The first attempt on the life of Alexander II was made on April 4, 1866 during his walk in the Summer Garden. The shooter was 26-year-old terrorist Dmitry Karakozov. He shot almost point blank. But, fortunately, the peasant Osip Komissarov, who happened to be nearby, pulled away the killer’s hand.
Dmitry Vladimirovich Karakozov
Reforms continued, but sluggishly and inconsistently; almost all reform figures, with rare exceptions (for example, Minister of War D.A. Milyutin, who believed that “only consistent reforms can stop the revolutionary movement in Russia”), received resignations. At the end of his reign, Alexander was inclined to introduce limited public representation in Russia under the State Council.
Attempt by D.V. Karakozov on Alexander II
Art.Greener
Several attempts were made on Alexander II: D.V. Karakozov, Polish emigrant A. Berezovsky in 1867 in Paris, A.K. Solovyov in 1879 in St. Petersburg.
In 1867, the World Exhibition was to be held in Paris, to which Emperor Alexander II came. According to Berezovsky himself, the ideas of killing the Tsar and liberating Poland with this act arose in him from early childhood, but he made the immediate decision on June 1, when he was at the station in the crowd watching the meeting of Alexander II. On June 5 he bought for five francs double-barreled pistol and the next day, June 6, after breakfast, he went to seek a meeting with the king. At five o'clock in the afternoon, Berezovsky, near the Longchamp racecourse in the Bois de Boulogne, shot at Alexander II, who was returning from a military review (along with the tsar, his two sons, Vladimir Alexandrovich and Alexander Alexandrovich, were in the carriage, i.e. the future Emperor Alexander III, and also Emperor Napoleon III). The pistol exploded due to too strong a charge, as a result of which the bullet was deflected and hit the horse of the equestrian accompanying the crew. Berezovsky, whose hand was severely injured by the explosion, was immediately seized by the crowd. “I confess that I shot the emperor today during his return from the review,” he said after his arrest. “Two weeks ago I had the idea of regicide, however, or rather, I have nurtured this thought since I began to recognize myself, having in mind the liberation of my homeland.”
Anton Iosifovich Berezovsky
The Sovereign Emperor deigned to leave the Winter Palace on April 2, at just after nine o'clock in the morning, for his usual morning walk and walked along Millionnaya, past the Hermitage, around the building of the Guards headquarters. From the corner of the palace, His Majesty walked 230 steps to the end of the headquarters building, along the sidewalk, with right side Millionnaya and up to the Winter Canal; turning to the right, around the same headquarters building, along the Winter Canal embankment, the Emperor reached the Pevchesky Bridge, taking another 170 steps. Thus, the Sovereign Emperor walked 400 steps from the corner of the palace to the singing bridge, which required an ordinary walk of about five minutes. At the corner of the Winter Canal and the square of the Guards headquarters there is a policeman’s booth, that is, a policeman’s room for overnight stay, with a stove and a warehouse for a small amount of firewood. The policeman himself was not in the booth at that time; he was at his post not far away, in the square. Turning around the main headquarters building, from the Winter Canal and the Pevchesky Bridge, to the Alexander Column, that is, back to the palace, the Sovereign Emperor took another fifteen steps along the narrow sidewalk of the headquarters.
Here, standing opposite the fourth window of the headquarters, the Emperor noticed a tall, thin, dark-haired man with a dark brown mustache, about 32 years old, walking towards Him, dressed in a decent civilian coat and a cap with a civilian cockade, and both hands of this passer-by were in his pockets coat. Paramedic Maiman, standing at the gate of the headquarters building, shouted at a passerby who dared to go straight to meet His Majesty, but he, not paying attention to the warning, silently walked further in the same direction. At 6-7 steps, the villain quickly took a revolver from his coat pocket and shot at the Tsar almost point-blank.
Assassination attempt by A.K. Solovyov on Alexander II
The villain's movements did not escape His Majesty's attention. The Sovereign Emperor, leaning forward a little, then deigned to turn at a right angle and with quick steps walked across the site of the headquarters of the guard troops, towards the entrance of Prince Gorchakov. The criminal rushed after the retreating Monarch and after Him fired three more shots, one after the other. The second bullet hit the cheek and exited at the temple of a civil gentleman, a native of the Baltic provinces, named Miloshkevich, who was following the Tsar.
Solovyov's assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II on April 2, 1879. April 2, 1879, attempt to assassinate the Tsar by Solovyov. Drawing by G. Meyer.
The wounded Miloshkevich, bleeding profusely, rushed at the villain who was shooting at the sacred person of the Sovereign Emperor. Having fired two more shots, and the bullet hit the wall of the headquarters building, the villain saw that his four shots at point-blank range did not hit the Emperor, and rushed to run across the square of the Guards headquarters, heading towards the sidewalk of the opposite building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fleeing, the villain threw off his cap and coat, apparently to hide unrecognized in the crowd. He was overtaken by a young soldier of the 6th company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and a retired sergeant-major guardsman Rogozin, who were walking by chance, not far behind the Emperor. They were the first to grab and throw the criminal to the ground. While defending himself, the criminal bit the hand of one woman, the wife of a court servant, who, along with others, rushed at the villain. The people who came running tried to tear the villain to pieces. The police arrived in time and saved him from the hands of the indignant crowd and, surrounding him, took him under arrest.
