... A NEWANDREVISEDEDITION ANENCYCLOP.AnDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITSKINDREDSOIENOES COMPRISING THEWHOLERANGEOFARTS,SCIENCESANDLITERATURE ASCONNECTEDWITHTHEINSTITUTION BY ALBERTG.M.A.OKEY,M.D.,33 A.UTBOR011"TIIllHISTORYOJIIli'REBHABONRY, ,,"LEXICON011'FIUI:Bil'ASONBY. ,,"ATBXT-BOOX01' liUJIONIOJUIUSPBUDBliO&,""SYKBOLIBlllOFFKEmiASONBY,"lll'l'O.,liTO. THISNEW...able of three e:q>lanations.It is a sym bol ofunmortality,of mnocence,and of initi-ation.But these three significations are closely connected,andthatconnectionmustbe ob-served,ifwedesire to obtain ajust interpre-tatio.nofthe symbol.Thus,in this one sym-bol,we are taught that in the initiation of life, of which the initiation in the Third Degreeis simplyemblematic,innocencemustfora time lie in the grave, at length, however, to be called, by the word of the Great Master of the Universe,to a blissful immortality.Combine withthis the recollectionofthe place where thesprlgofacaciawasplanted-Mount Calvary-theplaceofsepulture of him who "brought lifeand immortality to light," and who,inChristianMasonry,is designated,as he is in Scripture,as "the lion ofthe tribe of Judah"; and remember, too, that in the mys-tery of his death,the wood of the cross takes the placeofthe acacia,and in this little and apparently insignificant symbol,but whichis reallyand truly the mostimportant and sig-nificantoneinMasonicscience,wehavea beautifulsuggestionofallthemysteriesof lifeanddeath,oftimeandeterruty,ofthe present and of tne future. Acactan.A word introduced by Hutchin-son,inhisSpiritofMasonry,todesignate a Freemason m reference to the akakia,or in-nocence with which he was to be distinguished, fromtheGreekwordateatclying. thesamesta-tion in household ofKing Rehoboam,the successor of Solomon.Forty-seven years after he is first mentioned in the Book of Samuel, he isstated Uij,derthe name of Adoram(1Kings xii.18), or Hadoram (2Chron. x. 18), to have been stoned to death, while in the discharge of hisduty,by thepeople,whowerejustly in- at the oppressions of his master. '!'helegendsa,ndtraditionsofMuonry 20ADONHIRA.MITE which connect this Adoniram with the Temple at Jerusalem derive their support from a single passageinthe1stBookofKings(v.14) whereit is saidthat Solomonmade alevy of thirty thousand workmen fromamong the Is-raelites;that he sentthesein coursesoften thousandamonthtolaboronMountLeb-anon, and that he placed Adoniram over these astheirsuperintendent. The ritual-makers of France,who were not !ill Hebrew scholars, nor well versed in Biblical history,seem,at times,tohaveconfounded two important personages, and to have lost all distinctionbetweenHiramtheBuilder, who had beensent fromthe court oftheKingof Tyre, and Adoniram_, who had always been an officer in the court ot King Solomon.And this error was extended and facilitated when they hadprefixedthetitleAdon,thatistosay, lordormaster,tothenameoftheformer, making him AdonHiram, or the Lord Hiram. Thus,in the year1744, oneLouis Travenol publishedatParis,underthepseudonymof Leonard Gabanon, awork entitled Catechisme desFrancs M ou Le Secret des M ar;onsin which he says:"Besides the cedars of Leba-non, Hiram made a much more valuable gift to Solomon,in thepersonofAdonhiram,ofhis ownrace,the sonofawidowofthe tribeof Naphtali.His father,whowasnamedHur, was an excellent architect and worker in met-als.Solomon,knowing his virtues, his merit, and his talents, distinguished him by the most eminentposition,intrustingtohimthecon-structionoftheTempleandthesuperinten-denceofalltheworkmen."(RecueilPre-cieux, p. 76.) From the language of this extract, and from the reference in the title of the booktoAdoram, which we know was one of the names of Solo-mon'stax-collector,it isevidentthat the au-thor ofthe catechism hasconfoundedHiram Abif,whocame out of Tyre,with Adoniram, the son of Abda, who had always lived at Jeru-salem;that is to say, with unpardonable igno-ranceofScripturehistoryandMasonictra-dition, he has supposed the two to be one and the same person.Notwithstanding this liter-aryblunder, thecatechismbecamepopular with many Masons of that day, and thus arose thefirstschismorerrorinrelationtothe legendofthe ThirdDegree.In Solomonin allHisGlory,an Englishexposurepublished in 1766,Adoniramtakes the place of Hiram, but thisworkisatranslationfromasimilar French one, and so it must not be argued that ED.Jdish Masons ever held this view. At length, other ritualists, seeing the incon-sistencyofreferringthecharacter ofHiram, the widow's son, to Adoniram1 the receiver of taxes,and the impossibility otreconciling the discordant facts in the life ofboth, resolved to cut the Gordian knot by refusing any Masonic position to the former,and making the latter, alone, the architect of the Temple.It cannot bedeniedthatJosephus(viii.2)statesthat Adoniram,or,ashecallshim,Adoramwas, at the very beginning of the labor, plac;i over the workmenwhopreparedthe materialson ADONHIRAMITE Mount Lebanon, and that he speaks of Hiram, thewidow'sson,simplyasaskilfulartisan metals,whohadonlymade;Ji themec'calworksabouttheTemfleac-cording to the will ofSolomon.(viii.3.This apparent color of authority fortheir opinions was readily claimed by the Adoniramites, and henceoneoftheir mostprominent ritualists, GuillemaindeSt.Victor(RecueilPrecieux delaMar;onnerieAdonhiramite,pp.77,78), propounds theirtheorythus:"We allagree that the Master's degree is founded on the ar-chitectoftheTemple.Now,Scripture says very positively, inthe 14thverseofthe5th chapterofthe3dBookofKings,*thatthe person was Adonhiram.Josephus and all the sacredwriterssaythesamethinf5t.. andun-doubtedlydistinguishhimfromHiramthe Tyrian1 the workerinmetals.Sothatitis Adonhiram,then,whomweareboundto honor." Therewere,therefore,intheeighteenth century1 fromaboutthetniddletonearthe endofIt,threeschoolsamongtheMasonic ritualists,the members of which were divided inopinionastotheproperidentityofthis Temple Builder: 1.ThosewhosupposedhimtobeHiram, the sonofawidowofthetribeofN aphtali, whom the King of Tyre had sent to King Sol-omon,andwhomtheydesignatedasHiram Abif.This was the original and most popu-lar school, and which we now suppose to have been the orthodox one. 2.Those who believed this Hiram that came out ofTyretohavebeenthearchitect,but who supposed that, inconsequence ofhisex-cellenceofcharacter,Solomonhadbestowed upon him the appellation of Adon, "Lord "or "Master,"callinghimAdonhiram.Asthis theorywaswhollyunsustainedbyScripture historyorpreviousMasonictradition,the school which supported it never became prom-inentorpopular,andsoonceasedtolexist, althoughtheerroronwhichitisbasedis repeatedatintervals in theblunderofsome modern French ritualists. 3.Thosewho,treatingthisHiram,the widow'sson,asasubordinateandunimpor-tant character,entirelyignoredhimintheir ritual,andassertedthatAdoram,orAdoni-ram,or Adonhiram,asthe nameWIIBspelled by these ritualists,the sonofAbda,the col-lector of tribute and the superintendent of the levyonMountLebanon, wasthe truearchi-tect of the Temple,andthe one to whomall the legendary incidents ofthe Third Degree of Masonry were to be referred.This school, in consequenceofthe boldnesswithwhich,un-likethe second school,it refusedallcompro-mise with the orthodox party and assumed a whollyindependenttheory,became,fora time,aprominentschisminMIIBonry.Its disciples bestowed upon the believers in Hiram Abifthe nameofH iramiteMasons,adopted astheirowndistinctiveappellationthatof * IntheLXXthetwobooksofSamuelare calledthe 1st and 2dof Kings. ADONHIRAMITE Adonhiramites, and,developed the sys-tem which they practised mto apeculiar nte, called it AdonhiramiteMasonry. Who was the original founder ofthe rite of AdonhiramiteMasonry,andat whatprecise timeitwasfirstestablished1 arequestions thatcannotnowbeanswereuwithanycer-tainty.Thorydoesnot attempt to replyto either in hisNomenclatureof Rites,where,if anything was known on the subject, we would be most likely to find it.Ragon,it is true, in his OrthodoxieM attributes therite to the Baron de Tschoudy.But as he also as-signstheauthorshipoftheRecueilPrecieux (a work ofwhich we shall directly speak more fully)to the same person,in which statement he is known to be mistaken,there can bebut little doubt that he is wrong in theformeras wellas inthe latter opinion.TheChevalier deLussy,betterknownastheBaronde Tschoudy,was,it is true)..adistinguished rit-ualist.He foundedthe urder oftheBlazing Star, and took an active part in the OI>erations oftheCouncilofEmperorsoftheEast and West; but we have met with no evidence, out-side of assertion, that he established or had anything to do with theAdonhiramite Rite. Weare disposedtoattributethe develop-ment into asettled system,ifnot the actual creation, of the rite of Adonhiramite Masonry toLouisGuillemaindeSt.Victor,whopub-lishedat Paris,in the year1781,aworken-titled Recueil Precieux de laM Adon-hiramite1etc.-As this volume contained only the ritual of the first fourdegrees, it was followed1 in 1785, byanother,which _embracedthehigherde-greesofthe rite.Noonewhoperuses these volumescanfailto perceive that theauthor writes like one whohas invented, or, at least, materially modified the rite which is the sub-ject of his labors.At all events, this work fur-nishes the only authentic account that we pos-sessoftheorganizationofthe Adonhiramite system ofMasonry. TheriteofAdonhiramiteMasonrycon-sistedoftwelvedegrees,whichwereasfol-lows, the names being given in French as well as in English: 1.AI>prentice-Apprentif. 2.Fellow-Craft--Compagnon. 3.Master Mason-Mattre. 4.Perfect Master-MaUreParfait. 5.Elect ofNine-PremierElu,ouL' Elu desNeuf. 6.ElectofPerignan-SecondElunomme Elude Perignan. 7.Elect ofFifteen-TroisiemeElu nomme Elu des Quinze. 8.MinorArchitect-Petil Architecte. 9.GrandArchitect,orScottishFellow-Craft-{irandArchitecte,ouCompagnonEcos-sois. 10.ScottishMaster-MattreEcossois. 11.KnightoftheSword,Knightof , the East,oroftheEagle-Chevalierdel' Epee surnommeChevalierdel'Orientoudel' Aigle. 