Process. The trial of Dmitry Karakozov. First shot. How Russia opened the era of the hunt for emperors The justification of Karakozov

Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:	With. Zhmakino, Serdobsky district, Saratov province,
Date of death:
A place of death:	Saint Petersburg
Education:	incomplete higher education
Organization:
Key ideas:	socialism
Occupation:	revolutionary
Class affiliation:	minor nobility

Dmitry Vladimirovich Karakozov- Russian revolutionary, member of a secret revolutionary society in Moscow. made an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Tsar Alexander II.

Life path

Born on October 23 () in the village of Zhmakino, Serdobsky district, Saratov province (now Kolyshleysky district, Penza region). By origin - from small landed nobility. He graduated from the 1st Penza Men's Gymnasium in 1860, then studied at Kazan (from 1861) and Moscow (1864-1865, expelled for non-payment) universities. At one time he lived in the village with his relatives, and also worked as a clerk for the justice of the peace of Serdobsky district.

He joined the (“Organization”), founded in 1863 by his cousin N.A. Ishutin. Together with some members of the circle, Karakozov became a supporter of the tactics of individual terror and believed that the murder of the Tsar could serve as an impetus for awakening the people to social revolution.

In the spring of 1866, Karakozov went to St. Petersburg to commit an assassination attempt on the Tsar. For the same purpose, he scattered a handwritten proclamation he had written to “Friends-workers”, in which he called on the people for revolution and establishment after the regicide.

On April 4, 1866, he shot at Alexander II at the gates of the Summer Garden, but missed. He was arrested and imprisoned in the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

In the proclamation “To Friends the Workers!”, which Karakozov distributed on the eve of the assassination attempt (one copy was found in his pocket during his arrest), the revolutionary explained the motives for his action:

It was sad, it became hard for me that... my beloved people were dying, and so I decided to destroy the villain king and die for my dear people myself. If my plan succeeds, I will die with the thought that by my death I brought benefit to my dear friend - the Russian peasant. But if I don’t succeed, I still believe that there will be people who will follow my path. I didn't succeed - they will succeed. For them, my death will be an example and will inspire them...

The investigation into the Karakozov case was headed by Count M.N. Muravyov, who did not live two days before the verdict was pronounced. At first, the revolutionary refused to testify and claimed that he was the peasant son Alexei Petrov. During the investigation, it was established that he lived in room 65 at the Znamenskaya Hotel. A search in the room made it possible for investigators to find Karakozov’s Moscow accomplice, from whom they learned his name. According to some data, during the investigative measures Karakozov was deprived of sleep.

During the trial in the Supreme Criminal Court (August 10 - October 1, 1866) over members of the Ishutin circle, at a meeting on August 31, he was sentenced to death penalty by hanging.

Executed on the Smolensk Field (Vasilievsky Island) in St. Petersburg, with a large crowd of people. A sketch of Karakozov before his execution was left by the artist I. E. Repin, who was present on the Smolensk field.

After the assassination attempt, searches were carried out and arrests were made of some employees of liberal publications; Nekrasov's Sovremennik magazine was closed.

Maria Alekseevna Ishutina (Karakozova) [Ishutins]

Events

OK. 24 October 1840? baptism: Zhmakino, Serdobsky Uyezd, Saratov Governorate, Russian Empire

Notes

Karakozov Dmitry Vladimirovich (23.10 (4.11).1840, village of Zhmakino, Serdob district, Saratov province, now Penza region, - 3 (15.9.1866, St. Petersburg) - participant in the Russian revolutionary movement, was a member of a secret revolutionary society in Moscow. He graduated from the 1st Penza Men's Gymnasium in 1860, then studied at Kazan (from 1861) and Moscow (from 1864) universities. At the beginning of 1866 he belonged to the revolutionary center of the Ishutin circle, founded in Moscow in 1863 by his cousin N. A. Ishutin. In the spring of 1866 he arrived in St. Petersburg to commit an assassination attempt on the Tsar. He distributed a handwritten proclamation he wrote to “Friends-workers”, in which he called on the people for revolution. On April 4, 1866 he shot at Emperor Alexander II at the gates of the Summer Garden in St. Petersburg, but missed. He was arrested and imprisoned in the Alexander Ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress. By official version, the reason for Karakozov’s blunder was that his hand was pushed by the peasant Osip Komissarov, who was given the nobility and the surname of Komissarov-Kostromsky. The Supreme Criminal Court sentenced him to death by hanging. Executed on the Smolensk field in St. Petersburg.

The decisive role in the fate of the family was played by the youngest son of Vladimir Ivanovich DMITRY VLADIMROVICH KARAKOZOV (1840 - 1866).