The Emperor maintained complete calm of spirit. He took off his cap and reverently overshadowed himself sign of the cross. Meanwhile, the military men living there ran out of the headquarters building in what they were, without coats and caps. senior officials, and the Emperor was handed a private carriage that accidentally arrived at the entrance; but the Emperor got into it only when the villain had already been captured and disarmed. Having asked the palace police officer, non-commissioned officer Nedelin, whether the criminal had been arrested and whether he was safe, the Tsar got into the carriage and slowly returned to the palace, among the enthusiastic crowd that saw Him off. The bullet hit the headquarters building, knocking off the plaster down to the bricks. Miloshkevich was first taken to the palace for dressing, then placed in the court hospital (Konyushennaya Street), and he was provided with all the necessary benefits with remarkable speed.
The passage of Emperor Alexander II through the streets of St. Petersburg after the unsuccessful assassination attempt by Solovyov.
The criminal was immediately tied up, put into a random carriage and sent to the mayor's house, on Gorokhovaya Street. He was brought there, as they say, in an almost completely unconscious state. The senior police doctor, Mr. Batalin, who was immediately invited, at first mistook this condition of the criminal for arsenic poisoning, especially since he began to have terrible vomiting, as a result of which milk was poured into the poisoned man’s mouth; but other doctors who arrived at the same time, including a well-known expert on poisons, a former professor at the Medical-Surgical Academy, Privy Councilor Trapp, identified potassium cyanide poisoning, which is why, without wasting any time, he was given the appropriate antidote. It is not known exactly when the criminal took the poison, before or after the shots. There is reason to believe that he swallowed the poison a few moments before the shots, or immediately after the first shot, because after the 4th shot the criminal staggered, and after the fifth he began to foam at the mouth and have convulsions. During the search, another ball of the same poison was found in the criminal’s pocket, enclosed in a nut shell and covered in wax. Potassium cyanide, belonging to the group of hydrocyanic acid, the poison of bitter almonds, is one of the most terrible poisons, which can kill a person in a few moments due to paralysis of the heart and lungs. The undergarment of the attacker did not at all correspond to the outer garment. He was wearing a black shabby frock coat, the same trousers and a dirty White shirt, but for that the outer dress was distinguished by its impeccable appearance. The cap that was on his head is completely new, and the elegant gloves, they say, were not made here. Several rubles were found in his wallet and a copy of a St. Petersburg German newspaper in his pocket.
Alexander Konstantinovich Solovyov
The executive committee of the Narodnaya Volya party put an end to political activity the emperor and in his life. He also put an end to the hopes of the Russian people for the introduction of a constitutional monarchy in the country.
What did the Narodnaya Volya party provide? It was a centralized, deeply secret organization. Most of its members were professional revolutionaries who were in an illegal situation.
The party charter obliged its members to be prepared to endure hardships, prison, and hard labor. They made a commitment to sacrifice their lives. Peter Kropotkin wrote: “It was believed that only moral developed people can participate in the organization. Before accepting a new member, his character was discussed at length. Only those who did not raise any doubts were accepted. Personal shortcomings were not considered minor.”
The activities of Narodnaya Volya were divided into propaganda and terrorist. At the first stage, propaganda work was carried out great importance, but soon more and more attention began to be paid to terror.
“People's Will” played a certain role in the social movement of Russia, but, having moved from political struggle to conspiracy and individual terror, it made a gross miscalculation. The Narodnaya Volya did not set themselves the goal of creating an independent workers' party, but they were the first in Russia to begin organizing revolutionary circles among the workers.
In the fight against the revolutionary movement, the government either tried to appeal to society for support, or placed this society under sweeping suspicion. Liberal press organs were severely punished. The inconsistent and chaotic actions of the authorities did not bring calm. They aroused opposition even in previously well-intentioned noble circles.
Meanwhile, the growing internal political crisis in the country raised hopes for the success of Narodnaya Volya, which turned political murder into the main weapon of its struggle. The death sentence, conditionally passed on the Tsar at the Lipetsk Congress, was finally approved on August 26, 1879, and in the fall of 1879 the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya began to implement its plan.
8 assassination attempts were prepared against Alexander II. The first terrorist attack was attempted by D. Karakozov near the Summer Garden on April 4, 1866. On April 2, 1879, during the emperor’s walk along Palace Square, A. Soloviev fired five shots almost point-blank.
That same year, three attempts were made to crash the royal train.
The explosion in the Winter Palace (18:22; February 5, 1880) is a terrorist act directed against the Russian Emperor Alexander II, organized by members of the People's Will movement. Khalturin lived in the basement of the Winter Palace, where he carried up to 30 kg of dynamite. The bomb was detonated using a fuse. Directly above his room there was a guardhouse, and even higher, on the second floor, there was a dining room in which Alexander II was going to have lunch. The Prince of Hesse, brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, was expected for lunch, but his train was half an hour late. The explosion caught the emperor, who was meeting the prince, in the Small Field Marshal's Hall, far from the dining room. A dynamite explosion destroyed the ceiling between the ground and first floors. The floors of the palace guardhouse collapsed (modern Hermitage Hall No. 26). The double brick vaults between the first and second floors of the palace withstood the impact of the blast wave. No one was injured in the mezzanine, but the explosion lifted the floors, knocked out many window panes, and the lights went out. In the dining room or Yellow Room of the Third Spare Half of the Winter Palace (modern Hermitage Hall No. 160, the decoration has not been preserved), a wall cracked, a chandelier fell on the set table, and everything was covered with lime and plaster.
