22 February — Zhelyabov “issued the call,” as it was termed in the terrorist organization “Narodnaya Volya,” that is, he summoned revolutionaries willing to take part in the assassination of the emperor to go out into the streets with throwing explosives. The devices were made by Kibalchich. At the end of February, Zhelyabov and Trigoni were arrested.
1 March — a tunnel was dug under Malaya Sadovaya Street in St. Petersburg in order to set off an explosion as the tsar passed by. However, at the last moment it became known that he would not take that street. Then Sofya Lvovna Perovskaya not only positioned the bomb-throwers along the tsar’s route, but also moved them several times to be absolutely sure not to make a mistake. The bomb thrown by Rysakov damaged the imperial carriage. The tsar got out of the carriage, and then Ignaty Grinevitsky threw a bomb at his feet. It shattered both of Alexander’s legs and tore open his abdomen. He was immediately carried to the palace, where he regained consciousness for a minute, but died without uttering a single word. Princess Yuryevskaya cut off her luxurious hair and laid it on Alexander’s body. He died on the very day when he had decided to give the green light to M. T. Loris-Melikov’s constitutional project.
2 April — the conspirators A. I. Mikhailov, S. L. Perovskaya, N. I. Rysakov, N. I. Kibalchich, and T. M. Mikhailov were hanged.
The bomb thrown by a member of Narodnaya Volya cut short his life at one of the most significant moments in the fate of the tsar and the entire country. The eldest son—first of the grand-ducal, and from 1825 the imperial couple—Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna, Alexander received a good education. His tutor was Zhukovsky, who sought to raise in the future monarch an enlightened man who would grant his people reasonable laws, a monarch as lawgiver. The personality of the heir to the throne was shaped, of course, also under the influence of his father, who wanted to see in his son “a soldier at heart.” Naturally, both influences left a deep mark on the heir’s character, inclinations, and worldview, and were reflected in the deeds of his reign.
In 1855 Alexander ascended the throne. The legacy he received was тяжелое: none of the fundamental issues of the 30-year reign of his father had been resolved, and moreover Russia suffered defeat in the Crimean War. The first of Alexander II’s important decisions was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in March 1856.
With Alexander’s accession, a “thaw” began in Russia’s socio-political life. Also, in the first years of his reign, decisive victories were achieved in the Caucasian War. Later, after long resistance, he resolved to go to war with Turkey.
At the same time, the reforms continued, but sluggishly and inconsistently; almost all the reformers, with rare exceptions, were dismissed.
Several attempts were made on Alexander II’s life. Attempts were carried out by the Polish émigré Berezovsky in 1867 in Paris, by Solovyov in 1879 in St. Petersburg, and in August 1879 the Executive Committee of “Narodnaya Volya” decided to kill Alexander (an attempt to blow up the imperial train near Moscow in December 1879, the explosion in the Winter Palace carried out by Khalturin in February 1880). To protect state order and combat the revolutionary movement, the Supreme Administrative Commission was created.