Until April 4, 1866, Dmitry’s biography was extremely uneventful. Like his older brothers, Dmitry studied at the First Penza Men's Gymnasium. His mathematics teacher was Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov. In 1860, after graduating from high school, he entered the law faculty of Kazan University. But a year later he was expelled by order of the police and expelled from Kazan. For about a year he served as a clerk for the justice of the peace of Serdobsky district. He was admitted back to Kazan University in 1863 and dismissed from it in 1864 “for transfer to Moscow University,” from where he was expelled in the summer of 1865 for non-payment of tuition.

On April 4, 1866, at four o'clock in the afternoon, Emperor Alexander II, after a routine walk in the Summer Garden, accompanied by his nephew, Duke Nicholas of Leuchtenberg, and niece, Princess Maria of Baden, was getting into a carriage when an unknown person shot him with a pistol. At that moment, the peasant Osip Komissarov, who was standing in the crowd, hit the killer in the hand, and the bullet flew past. The criminal was detained on the spot and, by order of the emperor, taken to the III department.

The Emperor himself went straight from the Summer Garden to the Kazan Cathedral to give thanks to God for delivering him from the danger that threatened him, and Duke Nicholas and Princess Maria hurried to the meeting of the State Council to warn Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, who presided over the Council, about what had happened. When the emperor returned to the Winter Palace, all members of the State Council were already waiting for him there to offer congratulations. Having embraced the empress and the august children, the emperor and his family went a second time to the Kazan Cathedral, where a thanksgiving prayer service was served in front of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God.

The next day, at 10 o’clock in the morning, the emperor accepted the congratulations of the Senate, which came to the Winter Palace in full force, with the Minister of Justice at its head. “Thank you, gentlemen,” he told the senators, “thank you for your loyal feelings. They make me happy. I have always been confident in them. I only regret that we had to express them on such a sad event. The identity of the criminal has not yet been clarified, but it is obvious that he is who he claims to be. The most unfortunate thing is that he is Russian.”

The one who shot at the sovereign was expelled for participating in the riots from among the students of first Kazan and then Moscow universities, by a nobleman of the Saratov province Dmitry Karakozov. The discovery of the reasons that caused the crime and the identification of its accomplices was entrusted to a special investigative commission, the chairman of which was appointed Count M.N. Muravyova.

Karakozov initially hid his last name and called himself the peasant Petrov. On April 5, the chief of gendarmes, Prince Dolgorukov, wrote in a report to the Tsar: “All means will be used to reveal the truth.” It sounded ominous. The next day, Dolgorukov informed the tsar that the arrested man “was interrogated all day, without giving him rest - the priest hanged him for several hours.” A day later, the same Dolgorukov reported: “From the attached note, Your Majesty deigns to see what was done by the main investigative commission during the second half of the day. Despite this, the criminal still does not announce his real name and asks me to give him rest so that write your explanations tomorrow. Although he is really exhausted, we still need to tire him out in order to see if he will decide to be frank today.”

Kropotkin in “Notes of a Revolutionary” recounted the story of the gendarme who was guarding Karakozov in the cell that he heard in the fortress: two guards were constantly with the prisoner, changing every two hours. By order of their superiors, they did not allow Karakozov to fall asleep. As soon as he, sitting on a stool, began to doze off, the gendarmes shook him by the shoulders.

An attempt on the life of the Tsar by a nobleman seemed so unthinkable that in the first days after the arrest, the topic of Dmitry Karakozov’s mental illness was widely discussed.

The investigation established that Karakozov belonged to a Moscow secret circle led by his cousin Ishutin, which consisted mainly of young students, university students, students of the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy and students of other educational institutions; what this circle had ultimate goal carrying out a coup d'état by force; that the means to achieve this was to bring him closer to the people, teach them to read and write, establish workshops, artels and other similar associations to spread socialist teachings among the common people. It was also established that members of the Moscow circle had connections with like-minded people in St. Petersburg, with exiled Poles and with Russian immigrants abroad.

The investigation revealed, moreover, the unsatisfactory state of most educational institutions, higher and secondary, the unreliability of teachers, the spirit of rebellion and self-will of students and even high school students, who were carried away by the teachings of unbelief and materialism, on the one hand, and the most extreme socialism, on the other, openly preached in magazines of the so-called advanced direction.

The sessions of the Supreme Court, to which Karakozov was committed, took place in the same Peter and Paul Fortress, where the Decembrists and Petrashevites were tried. Alexander II wished that the process be completed as soon as possible. The court included persons whose merciless cruelty was known in advance. The chairman of the court was Prince Gagarin.

His not at all dispassionate judicial mood spilled out at the very beginning of the trial, when he told the court secretary that he would address Karakozov as “you,” since “such a villain has no opportunity to say “you.” However, the secretary managed to convince him to address the defendant to "you".

