798 



RUSSIA. 



the confirmation of the Czar. Hessy II elf mann, 

 being in a pregnant condition, could not be 

 executed until after her delivery ; and her sen- 

 tence was subsequently commuted by the Czar 

 to imprisonment for life. The others were 

 executed on April 15th. 



Two proclamations were issued by the Ex- 

 ecutive Committee of the Nihilists after the 

 assassination. One was addressed to Europe, 

 and aimed at justifying the deed, enumerating 

 the grievances of the Russian people attributa- 

 ble to despotism and misgovernment, and de- 

 scribing the severities which had driven the 

 party to retaliations. The other proclamation 

 was addressed to Alexander III. It announced 

 that the terrorism would only cease on two 

 conditions : that all political offenders should 

 be amnestied ; and that the Czar should con- 

 voke a National Assembly, to be elected by the 

 equal votes of all classes, for the revision and 

 reform of the private laws of the state. 



The description of the process by which the 

 Nihilists were led to resort to the reprisals 

 which culminated in the assassination of the 

 Czar was given in the tirst proclamation as fol- 

 lows: 



_ Inspired by ideals of truth and humanity, the Rus- 

 sian revolutionary party kept for many years on the 

 ground of a peaceful propaganda of their convictions. 

 Their activity exceeded the bounds of personal and 

 social exertions which are lawful in all the states of 

 Europe, without exception. As the party chose for 

 its aim the elevation of the Russian workman and 

 peasant to a higher plane of intelligence and the im- 

 provement of their material condition, it did not con- 

 cern itself with the political oppression and arbitrary 

 injustice which prevailed in our country, and took no 

 part in political questions. For this its recompense 

 was cruel persecution by the Russian Government. 

 Not isolated individuals, but hundreds and thousands 

 were martyred to death in prisons, in exile, in the 

 mines ; thousands of families were broken up and 

 plunged in immeasurable sorrow. At the same time 

 the Kussian Government enlarged the number and 

 powers of the bureaucracy to an incredible degree, 

 and gave the fullest scope to the rule of rogues. Im- 

 poverishment, famine, demoralization of the people 

 at the sight of easily gotten riches, and the conse- 

 quent perverted views of life all these results, exert- 

 ing a terribly depressing influence on the character of 

 the people, followed from the course taken by the 

 Government. Everywhere, in all countries, individ- 

 uals are overtaken by ruin, but nowhere from such 

 slight causes as in Russia ; everywhere the interests 

 of the people are sacrificed to the interests of the rul- 

 ing classes, but nowhere are the people trampled 

 down with greater arrogance and greater cynicism 

 than here. Hunted and baited, by the conditions im- 

 posed upon them placed in a position where ic was 

 impossible to carry out their ideas, the revolutionary 

 party were gradually drawn into an open conflict 

 with the Government, whereby they confined them- 

 selves to defending themselves with weapons in their 

 hands against the agents of the Government. The re- 

 sponse of the Government to that was the death-sen- 

 tence. Lite was impossible : there only remained 

 a choice between moral and physical destruction. 

 Scorning the pitiful existence of slaves, the Russian 

 social-revolutionary party determined either to perish 

 or to crush the despotism centuries old which stifled 

 the life of the Russian people. Conscious of the 

 magnitude of its task, conscious of the harm caused 

 by Russian absolutism harm not only to Russia, but 

 to the whole world, menaced by this system which 



suppresses justice, liberty, and civilization the party 

 began to organize the struggle against the system of 

 despotism. The catastrophe which fell upon'Alexun- 

 der II is only a single episode in the conflict. The 

 Executive Committee does not doubt that the thinking, 

 honest people of Western Europe will understand the 

 importance of this struggle, and will not prejudge the 

 manner in which it is conducted, since thus mariner is 

 necessitated by the inhumanity of the Russian au- 

 thorities, and since for the Russian there is no other 

 way but sanguinary conflict. 



The first measures of the Government, after 

 the accession of the new Czar, were directed 

 to the protection of his life, which was boldly 

 threatened by the Nihilists. In St. Petersburg 

 and the other university cities there were 

 manifestations of popular sympathy with the 

 revolutionists. Many arrests were made. A 

 great number of the court attendants were 

 dismissed, and the Czar took up his residence 

 in the castle of Gatchina. The governors- 

 general, who have possessed extraordinary 

 powers since the attempt of Solovieff on the 

 Czar's life in April, 1879, prosecuted the most 

 rigorous searches, and all the cities were sub- 

 jected to the extreme inconveniences of mar- 

 tial law. A body of rural police, called the 

 Uriadniki, was created, whose pursuit of the 

 " enemies of the Czar " was felt by the people 

 to differ but little from the outrages of bandits. 

 The hated " Third Section," the secret police 

 which was supposed to have been abolished, 

 was thoroughly reorganized, under the new 

 name of the " State Police," by its chief, Plome. 

 The precautions taken by the Czar against 

 assassination in his self-inflicted imprisonment 

 in the Summer Palace of Gatchina were of the 

 most exaggerated kind ; he seemed to be in- 

 fected with the nervous fright of his hysterical 

 wife. His isolation in Gatchina was fitfully 

 changed for the equally well-guarded Peter- 

 hoff, and then back again to Gatchina. The 

 few visitors who were received, even the 

 officers of state and the chaplain, were obliged 

 to run the gantlet of a succession of Cossack 

 sentries and police officers, and even to have 

 their persons searched. The practice of de- 

 portation to Siberia without trial was resumed 

 after the dismission of Melikoff. 



Among the revelations of the rigorous in- 

 vestigations which followed the tragedy of 

 the 13th of March was the discovery that Con- 

 stantino, son of the Emperor's cousin, the 

 Grand Duke Constantine, had been accus- 

 tomed to frequent Nihilistic conclaves, and 

 had worked as a propagandist of the social- 

 istic theories among factory- workmen. It was 

 discovered that a lieutenant of the navy con- 

 nected with the torpedo service had removed 

 from the government stores large quantities of 

 dynamite and given it to the conspirators. 

 This lieutenant, whose name whas Sukhanoff, 

 was captured, and a considerable number of 

 naval officers were arrested on suspicion, as 

 well as many officers in the army, among them 

 officers of the Guards. Two dynamite mines 

 were found under the Stone Bridge in the 