Stepan Khalturin (1856-1882)
As a result of the explosion in the lower floor of the palace, 11 servicemen who were on guard that day in the palace of the lower ranks of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment, stationed on Vasilyevsky Island, were killed, and 56 people were injured. Despite their own wounds and injuries, the surviving sentries remained in their places and even upon the arrival of the called shift from the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, they did not give up their places to the newcomers until they were replaced by their distributing corporal, who was also wounded in the explosion. All those killed were heroes of the recently ended Russian-Turkish war.
Explosion in the Winter Palace 02/05/1880
In the autumn of 1880, the hunt for the emperor continued with amazing persistence. The main organizer of the preparation of the assassination attempt was Andrei Zhelyabov, but on February 27 he was arrested and he was unable to take part in the last terrorist act.
Andrey Ivanovich Zhelyabov
The assassination attempt on Alexander II on March 1, 1881 was planned as follows: an explosion on Malaya Sadovaya; if it did not produce results, then four throwers would have to throw bombs at the Tsar’s crew. If the tsar had remained alive after this, Zhelyabov, armed with a dagger, would have stabbed him.
The king's movements were constantly monitored. S. Perovskaya recorded his results. When turning onto the Catherine Canal, the coachman held the horses. Perovskaya noted that this was the most convenient place for an explosion. Mikhailov, Grinevitsky, Emelyanov were appointed as perpetrators of the terrorist act.
Timofey Mikhailovich Mikhailov Ivan Paiteleymonovich Emelyanov
Usually, preparations for the Tsar’s passage began at 12 noon, by which time mounted gendarmes appeared at both ends of Malaya Sadovaya. Traffic froze, traffic on the street stopped. However, on March 1, the tsar, influenced by rumors about the dangers of this route, went to the traditional Sunday review of guard units at the Mikhailovsky Manege another way - along the Catherine Canal. Perovskaya reacted quickly to the changed situation and gathered the throwers in one of the pastry shops on Nevsky Prospekt. Having received instructions, they took up new positions. Perovskaya took a place on the opposite side of the channel in order to give a signal for action at the right moment.
Sofia Lvovna Perovskaya
The verdict describes this event as follows:
“... When the sovereign’s carriage, accompanied by a regular convoy, passed by the garden of the Mikhailovsky Palace, at a distance of about 50 fathoms (11 meters) from around the corner of Inzhenernaya Street, an explosive shell was thrown under the horses of the carriage. The explosion of this shell injured some people and destroyed the rear wall of the carriage, but the sovereign himself remained unharmed.
The man who threw the shell, although he ran along the canal embankment, towards Nevsky Prospekt, was detained a few fathoms away and initially identified himself as the tradesman Glazov, and then revealed that he was the tradesman Rysakov.
Nikolai Ivanovich Rysakov
Meanwhile, the sovereign, having ordered the coachman to stop the horses, deigned to get out of the carriage and go to the detained criminal.
When the tsar was returning back to the site of the explosion along the canal panel, a second explosion followed, the consequence of which was to inflict several extremely severe wounds on the tsar, with both legs being crushed below the knees...
Peasant Pyotr Pavlov testified that the second explosive shell was thrown by an unknown person who was standing leaning against the embankment grating; he waited for the tsar to approach at a distance of no more than two arshins and threw something on the panel, which is why the second explosion followed.
The man indicated by Pavlov was picked up at the crime scene in an unconscious state and, when taken to the court hospital of the Stable Department, died there 8 hours later. During the autopsy, he was found to have many wounds caused by the explosion, which, according to experts, should have occurred at a very close distance, no more than three steps from the deceased.
This man, having come to his senses somewhat before his death and answered the question about his name - “I don’t know,” lived, as was discovered by the inquiry and judicial investigation, on a false passport in the name of the Vilna tradesman Nikolai Stepanovich Elnikov and among his accomplices was called Mikhail Ivanovich and Kotik (I.I. Grinevitsky)."
The assassination of Emperor Alexander II divided Russian society into two periods: before March 1 (13), 1881 and after it
Sovereigns have been killed before (Peter III, Paul I). But these were murders as a result of secret conspiracies committed by an upper group of the highest nobility. Even mentioning the true circumstances of the death of these monarchs was completely taboo. Only allowed official version: Emperor Peter Fedorovich died from hemorrhoidal colic, and Emperor Pavel Petrovich died from apoplexy.
The murder of March 1, 1881 could not be fitted into these explanations. The Russian Tsar was killed not somewhere in a palace bedroom by a bunch of conspirators, but in the center of the imperial capital, after many years of terrorists hunting him, he was killed in public, boldly and cynically. There were absolutely seven attempts on the life of Emperor Alexander II, the last one being fatal. Naturally, the question arises: why was Alexander II killed? The murders of Peter III and Paul I were heinous atrocities, but their reasons are clear: both emperors interfered with certain influential groups high circles nobles who, in the name of their interests, carried out a palace coup.
But Alexander II was not killed as a result palace coup and not by representatives of the nobility, but by a declassed, common element. Yes, among him was Sofya Perovskaya, the daughter of the former governor of St. Petersburg, actual state councilor, member of the Council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs L.N. Perovsky, but she broke off all ties with him from the age of seventeen. Therefore, her participation in “Narodnaya Volya” cannot in any way give the assassination of the Emperor the character of a “noble” conspiracy. But, nevertheless, we cannot help but understand that the murder of Emperor Alexander II, as well as the existence of Narodnaya Volya, could not be the result of the initiative of individual fanatics. Behind them there must have been some influential forces for which the murder of the Sovereign was extremely necessary.