12.KnightofRose Croix-ChevalierRose Croix. ADONIRAM21 This istheentirelistofAdonhiramitede-grees.Thory and Ragon have both erred in wving a thirteenth degree, namely, theNoach-tte,orPrussianKnight.Theyhavefallen into thismistakebecauseGuillemainhasin-sertedthisdegreeat theendofhissecond volume,butsimplyasaMasoniccuriosity, havingbeentranslated,ashesays,fromthe German by M.deBerage..It has no connec- tion with the preceding series ofdegrees,and Guillemainpositivelydeclaresthat theRol!le Croix is the neplusultra(2ndePtie1 p.118), the suntmit and termination, of his nte. Of these twelve degrees, the first ten are oc-cupied with the transactions of the first Tem-ple;the eleventh with ma.ttersrelating to the constructionofthesecond'l'empleband the twelfthwiththatChristiansymolismof FreemasonrywhichispeculiartotheRose Croixofevery rite.Allofthe degrees have been borrowed from the Ancient and Acce_pted Rite,withslightmodifications,whichhave seldomimprovedtheirc:haracter.Onthe whole, the extinction of the Adonhiramite Rite canscarcelybeconsideredasalosstoMa-sonry. Before concluding, a few words may be said on the orthographyofthe title.As the rite derives its peculiar characteristic from the fact that it founds the Third Degree on the assumed legendthat Adoniram,thesonofAbdaand the receiver oftribute, was the true architect oftheTemple,andnotHiram,thewidow's son,itshouldproperly have beenstyledthe Adoniramite Rtte,and not theAdonhiramite; andsoit wouldprobably havebeencalled if Guillemain,whogaveit form,hadbeenac-quaintedwiththeHebrewlanguage,forhe would thenhave known that the name ofhis hero was Adoniram and not Adonhiram.The term Adonhiramite Masons should really have been applied to the second school descnbed in thisarticlewhosedisciplesadmittedthat Hiram Abif was the architect ofthe Temple, butwhosupposedthatSolomonhadbe-stowed the prefix Adon upon him as a mark of honor,callinghimAdonhiram.ButGuille-mainhavingcommittedtheblunderinthe nameofhis Rite,it continued to be repeated by his successors, and it would perhaps now be inconvenienttocorrecttheerror.Ragon, however1 and afew other recent writers, have ventureu to take this step, and in their works the system is called Adoniramite Masonry. Adonlram.The first notice that we have of AdoniraminScriptureisinthe2dBookof Samuel(xx.24),where,intheabbreviated formofhisname Adoram, he is saidto have been" overthetribute"inthehouseof Davidor,as Gesenius translates it,"prefect over the tribute service, tribute master," that is to say,in modem phrase,he was the chief receiver of the taxes.Clarke calls him "Chan-cellorofthe Exchequer:"Seven yearsafter-wardwefindhimexercisingthesameoffice inthehouseholdofSolomon,foritissaid (1 Kings iv. 6) that "Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tnbute."And lastly, we of himstilloccupyingthesamestationinthe 22ADONIRAMADONIS householdofKingRehoboam,thesuccessorAdoniram, in Hebrew,compounded ofSolomon.Forty-sevenyearsafterheisofj,N,ADON,Lord,andt::.,:"',HiliaM,altitude, firstmentioned in the Book ofSamuel,heissignifiesthe Lord ofaltitude.It isaword of statedunderthenameofAdoram(1Kingsgreat importance, and frequently used among xii.18), or Hadoram (2Chron. x.18)J to havethe sacred words ofthe high degreesin all the beenstonedtodeath,whileinthehyei-cian, anociation withthesametitle,andunderthesamechief,wasformed at Constantinople,Paris,andLondonItsobjectswerethe sameas thoseof the firstsociety,withtheadditionalaimof destroying Russian influence in the East by the emancipation of the Christian subjects of the Porte.The membersof the directingcommitteeinParisandLondonwereZiaBey, Aghia-Effendi, Count Plater, aPole, living at Zurich,Kemal Bey,andSimonDeutsch.The chief agent of the committee at Constantinople was M.Bonnal,aFrenchbanker at Pera. Moustapha Pacha agreedtocontributeannuallythreehun-dred thousand francsto the funds of the association.Murad Bey,the brother ofthe present Sultan, is nowtheleaderof theYoungTurkeyparty,ofwhichMidhatPachawasa prominentmember.MuradBeyattributestotheSultan himself and the palacecamarilla all theevilsfromwhich the countryis nowsuffering. 6o6.ArmenianSociety.-Weshallseefurtheron(637) that the Armenians ofRussia formeda secret societyagainst that country in r888;recent events (1896) have prominently brought before Europe the existence in Turkey ofArmenian societies.They areorganisedinthesamewayastheold venditasoftheCarbonari;that isto say,thecommittees do not knowone another,nor eventhecentral committee from whichthey receiveorders.They number five,and comprise altogetherabouttwohundredmembers.EachC!)mmittee 212 TURKISHSOCIETIES 213 hasasignificantname.Theyarecalled Huntchak (Alarm), Frochak (Flag), Abdag (Bellows), Gaizag (Thunderbolt),and V otchintchak (Destruction).Thelasttwoarethe most re-cently created.The committees act according to apiau fixed by the occultcentral committee.Thus the Huntchak orga-nisedthedemonstrationin1895atthePorte,whilethe attack onthe OttomanBank (1896) devolved on the Frochak committee.Thereremainthree,whowillhavetoactsuc-cessively.In the following month ofOctober the Armenian revolutionary leaderssent aletter to theFrench Embassy at Constantinople,threateningfurtheroutrages.Thelatest detailed account of thesociety, published in December 1896, says :Thediscoveryof seditiouspapersfoundin theposses-sionofArmenianconspirators,whenarrestedinDecember . 1896atKaraHissarOharki,revealsallthedetailsofthe revolutionary programme, circulated by the leadersof the in-surrection,and imposed on their adherents.The programme includes thirty-one draconicrules,towhichthemembersof the numerous Armenian bands have to submit.For instance, eachband must becomposed of at least sevenmembers, who takeanoaththattheywillsubmittotorture,andevento death, rather than betray the secrets of the society.By Rule 14 the bap.dis ordered tocarry offintothemountainsany unjust or cruelOttoman official, to compelhimto revealany Statesecret whichhemay possess,andeventoputhimto death.RuleI5 authorisesthe bandtoattackandplunder themailsandcouriers,butitmustnotassailanyperson foundtravellingaloneontheroads,unlessit isabsolutely necessary in the interest of the band to do so.Any member showing cowardice, when fighting, is tobe shot at once.The chiefistheabsolutemasteroftheband,andmaypunish ashechoosesanymemberwithwhomheisdissatisfied Amongstsomeofthemoststringentclausesisonewhich ordersthememberstoactasspiesupon each other, and to reporttothechiefallthedoingsandmovementsofone another.One of the characteristic features of the Armenian revolutionistheuseofnumerousdisguises,whichenable them to gosecretly throughtownsandcirculatearmsand seditiousliterature,pamphlets,andevenpictures,withthe viewofincitingtheArmenianpopulationagainstthe Im-perialGovernment.TheEnglishagitationofthepresent dayinfavouroftheArmenians showsthecrassignorance existing in this country as to the true character of that people. If the Armenians wereworthy of,or fitfor,the liberty they claim,they woulddoastheSwiss-a poor nation, whilst the Armeniansarerich-did fivehundred yearsagoinfighting Austria-they wouldfightTurkey. ' '} r . XI THEUNIONOFSAFETY 607.HistoricalSketchof Society.-Russia haseverbeeu a hotbedofsecretsocieties,but, towithinveryrecenttimes suchsocietieswerepurely local;theRussianpeoplemight revolt against somelocal oppression, or some subaltern tyrant, but they never roseagainst theemperor,theynever tookup arms forapoliticalquestion.Whatever secret associations were formedin thatcountry,moreover,wereformedbythe aristocracy,andmanyofthemwereofthemostinnocent nature ;it wasatonetimealmostfashionabletobelongto suchasociety,astherearepeoplenowwhofancyitan honour to be aFreemason.But after the warsof Napoleon, the sectarian spirit spread intoRussia.Someof the officers of the Russian army, after their campaigns in Central Europe, on their return to their nativecountry felt their own degrada-tionandtheoppressionunder whichthey existed,and con-ceived the desireto free themselves fromthe same.In1822 the then governmentofRussiaissuedadecree,prohibiting theformationofanew,orthecontinuanceofold,secret societies.The decreeembraced the masoniclodges.Every employeof the State wasobliged to declareonoath that he belonged tonosecret societywithin or without the empire ; or,ifhedid,hadimmediatelytobreakoffallconnection withthem,onpainofdismissal.Thedecreewasexecuted with great rigour;the furnitureofthemasoniclodgeswas soldintheopenstreets,soastoexposethemysteriesof masonry to ridicule.When the State began to prohibit secret societies,it wastime to formsomeinrightearnest.Alex-anderMouravieffoundedtheUnionof Safety,whoserites and ceremonies were chiefly masonic-frightful oaths, daggers, and poison figuring largely therein.It was composed of three classes-Brethren, Men, and Boyards.The chiefs were taken fromthelastclass.Thedenominationofthelastdegree showshowmuchthearistocraticelementpredominatedin theassociation,whichled,infact,totheformationofa 214 ':.r:.--THEUNIONOFSAFETY 215 society stillmore aristocratic, that of the "Russian Knights," whichaimed at obtaining fortheRussianpeople aconstitu-tionalcharter,andcounteractingthesecretsocietiesof Poland,whoseobjectwastorestorePolandtoitsancient state, thatistosay,absolutismonthepartofthenobles, andabject slavery on the part ofthe people.Thetwo socie-tieseventuallycoalescedintoone,underthedenomination ofthe"UnionforthePublicWeal";but,dividedinits counsels,it wasdissolved in1821,and anewsociety formed underthetitleofthe"UnionoftheBoyards."The pro-grammeofthisunionatfirstwastoreducetheimperial powertoalevelwiththatofthePresidentofthe United States, andto formthe empire into a federation ofprovinces. But gradually their views became moreadvanced;arepublic wasproposed,and theemperor, AlexanderI.,wasto beput todeath.Themoremoderateandrespectablemembers withdrewfromthesociety,andafterashorttimeitwas dissolved,anditspapersanddocumentscarefullyburnt. TherevolutionsofSpain,Naples,andUpperItalyled Peste],amanwhohadbeenamemberofalltheforme1 secret societies,to formanew one, wi:ththe viewof turning Russiainto a republic;the death of .Alexander again formed partofthescheme.Butcircumstancesw e r ~notfavour-abletotheconspirators,andtheprojectfellto the ground. .Anothersociety,calledtheNorth,sprangintoexistence,of whichPestelagainwastheleadingspirit.In1824,the " Union of the Boyards "heard of the existence of the Polish P-atrioticSociety.Itwasdeterminedtoinvitetheirco-operation.The terms werespeedily arranged.TheBoyards boundt:P.emselvestoacknowledgetheindependenceof Poland;andthePolespromisedtoentertainoramusethe .ArchdukeConstantineat Warsawwhilstthe 'revolutionwas being accomplished in Russia.Both countries wereto adopt therepublicanformofgovernment.Thislatter condition, however,madebythePoles,displeasedtheBoyards,who, themselveslusting after power,didnot see in arepublic the opportunity ofobtainingit.TheBoyardsthereforeunited themselveswithanother soCiety,that of the"UnitedSlavo-nians,'' foundedin1823by alieutenantofartillery,named Borissoff, small in numbers, but daring..As the name implied, itproposedaSlavonianconfederationunderthenamesof Russia,Poland,Hungary,Bohemia,Moravia,Dalmatia,and Transylvania.The insurrection was on the point ofbreaking out;but the Emperor .Alexander had already (in 'June1823), by therevelationsofSherwood,anEnglishmaninRussian !' SECRETSOCIETIES service, whowasennobled,receivedsomeintimationofthe plot, but seemstohaveneglected taking precautions;whilst hewaslyingill atTaganrog,CountDeWittbroughthim furthernewsoftheprogressoftheconspiracy,butthe emperorwastoonearhisdeathforactivemeasures.He died, in fact,afewdaysafter of typhoid feverhehad caught in the Crimea.It wasrumoured that hedied opoison,but such wasnotthe case:thereport ofSir James Wylie,who was withhimto the last,disprovesthe rumour.Besides,it is certain that the conspirators were guiltless of the emperor's death,sinceit took them unpreparedandscattered at incon-venientdistancesovertheempire.ImmediatelyonAlex-ander'sdeathGeneralDiebitsch,commandingatKieff, orderedColonelPestelandaboutadozenofficerstobe arrested.Buttheconspiratorsdidnotthereforegivenp theirplan.TheydeclaredNicholas,whosucceededAlex-ander,tobeausurper,hiselderbrother Constantinebeing the rightfulheir to the throne.ButConstantinehadsome yearsbeforesignedadeedofabdicationinfavourofhis brother,which however wasnotpublicly known;and Alex-ander I. having died withoutnaminghissuccessor,the con-spirators took advantage ofthis neglect tofurther their own purposes.But they werenotsupportedby the bulk ofthe armyor the people;still,whenitcametotakingtheoath offidelitytothenewemperor,aninsurrectionbrokeout atSt.Petersburg,whichwasonlyquelledbyacrueland mercilessmassacreoftherebellioussoldiers.Pestel,with many others, was executed,but his equanimity never deserted him,andhedied withsealedlips,thoughtorture issaidto havebeen employed to wring confessionsfromhim.Prince 'froubetskoi,whohadbeenappointedDictatorbythecon-.spirators,butwhoatthelastmomentpusillanimously betrayed them, wasnevertheless by the mercilessNicholas I. exiledtoSiberia forlife,and condemnedforfourteenyears to work in the mines, and he belonged to afamily whichhad, with the Romanoffs,competed forthe throne ! Thesesecretsocieties, withanother discoveredat Moscow in1838,whosemembers weresomeofthe highestnoblesof theempire,andwhowerepunishedbybeingscatteredin the army asprivate soldiers-these secretsocietieswere the precursors of the Nihilists, whosehistory we havenow to tell. ....... XII THENIHILISTS "Therearealarmistswhoconferupontheissuersoftheserevolu. tionary [NihilisticJ tractsthe dignifiedtitle ofa secret society,... but thepoliticalatmosphereofthecountry [RussiaJ... isnolongerso favourableasit usedto be to their development.' -ATHENlEUM,29th January1870. "Apoliticalmovementthatisperhapsthemostmysteriousand romantic the world has ever known."