During the trial itself, the king’s desire to speed up the end of the process was brought to the attention of the chairman. “If Karakozov’s execution is not carried out before August 26, then the sovereign emperor does not want it to happen between August 26 (coronation day) and August 30 (his name day day).” This was the verdict. He was taken out. Its pronouncement was preceded by a private meeting of the court members at the chairman’s apartment, where it was decided to execute Karakozov alone. Court member Panin agreed with this very reluctantly, saying that “of course, it is better to execute two than one, and three is better than two.”

Karakozov, completely broken by the investigation and the trial, testified and submitted a request for pardon. The Minister of Justice, who was also the prosecutor in the trial, reported it to the tsar, which he later recounted: “What an angelic expression was on the sovereign’s face when he said that he had long ago forgiven him, as a Christian, but, as a sovereign, he does not consider himself entitled to forgive ". So, hypocritically, with pompous phrases, the tsar, an unlimited monarch, limited himself in the right to get rid of the condemned man from the gallows!..

On September 2, the chairman of the court summoned Karakozov from the ravelin to the building where the trial was taking place. Karakozov entered with such a bright face that, apparently, he was expecting a pardon, but he heard about the confirmation of the sentence, and all the light disappeared from his face, it darkened and took on a stern and gloomy expression. The convict had to wait a whole day for execution.

In addition to Karakozov, the Supreme Criminal Court tried 35 other defendants in his case, divided into two groups. 11 people were included in the first group along with Karakozov, and 25 in the second. In addition, the government dealt with some of those arrested in the same case without trial, in an administrative manner. The accused were accused of some form of involvement in the assassination attempt on Alexander II and participation in an organization whose goal was coup d'etat and the establishment of new social principles. The majority of the circle members did not go beyond attempts to organize artels and production partnerships, or beyond intentions to conduct propaganda with the help of libraries and schools. The indictments primarily charged members of a society called "Hell", in which the assassination of the Tsar as a means of coup was the subject of discussion.

Most of the accused during the investigation and in court, after being sentenced to hard labor and settlement, submitted requests for pardon. Ishutin, who was sentenced to hanging, submitted a request for pardon after the execution of Karakozov and Ishutin. He was pardoned after the entire ceremony of public execution was performed over him, including dressing in a shroud and putting a noose around his neck. This cost him the loss of his mental health. The age of the convicts ranged from 19 to 26 years.

On September 3, 1866, at 7 o'clock in the morning, Dmitry Karakozov was taken from the Peter and Paul Fortress to the Smolensk field. Thousands of people, despite the early hour, gathered here. Everyone was waiting for execution...

The court secretary Ya. G. Esipovich, who was present at the execution of the sentence, wrote in his memoirs:

"Among the vast masses of people there was left wide road, along which we reached the square formed from troops. Here we left the carriage and entered the square. A scaffold was erected in the center of the square, a gallows was placed to the side of it, and a low wooden platform was built opposite the gallows for the Minister of Justice and his retinue. Everything was painted black. On this site we have become.

Soon a shameful chariot drove up to the scaffold, on which Karakozov sat with his back to the horses, chained to a high seat. His face was blue and deathly. Filled with horror and silent despair, he looked at the scaffold, then began to look with his eyes for something else, his gaze stopped for a moment on the gallows, and suddenly his head convulsively and as if involuntarily turned away from this terrible object.

And the morning began so clear, bright, sunny!”

And so the executioners calmly, without haste, unchained Karakozov. Then, taking him by the arms, they lifted him to the high scaffold, to the pillory. The crowd of thousands fell silent and, fixing their gaze on the scaffold, waited for what would happen next.

Minister of Justice D.N. Zamyatin turned to Esipovich and said loudly:

"Mr. Secretary of the Supreme Criminal Court, announce the court's verdict publicly!"

Esipovich, with difficulty overcoming his excitement, climbed the steps of the scaffold, leaned on the railing and began to read:

"By order of His Imperial Majesty..."

After these words, the drums beat, the army stood guard, and everyone took off their hats. When the drums died down,” Esipovich continued, “I read the verdict word by word and then returned again to the platform where the Minister of Justice stood with his retinue.

When I came down from the scaffold, Archpriest Palisadov, Karakozov’s confessor, ascended it. In vestments and with a cross in his hands, he approached the condemned man, told him the last parting word, let him kiss the cross and left.

The executioners began to put a shroud on him, which completely covered his head, but they were unable to do this properly, because they did not put their hands into his sleeves. The police chief, sitting on horseback near the scaffold, said this. They again took off the shroud and put it on again so that their hands could be tied back with long sleeves. This, of course, also added one extra bitter minute to the condemned man, for when the shroud was taken off him, shouldn’t the thought of pardon have flashed through him? And again they put on the shroud again, now for the last time."