One of the common versions of the villainous murder on March 1, 1881 was the assumption that behind it were “reactionaries” and “obscurantists,” the main of whom was declared to be K.P. Pobedonostsev, who thus sought to prevent the “constitution” that Alexander II allegedly planned to sign on March 1, 1881. Here, for example, is an example of such pseudo-historical paperwork:
“It is customary, in historical tradition, to attribute the murder of Alexander II to revolutionaries. However, the Russian Emperor had other enemies, much more powerful, and their score against the Emperor was much more serious. Conservative nobles and landowners saw his half-hearted reforms as a mortal threat for themselves and the system of autocracy with which they identified themselves. The zemstvo reform provided the peasants with, at least nominally, their own representation in government bodies, at least nominally, but the right to vote. The Tsar was preparing a Constitution. Even if it was scanty, but even this was for the most conservative circles of the tsarist "It was unacceptable to Russia. And here's an interesting coincidence: the attack on the tsar's motorcade occurs two hours before the tsar's decree on the Constitution. Since the tsar entrusted his faithful assistant Loris-Melikov with the development of the Constitution, a whole series of assassination attempts have been carried out against the tsar."
Let's start with the fact that Emperor Alexander II never thought about any “constitution”. Moreover, he considered it extremely dangerous for Russia. When the conversation came up with him about the constitution, Alexander II said: “I give my word that now, on this table, I am ready to sign any constitution if I were convinced that it was useful for Russia. But I know that if you do I mean today, tomorrow Russia will fall to pieces."
Alexander II wanted to introduce popular representation in Russia, which would correspond to ancient Russian traditions, and not to the Western model. “Emperor Alexander II,” wrote General N.A. Epanchin, “realized that it was necessary to arrange so that the voice of the people reached the Tsar not through the bureaucracy.”
But Alexander II did not have exact plans and ideas in this regard, and he seized on the offer of his minister Count M.T. Loris-Melikov, who proposed creating commissions whose duties “would be to draw up bills within the limits that will be indicated to them by the Highest Will with the call of elected representatives from the provinces, as well as from some of the most significant cities. Moreover, in the form of attracting really useful and knowledgeable persons, provincial zemstvo assemblies and city dumas should be given the right to elect them not only from among the councilors, but also from other persons belonging to the population of the province or city."
Thus, members of the commissions could only have an advisory voice, that is, discuss draft laws, and all legislative initiative and approval of laws should belong exclusively to the Supreme Power. At the same time, Count Loris-Melikov repeatedly, energetically and passionately spoke out to the Emperor “against the organization of popular representation in Russia in forms borrowed from the West, alien to the Russian people, capable of shaking all their basic political views and bringing complete confusion into them.”
The creation of such a body, if it affected the interests of the small Russian higher bureaucracy, then to the most insignificant extent. Of course, the convening of commissions could not be the reason for the assassination of the Emperor. Moreover, the new Emperor Alexander III, while still a Tsarevich, was a supporter of the convening of the Zemsky Sobor, based on “Old Russian principles.” Under the leadership of the Tsarevich, a regulation on the Zemsky Sobor was developed.
In addition, the first attempt on the life of Alexander II was committed by Dmitry Karakozov in April 1866, that is, 15 years before the so-called “constitution”. In addition to Karakozov, the Pole Berezovsky shot at the Tsar in Paris in 1863. Then there are assassination attempts by members of two related organizations, “Land and Freedom” and its “daughter” “Narodnaya Volya”. In 1879, a member of "Land and Freedom" A. Solovyov unsuccessfully shot at the Emperor on Palace Square, later that year the "People's Will" blew up the imperial train, thinking that the Emperor was on it. Then the Narodnaya Volya member Stepan Khalturin detonated a bomb in the Winter Palace, where he got a job as a carpenter, killing and wounding 90 soldiers and servants instead of the Tsar. Then the Narodnaya Volya members prepared an assassination attempt on March 1, 1881, which was crowned with success.
There is another "version" voiced former ambassador France in St. Petersburg (Petrograd) by M. Paleologue, one of the sponsors of the February Revolution of 1917. For some reason, this visionary is considered a great specialist in the history of Russia, although contemporaries of that era openly made fun of his deep “knowledge” of the life of the Russian Emperors. So, Paleologus believed that the future Alexander III and the same demonized Pobedonostsev were behind the murder of Alexander II. They were afraid that the Tsar would take the throne from his son, the Tsarevich, and give it to his son George, born of the second morganatic wife of His Serene Highness Princess E.M. Yuryevskaya.
In his opus "The Romance of the Emperor. Alexander II and Princess Yuryevskaya" Paleolog writes that Count Loris-Melikov, trying at all costs to convince the Tsar to sign the "constitution", decided to use for this the "secret marriage of the Tsar", in which Loris was dedicated “To do this, it was necessary,” continues Paleologue, “to indicate to the Tsar that the granting of a constitution to the country could give him the right to elevate his morganatic wife to the rank of empress and justify this act in the eyes of the people... But if the Tsar was slow to speak out regarding the scope and formulation of liberal innovations, acceptable to him in principle, he, however, clearly took into account how useful they would be in order to legitimize in the eyes of the people the elevation of his morganatic wife to the rank of Empress.