-ATHENlEUM,23rd September 1882. "Nihilismistherighteousaridhonourableresistanceofapeople crushed under an iron foe;Nihilism is evidence of life.... Nihilism iscrushed humanity's only means of making the oppressor tremble." -WENDELLPHILLIPS(in speech at Harvard University). 6o8.Meaningof thetermNihilist.-When the first edition of this work waspublished,butscanty information concern-ing thissociety had as yet reached Western Europe..As will be seen by the firstquotation above,its scope and importance wereatthatdatenotunderstood;twelvey e ~ t r safter, the samepublicationineloquentand-comingfromsuchan authority-significant language paidduehonour to it..And indeedsince1870theNihilistshavemadetheirexistence knownto the worldbothby burning wordsandastounding deeds,whichwewillrecord asconcisely as possible. Theterm" Nihilist "wasfirstusedbyTurgheneff,the novelist,in his"FathersandSons,"whereoneofthe char-acters,.Arkadi,describeshisfriendBazaroff asa"Nihilist." ".A Nihilist? "says his interlocutor.".As far as Iunderstand theterm,aNihilistisamanwhoadmitsnothing."-" Or rather,whorespectsnothing," isthereply.".Amanwho bowstonoauthority,whoacceptsnoprinciplewithout examination,howeverhighthisprinciplemaystandinthe opinionsof men."This wasTurgheneff's originaldefinition of aNihilist;at present he means something very different. Thetermwasatfirstusedinacontemptuoussense,but afterwardswasacceptedfrompartypridebythoseagainst whomit wasemployed,justasthetermofGueuxhadin a. 217 SECRETSOCIE'l,IES formeragebeenadoptedbythenobilityoftheNether-lands. 609.Foundersof Nihilism.-TheoriginalNihilistswere notconspiratorsatall,butformedaliteraryandphilo-sophicalsociety,which,however,nowisquiteextinct.It flourishedbetweenI86oand1870.Itstransformationto theactualNihilismisdue,inagreat measure,totheParis CommunistsandtheInternational,whoseproceedingsled the youthofRussia to formsecret societies,having fortheir objectthepropagation oftheLiberal ideaswhichhadlong beforethenbeenpreachedbyBakuninandHerzen,who may indeedbe lookeduponastherealfathersofNihilism, with whommay bejoinedCernisceffski,who,in1863,pub-lishedhis novel,"What istobeDone?" forwhichhewas sentenced toexileinSiberia,but whichmightily stirred up therevolutionaryspiritofRussia.Herzen,whodiedin 1869, aimedonly at apeaceful transformation of the Russian empire;butBakunin,whodiedin1878,dreamtofits violentoverthrowby meansofarevolutionandfraternisa-tionwithotherEuropeanStatesequallyrevolutionised. Even during hislifetimean ultra-Radicalparty was formed, having for its organ the Onward,foundedin I 87 4by Lavroff, whoseprogramme was," Theparty ofaction is notto waste itsenergiesonfutureorganisation,buttoproceedatonce to the workof destruction." 610.SergeiNechayejf.-.Another important and influential personage in the early days of Nihilism wasSergei Nechayeff, aself-educatedman,andatthetimewhenhefirstbecame active asaconspirator,in1869,ateacherataschoolin St. Petersburg.Headvocatedtheoverthrow,thoughnotthe death,oftheTsar.Buttheconspiracywasprematurely discovered;Nechayeffhadanintimatefriend,thestudent Ivanoff,butultimatelytheydisagreedinpoliticalmatters, andIvanoff,declaringthathisfriendwasgoingtoofar, threatenedtoleavethesecretassociation.This waslooked upon asan actoftreason,andonthe2HitNovember1869 NechayeffslewIvanoffinagrottonearthe.Academyof .AgricultureatMoscow.Thismurderledtothediscovery ofthe society,and eighty-sevenmembersthereofweretried. in1871.Prince Cherkesoffwasimplicatedin this attempt; .hehadonseveraloccasionssuppliedtherequiredfunds. lie wasdeprivedofhisrightsandprivileges, andbanished toSiberiaforfiveyears.Nechayeffhimselfescapedto Switzerland,butsogreatwerehispowersoforganisation andpersuasionthattheRussianGovernmentsetahigh I I I / 'l'HENIHILISTS 219 priceonhishead,andfinallys u c c e e d ~ dinobtaininghis extradition fromSwitzerland, no less than 20,000 francs being paidtotheZurichPrefectofPolice,Pfenniger,whofacili-tatedtheextradition,which,accordingtoallaccounts,was morelikeanactofkidnapping.TheMunicipalCouncil stronglyprotested,andpassedaresolutionthateven common criminalsshouldnotbegivenuptosuch .Govern-ments asthoseofRussiaandTurkey.Nechayeffwassen-tencedtotwentyyears'penalservitudeinSiberia,buthe wastoo importantapersontobetrustedoutofsight,and sohe wasconfinedin the mostsecure portion ofthe fortress Peter andPaul.For atimehewaskeptin chains fastened to ametalrod,sothathecouldneitherliedown,stand up, norsitwithanyapproachtoease.Buteveninprisonhe neverlostanopportunity ofmakingconverts ;hereceived visitsfromhighofficials,nay, theemperorhimself"inter-viewed "him.Ofcourseallthesevisitswerepaidwitha viewof soundinghimaboutthe forcesandprospectsofthe revolutionary party, but he remainedtrue to them;and with wonderfulself-abnegationpreferredremaininginprisonto delayingthekillingoftheTsar,whichdelaywouldhave beennecessary hadhisfriendsundertakenhisdeliverance. In1882thefriendl;vguardsaroundhimwerearrested,and nothingmorewasever heardofN echayeffbeyondthe fact thathewascruellybeatenwithrodsinconsequenceofa disputewiththeinspectoroftheprison,anddiedshortly after.Somesupposethathecommitted suicide,others that hewaskilledbytheeffectsoftheblows.He waskeenly lamentedby alltheNihilists,forallrecognisedhisability, his courage,andutter disregardofself. 611.GoringamongthePeople.-Oneoftheearliesteffects ofthenewly-awakenedenthusiasmforsocialandpolitical freedomwastheeagernesswithwhichyoungmen,and . womentoo,went"amongthepeople."'rhesonsand daughters,notonlyofrespectable,butofwealthyand aristocratic,familiesrenouncedthe comfortsandsecurityof home,the loveand esteemoftheir relatives,theadvantages ofrankandposition,toassociatewiththeworking classes andthepeasantry,dressing,faring,andworkinglikeand witli .them,withtheobjectofinstillingintothemideasas to the rights ofhumanity andcitizenship ;ofexpounding to them the principles of Socialism and of the revolution.Thus in the winter of1872,in ahovelnear St.Petersburg, Prince Krapotkine gatheredroundhimanumber ofworking-men; Obuchoff,arichCossack,didthesameonthebanks ofthe l SECRETSOCIETIES riverDon;LeonidasSciseko,anofficer,becameahand-weaver inoneoftheSt.Petersburgmanufactoriesto carry onthepropagandathere;DemetriusRogaceff,another officer,and afriendofhis,wentintotheprovinceofTver, assawyers,tospreadtheirdoctrinesamongthepeasants ; SophiaPerovskaia,who,likeKrapotkine,belongedtothe highestaristocracy-herfatherwasGovernor-Generalof St.Petersburg-took tovaccinating village children;in the secretmemoir drawnupin1875by order ofCount Pahlen, the thenRussianMinister of Justice,wealso findthe names ofthedaughtersofthreeactualCouncillorsofState,the daughterofageneral,LOschernvonHerzfeld,asengaged in this propaganda ;and fromthesamedocument it appears thatasearlyasthe years1870and1871asmany asthirty-sevenrevolutionary"circles"wereinexistenceinasmany provinces,mostofwhichhadestablishedschools,factories, workshops, depi'>ts of forbidden books, and "flying sheets," for thepropagation ofrevolutionary ideas.But though the pro-pagandists met with some successes among the more educated classes,andreceivedgreatpecuniaryassistancefromthem -thusGermoloff,astudent,sacrificedhiswholefortune, maintainingseveralfriendsatthe AgriculturalAcademy of Moscow ;V oinaralski,an ex-Justice of the Peace,gave forty thousandroublestothepropaganda- yetamongthe peasantrytheirsuccesseswerenotequaltotheirenergy and zeal.'l'heRussian peasants,tooignorant to understand their teachers,ortootimidtofollowtheiradvice,werenot to bestirred up to assert the rights belonging to the citizens ofanyState.Moreover,theyoungmenandwomen,who wentfort,hastheapostlesofrevolution,werelackingin experienceandcaution ;hencethey attractedtheattention ofGovernment,andmanywerearrested.Howmanywas never known.The propaganda wasstamped out withevery circumstanceofcruelty,thegaolswerefilledwith prisoners, the penal settlements with convicts ;half the students at the universitieswereindurance,andtheotherhalfunderthe ban of the law. 6 I 2.NihilismbecomesAggressive.- Nihilismdoctrinaire havingthusprovedafailure,itbecameNihilismmilitant. TheNihilistswhohadescapedthegallows,imprisonment, orexile,determinedthatrevolutionaryagitationwasto taketheplaceofapeacefulpropaganda.Theybeganby formingthemselves intogroupsindifferentdistricts,whose objectitwastocarryontheiragitationamongthose peasantsonlywhomtheyknewascautiousandprudent { I l I t ! I I I I I ! ~ I f I THENIHILISTS. 221 people.TheSt.Petersburggroupwasatfirst,1876-78, contemptuouslycalled"TheTroglodytes,"butafterwards, after the paper published by them," Laud and Liberty."There wasalsoalarge"group" at Moscow.Mostofits members hadbeenstudentsattheZurichUniversity;itincluded severalgirls,oneofwhomwasBardina,ofwhommorein thenextsection.Someofthemhadenteredintosham marriages,whichtheythemselves,intheirletters,called farces,andwhichwereperformedwithoutanyreligious ceremony,andwere,inmostcases,neverconsummated, theirobject being simply torender thewomenindependent, andtoenablethemto obtain passports,and atmanyatrial itwasprovedthatthesewomenhad,inspiteoftheir adventurouslivesandintimateassociationwithmen,pre-servedtheirvirtueunimpaired.Butthegroups,though theyheldtheirgroundwithvaryingfo!tunesforseveral years,remainedwithoutresults;thei m m e n s i ~ yofRussia, thevisinertiaofthepeasantry,and thenecessityofacting withtheutmost circumspection,rendered theselocalefforts futile.The leaders at Moscowwrotedespairingly.Thus in aletterfromSdanowitchtothemembersatIvanovo,a villageofcotton-spinners,weread:"Thenewsfromthe southareunsatisfactory.... Wesendyoubooksand revolvers....Kill,shoot,work,createriots ! "There seemstohavebeennoscarcityofbooksormoney:one memberoftheassociationwasfoundinpossessionof 8545roublesincash,anotefor1100roubles,and300 prohibitedbooks,andwithanother2450prohibitedbooks werediscovered.ThecentraladministrationatMoscow, whichbecamenecessarywhen,afterthearrestsinMarch 1875,thememberswenttotheprovinces,providedbooks, money,addresses,andfalsepassports;carriedoncorre-spondence(incipher),gavewarning ofapproachingdanger andnoticeofthearrestofbrethren,andkeptupcom-municationwithprisoners.ButthisMoscowsocietywas discovered in August1875,and totally extinguished. 