The execution of Karakozov was witnessed by the aspiring artist Ilya Repin, who left memories entitled “The Execution of Karakozov”, published in the collection of memoirs “Distant Close”.

It was already a completely white day when in the distance a black cart without springs swayed with a bench on which Karakozov was sitting. Only the width of the cart, the road was guarded by the police, and in this space it was clearly visible how the “criminal” swayed from side to side on the cobblestone pavement. Attached to the plank bench wall, it looked like a motionless mannequin. He sat with his back to the horse, without changing anything in his deadened position... Here he was approaching, now he was passing us. Everyone is walking and close past us. It was possible to clearly see the face and the entire position of the body. Petrified, he held on, turning his head to the left. The color of his face was characteristic feature solitary confinement - which had not seen air or light for a long time, it was pale yellow, with a grayish tint; His hair, light blond, tended to curl by nature, had a grayish-ashy touch, had not been washed for a long time and was matted haphazardly under a prisoner-style cap, slightly pulled down in front. The long, protruding nose looked like the nose of a dead man, and the eyes, directed in one direction - huge gray eyes, without any shine, also seemed to be on the other side of life: not a single living thought or living feeling could be noticed in them; only tightly compressed thin lips spoke of the remnant of frozen energy of someone who had decided and endured his fate to the end. The overall impression from him was especially terrible. Of course, he bore on himself, in addition to this whole appearance, the death sentence decided upon him, which (it was on everyone’s faces) would be carried out now.

The gendarmes and some other servants, taking off his black prisoner's cap, began to push him to the middle of the scaffold. He seemed unable to walk or was tetanus; his hands must have been tied. But here he was, freed, earnestly, in Russian, without haste, bowing to all the people on all four sides. This bow immediately turned this entire multi-headed field upside down, it became native and close to this alien, strange creature, which the crowd came running to look at as if it were a miracle. Perhaps only at that moment the “criminal” himself vividly felt the meaning of the moment - farewell to the world forever and the universal connection with it.

And forgive us, for Christ’s sake,” someone muttered muffledly, almost to himself.

“Mother, the queen of heaven,” the woman intoned.

Of course, God will judge,” said my neighbor, a merchant in appearance, with a tremor of tears in his voice.

Ooh! Fathers!.. - the woman howled.

The crowd began to hum dully, and even some shouts of whoops were heard... But at that time the drums began beating loudly. For a long time again, they could not put on the “criminal” a continuous cap of unbleached canvas, from the pointed crown to slightly below the knees. In this case, Karakozov could no longer stand on his feet. The gendarmes and attendants, almost in their arms, led him along a narrow platform up to a stool, above which hung a noose on a block from the black verb of the gallows. The already mobile executioner stood on the stool: he reached for the noose and lowered the rope under the sharp chin of the victim. Another performer standing at the post quickly tightened the noose around his neck, and at the same moment, jumping from the stool, the executioner deftly knocked the stand out from under Karakozov’s feet. Karakozov was already smoothly rising, swinging on the rope, his head, tied at the neck, seemed either like a doll figurine, or like a Circassian in a hood. Soon he began to bend his legs convulsively - they were wearing gray trousers. I turned to the crowd and was very surprised that all the people were in a green fog... My head began to spin, I grabbed Murashko and almost jumped away from his face - it was amazingly scary with its expression of suffering; suddenly he seemed like a second Karakozov to me. God! His eyes, only his nose was shorter.

Until the second half of the 19th century, attempts on the lives of monarchs in Russia were exclusively the work of the elite. In the process of struggle among the court parties for power, one of the parties, seeking the victory of its leader, also allowed the death of a competitor. In 1801, state dignitaries and guards officers cleared the way to the throne for Alexandra I by physically eliminating his father, the emperor Paul I.

For the people, the sovereign remained “God’s anointed,” a sacred and inviolable person.

However, the revolutionary winds also reached Russian Empire, where radical citizens began to study with interest the Western experience in sending royalty to the executioner’s axe.

In 1861 the Emperor Alexander II made the historic decision to abolish serfdom. Along with this measure, a whole series of reforms were implemented, which were supposed to provide Russia with a decisive leap forward.

But liberalization measures public life, accepted by Alexander II, did not suit the revolutionary-minded youth. According to Russian revolutionaries, reforms were carried out extremely slowly, and often were a deception of popular expectations.

As a result, the reformer Alexander II was declared a “tyrant” by the radicals. On Russian soil, an idea that dates back to antiquity quickly began to gain popularity - the fastest and most reliable way to bring about changes in society is to “kill the tyrant.”