In one of his conversations with the Tsar in Livadia, Loris-Melikov told him: “It will be a great happiness for Russia to have, as in the old days, a Russian Empress.” And he reminded him that the founder of the Romanov dynasty, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, was also married to Dolgoruky. About Georgy, Loris-Melikov said, turning to the Emperor: “When the Russian people recognize this son of Your Majesty, they will enthusiastically say: “This one is truly ours.” The Emperor thought deeply about the words of the minister, who seemed to have guessed one of his most secret thoughts ".
All this, of course, is the fruit of Paleologus’ fantasies. As we saw above, Loris-Melikov did not propose any constitution; Alexander II himself categorically did not want one, and as for the “entrance” of Georgy Alexandrovich to the throne, this was in no way possible either according to the legislation of the Russian Empire or according to church laws. After the death of Alexander II, his son Tsarevich automatically assumed the throne by virtue of his natural legal right to the throne, who by that time also had a son, Nicholas, whom Alexander II loved very much. Therefore, only lovers of romance novels can seriously consider the ravings of Paleologus. By the way, after the assassination of Alexander II, his second family did not need anything, and the children of Princess Yuryevskaya freely played with the children of Alexander III.
Nevertheless, recognizing the absurdity of the above hypotheses, it should be noted that Narodnaya Volya could not act on its own, without any financial and organizational assistance. And there was such help. Otherwise, “Narodnaya Volya” would not have been able to publish “newspapers”: “Narodnaya Volya”, “Rabochaya Gazeta”, “Narodnaya Volya” Bulletin, “Narodnaya Volya” Calendar” and “Appendices” to them. Moreover, all issues of these publications were printed in St. Petersburg, in Narodnaya Volya printing houses in Saperny Lane, on Podolskaya Street (two printing houses), on Troitskaya Street (Rabochaya Gazeta). In 1879 - 1883 it united up to 25 circles (students, gymnasiums, workers), operating in 50 cities, had 10 underground printing houses in Russia and one abroad.
"Land and Freedom" and then "People's Will" were excellently thought out and structured. They were based on the principle of centralization and the strictest secrecy. Each member of the organization knew only the work entrusted to him, but he was forbidden to delve into the specifics of the work of other members. And this despite the fact that the organization had only 3 thousand registered members. This is what former populist L.A. wrote about these organizations. Tikhomirov, who later broke with the socialists:
“In appearance, “Land and Freedom” was an organization so strong and harmonious that there had never been one in Russia. It absorbed everything of any importance in the revolutionary environment. The number of members was significant, and, in addition to the main participants, many people joined the him according to a system of subgroups, on each private matter... Thus, about 20 members united quite a lot of forces around themselves, not to mention the fact that the organization had influence on many private circles, had various and good connections all around Russia.
"Land and Freedom" had a name and trust, as a result of which it received money from sympathizers... Thanks to the founding of the printing house, the "Land and Freedom" circle did not need emigrants at all and came out of any dependence abroad. This was a new phenomenon. Finally, “Land and Freedom” had no competitors... In terms of all-Russian influence, only one Executive Committee of “Narodnaya Volya” subsequently surpassed “Earth and Freedom”.
From the texts and appeals of Narodnaya Volya it is clear that its members themselves could not write them. The Social Democratic hand is visible in all of them. It was first from “Land and Freedom”, and then from “Narodnaya Volya” that the demands of the Constituent Assembly, the Provisional Government and so on first appeared, that is, what the revolutionaries would demand in February-March 1917. The main program requirements of "Narodnaya Volya" were:
1) Permanent representation of the people, i.e. parliamentary democratic republic.
2) Complete freedom of speech, press, meetings, associations, conscience, election campaigning.
3) Universal suffrage without class and property restrictions and the election of all positions from bottom to top.
4) Land - to the peasants, factories and factories - to the workers.
5) National equality and the right of nations to self-determination.
6) Convening the Constituent Assembly.
7) Replacement of the standing army with a territorial one.
We will find these demands later among both the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Social Democrats.
The activities of “Narodnaya Volya” and the regicide on March 1, 1881, as its result, cannot be considered outside the context of the destruction of monarchical statehood, which was adopted by European and then American Freemasonry. Created in 1850, the International almost openly took up the task developed almost 100 years ago by the Illuminati - “the destruction of altars and thrones.” Immediately after the assassination of the Tsar Liberator, the French writer and freemason F. Pia wrote to D. Garibaldi: “My old friend, the latest attempt on the life of the All-Russian despot confirms your legendary phrase: “The International is the sun of the future.” Everyone, from the first Monarch to last president republics must disappear willy-nilly. French territory must be inviolable for exiles who, like us, seek to establish a world democratic and social republic by force of arms."
Of course, there were some powerful forces behind all the attempts on the life of Emperor Alexander II. But here is what the members of the Ishutin “Organization” and “Hell”, who were behind the preparation of the assassination of Alexander II, showed during interrogations about their goals and tactics:
First and the main objective- extermination of the government, whatever it may be, from the monarchical to the revolutionary, to bring panic to both the people and the government, and with the help of means known to them, by spreading only extremely socialist beliefs in the main cities of Russia, by establishing societies - to seize government into their own hands in order to achieve another goal - to organize the state on extreme social principles, like Fourier’s ideal.
