Solovyov's assassination attempt on Alexander 2. History of the assassination attempts on Alexander II: The emperor was hunted as if he were a wild animal

The assassination attempts were caused by reforms carried out by Emperor Alexander II. Many Decembrists wanted a revolution and a republic, some wanted a constitutional monarchy. Paradoxically, they did this with the best intentions. The abolition of serfdom led not only to the liberation of the peasants, but also to the impoverishment of most of them due to high redemption payments and cuts in land plots. So the intellectuals decided to free the people and give them land with the help of a popular revolution. However, the peasants, despite their dissatisfaction with the reform, did not want to rebel against the autocracy. Then the followers of P. Tkachev’s ideas decided to organize a coup d’etat, and to make it easier to carry out it, kill the tsar.

On April 4, 1866, after another meeting, the sovereign, in a great mood, walked from the gates of the summer garden to the carriage that was waiting for him. Approaching her, he heard a crash in the linden bushes and did not immediately realize that this crack was the sound of a shot. This was the first attempt on the life of Alexander II. The first attempt was made by a twenty-six-year-old lone terrorist, Dmitry Karakozov. Standing nearby, the peasant Osip Komissarov hit Karakozov’s hand with a pistol, and the bullet flew over the head of Alexander II. Until this moment, emperors walked around the capital and other places without special precautions.

On May 26, 1867, Alexander arrived at the World Exhibition in France at the invitation of the French Emperor Napoleon III. At about five o'clock in the afternoon, Alexander II left the ipadrome, where a military review was being held. He rode in an open carriage with his sons Vladimir and Alexander, as well as with the French emperor. They were guarded by a special unit of the French police, but unfortunately the increased security did not help. While leaving the hippodrome, Polish nationalist Anton Berezovsky approached the crew and shot the Tsar with a double-barreled pistol. The bullet hit the horse.

On April 2, 1879, when the emperor was returning from his morning walk, a passerby greeted him. Alexander II responded to the greeting and saw a pistol in the hand of a passerby. The Emperor immediately ran away in zigzag leaps to make it more difficult to hit him. The killer followed closely behind him. It was a thirty-year-old commoner Alexander Solovyov.

In November 1879, Andrei Zhelyabov's group planted a bomb with an electric fuse under the rails along the route of the Tsar's train near the city of Aleksandrovsk. The mine didn't work.

Sofia Perovskaya's group planted a mine on the railway to Moscow. The terrorists knew that the train with their retinue was coming first, but by chance this time the royal train passed first. The attempt failed. Alexander Nikolaevich was already accustomed to constant danger. Death was always somewhere nearby. And even the increased security did not help.

The sixth attempt was made by Narodnaya Volya member Stepan Khalturin, who got a job as a carpenter in the winter palace. During his six months of work, he managed to smuggle thirty kilograms of dynamite into the royal basement. As a result, during an explosion on February 5, 1880 in the basement, which was located under the royal dining room, 11 people were killed and 56 people were injured - all soldiers on guard duty. Alexander II himself was not in the dining room and was not injured as he was greeting a late guest.

On March 1, after visiting the guard service at the Mikhailovsky Manege and communicating with his cousin, at 14:10 Alexander II got into the carriage and headed to the Winter Palace, where he was supposed to arrive no later than 15:00 as he promised his wife to take her for a walk . Having passed Engineering Street, the royal crew turned onto the embankment of the Catherine Canal. Six Cossack convoys followed nearby, followed by security officers riding on two sleighs. At the turn, Alexander noticed a woman waving a white handkerchief. It was Sofya Perovskaya. Having driven further, Alexander Nikolaevich noticed a young man with a white package in his hand and realized that there would be an explosion. The perpetrator of the seventh attempt was twenty-year-old Nikolai Rysakov, a Narodnaya Volya member. He was one of two bombers on duty on the embankment that day. Throwing a bomb, he tried to escape, but slipped and was captured by officers.