"You deceived the people"

On April 4, 1866, Emperor Alexander II, as usual, walked in the Summer Garden. In those days, the tsar could afford to walk around St. Petersburg without security or with one or two accompanying persons.

After finishing the walk, the emperor headed to the entrance to the Summer Garden, where the carriage was waiting for him. A crowd of those who wanted to look at the sovereign gathered around. At that moment, when Alexander was approaching the carriage, a shot rang out. The bullet whistled over the emperor's head.

The shooter was captured on the spot. "Guys! I shot for you!” he shouted.

Dmitry Karakozov. Photo: Public Domain

Alexander II, who survived the shock, nevertheless retained his composure. He ordered the shooter to be brought to the carriage and asked:

- You're polish?

The emperor's question was not accidental. Poland, which was part of the Russian Empire, regularly raised revolts, which were also regularly and ruthlessly suppressed. So if anyone had reason to wish the Russian Tsar dead, it was the Poles.

“I’m Russian,” answered the terrorist.

- Why did you shoot at me? - the monarch was amazed.

“You deceived the people: you promised them land, but didn’t give it,” answered the would-be murderer.

“Take him to the Third Department,” ordered Alexander, who decided to end the political dispute.

The killer and the savior

Together with the shooter, who called himself a peasant Alexander Petrov, another man was also detained and suspected of complicity. He, however, did not express any revolutionary ideas. His name was Osip Komissarov, he was a hat maker who came from the peasants of the Kostroma province.

Osip Komissarov. Photo: Public Domain

Komissarov's fate was decided by the general Eduard Totleben, who happened to be at the scene and stated that the hat maker pushed the shooter under the arm, which prevented the killer from firing an accurate shot.

Thanks to these testimonies, Osip Komissarov instantly turned from a potential villain into a protagonist.

Meanwhile, detectives interrogated “peasant Petrov” to establish whether the assassin had accomplices.

During the investigation, it was established that he lived in room 65 at the Znamenskaya Hotel. A search of the room brought the police a torn letter to a certain Nikolay Ishutin, who was soon detained. The interrogation of Ishutin made it possible to establish the real name of the shooter - Dmitry Karakozov.

“I decided to destroy the villain king and die for my dear people”

He was born in 1840, into a family of small landed nobles of the Saratov province. After graduating from high school in Penza, Karakozov studied at Kazan and Moscow universities, but dropped out due to lack of funds. For some time, Karakozov worked as a clerk for the justice of the peace of the Serdob district.

In 1865, a young man, dissatisfied with the injustice of the world around him, joined secret society"Organization", founded by his cousin Nikolai Ishutin. Subsequently, the society acquired another name - the “Ishutin circle”.

As in many other revolutionary organizations of that time, there was a dispute among the Ishutinites about methods of struggle. Dmitry Karakozov joined those who believed that individual terror and, first of all, the murder of the emperor could rouse the Russian people to revolution.

In the spring of 1866, Karakozov decided that he was able to carry out the great mission on his own, and left for St. Petersburg. On the eve of the assassination attempt, he wrote a proclamation “Friends-workers!”, in which he explained the motives for his action: “It became sad, it became hard for me that... my beloved people were dying, and so I decided to destroy the villain king and die for my dear people. . If my plan succeeds, I will die with the thought that by my death I brought benefit to my dear friend, the Russian peasant. But if I don’t succeed, I still believe that there will be people who will follow my path. I didn’t succeed, but they will succeed. For them, my death will be an example and will inspire them...”

Chapel at the site of the assassination attempt on Alexander II (not preserved). Photo: Public Domain

Execution on the Smolensk field

After Karakozov’s failure, the “Ishutin circle” was crushed, and more than three dozen of its members were put on trial. The head of the organization, Nikolai Ishutin, was initially sentenced to death, which was commuted to lifelong hard labor. Two years in solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress led to Ishutin going crazy. He died in 1879 after wandering through Russian prisons and hard labor.

As for Dmitry Karakozov, his fate was virtually predetermined even before the start of the trial. On August 31, 1866, the Supreme Criminal Court presided over Prince Gagarin sentenced Karakozov to death by hanging.

The verdict noted that Karakozov “confessed to the attempt on the life of the “Sacred Person of the Emperor”, explaining before the Supreme Criminal Court, when giving him a copy of the indictment, that his crime was so great that it could not be justified even by that painful nervous condition, in which he was at the time."

Portrait by I. Repin (1866). Photo: Public Domain

The execution took place on the morning of September 3, 1866 on the Smolensk field, located on Vasilyevsky Island. Thousands of people gathered to watch the hanging. Among those present at the execution was the artist Ilya Repin, who made a pencil sketch of the condemned man. The body hung in the noose for about 20 minutes, then it was removed, placed in a coffin and taken for burial to Goloday Island, located in the Neva delta. According to some reports, the grave was under surveillance for several weeks - detectives hoped to detain Karakozov’s accomplices who would come to pay tribute to the fallen like-minded person.

