Alexander II

by Edvard Radzinsky

  This Law of Blood in Russia was a hellish circle. No one wanted to break the circle. Lubricated by the blood of the dead, the wheel of Russian history rolled swiftly toward revolution and 1917.

  I often wonder, “What if?” What if (which has no place in history, but does in the human heart) they had just once forgiven a repentant killer. What if they had just once followed the parable of the prodigal son, which Dostoevsky had entreated his children to remember.

  Who knows, perhaps Russia’s sad history would have been different.

  Selected Bibliography

  Archival Material

  STATE ARCHIVES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (GARF)

  Emperor Alexander II 678 (some material is in the collection 8 of the Winter Palace, created during Alexander II’s lifetime)

  Emperor Alexander II 677

  Empress Maria Alexandrovna 641

  Empress Maria Fedorovna 642

  Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich 722

  Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich 722

  Investigative Commission and Supreme Criminal Court on the case of the attempt on Alexander II of 1866 272

  Investigative Commission of 1862 on the case of disseminating revolutionary calls and propaganda (1862–71) 95

  “People’s Will” 122

  Supreme Administrative Commission on the Preservation of State Order and Public Calm, 1880 94

  Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1880–1917) Fond 109 (materials on People’s Will, Nechaev, attempt on life of Trepov, and the bomb in the Winter Palace in 1880)

  Loris-Melikov, M. T. 569

  Secret Archive of the Third Department 109

  Staff of the Separate Gendarme Corps 110

  Directorate of the Caucasus Gendarme District 1173 (telegrams and circulars about the attempts on the life of Alexander II in St. Petersburg, 1866, and Paris, 1867)

  COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS

  Alexander II. Vospominaniia, dnevniki (Reminiscences and diaries). St. Petersburg, 1995.

  Alexander III. Vospominaniia, dnevniki (Reminiscences and diaries). St. Petersburg, 2001.

  Arkhiv “Zemli i voli” i “Narodnoi voli” (Archives of Land and Freedom and People’s Will). Moscow, 1932.

  Venchanie s Rossiei. Perepiska velikogo knizia Aleksandra Nikolaevicha s NikolaemI (Betrothal to Russia: Correspondence Between Grand Duke Alexander Nikolayevich and Nicholas I). Moscow, 1999.

  Doznanie o tainoi tipografii “Narodnoi voli” (Testimony on the People’s Will secret printing press). Byloe, 1907, No. 3.

  1 marta 1881 goda. Po neizdannym materialam (March 1, 1881. Unpublished Materials). Petrograd, 1918.

  Delo 1 marta. Protsess Zheliabova, Perovskoi i dr Pravitel’svennyi otchet (The March 1 Case. The trial of Zhelyabov, Perovskaya et al. Government report). St. Petersburg, 1906.

  Delo 1-go marta 1881 g. So stat’ei i primechaniiami L’va Deicha (The March 1, 1881, case, with article and commentary by Lev Deich). St. Petersburg, 1906.

  Zvenia. Sbornik materialov i dokumentov po istorii literatury, iskusstva i obshchestvennoi mysli (Links. Collection of Materials and Documents on the History of Literature, Art, and Social Thought), Vol. 6. Moscow-Leningrad, 1936.

  Organy politicheskogo rozyska, razvedki i kontrrazvedki tsarskoi Rossii i ikh agentura: Sbornik dokumentov (Agencies of Political Investigation, Intelligence and Counterintelligence in Tsarist Russia and Their Agents: Collection of Documents). Moscow, 1957.

  1 marta 1881. Stat’i i vospominaniia uchastnikov i sovremennikov (March 1, 1881. Articles and Reminiscences of Participants and Contemporaries). Moscow, 1931.

  I marta 1881. Kazn’ imperatora Aleksandra II. Dokumenty i vospominaniia (March 1, 1881. The Execution of Emperor Alexander II. Documents and Reminiscences). Leningrad, 1991.

  1 marta. Proklamatsii i vozzvaniia, izdannye posle tsareubiistva (March 1. Proclamations and Appeals Published after the Regicide). Moscow, 1920.

  Pererpiska Imperatora Aleksandra II s velikim kniazem Konstantinom Nikolaevichem. Dnevnik velikogo kniazia Konstantina Nikolaevicha (Correspondence of Emperor Alexander II with Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Diary of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich). Moscow, 1993.

  Revoliutsionnoe narodnichestvo 70-kh godov XIX veka (sbornik dokumentov i materialov v dvukh tomakh, pod redaktsiei S. S. Volka) (Revolutionary Narodnik Movement of the 1870s, collection of documents and materials in two volumes, edited by S. S. Volk). Moscow-Leningrad, 1965.