Alexander was calm. The commander of the guard, Police Chief Borzhitsky, invited the Tsar to go to the palace in his sleigh. The emperor agreed, but before that he wanted to come up and look his would-be killer in the eyes. He survived the seventh assassination attempt, “Now it’s all over,” Alexander thought. But because of him, innocent people suffered and he went to the wounded and dead. Before the great Emperor Alexander II the Liberator had time to take even two steps, he was again stunned by a new explosion. The second bomb was thrown by twenty-year-old Ignatius Grinevitsky, blowing himself up along with the emperor. Due to the explosion, the sovereign's legs were crushed.

Let's imagine such an incident in present time. Suddenly and completely covertly, like a terrorist attack. And now for those times where there was no such development high level security. At that time it was not possible to completely ensure the safety of the emperor. There are either restrictions (blocking streets and complete disconnection, which was not possible), or restrictions on the movement of the autocrat, which would be completely unrealistic.

They say that in 1867 a Parisian gypsy told the Russian Emperor Alexander II: “Six times your life will be in the balance, but will not end, and on the seventh time death will overtake you.” The prediction came true...

“Your Majesty, you offended the peasants...”

On April 4, 1866, Alexander II was walking with his nephews in the Summer Garden. A large crowd of onlookers watched the emperor's promenade through the fence. When the walk ended, and Alexander II was getting into the carriage, a shot was heard. For the first time in Russian history, an attacker shot at the Tsar! The crowd almost tore the terrorist to pieces. "Fools! - he shouted, fighting back - I’m doing this for you! It was a member of a secret revolutionary organization, Dmitry Karakozov. To the emperor’s question “why did you shoot at me?” he answered boldly: “Your Majesty, you offended the peasants!” However, it was the peasant, Osip Komissarov, who pushed the hapless killer's arm and saved the sovereign from certain death. Didn’t understand the “foolishness” of the revolutionaries’ concerns. Karakozov was executed, and in the Summer Garden, in memory of the salvation of Alexander II, a chapel was erected with the inscription on the pediment: “Do not touch My Anointed One.” In 1930, the victorious revolutionaries demolished the chapel.

“Meaning the liberation of the homeland”

On May 25, 1867, in Paris, Alexander II and the French Emperor Napoleon III were traveling in an open carriage. Suddenly a man jumped out of the enthusiastic crowd and shot twice at the Russian monarch. Past! The identity of the criminal was quickly established: the Pole Anton Berezovsky was trying to take revenge for the suppression of the Polish uprising by Russian troops in 1863. “Two weeks ago I had the idea of ​​regicide, however, I had this thought since I began to recognize myself, meaning liberation homeland,” the Pole explained confusingly during interrogation. A French jury sentenced Berezovsky to life in hard labor in New Caledonia.

Five bullets from teacher Solovyov

The next assassination attempt on the emperor occurred on April 2, 1879. While walking in the palace park, Alexander II drew attention to a young man quickly walking in his direction. The stranger managed to fire five bullets at the emperor (and where were the guards looking?!) until he was disarmed. It was only a miracle that saved Alexander II, who did not receive a scratch. The terrorist turned out to be a school teacher, and “part-time” - a member of the revolutionary organization “Land and Freedom” Alexander Solovyov. He was executed on the Smolensk field in front of a large crowd of people.

“Why are they chasing me like a wild animal?”

In the summer of 1879, an even more radical organization emerged from the depths of “Land and Freedom” - “People's Will”. From now on, in the hunt for the emperor there will be no place for the “handicraft” of individuals: professionals have taken up the matter. Remembering the failure of previous attempts, the Narodnaya Volya members abandoned small arms, choosing a more “reliable” means - a mine. They decided to blow up the imperial train on the route between St. Petersburg and Crimea, where Alexander II vacationed every year. The terrorists, led by Sofia Perovskaya, knew that a freight train with luggage was coming first, and Alexander II and his retinue were traveling in the second. But fate again saved the emperor: on November 19, 1879, the locomotive of the “truck” broke down, so Alexander II’s train went first. Not knowing about this, the terrorists let it through and blew up another train. “What do they have against me, these unfortunate people? - the emperor said sadly. “Why are they chasing me like a wild animal?”