"Invention" of General Totleben

Osip Komissarov, declared the savior of the emperor, gained all-Russian fame in the first weeks after the assassination attempt. Already on the evening of April 4, just a few hours after the events, he attended a reception in the Winter Palace, where he received imperial hugs and warm gratitude. Alexander II hung the Vladimir Cross of the IV degree on his chest and elevated him to hereditary nobleman with the assignment of a surname - Komissarov-Kostromskaya.

All the newspapers wrote about his feat, and the newly minted nobleman himself now said that he deliberately interfered with Karakozov, despite the danger: “I don’t know what, but my heart somehow beat especially when I saw this man who was hastily making his way through the crowd ; I involuntarily watched him, but then, however, forgot him when the sovereign approached. Suddenly I saw that he had taken out and was aiming a pistol: it instantly seemed to me that if I rushed at him or pushed his hand to the side, he would kill someone else or me, and I involuntarily and forcefully pushed his hand up; Then I don’t remember anything, I felt like I was in a fog.”

Two days before Karakozov’s execution, a ceremony took place near the Summer Garden to lay the foundation for the chapel of St. Alexander Nevsky in memory of the Tsar’s miraculous deliverance from death. Minister of Internal Affairs Pyotr Valuev, who was present at the event, wrote in his diary: “Among the persons participating in the ceremony was Komissarov. He stood next to his inventor, General Totleben. He is decorated with various foreign orders, which gives him the appearance of an official who has made trips abroad in the retinue of high-ranking persons. Coincidence".

Popular message about the feat of Osip Komissarov, 1866. Photo: Public Domain

The hero of the empire died in oblivion

In fact, by that time Komissarov was a holder of the Legion of Honor, holder of the Commander's Cross of the Austrian Order Franz Joseph, as well as the medal “April 4, 1866” specially established for him.

The 28-year-old hat maker became an honorary citizen of a number of Russian cities, houses were decorated with his portraits, and he was awarded a lifelong pension of 3,000 rubles. The Moscow nobility presented him with a golden sword, and the military department collected 9,000 rubles to buy a new house for the savior of the emperor.

Meanwhile, the national hero remained an illiterate man with a craving for alcohol, which began to greatly worry the powers that be. Osip Komissarov needed to be placed somewhere where he could not compromise the image created by propaganda.

A year later, he was given a job as a cadet in the Pavlograd 2nd Life Hussar Regiment. Well-born nobles who served in the elite unit shunned Komissarov, considering him an upstart. From melancholy and from presence big money the savior of Alexander II began to become an alcoholic. In 1877, he was sent into retirement with the rank of captain. Komissarov settled on an estate granted to him in the Poltava province and took up gardening and beekeeping. Forgotten by everyone, he died in 1892, before his 55th birthday.

Alexander II, showering Osip Komissarov with awards and sending Dmitry Karakozov to the gallows, could not even think that the events of April 4, 1866 were just the beginning of a great hunt for the emperor, which would stretch for 15 years and end with his death on March 1, 1881.

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 it was canceled serfdom(1861), 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 a new round of 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 economic crisis, which 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 government suffers from shortcomings, then many oppositionists appear among the 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 she started this chaos 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 passed trial chaired by 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 the Gregorian calendar, but since the 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. Since 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 a 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 powerful, 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 home of the temple of the imperial family - the Court Cathedral. On March 7, the deceased was solemnly transferred to the tomb of the Russian emperors - 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..

Equestrian portrait of Alexander II

As you know, Alexander II ascended the throne in 1855. During his reign, a number of reforms were carried out, including the peasant reform, which resulted in the abolition of serfdom. For this, the emperor began to be called the Liberator.

Meanwhile, several attempts were made on his life. For what? The sovereign himself asked the same question: “ What do they have against me, these unfortunate people? Why are they chasing me like a wild animal? After all, I have always strived to do everything in my power for the good of the people!”

First attempt

It happened on April 4, 1866. This day and this attempt are considered the beginning of terrorism in Russia. The first attempt was made by Dmitry Karakozov, a former student, a native of the Saratov province. He shot at the emperor almost point-blank at the moment when Alexander II was getting into his carriage after a walk. Suddenly, the shooter was pushed by a person nearby (later it turned out that it was the peasant O. Komissarov), and the bullet flew above the emperor’s head. The people standing around rushed at Karakozov and, quite likely, would have torn him to pieces on the spot if the police had not arrived in time.

The detainee shouted: “ Fools! After all, I am for you, but you don’t understand!” Karakozov was brought to the emperor, and he himself explained the motive for his action: “Your Majesty, you offended the peasants.”