613.SophiaBardina'sandotherTrials.-ButNihilism wasnot to besuppressed.It continuedtogather strength, evenamongthepeasantry,aswasshownbythetrialof AlexisOssipoff,whoin1876wascondemnedtonineyears' penalservitudeforhavingdistributedprohibitedbooks. ForthesameoffenceAlexandraBoutovskaia,ayoung girl,wassentencedinthesameyeartofouryears'penal servitude. InMarch1877anewrevolutionarysocietywasdis-l i l '1 ! I l 222SECRETSOCIETIES coveredatMoscow ;offiftyprisoners,, whoseagesranged fromfifteentotwenty-fiveyears,threewerecondemned toten years'penal servitude,sixtonine years (two ofthem wereyounggirls),onetofiveyears;therestwereshut upinprisons,orexiledtodistantprovinces.Sophia Bardina,thenagedtwenty-three,wasoneoftheprisoners, thedaughterofagentleman ;shehadonleavingcollege receivedadiplomaandagoldmedal;buttofurtherthe Socialisticpropaganda,shetookasituationasanordinary work-womaninafactory.Accusedofhavingdistributed Liberalpamphletsamongthefactoryhands,shewasim-prisoned,andkeptincloseconfinementfortwoyears, withoutbeingbroughttotrial;shewasincludedinthe trialofthefifty,andsentencedtonineyears'penalservi-. tudeinSiberia.On beingaskedwhatshehadtosaywhy sentenceshouldnotbepassed,shemadeoneofthemost splendidspeecheseverheardinacourtoflaw.Inher peroration,shesaid,"I am,convincedthatourcountry, now asleep,willawake,anditsawakening willbeterrible.... Itwillnolongerallowitsrightstobetrampledunder foot,anditschildrentobeburiedaliveintheminesof Siberia....Societywillshakeoffitsinfamousyoke,and avengeus.Andthisrevengewillbeterrible....Per-secute,assassinateus,judgesandexecutioners,aslongas youcommandmaterial force,weshall resist youwithmoral force ;...forwehavewithustheideasoflibertyand equality,and your bayonets cannot piercethem I " Thencamethemonstertrialoftheonehundredand ninety-three.Thewholenumberofpersonsimplicatedin thisprosecutionoriginallyamountedtosevenhundredand seventy.Oftheonehundredandninety-threewhowere tried,ninety-fourwereacquitted;thirty-sixwereexiledto Siberia,andMyschkin,oneoftheleaders,sentencedtoten years'penalservitude.Seventyprisonersaresaidtohave diedbeforetheywerebrought, totrial;theinvestigations in the trial lastedfour years. Attheseandothertrialswhichtookplaceinvarious provincesofRussia,theprisonersconductedthemselves withtheutmostcourageandresolution.TheRussian peopleappreciatedtheir self-sacrificingpatriotism."They aresaints! "wastheexclamationfrequentlyheardfrom thelipsofevensuchperson"sasdidnotapproveofthe objectsoftheaccused. 6r4.ThePartyofTerror.-TheNihilistscontinuedto putforthmanifestoes,inwhichtheydistinctlystated their I I l I ! I ' THENIHILISTS 22J demands.Whilst (justly) accusing the highestofficialsand 'dignitariesof dishonourableconduct,avarice,and barbarous brutality,theydemandedtheirremovalfromtheentourage of theemperor,towhomtheythenintendednoharm.It wasthecourtcamarillatheywereaimingat,andthesup-pressionoftheemperor'sprivatechancellery,commonly called"theThird Division." But themoreardent Nihilists were for moredrastic measures,andaportionoftheparty, represented bytheirorgan,LandandLiberty,seceded,and took the nameof the"Party ofthePeople,"whichsection wasin1878dividedagain,and the seceders called themselves the" PartyofTerror,"andwererepresentedbytheWill of thePeople.The partyhadnodefiniteplansatfirst;its firstovertactwasSolovieff'sattemptonthelifeofthe emperor(6r;).AndtheGovernmentseemedtoplayinto thehandsoftheTerrorists.Itdideverythingitcouldto goad. the peopletodesperation :themerestsuspicionledto arrest;ten,twelve,fifteenyearsofhardlabourwerein-,flicted fortwoorthreespeechesmadeinprivatetoafew working-men; spies were employedby Government to obtain, byfalsepretences,admittancetoNihilisticmeetings,in order to betray themembers.NaturallytheNihilistsreta-liatedbyplantingtheirdaggersintosuchtraitorsasthey discoveredandcouldreach.ThusGorenovitch,originallya memberofthepropaganda,whohadbetrayedhiscom-panions,was,inSeptember1876,dangerouslywounded, andhisfacedisfiguredforlifebysulphuricacid;inthe samemonthand year,Tawlejeff wasassassinatedat Odessa; and in July1877,Fisogenoff at St.Petersburg. 615.VeraZassulic.-Butthesignalfortheoutbreakof theterrorism,whichdistinguishedthelatterphasesof Nihilism,wasgiven,unintentionally,bytheshotfiredby the revolverofVera Zassulicon 24th January 1878.General Trepoff,the chiefoftheSt.Petersburgpolice,had ordered apoliticalprisoner,Bogolinboff,tobefloggedforaslight breachofprisondiscipline.VeraZassulicmadeherself theinstrumenttopunishthisoffence.Herlifehadbeen an apprenticeshipforit.Shewasthentwenty-six,andat the ageof seventeenshehadbeenarrested andkeptincon-finementtwoyears,becauseshehadreceivedlettersfora revolutionist.She hadthen passed her firstexaminationas ateacher, and wasworking atbookbinding.Attheendof two yearsshewasreleased,but in a very fewdays was seized again,andsentfromplacetoplace,andfinallyplacedat Kharkoff,nearly two yearsunder police supervision.At the t ' . . '.' .. _ ."' SECRETSOCIETIES end of187 5shereturnedtoSt.Petersburg.Herexperi-enceshadpreparedherforherdeed :sheknewwhatsoli-tary confinement was,and the resentment of Russiansociety againstTrepoff- forevenpersonswithoutrevolutionary tendenciescalledhimthe Bashi-bazoukofSt.Petersburg-became in her mind aconviction thathemustbepunished, though shehad nopersonalacquaintanceeitherwithBogo-linbofforTrepoff.Shewaitedonthelatter,presenteda paper to him,and whilehewasreading it,firedherrevolver at him,inflicting adangerouswound,andthenallowedher-self tobeseized,withoutofferinganyresistance.Though the attempt was:rtotdenied at hertrial,the jury pronounced her "Not guilty,"and the verdict was unanimously approved asthe expression ofpublicopinioninRussia.Mensawin the acquittalacondemnation of thewholesystemofpolice, andespeciallyofitschief,GeneralTrepoff.Vera Zassulic wasdeclaredto be free;but in theadjoiningstreet her car-riage wasstopped by thepolice ;a riot ensued, for the people wouldnot allowher to beseized again,and in the commotion Zassulicmadeher escape,and after awhilefoundrefugein Switzerland.Theemper6rwasfuriousatheracquittal, went in person topayavisitofcondolencetohisviletool 'frepoff-w homhemadea.CouncillorofState-andthen ransackedthewholecity in searchofZassulic,to put her in prison again. 616.OfficialsKilledmThreatenedbytheNihilists.-The attempt ofZassulic was followedonthe16th Augustby the moresuccessfuloneonGeneralMesentsoff,chiefofthe third sectionofpolice,whohadbecomenotoriousby being implicatedinatrialaboutaforgedwillandfalsebillsof exchange.Takingadvantageofhisirresponsibleposition, he caused allthe witnesseswhomight haveappeared against himtobeassassinated.It wasknownthat hestarvedthe prisonersunderhischarge,subjectedthemtoallkindsof cruelty,loadedthesickwith chains,"allby expressorders oftheemperor."TheNihilistsresolvedhe must die.On 16thAugust1878,justashewasleavingaconfectioner's shop in St.Michael'sSquare, twopersons firedseveralshots athim with revolvers.He fell,andhisassailants,l leaping intoadroschkywhichwaswaitingforthem,madegood theirescape,andfledinthedirectionoftheN ewski Prospect.Oneofthemwasaliteraryman,whoin1883 livedinGermany.Hisnamewasfrequentlymentionedin 1 Stepniak,afterhisdeathin1895,wasaccusedby theRussianpress of having beenoneof them.See section 645. THENIHILISTS 225 connectionwithGermanliterature.GeneralMesentsoff diedthesamedayat fivein the afternoon.Inapamphlet entitledDeathforDeath,whichappeareddirectlyafter, thewriter declaredpoliticalassassinationtobebothajust and efficaciousmeans of fightingtheGovernment,whichthe writer'spartywouldcontinuetouse,unlesspolicepersecu-tionsceased,politicalaccusationsweretriedbeforejuries, and afullamnesty granted forallpreviouspoliticaloffences. Butthe Governmentshowednointentionofgrantingany such reforms.Its severity wasincreased,andtrialby jury, incasesofpoliticaloffences,entirelysuspended.Special courtswereinstituted,guaranteedtopasssentencesin accordancewiththe 'rsar'swishes.InSeptember1878,the St.Petersburg organisationcalled"LandandLiberty," and consisting ofabout sixty members,wasbrokenup.Agreat many wereimprisoned,othersmadetheir escape,but by the energyoffourorfivemembersthesocietywasnotonly re-established, but wasenabledtoerectaprinting-press, on whichtheirpaper,calledafterthe. society,wasregularly printed.TheTsarhavingappealedto"Society" toassist him in putting down the revolutionary agitators, the attempts of"Society"todosoledtonumerousriots,andinSt. PetersburgandKieff,meetingsofstudentsweredispersed bypolicemenandCossacks,manyofthestudentsbeing wounded,andsomekilled.An associationof working-men, comprisingabouttwohundredmembers,whoseobjectsin realitywereonlySocialistic,wasbetrayedbytheJewish spyReinstein,andaboutfiftyoftheworking-menwere imprisoned.Reinstein,however,methisrewardbybeing killed soonafter by the Nihilists. Onthe9thFebruary1879,PrinceAlexisKrapotkine,a cousinofthefamousagitator,PeterKrapotkine,and GovernorofKharkoff,wasshotonreturninghomefrom aball,asapunishmentofhisinhumantreatmentofthe prisonersunderhischarge,whichhadledthelatterto organise"hunger-mutinies"(638),manyofthempre-ferringstarvingthemselvestodeathratherthanany longerundergoingthecrueltiesthegovernorpractised uponthem.Goldenberg,theiravenger,madegoodhis escape. OnMarchI 2,GeneralDrenteln, theChiefoftheSecret Police,wasfiredat byaNihilist calledMirski,whomanaged toescape.Thecausesoftheattemptwere :firstly,that Drentelnhadcausedaprisonertobehanged fortryingto escape;secondly,hisgeneralcruelty,whichhadprovoked VOL.II.P 226SECRETSOCIETIES another"hunger-mutiny ";and lastly, his having sent many Nihilists to prison. 617.FirstAttemptsagainsttheEmperor'sLife.-Thus we see that the persons aimed at by theNihilistsgradually rose in rank,and thelogical conclusionofaiming at the highest, atthe Tsar himself,could not beevaded.'l'he idea came to severalpersonssimultaneously.Asearlyastheautumnof 1878aminewaslaidatNikolaieff,ontheBlackSea,to blowup theemperor;butitwasdiscoveredby thepolice, theonlyonetheydiddiscover.Aboutthesametime A.Solovieff,whohadbeen ateacher,but whoonbecoming aSocialistlearnedthe trade_ofablacksmith thathemight thusplacehimself into closer connection with thelabouring classes,cameto St.Petersburg with theintentionofkilling thee:mperor.AtthesameperiodGoldenberg,stillelated withhissuccessfulattemptonPrinceKrapotkine,also reachedtheRussiancapitalwiththesameobjectin view-thedeathoftheTsar.SolovieffandGoldenbergentered intocommunication withsomeofthechiefsof"Landand Liberty,"andeventually Solovieffundertookthetask.On the2ndAprilI879,hefiredfourshotsattheemperoras thelatter waswalkingup and down in frontofthepalace. Solovieffwasseized,triedonthe6thJ nnefollowing,of coursefoundguilty,andhangedonthe9thofthesame month.At the trial he declared himself a foe of the Govern-mentandafoeoftheemperor,andathisexecutionhe preserved his composureto the last. 618.NumerousExecutions.