  Literature

  A. V. Amfiteatrov, E. Anichkov. Pobedonostsev. St. Petersburg, 1907.

  Andrei Ivanovich Zheliabov i Sof’ia L’vovna Perovskaia (Biograficheskie ocherki) (Andrei Ivanovich Zhelyabov and Sofia Lvovna Perovskaya [Biographical Sketches]). Rostov-on-Don (Russian historical library, No. 16).

  N. P. Asheshov. N. I. Rysakov: Materialy dlia biografii i kharakteristiki (N. I. Rysakov: Materials for a Biography and Character Assessment). Petrograd, 1920.

  M. A. Bakunin. Narodnoe delo. Romanov, Pugachev ili Pestel’? (The Narodnik Work. Romanov, Pugachev or Pestel?). London, 1917.

  V. N. Balezin. Samoderzhtsy (Autocrats). Moscow, 1999.

  A. I. Barabanova, E. A. Iamshchikova. Narodovol’tsy v Peterburge (People’ Will in St. Petersburg). Leningrad, 1984.

  A. A. Baranov. “Rossiia—induktor terrorizma. Togda i seichas” (Russia—Inductor of Terrorism. Then and Now), Rossiia: put’ v tret’e tysiacheletie (Russia: Path to the Third Millennium). Moscow, Kaluga, 2000.

  E. Beliakova. Detstvo i iunost’ imperatora Aleksandra II: Ocherk (Childhood and Youth of Emperor Alexander II: A Sketch). St. Petersburg, 1911.

  Bezumstvo khrabrykh (Russkie revoliutsionery i karatel’naia politika tsarizma1866–1882 gg.) (Madness of the Brave [Russian Revolutionaries and the Punitive Policies of Tsarism 1866–1882]). Moscow, 1978.

  E. Biriukov. “Konstantin Pobedonostsev—gosudarstvennyi deiatel’, iurist” (Konstantin Pobedonostsev, state figure, jurist), Zakonnost’, 1994, No. 12.

  Otto von Bismarck, Vospominaniia (Reminiscences), Vols. 1–2. Moscow, 2002.

  A. A. Bogdanovich. Tri poslednikh samoderzhtsa (The Last Three Autocrats). Moscow, 1990.

  Iu. I. Bokan’. Evraziiskii antiterrorizm (Eurasian Antiterrorism). Moscow, 2001.

  A. Bokhanov. “Iavlenie Ekateriny III. Dinasticheskii skandal 1880 goda (Appearance of Catherine III. The Dynastic Scandal of 1880),” Rodina, 1998, No. 2.

  O. V. Budnitskii. Terrorizm v rossiiskom osvoboditel’nom dvizhenii: ideologiia, etika, psikhologiia (Terrorism in the Russian Liberation Movement: Ideology, Ethics, Psychology). Moscow, 2000.

  O. G. Bukhovets. Sotsial’nye konflikty i krest’ianskaia mental’nost’ v Rossiiskoi Imperii nachala XX veka (Social Conflicts and the Peasant Mentality in the Russian Empire in the Early Twentieth Century). Moscow, 1996.

  B. I. Chicherin. Moskovskii Universitet (Moscow University). Moscow, 1929.

  G. I. Chulkov. Imperatory. Psikhologicheskie portrety (Emperors. Psychological Portraits). Moscow-Leningrad, 1928.

  A. de Custine. Nikolaevskaia Rossiia (The Russia of Nicholas). Moscow, 1990.

  V. A. Danilov. “Iz perezhitogo” (Experiences), Byloe, 1907, No. 10.

  Iu. Davydov. “Nikto i nikogda ne uznaet nashikh imen” (No One Will Ever Learn Our Names),” Prometei, No. 11. Moscow, 1977.

  V. Debagorii-Mokrievich. “K voprosu o peregovorakh IK ‘Narodnoi voli’ s ‘Dobrovol’noi okhranoi” (On the Negotiations Between the EC of the People’s Will with the Volunteer Guards), Byloe, 1907, No. 4.

  L. Deich. “O sblizhenii i razryve s narodovol’tsami” (On Approaching and Breaking with the People’s Will),” Proletarskaia revoliutsiia, 1923, No. 8.

  L. G. Deich. “Iz otnoshenii G. V. Plekhanova k narodovol’tsam” (The Attitude of G. V. Plekhanov Toward People’s Will), Katorga i ssylka, 1923, No. 7.