Means: propaganda of socialist beliefs among the people, establishment of societies in the main cities of Russia, associations, rapprochement with workers, getting money from everyone possible ways, even if it were necessary to resort to theft and murder, occupying government positions in the postal department, where theft was easily possible big money, for example, when sending taxes, and, finally, the nearest regicide. Charter Society is organized, that is, replenished with members, in the most careful way: the new entrant must be known as a person of social convictions and bind himself by the readiness to now do something for the benefit of society or by the promise of doing something. As for the members themselves, each of them has a certain duty, failure to fulfill or evasion of which entails death, for which there is in the society itself a close circle, secret, called “hell” or “mortus”, which, in addition to official duties, There is also a direct duty - regicide. One can become a member of “hell” only by lot, i.e. take out one of the two tickets, and if death is written on it, then the subject must die immediately or the examiners will kill him, but if he takes out a ticket with the inscription life, then he becomes a member-mortus.”
On February 28, 1881, Emperor Alexander II, who always fasted during the first week of Lent, received Holy Communion of Christ. On March 1, 1881, the Tsar went to visit his cousin Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, and, after drinking tea with her, began to return to the Winter Palace. At about 3 p.m., those present in the Anichkov Palace heard two powerful explosion, heard from the direction of the Catherine Canal. Following them came terrible news: the Emperor was seriously wounded by some villains. As it was later established, they were members of the terrorist organization “Narodnaya Volya” Nikolai Rysakov and Ignatiy Grinevitsky. Rysakov threw the first bomb. Alexander II was not injured from its explosion, but a coachman, a Cossack, and a random boy passer-by were seriously wounded.
The king, getting out of the carriage, was concerned about providing assistance to the wounded, and then wanted to see the detainee. Approaching the captured Rysakov, who gave himself a fictitious name, the Tsar told him: “Good!” and went to the fence of the Catherine Canal - to where the terrorist Grinevitsky was standing. He threw a second bomb at the Emperor’s feet. In the evening, a message was announced from the Minister of Internal Affairs, Count M.T. Loris-Melikova:
Today, March 1, at 1:45 a.m., upon the return of the Sovereign Emperor from a divorce, on the embankment of the Catherine Canal, near the garden of the Mikhailovsky Palace, an attempt was made on the sacred life of His Majesty by throwing two explosive shells: the first of them damaged the crew of His Majesty. “Majesty, the rupture of the second caused severe wounds to the Emperor.”
Emperor Alexander II, bleeding, said: “to the palace, there to die...”. The wounded Sovereign was taken to the Winter Palace, carried on a carpet into his office and laid on the bed, near the desk at which he usually worked. Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich, Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna and their eldest son, Grand Duke Nicholas, immediately arrived to see their dying father. Nicholas II’s cousin, a friend of his youthful games, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled:
Emperor Alexander II was lying on the sofa by the table. He was unconscious. Three doctors were near him, but it was obvious that the Emperor could not be saved. He had a few minutes left to live. His appearance was terrible: his right leg was torn off, his left was broken, countless wounds covered his face and head. One eye was closed, the other was looking ahead without any expression."
Subsequently, Nicholas II himself recalled how he, a 13-year-old teenager, witnessed painful death Grandfather: “When we climbed the stairs, I saw that everyone we met had pale faces. There were large blood stains on the carpets. My Grandfather was bleeding from terrible wounds received from the explosion when he was carried up the stairs. My parents were already in the office ". My uncles and aunts stood near the window. No one spoke. My Grandfather was lying on a narrow camp bed, on which he always slept. He was covered with a military overcoat, which served as his robe.
His face was deathly pale. It was covered with small wounds. His eyes were closed. My father led me to the bed: “Dad,” he said, raising his voice, “Your ray of sunshine is here.” I saw my eyelashes tremble, my grandfather’s blue eyes opened, he tried to smile. He moved his finger, but he couldn't raise his hands or say what he wanted, but he certainly recognized me. Protopresbyter Bazhanov came up and gave Him Holy Communion last time. We all knelt down and the Emperor died quietly. It was the Lord’s will.”
The last minutes of the life of the Tsar Liberator were also captured by Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich:
The life surgeon, listening to the Tsar’s pulse, nodded his head and lowered his bloody hand. - The Emperor has died! - he said loudly. Princess Yuryevskaya screamed and fell, as if knocked down, to the floor. Her pink and white peignoir was soaked in blood. We all got down on our knees."
At 15:35 March 1, 1881 The Imperial standard above the Winter Palace slowly crept down. A huge crowd standing silently on Palace Square, mostly common people, took off their hats and knelt down: the Tsar-Liberator was gone. The reign of Emperor Alexander III began.
Russian Emperor Alexander II the Liberator (1818-1881) is considered one of the most outstanding monarchs of the Great Empire. It was under him that serfdom was abolished (1861), and zemstvo, city, judicial, military, and educational reforms were carried out. According to the idea of the sovereign and his entourage, all this was supposed to bring the country to new round economic development.
However, not everything worked out as expected. Many innovations extremely aggravated the internal political situation in the huge state. The most acute discontent arose as a result of the peasant reform. At its core, it was enslaving and provoked mass unrest. In 1861 alone there were more than a thousand of them. Peasant protests were suppressed extremely brutally.
The situation was aggravated by the economic crisis that lasted from the early 60s to the mid-80s of the 19th century. The rise in corruption was also notable. Massive abuses occurred in the railway industry. During the construction of railways, private companies stole most of the money, while officials from the Ministry of Finance shared with them. Corruption also flourished in the army. Contracts for supplying troops were given for bribes, and instead of quality goods, military personnel received low-quality products.