-AfterSolovieff'sattempta virtualstateofsiegewasestablishedthroughoutthe whole Russianempire,andapoliceorder wasissuedatSt.Peters-burg requiring each householderto keep a dvornik,or watch-man,dayandnightatthedoorofthehousetoseewho went in and out,andthat noplacards wereaffixed.Inthe monthofMaytherewere4700politicalprisonersinthe FortPetropowlovski,whowereremovedinonenightto easternprisons,tomakeroomforthosenewlyarrested. Eighthundredprisoners,understrongescort,weredrafted offfromOdessatoSiberia.Inthesamemonththetrial took place at Kieffofthe personswho,about ayearbefore, hadresistedthepolicesenttoarrestthemforbeingin possessionofasecretprinting-press.Fouroftheaccused were cited asunknown persons,becausethey refused to give theirnamesandwereunknowntothepolice,butduring thetrialthenamesoftwoofthemoozedout.Ludwig Brandtnerandoneoftheunknown,butcallinghimself I j THENIHILISTS227 Antonoff, weresentenced to be shot.TheGovernor-General of Kieff,however, ordered them tobe hanged.Threeobhers, and NathalieArmfeldt, daughter of aState Councillor, Mary Kovalevski,rankedasanoble,andEkaterineSarandovitch, daughter ofacivilservant,werecondemnedtohardlabour forfourteenyearsandtenmonths.EkaterinePolitzinoy, the daughter of aretiredstaff-captain,for not informing the policeof what sheknew of the doingsof the other prisoners, wassentenced to fouryears'hardlabour.Atanothertrial, heldadayafter,twootherNihilists,OsinskyandSophia vonHerzfeldt,werecondemned tobeshot. 619.TheMoscowAttemptagainsttheErnperor.-Gnthe 17thtothe21stJ nnetheNihilistsheldacongressat Lipezk(provinceof'l'omboff),atwhichScheljaboff,apro-minentleader,maintained,aswelearnfromhis"Life," writtenby Tichomiroff,thatsincetheGovernmentofficials, suchasTodlebenatOdessa,andTschertkovatKieff,were simplythetoolsoftheTsar,thislattermustbepersonally punished,whichwasagreedtobyhiscolleagues.Itwas decidedtoblowuptheimperialtrainduringthejourney oftheemperorfromtheCrimeatoSt.Petersburg.The minesundertherailwaylinewerelaidatthreedifferent points-near Odessa,nearAlexandrovsk,andnearMoscow. But owing to achange in the emperor's itinerary, theOdessa minehadtobeabandoned ;inthatat , Alexandrovsk,the capsule,owing tosomedefect,didnotexplode,thoughthe batterywasclosedattherightmoment,andtheimperial trainpasseduninjuredoveraprecipice,tothebottomof whichitwouldhavebeenhurledbytheslightestshock ; nearMoscowalonetheterroristsmadeatleastanattempt. They had purchasedasmallhouseclosetotherailway,and Leo Hartmann, an electrician,Sophia Perovskaia, and others, excavatedapassage,commencinginthehouseandending under the rails.Thework wasnearly all doneby hand, and owingtothewetweatherthepassagewasalwaysfullof water,sothat the minershadto workdrenchedinfreezing water, standing in it up to their knees.The attempt to blow uptheemperor'scarriage wasmadeonthe1stDecember 1879,buthistrain,fortunatelyforhim,precedinginstead offollowingthebaggage-train,thelatteronlysuffered. When,after the explosion,the cottage wassearchedsomeof the apparatus, and evenan untouchedmeal,werefound;but theinmateshadalldisappeared,andwerenotafterwards apprehended,thoughmanyhundredsweresenttoprison onthedenunciationofGoldenberg(616),whoafewdays 228SECRETSOCIETIES beforetheMoscowattempthadbeenseizedbythepolice withaquantity ofdynamiteinhispossession,and who,to benefit himself,ashehoped,betrayed agreat number ofhis fellow-Nihilists.Findingthathedidnottherebyobtain any alleviationof hisown fate,hecommitted suicide. 620.VariousNihilistTrials.- Anothergreattrialof NihiliststookplaceatOdessainAugust.Twenty-eight prisonersweretried,ofwhomthreeweresentencedtobe hanged.TheywereJosephDavidenko,sonofaprivate soldier,and Sergay Tchoobaroffand Dmitri Lizogoob, gentle-men.Thelatter,whohadsacrificednearly hiswholefor-tune,alargeone,tothe"cause,"andofwhomStepniak givessomovinganaccountinhis"UndergroundRussia," justlystylinghim"TheSaintofNihilism,"wasbetrayed by hissteward,Drigo,theGovernmenthavingpromisedto give himwhat still remained ofLizogoob'spatrimony,about 4000.Theotherprisonersweresentencedtovarious termsofhardlabourinthemines,rangingfromfifteento twenty years. InDecemberanotherimportanttrialofNihilistswas heardbeforetheOdessamilitary tribunal.Themostpro-minent prisonerwasVictor Maleenka, agentleman, whowas triedfortheattemptmadethreeyearsbeforetomurder NicholasGorenovitch,forhavingbetrayedsomeofhis fellow-Nihilists(614).ItappearedthatGorenovitchhad beenenticedtoalonely placeinOdessa,whereMaleenka felledhimwithblowsouthe head,whileacompanion threw sulphuricacidoverwhat wassupposedtobethecorpseof Gorenovitch,in order todestroy alltraces.Butthe victim survived, andappearedasawitnessatthetrial.Hepre-sentedahorribleappearance :theacidhaddestroyedhis sight and allhisfeatures,andevenhisears;consequently hisheadwasenvelopedinawhitecloth,leavingnothing buthischinvisible.Itmay,bytheway,bementioned, that he wasthenhisawful presence on poor people asascripturereader,beingledaboutbyadevotedsister. Maleenkaandtwoofhisfellow-prisonersweresentenced tobe hanged. 621.ExplosionintheWinterPalace.-The failureofthe MoscowattemptdidnotdiscouragetheNihilists.They nowadoptedthetitleof"TheWillothePeople,"and though in January1880 twootheirsecretprinting-presses were discovered and seized by the police, and numerous arrests werem:tde,theymanagedtoissueonthe26thJanuarya programme, in whichthey declaredthatunlesstheGovern- i ! I ' THENIHILISTS 229 mentgrantedconstitutionalrights,theemperormustdie. Theemperorrepliedby orderinggreaterseverity andmore arrests.'l'hentheNihilistsplannedafreshattempt,more daringthan any previous one,to blowup the emperor in his ownpalace.Its execution wasundertaken by Chalturin,the sonofapeasant,avery energeticagitatorandexperienced organiser ofworkmen'sunions.Being alsoaclever cabinet-makerheeasily,undertheassumednameofBatyschkoff, obtainedasituationintheimperialpalace;heascertained thattheemperor'sdining-hallwasabovethe cellar in which the carpenters were at work,though between it and the latter there wasthe guardroom, used by the sentinels of the palace, and hisplansweremadeaccordingly.Soblind and stupid were the Russianpolice that-though towards the end of the year1879 (Chalturin foundemployment in the palace in the monthofOctober)aplanoftheWinterPalace,inwhich thedining-hallwasmarkedwithacross,wasfoundona memberoftheExecutiveCommitteewhohadbeenappre-hended,inconsequenceofwhichthepolicemadeasudden irruptionintothecarpenters'quarters-nothingwasdis-covered,yet Chalturin usedapacket of dynamiteevery night forhispillow !Agendarme,however,wasinstalledin the carpenters' cellars,andastricter surveillanceexercised over allpersonsentering or leaving the palace.This rendered the introductionofdynamiteexceedinglydifficult,andgreatly delayed the executionof the project. Itmayhereincidentallybementionedthatwhatmay appear to thereadertohavebeenanexceptionally difficult undertaking,viz.,tointroducedynamiteintotheimperial palace itself, was, after all, very easy.The Winter Palace, till then always-a change was made after the attempt-had been arefuge fornumberless vagabonds,workmen,friendsof ser-vants, and others, many without passports, who could not have livedanywhereelsein the capital with impunity.It appears thereisanoldlawwhichgivesright ofsanctuary, asfar as regardstheordinary police,tocriminalstaking refuge in an imperial palace.When General Gourkosearched the Winter Palace, it was found that no fewerthan fivethousand persons hadbeenliving in it,andnooneknewthe precisedutiesof halfofthem.Chalturin gavestartling accountsofthedis-order pervadingthe palace,andoftherobberiescommitted byservants.They gavepartiesoftheirown, invitedscores offriends,whofreelywentinandout,yea,stayedover-night, whilst the grand staircase remained inaccessible to even highly-placedofficials.Theservantsweresuch thievesthat SECRETSOCIETIES Chalturin, nottoexcite their suspicions, wascompelled occa-sionally to take foodand other trifles as"perquisites."True, the wagesoftheupperdomesticservantswereonly fifteen roublesamonth. Toreeumeour narrative.Chalturinsuffered terribly from headaches,causedby thepoisonous exhalationofthe nitro-glycerineonwhichhisheadrestedatnight.However,he continued to work on without exciting anysuspicion,yea, the gendarme on guard tried tosecurethe clever workman,who atChristmashadreceivedagratuity ofahundred roubles, forhisson-in-law.Atlastfiftykilogrammesofdynamite had been introduced;the ExecutiveCommitteeurged Chal-turin toaction;and on thesth February I88o the explosion tookplace,Chalturinhavinghadtimetoleavethepalace beforeitoccurred.Itpiercedthetwostonefloors,and madeagaptenfeetlongandsixfeetwideinthedining-hall,inwhichagranddinnerinhonourofthePrinceof Bulgaria waslaid.Through anaccidental delay the imperial family had not yet assembled, and thns escapedtotaldestruc-tion.Theexplosionkilled fivemen ofthe palaceguard, and injured thirty-five-some accountssay fifty-three.Someof thepartiesimplicatedintheplotwerebroughttotrialin NovemberI88o,butChalturinwasnotcapturedtillearly inI 882 ;hewashangedonthe22ndMarchofthatyear, and only then recognised asthe cabinetmaker ofthe Winter Palace.TheExecutiveCommittee,inaproclamation,re-grettedthesoldierswhohadperished,butexpressedits determinationtokilltheemperor,unlesshegrantedthe constitutional reforms asked for.The Tsar, in reply, invested CountLoris-MelikoffwithunlimitedauthorityasDictator. The attempt on the latter's life, madeon 3rd March by Hipo-lyte Joseph Kaladetski, for which he suffered death on the 5th, wasnot prompted by the ExecutiveCommittee,who,on the contrary,expressedtheirdisapprovalofit,becauseCount Melikoff hadshownsometendency towardsLiberal ideas. 622.Assassination of the Empe1or.-During the. remainder oftheyearI88o,largenumbersofsuspected persons were arrested, tried by asecret tribunal, and many of the prisoners condemnedtodeathortransportationtoSiberia.Inthe previousyear,I 1,448convictsweredespatchedeastward, andinthespringofI 880therewereintheprisonsat Moscow2973prisonersawaitingtransportationtoSiberia andhardlabourintheminesorgovernmentfactories. ButtheNihilisticmovement,insteadofbeingkilled,ac-quiredfreshstrengthby thesewholesalepersecutions;the THENIHILISTS 231 Tsar,in hisblind fury,seemed bent onhisdestruction-and itwasnearerthanheanticipated.TheExecutiveCom-mittee determined that nowtheemperormustdie.Forty-seven volunteerspresentedthemselves to makethe' attempt onhislife.Onthe13th March1881,the Tsarwasassassi-nated.Returningfromamilitary reviewnearSt.Peters-burg,abombwasthrownby Ryssakoff,whichexplodedin therearofthecarriage,injuringseveralsoldiers.The emperoralighted,andasecondbomb,thrownwithgreater precision,byIgnatiusGrinevizki,explodedandshattered both the legs oftheemperor belowthe knees,tore open the lowerpart ofhis body,anddroveoneofhiseyesout ofits socket.WithinonehourandahalftheTsarwasdead. Grinevizki wasseized,but he washimselfso injured that he diedshortlyafterhisarrest.Hewasthesonofasmall farmer,whowith great difficultyforsometimemanagedto keephisfamily,consistingofelevenpersons,but eventually fellinto difficulties ; his farm wassold, and he became insane. Ignatius,inthegreatestpoverty,attendedseveralschools. In1875hewassent,asthebestscholarofhisclass,tothe Technological Institutionat St.Petersburg;there he joined thestudents'unionsforRadicalpurposes,in which,by his activity andaddress,hesoonacquiredgreatinfluence.In I879 he would havebeensatisfiedwithamoderateconstitu-tion,butseeingthattherewasnoprospectofeventhat smallboon,hejoinedtheTerrorists,working withandfor them till the great workofhislife wasassigned to him.The Nihilistsascribetohim the fameof a Brutus,of Harmodius, andAristogeiton !Returnwetotheotheractorsinthis historictragedy. Thesignalforthrowingthebombshadbeengivenby JessyHelfmannandSophiaPerovskaia,whowereonthe watch, waving their handkerchiefs.She andHelfmann were arrested,asalsosomeoftheotherconspirators,Kibalcie, Micailoff,andRyssakoff,and,withtheexceptionofHelf-mann,who,beingfourmonthspregnant,wasreprieved, were hanged on theI5th April following.All the prisoners died likeheroes ;Perovskaiaeven retained the colour in her cheekstothelast.Buttheexecutionwasa"butchery." (SeeKolnischeZeitungandLondonTimesof16thApril I88 1.) 