  A. G. Dostoevskaia. Vospominaniia (Reminiscences). Moscow, 1971.

  L. F. Dostoevskaia. Dostoevskii v izobrazhenii ego docheri (Dostoevsky in the D
epiction of His Daughter). Moscow-Petrograd, 1922.

  F. M. Dostoevskii. Polnoe Sobranie sochinenii v 30 tomakh (Complete Works in 30 volumes). Moscow, 1983.

  ———. Pis’ma (Letters), Vol. 4. Moscow, 1959.

  “Neizdanny Dostoevskii” (Unpublished Dostoevsky), Literaturnoe Nasledstvo,Vol. 86. Moscow, 1978.

  Dostoevskii. Materialy i issledovaniia (Dostoevsky. Materials and Research). Leningrad, 1980.

  A. Dvorzhitskii. “1 marta 1881 g.” (March 1, 1881), Istoricheskii Vestnik, 1913, No. 1.

  I. P. Eroshkin. “Vystrel u Letnego sada” (The Shot Near the Summer Gardens), Voprosy istorii, 1993, No. 7.

  S. L. Evenchik. “Narodovol’cheskaia propaganda sredi krest’ian” (People’s Will Propaganda Among the Peasants), Obshchestvennoe dvizhenie v poreformennoi Rossii. Moscow, 1965.

  V. N. Figner. Zapechatlennyi trud (Labor Depicted). Moscow, 1964.

  ———. Shlissel’burgskie uzniki. 1884–1905 gg. (Prisoners of Shlisselburg, 1884–1905). Moscow, 1920.

  N. P. Giliarov-Platonov. Nechto o russkoi tserkvi i ober-prokurororstve Pobedonostseva (Something About the Russian Church and the High Procuracy of Pobedonostsev). Leipzig, 1887.

  N. Golubev (Father). Vospominaniia o tsare-osvoboditele Aleksandre II (Reminiscences about the Tsar-Liberator Alexander II). Pskov, 1882.

  Iu. V. Got’e. “K. P. Pobedonostsev i Naslednik Aleksandr Aleksandrovich” (K. P. Pobedonostsev and the Heir Alexander Alexandrovich), Publichnaya biblioteka SSSR, Vol. 2. Moscow, 1928.

  L. Grossman. Dostoevskii. Moscow, 1965.

  ———. Zhizn’ i trudy Dostoevskogo. Biografiia v datakh i dokumentakh (Life and Works of Dostoevsky. Biography in Dates and Documents). Moscow-Leningrad, 1935.

  A. I. Herzen. Byloe i dumy (My Past and Thoughts). Moscow, 1969.

  A. V. Iakimova. “Gruppa ‘Svoboda ili smert’” (The Freedom or Death Group), Katorga i ssylka, 1926, No. 3.

  B. L. Ikhlov. Sovremennyi terrorizm v Rossii: otsutstvie natiosnal’nogo i konfessional’nogo soderzhaniia (Contemporary Terrorism in Russia: Absence of National and Religious Content). Omsk, 2000.

  Illiustrirovannaia istoriia tsartvovaniia imperatora Aleksandra II (Illustrated History of the Reign of Emperor Alexander II). Moscow, 1904.

  V. S. Intenberg. Aleksandr II I graf M. T. Loris-Melikov (Alexander II and Count M. T. Loris-Melikov). Moscow, 1996.

  V. S. Intenberg, A. Ia. Cherniak. Zhizn’ Aleksandra Ul’ianova (The Life of Alexander Ulyanov). Moscow, 1966.

  S. Ivanova. “Vospominaniia o Perovskoi” (Reminiscences about Perovskaya), Byloe, 1906, No. 3.

  P. S. Ivanovskaia. “Pervye tipografii ‘Narodnoi voli’” (The First Printing Presses of the People’s Will), Katorga i ssylka, 1926, No. 3.

  “Iz arkhiva Tikhomirova” (From Tikhomirov’s Archive), Katorga i ssylka, 1924, No. 6.

  “K istorii narodovol’cheskogo dvizheniia sredi voennykh v nachale 80-kh godov” (For the History of the People’s Will Movement in the Military in the Early 1880s), Byloe, 1906, No. 8.

  “K istorii pobega S. L. Perovskoi” (For the History of the Escape of S. L. Perovskaya), Istoricheskii arkhiv, 1961, No. 3.