In foreign policy, the sovereign was guided by Germany. He sympathized with her in every possible way and did a lot to create a militaristic power under the nose of Russia. In his love for the Germans, the Tsar went so far as to order that the Kaiser's officers be awarded the Cross of St. George. All this did not add to the popularity of the autocrat. There has been a steady increase in popular discontent in the country, both internal and foreign policy state, and the attempts on Alexander II were the result of weak rule and royal lack of will.
Revolutionary movement
If state power suffers from shortcomings, then many oppositionists appear among educated and energetic people. In 1869, the “People's Retribution Society” was formed. One of its leaders was Sergei Nechaev (1847-1882), a terrorist of the 19th century. A terrible person, capable of murder, blackmail, and extortion.
In 1861, the secret revolutionary organization “Land and Freedom” was formed. It was a union of like-minded people, numbering at least 3 thousand people. The organizers were Herzen, Chernyshevsky, Obruchev. In 1879, "Land and Freedom" split into the terrorist organization "People's Will" and the populist wing, called the "Black Redistribution".
Pyotr Zaichnevsky (1842-1896) created his own circle. He distributed prohibited literature among young people and called for the overthrow of the monarchy. Fortunately, he didn’t kill anyone, but he was a revolutionary and a promoter of socialism to the core. Nikolai Ishutin (1840-1879) also created revolutionary circles. He argued that the end justifies any means. He died in a hard labor prison before reaching the age of 40. Pyotr Tkachev (1844-1886) should also be mentioned. He preached terrorism, not seeing other methods of fighting the government.
There were also many other circles and unions. All of them were actively involved in anti-government agitation. In 1873-1874, thousands of intellectuals went to the villages to propagate revolutionary ideas among the peasants. This action was called "going to the people."
Beginning in 1878, a wave of terrorism swept across Russia. And the beginning of this lawlessness was laid by Vera Zasulich (1849-1919). She seriously wounded the mayor of St. Petersburg, Fyodor Trepov (1812-1889). After this, the terrorists shot at gendarmerie officers, prosecutors, and governors. But their most desired target was the Emperor of the Russian Empire, Alexander II.
Assassination attempts on Alexander II
Assassination of Karakozov
The first attempt on the life of God's anointed took place on April 4, 1866. Terrorist Dmitry Karakozov (1840-1866) raised his hand against the autocrat. He was Nikolai Ishutin's cousin and ardently advocated individual terror. He sincerely believed that by killing the Tsar, he would inspire the people to a socialist revolution.
The young man, on his own initiative, arrived in St. Petersburg in the spring of 1866, and on April 4, he waited for the emperor at the entrance to the Summer Garden and shot at him. However, the life of the autocrat was saved by the small businessman Osip Komissarov (1838-1892). He stood in the crowd of onlookers and stared at the emperor getting into the carriage. Terrorist Karakozov was nearby a few seconds before the shot. Komissarov saw the revolver in the stranger’s hand and hit it. The bullet went up, and Komissarov, for his courageous act, became a hereditary nobleman and received an estate in the Poltava province.
Dmitry Karakozov was arrested at the crime scene. From August 10 to October 1 of the same year, a trial was held under the chairmanship of the actual Privy Councilor Pavel Gagarin (1789-1872). The terrorist was sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was carried out on September 3, 1866 in St. Petersburg. The criminal was hanged on the Smolensk field in public. At the time of his death, Karakozov was 25 years old.
Berezovsky's assassination attempt
The second attempt on the life of the Russian Tsar took place on June 6, 1867 (the date is indicated according to Gregorian calendar, but since the assassination attempt took place in France, it is quite correct). This time, Anton Berezovsky (1847-1916), a Pole by origin, raised his hand against God’s anointed one. He took part in the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. After the defeat of the rebels he went abroad. From 1865 he lived permanently in Paris. In 1867, the World Exhibition opened in the capital of France. It demonstrated the latest technical achievements. The exhibition was of great international importance, and the Russian Emperor came to it.
Having learned about this, Berezovsky decided to kill the sovereign. He naively believed that in this way he could make Poland a free state. On June 5 he bought a revolver, and on June 6 he shot at the autocrat in the Bois de Boulogne. He was traveling in a carriage with his 2 sons and the French emperor. But the terrorist did not have the appropriate shooting skills. The fired bullet hit the horse of one of the riders, who was galloping next to the crowned heads.
Berezovsky was immediately captured, put on trial and sentenced to life in hard labor. They sent the criminal to New Caledonia - this is the southwestern part Pacific Ocean. In 1906, the terrorist was amnestied. But he did not return to Europe and died in a foreign land at the age of 69.
The third attempt occurred on April 2, 1879 in the capital of the empire, St. Petersburg. Alexander Solovyov (1846-1879) committed the crime. He was a member of the revolutionary organization "Land and Freedom". On the morning of April 2, the attacker met the emperor on the Moika embankment while he was taking his usual morning walk.
The Emperor was walking unaccompanied, and the terrorist approached him at a distance of no more than 5 meters. A shot was fired, but the bullet flew past without hitting the autocrat. Alexander II ran, the criminal chased after him and fired 2 more shots, but again missed. At this time, gendarmerie captain Koch arrived. He hit the attacker on the back with his saber. But the blow landed flat, and the blade bent.
Solovyov almost fell, but stayed on his feet and threw a shot at the emperor’s back for the 4th time, but missed again. Then the terrorist rushed towards Palace Square to hide. He was interrupted by people rushing to the sound of gunfire. The criminal shot at the running people for the 5th time, without causing harm to anyone. After that he was captured.