623.TheMinein GardenStreet.-Onthe25thMarch the revolutionarycorrespondencefoundon theprisonersledto thediscoveryoftheconspirators'quartersinTelejewskaia Street,whereTimothy Michailoffwasarrested.Acopy of 232 SECRETSOCIETIES the proclamation ofthe new Tsar'sascent to thethronewas foundon him,on the backofwhich weremarkedinpencil threeplacesofthe city,with certain hoursand daysagainst each.Oneplacethus indicated wasaconfectioner's shop at thecornerofGardenStreet.Justroundthecornerfrom thisconfectioner'sinGardenStreetwasacheesemonger's shop,kept by oneKobizoffandhiswife,whosemysterious disappearanceon the dayofthe assassination ledto the dis-covery ofamineunderthestreet.Fromsubsequentdis-coveriesit becameevidentthatthisminewasnotintended to blowup the emperor,but tostop hiscarriage,andafford others time toassassinate him,after thefashionofthe hay- cart,whichstoppedGeneralPrim's carriage at Madrid. 624.Oonstitntion said tohavebeenGranted by late Emperor. -It wassaidthatthedaybeforehisdeaththeemperor hadsignedaConstitution,andthatbytheiractionthe Nihilistshaddeprivedtheircountryofthebenefitsit wouldhaveconferred.But what he had signedwasmerely the appointmentofarepresentativecommissionto consider whetherprovincialinstitutionsmightnotbe widened,and thecallingtogetherofthezernskijsobor,orcommunal council,ameasureLoris-Melikoffhadstronglyadvisedhim to adopt, asameansof enlisting thepeople's co-operationin puttingdownNihilism,theministertakingcareto remind theemperorthatsuchanassemblywould,afterall,beonly deliberative, and that the finaldecisionwouldalwaysremain withthecrown.Thewholeschemewasamereblindto allaypublicdiscontent,withnointention on the Tsar's part ofrelinquishinganyportionofhisabsoluteprerogatives. 'rhe. emperor'sdeaththusdidnotdeprivetheRussianof auy substantialbenefit,but saved themadelusion. 625.TheNihilistProclarnation.-'l'en daysafterthe Tsar AlexanderII. hadbeenputtodeath, theExecutiveCom-mittee issuedtheir nobly-conceivedand expressed proclama-tion tohissuccessor,AlexanderIII.,in which,oncondition oftheemperorgranting( r)completefreedomofspeech, (2)completefreedomofthepress,(3)completefreedomof publicmeeting,(4)completefreedomofelection,and(5)a general amnesty forallpolitical offenders,they declare their party willsubmitunconditionally totheNational Assembly whichmeetsuponthebasisoftheaboveconditions. Hundreds ofEaster eggscontainingthisproclamationwere scattered about thestreets of Moscowat Easter time.Nay, a rumour was then universally current in St. Petersburg, that theNihilistshaddeputedoneoftheirnumbertowaiton THENIHILISTS 233 the Emperor Alexander and explain tohiminunambiguous wordswhattheyreallywanted.Theemperorreceived him,andafterhavingheardwhathehadtosay,ordered himto be placed in durance in the Fortress Petropowlovski; thepolice,however,failedtofindanycluetohisidentity. Sorunsthestory,andthereisnothingimprobableinit, consideringthedaring self-sacrificewhichcharacterisesall the acts of the Nihilists. 626.TheEmperor'sReplythe1eto.-Theemperor'sreply to the Nihilistic proclamation,asking forsuchconstitutional rightsasarepossessedby everycivilisednation,wasgiven inamanifesto,issuedontheIIthMay,inwhichthe emperorexpressedhisdeterminationfullytoretainand maintainhisautocraticprivileges.Furthermore,freshexe-cutions wereordered,thousandsofhissubjects wereexiled toSiberia,greaterrigourwasexercisedagainstthepress andevery Liberaltendency.Not onlydidtheemperor not grant any reforms, but he evenretracted concessionsalready made, as, for instance, the reduction of the redemption money, wherebynearlyfourmillionsofhissubjectscontinuedto bekeptin virtualserfdom.Ignatieff,the newly-appointed Minister of the Interior,whilstbravely seconding his master inhisoppressivemeasures,triedtoopenasafety-valveto publicdissatisfactionandindignationbyfomentinganti-Jewishriots,theblameofwhichwaslaidtothechargeof theNihilists,who,however,publishedaveryspiritedreply, showingthatitwasnottheirpolicytoincitethepeople against the Jews,theybeing,aswasprovedatmanyatrial, and especially thoseofSouthern Russia,great supporters of the Nihilistic movement.But irrespectiveof this, it wasno part ofNihilistictacticstosetoneraceorreligion against anotherintheempire.Nordidthedespoilingofprivate individuals,suchasdistinguishedtheviolenceagainstthe Jews,enterintotheirplans.Theyrobbed,theyadmitted, but only intheinterestofthe"cause "andofthepeople. Theywarnedtheemperoragainstlisteningtopernicious counsel.Buttheemperorclosedhisearstothisadvice. Trembling forhislife,heshuthimselfupatGatshina, to whichplacehehad fled.The day whenhe wasto start,four imperialtrainswereostentatiouslyreadyatfourdifferent stations inSt.Petersburg,withalltheofficialand military attendants, whiletheemperor fledin atrain without attend-ance,whichhad been waiting at asiding. When in June1881theCourtremovedto Peterh.off,the railwaybetweenthetwoplaceswasstrictlyguardedby ' ',! '' ., ~ ! ; , \ .. ' 4 ~ ~f,: .. f... _., .. t I, r 234 SECRETSOCIETIES troops;foreveryhalfverst-aboutone-thirdofamile English-therewasasentinelwithatent.Besidesthis, thephotographsofalltherailwayofficialswerelodgedin theMinistryofWaysandCommunications,sothatany Nihilist,disguised in railway costume,might the moreeasily be detected. 627.AttemptagainstGeneralTcherevin.-OnNovember. 25,ayoungmanpresentedhimself,attheDepartment ofStatePolice,whichwastheoldthirdsectionorsecret policeunderanewname,andaskedtoseeGeneralTche-revin,the chiefdirectorofmeasuresforassuringthesafety oftheemperor,statingthathehadtodisclosesomebusi-nessgravelyaffectingtheState.Onbeingusheredinto tha presenceofGeneralTcherevin,heimmediatelydrewa revolverandfiredatthegeneral,butmissedhim,and was secured.He declaredthat he wasacting asthe instrument of others,and forthe goodofRussia,but namednoaccom-plices.HisownnamewasSankofsky.AstheRussian Governmentsuppressedasfaraspossibleallallusionsto theevent-and wehavenoaccountasto whatbecameof Sankofsky-hewasprobablytriedwithcloseddoors,and what washispunishment remainsunknown. 628.TrialsandotherEventsinI882.-Numerous arrests, and trialsofpersons whohad long been in prison, tookplace in I 882.Of twenty prisoners tried in February, ten, including onewoman,weresentencedtobehanged.OnI 2th J nne CountIgnatieff,havingrenderedhimselfunpopularto thepublicbyhisanti-Jewishschemes,andincurredthe disfavour ofhisimperialmaster by intimatingtohimthat, withouttheintroductionoftheancientStates-Generalof theTsars,the government of the country could not besatis-factorilycarriedon,under thetime-honouredfictionofill-healthsentinhisresignation.CountTolstoi,whowas knowntodisapproveoftheanti-SemiticpolicyofCount Ignatieff,wasappointedhissuccessor. Five daysafter,theNihilistsreceivedaterrible blow.In ahouseoccupiedby themonanislandinthe Neva, there was discovered agreat number of bombsand a large quantity of dynamite;but of more importance werethe papers found ontheNihilistsapprehendedatthesametime,fromwhich it appearedthatthey werekepta?tcourantoftheGovern-ment correspondence in cipher with foreigncountries, asfar asitreferredtothemselves,whichinformationtheyhad receivedfromV olkoff,oneofthehigherofficialsinthe Ministry ofForeign Affairs.In July asecret printing-press THENIHILISTS 235 othe NihilistswasdiscoveredintheMinistryoMarine ; its directorcommittedsuicide.Encouraged bythe disasters whichhadbefallentheNihilists,theemperorventuredto returntoSt.Petersburg,andontheIrthofSeptember attendedthefeteofAlexanderN evsky,thepatron-saintof the emperor,butslightly guarded,without evilresults;and in the exuberanceof hisfeelingshewentsofar asto extend hisclemencyeventotheNihilists,foronOctober4he graciouslycommutedthesentenceofdeath,passedbya secrettribunal,ontwoNihilistsforhavingmurdereda policespy,toperpetuallabourinthemines-andyetthe Nihilistswerenotconciliated!Forwhen,onthezrst November,theemperorand ,empresspaidavisittoSt. Petersburg extra precautionsweretakenonthe partofthe policeand militaryauthorities;allalong the route, fromthe railway-stationtothepalace,police-officersinsledgesand onfootweremet with at everyhalf-dozen yards ;policemen werepostedatregular intervals in the centreofthestreet, andthebridges overthe canals wereclosely guarded by the marinepolice.Buttheemperormaintainedhisserenity. AstheOfficialGazetteinformeditsreaders : "Towardsthe endofDecemberthenewchiefofpolice,GeneralGrossler, hadthehonourofexhibitingbeforehisImperialMajesty severalpolicemenattiredinthelatestnewandlastold uniforms ofthe force.His Majestycarefullyexaminedthe difference,consistingmainlyinalterationsofcoloursand buttons."Healsobegantothinkof hiscoronation, which wasannouncedtotakeplaceatvariousd ~ t e sduringthe current year;but theceremony waspostponedfromtime to time,and did not finallytake placeuntil27th May1883. 629.Coronation, and Causes of Nihilistic Inactivity.-Great surprisewasexcitedbythepeacefulnatureofthecorona-tion;but it appeared by thetrial(in April1883)ofseven-teenNihilistsatOdessa,fiveofwhomweresentencedto death,thattheconspirators!ladmadethemostextensive preparationsforkillingtheemperorathiscoronation,as proposedinr88randr882;butbythevigilanceofthe police,andthedenunciationofspies.theirschemeswere frustrated,and the terrorists foundit impracticable to make theattemptin1883.Astheythemselvesdeclaredafter-wards,theycametotheconclusionthatsuchanattempt would damage their interests.They argued that the revolu-tionary movement in Russia embraces many persons of mode-rate views,whoseopinions must ,betaken into consideration ; thatthepeople,whocametothecoronationwouldnot J t I 1 f I f a SECRETSOCIETIES belongtoaclasslikelytoapproveofarevolutionaryplot. But theNihilists profited inanotherwayby the coronation. Thewholeforceof the Government,anditsmostintelligent spies,being concentrated at Moscow,theNihilists seized this occasiontospreadtheirdoctrinesandtoenrolsupporters atSt.Petersburgandotherlargecentres,towhichmaybe attributed the great riots which,after the coronation, occurred atSt.Petersburg,whichwereintensifiedbythefactthat noneoftheexpectedconstitutionalreformsweregranted. The manifesto issuedby theemperoronthecoronationday consistedsimply ofa remission ofarrearsof taxes; C!iminals condemnedwithoutprivationofcivilrightshadone-third of theirtermsremitted;exilestoSiberiafor .lifehadtheir sentencescommuted to twenty years'penalservitude;those stilllyingundersentenceforthePolishtroublesin1863 wereto besetfree ;butconfiscatedproperty wasnottobe restored.Muchmorehadbeenexpected,andtheBurgo-master of Moscowhadbeenboldenough,inhiscongratula-toryaddresstotheemperor,toexpressthosehopes,for which",presumption"hewasvisitedwiththeemperor's displeasure.But thedisappointmentof thepeople's expec-tation ofan amnestyand aconstitution greatly favouredthe spreadofNihilisticdoctrines.TheNihilistscontinuedto holdsecretmeetings,issuetheirpapers,flyingsheets,and manifestoes.In September1883anumber ofofficerswere arrested,and alargedepotdiscoveredatCharkoff,contain-ingarmsofeverykind,largequantitiesofgunpowder, dynamitebombs,and new printing apparatus.It was found thatdynamitewasbeingmanufacturedinKolpino,close by St.Petersburg.HereI38navalandI 7artillery officers werearrestedandconveyedtotheSt.PeterandPaulfor-tress.In Simbirskanartillerycolonelwasarrested,who hadgainedanenormousinfluencewiththepeasants,and incited them to revolutionary deeds. 