"In the Lair of the Beast"

And the “unlucky ones” were preparing a new blow, deciding to blow up Alexander II in his own house. Sofya Perovskaya learned that the Winter Palace was renovating the basements, including the wine cellar, “successfully” located directly under the imperial dining room. And soon a new carpenter appeared in the palace - Narodnaya Volya member Stepan Khalturin. Taking advantage of the amazing carelessness of the guards, he carried dynamite into the cellar every day, hiding it among the building materials. On the evening of February 5, 1880, a gala dinner was planned in the palace in honor of the arrival of the Prince of Hesse in St. Petersburg. Khalturin set the bomb timer for 18.20. But chance intervened again: the prince’s train was half an hour late, dinner was postponed. The terrible explosion claimed the lives of 10 soldiers and injured another 80 people, but Alexander II remained unharmed. It was as if some mysterious force was taking death away from him.

"The honor of the party demands that the Tsar be killed"

Having recovered from the shock of the explosion in the Winter Palace, the authorities began mass arrests, and several terrorists were executed. After this, the head of Narodnaya Volya, Andrei Zhelyabov, said: “The honor of the party demands that the tsar be killed.” Alexander II was warned about a new assassination attempt, but the emperor calmly replied that he was under divine protection. On March 1, 1881, he was riding in a carriage with a small convoy of Cossacks along the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg. Suddenly, one of the passers-by threw a package into the carriage. There was a deafening explosion. When the smoke cleared, the dead and wounded lay on the embankment. However, Alexander II cheated death again...

The hunt is over

...It was necessary to leave quickly, but the emperor got out of the carriage and headed towards the wounded. What was he thinking about at these moments? About the prediction of the Parisian gypsy? About the fact that he has now survived the sixth attempt, and the seventh will be the last? We will never know: a second terrorist ran up to the emperor, and a new explosion occurred. The prediction came true: the seventh attempt became fatal for the emperor...

Alexander II died on the same day in his palace. "Narodnaya Volya" was defeated, its leaders were executed. The bloody and senseless hunt for the emperor ended in the death of all its participants.

Russian Emperor Alexander II the Liberator (1818-1881) is considered one of the most outstanding monarchs 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 construction railways private companies stole most of the money, and 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 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 goal was the emperor 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 had to cousin Nikolai Ishutin 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. From 1865 he lived permanently in Paris. In 1867, it opened in the capital of France World's Fair. It demonstrated the latest technical achievements. The exhibition was great international significance, and the Russian emperor came to see her.

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 of the 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 for 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 - 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 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..

On April 4, 1866, Alexander II was walking with his nephews in the Summer Garden. A large crowd of onlookers watched the emperor's promenade through the fence. When the walk ended, and Alexander II was getting into the carriage, a shot was heard. For the first time in Russian history, an attacker shot at the Tsar! The crowd almost tore the terrorist to pieces. "Fools! - he shouted, fighting back. “I’m doing this for you!” It was a member of a secret revolutionary organization, Dmitry Karakozov. To the emperor’s question “why did you shoot at me?” he answered boldly: “Your Majesty, you offended the peasants!” However, it was the peasant, Osip Komissarov, who pushed the hapless killer's arm and saved the sovereign from certain death. Didn’t understand the “foolishness” of the revolutionaries’ concerns. Karakozov was executed, and in the Summer Garden, in memory of the salvation of Alexander II, a chapel was erected with the inscription on the pediment: “Do not touch My Anointed One.” In 1930, the victorious revolutionaries demolished the chapel.