On May 25, 1879, a trial was held and the attacker was sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was carried out on May 28 of the same year on the Smolensk field. Several tens of thousands of people attended the execution. At the time of his death, Alexander Solovyov was 32 years old. After his execution, members of the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya gathered and decided to kill the Russian emperor at any cost.
Explosion of the Suite train
The next attempt on Alexander II's life occurred on November 19, 1879. The Emperor was returning from Crimea. There were 2 trains in total. One is royal, and the second with his retinue is retinue. For safety reasons, the suite train moved first, and the royal train went at intervals of 30 minutes.
But in Kharkov, a malfunction was discovered in the locomotive of the Svitsky train. Therefore, the train containing the sovereign went ahead. The terrorists knew about the route, but did not know about the breakdown of the locomotive. They missed the royal train, and the next train, which contained an escort, was blown up. The 4th car overturned, as the explosion was very strong, but, fortunately, there were no casualties.
Assassination of Khalturin
Another unsuccessful attempt was made by Stepan Khalturin (1856-1882). He worked as a carpenter and was closely associated with the Narodnaya Volya. In September 1879, the palace department hired him to do carpentry work in the royal palace. They settled there in the semi-basement. A young carpenter brought explosives to the Winter Palace, and on February 5, 1880, he caused a powerful explosion.
It exploded on the 1st floor, and the emperor was having lunch on the 3rd floor. That day he was late, and at the time of the tragedy he was not in the dining room. Absolutely innocent people from the guard, numbering 11, died. More than 50 people were injured. The terrorist fled. He was detained on March 18, 1882 in Odessa after the murder of prosecutor Strelnikov. He was hanged on March 22 of the same year at the age of 25.
The last fatal assassination attempt on Alexander II took place on March 1, 1881 in St. Petersburg on the embankment of the Catherine Canal. It was accomplished by Narodnaya Volya members Nikolai Rysakov (1861-1881) and Ignatius Grinevitsky (1856-1881). The main organizer was Andrei Zhelyabov (1851-1881). The immediate leader of the terrorist attack was Sofya Perovskaya (1853-1881). Her accomplices were Nikolai Kibalchich (1853-1881), Timofey Mikhailov (1859-1881), Gesya Gelfman (1855-1882) and her husband Nikolai Sablin (1850-1881).
On that ill-fated day, the emperor was riding in a carriage from the Mikhailovsky Palace after breakfast with Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna. The carriage was accompanied by 6 mounted Cossacks, two sleighs with guards, and another Cossack sat next to the coachman.
Rysakov appeared on the embankment. He wrapped the bomb in a white scarf and walked straight towards the carriage. One of the Cossacks galloped towards him, but did not have time to do anything. The terrorist threw a bomb. There was a strong explosion. The carriage sank to one side, and Rysakov tried to escape, but was detained by security.
In the general confusion, the emperor got out of the carriage. The bodies of dead people lay all around. Not far from the site of the explosion, a 14-year-old teenager was dying in agony. Alexander II approached the terrorist and asked his name and rank. He said that he was a Glazov tradesman. People ran up to the sovereign and began to ask if everything was okay with him. The emperor replied: “Thank God, I was not hurt.” At these words, Rysakov bared his teeth angrily and said: “Is there still glory to God?”
Not far from the scene of the tragedy, Ignatius Grinevitsky stood at the iron grating with the second bomb. Nobody paid attention to him. The Emperor, meanwhile, moved away from Rysakov and, apparently in shock, wandered along the embankment, accompanied by the police chief, who asked to return to the carriage. In the distance was Perovskaya. When the Tsar caught up with Grinevitsky, she waved her white handkerchief, and the terrorist threw a second bomb. This explosion turned out to be fatal for the autocrat. The terrorist himself was also mortally wounded by the exploding bomb.
The explosion disfigured the emperor's entire body. He was put into a sleigh and taken to the palace. Soon the sovereign died. Before his death he regained consciousness a short time and managed to take communion. On March 4, the body was transferred to the temple home imperial family- Court Cathedral. On March 7, the deceased was solemnly transferred to the tomb of the Russian emperors - the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The funeral service took place on March 15. It was headed by Metropolitan Isidore, the leading member of the Holy Synod.
As for the terrorists, the investigation took the detained Rysakov into a tough turn, and he very quickly betrayed his accomplices. He named a safe house located on Telezhnaya Street. The police arrived there, and Sablin, who was there, shot himself. His wife Gelfman was arrested. Already on March 3, the remaining participants in the attempt were arrested. Who managed to escape punishment was Vera Figner (1852-1942). This woman is a legend. She stood at the origins of terrorism and managed to live for 89 years.
The trial of the First Marchers
The organizers and perpetrator of the assassination attempt were tried and sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was carried out on April 3, 1881. The execution took place on the Semyonovsky parade ground (now Pionerskaya Square) in St. Petersburg. They hanged Perovskaya, Zhelyabov, Mikhailov, Kibalchich and Rysakov. Standing on the scaffold, the Narodnaya Volya members said goodbye to each other, but did not want to say goodbye to Rysakov, since they considered him a traitor. Those executed were subsequently named March 1st, since the attempt was committed on March 1.
Thus ended the assassination attempts on Alexander II. But at that time, no one could even imagine that this was only the beginning of a series of bloody events that would result in a civil fratricidal war at the beginning of the 20th century..