630.ColonelSudeikinshotbyNihilists.-Onthe28th DecembertheNihiliststooktheirrevengebyshooting ColonelSndeikin, theChiefofthe SecretPolice, inahouse to whichhehad beenenticedbythe falseinformation of an intended Socialistmeeting.Theyalsoleftaletterstating thatthenextvictimswouldbeCountTolstoi,Ministerof theInterior,andGeneralGrossler,theChiefoftheSt. Petersburgpolice."Ifeverassassinationcouldbepal-liated,"saystheEveningStandardofthe31stDecember I88 3,"it isin sucha case asthe present.When men know that sons,or brothers,orwivesarebeingdriventomadness THENIHILISTS 237 or deathby prolongedand deliberatecruelty, no Englishman canblamethem verygreatly if they take vengeanceon their tyrants.In afreecountry,under just laws,assassinationof officersforafanciedwrongisaltogetherunjustifiableand wicked ;but under su'charegimeasexistsinHussia,it can hardly bejudged inthesameway.Menihayshudder,but they cannot unreservedly condemn." 631.AttemptagainsttheEmperoratGatshina.-The Nihilistscontinuedto issuejournalsandproclamations,and toextendtheirinfluenceamongtheworkingclasses.Of coursetheyalsocontinuedtomeetwithchecks.Early in January1884numerousarrestsweremadeamongthe factoryhandsatPerm,ontheKama,and,manyrevolu-tionary documentswerefoundin their possession.Towards theendofthemonthofDecemberoftheprecedingyear theemperorhadmetwithwhatwasthought,oratlea:,t officially represented,tobeauaccident;whileouthunting, hishorsestookfright,upsetthesledge,andtheemperor sustainedasevereinjury to hisrightshoulder.Butin the followingJanuaryitwasrumouredthattheaccidentwas really aNihilistattemptatassassination.It wassaidthat aboutafortnightbeforethemurderofColonelSudeikin, Jablonski,aliasDegaieff,whohadsentSudeikin theletter whichledto hisdeath,accompaniedbyawoman,arrived at the houseoftheimperialgamekeeper atGatshina,and pro-ducingaletterfromColonelSudeikin,informedhimthat thewomanwastobereceivedintohishouseinorderto assistthedetectivesalreadyatGatshina.Thewomanre-mained,andwheneverthe Tsar went shooting, sheattended, disguisedasapeasantboy.Onthedayof the"accident" thewomanwasnotthere,butmadeherappearancenext day andreportedthattheTsarhadmetwithan accident, oneofthe gamekeepershavingcarelessly dischargedhisgun closeto theimperialsledgeandfrightenedthe horses.On thedayaftertheassassinationofSudeikin,andwhenit wasknownthatJablonskihadplayed the chiefpartin the tragedy,threedetectivesarrivedatGatshinaandarrested thewoman.Shewassaidtobe asisterofStreiakoff,who washangedforcomplicity in themurderofAlexander II., andtherewererumourscurrentafterwardsthatshehad secretly beenhangedin oneofthecasematesofthe Petro-powlovskiFortress for the attemptedmurder atGatshina. Odessathenbecamenotoriousforthefrequentmurders andattemptedassassinationsofofficersofthegendarmerie hyNihilists.Duringthesummer,ColonelStrielnikoffand ' ! l f 1 i SECRETSOCIETIES CaptainGezhdiwerekilled;onthe19thAugustadeter-minedattempttokillCaptainKatansky,thesuccessorof Strielnikoff,wasmadeby as e c o ~ dVeraZassulic.The girl, Mary Kaljushnia, whomadetheattempt,wasamerchant's daughter,barelynineteen,andherobject,toavengeher brother,whohadbeensentencedto penalservitudeforlife in Siberia.She hadforsome timebeenunder policesuper-vision;sheearned amiserablesubsistence by giving lessons, maintaining herselfonabout fourpence a day.Her requests tobeallowedtogoabroadwere persistently refused.On thedateabovenamed,shecalledonCaptainKatansky, avowedlywiththeobjectorenewingherrequest,butin the course oconversationshesuddenlydrewarevolverand firedstraightintotheofficer'sface.Buttheballonly grazedhisear ;shewasseizedbeforeshecouldfireagain, andontheIOthSeptemberfollowingsentencedtotwenty years'hardlabour.Shewastriedby theOdessaMilitary Tribunalwithcloseddoors.Severalpoliticalarrestswere madeabout the same time,especially ofstudents and young ladies,oneof thelatter adoctorofmedicine. 632.Trialof theFourteen.-InthemonthofOctobera trialtookplaceinSt.Petersburg offourteenNihilists,in-cludingsixofficersandthecelebratedfemalerevolutionist Figner,aliasVeraFilipava,whohadofferedsheltertothe regicideSophiaPerovsky,andofanotherwoman,named Volkenstein,whohadbeenimplicatedinthemurderof PrinceKrapotkineat Kharkoff in1879 (616).The tribunal. wasvirtuallyacourt-martialwithcloseddoors,andthe greatestsecrecywasobservedthroughouttheweekfor which the triallasted.Thesix officersand the twowomen, Figner andVolkenstein,werecondemnedtodeath,andthe others sentenced to hard labour in the mines. 633.Reconstructionof theNihilistParty.-After ayears' silence,theorganpublishedclandestinely inRussiaby the Nihilists,the N arodnaiaVvlia(TheWillof thePeople),re-appeared, datedI2thOctober1884,in large 4to.The losses suffered by the party were admitted;their type aud printing-machineshadfallenintothe handsofthepolice,and some oftheir chiefmenwerein prison.Theselossesthey attri-butedtothedenunciationsofDegaieff,theasi'assinof ColonelSudeikin,whohadbeenaleadingNihilist,had turnedtraitor,butfindingtheGovernmentnotgrateful enough,and fearing the vengeance ofthe Nihilists,had pur-chasedhissafety by acting againforthelatterandkilling Sudeikin.This, latterbeingkilled,andDegaieffrendered THENIHILISTS 239 harmless,theCommitteewasable toreconstitutethe party. TheWill of thePeoplealsogaveasummaryofthe principal Nihilistic events during theyear, comprising some interesting detailsconcerning the greatdevelopmentofagrarian Social-isminthesouthofRussia,. factstillthenstudiouslycon-cealed by the Government.The paper further stated that the revolutionary group,whichhadatonetimeseparateditself fromthe party oftheWillof thePeople,"TheParty ofthe People" (614) and the revolutionary party of Poland, had coa-lesced withthe Russian Nihilists.Among the other subjects treated,therewasanobituarynoticeofProfessorN eous-traie:ff,whowasshotatIrkutskforstrikingthegovernor-generaloftheprovince.The lastpagesofthepaper were filledwithalonglistofarrestsmade,andaparagraph incidentally mentionsthat M.Larroffneverbelongedto the ExecutiveCommittee,thoughhe isrecognisedasoneofthe editorsofthe reviewOnwards,publishedby the Nihilistsat Geneva,and asawarm friendof theparty. 634.Extensionof Nihilism.-Withsuchaconstanthidden enemyintheirverymidst,theGovernmentandpeopleof Russiawereinastate of chronicalarm.Count Tolstoi,the MinisteroftheInterior,whilstdiligentlysearchingfor Nihilists,wasalsotheirespecialvictim.Hedailyreceived threatening letters;hescarcely daredstirout ofdoors,and wheneverhedidso,theextraprecautionsthathadtobe taken involved an outlay of fivehundred roubles.And whilst despotismwasmoreviolent andresolute than ever, the trials constantly goingonshowedthatNihilismhadextended its influence.tothearmy,andthatthemilitaryNihilistsdid not belong to the lower ranks.Whilst the emperor shutup Nihilists in one fortress,hewasaprisoner inanother.The officialpressofRussiaaboutthistime(endofI 884)was verysoreonthesubjectofthecommentsoftheEnglish pressonRussianaffairs,accusingitofbasingitsopinions aboutRussiaupontheprejudicedwritingsofexpatriated Nihilists,and further charging the EnglishGovernment w ~ t h allowingNihilists tousetheveryCity ofLondonasaplace whencetosendnotonlycriminalproclamations,but explo-sivesubstances,suchasdynamite,toRussia."A family," it wassaid,"making inquiriesabouttheirson,accidentally cameacrossanentireofficeofRussian Nihilists withinthe boundariesofthe City proper."Ofcourse had the English Governmentbeencognisantoftheseproceedings,itwould readily haveput an end to them. 635.beeline of Nihilism.-Bnt Nihilismapparently began . ,, ; I. I ( j SECRETSOCIETIES to decline.ANihilist manifesto,publishedin August1885, lamented :"Truth compels us to ownthat the fiercestruggle with the RussianGovernment,and the spirit of nationaldis-content,which gave strength to our party, which was, in fact, its raison d'tre,has ended in the triumph of absolutism."In the following December a trial took place at Warsaw, at which sixpersonsbelongingtotherevolutionaryassociationcalled the Proletariate, including a justice of the police and a captain ofEngineers,weresentencedtobehanged;eighteen were condemnedtosixteenyears' hardlabourinthemines,two totenyearsandeightmonths'penalservitude,andtwo others to transportation toSiberia forlife.Early in Jan.uary. 1886thepolicediscoveredaNihilistrendezvousopposite theAnnitchkinePalace,atSt.Petersburg.Anumberof explosive bombs and aprinting-press wereseized, and several arrests weremade.In April it wasreportedthat aNihilist conspiracy,directedagainstthelifeoftheemperor,had beendiscoveredat aplacenear NovoTcherkask,the capital oftheDonCossacks,to whichthe emperor wasexpected to make avisit.Early in December some fivehundred students attempted tocelebratethe anniversary ofacertain Bogolin-boff,aoncepopularpoet;butthepoliceinterfered,anda number ofarrestsweremade,includingmany lady students, eighteenofwhomweresentofffromSt.Petersburgby an administrativeorder,withouttheleastnotionwhitherthey were tobe taken,orwhat wasto becomeof them. Such arethe scanty noticeswehaveof Nihilism in1886. 636.NihilisticProceedingsin1887.