Shot by Karakozov

The court decided to execute Karakozov by hanging. The sentence was carried out on September 3, 1866.

Second attempt

It happened on May 25, 1867, when the Russian emperor was in Paris on an official visit. He was returning from a military review at the hippodrome in an open carriage with children and the French Emperor Napoleon III. Near the Bois de Boulogne, a young man, a Pole by origin, emerged from the crowd and, when the carriage with the emperors caught up with him, he fired a pistol twice at point-blank range at the Russian emperor. And here Alexander was saved by an accident: one of Napoleon III’s security officers pushed away the shooter’s hand. The bullets hit the horse.

Second attempt on Alexander II

The terrorist was detained; he turned out to be a Pole, Berezovsky. The motive for his actions was the desire for revenge for Russia’s suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863. Berezovsky said during 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, meaning the liberation of my homeland.”

Terrorist Berezovsky

On July 15, as a result of the trial of Berezovsky by a jury, he was sentenced to life in hard labor in New Caledonia (a large island of the same name and a group of small islands in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, in Melanesia. This is an overseas special administrative-territorial entity of France). Later hard labor was replaced by lifelong exile. But 40 years later, in 1906, Berezovsky was granted amnesty. But he remained to live in New Caledonia until his death.

Third attempt

On April 2, 1879, Alexander Solovyov made the third attempt on the life of the emperor. A. Solovyov was a member of the “Land and Freedom” society. He shot at the sovereign while he was on a walk near the Winter Palace. Soloviev was quickly approaching the emperor; he guessed the danger and dodged to the side. And, although the terrorist fired five times, not a single bullet hit the target. There is an opinion that the terrorist was simply poor at wielding a weapon and had never used it before the assassination attempt.

At the trial, A. Solovyov said: “ The idea of ​​an attempt on His Majesty’s life came to me after becoming acquainted with the teachings of the Socialist Revolutionaries. I belong to the Russian section of this party, which believes that the majority suffers so that the minority can enjoy the fruits of the people’s labor and all the benefits of civilization that are inaccessible to the majority.”

Terrorist A. Soloviev

Soloviev, like Karakozov, was sentenced to death by hanging, which took place in front of a huge crowd of people.

Fourth assassination attempt

In 1979, the People's Will organization was created, which broke away from Land and Freedom. The main goal of this organization was to kill the king. He was blamed for the incomplete nature of the reforms carried out, the repression carried out against dissidents, and the impossibility of democratic reforms. Members of the organization concluded that the actions of lone terrorists cannot lead to their goal, so they must act together. They decided to destroy the tsar in another way: by blowing up the train in which he and his family were returning from their vacation in Crimea. An attempt to blow up a train carrying the royal family took place on November 19, 1879.

Baggage train crash

One group of terrorists operated near Odessa (V. Figner, N. Kibalchich, then they were joined by N. Kolodkevich, M. Frolenko and T. Lebedeva): a mine was planted there, but the royal train changed the route and went through Aleksandrovsk. But the Narodnaya Volya members also provided for this option; the Narodnaya Volya member A. Zhelyabov (under the name Cheremisov) was there, as well as A. Yakimova and I. Okladsky. Close to railway he bought land plot and there, working at night, he laid a mine. But the train did not explode, because... Zhelyabov failed to detonate the mine; there was some technical error. But the Narodnaya Volya members also had a third group of terrorists, led by Sofia Perovskaya (Lev Hartmann and Sofia Perovskaya, under the guise of a married couple, the Sukhorukovs, purchased a house next to the railway) not far from Moscow, at the Rogozhsko-Simonova outpost. And although this section of the railway was especially guarded, they managed to plant a mine. However, fate protected the emperor this time too. The royal train consisted of two trains: one was passenger and the other was luggage. The terrorists knew that the luggage train was coming first - and they let it through, hoping that the next one would be the royal family. But in Kharkov the locomotive of the baggage train broke down, and the royal train moved first. The Narodnaya Volya blew up the second train. Those accompanying the king were injured.

After this assassination attempt, the emperor said his bitter words: “ Why are they chasing me like a wild animal?

Fifth assassination attempt

Sofya Perovskaya, the daughter of the St. Petersburg Governor-General, learned that the Winter Palace was renovating the basements, including the wine cellar. The Narodnaya Volya found this place convenient for placing explosives. The peasant Stepan Khalturin was appointed to implement the plan. He recently joined the People's Will organization. Working in the basement (he was covering the walls of a wine cellar), he had to place the bags of dynamite given to him (a total of 2 pounds were prepared) among building material. Sofia Perovskaya received information that on February 5, 1880, a dinner would be held in the Winter Palace in honor of the Prince of Hesse, which would be attended by the entire royal family. The explosion was scheduled for 6 p.m. 20 minutes, but due to the delay of the prince's train, dinner was moved. The explosion occurred - none of the senior officials were injured, but 10 guard soldiers were killed and 80 were wounded.