2

"Meaning the liberation of the homeland"

On May 25, 1867, in Paris, Alexander II and the French Emperor Napoleon III were traveling in an open carriage. Suddenly a man jumped out of the enthusiastic crowd and shot twice at the Russian monarch. Past! The identity of the criminal was quickly established: the Pole Anton Berezovsky was trying to take revenge for the suppression of the Polish uprising by Russian troops in 1863. “Two weeks ago I had the idea of ​​regicide, however, I had this thought since I began to recognize myself, meaning liberation homeland,” the Pole explained confusingly during interrogation. A French jury sentenced Berezovsky to life in hard labor in New Caledonia.

3

Five bullets from teacher Solovyov

The next assassination attempt on the emperor occurred on April 14, 1879. While walking in the palace park, Alexander II drew attention to a young man quickly walking in his direction. The stranger managed to fire five bullets at the emperor (and where were the guards looking?!) until he was disarmed. It was only a miracle that saved Alexander II, who did not receive a scratch. The terrorist turned out to be a school teacher, and “part-time” - a member of the revolutionary organization “Land and Freedom” Alexander Solovyov. He was executed on the Smolensk field in front of a large crowd of people.

4

"Why are they chasing me like a wild animal?"

In the summer of 1879, an even more radical organization emerged from the depths of “Land and Freedom” - “People's Will”. From now on, in the hunt for the emperor there will be no place for the “handicraft” of individuals: professionals have taken up the matter. Remembering the failure of previous attempts, the Narodnaya Volya members abandoned small arms, choosing a more “reliable” means - a mine. They decided to blow up the imperial train on the route between St. Petersburg and Crimea, where Alexander II vacationed every year. The terrorists, led by Sofia Perovskaya, knew that a freight train with luggage was coming first, and Alexander II and his retinue were traveling in the second. But fate again saved the emperor: on November 19, 1879, the locomotive of the “truck” broke down, so Alexander II’s train went first. Not knowing about this, the terrorists let it through and blew up another train. “What do they have against me, these unfortunate people? - the emperor said sadly. “Why are they chasing me like a wild animal?”

5

"In the Lair of the Beast"

And the “unlucky ones” were preparing a new blow, deciding to blow up Alexander II in his own house. Sofya Perovskaya learned that the Winter Palace was renovating the basements, including the wine cellar, “successfully” located directly under the imperial dining room. And soon a new carpenter appeared in the palace - Narodnaya Volya member Stepan Khalturin. Taking advantage of the amazing carelessness of the guards, he carried dynamite into the cellar every day, hiding it among the building materials. On the evening of February 17, 1880, a gala dinner was planned in the palace in honor of the arrival of the Prince of Hesse in St. Petersburg. Khalturin set the bomb timer for 18.20. But chance intervened again: the prince’s train was half an hour late, dinner was postponed. The terrible explosion claimed the lives of 10 soldiers and injured another 80 people, but Alexander II remained unharmed. It was as if some mysterious force was taking death away from him.

6

"The honor of the party demands that the Tsar be killed"

Having recovered from the shock of the explosion in the Winter Palace, the authorities began mass arrests, and several terrorists were executed. After this, the head of Narodnaya Volya, Andrei Zhelyabov, said: “The honor of the party demands that the tsar be killed.” Alexander II was warned about a new assassination attempt, but the emperor calmly replied that he was under divine protection. On March 13, 1881, he was riding in a carriage with a small convoy of Cossacks along the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg. Suddenly, one of the passers-by threw a package into the carriage. There was a deafening explosion. When the smoke cleared, the dead and wounded lay on the embankment. However, Alexander II cheated death again...

7

The hunt is over

...It was necessary to leave quickly, but the emperor got out of the carriage and headed towards the wounded. What was he thinking about at these moments? About the prediction of the Parisian gypsy? About the fact that he has now survived the sixth attempt, and the seventh will be the last? We will never know: a second terrorist ran up to the emperor, and a new explosion occurred. The prediction came true: the seventh attempt became fatal for the emperor...

Alexander II died on the same day in his palace. "Narodnaya Volya" was defeated, its leaders were executed. The bloody and senseless hunt for the emperor ended in the death of all its participants.