-In 1887 the Nihilists displayedgreateractivity.InFebruary another conspiracy wasdiscovered, but the detailswerenot allowedto transpire. Allthatbecameknownwasthatayoungprince,acadet inoneofthemilitary schools,attemptedtocommit suicide by shootinghimself,the reasonallegedbeinghiscomplicity insomeplotwhichhethoughthadbeendiscovered.An inquiryintothematterinoneortwoofthemilitaryand navalschoolsresultedinthearrestofalargenumberof young men,aswellasoftwoor three navalofficers. OnSunday, the13thMarch,theanniversaryoftheassas-sinationofAlexanderII.,adeterminedattempttokillhis successor was made.The Russian police had previous informa-tion that such an attempt would be made, from Berlin, London, and Bucharest.On Saturday night a couple ofmen in ares-taurant on theNevsky attracted the attention of the detectives, who followed and watched them all night.Next day the police wereabletowatchtheposting ofsix individuals, including THENIHILISTS threestudents, at three different parts oftheroute to be fol-lowed by the Tsar.They carried bombs in the shape ofbooks, of abag, an opera-glass, and aroll ofmusic.As soonas they had apparently taken theirthey were pounced upon by the policeandsecured.Altogether :fifteenpersonswere arrested,twelvemenandthreewomen,oneofthelatter being the landlady ofthe houseat Paulovna, onthe Finnish railway, where bomb manufactory was discoveredaday or two after the attempt of ,the13th.Nine of the twelvemen were students, and the other three were two Polish nobles from Wilna and an apothecary'sassistant.Seven oftheaccused werecondemned to be ha;nged, and theother eight to various terms of imprisonment withhardlabour, fromtwenty years downwards.It wasreportedatthe time that eachprisoner wasfoundto haveasmallbottlecontainingamostactive poisonsuspended roundthe neck,nexttothe bareekin.In . caseoffailure,orrefusalatthelastmomentto accomplish the task,secretagentsofthe party,whowereonthe watch allthetime,weretostrikethechestofthefaint-hearted orunsuccessfulconspirator,thussmashingthebottleand causingthepoisontoenterthe woundmadeby the broken glass.The Nihilists seemnottohavebeen discouragedby thelastfailure,foronthe6th Aprilnextafreshattempt on the emperor's life appears to have been made,though par-ticulars,beyondthoseoftheseizureofseveralsuspected persons,werenot allowedtotranspire.But it wasreported fromOdessa that in themonthofthe sameyear (1887) 482 officersofthearmyarrivedinthattownunderastrong militaryescort.They wereaccusedofparticipationinthe last attempt on the Tsar's life,andwere to be transported to Eastern Asia. InJunethetrialoftwenty-oneNihilists,accusedof various revolutionary acts intheyears1883and1884,took placeatSt.Petersburg.Theprisonersincludedthesons ofcollegecouncillors,priests,superiorofficers,aDon Cossack,tradesmen,peasants,andtwowomen,oneofthem astaff-captain'sdaughter.Fifteenwerecondemnedto death,butontheCourt'srecommendation,eightdeath sentences weremitigated tofromfourto:fifteenyears'hard labour,andsubsequentlytheemperorforoncereprieved theremainingseven,:fiveofwhomweretoundergohard labourinSiberiaforlife,andtheothersfromeighteento twenty years each. Anotherblowwassustainedby theNihilistsattheend ofNovember,whenthepolicediscoveredlaboratoriesfor VOL.II.Q ezs SECRETSOCIETIES themanufactureofdynamiteintheV assili,Ostrou,and PeskiquartersofSt.Petersburg.Nowonderthatthey began toutter criesofdespairtowards theendoftheyear 1887."Liberalism," they said, in oneoftheir publications, "hasnoteradicatedthefeelingofloyalty insociety.... Even the'intelligentLiberals'haverejectedtheinvitation toestablishfreeprintingoffices,...oreventoservethe revolutionary press abroadby sending it articlesforpublica-tion."The Messenger of theWillof thePeople,which was the officialexponentofthepartyduringtheyear,ceasedto appear"forwantofintellectualandmaterialaidfrom Russia.""Little is to beexpected,"the Nihilistssaidelse-where,"fromthepresentgenerationofRussians.... Russiansociety, withitsdulness,emptiness,andignorance, istoblame....Mostoftheso-calledculturedclasses belongtothatcategoryofpassengerswhoaremadeto travelincattle-trucks.... Russiansocietyhasbecomea flockofsheep,driven by the whipand the shepherds'dogs." 637.NihilisminI888.-Littleornothingwasheardof Nihilisminthatyear.Therewasindeedarumourin JanuarythatanewNihilistconspiracyagainstthelifeof theTsarhadbeendiscoveredatSt.Petersburg,andthat manyofficersandothershadbeenarrested;butitwent nofurtherthanarumour.Extensivepoliceprecautions were adoptedatSt.Petersburg early in March,inanticipa-tion of Nihilist manifestationson MarchI 3,the anniversary ofthe death of the late Tsar ;but theday wentby without disturbancesofanykind.Theaccident whichoccurredto theTsar'straininNovemberI888isverygenerallysup-posedtohavebeentheresultofaNihilistplot.Butthe unchangeable despotic character of the RussianGovernment wasagainexemplifiedduringtheyearbyitsanti-Semitic policyattwoextremitiesofEuropeanRussia.Sometwo thousandJewsreceivednoticetoquitOdessa,andthe expulsionlawsagainstthepersecutedHebrewswerealso enforcedinFinland.TheFinnishDiethavingrefusedto adopt theRussian viewofthecase,theGovernmentdeter-mined upon enforcing the lawasit exists in Russia;allthe Jews to leavewithinayear,with the exceptionofthose who hadservedinthearmy.Accordingtotheemperor'sown statement, this wholesale expulsion of the Jews was due to the factthat Jews havebeenmixed up with allNihilistic plots. In DecemberI 888thepapersreportedthediscovery by the Russian Government of aramification ofsecret societies. among theyoung andeducated Armenians,uponthemodel THENIHILISTS 243 ofthe"YoungItaly "societies,astheywereconstituted in1848.The object ofthe Armenian societiesis.revolution againstRussianrule,andtheestablishmentofArmenian unionandindependence. 638.SlaughterofSiberianExiles,andHunger-Strikes.-Towardstheendoftheyear1889,thecivilisedworldwas horrifiedbytheaccountoftheslaughterofanumberof exilesatY akutsk,ontheirwaytotheextremeeastof Siberia, near the shoreofthe PolarSea.Theseexiles were not criminals, butexiledby"administrativeorder,"thatis tosay,theyhadnotbeentriedandconvictedbyany tribunal :Government,nottheLaw,arbitrarily hadordered themtoSiberiaassuspects.Simplyforaskingtotake withthemsufficientfoodandclothing fortheterrible journeystillbeforethem,theyweredeclaredtohave resisted the authorities,andanumberofthemshotdown; awoman,Sophie Gourewitch,wasripped openby bayonets; thevice-governorhimselftwicefiredattheexiles.Not satisfied with thisbutchery,thesurvivingexilesweretried by court-martial;three weresentenced todeath,andmany others to long terms of penal servitude in the mines.Early in 18go, still more horrifying details of hunger-strikes among theexiles reached Europe,and ofthe meansadopted by the RussianGovernmenttorepressthem.Onelady,Madame Sihida, was dragged out ofbed, where she lay ill,and received onehundred blows.She died in twodaysfromtheeffects. Many of her companions in misery took poison ;sodidmany ofthemaleprisoners.ThisoccurredatKara,inEastern Siberia.Infact,theconditionofRussianprisons,espe-ciallyofthosewherepoliticalprisonersareconfined,istoo horribletobedescribedinthesepages;themoraland physicalsufferingwantonlyinflictedonthevictimsofa Tsarish cruelty iswithout aparallel in the historyof absolu-tism.TheTsar cannot be absolved frompersonalresponsi-bilityinthematter:tosaythathewasnotawareofthe cruelties practised in hisname,issayinginasmanywords thathisneglectofinquiringintothemencouragedthem ; buthemustknowthem;theyhadbeenfrequentlycom-municated to Alexander III., notably in along letter written inMarch1890byMadameTshebrikova,aladyofposi-tion,andnotinany wayconnectedwiththeNihilists ;but forwritingitshe wasarrested,andsenttoPenza,inthe Caucasus,and placed under strict policesurveillance. 639.Occurrencesin1890.-TheRussianstudentshaving in recent times sl?-owndecidedlyLiberal tendencies,Govern-i J 244 SECRETSOCIETIES mentendeavouredtorepressthem,whichledtorepeated riots and endless arrests,asmanyasfivehundredandfifty students,whohad protested againstthe newandoppressive statutespromulgatedbytheauthorities,beingarrestedat :Moscowin:MarchI 890.InAprilallthepolicestations and prisons ofSt.Petersburg were full of arrested students ; theringleaders,mostlyyoungmenbelongingtogood families,wereeventuallysentasprivatesoldiersintothe disciplinarybattalions near Orenburg. In :May,fourteenRussianswerearrestedinParis,which has alwaysbeen afavouriteplace of residence with Nihilists, ColonelSokoloff,whowasexpelledfromFrance,Krukoff, aprinter,andPrinceKrapotkinebeing amongtheirchiefs. The prisoners abovementioned wereprovedtohavebeen in possession of bombs,many ofwhichhadbeen manufactured in Switzerland.There weretwo womenamong the accused; theywereacquitted,the men weresentencedtothreeyears' imprisonment. In November in thesameyeartheRussian GeneralSeli-verskoffwasfoundin hisroomin aParis hotel,shotinthe head ;he died on the following day without having recovered consciousness.He had beenaRussian spy on the Nihilists. In the same month fiveNihilistsweretriedat St.Peters-burg,oneofthembeingawoman,SophieGiinzburg,who wasarrested inRussia,inpossessionofbombsandrevolu-tionaryproclamations.Fouroftheprisonerswerecon-demnedtodeath.Another trial tookplaceaboutthesame time,andasinthe first-mentionedtrialthe principal figure wasawoman,soin this secondtrial the chief personage was ayounggirl,OlgaIvanovsky,nieceofPrivyCouncillor Idinsky,directorofadepartmentoftheHolySynod.As the names ofhigh ecclesiastical functionaries wereconcerned intheaffair,theauthoritiesshroudeditinmorethanthe usualsecrecy,sothatnodetailshavereachedtheouter world. 640.Occurrencesfrom189!toPresentDate.-TheNihi-listsappeartohavebeenrather,butnotquite,inactive duringtheselateryears.In:May1891asecretprinting-presswasdiscoveredandseizedatSt.Petersburg.In Novemberofthesameyearafar-reachingpoliticalcon-spiracy wasdiscoveredatMoscow,andsomesixtypersons, belongingtothenobility,theliteraryprofession,andthe uppermiddleclass,werearrested.InDecemberagreat numberofarrestsweremade,someoftheaccusedbeing foundto be in possessionofplans and detailsof the imperial THENIHILISTS 245 palaces.In1892anumberofNihilistswerearrestedat Moscow,foranallegedconspiracytokilltheTsaronhis return journey fromtheCrimea.Ananonymousletter had warnedtheauthoritiesthattheattemptwastobemade atasmallrailway Thelinewasexamined,anda bomb discoveredunder eachlineofrails.In spiteofthese failures,theNihilisticagitationwasactivelycarriedon. The revolutionistsendeavouredtostirupthelowerclasses againsttheTsarbytellingthemthat,thoughhepre-tended tosupply the masses with foodduring the famine,he allowedhissubordinatestorobthepeople.Theinsinua-tion,however,had but little successwith theRussianpeople ofthelowerclass,broughtupinslavishadorationofthe emperor,whocan dono wrong.In the monthof December, Major-General Droszgovskiwasassassinated at Tashkend,in RussianTurkestan.Hehadbeenactingaspresidentofa court-martial forthe trial ofanumberofNihilists,mostof whomweresentencedtovarioustermsofimprisonment. Toavengethem their friendskilledthe president. InMay1893thedecapitatedbodyofaRussianstudent wasdiscoveredin a forest,near Plussa Station, onthe War-sawrailway.Thedeceasedwassupposedtohavebeena member ofasecret society,andtohavebeen killed topre-vent hisrevealing its secrets.Two young men werearrested forthecrime,andimmediatelyhanged.Awidespread NihilisticconspiracyagainstthelifeoftheTsarwasdis-covered(inSeptember1893)at Moscow,inconsequenceof whicheighty-fiveuniversitystudents,eightprofessors,and fiveladies belonging to the, aristocracy,werearrested. Early in1894theGovernmentCommissionappointedto inquireintotheconditionofSiberianprisonsissuedits report,inwhichinstanceswithoutnumberwererecorded ofmercilessfloggings,loppingoffofarmsandfingersby sabrecuts,ofcannibalismunderstress offamine.During the wholeof1892therewasanalmostcontinuousstringof convoysofcorpsesfromOnor,theprisonontheislandof Saghalien,toRykovskaya,theresidenceoftheauthorities, andmostof the bodieswere terribly mutilated.In 1893,if any one of aband ofconvictsfailedinhiswork,hewasat onceput on half rations, then on third rations; and whenhe couldworknomore,theinspector finishedhimwithare-volver bullet.Whatwonder,then,thatin November 1894 threesecretprinting-presses, infullworkingorder,witha greatquantityofNihilisticliterature,werediscoveredat Kieff,atKharkoff,andatNicolaieffrespectively ?The I, l I t t ! I I l I i