  K. P. Pobedonostsev: pro et contra: Lichnost’, obshchestvenno-politicheskaia deiatel’nost’ i mirovozzrenie K. P. Pobedonostseva v otsenke russkikh myslitelei i issledovatelei (K. P. Pobedonostsev: Pros and Cons: The Personality, Socio-political Activity and World View of K. P. Pobedonostsev in the View of Russian Thinkers and Researchers). Moscow, 1996.

  S. V. Kalinchuk. “Psikhologicheskii factor v deiatel’nosti ‘Zemli i voli’ 1870-kh” (The Psychological Factor in the Work of Land and Freedom in the 1870s), Voprosy istorii, 1999, No. 3.

  R. M. Kantor. “‘Ispoved’’ Grigoriia Gol’denberga” (Grigory Goldenberg’s “Confession”), Krasnyi arkhiv, 1928, Vol. 5.

  ———. “Avtobiograficheskaia zapiska i pis’ma S. G. Shiriaeva” (Autobiographical Notes and Letters of S. G. Shiryaev), Krasnyi arkhiv, 1924, Vol. 7.

  M. Kheifets. “Vystrel iz ‘Ada’” (Shot from “Hell”), Znanie—sila, 1996, Nos. 6, 7.

  F. A. Kibal’chich. Nikolai Kibal’chich. Moscow, 1986.

  A. F. Koni. Vospominaniia o dele Very Zasulich (Recollections of the Vera Zasulich Case). Moscow-Leningrad, Akademia, 1933.

  A. A. Kosmodem’ianskii. Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovskii. Moscow, Nauka, 1987.

  V. A. Kovalev. Zalozhniki zabluzhdeniia: Istoriia pokushenii na Aleksandra II (Hostages of Misapprehension: History of the Attempts on the Life of Alexander II). Moscow, 1995.

  E. N. Koval’skaia. “Moi vstrechi s S. L. Perovskoi” (My Meetings with S. L. Perovskaya), Byloe, 1921, No. 16.

  E. I. Kozlinina. Za Polveka (Over the Course of a Half Century). Moscow, 1913.

  P. A. Kropotkin. Zapiski revoliutsionera (Notes of a Revolutionary). Moscow, 1988.

  A. A. Kunkl’. Pokushenie Solov’eva (Solovyov’s Assassination Attempt). Moscow, 1929.

  L. M. Liashenko. Tsar’-osvoboditel’: Zhizn’ i deianiia Aleksandra II (The Tsar-Liberator: Life and Works of Alexander II). Moscow, 1994.

  F. Lif. “Glava ‘Avgusteishego’ romana” (A Chapter of the “Most August” Novel), Argus, 1917, No. 8.

  N. D. Litvinov. Rol’ idei v razvitii antigosudarstvennogo terrorizma (The Role of the Idea in the Development of Anti-State Terrorism). Voronezh, 1999.

  ———. Terroristicheskie organizatsii: formirovanie i deiatel’nost’ (Terrorist Organizations: Formation and Activity). Voronezh, Moscow, 1999.

  Literatura partii “Narodnaia volia” (Literature of the “People’s Will” Party). Moscow, 1930.

  F. M. Lur’e. Khraniteli proshlogo (Keepers of the Past). Leningrad, 1990.

  ———. Nechaev. Moscow, 2001.

  M. Masson. “‘Tashkentskii’ velikii kniaz’: Iz vospominaniia starogo turkestantsa” (The “Tashkent” Grand Duke: From the Reminimisces of An Old Turkestani), Zvezda Vostoka, 1991, No. 12.

  K. K. Merder. “Zapiski 1826–1832” (Notes 1826–1832), Novyi zhurnal, 1995, No. 3.

  D. A. Miliutin. Dnevnik (Diary), Vols. 1–4. Moscow, 1947–50.

  K. K. Mogil’ner. “Radikal’naia intelligentsia pered litsom smerti” (The Radical Intelligentsia Facing Death), Obshchestvennye nauki i sovremennost’, 1994, No. 5.

  N. A. Morozov. Povesti moei zhizni (Tales of My Life). Moscow, 1947.

  G. D. Nagaev. “Kaznen neopoznannym…”: Povest’ o Stepane Khalturine (“Executed Unidentified…”: A Tale about Stepan Khalturin). Moscow, 1970.

  “Narodnaia volia” i “Chernyi peredel.” Vospominaniia uchastnikov revoliutsionnogo dvizheniia v Peterburge v 1879–1882 gg. (The People’s Will and Black Redistribution. Reminiscences of Participants in the Revolutionary Movement in St. Petersburg in 1879–1882). Leningrad, 1989.