The dining room of the Winter Palace after the assassination attempt in 1879

After this assassination attempt, the dictatorship of M. T. Loris-Melikov was established with unlimited powers, because The government understood that it would be very difficult to stop the wave of terrorism that had begun. Loris-Melikov provided the emperor with a program whose goal was to “complete the great work of state reforms.” According to the project, the monarchy should not have been limited. It was planned to create preparatory commissions, which would include representatives of zemstvos and urban estates. These commissions were supposed to develop bills on the following issues: peasant, zemstvo, and city management. Loris-Melikov pursued a so-called “flirting” policy: he softened censorship and allowed the publication of new press organs. He met with their editors and hinted at the possibility of new reforms. And he convinced them that terrorists and radically minded individuals were interfering with their implementation.

The Loris-Melikov transformation project was approved. On March 4, its discussion and approval was supposed to take place. But on March 1, history took a different turn.

Sixth and seventh attempts

It seems that the Narodnaya Volya (daughter of the governor of St. Petersburg, and later a member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sofya Perovskaya, her common law husband, law student Andrei Zhelyabov, inventor Nikolai Kibalchich, worker Timofey Mikhailov, Nikolai Rysakov, Vera Figner, Stepan Khalturin, etc.) failures added excitement. They were preparing a new assassination attempt. This time the Stone Bridge on the Catherine Canal, through which the emperor usually passed, was chosen. The terrorists abandoned their original plan to blow up the bridge, and a new one emerged - to lay a mine on Malaya Sadovaya. Perovskaya “noticed that at the turn from the Mikhailovsky Theater to the Catherine Canal, the coachman was holding back the horses, and the carriage was moving almost at a walk.” Here it was decided to strike. In case of failure, if the mine did not explode, it was envisaged to throw a bomb at the Tsar’s carriage, but if this did not work, then Zhelyabov had to jump into the carriage and stab the Emperor with a dagger. But this preparation for the assassination attempt was complicated by the arrests of Narodnaya Volya members: first Mikhailov, and then Zhelyabov.

Assassination of Alexander II. Chromolithography performed by F. Morozov

Increased arrests led to a shortage of experienced terrorists. A group of young revolutionaries was organized: student E. Sidorenko, student I. Grinevitsky, former student N. Rysakov, workers T. Mikhailov and I. Emelyanov. The technical part was headed by Kibalchich, who manufactured 4 bombs. But on February 27, Zhelyabov was arrested. Then Perovskaya took over the leadership. At the meeting of the Executive Committee, the throwers were determined: Grinevitsky, Mikhailov, Rysakov and Emelyanov. They “had to throw their bombs from two opposite sides at both ends of Malaya Sadovaya.” On March 1, they were given bombs. “They had to go to the Catherine Canal at a certain hour and appear in a certain order.” On the night of March 1, Isaev laid a mine near Malaya Sadovaya. The terrorists decided to speed up the implementation of their plans. The emperor was warned about the danger that threatened him, but he replied that God was protecting him. On March 1, 1881, Alexander II left the Winter Palace for Manezh, attended the changing of the guards and returned to the Winter Palace through the Catherine Canal. This broke the plans of the Narodnaya Volya members; Sofya Perovskaya urgently restructured the assassination plan. Grinevitsky, Emelyanov, Rysakov, Mikhailov stood along the embankment of the Catherine Canal and waited for Perovskaya’s conditioned signal (wave of a scarf), according to which they were to throw bombs at the royal carriage. The plan worked out, but the emperor was not harmed again. But he did not hastily leave the scene of the assassination attempt, but wanted to approach the wounded. The anarchist Prince Kropotkin wrote about this: “He felt that military dignity required him to look at the wounded Circassians and say a few words to them.” And then Grinevitsky threw a second bomb at the Tsar’s feet. The explosion threw Alexander II to the ground, blood poured from his crushed legs. The Emperor whispered: " Take me to the palace... I want to die there..."

Grinevitsky, like Alexander II, died an hour and a half later in the prison hospital, and the rest of the terrorists (Perovskaya, Zhelyabov, Kibalchich, Mikhailov, Rysakov) were hanged on April 3, 1881.

The “hunt” for Emperor Alexander II was over.

Mournful commemorative medal commemorating the death of Emperor Alexander II

This medal was awarded to persons who accompanied Emperor Alexander II during the assassination attempt on him on March 1, 1881, and to eyewitnesses who were wounded during the explosion. A total of 200 medals were issued.