  “Narodniai volia” pered tsarskim sudom (The People’s Will in the Tsarist Court), 2nd ed. Saratov, 1983.

  Narodovolets Barannikov v ego pis’makh (People’s Will Member Barannikov in His Letters). Moscow, 1935.

  Narodovol’tsy posle 1 marta 1881 (People’s Will after March 1, 1881). Moscow, 1928.

  “Neizdannye zapiski L. Tikhomirova” (Unpublished Notes of L. Tikhomirov), Krasnyi arkhiv, 1928, Vol. 4.

  “Neizvestnye zametki Sof’i Perovskoi” (Unknown Notes of Sofia Perovskaya), Sovetskie arkhivy, 1983, No. 3.

  M. Paleolog. Aleksandr II i kniaginia Iur’evskaia (Alexander II and Princess Yuryevskaya). Moscow-Petrograd, 1924.

  V. Pankratov. “Iz deiatel’nosti sredi rabochikh v 1880–84” (From the Work among Laborers in 1880–84), Byloe, 1906, No. 3.

  Z. I. Perfudova. Politicheskii sysk Rossii (1880–1917) (Political Investigation in Russia [1880–1917]). Moscow, 2000.

  V. L. Perovskii. Vospominanie o sestre (Reminiscences of My Sister). Moscow-Leningrad, 1927.

  I. A. Persianov. “‘Spasitel’ Imperatora: O. I. Komissarov-Kostromskoi” (The Emperor’s “Savior”: O. I. Komissarov-Kostromskoi), Iz glubiny vremen,1997, Issue 8. St
. Petersburg, 1997.

  “Petrashevtsy.” Sobrnik materialov (“The Petrashevsky Circle.” Collection of Materials), Vol. 3. Moscow-Leningrad, 1928.

  N. Pirumova. M. Bakunin. Moscow, 1970.

  K. P. Pobedonostsev. Sochineniia (Works). St. Petersburg, 1996.

  ———. Velikaia lozh’ nashego vremeni (The Great Lie of Our Time). Moscow, 1993.

  “Podvig Nikolaia Kletochnikov” (The Exploit of Nikolai Kletochnikov), Prometei, Vol. 9. Moscow, 1972.

  Iu. Z. Polevoi. Stepan Khalturin. Moscow, 1979.

  A. Iu. Polunov. “K. P. Pobedonostsev—chelovek i politik” (K. P. Pobedonostsev—Man and Politician), Otechestvennaia istoriia, 1998.

  M. O. Popov. Zapiski zemlevol’tsa (Notes of a Member of Land and Freedom). Moscow, 1933.

  M. A. Popovskii. Pobezhdennoe vremia: Povest’ o Nikolae Morozove (Conquered Time: Tale of Nikolai Morozov). Moscow, 1975.

  I. V. Preobrazhenskii. K. P. Pobedonostsev, ego lichnost’ i deiatel’nost’ v predstavlenii sovremennikov (K. P. Pobedonostsev, His Personality and Activity in the Perception of Contemporaries). St. Petersburg, 1914.

  A. V. Pribylev. Zapiski narodovol’tsa (Notes of a Member of the People’s Will). Moscow, 1925.

  A. P. Pribyleva-Korba. “‘Narodnaia volia’. Vospominaniia” (“The People’s Will.” Reminiscences), Arkhiv “Zemli i voli” i “Narodnoi voli.” Moscow, 1932.

  Problemy terrorizma (Problems of Terrorism), collected articles. Moscow, 1997.

  Protsess shestnadtsati terroristov (1880 g.) (Trial of Sixteen Terrorists [1880]). St. Petersburg, 1906.

  P. A. Sadikov. “Obshchestvo ‘Sviashchennoi druzhiny’” (Society of the “Holy Squad”), Krasnyi arkhiv, 1927, Vol. 2.

  A. N. Sakharov. “‘Krasnyi terror’ narodovol’tsev (O pokusheniiakh na Aleksandra II)” (The “Red Terror” of the People’s Will [On the Attempts on the Life of Alexander II]), Voprosy istorii, 1966, No. 5.

  N. P. Salamanov. “Tsiolkovsky i Kibal’chich” (Tsiolkovsky and Kibalchich), Ogonek, 1961, No. 8.

  K. N. Salimov. Sovremennye problemy terrorizma (Contemporary Problems of Terrorism). Moscow, 2000.

  A. N. Savin. “Svatovstvo tsesarevicha Aleksandra Nikolaevicha” (Matchmaking of Tsarevich Alexander Nikolayevich), Institut istorii. Anthology, Issue 1. Moscow, 1926.